St. Johnsbury Caledonian. [volume] (St. Johnsbury, Vt.) 1867-1919, 1877-04-20

to house. That is how first began to
preach. | could not get people to-
gether to listen to me, so | went to their
own houses and preached to them
there, unless they turned me out, as
they sometimes did. After tOiling about
fifteen years in one part of the city,
got into the confidence of good many
families and they used to come to me
with their troubles. | was out of the
city for few weeks at one time, and
when got back there were a number
of notes asking me to call on families
that were in trouble. The first family
| went to, the first thing the mother
did was to burst into tears. "My heart
is Just broken" said she, "and | have
sent for you, Mr.. Moody, to see if you
can't help me-" "What is the trouble ?r
| asked. "You know my son Johnnie"
she said che is my only boy ?" ''Yes,"
Sabbath school the last few weeks"
HE has got into bad company, and last
night he came home drunk. l thought
it would kill me, and | want you to pray
for me-" prayed for that poor mother
and for her boy. | went from that
house to another family that had sent
for me, and found mother mourning
over her little child. The child was in
the Sabbath school only the week be-
fore, and death had come in and taken
the child from her. She showed me the
little toys and told me what the little
child said before it died. She told me
how she loved that child and how her
heart was bleeding for it. What could
| have done for those mothers if | had
no Saviour to go to? What could in
fidelity do for those two crushed and
bleeding hearts? All | could tell them
was that Christ could heal the wounds,
and he alone could do it. | read from
the Scripture, and prayed with the
mother, and then went to another house
and heard IA story that was sadder even
than the other two. A mother had been
married only il few years, and had
started out in life with flattering pros
poets. Her home was beautiful at first,
but her husband soon got led astray
and had fallen into sin and left her.
Winter was coming on, and there she
was with two beautiful children, and
she did not know what to do. If had
not Christ to preach to her, what could
| do 1t was great comfort to be able
to say that Jesus Christ could help her
carry that burden, and could hear her
prayers and bring back that husband
that had treated her so Shamefully.
Then | went to another, a mother who
| had suddenly been made Il widow, the
husband having fallen dead few days
before. He left that young widow with
three little children to take care of, and
she said with tears falling from her
eyes, ''What shall | do ~ There was
another bleeding, broken heart, and
from that house | went to another, and
a mother told her sad story that her
boy had become prodigal. He had
run away weeks before and she did not
know what had become of him. | have
no doubt that many missionaries could
tell you good deal sadder stories than
| have told you here to-day.
The first sound that fell upon the ears
of the infant Saviour was the wall of
those mothers III Bethlehem
weeping for her children. The last
sound that he heard upon the cross was
the cry of his weeping church around
him. The first thing that he heard from
the grave was his disciples weeping
around him. The last thing that he
saw us he assembled into heaven was
those men of Galilee looking up with
the teas trickling down their cheeks
over their departed Lord. Jacobs tears
are Oh record. Turn to Genesis and
you will find that tears have been put
on record. Turn to Revelations and
you will find that God is by-and-by 60
ing to wipe away tears. Clear back
there in the days of Jacob we find the
old man mourning for his children
How many fathers in this city are
mourning over SOILS that are worse than
dead! There are SOUS that might be
blessings to their parents, Fastening to
drunkaIds' graves and crushing the
lives out of their fathers and mothers
But thank God we have refuge that
we can go to and tell our troubles.
Though sin has taken them away Christ
can bring them back. If the parents
are faithful he will hear their prayers
and save their children, but if we wan
der off, it is only Il question of time
when these children that God gave to
be il blessing to us will become Il curse.
There was not il solitary man OF
woman that came to Christ when he
was on earth in person with any burden,
with any sorrow, with any attliction
whatever but that he received them and
healed it. If mother came for a boy
she got her prayers answered if they
came with one that was possessed with
devils they got their petitions answered;
there WAS not solitary one that he sent
away with Il broken heart he healed
every broken heart that was brought to
him. Now keep that in mind. And he
is unchanged; he is the same to-day as
he was while he was on earth he has
just us much power to-day as he ever
had. ''All power is given to me in
heaven and on earth" aud If we will
only come to him and make him our
great physician and cast all our burdens
on him, he will take them and he will
heal every bleeding and every crushed
and bruised and broken heart. But the
great trouble with us is, we are not
willing to go to him.
Many IA mother is stumbling over
some little grave, and she goes to the |
cemetery and weeps and mOurns; it is |
an idol that is buried there; perhaps
God took that child from her because
she made an idol of it. | was talking
with lady in the inquiry room and she
told me something which astonished me |
very much-that she had never COM
United any sin from her cradle up.
believe she is the second woman | have |
met i'll Boston who has said that. |
hope she is here to-day. She could not
think of solitary sin she had kept
all the commandments and was going to |
be saved because of that. | was trying
to get at her, trying to find some ave
nue. to her heart, and finally | said,
''Have you got any children ?" "Ah, | |
have got one boy, he is the idol of my