h you, the waves of persecution cannot
assail you; the devil and all the fiends of hell cannot approach you if
you only build your hopes upon God's Word. Say, I will trust Him, though
He slay me--I will take God at His word.

I Am Not "One of the Elect."

I can imagine some men saying, "Mr. Moody has not touched my case at
all. That is not the reason why I won't accept Christ. I don't know as I
am one of the elect." How often I am met with this excuse--how often do
I hear it in the inquiry room! How many men fold their arms and say, "If
I am one of the elect I will be saved, and if I ain't I won't. No use of
your bothering about it." Why don't some of those merchants say, "If God
is going to make me a successful merchant in Chicago I will be one
whether I like it or not, and if he isn't I won't." If you are sick, and
a. doctor prescribes for you, don't take the medicine, throw it out the
door, it don't matter, for if God has decreed you are going to die, you
will: if he hasn't, you will get better. If you use that argument you
may as well not walk home from this tabernacle. If God has said you'll
get home, you'll get home--you'll fly through the air; if you have been
elected to go home. I have an idea that the Lord Jesus saw how men were
going to stumble over this doctrine, so after He had been thirty or
forty years in heaven, He came down and spoke to John. One Lord's day in
Patmos, He said to him, "Write these things to the churches." John kept
on writing. His pen flew very fast. And then the Lord, when it was
nearly finished said, "John, before you close the book, put in this:
'The Spirit and the Bride say, Come; and let him that heareth say;
Come.' But there will be some that are deaf, and they cannot hear, so
add, 'Let him that is athirst, Come;' and in case there should be any
that do not thirst, put it still broader, 'Whosoever will, let him take
of the water of life freely.' '' What more can you have than that? And
the Book is sealed, as it were, with that. It is the last invitation in
the Bible. "Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life freely."
You are thirsty. You want water. I hold out this glass to you, and say,
"Take it." You say, "If I am decreed to have it, I am not going to put
myself to the trouble of taking it." Well, you will never get it. And if
you are ever to have salvation, you must reach out the hand and take it.
"I will take the cup of salvation, and call upon the name, of the Lord