The Life and Work of D.L. Moody: Chapter 30 - Appreciations by Eminent Friends
Testimony to Mr.Moody's Wonderful Personality -The Opinions of Prominent Men who Knew Him and His Work -The Universal Regard in Which He Was Held.
The estimation in which Mr. Moody was held by his co workers, and others who knew him, will testify perhaps most fittingly to his wonderful personality. Many of the following tributes were written in response to enquiries made by the Christian Endeavor World.
"He was a convincing example of the priesthood of the people, and led out the laity into fields of unsuspected Christian usefulness. Edwards, Payson, Caughey, Inskip, Moody: the greatest of these was Moody." - Rev. D. H. Moore, D.D. Cincinnati, Ohio.
"Mr. Moody was a man of the utmost sincerity, clear faith and strong constitution. He knew men, and was a man of common sense. He was a preacher, simple, direct and interesting. I believe that he gave a strong uplift to the religious life of America and Great Britain." - William Lawrence, Protestant Episcopal Bishop of Massachusetts.
"In the most entire and utmost way, Mr. Moody exhibited and lived for and preached Jesus Christ at once God and Brother. His success in that preaching is only an illustration of the fact that such Gospel appeals to and meets as nothing else can, the needs of the human heart. His last words were 'The earth recedes, Heaven opens.' Those may be our last words also if, as he did we trust and serve his Lord, who is at once Lord and Brother. - Rev. Wayland Hoyt, D. D., Philadelphia, Pa.
"In Christ His life was a good fight of faith. His work was a long labor of love. His death was a full triumph of hope. His memory is a strong inspiration to service. His reward is an inheritance of glory With Christ."
- Rev. Henry Van Dyke, D. D. New York, N Y.
"He is, in my opinion, the greatest evangelist since White-field, and since the Apostle Paul there has been no man who has preached to so great a multitude and led so many to Christ. To the end of time Mr. Moody's teachings will last. The simplicity of his words went direct to the heart of common men. His conscientiousness, his enthusiasm, his inspired common sense, his kindness - all made him especially fitted for his work." - Rev. Newell Dwight Hillis, D. D., Brooklyn, N. Y.
"He was, under God, the prime inspirer and director of the evangelistic trend, which has marked the last third of the nineteenth century. He has done more than any clergyman or layman of his generation in changing the style and method of the pulpit and in making it, as it ought to be, more direct, practical and sympathetic. To say that Mr. Moody was an uneducated man is wide of the mark. He was well educated, although self-educated, through the constant use of all the varied resources, which lay around him, for thorough and continuous preparation for his divinely designated mission." - Rev. Robert Hunter, D. D., Philadelphia, Pa.
"I have known Mr. Moody for twenty-five years, and have met him on many occasions. He was one of the purest and truest men I ever knew. He was a most thoughtful and careful student of the Bible. He was a great friend of young men, and his influence over them was remarkable. He was a devoted and laborious worker, and, so far as I know, the money he received nearly all went to aid poor young men or struggling colleges or churches. Mr. Moody was a remarkable reader of human nature and seemed intuitively to understand how to apply the truth to men in keeping with their disposition and nature. The Church of Jesus Christ has lost one of the most effective workers it ever had in the death of Mr. Moody." - Rev. I. W. Joyce, D. D., LLD., Bishop of the M.F. Church.
"Mr. Moody was a man of tender compassion and unbounded sympathy, of deep humility and abounding charity, - of tireless energy and unflagging hope. Faith in a God who answers prayer and who can save the most hopeless, faith in the Bible as the Word of God from the beginning to the end, faith in the present power of the Holy Spirit, was the secret of his strong, beautiful and wondrous service." - Rev. R. A. Torrey, Chicago, Ill.
Mr. Moody has taken his place among the immortals. In his own sphere his work was owned by God as truly as was that of Mr. Spurgeon in his sphere. Mr. Moody gave great prominence and power to the work of the laity. He emphasized the gentler rather than the sterner elements of the Gospel. His ministry was one of declaration rather than one of argumentation. His educational work is the most enduring feature of his unique service and his consecrated life." - Rev. P.S. MacArthur, D.D., New York, N.Y.
"In the death of Mr. Moody, the world suffers a loss which no other man's services, however invaluable, can neutralize. His speculations concerning things beyond this earth were not peculiarly his and were not the measure of his great worth. His value was his amazing gift for identifying the whole human side of his religion with the whole human side of his life, and for kindling other souls from the fires of his mighty devotion. May these things live after him forever." - George W. Cable, Northampton, Mass.
"My heart aches over the loss that comes to us in the death of Mr. Moody. He has always been an inspiration to me in preparing hymns for gospel work; not that he was a musician or claimed to be, but I early learned to prize his judgment as to the value and usefulness of a hymn for the work. What moved him was sure to move others, and what failed to do so could be safely omitted. I have esteemed it one of my highest privileges to share in preparing songs for his work, and, now that he has gone, how lonely it seems!" - James McGranahan, Kinsman, O.
"D. L. Moody believed the Bible to be the Word of God, and preached its truths with the authority of a messenger intrusted with a revelation. He believed in the Holy Spirit, and depended upon Him for power. His love for Jesus was a passion; and he loved people, good and bad, because Jesus loved them.
"In the inner circle of his family and intimate friends he was as tender as a child, or gentle as a woman, at times as frolicsome as a boy, and as cheerful as morning sunshine. There was in him a rare union of spiritual fervor and common sense. His enthusiasm never ran away with his judgment. He was truly great in the Christlike sense of ministry to others." - Rev. A. C. Dixon, D. D., Brooklyn, N. Y.
"The rounded fullness of Dwight L. Moody's life is answer to the oft-repeated question, Is life worth living? It is not worth living if lived for self; it is if lived for others. And, when I think of the countless many who have been lifted to higher things by his earnest words and self-denying life, I am sure that his life was worth living. Only the recording angel can tell the number of those who, when the news of his death was telegraphed, responded with the expression, unrecorded on earth, 'Thank God for Dwight L. Moody's life!'
"His end was peace. His message to all is service. 'Whosoever will be chief among you let him be your servant.' The world needs a successor. Who will he be?" - David J. Brewer, Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, Washington, D. C.
"He preached a positive Gospel to an age of doubt, and moved the popular heart and life as no other man of the age has done, unless it be Charles H. Spurgeon. The great preacher was ever true to the Bible doctrines concerning God, sin, punishment, repentance, Heaven and hell He stood firmly for the divinity of Christ and the inspiration of the Scriptures and the authority of the Book of books. He was a large-hearted, sympathetic, noble, manly man. His Gospel was full of sunshine and joy. 'God is love' was the magnet which he used to draw men to Christ and a new life. His power was due to his positive faith, his life in close touch with the spirit of God, his rare good sense, his sympathy and love for all classes, his insight into human' nature and his ability to manage men. He has shown what one can be and do who is wholly devoted to God and his work." - Rev. P. H Swift, D. D. Chigago, Ill.
"Very few men have been so close to the strength and weaknesses of humanity. He saw and dealt with all classes - the high and the low, the rich and the poor - and as he came close to them they also were drawn close to him. This was because all believed in his love and truth, in his sincerity and absolute unselfishness. This was never shown perhaps to a greater degree than in the early life of this association, when full of faith, hope and perseverance he gave to this organization that spiritualizing force which is to-day the great source of strength and vitality.
"Two of my childish recollections of Sunday are of sitting in one of the pews of the old 'spotted church,' as it was called, and going with my father to the mission Sunday school in North Market Hall, where Mr. Moody was the chief spirit. I remember how he inspired me with confidence as a child, and how my love and respect grew with the passing years." - J.V. Farwell, Jr., Chicago, Ill.
"Any tribute I might give to the memory of Mr. Moody would be largely influenced by personal affection as well as admiration, for during the well-nigh quarter of a century I have been associated with him and his work, both my love and my admiration for him have grown with the passing years, and his taking away therefore comes as a personal grief.
"He combined in a most extraordinary degree great strength and force of character with great sympathy and tenderness of heart, and with these a most generous nature, always considering the welfare of others rather than his own comfort and happiness.
"It may be truly said of him that 'a prince in Israel has fallen.' and those who know him best and are best able to estimate his services to his generation will say, what they believe time will reveal to all, Dwight L. Moody was one of the greatest men of the century now closing." - George C. Stebbins, Brooklyn, N. Y.
"The lines along which he won success are worthy of very careful attention. First, his life was a constructive force. He was in the world to build up, construct, to save. He could say, with Christ: 'I am come not to destroy men's lives, but to save them.' He dealt with the positive, the known and settled in religion.
"Second, he was thoroughly sincere. He believed his message to be absolutely true. There was no doubt in his heart, consequently none found expression on his lips. He was evidently so honest, so true, outspoken and frank that all men were convinced that he believed through and through every word he preached, and that he loved his fellow-men and desired their salvation above everything else; and that he was in the work, not to satisfy a selfish ambition, or for ease or fame, but because from conviction he had to be there.
"The next element of power in Moody was a childlike simplicity that was marvellous. He was a man of remarkable wisdom, but there was no cunning in him. He was as absolutely free from duplicity as a man can be." - Rev. Charles C. Earle, Boston, Mass.
"His life was spent for Jesus Christ, his Master. Self was kept back, while Christian power within was his guide.
"God chose Moody, I have no doubt, because there was in his nature all the fire and enthusiam that would break out and electrify mankind. He was anxious for the souls of men. Moody was a layman, but his ministry has been as successful as any man in orders. Others have saved their hundreds, he his thousands. Moody was a born leader and was one of the greatest generals we have ever had. If he had been a soldier he would have stood side by side with Grant or Wellington.
"Moody unified humanity. He wanted all denominations to get together. He knew that the way to have a union was not by creeds but by work. Let us take Moody's idea of work as a unifying force." - Rev. George C Lorimer, D.D., Boston, Mass.
"Dwight L. Moody was as undeniably the most extraordinary Gospel preacher that America has produced in this century as Spurgeon was the most extraordinary that Britain has produced. Both had all Christendom for their congregations. I am glad that, like Abraham Lincoln, he never went to any college; both formed their own racy Saxon styles for themselves.
"With my beloved Brother Moody I had much personal intimacy for twenty-eight years. He delivered his first Bible readings in our little mission chapel in the winter of 1872. A few months later, when I was in London, he came into my room one day and said, 'They want me to stay and preach here; what shall I do?' My quick answer was, 'Come'. He went with Mr. Sankey, and thus began his world-wide career in Britain.
"One of his last sermons was delivered from my old pulpit here a few weeks ago. I said to him, 'Last night you were at your best; you were not talking to Christians, but. calling the unconverted to Jesus; stick to that as long as you live.' Who will be the Elisha to follow our translated Elijah?" - Rev. Theodore L. Cuyler, D.D., Brooklyn, N.Y.
Dwight L. Moody, the most divinely ordained Christian evangelist of the nineteenth century, sleeps well. He was girt with greatness all around. A great intellect was his. For, although unlearned in the classics and sciences, he was deeply schooled in the science of God and of His Son Jesus Christ, whom to know aright is life eternal. Other knowledges than this pass away, and are liable to puff up while they last.
"Mr. Moody's greatness of intellect was evidenced by the fact that his sermons repeated a thousand and more times were always as fresh and fascinating as they were at first. Only extraordinary minds can speak often on the same theme without becoming stale. He had also a great heart. He loved everything that was good. I do not believe he ever felt hateful toward any man. Supremely he loved Jesus Christ as we read of Him in the Word. Mr. Moody was as certain that the Holy Scriptures, as we have them, were fully inspired by the Holy Spirit, as he was that his pulse-beat came from his heart's throb. I recall no other one in my day whose departure and 'abundant entrance' above have brought Heaven so sensibly near. He was the friend of the whole world, and all lands will lament the loss of his measureless influence for human welfare." - Rev. John Lindsay Withrow, D. D., Boston, Mas.
"Moody and I met for the first time in Cleveland, East Tennessee. It was about the middle of April, 1864. I was bringing together my Fourth Army Corps. Two divisions had already arrived, and were encamped in and near the village. Moody was then fresh and hearty, full of enthusiasm for the Master's work. Our soldiers were just about to set out on what we all felt promised a hard and bloody campaign, and I think were especially desirous of strong preaching. Crowds turned out to hear the glad tidings from Moody's lips. He showed them how a soldier would give his heart to God. His preaching was direct and effective, and multitudes responded with a confession and promise to follow Christ.
"From that time on throughout his useful career I have had association with him. On the steamer Spree, during our remarkable wreck and rescue, I was with him. Who could have held up Christ with more fearlessness and fidelity than he did then to over seven hundred passengers ?
"In Chicago he acted as a general, and I became his subordinate during the World's Fair. Thousands upon thousands crowded the theatres, tents, halls, churches, and other public. buildings, by his provisions, to hear the simple Gospel.
"His work, again, in our war with Spain, by sending evangelical speakers to the front, whom he knew the soldiers would heed and hear, will never be measured by us who were mere helpers. He planned, selected his messengers, and sent them, and raised funds to give to our soldiers the bread of life.
"With tears we read his last words: 'Heaven opens. Earth recedes. God is calling me.' But O the triumph, Stephen-like, of such a departure." - General O. O. Howard., Burlingion, Vt.
"I first knew Mr. Moody in 1857. It was at a Sunday school convention at a Clark Street mission in Chicago that I met him. He was then twenty-one years old, and was just entering the career in which he has done so much of good. He was a stout, robust ardent young fellow, shaking hands with everybody and smiling on them in his cheerful way, and the smile was not put on either - it was genuine.
"I crossed the continent with him in 1871 to attend the California Sunday school Convention, and again in 1872 I crossed the Atlantic in his company when he first went to London to hold evangelistic services. At the invitation of Mr. Buley, the originator of the Dublin tax system, and a philanthropic gentleman of large means, I spent several days at Mr. Buley's home, near Dublin, in company with Mr. Moody, and there I became better acquainted with the man himself. Since then I have met him many times.
"Mr. Moody was bold, courageous in his advocacy of the things which he believed. He did not know what self-consciousness was. He was never embarrassed at least he never showed it. He had unlimited faith in the divine power to carry him through difficulties. To be sure he sometimes failed in his plans things did not go just as he wanted them to, but he never worried over such things. Once in Ireland I made fun of some of his old stories. I said, 'See here, Moody, I have heard you tell these same stories over and over again, and now I'd like to hear some new ones.' He looked at me in a hurt sort of way and with tears in his eyes he said, 'Don't say that. I have to use them.' I made up my mind then that if any man could use an old sword as effectively as D. L. Moody did, I would never criticize him for it.
"While fixed in his own faith, he was liberal towards people of diverse faiths. Once in Chicago he went to call on a Roman Catholic bishop. 'I have talked religion with almost everybody,' said Moody, 'and I thought I would come and talk to you. Besides, some of your boys throw stones at a mission over on the north side.' 'That's very wrong in them,' said the bishop, 'and I will tell them they must not do so.' So they talked about religion for a while, and Moody said, 'You pray, bishop?' 'Yes, said the bishop.' Let's pray now,' said Moody, and they did, and they parted fast friends. Moody had largeness of soul while he had positiveness of faith. It would be good if we had more like him.
"No man has died in this country in years for whom there has been a wider, greater, intenser affection than there was for Dwight L. Moody." - Rev. John H. Vincent, D. D. L. L. D., Bishop of the M.E. Church.
"1. A man of prayer - the chief secret of his wisdom, usefulness and success.
"2. A man of the Book - unwearied in Biblical study, he wore out several Bibles; absorbed the very atmosphere as well as the spiritual texts of Scripture.
"3. A man of soundest evangelical faith, with a mighty grasp of essentials in the answer to the question, 'What must I do to be saved?'
"4. A man of extraordinary practical sagacity, organizing power, and aptness for leadership. He used to say that it was better to set ten men at work than to do yourself the work of ten men. But he was accustomed to do both.
"5. A man of combined courage and tenderness - bold as any lion, tender as any drop of clew.
"6. A man endowed by his unusually powerful but balanced emotions with greatness of character, and by his caution and trenchant common sense with strategic strength of character.
"7. A man of commanding spiritual manliness, everywhere inspiring confidence.
"8. A man of remarkable business and executive talent, he was trusted by men of affairs.
"9. A man working easily with associates whose endowments filled out his own, like Professor Drummond and Mr. Sankey, the three together making a globe of capacities and aptitudes for the work they undertook.
"10. A man whose career has been a spiritual link between England and America and all English-speaking lands. Mr. Moody has had no equal as an evangelist since President Finney was laid in his grave; and, as he had no real predecessor like himself, so he is not likely to have a successor. The Chicago and the Northfield schools ought to continue through his sons his unmatched work. 'I wonder,' said a young minister to Professor Park, 'that Providence can accomplish so much through a man of only moderate endowments.' 'I wish to speak respectfully of Providence,' said Professor Park, in reply, 'but I call Mr. Moody a great man.' 'I wish I had your shoulders,' said Mr. Gladstone. 'I wish I had your head,' said Mr. Moody, in answer." - Joseph Cook, L L. D., Boston, Mass.
"My acquaintance with Mr. Moody runs back forty years or more, when he was just emerging from business and attracting attention in Chicago by his resolute and resistless efforts in religious work. We came together often. My house was his home, especially after the Chicago fire, when he walked out from his flame-lit house with his little family, saving nothing but his personal Bible. We were together several months at the time, and gathered the money mainly in New England for the rebuilding of the Illinois Street Mission. Soon after the fire he made the acquaintance of Mr. Sankey and founded the connection with which work in England began at York
"Stretching over the years that intervened, up to Monday night, November 13th of this year, I have enjoyed the inspiration of his life. The freshest memory I have of him is the night above referred to, when he got off the Pennsylvania Railroad train to keep an appointment he had made with me by telegraph, to spend a short time between trains on his way to Kansas City for his last meetings. I remarked that same night, after he had left me, how heavy a burden seemed to rest upon his heart as he said again and again I wish that I might be moved of God to move one large Eastern city. For I think if one Eastern city could be thoroughly revived, the others would feel the influence and be stirred likewise.' As I looked into the face of the man, whose eyes and voice were full of tears, it seemed as if a prophet like unto Elijah had come back again. He left behind him that night his comfortable home at Northfield and the hospitality which so many friends would have been glad to give him; laid himself down in a sleeping-berth of a Pullman car, rattling over a thousand miles to Kansas City; and rose with a heavy load of concern for the kingdom of his Master, and under the weight of it he staggered into his grave.
In summing up the distinctly 'great things of this great century no man stands out more prominently who has spent so many continuous years in superhuman labor for the public good as Dwight L. Moody, the Christian American layman. Uncrowned, without title of any kind, he wears the first honors among the men who loved their fellow men." - The Honorable John Wanamaker.
"In D. L. Moody's death the world has lost one of the most remarkable men of the century. He was especially distinguished for his great devotion to the cause of Christianity and of preaching the gospel to the world. To me one of his most distinguishing characteristics was his consecrated common sense; this, together with a burning zeal for winning men to the service of Christ, and his ability to do the work of ten or a dozen ordinary men, made him the most successful and powerful evangelist of his day. He was as tender as a woman, and yet as strong and brave as a lion. It was my happy lot to have been with him for over twenty-eight years, in our own country and in lands beyond the sea; and my love and admiration for him increased as the years passed by.
"The news of his death came as a great shock, as we had been led to believe that he was slowly gaining ground and likely to recover. A week before he passed away, I went to Northfield to see him, and, if possible, to cheer him up, but found him so weak and nervous that I decided not to risk an interview, lest harm might come to him; and thus I failed to bid him good-by. The last time I saw and talked with Mr. Moody was on the occasion of his last visit to Dr. John Hall's church in New York City. We spent most of that Sabbath day together talking over the work in this country, and also the old days of our labors together across the sea. He seemed quite happy as we spoke of many kind friends with whom we had worked in Great Britain; but, when I suggested to him that we might go once more to that country and hold a few farewell meetings, even for a month or two, an expression of sadness came into his face such as I had seldom seen before, as he said, 'I should like to go, but I have a feeling that I shall not live to cross the sea again.' This was the first intimation I had ever received that he had any thought that he might not be with us long. Little did I dream that I was having my last talk with my beloved friend.
"It is a pleasant thought that Mr. Moody's body has been laid to rest on beautiful 'Round Top,' where he has spent so many of; the happiest hours of his life with those who had gathered there to hear his words of wisdom and grace. This spot might very appropriately be called Missionary Hill for it is believed that from it more young men and women have decided to go to foreign lands as missionaries than from any other single spot in the world." - Ira D. Sankey, Brooklyn, N.Y.
