once had the privilege of being saved, but
they made light of the Gospel, they neglected salvation, they rejected
the offer of mercy, and now if they would accept it they could not.

Balaam's Ass

A friend of mine was going back to Scotland, and he heard a couple of
these little modern philosophers discussing the Bible. One said: "The
Bible says that Balaam's ass spoke. Now, I am a scientific man, and I
have taken the pains to examine an ass's mouth, and it is so formed
that it couldn't speak."

He was going to toss the whole Bible over because Balaam's ass
couldn't speak.

My friend said he stood it just as long as he could, and finally he
said:

"Ah, man, you make an ass, and I will make him speak."

The idea that the God who made the ass couldn't speak through his
mouth! Did you ever hear such stuff? And yet this was one of your
modern philosophers!

The Border Apple-Tree

If you want real peace and rest to your soul, keep separate from the
world.

I remember when I was a boy in Northfield, right near the old red
schoolhouse there was an apple-tree that bore the earliest apples of
any tree in town. They had a law in that town that fruit on a tree
overhanging the street belonged to the public, and any fruit on the
other side of the fence belonged to the property-holders. Half that
apple-tree was over in the street, and it got more old brooms and
brickbats and handles than any other tree in town. We boys used to
watch to see when an apple was getting red. I never got a ripe apple
from that tree in my life, and I don't believe any one else ever did.
You never went by that tree that you didn't see a lot of broom-handles
and clubs up there.

Now, take a lot of Christians who want to live right on the line, with
one foot in the world and one foot in the church. They get more clubs
than any one else. The world clubs them. They say, "I don't believe in
that man's religion." And the church clubs them. They get clubs both
sides. It is a good deal better to keep just as far from the line as
you can if you want power.

Bad Company

A friend of mine said he had a beautiful canary bird; he thought it
was the sweetest singer they had ever had. Spring came on, and he felt
it was a pity to keep the poor bird in the house, so he put it under a
tree right in front of his house. He said before he knew it a lot of
these little English sparrows got under that tree (and you know they
cannot sing any more than I can,