times, in season and out of season. If the gre at Bible truths sink down into their hearts, the fruit will be precious; wisdom will blossom upon them, and they will become useful in the Church, and in the world. Now, how many parents will not take the trouble to explain to the children what the minister preaches. Take your chil dren into the pews, and let them hear the Word of God; and if ther do not understand it, show it to them. You know the meat they require is the same as we feed on; but if the pieces are too large for them, we must cut it up for them-cut it finer. If the sermon is a There was

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hard one, cut it into thin slices, so that they can take it a time when our little boy did not like to go to church, and would get up in the morning and say to his mother, "What day is to-morrow?" "Tuesday." "Next day?" "Wednesday." "Next day?" Thursday;" and so on, till he came to the answer, Sunday." "Dear me," he would moan. I said to his mother: "We cannot have our boy grow up to hate Sunday in that way; that will never do." That is the way I used to feel, when I was a boy. I used to look upon Sunday with a certain amount of dread. Very few kind words were associated with that day. I don't know that the minister ever said a kind thing, or ever even put his hand on my head. I don't know that the minister even noticed me, unless it was when I was asleep in the gallery, and he woke me up. This kind of thing won't do. We must make the Sunday the most attractive day of the week; not a day to be dreaded, but a day of pleasure. Well, the mother took the work up with this boy. Bless those mothers in their work with the children. Sometimes I feel as if I would rather be the mother of John Wesley, or Martin Luther, or John Knox, than have all the glories in the world. Those mothers, who are faithful with the children God has given them, will not go unrewarded. My wife went to work and took those Bible stories, and put those blessed truths in a light that the child could comprehend, and soon the feeling of dread for the Sabbath with the boy was the other way. "What day is to-morrow?" he would ask. "Sunday." "I am so glad." And if we make these Bible truths interesting-break them up, in some shape, so that these children can get at them, then they will begin to enjoy them. Now, there's no influence like a mother's; and if the mothers will give a little time to the children in this way, and read them some Bible story, or tell them it in a simple way, it will not be long before the child knows the Bible, from beginning to end. I know a little boy, eleven years of age, who got up last Monday in the meeting, and told how he found Christ. His father began by telling him Bible stories, and now he knows them as well as I do. The little fellow of eleven years is quite a preacher. Let us pick out the stories that will interest them, from Genesis to Revelation, and that is the way to bring our children to Christ. It will fill them with the gospel-fill them with Christ. They will soon be so full of Jesus

that, when an infidel comes to unseat their faith, he will find no room for infidelity.

Now, the New Year's day is coming on. I haven't much time to speak about that now; but let me ask, What are you going to do when the young men come to your homes on that day? Are you going to set wine before them. Are you going to tempt the sons of others to go astray? Don't offer them, I implore you, that hellish cup; don't be the instruments to lead the children of others away from the God of their fathers. I hope that, in this city, this infernal custom will soon be swept away. The idea of having some of our best young men reeling on the streets beastly drunk, on the first day of the year, is revolting; and yet there are Christians who, when young men visit them on New Year's day, just urge the cup on thempress them to take it. They have got some new kind of wine, and they want them to taste it, and urge the young man just to take a little; and the young man hasn't got will, hasn't got back-bone enough to resist the temptation; hasn't the power to say, No. He goes to another house and the same thing is repeated, and so on, until at night the poor fellow goes home intoxicated, and breaks the heart of some mother. Remember, when you offer the cup, if it is not to your own boy, it is to somebody else's boy. I have a great respect for that old woman who, with ribbons flying, ran into a crowded thoroughfare and rescued a child from under a wagon. Some one asked her, “Is it 66 child?" your No," she replied, "but it is some one's child." She had a mother's heart; and bear in mind when a young man comes to you, as you put the cup before him -remember, he is some other one's child. God has given us a charge, not only in looking to the salvation of our own children; but we have to see to the salvation of the children of others.

Now, let me say a word to the unfaithful fathers. At the close of this meeting, if you have been unfaithful to the children God has given you, why not stay, and then go home and make an honest confession to your children. If you have a boy who is a reckless young man; if he is a drunkard, ask yourselves: "Have I done all that I could? have I ever set before him the truth of Christ?" Not long ago, a young man went home late. He had been in the habit of go ing home late, and the father began to mistrust that he had gone astray. He told his wife to go to bed, and dismissed the servants, and said he would sit up till his son came home. The boy came home drunk, and the father in his anger gave him a push into the street and told him never to enter his house again, and shut the door. He went into the parlor and sat down, and began to think: "Well, I may be to blame for that boy's conduct, after all. I have never prayed with him; I have never warned him of the dangers of the world." And the result of his reflections was that he put on his overcoat and hat, and started out to find his boy. The first police

man he met he asked eagerly, “Have you seen my boy?" "No." On he went till he met another. "Have you seen anything of my son?" He ran from one to another all that night, but not until morning did he find him. He took him by the arm and led him home, and kept him till he was sober. Then he said: "My dear boy, I want you to forgive me. I've never prayed for you; I've never lifted my heart to God for you; I've been the means of leading you astray, and I want your forgiveness." The boy was touched, and what was the result? Within twenty-four hours that son became a convert,

ward son.

and gave up that cup. It may be that some father has had a wayGo to God, and on your knees confess it. Let the voice of Jesus sink down in heart to-night. your Bring him unto me." A father, whom I have known for many years, said to me this afternoon, with tears trickling down his cheeks: "I want to tell you something that I have never told in public. Forty-three years ago, when I was five years old, I was sick with scarlet fever; and my mother knelt down and prayed to God, if it was his will, that her boy might be spared. My father was a drinking man, and she also prayed that I might be kept safe from the cup. My mother died early; but my mother's prayer has followed me all those years, and I have never touched one drop of liquor." Last night a young man, the son of that man, got up and told his experience. Yes, the mother's prayer for her little boy, five years old, was answered. That prayer was answered. Why shall we not lift up our hearts in prayer for our children? Let us plead, day and night, till God saves them-till he brings them into the ark of safety. May the God of Israel save our children.

I remember being in the camp, and a man eame to me and said: "Mr. Moody, when the Mexican war began I wanted to enlist. My mother, seeing I was resolved, said if I became a Christian I might go. She pleaded and prayed that I might become a Christian; but I wouldn't. I said, when the war was over I would become a Christian, but not till then. All her pleading was in vain; and at last, when I was going away, she took out a watch and said: 'My son, your father left this to me when he died. Take it: and I want you to remember that every day, at twelve o'clock, your mother will be. praying for you.' Then she gave me her Bible, and marked out passages, and put a few different references in the fly-leaf. I took the watch and it was twelve o'clock. I had been gone four month; but I remembered that my mother at that hour was praying for me. Something prompted me to ask the officer to relieve me for a little; and I stepped behind a tree, away out on those plains of Mexico, and cried to the God of my mother to save me.” My friends, God saved him, and he went through the Mexican war: "And now," he said, "I have enlisted again to see if I can do any good for my Master's cause;" and the old man was down among the soldiers there, preaching

Christ. My friends, let us believe that God answers prayer, and let us not cease our supplication till salvation comes to our children, and all our little ones are brought into the ark of safety. Let us all unite in prayer.

SALVATION FOR SINNERS.

"I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." LUKE 5: 32.

I want to call your attention to-night to a text which you will find in the 5th chapter of Luke and the 32d verse. The text is also recorded in Matthew and Mark; and whenever you find a passage recorded by all three of the evangelists, you may know that it is one of those important truths which he wants to impress upon people. "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." It was when he first came down to Capernaum that he uttered these words. He had been cast out of Nazareth; they didn't want him; they wouldn't have salvation. He came down to Capernaum, and there he found Levi sitting at the receipt of customs, and he called him to become one of his disciples. Levi was so full of joy when he found Christ-as all young converts are that he got up a great feast; and he invited all the publicans and sinners to it. I suppose he wanted to get them all converted; that was the reason he prepared a sumptuous feast; and they came, not to hear Jesus, but just to partake of the feast that Levi had prepared for them. And Jesus was there too, among these publicans and sinners. The Pharisees were there too; and they began to murmur against his disciples, saying: "Why do these men eat with publicans and sinners?" And it was on this occasion that Christ uttered this wonderful text: "I came not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance." That is what he came into this world for; he came into the world just for the very purpose of saving sinners. Now a good many men come to Chicago to do a certain work. Some come to practice law, that's their profession; others come to practice medicine, because that's their business; some are business men and some are mechanics: and when Christ came into this world he came for a purpose; He had a profession, if you will allow me the expression-he came to call sinners to repentance. You know when he was going down to the Samaritan town, his disciples went down to see whether they would let him come there. We

find him on his way from Galilee to Jerusalem. You know there was such a hatred between the Jews and the Samaritans that they would have no dealings with each other; and he sent his disciples on to see if he would be allowed to enter. The Samaritans would not allow him there, and his disciples were so incensed that James and John asked Jesus to "command fire to come down from heaven and consume them, even as Elias did.” "Why," said the Son of man, "I didn't come, to destroy men's lives, but to save them." That's what he came for. He came to bless men; he came to do men good; and there is not a sinner here to-night who cannot be saved-and will be saved to-night, if they wish.

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You may call this world a great hospital, and all the people are born sick. A great many people imagine their souls are never diseased, and think they don't need a physician; but when people wake up to the fact that their souls are diseased, then they find the need of a physician. But there is no need for the physician unless you feel you are sick. You know you could not send a physician to a man who was well. Suppose I go on the West Side and ask a celebrated physician to come over and see Mr. White. Suppose he comes round and finds Mr. White sitting in his drawing-room, perfectly well. Why, how is this? Mr. Moody told me you were sick, and bade me make a professional call." Not only is the physician disgusted, but the patient is too. The world don't send for a physician till sickness comes. When it feels sick, then it sends for a doctor, and the doctor comes. And whenever a man feels his need of Christ and calls, that moment he comes and is healed. There is a physician here to-night for every sinner. I don't care what your sins may be, or how long you have been living in sin; I don't care if your life has been as black as hell, the Great Physician is here. What for? Just to heal every man and woman that wants to be healed.

Now, the great trouble is to make people believe they are sick; but the moment you believe that you are, then it is that you are willing to take the remedy. I remember, some years ago, a patent medicine came out, and the whole of Chicago was placarded about it. I could not turn my head but I saw "Paine's Pain Killer." On the walls, on the curb-stones, everywhere was "pain-killer," "painkiller." I felt disgusted at the sight of these bills, constantly telling me about this patent medicine. But, one day I had a terrible headache, so bad that I could hardly see, and was walking down the streets and saw the bills again; and I went and bought some. When I was well, I didn't care for it; but when I got sick, I found it was the very thing I wanted. If there is one here who feels the need of a Savior, remember, the greater the sin the greater the need of a Savior. I remember, when I was coming back from Europe, on the steamer there was a young officer; I felt greatly drawn out toward him, because I could see he was dying. It didn't