The Birmingham age-herald., 1907-07-28

funeral sermon. am not going to sound
 a dirge or ring a death knell But am
 going to strike up halleluiah chorus. If the cold lips of our loved friend could
 speak, l know he would have me do as I am doing. There was not minor key in all his music. And so today, instead of talking about how bad we feel at his going, I am going to try to analyze the power of this one of the greatest tenn perance workers of our time, so that WIG may be encouraged in our work for the same Master and be stimulated to more vigorous efforts by the example of this strenuous leader.
 A Noble Man.
 In the first place l would place my finger upon the greatest source of Fran cis Murphys power and tell you that the chief reason why this successful temper ance worker won so many trophies for the abstinence cause was because he be- lieved in the nobility of man. He believed that, no matter how fragrant the sins of the social outcast, no matter how low or vile a human being had become, deep down in that human heart were some re- mains of the image of God. Murphy never despared of any human being, however drunken or degraded he might be. Here was man, one of the race Christ came to save, and he believed that Christ could save him. The degrading obstacle of hls thirst for liquor stood in the way and therefore Murphy tried to remove that, so that the power and influence of Christ could reach the poor. helpless creature It does not require very much genius to find flaws in a mans nature. It does not require wonderful erudition to magnify the faults of mankind Any herd of swine can root out flower garden, if 1t is pos- sible for them to squeeze through a gap | in the fence. It does not take much of much labor to develop a field of Canada l missiles in the place where wheat and corn and barley ought to grow. But it does take the genius of horticulturist to find latent buds and develop them. It | does take agricultural acumen to put the | right kind of fertilizer ons the ground . after the spring blowing. And it does take 1 the marvellous grace of God to find the | latent buds of purity and truth and love and honor In the corrupt heart of man and to develop them alright for God. And this is always the work of a successful evangelist of Christ. This was the se- cret of Murphy's success. He believed In Chrit and he believed in men. Did not Fanny Crosby, the Christian hymnologist, have such worker as this in her mind when she wrote these impressive words: Down in the human heart, crushed by tho tempter,
 Feelings lie. buried that grace can re- store;
 Touched by a loving heart, wakened by
 Kindness,
 Chords that were broken will vibrate
 once more.
 And parallel to this same line of thought was another fact which inspired Francis Murphy to seek the most depraved Of men. He knew that the victim of tha Intoxicating cup was in many cases a man worth saving. The very character istics of the man that had led to his degredatlon-hs geniality, his good fel lowship, his frendliness-were the char acteristics that would make him a suc- cessful worker if he had been delivered from his thraldom. The intensity and zeal that made Saul a prosecutor were traits which made him successful apos- tie when he was converted. And Francis Murphy had arrived at this belief by looking at the history of his own life. Have you ever heard him describe the tragedy of his wrecked home? When the civil war broke out, he, like other Irish men. was eager to take part in it. At the | bugle call to arms he shouldered the mus 1 l<et and went to the front. He was not struck by the enemy's bullets. but, like Alexander the Great, he was overthrown l by the temptations of the camp. Murphy's Temptation. Then after the war was ended, in order to make a flying for his little family he took charge of hotel in Maine. In other words, the devil knew the mans weak
 
 would develop it. He put a whisky bot tie into his hand and said to him: Drink until your manhood Is gone. Drink until you come home to your wife and babies with the fierce passion of a brute. Drink until the vilest sot in the gutter Is no viler than you" And with that strong personality of his he never did anything halfway. He drank until he went down, down into the lowest depths of degreda- ton. When the change came and Mur- phy "eame to himself like the prodigal, he could not forget the pit from which he had been lifted. As he looked on the sod , den. depraved wretches who were brought | to his meetings he saw in them the Mur- , phy of the gutter and said to himself, 1 ",rhe power that delivered me can deliver l even this poor creature,' and he went to l work with confidence for the mans refor- nation. Would to God that some or the men who mhe was instrumental in say | ing might take up his work and that men might have reason Co say. the power Of i Elijah doth rest on Elisha
 But there was another fact about his l wonderful life that has made Francis | Murphy one of the greatest temperance ] advocates of his time. He not only be- 1 lieved in man, but he was ready to thank ! God for all the divine blessings with | which he was surrounded. His whole life 1 after his conversion and conservation to i the divine Master was a continual service of praise. He always commenced hls l public services with the coronation hymn, 1 and he always closed with the doxoogy ! of "Praise God, from whom all blessings 1 flow" Wherever you met him, on the 1 street or in the home, or in the church, 1 or anywhere the two words which were ] most often upon his lips were Thank ! God, Thank God! Thank GodH Some l times, like a hashful boy, he would slip 1 into my meetings hoping I would not see l him. He seemed to long sometimes to worship in the audience and not to be 1 called to the pulpit. He would come in i quietly and stay hidden until some word
 of Scripture or of prayer touched him. l Then, before he knew it. "Thank God!' 1 would be ringing from his church pew. l Then every one would smile and say, l That's Francis Murphy because m i one could ever say Thank God Just as Francis Murphy did During all his last | sickness, in his dellrum, he would keep l rubbing his hands and with a sweet