We all bade him good-bye; but I felt as if I must go and see him once more. Next night, before the train started, I went to the station, and found that, without any concert of action, one and another of the cla.s.s had come to bid him good-bye. They were all there on the platform. A few gathered around us--the fireman, engineer, brakesman, and conductor of the train, with the pa.s.sengers. It was a beautiful summer night, and the sun was just going down behind the western prairies as we sang together--
"Here we meet to part again, But when we meet on Canaan"s sh.o.r.e, There"ll be no parting there."
As the train moved out of the station, he stood on the outside platform, and, with his finger pointing heavenward, he said: "I will meet you yonder;" then he disappeared from our view.
What a work was accomplished in those ten days! Some of the members of that cla.s.s were among the most active Christians we had in the school for years after. Some of them are active workers to-day. I met one of them at work away out on the Pacific Coast, a few years ago. We had a blessed work of grace in the school that summer; it took me out of my business and sent me into the Lord"s work. If it had not been for the work of those ten days, probably I should not have been an evangelist to-day.
Let me again urge on Sunday-school teachers to seek the salvation of your scholars. Make up your mind that within the next ten days you will do all you can to lead your cla.s.s to Christ. Fathers, mothers, let there be no rest till you see all your family brought into the kingdom of G.o.d. Do you say that He will not bless such consecrated effort? What we want to-day is the spirit of consecration and concentration. May G.o.d pour out His Spirit upon us, and fill us with a holy enthusiasm.
CHAPTER VI.
THE POWER OF LITTLE THINGS.
In the twenty-fifth chapter of Exodus we read: "And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying: "Speak unto the children of Israel, that they bring Me an offering: of every man that giveth it willingly with his heart ye shall take my offering. And this is the offering which ye shall take of them: gold, and silver, and bra.s.s, and blue, and purple, and scarlet, and fine linen, and goats" hair, and rams" skins dyed red, and badgers" skins, and s.h.i.ttim wood, oil for the light, spices for anointing oil and for sweet incense, onyx stones, and stones to be set in the ephod and in the breastplate. And let them make Me a sanctuary; that I may dwell among them. According to all that I show thee, after the pattern of the tabernacle, and the pattern of all the instruments thereof, even so shall ye make it.""
I am glad this has been recorded for our instruction. How it ought to encourage us all to believe that we may each have a part in building up the walls of the heavenly Zion. In all ages G.o.d has delighted to use the weak things. In his letter to the Corinthians Paul speaks of five things that G.o.d uses: "G.o.d hath chosen the foolish things of the world to confound the wise; and G.o.d hath chosen the weak things of the world to confound the things which are mighty; and base things of the world, and things which are despised, hath G.o.d chosen, yea, and things which are not, to bring to nought things that are, that no flesh should glory in His presence."
You notice there are five things mentioned that G.o.d uses--foolish things, weak things, base things, despised things, and things which are not. What for? "That no flesh should glory in His presence." When we are weak then we are strong. People often think they have not strength enough; the fact is we have too much strength. It is when we feel that we have no strength of our own, that we are willing G.o.d should use us, and work through us. If we are leaning on G.o.d"s strength, we have more than all the strength of the world.
This world is not going to be reached by mere human intellectual power. When we realize that we have no strength, then all the fulness of G.o.d will flow in upon us. Then we shall have power with G.o.d and with man.
In Revelation we read that John on one occasion wept much at a sight he beheld in heaven. He saw a sealed book; and no one was found that could break the seal and open the book. Abel, that holy man of G.o.d, was not worthy to open it. Enoch, who had been translated to heaven without tasting death; Elijah, who had gone up in a chariot of fire; even Moses, that great law-giver; or Isaiah, or any of the prophets--none was found worthy to open the book. As he saw this John wept much. As he wept one touched him, and said: "Weep not; behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the root of David, hath prevailed to open the Book, and to loose the seven seals thereof." When he looked to see who was the Lion of the tribe of Judah, whom did he see! Lo, the Lion was a Lamb! G.o.d"s Lion is a Lamb! When we are like lambs G.o.d can use us, and we are strong in His service. We can all be weak can we not?
Then let us lean on the mighty power of G.o.d.
Notice that all the men whom Christ called around Him were weak men in a worldly sense. They were all men without rank, without t.i.tle, without position, without wealth or culture. Nearly all of them were fishermen and unlettered men; yet Christ chose them to build up His kingdom. When G.o.d wanted to bring the children of Israel out of bondage, He did not send an army; He sent one solitary man. So in all ages G.o.d has used the weak things of the world to accomplish His purposes.
I read an incident some time ago that ill.u.s.trates the power of a simple tract. A society was some years ago established to distribute tracts by mail in the higher circles. One of these tracts, ent.i.tled, "Prepare to meet thy G.o.d," was enclosed in an envelope, and sent by post to a gentleman well known for his unG.o.dly life and his reckless impiety. He was in his study when he read this letter among others.
"What"s that," said he. ""Prepare to meet thy G.o.d." Who has had the impudence to send me this cant?" And, with an imprecation on his unknown correspondent, he arose to put the paper in the fire.
"No; I won"t do that." he said to himself; "On second thoughts, I know what I will do. I"ll send it to my friend B--; it will be a good joke to hear what he"ll say about it." So saying, he enclosed the tract in a fresh envelope, and, in a feigned hand, directed it to his boon companion.
Mr. B-- was a man of his own stamp, and received the tract, as his friend had done, with an oath at the Methodistical humbug, which his first impulse was to tear in pieces. "I"ll not tear it either," said he to himself. "Prepare to meet thy G.o.d" at once arrested his attention, and smote his conscience. The arrow of conviction entered his heart as he read, and he was converted. Almost his first thought was for his unG.o.dly a.s.sociates. "Have I received such blessed light and truth, and shall I not strive to communicate it to others?" He again folded the tract, and enclosed and directed it to one of his companions in sin. Wonderful to say, the little arrow hit the mark.
His friend read. He also was converted; and both are now walking as the Lord"s redeemed ones.
In Matthew we read: "For the kingdom of heaven is as a man travelling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods. And unto one he gave five talents, to another two, and to another one; to every man according to his several ability; and straightway took his journey."
Observe, he gave to every man "according to his several ability." He gave to each servant just the number of talents that he could take care of and use. Some people complain that they have not more talents; but we have each the number of talents that we can properly employ. If we take good care of what we have, G.o.d will give us more. There were eight talents to be distributed among three persons; the master gave to one five; to a second, two; and to another, one. The man went away; and the servants fully understood that he expected them to improve their talents and trade with them. G.o.d is not unreasonable; He does not ask us to do what we cannot do; but He gives us according to our several ability, and He expects us to use the talents we have.
We read: "He that had received the five talents went and traded with the same, and made them other five talents. And likewise he that had received two, he also gained other two. But he that had received one went and digged in the earth, and hid his lord"s money." Notice that the man who had the two talents got exactly the same commendation as the man who had the five. The one who got five doubled them, and his lord said to him: "Well done, good and faithful servant." The one who had two also doubled them, and so had four talents; to him also the lord said: "Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy lord."
If the man who had the one talent had traded with it, he would have received exactly the same approval as the others. But what did he do?
He put it into a napkin and buried it. He thought he would take care of it in that way.
After the lord of these servants had been gone a long while he returned to reckon with them. What does he find in the case of the third servant? He has the one talent; but that is all.
I read of a man who had a thousand dollars. He hid it away, thinking he would in that way take care of it, and that when he was an old man he would have something to fall back upon. After keeping the money for twenty years he took it to a bank and got just one thousand dollars for it. If he had put it at interest, in the usual way, he might have had three times the amount. He made the mistake that a great many people are making to-day throughout Christendom, of not trading with his talents. My experience has been as I have gone about in the world and mingled with professing Christians, that those who find most fault with others are those who themselves have nothing to do. If a person is busy improving the talents that G.o.d has given him he will have too much to do to find fault and complain about others.
G.o.d has given us many opportunities of serving Him, and He expects that we should use them. People think that their time and property are their own. What saying is more frequent than this? "I have a right to do what I will with my own."
On one occasion a friend was beside the dying bed of a military man who had held an important command in successful Indian wars. He asked if he were afraid to die. He at once said: "I am not."
"Why?" He said: "I have never done any harm."
The other replied: "If you were going to be tried by a court-martial as an officer and a gentleman, I suppose you would expect an honorable acquittal?" The dying old man lifted himself up, and with an energy which his illness seemed to render impossible, exclaimed, "That I should!"
"But you are not going to a court-martial; you are going to Christ; and when Christ asks you, "What have you done for me?" what will you say?" His countenance changed, and earnestly gazing on his friend, with agonized feelings he answered: "_Nothing!_--I have never done _anything_ for Christ!"
His friend pointed out the awful mistake of habitually living in the sense of our relations one with another, and forgetting our relation to Christ and to G.o.d; therefore the error of supposing that doing no harm, or even doing good to those around, will serve as a subst.i.tute for _living to G.o.d. What have you done for Christ?_ is the great question.
After some days, he called again on the old man, who said: "Well, sir, what do you think now?" He replied: "Ah! I am a poor sinner." He pointed him to the Savior of sinners; and not long afterward he departed this life as a repentant sinner, resting in Christ. What an awful end would have come to the false peace in which he was found!
And yet it is the peace of the mult.i.tudes, only to be undeceived at the judgment seat of Christ.
If this world is going to be reached, I am convinced it must be done by men and women of average talent. After all there are comparatively few people in the world who have great talents. Here is a man with one talent; there is another with three; perhaps I may have only half a talent. But if we all go to work and trade with the gifts we have the Lord will prosper us; and we may double or treble our talents. What we need is to be up and about our Master"s work, every man building against his own house. The more we use the means and opportunities we have, the more will our ability and our opportunities be increased.
An Eastern allegory runs thus: A merchant, going abroad for a time, gave respectively to two of his friends two sacks of wheat each, to take care of against his return. Years pa.s.sed; he came back, and applied for them again. The first took him into a storehouse, and showed them his sacks; but they were mildewed and worthless. The other led him out into the open country, and pointed to field after field of waving corn, the produce of the two sacks given him. Said the merchant: "You have been a faithful friend. Give me two sacks of that wheat; the rest shall be thine."
I heard a person once say that she wanted a.s.surance. I asked how long she had been a Christian; and she replied she had been one for a number of years. I said: "What are you doing for Christ?" "I do not know that I have the opportunity of doing anything," she replied. I pity the person who professes to be a Christian in this day, and who says he can find no opportunities of doing any work for Christ. I cannot imagine where his lot must be cast. The idea of any one knowing the Lord Jesus Christ in this nineteenth century, and saying he has no opportunities of testifying for Him. Surely no one need look far to find plenty of opportunities for speaking and working for the Master, if he only has the desire to do it. "Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest." If you cannot do some great thing, you can do some little thing.
A man sent me a tract a little while ago, ent.i.tled, "WHAT IS THAT IN THINE HAND?" and I am very thankful he sent it. These words were spoken by G.o.d to Moses when He called him to go down to Egypt, and bring the children of Israel out of the house of bondage. You remember how Moses tried to excuse himself. He said he was not eloquent; he was not this and that; and he could not go. Like Isaiah he wanted the Lord to send some one else. At last the Lord said to Moses, "What is that in thine hand?" He had a rod in his hand. It may be that a few days before he wanted something to drive the sheep with, and he may have cut this wand for that purpose. He could probably have got a hundred better rods any day. Yet with that he was to deliver the children of Israel. G.o.d was to link His almighty power with that rod; and that was enough.
I can imagine that as Moses was on his way down to Egypt he may have met one of the philosophers or free-thinkers of his day, who might have asked him where he was going. "Down to Egypt." "Indeed! are you going down there again to live?" "No, I am going to bring my people out of the house of bondage." "What! you are going to deliver them from the hand of Pharaoh, the mightiest monarch now living? You think you are going to free three millions of slaves from the power of the Egyptians?" "Yes."
"How are you going to do it?" "With this rod."
What a contemptible thing the rod must have been in the eyes of that Egyptian freethinker; the idea of delivering three millions of slaves with a rod! We had three millions of slaves in this country, and before they could be set free half a million of men had to lay down their lives. The flower of the nation marched to its grave before our slaves gained their deliverance.
Here was a weak and solitary man going down to Egypt, to meet a monarch who had the power of life and death. And all he had with which to deliver the people from bondage was this rod! Yet see how famous that rod became. When Moses wanted to bring up the plagues on the people he had only to stretch out his rod, and they covered the land.
He had but to stretch it out, and the water of the country was turned into blood. Then when the people came to the Red Sea and they wanted to go across, he had only to lift up the rod and the waters separated, so that the people could pa.s.s through dry-shod. When they were in the desert and wanted water to drink, again he lifted this rod and struck the flinty rock, when the water burst forth, and they drank and were refreshed. That contemptible rod became mighty indeed. But it was not the rod; it was the G.o.d of Moses, who condescended to use it.
Let us learn a lesson from this history. We are required to use what we have, not what we have not. Whatever gifts or talents you have, take and lay them at the Master"s feet. Moses took what he had; and we see how much he accomplished. If we are ready to say: "Here am I, ready and willing to be used," the Lord will use us; He will link His mighty power with our weakness, and we shall be able to do great things for Him.
Look again, and see Joshua as he goes up to the walls of Jericho. If you had asked what they had with which to bring down the walls of that city, all you would have seen would have been a few rams" horns. They must have looked very mean and contemptible in the eyes of the men of Jericho. Perhaps the city contained some men who were giants; as they looked over the walls and saw the Israelites marching around the city blowing these horns, they must have appeared very insignificant. But G.o.d can use the base things, the despised things. However contemptible an instrument a ram"s horn may have appeared in the sight of man, the people went on blowing them as they were commanded; and at the appointed time down came the walls, and the city was taken. The Israelites had no battering rams; no great armor or mighty weapons of any kind. They simply took what they had, and G.o.d used it to do the work.
Look at Samson going out to meet a thousand Philistines. What has he with him? Only the jawbone of an a.s.s! If G.o.d could use that, surely He can use us, can he not? Do you tell me He cannot use this woman, that little boy? There is not one whom He cannot use, if we are willing to be used.
I remember hearing a Scotchman say, when I was in Great Britain ten years ago, that there was probably not a man in all Saul"s army but believed that G.o.d _could_ use him to go out and slay the giant of Gath. But there was only one solitary man who believed that G.o.d _would_ use him. David went out to meet Goliath and we know the result. We all believe that G.o.d _can_ use us; we want to take a step further and believe that He _will_ use us. If we are willing to be used, He is willing to use us in His service. How contemptible these smooth stones that David took out of the brook would have appeared to Goliath! Even Saul wanted David to take his armor, and put it on. He was on the point of yielding; but he took his sling and the five smooth stones and went out. The giant of Gath fell before him. Let us go forth in the name of the G.o.d of hosts, using what we have, and He will give us the victory.
When I was in Glasgow a few years ago, a friend was telling me about an open-air preacher who died there some years before. This man was preaching one Sabbath morning on Shamgar. He said: "I can imagine that when he was ploughing in the field a man came running over the hill all out of breath, and shouted: "Shamgar! Shamgar! There are six hundred Philistines coming toward you." Shamgar quietly said: "You pa.s.s on; I can take care of them, they are four hundred short." So he took an ox goad and slew the whole of them. He routed them hip and high. And the Israelites had again fulfilled before their eyes the words: "One shall chase a thousand and two shall put ten thousand to flight."" Now-a-days it takes about a thousand to chase one, because we do not realize that we are weak in ourselves and that our strength is in G.o.d.
We want to remember that it is true to-day as ever it was that "One shall chase a thousand." What we need is Holy Ghost power that can take up the weakest child here and make him mighty in G.o.d"s hand.
There is a mountain to be threshed; there lies a bar of iron, and a little weak worm. G.o.d puts aside the iron, and takes up the worm to thresh the mountain. That is G.o.d"s way. His thoughts are not our thoughts; His plans are not ours.
We say: "If such and such a man were only converted--that rich man or that wealthy lady--how much good would be done!" Very true; but it may be that G.o.d will pa.s.s them by and take up some poor tramp, and make him the greatest instrument for good in all the land. John Bunyan, the poor Bedford tinker, was worth more than all the n.o.bility of his day.
G.o.d took him in hand, and he became mighty. He wrote that wonderful book that has gone marching through the nations, lifting up many a weary heart, cheering many a discouraged and disheartened one. Let us remember that if we are willing to be used, G.o.d is willing and waiting to use us.