Chapter VI: Part 6

But, my dear hearers, do not for a moment imagine that it is a small thing to make the change here implied. First, it means a change of the heart or will. Of course no one ever leaves a road that leads in one direction, to turn right around and enter upon another that leads in the very opposite direction, without a great change of mind. Second, it implies that there has been new light imparted, new truth received into the mind. This new truth teaches the understanding that it is neither wise nor _safe_ to keep the broad road, because it leads to destruction. Fear of destruction, then, on the one hand, and the love of life on the other are involved in this change.

I am just now reminded of what we are told in history that a great man, many years ago, left his home in Europe and came across the Atlantic ocean in his own ship to hunt for the fountain of youth that was confidently believed to exist somewhere in the wilds of America. This fountain, it was said, possessed the virtue of imparting youth to the aged, and life and health to the sick and dying. To the dying it was, _Drink and live_; to the aged it was, _Bathe in its waters_ and return to the _vigor_ and _beauty_ of _youth_. As this great man was far advanced in age he thought it would be WISE to make an effort to find this fountain, which never has existed but in the imaginations of silly men; and never will exist in any other way in this world. Of course he failed to find it; and, worst of all, he died in the vain effort.

But not so with any that have ever entered into the narrow way through the narrow gate. It surely leads to life, as thousands now living in this world can testify. It does appear to me that this change is quite as rational, quite as harmonious with man's common sense, as anything that he does in the daily course of his life's experiences and operations. The intelligent, rational man acts from reason in all the affairs of life. What he loves he calls good, and what he fears or hates he calls evil. This he shuns and that he covets, and puts forth every effort of mind and body to gain it.

In this fact we find the truth of our Lord's words verified: "The children of this world are wiser in their generation than the children of light." The word GENERATION in this place means _state_ or _condition_ from which proceeds a given manner of life, and daily attention to business. The men of the world are active as to their works, and watchful as to their interests. This watchfulness and activity is what our Lord calls their _wisdom_, and in its degree it exceeds that of the children of light. Our minds and wills act as freely in choosing the things of religion, and doing the duties connected therewith, as they do in the things that belong to this life only.

But we must not forget that every one who enters in by the narrow gate is but a child in experience when he first enters. He is but a lamb. But the Good Shepherd and Father go with him, leading him and feeding him. Like Enoch, he walks with God.

The text does not say that the narrow way _is_ life; but that it _leads_ unto life. To my mind it is clear that whenever the "sinner forsakes his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts," he then and there enters in by the narrow gate. This is repentance. He returns to the Lord by the narrow way: and the Lord is life.

It may well be asked why the gate and the way are narrow. The narrow gate is the TRUTH of God's Word as it is first found and loved: and the narrow way is the same TRUTH as it is followed and obeyed. Truth is always a straight or narrow track, because any departure therefrom, either to the right or left, is error and falsity.

Jesus says: "I am the door: by me if any man enter in, he shall be saved." This door is just as narrow as the gate. He also says: "I am the way." As such, he is so narrow that, as the prophet represents, it is as if a fire of destruction were on the one hand and a flood of wrath on the other. Ah, Brethren, the truth can never be made to bend. It is as the builder's line to the foundation; and as the plumb line to the column.

To such as walk in the narrow way our Lord says: "I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish." Is not this encouraging? It is to be in the Lord, and the Lord in us. It is to be a live and fruitful branch of the true Vine. It is to be a son of God, an heir of God, and a joint heir with Christ. It is, when the coil of mortality is laid aside, to shine as the sun in the kingdom of our Father in heaven.

It would afford me much joy to find some here to-day ready to enter in by the narrow gate. Do I hear some one say: "I feel that I ought to leave the broad road that ends in destruction, but I cannot"? It is true, you can of yourself do nothing. If left to yourself you would never draw another breath; you would never again move your hand or foot. But for the life-supporting power of the good Lord you would instantly be a dead man or woman in every sense. Do not forget that in God you live, and move, and have your being. This is as certainly and as literally true of every man's natural life as of his spiritual life. God is constantly present with you; for without him you can do nothing.

Now, since he is ever present with you, sustaining a life which you acknowledge is not being spent in his service and to his glory, will he not much more give you at the same time power and love and faith to do his will? O, try him. Try my Lord in one sincere, humble, honest, fervent prayer. Say, Lord, open my eyes. Take away my heart of stone, and give me a heart of flesh. "Create in me a clean heart; and renew a right spirit within me." My friend, the moment you sincerely wish to do his will by loving and obeying him he will enable you to do so, as surely as he now enables you to rise to your feet and walk home, or go wherever you will and do what you choose.

It is not a small thing the Lord means when he says: "Consider the lilies of the field, ... they toil not, neither do they spin: and yet I say unto you, That Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If God so clothe the grass of the field, ... shall he not much more clothe you?"

My friend, let me here impress your mind with the sublime truth that it is quite as much in accordance with the Lord's way, and quite as harmonious with his love, to clothe you with power to do his will as to clothe the grass of the field with beauty. He gives life and beauty to every sparrow. Are you not more in his eye than many sparrows? Even the very hairs of your head are all numbered. O friend, think of it. He even hears the young ravens when they cry. And will he let your soul perish? Will he suffer your naked soul to sink into hell when you cry to him for help? Perish the thought! For it "is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners"; not to condemn them.

WHAT IS IT TO BE SAVED? Let the Lord answer: "_He that heareth my word, and believeth him that sent me, hath everlasting life, and shall not come into condemnation; but is passed out of death unto life_." This is salvation.

THE FOREST.

This is a section of country in the southwestern part of Shenandoah County, Virginia. In early days it was very densely timbered, and its few scattered inhabitants were said to live in the forest or woods. In this way they were locally distinguished from those living in the eastern part of the county, along the North Fork of the Shenandoah river. At present it is one of the wealthiest and most highly cultivated sections of the county. The population is largely composed of German Baptist Brethren. Many of these are now distinguished for piety and usefulness. In this number we find the names of Peter Myers, Benjamin Wine, Daniel Wine, Christian Haller, Samuel Garber, Martain Garber and others, with their descendants, many of whom are church members. Brother Daniel Hays married in this section, and formerly resided there; but he now lives near Broadway, in Rockingham County, Virginia.

Among the deceased from this section, posterity will long remember the name of Jacob Wine, who was, for many years, so noted for his liberality and activity in the ministry. His uncle, Michael Wine, was, perhaps, no less distinguished for his outspoken opposition against everything he did not like, as well as for his earnest defense of what he believed to be good and true. Such men, by force of character in the direction of right, secretly carve their names upon the rock of memory, where they defy the surges of time.

Here may be seen the old Flat Rock meetinghouse, a substantial brick structure, so-called from the rock on which it stands. This is limestone, and presents a comparatively smooth and level surface, probably two hundred and fifty feet in length, by two hundred feet in breadth. The formation is wonderful, and affords a striking emblem of the Rock of Truth on which are founded the doctrines and practices of the Brethren.

May 10, 11 and 12 were spent by Brother Kline in visiting, mostly with a view to religious conversations and instructions. In these three days he visited Martain Good's, Abraham Glick's, Christian Garber's, David Wampler's, Peter Nead's, George Kline's and Daniel Glick's.

THURSDAY, May 13, there was council meeting at Christian Garber's. John Wine, John Harshberger and Joseph Miller were elected for speakers. Martain Miller and Solomon Garber were elected for deacons.

SUNDAY, June 6. Meeting at the Flat Rock. I baptized Emanuel Grabil and Christian Funkhouser. John 3 was read.

SUNDAY, June 13. Meeting at our meetinghouse. Matthew 3 was read. I baptized James Mauck and Susanna Shull.

SUNDAY, July 18. Meeting at Jesse Whetzel's on Lost River. Acts 3 was read. Brother Daniel Miller is with me. In the afternoon we had meeting again, and Brother Jacob Motz was baptized.

_Sermon by Elder John Kline._

_Preached at William Fitzwater's, August 8._

TEXT.--We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be ye reconciled to
God.--2 Cor. 5:20.

Every chapter and every verse of Gospel Truth discloses the love of God in one way or another. Our Lord came into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world; and all the words that make that salvation known to men are words of love. I am sure we think too little upon

THE LOVE OF GOD.

In my talks with sinners I very often discover in them a sort of impression that God is their enemy. I would not, on any account, intentionally misrepresent a single individual; either as to the opinions he may hold or the secret sentiments he may entertain; but I am impressed with the belief that if the hearts of many, if not all, unconverted persons could be laid open to view, they would in their inmost recesses disclose the belief or impression that God is not their friend; that he does not wish them well; that he is only bearing with them until it suits his time to cut them off and send them to hell. This sentiment springs from a consciousness of sins indulged and duties neglected. Hence, when such fall into deep affliction, when danger threatens or destruction impends, they call on God to have mercy upon them; and beg him to turn away his wrath.

A wrong interpretation of many passages in the Bible tends to foster this impression. I will here quote a few passages of this kind, and then interpret them according to what I believe to be the truth. When the children of Israel were about ready to cross the Jordan over into the land of Canaan, Moses said to them: "Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the Lord thy God TO WRATH in the wilderness.... Also in Horeb ye provoked the Lord TO WRATH, so that the Lord WAS ANGRY with you, to have destroyed you." Deut. 9:7, 8.

The Old Testament abounds with passages of similar import, and many are found in the New Testament. But let us examine carefully the _kind_ of _wrath_ and _anger_ to which the Lord may be provoked. It cannot be such wrath as men and devils feel. In Rev. 12:12 we read these words: "The devil is come down unto you, having great WRATH, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."

We can not, we dare not, think for a moment that the word _wrath_, when spoken of God, means the same as when spoken of the devil. The devil's wrath implies a feeling in him to do all the evil and mischief he can. But the wrath of God cannot mean anything like this; because, when his wrath burns the fiercest, he is still ever ready to forgive all who repent and turn from evil. Nay, he even _entreats_ and beseeches men to be reconciled to him, that his anger may be turned away. I might quote many passages in proof of this. I have time to give but one from the Old Testament. When the Lord made an end of laying before the children of Israel the blessings and the curses, he wound up all by saying: "And there shall cleave naught of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compassion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers; when thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy God."

An appeal to the light of reason must convince any unprejudiced mind that our heavenly Father is angry and wrathful toward no one, in the sense of willing evil to him, or of seeking an opportunity to do him mischief. _Men_ may, and no doubt often do, have this feeling; but it is a wicked feeling. Perish the thought of such wrath ever having a place in the heart of our heavenly Father. The Apostle Peter says: "The Lord is long-suffering toward us, NOT WILLING that ANY SHOULD PERISH, but that all should come to repentance."

But let us crown all this argument with the Lord's sunrise upon the night of Nicodemus. Here it is: "God so loved the world,"--the very worst, and wickedest, and most depraved and abandoned part of it; he made no exceptions--"that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

Do not imagine that God, our Creator, took a spell of love and good will when he sent his Son into the world. God does not take spells, either of love or wrath. He is the same yesterday, to-day and forevermore. The same God who brought destruction upon the disobedient, wayward, unthankful tribes of Israel, is the God who so loved the world. He loved it then, just as he loves it now. He loves it now, just as he did when he sent his Son to die for its sins. But let us inquire a little further into the nature of the

DIVINE WRATH.

When I am crossing deep water I always find it best to be calm, go slowly and steadily, and look well to the point where I expect to land. The wrath of God is such only in _appearance_. The _real_ wrath is in man, and upon man. Let me explain this. Our blessed Savior says: "Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect:" "for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."

There lies a man who gave himself up to intemperance. Alcohol had permeated his body, carrying its deadly poison into every nerve, and fibre, and tissue of his entire organism. He exposed himself to the sun's rays on a very hot day, and he fell dead from _sunstroke_. The WRATH of the sun destroyed his life. God made the sun to rise on the morning of that day; and God filled the sun with its heat; but it was wrathful to the man who was not prepared for it, and to no one else. Nature everywhere rejoiced in its light and heat; the corn grew; the hay was cured; and devout hearts thanked the Lord for that lovely day.

Right there, on that sand, is where a man once built his house. He was told by many that it was not a safe place to build a dwelling house, that it would certainly be in danger of being swept away by high water. He would not hear, but went on building; and finally he moved in. But great WRATH came upon him; for in one night his house, with all in it, including himself, was washed away. Wise people all over the land rejoiced to see the rain. It had been a dry time, and everybody said: "What a fine rain! It has replenished our wells and flushed up our springs. The mills can now start up again. When the ground dries off a little people can go to plowing again." But this very same rain was destruction and WRATH to the foolish man who had built his house in the way of its flood.

You may now better understand what I mean by saying that the wrath of God is not wrath as we usually understand the word to mean; but wrath only in _appearance_. The Lord did not send the flood to destroy that man's house; the flood was just as necessary as the rain, and its end quite as benevolent. The destruction of the man's house was purely the result of his own folly.

All just laws are founded upon love, because their highest end and aim is to protect the good. But the law, "which is holy, just, and good," is full of WRATH to the evil doer when it overtakes and punishes him for his crimes. But does the good law, which essentially is nothing but love, change? Is it to-day in a good humor, and to-morrow angry? Such is our heavenly Father. To the wise and good he is love, both in appearance and essence; but to the foolish and evil, the very same unchangeable love assumes the _appearance_ of anger and wrath. You are now prepared for

THE TEXT.

"Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." The life of Jesus on earth was a life of love. A part of the angelic chorus as it floated down from the skies, announcing the birth of the Son of God, was: "GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN." Good will toward men was everywhere manifested by our Lord in the life he lived and in the death he died. In his life "he went about doing good;" and no part of that good gave him deeper joy than to see sinners repent of their sins.

The burden of John's ministry, by which the way of the Lord was prepared, had for its keynote: "Repent, and bring forth fruits meet for [corresponding to] repentance." When our Lord sent out the twelve to preach, he charged them to say: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Right here I wish to impress your minds deeply with this thought that repentance and reconciliation mean one and the same thing; at least, there can be no reconciliation without repentance. Reconciliation is repentance made perfect.

What keeps men in a state of enmity toward each other? It is pride, self-will, and self-love.

Pride says: "I will not bow to _him_. He has got to come to _me_."

Self-Will says: "If he will not accede to my terms, there will be no reconciliation."

Self-Love says: "What would others think of _me_, were _I_ to humble myself to him?"

It is self-evident that just so long as this state of feeling exists with the parties, the enmity will remain. Where deep enmity exists, both parties may be in fault, as is often the case; but this is not necessarily so. There are cases where the fault and enmity are all on one side, and nothing but love and a desire for reconciliation on the other. I just now call to mind a case of this kind. An avowed infidel had been at considerable expense to have his daughter educated in the refinements of learning and art. She excelled in these, and became her father's pride.

But a day came when her heart was stirred within her. Accidentally meeting with these words of Paul, "She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth," her mind was led to think and wonder what they could mean. Her father had taught her to look upon religion as a thing of mere superstition, and to treat the Bible as a book of fables and delusions. But these words clung to her thoughts, and with them some others which fell from the lips of the minister who preached where she sometimes went to church.

Finally she opened her heart to a minister who took great care to instruct her in the way of salvation, and gave her a Bible. This she read to the illumination of her mind and heart, made an open profession of her faith, was baptized, and would have gone on her way rejoicing every day but for one thing. That one thing was her father's displeasure. His daughter's conduct in the things of religion had wounded his pride. He became wrathful, and for a time lost his self-control. In this outburst of passion he ejected her from her home, and threatened her minister with violence. In this case you readily see that the fault and enmity are all on one side, and if a reconciliation is ever effected it must be based upon the repentance of the guilty party.

I see you are interested to know how all this turned out. I will tell you very briefly. About two years after the above occurrence the lady's father met with a very serious accident, in which his leg was broken and his body otherwise injured. His recovery was slow. When he could begin to sit up a little he thought what a comfort it would be to have his daughter's company, if she still were as she once had been.

Waiving all this, he resolved to ask her to come back home. She had been with her uncle all this while. Having returned home in compliance with her father's request, she showed him all the kindness and attention in her power. One day, when the two were alone together in the room, he asked her what had induced her to treat him as she had done. Her tearful eyes and gentle words, as she told him of the love of Christ which had constrained her to do as she had done, of the joy and consolation she felt in his service, of her bright hope of bliss with angels and glorified saints in heaven so impressed him that he listened with rapt attention. He had never been so talked to before. From this time on, up to his complete recovery, conversations on the subject of religion were of daily occurrence; and I am happy to say that they resulted in deep and godly repentance on his part, which effected a reconciliation to his daughter and her minister forever.

My dear, unconverted friends, the enmity between you and your God, like the enmity of this father towards his daughter, is all on one side, and that is _your_ side. No steps are needed to reconcile God to man. No such steps ever have been needed, because God holds no enmity in his heart towards men. His words of invitation, "Come unto me, and I will give you rest," mean love, love to the guilty. "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink," means love. His bleeding heart on the cross, and his bleeding hands, and his bleeding feet and his side, all, all mean love. He ever loves you, and asks you to be reconciled to him. He is not visibly here now, but he has committed to his faithful ministers this word of reconciliation; and as a very humble one of their number I take up the refrain, and in the words of my text I say to you and to all: "Now then, I am an ambassador for Christ, as though God did beseech you by me: I pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God."

ELDER JOHN KLINE AND ISAAC LONG VISIT PENNSYLVANIA.

THURSDAY, August 12, the two brethren started on their journey. They attended council meeting at the Flat Rock. Here they took leave of the Brethren, and started on a journey that was to occupy about five weeks. Brother Kline, as was his custom when his spirit stirred him to go on a journey of this kind, had sent many appointments ahead; and many were eagerly expecting and hopefully awaiting his arrival.

The imagination can find much pleasure in accompanying these two brethren on this protracted visit to the churches. Both on horseback, they had every opportunity to view the country as they passed along; and many must have been the remarks and observations suggested by things along the way. Brother Kline's mind was peculiarly active, and his temper and social disposition genial in an eminent degree. It was never my privilege to be with him on one of these protracted excursions, but from the short ones I occasionally took with him in later years, I feel sure that each day, all else favorable, was a sort of heavenly delight.

Seeing a fine looking tree in the forest, whose leaves and branches and general appearance showed that it was solid to the core, straight grained, and deeply and firmly rooted in the soil, he would say: "That tree is a fair representation of a good church member. He stands upright. You see he does not lean to one side or the other. He holds his head high in the perpendicular line of justice and truth. The squirrels that run up and down on his trunk and over his Branches do not annoy him: these are his little charities. They feed on his fruit, to be sure; but a pleasant smile is all the account he takes of them. You tap him with a mallet, and his trunk gives out a dull but certain sound of solidity to the core. There is no wind-shake about him. His thrifty appearance proves this. The storms, in the church and out of the church, have never disturbed the solid texture of his faith and Christian integrity. He is not twisty. The fibers that compose his huge trunk are just like his principles; they all run straight up and down. You always know how to take him, and what to depend on when you have him.

"But there stands another tree of a very different character. Tap that tree, and the drum-like sound tells you at once that it is hollow. You can see, too, by the furrows in the bark not running up and down in perpendicular lines, that it is twisty. It can hardly be said to be wind-shaken, for there is not enough solid timber in it to be affected in that way. The few nuts or acorns which it bears are worthless; for there is not sufficient vitality about it to mature its fruit. It would have been to the ground long ago but for the support given it by that other tree on which it leans. I leave you to form your own opinion of the church member represented by this tree. I hope there are not many such, for if there were I fear we would not be able to find enough solid material to build a house that would stand."

Brother Kline was gifted with that fortunate cast of mind which enabled him to draw from nature themes for thought and conversation, which added much to his happiness when alone, and to his geniality in company; and not only so, but even in his preaching he drew largely from the magazines of God's creation. I have not a doubt that if all the items of interest that passed between himself and Brother Long, in the way of conversations on this journey, could be collected and presented in proper form they would make a most instructive and entertaining volume. I sometimes fear that the world's best thought escapes its hands. It may, however, so turn out that after awhile stenography will set her delicate nets and catch these wild birds which now flit by us on such active wing that we catch but a glimpse of their forms and beauty.

FRIDAY, August 13, the two brethren got to Jonas Goughnour's, below Woodstock, in Shenandoah County, Virginia. They had meeting in a schoolhouse near by. Brother Isaac Long, at this early day, gave clear indications of the ability and usefulness which have characterized his ministry to the present time. Trained to correct business habits from early youth, he carried them over into his church work; and judging by his success, to plan and to perform, to design and to execute, with him mean one and the same thing.

Between the fourteenth and twentieth of August the two brethren visited John Rowland's, Emanuel Long's, Joseph Long's, Daniel Reichert's, Daniel Long's, David Kinsey's and John Brandt's.

FRIDAY, August 20. The two brethren, in company with David Kinsey and John Brandt, go to Brother Nussbaum's. They went through London, Path Valley and Fennelsburg. They must have had a long ride this day; but who could think the road long with such company? The next day they went towards Huntingdon. Brother Kline says they crossed a tolerably high mountain this day, and dined at Brother Jacob Berket's.

I wonder how they kept him from wandering off and hunting for medicinal roots and herbs while crossing that mountain. You may be sure that no patch of Lady's Slipper, Golden-Seal or Golden-Rod escaped his eye. The absence of a hoe is all that saved them from a deal of trouble with him. They went on through Shirleysburg, and got to Brother Andrew Spanogle's about sunset.

Following Brother Kline on this and similar journeys, by means of the Diary, enthuses my soul with an undefinable longing to have been with him. The excitement, and danger, and hurry and bustle constantly incident to travel at the present day were all unfelt and unfeared by this company.

Brother Kline's habit was ever to rise early; and, especially on excursions like the present, would he often rise before the family and walk out to take the air, as he said, and see the sun rise. This he did even when the days were at their longest. To get up with him and take a walk before breakfast to some elevation not distant from his lodging place, and hear him discourse upon the rising sun, the balminess of the air, the clearness of the water, the songs of the birds, the delicate tints and wonderful mechanism of the flowers of fields and woods, was a treat of rare enjoyment.

SUNDAY, August 15. They all attended a meeting and love feast. John 15 was read. Five persons were baptized. The four brethren stayed all night at Brother Umbenhaver's. On the twenty-third they dined at Brother Seacrist's; then crossed the Juniata to Waynesboro and stayed all night at Brother Kensel's. On the twenty-fourth they attended a love feast near Brother Samuel Myers's. Hebrews 2 was read. One person baptized. On the twenty-fifth they went to Brother Dolyman's. On the twenty-sixth they went through Lewistown; then down the canal to Mifflinburg, and on to Michael Basehore's, where they had meeting. Acts 10 was read. From this place they went to David Myers's, where they had night meeting. Mark 11 was read.

From some unknown cause, here is the first sermon outlined by Brother Kline in all this journey. He may have been too busy, at times, to give the outlines; and at other times may not have felt like doing it. There is so much originality of thought in the outlines that I here reproduce his discourse as nearly as possible.

_Sermon by Elder John Kline._

_Preached at David Myers's, in Pennsylvania, August 26._

TEXT.--"By what authority doest thou these things?"

It was an exceedingly bold act on the part of our Lord to cleanse the temple at Jerusalem in the way he did it. In justification of his right to do this he appealed to what was written: "My house shall be called of all nations the house of prayer, but ye have made it a den of thieves." But reference to this authority involved other questions of grave import in the minds of the scribes and Pharisees. They wished to doubt his right to appeal to this Scripture, because they were unwilling to concede his claim to the divine sonship. To raise as strong a breast of opposition against him as possible, there "come to him in the temple the chief priests, and the scribes, and the elders, and say to him, By what authority doest thou these things?"

Most unexpectedly to them, they were confronted by another question quite as direct, from whose point and power they quailed: "The baptism of John, was it from heaven, or of men?" Whilst many of the scribes and Pharisees and elders had never condescended to show John enough respect even to be present at any time when he was baptizing in the Jordan, still they knew, and felt most keenly, the power of his teachings and work upon the common people; for "all held John to be a prophet;" "but the Pharisees and lawyers rejected the counsel of God against themselves, being not baptized of him," John.

To all human appearance, the influence of the baptism and teachings of John, upon the common people, saved our Lord's life upon this and probably other occasions, for the scribes and chief priests sought opportunity to destroy him; but they feared the _common people_. In this we discover traces of the good accomplished by John's mission, which was "to make ready a people prepared for the Lord;" and this people was the _common people_.

Our Lord, however, had a much higher thought and loftier end in the question he put to these men than that of merely saving his life by the facts involved in the question.

When a minister, either diplomatic or religious, on foreign soil, is asked for his authority, it is absolutely necessary for him to produce satisfactory credentials of his investment with the office and the honor he may claim. Our Lord's credentials must be clear and satisfactory, beyond those of any other minister, because no others ever have been or can be subjected to such a rigid scrutiny and to such scathing tests as those were which he bore. They must present a more imposing front than that of the power to work miracles. Others had wrought miracles before. Moses had made the bottom of the Red Sea dry ground; and with a single stroke of his rod had cleft a mighty rock to the gushing forth of a flood of water from it. Elijah had raised the widow's dead son, and had kept her cruse of oil and her barrel of meal replenished; so that the famine came not nigh her door. The walls of Jericho had fallen under the sound of Joshua's band of rams'-horn trumpeters; and, in fact, miracles had, in one way or another, been connected with almost all the events recorded in the Jewish Scriptures. On the evidence of these facts the scribes and Pharisees said to him in scorn: "Art thou greater than our fathers, which are dead? and Moses, and the prophets, which are dead?"

You may now perceive how necessary it was for our Lord to have some higher claim to authority, in the eyes of these unbelieving Jews, than they were willing to see in his power to work miracles. This higher testimony to his authority was given by his Father, signed and sealed by the Holy Spirit, in the presence of witnesses, as Jesus came up out of the water when he was baptized. It was on the bank of the Jordan that "the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove, and coming upon him; and lo, a voice out of the heavens, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased." To this fact all four of the evangelists bear testimony, in nearly the same words.

Peter, in an address recorded in the first chapter of the Acts, indirectly affirms that many witnessed our Lord's baptism and the attendant manifestations from heaven. To his mind it was an essential part of the qualifications of a candidate for the apostleship, that he had been a witness of our Lord's baptism, as well as of his resurrection. And why not? The proofs of his Sonship, of his Messiahship, of his union or oneness with the Father, of the Father's love for him, and of the acceptableness of the Son's work and obedience, were as clear and undeniable in the first as in the last.

After a brief consultation among themselves over the question propounded unto them by our Lord, these deceitful Jews decided that the most expedient answer they could frame would be to confess that they "could not tell." No wonder, now, that he told them that "the publicans and harlots would enter the kingdom of heaven before they would." We may here see a verification of the fact that LOVE must precede FAITH. The truth may be _forced_ upon one, and he be _compelled_ to acknowledge it; yet, unless he falls in love with that truth, he will not believe it as a thing of FAITH, and will not think and act correspondingly thereto.

"Convince a man against his will--
He's of the same opinion still."

We may here, very properly, inquire why the heavenly testimony was given at our Lord's baptism. Why were the Father's acknowledgment and approval of his beloved Son not given in the temple of Jerusalem, in the presence of his enemies, that they might be _convinced_; or in one of its populous streets on a public day, that the world, in a representative sense, might know of him? It is impossible for men or angels to know the mind of the Lord where he has not revealed it. He has withheld from us any direct information on this point; but we may draw some inferential conclusions, which may serve to satisfy the mind and rest the heart.

It is a matter of fact that the Father never put his Son on exhibition; neither did the Son ever seek any place of honor or distinction before men. "He was meek and lowly in heart." The Word made flesh, the Way and the Truth and the Life did not appear on earth to be gazed at as a thing of mere curiosity, nor examined and handled as an article of merchandise.

Men have their opinions; and especially at this day is there a decided tendency with many to make a show of their denominational strength and numerical importance; but, really, it appears to me that the Son of God shunned observation, and apparently shrank from the echo of his fame. More than once did he kindly request those with him to say nothing about some sublime manifestation of divine power and love which he had just given.

Whatever else baptism may signify, to my mind it is plain that it is the visible door to the visible kingdom of heaven on earth. Christ the Lord is King of that kingdom; and as such it behooved him to enter it by the same door through which he has commanded that all his future subjects shall enter; and that door is water baptism. "He that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep. To him the porter openeth; and the sheep hear his voice." The fold is the kingdom; the shepherd is the Lord; and the porter is John the Baptist.

How fitting that the divine recognition be given at the _door_ of the kingdom in which the Lord is to be crowned "King of kings." A few honest-hearted witnesses were all the Father wished, before whom to make known this glorious disclosure of love for his Son.

Baptism is not the putting away of the filth of the flesh. This is not its legitimate result. Its effect is the answer of a good conscience toward God. When one submits to this ordinance in the right spirit, and it is properly administered, it never fails of being followed by this happy experience. It gives the heart peace and rest in Christ. "The eunuch went on his way rejoicing." "The jailer rejoiced, believing in God with all his house." These rejoicings followed baptism in each case. The Psalmist says: "The testimony of the Lord is sure, enlightening the eyes: the statutes of the Lord are pure, rejoicing the heart. More are they to be desired than gold; yea, than much fine gold; for in the keeping of them there is great reward."

Baptism is both a testimony and a statute. It is a testimony because it bears witness to the truth by the joy it imparts; and it is a statute because it is a written command of God which it is the duty of every believer to obey; and in the keeping of it there is great reward.

FRIDAY, August 27. They had meeting at Henry Hart's. Acts 3 was read. Two brethren were advanced from the deaconship to the ministry of the Word, and two were elected to the deaconship. The twenty-eighth they spent mostly with Brother John Royer. The twenty-ninth they attended two meetings: one at Brother Joel Royer's, and the other near the same place. At Joel Royer's, Brother Isaac Long took the lead in speaking; and from the outlines of his discourse, given in the Diary, I am assured it is worthy of being expanded into a sermon, and of holding a prominent place in this work.

_Sermon by Elder Isaac Long, of Virginia._

_Preached at Joel Royer's, in Pennsylvania, August 29._

TEXT.--"A sower went out to sow his seed."

There is one feature about my text for to-day that is likely to draw at least momentary attention. That feature is its simplicity. I am glad to hope that this may give rise to a query in the mind of each hearer in substance something like this: "What can he have to say on such a simple text as that? I am going to listen and see what he will make of it." I see your eyes have turned to me now; but, beloved brethren and sisters, whilst the eyes of your bodies are turned to me from feelings of curiosity, I beg that the eyes of your understandings and hearts may be turned to the Lord, for grace, on my part to speak, and on your part to hear.

The text, in its simplicity of phraseology and external sense, looks like a nut without a kernel. It comes to the ear like the uncertain sound of a trumpet: "_A sower went out to sow his seed_." No part of the farmer's work, however, is more common in its seasons than this; and I may add with emphasis, that no part of the farmer's work in its seasons is more _important_ than this. The life of the world depends upon two great facts--_seeding_ and _harvesting_; and when the Lord established his covenant with Noah after the flood, two of the essential provisions of that covenant were couched in these words: "While the earth remaineth, seedtime and harvest shall not cease." I never read that covenant but with delight, because I love farming, and when at home farming is my business. Here is my covenant with the Lord, and my assurance that my seedings will be blessed.

There is one thing in the provisions of that covenant to which I wish to call special attention. It is all found in one compound word, and that word is

SEED-TIME.

It does not read _seeding_ and harvest. _Seeding_ means the act of sowing seed. The Lord in his covenant does not say that this shall not cease; because the act of sowing seed or _seeding_ depends upon man: he only assures man that seedtime, or the time for sowing seed, shall not cease. But notice the other part. He does not say harvest-time; but he says that _harvest_ shall not cease, because _he makes the harvest_. He speaks positively here of results, as being able and forever willing to fulfill what he covenants to do. In this covenant, man's work is implied as well as God's work. Man's part of the work is to sow the seed when the time is given. God's part is to bless the seed sown, by giving the harvest. In all of man's labor pertaining to providing for the support and comfort of his body, "we are coworkers with God."

Our heavenly Father deals with us as children. By natural things he instructs us in spiritual things. Paul says; "First that which is natural; afterward that which is spiritual." This is God's order.

REASON AND FAITH.

Some think that reason must yield to faith. Others think that faith must yield to reason. The opinions on both sides are wrong, because both imply a conflict between reason and faith, when in TRUTH no such conflict ever has existed, nor can it exist. Reason is neither more nor less than the intelligent operations of the mind in seeking to know the truth; and faith is but a willing acceptance and acknowledgment of that truth when it is known. In one way of looking at it, faith and knowledge are one; only faith is a loving acceptance, by the WILL, of what the UNDERSTANDING is assured of being true. What the understanding doubts can never be received by the will as a thing of faith.

WISDOM is the union of faith and knowledge in man, and becomes more and more his guiding light in all intelligent action. If man's wisdom be merely that of earth, it is not genuine; but if it be heavenly, it is true wisdom, and leads more and more to God, and eternal life in him. Wisdom says that there must be a sort of reciprocal correspondence between the seed and the ground on which it is sown. This fact involves several principles based upon experience. The sower must know what kind of seed he is sowing. "_It may be of wheat or some other grain._" He should know what preparation the ground requires to make the hoped-for harvest. He should know what fertilizers and stimulants are likely to do most good. He should also know the right _time_ for sowing his seed.

A mere knowledge of these principles, however, is not sufficient. There must be a practical application of them, in the way of complying with the necessary conditions, or the sowing will prove a failure. The seed that fell by the wayside was picked up by the birds. That which fell on the rock perished. That which fell among the thorns was soon overcome by their superior rankness of growth, and it made nothing. Only that which fell into good ground made a remunerative return.

MAN'S WILL IS THE FIELD.

I may say to you now that man's _will_ is the field which our Lord meant in the parable here recorded; "and the seed is the Word of God."

Notwithstanding the practical explanation given of this parable by our Lord, a degree of obscurity still broods over it in the minds of many Bible interpreters. What made the bad ground bad; and what made the good ground good, and how the bad ground is to be made good and productive, are questions that puzzle the minds of many. Some may not agree with me; but I do believe that the diversities in human nature, set forth and described by our Lord in this parable, all relate to the WILL. What makes the difference between a good man, and a bad man? Brethren, it is the WILL. A good man does good from a good will, and a bad man does bad from a bad will.

Let us take the wayside hearer. There is no defect about his _understanding_. His head is as clear in matters of business as any man's. He understands what the preacher says when he is sowing the seeds of gospel truth as readily as any one in the congregation. Why then does the devil take away the Word out of his heart? I answer, because the devil is very fond of doing that sort of work; and the man does not object. In other words, the wayside hearer has no WILL to keep the Word in his heart. If he had a _will_ to keep the Word in his heart, and live conformably to it, the gates of hell could not prevail against it. He would then be _good ground_ according to the measure of his capacity, and the life of love and obedience growing out of it.

Take the rock-hearer next. He has a very thin skin of soil over the surface of the rock that lies underneath. From the way he goes to meeting and talks about religion, you might readily conclude that all he needs to become a bright light in the church is a little encouragement. He says: "That was a splendid sermon we heard to-day. It did me good to hear that man talk. I could listen to him for a week;" and he tells the truth; for if the man stays a week, and works up something of an _excitement_, this rock-hearer will go every night and praise every sermon. I am sorry to say, however, that the devil does not try very hard to get the Word out of that man's heart, because he knows that if he leaves it alone just a little while it will _die_ out of itself. The real trouble with this man is a want of WILL to reduce to practice the _truth_ received into the _understanding_. The rock, underneath the skin of soil that hides it, is a WILL which is wholly averse to the life of self-denial and godly obedience set forth in the Word which he hears. He loves the world and himself more than God; and the delight or joy with which he hears the Word is all in the _understanding_. The words of life and salvation fade from his memory, because there is no desire in his heart or WILL to retain them, as the things that belong to his everlasting peace.