THE HOLY SPIRIT.

If we have the Spirit, we have the fruit of the Spirit. If the Spirit of God is in us, we will have these qualities of his Spirit, "He that loveth not, knoweth not God; for God is love." Some one said to me the other day that he understood about belief, but could not understand what it was to be born again. I told him that he that believed had life eternal, and whoever received life through Christ was born again. A man cannot get that life by merely going to church and observing forms; he must get the Spirit of God, and then he will have light and peace. We have no peace so long as we have sin, but if we accept Christ, and salvation through him, our sins are blotted out, and we have peace in reviewing the past. Spiritual power is what we want next. As soon as the Holy Ghost comes we want boldness to go out and proclaim Jesus. There was once a man on trial for his life. The king of the country in which he lived said the law must take its course, but, after he was tried and condemned, he would pardon him. The man was cool all through his trial, and when they brought in a verdict of guilty, the man was perfectly unconcerned. So with the Christian. He will have boldness in his heart on the day of judgment, because he knows Christ became a propitiation for his sins and he has his pardon laid up in his heart.

THREE CLASSES.

I always notice many here at noon whom we have meet in the inquiry-rooms, and I want to speak a word to them. There are three classes of people who will not accept salvation-those who neglect it, those who refuse it, and those who despise it. Many think they are not so bad as the scoffer at religion because they only neglect it, but if they keep on they are lost just the same. Suppose there is a man in a boat going in a swift current down the stream; if he neg lects to pull for the shore he is a doomed man. He will go over the rapids, won't he? If Noah had neglected to go into the ark after he had built it, he would have been lost with the other antediluvians. Nothing could have saved him. You let the cry be raised that this building is on fire, and see how many will keep their seats; they would be burned up as sure as they did.

Then again in the 12th chapter of Hebrews, 25th verse, "See that ye refuse not him that speaketh." The next step is to refuse salvation. A while ago they only neglected it, now they refuse it— that is the second round of the ladder. You can only do one of two things, take it or refuse it. You have all been in a house where the waiter passed ice-water to a number of people sitting together, and seen how some would take it and some would not; so the cup of sal

vation is passed among you to-day. How many of you will accept it? Are you almost persuaded? Remember a hair's breadth from heaven is not an inch from hell.

Again, in the 10th chapter of Hebrews, 28th verse, we read: "He that despised Moses's law died without mercy under two or three witnesses." Many despise the whole thing, hate it, and will have none of it-give them a tract and they light their cigars with it. There are the three words-neglect, refuse, despise. When there is but one engine and three cars attached, don't they all go the same way? If you do either of these three things, you must suffer the eternal consequences.

"SEVEN COMES."
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The key-note for the services to-day is found in the little word Come. I would like to speak to you of seven instances where we are invited to come to the Lord. In the 55th chapter of Isaiah and 1st verse we read, "Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters," and again in the 3d verse, "Incline your ear and come unto me; hear, and your soul shall live." I have great hopes that a man may be saved when he will stop and listen. People are so engrossed with the affairs of this world that but few find time to stop. It is all rush and hurry, and they don't think about their souls. I was out to dinner yesterday, and they were trying there to teach a little child to walk. They would say to her, "Come," and she would try to go a few steps. So Christ is calling the world to come, but the trouble is they do not heed and won't go. After the Chicago fire, when such quantities of money, clothes, and provisions were sent there, the only question asked those who applied for assistance was: "Were you burned out?" If they could prove it, they got help. All you have to do is to show that you want help from God, and he will give it. In the 1st of Isaiah we find: "Come now, and let us reason together saith the Lord; though your sins be as scarlet they shall be white as show." Sin can keep us out of heaven, but not out of Christ. If you are out of Christ, decide now to come to him. As the old colored woman said, when she made up her mind, then she was there. Will you turn to the 6th chapter of Mark and 31st verse? Christ said to his disciples, "Come ye yourselves apart into a desert place, and rest awhile." It is a good thing to be alone with God. We lead two lives-one in the world and one apart with God. In the 11th chapter of Matthew is the invitation, "Come unto me all ye that labor." If any man or woman among you is carrying a burden, take it to Christ. In the last verse of the 4th chapter of Hebrews we are told to come boldly to the throne of grace. Those who are afraid to become Christians lest they can't hold out, should remember that at the throne we can find grace in time of need. The

ne xt come is in the 22d chapter of Matthew and 4th verse: "Come unto the marriage"-the parable of the marriage of the king's son. The seventh and last invitation I want to call your attention to is, "Come and inherit eternal life." "Come up hither." These are blessed words, which will last forever.

THE RIGHT SPIRIT.

When Abraham came into God's presence, it was on his face; and in all the other instances where the patriarchs and prophets came to God they came to him in the same way. David was on his face in the psa'm. He'd been away from God. Here he was getting back again; he had at first to get back to God, and then the blessing would come. Then the right spirit would come into them. They must have just a clean heart; then the blessing was theirs. Had they a right spirit? Had they got to where they could say, as the Psalmist did, that they had sinned against God and were waiting for forgiveness? They must be able to teach transgressors God's way. How could they teach the wicked God's way? They had to get the Holy Spirit, and then came the joy of God's salvation. If they would convert sinners, they must have this spirit. How should the world know God? The world wouldn't read the Bible; but what did the apostles say of Christians? They were "known and read of all men." This was the way the world read God in them, read Christ in them. If he knew his own heart, its desire was to have God's Spirit. With it, they could do all things; without it, their work was as sounding brass and as a tinkling cymbal. Over in the book of Nehemiah, it was said that there was joy in the hearts and lives of God's children. There were too many long-faced Christians. They always seemed to him to be under the lash; they'd never got away from the law. They wanted more joy; they needed greater gladness in their lives. "Then will I teach transgressors the way, and sinners shall be converted unto thee." "Then." This is when God had restored to them the joy of his salvation. They didn't place enough stress on the word "then." It was the turning point in their work. This was what Chicago wanted. A few hundred live Christians that had this spirit could do a mighty work. The king could have given a good many sheep, if God had wanted them; but he didn't. The Lord didn't want his money. What does he say? Why, "to obey was better than sacrifice." This is what was wanted-obedience. The human heart didn't want to obey. They must have a broken and a contrite heart. An incident of an Illinois minister whose labors had been unblessed for a time was recited, and it was related how his heart had been broken by love, through a little three-year-olddaughter of his; and a revival in the church followed. So, nere Chicago, said Mr. Moody, before we can have any great blessing, or

any blessing at all, the hearts of the people have got to be broken; and then the blessings will come.

PRAYER.

We have for our subject, this afternoon, the wonderful prayer of the prophet Daniel. There is an impression abroad now that it has always been women and a few weak men who have prayed; but you can scarcely find a bolder or a wiser man than Daniel. He was prime minister of that great nation, for a long while. He was a wiser ruler and had more influence than any other man living on earth; and yet he was a man of prayer, and was not afraid to pray publicly. We are told that, when he was taken down to Babylon, the great king had a dream, and no man in his realm could interpret it. The king thought of his captive Daniel, and brought him and asked him what it meant. The young man, if he had not believed in God's power, might have turned away. But he didn't; he boldly told Nebuchadnezzar what God had written there.

Not only was Daniel a praying man, but he had faith that God would answer his prayers. Some people pray enough, but do not have faith that the Lord will hear them. They are lukewarm. There are a good many people of this sort here to-day. Daniel spoke to God with every confidence of being answered. Look at him when he went down into the den of lions, how he prayed. Prayer was with everything he did. I think we would have a good deal better government in this country, if our rulers prayed more. There would be a good many sneers at first; but the result would be a good government, and a wise one.

This man believed in prophecies, too; and I can fancy how the old man's eyes opened on turning away back to Jeremiah's writing, seventy years before, and reading: "I will punish them; the young men shall die by the sword, their sons and their daughters shall die by famine;" and then looking around him, and seeing how all the words pronounced had been fulfilled. They disobeyed the Lord. When they were in Palestine, he said to his people that they must rest on the Sabbath day; but for 490 years they disobeyed God's command, and the Lord said, If they don't do what I want them, I will make them. So he sent Nebuchadnezzar out after them; and he captured them, and held them for seventy years. If they would not give the Lord this, he said he would take it; and so if we do not give up what God wants us to, he will not forgive us our sins, but keep us in bondage, and we will never hang our harps upon the willow, or sing the songs of Zion.

I will just read: "We have sinned, and have committed iniquity, and have done wickedly, and have rebelled, even by departing from thy precepts and from thy judgments. And now, O Lord our God,

Thy hast brought thy people forth out of the land of Egypt with a mighty hand, and hast gotten thee renown as at this day; we have sinned; we have done wickedly. O Lord, according to all thy righteousness, I beseech thee let thy anger and thy fury be turned away from the city of Jerusalem, thy holy mountain, because for our sins and the iniquities of our fathers, Jerusalem and thy people are become a reproach to all that are about us. Now, therefore, O our God, hear the prayer of thy servant and his supplications, and cause thy face to shine upon thy sanctuary, that is desolate for the Lord's sake."

Daniel asks: "for the

And

He had not Christ to pray to like us. Lord's sake." He lived on the other side of Christ, and could not, like us, say "for Christ's sake. Oh what a power we have in prayer in Jesus. And he goes on: "Oh Lord, incline thine ear and hear; open thine eyes and behold our desolation, and the city which is called by thy name, for we do not present our supplication before thee for our righteousness, but for thy great mercies. O Lord, hear; O Lord, forgive; hearken and do; defer not, for thine own sake, O my God; for thy city and thy people are called by thy name. while I was speaking, and praying, and confessing my sin-Mark that "and confessing my sin"-and the sin of my people Israel, and presenting my supplication before the Lord my God for the holy mountain of my God; yea, while I was speaking in prayer, even the man Gabriel, whom I had seen in the vision at the beginning, being caused to fly swiftly, touched me about the time of the evening oblation. And he informed me, and talked with me, and said, O Daniel, I am now come forth to give thee skill and understanding." Before he got off his knees, Daniel's message was answered. I don't know how far heaven is off; but the angel Gabriel, the messenger of God, came to him while he was praying. Think of that. Here was a man who could not look at God for the sins of his people, who only prayed earnestly; and before he was through, his prayer was answered, and Gabriel appeared. We know of only three visits that Gabriel ever made. This one, when he came to bring God's people to the promised land. Daniel was told that God was able to do everything; and the messenger not only told him that the children of Israel were going to the promised land, but he let Daniel into the secret of the Messiah's coming. The second time he came to Zacharias. At first Zacharias doubted him, but he said: "I am he who sits in the presence of God;" and then he came to the young maiden who bore the Christ, and that was the third visit.

There are a great many young Christians in Chicago who have got into the way of the world, who are falling into the way of thinking and believing that God has given over answering prayer. God answers prayers to-day, as readily as he did of old. Infidels and scoffers and scientists may tell us that the world must move along in a