Coals from the altar

Front matter

Class JlgxS.A^S- Book__il3aA_ Copght}^"

COPYRIGHT DEPOSIT.

''Then flew one of the seraphims unto me, having a hve coal in his hand, which he had taken with the tongs from off the aUar ; and he laid it upon my mouth, and said, Lo, this hath touched thy lips; and thine iniquity is taken away, and thy sin purged." — Isaiah vi, 6, 7.

Preface

God has laid it on me to write ; and I am very glad of it.

I expect to preach through my books long after I have gone to heaven. My pen, as well as my tongue, is wholly consecrated to God. I write for His glory only.

I send this book forth with the earnest prayer that it may lead many souls to Christ and heaven.

H. T. DAVIS.

Lincoln, Nebraska,

April 10, IQ02,

I

Contents,

Chapter I. JOY IN HEAVEN WHEN SINNERS REPENT

"Likewise, I say unto you, There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." — Luke

Years ago, in a densely-timbered part of Ohio, a little child wandered away from her cabin home, and was lost. The parents, brothers, and sisters went out in search for the lost child. Hours passed, but the search proved vain. Then the neighbors were notified. They came from far and near. All night long they wandered through the forest, and all the next day, and all the next night. On the evening of the third day the child was found, faint, famished, and almost dead with weariness and terror. With songs and shouts they bore back in their arms the little girl, swift runners going before, and crying, ''Found, found !" The entire neighborhood was stirred by the glad tidings, and broke forth into thanksgiving. All participated in the happiness of the parents, and, although there were a hundred children in the settlement, more joy was felt that night over the one little wanderer rescued from death than

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over the ninety and nine that had been exposed to no danger.

Far more deeply are the angels in heaven interested in the salvation of lost souls than the parents and friends were in the finding of that lost child. Greater than was the joy that thrilled the hearts of the fond parents and friends when that child was found, is the joy that moves and stirs all heaven when sinners repent. ''There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth."

The text is connected with the parable of the lost sheep : ''What man having a hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing." "And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbors, saying unto them, Rejoice with me, for I have found my sheep w^hich was lost."

On this parable was founded that wonderful hymn, sung with such marvelous power by Mr. Sankey:

"There were ninety and nine that safely lay

In the shelter of the fold.

But one was out on the hills away,

Far off from the gates of gold.

Out in the desert He heard its cry — Sick and helpless, and ready to die."

And hearing that cry, the Shepherd ran, nor did He stop until the lost was found.

''Then all thro' the mountains, thunder-riven,

And up from the rocky steep, There rose a cry to the gate of heaven,

'Rejoice! I have found my sheep!' And the angels echoed around the throne, 'Rejoice, for the Lord brings back His own!'"

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I. Let us look for a moment at the characters spoken of in the text.

I. The angels. ''There is joy in the presence of the angels." The angels, who are they? Created intelligencies. How old are they? We know not. Long before this world was created they existed. For untold ages they have ranged with delight the fields of immortality, and have been going forth from God's throne carrying His mandates.

The angels are revealed to us as having great power. ''They excel in strength." They have great wisdom. David was said to be wise according to the wisdom of an angel. (2 Sam. xiv, 20.) Then they are said to be holy and perfectly happy.

Angels are messengers. A messenger is one who carries messages for another. The angels are God's messengers, carrying messages from Him to different parts of the universe, and carrying messages back to heaven from distant worlds. These messages, from different parts of the universe, are carried by the angels up to heaven, not that God may be informed of what is going on — for He knows all things — but for the benefit of the inhabitants of the heavenly world, angels and redeemed spirits.

All the angelic hosts are employed in the service of God. There is not one idler in all the ranks of glory. So there should not be one idler in all the ranks of God's people on the earth. I love so well to be God's messenger here on earth that somehow I feel that, when I reach heaven, God will send me off to some other world to preach some sort of a gospel.

There are bad angels as well as good angels. St. John the Revealer speaks of "the angel of the bottomless pit." (Rev. ix, 11.) Jude tells of the "angels which

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kept not their first estate." (Jude 6.) These fallen angels are the messengers of Satan, carrying his messages to the children of men, and using all their influence and power to lead men down to hell. Our subject has to do only with good angels.

The Scriptures very clearly teach that there are gradations in rank in the hierarchy of heaven. There are different grades or orders, one rising above another, rank above rank. David tells us that these angels ''do God's commandments." (Psa. ciii, 20.) They are ready, and willing, and anxious to go upon any mission to any part of the universe that God may see fit to send them. And as ministers and members of the Church on earth, God's messengers here below, we should be ready and anxious to go on any mission God may see fit to send us.

The seraphim are among the highest ranks of the heavenly hosts. The meaning of seraphim is ''fiery ones." These fiery ones burn with intense love to God, and with an intense desire to carry God's burning love to others. It indicates also the fervor of their zeal. They are all zeal for the glory of God. These seraphim are the messengers of God's love to men. Seraphim denotes love ; so w^e read of "seraphic love," burning love, love superior to all other love.

The cherubim are the messengers of God's judgments. God sends angels forth from His throne on errands of love; these are the seraphim. He sends angels forth from His throne to execute His judgments ; these are the cherubim.

When David sinned by numbering the people contrary to the will of God, he was permitted to choose one of three evils. "Seven years of famine ; flee three months before his enemies ; or that there be three days' pestilence

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in the land/* David chose the latter, and God sent an angel, a cherubim, and in three days seventy thousand of his brave men were destroyed. It was a cherubim that slew all the first-born of the Egyptians and raised a nation's wail. When Sennacherib, King of Assyria, was marching against Jerusalem, Hezekiah prayed to be saved from his devastating army, and God answered his prayer, saying: ''He shall not come into the city, nor shoot an arrow there. By the way that he came, by the same shall he return, and shall not come into this city.'' That night God sent a cherubim, and one hundred and eighty-five thousand fell dead, his army was demoralized, and Sennacherib returned the very same way that he came. An angel can destroy an army, sink a navy, overthrow a nation, and blast all the plans of ungodly men. God sent a cherubim and smote Herod, and he was eaten with worms. (Acts xii, 23.)

From these incidents, and many others that crowd the Scriptures from lid to lid, we have an idea of an angel's mighty power.

Angels have had a deep interest in the affairs of this world from the very beginning. Job tells us that when God laid the foundations of the earth, ''The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy." (Job xxxviii, 7.) The morning stars and the sons of God are the angelic hosts. An angel announced to the shepherds upon the plains of Bethlehem the advent of the world's Redeemer: "Behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people. For unto you is born this day, in the city of David, a Savior." (Luke ii, 10, 11.) At the close of Christ's forty days fast in the wilderness, having repelled every fiery attack made by Satan, "angels came and ministered

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unto Him/' (Matt, iv, ii.) When in the garden of Gethsemane, bending beneath the weight of the world's sins, sweating great drops of blood, an angel came from heaven and strengthened Him. (Luke xxii, 43.) And, as angels ministered to Christ in the wilderness, and strengthened Him in His agony in the Garden, so, all along the ages, angels have been sent to minister to God's faithful children. And by the strength imparted to them, they have endured what they otherwise could not.

Julian, the Roman Emperor, called the Apostate, after he had renounced Christianity became a great persecutor of Christians. He put to extreme torment a Christian by the name of Theodorus, and finally released him when he found that he was unconquerable. Afterwards a friend said to Theodorus, ''When you lay upon the rack, full of sharp iron spikes, was not the pain insufferable?" He answered, "At first the pain was terrible ; but after a while there seemed to stand by my side a young man in white, who, with a soft and comfortable handkerchief, wiped off the bloody sweat from my body, bidding me be of good courage, and giving me such comfort that it was a real punishment rather than a pleasure for me to be taken from the rack." When the tormentor was done, the angel was gone.

David says, "The angel of the Lord encampeth round about them that fear him, and delivereth them." (Psa. xxxiv, 7.) Elisha, at Dothan, saw the mountain round about him full of horses and chariots of fire, presenting an impassable barrier between him and the Assyrian army. Armies of angels encamp round about the followers of the Lord God Almighty. An angel descended from heaven and rolled back the stone from

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the door of the sepulcher when Christ rose from the grave. And when He ascended to heaven, did not

"Cherubic legions guard Him home, And shout Him welcome to the skies?"

Angels are actively engaged in looking after the welfare of all God's children. "Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister to them who shall be heirs of salvation?" (Heb. i, 14.) So intensely interested are they in the welfare of men that they rejoice whenever a soul repents. ''There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.''

II. The second character mentioned in the text is the repenting sinner. ''Over one sinner that repenteth." A repenting sinner thrills all heaven with delight.

I. The first essential to repentance is conviction. God, by His Spirit and in various ways, irresistibly convicts every man of sin. We need not say to any unconverted man, "You are a sinner and need pardon, or you will be lost forever." The Holy Spirit has told him that many and many a time. No man living but what has been convicted of sin. Conviction does not necessarily lead to genuine repentance. Millions are convicted who never repent. They throw off conviction, repel all the hallowed influences of the Holy Spirit, and all the drawings of ministering angels, the kind entreaties of relatives and friends, ministers of the gospel, and the Church. They harden their hearts, and at last they are cut off, and that without remedy. In spite of all the warnings of conscience, and all the drawings of the Holy Ghost, and all the wooing of angels, and all the restraining influences of the gospel, they make their way down to hell.

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2. The energizing force of genuine repentance is sorrow for sin. ''Godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be repented of." (2 Cor. vii, 10.) It is heartfelt sorrow for having offended the dearest and best Friend man ever had. A criminal on his way to the place of execution cried out, and continued to cry out to the very last, ''O God, I am so sorry I have offended Thee!" Not sorry that he had been caught, nor that he had been convicted and condemned, but sorry that he had offended God, his best and dearest Friend. That was one of the best and clearest evidences of a genuine penitent.

3. The final effect of genuine repentance is renunciation of all sin.

I am a great sinner. The Holy Ghost tells me so. My own conscience tells me so. I am sorry I have sinned against God, my dearest and best Friend. I will quit sin. I will face about. I will turn my back forever upon all that is wrong. "Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts ; and let him return unto the Lord, and he will have mercy upon him ; and to our God, for He will abundantly pardon." (Isa. Iv, 7.)

Now, when a man is convicted of sin, feels that he is lost forever unless pardoned through the atoning merits of Christ, has deep sorrow for sin, renounces all sin, and says in his heart, I will never sin again, that man is a genuine penitent, and is very near the kingdom. One step more and he will be in. I think very few, if any, go that far and stop. Having taken all these steps, they are quite sure to take the next, which is that of faith in Christ.

When the angels see one who has all these elements of repentance, they rejoice; because they know well

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that that soul is just ready to enter the kingdom of righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost, and, knowing this, they rejoice. A cord of joy is struck that vibrates throughout all the realms of Glory.

III. Why do the' angels rejoice when sinners repent?

1. They rejoice when a sinner repents, because the image of Christ has been restored to his heart, and that he will now go out to work for the salvation of others. They see not only what he has become himself, but what he will be to others ; a wave of influence for good has been started that will roll on forever, hence they rejoice.

2. They rejoice because of the sufferings the sinner has escaped. From the descriptions given us in the Bible' the sufferings of the lost must be great. The angels of heaven know something of hell. Not that they have ever been in hell. But they remember when a third part of the heavenly hosts rebelled, and the right hand of the Jehovah was wrapped in thunder, and they pursued Lucifer and his cohorts to the battlements of heaven, saw them hurled over, caught a glimpse of the bottomless pit, heard the wild shriek of the lost, and saw the smoke that ascendeth up for ever and ever. So when a sinner repents, the angels rejoice; for they know, far better than we, the awful sufferings he has escaped. The sinner suffers much here, from doubt, uncertainty, anxiety, and fear. When he repents he escapes all this present suffering. Doubt, uncertainty, anxiety, and fear take wings and fly away, and the peace of God that passeth all understanding fills the soul. Hallelujah ! This is a great salvation. No wonder the angels rejoice when sinners get it.

3. Another reason why the angels rejoice when a

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sinner repents is, they know that another soul will forever participate with them in the joys of heaven. The angels know all about heaven. For untold ages they have ranged with delight the plains of glory. They have seen its beauty, realized its unearthly joy, and have joined in the rising, swelling anthem of praise to God and the Lamb. Not a sigh has ever escaped their lips, not a tear has ever dimmed their eyes, not a sorrow has ever pierced their souls. No wonder they want the inhajbitants of a sorrowing world to be made partakers of these heavenly joys. No wonder they are glad when a sinner is tired of sin, and wants to break away from its fetters and get free.

''We talk about pearly gates, and golden streets, and white robes, and harps of gold, and crowns of amaranth, and all that ; but if an angel could speak to us of heaven, he would smile and say, ''All these fine things are but child's talk compared to the reality." "Thine eye hath never yet beheld its splendors ; thine ear hath never yet been ravished with its melodies ; thy heart has never been transported with its peerless joys." You may talk, and think, and guess, and dream, but you can never measure the infinite heaven which God has provided for His children. Therefore, when a sinner repents, the angels clap their hands and shout; for they know all these joys are to be his forever.

A poor, neglected little boy, in ragged clothing, had run about the streets for many a day. Tutored in crime, he was paving his path to the gallows ; but one morning he passed by a humble room, where some men and women were sitting together teaching poor, ragged children. He stepped in. They talked to him. They told him about a soul and an eternity — things he had never heard before. They spoke of Jesus and of the

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good tidings of great joy he had brought to men. He went another Sabbath, and then another, his wild habits hanging about him; (or he could not get rid of them. At last his teacher said to him, ''J^sus Christ receiveth sinners." That little boy ran, but not home. He ran, and under a dry arch, in a wild, unfrequented corner, he' bent his little knees and cried, 'Xord, save me, or I perish." The Lord answered. The little boy was saved ; and up from that old arch, that forsaken hovel, there flew an angel, glad to bear the news to heaven, that another heir of glory was born to God.

Away up in a garret, where the stars could look between the tiles, on a bed of straw lay a poor woman, racked with pain and scorched with fever. Many a night she had walked the streets in her merriment; but now her joys were over; a foul disease, like a demon, was devouring her life. She was dying. No one cared for her soul. But there, in that lonely attic, she turned her face to the wall and cried, ''O Thou that didst save Magdalene, save me ! I am sorry I have sinned. I repent." No bells rang in the street. No trumpet was blown. No sound of thanksgiving was heard in the great congregation. No one on earth rejoiced, for she died unseen. But mark ! There was one standing at her bedside who noted well that tear ; an angel who had come down from heaven to watch over this stray sheep, and mark its return; and no sooner was her prayer uttered than he spread his wings and soared to the pearly gates of Glory. Heavenly guards came crowding round the gate to hear the news. And as he told the story of the wanderer's return, all heaven echoed and re-echoed with their rapturous shouts of joy. ''There is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." Glory to God for ever and ever!

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We learn from this subject the worth of the soul. It must be of inestimable value, or it would not be desired by all that are in heaven and all that are in hell. All heaven wants it. All hell wants it.

1. God the Father wants the soul. He is intensely interested in your welfare. He longs for your salvation. Hear Him : "As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live; turn ye, turn ye, for why will ye die?" (Ezek. xxxiii, 11.)

2. Christ wants the soul. He, too, longs for your salvation. He left heaven that you might be saved. When

'Tlunged in a gulf of dark despair, We wretched sinners lay, Without one cheering beam of hope, Or spark of glimmering day, —

With pitying eyes the Prince of peace

Beheld our helpless grief; He saw, and, O amazing love!

He flew to our relief.

Down from the shining seats above,

With joyful haste He sped.

Entered the grave in mortal flesh.

And dwelt among the dead."

His sorrowful life. His agony in the garden. His crucifixion on Calvary, His entering into the grave — all this suffering that you might escape a burning hell and gain a glorious heaven. His tender and pathetic appeal, as He looked over the doomed city of Jerusalem, gives us a faint idea of His great interest in our welfare : ''O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, thou that killest the prophets, and stonest them which are sent unto thee, how ofte'n

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would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and ye would not y (Matt, xxiii, 37.)

3. The Holy Spirit wants the soul. He is at work, always and everywhere, reproving of sin, warning of danger, wooing the unsaved.

4. The angels are interested, intensely interested, in your salvation. They are all ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation.

5. All the good on earth are interested in your welfare. Faithful ministers, devoted Christians, loving fathers and mothers, — all are solicitous, intensely anxious for your salvation.

And now we ask. Shall God, and Christ, and the

Holy Ghost, and the angels, and all the good on earth

be interested in your soul's welfare, and you alone be

indifferent ?

"Angels now are hovering round us, Unperceived amid the throng."

They are watching you. They are waiting for you to surrender, that they may bear the glad news to the skies, and electrify with joy the angelic hosts. O, decide this matter now ! Stay, ye heavenly messengers, a Httle longer; wait a moment more, until those who are hesitating shall decide. Let the decision now be made. I will be a Christian. Let the news now fly over the hills and plains of glory, ''The dead are aHve, the lost are found."

Chapter II. THE VALUE OF THE SOUL

"For what is a man profited, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?" — Matt, xvi, 26.

When Christ was upon earth He appealed to the hopes and fears of men as motives to purity. In the text, as in many other passages of Scripture, He appeals to the fear of loss and the hope of gain. ''What is a man profited if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul?''

In all business circles profit and loss is the question that rises above all other questions. It is the great and all-important question, and before this one question all other questions drop out of sight. When a man is about to engage in any business enterprise whatever, the first question he asks is, "Will it pay?'' ''Shall I lose or gain in the operation?" The cost is carefully counted. He weighs with exactness the probabilities of success. He takes into careful consideration everything that in any way bears upon the subject, in order that he may ascertain, if possible, whether he will lose or gain in the operation.

And is it not strange, passing strange, that men are

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SO careful to ascertain the loss and profit touching things of minor importance, and so careless, and seemingly utterly indifferent, touching those things which are of the greatest importance ? The loss or gain of the soul is a subject that rises in importance infinitely above all other subjects. The eternal gain of the soul is a treasure the value of which can not possibly be estimated, and the loss of the soul the most dreadful and appalling catastrophe in the wide universe. The loss of the soul is an infinite loss, the gain of the soul an infinite gain.

Christ appealed more to man's fears than his hopes as an incentive to duty. He dwelt more on the dangers to which men are exposed than on any other one subject. His cry everywhere was. Repent! ''Except ye repent, ye shall all Hkewise perish.'' He taught everywhere, and all the time, that men were in danger, great, awful danger. He taught that men were in such great danger of falHng into wreck and ruin that it was absolutely necessary to put forth every possible effort in order to be saved. Hence He cries out to the people of His day, and of all ages as well, ''Strive to enter in at the strait gate ;" or, as the margin translates it, "Agonize, agonize to enter in at the strait gate ; for many, I say unto you, will seek to enter in, and shall not be able, when once the Master of the house is risen up, and hath shut to the door." (Luke xiii, 24, 25.) Many will seek to enter heaven, but will never get in ; many will wish and earnestly desire heaven, but will be eternally shut out. A wish will not take us there ; an intense, earnest desire will not lead us there. If we would gain heaven, we must "agonize," bend every energy, strain every nerve to its utmost tension, and sacrifice, if need be, every earthly object.

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The same idea is brought out in Matt, xi, 12: ''The kingdom of heaven suffereth violence, and the violent take it by force/' Only by violent earnestness will the kingdom of heaven be gained. If we are not absolutely determined to gain heaven at any cost and at all hazards, I am afraid we never shall get there.

The question in the text suggests the value of the soul. It suggests that in value it rises infinitely above silver and gold, houses and lands, stocks and all worldly honors. All these things belong to time, and will soon pass away.

I. The value of the soul will be seen if we notice for a moment its duration.

Both reason and Revelation unite in declaring that the soul is immortal. Job says, ''There is a spirit in man and the inspiration of the Almighty giveth him understanding." What the Bible clearly reveals, men everywhere, and in all ages, have believed. Go to the inhabitants of the islands of the seas, go to the most benighted people on the globe, go down into "darkest Africa," and you will find that the people everywhere feel and believe that death does not end all, but that they are to live forever. God has indelibly stamped upon every human heart the great fact of immortality. Addison asks:

"Whence comes this pleasing hope, this fond desire, This longing after immortality?

Or whence this secret dread and inward horror Of falling into naught? *Tis the divinity that stirs within us; 'T is heaven itself that points out an hereafter, And intimates eternity to man."

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Again says Addison:

''The stars shall fade away, the sun himself Grow dim with age, and nature sink in years; But thou shalt flourish in immortal youth, Unhurt amid the war of elements, The v^^reck of matter, and the crush of worlds."

We have entered upon a career that shall run parallel with the existence of God Himself, that may go on brightening forever. So where is the profit if we gain the whole world and lose the soul ? The world with its vast possessions belongs to time. "The lust of the flesh, and the lust of the eyes, and the pride of life, is not of the Father, but of the world, and the world passeth away." (i John ii, i6.) Better have nothing here and everything hereafter, than have everything here for a little while, and then be a pauper through all the ages of eternity. Better infinitely to beg, as did Lazarus, the crumbs that fell from the rich man's table while on earth, and be a millionaire in glory, than be clothed in purple and fine linen and fare sumptuously every day while here, and at last lift up our eyes, and forever cry for a drop of water to cool our tongue.