all produce apples the tree would break down. Nine-tenths,
perhaps, of the blossoms will fall off, and yet I have a large number
of apples.

So there are many who make a profession of Christianity who fall away.
It may be that those who seemed to promise the fairest turn out the
worst, and those who did not promise so well turn out best in the end.
God must prepare the ground and He must give the increase. I have
often said that if I had to convict men of sin I would have given up
the work long ago. That is the work of the Holy Ghost. What we have to
do is to scatter the good seed of the Word, and expect that God will
bless it to the saving of men's souls.

Of course we cannot expect much help from those who are all the time
talking against revivals. I believe many young disciples are chilled
through by those who condemn these special efforts. If the professed
converts sometimes do not hold out, it is not always their own fault.

I was preaching in a certain city some time ago, and a minister said
to me: "I hope this work will not turn out like the revival here five
years ago. I took one hundred converts into the Church, and, with the
exception of one or two, I do not know where they are today." This was
discouraging. I mentioned it to another minister in the same city, and
I said I would rather give up the work, and go back to business, if
the work was not going to last. He said to me: "I took in one hundred
converts at the same time, and I can lay my hand on ninety-eight out
of the hundred. For five years I have watched them, and only two have
fallen away." Then he asked me if his brother minister had told me
what took place in his Church after they brought in those young
converts. Some of them thought they ought to have a better Church, and
they got divided among themselves; so nearly all the members left the
Church. If anyone will but engage heartily in this work they will have
enough to encourage them.

It is very easy for men to talk against a work like this. But we
generally find that such people not only do nothing at all themselves,
but they know nothing about that which they are criticising. Surely it
is hardly fair to condemn a work that we have not been at the trouble
to become personally acquainted with. If, instead of sitting on the
platform and simply looking on or criticising, such persons would get
down among the people and talk to them about their souls, they would
soon find out whether the work w