PUBLIC-DOMAIN CHRISTIAN BOOK
Moody's Anecdotes And Illustrations Related in his Revival Work by the Great Evangelist
Moody, Dwight Lyman, 1837-1899 · 75,130 words · 147 reading sections
Part 61
A lady had a little child that was dying. She thought it was resting sweetly in the arms of Jesus. She went into the room and the child asked her: "What are those clouds and mountains that I see so dark?" "Why, Eddy," said his mother, "there are no clouds or mountains, you must be mistaken." "Why, yes, I see great moun…
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I remember one time my little girl was teasing her mother to get her a muff, and so one day her mother brought a muff home, and, although it was storming, she very naturally wanted to go out in order to try her new muff. So she tried to get me to go out with her. I went out with her, and I said, "Emma, better let me ta…
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The hardest thing for a man to do is to give up his will. That night they retired, and they thought surely early in the morning, he will be ready to ask his mothers forgiveness. The father went to him--that was Friday morning--to see if he was ready to ask his mother's forgiveness, but he "couldn't." The father and mot…
703 wordsSECTION 64CHRIST SAVES.
Moody in Prison. I have good news to tell you--Christ is come after you. I was at the Fulton-street prayer-meeting, a good many years ago, one Saturday night, and when the meeting was over, a man came to me and said, "I would like to have you go down to the city prison to-morrow, and preach to the prisoners. I said I …
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"What's the trouble?" I said. He looked up, the picture of remorse and despair. "Oh, my sins are more than I can bear." "Thank God for that," I replied. "What," said he, "you are the man that has been preaching to us, ain't you?" "Yes." "I think you said you were a friend?" "I am." "And yet you are glad that my sins ar…
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A number of years ago, before any railway came into Chicago, they used to bring in the grain from the Western prairies in wagons for hundreds of miles, so as to have it shipped off by the lakes. There was a father who had a large farm out there, and who used to preach the gospel as well as to attend to his farm. One da…
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There is a very good story told of Rowland Hill and Lady Ann Erskine. You have seen it, perhaps, in print, but I would like to tell it to you. While he was preaching in a park in London to a large assemblage, she was passing in her carriage. She said to her footman when she saw Rowland Hill in the midst of the people, …
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I have read of an artist who wanted to paint a picture of the Prodigal Son. He searched through the madhouse, and the poor houses, and the prisons, to find a man wretched enough to represent the prodigal, but he could not find one. One day he was walking down the streets and met a man whom he thought would do. He told …
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When I was East a few years ago, Mr. Geo. H. Stewart told me of a scene that occurred in a Pennsylvania prison, when Governor Pollock, a Christian man, was Governor of the State. A man was tried for murder, and the judge had pronounced sentence upon him. His friends had tried every means in their power to procure his p…
605 wordsSECTION 70GOLD.
-- There was never a sermon which you have listened to but in it Christ was seeking for you. I contend that a man cannot but find in every page of this book that Jesus Christ is seeking him through His blessed Word. This is what the Bible is for--to seek out the lost. -- No man in the world should be so happy as a man…
414 wordsSECTION 71CHRISTIAN WORK.
How Moody was Encouraged. I remember a few years ago I got discouraged, and could not see much fruit of my work; and one morning, as I was in my study, cast down, one of my Sabbath-school teachers came in and wanted to know what I was discouraged about, and I told him because I could see no result from my work; and sp…
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I heard of a Christian who did not succeed in his work so well as he used to, and he got homesick and wished himself dead. One night he dreamed that he had died, and was carried by the angels to the Eternal City. As he went along the crystal pavement of heaven, he met a man he used to know, and they went walking down t…
718 wordsSECTION 73GOLD.
-- It is the greatest pleasure of living to win souls to Christ. -- I believe in what John Wesley used to say, "All at it, and always at it," and that is what the Church wants to-day. -- If we were all of us doing the work that God has got for us to do, don't you see how the work of the Lord would advance? -- There …
145 wordsSECTION 74CHRISTIAN ZEAL.
Satan's Match. If you will allow me an expression, Satan got a match when he got Paul. He tried to get him away from God, but he never switched off. Look how they tortured him. Look how they stripped and beat him. Not only did the Romans do this, but the Jews also. How the Jews tried to drag him from his high calling.…
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A few years ago, in a town somewhere in this state, a merchant died, and while he was lying a corpse I was told a story I will never forget. When the physician that attended him saw there was no chance for him here, he thought it would be time to talk about Christ to the dying man. And there are a great many Christians…
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I remember when I was in Chicago before the fire, I was on some ten or twelve committees. My hands were full. If a man came to me to talk about his soul I would say I haven't time; got a committee to attend to. But now I have turned my hack on everything--turned my attention to saving souls, and God has blessed me and …
249 wordsSECTION 77CONFESSING CHRIST.
What a Woman Did. One place we were in, in England, I recollect a Quakeress came in. The meeting was held in a Methodist Church, and the Spirit of God was there--souls were being saved: multitudes were pressing into the kingdom. She had a brother who was a drinker and a nephew who had just come to the city, and he was…
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I remember while in Boston I attended one of the daily prayer meetings. The meetings we had been holding had been almost always addressed by young men. Well, in that meeting a little tow-headed Norwegian boy stood up. He could hardly speak a word of English plain, but he got up and came to the front. He trembled all ov…
980 wordsSECTION 79GOLD.
-- If Christ comes into our hearts we are not ashamed. -- I wish we had a few more women like the woman of Samaria, willing to confess what the Lord Jesus Christ had done for their souls. -- Believing and confessing go together; and you cannot be saved without you take them both. "With the mouth confession is made un…
357 wordsSECTION 80CONVERSION.
Mr. Moody's First Impulse in Converting Souls. I want to tell you how I got the first impulse to work solely for the conversion of men. For a long time after my conversion I didn't accomplish anything. I hadn't got into my right place; that was it. I hadn't thought enough of this personal work. I'd get up in prayer me…
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I remember while preaching in Glasgow, an incident occurred which I will relate. I had been preaching there several weeks, and the night was my last one, and I pleaded with them as I had never pleaded there before. I urged the people to meet me in that land. It is a very solemn thing to stand before a vast audience for…
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You will remember when we had slavery we used to have men come up from Kentucky, Tennessee, and other slave states in order to escape from slavery. I hope if there are any Southern people here they will not think in this allusion I am trying to wound their feelings. We all remember when these colored men came here how …
693 wordsSECTION 83GOLD.
-- It is our privilege to know that we are saved. -- We shall draw the world to Christ when we are filled with religion. -- He that overcometh shall inherit all things. God has no poor children. -- I hold to the doctrine of sudden conversion as I do to my life, and I would as quickly give up my life as give up this …
128 wordsSECTION 84DECISION.
Moody's Mistake. The last time I preached upon this question was in old Farwell Hall. I had been for five nights preaching upon the life of Christ. I took him from the cradle and followed Him up to the judgment hall, and on that occasion I consider I made as great a blunder as ever I made in my life. If I could recall…
796 wordsSECTION 85GOLD.
-- If you receive Him it will be well; if you reject Him and are lost it will be terrible. -- Thanks be to God, there is hope to-day; this very hour you can choose Him and serve Him. -- Now just think a moment and answer the question, "'What shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" -- I believe in my soul that t…
127 wordsSECTION 86DELIVERANCE.
The Scotch Lassie. There is a story told of an incident that occurred during the last Indian mutiny. The English were besieged in the city of Lucknow, and were in momentary expectation of perishing at the hands of the fiends that surrounded them. There was a little Scotch lassie in this fort, and, while lying on the g…
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Mr. Spurgeon, a number of years ago, made a parable. He thought he had a right to make one, and he did it. He said: "There was once a tyrant who ordered one of his subjects into his presence, and ordered him to make a chain. The poor blacksmith--that was his occupation--had to go to work and forge the chain. When it wa…
222 wordsSECTION 88GOLD.
-- The mightiest man that ever lived could not deliver himself from his sins. If a man could have saved himself, Christ would never have come into the world. -- He came to deliver us from our sinful dispositions, and create in us pure hearts, and when we have Him with us it will not be hard for us. Then the service of…
176 wordsSECTION 89EXCUSES.
"I Have Intellectual Difficulties." There is another voice coming down from the gallery yonder: "I have intellectual difficulties; I cannot believe." A man came to me sometime ago and said, "I cannot." "Cannot what?" I asked. "Well," said he, "I cannot believe." "Who?" "Well," he repeated, "I cannot believe." "Who?" I…
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I can imagine some men saying, "Mr. Moody has not touched my case at all. That is not the reason why I won't accept Christ. I don't know as I am one of the elect." How often I am met with this excuse--how often do I hear it in the inquiry room! How many men fold their arms and say, "If I am one of the elect I will be s…
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Would you sign that, young man? Would you, mother? Would you come up to the reporters' table, take up a pen and put your name down to such an excuse? You would say, "Let my right hand forget its cunning, and my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I sign that." Just let me write out another answer: "To the King …
139 wordsSECTION 92GOLD.
-- There is not an excuse but is a lie. -- God's service a hard one! How will that sound in the judgment? -- It is easy enough to excuse yourself to hell, but you cannot excuse yourself to heaven. -- When a man prepares a feast, men rush in, but when God prepares one they all begin to make excuses, and don't want to…
192 wordsSECTION 93FAITH.
How Moody's Faith Saved an Infidel. When I was in Edinburgh, at the inquiry meeting in Assembly Hall, one of the ushers came around and said, "Mr. Moody, I'd like to put that man out; he's one of the greatest infidels in Edinburgh." He had been the chairman of an infidel club for years, I went around to where he was a…
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I remember Mr. Morehouse, while here four years ago, used an illustration which has fastened itself on my mind. He said, suppose you go up the street and meet a man whom you have known for the last ten years to be a beggar, and you notice a change in his appearance, and you say, "Halloo, beggar, what's come over you?" …
486 wordsSECTION 95GOLD.
-- God will honor our faith. -- There is nothing on this earth that pleases Christ so much as faith. -- Faith is the foundation of all society. We have only to look around and see this. -- I believe there is no man in the world so constituted but he can believe in God's word. He simply tells you to believe in Him, a…
147 wordsSECTION 96FORGIVENESS.
How Moody's Mother Forgave her Prodigal Son. I can give you a little experience of my own family. Before I was fourteen years old the first thing I remember was the death of my father. He had been unfortunate in business, and failed. Soon after his death the creditors came in and took everything. My mother was left wi…
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There is a story told of Mr. William Dawson, which I would like to relate. While preaching in London, one night at the close of his sermon, he said that there was not one in all London whom Christ could not save. In the morning a young lady called upon him and said: "Mr. Dawson, in your sermon last night you said that …
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In a meeting recently a man got up. I didn't know him at first. When I was here he was a rumseller, and broke up his business and went to the mountains. This is how it happened. When I was here before, he opened a saloon and a grand billiard hall. It was one of the most magnificent billiard halls in Chicago, all elegan…
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I went off, and requests for prayer were sent here and to Fulton street, New York, and I thought the prayers there and of that wife would be answered if mine were not. A year and a half after, I was in that city, and a servant came to the door and said: "There is a man in the front parlor who wishes to see you." I foun…
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The real Reuben Johnson was looking all the time behind him, and around him to see where Reuben was. The Chaplain saw him standing right in front of the Commissioner, and beckoned to him; but he only turned and looked around him, thinking that the Chaplain might mean some other Reuben. A second time he beckoned to Reub…
184 wordsSECTION 101GOLD.
-- All you have got to do is to prove that you are a sinner, and I will prove that you have got a Saviour. -- Do you believe the Lord will call a poor sinner, and then cast him out? No! his word stands forever, "Him that cometh unto Me I will in no wise cast out." -- If God put Adam out of this earthly Eden on accoun…
197 wordsSECTION 102GRACE.
Moody's First Sermon on Grace. I remember preaching one night in winter--one of the coldest winters we had--the winter after the Chicago fire. I had been studying up grace, and it was the first time I had spoken of it, and I was just full of it. I started out of the house, I remember, and the first man I met I asked h…
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There is a story told of Alexander the Great. A general in his army was a great favorite with him, and he told him to draw anything from his treasury that he wanted. Well, he presented a bill to the treasurer, and the treasurer wouldn't honor it. It was for such an enormous amount that the treasurer was astonished. The…
312 wordsSECTION 104GOLD.
-- We must not limit the mighty grace of God. -- Grace means undeserved kindness. It is the gift of God to man the moment he sees he is unworthy of God's favor. -- A man does not get grace till he comes down to the ground, till he sees he needs grace. When a man stoops to the dust and acknowledges that he needs mercy…
261 wordsSECTION 105HEAVEN.
Moody in a California Sunday School. I remember when I went to California just to try and get a few souls saved on the Pacific coast, I went into a school there and asked, "Have you got some one who can write a plain hand?" "Yes." Well, we got up the blackboard, and the lesson upon it proved to be the very text we hav…
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But I have another anecdote to tell. It was Ralph Wallace who told me of this one. A certain gentleman was a member of the Presbyterian Church. His little boy was sick. When he went home his wife was weeping, and she said, "Our boy is dying; he has had a change for the worse. I wish you would go in and see him." The fa…
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There are a great many people who forget that there are eleven commandments. They think there are only ten. The eleventh commandment is: "Lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven." How many of us remember--ah! how many people in Chicago forget the words of the Lord now in his wonderful sermon on the mount: "Lay not up…
485 wordsSECTION 108GOLD.
-- The way to heaven is straight as an arrow. -- Heaven is just as much a place as Chicago. It is a destination. [Illustration: Joseph Makes Himself Known to His Brethern. GUSTAVE DORE. Genesis, xiv.]…
34 wordsSECTION 109INFIDELITY
The Young French Nobleman and the Doctor. In London, when I was there in 1867, I was told a story which made a very deep impression upon me. A young French nobleman came there to see a doctor, bringing letters from the French Emperor. The Emperor Napoleon III. had a great regard for this young man, and the doctor want…
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Not long ago I went into a man's house, and when I commenced to talk about religion he turned to his daughter and said: "You had better go out of the room; I want to say a few words to Mr. Moody." When she had gone he opened a perfect torrent of infidelity upon me. "Why," said I, "did you send your daughter out of the …
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It is said of West, an eminent man, that he was going to take up the doctrine of the resurrection, and just show the world what a fraud it was, while Lord Lyttleton was going to take up the conversion of Saul, and just show the folly of it. These men were going to annihilate that doctrine and that incident of the gospe…
197 wordsSECTION 112GOLD.
-- What reason have I for doubting God's own word? -- I just as much believe that God sent Christ into the world to be the Saviour of the world, as I believe that I exist.…
34 wordsSECTION 113INTEMPERANCE.
Cast Out But Rescued. I met a man in New York who was an earnest worker, and I asked him to tell me his experience. He said he had been a drunkard for over twenty years. His parents had forsaken him, and his wife had cast him off and married some one else. He went into a lawyer's office in Poughkeepsie, mad with drink…
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A young man in one of our meetings in New York got up and thrilled the audience with his experience. "I want to tell you," he said, "that nine months ago a Christian came to my house and said he wanted me to become a Christian. He talked to me kindly and encouragingly, pointing out the error of my ways, and I become co…
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I remember when out in Kansas, while holding a meeting, I saw a little boy who came up to the window crying. I went to him and said: "My little boy, what is your trouble?" "Why, Mr. Moody, my mother's dead, and my father drinks, and they don't love me, and the Lord won't have anything to do with me because I am a poor …
525 wordsSECTION 116GOLD.
-- The drunkard, the open blasphemer, the worst sinners, are precisely the ones that need Jesus most. The well don't need Him at all. -- There is many a gem in these billiard halls that only needs the way pointed out to fill their souls with the love of Christ.…
48 wordsSECTION 117LIBERTY.
Old Samba and "Massa." A friend of mine said he was down in Natchez before the war, and he and a friend of his went out riding one Saturday--they were teaching school through the week--and they drove out back from Natchez. It was a beautiful day, and they saw an old slave coming up, and they thought they would have a …
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I have an old mother away down in the Connecticut mountains, and I have been in the habit of going to see her every year for twenty years. Suppose I go there and say, "Mother, you were very kind to me when I was young--you were very good to me; when father died you worked hard for us all to keep us together, and so I h…
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There is a well-known story told of Napoleon the First's time. In one of the conscriptions, during one of his many wars, a man was balloted as a conscript who did not want to go, but he had a friend who offered to go in his place. His friend joined the regiment in his name, and was sent off to the war. By and by a batt…
593 wordsSECTION 120GOLD.
-- If you believe on the Lord Jesus Christ you are free. -- There is no sin in the whole catalogue of sins you can name but Christ will deliver you from it perfectly. -- We are led on by an unseen power that we have not got strength to resist, or else we are led on by the loving Son of God. -- The trouble is, peopl…
251 wordsSource & rights
Public domain in the USA; original historical text digitized by Project Gutenberg.
Project Gutenberg source record →
Historical Christian writing; not Scripture.