Richmond dispatch. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1884-1903, 1885-01-14

He insisted upon room only large
enough to hold the people who come,
80 that they may be close together
that the room should bewell ventilated,
well heated, and pleasant in every re-
spect. He would have the present race
OF sections, as far as they are prepared,
| 90 to Heaven, and better class raised
up. He would have laymen, as a rule,
| lead the prayer-meetings. :,
If brother persisted in praying and
talking about things not connected with
the needs Of the hour he should be ad-
monished to change or to quit. lie
would have the prayer-meetings made
much Of from the pulpit. de spoke
very earnestly Of the power Of the
prayer-meeting in burning up the world
liness of the churches.
The congregation rose and sang with
a will /" Sweet Hour Of Prayer"
Mr.. ID. l.. MOODY
next spoke on the subject and empha-
sized some thing that had been said.
Ventilation, cleanliness Of the room,
&C., are very essential.
He thought the meeting is frequently
killed at the beginning by the stiff way
of the preacher when he comes IN and
takes his seat behind the desk.
He would have short prayers, and
would do whatever is necessary to pro-
mote this.
He would have good singing, learn
new songs as well as the old.
lie would have variety--a promise
meeting, or praise-meeting. or some
thing of the sort, would be good sub
stitute.
He thought it wise to announce the
subject beforehand. He believed in
bringing out the laymen in these meet
ings. He had begun by talking live
minutes in a prayer-meeting. He said
that he could then tell all he knew in
that time. He illustrated by the case
of several churches whose great power
is in their prayer-meetings. He earn
estly insisted on developing lay talent
| in the churches.
He insisted upon being prompt in
beginning and prompt in closing.
"Never get so happy yourself as to
carry on the meeting until the people
want you to stop"
He made some very fine points and
hits, which elected frequent " Amens."
This was regarded as one Of the best
meetings yet held.
Yesterday Afternoon
the house was crowded, and there was
an overflow - meeting, conducted by
Rev. George C. Needham, at the First
Baptist church.
The "seryice Of song" was pecu-
liarly sweet. and the duet, 1--WE Shall
BE Satisfied" by Mrs. Stevens and an
other lady. one of the gems of the
whole series.
Reys. ii. 7. Smith and DR.. John Pol
lard led in prayer.
The subject for the hour was, How
to Use the Bible"
Mr.. Moody said that nothing will
last that is not based on Gods Word.
We want the quickening that comes
from Gods Word. We want the Word
hid in our heart. He insisted that we
have not two Bibles, but one, and we
must believe it all, from Genesis to
Revelation. The Old Testament was
all that Christ and the apostles had.
and they have set their seals to their
truth. The man who begins TO doubt
any part of the Bible will soon doubt
it all. God could make fish to swal-
low a man. or an ass to speak, just as
well as anything else. The New Testa-
ment is interviewer with quotations
from the Old, and it is impossible
to receive the New without the Old.
| The man who will receive nothing su-
pernatural must reject the whole Bible,
for the supernatural runs all through it,
and the sooner he does it the better.
Christ said that His Word would never
pass away, and despite The sneers of the
free-thinkers the Word stands about
$50 different languages have it; more
copies of the Bible have been printed
and circulated within the past seven
years than for 1900 years before. lie
spoke of the Chicago papers which had
the new version telegraphed from New
York, as illustrating the interest in the
Bible.
How to study Gods Word:
l. Study it topically. Have con-
cordance, and find all of the passages
bearing on the topic-Eye Love, Assur-
ance. Faith, Heaven, Atonement, Justif-
cation. Lords Supper, Holiness, &c.
2. Take one word and run all through
the Bible and see what the book says.
When the Chicago fire had consumed
all of his earthly possessions, a friend
began to condole with him, but he told
him that he did not need sympathy.
Why, have you not lost everything
"NO. far from it. The fire has not
consumed a single one of Gods prom
ises. They are mine, and are worth all
of Chicago to me-"
3. Study up the types. If you will
look for it, you may find Christ in
every type and shining out on every
page.
Nearly all of those Old Testament
saints are types of Christ.
He spoke Of the earnest study Of the
Bible among the Scotch, and Of how
they are studying in his schools to
know the contents Of Gods Word.
He gave some very vivid and inter-
esting illustrations Of this method of
study, giving brief but very striking
analysis of the gospel Of John.
He spoke very eloquently and pow
erfully of the Importance Of the churches
so studying Gods Word that they can
use the sword of the Spirit.
He urged that each one should carry
his own Bible to church, with pencil and
paper to take down what is striking.
He gave some very interesting illustra-
tons of this drawn from notes made in
his own Bible. Sometimes he would
study a historical character in the
Word, sometimes one chapter, some
times one verse, sometimes one word.
He recommended motto-texts for the
year.
He took the liberty Of urging his
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