"Our hearts grow warm with heavenly fire;And kindle with a pure desire;While our blest Savior from aboveFeeds all our souls with holy love."
"Our hearts grow warm with heavenly fire;And kindle with a pure desire;While our blest Savior from aboveFeeds all our souls with holy love."
"Our hearts grow warm with heavenly fire;
And kindle with a pure desire;
While our blest Savior from above
Feeds all our souls with holy love."
None but those
"that know the Lord,And taste the sweetness of his Word,"
"that know the Lord,And taste the sweetness of his Word,"
"that know the Lord,
And taste the sweetness of his Word,"
can ever know the joys of his salvation.
III. "Jesus Himself Went With Them."
We are not informed how many of the sixty furloughs they had already passed over on their way when "Jesus himself drew near, and went with them;" but from the loving kindness of our Lord we readily conclude they had not gone very far. "Can a mother forget her sucking child? Yea, she may forget; yet will not I forget thee." He knew the depth of their disappointment and the grief that followed when they could say: "We hoped that it was he which should redeem Israel." "We hoped—;" but alas! all hope is now forever gone. It lies buried with him in his tomb.
If one born blind could unexpectedly open his eyes to see the light of the morning sun in a cloudless sky, the surprise and joy could not be greater than were these to the two sitting at the table. They forgot to eat. They were so filled with the sight of the Lord that their hunger for that which merely represented him was all gone. They not only saw the proof of his resurrection; but in him they felt the resurrection of their own buriedfaith, andhope, andlove.
"They rose up that very hour,—" I do not believe they sat still one minute after he vanished out of their sight—"and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven gathered together, ... saying, The Lord is risen indeed, and hath appeared to Simon." This was to them one of the wonders connected with his rising, as Simon had so shamefully denied him so shortly before. But such is the fullness of his grace, that where sin abounds, grace does much more abound unto all such as are willing to receive it.
Some people do not believe the story of the resurrection. But, strange to say, they can believe something a hundred times less reasonable, and absolutely false. They can believe that aliehas done more to better the condition of mankind in this world than all the truth that has ever been told. The resurrection of Jesus Christ is the keystone to the great arch upon which rest all the truths of Divine Revelation. Destroy this, and the arch, with all upon it, falls a pile of ruins.
There is one special fact connected with the Lord's resurrection which we must not forget. He never appeared to any but his own. They, only, had eyes to see him. Some may wonder why he did not go out into the streets of Jerusalem and there, to gaping crowds, show his risen form with the nail prints and the spear mark still fresh in his hands and his feet, and in his side. In answer to this I have but little to say, more than that he was ever averse to casting pearls before swine or giving that which is holy unto dogs. I will add this, however, that as none but spiritual eyes can see him now, so none but spiritual eyes could see him then. This is what he meant by saying: "Yet a little while, and the world beholdeth me no more; but ye behold me: because I live, ye shall live also."
And now, my dear Brethren, what have we learned by our meditation to-day? If we have learned to know the Lord a little better, that we may draw nearer to him, we are edified, and our preaching and hearing have not been void. In all our communings with him, Brethren, let us believe and love with all our hearts. In our reasonings together let us know andfeelthat "he is nigh, even at hand." When we are in the way of duty, we love to feel that Jesus is with us, that he knows all we think, and sees all we do; but when out of the way, when walking in forbidden paths, how abashed and confused would we feel, if "Jesus himselfwere to draw near!" O brethren and sisters, let us so live, that every thought and word and act of our lives may be fit for his eye. Lord, give us grace so to live. Amen!
Yearly Meeting Opens
At the Linville's Creek Church,Monday, May 15.
Brethren Henry Kurtz, John Garber, Umstead and Price spoke in exposition of the Word and doctrine in the forenoon meeting, which opened at 8a.m.
Brother Price took the lead, and spoke from 1 Peter 1:12. I will give a faithful report of his discourse as nearly exact as it can be made from the very brief outlines left by Brother Kline. Had the thought ever entered Brother Kline's mind that his Diary might at some future day be published in a regularly prepared form, I feel sure he would have left more extended entries on points of intense interest.
Text.—"Which things the angels desire to look into."
Salvation is infinitely the most momentous subject that can engage the thoughts of men. It embraces a knowledge of God on the one hand and a knowledge of man on the other. It is a pleasing thought that as the knowledge of God is unfolded to the mind, a knowledge of man's own sinful and lost condition flows in along with it; so that the very same light which enables him to perceive the love and goodness and truth and holiness of God imparts to him at the same time a view of his own sinful state. He is led to see and feel in himself a spiritual condition which is the very opposite of that which he discovers in God his Creator, Preserver and bountiful Benefactor.
The Bible tells us that "in the beginning God made man upright," that he created him in his own image, after his own likeness, and pronounced him, with all else that he had made, "very good." But how is man now? What is his moral and spiritual condition? I appeal to the heart experience of every one in this house for an answer. Brother, there is no charge on the part of the church against you. The church has never at any time preferred a charge against you. You are loved and held in high esteem by all the brethren and sisters. The laws of your land have never brought an accusation against you. You have, in the most minute particulars, been "a law-abiding citizen." More than all this, you labor to do all the good you can, by feeding and clothing the poor; by helping to keep up the church, and by aiding in the spread of the Gospel. You also help your neighborhood, county and State by paying all your dues and by voluntary contributions of money or labor to public improvements, education and whatever else may be for the general good, as necessity may demand.
But, with all these excellencies in your character and life in full view, I ask you, as in the presence of God: Do you feel in yourheartthat you are agoodman? Would you be willing for the world and the church to know every thought and imagination and desire that enters your heart and passes through your mind in the short space of one day of your life? Do you feel that all within is fit for the eye of God? I know, orthinkI know, just what is in your mind, and your answer is in words like these: "I do not feel that I am good. It is only by constant watchfulness, by looking to Jesus in his Word, and by reading his Word with prayer, in connection with my attendance upon the ordinances of his house, that I am enabled to walk in the path I go, and lead the life I do.
"'Heleadethme:heleadeth me:By his own hand he leadeth me.'
"'Heleadethme:heleadeth me:By his own hand he leadeth me.'
"'Heleadethme:heleadeth me:
By his own hand he leadeth me.'
"His promise, 'Lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world,' sustains my hope and assures me that 'he will never leave me, nor forsake me.' Thus, God being my helper, I do all the good I can, and shun the evil. In this way 'I labor, whether at home or absent, to be well-pleasing to him; and work out my own salvation with fear and trembling;' feeling, however, at the same time, a blessed assurance that it is God who worketh in me both to will and to do the things that are pleasing in his sight."
Brethren, this is salvation. It is the sum of "the things which many prophets and wise men desired to see, and saw them not; and to hear, and heard them not." But let us look at the divine forces, brother, that have wrought in you this wonderful change from a life ofself-love, into which you were born by nature, to a life of divine love, joyful, holy, heavenly love to God and your brother, into which you have been born by the Spirit.
Peter tells us something about this in the chapter read. He here says: "Ye wereredeemed, not with corruptible things, with silver or gold, from your vain manner of life handed down from your fathers; but with the precious blood, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot, even the blood of Christ.... Ye have purified your souls in your obedience to the truth; ... having been begotten [or born] again, ... through the word of God, which liveth and abideth."
He now introduces the contrast between man's natural birth and his spiritual birth: "That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit;" and he says:
"All flesh is as grass,And all the glory thereof as the flower of grass.The grass withereth, and the flower falleth."
"All flesh is as grass,And all the glory thereof as the flower of grass.The grass withereth, and the flower falleth."
"All flesh is as grass,
And all the glory thereof as the flower of grass.
The grass withereth, and the flower falleth."
"Dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return," is the doom of flesh and blood sealed to every mortal as a consequence of sin. No wonder the grave is sad and lonely to the contemplation of those who have no hope of aught of life or love beyond it. It is sad to think how many have no higher claim to life and happiness than mere fleshly, bodily existence. But our Lord hath "brought life and immortality to light," and
"The good Spirit of the LordReveals a heaven to come;The beams of glory in his WordAllure and guide us home."
"The good Spirit of the LordReveals a heaven to come;The beams of glory in his WordAllure and guide us home."
"The good Spirit of the Lord
Reveals a heaven to come;
The beams of glory in his Word
Allure and guide us home."
"Beloved, now are we the children of God, and it is not yet made manifest what we shall be;" but we know that we have the promise of "an inheritance incorruptible, and undefiled, and that fadeth not away."
Brethren, this inheritance which Peter talks of—what do you think about it? Is it something extraneous to the man, something outside of him? Or is it something intrinsic to the man in his renewed state, something internal, something inside of him? I, for one, believe that man's eternal and blissful inheritance, which Peter and John and Paul describe in such glowing terms, is in the man himself, in his adaptation to the bliss-inspiring garniture of heaven. It is "Christ in him the hope of glory."
This exalted and blissful state of man redeemed is what Peter calls his "inheritance which is incorruptible." Think of it, Brethren. No more sin to bewail; no more sickness to suffer; no more death to dread! It is also "undefiled." No more "filthiness of the flesh;" "neither idolatry, nor adultery, nor whatsoever loveth and maketh a lie." And "that fadeth not away." The luster of the eye; the bloom of the cheek; the facial expressions of beauty and love, purity and truth, know nothing of decay in the amaranthine bowers of spotless purity.
We often wonder about heaven. But I will tell you, Brethren, what I believe about it. I do believe in my very soul that every Christian man, after the death of his body, finds himself in the very heaven he takes with him from this world; and that every man's heaven is theloveand thetruththat abound in his mind and heart. If his heart is filled withloveto God and to his brother, and his mind stored with thetruthof God as revealed in his Son Jesus Christ, that man's heaven isinhim. Do you remember, Brethren, that when Jesus was on earth he said that he was also at the same time in heaven? Now let me show you this. He says to Nicodemus: "No man hath ascended to heaven, but he that came down from heaven,even the Son of manwhich is in heaven." John 3:13.
And right here a difficulty confronts us which we must try to settle. Did not Elijah ascend to heaven? How about Moses? These two redeemed saints were both of them in heaven at the very time our Lord said this to Nicodemus. Very shortly after this conversation they made their appearance, not only to Jesus, but to Peter and James and John on the holy mount in glory. How had they gotten there? I will tell you just what I think our Lord meant. He meant to teach that stupid,materialisticNicodemus that people do not go to heaven by merely ascending, like as one would ascend or go up from a lower room in a building to a higher one. He meant to teach him that heaven must be in the man, inwrought into his character and life. This follows in perfect harmony with what he had just before told him about the new birth and a change of heart. "That which is born of the flesh is flesh," and nothing more. But Paul says: "Ye are not in the flesh, but in the spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you." Elijah had notreally ascended. The Lord just took him up as he had taken Enoch many years before. He was in heaven whilst on earth, just as Jesus was. The only change he underwent in his departure from this world was a change in the relations of his state. While here hisstatewas aheavenlystate, but surrounded by earthly things. After his departure from earth hisstatewas the same; but his surroundings were heavenly, and he could feel at home.
THE ANGELS.
No wonder, Brethren, that the angels desire to look into these things. Some very good and wise men are of the opinion that all the angels of heaven are none other than saints redeemed from the earth. How this may be I do not know; but some things that the Bible says about angels seem to favor this conclusion. The main thing in this direction is the deep interest they have always felt, and the active part they have always taken in the things of man's salvation. Paul covers this whole ground by a single sweep of his pen. "Are they not all," says he, "ministering spirits, sent forth to minister for them who shall be heirs of salvation?" Of course he means by theheirs of salvationthose still tabernacling in the flesh, and still exposed to the ups and downs of the waves of life.
I think, though, that one reason why the angels feel such a deep interest in the things of man's salvation is because they are there—in heaven, I mean—always beholding the face of our Father who is in heaven. They see and feel the glory; they know the bliss of that celestial state. So full of love are they even for poor, fallen, lost, ruined man that we are told by the Lord himself that "there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth." Their joy in this is commensurate with the exalted knowledge they have of the blessedness of true penitence. In it they see light shining in the darkness of the poor sinner's heart. Peace to the waves of his storm-beaten soul,—a new creature in the image of their and our Lord Jesus Christ coming forth into the enjoyment of a new life in him; deliverance from the bondage and power of sin, and restoration to the glorious liberty of the children of God! How much more than all this they see in the return of one soul to God. I do not know; and we never can know fully until we go up higher.
"The blessedness of those above,Why longs my panting soul to know?For future bliss I know islove,And love is felt by saints below."But love so pure, exalted highBeyond compute, beyond compare—No eagle wing that height may fly;No mortal breathe that upper air."There, love springs pure and unrepressed;There, all are loved, and love again.Love fills each burning cherub's breast;Love fires each flaming seraph train."Soon, soon shall I, this conflict o'er,From sin be freed, with love be fired;Soon, soon in heaven, my God adore,With love, celestial love inspired."
"The blessedness of those above,Why longs my panting soul to know?For future bliss I know islove,And love is felt by saints below.
"The blessedness of those above,
Why longs my panting soul to know?
For future bliss I know islove,
And love is felt by saints below.
"But love so pure, exalted highBeyond compute, beyond compare—No eagle wing that height may fly;No mortal breathe that upper air.
"But love so pure, exalted high
Beyond compute, beyond compare—
No eagle wing that height may fly;
No mortal breathe that upper air.
"There, love springs pure and unrepressed;There, all are loved, and love again.Love fills each burning cherub's breast;Love fires each flaming seraph train.
"There, love springs pure and unrepressed;
There, all are loved, and love again.
Love fills each burning cherub's breast;
Love fires each flaming seraph train.
"Soon, soon shall I, this conflict o'er,From sin be freed, with love be fired;Soon, soon in heaven, my God adore,With love, celestial love inspired."
"Soon, soon shall I, this conflict o'er,
From sin be freed, with love be fired;
Soon, soon in heaven, my God adore,
With love, celestial love inspired."
And right here this thought comes to mind: If angels are so much interested in the salvation of men, should not men be quite as deeply interested in the salvation of one another? If there are such exultant emotions of joy in the bosoms ofangelsover one sinner that repents, should there not be an equal measure of joy in the bosoms ofmenfrom the same cause?
But the text says: "The angelsdesireto look into these things." We should not infer from this that their knowledge of the way of salvation is limited, or that they meet with difficulties in the way of understanding it. Oh, no! Theirdesiresare being constantly met and supplied with the means of acquiring knowledge upon this subject, fully up to the measure of each one's capacity to take it in. We may, therefore, justly infer from the text that the subject is immensely vast in its proportions and range.
As salvation is infinite in respect to thetruthscontained in it and connected with it, so is it also eternal in respect to thescenesand experiences through which the redeemed will be forever passing.
"Could we, so rich in rapture, fear an end,That ghastly thought would drink up all our joy;And quite unparadise the realms of light."
"Could we, so rich in rapture, fear an end,That ghastly thought would drink up all our joy;And quite unparadise the realms of light."
"Could we, so rich in rapture, fear an end,
That ghastly thought would drink up all our joy;
And quite unparadise the realms of light."
And here, dear brethren and sisters, another thought comes to mind suggesting another question: Ifangelsdesire to look into the things of man's salvation, should notmenhave an equal desire to look into them? Should not those who still have the stream to cross, and to whom the ford looks somewhat dark and uncertain, be quite as much interested in it, and in all connected with it, as those who are safely landed on the other shore? Think of this, will you? Let me impress this thought: If theangels, who are out of the reach of all harm and danger, feel such a glow of interest to learn all they can about the way in which all are saved; should notmen, who are still exposed to danger, feel an equal or a still deeper interest?
But how is it with the bulk of professors? Who of you, my dear Brethren, make the Bible the man of your counsel? Who of you read and study it with that devotion of faith which makes you feel that your eternal life is in that Word? With joy would I give you the touch of heaven's galvanism to quicken your souls to a livelier sense of the transcendent importance of this matter. I feel sure that many of you do read. You love your Bible because it tells you of your sin and your Savior, of your cross and your crown. But how is it with many? They read some, no doubt; partly from a sense of duty and to quiet their consciences; but not, I fear, with a deep and inmost desire to learn the things of salvation.
Brethren, if the Bible be true, it is tremendously true. It is true with a power that lifts the contrite, penitent, faithful follower of our Lord to the gates of the Holy City, and opens them to him; and it is true with a power that sinks the faithless, impenitent, careless, sin-loving sinner to hell. To which class do I belong? With which class am I going to spend a long eternity? I am happy to see in the luster of many an eye here the evidence of your being in the class first named, and on the side of salvation. God grant that all may be in that number; and in a better world and a purer life, with angels on high, sing the song of Moses and the song of the Lamb.
Brother Price was followed by brethren John Garber, Henry Kurtz and Umstead, all bearing testimony more or less extended. The services were brought to a close, and an intermission was given. In the afternoon queries were taken in.
Tuesday, May 16. The meeting was continued to-day. Seven queries were disposed of. Love and harmony abound.
Wednesday, May 17. The meeting was brought to a close to-day. The business being all disposed of, it broke up in the afternoon by the singing of the hymn:
"Blest be the dear uniting loveThat will not let us part;Our bodies far apart may move,We still are joined in heart."
"Blest be the dear uniting loveThat will not let us part;Our bodies far apart may move,We still are joined in heart."
"Blest be the dear uniting love
That will not let us part;
Our bodies far apart may move,
We still are joined in heart."
O my God, I pray that we, as thy dear people, may ever be thus joined in heart; that we may ever be of one mind and speak the same thing; that thy Spirit may fill us and guide us into a clear understanding of thy revealed will that we may not err therein; that we may keep all pride and emulation of the flesh out of our hearts; that each one may esteem another better than himself with all lowliness and meekness; with long-suffering; forbearing one another in love; endeavoring to keep the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace; till we all come in the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God unto a perfect man; unto the measure of the stature of the fullness of Christ. Amen!
Thursday, May 18. Some of the Brethren from a distance start home to-day. Set things in order at the meetinghouse. While thus engaged our thoughts would turn to the pleasant season of brotherly communion we had just passed through. I can but wish and pray that the same spirit of love and union may pervade every meeting yet to be held in the Brotherhood, through all time, to the end of the world.
Thursday, August 10. Benjamin Bowman and Samuel Wampler were established in the ministry to-day, in a council at our meetinghouse.
Tuesday, August 29. Brother Kline and Brother Flory start to Maryland and Pennsylvania on horseback. Brother Abraham Flory, by the way, was a suitable companion for Brother Kline. He loved home, it is true, and he had a home worthy of being loved. But when he made up his mind to go he left all his home cares behind; and, like Abraham of old, he said to these servants of life: "Stay ye here while I go yonder to worship; and I will return again unto you." He consequently never fretted about home in his absence; but was habitually calm and self-possessed. Even a rainy day or high water did not interfere with the equilibrium of his mild temper.
These two brethren were well mounted. Their horses were good travelers, not only as to gait, butbottomas well. This, in commonparlance, means great power of endurance. We must not forget that this journey was undertaken more than sixty years ago. The two travelers did not know what weather they might have to contend with on a journey which was to occupy more thanfive weeks. Umbrellas were rare in that day; but even if they had been abundant they were too much "after the fashion" to have been used by these unfashionable brethren. Indeed umbrellas were not used by the Brotherhood, at least in Virginia, until many years after this.
Agreat coat, made of heavy and compact stuff, with long skirts reaching to the feet, and a large cape attached, covering completely the shoulders, and buttoning over the breast, constituted a covering defying both rain and storm. Superadded to this was a very broad-brimmed hat of solid felt. Every saddle in that day was provided with what was called acoat-pad. This was a flat leather pad fastened to the saddle just behind the seat, and furnished with straps and buckles so as to hold an overcoat, when properly rolled up and fastened, in perfect order whilst traveling. Leather saddlebags well stocked with changes of clean underwear completed the outfit.
Thus equipped, these two brethren started on their journey. Their spirit in all this reminds one of what passed between two ministering brethren of another persuasion who were traveling together, neither so well equipped nor mounted, but on foot. Trudging along in the face of foul weather to meet an engagement, Comer said to Proctor:
"I don't mind the rainIf souls I may gain."
"I don't mind the rainIf souls I may gain."
"I don't mind the rain
If souls I may gain."
To which Proctor instantly replied to Comer:
"I can face every storm of rain and foul weather,When I and my Lord are walking together."
"I can face every storm of rain and foul weather,When I and my Lord are walking together."
"I can face every storm of rain and foul weather,
When I and my Lord are walking together."
Wherever Brother Kline and his companion went they were recognized, whether personally known or not, asDunkard Preachers. No doubt thesneerwas sometimes thrust at them, and the lip curled with contempt by those whose stolid ignorance and stupid brains had locked the door against the inflow of good breeding and truth. But in the eyes of all honest, sincere-minded people their mission was one of mercy, truth and love; and they were loved and respected accordingly.
Near the close of the third day of travel, they passed
HARPER'S FERRY.
Brother Kline's experienced eye took in the whole scene at one view. He says: "The scenery here is greatly surpassed by that of many places within the Allegheny ranges. It is not nearly equal to the South Branch Gap below Petersburg in Hardy County, Virginia; nor does it at all compare, in sublime grandeur, with the Rocks at the mouth of the Seneca, in Pendleton County, Virginia. It is tame in comparison with either of these places. But so goes the world. It is with places as with people. When one gets a name by being lauded high by some distinguished personage, as Thomas Jefferson, for example, he soon has the eyes and the ears of the world; whilst others, more worthy, perhaps, in all the elements of true greatness, are left unnoticed and unknown. This thought awakens my recollection of a stanza in Gray's 'Elegy.' It touches tenderly and beautifully upon the neglect and lack of appreciation often experienced by real beauty, virtue and goodness. Here is the verse:
"'Full many a gem of purest ray serene,The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear;Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,And waste its sweetness on the desert air.'
"'Full many a gem of purest ray serene,The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear;Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,And waste its sweetness on the desert air.'
"'Full many a gem of purest ray serene,
The dark, unfathomed caves of ocean bear;
Full many a flower is born to blush unseen,
And waste its sweetness on the desert air.'
"But we must tone our criticisms down to a just standard. The lack of fame with many justly meriting it is not their own fault, nor is it the fault of the world; but the trouble lies greatly in the place of their birth and in the surroundings of their lives. If the South Branch Gap had had its birth at Harper's Ferry the summit of its fame would reach the clouds; whilst Harper's Ferry, born among the rugged recesses of the Alleghenies, would never be thought of. The world is not so partial and full of favoritism as we think. It readily takes up what suits its uses and its tastes, without stopping to inquire whether there might not be something better found."
Crossing the Potomac at the Ferry, they go to Brother Letherman's and spend the night.
Friday, September 1. Love feast at Brother Herschman's in Middle Valley. Luke 3 was read. Three persons were baptized. Next day the brethren go to Beaver Dam, and pass the night at John Garber's.
At this time letter postage was very high, as much as twenty-five cents on some letters; and the transportation of mails very slow. Regardless of this, however, by means of letters, Brother Kline knew just where to go and what to expect before starting on a journey. Appointments for preaching, councils and love feasts fell in the line of his route from beginning to end. Have a little bit of patience, please, and let me quote the entries just as I find them in the Diary for this journey. If they do not interest you, they may interest others deeply, especially the children and the grandchildren of the good people named in them.
Sunday, September 3. Love feast at Beaver Dam. Luke 14 was read. Three persons were baptized.
Monday, 4. Visit Brother Deah's and Saylor's, and stay all night at Joseph Engle's.
Tuesday, 5. Meeting at Pipe Creek. Luke 16 was read. Stay all night at Peter Royer's.
Wednesday, 6. Meeting at Rupp's. John 1 was read. Stay all night at Christian Royer's.
Thursday, 7. Stay at Brother Keeney's.
Friday, 8. Love feast at Brother Keeney's. John 18 was read.
Saturday, 9. Visit Jacob Myers's. Stay all night at David Brillhardt's.
The families visited in the order of Brother Kline and Brother Flory's route were as follows: Christian Longenacker's, John Zug's, Abraham Zug's, Daniel Zug's, Jacob Gipe's, John Gipe's, Abraham Harshey's, Shoemaker's, Brother Myers's on the other side of the Susquehanna, Andrew Deardorf's, David Pfoutz, Fogelsanger's, John Stauffer's, Brother Royer's, Brother Holsinger's, Welty's, Fahrney's, Joseph Emert's, Eschleman's, David Kinsey's, Brother Martain's, James Tabler's; Carter's, in Frederick County, Virginia, Jonas Goughnour's, in Shenandoah County, Virginia; and home Tuesday, October 3.
Brother Flory and I did not separate for one day or night on this journey. He preached a good deal, and has, I think, left a very good impression. He related a little incident about a local preacher with whom he was personally acquainted, and which he stated for a fact, that has several times amused me. It came in at a suitable place in one of his discourses. The preacher had been regularly receiving one hundred dollars a year from his Conference, for stated preachings to several poor congregations not far from his home. The preacher owned a farm and a mill, both at the same time; and with the two combined he became independent. His brethren saw this and concluded that he oughtno longer be paidthe hundred dollars a year; so the pay was withheld. But his preaching stopped as suddenly as his pay. When asked about the cause of this he pointed to hismill wheeland said: "Do you suppose that that wheel will run if you keep the water off?"
The brethren and sisters generally appeared to be alive to their spiritual interests. The meetings were usually well attended, and good attention was paid to the preaching. In some places, however, worldliness in dress and manners is becoming too apparent.
In Maryland we happened to fall in company with a man traveling our course, who represented himself as a United Brethren preacher. He was very plainly dressed himself, and as we were plain I guess he thought that to give his conversation a turn upon thefashionsof the world would not be unpleasant to us. At any rate he went on to tell how pride was gradually creeping, inch by inch, into his own denomination; and, "worst of all," said he, "it looks like it is beginning to take hold of some of our preachers." He then stated that at their last yearly Conference, the bishop had scored some of them fearfully about it. He then repeated what the bishop had said on the occasion about the
ORIGIN OF FASHIONS.
"Some of you may be curious to know from what place the American people obtain their fashions. I will tell you. They get them from New York City. And from what place does New York City get them? From London. And from what place does London get them? From Paris. And from what place does Paris get them? I answer," said the bishop, "that Paris gets them from hell through the devil and his agents."
In the journey from which I have just returned I preachedtwentytimes; attendedeightlove feasts; visited and conversed with many families on religious topics. In all this service, if I know my own heart, I have been actuated by no selfish motives. As Paul said: I desire that my service may be acceptable to the saints; but to make it so, I have used no deceit, no flattery, and have put forth no effort of any kind save that of trying, by the grace of God, to make myself a faithful minister of Jesus Christ. As one called to preach the Gospel, this is my duty at all times. Conscious of this, I aim to be "instant in season, out of season." May God bless our labors, including those of the dear brother who was with me. "Paul may plant, and Apollos water; but God only can give the increase." We must, by his grace, use all means to keep the Brotherhood pure, by defending it against the inroads of worldliness and pride in every form. May God forgive all our sins. Amen!
Sunday, October 15. Brethren Martain Myers and Samuel Lehman were with us at our meeting to-day. They spoke beautifully on John 5:24.
Resolutions Made by Elder John Kline,
Monday, January 1, 1838.
He says: I now resolve
To do all the good I can this year.
To shun all evil in thought, word, and deed as far as I can.
To learn all I can of wholesome truth.
To make the best use I can of what I learn and know. To do all this with an eye single to the glory of God and the good of mankind.
Could any one resolve better? Could an angel from heaven, if sent down to live with men on earth, resolve to a better purpose? But it is easier to resolve than to carry into effect; easier to think wisely than toactwisely; easier to plan well than to execute. But of this one thing I am sure: If Brother Kline failed in any of the above resolutions, his failure was not chargeable to hiswill, but to his weakness. Even Paul could say: "To will is present with me, but how to perform that which is good I find not. When I would do good, evil is present with me." The cause of this conflict in the course of every Christian's experience is what has been very appropriately called "indwelling sin." The serpent's head may be bruised to death, but the tail will not die until the sun goes down. It is true, the tail is not at the dangerous end of a snake; but while the tail rattles and wriggles it gives evidence that there is still some life left; and before one turns away from it in the satisfied assurance that it needs no further attention it might be well for him to look again and makesure, beyond all doubt, that thehead endhas been crushed to death.
A Funeral Sermon by Elder John Kline.
At the Burial of Mrs. Lauck,Feb. 7.
Text.—Man that is born of woman, is of few days, and full of trouble He cometh forth as a flower, and is cut down: he fleeth also as a shadow, and continueth not.—Job 14:1, 2.
The bulk of Divine Truth is addressed to our faith. We are not expected to receive it as we receive knowledge that is based upon our own experience, or upon the experience of others. God expects us to take his Word for the truth of what he says, whether we fully understand it or not. He addresses our faith, as a father does his child when he seeks to inculcate some truth or principle which the child cannot fully comprehend. But the text selected for this occasion is not of this character. It is addressed to our knowledge and every day's observation and experience. We have only to look at ourselves and at others to see and feel the truth that it tells. It is not, therefore, given to teach, so much as to remind us of what, in the busy whirl of life, we may for a time partially forget. The benefit of being reminded of our mortality comes to us in the way of leading us to seek for something better than this world can give.
The phraseology of the text is exquisitely beautiful. Notice the smoothness of its rhythm, the simplicity of its style, the harmony of its cadences: "Man that is born of woman, is of few days, and full of trouble." This is the direct opposite of what all naturally desire. All living human beings would rejoice in a life of many days, exempt from trouble. "He cometh forth like a flower."
"They bloom in beauty, side by side;They fill one home with glee."
"They bloom in beauty, side by side;They fill one home with glee."
"They bloom in beauty, side by side;
They fill one home with glee."
This is pleasant to contemplate; and if the beauty could but last, forever free from all decay, few would wish for aught of life or love beyond the things of time and sense. But, alas! "he is cut down—" and soon
"Their graves are severed far and wide,By mount, and stream, and sea;"
"Their graves are severed far and wide,By mount, and stream, and sea;"
"Their graves are severed far and wide,
By mount, and stream, and sea;"
and these graves all tell a tale of buried hopes, buried love, buried peace.
"The same fond mother bent at nightO'er each fair sleeping brow;She had each folded flower in sight:Where are those dreamers now!"
"The same fond mother bent at nightO'er each fair sleeping brow;She had each folded flower in sight:Where are those dreamers now!"
"The same fond mother bent at night
O'er each fair sleeping brow;
She had each folded flower in sight:
Where are those dreamers now!"
We can but sigh our sadness in the closing lines of this beautiful poem—
"Alas, for love! if thou wert all;And naught beyond, O earth!"
"Alas, for love! if thou wert all;And naught beyond, O earth!"
"Alas, for love! if thou wert all;
And naught beyond, O earth!"
Thus do Inspiration and Poetry alike paint the sombre realities of life and death; and point to death as the doom of life.
But I do not love to dwell upon these sad scenes, and will turn your attention at once to a birth that knows no death, to a flower that never fades, to a beauty that knows no decay. And can this be true? Can it be that there is a deathless life, a fadeless flower, a shadowless beauty? It may be that some of you are skeptical about things like these. You may have the unbelief that held the heart of Aaron Burr's daughter against all comfort, when she saw her son die. In her agony of despair she cried out: "Omnipotence itself can never restore to me what I have lost in my only boy."
Your faces may be turned the wrong way. You may be like Lot's wife,looking back. And one might just as well talk to a pillar of salt about the glory, and the beauty, and the bliss of the eternal state of the righteous after death, as to talk to men whose backs are heavenward and their faces earthward. You have no eyes in the back part of your heads. Your ears are set to hear what is said to your face, and to catch the sounds that meet you in front. You must turn yourselves round. And more than all this, you must open the eyes of your understandings that the light may shine in, and take the wads of earthly wax out of your ears that you may hear the Savior's words of "spiritandlife," and loose the strings of your hearts that thegoodandtruthof God's Word may enter. If you will do this I will show you wonderful things. I will show you a fountain from which, if you drink, you will never thirst again. Not like the fabled "Fountain of Youth," which many sought, but never found. The fountain I mean has been found by millions of the human race. It has quenched their thirst forever.
Do not, I beseech you, understand me to mean thatonedrink of its water is sufficient to do this. No! no! But I do mean that after you have come to the spring and takenonedrink it is your privilege to stay by it forever: nay, more; the spring, like the Rock in the wilderness, will follow you wherever you go; and by and by a spring will be opened up in your own heart, flowing with the same sweet water of everlasting Life, and then you can sing:
"I heard the voice of Jesus say,Behold, I freely giveThe Living Water: thirsty one,Stoop down and drink, and live."I came to Jesus, and I drankOf that life-giving stream:My thirst was quenched; my soul revived:And now I live in Him."
"I heard the voice of Jesus say,Behold, I freely giveThe Living Water: thirsty one,Stoop down and drink, and live.
"I heard the voice of Jesus say,
Behold, I freely give
The Living Water: thirsty one,
Stoop down and drink, and live.
"I came to Jesus, and I drankOf that life-giving stream:My thirst was quenched; my soul revived:And now I live in Him."
"I came to Jesus, and I drank
Of that life-giving stream:
My thirst was quenched; my soul revived:
And now I live in Him."
But I will show you bread also. It is wonderful bread. The Israelites, many centuries ago, kept a representation of this bread upon the table connected with their altar of worship; and they called it "showbread," because it showed something to come. A kind of bread also fell upon the face of the ground all around them, when they were encamped in the wilderness; and they called it "manna." They gathered this in the morning, and the supply never failed. But it did not keep them from dying. They died all the same as if they had lived on wheat bread, as we do. It is of this that Jesus says: "Your fathers did eat of the manna in the wilderness, and they died." But our Lord, in speaking of the Bread of Life, which is none other than the great love of God in Christ Jesus, says: "This is the bread which cometh down out of heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down out of heaven: if any man eat of this bread he shalllive forever."
Live forever!Does not that sound pleasant in your ears? Does it not have the note of solid comfort? If you believe it, it does. It is on this account that our Lord says so much aboutfaith. Faith makes a man thirsty for the water of eternal life, and faith makes a man hungry for the bread of eternal life. Millions in heaven to-day, each one out of his own heart, can sing:
"I heard the voice of Jesus say:I am the Bread of Life:Eat of this Bread, O hungry one,And have eternal life."I took the Bread he gave me then:My hungry soul it fed;For this, he said, I gave my life,And on the cross I bled."
"I heard the voice of Jesus say:I am the Bread of Life:Eat of this Bread, O hungry one,And have eternal life.
"I heard the voice of Jesus say:
I am the Bread of Life:
Eat of this Bread, O hungry one,
And have eternal life.
"I took the Bread he gave me then:My hungry soul it fed;For this, he said, I gave my life,And on the cross I bled."
"I took the Bread he gave me then:
My hungry soul it fed;
For this, he said, I gave my life,
And on the cross I bled."
When our Lord was on earth he spoke to the people and to his disciples mostly in parables. In fact we are told that "without a parable spake he not unto them." It is from this that so many similitudes, and metaphors, and figures of speech are found in the New Testament. Thus,waterandwine, in many places, mean divine truth; andbreadmeans divine love. And now I will venture to make a statement for the consideration of every thinking mind in this house—a statement which, if it be true, is of infinite and eternal importance—and it is this:Love and truth support and keep life in man's spirit, just as bread and water support and keep life in man's body.
Jesus said to the tempter: "Man does not live by bread alone." Do any of you suppose that Jesus meant to inform the devil that man needs other kinds of food in addition, such as meats, and fruits, and vegetables? He had no such thought. He did not mean to inform or instruct the devil by anything he said to him. But he did mean to teach his tried and tempted followers to the end of time thatloveandtruthare the very life and support of man's spirit. "My words," says he, "are spirit, and they are life." Man may love, and ardently love, what is evil. But divine truth tells him what to love. Hence our Lord's answer is about equivalent to this: "Man does not live by bread [love] alone; but by [water also, which is thetruthof] every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of God."
And now, in conclusion, I will ask you, friends, do any of you desire everlasting life? If you do, I say unto you, Come to Jesus. Accept his love. He lovedyou"and gave himself for you." Accept him by faith. He is the Bread of eternal Life. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." He invites you to come and take of the water of life freely. This water is none other than thetruthof his Word. Be filled with it. Be immersed in it. As a most impressive emblem of your willingness to be thus, submit to the ordinance of baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.
By your immersion in the name of the Father you declare to the world, and say to the church that you believe that God the Father loves you, and wills your salvation; that you accept his love in faith, and prove your faith by this act. By your immersion in the name of the Son you profess your faith in the efficacy and sufficiency of what Jesus Christ did to save you, that he is the Word made flesh, and that men should honor him, even as they honor the Father. By your immersion in the name of the Holy Ghost you profess your faith in the power and everlasting presence of the Holy Spirit in your heart, to lead you into all truth, to make you more and more holy by means of this truth, until you are filled with it, thoroughly leavened with "the leaven of truth and sincerity." The Holy Spirit is called "The Spirit of Truth," and "if the truth make you free, ye shall be free indeed;" free from falsities in your faith. What benefit can there be in believing what is not true? Whoever yet found any substantial good in believing a delusion, a falsehood, an error? But we do read of some who "believe a lie that they may be damned." This sounds rough I know; but it is their own fault, because theylovea lie; and "whosoever loveth a lie" is excluded, shut out of the Holy City, because nothing but truth and love can enter there. I again call upon every one here present to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and, believing, he shall have life in his name.
AN ENCOURAGING THOUGHT.
The following encouraging thought comes into Brother Kline's mind in connection with a review of his work on Lost river. It is dated:
Sunday, February 18. One man may sometimes strike a hard stone a good many times without breaking it; when another may take the same hammer, strike it in a slightly different place, or in a different way, and it falls to pieces. It may be that the first man's strokes accomplished more than he knew of. The force of his blows may have diminished the solidity of the stone, and thus made it easier for the second man to break. If I cannot see much fruit of my labor here now, perhaps some, who will come after me, may.
THE COVE.
Sunday, April 22. Brother Kline and Daniel Miller had meeting in a place among the mountains in Hardy County, Virginia, called the Cove. This consists of an area of country so nearly enclosed by mountains of a somewhat circular form that it has but one outlet both for its streams and its inhabitants. Viewed from the summit of some neighboring peak it has the appearance of a vast amphitheatre whose dome is the sky, whose floor is a variegation of corn and wheat fields interspersed with beautiful green meadows, and whose walls are the substantial mountain masonry of nature's own sublime art. Here these two beloved brethren broke the Bread of Life to a small gathering of people, mostly residents of the place we have described.
Acts 3 was read. After many instructive remarks by Brother Kline concerning the great Prophet spoken of in the latter part of the chapter, Brother Daniel Miller followed with a brief discourse, so clear, so pointed, so forcible, that I will give his remarks as nearly as I can in the order and manner in which he presented them.
He first endeavored to draw the attention of the unconverted part of the audience specifically to these words: "Every soul, which will not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed." "I know of no expression in the Bible," said he, "more sharply pointed than this. The word 'destroyed,' as here used, does not mean blotted out of existence. But it does meancast out as evil, unfit for the companionship of God's people in heaven. In much the same sense of the word it is said that intemperancedestroysmen. It unfits them for the duties of life, and for the society of the pure and the good.
"A ship may be said to be destroyed even though its dismantled hulk still floats upon the sea, borne by the waves and driven by the winds. A fruit tree is destroyed when a worm, secretly gnawing at its root, girdles it with a belt of deadness. It may still stand, but fruitless and lifeless. An eye is destroyed when it becomes so far injured by disease or accident as to be forever out of the reach of power to restore its sight.
"And is this the sense in which every soul will be destroyed who refuses to hear this Prophet? Most assuredly it is. O, friends, how shall I tell you the difference between a soul saved and a soul destroyed? The one is forever happy, the other forever miserable. The one is an eye that sees and enjoys all the beauties of earth and sky, the other is an eye forever blind. The one is an ear that will forever hear the melodies of heaven, the other is an ear forever deaf to all but the wailings of hell. The one is a ship completely rigged and fitted to bear herself nobly and safely over the surging surface of a stormy sea, the other, a floating hulk; mastless, sailorless, only waiting to be cast upon some desert shore to rot.
"But no one can ever have a just excuse for being thus destroyed; for it is plain that whosoever hears this Prophet shall be saved. Jesus Christ is a wonderful Savior. 'He is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto God through him.' Will not you come? 'God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world.' The text does not say thatGodwill destroy every soul that will not hearken to that Prophet. I do not believe that this is meant. Our Lord says in one place: 'Fear him, who, after he hath killed the body, is able to destroy both soul and body in hell: yea, I say unto you, Fear him.' Who is this that is thus to be feared? I tell you that it issin, impersonated in the devil.Sin,sinis what is able to destroy both soul and body in hell. Sin, disobedience to God, transgression of God's law, has placed the seal ofdeathupon every living human body in the world; and sin has stamped theseal of deathupon every unsaved soul in hell.
"O friends, I amafraidof sin. I am afraid to disobey my God and Savior. I am more afraid of sin than I would be of smallpox in an infected district. I am more afraid of sin than I would be of leprosy on the plains of Syria. That or this could only kill my body; butsinis able to destroy both my soul and body in hell.
"It is plain that to hear the voice of that Prophet, who is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ, to hear his voice with an ear to find out what he says and what he wants us to do, and then in love and faith to do it, is the only way any soul has by which to escape the threatened destruction. I wish that I could implant in the heart of every sinner here to-day such a fear of sin and its awful consequences as would lead him to flee for refuge, to lay hold of the hope set before us in the Gospel. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is this house of refuge. Sinner, come to him. No, no! You need not do that, for he comes to you, and you only need rise up and open the door and let him in."
A SINGULAR PHENOMENON.
Friday, June 1. This day, says the Diary, I witnessed a very wonderful appearance about the sun. About eleven o'clock I saw a bright circle around the sun like a rainbow, with the sun in the center. At the same time there was another circle somewhat larger than this, on the west side of the sun; and the east side of this ring rested upon the face of the sun. At the points where the rings crossed each other there was a peculiar brightness and blending of colors. The whole was a sublime and beautiful sight.
Sermon by Benjamin Bowman.
Preached in Brock's Gap, Virginia,June 17.
Text.—There remaineth, therefore, a rest to the people of God.—Heb. 4:9.
FROM NOTES IN THE DIARY.
We are informed by the Apostle of the Gentiles that the sojourn of the children of Israel in the wilderness and the subsequent dealings of Jehovah with them were examples to us who live under the gospel dispensation. These examples comprise two great facts:
I. Their obedience was always attended with blessings.II. Their disobedience was always attended with sufferings.
These two great facts comprehend theallof man's life and experience in both worlds, from the alpha to the omega. I am well aware that many in this assembly are not Bible readers. I will therefore give you a brief sketch of the children of Jacob or Israel as I find it in the books of Moses and the book of Joshua, which comprise the first six books of the Bible.
Jacob, who is also called Israel, was the grandson of Abraham. He had twelve sons, of whom Joseph was the next to the youngest. These twelve sons, with their descendants through all time, are called the children of Israel. Later on they are also called Jews. The Jews of the present day claim to be the descendants of these twelve sons of Jacob or Israel. Joseph's older brothers became envious of him and sold him to a company of merchants who carried him into Egypt. Here he was elevated by the Lord to a position of great power, to a place and power next to the king on his throne.
Soon after this a very grievous famine came upon the land of Canaan, the country in which Israel, with his other sons, still lived. They heard that there was plenty of food in Egypt, and so Jacob sent his sons there to buy grain for bread. When they arrived in Egypt, to their great surprise, they found their brother Joseph there, whom they had sold to the merchants for thirty pieces of silver. He received them kindly, supplied their immediate wants, and very soon made arrangements for them and their father Jacob to come down to Egypt and live with him. And Jacob went down into Egypt and lived with his son Joseph till he died.
These Israelites grew and multiplied in Egypt until they became a great people. But the time came when the Egyptians oppressed them, laying heavy burdens upon them; and treated them as slaves. At this time the Lord said to Moses: I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt; and I now send thee thither to bring them out of that land, and into a land that I will tell thee of. Under the leadership of Moses, the most interesting and instructive part of their history is found.
After a succession of miracles, wrought by Jehovah through Moses, Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, agreed to let them go. But they had to pass through a desert and uninhabited country, which lay between Egypt and the land of Canaan. Pharaoh knew this, and to get revenge for the way the Lord had compelled him to let them go he gathered a very large army and pursued after them. Just at the time Pharaoh thought he had them in his power, and when the whole camp of Israel trembled with fear of being suddenly destroyed by the hosts of the Egyptians, the Lord opened a passage for the children of Israel through the
RED SEA.
The Red Sea, at this place, had a very smooth bottom of sand, as has been discovered since, although it is very deep, and perhaps twenty miles across. The water stood like a wall on both sides of this passage. Some of you may think this could not be. I will here relate the substance of a conversation, which is said to have really taken place between the first English minister to Siam, and the king of that country. Siam is a very hot country in the south part of Asia. There is never any winter, or even cool weather, in that country. So the people there know nothing of ice, and even the king himself had never heard of any such thing. The English minister told him many things about England and other countries, and among other things referred to the effect of cold upon water, that it makes it hard.
"You do not say," said the king, "that water getshardin your country!" "Indeed I do," said the minister. "It sometimes gets so hard all over the surface of broad rivers and lakes that men, and even heavy beasts, may walk upon it with dry feet; and if your heavy elephants were there, eventheycould walk upon the hard water too." "I have, thus far," replied the king, "been willing to listen to you, and believe what you say; but now Iknow you lie."
So it may be with some who read or hear the story of the children of Israel. They may think it all reasonable and fair enough, until they come to the passage through the Red Sea: there faith stumbles and falls. But we must never forget that all things, not self-contradictory, are possible with God. It is just as possible and easy for him to crystallize the billows of an ocean as to freeze a drop of dew on a blade of grass. At the command of Moses they enter this avenue through the deep, walled by the waves, and roofed by the sky. Surely no eyes but theirs ever witnessed so sublime a sight.