And people, with their eyes wide open, would rather bend down to the god of pleasure than become Christians.

Then there is the god of fashion. How many women just devote their lives to it. They want to see the last bonnet, the last cloak, the last dress; they can't think of anything else. Said a lady to me: "I am always thinking of fashion; it don't matter if I get down on my knees to pray, I am always thinking of a new dress." You may laugh at this, but it is true. Pleasure in the ball-room and fashion is the god of a great many people. Oh, that we may lift our eyes to something nobler. Suppose you don't have so many dresses, and give something to the poor, you will have something then which will give you joy and comfort, that will last you always. I pity the man or woman that lives for the day like the butterfly; those whose minds are fixed upon fashion and pleasure, and have no time to look to their perishing soul. A good many people don't know they are blind. Look at that young man. You call him a fast young man. He has got a salary of $1,000; and it costs him $3,000 to live. Where does he get the money? Where does it come from? His. father cannot give it him, because he is poor. His employer begins to get suspicious. "I only give him $1,000 a year; and he is living at the rate of $3,000." By and by, he looks into his account book and finds it overdrawn. Thus he is ruined-character blasted. Oh, how many are of this stamp in Chicago! It is only a question of time. How many young men have we got just living beyond their income-taking money out of their employer's drawer. They say: "Well, I am going to the theatre to-night, and I will just take a dollar; will put it back next week." But when next week comes, he hasn't put it back; and takes another dollar. He has taken two dollars now. He keeps on draw, draw, drawing, when by and by it all comes out. He loses his place, don't get any letters of recommendation, and the poor man is ruined. My friends, this is not the description of an isolated case; this class is all over the country. I wish I could send you the letters I get about just such cases. I got one, the other day, from a young mother with a family of beautiful children. She told me how happy they had lived-husband, wife, and children; and how one night her husband came home excited, his face white with terror, and said: "I've got to fly from justice. Good-bye." He has gone from her, and she said it seemed as if she could die; her husband, disgraced and starving, couldn't get anything to do. Her cry seemed to be, "Help, help me." Is not the country full of such cases? Is it not blindness and madness for men to go on in this way. If any one is here to-night following in the way of these men, I pray God your eyes may be opened before you are led to death and ruin.

You know we had a full meeting to-day, and the subject was Intemperance; How many young men are there who spend their time

in the saloons of the city? I am afraid many will be led astray next Tuesday. I always dread an election day; I generally see so many young men beastly drunk. They are led away; and that is another quick road down to hell. May the young men see the folly of this, and on that day stand firm. May God open your eyes! How many young men are there whose characters have been blasted by strong drink. How many brilliant men in the Chicago bar have gone down to death by it. Some of the noblest statesmen, some of the most brilliant orators and men of all professions, have been borne down to the drunkard's grave. May God open your eyes to show the folly of tampering with strong drink. Now, many men say, "I am not going down to the grave of a drunkard." They think they have strength to stop when they like. When it gets hold, there is nothng within us by which we can save ourselves. He alone can give you power to resist the cup of temptation: he alone can give you power to overcome its influence, if you only will believe him. The god of this world has been trying to make you believe that man can do it himself, and Christ will have nothing to do with him. god of this world is a liar. 1 come with authority to tell you-[ don't care how far gone you are; don't care how blessed you may be-that the Son of God can and will save you if you only believe him. If there is one here to-night under the power of strong drink, come to-night. We lift up our voice to warn you.

The

Look at that man in a boat on Niagara River. He is only about a mile from the rapids. A man on the bank shouts to him: "Young man, young man, the rapids are not far away; you'd better pull for the shore." "You attend to your own business; I will take care of myself," he replies. Like a great many people here, and ministers, too, they don't want any evangelist here-don't want any help, however great the danger ahead. On he goes, sitting coolly in his boat. Now he has got a little nearer; and a man from the bank of the river sees his danger, and shouts: "Stranger, you'd better pull for the shore; if you go further you'll be lost. You can be saved now, if you pull in." "Mind your business, and you'll have enough to do; I'll take care of myself." Like a good many men, they are asleep to the danger that's hanging over them, while they are in the current. And I say, drinking young men, don't you think you are standing still. You are in the current; and if you don't pull for a rock of safety, you will go over the precipice. On he goes. I can se him in the boat, laughing at the danger. A man on the bank is looking at him, and he lifts up his voice and cries: "Stranger, ranger, pull for the shore; if you don't will lose you And the young man laughs at him, mocks him. with hundreds in Chicago. If you go to them and point out their danger, they will jest and joke at you. By and by, he say: "I think I hear the rapids-yes, I hear them roar. And he seizes his oars

life." your That is the way

and pulls with all his strength; but the current is too great, and nearer and nearer he is drawn on to that abyss, until he gives one unearthly scream, and over he goes. Ah, my friends, this is the case with hundreds in this city. They are in the current of riches, of pleasure, of drink, that will take them to the whirlpool. Satan has got them blindfolded; and they are on their road to the bottomless pit.

We hear some men say, in a jesting way: "Oh, we are sowing our wild oats; we will get over this by and by." I have seen men reap their wild oats. It's all well enough sowing; but when it comes to the reaping, it's a different thing. I remember, I went home one night and found all the people in alarm. They had seen a man come running down the street; and as he approached the house he gave an unearthly roar, and in terror they bolted the door. He came right up to my door, and instead of ringing the bell, just tried to push the door in. They asked him what he wanted, and he told them he wanted to see me. They said I was at the meeting, and away he ran; and they could hear him groan as he disappeared. I was coming along North Clark street, and he shot past me like an arrow. But he had seen me, and turned and seized me by the arm, saying eagerly: "Can I be saved to-night? The devil is coming to take me to hell at one o'clock to-night.' "My friend, you are inistaken." I thought the man was sick. But he persisted, that the devil had come and laid his hand upon him, and told him he might have till one o'clock; and said, "Won't you go up to my room and sit with me?" I got some men up to his room, to see to him. At one o'clock, the devils came into that room; and all the men in that room could not hold him. He was reaping what he had sown. When the Angel of Death came and laid his cold hand on him, oh, how he cried for mercy-how he beseeched for pardon. Ah, yes, young men, you may say in a laughing and jesting way, you are sowing your wild oats; but the reaping time is coming. May God show you to-night what folly it is-what a miserable life you are leading. May we lift our heart here to the God of all grace, so that we may see our lost and ruined condition if we do not come to him. Christ stands ready and willing to save-to save to-night all those who are willing to be saved,

TRUE REPENTANCE.

"And now commandeth all men everywhere to repent." ACTS 17: 30.

You will find my text to-night in the 17th chapter of Acts, part of the 30th verse: "And now commandeth all men everywhere to repent." I have heard a number of complaints about the preaching in the Tabernacle, that repentance has not been touched upon. The fact is, that I have never had very great success in preaching upon repentance. When I have preached it, people haven't repented. I've had far more success when I've preached Christ's goodness. But to-night I will preach about repentance; so you will have no more cause of complaint. I believe in repentance, just as much as I believe in the Word of God. When John the Baptist came to preach to that Jewish nation, his one cry was, "Repent! repent!" But when Christ came he changed it to, "The blood of the Lamb taketh away the sin of the world." I would rather cry, "The blood of the Lamb taketh away the sin of the world," than talk about repentance. And when Christ came, we find him saying, "Repent ye;" but he soon pointed them to something higher-he told them about the goodness of God. It is the goodness of God that produces repentance. When, upon the Day of Pentecost, they asked what to do to be saved, we find him telling men, "Repent, every one of you." When Christ sent his disciples out to preach, two by two, we find the message he gave them to deliver was, "Repent ye, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." It is clearly preached throughout the Scriptures. There is a good deal of trouble among people about what repentance really is. If you ask people what it is, they will tell you "It is feeling sorry." If you ask a man if he repents, he will tell you: "Oh, yes; I generally feel sorry for my sins." That is not repentance. It is something more than feeling sorry. Repentance is turning right about, and forsaking sin. I wanted to speak on Sunday about that verse in Isaiah, which says: "Let the guilty forsake his way, and the unrighteousnes man his thoughts." That is what it is. If a man don't turn from his sin, he won't be accepted of God; and if righteousness don't produce a turning about -a turning from bad to good-it isn't true righteousness.

Unconverted people have got an idea that God is their enemy. Now, let me impress this, and I told you the same the other night, God hates sin with a perfect hatred. He will punish sin wherever he finds it; yet he, at the same time, loves the sinner, and wants him to repent and turn to him. If men will only turn, they will

find mercy; and find it just the moment they turn to him. You will find men sorry for their misdeeds. Cain, no doubt, was sorry; but that was not true repentance. There is no cry recorded in the Scriptures as coming from him, "O my God, O my God, forgive me." There was no repentance in his only feeling sorry. Look at Judas. There is no sign that he turned to God-no sign that he came to Christ asking forgiveness. Yet, probably, he felt sorry. He was, very likely, filled with remorse and despair; but he didn't repent. Repentance is turning to him who loved us and gave himself for us. Look at king Saul, and see the difference between him and king David. David fell as low as Saul, and a good deal lower-he fell from a higher pinnacle; but what was the difference between the two? David turned back to God and confessed his sin, and got forgiven. But look at king Saul. There was no repentance there; and God couldn't save him till he repented. You will find, all through the Scriptures, where men have repented, God has forgiven them. Look at that publican, when he went up to pray; he felt his sin so great that he couldn't look up to heaven-all he could do was to smite his heart and cry, "God forgive me, a sinner." There was turning to God-repentance; and the man went down to his home forgiven. Look at that prodigal. His father couldn't forgive him while he was still in a foreign land, and squandering his money in riotous living; but the moment he came home repentant, how soon that father forgave him-how quick he came to meet him with the word of forgiveness. It wouldn't have done any good to forgive the boy while he was in that foreign country, unrepentant. He would have despised all favors and blessings from his father. That is the position the sinner stands toward God. He cannot be forgiven and get his blessing, until he comes to God, repenting of all his sins and asking the blessing. Now, we read in scripture that God deals with us as a father deals with a son. Fathers and mothers, you who have children, let me ask, by way of illustration: Suppose you go home, and you find that, while you have been here, your boy has gone to your private drawer and stolen five dollars of your money. You go to him and say, "John, did you take that money?" "Yes, father; I took that money, he replies. When you hear him saying this without any apparent regret, you won't forgive him. You want to get at his conscience; you know it would do him an injury to forgive him, unless he confesses his wrong. Suppose he won't do it. "Yes," he says, "I stole your money; but I don't think I've done wrong.' The mother cannot, the father cannot, forgive him; unless he sees he has done wrong, and wants forgiveness. That's the trouble with the sinners in Chicago. They've turned against God, broken his commandments, trampled his law under their feet, and their sius hang upon them; until they show signs of repentance, their sin will remain.