Samuel Porter Jones (1847-1906), an American Methodist Evangelist was born in Alabama and reared in Cartersville, Georgia. Jones was a lawyer but was a drunkard. He trusted Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour, being stirred by his father's dying words. His life was dramatically changed, preaching his first sermon one week following his conversion. He went on to live a full and sober life, becoming one of the preeminent evangelists at the turn of the century. He was known for his crude wit, coarse stories, and opposition to the liquor traffic. Thousands were saved and cleansed as a result of his ministry.


Law and Order

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." (Galatians 6:9)

Brethren, I want to preach from two sides of this text tonight, one half to you as Christians and the other half to you brethren - I mean what I say -who are not Christians. You are my brother, but I shall preach the first few minutes from this text to Christian people.

"And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." God says if we don't weary in well doing, we shall reap. I trust that in thirty days from this good hour every Christian here can write "T. P." opposite this verse in the margin of his or her Bible - "tried and proven" to be true. God says if we would not grow weary in well doing we should reap - reap a harvest of husbands and wives and sons and daughters for garners in the sky. Now, brother, this is a declaration with a promise attached - if you won't grow weary in well doing you shall reap a harvest.

I wonder what that "well doing" referred to in this verse is? I will drop back a few verses and find out. Brethren, first, well doing in a Christian life is this: "Brethren, if a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness; considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." Thus I learn from the lesson before us that the first duty of every Christian man is to ignore himself, and crucify himself, and live only for the good of others. We never have much trouble after we have gotten rid of ourselves. My biggest job is managing myself, and I'd rather undertake to control and manage Cincinnati than to manage myself.

I can get the police to help me manage Cincinnati, if I can get them straight to start with. I can get the Law and Order League and the Committee of One Hundred, and get help from various other directions, to help me control this city. I'll tell you another thing: I hope when God blessed Cincinnati with another election - I refer not to any previous election, or to any man who ever held the office of mayor - but I trust that the next mayor you have will enforce the laws of the city if he has to die in the ditch in his endeavor to keep it straight. I'll tell you another thing; If I were a citizen of Cincinnati I would die by the Law and Order League. I would stand up with the citizens of the Committee of One Hundred until my feet flew from under me. I would go into every thing and stay with every thing that looked towards law and order. Understand that? It is your only safety as a city; it is the safety of the commonwealth of each State, and the safety of municipal corporations - the enforcement of law. Law is made not for good citizens, but for bad citizens, and there isn't a law on the statute books of Ohio that is odious to law abiding people. What do you say to that? I am ready now and ready forever to die by the laws of my State, good or bad. I am branching off from my text, but what I have said is Gospel just as much as any thing I could say.

God bless you people of Cincinnati and rally you round the code of your city, and the laws of your city, and help you to stand by them and to see them enforced, and if any fellow doesn't like these laws let him emigrate -you have no use for him, no how! This is a free country. If he doesn't want to stay in a law abiding city, why, let him emigrate, and if you all haven't money enough to buy him a ticket, if he will write me a letter I'll furnish him a ticket, for the sake of the love I bear to you all. Law and order, righteousness, let it reign on earth, and let all good citizens stand by it. That's it! If I were mayor of this city next Sunday and Monday, there would be a thousand fellows in your lock ups, and station houses, and jails, on Monday night sure. Put that down!

Every man in this town that opened his bar room on Sunday I would put in jail, if I had to call out the militia of the city to help put him there. Every bar room door that is flung open in Cincinnati on Sunday is against the law, and in direct opposition to the law of your city and of your State; and, brethren, in the name of God, let's enforce the law, or let's call our Legislature home, and quit paying them to go up there to Columbus and enact a set of rules and laws that they don't intend to carry out. Abolish the Legislature, burn the code, or make up your mind to stand up for law and order. God bless the Law and Order League and the Committee of One Hundred!

If there's a saloon keeper in this city that doesn't like the way things are run, tell him to emigrate, demijohn and all - you wouldn't miss him! You can well spare twenty-nine hundred saloon keepers and beer gardens, and then have one hundred of them left, and the Lord knows that's enough. A hundred saloons ought to do you, if you ain't the greediest crowd I ever struck. If we can't do any thing with law and order on these saloons, let's starve them out. I understand that a good many of them have got to that point now that they can't settle their bills. They say they never saw business so dull in their line in their life. Thank God for dull business along on that line!

Brethren, stand by your Law and Order League, by your Committee of One Hundred, and by your mayor in the enforcement of the law, and not only stand by your mayor, but tell him if he doesn't pitch in and enforce the law he can never be elected dog pelter in this town, much less mayor again. The mayor isn't the boss of the town. He's the servant of everybody and anybody, and, brethren, let's make our servants do what we want them to do. That's the way.

Law and order! Why, see what this little movement here has already done. You've shut up the theaters here on Sunday, and I'll tell you, if you'll push the battle on you will do like the citizens of St. Joseph, Mo. When I went there, an honest Preacher, the Pastor of a Church in that city, came to me and said: "Brother Jones, don't open your mouth about the liquor traffic here or they'll put dynamite under the house you sleep in and blow you up!" "What?" said I. "They'll kill you before twenty-four hours if you ever denounce the liquor traffic, and they'll do it with dynamite," said the Preacher, earnestly. "If they blow me up with dynamite," said I, "I'll get a fine momentum, and I'll keep on all the harder. The tendency of the flash of this thing is upward, and it'll give a fellow a good start. I like that."

Well, out there in St. Joseph I turned my guns loose on that traffic, and in less than thirty days from the time I left there they had over hauled the 18O bar keepers, found 18O true bills against them, indicted them, brought them up before the court, and they walked up to the judge and took solemn oath they'd never sell another drop of liquor on Sunday if the judge would only be light on them that time and let them off. They knew they were doing wrong, and they persisted in it until they were brought up sharply. Law and order has got to prevail in this city, and if it does, you're going to see another state of things in Cincinnati. You good people are in the majority.

It is all a great big lie about the hoodlums running this town. I know some of the best citizens of this city are Germans, and I have received letters while I have been here from German citizens that have brought joy to my heart. Thank God for every German in this city that is for law and order! Thank God for every American here that is in favor of law and order! In this democratic country, I mean republican country, the majority rules. In a republican form of government the majority always rules, and the good citizens of this town are in that majority; and, now, let's come forward and dare to assert ourselves in favor of law and order and righteousness.

Well, I must come to my text. What I have been saying is good Gospel, and it will do your children good after you are dead and gone if you will follow that kind of Gospel; and the Lord knows I didn't come to this city to get up a shout and go round corn stalk meeting, where they all shout and afterward go on with their devilment, but I came here to get up a Ten Commandments revival, a Sermon on the Mount revival, and to preach righteousness among the people.

I will tell you another thing; the responsive hearts and the responsive presence of the people here in this hall to the Gospel as it has been preached have convinced me that Ohio and Cincinnati are overwhelmingly in favor of law and order, and may God bless you for showing it.

But, brethren, I must return to my text: "And let us not be weary in well doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not." The first duty of every man is to ignore himself and his own purpose and desires and intentions, crucify himself and live only for the good of others. That's it. O, how I love to see a self sacrificing man - a man that loves humanity better than he loves himself. I like that sort of a man. He is an honor to his race and a blessing to the world.

We have a man down our way in Georgia; he's a little Methodist Preacher on a circuit now. Whenever I walk into the presence of that man I think he's the largest man I ever looked at, and he just expands in my presence when I look in his face, and I get whittled down until I feel I'm no bigger than a mole hill beside a majestic mountain. Why does he look so large? Because, when I look into that face, I'm looking into the face of the most unselfish man I ever saw. He doesn't care one cent for himself. He doesn't live or do for himself, but every thought of his life, every act of his life is, "How can I help some one else?" He's the happiest man, and the most glorious being I ever looked at, and I trace it all to the one source, that he's so supremely unselfish. He just lives for other people. Brother, you'll never be worth any thing until you can get yourself down and get your foot squarely planted on yourself, and say, "Now, you lie there. If you get up I'll mash your mouth for you." When you do that you get in a position where you can help some one else. Blessed be God, I have got myself out of the way, and have nothing to look after now but other people. There's nothing in the way now, and, with my whole self in the background, I have nothing to do but to live and act for others all the day long.

This text says: "If a man be overtaken in a fault, ye which are spiritual restore such a one in the spirit of meekness, considering thyself, lest thou also be tempted." Your first duty is to live for your brother. I've often heard people say, "I have no time to look after other people. I'm doing first rate if I can get into Heaven myself. I'm in big luck if I can get there myself without looking after other people." Brother, you've made a mistake here as long as eternity. Listen to me, if I just wanted to make sure of damnation I would just settle it. "I'll never try to help anybody else in this country. I will spend all my days helping myself." What is hell at last? It's the very quintessence of selfishness, and selfishness is hell, and there is not an element in hell that does not enter into selfishness; and the supremely selfish man has already lighted the fires of hell in his soul that shall burn forever and forever. A selfish man! Just as I am unselfish I am lovable, and just as I am unselfish I am a blessing to the world. Just as I am selfish I am unlovable and a curse to the world.

"Live for myself!" Why, what is it that makes a man sell whisky? Selfishness! What is it that makes a man gamble? Selfishness! What is it that makes a man steal? Selfishness! Do you catch the idea? In all the devilment that people have ever done in this world there is a seed at the bottom of the tap root of the whole thing, and that seed is selfishness. All that is good on earth today grows in this soil we call unselfishness. Divest yourself, brother, of all selfishness, and strike out to do good for the world.

I will tell you another thing. As Christian people we ought to join hands here now as a great army of Christians, and march to the front hand in hand, heart to heart, faith to faith, love to love; march straight along as Baptists, Methodists, Presbyterians, Lutherans, and Christians of all denominations. We must join hands and march to the front, and let us say to this grand army, "We will hang together, and stick together, and fight together, and die together, and we will all go to Heaven together, or we will all go to hell together. We will stick to one another world without end!"

There's many a Preacher that has been unable to get up a successful meeting in his own Church, and if some other Preacher gets up a big meeting in his Church, and four or five hundred souls are converted and brought to God, this poor Preacher looks as if he'd been sick for six months; he just goes drooping about. I don't mean any Cincinnati Preacher - I mean a Georgia Preacher. I have seen them. They were so glad their brother Preacher was having such a successful revival that it was like to have killed them, they just fell off pounds and pounds. I mean these Georgia Preachers - I haven't any reference to any Cincinnati Preachers. I have seen that the case with a Preacher; he couldn't be happy over another preacher's revival to save his life.

It takes a good deal of religion for some Pastors to stand by and see the Pastor of another Church having such a big time with a revival. It takes more religion there than anywhere else in the world. It does that! I have been along there. I am a human being, and all of us Preachers are human beings. Brethren, I want to see the day come when you will rejoice in every good act, for there never was a revival in this town that didn't help every Church in the town, if they put themselves in a right attitude towards it. Every revival in any Church in this city, no matter if not more than five hundred are out, will do good to every other Church, if they put themselves in a right attitude to the work of Christ.

If I never had saved a soul in the world, and the Lord allows me in Heaven with the workers that did save the souls, I'd stand and shout hosannas over the work of the others. It takes a good deal of religion to do that. We want religion enough to stand by and enjoy another fellow's doing what we tried, but were unable to do ourselves. It takes one hundred and eighty pounds of grace to the square inch right there to let me crow over and enjoy another man doing a thing that I couldn't do myself.

I have known Preachers - Georgia Preachers, you know - to try for two or three years to get up a big revival in their Church, and they couldn't get up any, and then they lammed in and preached hard against revivals. They tried to have them themselves and couldn't, and then they just lammed in and preached as hard against them as they could. Lord, have mercy on selfish Preachers. If God will take all the selfishness out of the hearts of all the Preachers, myself as well as others, we will be in a position to lead the ranks of God into the belching mouths of the cannons of the devil and run him back into his citadel and bombard it until we run him out and capture this world for Christ.

There are Preachers in this town that haven't been in this hall at all; and mark what I tell you. The Preachers of this city that have stood aloof - I want them to hear this, I hope it will I do them good - when they saw God was with it and saving souls, and yet kept away, will have to make out that a clear case of insanity was upon them during these meetings or go to hell, in my candid judgment. I don't care, brother, if he is your Pastor and does rack around to see you every week, and talk with you on religion. I tell you when God Almighty's cannon and musketry begin to roar, every loyal citizen will rush to the front and help fight the battles. If your Pastor, brother, has been hanging back, you tell him he ought to go before a jury and be tried for insanity, and carry a good certificate with him to the Judgment, for he'll need it.

Selfishness! Good Lord take the selfishness out of our Preachers and out of our Churches, and then we'll win this world to Christ. We're not running this thing for ourselves, but running it for Christ.

Now, suppose an insurance company had a hundred agencies and agents in this town and they were to pull against one another, undercut one another, as the Churches pull against and undercut one another. Let a disaffected member get mad at one Church here because the Preacher raked him about progressive euchre, and leave, another Church will say, "Come, live with us." All the same Church, all agents for the same house and compromising and cutting rates! Why, there isn't an insurance company in America that wouldn't send their inspector of agencies out here and discharge every agent in the town if they ran on that schedule.

Selfishness is the curse of the world, and unselfishness is a blessing to the world. You have as unselfish Preachers in this town as walk the face of the earth. You have the others too; I never call any names, but every fellow knows his number. If this cap fits any Preacher in this house let him wear it. If it doesn't fit you throw it away and get a better one. People say I arrogate a great deal to myself. But I do not intend to take any thing to myself. I don't want any praise from anybody. I don't care what you think of me so long as you think well of my Savior and do what He wants you to do. There are no selfish aims or ambitious to be gained in this fight, and God has blessed me in proportion as I have been unselfish. I don't want any praise - as I said before, I'd just as soon you'd throw mud on me as praise me. Brethren, with an unselfish spirit, let's join hands and march on to glory and to God with this city.

In St. Joseph, Mo., those brothers gathered and worked and worked for weeks together, and there they are today with more than a thousand souls that they reaped since the union revival closed. And now, brother, here is a harvest field of one hundred and fifty thousand souls away from Christ; and I hope every pastor will call his Church together on Sunday at 11 o'clock, and give them the plan of the battle, and tell them what he expects them to do. And brother and sister in Christ, if you never did a faithful month's work for God in your life, and you never intended to do one month's work, you tell your Pastor next Sunday morning at 11 o'clock: "Brother, put me down in the first of the soldiers that will go in to conquer or to die." And if you will do that, in less than six weeks from today I will show you fifty thousand souls converted to God and added to the Churches. The doors are wide open. O, let us fight this old world and get in the rear of this old world, and drive them into the kingdom of God, and there is nothing else here to do. And brother, let us go with unselfishness into this fight, and all meet and pray together, and then they will scatter out to the different Churches in the city, and save this town from death and hell.

I will tell you another thing. Every man of righteousness ought to join in the battle. And you that are not members of the Church, surrender your heart to God tonight, and Sunday morning at 11 O'clock come in and join some Christian Church, and be one of the most valiant soldiers of the Cross for the next five or six weeks in bringing to Christ those around you. If a man is trying to help others to Christ, it is the best evidence that he has got it himself. Go to work, and go to work for Christ now. As a good man said, "I will pay the balance in good works as long as I live. I am going to devote my life to God and humanity."

I will tell you another thing. You can't be too patient toward one another. These new converts will need your care and mercy and good will and help every day - mark that. I want to say, I frequently hear this question: Do Jones's converts stick? Now, let me tell you, I never run any insurance on them at all; no guarantee. I don't run any guaranty on my converts. They may, every one, be in the penitentiary before this time next year. But I will tell you one thing, every convert of these meetings will average up with the Churches they join. Do you hear that? Average up with the Churches they join. A woman said to me once, "Brother Jones, we had a revival here two years ago, and seventy-five joined our Church, and now where are they, those seventy-five?" She said, "I don't believe in revivals." I said, "Sister, ain't those seventy-five here in town?" She said, "Yes, but I never see much of them. Why," she says, "some of those converts are getting drunk." Said I, "Ain't some of your old converts getting drunk?" "Well, yes," said she; "but some of the new converts don't come to meeting." "Don't some of your old ones stay away, too?" said I. "Well, yes," said she; "and some of the new converts play cards." Said I, "Don't some of the old ones play cards, too" "Well, yes." Said I, "Sister, the new converts will live right up with the old ones; some of the new ones are getting drunk, so are some of the old ones; some of the new ones play cards, so do some of the old ones; some of the new ones are staying away from meeting, so are some of the old ones."

It is not so much the weight and bigness of the infant as it is what sort of a mother has God given it to take care of it! There is many a Church in this country - O, what mothers, what mothers, what mothers they are! Ah, me, there is that mother with her sweet, beautiful babe yonder who cares nothing for it! She keeps it in the nursery, and the mother doesn't see it once a week or once a month. O, such a mother isn't worthy of a child! She isn't worthy the name of mother. The Church in this town is a mother to its converts, and there's many a Church in this town that cares nothing for its converts. They hire a Preacher to look after the Church, hire him by the month, and pay him by the month to look after the babies, and I tell you there is a sight of them to look after. I would rather preach three hundred and sixty-five sermons every year for one of your Churches, than to look after the babies for one week. It's a solid fact. It is whine and whine, and cry and cry; and soothing syrup and soothing syrup. How many bottles do you reckon have been used in this Church? I suppose you can go into the closet and find hundreds of empty bottles of soothing syrup. And before the Pastor can get one fellow quiet, another breaks out, and it is running with the spoon and bottle all the time.

Obliged to do it! It isn't right the way we do with our Preachers; it is not right before God. I told them the other day in my sermon, that in some of these Churches the whole Church will be in the wagon, every single member of the Church up in the wagon, some laughing, some cursing, some drinking, some playing cards, some shouting, but the whole lot up in the wagon, and the poor little old Preacher out in the shafts trying to pull the whole thing along. There goes the poor fellow under this big load, just tired to death, and here some fellow wipes his mouth after taking a drink, and says, "Jab him up a bit." I say, get out of that wagon and catch hold and pull or push at once. O, brethren of the Ministry, God bless you, hitch up that crowd to the wagon, and get up on the spring seat and drive a while!

It is a heap easier for you all to pull the Preacher, than it is for the Preacher to pull you. Let us swap about with him; let us all get out of the wagon a while. And about the only time you get out at all is when you go down a steep hill, and then you get out and push. The Lord have mercy on that sort of a man. Live for others, work for others. Your Preacher needs unselfish members. God needs unselfish members. The world needs you every day. The poor, weak brethren in the Church need you every day.

Now this incident. I read it a few months ago. It was related by Bishop Marvin. He said that in one of his charges once, when he was a young Pastor, he commenced a meeting on his circuit at a Church, and he said at that Church there were from two to three hundred members. He commenced preaching, but the Church didn't get aroused. And he said when he had preached about two weeks, seventy-five had professed conversion and joined the Church, but the Church never got waked up. And before the first day of next January - this was in July - before the first day of January seventy-two of the seventy-five had gone back to the world, just as bad or worse than they were before. He said right over there on that same circuit there was another Church, the most faithful Church he ever saw, with two of the most faithful class leaders he ever knew. He commenced his meetings there, and the Church was on fire with love to God and man. And that is pure unselfishness, love to God and love to man. And he said while preaching at that Church one night, he noticed an old blacksmith, dingy, black, and dirty, come in and take a back seat; and after the service one of the class leaders came up and said: "Brother Marvin, did you see that old dingy, dirty blacksmith take his seat?" "Yes," he said. "Well," said the class leader, "he is the worst old drunkard this country possesses, and I was glad to see him here," The bishop said: "You ought to invite him back again." "Well, I tried, but he was gone before I could get to him," "Well," said Marvin, "you must go to see him."

Next morning, bright and early, the class leader rode up to the blacksmith's house and said to him: "I am mighty glad I saw you at the Church last night, and I want you to come again." Said he: "I love to hear that man preach; he caught hold of my heart; but," said he, "look at these ragged clothes and this debauched body; and my poor wife in rags, and my children in their desolation; we can't go to Church; we've got nothing to wear." "Ah," said the class leader, "I know that; but I am going to bring you a suit apiece for the whole family, and come with my wagon and take you to Church." He did. On that night the blacksmith, his wife, and two oldest children were there, and knelt at the altar. The next thing, the blacksmith and his wife and two oldest children were converted and joined the Church. And when the blacksmith walked up and joined the Church, the sinners out in the back of the house said: "The first time that old blacksmith goes to town and gets drunk they'll lose him."

The meeting closed. They got him to pray in his family; they carried him work to his shop, and got the neighbors to patronize him, and kept him busy at his trade; and before two years he had bought himself a nice cottage and paid for all his tools, and was one of the respected men of the community. About six months after these two years were over the Western fever broke out in the settlement. People all took a notion to go West, and the blacksmith said he thought he would go. And the class leaders said: "Sir, we don't want you to live out West; the company is too bad, and we want you to stay here with us, with your family, and go to Heaven with us." He said: "I can do better with my children out there." They couldn't persuade him, and in a short time a small company started out West with about forty wagons, and the blacksmith and his family with them. They crossed the Mississippi River, and one of the company wrote back, and among other things said: "We gather in the blacksmith's wagon, and he reads his Bible and offers family prayer with all the company every night and morning." And when they got the next letter they had arrived at their place of destination, and they were almost afraid to open it, but it said; "The blacksmith has gone right into Church with all his family and gone right to duty." Every letter they got said, "He is faithful to God and duty."

About six months after he went out one of the class leaders one morning got a letter with a black margin all around the envelope, and he opened it, and it was from the wife, bathed in her tears, and it read: "My husband died shouting happy last night, and went home to Heaven, and he told me to write back to his faithful class leaders and tell them another one is saved by Grace and gone home to God."

O, for that spirit of religion in this country! That is what we want. O, my brethren, let us stand by one another; let us die by one another! There is too much doubt and hesitancy on the mind of the people. I recollect when Sam Small was converted. O, how dissipated that man was! He told you all himself. I don't go behind his back; I have said all before his face that I say here, and I am no prouder of my precious child, or of my wife, than I am of Sam Small. Thank God for the Grace that brought him to me. When Sam Small was converted to God I heard him talk once, and my wife and friends said, "Sam Small has got religion, just as sure as Sam Jones has got it; he has got it, certain." He has. He has got the right aim.

The first thing I did, I threw my arms around him and said, "Brother, come and go to work with me in the cause of God " The wise brethren walked up and said, "Brother Sam, you had better be very particular; if his foot were to happen to slip it would be death on you, and you had better be mighty particular now." "If he falls down," said I, "he shall fall on me; I will hold him up, and stand by him until I die myself. And thank God Almighty, he never fell on me. I have never held up a pound for him, but I have got so now, thank God, I can lean on him, and he is helping to hold me up. Glory be to God for the spirit that will throw his arms around a poor fellow struggling and help him on to God!

I never see a poor drunken man but I want to throw my arms around him and keep them there. I never see a poor, weak brother come up that I don't wish I had nothing else in the world to do but to keep him out of temptations and keep him straight until he gets firmly on his feet. They need your nursing; they need your help. But O, what is the use of bringing them in and nobody taking care of them? Take hold of souls and bring them through to God. You who are spiritual go and love him, stand by him, do your best for him.

I learned how to love a man once by a game of town ball. When I was a boy we used to play town ball. But I will tell you what, if I had a dog and he were to go out and look at a game of base ball an hour, and then come back in my yard, I would go out and kill him, I would. None of your base ball in mine. There is not a more corrupting thing this side of hell than base ball. Now, put that down. They all thought I had forgotten that, I never have had any use form it. The idea of a great big young buck twenty-five years old running all over creation for a ball. If your mother wanted you to cut a stick of wood she couldn't get you to do it to save her life, but you dress up in a fool's garb and run after a ball, the hottest day, until your tongue lolls out, you fool you. That isn't all. It is one of the finest fields for gambling in America. And that is not all. I wouldn't wipe my feet on any crowd that would go out and play base ball on the Sabbath. Those are my sentiments. I couldn't put it in any more concise way than that. I don't know whether you agree with me or not; but you understand me, I reckon, don't you? I will let my boy play ball until he is ten years old, but after he is fifteen years old I believe I will wear him out with work. If he falls catch him at such foolishness as that.

Men, stand by one another and help one another, and when down let us catch him immediately and straighten him up, and then call to other brothers, and say, "One of you get under this arm and one under the other," and let him hobble on toward glory, and when he gets into Heaven his crutches will be there too, blessed be God. It is about the only way you will ever get to Heaven. It is to go there as a crutch under some poor fellow's arm, and the only way he will get there is for you to play the crutch for him. O, thank God, the crutches and the lame have to go in together, and they rejoice together in the name of the good work.

Stand by one another! Help one another! Do your duty toward one another! And when a poor fellow falls down do not look at him and say - "Just look at that brother now; he joined the Church during the revival, and now is drunk; look at him!" There is the poor, fallen brother in the ditch; he is drunk, beastly drunk; and here are two brethren standing off, looking at him and saying, one to the other, "I told our Pastor not to take him into the Church." Do you want to know whom God thinks more of, that one lying there, or these two? That sot lying in the gutter is better than a hundred such in the sight of God. That poor, drunken fellow is better in the sight of God than these Pharisees that will see their brother sink and then say, "Just look at him." A brother would run to him and drag him out of the ditch and stand by him and say, "You have done wrong, so have I, and we will quit now and try to live right."

There is many a poor fellow who has gone to hell from this community that Christian people never made one effort to save from death and hell. They just go to the dogs all around us.

I have talked more than an hour, and now I am going to close with just these words. I never preached on the subject that I started out on in my life, and I have gone off in this direction, and I hope God will use it to your good.

Now a word or two to you men out of the Church. Let me say this to you: There is a great responsibility on you. You have seen rich men in the community; you have seen a rich man and you have seen all the poor people turn away; and you hear the poor people talk and say: "That rich man doesn't care any thing about us poor folks." The truth of the business is, these poor people imagine that that rich man doesn't care any thing about them; and when they see him they treat him coolly, and he does the same, for the poor fellows don't know what else to do. Now you have imagined many a time the Church didn't care any thing about you and that these people didn't want to have any thing to do with you, and you have turned away yourself. Turn to the Church and say, "Give me help and assistance," and they will take you by the hand and take you to glory and to God. When you do that once, men of the world, you will be on the right direction.


Back to Biblebelievers.com