Charles Finney

“ The true Gospel is not preached where obedience to the moral law as the only rule of life is not insisted upon. Wherever there is a failure to do this in the instructions of any pulpit it will inevitably be seen that the hearers of such a mutilated Gospel will have very little conscience. We need more Boanerges or sons of thunder in the pulpit. We need men that will flash forth the law of God like livid lightning and arouse the consciences of men. We need more Puritanism in the pulpit. ”

“ I believe it is a fact generally admitted that there is much less conscience manifested, by men and women, in nearly all the walks of life, than there was forty years ago. There is justly much complaint of this, and there seems to be but little prospect of reformation. ”

“ So far as my knowledge extends, there has been a great letting down and ignoring the searching claims of God's law, as revealed in his Word. This law is the only standard of true morality. "By the law is the knowledge of sin." ”

“ The universal literature of the present day shows conclusively that the moral sense of the people needs toning up, and some of our most fascinating preachers have become the favorites of infidels, skeptics of every grade, Universalists, and the most abandoned characters. ”

“ The proper guardians of the public conscience have, I fear, very much neglected to expound and insist upon obedience to the moral law. It is plain that some of our most popular preachers are phrenologists. Phrenology has no organ of free will. Hence, it has no moral agency, no moral law and moral obligation in any proper sense of these terms. A consistent phrenologist can have no proper ideas of moral obligation, of moral guilt, blameworthiness, and retribution. Some years since, a brother of one of our most popular preachers heard me preach on the text "Be ye reconciled to God." ”

“ Conly had joined them as they sat down, and presently he addressed the captain:—
"I hear, Raymond, that you would like to buy in this neighborhood."
"Yes, if I can find a suitable place,—one that will satisfy my wife as well as myself," the captain answered with a smiling glance at Violet.
"Well, Vi, how would Woodburn answer, so far as you are concerned?" queried Arthur.
"Woodburn! is it for sale?" she cried delightedly. "O Levis!" turning to her husband, "it is a lovely old place! A visit there was always a great treat to me as a child." ”

“ Hast thou not noticed how, of late, she needeth no second bidding to go to the spring? She doth not even wait for Miriam to help; she watcheth to see when the jars need refilling and seeth to them most diligently.”
“Yea,” was the response, “and I have wondered what—” but Caleb, sighing, was already taking his way to the valley as Judith neared the spring.
A little smile played about her lips. “How strange it is,” she thought, “that Benjamin’s sheep need a drink of water and our jars must be refilled at exactly the same time every day!” ”

“ The ‘wicked,’ through the pride of his heart, will not seek after the one true God. They care not to know the Law by which we, his chosen, are warned and in keeping of which there is great reward. It is well that thou shouldst understand clearly—”
A hubbub outside claimed attention. Faintly at first, and then nearer and nearer until it halted outside the very door, came the yelping and barking of dogs mingled with the sound of running footsteps, and voices.
Miriam crept to Sarah’s outstretched arms. “O mother,” in a frightened whisper, “thinkest thou the Syrians be upon us?” ”

“ Raymond would be pleased to alight and walk into the parlor.
"Thank you, no," Violet said. "We have come merely to pick up Lulu and take her to church with us. Come, dear," to the little girl; "the professor will help you in, if you are quite ready to go."
"Yes, Mamma Vi," Lulu answered eagerly, and with the aid of the professor's hand quickly climbed to her place.
"Mamma Vi, you are very good," she said, as the carriage rolled on again.
"Yes, isn't she?" said Max. "She says she isn't at all afraid to trust me to drive her." ”

“ The secret of Finney's power was the fearless manner with which he drove God's word into the consciences of sinners—high or humble—and his perpetual reliance on the immediate presence of the Holy Spirit in his own soul. Emptied of self, he was filled with the Holy Spirit. His sermons were chain lightning, flashing conviction into the hearts of the stoutest sceptics, and the links of his logic were so compact that they defied resistance. Probably no minister in America ever numbered among his converts so many lawyers and men of intellectual culture. ”

“ He handed her gallantly to the saddle, then mounted himself.
"Try to cheer up, little sister; one should not be sad such a lovely morning as this," he said, as they trotted down the avenue side by side.
"Oh, Eddie," she answered, with tears in her voice, "I do try, but I can't yet; it isn't like home without them."
"No; no indeed, Vi; how could it be? Mr. and Mrs. Daly are very kind, yet not in the least like our father and mother; but it would be impossible for any one to take their places in our hearts or home." ”

“ Give her a little time; she may come around yet to your way of thinking. I must go and see about dinner now.”
“Yes,” he answered absently. “Suppose you go over after dinner; coaxing will move a woman sometimes when argument won’t.”
“I’ll try,” she said as she hurried away. It was what she had intended, though she had not thought it best to say so.
Mr. Alden’s departure had left Floy alone, for Espy had not yet returned. Sinking down upon the sofa, she wept convulsively for some minutes. Presently she grew calmer, and, wiping away her tears, rose and went to her father’s writing-desk. ”

“ In all these exhibitions all sorts of artificial means are used to make the submersion appear long. Great ceremony, music, and the counting of the seconds in a loud voice from the stage, all tend to make the time appear much longer than it really is. However, James Finney in London, April 7, 1886, stayed under water four minutes, twenty-nine and one-fourth seconds, and one of his feats was to pick up 70 or 80 gold-plated half-pennies with his mouth, his hands being securely tied behind his back, and never emerging from his tank until his feat was fully accomplished. ”

“ Judith’s eyes flew open. “Nay,” she protested feebly. “Thou shouldst know that truth is not my companion nor hath ever been. I stole the pearl. It is that for which Caleb, brother to my father, was slain, and which Sarah, who hath been a mother to [264] me, cast away in her despair. I found it and used it to serve my own ends. Then, when it had long been a coal of fire in my bosom I gave it to Eli to help with the little maid’s ransom. Yet sin reapeth sorrow as surely as harvest followeth the time of sowing. ”

“ The wagons had now come up, and from the foremost peered out two chubby, rosy boy faces.
"O Doctor Clendenin! won't you take me up behind you?" shouted the owner of one, the other chiming in, "Me, too, doctor, me too!"
"Hush, Tom! hush, Billy! you should not ask such a thing. Doctor, don't mind them," quickly interposed the mother, showing her cheery, matronly face alongside of theirs.
"Good morning, Mrs. Nash," Kenneth said, moving to the side of the wagon. "We have an auspicious day for starting upon our long journey." ”

“ Max came hurrying in. "We can go up now, papa," he said; "the others have come down."
Edward and Zoe were just behind the boy. "Oh, you ought all to go up," cried the latter; "the view's just splendid."
"Mother," said Edward, "the view is very fine, but there are sixty steps, each a foot high; a pretty hard climb for a lady, I should think. Will you go up? may I have the pleasure of helping you?"
"Yes," she answered; "I am quite strong and well, and think the view will probably pay for the exertion."
They took the lead, the captain following with Lulu, and Max bringing up the rear. ”

“ The Butlers were MARTHA FINLEY. military men. Five of Miss Finley's great-uncles of that name were in the war of the Revolution, two of them on Washington's staff. One of her great-uncles, Dr. Finley, was one of the early presidents of Princeton College. Her grandfathers, both on her father's and mother's side, were wealthy. Her grandfather Finley received large tracts of land from the Government in acknowledgment of his services to his country during the Revolution. He laid out and owned the town of Newville, Pa. Some of his land was in Ohio, and he finally removed to that State. ”

“ You put me on to Belloc and I think he's right about that sort of thing. We don't want too much of the bureaucratic specialist."
"I quite agree," said Finney. "That's the tragedy. Just where spontaneity really does matter, as in children's games, they go blundering in and knock imagination out of their victims, or give them someone else's, which is about the same thing. But just where training might be of some use, they do nothing. The superstition that a man can teach because he has taken a first in Classics at the varsity is childish. ”

“ For the youths would not have committed the crime imputed to them, but for the persuasions of Finney; that is very certain. And Finney again would have been most careful how he dealt in this sacrifice of human life,——with which he meant to purchase impunity for his own forfeit life by the favour of Tom Limbrick,—had it not been for the well-known favour bestowed on Vaughan, Johnson, Brock, Pelham, and Power, [1] instead of those halters they so richly deserved, and had taken so much pains to obtain! and were disappointed. The cry of the blood of immolated victims was before the judgment seat ”

“ His reply was prevented by a sudden, loud bark from the dog, as he spied pussy on the rug.
"Turn him out into the hall, May," the captain said, hastily stepping in between dog and cat. "Don't be alarmed for your pet, Gracie; he shall not be permitted to harm her."
"Nor my Polly either, shall he, papa?" asked Lulu, who was trying to make acquaintance with her new possession.
"No; certainly not. But take care of your fingers, daughter; she may snap at them and give you a bite that you will remember for a long while. Now go and get yourselves ready for tea. ”

“ It was another spring, the time Isaac had said he would come, but though Miriam strained her eyes day after day gazing afar, no foreign horsemen, no chariot, no Syrian camels bestirred the dust of the Valley of Jiptha-el.
Rachel touched her lightly on the shoulder as she stood in the doorway. There was yearning tenderness in the older woman’s tones: “Still waitest thou, little maid? Peradventure they think thy mother hath need of thee, knowing not that she sleepeth long months in the sepulcher of thy people. ”

“ The younger and sturdier can care for the young of the flock while my shepherds take their mothers out to graze. The elder hath a remarkable [17] mind, coming as he doth of a family which combineth Israel’s piety and culture. He can be trained as a clerk. There is trading to be done and accounts to be kept. It should be regarded as a kindness to their mother. Let me see, how much doth she owe me? Yea, enough and more.”
Meanwhile Sarah had observed with surprise Rachel’s hasty return and now watched with some anxiety for Miriam and Judith. ”

“ Of the scenery in the east we [Pg 43] will have a better view from the ruins of 'Old Put.'"
"No doubt," said the Captain. "Shall we go up there at once?"
"If you like, Raymond. I always enjoy the view; it more than pays for the climb. But," and Mr. Keith glanced somewhat doubtfully at Lulu, "shall we not take a carriage? I fear the walk may be too much for your little girl."
"What do you say, Lulu?" her father asked with a smiling glance at her.
"Oh, I'd rather walk, Papa!" she exclaimed. "We have been riding so much for the last week and more ”

“ There was a moment of surprised silence, broken by Rosie:
"Well, you may as well give up. Grandpa is not to be conquered, as I knew when the contest began."
Max and Evelyn were looking much distressed.
"Oh, Lulu, do!" entreated the latter; "you surely have held out long enough,"
"I should think so," said Max; "especially considering how kind Grandpa Dinsmore has been to us all, and that papa ordered us to be obedient to him."
"I'd give up," remarked Walter, "'cause there's no use fighting grandpa. Everybody has to mind him. Even mamma never does anything he asks her not to." ”

“ Nay, Master Bold, thou wilt wait thy turn. Eighty, eighty-one, eighty-two. Come, thou timid one, thy mother is already in and calleth for thee. Eighty-three, eighty-four, eighty-five. Now, Bright Eyes, what mischief art thou up to? This rod is a means of counting, but it can be turned into a means of punishment if it be necessary to make thee see thy duty. Eighty-six, eighty-seven. Nay, not so much crowding there. Youth is eager, knowing not that time is long and weariness certain. Eighty-eight, eighty-nine, ninety. What, my pearl, the heat of the day hath been too much for thee? Wait thou. ”

“ Breakfast was to be eaten here; the table was already set, neatly, too, with snowy cloth, shining silver and delicate china; but there was a look of discomfort about the room that vexed and tried her orderly soul; sand on the carpet, dust on the furniture, children's toys and a few articles of clothing scattered here and there—and she had no strength to rise and put it in order.
"And no one else is much better able," she [154] sighed to herself, "for Aunt Wealthy, mother and Zillah have all had chills within a week. Oh dear, this dreadful country! why did we ever come to it!" ”

“ The air had in it a hint of frost, being too chill for rain, but nobody minded, certainly not a misty-eyed little maid who was walking with her two travelers to the brow of the hill.
“I believe thou art glad to see us go, Miriam,” said Caleb, teasingly.
“Oh, very glad, father. It is right thou shouldst appear before the Lord with thine offerings, for he hath dealt bountifully with us, and I am glad thou [41] canst take mother to visit her kindred. ”