Milford chronicle., 1907-07-26
The Secret Of His strenath.

] But, leaving aside these personal in
cidents, we would take step forward
and analyze the direct cause Of his
/ work as temperance reformer. How
/ did Francis Murphy win thousands
and tens Of thousands to the better
/ life? Through continually. emphatical-
ly and overwhelmingly driving home
10 the sinful heart mans direct respon-
/ sibility to God. He was saying.
Christ came to save you Christ will
( save you. Christ will save you now.
BY his help will you come forward and
sign the pledge and make covenant
with Christi" He did not bother
much about prohbitive laws. He did
not work much through legislative
halls But he tried to bring the sinful
heart Of man in close touch with low
ing and forglving Saviour.
Now. we have been hearing a great
deal about the temperance work of
this day We have heard about the
prohibition movement and the anti
saloon movement and the wOmen's TEN
perance organizations. and they are all
good. No one wished all these differ
ent movements godspeed more than
did Francis Murphy But. though
Francis Murphy was in sympathy with
any movement that would hep stop
the liquor evil. he put the chief EN-
phasis Of his labors upon bringing the
individual man in touch with Christ
and saving man as an individual and
not in the bulk. And Francis Murphy
was right. This world will never be
saved from the curse of intoxicating
drink through the legislative halls Of
Our state and natiOnal capitals. If It
is to be saved at all. it must be saved
by the saving power of Christ and the
influence Of the pledge. Do you sup
nose YOU could make this a Christian
nation merely by passing strict Sab
hattie laws or by building new churches
on every street corner? No Tenn
perance laws are right in themselves.
But after all. the mightiest work of
the temperance reformers Of the future
is to do what John B. Cough did and
Jerry McAuley did and Samuel Had
ley did and Francis Murphy did. and
that is TO bring sinful man by the old
fashioned pledge in touch with the
saving grace of our Lord Jesus Christ. |
He Set Them to Work.
But there is one more thought that /
forces itself upon us. Francis Murphy |
became the successful temperance re-
former he was because no sooner did |
he win a convert and get a man to sign |
the pledge than at once he got that |
man on his feet and brought him to |
the platform and made him 90 to work /
and save other drunkards No sooner /
did Francis Murphy get a Gospel grip /
upon a man than at once he pulled him |
upon his feet and made him go to work
for temperance My brother can we
not today learn that divine lesson /
Can we not learn that we are develop
ed spiritually not more by what Christ
does for us than by what we are will
ing to do for Christ?
How many of those whom Francis
Murphy brought to Christ must have
been on the other side to greet him
Perhaps that welcome is best pictured /
in a dream which his daughter had the
night when he was about to pass
away. She dreamed she was looking
I'D into the heavens 1t was beauti-
full. clear night and the twinkling stars
seemed to be everywhere. Every star
seemed to her to represent the shining
face Of some immortal whom her IA
ther had won to Christ. Oh. there were
thousands and tens Of thousands Of
these smiling facesi And right in the
center of all she saw her fathers face.
1t was lighted up with the sweetest Of
smiles. And there he was, surrounded
by a constellation Of shining faces,
each one a star in his crown. -
Have we met here simply to say a
few pleasant words about our departed
loved one? Nay. II might not seem
l would say that we should