GEORGE L. HERR AND WIFE

THE
NATION BEHIND PRISON BARS

BY

George L. Herr, Prison Evangelist

"I was in prison, and ye came unto me"

PUBLISHED BY

THE CARTER PRINTING COMPANY

Louisville, Kentucky

COPYRIGHT 1913

BY

GEORGE L. HERR, LOUISVILLE, KY.

To My Wife

WHOSE CONSTANT HELP AND

ENCOURAGEMENT

MAKE IT POSSIBLE FOR ME TO DO THE WORK

TO WHICH

God

HAS CALLED ME, THIS VOLUME IS

INSCRIBED WITH THE

PRAYER THAT

God

WILL USE IT TO SAVE MANY SOULS

The Nation Behind Prison Bars

BY

GEORGE L. HERR, Prison Evangelist

Author of "Light in Dark Places," "You Are My Prisoner,"
"The Life Line," "Man's Worst Enemy," "Nothing
Better," "The Missionary," "The Bethel,"
"Lost and Is Found," and "A
Glorious Rescue."

THE WORLD OF PRISONERS UNKNOWN TO MANY
BROUGHT FORWARD IN DESCRIPTIVE
SPEECH AND VIVID PICTURES

There are enough people in prison in these United States to furnish a citizenship to a considerable territory, or to populate a good-sized city. For the psychological student, they form the most interesting of all objects of study. For the philanthropist, and for the Christian missionary, they constitute a wonderful field of activity. How to lift them out of the criminal strata is the question to which Mr. Herr is devoting his life, in an effort to answer. In a good measure he is answering it. Many prisoners to whom the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation, will rise to call him blessed.—Rev. Jno. Paul, Mississippi.

My Devoted Father

The Late Hon. RICHARD S. HERR
"And their works do follow them."

My Precious Mother

The Late Mrs. RICHARD S. HERR
"Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates."

Foreword

Gathered within these pages are recitals of scenes and incidents in a field of existence fortunately unfamiliar to the majority of our readers. The subject has been handled without any attempt to embellish the hard facts or gloss over the cruel details—the paramount desire upon the part of the author being an endeavor to show the crying necessity for a constant, earnest labor among the unfortunates who are shut away from God's sunshine; whom God still loves, despite their sins of omission and commission. If the perusal of this volume brings to the reader a belief that the cause is worthy, that labor in this field brings a reward which amply compensates for the time and effort expended, the author will rest in the knowledge of a duty well performed. There has been no effort at exaggeration in presenting these sketches of daily experiences among the outcasts of society, no straining for effect, no striving to paint word pictures that may touch the heart. It is simply the story of everyday life in the field of the prison missionary's labor, and is given to the public with a fervent prayer that God, in His infinite wisdom, will instill in the hearts of our readers a feeling of charity toward those whose burden is almost greater than they can bear.

Faithfully,

G. L. H.

Contents

Illustrations

Commendation from Louisville Ministers

Louisville, Ky., Jan. 27, 1910.

To His Honor Judge Muir Weissinger,

Judge of the County Court,

Jefferson County, Ky.

Dear Sir:

The undersigned Ministers of the Gospel in the city of Louisville, being members of the Ministerial Association, do hereby recommend to your Honor the appointment of the Rev. George L. Herr, a regular ordained minister of the gospel, as Chaplain of the Jefferson County Jail, in accordance with Part 9, Sections 627-632 Russell Statutes, 1909, inclusive.

The Rev. Mr. Herr is thoroughly well qualified to fill the position of Chaplain at the County Jail, he having for seven years previous to the enactment of the present law given up his time and money in this noble work, without compensation from any source whatever, either state, county or city, as the present Jailer of Jefferson County and many other will testify.

• R. D. SMART,
  • Pastor Broadway Methodist Church.
• CHARLES R. HEMPHILL,
  • Professor Presbyterian Theological Seminary.
• W. N. BRINEY,
  • Pastor Broadway Christian Church.
• W. J. CLARKE,
  • Minister Clifton Church.
• A. R. KASEY,
  • Pastor Clifton Crescent Hill Methodist Church.
• S. G. SHELLEY,
  • Pastor Jefferson St. Methodist Church.
• THAD. S. TINSLEY,
  • Pastor Third Christian Church.
• W. F. IRWIN,
  • 4th Ave. Presbyterian Church.
• E. B. PATTERSON,
  • Pastor Trinity Church.
• W. R. HENDRIX,
  • Pastor Methodist Temple.
• J. T. RUSHING,
  • Pastor Virginia Ave. M. E. Church, South.
• D. B. GREGORY,
  • Pastor Woodland Pres. Church U. S.
• G. W. NUTTER,
  • Pastor Parkland Christian Church.
• B. F. ATKINSON,
  • Pastor Rivers Memorial M. E. Church, South.
• C. F. WIMBERTY,
  • Marcus Lindsay Memorial.
• CHAS. A. HUMPHREY,
  • Pastor Portland M. E. Church, South.
• J. D. SIGLER
• E. L. POWELL,
  • Pastor First Christian Church.
• S. H. LOVELACE,
  • Pastor Oakdale Methodist Church.
• C. R. CROWE,
  • Pastor Highland Park and Hill Street.
• T. R. KENDALL,
  • Lander Memorial Church.
• T. L. CRANDELL,
  • Dumesnil M. E. Church.
• C. E. CARTER,
  • Asbury M. E. Church.
• ARTHUR W. BROOK,
  • M. E. Church, South.
• W. B. BEAUCHAMP,
  • Pastor Fourth Ave. M. E. Church, South.
• J. R. McAFEE,
  • West Broadway M. E. Church, South.

Story of the Life of Geo. L. Herr

The Rev. George L. Herr, prison evangelist, has received from Chicago his book entitled "The Story of His Life," by Edward De Alma. Mr. Herr distributed 100 copies yesterday in the Jefferson County jail, and the men received them with great eagerness. Mr. Herr will place the story in all penal institutions. A letter from the Rev. James M. Taylor, complimenting the book, says: "I have read with soul-stirring interest the sad, heart-rending experience of Brother Herr, and the miraculous deliverance by the grace of God; how, by a life of sin, he squandered a fortune; how God found him and gave him deliverance; the romantic way in which his God-given companion entered his life and how they are being used, perhaps, as no other persons to-day in helping those behind the bars. This story will warn the reckless, encourage the 'outcast,' and put a desire in the hearts of thousands to lead better lives."—Louisville Courier-Journal

The Rev. Paul, of Meridian, Miss., says: "The story of Brother Herr's life, 'Redeemed from the depths of sin to the mountain top of salvation,' is a thrilling narrative, published as a warning to the fallen."

The Rev. J. B. Foote, chaplain of the Onondaga county penitentiary, in New York, acknowledging receipt of the life story of Mr. Herr and thanking him for it, states in his letter that he will use the book in his preaching in prison.

When asked if prison work paid, Mr. Herr said: "Who will ever know the vast number that will attribute their first impulse to a better life, formed while in the seclusion of a prison cell, while reading this book. The world will never know how many, when sitting in judgment upon themselves, have learned the great secret, that it takes an omnipotent power to change the current of their lives and give them deliverance from the power of sin, and enabling them to go forth, not to live a new purpose, but a new life."

In 1909 Mr. Herr published 150,000 sermons, books and tracts.

The Rev. George L. Herr, whose address delivered in our chapel last Sunday morning was charmingly refreshing, is a man whose vicissitudes of life lead through a labyrinth that would require a half century of years to make its journey at an ordinary pace.—Rev. D. J. Starr, D.D., Ohio Penitentiary.

Bro. Herr knows the prison work as few men do. He is a man of large sympathy, and having had an experience of fifteen years as an evangelist, knows how to reach the hearts of the men. He has the entire confidence of both prisoners and officials and is always given a most hearty welcome by all.—Jos. Severance, Chaplain.

"The large number who have been helped by hearing your message will be still further benefited by reading your book."—Rev. Albert J. Steelman, Ph.D., Chaplain, Illinois State Penitentiary.

Get Rev. Herr's book for your good, but chiefly for the good of others.

Rev. C. R. Hemphill, D.D., Louisville, Ky.: "I believe Rev. George L. Herr especially equipped for the difficult work of an evangelist to those in prison and to the neglected."

Rev. Wm. Edmond Foster: "His love for lost souls and his zeal knows no bounds. I bespeak for him a life of great usefulness to his fellowmen without hope and without God."

Rev. CHAS. R. HEMPHILL, d.d.
President Presbyterian Theological Seminary, Louisville, Ky. One of the South's greatest scholars and teachers; whose heart is full of sympathy for and helpfulness of the unfortunate.

Rev. Horace G. Ogden, D.D., New York: "I have been placed where I have known intimately his work as prison evangelist. I can say he has made a superb record. He has taken an enlarged field of work, and I have every confidence in his increased usefulness. His book merits a large circulation."

Rev. Ed. Ferguson: "For years he, with his most estimable wife, have given their time and talent to the uplifting of the down-trodden of this great metropolis and they have the respect and hearty co-operation of the best people in Louisville."

Rev. James M. Taylor: "The story will warn the reckless, encourage the 'outcast,' and put desire in the hearts of thousands to lead better lives."

Rev. T. T. Taliaferro, Chaplain Kentucky State Prison: "Your sermons are blessed of God to the furtherance of the works of grace in our midst. May God bless you in your noble work."

Rev. W. O. Vreeland, Chaplain Kentucky State Prison: "You are worthy of the highest commendation."

Men's Bible Class, James Lee Memorial Presbyterian Church: "Rev. George L. Herr's talk at last Sunday's session was a treat."

Rev. George L. Herr, 195 Coral Avenue, Louisville, Ky.: "Who will ever know the vast number that will attribute their first impulse to a better life, formed while in seclusion of a prison cell while reading this book."

The Rev. George L. Herr is bringing out a book on prison life which is abundantly capable of two effects, namely: Enlisting the attention of readers, like a romance, and benefitting the class of whom he writes. It is a two-hundred page book, illustrated with pictures of prisons, and scenes behind the bars.

Dear Friend:

We know you will rejoice with us in the work being accomplished behind prison bars. Many thousands we are preaching the gospel to every year. There are converts all over the United States that we hear from. The outlook of the work was never more encouraging. May we submit to you our plan to secure auxiliary memberships at $10.00 each?

Will you be one?

Geo. L. Herr and Wife,

Prison Evangelists.

Departments of Work.

Distribution of thousands of papers, tracts, and other religious reading.

Visiting the sick and poor.

Street work in the slums.

Evangelistic work in the different penitentiaries a specialty.

CHAPTER FIRST

LIFE OF GEORGE L. HERR

By EDWARD De ALMA

A BRAND PLUCKED FROM THE BURNING.

"As we sow so shall we reap."

Born in the city of Louisville, of an old Kentucky family, whose escutcheon had never been shadowed by smirch or breath of shame or ignominy, it might truthfully be said of George L. Herr that he had been ushered into this world with the proverbial "gold spoon in his mouth," his father, the late Richard S. Herr, being a prominent and highly esteemed and wealthy citizen of the grand old state of Kentucky. Though surrounded by the luxuries of life, by environments unusually favorable for the development of a strong, healthy, vigorous and clean life, yet Brother Herr's life from his youth up to the period of this writing, presents an aspect checkered with the lights and shadows of temptation, sin, remorse, repentance, redemption and restful peace of heart in salvation through Jesus.

Give us help from trouble; for vain is the help of man.—Ps. 108:12.

God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.—Ps. 46:1.

At the age of three months, the death of his precious mother caused him to be given into the keeping of his aunt, a noble Christian woman, and it was due to her teachings that the seeds of reverence for God, belief in his dearly beloved Son and faith in the promise of a life of everlasting happiness were planted deep in the recesses of George Herr's heart, while his father, a Christian gentleman, spared no efforts in his endeavor to bring up his son in the way he should go.

At the age of eighteen years, through the death of his father, he came into the possession of a large estate, but lacking the experience which usually comes with maturity, he developed a spirit of independence which soon brought in its train of attendant evils.

Have mercy upon me, O Lord; for I am weak; O Lord, heal me.—Ps. 6:2.

My grace is sufficient for thee; for my strength is made perfect in weakness.—2 Cor. 12:9.

The story of George Herr's experience is the recital of a man's gradual surrender to the power of drink, until the enormity of his fall can but be depicted by contrasting his condition with that as it was a few years before. Then he was a well known young man of Louisville's elite society, wealthy, respected, esteemed and sought after. Friends without number, well wishers innumerable, the door of any refined home in the city would have swung wide open in welcome at his knock. Now the other picture: A drunken outcast, a prey to the buffetings of every chance wind of fate, deprived of friends, stripped of wealth, position and reputation; exposed to every form of evil, subject to the cruelty of every character of temptation that assails human nature. Ostracized from society, barred from contact with any self-respecting acquaintance of former days, can you imagine a more potent example of the victory of Satan through the agency of his chief field marshal, Drink? God grant that this may come as a warning to some one of the thousands of young men who, with prospects as bright or even more flattering than were those of George Herr at the age of eighteen, are at this moment entering upon the path which will lead them, as it has countless thousands, into the abyss of eternal destruction! God grant that the moral to be drawn from this picture will burn itself in indelible letters of fire upon the very soul of each young man who reads this.

I am poor and needy; make haste unto me, O God.—Ps. 70:5.

My God shall supply all your need, according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus.—Phil. 4:19.

These were indeed dark days, the past a record of sin, the present a nightmare of misery and shame, the future black with the darkness of despair, with not the faintest gleam of hope to pierce the gloom. "Poor fellow," you say, "only one of a multitude." Yes, only the prototype of one of the thousands who are traveling the same broad thoroughfare at this moment.

It was at this critical juncture, when reputation was blasted, hope departed and the future barren of promises, that a remnant of respect for his home and the associates of better days awakened the residuum of pride remaining and brought the determination to remove his unwelcome presence from the scenes of former pleasures. He went West, but his hopes were blasted, and penniless, homeless, wretched, obliged to accept any kind of menial work in order to eke out a bare living, he wandered about until an overwhelming homesickness brought him back to Kentucky. There was, perhaps, a flickering intention to do better, to cut loose from the bands that bound him, but good resolutions were made only to be broken, and the cords of sin drawn tighter than ever.

Lord, what wilt thou have me to do?—Acts 9:6.

Follow thou me.—John 21:22.

None but God can realize the extreme bitterness of that bondage, the depths of that dark and unrelieved despair. Without light, without hope, without rest, and worst of all, without Christ? With not one friendly hand held out to greet him, with not one word of encouragement, but rather the cold glance of scorn, the bitter sneer of contempt, it is not strange that there stretched out before him apparently nothing but a drunkard's life, a drunkard's death and an endless eternity in a drunkard's hell.

Then the fearful temptation of suicide met him; but God, in his infinite mercy, destined him to pass through even this fearful ordeal unharmed and spared him that he might carry the gospel of a Savior's love to a lost and ruined world. Then a helping hand was extended. A lifelong friend, meeting him one day, and overcome with pity, gave him one more chance to make a man of himself, fitted him out with clothes, gave him a railroad ticket and money, advising him to leave Louisville and start life afresh elsewhere. But the fetters of sin were riveted so strongly that the well-meant advice of his boyhood friend was unheeded, and a few hours found him in as fearful a plight as ever. Then there came into this, the darkest hour in all his life, the experience of the prodigal son. A determination came into his life to sever forever all ties binding him to the life of degradation he was then living and to take the first step back into the narrow path of righteousness.

Show me thy ways, O Lord.—Ps. 25:4.

It was then that the Rev. Steve P. Holcombe of Louisville, Ky., took him to the Union Gospel Mission.

At this critical period there came within the radius of his sphere of existence a noble, devout woman, who proved to be the one thing needful to round out the life now worth living. In spite of all remonstrances on the part of her friends, she was greatly interested in the welfare of this man and prayed earnestly that God would make him a strong Christian man.

Her tireless energies, endless prayers and earnest teachings were ever present to hold him up and help him onward in the new life. God placed her in the sphere of George Herr's experience at a critical stage, using her as a medium for cementing his faith and determining his purpose to devote his remaining years to the work of redeeming unfortunates sunk in the darkness of sin. Their destinies were welded together by mutual interest in the work of saving lost men and the affinity of feeling between them developed into a bond of love, each seeing within the other those qualities necessary to happiness in wedded life, and on the 14th of April, 1898, George L. Herr and Miss Lillie M. Joyce, the woman who was such an essential portion of his existence, were joined in the holy bonds of matrimony by the Rev. Carter Helm Jones, D.D., pastor of the Broadway Baptist Church, Louisville, Ky.

The meek will he teach his way.—Ps. 25:9.

Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy Holy Spirit from me.—Ps. 51:11.

Rev. STEVE P. HOLCOMBE
The founder of the Holcombe Mission of Louisville, Ky.

George Herr says that the old life, with its bondage in sin and its darkness of evil, is a thing of the eliminated past. Finding happiness in his new life, he has consecrated his time, energy, ability and talents to continuous devotion to the task of spreading the gospel among the fallen. Into the gloomiest recesses of penitentiaries, workhouses and jails, beyond portals where visitors are excluded, he has carried the message of Christ's saving grace into the darkness of despairing men's and women's lives.

God has blessed George L. Herr in many ways, giving him daily recompense for the days of misery, shame and degradation, giving him a happy home, glorified by the presence of a loving, devoted wife and the precious daughter, and this story is sent forth with the earnest prayer that God may use it, with its message of hope and cheer, for the salvation of many despairing, discouraged ones who are bound by the awful fetters of sin as he once was.

All that the Father giveth me shall come to me; and him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out.—John 6:37.

One of the greatest privileges accorded man is to be a messenger for Christ. George Herr has tasted the sweets of liberty in Christ and he loves to tell those in the terrible bondage of sin that there is an avenue of escape. In his rescue work he has been able to take a great number of homeless, friendless and hopeless men and women by the hand.

Does it pay? The results of George Herr's labors among the unfortunates are a satisfactory answer to this question. It pays a hundredfold in the feeling of duty well done, in the knowledge of many useful lives saved. It pays in words of gratitude feelingly uttered by noble men and women, who, formerly sunk in the quicksands of despair, are now restored to a world of happiness and peace.

Jesus own words are: "They that be whole need not a physician, but they that are sick, for I am not come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance."—Matt. 9:12, 13.

It is our earnest prayer to the Father of all good, that this story of George Herr's redemption from the clutches of sin may, through his unfailing love for all suffering ones, carry its message of hope, its promise of salvation from eternal despair, into the hearts of many who are despondent, discouraged, despairing. May it instill into the hearts of the unfortunate a desire to come back into the fold of the Father's unending love, bringing with it the sweet conviction that no matter how far we have wandered from within the radius of his love, we are still his children, the erring ones for whose redemption he gave his Son to be offered upon the altar of human sacrifice that we, through the atonement of his innocent blood, should inherit the kingdom of heaven.

Hold up my goings in thy path, that my footsteps slip not.—Ps. 17:6.

The Late Mr. GEORGE GAULBERT
One of my best friends. Many heart-to-heart talks I have had with this grand and wealthy merchant

CHAPTER TWO

"LOST AND IS FOUND"

Jesus said, "A man had two sons; and the younger one of them said to his father, 'Father, give me my share of the inheritance!' so the father divided the property between them. A few days later the younger son got together all that he had and went away into a distant land; and there he squandered his inheritance by leading a dissolute life. After he had spent all that he had, there was a severe famine through all that country, and he began to be in actual want. So he went and engaged himself to one of the people of that country, who sent him into his field to tend pigs. He even longed to satisfy his hunger with the bean pods on which the pigs were feeding; and no one gave him anything. But when he came to himself he said, 'How many of my father's hired servants have more bread than they can eat, while here am I starving to death; I will get up and go to my father and say to him, 'Father, I have sinned against Heaven and against you; I am no longer fit to be called your son; make me as one of your hired servants.' And he got up and went to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was deeply moved; he ran and threw his arms around his neck and kissed him. 'Father,' the son said, 'I sinned against Heaven and against you; I am no longer fit to be called your son; make me one of your hired servants.' But the father turned to his servants and said, 'Be quick and bring a robe, the very best, and put it on him; give him a ring for his finger and sandals for his feet; and bring the fatted calf and kill it, and let us eat and make merry; for here is my son who was dead, and is alive again, was lost and is found."

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.—Isa. 9:6.

Rev. CARTER HELM JONES, d.d.
The late Pastor Broadway Baptist Church Louisville, Ky.

This younger son thought he was wiser than his father and wanted to manage his own affairs. So it is with men who think they can manage their own affairs without God.

He shall give his angels charge over thee, to keep thee in all thy ways.—Ps. 91:11.

A case in hand: An acquaintance of mine in Louisville, a young man of handsome face and fine physique, with all the advantages wealth, education and social position could give him, started out at the age of twenty-one with unfaltering prospects of a prosperous, useful and happy life, but, like the young man in our lesson, thought he could manage his own affairs without God; in other words, he refused to give his heart and life to Jesus Christ, and not having Christ to protect, shield, restrain, and assist him, in a time of temptation he was led along little by little, almost without knowing it, until he was ready to commit any crime. One day in a house of ill repute he shot and killed a young man; for this crime he was arrested, tried and convicted, but the wealth and influence of his family secured him a pardon. Even this bitter experience failed to teach him that he had made a mistake in thinking he could manage his own affairs, for, after regaining his liberty, he plunged deeper and deeper into sin, ending in himself being murdered.

As the prodigal in the parable wanted to get as far from his father's presence as possible, "into a far country," so the man when he determines to give himself up to others. He does not want to hear about God or even think about him. Reader, was not this so with you? The father did not compel the son to stay at home; he allowed him to choose what he preferred. So it is with God; he does not compel us to obedience. For my part I wish he did. "He wasted his substance in riotous living;" and so it is with the sinner, in the service of sin; he wastes and destroys his property, his health, his reputation, his intellect, his conscience.

Fear not; for I have redeemed thee, I have called thee by thy name; thou art mine.—Is. 43:1.

The Late Rev. E. A. FERGUSON
One of the Author's best friends

There is nothing in this world valuable enough to recompense such a loss, or balance the misery of a tormenting conscience. If you violate it for the sake of a gratification of the body it will remember the injury many years after. Gen. 42:21; Job 13:26. It will not only retain the memory of what you did, but it will accuse you for it. Matt. 27:4. It will not fear to tell you that plainly, which others dare not whisper. It will not only accuse, but it will also condemn you for what you have done. This condemning voice of conscience is a terrible voice. You may see the horror of it in Cain, the vigor of it in Judas, the doleful effects of it in Saphira. It will produce shame, fear, and despair, if God give not repentance to life. The shame it works will so confound you, that you will not be able to look up. Job. 31:14; Psa. 1:5. The fear it works will make you wish for a hole in the rock to hide you. Isa. 2:9, 10, 15, 19. And its despair is a death pang.

"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool."—Is. 1:18.

Young man, consider the nature of your present actions; they are seeds sown for eternity, and will spring up again in suitable effects, rewards and punishments, when you that did them are turned to dust. What a man sows, that shall he reap. Gal. 6:7. And as sure as the harvest follows the seedtime, so shall shame, fear, and horror follow sin. Dan. 12:2. What Zeuxis, the famous painter, said of his work, may much more truly be said of ours: "I paint for eternity." Ah! how bitter will these things be in the day of reckoning, which were pleasant in the acting! It is true our actions, physically considered, are transient. How soon is a word or action spoken or done, and there is an end of it! But morally considered, they are permanent, being entered upon God's book of action.

I have blotted out, as a thick cloud, thy transgressions, and, as a cloud, thy sins: return unto me; for I have redeemed thee.—Isa. 44:22.

Let me illustrate: Some time ago a young man, son of a nobleman of Germany, came to our home poorly clad, without money, without friends, realizing to some extent the depth to which he had fallen, filled with remorse on account of disgrace he had brought upon himself and his family, and like the prodigal in the parable he said, "I will arise and go to my father." He left our home for his home in New Orleans, La. After his arrival there we received the following letter:

My Dear Brother Herr: My letter to you from San Antonio told of the happiness which had come to me as a result of the reunion of my wife and little ones. Can you realize how full those days were spent in the sweet companionship of those who are so dear to me? I would have wished to have remained with them until Christmas, but my obligations to business intervened, and I was compelled to leave in order to attend to matters here.

My thoughts are with you so much that I often feel as though I could reach out and grasp your hand; and so often during the day there goes up a whispered prayer from my heart that our Father will bless you in just proportion as you have been a sweet, helpful blessing to others.

My route includes Louisville, and while I may not be in there on this trip, it will not be many days before I will have an opportunity to greet you in person. May God bless Sister Herr and yourself if only in recompense for your kindness to me.

Edward.

Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.—Isa. 44:10.

Does not the life of this man preach a more eloquent sermon, and tell a more powerful tale, and teach a more eloquent lesson than I or any other preacher could do? Reader, you cannot ignore, disregard, or shut your eyes to the lesson which this man's life teaches, impresses and enforces of the awful danger and the deadly and destructive effects of sin.

Wash you, make you clean; put away the evil of your doings from before mine eyes; cease to do evil.—Isa. 1:16.

Here is a lesson in life that appeals to us and bids us stop in our mad way. This parable of the prodigal son shows that we can have our own way if we determine to do it; father and mother can't keep us from it, and God by force will not keep us from it; but we will certainly pay for it, and pay the price of tears and sorrow, remorse and ruin. This nobleman's son, by refusing to heed God's warning, was brought to want. No matter whose son it is, if he determines to have his own way and give himself up to self-indulgence and riotous living, he will come to want, shame, bitterness, and many are the men who tried to master themselves but failed. Some evil habit had fastened itself upon him, and realizing himself a slave, tries to shake it off, but, alas! the will has been paralyzed, and it does not respond in warding off the fearful habit. Defeat after defeat occurs until the poor fellow, discouraged, broken-hearted, gives up and goes down to utter ruin. Man is no match for the devil. How hopeless would be the outlook for the great army of men whom we labor with were it not for a Deliverer. "The cross held his body; the sun hid his face for shame, and the bowels of the earth were moved in compassion, when Jesus expired on Calvary's rugged tree, thus purchasing redemption for every man from the curse of sin. It is possible through Christ for every man to be a Christian."

"Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out."—John 6:37. What a wonderful invitation—these words of the Savior!

And now here are some of the ways God has taken to tell you of his love: Psalm 103:13: "Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him." Isaiah 49:15: "Can a woman forget her suckling child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? yea, they may forget, yet I will not forget thee." Luke 11:13: "If ye then, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more shall your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" Luke 18:13-14: "And the publican, standing afar off, would not lift up so much as his eyes unto heaven, but smote upon his breast, saying, God be merciful to me a sinner. I tell you this man went down to his house justified rather than the other: for every one that exalteth himself shall be abased, and he that humbleth himself shall be exalted." Luke 15:7: "I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance." Luke 15:10: "Likewise I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." Luke 7:36-50: "And one of the Pharisees desired him that he would eat with him. And he went into the Pharisee's house, and sat down to meat. And behold a woman in the city, which was a sinner, when she knew that Jesus sat at meat in the Pharisee's house, brought an alabaster box of ointment, and stood at his feet behind him weeping, and began to wash his feet with tears, and did wipe them with the hairs of her head, and kissed his feet, and anointed them with the ointment.

Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates.—Prov. 31:31.

"Now when the Pharisee which had bidden him saw it, he spake within himself, saying, This man, if he were a prophet, would have known who and what manner of woman this is that toucheth him; for she is a sinner. And Jesus answering said unto him, Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. And he saith, Master, say on. There was a certain creditor which had two debtors: the one owed five hundred pence, and the other fifty. And when they had nothing to pay, he frankly forgave them both. Tell me, therefore, which of them will love him most? Simon answered and said, I suppose that he to whom he forgave most. And he said unto him, Thou hast rightly judged. And he turned to the woman, and said unto Simon, Seest thou this woman? I entered into thine house, thou gavest me no water for my feet: but she hath washed my feet with tears, and wiped them with the hairs of her head. Thou gavest me no kiss: but this woman, since the time I came in, hath not ceased to kiss my feet. My head with oil thou didst not anoint: but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment. Wherefore I say unto thee, her sins, which are many, are forgiven; for she loved much: but to whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little. And he said unto her, Thy sins are forgiven.

And, behold, there came a leper and worshipped him, saying, Lord, if thou wilt, thou canst make me clean.—Matt. 8:2.

"And they that sat at meat with him began to say within themselves, Who is this that forgiveth sins also? And he said to the woman, Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace."

A father whose son had gone away to California, and was a gambler in San Francisco, sent him word by a friend: "Your father loves you still." And it made him ashamed; it broke his heart; he repented, returned home and was saved. "God, your heavenly Father, loves you still." Will you not believe it and come to him for safety? He will not abuse you for your sins. He will save you from your sins, and make you happy.

"And he began to be in want."

That is what sin brings a man to—want.

And it was this which brought him to his senses—"he came to himself" (verse 17).

And when he does come to himself he can think of only one place where he can hope to find relief, and he bravely determines to go straight to the very father he had so shamefully abandoned, and to make a full confession and throw himself on that father's mercy with the hope of being taken back as a hired servant. He is willing to take the humblest and meanest place if he can only get back to that home he was, a short time before, so eager to leave. Nor does he offer any excuse; he calls his sin by the right name and confesses it without trying to excuse it or justify it.

And Jesus put forth his hand, and touched him, saying, I will; be thou clean. And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.—Matt. 8:3.

And how did his father receive him? Why, he did not wait till his poor, ragged, worn and wasted boy got in and made his confession; but he saw him a great way off (verse 20) and he knew what had passed in the boy's heart and life, and moved with compassion toward him, he ran and fell on his neck and kissed him a glad welcome back to his heart and home. But the son goes on to make his confession and his offer to be a hired servant anyhow, and yet the father says, "No! no! bring forth the best robe and put it on him."

"And their works do follow them."—Rev. 14:13.

A man married a young widow with a small son. Her former husband had left her $10,000 in his will. The man said: "I will take care of you and we will lay away that $10,000 for your boy." Two other sons were born to them. The stepson was educated and taught habits of business. At twenty-one years of age he asked for the money his father had left. He was told that instead of being $10,000, it had been invested for him and was now $50,000. He was asked to let the money stay in the business and to become a partner with his stepfather. The young man refused, took his $50,000, fell into bad habits and lost it all and came home in rags, a tramp. His stepfather met him at the train, took him to the barbershop and clothier and presented him to his mother at the house as a gentleman. The nicest room in the house was assigned him and he was told that it was his permanent home. He was also told by his stepfather that he was to be taken into the business firm composed of the father and the two half-brothers. This was more than he could stand. He began to weep at his ingratitude and at the love which had been lavished upon him. He devoted himself to business, was devoted to his stepfather, and was as loyal to his interests as his own sons. This picture, though it seems overdrawn, is one of real life. The stepfather had a good disposition naturally, but his magnanimous treatment of the prodigal was out of his sincere affection for his wife. There were few ties of love that bound him to the bad boy, only the love of his faithful wife. He loved the boy for the sake of his mother. Our Father loves his children and receives the prodigals returning to him for their own sake and the sake of his Son who died for them, and treats them, in his affection, as though they had never sinned against him.

The eyes of the Lord are in every place, beholding the evil and the good.—Prov, 15:3.

Dr. E. L. POWELL
Pastor First Christian Church, Louisville. One of the ablest ministers of the Christian Church who has done a wonderful work among the masses.

CHAPTER THREE

POLITICAL PERIL

Sermon by Dr. E. L. Powell, on "The Need of Prophets in a
Time of Political Peril," delivered at the First
Christian Church, Louisville, Ky.

"And they, whether they will hear, or whether they will forbear, (for they are a rebellious house,) shall know that there hath been a prophet among them."—Ezekiel 2:5.

He thought it would not be questioned by thinking persons that we are living in a time of political peril. He did not mean that revolution was at our door; he did not mean that we are threatened with a reign of terror; he did not mean that there was any prospect of immediate bloodshed.

I have preached righteousness in the great congregation: lo, I have not refrained my lips, O Lord, thou knowest.

I have not hid thy righteousness within my heart; I have declared thy faithfulness and thy salvation; I have not concealed thy loving kindness and thy truth from the great congregation.—Psalm 40:9, 10.

Our perils spring from our state—the state of our own souls. They are lacking in moral sensibility—we are in danger. We are told on every hand our country was never more prosperous—that is unquestionably so. The same might be said of Rome when that colossal empire was tottering to its fall. There were persons then who paid from $200,000 to $400,000 for a single feast. It is recorded of one man that, after spending several millions of dollars in luxurious living, he committed suicide because he had only $400,000 between him and starvation. National bankruptcy does not stare us in the face. Fortunes grow up in a generation—the dollar smiles upon us as a beneficent sun. Yet our moral condition is such as to call forth from thinking men serious and earnest fear. We are as a man living in a luxuriously appointed house, and yet, on account of invalidism, unable to appreciate his splendid home and environments.

Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me.

He had called the attention of the congregation last Sunday night to what was the fundamental source of our political corruption—the unnatural separation of religion and politics. He did not mean separation of Church and State; that was right and proper; but he did mean that we need the reign of truth, purity and righteousness, because of the ills to which attention was called last Sunday night. His lecture tonight would be on "The Need of Prophets in a Time of Political Peril." He did not wish to call attention to the peculiarly inspired Bible prophet. So far as he was concerned he was a man apart, who could not be our example—he constituted an order of his own; but we mortals can to some extent, recognizing our limitations, reproduce the power of the prophets, and it is not limited by arbitrary metes and bounds, as God sends his teachers to every age and every clime. If there ever was a time when we stood in need of moral leadership it is now. We want men who come like the prophets of old, who shall come before us as genuine leaders to take us out of this wilderness in which we find ourselves. A fine moral leadership is the exception rather than the rule. Unless the standard be lifted up the hosts will not rally. Truth will not win its way on its own merits. Let the call come from the lips that speak not lies, but the truth, and there is that in the humblest of men that will give back an amen. And when our leaders come we shall recognize them. We are not likely to mistake the rumble of cart-wheels for thunder. The leader carries his credentials. When a community is visited by a prophet it is known by that community that a prophet has been among them. You do not mistake genuine fire. You are never deceived by a genuine voice. It has been true in all ages of the world that wisdom is recognized by its people. Deep down in the hearts of the people are the instincts of truth. When we find men willing to pay the price of leadership we shall have leaders. It is as true today as it was in the days of prophecy that such leaders as we have have taught us to err. We need men with political consciences—men who recognize that there are such things as truth, purity and righteousness in the world.

What must I do to be saved?—Acts 16:30.

Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved.—Acts 16:31.

In speaking of moral leadership the all-inclusive qualification is inspiration. He did not mean the exceptional inspiration that applies to the Bible prophets. He meant that inspiration which kindles the powers we already have into life. When he spoke of inspiration he meant the enlivening, the stirring up of the powers we already have as opposed to the shallow indifference of one who draws about him the robes of his silken selfishness and says, "Let well enough alone"—a man whose inspiration glows and glows intensely. The inspired man feels the degradation of his country as a personal infliction. Those who dishonor her are his own foes, and insults flung in the face of political liberty are felt by him as an affront to himself. Our prophets must be men who feel the woes that they oppose, men who feel the humiliation before they can strike with the right arm clothed with power. Indifference to the public weal on the part of the average political leader is one of the most distressing features of our political situation. These people do not seem capable of feeling righteous indignation in the presence of the moral infamy by which they are confronted, and hence their words do not come forth as thunderbolts, but as spent balls. Beware of the man whose heart has not been pierced by the woes of his country. The sting is the needed spur to effort. The sleeping lion is not dangerous; but let him be wounded and his roar shall ring as the trumpet of doom in the ears of his enemies. We must seek our leaders among those who can feel the woes of humanity—men of profound feeling—as those are the best prophets.

Let the redeemed of the Lord say so, whom he hath redeemed from the hand of the enemy;

And gathered them out of the lands, from the east, and from the west, from the north and from the south.—Psalm 107:2, 3.

He believed that we must strike at the evil of social indifferentism. Who does not feel profound shame that the law against carrying concealed and deadly weapons is not strictly enforced, which made possible tragedies such as that at Frankfort, which has disgraced the fair name and fame of our State. The leaders' voices should ring throughout our land until we are bowed to the earth in shame in view of the infamies which disgrace us.

Lord, save us; we perish.—Matt. 8:25.

There shall not a hair of your head perish.—Lu. 21:18.

Another element required for leadership was the power of vision. There must be a clear recognition of evils. The idealist is not a mere dreamer, but acquainted with the actual wants of the people. In fact our leaders must see something better. The man who is working in the slums must keep his eyes fixed on the stars. There can be no change for the better until the better is made to shine with the brightness of a beckoning angel.

I delight to do thy will, O my God: yea, thy law is within my heart.

I am a companion of them that keep thy precepts.—Psalm 119:63.

Here is the opportunity and duty of newspapers. James Russell Lowell says: "What a pulpit the editor mounts daily, sometimes with a congregation of fifty thousand within reach of his voice, and never so much as a nodder, even, among them! and from what a Bible can he choose his text—a Bible that needs no translation, and which no priestcraft can shut and clasp from the laity—the open volume of the world, upon which with a pen of sunshine or destroying fire the inspired Present is even now writing the annals of God!"

PROMINENT IN THE RELIGIOUS LIFE OF LOUISVILLE

PRESBYTERIAN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY

But has the editor no mission other than to tell us of partisan political measures? To be a simple annalist who shall bring before us the events of the day, but who creates no perspective along which we may tread to better customs, better men and better times? He never leaves us in doubt—"Let us do the best we can, and leave the rest alone." In God's name, is there not something better? "Let us go up and possess the land." Standing on the mountain height up there we shall all see fairer lands below. The inspired editor not only sees the battle from afar, but also the coming of the imperial guard of righteousness with victory. There is that in the heart of every man that responds to the ideal. No leader has ever succeeded in having an evil reformed who wanted an ideal. Napoleon, when he said, "Beyond the Alps lies Italy," was appealing to that sentiment—to something beyond—to something in the future. When Cortez drew an imaginary line before his men, who had become mutinous, and said "On this side lies danger, death, duty and glory; on that, safety, shame and infamy. Choose ye whether you will step this side of the line or remain where you are," he was appealing to something in their hearts—put there by the Almighty himself. Editors should not think it their only mission to mirror forth things as they occur, but say to their 50,000 readers, "Let us go up and possess the land" of truth, purity and righteousness. This is not weakness on their part but evidence of the profoundest philosophy. Fifty years ago we had senatorial utterances that would reach across the continent. The secret power of those utterances was that they were ideal. In the days when boys spoke pieces in school we declaimed them, and we feel their influence today.

Bless the Lord, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits.

When wilt thou comfort me?—Ps. 119:82.

Love worketh no ill to his neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.—Rom. 13:10.

Another element of leadership is moral enthusiasm. The idealist in art is so for the love of art. He enters into the discussion of art subjects with enthusiasm. So with the moral enthusiast. Sin is hateful to him, and he seeks to crush it as he would a viper, and instinctively and spontaneously his denunciations come forth. Truth is his pole-star, and he will tell his best friend, "I will do anything but lie for you." Try to bribe him, and you will think that the central fires of the earth have been concentrated into his blistering rebuke. Suggest a compromise involving dishonor, and if you escape a blow you will be fortunate. Like Luther he says: "Here I stand. I can do no other. God help me." He would not go with the crowd to moral destruction. Moral enthusiasm has been the virtue of all epoch-making men. Men do not die for fancies; they do not die for offices. They die for what they believe is right. Give them something that appeals to their moral nature and they will die for it. The grand martyrs were men who laid down their lives for what they believed to be right. There came to them those lines of James Russell Lowell:

"Once to every man and Nation
Comes the moment to decide,
In the strife of truth and falsehood
For the good or evil side;
Love's great cause, God's new Messiah,
Offering each the bloom or blight,
Parts the goats upon the left hand
And the sheep upon the right,
And the choice goes by forever
'Twixt the darkness and the light."

As one whom his mother comforteth, so will I comfort you.—Is. 66:13.

He who loveth God loveth his brother also.—1 John 4:21.

We must have leaders who possess the elements of leadership for the great task of making the world better—who possess the elementary virtues of honesty and truth. He had indicated some of the elements of moral leadership that these times demand. He did not mean to say that the political stage had not such leaders. Certainly there were a few; but we can make it possible to have a thousand. When we can see one we are surprised. In the past, thank God, we have had such leaders, and in the future we shall have such leaders again.

It is slumbering in the hearts of men and women all around us. It needs only some one to sweep the harp strings. The trouble is with ourselves. How can we be leaders with sensual and selfish appetites and desires? Does God no longer speak to man? Burns there no fire upon the altar? He did not believe God had exhausted himself. God had not exhausted himself by casting out a few bright stars from his own luminous presence. There is power for him to bring to the front the men we are longing and praying for.

He shall deliver thee in six troubles; yea in seven there shall no evil touch thee.—Job 5:19.

In conclusion, he wished to say only these few words—that every leader is a man that must bring to us the message of hope. The prophets through all those weary years carried the torch of hope and handed it to their successors. Abraham believed with all his soul that he should have a posterity as numerous as the stars. He died leaving only one heir. Moses, the great law-giver, had a vision that a community of slaves should be made into a great nation. He went up into Pisgah and died, leaving them still slaves. Long ago a prophet looked over the sea at a vision of a new heaven and a new earth. Two thousand years have passed away and no new heaven or new earth has come—but as sure as truth is stronger than falsehood it will come—just so sure we shall one day see a new heaven and a new earth, where dwelleth no political corruption, but righteousness. Not in our time, perhaps, not in our children's time, shall the thing be; but it will come. Let us pray, then, that we may answer in the language of the great poet.

"Oh, well I know that to him who works, and knows he works,
This same glad year is ever at the door."

The Lord bless thee, and keep thee:

The Lord make his face shine upon thee, and be gracious unto thee:

The Lord lift up his countenance upon thee, and give thee peace.

CHAPTER FOUR

CHRIST THE INTERPRETER
OF THE PICTURE

A Sermon preached by Rev. T. M. Hawes in the Slums

"I have somewhat to say unto thee."—Luke 7:40.

The scene presented in this narration is worthy of the painter's brush. We have a beautiful and striking presentation of the gospel—not set forth in theological terms as abstract truth—but presented in the form of a concrete example—a picture with Christ himself as the interpreter.

And now as we look at this picture with Christ to explain and interpret it to us, let us see what he will teach us concerning the gospel.

First, we can learn here for whom the gospel is not intended.

Beloved, if God so loved us, we ought also to love one another.—1 John 4:11.

Evidently it is not intended for those who find fault with it. Christ is among a people who seem determined not to be pleased. He has just wondered to whom he could liken them, and observing a number of children at play he likens them to children playing in the market place. "We have piped unto you and ye have not danced; we have mourned to you and ye have not wept." They found fault with John the Baptist because he was too severe—they found fault with Jesus because he was too liberal. And here Simon is finding fault with him because he is allowing this sinful woman to wash his feet. Am I saying too much when I say that there is that same trait in human nature today, and that it keeps people out of the kingdom? Yea, more than that, it often keeps those who are in the kingdom from receiving the blessings which otherwise might be theirs. There are those on the outside who remain out because they are constantly finding fault. There are those on the inside who are always unhappy for the same reason. If the preacher hews to the line they say he is a scold—if he doesn't they say he is afraid to stand up for what he believes, and so it goes.

Rev. T. M. HAWES, d.d.
The beloved pastor of the Highland Presbyterian Church. The "Beloved John" of the Louisville ministry.

Let us learn from this picture that the gospel is not for faultfinders. Our late Mr. Moody says a true thing when he says that a faultfinder is usually a lightweight.

He brought me to the banqueting house, and his banner over me was love.—S. of S. 2:4.

Again we can learn from this picture that the gospel is not intended for those who do not think they need it; not intended for self-righteous people. No one is ever going to appreciate the gospel until he feels the need of it. The spirit of the Pharisee will shut us out from the blessings of the gospel whether we are church members or not. Simon looked down on the sinful woman and felt that he was far superior to her. Evidently he felt no need of a Saviour. The Scribes and Pharisees rejected Christ on the very grounds that he was the friend of publicans and sinners. Oh, yes, in the very nature of the case the gospel cannot reach those who do not feel their need of some power beyond themselves.

Furthermore, the gospel is not meant for those who are ashamed of it. There is something very touching and beautiful in this picture of the woman who was a sinner coming into this public court to do honor to Christ. She had true humility. Simon was far from doing anything of this kind, he was willing to show a certain sort of respect for Christ, but he would have been too proud to have ever done such a thing as this.

"Ashamed of Jesus, sooner far
Let evening blush to own a star."

Is it not true that a sense of being ashamed of the gospel shuts out from its blessings those who entertain such unworthy feelings?

Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart.—Mk. 12:30.

Finally, let us learn from this picture that the gospel is not meant for those who are not glad to make a free-will offering of sacrifice as a token of this grateful love. This woman brought an alabaster box of ointment.

"My head with oil thou didst not anoint; but this woman hath anointed my feet with ointment." Christ did not exact this of her—it was a free-will offering. If the gospel does not draw out our gratitude and liberality, then it has never touched us. It is not because of our gifts that we are forgiven, but it is because of our forgiveness that we give. "To whom little is forgiven, the same loveth little."

"That man may last but never lives,
Who much receives but nothing gives;
Whom none can love, whom none can thank,
Creation's blot, creation's blank.

"But he who walks from day to day
In generous acts his radiant way,
Treads the same path his Saviour trod—
The path to glory and to God."

Now, having learned from this picture for whom the gospel is not intended, let us learn for whom it is intended. Ah! how with a few bold and simple strokes the whole matter is made plain.

Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.—Mark 11:31.

First, I notice that it is meant for sinners. "Behold a woman in the city which was a sinner." Jesus "a friend of publicans and sinners." That tells the story. "I came to call not the righteous, but sinners." Some people find fault with the church because there are so many sinners in the church. Just as well find fault with a hospital for having sick people in it. Just as well find fault with the doctor for visiting invalids. "Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee; you are finding fault with me for allowing this sinful woman to touch me. Let me tell you, Simon, that it is just for this very purpose that I am come into this world." "This is a faithful saying and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ came into the world to save sinners." He was the great Physician and great physicians are those who have a specialty. This was Christ's specialty—to save sinners. Who is this that forgiveth sins, also?

The end of the commandment is love out of a pure heart.—1 Tim. 1:5.

Secondly, I learn from our Saviour's interpretation of this picture that the gospel is for the very greatest of sinners. "Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee. There was a certain creditor who had two debtors," etc. Our Saviour proceeds with an illustration which shows that this woman was one of the greatest of sinners. She was ten times worse than the average sinner, and yet she was more welcome to the Saviour than this proud, self-righteous Pharisee. Oh, men and women! if you are in this hall, feeling that you are unworthy to be here, your very unfitness makes you fit. Draw nigh to this Saviour from sin and hear him say, "Thy sins are forgiven; go in peace." Let no pharisaical Simon frighten you away—the Saviour will give him the rebuke which he deserves and will whisper into your ear words of pardon and of peace.

Many waters cannot quench love neither can the floods drown it.—S. of S. 8:7.

I learn from this picture which Christ interprets that the gospel is for penitent sinners. "Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee; seest thou this woman? She hath washed my feet with her tears." Oh, those were precious tears in the sight of our Saviour. Every tear-drop was a jewel. The breaking of the alabaster box of ointment was a sweet incense to Jesus, but this ten-fold sinner bathing his very feet with her penitential tears was a sight which made the angels in heaven rejoice, "for there is more joy in heaven over one sinner that repenteth than over ninety-nine just persons who need no repentance." Simon despised this woman's tears and sat unmoved at the pathetic scene—but not so with Jesus. He could refrain himself no longer, but speaking out before all the company he said, "Thy sins are forgiven." Oh, gracious words! How sweet and soft must have been this music to the ears of this sinful outcast.

"They fall as soft as snow on the sea
And melt in the heart as instantly."

Finally, I learn from this picture which Christ is interpreting for us that the gospel is for sinners who commit themselves in implicit faith to Christ. "Simon, I have somewhat to say unto thee." "Behold this woman; you have done a great deal of talking—this poor woman has not spoken a word—but behold how she has thrown herself upon my mercy with unquestioning confidence! Do you think I will disappoint such trust as that? She has heard me say, 'Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast out' and has taken me at my word, and I consider it an honor to turn from thy company to the company of this sinful woman."

And he said to the woman, "Thy faith hath saved thee; go in peace."

Without faith it is impossible to please God.—Hebrews 11:6.

Rev. HENRY CLAY MORRISON, d.d.
A Giant Against Unrighteousness

CHAPTER FIVE

THROWING OUT THE LIFE-LINE

By Rev. H. C. Morrison, D.D.

"Ye are the salt of the earth," "Ye are the light of the world," "Let your light so shine before men that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which art in heaven."—Matt. 5:13, 14, 15.

These sayings of Jesus from the sermon on the mount are quite remarkable. No other teacher ever used such words to his disciples, "Ye are the light of the world." Had the Jewish doctor of the law heard these words of our Lord to his humble sun-tanned, bare-footed, shaggy-browed fishermen, he would have been quite disgusted with what to him would have seemed the consummate egotism of the Nazarene.

The meaning of the words of Christ is very plain. The disciples, their lives, character, spirit, the power of the Christ in them must, and would, permeate society like salt, and purify and save from sin. They must illuminate the world, so dark with vice, and show it the way back to God.

Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God.—Rom. 5:1.

These words of Jesus to the disciples who sat before him that day, are addressed by him to all of his followers for all time, to all of those who trust him and gladly obey him (and only such are disciples). He says, "Ye are the salt of the earth," "Ye are the light of the world." "Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works, and glorify your Father which is in heaven."

I have somewhat to say unto thee.—Luke 7:40.

We must not forget that God's plan is to save the lost, through the instrumentality of those who were themselves once lost, but are now saved from sin. If we would have a great testimony meeting in the city of the skies, and all of the countless hosts there should one by one stand up to tell how they were brought from sin to Jesus, each one of them would point out some person who had been the chief instrument in his or her salvation. There is this one characteristic of all who are truly saved—they desire the salvation of all souls. In fact, this is a very good thermometer with which to get the correct temperature of one's spiritual life. Does he long for the salvation of the lost? If so, in the nature of things he must be in a state of salvation. Is he indifferent to the condition of the lost? Then he is himself in a lost state. Let us here impress the important truth that Jesus did not say to his disciples, "Ye must try and salt the earth," but said, "Ye are the salt of the earth." He did not say, "Ye shall kindle a flame that shall illuminate the world." He said, "Ye are the light of the world." We are not, as the disciples of Christ, to be makers of light and salt, but we, by the power of Christ, must be made into salt and light. It will be interesting to notice the processes through which one must pass in order to become salt and light. Let us go back to the beginning of this sermon of our Lord and we will hear him saying, "Blessed are the poor in spirit." First of all to become salt and light one must be poor in spirit; he must awake to the fact that he owes a million and has not one cent with which to pay. From his heart he must say,

"Nothing in my hands I bring,
Simply to thy cross I cling."

Create in me a clean heart, O God, and renew a right spirit within me.—Psalms 51:10

He must realize in his inmost soul his perilous condition, and pray from the fullness of a deep conviction in his heart, "Lord save, or I perish." Not only must he be poor in spirit, but our Lord says, "Blessed are they that mourn." God loves to see the falling tears of sorrow for sin against himself. Those that truly mourn because of their sins will forsake them. How blessed for the returning prodigal to come with a heart all full of deep contrition. They that mourn because of their sins shall be comforted. After deep poverty of spirit and true mourning for sin and the comforting of the soul by the pardoning mercy of God. Then meekness will most certainly follow.

Now, the soul comforted, born of God, sitting in meekness at the feet of Jesus, will "hunger and thirst after righteousness." A dead man has no appetite or desire for food, but a living one must eat. The soul that is born of God will at once begin to hunger for Godlikeness. The cry of such a soul is not so much for his blessings as it is for him. The Psalmist says, "As the hart panteth for the water-brooks, so panteth my soul for Thee, O God." Jesus says of such, "They shall be filled"—filled with purity, love and peace; filled with the Holy Ghost; filled with all the fulness of God. All such will be merciful, pure in heart, peace-makers, and be sure that persecution will follow. This world that hated and killed our Lord will not let his followers pass through without persecutions. Of this we may be sure.

Be ye of good courage, and bring of the fruit of the land.—Num. 13:20.

But with all these graces and past experiences herein named the persecuted can rejoice and be exceedingly glad. And of such Jesus says, "Ye are salt and light." Would the reader be salt and light? Then pass through the program laid down in the sermon on the mount. One must be so poor in spirit that he will be such a mourner, that he will receive such comfort, that he will become so meek, that in him there will be such hungering and thirsting after righteousness, that he will be so filled with righteousness, that he will become so merciful and pure in heart, that he will be such a peacemaker, that he will be so persecuted, that he will so rejoice, that he will be salt and light, so shining that men will see it and glorify our Father in heaven. It is folly to be striving to do something before. By the grace of God and his divine power we are ourselves made something. Make the tree good and the fruit will be good. If by the power of the Holy Ghost we are made right it will be easy for us to do right. Salt salts, and light shines without effort. So with true disciples of our Christ. They cannot exist without proving a blessing to those with whom they come in contact.

Pray for them which despitefully use you.—Luke 6:28.

CHAPTER SIX

REFORMATION OF CRIMINALS

[Louisville Times]

In a sermon delivered in the Nashville penitentiary, the Rev. George L. Herr, formerly chaplain of the jail here, spoke encouragingly to the inmates, citing cases of reformation where reform seemed impossible. The Rev. Mr. Herr took occasion to pay a high tribute to Jailer John R. Pflanz, of Louisville. He said in part:

Repent ye therefore and be converted.—Acts 3:19.

When I address you upon this subject I speak from the standpoint of one who knows by bitter experience. I know that sin can rob man of fortune, and all the luxuries of life. I know that it can rob him of the love of all who ever loved him; I know that it can drag him down from a position of prominence, and make him a habitue of the dives; I know that it will cause him to place a rope around his neck and hang himself to a rafter in his own barn; I know that sin will lead him to pause at the railing of a bridge, his mind set upon the awful deed of self-destruction; I know that it will tempt him to take a razor in hand and draw it across his throat. I know that sin will reduce him from a position of influence, a welcome visitor to the homes of the elite, to a degraded drunkard, homeless upon the streets of his native city, robed in a short linen duster and a straw hat in the dead of a bitter winter's night.

Rev. JOHN PAUL
He gave the title to this book after reading the manuscript

River Thief's Reformation.

Jerry McAuley was a river thief, and, while serving a term in the penitentiary, caught a glimpse of what the life beyond with Christ would be, and the verse, "God so loved the world," etc, (John iii., 16), won his heart and life, and this poor, weak vessel in the few years he labored for Christ has planted the gospel light through some convert at every port where a ship now lands throughout the world.

Case of Sam Hadley.

Sam Hadley, who was saved through this man of God, was a poor friendless drunkard, and at the time God spoke peace to his soul had committed almost every crime in the calendar; over one hundred forgeries looked him in the face when he confessed, but he had faith in God, and he led him through all the dark valleys. Sam Hadley, was delivered.

If ye will not believe, surely ye shall not be established.—Isa, 7:9.

I met in the office of the prison every day the jailer, and I can safely state, without any fear of contradiction, that I have never met a warden or jailer who has such mercy and charity.

A Jail "Miracle."

I shall speak now of a miracle of the prison cell. Several years ago the great D. L. Moody was holding meetings in St. Louis, Mo. The Globe Democrat announced that it was going to publish Mr. Moody's sermons. He made up his mind that he would weave in plenty of Scripture for the newspaper to carry into places that he could never enter. One night he preached on the Philippian jailer, and next morning the paper came out with a sensational headline, "How the Jailer of Philippi Was Caught." A copy of the paper was carried into the city jail, and fell into the hands of a notorious prisoner. This man was one of the worst characters known to the St. Louis police. He was about forty years old at that time, and had spent about twenty years in prison, and was then awaiting trial on a serious charge. As he glanced over the morning paper, the headline caught his eyes. Thinking that it was some jail news he began to read it.

This is the victory that overcometh the world, even our faith,—1 John 5:4.

God used it to convict him, and a sense of his responsibility before God rushed upon him. There in his cell at midnight he prayed for the first time in his life. On the following Sunday he talked with Christian friends who held service in the jail, and was led into the light of the gospel. From that night he was a changed man. The sheriff thought he was playing the "pious dodge," and had no confidence in his professed conversion. But when he came to trial the case against him was not pressed, and he escaped through some technicality.

DWIGHT L. MOODY
Who sent the Gospel through the daily press that fell into the hands of Valentine Burke. He was always interested in the lost man.

Unexpected Good Fortune.