"This promise ever shall endure,Till suns shall rise and set no more."
"This promise ever shall endure,Till suns shall rise and set no more."
"This promise ever shall endure,
Till suns shall rise and set no more."
You received the Lord by believing on his name. This is faith. You believed with your heart; that is, your faith was full of love, and your love was attended and followed by obedience, and this made your faith complete. It is yours now to rejoice in hope of the glory of God.
II. But you can hardly believe that you are to be just like Christ. On the mount you saw him glorified. "His face did shine as the sun, and his outward form was white as the light." Now Paul says: "He shall change our vile bodies that they may be fashioned like unto the body of his glory." "Then shall the righteous shine as the sun in the kingdom of their Father."
O brethren, let us look at thebrightside of the Christian's life, for it has a bright side, and that is the side next to heaven, on which the light of heaven forever falls. I am not unmindful of the fact that, figuratively speaking, one side is turned to earth, and the earth in many respects is a very dark place. On the earth-side "clouds and darkness are the habitation of his throne;" but on the heaven-side "the city hath no need of the sun to shine in it, for the Lord God and the Lamb are the light thereof; and there shall be no night there." "We are fellow-citizens with the saints [in glory], and of the household of God." Oh, brethren, let us walk worthy of our high calling. "Rejoice evermore. Pray without ceasing. In every thing give thanks: for this is the will of God concerning you."
Friday, September 25. Brother Kline passed through Jerome, Petersburg and Mansfield and got to Brother John Hoover's.
Monday, September 28. "This evening," says he, "I am at Judge Watts's. Having been unavoidably delayed by having to get my horse shod, darkness overtook me five miles away from here, and nothing but a continuation of thick woods appeared in every direction. More than this, the wolves set up a howling in a very threatening manner. Had I been compelled to pass the night in the woods, I would have been in danger of being devoured by them. Whilst alone in the darkness I thought, How quickly would these ravenous creatures fall upon and devour an unprotected sheep! And how surely would the wolves from Satan's den fall upon us and make a prey of our souls if Jesus, the Good Shepherd, did not guard and protect us through the spiritual darkness of this world! Several verses of one of Watts' old 'cradle hymns' came to my mind whilst thinking over these things. They run thus:
"'Once, as oppressed with sleep I lay,With pining hunger bold,A prowling enemy came by,And robbed my little fold.But Thou, Great Shepherd, dost not sleepNor slumber oft like me;So that no foe can steal a sheepEternally from Thee.'"
"'Once, as oppressed with sleep I lay,With pining hunger bold,A prowling enemy came by,And robbed my little fold.But Thou, Great Shepherd, dost not sleepNor slumber oft like me;So that no foe can steal a sheepEternally from Thee.'"
"'Once, as oppressed with sleep I lay,
With pining hunger bold,
A prowling enemy came by,
And robbed my little fold.
But Thou, Great Shepherd, dost not sleep
Nor slumber oft like me;
So that no foe can steal a sheep
Eternally from Thee.'"
Tuesday, September 29. "This evening I am at Brother Abraham Miller's in Allen County, Ohio. From Judge Watts's to this place is only five miles. But how different my feelings this evening from what they were last evening! Then I was alone in the woods, in hearing of wolves in several directions, with darkness on every side; now I am here with my beloved brother and his pleasant family. Oh, what will it be, what the ineffable joy to find ourselves, some day, in heaven, eternally safe from all danger and harm!"
Brother Kline spent the time between this and the next Sunday in traveling and visiting.
Sunday, October 4, he attended a love feast at which he made some very beautiful and appropriate remarks on Luke 4. "There is," said he, "much of human nature set forth in this chapter. So long as Jesus spoke of the things that pleased the assembled Jews they 'all wondered at the gracious words which proceeded out of his mouth.' They applied these gracious words to themselves, and flattered themselves into the belief that they were 'God's favorites' on account of their inherent virtues. But when the Lord indirectly spoke of them as starving widows in God's sight, and filthy lepers, 'all in the synagogue were filled with wrath.' When flowers are thrown upon the surface of a calm lake—so the poets say—the lake is made to smile with dimples of delight; but when heavy storms of truth are thrown in, the mud at the bottom is stirred up, and the lake boils with filth. Brethren, let us try to 'cleanse ourselves from all filthiness of the flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of the Lord;' and then we will not get angry when the truth is presented."
I would like very much to give the name of every family with which Brother Kline passed a night throughout this entire journey, and also the name of every brother and sister and family called on, but want of space absolutely forbids.
October 5 and 6 were spent at a council meeting near Brother Butterbaugh's. He does not say, but I guess this was in Montgomery County, Ohio. The names—Samuel Fouse, David Miller, Abraham Erbaugh, Samuel Kline, John Brower, Abraham Flory—all occur in close connection as having been visited by him.
Sunday, October 11. Brother Kline attended a meeting at which he reports Jacob Rife, John Garber, James Smith and George Miller, all from Virginia, as being present with their families. They have come to find homes in Ohio. They had arrived there on Friday before, which was October 9. It may be very gratifying to the children and grandchildren of these parents to find out the exact day on which their fathers and mothers arrived in the county and State where they settled.
Monday, October 12. Meeting at Brother Hoffert's. Brother Kline spoke to-day on Matthew 25. I can give only a slight touch of his discourse: "This chapter," said he, "is full of wonders. The parable of the talents; the parable of the ten virgins; and a description of the general judgment. Both parables are intimately connected with the judgment, and indicate the broad basis on which it will be conducted. I believe that the virgins in the parable represent professors of Christianity. They all had lamps. They all slumbered and slept. In these two respects they were all alike.
"But the great difference between them at once appears, when the announcement is suddenly made, 'Behold, the bridegroom cometh! go ye out to meet him.' Then the folly of the foolish, and the wisdom of the wise is first disclosed. The foolish had provided no oil for the replenishing of their lamps. I fear they were like too many now, who, in the heat of excitement, under the influence of misguided instructors, blindly fall into the ranks of those who take the name of Christ in one hand and the fashions and pleasures of the world in the other, and thus move on through life. Alas! such have lamps that may answer for this life, and oil enough and of a kind to keep their lamps aglow while living in this world; but when the day of trial shall come their lamps will prove useless for want of the right kind of oil. The only oil that will burn in the presence of Jesus, and whose light he will own, is the oil of heavenly love proved by a life of self-denial and obedience to his Word. Lord, help us, that we all may love thee more, and through obedient faith in thee find the door of heaven open to our ransomed spirits."
Wednesday, October 14. Our beloved brother now takes leave of the brethren and sisters in Ohio and starts on his way to Tennessee. On the fifteenth he is ferried across the river from Cincinnati to Covington in a flatboat, and from this point he pushes on to Lexington, Ky., which he reaches on the seventeenth, having traveled from home to that point, 788 miles. Think of it! The toil of this journey, on horseback; over rough or bad roads; through thinly settled sections of country, and dark forests; in sight of Indians, and in hearing of wolves; more than sixty years ago; and all for Christ and a burning love for his people. Well could he say what he publicly expressed at a love feast at the Linville's Creek meetinghouse some years after this: "I have a house that will accommodate fifty: and a heart to accommodate a hundred if they could find room in my house."
He pushed on, scaled the Cumberland mountains; got across the Cumberland and Clinch rivers as best he could, as both were high from the recent rains, and arrived
Friday, October 23, at Christian Shank's, in East Tennessee. On the day before he stood by the tree that marks the spot where the States of Virginia and Kentucky corner on the line of Tennessee. He says: "I could not help thinking while there, What a glorious country we have in prospect, and what a goodly land it may come to be, if the people can be induced to turn to the Lord and become faithful followers of the meek and lowly Jesus. What a work we have to do! How much wickedness have I witnessed on my way since I left home! In our way of looking at it, enough to sink a world. By turning once around I can look over a part of three States; but how few of the followers of the Lord are found in each, compared with the number who know him not, and who ask not for him."
He reports delightful weather. After spending some days among the Bowmans, Zimmermans, Crouses, Garbers, Basehores, and others, attending love feasts, councils and appointments for preaching, he reports a night meeting at Hase's schoolhouse. This was on the night of
Thursday, October 29. The people were somewhat Calvinistic in their views, and his discourse was so pointed in that direction that I will give a few thoughts presented in it.
Sermon by Elder John Kline.
Preached at Hase's Schoolhouse, Tennessee.
Text.—Enter ye in at the strait gate.—Matt. 7:13.
I tried to impress upon all present the danger of continuing in the broad road of sin. This includes every lust of the flesh, everything the heart desires through the eyes, and all the pride and vanity of life. I said to this audience: I learn that there is quite a Calvinistic or predestinarian sentiment in this community; and from the expression of the countenances of some of you I fancy I hear some of you saying to yourselves: "How can a dead man hear, except the Lord first give him life; or a blind man see, except the Lord first open his eyes?" I will answer your questions in order.
Lazarus had been dead four days. Jesus called to him with a loud voice to "come forth." How could Jesus expect the dead Lazarus to hear? Why did he call? Why did he not first make him alive; and then after he found out that hewas alive, and stirring round in the grave, call to him and tell him to come out of that dark place? This is precisely the way a Calvinist would think he ought to have done. But Calvinism was not known in the Lord's day, and so he took a very different way. He threw his voice into that cave, and it went right into the ear of the dead Lazarus, because his power went with the words, and the very instant they struck the ear of Lazarus the life was in his body and he heard. Thunder and lightning always go together; but Calvinists think the lightning must always be first.
The resurrection of Lazarus is a clear exemplification of our Lord's meaning where he says: "My words arespirit, and they arelife." No sooner did the Lord call to Lazarus than his heart began to beat and his lungs began to breathe. The Lord's words to him werelifeandbreath.Spirit[in one sense] means breath; andlifemeans a beating of the heart; for as long as man's heart beats there is life in him. Is any one here to-night willing to charge our Lord with the folly, themadnessof commanding one of his creatures to do what he knows he cannot do?
Sinner, if the popular view of election be correct, I have a word of comfort for you right here. In Jer. 13:21 we read this question: "What wilt thou say when he shall punish thee?" I will tell you what to say. When you stand before his judgment seat and hear from his lips, "Depart, thou cursed into everlasting fire," just say to him: "Why do you condemnme? You told me to enter in at the straight gate, it is true; but you did not give me the power to move in that direction. I was blind, too, and you did not open my eyes. I was all leprous with sin; I knew that all the time; but you did not cleanse me, although you cleansed others. I am told that you say in your Word that you are no respecter of persons; how then can you make such a difference in your treatment of men, when you have 'included all under sin?'"
Now I say to you, poor sinner, the Lord never will and he never can send you to hell with such questions in your mouth and in your heart.
There is no need of one sinner under the sound of my voice going to hell, because Jesus is thestrait gateand he is thenarrow way of life; and wherever his Gospel is preached his power goes with it, just as it went with his voice into the grave of Lazarus, or fell upon the bier of the widow's son. The blind man did not see until he went to the pool of Siloam and washed; but did not the power of Christ go with him?
Say not then, O sinner, "I have not the power to believe, repent and obey the Gospel." You have the power. God is giving you now, this very moment, all the power you need to reach hither your hand and take the gift of his grace. He has already opened your eyes to see the light of his truth; and were I to say to you this night that you are too dead to feel your duty; too blind to see the path; and too grossly ignorant to know your right hand from your left hand in spiritual things, you would feel yourself grossly insulted by me. But I do not say so; I do not believe so; and in this connection—and I beg you to think seriously upon it, to read the Bible and pray over it—I must repeat the language of Jeremiah: "What wilt thousay, when he shall punish thee?"
Sunday, November 1. Meeting and love feast at Bowman's meetinghouse. This was Brother Kline's last meeting with the Tennessee Brethren on this visit among them. I must extend the outlines of his discourse as it was his last among them for some years.
A Short Discourse by Elder John Kline.
Text.—He died for all, that they which live should no longer live unto themselves, but unto him, who, for their sakes, died and rose again.
This was Christ. Our natural feelings and desires are selfish. Jesus has given us the clearest example of unselfish love the universe has ever witnessed. "For God commendeth his love to us"—that is, he shows the exceeding greatness of it—"in that, when we were enemies, Christ died for us." I do not believe that we ever, in this world, can fully understand the merits of our Savior's life, death and resurrection. Enough for us to know that he has opened a "new and living way" by which we may come back to our heavenly Father and be his children again.
Do you know that Adam was a son of God? Luke calls him so. But he, like Esau after him, sold his birthright, lost the divine image in which God had created him, and fell from his sonship. But now we read: "He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not, with him also, freely give us all things?" The phrase, "all things," as here used, includes a restoration to our former sonship with God. We, as the children of God, are exhorted to follow in the steps of our blessed Lord. This not only means that we are to shun evils and bear reproach, but it also means that we are not to live unto ourselves and for ourselves alone, but unto him and his people; for "He went about doing good."
John says: "We love him because he first loved us." We, who are here assembled in his name, can truthfully repeat this language. But how do we prove to ourselves and the world that wedolove him? It is by letting our light shine. Men do not light a candle and put it under a bushel. A city on a hill cannot be hid. Brethren, I hope we have all made clean "theinsideof the cup and the platter;" for this is the only way in which the outside can be kept clean. A pure life flows out of acleanheart, and it can come from no other source. We show our love to the Lord by observing his ordinances: by baptism, by washing one another's feet, by partaking with each other of the Lord's Supper, by communing with him in his broken body and shed blood, symbolized by the bread and wine: next, in "denying ourselves of all ungodliness and worldly lusts, and living soberly, righteously, and godly in this present world."
Think on this last text a little bit. "Soberly" meanscalmly sincere; not moved by fits of excitement. "Righteously" meansdoing right; right toward God by obedience, and right toward men in our dealings with them and in our influence upon them. Many a brother has ruined his power for good by not beingwatchful. He told "jokes." He delighted in frivolous, trifling things. He put on a square face at church, to be sure; but a little disappointment would lengthen it fearfully, and a little fun or glee would broaden it out of all Christian shape.
For the benefit of such and all, I will define the last butnot leastword in the apostle's category—"godly." Brethren, this meanslikeGod; and it includes all the rest, for "God is love." To abide in God is to live in holy, heavenly love. "Abide in me, and I in you." Wonderful, wonderful words! This is heaven on earth.
The apostle says: "We have been made to sit together in heavenly places in Christ Jesus." A beautiful figure. We sit in the sun, or in sunny places, when the light of the sun falls upon us in that position. We sit in heaven, or in heavenly places, when the light of heaven with its love falls full into our souls. I feel like giving utterance to the emotion of my heart in that sweet old love-song of ours:
"My willing soul would stayIn such a place as this;And sit and sing herself away,To everlasting bliss."Here the Redeemer's voiceSheds heavenly peace around;And life and everlasting joysAttend the blissful sound."
"My willing soul would stayIn such a place as this;And sit and sing herself away,To everlasting bliss.
"My willing soul would stay
In such a place as this;
And sit and sing herself away,
To everlasting bliss.
"Here the Redeemer's voiceSheds heavenly peace around;And life and everlasting joysAttend the blissful sound."
"Here the Redeemer's voice
Sheds heavenly peace around;
And life and everlasting joys
Attend the blissful sound."
And now I will close in the words of Paul's valedictory to the saints at Corinth: "Finally, brethren, farewell: Be of good comfort; be of one mind; live in peace. And the God of love and peace shall be with you." Amen!
Tuesday, November 3. Our beloved brother started on his homeward way down the Valley of Virginia. He passed through Abingdon, Salem, Lexington and Staunton, and on
Tuesday, November 10, he reached home after an absence of two months to the day. He says: "I have been absent from home just two months to the day; and in this time I have traveled on horseback 1,317 miles. With much thankfulness to our Father in heaven, do I recount my protection and preservation through the dangers and toils of traveling; the strength and support given me in preaching the Word; and the great joy I have had in meeting so many dear brethren and sisters in the Lord. Amen!"
Thus closes one of the most remarkable missionary tours on record. One would feel sad to think that no memorial should be reared in commemoration of it. But the heart finds relief in the thought that this book will perpetuate the memory of it to future generations, as a tale that will never grow old.
Brother Kline spent the remainder of the year about home; in visiting the sick; in attending to his domestic interests; and in preaching at the different appointments in the district. The Brethren at this time had but few houses of worship. They consequently held meetings in the dwelling houses of Brethren; some of which had been constructed with an eye to that end.
BROTHER KLINE'S OPINIONS RELATIVE TOTHE PRACTICE OF MEDICINE.
The Diary shows that in the course of this year, Brother Kline entered a new field of useful activity. In his desire to do good; in his heart of general beneficence, we are reminded of the philanthropy of Howard and Wilberforce. They, it is true, wrought in a wider sphere, and operated on a grander scale; but it may be seriously questioned whether they had any more of the love of God in their hearts, or any deeper sympathy for suffering humanity in their souls, than was to be found in our truly devoted pattern of genuine benevolence, Elder John Kline. This new field was that of administering medical relief to the afflicted.
Friday, January 1, 1836. He says: "I have long had doubts in regard to the curative efficacy and health-restoring virtue of the regularly established course of medical practice of the present day. Active depletion of the body, by copious blood-letting, blistering, drastic cathartics and starving, is, to my mind, not the best way to eradicate disease and restore the diseased human body to its normal state. I am well aware that every age has had its own way of treating diseases, and every age has thought its own way the best; but fashion and custom have, no doubt, had quite a controling power in this as in other things; and 'the fashion of the world passeth away,' because there is little or nothing of substantial good in it."
SAMUEL THOMPSON.
"Dr. Samuel Thompson, of Vermont, is introducing a new system of medical practice which I believe to be more in accordance with the laws of life and health than any I know of. His maxim, applied to disease, is: 'Remove the cause, and the effect will cease.'
"Every diseased condition of the body is the effect of some cause. This cause being removed, the disease, either simple or complex, must yield to the restorative forces of nature. But to diminish the activity of these forces, by copious depletion of the body, to be followed by a regimen so severe as to withhold, almost absolutely, the nourishment and support nature demands, is, in my view, to say the least, irrational."
Had Brother Kline penned these words fifty years later in the century, they could not be more in harmony with the popular theory of medical science as it is taught in the schools of the present day. They are almost prophetic. He goes on: "I am therefore determined to try the new way of treating disease, and see what I can do with it. I feel sure it will do no harm, even if it does but little or no good."
His subsequent success as a physician for many years proves that he was not mistaken in the conclusions at which he arrived preparatory to his entering the field of medical practice.
He procured his remedies in their virgin purity from the mountains, meadows and woods, either in person, with hoe in hand, or through agents whom he employed for the work. Lobelia, Boneset, Pleurisy-Root, Black-Cohosh, Blue-Cohosh, Lady's-slipper, Red Raspberry, Ginseng, Spignet, Black-Root, Seneca-Snake-Root, Gentian, May-Apple, Golden-Rod, and many other roots and herbs were quite familiar to him, not only as they were seen growing in their native mountains, fields and forests, but also as to their medical properties and uses.
No recreation could be more delightful to the true lover of nature than to get on a good horse and go with him to see the Brethren, as he called it. This may sound a little odd; but the reader must know that Brother Kline rarely went on an errand with a single aim. His object seemed to be to crowd into his life all the service for both God and man that it was possible for him to do. In this desire to do good he would sometimes humorously repeat the old saying: "Kill as many birds with one stone as you can."
When the season approached for gathering "roots and herbs" he would sometimes write to the Brethren among the mountains of West Virginia, that they might expect him to be with them at a given time. This announcement always sent a thrill of joy through their hearts. The news of his coming spread rapidly; and he was sure of large congregations for that sparsely settled country.
One Sunday, toward the close of his life, he said to me: "Brother B——, would it suit you to go with me over to Pendleton and Hardy? I have a line of meetings in view; and if it would suit you to go with me I will be very glad of your company. I want to gather some medicines by the way, and as you are fond of rambling among the mountains you may enjoy the trip and make yourself useful at the same time."
I agreed to go. So on Thursday morning about the latter part of July, very early, we mounted our horses. "Old Nell"—as he called his favorite riding mare, that had up to that time, as his Diary will show, carried him on her back overthirty thousand miles—seemed to understand where we were starting for, and how fast she ought to go. In the early part of the day she walked very moderately; but as the hours went by she quickened her gait, and really walked with a livelier step in the evening than she had in the fore part of the day. Soon after our arrival the people began to come together for night meeting at the house where we staid.
After a most refreshing supper and a little rest we were ready to engage in the sacred duties of worship. Brother Kline very kindly took the lead in the services, and in a very plain way delivered one of the best discourses I have ever heard on Col. 1:12. This is theText: "Giving thanks to the Father, who hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light."
He showed, in a very impressive way, that if an heir to an estate is not qualified to appreciate that estate, to enjoy it by making a right use of it, it can do him but little good. From this thought his mind ascended heavenward; and he said that heaven, with all its glory and bliss, can never be a desirable inheritance to any but to those who are qualified or prepared for it. Those who are thus qualified are described in the text as "the saints in light." He then drew a most lively picture of the difference between a saint in light and a sinner in darkness. It almost chilled my blood to see how low in the scale of intelligent beings the one stands contrasted with the lofty elevation of the other.
The next day we repaired to the Shenandoah mountain to procure medical herbs. We went up into a very deep and rich hollow, where it looked as if the rays of the sun could hardly penetrate, and soon I saw his face light up with something that evidently pleased him. "Ah! here it is," said he. "What is here?" I asked. "Don't you see this patch of Ginseng?" he replied. "Is this Ginseng? It is my first sight of it."
As I was much younger than he I insisted upon using the hoe; but no! He was so pleased that he seemed to want to do all the digging himself. When a supply of Ginseng was obtained we went to the top of the ridge, where we found a considerable quantity of Seneca-Snake-Root, an article very much in demand at the present day.
The next thing sought for was the Red Raspberry. We hunted and hunted, and were on the point of giving up the quest, when, at the extreme head of a very rough mountain hollow, we discovered a "patch" of the bushes. They were full of berries of a bright scarlet, resembling somewhat in form the common raspberry, but in some other respects they were quite different. They were very beautiful. If the plant would bear domestication it would be highly ornamental. Having filled a "poke" with the raspberry leaves, we set out to return to the place where we had left our horses. I doubt exceedingly whether I could have found the spot; but his familiarity with the mountains generally, and his acute perception of topographical relations in particular, enabled him to find the place without difficulty.
On our way back to where we had left our horses, however, we came across a "patch" of Golden Seal. This is a graceful plant, each one having a single calyx enclosing the seeds, somewhat in the shape of a button or seal of a bright yellow color; hence its name. "The root of this plant," said he, "is an excellent alterative and tonic." We dug up the yellow roots with zest; but being by this time very hungry, I began to fear that we might come across a "patch" of something else that might still longer delay our return. But he seemed satisfied with his success, and we found our horses all right. "Old Nell" had, however, loosed the strap of her halter, and was quietly browsing around. When she heard us coming she threw up her head; and at the call of his voice she came up to him.
It was past two o'clock when we got back to Brother Judy's. Dinner was soon served; and to this day I do feel that if ever I have been truly thankful for the good things of this life it was then.
We followed up the line of appointments to the last one, and returned home.
And now, my dear reader, I can truly say, that if it is as pleasant to you toreadthese reminiscences as it is to me towritethem, you are well repaid.
Sermon by Peter Nead.
Preached at the Linville's Creek Meetinghouse,Sunday, January 3, 1836.
Text.—Unto you therefore which believe he is precious.—I Pet. 2:7.
Dear Brethren, this chapter is full of instruction and encouragement. Peter knew by experience what it is to backslide. Now, that he is restored again to full fellowship with the Lord and the church, Jesus seems nearer and more precious to him than ever before. In the seventh verse he says: "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious." I know he must be so, because he is so precious to me. I shamefully denied him when he most needed my loving support, and swore that I did not know him in the darkest hour of his temptation. Who can comprehend his grace? The meekness, the gentleness, the calmness of his forgiving heart under trials the deepest, under persecutions the greatest, even unto death, are surely worthy of God incarnate.
"'I know not the man' were the very last words he heard me utter on his way through tribulations to the cross; and I added oaths to the declaration. I now fail to find words to express my surprise and joy at the message he sent me on the morning of his resurrection. When he was placed in the tomb I had no hope of his ever coming out thence. But what surprised and overcame me more than the direct news of his rising was the special message of love he sent me by the women who saw him first. He said to them: 'Go and tell my disciplesand Peter, that I go into Galilee, and there they shall see me.' His forgiving love singled me out as one of its special objects, because I was such a vile sinner, and had treated him so badly. Brother Paul callshimselfthe 'chief of sinners,' because he persecuted the saints of God; but I feel thatImust be, for I denied his Son. Truly did Paul say of all such great sinners as we are: 'Where sin abounded, grace did also much more abound.' Thanks to my risen Lord, I can now with heart and voice join the chorus of those that sing:
"'O, the length and the breadth,And the depth and the heightOf the love of Christ!It passeth all understanding!"
"'O, the length and the breadth,And the depth and the heightOf the love of Christ!It passeth all understanding!"
"'O, the length and the breadth,
And the depth and the height
Of the love of Christ!
It passeth all understanding!"
I have here represented Peter as giving us some of his experiences; and I believe that my representations are correct; for in the chapter next preceding the one just read, we find this joyful exclamation: "Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, which according to hisabundant mercyhath begotten us again unto a lively hope by the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead." I must think that the mercy was much moreabundantthan Peter expected, for it wrought an effect upon him which he calls aregeneration, or a sort of new birth. At any rate, he says he was "begotten again." It looks as if it made a new man of him. It gave him new life. He never denied his Lord again. When called to fulfill the prophecy of the Lord concerning "the death by which he was to glorify God," he faltered not, but met it "as seeing him who is invisible."
Brethren, some of us may, at times, have a taste of Peter's experience. We feel so vile in our own eyes, that, like him, we go out, and over our sins "weep bitterly." Ah, but these are "pearly tears" in God's sight. Though we may not know it, though we may still feel too bad to repair, on bended knees, to a "throne of grace," yet God knows how to value them. They are precious in his sight; and it is your experience and mine that after seasons of this kind he sends us the brightest tokens of his love, and we are joyfully amazed that it is so.
I once, when a boy, disobeyed my father. I have in mind a particular instance of disobedience, and of a character very trying to his patience. When I came rightly to myself and realized my sin I was afraid to meet him. He discovered, without any confession on my part, what I had done. I expected severe punishment. To my surprise he met me with a smile. Taking me by the hand he said: "Let us go out into the orchard." We sat down upon the fallen trunk of an apple tree, and gently placing one arm around my neck, he said: "Peter, do you know that I love you?" I instantly broke down under the weight of this arm of love, and answered as well as my sobs would let me, "Yes, sir!" "Do you love me?" he next said. Again I answered, "Yes, sir!" "Then never again disobey me, my boy, and we will have a sweet and happy life together." And I can say from my heart, right here, I never did.
I now think, dear Brethren, that you are prepared to understand what Peter meant by the words: "Unto you therefore which believe he is precious." You feel that he is precious to you, because he has taken away your sins by giving you anew heartand filling you with his love. You can now say with the Apostle John: "We love him because he first loved us." Now then, inasmuch as ye love him, "abide in his love," and "the God of love and peace shall be with you." May his grace, mercy and peace be with us all forever. Amen!
Sermon by Elder John Kline.
Preached at Tobbins,Sunday, January 10.
Text.—As ye therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him.—Col. 2:6.
Paul addressed these words to the church at Colosse, a city of Asia Minor, in the Roman province called Phrygia. It may be of interest to you for me to tell you something about the character of these people at the time Paul first visited them. Ancient history gives a very dark picture of this. What Paul said of Athens applied equally to Colosse: "The city was wholly given to idolatry." The lower classes, especially, were very ignorant, having no knowledge of God save that which the light of nature gave them.
But when Paul went into their midst, preaching the Gospel of salvation, the prophecy of Isaiah, concerning Zebulon and Naphtali, was fulfilled unto them, as it had been before at Capernaum on the shore of the Galilean Sea: "The people which sat in darkness saw a great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, to them did light spring up." They opened their eyes to the light and rejoiced to see it; and their hearts to the love it revealed, and they took it in. They accepted Christ Jesus the Lord in all his fullness. Faith became to them a living principle. They felt its truth as surely as though with their natural eyes and ears they saw and heard all that it comprehended for time and eternity, for earth and heaven.
But you want to know how I find all this out. Turn with me to the first chapter of Paul's letter to them, and I will show you. Now notice that right in the beginning he addresses them as "saintsandfaithful brethrenin Christ." By "saints" he means that they areholy; and by "faithful brethren" he means to tell how they got to be so. This, I think, is saying a good deal for them; but he goes on: "We give thanks to God, the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, praying always for you; having heard of yourfaithin Christ Jesus; and of thelovewhich ye have towardallthe saints, because of thehopewhich is laid up for you in the heavens."
You now see that these Colossian brethren had the three essentials that distinguish a Christian from a pagan, a saint from a sinner, and an angel of light from a demon of darkness. These three arefaith,hopeandlove; but of these Paul says that "love is the greatest." This they had in large measure, because it extended "towardallthe saints." It is natural for every Christian to lovesomeof the saints when he is free "to pick and choose;" but to loveallis quite another thing.
If you will thoughtfully read this first chapter through, you will see the high place these Colossian brethren held in Paul's confidence, not only as to faith and love, but also as to the enlightenment of their understandings with heavenly wisdom. He sets forth our Lord Jesus Christ as the triune God—Creator, Redeemer and Savior—in loftier terms than are to be found anywhere else in his epistles. Had there been any doubt in his mind as to their ability to understand these revelations, and thus profit by them, they would have been withheld. He would have fed them with milk, as he did his Corinthian and Hebrew brethren, and not with strong food.
My text says: "As ye therefore have received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk ye in him." They had received him infaith, andhope, andlove. So were they instructed to walk in him. "Ye have been buried with him in baptism, wherein ye were also raised with him through faith in the working of God who raised him from the dead." "Inasmuch then, as ye were raised together with Christ, seek the things that are above where Christ is seated on the right hand of God." "Set your affections on the things above, not on the things that are upon the earth. For ye died; and the new life which ye now live, ye live by faith in the Son of God who loved you and gave himself for you." "Avoid fornication, uncleanness, passion, evil desire, and covetousness which is idolatry; for the wrath of God is revealed against all these things. And ye know that a little while agoye lived and walked in all these things." This last quotation tells what these brethrenhad been, and the foregoing quotations show what they were when Paul wrote to them.
After a careful study of these good instructions, these faithful brethren could not mistake the way in which they were to walk. Paul not only showed them how to get into the good way in the first place, but he also told them how tokeepin the way. It is one thingto get intothe right road to any place, but it is quite another thing to keep it. In writing to his Galatian brethren, Paul says: "Ye did run well for awhile; who turned you out of the way?" Ah, brethren, there are many by-roads leading off from "the king's highway." I have known brethren and sisters to start well, to all appearance, and run well for a time; but by and by the cares of the world and the deceitfulness of riches, and other things, like the thorns in the parable, choked the Word in their hearts, so that they brought forth no fruit unto perfection.
AN ILLUSTRATION.
In my travels among the mountains of our Virginia I have often seen the laurel holding out its evergreen but poisonous leaves in sprays of most enticing beauty. Miles and miles of road, in one unbroken stretch, may there be seen densely hedged on either hand by this beautiful emblem of sin and death. Herds of cattle and flocks of sheep are every year driven over these roads. Every herdsman and shepherd knows the danger to be apprehended from the inclination of some of either kind to "sidle" off from the plain and beaten track and pluck the green leaves of the laurel to their own destruction.
Many a time have I overtaken flocks of sheep, some of which were lying along the road "down with the staggers." This last is the name of the disease which is brought on by taking laurel. The old sheep avoid it. They will not taste it. The young sheep and lambs are the only ones that incline first to taste and then eat it. It is hardly necessary for me to point out to you the lesson of instruction to be gathered from what I have just said. Thestaggers, by veterinary surgeons, is said to be a kind of drunkenness often fatal in its effects.
The Prophet Isaiah speaks of some who "are drunken, but not with wine; who stagger, but not with strong drink." I fancy I hear someone in the congregation say: "I guess they must have taken laurel." Precisely so, friend! They took the very laurel that has been the ruin of thousands of the Lord's sheep and lambs. Let me tell you exactly what I mean.
The love ofworldly pleasureis laurel ofone kind. It blooms forth in the desire for fine dress, gay company, night gatherings, social parties, and the like things.
Worldly treasureis laurel ofanother kind. It blooms forth in the desire for worldly possessions, no matter how obtained, and only to gratify selfish ends. I have known some old sheep to take this kind.
Ambition to be great and highly honoredis stillanother kind. This is the "deer-tongued" laurel, the very tallest kind that grows, and has the richest looking flowers. But it is just as poisonous as any, and it blooms forth in the desire to be admired for beauty, to be looked up to for superior power and wisdom, and to be held in high honor for great deeds. I have known someold sheepand evenleaders of the flockto eat of this kind until they staggered considerably. It was plainly visible in their steps that their heads were not exactly level. I am glad, however, to be able to say, that in the flock to which we belong, I have met with very few who ever gave any signs of being afflicted in the way last described.
In his letter to the Philippian brethren, Paul says: "For many walk, of whom I told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ."
But, brethren, there is a remedy for all these evils. God has provided the remedy. Nor is it a bitter draught. It is the "milk and wine" of his Word. Both meanTruth. I used to wonder why the Prophet Isaiah used both terms, when both mean the same thing. Now I will tell you. He says: "Come unto me, buywineandmilk, yea, buywineandmilkwithout money, and without price."Milkistruthin its simplest and plainest forms. Gospel truth presented in a way that very young and uninstructed minds may readily take it in, is what Paul calls "milk for babes." But wine is the very sametruthextended and expanded into forms of instruction adapted to the understandings of "men in Christ Jesus."
All are invited and even exhorted to come; to come to the "fountain that was opened in the house of David." It is the same that is meant by the "river of the water of life which proceedeth from the throne of God and of the Lamb." I exhort every one, both old and young, to study God's Word for the truth it contains, represented by the beautiful symbols set before you therein. Even the unconverted sinner is invited to come and take of the "water of life freely."
"Here pardon, love, and joy divineIn rich effusion flow,For guilty sinners lost in sinAnd doomed to endless woe."
"Here pardon, love, and joy divineIn rich effusion flow,For guilty sinners lost in sinAnd doomed to endless woe."
"Here pardon, love, and joy divine
In rich effusion flow,
For guilty sinners lost in sin
And doomed to endless woe."
The interval between the last given date andMonday, February 15, has nothing in it claiming special notice. But here he says: "To-day I attended the funeral of little Susanna Brower, who died yesterday morning. As it is our privilege to 'rejoice with those who do rejoice,' so it is our duty to 'weep with those that weep." I could but weep to see the remains of this interesting little girl laid in the cold and silent grave. I think it was the ancient Romans who personifieddeathin the form of a walking skeleton, scythe in hand, cutting down whatever the whim of his fancy might suggest. This representation may accord with the relentless strokes his scythe is sometimes seen to make; but the light of heaven reveals a Hand that holds his bony arm within its grasp; and that Hand is the hand of our God. For,
"'Not a sparrow to the ground may fallBut our Father's in it: Heart of Love that governs all.Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.'"
"'Not a sparrow to the ground may fallBut our Father's in it: Heart of Love that governs all.Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.'"
"'Not a sparrow to the ground may fall
But our Father's in it: Heart of Love that governs all.
Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.'"
"Heaven is largely made up of children; and until every crown shall have a head, and every white robe have a wearer, God will recall his own."
Wednesday, March 16. Brother Daniel Trump and Sister Polly Moyers were both buried to-day. These make six funerals that I have attended in the space of four weeks.