,weighed and ,wanting  ,addresses on the
 ,ten ,commandments  ,,by  ,d4 ,l4      
,,moody  ,tekel3 ,thou art weighed in   
the balances1 and art found wanting4    
,fleming ,h4 ,revell ,company  ,chicago 
3 ,new ,york 3 ,toronto  ,publishers of 
,evangelical ,literature  ,copyright1   
#ahih1 by ,the ,bible ,institute        
,colportage ,association4    ,contents  
,the ,ten ,commandments  ,weighed in the
 ,balances  ,the ,first ,commandment    
,the ,second ,commandment  ,the ,third  
,commandment  ,the ,fourth ,commandment 
,the ,fifth ,commandment  ,the ,sixth   
,commandment  ,the ,seventh ,commandment
  ,the ,eighth ,commandment  ,the ,ninth
 ,commandment  ,the ,tenth ,commandment 
,the ,handwriting ,blotted ,out    ,,the
 ,,ten ,,commandments4  ,,exodus #bj3   
#c-ag4  ,i4 ,thou shalt have no other   
gods before me4  ,,ii4 ,thou shalt not  
make unto thee any graven image1 or any 
likeness of any thing that is in heaven 
above1 or that is in the earth beneath1 
or that is in the water under the earth3

 thou shalt not bow down thyself to     
them1 nor serve them3 for ,i the ,lord  
thy ,god am a jealous ,god1 visiting the
 iniquity of the fathers upon the       
children unto the third and fourth      
generation of them that hate ,me2 and   
shewing mercy unto thousands of them    
that love ,me1 and keep ,my             
commandments4  ,,iii4 ,thou shalt not   
take the name of the ,lord thy ,god in  
vain2 for the ,lord will not hold him   
guiltless that taketh ,his name in vain4
  ,,iv4 ,remember the ,sabbath day1 to  
keep it holy4 ,six days shalt thou      
labour1 and do all thy work3 but the    
seventh day is the ,sabbath of the ,lord
 thy ,god3 in it thou shalt not do any  
work1 thou1 nor thy son1 nor thy        
daughter1 thy manservant1 nor thy       
maidservant1 nor thy cattle1 nor thy    
stranger that is within thy gates3 for  
in six days the ,lord made heaven and   
earth1 the sea1 and all that in them is1
 and rested the seventh day2 wherefore  
the ,lord blessed the ,sabbath day and  

hallowed it4  ,v4 ,honour thy father and
 thy mother3 that thy days may be long  
upon the land which the ,lord thy ,god  
giveth thee4  ,,vi4 ,thou shalt not     
kill4  ,,vii4 ,thou shalt not commit    
adultery4  ,,viii4 ,thou shalt not      
steal4  ,,ix4 ,thou shalt not bear false
 witness against thy neighbour4  ,x4    
,thou shalt not covet thy neighbour's   
house1 thou shalt not covet thy         
neighbour's wife1 nor his manservant1   
nor his maidservant1 nor his ox1 nor his
 ass1 nor any thing that is thy         
neighbour's4    ,weighed in the         
,balances  ,in the fifth chapter of     
,daniel we read the history of ,king    
,belshazzar4 ,one chapter tells us all  
we know about him4 ,one short sight of  
his career is all we have4 ,he bursts in
 upon the scene and then disappears4    
,,the ,,eastern ,,feast4  ,we are told  
that he made a great feast to a thousand
 of his lords1 and drank wine before    
them4 ,in those days a feast would      
sometimes last for six months in        

,eastern countries4 ,how long this feast
 had been going on we are not told1 but 
in the midst of it1 he commanded to     
bring the golden and silver vessels     
which his father ,nebuchadnezzar had    
taken out of the temple which was in    
,jerusalem2 that the king1 and his      
princes1 his wives1 and his concubines1 
might drink therein4 ,then they brought 
the golden vessels that were taken out  
of the temple of the house of ,god which
 was at ,jerusalem2 and the king1 and   
his princes1 his wives1 and his         
concubines1 drank in them4 ,they drank  
wine1 and praised the gods of gold1 and 
of silver1 of brass1 of iron1 of wood1  
and of stone4  ,while this impious act  
was being committed1 in the same hour   
came forth fingers of a man's hand1 and 
wrote over against the candlestick upon 
the plaister of the wall of the king's  
palace2 and the king saw the part of the
 hand that wrote4 ,we are not told at   
what hour of the day or the night it    
happened4 ,perhaps it was midnight4     

,perhaps nearly all the guests were more
 or less under the influence of drink2  
but they were not so drunk but that they
 suddenly became sober as they saw      
something that was supernatural--a      
handwriting on the wall1 right over the 
golden candlestick4  ,every face turned 
deathly pale4 ,the king's countenance   
was changed1 and his thoughts troubled  
him1 so that the joints of his loins    
were loosed1 and his knees smote one    
against another4 ,in haste he sent for  
his wisest men to come and read that    
handwriting on the wall4 ,they came in  
one after another1 and tried to make it 
out2 but they could not interpret it4   
,the king promised that whoever could   
read it should be made the third ruler  
in the kingdom2 that he should have     
gifts1 and that a gold chain should be  
put round his neck4 ,but the wise men   
tried in vain4 ,the king was greatly    
troubled4  ,at last1 in the midst of the
 consternation1 the queen came in1 and  
she told the monarch1 if he would only  

send for one who used to interpret the  
dreams of ,nebuchadnezzar1 he could read
 the writing and tell him the           
interpretation thereof4 ,so ,daniel was 
sent for4 ,he was very familiar with it4
 ,he knew his ,father's handwriting4    
,this is the writing that was written1  
,mene1 ,mene1 ,tekel1 ,upharsin4 ,this  
is the interpretation of the thing3     
,mene--,god hath numbered thy kingdom   
and finished it4 ,tekel--,thou art      
weighed in the balances1 and art found  
wanting4 ,peres--,thy kingdom is        
divided1 and given to the ,medes and    
,persians4  ,if some one had told the   
king an hour before that the time had   
come when he must step into the balances
 and be weighed1 he would have laughed  
at the thought4 ,but the vital hour had 
come4  ,the weighing was soon over4 ,the
 verdict was announced1 and the sentence
 carried out4 ,in that night was        
,belshazzar the king of the ,chaldeans  
slain1 and ,darius the ,median took the 
kingdom4 ,darius and his army came      

marching down those streets4 ,there was 
a clash of arms4 ,shouts of war and     
victory rent the air4 ,that night the   
king's blood mingled with the wine of   
the banquet hall4 ,judgment came upon   
him unexpectedly1 suddenly3 and probably
 ninety-nine out of every hundred       
judgments come in this way4 ,death comes
 upon us unexpectedly2 it comes upon us 
suddenly4  ,perhaps you say3 ,i hope    
,mr4 ,moody is not going to compare me  
with that heathen king4  ,i tell you    
that a man who does evil in these       
,gospel days is far worse than that     
king4 ,we live in a land of ,bibles4    
,you can get the ,new ,testament for a  
nickel1 and if you haven't got a nickel 
you can get it for nothing4 ,many       
societies will be glad to give it to you
 free4 ,we live in the full blaze of    
,calvary4 ,we live on this side of the  
cross1 but ,belshazzar lived more than  
five hundred years on the other side4   
,he never heard of ,jesus ,christ4 ,he  
never heard about the ,son of ,god4 ,he 

never heard about ,god except1 perhaps1 
in connection with his father's         
remarkable vision4 ,he probably had no  
portion of the ,bible1 and if he had1   
probably he didn't believe it4 ,he had  
no godly minister to point him to the   
,lamb of ,god4  ,don't tell me that you 
are better than that king4 ,i believe   
that he will rise in judgment and       
condemn many of us4  ,all this happened 
long centuries ago4 ,let us get down to 
this century1 to this year1 to          
ourselves4 ,we will come to the present 
time4 ,let us imagine that now1 while ,i
 am preaching1 down come some balances  
from the throne of ,god4 ,they are      
fastened to the very throne itself4 ,it 
is a throne of equity1 of justice4 ,you 
and ,i must be weighed4 ,i venture to   
say this would be a very solemn         
audience4 ,there would be no trifling4  
,there would be no indifference4 ,no one
 would be thoughtless4  ,some people    
have their own balances4 ,a great many  
are making balances to be weighed in4   

,but after all we must be weighed in    
,god's balances1 the balances of the    
sanctuary4 ,it is a favorite thing with 
infidels to set their own standard1 to  
measure themselves by other people4 ,but
 that will not do in the ,day of        
,judgment4 ,now we will use ,god's law  
as a balance weight4 ,when men find     
fault with the lives of professing      
,christians1 it is a tribute to the law 
of ,god4  ,tekel4 ,it is a very short   
text4 ,it is so short ,i am sure you    
will remember it3 and that is my object1
 just to get people to remember ,god's  
own ,word4  ,,god',s ,,handwriting4     
,let me call your attention to the fact 
that ,god wrote on the tables of stone  
at ,sinai as well as on the wall of     
,belshazzar's palace4  ,these are the   
only messages to men that ,god has      
written with ,his own hand4 ,he wrote   
the commandments out twice1 and spoke   
them aloud in the hearing of ,israel4   
,if it were known that ,god ,himself was
 going to speak once again to man1 what 

eagerness and excitement there would be4
 ,for nearly nineteen hundred years ,he 
has been silent4 ,no inspired message   
has been added to the ,bible for nearly 
nineteen hundred years4 ,how eagerly all
 men would listen if ,god should speak  
once more4 ,yet men forget that the     
,bible is ,god's own ,word1 and that it 
is as truly ,his message to-day as when 
it was delivered of old4 ,the law that  
was given at ,sinai has lost none of its
 solemnity4 ,time cannot wear out its   
authority or the fact of its authorship4
  ,i can imagine some one saying--,i    
won't be weighed by that law4 ,i don't  
believe in it4  ,now men may cavil as   
much as they like about other parts of  
the ,bible1 but ,i have never met an    
honest man that found fault with the    
,ten ,commandments4 ,infidels may mock  
the ,lawgiver and reject ,him who has   
delivered us from the curse of the law1 
but they can't help admitting that the  
commandments are right4 ,renan said that
 they are for all nations1 and will     

remain the commandments of ,god during  
all the centuries4  ,if ,god created    
this world1 ,he must make some laws to  
govern it4 ,in order to make life safe  
we must have good laws2 there is not a  
country the sun shines upon that does   
not possess laws4 ,now this is ,god's   
law4 ,it has come from on high1 and     
infidels and skeptics have to admit that
 it is pure4 ,legislatures nearly all   
over the world adopt it as the          
foundation of their legal systems4  ,the
 law of the ,lord is perfect1 converting
 the soul3 the testimony of the ,lord is
 pure1 making wise the simple3 the      
statutes of the ,lord are right1        
rejoicing the heart3 the commandment of 
the ,lord is pure1 enlightening the     
eyes4  ,now the question for you and me 
is--are we keeping these commandments8  
,have we fulfilled all the requirements 
of the law8 ,if ,god made us1 as we know
 ,he did1 ,he had a right to make that  
law2 and if we don't use it aright it   
would have been better for us if we had 

never had it1 for it will condemn us4   
,we shall be found wanting4 ,the law is 
all right1 but are we right8  ,,an      
,,infidel',s ,,testimony4  ,it is       
related of a clever infidel that he     
sought an acquaintance with the truths  
of the ,bible1 and began to read at the 
books of ,moses4 ,he had been in the    
habit of sneering at the ,bible1 and in 
order to be able to refute arguments    
brought by ,christian men1 he made up   
his mind1 as he knew nothing about it1  
to read the ,bible and get some idea of 
its contents4 ,after he had reached the 
,ten ,commandments1 he said to a friend3
  ,i will tell you what ,i used to      
think4 ,i supposed that ,moses was the  
leader of a horde of banditti2 that1    
having a strong mind1 he acquired great 
influence over a superstitious people2  
and that on ,mount ,sinai he played off 
some sort of fireworks to the amazement 
of his ignorant followers1 who imagined 
in their fear and superstition that the 
exhibition was supernatural4 ,i have    

been looking into the nature of that    
law4 ,i have been trying to see whether 
,i could add anything to it1 or take    
anything from it1 so as to make it      
better4 ,sir1 ,i cannot6 ,it is perfect6
  ,the first commandment directs us to  
make the ,creator the object of our     
supreme love and reverence4 ,that is    
right4 ,if ,he be our ,creator1         
,preserver1 and ,supreme ,benefactor1 we
 ought to treat ,him1 and none other1 as
 such4 ,the second forbids idolatry4    
,that certainly is right4 ,the third    
forbids profanity4 ,the fourth fixes a  
time for religious worship4 ,if there be
 a ,god1 ,he ought surely to be         
worshipped4 ,it is suitable that there  
should be an outward homage significant 
of our inward regard4 ,if ,god be       
worshipped1 it is proper that some time 
should be set apart for that purpose1   
when all may worship ,him harmoniously1 
and without interruption4 ,one day in   
seven is certainly not too much1 and ,i 
do not know that it is too little4  ,the

 fifth commandment defines the peculiar 
duties arising from family relations4   
,injuries to our neighbor are then      
classified by the moral law4 ,they are  
divided into offences against life1     
chastity1 property1 and character2 and  
,i notice that the greatest offence in  
each class is expressly forbidden4 ,thus
 the greatest injury to life is murder2 
to chastity1 adultery2 to property1     
theft2 to character1 perjury4 ,now the  
greatest offence must include the least 
of the same kind4 ,murder must include  
every injury to life2 adultery every    
injury to purity2 and so of the rest4   
,and the moral code is closed and       
perfected by a command forbidding every 
improper desire in regard to our        
neighbors4  ,i have been thinking1      
,where did ,moses get that law8 ,i have 
read history4 ,the ,egyptians and the   
adjacent nations were idolaters2 so were
 the ,greeks and ,romans2 and the wisest
 or best ,greeks or ,romans never gave a
 code of morals like this4 ,where did   

,moses obtain that law1 which surpasses 
the wisdom and philosophy of the most   
enlightened ages8 ,he lived at a period 
comparatively barbarous2 but he has     
given a law in which the learning and   
sagacity of all subsequent time can     
detect no flaw4 ,where did he obtain it8
 ,he could not have soared so far above 
his age as to have devised it himself4  
,i am satisfied where he obtained it4   
,it came down from heaven4 ,it has      
convinced me of the truth of the        
religion of the ,bible4  ,the infidel1  
7now an infidel no longer71 remained to 
his death a firm believer in the truth  
of ,christianity4  ,we call it the      
,mosaic ,law1 but it has been well said 
that the commandments did not originate 
with ,moses1 nor were they done away    
with when the ,mosaic ,law was fulfilled
 in ,christ1 and many of its ceremonies 
and regulations abolished4 ,we can find 
no trace of the existence of any        
lawmaking body in those early times1 no 
parliament or congress that built up a  

system of laws4 ,it has come down to us 
complete and finished1 and the only     
satisfactory account is that which tells
 us that ,god ,himself wrote the        
commandments on tables of stone4        
,,binding ,,to-,,day4  ,some people seem
 to think we have got beyond the        
commandments4 ,what did ,christ say8    
,think not that ,i am come to destroy   
the law and the prophets2 ,i am not come
 to destroy but to fulfil4 ,for verily  
,i say unto you1 ,till heaven and earth 
pass away1 one jot or one tittle shall  
in no wise pass from the law1 till all  
be fulfilled4 ,the commandments of ,god 
given to ,moses in the ,mount at ,horeb 
are as binding to-day as ever they have 
been since the time when they were      
proclaimed in the hearing of the people4
 ,the ,jews said the law was not given  
in ,palestine1 7which belonged to       
,israel71 but in the wilderness1 because
 the law was for all nations4  ,jesus   
never condemned the law and the         
prophets1 but ,he did condemn those who 

did not obey them4 ,because ,he gave new
 commandments it does not follow that   
,he abolished the old4 ,christ's        
explanation of them made them all the   
more searching4 ,in ,his ,sermon on the 
,mount ,he carried the principles of the
 commandments beyond the mere letter4   
,he unfolded them and showed that they  
embraced more1 that they are positive as
 well as prohibitive4 ,the ,old         
,testament closes with these words3     
,remember ye the law of ,moses my       
servant1 which ,i commanded unto him in 
,horeb for all ,israel1 with the        
statutes and judgments4 ,behold1 ,i will
 send you ,elijah the prophet before the
 coming of the great and dreadful day of
 the ,lord3 and he shall turn the heart 
of the fathers to the children1 and the 
heart of the children to their fathers1 
lest ,i come and smite the earth with a 
curse4  ,does that look as if the law of
 ,moses was becoming obsolete8  ,the    
conviction deepens in me with the years 
that the old truths of the ,bible must  

be stated and restated in the plainest  
possible language4 ,i do not remember   
ever to have heard a sermon preached on 
the commandments4 ,i have an index of   
two thousand five hundred sermons       
preached by ,spurgeon1 and not one of   
them selects its text from the first    
seventeen verses of ,exodus xx4 ,the    
people must be made to understand that  
the ,ten ,commandments are still        
binding1 and that there is a penalty    
attached to their violation4 ,we do not 
want a gospel of mere sentiment4 ,the   
,sermon on the ,mount did not blot out  
the ,ten ,commandments4  ,when ,christ  
came ,he condensed the statement of the 
law into this form3 ,thou shalt love the
 ,lord thy ,god with all thy heart and  
with all thy soul and with all thy      
strength and with all thy mind2 and thy 
neighbor as thyself4 ,paul said3 ,love  
is the fulfilling of the law4 ,but does 
this mean that the detailed precepts of 
the ,decalogue are superseded1 and have 
become back numbers8 ,does a father     

cease to give children rules to obey    
because they love him8 ,does a nation   
burn its statute books because the      
people have become patriotic8 ,not at   
all4 ,and yet people speak as if the    
,commandments do not hold for           
,christians because they have come to   
love ,god4 ,paul said3 ,do we then make 
void the law through faith8 ,god forbid4
 ,yea1 we establish the law4 ,it still  
holds good4 ,the commandments are       
necessary4 ,so long as we obey1 they do 
not rest heavy upon us2 but as soon as  
we try to break away1 we find they are  
like fences to keep us within bounds4   
,horses need bridles even after they    
have been properly broken in4  ,we know 
that the law is good if a man use it    
lawfully2 knowing this1 that the law is 
not made for a righteous man1 but for   
the lawless and disobedient1 for the    
ungodly and for sinners1 for unholy and 
profane1 for murderers of fathers and   
murderers of mothers1 for manslayers1   
for whoremongers1 for them that defile  

themselves with mankind1 for            
menstealers1 for liars1 for perjured    
persons1 and if there be any other thing
 that is contrary to sound doctrine4    
,now1 my friend1 are you ready to be    
weighed by this law of ,god8 ,a great   
many people say that if they keep the   
commandments1 they do not need to be    
forgiven and saved through ,christ4 ,but
 have you kept them8 ,i will admit that 
if you perfectly keep the commandments1 
you do not need to be saved by ,christ2 
but is there a man in the wide world who
 can truly say that he has done this8   
,young lady1 can you say3 ,i am ready to
 be weighed by the law8 ,can you1 young 
man8 ,will you step into the scales and 
be weighed one by one by the ,ten       
,commandments8  ,now face these ,ten    
,commandments honestly and prayerfully4 
,see if your life is right1 and if you  
are treating ,god fairly4 ,god's        
statutes are just1 are they not8 ,if    
they are right1 let us see if we are    
right4 ,let us pray that the ,holy      

,ghost may search each one of us4 ,let  
us get alone with ,god and read ,his    
law--read it carefully and prayerfully1 
and ask ,him to show us our sins and    
what ,he would have us to do4    ,first 
,commandment  ,thou shalt have no other 
gods before me4  ,my friend1 are you    
ready to be weighed against this        
commandment8 ,have you fulfilled1 or are
 you willing to fulfil1 all the         
requirements of this law8 ,put it into  
one of the scales1 and step into the    
other4 ,is your heart set upon ,god     
alone8 ,have you no other ,god8 ,do you 
love ,him above father or mother1 the   
wife of your bosom1 your children1 home 
or land1 wealth or pleasure8  ,if men   
were true to this commandment1 obedience
 to the remaining nine would follow     
naturally4 ,it is because they are      
unsound in this that they break the     
others4  ,,feeling ,,after ,,god4       
,philosophers are agreed that even the  
most primitive races of mankind reach   
out beyond the world of matter to a     

superior ,being4 ,it is as natural for  
man to feel after ,god as it is for the 
ivy to feel after a support4 ,hunger and
 thirst drive him to seek for food1 and 
there is a hunger of the soul that needs
 satisfying1 too4 ,man does not need to 
be commanded to worship1 as there is not
 a race so high or so low in the scale  
of civilization but has some kind of a  
god4 ,what he needs is to be directed   
aright4  ,this is what the first        
commandment is for4 ,before we can      
worship intelligently1 we must know what
 or whom to worship4 ,god does not leave
 us in ignorance4 ,when ,paul vent to   
,athens1 he found an altar dedicated to 
,an ,unknown ,god1 and he proceeded to  
tell of ,him whom we worship4 ,when ,god
 gave the commandments to ,moses1 ,he   
commenced with a declaration of ,his own
 character1 and demanded exclusive      
recognition4 ,i am the ,lord thy ,god1  
which have brought thee out of the land 
of ,egypt1 out of the house of bondage4 
,thou shalt have no other gods before   

me4  ,the ,rev4 ,dr4 ,dale says these   
words have great significance4 ,the     
,jews knew ,jehovah as the ,god who had 
held back the waves like a wall while   
they fled across the sea to escape the  
vengeance of their enemies2 they knew   
him as the ,god who had sent thunder1   
and lightning1 and hail1 plagues on     
cattle1 and plagues on men1 to punish   
the ,egyptians and to compel them to let
 the children of ,israel go2 they knew  
,him as the ,god whose angel had slain  
the firstborn of their oppressors1 and  
filled the land from end to end with    
death1 and agony1 and terror4 ,he was   
the same ,god1 so ,moses and ,aaron told
 them1 who by visions and voices1 in    
promises and precepts1 had revealed     
,himself long before to ,abraham1       
,isaac1 and ,jacob4 ,we learn what men  
are from what they say and from what    
they do4 ,a biography of ,luther gives a
 more vivid and trustworthy knowledge of
 the man than the most philosophical    
essay on his character and creed4 ,the  

story of his imprisonment and of his    
journey to ,worms1 his ,letters1 his    
,sermons1 and his ,table-,talk1 are     
worth more than the most elaborate      
speculations about him4 ,the ,jews      
learned what ,god is1 not from          
theological dissertations on the ,divine
 attributes1 but from the facts of a    
,divine history4 ,they knew ,him for    
themselves in ,his own acts and ,his own
 words4  ,some one asked an ,arab3 ,how 
do you know that there is a ,god8 ,how  
do ,i know whether a man or a camel     
passed my tent last night8 he replied4  
,god's footprints in nature and in our  
own experience are the best evidence of 
,his existence and character4  ,,the    
,,israelites ,,were ,,exposed ,,to      
,,danger4  ,remember to whom this       
commandment was given1 and we shall see 
further how necessary it was4 ,the      
forefathers of the ,israelites had      
worshipped idols1 not many generations  
back4 ,they had recently been delivered 
out of ,egypt1 a land of many gods4 ,the

 ,egyptians worshipped the sun1 the     
moon1 insects1 animals1 etc4 ,the ten   
plagues were undoubtedly meant by ,god  
to bring confusion upon many of their   
sacred objects4 ,the children of ,israel
 were going up to take possession of a  
land that was inhabited by heathen1 who 
also worshipped idols4 ,there was       
therefore great need of such a          
commandment as this4 ,there could be no 
right relationship between ,god and man 
in those days any more than to-day1     
until man understood that he must       
recognize ,god alone1 and not offer ,him
 a divided heart4  ,if ,he created us1  
,he certainly ought to have our homage4 
,is it not right that ,he should have   
the first and only place in our         
affections8  ,,no ,,compromise4  ,this  
is one matter in which no toleration can
 be shown4 ,religious liberty is a good 
thing1 within certain limits4 ,but it is
 one thing to show toleration to those  
who agree on essentials1 and another1 to
 those who differ on fundamental        

beliefs4 ,they were willing to admit any
 god to the ,roman ,pantheon4 ,one      
reason why the early ,christians were   
persecuted was that they would not      
accept a place for ,jesus ,christ there4
 ,napoleon is said to have entertained  
the idea of having separate temples in  
,paris for every known religion1 so that
 every stranger should have a place of  
worship when attracted toward that city4
 ,such plans are directly opposed to the
 ,divine one4 ,god sounded no uncertain 
note in this commandment4 ,it is plain1 
unmistakable1 uncompromising4  ,we may  
learn a lesson from the way a farmer    
deals with the little shoots that spring
 up around the trunk of an apple tree4  
,they look promising1 and one who has   
not learned better might welcome their  
growth4 ,but the farmer knows that they 
will draw the life-sap from the main    
tree1 injuring its prospects so that it 
will produce inferior fruit4 ,he        
therefore takes his axe and his hoe1 and
 cuts away these suckers4 ,the tree then

 gives a more plentiful and a finer     
crop4  ,,god',s ,,pruning-,,knife4      
,thou shalt not is the pruning-knife    
that ,god uses4 ,from beginning to end1 
the ,bible calls for wholehearted       
allegiance to ,him4 ,there is to be no  
compromise with other gods4  ,it took   
long years for ,god to impress this     
lesson upon the ,israelites4 ,he called 
them to be a chosen nation4 ,he made    
them a peculiar people4 ,but you will   
notice in ,bible history that they      
turned away from ,him continually1 and  
were punished with plague1 pestilence1  
war and famine4 ,their sin was not that 
they renounced ,god altogether1 but that
 they wanted to worship other gods      
beside ,him4 ,take the case of ,solomon 
as an example of the whole nation4 ,he  
married heathen wives who turned away   
his heart after other gods1 and built   
high places for their idols1 and lent   
countenance to their worship4 ,that was 
the history of frequent turnings of the 
whole nation away from ,god1 until      

finally ,he sent them into captivity in 
,babylon and kept them there for seventy
 years4 ,since then the ,jews have never
 turned to other gods4  ,hasn't the     
church to contend with the same         
difficulty to-day8 ,there are very few  
who in their hearts do not believe in   
,god1 but what they will not do is give 
,him exclusive right of way4            
,missionaries tell us that they could   
easily get converts if they did not     
require them to be baptized1 thus       
publicly renouncing their idols4 ,many a
 person in our land would become a      
,christian if the gate was not so       
strait4 ,christianity is too strict for 
them4 ,they are not ready to promise    
full allegiance to ,god alone4 ,many a  
professing ,christian is a              
stumbling-block because his worship is  
divided4 ,on ,sunday he worships ,god2  
on week days ,god has little or no place
 in his thoughts4  ,,false ,,gods ,,in  
,,america ,,to-,,day4  ,you don't have  
to go to heathen lands to-day to find   

false gods4 ,america is full of them4   
,whatever you make most of is your god4 
,whatever you love more than ,god is    
your idol4 ,many a mans heart is like   
some ,kaffirs' huts1 so full of idols   
that there is hardly room to turn       
around4 ,rich and poor1 learned and     
unlearned1 all classes of men and women 
are guilty of this sin4 ,the mean man   
boweth down1 and the great man humbled  
himself4  ,a man may make a god of      
himself1 of a child1 of a mother1 of    
some precious gift that ,god has        
bestowed upon him4 ,he may forget the   
,giver1 and let his heart go out in     
adoration toward the gift4  ,many make a
 god of pleasure2 that is what their    
hearts are set on4 ,if some old ,greek  
or ,roman came to life again and saw men
 in a drunken debauch1 would he believe 
that the worship of ,bacchus had died   
out8 ,if he saw the streets of our large
 cities filled with harlots1 would he   
believe that the worship of ,venus had  
ceased8  ,others take fashion as their  

god4 ,they give their time and thought  
to dress4 ,they fear what others will   
think of them4 ,do not let us flatter   
ourselves that all idolaters are in     
heathen countries4  ,with many it is the
 god of money4 ,we haven't got through  
worshipping the golden calf yet4 ,if a  
man will sell his principles for gold1  
isn't he making it a god8 ,if he trusts 
in his wealth to keep him from want and 
to supply his needs1 are not riches his 
god8 ,many a man says1 ,give me money1  
and ,i will give you heaven4 ,what care 
,i for all the glories and treasures of 
heaven8 ,give me treasures here6 ,i     
don't care for heaven6 ,i want to be a  
successful business man4 ,how true are  
the words of ,job3 ,if ,i have made gold
 my hope1 or have said to the fine gold1
 ,thou art my confidence2 if ,i rejoiced
 because my wealth was great1 and       
because mine hand had begotten much2 if 
,i beheld the sun when it shined1 or the
 moon walking in brightness2 and my     
heart hath been secretly enticed1 or my 

mouth hath kissed my hand3 this also    
were an iniquity to be punished by the  
judge3 for ,i should have denied the    
,god that is above4  ,but all false gods
 are not as gross as these4 ,there is   
the atheist4 ,he says that he does not  
believe in ,god2 he denies ,his         
existence1 but he can't help setting up 
some other god in ,his place4 ,voltaire 
said1 ,if there were no ,god1 it would  
be necessary to invent one4 ,so the     
atheist speaks of the ,great ,unknown1  
the ,first ,cause1 the ,infinite ,mind1 
etc4 ,then there is the deist4 ,he is a 
man who believes in one ,god who caused 
all things3 but he doesn't believe in   
revelation4 ,he only accepts such truths
 as can be discovered by reason4 ,he    
doesn't believe in ,jesus ,christ1 or in
 the inspiration of the ,bible4 ,then   
there is the pantheist1 who says3 ,i    
believe that the whole universe is ,god4
 ,he is in the air1 the water1 the sun1 
the stars42 the liar and the thief      
included4  ,,moses' ,,farewell          

,,message4  ,let me call your attention 
to a verse in the thirty-second chapter 
of ,deuteronomy1 thirty-first verse3    
,for their rock is not as our ,rock1    
even our enemies themselves being       
judges4  ,these words were uttered by   
,moses1 in his farewell address to      
,israel4 ,he had been with them forty   
years4 ,he was their leader and         
instructor4 ,all the blessings of heaven
 came to them through him4 ,and now the 
old man is about to leave them4 ,if you 
have never read his speech1 do so4 ,it  
is one of the best sermons in print4 ,i 
know few sermons in the ,old or ,new    
,testament that compare with it4  ,i can
 see ,moses as he delivers this address4
 ,his natural activity has not abated4  
,he still has the vigor of youth4 ,his  
long white hair flows over his          
shoulders1 and his venerable beard      
covers his breast4 ,he throws down the  
challenge3 ,their rock is not as our    
,rock1 even our enemies themselves being
 judges4  ,has the human heart ever been

 satisfied with these false gods8 ,can  
pleasure or riches fill the soul that is
 empty of ,god8 ,how about the atheist1 
the deist1 the pantheist8 ,what do they 
look forward to8 ,nothing6 ,man's life  
is full of trouble2 but when the billows
 of affliction and disappointment are   
rising and rolling over them1 they have 
no ,god to call upon4 ,they shall cry   
unto the gods unto whom they offer      
incense2 but they shall not save them at
 all in the time of their trouble4      
,therefore ,i contend their rock is not 
as our ,rock4  ,my friends1 when the    
hour of affliction comes1 they call in a
 minister to give consolation4 ,when ,i 
was settled in ,chicago1 ,i used to be  
called out to attend many funerals4 ,i  
would inquire what the man was in his   
belief4 ,if ,i found out he was an      
atheist1 or a deist1 or a pantheist1    
when ,i went to the funeral and in the  
presence of his friends said one word   
about that man's doctrine1 they would   
feel insulted4 ,why is it that in a     

trying hour1 when they have been talking
 all the time against ,god--why is it   
that in the darkness of affliction they 
call in believers in that ,god to       
administer consolation8 ,why doesn't the
 atheist preach no hereafter1 no heaven1
 no ,god1 in the hour of affliction8    
,this very fact is an admission that    
their rock is not as our ,rock1 even our
 enemies themselves being judges4  ,the 
deist says there is no use in praying1  
because nothing can change the decrees  
of deity2 ,god never answers prayer4 ,is
 his rock as our ,rock8  ,the ,bible is 
true4 ,there is only one ,god4 ,how many
 men have said to me3 ,mr4 ,moody1 ,i   
would give the world if ,i had your     
faith1 your consolation1 the hope you   
have with your religion4  ,isn't that a 
proof that their rock is not as our     
,rock8  ,some years ago ,i went into a  
man's house1 and when ,i commenced to   
talk about religion he turned to his    
daughter and said3 ,you had better leave
 the room4 ,i want to say a few words to

 ,mr4 ,moody4 ,when she had gone1 he    
opened a perfect torrent of infidelity  
upon me4 ,why did you send your daughter
 out of the room before you said this8  
,i asked4 ,well1 he replied1 ,i did not 
think it would do her any good to hear  
what ,i said4  ,is his rock as our      
,rock8 ,would he have sent his daughter 
out if he really believed what he said8 
,,no ,,consolation ,,except ,,in ,,god4 
,no4 ,there is no satisfaction for the  
soul except in the ,god of the ,bible4  
,we come back to ,paul's words1 and get 
consolation for time and eternity3--,we 
know that an idol is nothing in the     
world1 and that there is none other ,god
 but one4 ,for though there be that are 
called gods1 whether in heaven or in    
earth1 7as there be gods many1 and lords
 many17 yet to us there is but one ,god1
 the ,father1 of whom are all things1   
and we in ,him2 and one ,lord ,jesus    
,christ1 by whom are all things1 and we 
by ,him4  ,my friend1 can you say that  
sincerely8 ,is all your hope centred on 

,god in ,christ8 ,are you trusting ,him 
alone8 ,are you ready to step into the  
scales and be weighed against this first
 commandment8  ,,whole-,,hearted        
,,allegiance4  ,god will not accept a   
divided heart4 ,he must be absolute     
monarch4 ,there is not room in your     
heart for two thrones4 ,christ said3 ,no
 man can serve two masters2 for either  
he will hate the one and love the other1
 or else he will hold to the one and    
despise the other4 ,ye cannot serve ,god
 and ,mammon4 ,mark you1 ,he did not    
say--,no man shall serve4 4 4 4 ,ye     
shall not serve4 4 4 41 but ,no man can 
serve4 4 4 4 ,ye can not serve4 4 4 4   
,that means more than a command2 it     
means that you cannot mix the worship of
 the true ,god with the worship of      
another god any more than you can mix   
oil and water4 ,it cannot be done4      
,there is not room for any other throne 
in the heart if ,christ is there4 ,if   
worldliness should come in1 godliness   
would go out4  ,the road to heaven and  

the road to hell lead in different      
directions4 ,which master will you      
choose to follow8 ,be an out-and-out    
,christian4 ,him only shalt thou serve4 
,only thus can you be well pleasing to  
,god4 ,the ,jews were punished with     
seventy years of captivity because they 
worshipped false gods4 ,they have       
suffered nearly nineteen hundred years  
because they rejected the ,messiah4     
,will you incur ,god's displeasure by   
rejecting ,christ too8 ,he died to save 
you4 ,trust him with your whole heart1  
for with the heart man believeth unto   
righteousness4  ,i believe that when    
,christ has the first place in our      
hearts--when the kingdom of ,god is     
first in everything--we shall have      
power1 and we shall not have power until
 we give ,him ,his rightful place4 ,if  
we let some false god come in and steal 
our love away from the ,god of heaven1  
we shall have no peace or power4        
,second ,commandment  ,thou shalt not   
make unto thee any graven image1 or any 

likeness of any thing that is in heaven 
above1 or that is in the earth beneath1 
or that is in the water under the earth3
 thou shalt not bow down thyself to     
them1 nor serve them3 for ,i the ,lord  
thy ,god am a jealous ,god1 visiting the
 iniquity of the fathers upon the       
children unto the third and fourth      
generation of them that hate ,me2 and   
shewing mercy unto thousands of them    
that love ,me1 and keep ,my             
commandments4  ,the first commandment1  
which we have just considered1 points   
out the one true object of worship2 this
 commandment is to tell us the right way
 in which to worship4 ,the former       
commands us to worship ,god alone2 this 
calls for purity and spirituality as we 
approach ,him4 ,the former condemns the 
worship of false gods2 this prohibits   
false forms4 ,it relates more especially
 to outward acts of worship2 but these  
are only the expression of what is in   
the heart4  ,perhaps you will say that  
there is no trouble about this weight4  

,we might go off to other ages or other 
lands1 and find people who make images  
and bow down to them2 but we have none  
here4 ,let us see if this is true4 ,let 
us step into the scales and see if we   
can turn them when weighed against this 
commandment4  ,i believe this is where  
the battle is fought4 ,satan tries to   
keep us from worshipping ,god aright1   
and from making ,him first in           
everything4 ,if ,i let some image made  
by man get into my heart and take the   
place of ,god the ,creator1 it is a sin4
 ,i believe that ,satan is willing to   
have us worship anything1 however       
sacred1--the ,bible1 the crucifix1 the  
church1--if only we do not worship ,god 
,himself4  ,you cannot find a place in  
the ,bible where a man has been allowed 
to bow down and worship any one but the 
,god of heaven and ,jesus ,christ ,his  
,son4 ,in the ,book of ,revelation1 when
 an angel came down to ,john1 he was    
about to fall down and worship him1 but 
the angel would not let him4 ,if an     

angel from heaven is not to be          
worshipped1 when you find people bowing 
down to pictures1 to images1 even when  
they bow down to worship the cross1 it  
is a sin4 ,there are a great many who   
seem to be carried away with these      
things4 ,thou shalt have no other gods  
before ,me4 ,thou shalt not bow down    
thyself to any graven image4 ,god wants 
us to worship ,him only1 and if we do   
not believe that ,jesus ,christ is ,god 
manifest in the flesh we should not     
worship ,him4 ,i have no more doubt     
about the divinity of ,christ than ,i   
have that ,i exist4  ,worship involves  
two things3 the internal belief1 and the
 external act4 ,we transgress in our    
hearts by having a wrong conception of  
,god and of ,jesus ,christ before ever  
we give public expression in action4 ,as
 some one has said1 it is wrong to have 
loose opinions as well as to be guilty  
of loose practices4 ,that is what ,paul 
meant when he said3 ,we ought not to    
think that the ,godhead is like unto    

gold or silver or stone1 graven by art  
or man's device4 ,the opinions that some
 people hold about ,christ are not in   
accordance with the ,bible1 and are real
 violations of this second commandment4 
,a ,,question4  ,the question at once   
arises--is this commandment intended to 
forbid the use of drawings and pictures 
of created things altogether8 ,some     
contend that it does4 ,they point to the
 ,jews and the ,mohammedans as a proof4 
,the ,jews have never been much given to
 art4 ,the ,mohammedans to this day do  
not use designs of animals1 etc41 in    
patterns4 ,but ,i do not agree with     
them4 ,i think ,god only meant to forbid
 images and other representations when  
these were intended to be used as       
objects of religious veneration4 ,thou  
shalt not make unto thee4 4 4 4 ,thou   
shalt not bow down thyself to them1 nor 
serve them4 ,in ,exodus we are told that
 ,god ordered the bowls of the golden   
candlestick for the tabernacle to be    
made like unto almonds1 with a knop and 

a flower2 and the robe of the ephod had 
a hem on which they were to put a bell  
and a pomegranate alternately4 ,how     
could ,god order something that broke   
this second commandment8  ,i believe    
that this commandment is a call for     
spiritual worship4 ,it is in line with  
,christ's declaration to that ,samaritan
 woman--,god is a spirit1 and they that 
worship ,him must worship ,him in spirit
 and in truth4  ,this is precisely what 
is difficult for men to do4 ,the        
apostles were hardly in their graves    
before they began to put up images of   
them1 and to worship relics4 ,people    
have a desire for something tangible1   
something that they can see4 ,it is so  
much easier to live in the sense than in
 the spirit4 ,that is why there is a    
demand for ritualism4 ,some people are  
born ,puritans2 they want a simple form 
of worship4 ,others think they cannot   
get along without forms and ceremonies  
that appeal to the senses4 ,and many a  
one whose heart is not sincere before   

,god takes refuge in these forms1 and   
eases his conscience by making an       
outward show of religion4  ,the second  
commandment is to restrain this desire  
and tendency4  ,god is grieved when we  
are untrue to ,him4 ,god is ,love1 and  
,he is wounded when our affections are  
transferred to anything else4 ,the      
penalty attached to this commandment    
teaches us that man has to reap what he 
sows1 whether good or bad2 and not only 
that1 but his children have to reap with
 him4 ,notice that punishment is visited
 upon the children unto the third or the
 fourth generation1 while mercy is shown
 unto thousands1 or 7as it is more      
correctly7 unto the thousandth          
generation4  ,,the ,,folly ,,of         
,,images4  ,think for a moment1 and you 
will see how idle it is to try to make  
any representation of ,god4 ,christians 
have tried to paint the ,trinity1 but   
how can you depict the ,invisible8 ,can 
you draw a picture of your own soul or  
spirit or will8 ,moses impressed it upon

 ,israel that when ,god spake to them   
out of the midst of the fire they saw no
 manner of similitude1 but only heard   
,his voice4  ,a picture or image of ,god
 must degrade our conception of ,him4   
,it fastens us down to one idea1 whereas
 we ought to grow in grace and in       
knowledge4 ,it makes ,god finite4 ,it   
brings him down to our level4 ,it has   
given rise to the horrible idols of     
,india and ,china1 because they fashion 
these images according to their own     
notions4 ,how would the president feel  
if ,americans made such hideous objects 
to resemble him as they make of their   
gods in heathen countries8 ,isaiah bore 
down with tremendous irony upon the     
folly of idol makers3 upon the smith who
 fashioned gods with tongs and hammers2 
and upon the carpenter who took a tree1 
and used part of it for a fire to warm  
himself and roast his meat1 and made    
part of it in the figure of a man with  
his rule and plane and compass1 and     
called it his god and worshipped it4 ,a 

deceived heart hath turned him aside4   
,a man must be greater than anything he 
is able to make or manufacture4 ,what   
folly then to think of worshipping such 
things6  ,the tendency of the human     
heart to represent ,god by something    
that appeals to the senses is the origin
 of all idolatry4 ,it leads directly to 
image-worship4 ,at first there may be no
 desire to worship the thing itself1 but
 it inevitably ends in that4 ,as ,dr4   
,mac,laren says3 ,enlisting the senses  
as allies of the spirit is risky work4  
,they are apt to fight for their own    
band when they once begin1 and the      
history of all symbolical and ceremonial
 worship shows that the experiment is   
much more likely to end in sensualizing 
religion than in spiritualizing sense4  
,,pictures ,,and ,,images4  ,but some   
one says--,i find pictures are a great  
help to me1 and images4 ,i know that    
they are not themselves sacred1 but they
 help me in my devotions to fix my      
thoughts on ,god4  ,when ,dr4 ,trumbull 

was in ,northfield1 he used an          
illustration that is a good answer to   
this4 ,he said1 ,suppose a young man    
were watching from a window for his     
absent mother's return1 with a wish to  
catch the first glimpse of her          
approaching face4 ,would he be wise or  
foolish in putting up a photograph of   
her on the window-frame before him1 as a
 help to bear her in as he looks for her
 coming8 ,as there can be no doubt about
 the answer to that question1 so there  
can be no doubt that we can best come   
into communion with ,god by closing our 
eyes to everything that can be seen with
 the natural eye1 and opening the eyes  
of our spirit to the sight of ,god the  
,spirit4  ,i would a great deal sooner  
have five minutes communion with ,christ
 than spend years before pictures and   
images of ,him4 ,whatever comes between 
my soul and my ,maker is not a help to  
me1 but a hindrance4 ,god has given     
different means of grace by which we can
 approach ,him4 ,let us use these1 and  

not seek for other things that ,he has  
distinctly forbidden4  ,dr4 ,dale says  
that in his college days he had an      
engraving of our ,lord hanging over his 
mantlepiece4 ,the calmness1 the dignity1
 the gentleness1 and the sadness of the 
face represented the highest conceptions
 which ,i had in those days of the human
 presence of ,christ4 ,i often looked at
 it1 and seldom without being touched by
 it4 ,i discovered in the course of a   
few mouths that the superstitious       
sentiments were gradually clustering    
about it1 which are always created by   
the visible representations of the      
,divine4 ,the engraving was becoming to 
me the shrine of ,god manifest in the   
flesh1 and ,i understood the growth of  
idolatry4 ,the visible symbol is at     
first a symbol and nothing more2 it     
assists thought2 it stirs passion4 ,at  
last it is identified with the ,god whom
 it represents4 ,if1 every day1 ,i bow  
before a crucifix in prayer1 if ,i      
address it as though it were ,christ1   

though ,i know it is not1 ,i shall come 
to feel for it a reverence and love     
which are of the very essence of        
idolatry4  ,did you ever stop to think  
that the world has not a single picture 
of ,christ that has been handed down to 
us from ,his disciples8 ,who knows what 
,he was like8 ,the ,bible does not tell 
us how ,he looked1 except in one or two 
isolated general expressions as when it 
says--,his visage was so marred more    
than any man1 and ,his form more than   
the sons of men4 ,we don't know anything
 definite about ,his features1 the color
 of ,his hair and eyes1 and the other   
details that would help to give a true  
representation4 ,what artist can tell   
us8 ,he left no keepsakes to ,his       
disciples4 ,his clothes were seized by  
the ,roman soldiers who crucified ,him4 
,not a solitary thing was left to be    
handed down among ,his followers4       
,doesn't it look as if ,christ left no  
relics lest they should be held sacred  
and worshipped8  ,history tells us      

further that the early ,christians      
shrank from making pictures and statues 
of any kind of ,christ4 ,they knew ,him 
as they had seen ,him after ,his        
resurrection1 and had promises of ,his  
continued presence that pictures could  
not make any more real4  ,i have seen   
very few pictures of ,christ that do not
 repel me more or less4 ,i sometimes    
think that it is wrong to have pictures 
of ,him at all4  ,speaking of the       
crucifix ,dr4 ,dale says2 ,it makes our 
worship and prayer unreal4 ,we are      
adoring a ,christ who does not exist4   
,he is not on the cross now1 but on the 
throne4 ,his agonies are passed forever4
 ,he has risen from the dead4 ,he is at 
the right hand of ,god4 ,if we pray to a
 dying ,christ1 we are praying not to   
,christ ,himself1 but to a mere         
remembrance of ,him4 ,the injury which  
the crucifix has inflicted on the       
religious life of ,christendom1 in      
encouraging a morbid and unreal         
devotion1 is absolutely incalculable4   

,it has given us a dying ,christ instead
 of a living ,christ1 a ,christ         
separated from us by many centuries     
instead of a ,christ nigh at hand4      
,,the ,,indwelling ,,christ4  ,no one   
can say that we have nowadays any need  
of such things4 ,behold ,i stand at the 
door1 and knock3 if any man hear my     
voice1 and open the door1 ,i will come  
in to him1 and will sup with him1 and he
 with me4 ,if ,christ is in our hearts1 
why need we set ,him before our eyes8   
,where two or three are gathered        
together in my name1 there am ,i in the 
midst of them4 ,if we take hold of that 
promise by faith1 what need is there of 
outward symbols and reminders8 ,if the  
,king ,himself is present1 why need we  
bow down before statues supposed to     
represent ,him8 ,to fill ,his place with
 an image 7some one has said17 is like  
blotting the sun out of the heavens and 
substituting some other light in its    
place4 ,you cannot see ,him through     
chinks of ceremonialism2 or through the 

blind eyes of erring man2 or by images  
graven with art and man's device2 or in 
cunningly devised fables of artificial  
and perverted theology4 ,nay1 seek ,him 
in ,his own ,word1 in the revelation of 
,himself which ,he gives to all who walk
 in ,his ways4 ,so you will be able to  
keep that admonition of the last word of
 all the ,new ,testament revelation3    
',little children1 keep yourselves from 
idols4'  ,i believe many an earnest     
,christian would be found wanting if put
 in the balances against this           
commandment4 ,tekel is the sentence that
 would be written against them1 because 
their worship of ,god and of ,christ is 
not pure4 ,may ,god open our eyes to the
 danger that is creeping more and more  
into public worship throughout          
,christendom6 ,let us ever bear in mind 
,christ's words in the fourth chapter of
 ,john's gospel1 which show that true   
spiritual worship is not a matter of    
special times and special places because
 it is of all times and all places3     

,believe me1 the hour cometh1 when ye   
shall neither in this mountain1 nor yet 
at ,jerusalem1 worship the ,father4 ,but
 the hour cometh1 and now is1 when the  
true worshippers shall worship the      
,father in spirit and in truth3 for the 
,father seeketh such to worship ,him4   
,god is a ,spirit3 and they that worship
 ,him must worship ,him in spirit and in
 truth4    ,third ,commandment  ,thou   
shalt not take the name of the ,lord thy
 ,god in vain2 for the ,lord will not   
hold him guiltless that taketh ,his name
 in vain4  ,i was greatly amazed not    
long ago in talking to a man who thought
 he was a ,christian1 to find that once 
in a while1 when he got angry1 he would 
swear4 ,i said3 ,my friend1 ,i don't see
 how you can tear down with one hand    
what you are trying to build up with the
 other4 ,i don't see how you can profess
 to be a child of ,god and let those    
words come out of your lips4  ,he       
replied3 ,mr4 ,moody1 if you knew me you
 would understand4 ,i have a very quick 

temper4 ,i inherited it from my father  
and mother1 and it is uncontrollable2   
but my swearing comes only from the     
lips4  ,when ,god said1 ,i will not hold
 him guiltless that takes ,my name in   
vain1 ,he meant what ,he said1 and ,i   
don't believe any one can be a true     
child of ,god who takes the name of ,god
 in vain4 ,what is the grace of ,god    
for1 if it is not to give me control of 
my temper so that ,i shall not lose     
control and bring down the curse of ,god
 upon myself8 ,when a man is born of    
,god1 ,god takes the swear out of him4  
,make the fountain good1 and the stream 
will be good4 ,let the heart be right2  
then the language will be right2 the    
whole life will be right4 ,but no man   
can serve ,god and keep ,his law until  
he is born of ,god4 ,there we see the   
necessity of the new birth4  ,to take   
,god's name in vain means either 7#a7   
lightly1 without thinking1 flippantly2  
or 7#b7 profanely1 deceitfully4  ,,using
 ,,god',s ,,name ,,irreverently4  ,i    

think it is shocking to use ,god's name 
with so little reverence as is common   
nowadays1 even among professing         
,christians4 ,we are told that the ,jews
 held it so sacred that the covenant    
name of ,god was never mentioned amongst
 them except once a year by the high    
priest on the ,day of ,atonement1 when  
he went into the holy of holies4 ,what a
 contrast that is to the familiar use   
,christians make of it in public and    
private worship6 ,we are apt to rush    
into ,god's presence1 and rush out      
again1 without any real sense of the    
reverence and awe that is due ,him4 ,we 
forget that we are on holy ground4  ,do 
you know how often the word reverend    
occurs in the ,bible8 ,only once4 ,and  
what is it used in connection with8     
,god's name4 ,psalm cxi4 #i3 ,holy and  
reverend is ,his name4 ,so important did
 the ,jewish rabbis consider this       
commandment that they said the whole    
world trembled when it was first        
proclaimed on ,sinai4  ,,using ,,god',s 

,,name ,,profanely4  ,but though there  
is far too much of this frivolous1      
familiar use of ,god's name1 the        
commandment is broken a great deal more 
by profanity4 ,taking the name of ,god  
in vain is blasphemy4 ,is there a       
swearing man who reads this8 ,what would
 you do if you were put into the        
balances of the sanctuary1 if you had to
 step in opposite to this third         
commandment8 ,think a moment4 ,have you 
been taking ,god's name in vain to-day8 
,i do not believe men would ever have   
been guilty of swearing unless ,god had 
forbidden it4 ,they do not swear by     
their friends1 their fathers or mothers1
 their wives or children4 ,they want to 
show how they despise ,god's law4  ,a   
great many men think there is nothing in
 swearing4 ,bear in mind that ,god sees 
something wrong in it1 and ,he says ,he 
will not hold men guiltless1 even though
 society does4  ,i met a man sometime   
ago who told me he had never sinned in  
his life4 ,he was the first perfect man 

,i had ever met4 ,i thought ,i would    
question him1 and began to measure him  
by the law4 ,i asked him3 ,do you ever  
get angry8 ,well1 he said1 sometimes ,i 
do2 but ,i have a right to do so4 ,it is
 righteous indignation4 ,do you swear   
when you get angry8 ,he admitted he did 
sometimes4 ,then1 ,i asked1 are you     
ready to meet ,god8 ,yes1 he replied1   
because ,i never mean anything when ,i  
swear4  ,suppose ,i steal a man's watch 
and he comes after me4  ,yes1 ,i say1 ,i
 stole your watch and pawned it1 but ,i 
did not mean anything by it4 ,i pawned  
it and spent the money1 but ,i did not  
mean anything by it4  ,you would smile  
at and deride such a statement4  ,ah1   
friends6 ,you cannot trifle with ,god in
 that way4 ,even if you swear without   
meaning it1 it is forbidden by ,god4    
,christ said3 ,every idle word that men 
shall speak1 they shall give an account 
thereof in the day of judgment2 for by  
thy words thou shalt be justified1 and  
by thy words thou shalt be condemned4   

,you will be held accountable whether   
your words are idle or blasphemous4  ,a 
,,senseless ,,habit4  ,the habit of     
swearing is condemned by all sensible   
persons4 ,it has been called the most   
gratuitous of all sins1 because no one  
gains by it2 it is not only sinful1 but 
useless4 ,an old writer said that when  
the accusing angel1 who records men's   
words1 flies up to heaven with an oath1 
he blushes as he hands it in4  ,when a  
man blasphemes1 he shows an utter       
contempt for ,god4 ,i was in the army   
during the war1 and heard men cursing   
and swearing4 ,some godly woman would   
pass along the ranks looking for her    
wounded son1 and not an oath would be   
heard4 ,they would not swear before     
their mothers1 or their wives1 or their 
sisters2 they had more respect for them 
than they had for ,god6  ,isn't it a    
terrible condemnation that swearing held
 its own until it came to be recognized 
as a vulgar thing1 a sin against        
society8 ,men dropped it then1 who never

 thought of its being a sin against     
,god4  ,there will be no swearing men in
 the kingdom of ,god4 ,they will have to
 drop that sin1 and repent of it1 before
 they see the kingdom of ,god4  ,,how   
,,to ,,keep ,,from ,,swearing4  ,men    
often ask3 ,how can ,i keep from        
swearing8 ,i will tell you4 ,if ,god    
puts ,his love into your heart1 you will
 have no desire to curse ,him4 ,if you  
have much regard for ,god1 you will no  
more think of cursing ,him than you     
would think of speaking lightly or      
disparagingly of a mother whom you love4
 ,but the natural man is at enmity with 
,god1 and has utter contempt for ,his   
law4 ,when that law is written on his   
heart1 there will be no trouble in      
obeying it4  ,when ,i was out west about
 thirty years ago1 ,i was preaching one 
day in the open air1 when a man drove up
 in a fine turn-out1 and after listening
 a little while to what ,i was saying1  
he put the whip to his fine-looking     
,steed1 and away he went4 ,i never      

expected to see him again1 but the next 
night he came back1 and he kept on      
coming regularly night after night4  ,i 
noticed that his forehead itched--you   
have noticed people who keep putting    
their hands to their foreheads8--he     
didn't want any one to see him shedding 
tears--of course not6 ,it is not a manly
 thing to shed tears in a religions     
meeting1 of course6  ,after the meeting 
,i said to a gentleman3 ,who is that man
 who drives up here every night8 ,is he 
interested8 ,interested6 ,i should think
 not6 ,you should have heard the way he 
talked about you today4 ,well1 ,i said1 
that is a sign he is interested4  ,if no
 man ever has anything to say against   
you1 your ,christianity isn't worth     
much4 ,men said of the ,master1 ,he has 
a devil1 and ,jesus said that if they   
had called the master of the house      
,beelzebub1 how much more them of his   
household4  ,i asked where this man     
lived1 but my friend told me not to go  
to see him1 for he would only curse me4 

,i said3 ,it takes ,god to curse a man2 
man can only bring curses on his own    
head4 ,i found out where he lived1 and  
went to see him4 ,he was the wealthiest 
man within a hundred miles of that      
place1 and had a wife and seven         
beautiful children4 ,just as ,i got to  
his gate ,i saw him coming out of the   
front door4 ,i stepped up to him and    
said3 ,this is ,mr4--1 ,i believe8 ,he  
said3 ,yes1 sir2 that is my name4 ,then 
he straightened up and asked--,what do  
you want8 ,well1 ,i said1 ,i would like 
to ask you a question1 if you won't be  
angry4 ,well1 what is it8 ,i am told    
that ,god has blessed you above all men 
in this part of the country2 that ,he   
has given you wealth1 a beautiful       
,christian wife1 and seven lovely       
children4 ,i do not know if it is true1 
but ,i hear that all ,he gets in return 
is cursing and blasphemy4 ,he said1     
,come in2 come in4 ,i went in4 ,now1 he 
said1 what you said out there is true4  
,if any man has a fine wife ,i am the   

man1 and ,i have a lovely family of     
children1 and ,god has been good to me4 
,but do you know1 we had company here   
the other night1 and ,i cursed my wife  
at the table1 and did not know it till  
after the company had gone4 ,i never    
felt so mean and contemptible in my life
 as when my wife told me of it4 ,she    
said she wanted the floor to open and   
let her down out of her seat4 ,if ,i    
have tried once1 ,i have tried a hundred
 times to stop swearing4 ,you preachers 
don't know anything about it4 ,yes1 ,i  
said1 ,i know all about it2 ,i have been
 a drummer4 ,but1 he said1 you don't    
know anything about a business-man's    
troubles4 ,when he is harassed and      
tormented the whole time1 he can't help 
swearing4 ,oh1 yes1 ,i said1 he can4 ,i 
know something about it4 ,i used to     
swear myself4 ,what6 ,you used to swear8
 he asked2 how did you stop8 ,i never   
stopped4 ,why1 you don't swear now1 do  
you8 ,no2 ,i have not sworn for years4  
,how did you stop8 ,i never stopped4 ,it

 stopped itself4 ,he said1 ,i don't     
understand this4 ,no1 ,i said1 ,i know  
you don't4 ,but ,i came up to talk to   
you1 so that you will never want to     
swear again as long as you live4  ,i    
began to tell him about ,christ in the  
heart2 how that would take the          
temptation to swear out of a man1       
,well1 he said1 how am ,i to get        
,christ8 ,get right down here and tell  
,him what you want4 ,but1 he said1 ,i   
was never on my knees in my life4 ,i    
have been cursing all the day1 and ,i   
don't know how to pray or what to pray  
for4 ,well1 ,i said1 it is mortifying to
 have to call on ,god for mercy when you
 have never used ,his name except in    
oaths2 but ,he will not turn you away4  
,ask ,god to forgive you if you want to 
be forgiven4  ,then the man got down and
 prayed--only a few sentences1 but thank
 ,god1 it is the short prayers1 after   
all1 which bring the quickest answers4  
,after he prayed he got up and said3    
,what shall ,i do now8 ,i said1 ,go down

 to the church and tell the people there
 that you want to be an out-and-out     
,christian4 ,i cannot do that1 he said2 
,i never go to church except to some    
funeral4 ,then it is high time for you  
to go for something else1 ,i said4      
,after a while he promised to go1 but   
did not know what the people would say4 
,at the next church prayer-meeting1 the 
man was there1 and ,i sat right in front
 of him4 ,he stood up and put his hands 
on the settee1 and he trembled so much  
that ,i could feel the settee shake4 ,he
 said3  ,my friends1 you know all about 
me4 ,if ,god can save a wretch like me1 
,i want to have you pray for my         
salvation4  ,that was thirty odd years  
ago4 ,sometime ago ,i was back in that  
town1 and did not see him2 but when ,i  
was in ,california1 a man asked me to   
take dinner with him4 ,i told him that  
,i could not do so1 for ,i had another  
engagement4 ,then he asked if ,i        
remembered him1 and told me his name4   
,oh1 ,i said1 tell me1 have you ever    

sworn since that night you knelt in your
 drawing-room1 and asked ,god to forgive
 you8 ,no1 he replied1 ,i have never had
 a desire to swear since then4 ,it was  
all taken away4  ,he was not only       
converted1 but became an earnest1 active
 ,christian1 and all these years has    
been serving ,god4 ,that is what will   
take place when a man is born of the    
divine nature4  ,is there a swearing man
 ready to put this commandment into the 
scales1 and step in to be weighed8      
,suppose you swear only once in six     
months or a year--suppose you swear only
 once in ten years--do you think ,god   
will hold you guiltless for that act8   
,it shows that your heart is not clean  
in ,god's sight4 ,what are you going to 
do1 blasphemer8 ,would you not be found 
wanting8 ,you would be like a feather in
 the balance4    ,fourth ,commandment   
,remember the sabbath day1 to keep it   
holy4 ,six days shalt thou labor1 and do
 all thy work3 but the seventh day is   
the sabbath of the ,lord thy ,god3 in it

 thou shalt not do any work1 thou1 nor  
thy son1 nor thy daughter1 thy          
manservant1 nor thy maidservant1 nor thy
 cattle1 nor thy stranger that is within
 thy gates3 for in six days the ,lord   
made heaven and earth1 the sea1 and all 
that in them is1 and rested the seventh 
day3 wherefore the ,lord blessed the    
sabbath day1 and hallowed it4  ,there   
has been an awful letting-down in this  
country regarding the sabbath during the
 last twenty-five years1 and many a man 
has been shorn of spiritual power1 like 
,samson1 because he is not straight on  
this question4 ,can you say that you    
observe the sabbath properly8 ,you may  
be a professed ,christian3 are you      
obeying this commandment8 ,or do you    
neglect the house of ,god on the sabbath
 day1 and spend your time drinking and  
carousing in places of vice and crime1  
showing contempt for ,god and ,his law8 
,are you ready to step into the scales8 
,where were you last sabbath8 ,how did  
you spend it8  ,i honestly believe that 

this commandment is just as binding     
to-day as it ever was4 ,i have talked   
with men who have said that it has been 
abrogated1 but they have never been able
 to point to any place in the ,bible    
where ,god repealed it4 ,when ,christ   
was on earth1 ,he did nothing to set it 
aside2 ,he freed it from the traces     
under which the scribes and ,pharisees  
had put it1 and gave it its true place4 
,the sabbath was made for man1 not man  
for the sabbath4 ,it is just as         
practicable and as necessary for men    
to-day as it ever was--in fact1 more    
than ever1 because we live in such an   
intense age4  ,the sabbath was binding  
in ,eden1 and it has been in force ever 
since4 ,this fourth commandment begins  
with the word remember1 showing that the
 sabbath already existed when ,god wrote
 this law on the tables of stone at     
,sinai4 ,how can men claim that this one
 commandment has been done away with    
when they will admit that the other nine
 are still binding8  ,i believe that the

 sabbath question to-day is a vital one 
for the whole country4 ,it is the       
burning question of the present time4   
,if you give up the sabbath the church  
goes2 if you give up the church the home
 goes2 and if the home goes the nation  
goes4 ,that is the direction in which we
 are traveling4  ,the church of ,god is 
losing its power on account of so many  
people giving up the sabbath1 and using 
it to promote selfishness4  ,,how ,,to  
,,observe ,,the ,,sabbath4  ,sabbath    
means rest1 and the meaning of the word 
gives a hint as to the true way to      
observe the day4 ,god rested after      
creation1 and ordained the sabbath as a 
rest for man4 ,he blessed it and        
hallowed it4 ,remember the rest-day to  
keep it holy4 ,it is the day when the   
body may be refreshed and strengthened  
after six days of labor1 and the soul   
drawn into closer fellowship with its   
,maker4  ,true observance of the sabbath
 may be considered under two general    
heads3 cessation from ordinary secular  

work1 and religious exercises4          
,i4--,,cessation ,,from ,,secular       
,,work4  ,a man ought to turn aside from
 his ordinary employment one day in     
seven4 ,there are many whose occupation 
will not permit them to observe ,sunday1
 but they should observe some other day 
as a sabbath4 ,saturday is my day of    
rest because ,i generally preach on     
,sunday1 and ,i look forward to it as a 
boy does to a holiday4 ,god knows what  
we need4  ,ministers and missionaries   
often tell me that they take no         
rest-day2 they do not need it because   
they are in the ,lord's work4 ,that is a
 mistake4 ,when ,god was giving ,moses  
instructions about the building of the  
tabernacle1 ,he referred especially to  
the sabbath1 and gave injunctions for   
its strict observance2 and later1 when  
,moses was conveying the words of the   
,lord to the children of ,israel1 he    
interpreted them by saying that not even
 were sticks to be gathered on the      
sabbath to kindle fires for smelting or 

other purposes4 ,in spite of their zeal 
and haste to erect the tabernacle1 the  
workmen were to have their day of rest4 
,the command applies to ministers and   
others engaged in ,christian work to-day
 as much as to those ,israelite workmen 
of old4  ,,works ,,of ,,necessity ,,and 
,,of ,,emergency4  ,in judging whether  
any work may or may not be lawfully done
 on the sabbath1 find out the reason and
 object for doing it4 ,exceptions are to
 be made for works of necessity and     
works of emergency4 ,by works of        
necessity ,i mean those acts that       
,christ justified when ,he approved of  
leading one's ox or ass to water4       
,watchmen1 police1 stokers on board     
steamers1 and many others have          
engagements that necessitate their      
working on the sabbath4 ,by works of    
emergency ,i mean those referred to by  
,christ when ,he approved of pulling an 
ox or an ass out of a pit on the sabbath
 day4 ,in case of fire or sickness a man
 is often called on to do things that   

would not otherwise be justifiable4  ,a 
,christian man was once urged by his    
employer to work on ,sunday4 ,does not  
your ,bible say that if your ass falls  
into a pit on the sabbath1 you may pull 
him out8 ,yes1 replied the other2 but if
 the ass had the habit of falling into  
the same pit every sabbath1 ,i would    
either fill up the pit or sell the ass4 
,every man must settle the question as  
it effects unnecessary work1 with his   
own conscience4  ,no man should make    
another work seven days in the week4    
,one day is demanded for rest4 ,a man   
who has to work the seven days has      
nothing to look forward to1 and life    
becomes humdrum4 ,many ,christians are  
guilty in this respect4  ,,sabbath      
,,traveling4  ,take1 for instance1 the  
question of sabbath traveling4 ,i       
believe we are breaking ,god's laws by  
using the cars on ,sunday and depriving 
conductors and others of their sabbath4 
,remember the fourth commandment        
expressly refers to the stranger that is

 within thy gates4 ,doesn't that touch  
sabbath travel8  ,but you ask1 ,what are
 we to do8 ,how are we to get to church8
  ,i reply1 on foot4 ,it will be better 
for you4 ,once when ,i was holding      
meetings in ,london1 in my ignorance ,i 
made arrangements to preach four times  
in different places one sabbath4 ,after 
,i had made the appointments ,i found ,i
 had to walk sixteen miles2 but ,i      
walked it1 and ,i slept that night with 
a clear conscience4 ,i have made it a   
rule never to use the cars1 and if ,i   
have a private carriage1 ,i insist that 
horse and man shall rest on ,monday4 ,i 
want no hackman to rise up in judgment  
against me4  ,my friends1 if we want to 
help the sabbath1 let business men and  
,christians never patronize cars on the 
sabbath4 ,i would hate to own stock in  
those companies1 to be the means of     
taking the sabbath from these men1 and  
have to answer for it at the day of     
judgment4 ,let those who are ,christians
 at any rate endeavor to keep a         

conscience void of offence on this      
point4  ,,sabbath ,,trading4  ,there are
 many who are inclined to use the       
sabbath in order to make money faster4  
,this is no new sin4 ,the prophet ,amos 
hurled his invectives against oppressors
 who said1 ,when will the new moon be   
gone1 that we may sell corn8 and the    
sabbath1 that we may set forth wheat8   
,covetous men have always chafed under  
the restraint1 but not until the present
 time do we find that they have openly  
counted on sabbath trade to make money4 
,we are told that many street car       
companies would not pay if it were not  
for the sabbath traffic1 and the sabbath
 edition of newspapers is also counted  
upon as the most profitable4  ,the      
railroad men of this country are        
breaking down with softening of the     
brain1 and die at the age of fifty or   
sixty4 ,they think their business is so 
important that they must run their      
trains seven days in the week4 ,business
 men travel on the sabbath so as to be  

on hand for business ,monday morning4   
,but if they do so ,god will not prosper
 them4  ,work is good for man and is    
commanded1 ,six days shalt thou labor2  
but overwork and work on the sabbath    
takes away the best thing he has4       
,,necessary ,,and ,,beneficial4  ,the   
good effect on a nation's health and    
happiness produced by the return of the 
sabbath1 with its cessation from work1  
cannot be overestimated4 ,it is needed  
to repair and restore the body after six
 days of work4 ,it is proved that a man 
can do more in six days than in seven4  
,lord ,beaconsfield4 said3 ,of all      
divine institutions1 the most divine is 
that which secures a day of rest for    
man4 ,i hold it to be the most valuable 
blessing conceded to man4 ,it is the    
corner-stone of all civilization1 and   
its removal might affect even the health
 of the people4 ,mr4 ,gladstone recently
 told a friend that the secret of his   
long life is that amid all the pressure 
of public cares he never forgot the     

sabbath1 with its rest for the body and 
the soul4 ,the constitution of the      
,united ,states protects the president  
in his weekly day of rest4 ,he has ten  
days1 ,sundays excepted1 in which to    
consider a bill that has been sent to   
him for signature4 ,every workingman in 
the republic ought to be as thoroughly  
protected as the president4 ,if         
workingmen got up a strike against      
unnecessary work on the sabbath1 they   
would have the sympathy of a good many4 
,our bodies are seven-day clocks1 says  
,talmage1 and they need to be wound up1 
and if they are not wound up they run   
down into the grave4 ,no man can        
continuously break the sabbath and keep 
his physical and mental health4 ,ask    
aged men1 and they will tell you they   
never knew men who continuously broke   
the sabbath1 who did not fail in mind1  
body1 or moral principles4  ,all that   
has been said about rest for man is true
 for working animals4 ,god didn't forget
 them in this commandment1 and man      

should not forget them either4          
,,ii4--,,religious ,,activity4  ,but    
rest does not mean idleness4 ,no man    
enjoys idleness for any length of time4 
,when one goes on a vacation1 one does  
not lie around doing nothing all the    
time4 ,hard work at tennis1 hunting1 and
 other pursuits fills the hours4 ,a     
healthy mind must find something to do4 
,hence the sabbath rest does not mean   
inactivity4 ,satan finds some mischief  
still for idle hands to do4 ,the best   
way to keep off bad thoughts and to     
avoid temptation is to engage in active 
religious exercises4  ,as regards these1
 we should avoid extremes4 ,on the one  
hand we find a rigor in sabbath         
observance that is nowhere commanded in 
,scripture1 and that reminds one of the 
formalism of the ,pharisees more than of
 the spirit of the gospel4 ,such        
strictness does more harm than good4 ,it
 repels people and makes the sabbath a  
burden4 ,on the other hand we should    
jealously guard against a loose way of  

keeping the sabbath4 ,already in many   
cities it is profaned openly4  ,when ,i 
was a boy the sabbath lasted from       
sundown on ,saturday to sundown on      
,sunday1 and ,i remember how we boys    
used to shout when it was over4 ,it was 
the worst day in the week to us4 ,i     
believe it can be made the brightest day
 in the week4 ,every child ought to be  
reared so that he shall be able to say1 
with a friend1 that he would rather have
 the other six days weeded out of his   
memory than the sabbath of his          
childhood4  ,,public ,,worship4  ,make  
the sabbath a day of religious activity4
 ,first of all1 of course1 is attendance
 at public worship4 ,there is a         
discrepancy1 says ,john ,mc,neill1      
between our creed about the sabbath day 
and our actual conduct4 ,in many        
families1 at ten o'clock on the sabbath1
 attendance at church is still an open  
question4 ,there is no open question on 
,monday morning--',john1 will you go to 
work to-day8'  ,a minister rebuked a    

farmer for not attending church1 and    
said1 ,you know ,john you are never     
absent from market4  ,o1 was the reply1 
we must go to market4  ,some one has    
said that without the sabbath the church
 of ,christ could not1 as a visible     
organization1 exist on earth4 ,another  
has said that we need to be in the drill
 of observance as well as in the liberty
 of faith4 ,human nature is so          
treacherous that we are apt to omit     
things altogether unless there is some  
special reason for doing them4 ,a man is
 not likely to worship at all unless he 
has regularly appointed times and means 
for worship4 ,family and private        
devotions are almost certain to be      
omitted altogether unless one gets into 
the habit1 and has a special time set   
apart daily4  ,a ,,reminiscence4  ,i    
remember blaming my mother for sending  
me to church on the sabbath4 ,on one    
occasion the preacher had to send some  
one into the gallery to wake me up4 ,i  
thought it was hard to have to work in  

the field all the week1 and then to be  
obliged to go to church and hear a      
sermon ,i didn't understand4 ,i thought 
,i wouldn't go to church any more when  
,i got away from home2 but ,i had got so
 in the habit of going that ,i couldn't 
stay away4 ,after one or two sabbaths1  
back again to the house of ,god ,i went4
 ,there ,i first found ,christ1 and ,i  
have often said since1  ,mother1 ,i     
thank you for making me go to the house 
of ,god when ,i didn't want to go4      
,parents1 if you want your children to  
grow up and honor you1 have them honor  
the sabbath day4 ,don't let them go off 
fishing1 and getting into bad company1  
or it won't be long before they will    
come home and curse you4 ,i know few    
things more beautiful than to see a     
father and mother coming up the aisle   
with their daughters and sons1 and      
sitting down together to hear the ,word 
of ,god4 ,it is a good thing to have the
 children1 not in some remote loft or   
gallery1 but in a good place1 well in   

sight4 ,though they cannot understand   
the sermon now1 when they get older they
 won't desire to break away1 they will  
continue attending public worship in the
 house of ,god4  ,but we must not       
mistake the means for the end4 ,we must 
not think that the sabbath is just for  
the sake of being able to attend        
meetings4 ,there are some people who    
think they must spend the whole day at  
meetings or private devotions4 ,the     
result is that at nightfall they are    
tired out1 and the day has brought them 
no rest4 ,the number of church services 
attended ought to be measured by the    
person's ability to enjoy them and get  
good from them1 without being wearied4  
,attending meetings is not the only way 
to observe the sabbath4 ,the ,israelites
 were commanded to keep it in their     
dwellings as well as in holy            
convocation4 ,the home1 that centre of  
so great influence over the life and    
character of the people1 ought to be    
made the scene of true sabbath          

observance4  ,,home ,,observance4       
,jeremiah classified godless families   
with the heathen3 ,pour out thy fury    
upon the heathen that know thee not1 and
 upon the families that call not on thy 
name3 for they have eaten up ,jacob1    
devoured him1 and consumed him1 and have
 made his habitation desolate4  ,many   
mothers have written to me at one time  
or another to know what to do to        
entertain their children on the sabbath4
 ,the boys say1 ,i do wish 'twas ,night1
 or1 ,i do hate the sabbath1 or1 ,i do  
wish the sabbath was over4 ,it ought to 
be the happiest day in the week to them1
 one to be looked forward to with       
pleasure4 ,in order to this end1 many   
suggestions might be followed4 ,make    
family prayers especially attractive by 
having the children learn some verse or 
story from the ,bible4 ,give more time  
to your children than you can give on   
week days1 reading to them and perhaps  
taking them to walk in the afternoon or 
evening4 ,show by your conduct that the 

sabbath is a delight1 and they will soon
 catch your spirit4 ,set aside some time
 for religious instruction1 without     
making this a task4 ,you can make it    
interesting for the children by telling 
,bible stories and asking them to guess 
the names of the characters4 ,have      
,sunday games for the younger children4 
,picture books1 puzzle maps of          
,palestine1 etc41 can be easily         
obtained4 ,sunday albums and ,sunday    
clocks are other devices4 ,set aside    
attractive books for the sabbath1 not   
letting the children have these during  
the week4 ,by doing this1 the children  
can be brought to look forward to the   
day with eagerness and pleasure4        
,,private ,,observance4  ,apart from    
public and family observance1 the       
individual ought to devote a portion of 
the time to his own edification4        
,prayer1 meditation1 reading1 ought not 
to be forgotten4 ,think of men devoting 
six days a week to their body1 which    
will soon pass away1 and begrudging one 

day to the soul which will live on and  
on forever3 ,is it too much for ,god to 
ask for one day to be devoted to the    
growth and training of the spiritual    
senses1 when the other senses are kept  
busy the other six days8  ,if your      
circumstances permit1 engage in some    
definite ,christian work--such as       
teaching in ,sunder school1 or visiting 
the sick4 ,do all the good you can ,sin 
keeps no sabbath1 and no more should    
good deeds4 ,there is plenty of         
opportunity in this fallen world to     
perform works of mercy and religion4    
,make your sabbath down here a foretaste
 of the eternal sabbath that is in store
 for believers4  ,you want power in your
 ,christian life1 do you8 ,you want     
,holy ,ghost power8 ,you want the dew of
 heaven on your brow8 ,you want to see  
men convicted and converted8 ,i don't   
believe we shall ever have genuine      
conversions until we get straight on    
this law of ,god4  ,,sabbath            
,,desecration4  ,men seem to think they 

have a right to change the holy day into
 a holiday4 ,the young have more        
temptations to break the sabbath than we
 had forty years ago4 ,there are three  
great temptations3 first1 the trolley   
car1 that will take you off into the    
country for a nickel to have a day of   
recreation2 second1 the bicycle1 which  
is leading a good many ,christian men to
 give up their sabbath and spend the day
 on excursions2 and the third1 the      
,sunday newspaper4  ,twenty years ago   
,christian people in ,chicago would have
 been horrified if any one had          
prophesied that all the theatres would  
be open every sabbath2 but that is what 
has come to pass4 ,if it had been       
prophesied twenty years ago that        
,christian men would take a wheel and go
 off on ,sunday morning and be gone all 
day on an excursion1 ,christians would  
have been horrified and would have said 
it was impossible2 but that is what is  
going on to-day all over the country4   
,,the ,,sunday ,,newspaper4  ,with      

regard to the ,sunday newspaper1 ,i know
 all the arguments that are brought in  
its favor--that the work on it is done  
during the week1 that it is the ,monday 
paper that causes ,sunday work1 and so  
on4 ,but there are two hundred thousand 
newsboys selling the paper on ,sunday4  
,would you like to have your boy one of 
them8 ,men are kept running trains in   
order to distribute the papers4 ,would  
you like your sabbath taken away from   
you8 ,if not1 then practise the ,golden 
,rule1 and don't touch the papers4      
,their contents make them unfit for     
reading any day1 not to say ,sunday4    
,some ,new ,york dailies advertise      
,sunday editions of sixty pages4 ,many  
dirty pieces of scandal in this and     
other countries are raked up and put    
into them4 ,eight pages of fun6--that is
 splendid reading for ,sunday1 isn't it8
 ,even when a so-called sermon is       
printed1 it is completely buried by the 
fiction and news matter4 ,it is time    
that ministers went into their pulpits  

and preached against ,sunday newspapers 
if they haven't done it already4 ,put   
the man in the scales that buys and     
reads ,sunday papers4 ,after reading    
them for two or three hours he might go 
and hear the best sermon in the world1  
but you couldn't preach anything into   
him4 ,his mind is filled up with what he
 has read1 and there is no room for     
thoughts of ,god4 ,i believe that the   
archangel ,gabriel himself could not    
make an impression on an audience that  
has its head full of such trash4 ,if you
 bored a hole into a man's head1 you    
could not inject any thoughts of ,god   
and heaven4  ,i don't believe that the  
publishers would allow their own        
children to read them4 ,why then should 
they give them to my children and to    
yours8  ,a merchant who advertises in   
,sunday papers is not keeping the       
sabbath4 ,it is a master-stroke of the  
devil to induce ,christian men to do    
this in order to make trade for ,monday4
 ,but if a man makes money1 and yet his 

sons are ruined and his home broken up1 
what has he gained8  ,ladies buy the    
,sunday papers and read the             
advertisements of ,monday bargains to   
see what they can buy cheap4 ,just so   
with their religion4 ,they are willing  
to have it if it doesn't cost anything4 
,if ,christian men and women refused to 
buy them1 if ,christian merchants       
refused to advertise in them1 they would
 soon die out1 because that is where    
they get most of their support4  ,they  
tell me the ,sunday paper has come to   
stay1 and ,i may as well let it alone4  
,never6 ,i believe it is a great evil1  
and ,i shall fight it while ,i live4 ,i 
never read a ,sunday paper1 and wouldn't
 have one in my house4 ,they are often  
sent me1 but ,i tear them up without    
reading them4 ,i will have nothing to do
 with them4 ,they do more harm to       
religion than any other one agency ,i   
know4 ,their whole influence is against 
keeping the sabbath holy4 ,they are an  
unnecessary evil4 ,can't a man read     

enough news on week days without        
desecrating the sabbath8 ,we had no     
,sunday papers till the war came1 and we
 got along very well without them4 ,they
 have been increasing in size and in    
number ever since then1 and ,i think    
they have been lowering their tone ever 
since4 ,if you believe that1 help to    
fight them too4 ,stamp them out1        
beginning with yourself4  ,,punishment  
,,or ,,blessing8  ,no nation has ever   
prospered that has trampled the sabbath 
in the dust4 ,show me a nation that has 
done this1 and ,i will show you a nation
 that has got in it the seeds of ruin   
and decay4 ,i believe that sabbath      
desecration will carry a nation down    
quicker than anything else4 ,adam       
brought marriage and the sabbath with   
him out of ,eden1 and neither can be    
disregarded without suffering4 ,when the
 children of ,israel went into the      
,promised ,land ,god told them to let   
their land rest every seven years1 and  
,he would give them as much in six years

 as in seven4 ,for four hundred and     
ninety years they disregarded that law4 
,but mark you1 ,nebuchadnezzar came and 
took them off into ,babylon1 and kept   
them seventy years in captivity1 and the
 land had its seventy sabbaths of rest4 
,seven times seventy is four hundred and
 ninety4 ,so they did not gain much by  
breaking this law4 ,you can give ,god   
,his day1 or ,he will take it4  ,on the 
other hand1 honoring the fourth         
commandment brings blessing4 ,if thou   
turn away thy foot from the sabbath1    
from doing thy pleasure on my holy day2 
and call the sabbath a delight1 the holy
 of the ,lord1 honorable2 and shalt     
honor ,him1 not doing thine own ways1   
nor finding thine own pleasure1 nor     
speaking thine own words 7'thine own' as
 contrasted with what ,god enjoins71    
then shalt thou delight thyself in the  
,lord2 and ,i will cause thee to ride   
upon the high places of the earth1 and  
feed thee with the heritage of ,jacob   
thy father1 for the mouth of the ,lord  

hath spoken it4  ,i do not know what    
will become of this republic if we give 
up our ,christian sabbath4 ,if ,satan   
can break the conscience down on one    
point1 he can break it down on all4     
,when ,i was in ,france in #ahfg1 ,i    
could not tell one day from the other4  
,on ,sunday stores were open and        
buildings were erected1 the same as on  
other days4 ,see how quickly that       
country went down4 ,one hundred years   
ago ,france and ,england stood abreast  
in the march of nations4 ,where do they 
stand to-day8 ,france undertook to wipe 
out the sabbath1 and has pretty nearly  
wiped itself out1 while ,england belts  
the globe4  ,a ,,firm ,,stand4  ,we have
 a fighting chance to save this nation1 
and what we want is men and women who   
have moral courage to stand up and say3 
,no1 ,i will not touch the ,sunday      
paper1 and all the influence ,i have ,i 
will throw dead against it4 ,i will not 
go away on ,saturday evening if ,i have 
to travel on ,sunday to get back4 ,i    

will not do unnecessary work on the     
sabbath4 ,i will do all ,i can to keep  
it holy as ,god commanded4  ,but some   
one says3 ,mr4 ,moody1 what are you     
going to do8 ,i have to work seven days 
a week or starve4  ,then starve6        
,wouldn't it be a grand thing to have a 
martyr in the nineteenth century8 ,the  
blood of the martyrs is the seed of the 
church4 ,some one says the seed is      
getting very low2 it has been a long    
time since we have had any seed4 ,i     
would give something to erect a monument
 to such a martyr to his fidelity to    
,god's law4 ,i would go around the world
 to attend his funeral4  ,we want to-day
 men who will make up their minds to do 
what is right1 and stand by it if the   
heavens tumble on their heads4 ,what is 
to become of ,christian ,associations   
and ,sunday ,schools1 of churches and   
,christian ,endeavor ,societies1 if the 
,christian sabbath is given up to       
recreation1 and made a holiday8 ,hasn't 
the time come to call a halt if men want

 power with ,god8 ,let men call you     
narrow and bigoted1 but be man enough to
 stand by ,god's law1 and you will have 
power and blessing4 ,that is the kind of
 ,christianity we want just now in this 
country4 ,any man can go with the crowd1
 but we want men who will go against the
 current4  ,sabbath-breaker1 are you    
ready to step into the scales8    ,fifth
 ,commandment  ,honor thy father and thy
 mother3 that thy days may be long upon 
the land which the ,lord thy ,god giveth
 thee4  ,we are living in dark days on  
this question too4 ,it really seems as  
if the days the apostle ,paul wrote     
about are upon us3 ,in the last days    
perilous times shall come2 for men shall
 be lovers of their own selves1         
covetous1 boasters1 proud1 blasphemers1 
disobedient to parents1 unthankful1     
unholy1 without natural affection1      
despisers of those that are good1 4 4 4 
4 ,if ,paul was alive to-day1 could he  
have described the present state of     
affairs more truly8 ,there are perhaps  

more men in this country that are       
breaking the hearts of their fathers and
 mothers1 and trampling on the law of   
,god1 than in any other civilized       
country in the world4 ,how many sons    
treat their parents with contempt1 and  
make light of their entreaties8 ,a young
 man will have the kindest care from    
parents2 they will watch over him1 and  
care for all his wants2 and some bad    
companion will come in and sweep him    
away from them in a few weeks4 ,how many
 young ladies have married against their
 parents' wishes1 and have gone off and 
made their own life bitter6 ,i never    
knew one case that did not turn out     
badly4 ,they invariably bring ruin upon 
themselves1 unless they repent4  ,,begin
 ,,in ,,the ,,home4  ,the first four    
commandments deal with our relations to 
,god4 ,they tell us how to worship and  
when to worship2 they forbid irreverence
 and impiety in word and act4 ,now ,god 
turns to our relations with each other1 
and isn't it significant that ,he deals 

first with family life8 ,god is going to
 show us our duty to our neighbor4 ,how 
does ,he begin8 ,not by telling us how  
kings ought to reign1 or how soldiers   
ought to fight1 or how merchants ought  
to conduct their business1 but how boys 
and girls ought to behave at home4  ,we 
can see that if their home life is all  
right1 they are almost sure to fulfil   
the law both in regard to ,god and man4 
,parents stand in the place of ,god to  
their children in a great many ways     
until the children arrive at years of   
discretion4 ,if the children are true to
 their parents1 it will be easier for   
them to be true to ,god4 ,he used the   
human relationship as a symbol of our   
relationship to ,him both by creation   
and by grace4 ,god is our ,father in    
heaven4 ,we are ,his offspring4  ,on the
 other hand1 if they have not learned to
 be obedient and respectful at home1    
they are likely to have little respect  
for the law of the land4 ,it is all in  
the heart2 and the heart is prepared at 

home for good or bad conduct outside4   
,the tree grows the way the twig is     
bent4  ,honor thy father and thy mother4
 ,that word honor means more than mere  
obedience--a child may obey through     
fear4 ,it means love and affection1     
gratitude1 respect4 ,we are told that in
 the east the words father and mother   
include those who are superiors in age1 
wisdom and in civil or religious        
station1 so that when the ,jews were    
taught to honor their father and mother 
it included all who were placed over    
them in these relations1 as well as     
their parents4 ,isn't there a crying    
need for that same feeling to-day8 ,the 
lawlessness of the present time is a    
natural consequence of the growing      
absence of a feeling of respect for     
those in authority4  ,,honor ,,thy      
,,mother4  ,it has been pointed out as  
worthy of notice that this commandment  
enjoins honor for the mother1 and yet in
 eastern countries to the present day   
woman is held of little account4 ,when  

,i was in ,palestine a few years ago1   
the prettiest girl in ,jericho was sold 
by her father in exchange for a donkey4 
,in many ancient nations1 just as in    
certain parts of heathendom today1 the  
parents are killed off as soon as they  
become old and feeble4 ,can't we see the
 hand of ,god here1 raising the woman to
 her rightful position of honor out of  
the degradation into which she had been 
dragged by heathenism8  ,honor thy      
father and thy mother that thy days may 
be long upon the land which the ,lord   
thy ,god giveth thee4 ,i believe that we
 must get back to the old truths4 ,you  
may make light of it1 and laugh at it1  
young man1 but remember that ,god has   
given this commandment1 and you cannot  
set it aside4 ,if we get back to this   
law1 we shall have power and blessing4  
,,temporal ,,blessing ,,or ,,curse4  ,i 
believe it to be literally true that our
 temporal condition depends on the way  
we act upon this commandment4 ,honor thy
 father and mother1 7which is the first 

commandment with promise71 that it may  
be well with thee1 and that thou mayest 
live long on the earth4 ,honor thy      
father and thy mother1 as the ,lord thy 
,god hath commanded thee2 that thy days 
may be prolonged1 and that it may go    
well with thee1 in the land which the   
,lord thy ,god giveth thee4 ,cursed is  
he that setteth light by his father or  
mother4 ,whoso curseth his father or    
mother1 his lamp shall be put out in    
obscure darkness4 ,it would be easy to  
multiply texts from the ,bible to prove 
this truth4 ,experience teaches the same
 thing4 ,a good1 loving son generally   
turns out better than a refractory son4 
,obedience and respect at home prepare  
the way for obedience to the employer1  
and are joined with other virtues that  
help toward a prosperous career1 crowned
 with a ripe1 honored old age4          
,disobedience and disrespect for parents
 are often the first steps in the       
downward track4 ,many a criminal has    
testified that this is the point where  

he first went astray4 ,i have lived over
 sixty years1 and ,i have learned one   
thing if ,i have learned nothing        
else--that no man or woman who dishonors
 father or mother ever prospers4  ,young
 man1 young woman1 how do you treat your
 parents8 ,tell me that1 and ,i will    
tell you how you are going to get on in 
life4 ,when ,i hear a young man speaking
 contemptuously of his grey-haired      
father or mother1 ,i say he has sunk    
very low indeed4 ,when ,i see a young   
man as polite as any gentleman can be   
when he is out in society1 but who snaps
 up his mother and speaks unkindly to   
his father1 ,i would not give the snap  
of my finger for his religion4 ,if there
 is any man or woman on earth that ought
 to be treated kindly and tenderly1 it  
is that loving mother or that loving    
father4 ,if they cannot have your regard
 through life1 what reward are they to  
have for all their care and anxiety8    
,think how they loved you and provided  
for you in your early days4  ,a         

,,mother',s ,,love4  ,let your mind go  
back to the time when you were ill4 ,did
 your mother neglect you8 ,when a       
neighbor came in and said1 ,now1 mother1
 you go and lie down2 you have been up  
for a week2 ,i will take your place for 
a night--did she do it8 ,no2 and if the 
poor worn body forced her to it at last1
 she lay watching1 and if she heard your
 voice1 she was at your side directly1  
anticipating all your wants1 wiping the 
perspiration away from your brow4 ,if   
you wanted water1 how soon you got it6  
,she would gladly have taken the disease
 into her own body to save you4 ,her    
love for you would drive her to any     
lengths4 ,no matter to what depths of   
vice and misery you have sunk1 no matter
 how profligate you have grown1 she has 
not turned you out of her heart4        
,perhaps she loves you all the more     
because you are wayward4 ,she would draw
 you back by the bands of a love that   
never dies4  ,,filial ,,ingratitude4    
,when ,i was in ,england1 ,i read of a  

man who professed to be a ,christian1   
who was brought before the magistrate   
for not supporting his aged father4 ,he 
had let him go to the workhouse4 ,my    
friends1 ,i'd rather be content with a  
crust of bread and a drink of water than
 let my father or mother go to the      
workhouse4 ,the idea of a professing    
,christian doing such a thing6 ,god have
 mercy on such a godless ,christianity  
as that6 ,it is a withered up thing1 and
 the breath of heaven will drive it     
away4 ,don't profess to love ,god and do
 a thing like that4  ,a friend of mine  
told me of a poor man who had sent his  
son to school in the city4 ,one day the 
father was hauling some wood into the   
city1 perhaps to pay his boy's bills4   
,the young man was walking down the     
street with two of his school friends1  
all dressed in the very height of       
fashion4 ,his father saw him1 and was so
 glad that he left his wood1 and went to
 the sidewalk to speak to him4 ,but the 
boy was ashamed of his father1 who had  

on his old working clothes1 and spurned 
him1 and said3  ,i don't know you4      
,will such a young man ever amount to   
anything8 ,never6  ,i remember a very   
promising young man whom ,i had in the  
,sunday school in ,chicago4 ,his father 
was a confirmed drunkard1 and his mother
 took in washing to educate her four    
children4 ,this was her eldest son1 and 
,i thought that he was going to redeem  
the whole family4 ,but one day a thing  
happened that made him go down in my    
estimation4  ,the boy was in the high   
school1 and was a very bright scholar4  
,one day he stood with his mother at the
 cottage door--it was a poor house1 but 
she could not pay for their schooling1  
and feed and clothe her children1 and   
hire a very good house too1 out of her  
earnings4 ,when they were talking a     
young man from the high school came up  
the street1 and this boy walked away    
from his mother4 ,next day the young man
 said3  ,who was that ,i saw you talking
 to yesterday8  ,oh1 that was my        

washerwoman4  ,i said3 ,poor fellow6 ,he
 will never amount to anything4  ,that  
was a good many years ago4 ,i have kept 
my eye on him4 ,he has gone down1 down1 
down1 and now he is just a miserable    
wreck4 ,of course he would go down4     
,ashamed of his mother that loved him   
and toiled for him1 and bore so much    
hardship for him6 ,i cannot tell you the
 contempt ,i had for that one act4  ,let
 us look at  ,a ,,brighter ,,picture4   
,some years ago ,i heard of a poor woman
 who sent her boy to school and college4
 ,when he was to graduate1 he wrote his 
mother to come1 but she sent back word  
that she could not because her only     
skirt had already been turned once4 ,she
 was so shabby that she was afraid he   
would be ashamed of her4 ,he wrote back 
that he didn't care how she was dressed1
 and urged so strongly that she went4   
,he met her at the station1 and took her
 to a nice place to stay4 ,the day came 
for his graduation1 and he walked down  
the broad aisle with that poor mother   

dressed very shabbily1 and put her into 
one of the best seats in the house4 ,to 
her great surprise he was the           
valedictorian of the class1 and he      
carried everything before him4 ,he won a
 prize1 and when it was given to him1 he
 stepped down before the whole audience1
 and kissed his mother1 and said3       
,here1 mother1 here is the prize4 ,it is
 yours4 ,i would not have had it if it  
had not been for you4  ,thank ,god for  
such a man6  ,the one glimpse the ,bible
 gives us of thirty out of the          
thirty-three years of ,christ's life on 
earth shows that ,he did not come to    
destroy this fifth commandment4 ,the    
secret of all those silent years is     
embodied in that verse in ,luke's       
,gospel--,and ,he went down with them   
and came to ,nazareth1 and was subject  
to them4 ,did ,he not set an example of 
true filial love and care when in the   
midst of the agonies of the cross ,he   
mode provision for ,his mother8 ,did ,he
 not condemn the miserable evasions of  

this law by the ,pharisees of ,his own  
day3  ,well did ,isaiah prophesy of you 
hypocrites1 as it is written1 ,this     
people honoreth me with their lips1 but 
their heart is far from me4 ,but in vain
 do they worship me1 teaching as their  
doctrines the precepts of men4 4 4 4    
,full well do ye reject the commandment 
of ,god1 that ye may keep your          
tradition4 ,for ,moses said1 ,honor thy 
father and thy mother2 and1 ,he that    
speaketh evil of father or mother1 let  
him die the death2 but ye say1 ,if a man
 shall say to his father or his mother1 
,that wherewith thou mightest have been 
profited by me1 is ,corban1 7that is to 
say1 ,given to ,god71 ye no longer      
suffer him to do aught for his father or
 his mother3 making void the word of    
,god by your tradition1 which ye have   
delivered4  ,i have read of one heathen 
custom in ,china1 which would do us     
credit in this so-called ,christian     
country4 ,on every ,new ,year's morning 
each man and boy1 from the emperor to   

the lowest peasant1 is said to pay a    
visit to his mother1 carrying her a     
present varying in value according to   
his station in life4 ,he thanks her for 
all she has done for him1 and asks a    
continuance of her favor another year4  
,abraham ,lincoln used to say3 ,all ,i  
have ,i owe to my mother4  ,i would     
rather die a hundred deaths than have my
 children grow up to treat me with scorn
 and contempt4 ,i would rather have them
 honor me a thousand times over than    
have the world honor me4 ,i would rather
 have their esteem and favor than the   
esteem of the whole world4 ,and any man 
who seeks the honor and esteem of the   
world1 and doesn't treat his parents    
right1 is sure to be disappointed3  ,,an
 ,,exhortation4  ,young man1 if your    
parents are still living treat them     
kindly4 ,do all you can to make their   
declining years sweet and happy4 ,bear  
in mind that this is the only           
commandment that you may not always be  
able to obey4 ,as long as you live1 you 

will be able to serve ,god1 to keep the 
sabbath1 to obey all the other          
commandments1 but the day comes to most 
men when father and mother die4 ,what   
bitter feelings you will have when the  
opportunity has gone by1 if you fail to 
show them the respect and love that is  
their due6 ,how long is it since you    
wrote to your mother8 ,perhaps you have 
not written home for months1 or it may  
be for years4 ,how often ,i get letters 
from mothers urging me to try and       
influence their sons6  ,which would you 
rather be--a ,joseph or an ,absalom8    
,joseph wasn't satisfied until he had   
brought his old father down into ,egypt4
 ,he was the greatest man in ,egypt1    
next to ,pharaoh2 he was arrayed in the 
finest garments2 he had ,pharaoh's ring 
on his hand1 and a gold chain about his 
neck1 and they cried before him1 ,bow   
the knee4 ,yet when he heard ,jacob was 
coming1 he hurried out to meet him4 ,he 
wasn't ashamed of the old man1 with his 
shepherds clothes4 ,what a contrast we  

see in ,absalom4 ,that young man broke  
his father's heart by his rebellion1 and
 the ,jews are said to throw a stone at 
,absalom's pillar to the present day1   
whenever they pass it1 as a token of    
their horror of ,absalom's unnatural    
conduct4  ,come1 now1 are you ready to  
be weighed8 ,if you have been           
dishonoring your father and mother1 step
 into the scales and see how quickly you
 will be found wanting4 ,see how quickly
 you will strike the beam4 ,i don't know
 any man who is much lighter than one   
who treats his parents with contempt4   
,do you disobey them just as much as you
 dare8 ,do you try to deceive them8 ,do 
you call them old-fashioned1 and sneer  
at their advice8 ,how do you treat that 
venerable father and praying mother8    
,you may be a professing ,christian1 but
 ,i wouldn't give much for your religion
 unless it gets into your life and      
teaches you how to live4 ,i wouldn't    
give a snap of my finger for a religion 
that doesn't begin at home and regulate 

your conduct toward your parents4       
,sixth ,commandment  ,thou shalt not    
kill4  ,i used to say3 ,what is the use 
of taking up a law like this in an      
audience where1 probably1 there isn't a 
man who ever thought of1 or ever will   
commit murder8 ,but as one gets on in   
years1 he sees many a murder that is not
 outright killing4 ,i need not kill a   
person to be a murderer4 ,if ,i get so  
angry that ,i wish a man dead1 ,i am a  
murderer in ,god's sight4 ,god looks at 
the heart and says he that hateth his   
brother is a murderer4  ,first let us   
see what this commandment does not mean4
  ,it does not forbid the killing of    
animals for food and for other reasons4 
,millions of rams and lambs and         
turtle-doves must have been killed every
 year for sacrifices under the ,mosaic  
system4 ,christ ,himself ate of the     
,passover lamb1 and we are told         
definitely of cases where ,he ate fish  
,himself and provided it for ,his       
disciples and the people to eat4  ,it   

does not forbid the killing of burglars1
 etc41 in self-defence4 ,directly after 
the giving of the ,ten ,commandments1   
,god laid down the ordinance that if a  
thief be found breaking in and be       
smitten that he die1 it was pardonable4 
,did not ,christ justify this idea of   
self-defence when ,he said3 ,if the     
goodman of the house had known in what  
watch the thief would come1 he would    
have watched1 and would not have        
suffered his house to be broken up8  ,it
 does not forbid capital punishment4    
,god ,himself set the death penalty upon
 violations of each of the first seven  
commandments1 as well as for other      
crimes4 ,god said to ,noah after the    
deluge--,whoso sheddeth man's blood1 by 
man shall his blood be shed2 and the    
reason given is just as true to-day as  
it was then--for in the image of ,god   
made ,he man4  ,what it does forbid is  
the wanton1 intentional taking of human 
life under wrong motives and            
circumstances4 ,man is made in ,god's   

image4 ,he is built for eternity4 ,he is
 more than a mere animal4 ,his life     
ought therefore to be held sacred4 ,once
 taken1 it can never be restored4 ,in   
heathen lands human life is no more     
sacred than the life of animals2 even in
 ,christian lands there are heartless   
and selfish men who hold it cheap2 but  
,god has invested it with a high value4 
,an infidel philosopher of the          
eighteenth century said3 ,in the sight  
of ,god every event is alike important2 
and the life of a man is of no greater  
importance to the universe than that of 
an oyster4 ,where is the crime1 he      
asked1 of turning a few ounces of blood 
out of their channel8 ,such language    
needs no answer4  ,,the ,,value ,,of ,a 
,,man4  ,let me give you a passage from 
,h4 ,l4 ,hastings3 ,a friend of mine    
visited the ,fiji ,islands in #ahdd1 and
 what do you suppose an infidel was     
worth there then8 ,you could buy a man  
for a musket1 or if you paid money1 for 
seven dollars1 and after you had bought 

him you could feed him1 starve him1 work
 him1 whip him1 or eat him--they        
generally ate them1 unless they were so 
full of tobacco they could not stomach  
them6 ,but if you go there to-day you   
could not buy a man for seven million   
dollars4 ,there are no men for sale     
there now4 ,what has made the difference
 in the price of humanity8 ,the twelve  
hundred ,christian chapels scattered    
over that ,island tell the story4 ,the  
people have learned to read that ,book  
which says3 ',ye were not redeemed with 
corruptible things as silver and gold1  
but with the precious blood of ,christ'2
 and since they learned that lesson1 no 
man is for sale there4  ,men tell me    
that the world is getting so much       
better4 ,we talk of our ,american       
civilization4 ,we forget the alarming   
increase of crime in our midst4 ,it is  
said that there is no civilized country 
on the globe where murder is so         
frequently committed and so seldom      
punished4  ,,suicide4  ,there is that   

other kind of murder that is increasing 
at an appalling rate among us--suicide4 
,there have been infidels in all ages   
who have advocated it as a justifiable  
means of release from trial and         
difficulty2 yet thinking men1 as far    
back as ,aristotle1 have generally      
condemned it as cowardly and            
unjustifiable under any conditions4 ,no 
man has a right to take his own life    
from such motives any more than the life
 of another4  ,it has been pointed out  
that the ,jewish race1 the people of    
,god1 always counted length of days as a
 blessing4 ,the ,bible does not mention 
one single instance of a good man       
committing suicide4 ,in the four        
thousand years of ,old ,testament       
history it records only four suicides1  
and only one suicide in the ,new        
,testament4 ,saul1 king of ,israel1 and 
his armor-bearer1 ,ahithophel1 ,zimri   
and ,judas ,iscariot are the five cases4
 ,look at the references in the ,bible  
to see what kind of men they were4      

,,other ,,kinds ,,of ,,murder4  ,but ,i 
want to speak of other classes of       
murderers that are very numerous in this
 country1 although they are not         
classified as murderers4 ,the man who is
 the cause of the death of another      
through criminal carelessness is guilty4
 ,the man who sells diseased meat2 the  
saloon-keeper whose drink has maddened  
the brain of a criminal2 those who      
adulterate food2 the employer who       
jeopardizes the lives of employees and  
others by unsafe surroundings and       
conditions in harmful occupations1--they
 are all guilty of blood where life is  
lost as a consequence4  ,when ,i was in 
,england in #ahib1 ,i met a gentleman   
who claimed that they were ahead of us  
in the respect they had for the law4 ,we
 hang our murderers1 he said1 but there 
isn't one out of twenty in your country 
that is hung4 ,i said1 ,you are greatly 
mistaken1 for they walk about these two 
countries unhung4 ,what do you mean8 ,i 
will tell you what ,i mean1 ,i said2 the

 man that comes into my house and runs a
 dagger into my heart for my money1 is a
 prince compared with a son that takes  
five years to kill me and the wife of my
 bosom4 ,a young man who comes home     
night after night drunk1 and when his   
mother remonstrates1 curses her grey    
hairs and kills her by inches1 is the   
blackest kind of a murderer4  ,that kind
 of thing is going on constantly all    
around us4 ,one young man at college1 an
 only son1 whose mother wrote to him    
remonstrating against his gambling and  
drinking habits1 took the letters out of
 the post-office1 and when he found that
 they were from her1 he tore them up    
without reading them4 ,she said1  ,i    
thought ,i would die when ,i found ,i   
had lost my hold on that son4  ,if a boy
 kills his mother by his conduct1 you   
can't call it anything else than murder1
 and he is as truly guilty of breaking  
this sixth commandment as if he drove a 
dagger to her heart4 ,if all young men  
in this country who are killing their   

parents and their wives by inches1      
should be hung this next week1 there    
would be a great many funerals4  ,how   
are you treating your parents8 ,come1   
are you killing them8 ,this sixth       
commandment follows very naturally after
 the fifth1--,honor thy father and thy  
mother4 ,don't put any thorns in their  
pillows and make their last days        
miserable4 ,bear in mind that the       
commandment refers not only to shooting 
a man down in cold blood2 but he is the 
worst murderer who goes on1 month after 
month1 year after year1 until he has    
crowded the life out of a sainted mother
 and put a godly father under the sod4  
,,the ,,words ,,of ,,christ4  ,let us   
look once again at the ,sermon on the   
,mount1 that men think so much of1 and  
see what ,christ had to say3 ,ye have   
heard that it has been said by them of  
old time1 ,thou shalt not kill2 and     
whosoever shall kill shall be in danger 
of the judgment3 but ,i say unto you1   
that whosoever is angry with his brother

 without a cause shall be in danger of  
the judgment3 and whosoever shall say to
 his brother1 ,raca1 7an expression of  
contempt71 shall be in danger of the    
council3 but whosoever shall say1 ,thou 
fool1 7an expression of condemnation71  
shall be in danger of hell fire4 ,three 
degrees of murderous guilt1 as has been 
said1 all of which can be manifested    
without a blow being struck2 secret     
anger--the spiteful jeer--the open1     
unrestrained outburst of violent abusive
 speech4  ,again1 what does ,john say8  
,whosoever hateth his brother is a      
murderer3 and ye know that no murderer  
hath eternal life abiding in him4  ,did 
you ever in your heart wish a man dead8 
,that was murder4 ,did you ever get so  
angry that you wished any one harm8     
,then you are guilty4 ,i may be         
addressing some one who is cultivating  
an unforgiving spirit4 ,that is the     
spirit of the murderer1 and needs to be 
rooted out of your heart4  ,we can only 
read man's acts--what they have done4   

,god looks down into the heart4 ,that is
 the birthplace and home of the evil    
desires and intentions that lead to the 
transgression of all ,god's laws4       
,listen once more to the words of       
,jesus3 ,from within1 out of the heart  
of men1 proceed evil                    
thoughts--adulteries--fornications--murd
ers                                     
--thefts--covetousness--wickedness--dece
it--lasciviousness--an evil             
eye--blasphemy--pride--foolishness4 4 4 
4  ,may ,god purge our hearts of these  
evil things1 if we are harboring them6  
,ah1 if many of us were weighed now1 we 
should find ,belshazzar's doom written  
against us--,tekel--wanting6    ,seventh
 ,commandment  ,thou shalt not commit   
adultery4  ,an ,english army-officer in 
,india who had been living an impure    
life went around one evening to argue   
religion with the chaplain4 ,during     
their talk the officer said3  ,religion 
is all very well1 but you must admit    
that there are difficulties--about the  

miracles1 for instance4  ,the chaplain  
knew the man and his besetting sin1 and 
quietly looking him in the face1        
answered3  ,yes1 there are some things  
in the ,bible not very plain1 ,i admit2 
but the seventh commandment is very     
plain4  ,,plain ,,speaking4  ,i would to
 ,god ,i could pass over this           
commandment1 but ,i feel that the time  
has come to cry aloud and spare not4    
,plain speaking about it is not very    
fashionable nowadays4 ,teachers of      
religion have by common consent banished
 from their public teaching all advice1 
warning or allusion in regard to love   
between the sexes1 says ,dr4 ,stalker4  
,these themes are left to poets and     
novelists to handle4 ,in an             
autobiography recently published in     
,england1 the writer attributed no small
 share of the follies and vices of his  
earlier years to his never having heard 
a plain1 outspoken sermon on this       
seventh commandment4  ,but though men   
are inclined to pass it by1 ,god is not 

silent or indifferent in regard to it4  
,when ,i hear any one make light of     
adultery and licentiousness1 ,i take the
 ,bible and see how ,god has let his    
curse and wrath come down upon it4      
,thou shalt not commit adultery4 4 4 4  
,for this is a heinous crime2 yea1 it is
 an iniquity to be punished by the      
judges4 ,for it is a fire that consumeth
 to destruction1 and would root out all 
mine increase4 4 4 4 ,by means of a     
whorish woman a man is brought to a     
piece of bread3 and the adulteress will 
hunt for the precious life4 ,can a man  
take fire in his bosom1 and his clothes 
not be burned8 ,can one go upon hot     
coals1 and his feet not be burned8 ,so  
he that goeth in to his neighbor's wife2
 whosoever toucheth her shall not be    
innocent4 4 4 4 ,whoso committeth       
adultery with a woman lacketh           
understanding3 he that doeth it         
destroyeth his own soul4 ,a wound and   
dishonor shall he get2 and his reproach 
shall not be wiped away4 4 4 4 ,know ye 

not that the unrighteous shall not      
inherit the kingdom of ,god8 ,be not    
deceived3 neither fornicators1 nor      
adulterers1 nor effeminate1 nor abusers 
of themselves with mankind shall inherit
 the kingdom of ,god4 4 4 4 ,but        
fornication1 and all uncleanness1 let it
 not be once named among you1 as        
becometh saints2 neither filthiness1 nor
 foolish talking1 nor jesting1 which are
 not convenient3 but rather giving      
thanks4 ,for this ye know1 that no      
whoremonger1 nor unclean person hath any
 inheritance in the kingdom of ,christ  
and of ,god4 ,let no man deceive you    
with vain words3 for because of these   
things cometh the wrath of ,god upon the
 children of disobedience4 ,be not ye   
therefore partakers with them4 4 4 4    
,whoremongers shall have their part in  
the lake which burneth with fire and    
brimstone3 which is the second death4 4 
4 4 ,for without are whoremongers4 4 4 4
  ,these are a few of the threatenings  
and warnings contained in the old ,book1

 up to its closing chapter4 ,it speaks  
plainly1 without compromise4  ,,marriage
 ,,and ,,the ,,home4  ,this commandment 
is ,god's bulwark around marriage and   
the home4 ,marriage is one of the       
institutions that existed in ,eden2 it  
is older than the fall4 ,it is the most 
sacred relationship that can exist      
between human beings1 taking precedence 
even of the relationship of the parent  
and child4 ,some one has pointed out    
that as in the beginning ,god created   
one man and one woman1 this is the true 
order for all ages4 ,where family ties  
are disregarded and dishonored1 the     
results are always fatal4 ,the home     
existed before the church1 and unless   
the home is kept pure and undefiled1    
there can be no family religion and the 
church is in danger4 ,adultery and      
licentiousness have swept nation after  
nation out of existence4 ,did it not    
bring fire and brimstone from heaven    
upon ,sodom and ,gomorrah8 ,what carried
 ,rome into ruin8 ,the obscene frescoes 

and statues at ,pompeii and ,naples tell
 the tale4 ,where there is no sacredness
 around the home1 population dwindles2  
family virtues disappear2 the children  
are corrupt from their very birth2 the  
seeds of sure decay are already planted4
 ,in #ahie there were twenty-five       
thousand divorces in this country4 ,i   
was on one of the fashionable streets of
 a prominent city some time ago1 where  
every family except two in the whole    
street had either a son or a daughter   
that had been divorced4 ,divorce and    
debauchery go hand in hand4 ,we are not 
gaining much in turning away from this  
old law1 are we8  ,,the ,,devil',s      
,,counterfeit4  ,lust is the devil's    
counterfeit of love4 ,there is nothing  
more beautiful on earth than a pure     
love1 and there is nothing so blighting 
as lust4 ,i do not know of a quicker1   
shorter way down to hell than by        
adultery and the kindred sins condemned 
by this commandment4 ,the ,bible says   
that with the heart man believeth unto  

righteousness1 but whoredom and wine and
 new wine take away the heart4 ,lust    
will drive all natural affection out of 
a man's heart4 ,for the sake of some    
vile harlot he will trample on the      
feelings and entreaties of a sainted    
mother and beautiful wife and godly     
sister4  ,young man1 are you leading an 
impure life8 ,suppose ,god's scales     
should drop down before you1 what would 
you do8 ,are you fit for the kingdom of 
heaven8 ,you know very well that you are
 not4 ,you loathe yourself4 ,when you   
look upon that pure wife or mother1 you 
say1  ,what a vile wretch ,i am6 ,the   
harlot is bringing me down to an        
untimely and dishonored grave4  ,may    
,god show us what a fearful sin it is6  
,the idea of making light of it6 ,i do  
not know of any sin that will make a man
 run down to ruin more quickly4 ,i am   
appalled when ,i think of what is going 
on in the world2 of so many young men   
living impure lives1 and talking about  
the virtue of women as if it didn't     

amount to anything4 ,this sin is coming 
in upon us like a flood at the present  
day4 ,in every city there is an army of 
prostitutes4 ,young men by hundreds are 
being utterly ruined by this accursed   
sin4  ,,the ,,prodigal ,,daughter4  ,i  
think that the most infernal thing the  
sun shines on in ,america is the way    
woman is treated after she has been     
ruined by a man1 often under fair       
promises of marriage4 ,some one said    
that when the prodigal son came home he 
had the best robe and the fatted calf1  
but what does the prodigal daughter get8
 ,although she may have been more sinned
 against than sinning1 she is cast out  
and ostracized by society4 ,she is      
condemned to an almost hopeless life of 
degradation and shame1 sinking step by  
step into a loathsome grave1 unless she 
hurries her doom by suicide4 ,but the   
wretch who has ruined her in body and   
soul1 holds his head as high as ever1   
and society attaches no stain to him4   
,if he had failed to pay his gambling   

debts or was detected cheating at cards1
 he would promptly be dropped by        
society2 but he may boast of his impure 
life1 and his companions will think     
nothing of it4 ,parents who would not   
allow their daughters to become         
acquainted with a man who is rude in    
manners1 sometimes do not hesitate to   
accept the society of men who are known 
to be impure4  ,talk about stealing--a  
man who steals the virtue of a woman is 
the meanest thief that ever was on the  
face of the earth6 ,one who goes into   
your house and steals your money is a   
prince compared with a vile libertine   
who takes the virtue of your sister1 or 
steals the affection of your wife1 and  
robs you of her2 no sneakthief that ever
 walked the earth is so mean as he4 ,how
 men pass laws to protect their         
property1 but when that which is far    
nearer and dearer to them than money is 
taken1 it is made light of6 ,if a man   
should push a young lady into the river 
and she should be drowned1 the law would

 lay hold of him1 and he would be tried 
for murder and hung4 ,but if he wins her
 affection and ruins her1 and then casts
 her off1 isn't he worse1 than a        
murderer8 ,there are some sins that are 
worse than murder1 and that is one of   
them4 ,if some one should treat your    
wife or sister so1 you would want to    
shoot him as you would a dog4 ,why do   
you not respect all women as you do your
 mother and sister8 ,what law of justice
 forgives the obscene bird of prey1     
while it kicks out of its path the      
soiled and bleeding dove8  ,,god',s     
,,coming ,,judgment4  ,god has appointed
 a day when this matter will be set     
right4 ,be not deceived3 ,god is not    
mocked3 whatsoever a man soweth1 that   
shall he also reap4 ,he will render to  
every man according to his deeds4 ,you  
may walk down the aisle of the church   
and take your seat1 thinking that no one
 knows of your sin4 ,but ,god is on the 
throne1 and ,he will surely bring you to
 judgment4 ,do you believe that ,god    

will allow this infernal thing to go    
on1--women bearing all the blame while  
guilty men go unpunished8 ,god has      
appointed a day when ,he will judge this
 world in righteousness1 and the day is 
fast approaching4  ,if you are guilty of
 this sin1 do not let the day pass until
 you repent4 ,if you are living in some 
secret sin1 or are fostering impure     
thoughts1 make up your mind that by the 
grace of ,god you will be delivered4 ,i 
don't believe a man who is guilty of    
this sin is ever going to see the       
kingdom of ,god unless he repents in    
sackcloth and ashes1 and does all he can
 to make restitution4  ,,an ,,evil      
,,harvest4  ,even in this life adultery 
and uncleanness bring their awful       
results1 both physical and mental4 ,the 
pleasure and excitement that lead so    
many astray at the beginning soon pass  
away1 and only the evil remains4 ,vice  
carries a sting in its tail1 like the   
scorpion4 ,the body is sinned against1  
and the body sooner or later suffers4   

,every sin that a man doeth is without  
the body3 but he that committeth        
fornication sinneth against his own     
body1 said ,paul4 ,nature herself       
punishes with nameless diseases1 and the
 man goes down to the grave rotten1     
leaving the effects of his sin to blight
 his posterity4 ,there are nations whose
 manhood has been eaten out by this     
awful scourge4  ,it drags a man lower   
than the beasts4 ,it stains the memory4 
,i believe that memory is the worm that 
never dies1 and the memory is never     
cleansed of obscene stories and unclean 
acts4 ,even if a man repents and reforms
 he often has to fight the past4  ,lust 
gave ,samson into the power of ,delilah1
 who robbed him of his strength4 ,it led
 ,david to commit murder and called down
 upon him the wrath of ,god1 and if he  
had not repented he would have lost     
heaven4 ,i believe that if ,joseph had  
responded to the enticement of          
,potiphar's wife1 his light would have  
gone out in darkness4  ,it ends in one  

or other of two ways3 either in remorse 
and shame because of the realization of 
the loss of purity1 with a terrible     
struggle against a hard taskmaster2 or  
in hardness of heart1 brutalizing of the
 finer senses1 which is a more dreadful 
condition4  ,we hear a good deal about  
intemperance nowadays4 ,that sin        
advertises itself2 it shows its marks   
upon the face and in the conduct4 ,but  
this hides itself away under the shadow 
of the night4 ,a man who tampers with   
this evil goes on step by step until his
 character is blasted1 his reputation   
ruined1 his health gone1 and his life   
made as dark as hell4 ,may ,god wake up 
the nation to see how this awful sin is 
spreading6  ,will any one deny that the 
house of the strange woman is the way to
 hell1 going down to the chambers of    
death1 as the ,bible says8 ,are there   
not men whose characters have been      
utterly ruined for this life through    
this accursed sin8 ,are there not wives 
who would rather sink into their graves 

than live8 ,many a man went with a pure 
woman to the altar a few years ago1 and 
promised to love and cherish her4 ,now  
he has given his affections to some vile
 harlot1 and brought ruin on his wife   
and children6  ,,are ,,you ,,guilty8    
,young man1 young woman1 are you guilty1
 even in thought8 ,bear in mind what    
,christ said3 ,ye have heard that it was
 said by them of old time1 ,thou shalt  
not commit adultery3 but ,i say unto    
you1 ,that whosoever looketh on a woman 
to lust after her has committed adultery
 with her already in his heart4 ,how    
many would repent but that they are tied
 hand and foot1 and some vile harlot1   
whose feet are fastened in hell1 clings 
to him and says3 ,if you give me up1 ,i 
will expose you6 ,can you step on the   
scales and take that harlot with you8   
,if you are guilty of this awful sin1   
escape for your life4 ,hear ,god's voice
 while there is yet time4 ,confess your 
sin to ,him4 ,ask ,him to snap the      
fetters that bind you4 ,ask ,him to give

 you victory over your passions4 ,if    
your right eye offends1 pluck it out4   
,if your right hand offends1 cut it off4
 ,shake yourself like ,samson1 and say3 
,by the grace of ,god ,i will not go    
down to an adulterer's grave4  ,there is
 hope for you1 adulterer4 ,there is hope
 for you1 adulteress4 ,god will not turn
 you away if you truly repent4 ,no      
matter how low down in vice and misery  
you may have sunk1 you may be washed1   
you may be sanctified1 you may be       
justified in the name of the ,lord      
,jesus1 and by the ,spirit of our ,god4 
,remember what ,christ said to that     
woman which was a sinner--,thy sins are 
forgiven thee2 thy faith hath saved     
thee2 go in peace2 and to that woman    
that was taken in adultery--,go1 and sin
 no more4    ,eighth ,commandment  ,thou
 shalt not steal4  ,during the time of  
slavery1 a slave was preaching with     
great power4 ,his master heard of it1   
and sent for him1 and said3  ,i         
understand you are preaching8  ,yes1    

said the slave1  ,well1 now1 said the   
master1 ,i will give you all the time   
you need1 and ,i want you to prepare a  
sermon on the ,ten ,commandments1 and to
 bear down especially on stealing1      
because there is a great deal of        
stealing on the plantation4  ,the       
slave's countenance fell at once4 ,he   
said he wouldn't like to do that2 there 
wasn't the warmth in that subject there 
was in others4  ,i have noticed that    
people are satisfied when you preach    
about the sins of the patriarchs1 but   
they don't like it when you touch upon  
the sins of to-day4 ,that is coming too 
near home4 ,but we need to have these   
old doctrines stated over and over again
 in our churches4 ,perhaps it is not    
necessary to speak here about the       
grosser violations of this eighth       
commandment1 because the law of the land
 looks after these2 but a man or woman  
can steal without cracking safes and    
picking pockets4 ,many a person who     
would shrink from taking what belongs to

 another person1 thinks nothing of      
stealing from the government or from    
large public corporations1 such as      
streetcar companies4 ,if you steal from 
a rich man it is as much a sin as       
stealing from a poor man4 ,if you lie   
about the value of things you buy1 are  
you not trying to defraud the           
storekeeper8 ,it is naught1 it is       
naught1 saith the buyer3 but when he is 
gone his way1 then he boasteth4  ,on the
 other hand1 many a person who would not
 steal himself1 holds stock in companies
 that make dishonest profits2 but though
 hand join in hand1 the wicked shall not
 go unpunished4  ,a young man in our    
,bible ,institute in ,chicago got on the
 grip-car1 and before the conductor came
 around to take the fare1 they reached  
the ,institute and he jumped off without
 paying his fare4 ,in thinking over that
 act he said3 ,that was not just right4 
,i had my ride and ,i ought to pay the  
fare4  ,he remembered the face of the   
conductor1 and he went to the car barns 

and paid him the five cents4  ,well1 the
 conductor said1 you are a fool not to  
keep it4 ,no1 the young man said1 ,i am 
not4 ,i got the ride1 and ,i ought to   
have paid for it4 ,but it was my        
business to collect it4 ,no1 it was my  
business to hand it to you4 ,the        
conductor said1 ,i think you must belong
 to that ,bible ,institute4  ,i have    
heard few things said of the ,institute 
that pleased me so much as that one     
thing4 ,not long after that the         
conductor came to the ,institute and    
asked the student to come to see him4 ,a
 cottage-meeting was started in his     
house2 and not only himself but a number
 of others around there were converted  
as a result of that one act4  ,you can  
hardly take up a paper now without      
reading of some cashier of a bank who   
has become a defaulter1 or of some large
 swindling operation that has ruined    
scores1 or of some breach of trust1 or  
fraudulent failure in business4 ,these  
things are going on all over the land4  

,i would to ,god that we could have all 
gambling swept away4 ,if ,christian men 
take the right stand1 they can check it 
and break it up in a great many places4 
,it leads to stealing4  ,,where ,,the   
,,stream ,,starts4  ,the stream         
generally starts at home and in the     
school4 ,parents are woefully lax in    
their condemnation and punishment of the
 sin of stealing4 ,the child begins by  
taking sugar1 it may be4 ,the mother    
makes light of it at first1 and the     
child's conscience is violated without  
any sense of wrong4 ,by and by it is not
 an easy matter to check the habit1     
because it grows and multiplies with    
every new commission4  ,the value of the
 thing that is stolen has nothing to say
 to the guilt of the act4 ,two people   
were once arguing upon this point1 and  
one said3 ,well1 you will not contend   
that a theft of a pin and of a dollar   
are the same to ,god8 ,when you tell me 
the difference between the value of a   
pin and of a dollar to ,god1 said the   

other1 ,i will answer your question4    
,the value or amount is not what is to  
be considered1 but whether the act is   
right or wrong4 ,partial obedience is   
not enough3 obedience must be entire4   
,the little indulgences1 the small      
transgressions are what drive religion  
out of the soul4 ,they lay the          
foundation for the grosser sins4 ,if you
 give way to little temptations1 you    
will not be able to resist when great   
temptations come to you4  ,,god',s      
,,weights4  ,extortioner1 are you ready 
to step into the scales8 ,what will you 
do with the condemnation of ,god--,thou 
has taken usury and increase1 and thou  
hast greedily gained of thy neighbor's  
by extortion1 and hast forgotten me1    
saith the ,lord ,god8  ,employer1 are   
you guilty of sweating your employees8  
,have you defrauded the hireling of his 
wages8 ,have you paid starvation wages8 
,thou shalt not oppress a hired servant 
that is poor and needy1 whether he be of
 thy brethren1 or of thy strangers that 

are in thy land within thy gates4 4 4 4 
,what mean ye that ye beat my people to 
pieces1 and grind the faces of the poor8
 saith the ,lord ,god of hosts4 4 4 4   
,behold1 the hire of the laborers who   
have reaped down your fields1 which is  
of you kept back by fraud1 crieth3 and  
the cries of them which have reaped are 
entered into the ears of the ,lord of   
sabaoth4  ,and you1 employee1 have you  
been honest with your employer8 ,have   
you robbed him of his due by wasting    
your time when he was not looking8 ,if  
,god should summon you into ,his        
presence now1 what would you say8  ,let 
the merchant step into the scales4 ,see 
if you will prove light when weighed    
against the law of ,god4 ,are you guilty
 of adulterating what you sell8 ,do you 
substitute inferior grades of goods8    
,are your advertisements deceptive8 ,are
 your cheap prices made possible by     
defrauding your customers either in     
quantity or in quality8 ,do you teach   
your clerks to put a ,french or an      

,english tag on domestic manufactures1  
and then sell them as imported goods8   
,do you tell them to say that the goods 
are all wool when you know they are half
 cotton8 ,do you give short weight or   
measure8 ,see what ,god says in ,his    
,word3 ,shall ,i count them pure with   
the wicked balances1 and with the bag of
 deceitful weights8 ,thou shalt not have
 in thy bag divers weights1 a great and 
a small3 thou shalt not have in thy     
house divers measures1 a great and a    
small3 but thou shalt have a perfect and
 just weight1 a perfect and just measure
 shalt thou have3 that thy days may be  
lengthened in the land which the ,lord  
thy ,god giveth thee4 4 4 4 ,ye shall do
 no unrighteousness in judgment1 in     
meteyard1 in weight1 or in measure4     
,just balances1 just weights1 a just    
ephah and a just hin1 shall ye have4    
,are you like those who said3 ,when will
 the new moon be gone1 that we may sell 
corn8 and the sabbath1 that we may set  
forth wheat1 making the ephah small1 and

 the shekel great1 and falsifying the   
balances by deceit8 that we may buy the 
poor for silver1 and the needy for a    
pair of shoes2 yea1 and sell the refuse 
of the wheat8  ,show me a people whose  
trade is dishonest1 said ,fronde1 and ,i
 will show you a people whose religion  
is a sham4 ,unless your religion can    
keep you honest in your business1 it    
isn't worth much2 it isn't the right    
kind4 ,god is a ,god of righteousness1  
and no true follower of his can swerve  
one inch to the right or left without   
disobeying ,him4  ,,stolen ,,goods ,a   
,,burden4  ,i heard of a boy who stole a
 cannon-ball from a navy-yard4 ,he      
watched his opportunity1 sneaked into   
the yard1 and secured it4 ,but when he  
had it1 he hardly knew what to do with  
it4 ,it was heavy1 and too large to     
conceal in his pocket1 so he had to put 
it under his hat4 ,when he got home with
 it1 he dared not show it to his        
parents1 because it would have led at   
once to his detection4 ,he said in after

 years it was the last thing he ever    
stole4 ,the story is told that one of   
,queen ,victoria's diamonds valued at   
#fjj1jjj was stolen from a jeweler's    
window1 to whom it had been given to    
set4 ,a few months afterward a miserable
 man died a miserable death in a poor   
lodging-house4 ,in his pocket was found 
the diamond and a letter telling how he 
had not dared to sell it lest it should 
lead to his discovery and imprisonment4 
,it never brought him anything but      
anxiety and pain4  ,everything you steal
 is a curse to you in that way4 ,the sin
 overreaches itself4 ,a man who takes   
money that does not belong to him never 
gets any lasting comfort4 ,he has no    
real pleasure1 for he has a guilty      
conscience4 ,he cannot look an honest   
man in the face4 ,he loses peace of mind
 here1 and all hope of heaven hereafter4
 ,as the partridge sitteth on eggs1 and 
hatcheth them not2 so he that getteth   
riches1 and not by right1 shall leave   
them in the midst of his days1 and at   

his end shall be a fool4 4 4 4 ,let no  
man go beyond and defraud his brother in
 any matter2 because that the ,lord is  
the avenger of all such4  ,i may be     
speaking to some clerk who perhaps took 
five cents to-day out of his employer's 
drawer to buy a cigar2 perhaps he took  
ten cents to get a shave1 and thinks he 
will put it back to-morrow--no one will 
ever know it4 ,if you have taken a cent1
 you are a thief4 ,do you ever think how
 those little stealings may bring you to
 ruin8 ,let your employer find it out4  
,if he doesn't take you into court1 he  
will discharge you4 ,your hopes will be 
blasted1 and it will be hard work to get
 up again4 ,whatever condition you are  
in1 do not take a cent that does not    
belong to you4 ,rather than steal1 go up
 to heaven in poverty--go up to heaven  
from the poor-house4 ,be honest rather  
than go through the world in a gilded   
chariot of stolen riches4               
,,restitution4  ,if you have ever taken 
money dishonestly1 you need not pray    

,god to forgive you and fill you with   
the ,holy ,ghost until you make         
restitution4 ,if you have not got the   
money now to pay back1 will to do it1   
and ,god accepts the willing mind4      
,many a man is kept in darkness and     
unrest because he fails to obey ,god on 
this point4 ,if the plough has gone     
deep1 if the repentance is true1 it will
 bring forth fruit4 ,what use is there  
in my coming to ,god until ,i am willing
 to make it good1 like ,zacchaeus1 if ,i
 have done any man wrong or have taken  
anything from him falsely8 ,if the      
wicked restore the pledge1 give again   
that he had robbed1 walk in the statutes
 of life1 without committing iniquity2  
he shall surely live1 he shall not die4 
,none of his sins that he hath committed
 shall be mentioned unto him4           
,confession and restitution are the     
steps that lead up to forgiveness4      
,until you tread those steps1 you may   
expect your conscience to be troubled1  
your sin to haunt you4  ,i was preaching

 in ,british ,columbia some years ago1  
and a young man came to me1 and wanted  
to become a ,christian4 ,he had been    
smuggling opium into the ,states4       
,well1 my friend1 ,i said1 ,i don't     
think there is any chance for you to    
become a ,christian until you make      
restitution4 ,he said1 ,if ,i attempt to
 do that1 ,i will fall into the clutches
 of the law1 and ,i will go to the      
penitentiary4 ,well1 ,i replied1 you had
 better do that than go to the          
judgment-seat of ,god with that sin upon
 your soul1 and have eternal punishment4
 ,the ,lord will be very merciful if you
 set your face to do right4  ,he went   
away sorrowful1 but came back the next  
day1 and said3 ,i have a young wife and 
child1 and all the furniture in my house
 ,i have bought with money ,i have got  
in this dishonest way4 ,if ,i become a  
,christian1 that furniture will have to 
go1 and my wife will know it4 ,better   
let your wife know it1 and better let   
your home and furniture go4 ,would you  

come up and see my wife8 he asked2 ,i   
don't know what she will say4  ,i went  
up to see her1 and when ,i told her1 the
 tears trickled down her cheeks1 and she
 said3 ,mr4 ,moody1 ,i will gladly give 
everything if my husband can become a   
true ,christian4  ,she took out her     
pocketbook1 and handed over her last    
penny4 ,he had a piece of land in the   
,united ,states1 which he deeded over to
 the government4 ,i do not know in all  
my backward track of any living man who 
has had a better testimony for ,jesus   
,christ than that man4 ,he had been     
dishonest1 but when the truth came to   
him that he must make it right before   
,god would help him1 he made it right   
and then ,god used him wonderfully4  ,no
 amount of weeping over sin1 and saying 
that you feel sorry1 is going to help it
 unless you are willing to confess1 and 
make restitution4    ,ninth ,commandment
  ,thou shalt not bear false witness    
against thy neighbor4  ,two out of the  
,ten ,commandments deal with sins that  

find expression by the tongue--the third
 commandment1 which forbids taking      
,god's name in vain1 and this ninth     
commandment1 which forbids false witness
 against our neighbor4 ,this two-fold   
prohibition ought to impress us as a    
solemn warning1 especially as we find   
that the pages of ,scripture are full of
 condemnation of sins of the tongue4    
,the ,psalms1 ,proverbs and the epistle 
of ,james deal largely with the subject4
  ,,truth ,,necessary4  ,organized      
society of a degree higher than that of 
the herding of animals and flocking of  
birds depends so much upon the power of 
speech1 that without it we may say      
society would be impossible4 ,language  
is an essential element in the social   
fabric4 ,to its purpose it must be      
trustworthy4 ,words must command        
confidence4 ,anything which undermines  
the truth takes 7as it were7 the mortar 
out of the building and if general1 must
 mean ruin4 ,paul said--,wherefore      
putting away lying1 speak every man     

truth to his neighbor3 for we are       
members one of another4 ,note the reason
 given--we are members one of another4  
,all community1 all union and fellowship
 would be shattered if a man did not    
know whether to believe his neighbor or 
not4  ,the transgressions of this       
commandment are very varied in form1 and
 very frequent4 ,men and women of all   
ages have to guard against them4 ,they  
include some of the most besetting sins4
 ,david said in his haste--,all men are 
liars4 ,some one has remarked that if he
 had been living nowadays1 he might say 
it without haste and not be very far    
wide of the truth4  ,,perjury4  ,the    
bearing of false witness is forbidden1  
but this must not be limited merely to  
testimony given in the law court or     
under oath4 ,isn't it a condemnation    
that men have to be put under oath in   
order to make sure of their speaking the
 truth8 ,as a legal offence1            
perjury--the bearing of false witness   
when under oath--is one of the most     

serious crimes that can be committed4   
,nearly every civilized nation visits it
 with heavy punishment4 ,unless promptly
 checked1 it would shake the very       
foundations of justice4                 
,lying--uttering or acting              
falsehood--and slander--the spreading of
 false reports tending to destroy the   
reputation of another--are two of the   
most common violations of this          
commandment4  ,,lying4  ,we have got    
nowadays so that we divide lies into    
white lies and black lies1 society lies1
 business lies1 etc4 ,the ,word of ,god 
knows no such letting-down of the       
standard4 ,a lie is a lie1 no matter    
what are the circumstances under which  
it is uttered1 or by whom4 ,i have heard
 that in ,siam they sew up the mouth of 
a confirmed liar4 ,i am afraid if that  
was the custom in ,america1 a good many 
would suffer4 ,parents should begin with
 their children while they are young and
 teach them to be strictly truthful at  
all times4 ,there is a proverb3 ,a lie  

has no legs4 ,it requires other lies to 
support it4 ,tell one lie and you are   
forced to tell others to back it up4    
,,slander4  ,you don't like to have any 
one bear false witness against you1 or  
help to ruin your character or          
reputation3 then why should you do it to
 others8 ,how public men are slandered  
in this country6 ,none escape1 whether  
good or bad4 ,judgment is passed upon   
them1 their family1 their character1 by 
the press and by individuals who know   
little or nothing about them4 ,if one   
tenth that is said and written about our
 public men was true1 half of them      
should be hung4 ,slander has been called
 tongue murder4 ,slanderers are compared
 to flies that always settle on sores1  
but do not touch a man's good parts4    
,if the archangel ,gabriel should come  
down to earth and mix in human affairs1 
,i believe his character would be       
assailed inside of forty-eight hours4   
,slander called ,christ a gluttonous man
 and a winebibber4 ,he claimed to be the

 ,truth1 but instead of worshipping     
,him1 men took ,him and crucified ,him4 
,when any one spoke evil of another in  
the presence of ,peter the ,great1 he   
used promptly to stop him1 and say3     
,well1 now1 has he not got a bright     
side8 ,tell me what you know good of    
him4 ,it is easy to splash mud1 but ,i  
would rather help a man to keep his coat
 clean4  ,i need not stop to run through
 the whole catalogue of sins that are   
related to these three4                 
,falserumor--exaggeration--misrepresenta
tion                                    
--insinuation--gossip--equivocation--hol
ding back of the truth when it is due   
and right to tell                       
it--disparagement--perversion of        
meaning3 these are common transgressions
 of this ninth commandment1 differing in
 form and degree of guilt according to  
the motive or manner of their           
expression4 ,they bear false witness    
against a man before the tribunal of    
public opinion--a court whose judgment  

none of us escape4 ,as so much of our   
life is passed in public view1 any      
untruth that leads to a false judgment  
is a grievous wrong4  ,a ,,test ,,of    
,,true ,,religion4  ,government of the  
tongue is made the test of true religion
 by ,james4 ,if any man among you seem  
to be religious1 and bridleth not his   
tongue1 but deceiveth his own heart1    
this man's religion is vain4 4 4 4 ,for 
in many things we offend all4 ,if any   
man offend not in word1 the same is a   
perfect man1 and able also to bridle the
 whole body3 ,just as a doctor looks at 
the tongue and can tell the condition of
 the bodily health1 so a man's words are
 an index of what is within4 ,truth will
 spring from a good heart3 falsehood and
 deceit from a corrupt heart4 ,when     
,ananias kept back part of the price of 
the land1 ,peter asked him--,why hath   
,satan filled thine heart to lie unto   
the ,holy ,ghost8 ,satan is the father  
of lies and the promoter of lies3  ,,for
 ,,good ,,or ,,evil4  ,the tongue can be

 an instrument of untold good or        
incalculable evil4 ,some one has said   
that a sharp tongue is the only edged   
tool that grows keener with constant    
use4 ,thy tongue deviseth mischiefs2    
like a sharp razor1 working deceitfully4
 4 4 4 ,they have sharpened their       
tongues like a serpent2 adders' poison  
is under their lips4 4 4 4 ,the mouth of
 a righteous man is a well of life3 but 
violence covereth the mouth of the      
wicked4 4 4 4 ,a wholesome tongue is a  
tree of life3 but perverseness therein  
is a breach in the spirit1 4 4 4 ,bishop
 ,hall said that the tongues of         
busybodies are like the tails of        
,samson's foxes--they carry firebrands  
and are enough to set the whole field of
 the world in a flame4 ,behold1 we put  
bits in the horses' mouths that they may
 obey us2 and we turn about their whole 
body4 ,behold also the ships1 which     
though they be so great1 and are driven 
of fierce winds1 yet are they turned    
about with a very small helm1           

whithersoever the governor listeth4     
,even so the tongue is a little member1 
and boasteth great things4 ,behold how  
great a matter a little fire kindleth6  
,and the tongue is a fire1 a world of   
iniquity3 so is the tongue among our    
members1 that it defileth the whole     
body1 and setteth on fire the course of 
nature2 and it is set on fire of hell4  
,for every kind of beasts1 and of birds1
 and of serpents1 and of things in the  
sea1 is tamed and hath been tamed by    
mankind3 but the tongue can no man tame2
 it is an unruly evil1 full of deadly   
poison4 ,therewith bless we ,god1 even  
the ,father2 and therewith curse we men1
 which are made after the similitude of 
,god4 ,out of the same mouth proceedeth 
blessing and cursing4 ,my brethren1     
these things ought not so to be4 ,doth a
 fountain send forth at the same time   
sweet water and bitter8 ,can the fig    
tree1 my brethren1 bear olive berries8  
either a vine figs8 so can no fountain  
both yield salt water and fresh4 ,who is

 a wise man and endued with knowledge   
among you8 let him shew out of a good   
conversation his works with meekness of 
wisdom4 ,but if ye have bitter envying  
and strife in your hearts1 glory not1   
and lie not against the truth4          
,blighted hopes and blasted reputations 
are witness to its awful power4 ,in many
 cases the tongue has murdered its      
victims4 ,can we not all recall cases   
where men and women have died under the 
wounds of calumny and misrepresentation8
 ,history is full of such cases4        
,,words ,,never ,,called ,,back4  ,the  
most dangerous thing about it is that a 
word once uttered can never be          
obliterated4 ,some one has said that    
lying is a worse crime than             
counterfeiting4 ,there is some hope of  
following up bad coins until they are   
all recovered2 but an evil word can     
never be overtaken4 ,the mind of the    
hearer or reader has been poisoned1 and 
human devices cannot reach in and       
cleanse it4 ,lies can never be called   

back4  ,a woman who was well known as a 
scandal-monger1 went and confessed to   
the priest4 ,he gave her a ripe         
thistle-top1 and told her to go out and 
scatter the seeds one by one4 ,she      
wondered at the penance1 but obeyed2    
then she came and told the priest4 ,he  
next told her to go and gather again the
 scattered seeds4 ,of course she saw    
that it was impossible4 ,the priest used
 it as an object-lesson to cure her of  
the sin of scandalous talk4  ,,the      
,,fate ,,of ,,the ,,liar ,,and          
,,slanderer4  ,these sins are devilish1 
and the ,bible is severe in its         
denunciations of them4 ,it contains many
 solemn warnings4 ,thou shalt destroy   
them that speak leasing3 the ,lord will 
abhor the bloody and deceitful man4 4 4 
4 ,the mouth of them that speak lies    
shall be stopped4 ,whoso privily        
slandereth his neighbor1 him will ,i cut
 off4 4 4 4 ,lying lips are an          
abomination to the ,lord3 but they that 
deal truly are ,his delight4 4 4 4 ,by  

thy words thou shalt be justified1 and  
by thy words thou shalt be condemned4 4 
4 4 ,all liars shall have their part in 
the lake which burneth with fire and    
brimstone3 which is the second death4   
,whoso loveth and maketh a lie shall in 
no wise enter into the new ,jerusalem4  
,,how ,,to ,,overcome4  ,but1 ,mr4      
,moody1 you say1 how can ,i check       
myself8 how can ,i overcome the habit of
 lying and gossip8 ,a lady once said to 
me that she had got so into the habit of
 exaggerating that her friends said they
 could never understand her4  ,the cure 
is simple1 but not very pleasant4 ,treat
 it as a sin1 and confess it to ,god and
 the man whom you have wronged4 ,as soon
 as you catch yourself lying1 go        
straight to the person and confess you  
have lied4 ,let your confession be as   
wide as your transgression4 ,if you have
 slandered or lied about any one in     
public1 let your confession be public4  
,many a person says some mean1 false    
thing about another in the presence of  

others1 and then tries to patch it up by
 going to that person alone4 ,that is   
not making restitution4 ,i need not go  
to ,god with confession until ,i have   
made it right with that person1 if it is
 in my power to do so2 ,he will not hear
 me4  ,hannah ,moore's method was a sure
 cure for scandal4 ,whenever she was    
told anything derogatory of another1 her
 invariable reply was3  ,come1 we will  
go and ask if it be true4  ,the effect  
was sometimes ludicrously painful4 ,the 
talebearer was taken aback1 stammered   
out a qualification1 or begged that no  
notice might be taken of the statement4 
,but the good lady was inexorable4 ,off 
she took the scandal-monger to the      
scandalized to make inquiry and compare 
accounts4  ,it is not likely that       
anybody ventured a second time to repeat
 a gossipy story to ,hannah ,moore4  ,my
 friend1 how is it8 ,if ,god should     
weigh you against this commandment1     
would you be found wanting8 ,thou shalt 
not bear false witness4 ,are you        

innocent or guilty8    ,tenth           
,commandment  ,thou shalt not covet thy 
neighbor's house1 thou shalt not covet  
thy neighbor's wife1 nor his manservant1
 nor his maidservant1 nor his ox1 nor   
his ass1 nor anything that is thy       
neighbor's4  ,in the twelfth chapter of 
,luke our ,saviour lifted two danger    
signals4 ,beware ye of the leaven of the
 ,pharisees1 which is hypocrisy4 4 4 4  
,take heed and beware of covetousness4  
,the greatest dupe the devil has in the 
world is the hypocrite2 but the next    
greatest is the covetous man1 for a     
man's life consisteth not in the        
abundance of the things which he        
possesseth4  ,i believe this sin is much
 stronger now than ever before in the   
world's history4 ,we are not in the     
habit of condemning it as a sin4 ,in his
 epistle to the ,thessalonians ,paul    
speaks of the cloke of covetousness4    
,covetous men use it as a cloke1 and    
call it prudence1 and foresight4 ,who   
ever heard it confessed as a sin8 ,i    

have heard many confessions1 in public  
and private1 during the past forty      
years1 but never have ,i heard a man    
confess that he was guilty of this sin4 
,the ,bible does not tell of one man who
 ever recovered from it1 and in all my  
experience ,i do not recall many who    
have been able to shake it off after it 
had fastened on them4 ,a covetous man or
 woman generally remains covetous to the
 very end4  ,we may say that covetous   
desire plunged the human race into sin4 
,we can trace the river back from age to
 age until we get to its rise in ,eden4 
,when ,eve saw that the forbidden fruit 
was good for food and that it was       
desirable to the eyes1 she partook of   
it1 and ,adam with her4 ,they were not  
satisfied with all that ,god had        
showered upon them1 but coveted the     
wisdom of gods which ,satan deceitfully 
told them might be obtained by eating   
the fruit4 ,she saw1--she desired--then 
she took6 ,three steps from innocence   
into sin4  ,a ,,searching ,,commandment4

  ,it would be absurd for such a law as 
this to be placed upon any human statute
 book4 ,it could never be enforced4 ,the
 officers of the law would be powerless 
to detect infractions4 ,the outward     
conduct may be regulated1 but the       
thoughts and intents of a man are beyond
 the reach of human law4  ,but ,god can 
see behind outward actions4 ,he can read
 the thoughts of the heart4 ,our        
innermost life1 invisible to mortal eye1
 is laid bare before ,him4 ,we cannot   
deceive ,him by external conformity4 ,he
 is able to detect the least            
transgression and shortcoming1 so that  
no man can shirk detection4 ,god cannot 
be imposed upon by the cleanness of the 
outside of the cup and the platter4     
,surely we have here another proof that 
the ,ten ,commandments are not of human 
origin1 but must be divine4  ,this      
commandment1 then1 did not1 even on the 
surface1 confine itself to visible      
actions as did the preceding            
commandments4 ,even before ,christ came 

and showed their spiritual sweep1 men   
had a commandment that went beneath     
public-conduct and touched the very     
springs of action4 ,it directly         
prohibited--not the wrong act1 but the  
wicked desire that prompted the act4 ,it
 forbade the evil thought1 the unlawful 
wish4 ,it sought to prevent--not only   
sin1 but the desire to sin4 ,in ,god's  
sight it is as wicked to set covetous   
eyes1 as it is to lay thieving hands1   
upon anything that is not ours4  ,and   
why8 ,because if the evil desire can be 
controlled1 there will be no outbreak in
 conduct4 ,desires have been called     
actions in the egg4 ,the desire in the  
heart is the first step in the series   
that ends in action4 ,kill the evil     
desire1 and you successfully avoid the  
ill results that would follow upon its  
hatching and development4 ,prevention is
 better than cure4  ,we must not limit  
covetousness to the matter of money4    
,the commandment is not thus limited2 it
 reads1 ,thou shalt not covet4 4 4      

anything4 4 4 4 ,that word anything is  
what will condemn us4 ,though we do not 
join in the race for wealth1 have we not
 sometimes a hungry longing for our     
neighbor's goodly lands--fine           
houses1--beautiful clothes1--brilliant  
reputation1--personal                   
accomplishments1--easy                  
circumstances1--comfortable             
surroundings8 ,have we not had the      
desire to increase our possessions or to
 change our lot in accordance with what 
we see in others8 ,if so1 we are guilty 
of having broken this law4  ,,gods      
,,thoughts ,,about ,,covetousness4  ,let
 us examine a few of the ,bible passages
 that bear down on this sin1 and see    
what are ,god's thoughts about it4      
,know ye not that the unrighteous shall 
not inherit the kingdom of ,god8 ,be not
 deceived3 neither fornicators1 nor     
idolaters1 nor adulterers1 nor          
effeminate1 nor abusers of themselves   
with mankind1 nor thieves1 nor covetous1
 nor drunkards1 nor revilers1 nor       

extortioners1 shall inherit the kingdom 
of ,god4  ,notice that the covetous are 
named between thieves and drunkards4 ,we
 lock up thieves1 and have no mercy on  
them4 ,we loathe drunkards1 and consider
 them great sinners against the law of  
,god as well as the law of the land4    
,yet there is far more said in the      
,bible against covetousness than against
 either stealing or drunkenness4        
,covetousness and stealing are almost   
like ,siamese twins--they go together so
 often4 ,in fact we might add lying1 and
 make them triplets4 ,the covetous      
person is a thief in the shell4 ,the    
thief is a covetous person out of the   
shell4 ,let a covetous person see       
something that he desires very much2 let
 an opportunity of taking it be offered2
 how very soon he will break through the
 shell and come out in his true         
character as a thief4 ,the ,greek word  
translated covetousness means--an       
inordinate desire of getting4 ,when the 
,gauls tasted the sweet wines of ,italy1

 they asked where they came from1 and   
never rested until they had overrun     
,italy4  ,for this ye know1 that no     
whoremonger1 nor unclean person1 nor    
covetous man1 who is an idolater1 hath  
any inheritance in the kingdom of       
,christ and ,god4  ,there we have the   
same truth repeated2 but notice that    
covetousness is called idolatry4 ,the   
covetous man worships ,mammon1 not ,god4
  ,moreover thou shalt provide out of   
all the people able men1 such as fear   
,god1 men of truth1 hating covetousness2
 and place such over them1 to be rulers 
of thousands1 and rulers of hundreds1   
rulers of fifties1 and rulers of tens4  
,isn't it extraordinary that ,jethro1   
the man of the desert1 should have given
 this advice to ,moses8 ,how did he     
learn to beware of covetousness8 ,we    
honor men to-day if they are wealthy and
 covetous4 ,we elect them to office in  
church and state4 ,we often say that    
they will make better treasurers just   
because we know them to be covetous4    

,but in ,god's sight a covetous man is  
as vile and black as any thief or       
drunkard4 ,david said3 ,the wicked      
boasteth of his heart's desire1 and     
blesseth the covetous1 whom the ,lord   
abhorreth4 ,i am afraid that many who   
profess to have put away wickedness also
 speak well of the covetous4  ,a ,,sore 
,,evil4  ,he that loveth silver shall   
not be satisfied with silver2 nor he    
that loveth abundance with increase3    
this is also vanity4 ,when goods        
increase1 they are increased that eat   
them3 and what good is there to the     
owners thereof1 saving the beholding of 
them with their eyes8 ,the sleep of the 
laboring man is sweet1 whether he eat   
little or much3 but the abundance of the
 rich will not suffer him to sleep4     
,there is a sore evil which ,i have seen
 under the sun1 namely1 riches kept for 
the owners thereof to their hurt4       
,isn't that true8 ,is the covetous man  
ever satisfied with his possessions8    
,aren't they vanity8 ,does he have peace

 of mind8 ,don't selfish riches always  
bring hurt8  ,the folly of covetousness 
is well shown in the following extract3 
,if you should see a man that had a     
large pond of water1 yet living in      
continual thirst1 nor suffering himself 
to drink half a draught for fear of     
lessening his pond2 if you should see   
him wasting his time and strength in    
fetching more water to his pond1 always 
thirsty1 yet always carrying a bucket of
 water in his hand1 watching early and  
late to catch the drops of rain1 gaping 
after every cloud1 and running greedily 
into every mire and mud in hopes of     
water1 and always studying how to make  
every ditch empty itself into the pond2 
if you should see him grow grey in these
 anxious labors1 and at last end a      
thirsty life by falling into his own    
pond1 would you not say that such a one 
was not only the author of his own      
disquiet1 but was foolish enough to be  
reckoned among madmen8 ,but foolish and 
absurd as this character is1 it does not

 represent half the follies and absurd  
disquiets of the covetous man4  ,i have 
read of a millionaire in ,france1 who   
was a miser4 ,in order to make sure of  
his wealth1 he dug a cave in his wine   
cellar so large and deep that he could  
go down into it with a ladder4 ,the     
entrance had a door with a spring lock4 
,after a time1 he was missing4 ,search  
was made1 but they could find no trace  
of him4 ,at last his house was sold1 and
 the purchaser discovered this door in  
the cellar4 ,he opened it1 went down1   
and found the miser lying dead on the   
ground1 in the midst of his riches4 ,the
 door must have shut accidentally after 
him1 and he perished miserably4  ,a     
,,temptation ,,and ,a ,,snare4  ,they   
that will be1 7that is1 desire to be71  
rich fall into temptation and a snare1  
and into many foolish and hurtful lusts1
 which drown men in destruction and     
perdition4  ,the ,bible speaks of the   
deceitfulness of two things--the        
deceitfulness of sin and the            

deceitfulness of riches4 ,riches are    
like a mirage in the desert1 which has  
all the appearance of satisfying1 and   
lures on the traveler with the promise  
of water and shade2 but he only wastes  
his strength in the effort to reach it4 
,so riches never satisfy3 the pursuit of
 them always turns out a snare4  ,lot   
coveted the rich plains of ,sodom1 and  
what did he gain8 ,after twenty years   
spent in that wicked city1 he had to    
escape for his life1 leaving all his    
wealth behind him4  ,what did the thirty
 pieces of silver do for ,judas8        
,weren't they a snare8  ,think of       
,balaam4 ,he is generally regarded as a 
false prophet1 but ,i do not find that  
any of his prophecies that are recorded 
are not true2 they have been literally  
fulfilled4 ,up to a certain point his   
character shone magnificently1 but the  
devil finally overcame him by the bait  
of covetousness4 ,he stepped over a     
heavenly crown for the riches and honors
 that ,balak promised him4 ,he went to  

perdition backwards4 ,his face was set  
toward ,god1 but he backed into hell4   
,he wanted to die the death of the      
righteous1 but he did not live the life 
of the righteous4 ,it is sad to see so  
many who know ,god1 miss everything for 
riches4  ,then consider the case of     
,gehazi4 ,there is another man who was  
drowned in destruction and perdition by 
covetousness4 ,he got more out of       
,naaman than he asked for1 but he also  
got ,naaman's leprosy4 ,think how he    
forfeited the friendship of his master  
,elisha1 the man of ,god6 ,so to-day    
lifelong friends are separated by this  
accursed desire4 ,homes are broken up4  
,men are willing to sell out peace and  
happiness for the sake of a few dollars4
  ,didn't ,david fall into foolish and  
hurtful lusts8 ,he saw ,bathsheba1      
,uriah's wife1 and she was very         
beautiful to look upon1 and ,david      
became a murderer and an adulterer4 ,the
 guilty longing hurled him into the     
deepest pit of sin4 ,he had to reap     

bitterly as he had sowed4  ,i heard of a
 wealthy ,german out west1 who owned a  
lumber mill4 ,he was worth nearly two   
millions of dollars1 but his            
covetousness was so great that he once  
worked as a common laborer carrying     
railroad ties all day4 ,it was the cause
 of his death4  ,and ,achan answered    
,joshua1 and said1 ,indeed ,i have      
sinned against the ,lord ,god of        
,israel1 and thus and thus have ,i done3
 ,when ,i saw among the spoils a goodly 
,babylonish garment1 and two hundred    
shekels of silver1 and a wedge of gold  
of fifty shekels weight1 then ,i coveted
 them1and took them2 and1 behold1 they  
are hid in the earth in the midst of my 
tent1 and the silver under it4  ,he     
saw--he coveted--he took--he hid6 ,the  
covetous eye was what led ,achan up to  
the wicked deed that brought sorrow and 
defeat upon the camp of ,israel4  ,we   
know the terrible punishment that was   
meted out to ,achan4 ,god seems to have 
set danger signals at the threshold of  

each new age4 ,it is remarkable how soon
 the first outbreaks of covetousness    
occurred4 ,think of ,eve in ,eden1      
,achan just after ,israel had entered   
the ,promised ,land1 ,ananias and       
,sapphira in the early ,christian       
,church4  ,a ,,root ,,extractor4  ,for  
the love of money is the root of all    
evil1 which while some coveted after1   
they have erred from the faith1 and     
pierced themselves through with many    
sorrows4  ,the ,revised ,version        
translates it--a root of all kinds of   
evil4 ,this tenth commandment has       
therefore been aptly called a           
root-extractor1 because it would tear up
 and destroy this root4 ,deep down in   
our corrupt nature it has spread4 ,no   
one but ,god can rid us of it4  ,matthew
 tells us that the deceitfulness of     
riches chokes the ,word of ,god4 ,like  
the ,mississippi river1 which chokes up 
its mouth by the amount of soil it      
carries down4 ,isn't that true of many  
business-men to day8 ,they are so       

engrossed with their affairs that they  
have not time for religion4 ,they lose  
sight of their soul and its eternal     
welfare in their desire to amass wealth4
 ,they do not even hesitate to sell     
their souls to the devil4 ,how many a   
man says1 ,we must make money1 and if   
,god's law stands in the way1 brush it  
aside4  ,the word lucre occurs five     
times in the ,new ,testament1 and each  
time it is called filthy lucre4  ,a root
 of all kinds of evil4 ,yes1 because    
what will not men be guilty of when     
prompted by the desire to be rich8      
,greed for gold leads men to commit     
violence and murder1 to cheat and       
deceive and steal4 ,it turns the heart  
to stone1 devoid of all natural         
affection1 cruel1 unkind4 ,how many     
families are wrecked over the father's  
will6 ,the scramble for a share of the  
wealth smashes them to pieces4 ,covetous
 of rank and position in society1       
parents barter sons and daughters in    
ungodly marriage4 ,bodily health is no  

consideration4 ,the uncontrollable fever
 for gold makes men renounce all their  
settled prospects1 and undertake        
hazardous journeys--no peril can drive  
them back4 ,it destroys faith and       
spirituality1 turning men's minds and   
hearts away from ,god4 ,it disturbs the 
peace of the community by prompting to  
acts of wrong4 ,covetousness has more   
than once led nation to war against     
nation for the sake of gaining territory
 or other material resources4 ,it is    
said that when the ,spaniards came over 
to conquer ,peru1 they sent a message to
 the king1 saying1 ,give us gold1 for we
 ,spaniards have a disease that can only
 be cured by gold4  ,dr4 ,boardman has  
shown how covetousness leads to the     
transgression of every one of the       
commandments1 and ,i cannot do better   
than quote his words3 ,coveting tempts  
us into the violation of the first      
commandment1 worshipping ,mammon in     
addition to ,jehovah4 ,coveting tempts  
us into a violation of the second       

commandment1 or idolatry4 ,the apostle  
,paul expressly identifies the covetous 
man with an idolater3 ',covetousness1   
which is idolatry4' ,again3 ,coveting   
tempts us into violation of the third   
commandment1 or sacrilegious falsehood3 
for instance1 ,gehazi1 lying in the     
matter of his interview with ,naaman the
 ,syrian1 and ,ananias and ,sapphira1   
perjuring themselves in the matter of   
the community of goods4 ,again3         
,coveting tempts us into the violation  
of the fourth commandment1 or           
,sabbath-breaking4 ,it is covetousness  
which encroaches on ,god's appointed day
 of sacred rest1 tempting us to run     
trains for merely secular purposes1 to  
vend tobacco and liquors1 to hawk       
newspapers4 ,again3 ,coveting tempts us 
into the violation of the fifth         
commandment1 or disrespect for          
authority2 tempting the young man to    
deride his early parental counsels1 the 
citizen to trample on civic enactments4 
,again3 ,covetousness tempts us into    

violation of the sixth commandment1 or  
murder4 ,recall how ,judas' love of     
money lured him into the betrayal of his
 ,divine ,friend into the hand of ,his  
murderers1 his lure being the paltry sum
 of--say--fifteen dollars4 ,again3      
,covetousness tempts us into the        
violation of the seventh commandment1 or
 adultery4 ,observe how ,scripture      
combines greed and lust4 ,again3        
,covetousness tempts us into the        
violation of the eighth commandment1 or 
theft4 ,recall how it tempted ,achan to 
steal a goodly ,babylonish mantle1 and  
two hundred shekels of silver1 and a    
wedge of gold of fifty shekels weight4  
,again3 ,covetousness tempts us into the
 violation of the ninth commandment1 or 
bearing false witness against our       
neighbor4 ,recall how the covetousness  
of ,ahab instigated his wife ,jezebel to
 employ sons of ,belial to bear         
blasphemous and fatal testimony against 
,naboth1 saying1 ',thou didst curse ,god
 and the king4'  ,,how ,,to ,,overcome4 

,you ask me how you are to cast this    
unclean spirit out of your heart8 ,i    
think ,i can tell you4  ,in the first   
place1 make up your mind that by the    
grace of ,god you will overcome the     
spirit of selfishness4 ,you must        
overcome it1 or it will overcome you4   
,paul said3 ,mortify therefore your     
members which are upon the earth2       
fornication1 uncleanness1 inordinate    
affection1 evil concupiscence1 and      
covetousness1 which is idolatry3 for    
which things' sake the wrath of ,god    
cometh on the children of disobedience4 
,i heard of a rich man who was asked to 
make a contribution on behalf of some   
charitable object4 ,the text was quoted 
to him--,he that hath pity upon the poor
 lendeth unto the ,lord2 and that which 
he hath given will ,he pay him again4   
,he said that the security might be good
 enough1 but the credit was too long4   
,he was dead within two weeks4 ,the     
wrath of ,god rested upon him as he     
never expected4  ,if you find yourself  

getting very miserly1 begin to scatter1 
like a wealthy farmer in ,new ,york     
state ,i heard of4 ,he was a noted      
miser1 but he was converted4 ,soon      
after1 a poor man who had been burned   
out and had no provisions1 came to him  
for help4 ,the farmer thought he would  
be liberal and give the man a ham from  
his smoke-house4 ,on his way to get it1 
the tempter whispered to him3  ,give him
 the smallest one you have4  ,he had a  
struggle whether he would give a large  
or a small ham1 but finally he took down
 the largest he could find4  ,you are a 
fool1 the devil said4  ,if you don't    
keep still1 the farmer replied1 ,i will 
give him every ham ,i have in the smoke 
house4  ,mr4 ,durant told me he woke up 
one morning to find that he was a rich  
man1 and he said that the greatest      
struggle of his life then took place as 
to whether he would let money be his    
master1 or he be master of money1       
whether he would be its slave1 or make  
it a slave to him4 ,at last he got the  

victory1 and that was how ,wellesley    
,college came to be built4  ,in the next
 place1 cultivate the spirit of         
contentment4 ,let your conversation be  
without covetousness2 and be content    
with such things as ye have3 for ,he    
hath said1 ,i will never leave thee1 nor
 forsake thee4 ,so that we may boldly   
say1 ,the ,lord is my helper1 and ,i    
will not fear what man shall do unto me4
  ,contentment is the very opposite of  
covetousness1 which is continually      
craving for something it does not       
possess4 ,be content with such things as
 ye have1 not worrying about the future1
 because ,god has promised never to     
leave or forsake you4 ,what does the    
child of ,god want more than this8 ,i   
would rather have that promise than all 
the gold of the earth4  ,would to ,god  
we might all be able to say with        
,paul--,i have coveted no man's silver1 
or gold1 or apparel4 ,the ,lord had made
 him partaker of ,his grace1 and he was 
soon to be a partaker of ,his glory1 and

 earthly things looked very small4      
,godliness with contentment is great    
gain1 he wrote to ,timothy2 having food 
and raiment1 therewith let us be        
content4 ,observe that he puts godliness
 first4 ,no worldly gain can satisfy the
 human heart4 ,roll the whole world in1 
and still there would be room4  ,may    
,god tear the scales off our eyes if we 
are blinded by this sin4 ,oh1 the folly 
of it1 that we should set our heart's   
affections upon anything below6 ,for we 
brought nothing into this world1 and it 
is certain we can carry nothing out4 4 4
 4 ,be thou not afraid when one is made 
rich1 when the glory of his house is    
increased2 for when he dieth he shall   
take nothing away3 his glory shall not  
descend after him4    ,the ,handwriting 
,blotted ,out  ,we have now considered  
the ,ten ,commandments1 and the question
 for each one of us is--are we keeping  
them8 ,if ,god should weigh us by them1 
would we be found wanting or not        
wanting8 ,do we keep the law1 the whole 

law8 ,are we obeying ,god with all our  
heart8 ,do we render ,him a full and    
willing obedience8  ,,one ,,law1 ,,not  
,,ten4  ,these ten commandments are not 
ten different laws2 they are one law4   
,if ,i am being held up in the air by a 
chain with ten links and ,i break one of
 them1 down ,i come1 just as surely as  
if ,i break the whole ten4 ,if ,i am    
forbidden to go out of an enclosure1 it 
makes no difference at what point ,i    
break through the fence4 ,whosoever     
shall keep the whole law and yet offend 
in one point1 he is guilty of all4 ,the 
golden chain of obedience is broken if  
one link is missing4  ,we sometimes hear
 people pray to be preserved from       
certain sins1 as if they were in no     
danger of committing others4 ,i firmly  
believe that if a man begins by wilfully
 breaking one of these commandments it  
is much easier for him to break the     
others4 ,i know of a gentleman who had a
 confidential clerk1 and insisted on his
 going down ,sunday morning to work on  

his books4 ,the young man had a good    
deal of principle1 and at first refused1
 but he was anxious to keep in the good 
graces of his employer and finally      
yielded4 ,he had not done that a great  
while before he speculated in stocks1   
and became a defaulter for #abj1jjj4    
,the employer had him arrested and put  
in the penitentiary for ten years1 but  
,i believe he was just as guilty in the 
sight of ,god as that young man1 for he 
led him to take the first step on the   
downward road4 ,you remember the story  
of a soldier who was smuggled into a    
fortress in a load of hay1 and opened   
the gates to his comrades4 ,every sin we
 commit opens the door for other sins4  
,,all ,,have ,,come ,,short4  ,for      
fifteen hundred years man was under the 
law1 and no one was equal to it4 ,christ
 came and showed that the commandments  
went beyond the mere letter2 and can any
 one since say that he has been able to 
keep them in his own strength8 ,as the  
plummet is held up1 we see how much we  

are out of the perpendicular4 ,as we    
measure ourselves by that holy standard1
 we find how much we are lacking4 ,as a 
child said1 when reproved by her mother 
and told that she ought to do right3    
,how can ,i do right when there is no   
'right' in me8 ,all have sinned and come
 short of the glory of ,god4 ,there is  
none righteous1 no1 not one4  ,i do not 
say that all are equally guilty of gross
 violations of the commandments4 ,it    
needs a certain amount of reckless      
courage openly to break a law1 human or 
divine2 but it is easy to crack them1 as
 the child said4 ,it has been remarked  
that the life of many professors of     
religion is full of fractures that      
result from little sins1 little acts of 
temper and selfishness4 ,it is possible 
to crack a costly vase so finely that it
 cannot be noticed by the observer2 but 
let this be done again and again in     
different directions1 and some day the  
vase will go to pieces at a touch4 ,when
 we hear of some one who has had a      

lifelong reputation for good character  
and consistent living1 suddenly falling 
into some shameful sin1 we are shocked  
and puzzled4 ,if we knew all1 we would  
find that only the fall has been sudden1
 that he has been sliding toward it for 
years4 ,away back in his life we should 
find numerous cracked commandments4 ,his
 exposure is only the falling of the    
vase to pieces4  ,,false ,,weights4     
,men have all sorts of weights that they
 think are going to satisfy1 but they   
will find that they are altogether      
vanity1 and lighter than vanity4  ,the  
moral man is as guilty as the rest4 ,his
 morality cannot save him4 ,except ye   
repent1 ye shall all likewise perish4 4 
4 4 ,except ye be converted1 and become 
as little children1 ye shall not enter  
into the kingdom of heaven4 ,i have     
often heard good people say that our    
meetings were doing good1 they were     
reaching the drunkards1 and gamblers1   
and harlots2 but they never realized    
that they needed the grace of ,god for  

themselves4  ,nicodemus was probably one
 of the most moral men of his day4 ,he  
was a teacher of the law4 ,yet ,christ  
said to him3 ,except a man be born      
again1 he cannot see the kingdom of     
,god4 ,it is much easier to reach was a 
,lamb without spot or blemish1 ,his     
atoning death is efficacious for you and
 me4 ,he had no sin of ,his own to atone
 for1 and so ,god accepted ,his         
sacrifice4 ,christ is the end of the law
 for righteousness to every one that    
believeth4 ,we are righteous in ,god's  
sight because the righteousness of ,god 
which is by faith in ,jesus ,christ is  
unto all and upon all them that believe4
  ,if we had to live forever with our   
sins in the handwriting of ,god on the  
wall1 it would be hell on earth4 ,but   
thank ,god for the gospel we preach6 ,if
 we repent1 our sins will all be blotted
 out4 ,you1 being dead in your sins1    
hath ,he quickened together with ,him1  
having forgiven you all your trespasses1
 blotting out the handwriting of        

ordinances that was against us1 which   
was contrary to us1 and took it out of  
the way1 nailing it to ,his cross4      
,,love ,,the ,,fulfilling ,,of ,,the    
,,law4  ,if the love of ,god is shed    
abroad in your heart1 you will be able  
to fulfil the law4 ,paul reduced the    
commandments to one3 ,love is the       
fulfilling of the law4 ,some one has    
written the following3     ,love to ,god
 will admit no other ,god4    ,love     
resents everything that debases its     
object by representing it by an image4  
,love to ,god will never dishonor ,his  
name4    ,love to ,god will reverence   
,his day4    ,love to parents makes one 
honor them4    ,hate1 not love1 is a    
murderer4    ,lust1 not love1 commits   
adultery4    ,love will give1 but never 
steal4    ,love will not slander or lie4
    ,love's eye is not covetous4  ,,are 
,,you ,,ready8  ,it is the height of    
madness to turn away and run the risk of
 being called by ,god to judgment and   
have no hope in ,christ4 ,now is the day

 and hour to accept salvation1 and then 
,he will be with you4 ,do you step aside
 and say3 ,i'm not ready yet4 ,i want a 
little more time to prepare1 to turn the
 matter over in my mind8 ,well1 you have
 time1 but bear in mind it is only the  
present2 you do not know that you will  
have to-morrow4 ,wasn't ,belshazzar cut 
off suddenly8 ,would he have believed   
that that was going to be his last      
night1 that he would never see the light
 of another sun8 ,that banquet of sin   
didn't close as he expected4 ,as long as
 you delay you are in danger4 ,if you   
don't enter into the kingdom of heaven  
by ,god's way1 you cannot enter at all4 
,you must accept ,christ as your        
,savior1 or you will never be fit to be 
weighed4  ,my friend1 have you got ,him8
 ,will you remain as you are and be     
found wanting1 or will you accept       
,christ and be ready for the summons8   
,this is the record1 that ,god hath     
given to us eternal life1 and this life 
is in ,his ,son4 ,he that hath the ,son 

hath life3 and he that hath not the ,son
 of ,god hath not life4  ,may ,god open 
your heart to receive ,his ,son now6    
,,works ,,by ,g4 ,,campbell ,,morgan    
,the ,crises of the ,christ4  #hvo1     
cloth1 net1 #b4jj  ,the ,spirit of ,god4
  #abmo1 cloth1 #a4be4  ,a ,first       
,century ,message to ,twentieth ,century
 ,christians4  #abmo1 cloth1 net1 #a4jj4
  ,god's ,methods with ,man2  ,in       
,time--,past1 ,present and ,future4     
,with colored chart4 #abmo1 paper1 #ej  
cents4 ,cloth1 #a4jj4  ,wherein ,have   
,we ,robbed ,god8  ,malachi's ,message  
to the ,men of ,to-,day4 #abmo1 cloth1  
#ge cents4  ,god's ,perfect ,will4      
#afmo1 cloth1 #ej cents4  ,life         
,problems4  ,little ,books ,series4     
,long #afmo1 #ej cents4  ,the ,ten      
,commandments4  ,studies in the ,law of 
,moses and the ,law of ,christ4 #abmo1  
cloth1 #ej cents4  ,discipleship4       
,little ,books ,series4 ,long #afmo1    
cloth1 #ej;c4  ,the ,hidden ,years at   
,nazareth4  ,quiet ,hour ,series4 #ahmo1

 cloth1 #be cents4  ,the ,true ,estimate
 of ,life4  #abmo1 paper1 #ae cents4    
,cloth1 #ge cents1 net4  ,all ,things   
,new  ,a ,message to ,new ,converts4    
#afmo1 paper1 #aj cents4  ,fleming ,h4  
,revell ,company  ,,publishers    ,,the 
,,with ,,christ ,,series  ,by ,,andrew  
,,murray  ,with ,christ in the ,school  
of ,prayer4  ,thoughts on ,our ,training
 for the ,ministry of ,intercession4    
,abide in ,christ4  ,thoughts on the    
,blessed ,life of ,fellowship with the  
,son of ,god4  ,like ,christ4  ,thoughts
 on the ,blessed ,life of ,conformity to
 the ,son of ,god4  ,holy in ,christ4   
,thoughts on the ,calling of ,god's     
,children to be ,holy as ,he is ,holy4  
,the ,master's ,indwelling4  ,northfield
 ,addresses1 #ahie4  ,the ,spirit of    
,christ4  ,thoughts on the ,indwelling  
of the ,holy ,spirit in the ,believer   
and the ,church4  ,comprising the six   
great works in connection with which the
 author attained such world-wide favor  
as a writer of helpful and spiritual    

devotional works4 ,the bindings are     
unique and attractive1 and the price1   
which1 in view of the fact that this is 
the authorized edition1 upon which      
royalties are paid to the author1 was   
already astonishingly low1 has now been 
still further reduced4  #afmo1 cloth1   
each1 #ce cts43 the set of six volumes1 
boxed1 #b4jj4  ,fleming ,h4 ,revell     
,company  ,,chicago ,,new ,,york        
,,toronto  ,,publishers ,,of            
,,evangelical ,,literature