Sermons, essays and outlines ...

Introduction

Because of the solicitations of my father's friends, because of his own desire to publish some of his writings in book form, and particularly because I believe that such a volume will be helpful to many, I have undertaken to compile this book.

As a minister of the gospel of Christ, evangelist, teacher, lecturer and temperance advocate, thousands of people in the Central States delighted to hear Simpson Ely. In over thirty-five years spent in the ministry, thousands were won to Christ by his preaching. As contributor and associate editor for a number of secular and religious periodicals, his name was favorably known to multitudes of others. Many of these will be glad to see in permanent form those words which moved their hearts and led many to higher paths. As of his Lord, it may be said of him, "The common people heard him gladly." They will, I believe, be glad to read this book.

The latter portion of the book I have placed under the separate title, "The Charleston Sermons." The sermons were delivered in the Calhoun Street Church of Christ, Charleston, S. C, in an evangelistic campaign held during my ministry in that city. They are digests written by his own hand which appeared in the Charleston News-Courier. This was his last completed evangelistic meeting. This part of the book will be of interest to those who have heard him through a campaign of four or five weeks. It will be suggestive to ministers in showing his method of conducting a successful campaign for souls.

Marcellus E. Ely.

Puyallup, Wash., Feb. 16, 1910.

To My Mother

Contents

Our Heavenly Home 1

Resurrection of Lazarus 16

At the Feet of Jesus— I., II., III., IV., V 51

I

"Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me/'

These are the words of Jesus addressed to his disciples at Bethany in the house of Simon the leper. He was with a number of other guests attending a feast

(Jesus did not scorn these common pleasures of life even when so near his death), and while sitting at the festal board there came unto him a woman having an alabaster box of precious ointment, which she poured on his head. But when his disciples saw it they were indignant, and said: "Why is this waste? This ointment might have been sold for much and given to the poor." When Jesus understood it he said: "Why trouble ye the woman? for she hath wrought a good work upon me."

When Jesus was in the world he administered many rebukes and some of them very severe, but he never rebuked any one for being too liberal or too benevolent. He who gave himself for humanity never censured others for liberal giving. The spirit of giving is the spirit of Christ. He was rich, but for our sakes became poor. He possessed the wealth of the universe, but became so poor that he had not where to lay his head; so poor that when a friend once proposed to go home with him and stay all night, he was compelled to tell him that he had no home ! Jesus was a Prince, and he was certainly princely in giving. How like him, then, to pronounce blessings upon all those who manifested any inclination to be large and liberal-hearted.

But the disciples were of a different spirit. They mistook liberality for wastefulness, and the ever-ready excuse was present with them, "It might have been devoted to other uses."

It has ever been so. Thousands to-day stand ready to excuse a miserly, niggardly spirit and cover up their stinginess under some pious (?) pretext.

Thus when the brethren at considerable expense in money and time attend our great missionary conventions, and devise ways and means for carrying the gos-

AT THE FEET OP JESUS.

pel to the destitute places of the earth, these captious critics sit down and estimate carefully all the cost of time spent, the railroad fares and the hotel bills, and then roll up their pious eyes and exclaim: "Wherefore is this waste? It might have been given to the poor/' Whereas, if the truth were known, I doubt not it would be found that those who are criticized give to the poor tenfold more than their critics. If Jesus were here, he would doubtless say: "Why trouble ye these convention brethren? they have wrought a good work on me."

Again: When we are at such pains and expense to send the gospel to the heathen, there are those who will plead the pious fraud, "There are plenty of heathen at home to convert." Thus they would stifle that Christlike longing for the conversion of the whole world, not recognizing the fact that "the heathen at home could obey the gospel if they would, and the heathen abroad would obey the gospel if they could/' A preacher once visited a town to conduct a series of gospel meetings. An old brother met him at the train and said: "Please do not say anything in your sermons about preaching the gospel to the heathen. We have so many heathen right here at home." The preacher did not say whether he would or would not; but that night, when he met his audience, he addressed them, "My dear brethren and friendly heathen!" Imagine the surprise and consternation of that audience! And no one was more surprised than the old brother himself. Thus the sophistry of his plea was effectually exposed. Methinks if Jesus, who died for those at home and abroad, were here, he would say: "Let these foreign missionaries alone. They have wrought a good work upon me."

II

When Jesus sent his disciples out upon their first evangelistic work, he gave them authority and power to work miracles and commanded them to "heal the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, and cast out devils/' and as a reason for these benefactions he said, "Freely ye have received, freely give" (Matt. 10:8).

Now, this expression "freely," as applied to giving, is nearly always misinterpreted and misapplied. It is generally applied to the disposition or spirit of the giver, and a multitude of sins have found a covert behind this false exegesis.

Thus the rich man may drop a nickel into the contribution-box with a self-satisfied air, and say in his little heart, "I will not give much; but what I do give I will give freely. It goes as free as water." Then he comforts his miserly soul with that glorious passage of Scripture, "The Lord loves a cheerful giver." And he thinks he has logic as well as Scripture on his side. He can even put it into syllogistic form. Witness the following :

1. The Lord loves a cheerful giver.

2. I gave my nickel most cheerfully.

3. Therefore the Lord loves me.

Oh, if he could see the poverty and sinfulness of his heart, as the Lord sees it, he would hang his head in shame, and have the demon of covetousness cast out, even though it could only be done by fasting and prayer, and it should tear and rend him in its departure.

What does our blessed Saviour mean when he says, "Freely have ye received, freely give"? Supply the word "abundantly," and the meaning is at once apparent. Abundantly ye have received, abundantly give. When this is done, and done with a cheerful spirit, and not until then — then may the precious assurance belong to us, "The Lord loves a cheerful giver."

I heard of a millionaire who was presented with a subscription paper for some benevolent work. He said, "Well, I will give the widow's mite." "All right," said the man who carried the paper, "give me a cheque for a million dollars." "What do you mean?" said the millionaire. "I mean," said the other, "that the widow's mite was all she had, and if you do as she did, you must give all you have." The rich man saw, as never before, how he had been wresting the Scripture to his own destruction.

Freely we have received. God is always "on the giving hand." His gifts abound in nature and in grace. The flowers give their beauty and their perfume, the sun his light and heat, the clouds their rain and cooling shadows, the earth its fruits and grains. All nature is bounteous. Only man is niggardly.

We have received so abundantly the grace and love of God, and yet we refuse to give abundantly in order to carry the gospel to those who know not the love and grace of God. All our mission work is crippled for the want of abundant givers.

Would that the eyes of the blind were opened that they might see the harvest of the world white for the reapers.

III

"And the child grew, and waxed strong in spirit, filled with wisdom; and the favor of God was upon him."

These are the simple words of the Scriptures about the child Jesus. Those who are curious to know much

56 SERMON'S, ESSAYS AKD OUTLINES.

about his childhood must be doomed to disappointment. We have but little said in the Gospels of the first thirty years of Jesus' life, but what is said is "like the glorious sunlight through the rifted cloud."

In the earlier ages of the church the desire to know the infancy and childhood of Jesus became so great that the fertile imaginations and superstitions of the people crystallized into apocryphal Gospels in which many grotesque and absurd stories about the young child are related. Their very absurdity is the certain evidence of their spurious origin.

The purpose of the true Gospels is to introduce the Saviour to the world, and as he did not enter upon this work of saving men until he was thirty years of age, but little is said of him prior to that time except to narrate the circumstances of his birth. The Bible is not "an old curiosity shop" to gratify the whims, idle fancies and vain curiosities of the world. It narrates just what is necessary for us to know to make us wise unto salvation. The sooner we recognize this fact, the better it is for us. Once recognizing it, we will no longer puzzle our brains over "untaught questions" and we will save ourselves the trouble of trying to be wise "above that which is written." If men should spend half as much time over the question, "What shall I do to be saved?" as they do over speculations and vain philosophies, it would not be long until the world would be brought to the feet of Jesus. It too often happens that men are practical in all things but religion. Here they are upon an open sea without chart, compass or pilot, idly drifting they know not where, and all because they are not willing to take God at his word.

In the few passages that deal with the childhood

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of Jesus we see the same perfection that was so manifest in the later years of his ministry.

He "grew." This teaches his humanity, his kinship to our kind. And this humanity of Jesus must never be overlooked or underestimated if we would have right conceptions of his nature. He is not ashamed to call us brethren, because in flesh and blood he is related to us. Without this relation he never could have been "touched with a feeling of our infirmities/' and he could not have manifested his sympathy for the world of mankind. Being made perfect through suffering, he was fitted to become our Saviour; but to suffer like we suffer, he must of necessity be as human as we are. He grew in stature. The Bible nowhere underestimates the importance of physical development. We are often exhorted to care for the body, for it is the temple of the Holy Spirit. A strong, healthy, well-developed body is necessary to the largest success in life.

Jesus "waxed strong in spirit." This is far more important than physical growth. His youthful days were not given up to giggling, tittering and driveling nonsense. It is said that nature abhors a vacuum. Well, she has much to abhor in the empty hearts of many young people nowadays. How many boys and young men are careful to cultivate such habits of thought and life as to cause them, like Jesus, to grow strong in spirit? Oh, the indifference of the average American youth to all things that tend to the development of their spiritual natures, is enough to make the angels weep, if there were tears in heaven!

"He was filled with wisdom." He not only grew in knowledge, but he rightly applied his knowledge. Wisdom is knowledge applied. All our acquisitions of knowledge will rise up in the judgment, and condemn us unless we apply our hearts unto wisdom. They that are wise shall shine as the firmament.

"And the favor of God was upon him." Here the sacred historian reaches the climax of graces as seen in the child-life of Jesus. No grander eulogy can be spoken of a youth than that he so lives as to enjoy the favor of God. The child Jesus should be every child's model. Now, I want to appeal to the children. Do you suppose, if Jesus were here as a child now, that he would spend his time in idleness? No. Then, why should you do so? Do you suppose he would swear and take the name of God in vain? If not, then is it right for you to swear? If Jesus were here, would he indulge in cigarettes, cigars and chewing-gum? Would he disobey his parents, rebel against his teachers, spend his evenings loafing on the streets, misbehave in church or refuse to read the word of God? Now, if you say "No" to all these questions, then you are under obligation to avoid these evils yourselves.

"Oh, take the pattern He has given,

And love your enemies; And learn the only way to heaven, Through self-denial lies."

IV

Jesus was born in a manger because there was no room for Joseph and Mary in the hotel. The innkeeper might have pleaded several excuses for turning them away. His house might really have been already too full of guests to admit any more persons to its hospitality; or he might have thought these humble peasants too "common" for admission to his entertainment; or he might have thought they applied to him under very suspicious circumstances. Whatever was the real cause, they were turned away, and sought refuge in the stable or barn, among "the beasts of the stall." Not knowing the motives that led to their rejection, we can not entertain any harsh feelings of blame or censure. The hotel-keeper may have been justified.

But Jesus is rejected of men to-day. The Jews despised and rejected him because they knew not his true nature. When Jesus was dying he prayed for his persecutors, "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do." He excused them, at least in part, for their ignorance. Even Peter can not be censured too harshly for denying Jesus with a curse upon his lips. He and the other apostles had not yet risen to a right conception of Jesus and the kingdom he came to establish.

But what of those who reject Jesus to-day? Are they excusable? Can they refuse him room in their hearts and lives, and be justified?

"If Jesus were here, and asked at your door A place to rest in and food from your store, As once he thus wandered in poverty's stamp, Would you turn him away as only a tramp?"

You might turn him away under such circumstances and feel somewhat justified. But he does not come to you in such disguise now. He comes as a King and not as a Judean peasant. He wants to find room in our hearts, not that we may confer favors upon him, but that he may fill our hearts with blessing.

When one of the early kings of England was temporarily dethroned, repeated attempts were made upon his life, and finally, to insure his safety, he disguised himself and appeared at the door of a poor countryman as an humble peasant, seeking shelter and employment. He was admitted, and for sometime he faithfully served his benefactors and "worked for his board" ! When he regained his crown, he settled quite a competency upon his humble benefactors. They had entertained a prince unawares.

Jesus, however, has laid aside his disguise and appears to us in his real character. He is the King of kings and the Lord of lords. He is the fairest among ten thousand and the one altogether lovely. He is far above all principalities and powers and might and dominion, and every name that is named. He comes in royal array and clothed in the garments of righteousness, and he says in gracious words : "Behold ! I stand at the door and knock. If any man open unto me, I will come in to him and abide with him."

Oh, the blessedness of his words, "If any man." There is no partiality. He is no respecter of persons. He knocks at the door of every heart, rich and poor, high and low, learned or illiterate. He wants to abide with us all.

Let us make room for Jesus. Let us give him the chief place in our homes and order all our domestic affairs according to his teaching. Let him cement the bond between husband and wife, parents and children, brothers and sisters. Give him room in our thoughts. Let him occupy much of our meditations.

Make room for him in conversation. Talk to him often, freely, frankly and lovingly. Ask him for reproof, forgiveness and wisdom. Give him the most sacred place in the affections. Love him more than father or mother, sister or brother, friend or lover.

Make room for him in all pleasure-seeking. Any amusement from which he is banished is poison to the soul. This will cut off drinking, gambling, racing, theater-going, card-playing "and such like."

Give him room in all the business affairs of life. This will make you honest in all your dealings with your fellow-men, and it will proscribe all illegitimate means of money-getting, such as the liquor traffic, dealing in futures and margins, checker-board, real-estate transactions, betting on elections. In short, if we make room for Jesus, he will suffer us to make a living only by honest toil, and he will make us pay one hundred cents for every dollar we owe.

"No room for Jesus." What awful words are these! How we pity a Christless life; for if we have no room for Jesus here, he will have no room for us in the great hereafter. Banishment from the presence of God and from the glory of his power will be the certain doom of those who banish him from their lives.

"Thou earnest, O Lord, with thy living Word,

That should set thy people free; But with mocking and scorn, and with crown of thorn,

Did they bear thee to Calvary.

Oh, come to my heart, Lord Jesus!

There is room in my heart for thee."