A TRIBUTE
IT sometimes happens that a man, in giving to
the world the truths that have most influenced his life, unconsciously writes
the truest kind of a character sketch. This was so in the case of Henry
Drummond, and no words of mine can better describe his life or character than
those in which he has presented to us, "The Greatest Thing in the World." Some
men take an occasional journey into the thirteenth of 1 Corinthians, but Henry
Drummond was a man who lived there constantly, appropriating its blessings and
exemplifying its teachings. As you read what he terms the analysis of love, you
find that all its ingredients were interwoven into his daily life, making him
one of the most lovable men I have ever known. Was it courtesy you looked for,
he was a perfect gentleman. Was it kindness, he was always preferring another.
Was it humility, he was simple and not courting favor. It could be said of him
truthfully, as it was said of the early apostles, "that men took knowledge of
him, that he had been with Jesus."
Nor was this love and kindness only shown to
those who were close friends. His face was an index to his inner life. It was
genial and kind, and made him, like his Master, a favorite with children. He
could be the profound philosopher or the learned theologian, but I know that he
preferred to be the simple friend of children and youth. Never have I known a
man who, in my opinion, lived nearer the Master or sought to do His will more
fully.
I well remember our first meeting in Edinburgh
twenty-four years ago. He was still a divinity student in the university, but
he generously gave himself to aiding me in every possible way. There was
nothing that he would not undertake to do to help spread the evangelistic work
among his friends in the university, and, later on, he began special meetings
for young men in various towns in Great Britain. The friendship then begun has
been strengthened ever since, not only by his lovable nature, but by the great
blessing God has used him to be in my own life.
Never have I heard Henry Drummond utter one
unkind or harsh word of criticism against any one. He was a man who was filled
with love to his fellow men, because he knew by experience something of the
love of Christ. He was one of the easiest men with whom to work, for he thought
more of the common object than of aught else.
The news of his death has brought a sense of the
deepest loss to all his friends in every part of the world. He was a man
greatly beloved, and my own feelings are akin to those of David on the death of
Jonathan. But although the life on earth is ended, God has called His servant
higher to a sphere of greater usefulness. And when at last we meet again before
our Lord and Master Jesus Christ, whom we both loved and served together in
years gone, we shall no longer "see through a glass darkly; but then face to
face;" and things which we could not see alike here below we shall fully know
in the light of His countenances who brought our lives together and blessed
them with a mutual love.
D. L. MOODY.
The following addresses were delivered at the
Students' Conference in Northfield, 1893. They are now issued in permanent form
for the first time.