f\ Casket of
• ulpit Thought
J3y Rev. jy^f. H. Coleman
EMORY UNIVERSITY
A CASKET DF fULPIT THOUGHT,
BEING A
Pnl
_j D.
aiiecnon di
BY MINISTERS OF THE
Ohio, North Ohio and other Conferences of the African
Methodist Episcopal Church.
EDITED BY REV. WM. H. COLEMAN,
Presiding Elder of the Fifth District North Ohio Conference. Author
of " How to Beach and Save the Children of the Church," and
" The Necessity of Intellectually and Religiously Train¬
ed Teachers in Our Sunday Schools."
With a Sketch of the Life of the Author by
Rev. P. Tolliver, D. D.
NEWARK, O.:
Press of Advocate Printing Company.
1889.
to
THE PREACHERS AID SOCIETY
of the
North Ohio Annual Conference
of the
African Methodist Episcopal Church,
this volume
Is Most Respectfully and Faithfully Dedicated
by the
Author.
"Ethiopia shall soon stretch out her hands unto God."
" The Lord hath done great things for us, whereof we
are glad."
TABLE OF CONTENTS.
Page.
Preface - - viii
Sketch of the Author's Life - x
By Rev. P. Tolliver, D.D.
The Power of Godliness, Operated Through
a Human Instrumentalities. Matt, v : 16. 1
Rev. John W. Ga.zza.way.
Mission Work of the African Methodst Epis¬
copal Church. Isaiah xxxii: 15 - - 9
Rev. Nathaniel M. Mitchell.
Harmony of Agencies Employed in The Salva¬
tion of the World. Isaiah xl: 5ii - 21
Rev. William T. Maxwell.
Gospel Ministry and its Work. Acts vi: 4. 31
Rev. William H. Coleman, P.E.
The Pastor. Jer. iii: 15 - 4:5
Rev. Thomas H. Jackson, D.D., Professor of
Theology in Wilberforce University.
Sympathy of Christ for His Disciples, and the
Effects and Needs of the Holy Spirit.
John xiv: 1(» - - - - - 5<i
Rev: John Dickerson, P.E.
vi
The Glory of the Latter House. Haggai ii: 9. 6H
Rev. Bishop Jabez P. Campbell, D.D., LLD.
The Earth Filled With the Glory of the
Lord. Numbers xiv : 21 - - - 88
Rev. Daniel W. Butler, P.E.
Christ is Made Unto Us Redemption.
I Cor. i: 3o - - - - - - 03
Rev. Joseph M. Ross.
The Privileges and Prospects of the Believer.
Heb. xii: 28 - - - - - - 103
A Sketch by Rev. Philip Tolliver, DD.
Holiness, Entire Sanctification.
I Thess. v: 23 - - - - 109
Rev. David F. Caliman.
Where is Thy Brother? Gen.br-. 9 - 121
Rev. Samuel T. Mitchell, A.M. President of
Wilberforce University.
The Gift of Christ. II Cor. ix : 15 - 137
Rev. John W. Lewis.
The Ground and The Man. Ex. iii: 4, 5. 143
Rev. Benjamin F. Lee, D.D. Editor of the
Christian Recorder.
The Christian's Voyage. Acts xxvii: 29. isr
Rev. William J. Johnson, B.D.
The Promises of God. Heb.x: 23 - - 173
Rev. George W. Maxwell.
Work Out Your Own Destiny. II Cor. xiii: 5. 180
Rev. George T. W. Haigler, B.D., B. Ph.
vii
Denying Christ and What it Includes.
Matt. x : 33 - - - - - - 185
Rev. Jacob D. Singleton.
The Gospel of Christ. Rom. i: 16 - - 191
Rev. Bishop Benjamin T. Tanner, D.D.
The Fall of Man and its Effect. Gen. iii: 6. 194
Rev. Alexander Smith, B.D.
Knowledge Diffused. Proverbs xv : 7 - 202
Rev. R. A. Johnson.
Sketch of The Life and Labors of the Late
Bishop William Fishew Dickerson, D.D. 214
Mrs. Jennie B. Holland.
The Spread and Growth of the Gospel of
Jesus Christ Before the End of Time.
Matt, xxiv: 14 - - - - - 220
Rev. R. H. Morris.
Ministerial Authority and Gospel Evangel¬
ization. John xx : 21 and Mark xvi : 15. 228
Rev. J. M. Griffin.
The Duty of the Church to their Pastors,
with an Appeal to the Unconverted.
1 Thess. v: 13 - - - - - 240
Rev. W. H. Coleman, P.E.
Original Poem—Landing of the Afric Fathers. 248
Edward E. Underwood.
PREFACE.
" Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth ? "
was once scornfully asked, reflecting upon the birthplace
and ancestry of Him who came to ransom fallen man.—
" Come and see," was the prompt and fitting reply. The
question may suggest itself to those who may glance at
this volume: " Is there anything in it ?" In reply, we
ask a careful, considerate perusal of its pages. Read and
digest the sermons contained within,—being the produc¬
tions of some of the most eminent, pious and scholarly
divines of the land,—and see if the benefits derived will
not fully justify the task. The design of the author is to
present to the public, through the press, a compilation of
some of the sermons which have emanated from negro
hearts and brains, to show that the possibilities of this
race in the pulpit, as in other fields, are equal to those of
any other, and also to inspire those who may read with a
deeper practical human piety, and a truer conception of
the "Common Fatherhood of God and the Universal
Brotherhood of Man." It is also hoped that in whatever
home this book may enter, some one may gather from
its pages some food for prayerful thought and reflection,
which may awaken a desire to know more of the duties
which men owe to Him,—to labor in the '.'vineyard of
viii
ix
the Master," and to go forward with a fresh hope and a
new inspiration. The reader may think on these things,
an<3 consider attentively the truths which are herein con¬
tained. That this little effort may prove a fruitful seed
which, in the time to come, may bring forth an abundant
harvest to the glory of the Lord and the blessing of the
Church, is the earnest prayer of the author.
William H. Coleman.
Newark, O., February i, 1889.
REV. W. H. COLEMAN.
The subject of this sketch was born in Natchez, Miss¬
issippi, in 1841. He is the son of Peter L. Coleman and
Georgiana Coleman. The father was once a slave, the
mother was always free. Peter L. Coleman, the father,
was a local preacher of brilliant and unusual talents, who
shone like a planet among lesser stars in the galaxy of
the notliern churches. His mother being free, the chil¬
dren following her condition were also free. The family
moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, in the year 1850. William
went to school in that city and in a short time the family
moved to New Richmond, Ohio, where the father en^
gaged in the grocery business, from which he took to
steamboating, as steward, plying the river from differ¬
ent ports until his services were secured by the Cincin¬
nati a*nd New Richmond Packet Company. He became
noted in this function and his word was as good as that
of any man, of whatever color, for all that he said. Many
still living know that this statement is true respecting
him. He never forgot his people in the midst of his
thrift; but at once went to work and founded the first
A. M. E. Church in New Richmond, Ohio. William
never went to school much. Being the oldest son of a
large family, he had to aid in bringing up the younger
ones and of course a goodly part of his time was spent
on the boat with his father.
William was converted in 1862, under the administra¬
tion of the Rev. Daniel Cooper, one of the purest and
x
XI
most energetic pastors of the A. M. E. connection, whose
earnestness was thought to be his fault. He is now, no
doubt, among the shining ones above. William, though
young, soon became a leader in the church and Sunday
school. He was joined in marriage to Fannie J. Hart-
sell, the estimable daughter of George and Anna Hartsell,
of Ripley, Ohio, in 1867, and took up his residence there,
working at the barber trade. He here united with the
Wesleyan connection and continued there until the
African Methodist Episcopal branch was organized,
by the Rev. P. Tolliver, who is well known abroad.
William, whose young heart was full of zeal, went about
establishing mission work in its branches. Upon receiv¬
ing lisense, at the hands of the quarterly conference and
Elder Tolliver, he manifested still greater energy, begin¬
ning work in many new places. Among other places in
Brown county will be remembered Ripley, Red Oak,
Straight Creek, Georgetown, etc. He joined the Ohio
Conference in 1872 and his first appointment was at Rip¬
ley, which was his home. For two years he served the
people very acceptably. From there he was seht to Ber¬
lin Mission, where he remained twelve months. From
there he was sent to Felicity Mission,.in which place he
spent about four years, doing a grand work and making
desert places bloom like roses. He paid a debt of $800
on the church. The Conference then sent him to Dayton,
where again great success attended this young preacher.
There a debt of 1700 met him. Nothing intimidated he
swept it out and established both the church and the
community, putting them in the front. He found a
membership of 27 and left a membership of 114, thus
laying the foundation of a greater success. From here
the Conference sent him to Lima, Ohio. There he re¬
modeled the chapel and built up a spiritual interest never
xii
before enjoyed. The parsonage there to-day is a memo¬
rial of his success. He staid there three years, till when
the North Ohio Conference held its first session, it sent
him fo Steubenville. Here, confronting our little mete¬
oric pastor, was a debt of $1,600, under which the con¬
gregation had struggled for years. Brother Coleman
aided in raising $1,400, besides adding to the spiritual
interest. He staid there three years. In 1885 he was
appointed to Newark, Ohio, as Presiding Elder of the
Fifth District, his present work. He is the universally
acknowledged founder of the Ohio Sunday School In¬
stitute, so well known and prosperous. He is called
the best Sunday school worker in the State and one
of the greatest patrons of the multiplied and various
benevolent institutions in the State of Ohio. He occu¬
pies many important functions therein, is one of the
successful pastors and but few failures, if any, will appear
in his pastoral record. Elder Coleman is also the author
of several valuable works of a literary and religious
nature.
This sketch only contains the outlines of the most
wonderful career of this pastor. No one could have
reasonably expected so much at the hands of one yet so
young and in so brief a time. In short, what under a
higher oversight is simply a revolution in the moral, so¬
cial and religious world. He was born for the work and
prepared to it. May God bless and lengthen his days to
accomplish much more.
Rev; P. Tolliver, D. D.
Gallipolis, Ohio.
The Power of Godliness Operated Through
Human Instrumentality,
By Rev. John Gazzaway, of Springfield.
" Let your light so shine before men that they may see
your good works and glorify your Father in Heaven."—
Matthew V: 16.
That the words of Jesus were full of attraction and
power to enlighten and comfort was demonstrated by the
great multitude that followed Him where'ere he went
among men. Christ not only instituted the great work
which He was to be the chief agency for the establish¬
ment of His kingdom upon earth, but he became Him¬
self an instructor of preachers. To follow the order and
observe the nature of the process by which Christ trained
His disciples for the work of the ministry cannot fail to
be profitable to all who would seek instruction from the
highest source. He was recognized as the source of wis¬
dom, power and joy by the weak, the ignorant and the
sorrow-stricken. Such, possibly, were those who compo¬
sed the multitude that pressed upon Him while upon the
Mount. They desired to be benefitted by the instruction
so simple and yet sublime, that he was well prepared to
give. Jesus, knowing their desire and their need of in¬
struction, proceeded to teach them the requirements of
2
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
the kingdom He had come to establish. In presenting
the line of duty this Great Teacher used such terms and
illustrations as were striking illustrative or emblematic of
the obligations upon them, and the necessity of the faith¬
ful performance of the requirements enjoined. Said duty,
and the necessity of its accomplishment, is set forth by
the figure of salt: " Ye are the salt of the earth, but if the
salt has lost its savor wherewith shall it be salted? It is
thenceforth good for nothing but to be cast out and trod¬
den under foot of men." You can draw the inference,
and is it not forcible? Again, "Ye are the light of the
world," and making the figure more strong, he adds, "A
city set on a hill cannot be hid." Are we not justified in
saying that the most illiterate in that vast assemblage
could see the force of that statement? How clearly is
the reasoning set forth : "Neither does a man light a can¬
dle and put it under a bushel, but on a candle-stick, and
it gives light unto all that are in the house." Having
thus,—through this regular gradation of instruction,—
brought their minds up to the desired point of enlighten¬
ment, He said: " Let your light so shine before men that
they may see your good works and glorify your Father in
heaven." The power of the influence of Godliness, oper¬
ated through human instrumentality is very strikingly
indicated in the words of the text. That there is to be
individual activity in this matter is an apparent fact;—
" Let your light so shine," &c. The sun is said to be the
centre of the solar system, from which, radiate the lines
of light and heat. Christ, being the centre of the spirit¬
ual system, becomes the centre from which we are to de-
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
3
rive our spiritual light. Every one receiving this light
has the power to reflect it in a greater or less degree.
Science teaches that " the surfaces which reflect most
light are the most brilliant," and the nearer we approach
this center of spiritual light the more brilliant we become.
Moses ascended to one of the peaks of Horeb, called
Sinai. God was there, robed in the terribleness of His
greatness. His presence was heralded by a terrible exhi¬
bition of the elements. The mountain shook and from
its lofty apex exuded volumes of flame and smoke. The
surrounding atmosphere was rent by vivid corruscations
of lightning. Amid these wonderful exhibitions did God
talk to Moses, and when Moses descended to the camp
of Israel they beheld his changed appearance and were
amazed. Brother ministers, and christian friends, let us
draw near by faith and prayer to this center, that we may
be successful under God in causing men to glorify God.
The rays of light radiating from any luminous body di¬
verge from one another and spread over more space as
they recede from their source. The surfaces covered or
illuminated by rays of light diverging from a luminous
center increase as the squares of the distance: (e. g^) A
candle placed behind a window will illuminate a certain
space on the wall of a house opposite. If the wall is
twice as far from the candle as from the window the
space will be four times as large. If the wall be removed
three times the distance the surface covered will be nine
times as large, etc. Though we stand at this time over
1,800 years from the time that the Savior died, and over
5,000 years from the time that the first ray of spiritual
4 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
light broke forth in the promise that the " Seed of
the woman shall bruise the serpent's head," yet the
cheering rays of spiritual light have not grown less, but
they are spreading farther and wider than ever before.
As we recede from the cross we behold advancing along
the ages this glorious light, as it is reflected through the
christian institutions designed to save the bodies and
souls of men. Brother ministers, christian brethern and
sisters, we are a part of the agencies in this grand work.
The individual who approaches nearest to Christ in the
observance of his comands is filled with heavenly light,
and thus filled becomes a reflector of the same. He be¬
comes a luminous body, or a body of spiritual light.
How luminous a body was Enoch, living amid the dark¬
ness and corruption of the age of types and shadows.
The lines of spiritual light, born of 300 years of con¬
stant, closest communication with God, reaches us to-day
through the thousands of intervening years, and we are
cheered to trust God and seek to find the closest possible
relation to Him. So nearly did the earthly and heavenly
approach that God transited Enoch. Elijah was filled
with spiritual light; it shone out and like a darting me¬
teor he disappeared in a chariot of fire. Noah, amid the
moral darkness of the antideluvian age, stood as a blaz¬
ing torch and hurled the thunder bolts of God's truth,
and for one hundred and twenty years the light within
him shone out. Noble examples are found in Abraham,
Isaac and Jacob, as well in the apostles and martyrs.
From them all we see the brilliant rays of spiritual light
radiating. Noble exhibitions are they of the power
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 5
of Godliness operated through human instrumentality.
A luminous body is obsered. A thousand persons can
see it at the same time, because it throws off from its
surface an infinite number of rays in all directions. So
the true minister or layman makes his influence felt in
every church circle or community. The lines of light
are observed in his strong faith in God and His promises,
which constantly yield him supplies of strength for the
conflict of each successive day, and as a result no storms
or trials impede his progress. In Job and Daniel we
have the practical exhibition of this truth. The hope of
the christian is another avenue through which shines this
light, whose hope is the desire and expectation of all
necessary good, both in time and eternity. His hope,
like his faith, takes hold on God, and is a compound of
desire, expectation, patience and joy. It is based upon
the promises and perfections of God and the righteous¬
ness and intercession of Christ. Being the production
of the Holy Spirit it is pure and creates a disposition of
activity in everything and anything calculated to advance
the interest of the Master's kingdom. It discloses a
large field of work and the lines of light go out in the
direction of feeding the hungry, clothing the naked, vis¬
iting the sick, cheering the downcast, caring for the
orphan, sympathizing with the widow, rescuing the poor
sinner from death and hell, supporting the church and all
of her institutions, study of the bible, the interest of the
Sunday school, the support of missions. In a word, the
performance of all christian duties is entered upon; thus
shines -the light within. There is a purpose to be gained
6 A Gasket of Pulpit Thought.
by this course, namely, that men may see your good works.
This is an individual matter. Every man has a peculiar
power. God does through some persons what he does
not through others. Saul could not with his army de¬
stroy Goliah, and Saul's armour would not suit David.
David's peculiar endowments and peculiar manner of at¬
tack made him under God a success in the battle. " Let
your light shine." Make use of your peculiar endow¬
ments, to the glory of God, that men may see your good
works and glorify your Father in heaven. There is just
here an extreme against which we must guard, i. e., the
performance of good works for no other purpose than to
be seen of men. The praise of men should not be the
motive power prompting to action. Men praise wicked
deeds. The praise which many times is born of human
lips is often the result of a blurred conception of the
true, the beautiful, and the good. Men often praise and
' blame in the same breath, but the love and the desire of
the praise of God must be coupled with the disposition
of humble obedience to His commands. This must form
the basis of our action, when this obtains, men, behold¬
ing the constant practice of good works from such a ba¬
sis, will be impressed with the light thus reflected. The
only way the world can be effected and won to Christ is
through the instrumentality of the word and spirit of
God, and the constant reflection of the divine power as
seen through the christian. Hence the command " Let
your light so shine before men that they may see your
good works," etc. There is a substance which absorbs
light but because of its dullness does not reflect any. A
A Casket of Pulpit Thought, 7
dark substance does not reflect, it absorbs light. Light
may so shine that it may not be seen. It may be con¬
fined in or obstructed by an opaque body. Place an
opaque body near to the light and a large shadow will
appear upon the wall. The light shines but its lines are
obstructed by the solid substance before it, and through
which it cannot penetrate. The light under a bushel is
obstructed. The bushel is obaque. The lines of light
cannot penetrate it. Many professors of Christianity, by
their actions, cast a shade before them. The brightness
of the light in them is obstructed by the commission of
evil and a dark front is seen, a shadow is thrown before
them. Sinners cannot see Christ in these. The rays of
the sun, scattered as they are upon the earth, severs the
noble purpose of warming and invigorating the earth
Those rays can be so focalized as they will burn any
combustible matter. The spiritual light in us can be so
focalized by the aid of the glass of the Holy Spirit and
prayer, and brought thus to bear on sinners, that the love
of sin and the devil can be burned out of them. Breth¬
ren, when we shall have each deceived our appointments
from the Bishop, let us go to our fields of labor, asking
God for power to make it hot for sinners. We want heat
in the ministry, and in our churches, then will the ice¬
bergs of sin be melted, and a glorious harvest will be
ours as a church. " Heat is communicated in three
ways : first, by convection; second, by conduction; third,
by radiation. Heat is communicated by radiation when
it leaps, as it were, from a hot to a cold body, through
an interval of space, as when a body is warmed by plac-
8 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
ing it before a fire removed a little distance from it."
God help us to be radiators of heat as well as light.
The spirit of faith and prayer is the fuel; it makes heat
and light. Thus filled, sinners shall feel it. Our churches
will feel it, and the harvest of souls shall be great. The
closing thought is, the result of the shining of this light
is the glorification of God. "That men may see your
good works and glorify your Father in heaven."
All of God's creation is designed to glorify Him, and
in some measure all do, mankind excepted. And he, the
most intelligent of all and capacitated to render greatest
praise, praises and honors God the least. In order to
change this disordered state of thing, a system has been
arranged, agencies have been adopted, and principles
have been laid down, by which the effects of sin can be
obliterated and man's spiritual welfare be secured.
Among the agencies to this end is the power of Godli¬
ness operated through human instrumentality. " Let
your light so shine before men that they may see your
good works, and glorify your Father in heaven."
Application.—First, every, man has a light peculiar to
himself—r-your light.
Second, there is a right way of shedding light—let it
so shine.
Third, men are to see the works and not the worker—
see your good works.
Fourth, men are affected by what they see—seeing your
good works, may glorify your Father in heaven.
Amen.
pssirni Work Df the Airican Methodist Epis¬
copal Church,
By Rev. Nathaniel M. Mitchell.
We will read as an introductory the following passages
of scripture: Isaiah, 32, 15; Psalms, 104, 50; Joel, 2,
28-32. We have come together in the name of Jesus,
and I trust, with the spirit of Him who was the first mis¬
sionary in this dark and benighted world. With a spirit
of love for mission work. A spirit imbued with zeal for
the missionary work is broadcast the world over. As
regards the final, universal, triumph of the gospel, no be¬
liever in the bible can entertain a doubt of the glorious
things which are spoken of Zion, the City of God, and
we are assured that the kingdoms of this world shall one
day become the kingdom of our Lord and His Christ.
That light which now shines on our path is yet to
lighten the Gentiles of this earth; therefore, we invite
your attention to the consideration of the great, import¬
ant work committed to the christian church of the pres¬
ent day, of which the A. M. E. Church is a branch, and
has a work peculiar to itself, and must be executed by
both church and missionary.
We find the missionary subject no new subject to the
church of Christ. Its origin and birth is as old as the
(9)
10 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
Church. Its author is God manifested to the world in
and through Christ.
The misssonary field and work that is open to the A.
M. E. Church has beea thought of and talked of from
year to year since the earliest days of the church, at
home and abroad. We have been able, under God's
help, to do much in our home mission field of labor; but
we have done but little, if anything, abroad in foreign
missions. The question may be asked, why has there
been so little interest taken in foreign missions by the A.
M. E. Church ? The only apology I have, if it be an
apology at all, is the colored people of this country, as
people of America, invested with the rights of citizen¬
ship, which was obtained in the emancipation proclama¬
tion and constitutional amendments of the United States
of America, were sent forth as a people broadcast to the
world, poor, clothed in poverty, and homeless, with
family cares and domestic affairs pressing in every direc¬
tion. This poverty, with cares of so much importance,
naturally was and has been a hindrance to our church
and race for almost a quarter of a century.
I appeal to the church of God, will this apology ex¬
cuse the church of to-day, in this ninteeth century, in an
age of progression, in the midst of seven millions of" the
sons of Africa, clothed with every advantage of rights
and citizenship of the white man ? With a, church with
a membership of 414,008 members, with an itinerant
ministry of 1,418. The eyes of the world are upon us.
The question is being asked" What is the A. M. E.
Church doing?"
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 11
Civilization is advancing, science and literature are ad¬
vancing in the missionary field of labor and work among
all the civilized nations of this earth, at home and abroad.
The A. M. E. Church must write her name in the history
of literature. The farmer with his riding sulky plow turns
up his ground, plants his grain with ease, joy and delight,
with less labor and time than ever before. The miner in
twenty-four hours throws into the market iron and coal
from their rudest state. The mariner with better skill in
the knowledge of the sea, with confidence plows the
great deep with skill in this age of the world never
equalled before. ^
We talk with nations and familes by the telegraph wire
and telephone of the business doin,gs of to-day; with the
locomotive and steam engines and railroad accommoda¬
tions for traveling surpass any other age of the world, all
of which throws volumes of light on the scriptures, by
which we are able to understand the gospel of Christ and
enables us with much conveniences to carry it to the
heathen world of idolatry, paganism and superstition, as
never before. We have everything to encourage us.
Brethren, the A. M. E. Church must advance. Lend a
helping hand. Stop talking and get to work. There is
demand for our church. The church cannot afford to
lose this opportunity. The gospel of the Lord Jesus
must be carried to the heathen of Africa. The gospel of
Christ is not the breath of man. It is the power of God
to every man who believes. The gospel is not a feeble
weapon; it is a message of life to those who are dying.
It is a light to all nations and kingdoms and people of
12 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
this earth who are in darkness. Every church must have
a missionary spirit, which is the spirit of Christ, the
great head of the church.
No church or missionary can please God unless it has
a missionary spirit. The heart, mind and soul of the
laity and ministry should be alive in the mission field,
imbued with the spirit of Christ. No church will sup¬
port the missionary unless it loves the mission field, its
work, toil and poverty. We find that the church cannot
love the work given it unless it possesses God's spirit.
What is true of the Church is true of the ministry.
If we would put aside our own spirit of selfishness and
teach our people and congregations to give to the sup¬
port of missions and teach them to be generous and free
to give the easier the pastor would be supported. If the
pastor be careless and unconcerned about missionary
work and its support the church will be also We, as
ministers of Christ and leaders of the church and people,
should use all possible means to make the church familiar
with its missionary work. The pastor should, at the .be¬
ginning of the year take his calendar and pencil and
count the number of collections to be taken during the
year and preach I special sermon prepared with care, set¬
ting forth the claims of the mission cause upon the hearts,
minds and means of the people, by manifesting an inter¬
est in the object which will enthuse them. By so doing
he will find the collections really taking care of them¬
selves, not burdensome, but a means of grace. Careful,
systematic preparation; steady, persistent effort through¬
out the year will bring sure success to the mission work.
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 13
The missionary importance must be urged upon the
minds of our congregations from the pulpit, and talked
of to them at home in our ministerial visits.
The church and ministry must be on fire with the
Spirit of God, as were the hundred and twenty who went
forth trusting in Jesus Christ, conquering the world. He
is the s^me Jesus to-day as he was in the Apostolic
church.
What we want now is more interest in the mission
work. Then we will seek to understand the importance
of the object of the A. M. E. Church missionary work.
Intelligence on the mission subject is sure to beget in the
ministry an interest as well as the laity^, If a congrega¬
tion be ignorant of this God-given work, I ask how can
we succeed ?
Our undertaking is a vast one, and we are not left in
uncertainty as to the way it is to be accomplished. That
gospel which God has given us to spread as well as to
enjoy, was made for man, and though there is in it no in¬
dependent efficacy, it does possess a revelation of God's
moral nature. No matter where you meet him or what
ever be the depth of human depravity, here is a remedy
for his ruin. Here is an ordained channel through which
the spirit of God operates, to change the heart, and make
the poor pagan a new creature. It turns the desert into
a goodly land, and fills a world of crime and sorrow with
righteousness and peace and joy in the Holy Ghost.
Sending the knowledge of Christ abroad through the
nations is the appointed method of saving men.
We know of no other means having thus the seal of
14
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
heaven upon them, for subverting the kingdom of satan,
rooting idolatry out of the earth and restoring our race
to the fellowship of their Creator and Maker.
The commission under which we are to act runs thus :
" To turn men from darkness to light, and from the power
of satan unto God, that they may receive forgiveness of
sin and an inheritance among those that are sanctified."
To bring about this result we are confined to a single
instrumentality—the pure, unadulterated gospel. That
gospel which we ourselves have received and wherein we
stand. This we are pledged as far as in us lies to send
abroad to all them that dwell on the face of the earth.
Assured that nothing is wanted to cause the truth to tri¬
umph everywhere but the accompanying power of the
Holy Ghost of God.
Our great business is to teach men that they have
ruined themselves by sin. We are to lead them to dis¬
claim all righteousness of their own and bring them to an
implicit trust in the blood of the Cross.
We must give the heathen that very gospel which was
preached on the day of pentacost. The gospel we are to
send is simplicity and Godly sincerity to them that sit in
darkness and in the shadow of death. It must be our
determination at every stage of progress not to know
anything among men save Jesus Christ and Him cruci¬
fied, and so long as we pursue the work in this way, we
may be cheered with conviction that an instrumentality
on which God has a thousand times made his impress
will not be employed in vain. This can save a soul from
death, and it can save a world from death.
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 15
If we ever forget that there is a principle of vitality in
the genuine gospel plan, of salvation, the story of the
crucifixion, when thus applied, we shall find the very
sinews of the missionary all out at once.
It is more faith in God's instrumentality that we need.
We look at the gospel and what is it? • If left to itself,
but the declaration of a fact, the revelation of a doctrine;
how can it change the heart of a heathen, and create new
sensations, and lead to a new solicitude, and awaken a
new joy, there to tell him that in Christ we have redemp¬
tion even to the forgiveness of sin, according to the
riches of His grace.
The cause seems unequal to the effect, but when there
goes along with the statement of such facts, an unseen
agency more powerful than that which makes the moun¬
tain tremble, all difficulty is removed.
It is easy to see that one of the main purposes of the
church on earth is her own self-extension. We are not
to stand still on ground already gained and deem the
work done, nor rejoice in conquests already made. We
should take up the watch-word of the apostles; their
watch-word was "Onward" With them the field was the
world; their plan was an outgoing, an aggressive one.
This should be and must be the plan of the African
Methodist Episcopal Church. Forward to Africa. Af¬
rica must be saved. She is now belted with the mission¬
ary work in the west, south and east, and has been vigor¬
ously attacked in the west from Senegal to Gaboon; yes,
lately, even to the Congo, by Great Britain, Brazil,
Bremen and America, which have stations all along the
16 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
i
coast. South Africa, at the southern extremity, has been
partially evangelized by the Dutch, English, Scotch,
French and Scandinavian societies.
Upon both sides, as in the center, protestant missions,
although at times checked by wars, are continually press¬
ing forward to the north; to the left, beyond the Walfisch
Bay; to the center, to the Bechuana and Basuto lands.
In the east, the sun of the gospel, after a long storm, has
burst forth over the Madagascar in such brightness that
it can never again disappear. Along the coasts, from
Zanzibar and the Nile even to Abbyssinia, out stations
have been established and powerful assaults made ^>y the
Scotch and English, and, recently by the Americans.
By these noble societies civilization and the cross of
Christ Jesus has been set up in the very heart of the dark
continent of Africa.
The most pressing demand for the missionary work in
Africa is a bold advance, well sustained, into the interior.
Every consideration urges to it at this time it is being
penetrated for commercial, scientific and religious pur¬
poses in all directions. While such movements are in
progress to win the continent, it is impossible for our
present mission work, where Brother Flegler has gone,
and has, under God, set up African Methodism. The
church here cannot live unless it partakes of the onward
movement. We want men of individual energy; men
like a Livingston, are wanted for this work.
Then African Methodism will spring forth and flourish
and grow wherever its banner is set up.
What African Methodism wants in Liberia and all
A CasTcet of Pulpit Thought. 17
Africa is schools with the church for the education of the
youth—for native ministers and teachers—for instruction
in the various trades of industry, art, science, agriculture
and mehanical skill. We want in Wilberforce one hun¬
dred young men and women, to be thoroughly educated
for Africa. With the spirit of Lovedale Institute, in south
Africa, where the Hottentots, Kaffirs, Fingoes, Bechuanas,
Basutos and Zulus are now being educated for ministers
and teachers and fitted for the missionary field of indus¬
try. Lovedale Institute has three hundred and ninety-
three youths in school, sixty of whom go out every Sab¬
bath to preach the gospel in the neighboring villages.
Brethren, African Methodism cannot prosper without
the school, without the church and the co-operation of
home missionary societies.
I appeal to the African Methodist Episcopal Church
of the North Ohio Conference. Shall we support our
mission work in Liberia and in the West India Islands or
shall we let them die and go down by not supporting
them? Let the North Ohio Conference say to Brother
Flegler, in Africa, and to Brother Morsell, in the West
India Islands, you shall have our support. Let us stop
talking. Talking is cheap and will not support the im¬
portant mission that is now open to our church. We
have done but little compared to other churches and
missionary societies that are operating in Africa, India,
China, Japan, Palestine, Australia and among the Indians
of this country.
The time has come when we must take hold of the
work given of Christ to His apostles and the early church :
18 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
" Go ye into all the world and preach or teach all nations,
and Lo ! I am with you always, even to the end of the
world." If we are ministers of Christ—called and sent
forth by Him—we are the successors of the apostles and
must dc as they did : Go from nation to nation, from
city to city and country to country and carry Jesus
Christ's gospel—the light of the world and the only sal¬
vation for man.
Here the light breaks in upon us. No antecedent
preparation is necessary to encourage our hopes, when
we carry the gospel to the dark places of the earth. The
f(j®,t-steps of revelation do not require to be preceded by
the march of science, nor does the efficacy of the story
of the cross need to be prepared by any previous culture
of mind or manners. So far as respects such auxiliaries,
the gospel is competent to go alone. We may safely give
it as a first lesson. The simple recital of God's plan of
saving men, attended by the almighty influence which we
we are justified in expecting, will accomplish the desired
end. The gospel of Christ meets the savage and tames
him; the barbarian and civilizes him; the Hottentot and
elevates and subdues him, and brings him back to the
image of his Creator. What the world wants is the
power of Jesus Christ and Him crucified and His spirit in
every heart. We notice the comparative missionary
work of other orthodox churches of to-day, according to
Dr. Daniel Dorchester, who is said to be an able statisti¬
cian, gives the membership of all branches of Method¬
ists, white and colored, of the United States to be 3,554,-
425. More than a million more than the Baptists of all
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 19
sorts; and all the Methodists in the world count 5,069,109
lay members, with 33,522 itenerant ministers, or nearly
twice as many as all the Baptists, and consequently far
more than any other voluntary church in the world.
And yet, with this immense lead over all other protestant
churches in point of number, the contrast between them
and ourselves, in point of contributions for missions and
other benevolencies, is not at all complimentary to the
Methodist family. Instead of standing at the head in
contributions per member, we stand last or eighth. Dr.
Dorchester arranges the leading protestant bodies of
America as follows :
Methodists, of all sorts irrespective of color, 3,554,425;
Baptists, 2,452,878 members; Lutherans, 950,640 mem¬
bers; Disciples or Campbellites, 591,821 members; Con-
gregationalists, 382,920 members; Protestant Episcopa¬
lians, 338,338 members.
Such are the figures as to the numbers of full commu¬
nicants in the leading churches. Taking all the Metho¬
dists of various branches, black and white, into the
account. But when we arrange the table according to
contributions per member for the cause of missions there
is a complete overturning, and the Methodist family must
take in more than seven denominations to find a place
for ourselves. Adding both home and foreign mission
work as it really is, the combined average contribution
per year per member for the last year, among the eight
leading denominations, is as follows :
1. Congregationalists, $3.59 per member.
2. Presbyterians, old and new, $2.05 per member.
20 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
3. Protestant Episcopalians, $1.57 per member.
4. Reformed Dutch, $1.47 per member.
5. Baptists, northern, 94c per member.
6. Evangelical Association, 90c per member.
7. United Brethren, 69c per member.
8. Methodist Episcopal, 50c per member.
Of all classes, and according to Dr. Thomas H. Jack¬
son, the African Methodist Episcopal Church, averages
eight cents per member, which is an average of per
cent, of all that is paid by the Methodists of all sorts in
America. Dr. B. W. Arnett and Rev. R. A. Johnson say,
our church, the A. M. E. Church, averages ten cents per
member. If so, the African Methodist Episcopal Church
pays one-fifth of all that is paid by the Methodists of
America. Therefore, the A. M. E. Church now in the
mission field, has nothing to be ashamed of nor nothing
to boast of. Let us who are servants of Christ, handling
His word, go to our fields of labor with new inspiration
for the mission work of Africa and home by giving it our
support, until African Methodism shall be set up in all
parts of Africa, and her sons and daughters shall be
called from the south, north, east and west to Jesus Christ
and His cross, the only way from earth to glory, the
paradise of God and His angels.
Harmony of Agencies Employed in the Salva¬
tion of the World.
By Rev. Wm. T. Maxwell.
We notice that the prophesies which refer to Christ
have a wide scope and a broad range. They mark His
life and character; His sufferings and death; the nature
of His doctrine and the extent of His kingdom. They
picture the divine nature assuming human form. Identi¬
fying Himself with humanity in such a way as to be
capable of suffering; allying Himself with all the inter¬
ests of man; and yet, so truly divine, as that divinity
would stamp an importance upon the suffering of His
human body in order that the sacrifice He would offer,
would be such as God would accept. The prophesies
present us with the character of the gospel as well as
the character of its author, and thus, in seeking in the
prophesies to find what the Messiah was to be, we read
what Jesus was while He dwelt among men. The subject
of Isaiah's prophesy from the 40th chapter to the 52d,
inclusive, embraces in general the deliverance of the peo¬
ple of God. There is included in it three distinct parts,
which, however, have a connection with each other.
There is first, the deliverance of the Jews from captivity
in Babylon; second, the deliverance of the Gentiles from
their state of ignorance and idolatry; and third, the de-
(21)
22 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
liverance of mankind from the captivity of sin and death.
Cyrus is expressly named as the immediate agent of God,
in effecting the first deliverance; but a greater person is
spoken of as the agent who is to effect the last two. He
is called the servant, the elect of God, in whom His soul
delighteth; this is the Messiah.
In the discussion of the subject before us we shall no¬
tice : firstly, The Watchmen; secondly, Their Unity;
and thirdly, The Indications of the Accomplishment of
the Declarations of the Text.
1st. The Watchmen.—In ancient times those persons
who were afterward called prophets were termed seers, as
in 1st Sam'l, IX: 9; that is, the seeing person, the man'
who has visions implying supernatural revelations. They
were sometimes called men of God, angels or messengers
of God. It was ever understood that all God's prophets
had an extraordinary commission, and had their message
given them by immediate inspiration. As the gift of
prophesy was the greatest which God gave to man on
earth, so the prophet as being the immediate instrument
of revealing the will of God to the people, was the great¬
est, the most important and useful person in the land.
They were to the people the philosophers, the wise men
and the teachers of truth and Godliness. By th^ir inter¬
course with God they were His mediator with the people.
Most of the ancient prophets were extraordinary messen¬
gers. Several of them were taken out of the walks of
common life. It is noticeable that the Saviour called not
His disciples from the higher walks or offices of life, but
out of fishermen, tax-gatherers and tent-makers he formed
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 23
evangelists and teachers. As in the case of the prophets
so with the apostles—the office and calling dignified the
man. Dr. Clark says in reference to this passage, it
should read, all Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice.
The term watchman is borrowed from an ancient custom
of the placing watchmen upon the city walls. Their
position and the nature of their duties furnished an apt
illustration of the position and duties of the gospel min¬
isters, whom God has stationed upon the walls of His
spiritual Zion, for they are divinely appointed. Through
the mouth of this same prophet God is heard to say, " I
have set watchmen upon thy wall, O, Jerusalem." Here
also is implied the vigilance God requires in His minis¬
ters : " They shall never hold their peace day nor night."
This is also an elevated position from which the watch¬
men discover afar off the long expected and much wished
for times of deliverance. So the ministers of the gospel,
as he mounts the glory crowned heights of Zion, observes
the rising sun, which will dispel the moral, the social and
intellectual gloom which has enveloped the people. His
position also enables him to discern the approach of the
enemy, and to give timely warning, in order that the
hosts encamped on the field being forewarned may be
forearmed, and prepared to meet the foe. They are pos¬
sessed with a spirit of restless activity. The honor of
Christ, the salvation of men, the conquest of the world
is their objective point. It is theirs to say, "For Zion's
sake will I not hold my peace, and for Jerusalem's sake I
will not rest until the righteousness thereof go forth as
brightness, and the salvation thereof as a lamp that burn-
24
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
eth." And thus they are continually watching for the
safety and interest of those committed to their care. To
this end they look for counsel of God to qualify them to
warn and comfort. They give attention to reading, to
exhortation, to doctrine, And thus go forward, strong in
the Lord and in the power of His might, reproving, re¬
buking and exhorting. They lift up the voice like a
trumpet and sound the alarm in the holy mountain, and
the trumpet ac their mouth gives no uncertain sound.
Their lips have been touched as with a live coal from off
the altar. They are deeply imbued with the importance
of their mission, and their words are as fire brands from
burning souls that kindle where they fall. Thus in their
hands the gospel becomes a weapon mighty through God
in pulling down the strongholds of satan.
2d. Their unity; with the voice together shall they
sing; they shall see eye to eye, etc.—The gospel, while
it is a great saving power, is at the same time designed
to unify and properly adjust the means employed to
attain the end desired. It does not proceed upon the
principle that any kind of means may be employed on
the ground that the end sought justifies the means; for if
this was so, then the policy of Catholicism might be jus¬
tified in her attempts to declare eternal war against all
who do not subscribe to her creed. But God be thanked,
while the gospel would have all men ascribe glory to God
in the highest, it still proclaims in tones sufficiently loud
to be heard to earth's remotest bound : peace on earth?
good will to man. The gospel must be viewed in a broad
and comprehensive light; and thus we will see that its
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 25
influence is very potent in harmonizing discordant ele¬
ments. Indeed the triumphs of the gospel must not be
estimated solely by the results seen within the bounds of
our fields of labor, or our own land; but to use the lan¬
guage of our Saviour, we must look out on the broad
fields; we must discern the signs of the times; from this
standpoint we will see the gospel changing and moulding
sentiment, and lifting up humanity to a common level,
where the doctrine of cast and race prejudice will be
swallowed up in that grander and more sublime doctrines
of the common fatherhood of God and the universal
brotherhood man. The agencies employed in the ac¬
complishment of this are the watchmen of all the various
branches of God's church on earth; that is, through the
various instrumentalities that will be used by them. It
implies unity of effort and the harmonizing of minor
differences. They having moulded the sentiment of the
people, they are to voice that sentiment in matters of
religion and the spread of the gospel. Hence, says the
prophet, " They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy
mountain;" and he gives as the reason, " The earth shall
be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover
the sea." The prevalence of universal righteousness the
effect of which shall be peace and assurance forever.
3d. The indications of the accomplishment of the
declaration in the text.—If we were to inquire as to the
assurance we have of the certain accomplishment of the
things spoken of in this text, we might answer that it is
assured by virtue of the truth and unchangeable charac¬
ter of the author. True, we may not see it accomplished
26 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
in the full meaning in our time, and here I will remark
that this is not the work of a day or a year, as we reckon
days and years; for a thousand years with the Lord is as
one day, and one day as a thousand years. But it cer¬
tainly is nearer than at the organization of the A. M. E.
Church; especially when we consider the causes that led
to its organization. It is nearer than it was at the out¬
break of the civil war; for since then the mountains have
not only been leveled, but the valleys have been exalted.
The process of leveling and filling up is still going on,
so that in the future there will be fewer mountains to
scale and fewer chasms to bridge over. We may see
something of it in the fraternal relations existing between
the several religious bodies and which finds expression in
their greetings to each other; and in the fact that good
men everywhere are more and more making the preach¬
ing of the gospel paramount to everything else. Perhaps
never before was the question of Christian union so
much talked of as it is to-day; and we notice the ques¬
tion which more immediately concerns us as a church,
namely: the union of all the bodies of colored Metho¬
dists, is advocated now, with a degree of earnestness and
ability perhaps never equalled before. May we not say
on this point in the language of inspiration, " Go
through, go through the gates; prepare ye the way of
the people; lift up a standard for the people." Surely
the good time is coming when Ephraim shall not envy
Judah, and Judah shall not vex Ephraim. The zeal of
the Lord of hosts shall perform this. The ministers of
V
the different denominations are exchanging pulpits more
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 27
than ever before, and thus the people are brought to¬
gether, socially and religiously realizing that in Christ
Jesus there is neither Jew nor Greek, barbarian or Syth-
ian, but that Christ is all and in all. Again, the accom¬
plishment of the declarations in the text is assured from
the increased facilities for the spread of the gospel and
the dissemination of truth and general knowledge. The
facilities for general instruction were never so abundant
as now. Wisdom is crying aloud; she is uttering her
voice in the streets; schoolhouses, seminaries and col¬
leges are springing up everywhere, and the A. M. E.
Church is doing her part as far is commensurate with her
means toward the accomplishment of the desired end*;
As another reason for the certainty of the fulfillment of
these declarations is God's love for the church, which He
regards as the apple of His eye, and which He loves
with an everlasting love, and is graven on His hands. In
further evidence of this, we find in the 49th chapter and
13th verse of Isaiah's prophecy, these words: "Sing,
O heaven; and be joyful, O earth, break forth in singing, O
mountains; for the Lord has comforted His people and
will have mercy upon His afflicted." Zion no doubt in
her affliction said, " The Lord hath forgotten me." Then
follows this solemn question, propounded by the Lord
himself: "Can a woman forget her child? yea, they may
forget, yet will I not forget thee." Then follows this
grand declaration, namely: "Behold, I have graven
thee upon the palm of my hand; thy walls are con¬
tinually before me." Time will not permit a further
citation of scriptural passages in confirmation of the
28 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
proposition here laid down. Therefore, we forbear, and
would call your attention to the latter par\ of the text
and that which follows it. It is here indicated what God
has done and will do in defence of His church. Speak¬
ing in the latter clause of the text, of the unity and
harmony of the ministry of the new dispensation, it is
implied that it has resulted from displays of God's
almighty power; for, says the prophet, "The Lord has
made bare His holy arm in the eyes (or sight) of all the
nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salva¬
tion of our God." In the deliverance of an oppressed
people has not God made bare His arm ? in the organi¬
zation, perpetuation and influence of this church which
we represent has not His power been displayed ? Its in¬
fluence to-day is not only co-extensive with the bounds
of our own land, but it is felt and respected on the other
side of the great water.
And now in concluding these remarks, let me say to
you, brethren of the North Ohio Conference, under the
blessing of God, we have closed another year's work,
and have come up as it were from the field of battle. I
ask you as the watchman on the walls of Zion, what of
the night? Have you noted the indications of a favor¬
able future for the church and the race? You have been
on the field where you have come in active contact with
the people, where you have peculiar opportunities for
observing these things, and again I ask you, what of their
morals ? What of their Christianity ? What of their in¬
tellectual advancement? As you have gone about Zion
have you so marked her bulwarks, and made such obser-
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 29
vation as that you can say the morning cometh? True,
you have had difficulties and sorrows; it may be said of
you, without were fightings, within were fears; but being
clothed with salvation and shielded with might, as you
mounted the heights of Zion, and' stood beneath the
shadow of the cross, whose foot rests upon the rock of
God's immutable truth, and whose top is bathed in a halo
of divine light, you beheld these difficulties melt away as
snow under the influence of the sun. So that you say
to-day, having obtained help from God, I continue to
this day. The thought now comes to my mind, that we,
who have the honor to preach the gospel of Christ, are
preaching a gospel which, while it brings life and immor¬
tality to light, is at the same time a gospel of progress.
It is a great civilizing medium. Where the gospel flour¬
ishes, art, science and commerce flourish most. The
resources of the earth are more largely developed. Thus
the gospel becomes the mighty lever to move mankind
not only out of moral degradation, but to lift him up to
higher planes of thought and activity. Again, the gos-
ple we preach is the gospel of sympathy; it exhibits a
sympathy that clothed the Deity in human form and
brought the God-man into this world; it is a sympathy
that regards even the hairs of our heads, and wipes the
tear from the weeping eyes. In a word it is a sympathy
that takes all our varied interests and links them to the
throne of God. Blessed thought; we have a part in has¬
tening the time when the world having been redeemed,
the kingdom of satan overthrown, Christ, the great head
30
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
of the church, shall see of the travail of his soul and be
satisfied.
May God speed on the day, and may He add His
blessing to these imperfectly delivered remarks and seal
the truth of then to the good of all.
Clothed with salvation, shielded with might,
Heralds of Zion, bear on the light;
Over the deserts, over the sea,
See how the shadows flee.
Amen.
The Gospel Ministry and Its Work,
By Rev. W. H. Coleman.
"But we will give ourselves continually to prayer and
the ministry of the word."—Acts VI: 4.
Dear Brethren—Standing before you on this most
interesting occasion, of our third annual session, to speak
to you in obedience to the appointment of our ex-Bishop,
to what theme could I more appropriately direct your
attention, than to give you some practical thoughts per¬
taining to the work of the christian ministry, the necessity
of a ministry, the separation of a body of men to be the
guides and teachers of the people in divine things; it has
been admitted by most branches of the christian church.
It has been appropriately remarked by a writer, that with¬
out the public solemnities of devotion, private and indi¬
vidual piety would quickly languish and expire. How
true is the assertion. There are two ways in which we
may look at the minister of the gospel. We may look
upon him as a man, or as an officer. As a man he is in
no wise distinguished from his fellow men. He has
the same nature, the same characteristics, the same im¬
mortality with them. He needs the same great change
to restore him to the favor of God, the same preserving
grace to keep him from surrounding temptations, the
same disipline to chastise his errors and follies, the same
32 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
promises to support his faith, and to point him forward
to the glory of God's redeemed people. As a man he
has depravity and pride, unbelief and sensuality, to be
kept in check. He has need to promote holiness, hu¬
mility, faith and love. God therefore deals with him as
with all His people. He places him here as a child un¬
der age, and therefore under tutors and governors, until
the time appointed by the Father that he may enter upon
his inheritance. But we may look upon him as an officer
in the church of God, by appointment of the great moral
governor, he goes forth among his fellow men, the bearer
of an important message. It is, however, the first prin¬
ciple implied in the commission of every officer, that the
government which sends him out should sustain him in
the discharge of every duty which that commission lays
upon him; to look at the minister of the gospel as an
officer commissioned and sent fourth by the Lord Jesus
Christ. We see him as one, having important duties be¬
yond his fellow men. And as much as his duties are
responsible, difficult and important beyond those of other
men, therefore he is authorized by the very tenor of his
commission to look for support and encouragement be¬
yond those of other men. When we look at the nature
of his duties and the responsibilities of the work itself,
we should readily accept the injunction of the apostle,
and give ourselves continually to prayer and the ministry
of the word.
This will lead us first to speak briefly of the divinity
of the christian ministry. The question may be asked,
is it from God or is it from man.
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 33
From the very beginning, without a single exception, it
claims to be of divine origin. We may trace the origin
of the christian ministry to the very throne of God, from
each of the sacred persons in the Godhead it proceeded.
St. Paul says : " God hath given us the ministry of
reconiliation." Jesus says : "As my Father hath sent me,
even so I send you." Paul, in the II Corinthians, calls
it the ministration of the Spirit. Thus we trace its origin
to the footstool of the eternal throne.
Every true minister goes to his work imbued with the
spirit of labor and the upbuilding of the cause of Christ.
St. Paul most fearlessly asserts the divinity of his minis¬
try : " Listen ! I certify you brethren, that the gospel that
is preached by me, is not after man, for I neither received
it of. man, neither was I taught it. But by the revelation
of Jesus Christ, whereof I was made a minister accord¬
ing to the gift of the grace of God given unto
me by the effectual working of His power, accord¬
ing to the glorious gospel of the blessed God, which is
committed to my trust, and I thank Jesus Christ, our
Lord, who hath enabled me for that He counted me faith¬
ful, putting me into the ministry." The essential quality
ot the ministry lies in the divinity of its origin. This is
its grand characteristic. It is that which elevates it
above all human authority. It is clothed in its own
majesty and travels in its own strength, and on this rests
its success and perpetuity; the seal of eighteen centuries
has already been affixed to it and has become an estab¬
lished fact in the hearts of those who adhere to the au¬
thenticity of His divine truth.
34
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
The dignity of the christian ministry's not in the per¬
son or character of those that preach, but in the office
itself, the whole plan of man's redemption, together with
the manner of diffusing it abroad, originated with God,
and every true minister is a fellow worker with God, and
he who acts by the authority of God, should act with the
dignity of a true man. It is the highest office ever held
by mortal man. The Apostle Paul felt the dignity and
responsibility of the office when he said, " As we were
allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel, even '
so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, who trieth
the hearts." He also gives a comprehensive view of the
gospel. To the Ephesians he said that when Christ as¬
cended on high, he gave some evangelists, and some pas¬
tors, and some teachers all the gifts, offices, and graces
were deemed necessary for the perfecting of the saints
and the work of the ministry. The end sought was a
unity of faith and a saving knowledge of the Son of God.
Having fixed in our minds the origin and dignity of the
ministerial office, let us, in the second place, consider
something of the nature of the work of the christian
ministry.
In examining this thought, we "Feel safe in saying that
St. Paul never uttered a truth more in harmony with the
facts as they then existed, when he said, " The world by
wisdom knew not God. It pleased God by the foolish¬
ness of preaching to save them that believed."—I Cor.
1:21. The ministry is God's chosen instrumentality for
the diffusion of light and knowledge. Men may think
and speak as they please concerning the christian minis-
A Casket of Puljait Thought. 35
try, but do away with it and the world would go back
into heathenism. We speak very readily of our civiliza¬
tions, our arts, our sciences, but forget how much we are
indebted to the light and influence of the gospel for all
these favors and blessings, there is not a law which does
not owe its truth to the light of the gospel of Jesus
Christ. In spite of all the pretensions of modern infi¬
delity, we cannot divorce from our minds the intuitive
conviction that something remains for man beyond what
we see.
The work of the ministry is to persuade men to be
reconciled to God. Paul was deeply impressed with this
thought when he said, "Now then, we are embassadors
for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us. We
pray you in Christ's stead to be reconciled to God."
The thought which ought to fasten itself on the minds of
every intelligent minister is that he is in Christ's stead.
When Christ visited the earth, He came to represent the
Sovereign of the world, and now we are to represent the
person of Christ. We are not simply to go out into the
world and declare the will of our heavenly Father, but
must go out and plead with the people to be reconciled
to God. Again the work of the christian ministry should
be presented under the idea of a building. Paul repre¬
sents himself as a wise master builder and then exhorts
his brethren to take heed how they build, for every man's
work shall be tried by fire.
When Moses was about to make the tabernacle, he was
admonished of God to make all things according to the
pattern which had been shown him. So now, as God's
36 A Gasket of Pulpit Thought.
builder, let us see to it that we make all things according
to the pattern shown us, which, if we do it, will stand
the fire and if we do not, it will be burned up. Ministers
are not only called builders, but shepherds as well.
In the tenth chapter of St. John Christ gives the true
mark of a good shepherd. First he entereth in by the
door, he is not self-appointed to the work, but his en¬
trance into the ministry is regular and in order, called of
God and duly authorized by the church, to him the por¬
ter openeth. This teaches us the necessity of the Spirit's
help, it is the Holy Ghost that quickens the word and
opens the way into the hearts of men. No man, I care
not how well he may be educated, can ever succeed un¬
less he is aided of the Spirit.
In the second place Jesus told His disciples to wait
until they were endued with the Holy Spirit, yea, with
power from on high. The third mark of a good shep¬
herd is that the sheep hear his voice. He speaks so as
to instruct the people in order that they may conform to
the will of God, concerning their soul's salvation. He
realizes that he is a teacher sent from God. He studies
what to say and how to say it, so that the people may
understand him. He preaches Christ in such simple
language that the people may be instructed. I read of a
pious woman who went to hear a young man preach, who
had just completed his course in college, and as usual she
took her bible with her. When she returned she said," I
should have taken my dictionary instead of my bible, the
young man does not deal in scripture, but in such learned
words and phrases as to require the help of an inter-
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 37
preter." What is necessary in preaching the gospel is
the use of plain language, so the most ignorant among us
may understand that God has power on earth to forgive
sins. Another mark of the christian ministry is to be
leaders of the people; lead men into the green pastures
of God's word, lead them away from the follies and vain
amusements of the world, lead them into a higher spiri¬
tual life, lead them closer to Jesus. The nearer wfe can
get our people to Christ the further they will be from the
vanities of the world. Hence the apostles of our Lord
said, " We will give ourselves continually to prayer and
ministry of the word." This implies that the heart is
given to the work. The mere outward form will not do,
no matter what a man's gifts are, no matter what his ac¬
quired abilities may be,*if his heart is not given to it, he
cannot succeed. A Chinese convert once said to a mis¬
sionary, "We want preachers of hot hearts, to tell us of
the love of Christ."
Richard Sheridan used to say that he often went to
hear Rowland Hill preach, because his thoughts came
red hot from his heart. To succeed in the work of the
ministry, we must bring our hearts as well as our heads
into the pulpit. The religion of Christ has a theory, but
it also has an experience. No rhetorical appliance can
make up for a warm heart; mere oratory or eloquence
never made a good preacher.
Robert Hall once said to a friend, " It would be any¬
thing but commendation, should it be said of me, 'you
have given us a fine sermon.1 If I were put upon trial
for my life and my advocate should amuse the jury with
38 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
figures to bury his argument beneath a profusion of
flowers of rhetoric, I would say to him, tush ! man, you
care more for your vanity than my hanging; put yourself
in my place." The point I wish to make by this quota¬
tion is to speak in view of the coming judgments, and
you will tell the story plainly and earnestly. I have no
objections to rhetoric or logic, but we want more heart¬
felt power, and as the poet expresses it:
A heart resigned, submissive, meek,
My great Redeemer's throne,
Whei;e only Christ is heard to speak,
Where Jesus reigns alone.
Oh ! for a lowly, contrite heart,
Believing, true, and clean;
Which neither life nor death can part,
From Him that dwells within.
A heart in every thought renewed,
And full of love divine;
Perfect, and right, and pure, and good,
A copy, Lord, of thine.
Oh ! what a grand expression is found in this beautiful
poem.
Again, in order to give ourselves continually to prayer
and the ministry of the word, we must consecrate our¬
selves to the work of the ministry; in a word all our
ransomed powers must be given to it. The apostle said,
"We will give ourselves continually to prayer and min¬
istry of the word."
Here lies the strength of the pulpit, it is not so much
in talent and ability as in consecration. Let a man get a
purpose fixed in his mind and then throw his whole soul
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 39
into it, and there is no telling what he can accomplish.
The want of success in the ministerial work is more the
want of consecration than anything else. It is impossi¬
ble to conquer a consecrated man, as long as he holds
fast to the precious promises of God. Christ was cruci¬
fied, but not conquered; the martyrs were burned at the
stake, but not conquered; at the battle of Waterloo,
when the old imperial soldiers were commanded to lay
down their arms, the scarred veterans of fifty victories
said, " The old guard dies, but n^ver surrenders." Oh !
brethren let us be faithful, let us fully consecrate our¬
selves to God, and the preaching of His word. Let me
direct your attention to a few passages of scripture, which
will indicate to you the importance and necessity of en¬
tire devotion to the ministerial work. First, study to
show thyself approved unto God, a workman that need-
eth not be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth,
preach the word, be instant in season and out of season,
do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy
ministry, give attendance to reading* to exhortation, to
doctrine, meditate upon these things, give thyself wholly
to them. From the several duties that I have endeav¬
ored to point to you in this discourse, you will see that
the work ,of the christian ministry is no place for drones
or idlers, as Bishop Turner has wisely said: "An idler
has no place in the vineyard; the harvest is great and
fully ripe for the sickle, and the Lord of the harvest
wants laborers to go into the field; men who have the
heart and will to work for the upbuilding of humanity
and salvation of precious souls." It is a sin for any man
40 A Gasket of Pulpit Thought.
to be lazy, but a lazy preacher is the greatest sinner of
all. Once more let me say, to be successful in the chris¬
tian ministry we must be in earnest. If there is any
work among men in which they should be in earnest, it is
preaching the gospel of Christ. By this I do not mean
boisterousness. A man may be in earnest without being
boisterous. Bishop Quin said, when preaching to the
church at Ripley, O., " Because I am in earnest some
men call me an enthusiast, but when I see eternal de¬
struction ready to destroy the souls of men, and urge
them to fly, must I be called an enthusiast ? " It is the
duty of the minister to show Christ to the people; he
need not make any special effort to exhibit himself, the
people will doubtless see enough of him. A modest man
will not make himself the subject of conversation; every
true minister should be a modest man, with courage
enough to speak the truth under all circumstances. It
requires true courage for a minister to step back, so to
speak, and let Jesus stand between him and the people.
When Philip joined himself to the chariot, the eunoch,
who was reading from one of the prophets, at once asked
Philip of whom the prophet was speaking. Philip
opened his mouth and began at the scriptures and
preached unto him Jesus. Brethren, this is the founda¬
tion of gospel preaching.
Pre-eminently our duty, it was for this that our Lord
came all the way from heaven to earth, it was for this
that He suffered and died, it was for this that He was
buried and rose again the third day, it was for this that
He sent the Holy Spirit, it was for this that He is now
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 41
pleading, it was for this that He now calls us to go out
into the world and preach the gospel to every creature,
teaching them to observe all things whatsoever. " I have
commanded you, Lo, I am with you even unto the end of
the world." Let us thank God, the Shepherd and Bishop
of souls, who hath called us, that He hath counted us
faithful, putting us into the ministry. Let us remember
that as ministers of Christ, and as members of the North
Ohio Conference, we are brethren. Let us then aim to
merit the eloquent eulogy of inspiration: " Behold how
good and pleasant it is for brethren to dwell together in
unity. It is like the precious ointment upon the head,
that ran down to the beard, even Aaron's beard, that
w;ent down to the skirts of garments, as the dew for Her-
mon; and as the dew that descended upon the mountain
of Zion, for there the Lord commanded the blessing, even
life for evermore."—133d Psalm.
Let us love one another with pure hearts fervently and
this love will inspire mutual confidence and union of
hearts and efforts.
It will inspire o.ur intercessions for each other with
life and vigor; when far apart in our different fields of
labor, it will teach us to bear one another's burdens, to
sympathize with each other, to compromise differences
and to forgive infirmities. It will make our friendship
sweet and our greetings pleasant, and in absence from
each other a most painful self-denial. Let us, in full sur¬
vey of our trials, privations, sufferings, exposures and
labors, adopt the apostle motto: "We will give ourselves
continually to prayer and the ministry of the word, that
42 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
we may do the work of an evangelist and make full proof
of our ministry." Let us trust in His great and precious
promises to His faithful ministers : " Lo ! I am with you
always, even unto the end of the world." This promise
is greater than the almond rod of Moses, which divided
the mighty waters of the Red Sea and opened the foun¬
tains in the desert, or the mantel of Elijah, which stayed
the course of the Jordan. The rod and the mantle were
but types of the good things, the rich consolations and
powerful supports embodied in this promise. It is the
fulcrum on which we may rest the lever of the gospel
that moves the world. Let the theme of our preaching,
the basis of our arguments, the power of our eloquence,
be Jesus Christ and Him crucified. Losing sight of our¬
selves in the naked splendor of the great and sublime
truths of the gospel, imitating the High Priest, who was
concealed amidsfrthe blaze of celestial audience of glory.
Finally, brethren, let us feed the flock of God wherever
we are sent, taking the oversight thereof, not unrelent¬
ingly, but willingly, not for filthy lucre, but of a ready
mind, neither as being lords over God's heritage, but ex¬
ample to the flock, and when our labor is ended we will
be crowned with everlasting glory, that fadeth not away.
The Pastnr,
Rev.'T. H. Jackson, D. D.
" And 1 will give unto you pastors according to mine
heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and under¬
standing."—Jer. Ill: 15.
The prophet Jeremiah was the son of Hilkaih, and be¬
fore his birth was " sanctified and ordained " to be " a
prophet unto the nations." He exercised his office dur¬
ing the reigns of Josiah and Jehoiakim. When his work
was made known to him, with modesty, and a^ojiscious
inability of himself to perform it, he plead his want of
speech and youthfulness: " Ah, Lord God! behold I
cannot speak, for I am a child." He was young and in¬
experienced; hence felt that the " divine subjects " which
God wished him to carry were beyond his power to ex¬
press in suitable language. But God, who called him,
assures him that He would be with him, and therefore he
should dismiss all fear; go forward; do the work; trust
Him, as He had made him " a defenced city, and an iron
pillar and brazen walls against the kings of Judah;
against the princes thereof, and against the people of the
land." In the discharge of the duties of the office to
which he had been called, he would meet with strong op¬
position, " for the people would fight against him." But
he must not waver, but go forward, for God would be
(43)
44
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
with him. Having thus been called, set apart and com¬
missioned, in obedience to the command of God, he goes
forth and cries against the wickedness of the people.
In this chapter, from which our text is taken, he shows
God's mercy to Judah, notwithstanding she has played
the "harlot;" how God invited her to return; how that
Judah, from whom the Messiah was to come, was more
treacherous than Israel, (and both were desperately
wicfked.) As the mouth piece for God, Jeremiah invites
and urges upon them to return. Yet he declares the
the whole message of God. No suppressing the truth.
Sin is called sin, and not a mistake. It is God's message
•he carries, not his own, and therefore he is true to God.
He begs Judah and Israel to come back. God says to
them, through him, " I am married unto you," and then
holds out the glorious promise, since they are not able to
care for, or to guide, or to lead themselves, that He
would give unto them pastors according to His own
heart, " who would feed them with knowledge and under¬
standing." As in the days of Jeremiah, so in this day,
wickedness abounds, and hence there is need of pastors
to feed the people with " knowledge and understanding."
This need God supplies by calling and sending forth men
as pastors, according to His own heart; giving them
" knowledge and understanding," that they may be able
to feed others. This being true, there is one feature in
our text that many men who claim to be called to the
great work of the pastorate seem to overlook, viz.: God
gives the pastors to the church, to present His truth,,
and not the church to the pastors for them to rule inf
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 45
such a way as to scatter the flock, tear down and destroy.
When any man, in the pastorate, for three or four con¬
secutive years scatters a congregation, it ought to be
conclusive evidence that his call as a pastor has run out,
and he ought to be retired.
God never gave to the church pastors with any other
intention than that they should feed the flock. This gift
of pastors to the world, and especially to the church, is
one among the most essential gifts of God. We wish,
then, to call your especial attention to the pastor. Note,
please, God's word is, "I zvill giveNow, as then, the
pastor is the gift of God. "/ will give unto you, pastors
1 The word Ro-eh is a participle from the verb Ra-ah, and
means a shepherd, a pastor, or a teacher of virtue and
wisdom. The new version has " shepherd" instead of
pastor. But the pastor is a shepherd, whose business is
to feed the flock. The verb Ra-ah means to feed, to
lead, and to care for. This feeding, and leading, and
caring for is in the way of knowledge and understanding.
Such a pastor is according to the heart of God, i. e., ac¬
cording to His will or purpose, such as He approves and
calls. We may then read our text freely, thus: God
says, " I will give unto you those whom I have chosen,
who will be your teachers of virtue and wisdom, and
these will feed, lead and care for you as none others
would do." Being themselves endowed with knowledge
and understanding, they will impart it to the flock, and
lead it to a better, a higher and a nobler life. How great
this office, how important, how necessary that all who are
called to it should have the requisite qualifications, that
46 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
they fill it to the glory of God, and the uplifting of hu¬
manity. Hence, we notice, first, the qualifications neces¬
sary for the pastor Every secular art requires certain
qualifications, e. g., the physician must understand the
human body, and the nature of the various diseases; the
lawyer must have a knowledge of the rules of practice,
and must know the law; the mechanic must know how to
handle his tools, and he must know them. And so we
might go on, but enough. If in the secular arts, effect¬
ing men only in time, they need special qualifications, of
how much greater importance is it that the pastor, who
effects men throughout eternity, should be fully qualified
for his work. Hence, as a primary qualification, the pas¬
tor must have an experimental knowledge of that religion
which he feeds others upon. A mere theoretical knowl¬
edge will not do. The testimony of his own conscious¬
ness to an indwelling Christ must be had. There must
"be no mistake here. A call to the pastoral office is a call,
first, to a knowledge of the truth as it is in Christ Jesus
the Lord. It must be the "/ know that I have passed
from death unto life" It is a personal, living Christ thai;
he is to know, His gospel he is to understand, so that he
may feed the people. This personal knowledge of Christ
by faith, lies at the very foundation of every other quali- *
fication necessary for the pastoral office. Then the man
must be called to the work by God. God gives the pas¬
tors, and He also chooses them. But what constitutes a
call to this office ? We answer, first, a deep inward con¬
viction, " Woe is me if I preach not the gospel" and fur¬
ther, that he tan best glorify God in this office, and that **
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 47
it is his imperative duty to enter upon the work incident
to the pastoral office.
But whilst this is true, do I say too much when I
remark that when this conviction takes hold of the man
that the church will also be deeply impressed with the
fact that God has called him to the work and office of a
pastor? And, therefore, proper satisfaction must be
given to the church, that God has called the man. Then
he must be a man of " strong faith." There must be no
doubting, for him it is enough to know that thus saith the
Lord, and forward he goes. He must have a strong, vig¬
orous, enlightened, consistent piety. Something more
" than barely to live and breathe in the spiritual world."
He is to be strong in the Lord and the power of His
might. He must have on the whole armor. Then he
must know himself. Self-knowledge, such as one gets of
human nature, by the knowledge of his own heart.
Hence he looks at his own spiritual experience, notes his
own thoughts, cares for his own actions, and thus gains
the power to guide the souls committed to his care, for
" as in water, face answereth to face, so the heart of man
to man." Then there should be an "attractive and
friendly manner." When we say an attractive manner,
we do not mean foolishness, nor is it to be brought about
by dress and haughtiness. But there is that in a good
pastor, his words, his whole bearing, that stamps him as
a man who realizes his calling, and commands respect.
But his manner must also be friendly. A man who goes
by himself all the time, holds himself off from the peo¬
ple, seems to be afraid of everybody, can never be a sue-
48 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
cessful pastor. If he would win he must be friendly-
Jesus did not shut himself from the people. One of the
charges brought against Him was that He was a friend
of publicans and sinners. He ought to have a "personal
influence outside of a purely" pastoral influence. To
have it he must be friendly, power to draw the people to
him.
A knowledge of the Divine word, as a qualification for
the pastor, cannot be over-estimated, nor too strongly
insisted upon. The pastor must have a clear understand¬
ing, a sound judgment, and a ready perception, in order
to have a correct knowledge of the Divine word. See,
the language of the text is, " I will give unto you pastors
who will feed you with knowledge and understanding."
From whence is he to get this " knowledge and under¬
standing " which is to be the food of the church ? Un¬
questionably from the Divine word. No main can feed
his flock as he ought without a thorough study of God's
words. Do I say too much when I remark that many
men in the pastoral office do not read and study God's
word as they ought? They take down this book and
that rather than the book of books; The pastor must
know the word. Hence a call to the pastoral office is a
call to make thorough preparation for the work of that
office." The man must be educated for his work that he
may go prepared to go into the treasures of the Divine
word, and there explore the mysteries of God, that he
may be able to give the food necessary for the growth
and development of those whom he may serve. We say
again the pastor should be a thoroughly educated man,
A Casket of Puljpit Thought. 49
but as says a writer, " I would not indeed prescribe for
all fhe same course or the same amount of preparatory
education. * * * * But what I mean to say
is, that every minister should be educated for his work,
and the more thoroughly the better." But the apostles,
who were called to this office, say some, were not edu¬
cated men. Was not it said of them that they were un¬
learned or " illiterate men ? " therefore, education for the
pastoral office is unnecessary. Now, whilst it may be
true "in a certain sense," that the apostles were "illiterate
meh," it is also true in a more important sense, that they
were "Very " extraordinarily educated and finished men."
For three years they were under the immediate instruc¬
tion of the Great Shepherd himself, the best teacher that
ever lived upon earth. Therefore the man who would
aspire to the pastoral office, and being too lazy to fit
himself by study for the office, taking as a cloak the as¬
sumed illiteracy of the apostles, is unfit to occupy such a
high position. (We do not mean to say that the apos¬
tles assumed that they were illiterate, but others did for
them.) But if any man will take the apostles as an ex¬
ample, and claim that he is following in their foot-steps,
then I demand of him such a thorough knowledge of
God's word and Christ's teachings, as is given us by the
four evangelists. Let him give to us the eloquence of a
Paul, the gentle admonitions of a James, the powerful
rebukes and advices of a Peter, and the beauties and
glories of the Apocalypse. Until he can do this, or ap¬
proximate it, let him forever keep silent about the apos¬
tles being " illiterate men." They had, as all can see, the
50 A Gasket of Pulpit Thought.
"knowledge and understanding " spoken of in the text.
Therefore I repeat that a knowledge of the Divine word
is absolutely necessary. In order to acquire this know¬
ledge, one must study, read, meditate, pray, and fully
consecrate himself to God.
Of course he must have some tolerable degree of utter¬
ance; so that whatever of " knowledge and understand¬
ing " he may have been intelligently communicated to
others; "common sense;" a knowledge of human nature;
" prudence, energy and activity," and soundness in the
faith. Having these qualifications he is ready to enter
upon his work. What is it? He is to "feed." We said
that the word Ra-ah, translated "feed," means also to
lead, to care for. Now then, we have the work of the
pastor expressed in the thoughts contained in the words
" feeji," " care for " and " lead." What then is implied in
feeding with knowledge and understanding? It is to
present the whole of the divine truths of God. These
truths are to be meted out in all of their original purity,
and not with any admixture of human gloss. The truths,
of which we speak are found in the word of God, and
have in themselves a vital germ, which, when correctly
given, will produce life and bring forth fruit to the honor
and glory of God. The whole of these truths are to be
given. No part i^ to be kept back to suit the mere fancy
of any man or set of men. It is too often the case that
only that kind of food is given that pleases the fancy,
tickles the ear and produces for the time being a feeling
of great ecstacy, without producing altered lives. This
should not be. I know that when we present heaven and
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 51
all its joys men are made happy; when we talk of the
nobility of man there is contentment; when, without any
definite aim, we talk that very many are pleased. But
talk of sin; the unholy look; the unclean thought; of
a sinner on his way to hell; of a personal devil and his
power over men; of the wrath of God, and the eternal
punishment of the sinner, and you will be charged with
a lack of power to feed men. But men must be fed upon
the whole truth. The unpleasant as well as the pleasant.
Not one part must be kept back. Declare the whole
counsel of God. But whilst this is true, yet the pastor
may study human nature so that he may feed men with
the food necessary at the time. Men are differently con¬
stituted, and what will bring home the truths of God to
one, will riot to another. The pastor must study temper¬
aments. Then take God's word and feed those to whom
you go. But the understanding is to be fed also. That
is, the pastor is to so interpret every point that those to
whom he is talking may have a clear conception of what
he is saying. It does not mean big spluttering words;
but in simplicity speak forth the words of life. In sim¬
plicity there is beauty and there is power. He who
would, therefore, feed with knowledge and understanding,
must do so in simplicity and " Godly sincerity." But,
the pastor is not only to " feed," but he is to care for the
flock. Care consists of thought and feeling. Thought!
not for the favored few, but for the many poor. Thought,
for all. What do they need ? How can they be helped ?
How can they be made better ? How can their lives be
enabled? How can they be made useful? How can
52v A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
their burden be made lighter? How can God's bright
and beautiful sun be made to shine in their every day
lives? Thought, for the people, about the people; that
they may be helped through life on to glory. Feeling,
not for the pocket books of the people, but a feeling
which has its seat in the heart. Are any in sorrow ? Are
any in deep affliction? Are any forsaken? Are any cast
down ? Are any in doubt ? Are any sitting under the
juniper tree? Are any at home mourning because the
death angel has been there ? The pastor is there with a
heart of sympathy in each and every case, uttering words
of consolation, dropping the tear of sorrow, grasping the
hand and pointing to Him, who is the Brother Man.
This " feeling " is an active, living principle. Care then,
both as a thought and a feeling, actuates to personal en¬
deavor. It does not allow the pastor to sit down idly.
But, be there any sick, any who mourn, any in prison,
any friendless, the pastor, this man after God's own heart,
is there as a ministering angel, to care for, to comfort, to
point to heaven and to God. Care, therefore, is opposed
to negligence. Negligence is the point of laziness, and
I repeat, a lazy man can never be a pastor. But the pas¬
tor not only " feeds and cares " for the flock, but he leads
it. To lead means to show or direct in the way by going
on in front. This, of course, presupposes that the pastor
is himself acquainted with the way. Hence there is im¬
plied in this leading, great influence over the movements
and actions of others. Therefore, to lead, the pastor
himself must be led by Jesus through the agency of the
Holy Spirit. How often is it the case that petitions fol-
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 53
low some pastors, year after year, asking for their
removal because they cannot lead. As a leader, the
pastor's position is a responsible one. He leads the
church militant to fight against sin everywhere, and in all
its forms. His position is a critical one, because he
fights an unseen foe. It is not against flesh and blood,
but against the powers of darkness, against spiritual
wickedness in high places. Oh, what skill, as a leader,
he needs. He leads in all the great reform movements
that have for their aim the uplifting of man. He leads
in the cause of christian education. He leads in the
cause of temperance. He leads in the cause of missions.
Wherever a leader is needed in the great work of saving
men, and making them better, nobler, and happier, the
pastor is found, armed with the sword of the spirit, he
says not—go, but, follow me, as I follow Christ. Thus
have we presented to you the qualifications and the work
of the pastor, imperfect though it may be, yet, fellow
pastors, may I not hope that your pure minds may be
stirred up by the way of remembrance, though I may not
have said anything that you did not know.
And now let me conclude by directing your thoughts
for a few moments to the results of the work of the faith¬
ful pastor. If he does his work well, he is himself bene¬
fitted. He becomes wiser in the things of God. He
becomes more and more like his Maker. He becomes as
a man and a christian, stronger and stronger. There is
one picture in the book called " Emblems and Allegories,"
that gives a beautiful illustration of the results of the
faithful work of the pastor. It is a winter scene. The
54 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
place is the polar regions. The vessel has been wrecked,
the mariners have been thrown upon a lonely shore.
One of the number, overcome by the cold, has fallen
asleep; the others with whips fall upon him, and the re¬
sult is warmth in their own bodies and a comrade saved.
He who works faithfully to save others, will also save
himself. Notwithstanding the many and great difficulties
that often lie in the way of the faithful pastor, yet grace
is assured him from the Master. Be it his to continue in
the work until the well done has been said, and the Mas¬
ter calls him down and takes him home. The continued
tokens of the spirit's presence will be his. " They shall
both save themselves and they that hear them." If they
go forth weeping, yet at the same time bearing precious
seed, they shall come again rejoicing, bringing their
sheaves with them. Thus the pastor who is faithful shall
not spend his strength for naught, nor labor in vain.
Another result will be seen in the activity of the church
in all her relationship. Is the pastor full of care? then
brotherly love will abound; the bond of sympathy will
be tightened; the outcast will be reached; sinners will be
converted; money for the church will be laid on the
table; God's name will be glorified, and Zion's borders
will be enlarged; home evangelization will be carried for¬
ward. Activity ! Activity ! ! Activity ! ! ! everywhere.
Oh, what results depended upon the faithful work of the
pastor. Then, from the church of the faithful pastor,
souls converted go, at death, sweetly saved through Jesus,
yonder in the glory land, the result of his labors have
gone. Members of the North Ohio Annual Conference,
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 55
be more than mere, preachers; be more than mere debt
payers; be pastors—shepherds indeed, of God's flock.
To this office you are called. Preach, yes, not for ap¬
plause, but to save souls; pay debts on churches, yes, but
not to get the name of great church financiers, but that
the church may be used to glorify God. For remember,
the building, with the rest of the world, will be burned;
but be faithful pastors, and your work will not only go
on here, but in eternity, the souls fed, and cared for, and
led to glory, will praise with you. Then be sure that you
are pastors after God's own heart.
Amen.
Sympathy of Christ for His Disciples, and the
• Effect and J^eeds of the Holy Spirit,.
By Rev. John Dickerson.
" And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you an¬
other Comforter, that He may abide with you forever—
John, XIV: 16.
How very emphatic is every word of this text: "And
I will pray the Father and He shall give you another
Comforter, that He may abide with you forever." This
fourteenth chapter of St. John stands out as prominent
as any one truth of the bible could stand, that Christ
Jesus, our blessed Lord, sympathized with and for His
disciples. And no tongue can tell the amount of sadness
that was lifted from their hearts by this text, as He ad¬
dressed it to those who had left all to follow Him, and
who were now sorrowing because He was going to leave
them. But I imagine the sympathizing Jesus says to
them, as they stand around him with sad hearts, " I will
not forsake you in your hour of loneliness. Although
the moments of my suffering, with all their weight and
responsibility, are pressing upon me, yet my love and
..sympathy for you is so great that I will take the time to
pray that the Father will give you another Comforter.
And I know that the Father will grant you my request,
and that is the reason why I make you such a positive
A Gasket of Pulpit Thought.
57
promise. I know that I have during the years of my as¬
sociation with you, taught you how to pray. But I will*
not entrust this important work to you—important be¬
cause I know what it is to be falsely accused. I know if
you have no one to cheer you in your hours of sadness,
brought on by relentless persecutors, you will become
disheartened and utterly fail. I never want you to again
experience the sadness of losing your best friend. I want
one with you to abide forever. Therefore, I will pray the
Father to. give you an abiding Comforter. As apostles,
whom I have called and qualified and shall send forth to
preach my gospel, I want you to be a success wherever
you may go; a success with God in honoring his name
and cause; a success with your fellow men in leading
them to me, and a success with yourselves by having a
consciousness of having done your whole duty. I want
you to endure faithfully and patiently all the crosses and
privations that you may have to endure during your itine¬
rant work. You cannot, you dare not stop, but go you
must; and as you go you must preach, and the kind of
preaching must be that kind which I bid thee, and that
will strike at all the faults of humanity and present the
worth and glory of my blessed gospel. As a result some¬
times you will be rejected and your pretended best friends
will oppose you. Sometimes your preaching will seem to
be of no value whatever ; you may even lack the common
necessities of life. I will not be there, as at the Sea of
Tiberias, to feed you and your friends by performing a
miracle ; but I sympathize with you. And now I tell you
58
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what I will do for you. I will pray the Father and he
shall give you another Comforter and he shall abide with
you forever, and thus you will be enabled to do the work
that I have assigned to your hands with great joy." O,
my Ministerial brethren of the North Ohio Conference,
our blessed Jesus, whose gospel you are preaching, sym¬
pathized with his disciples who were itinerant ministers as
you are, and he gave them assurance of that fact in this
text.
Let us now consider the gift of the Holy Ghost in its
effects.
The coming of the Holy Spirit into the world lay very
near the heart of the blessed Redeemer, and particularly
engaged his thought and conversation during his last days
on earth. He spoke upon this subject several times to
his disciples, and repeatedly assured them of his coramg.
And this blessed Comforter, that was given to the disci¬
ples on the day of Pentecost, has been very successful in
the work assigned him by God the Father. That work
was to carry out the design planned by God himself, and
put in operation by his only begotten son, our Savior.
We have only to look abroad or around us to see the fact
that we are living in a grand age of the world's history,
when compared with the lights and shadows of the past.
Different countries seem to be more united with each
other in the grand work of disseminating the blessed
truths of the Bible. There is more peace and union be¬
tween different denominations. Steam and electricity are
doing a grand part in opening the way for the angels of
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
59
the gospel, to carry the news of good tidings of great joy
to all the inhabitable parts of the globe.
At this time the Bible is being translated into almost
every known tongue, and the price of the blessed word of
God is so cheap that Earth's poorest can be supplied
through the Bible Societies that abound almost every¬
where. Missionaries of the various denominations are
going all through the earth, publishing Salvation by pre¬
cept and example. More laborers are ready for the har¬
vest, more money can be raised now than ever before to
sustain them. But all this is infinitely too weak to ac¬
complish the moral and spiritual renovation of the world.
What we need is the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, upon
the ministers and. churches at home and abroad, to quick¬
en our zeal, to inspire our hearts with faith, and to
strengthen our hands in the great work before us. The
blessed effects of the influences of the Holy Spirit are so
desirable and beneficial that we ought to be more urgent
at the Throne of Grace, and keep not silent and give him
no rest until we obtain the blessing. We have all the
needed encouragement from our Heavenly Father to pray
without ceasing for this inestimable gift. Listen to what
he says in the Forty-fourth chapter of Isaiah and the
third verse : " For I will pour water on him that is thirs¬
ty, and floods on the dry ground. I will pour my Spirit
upon thy seed and my blessing upon thine offspring."
Brethren, let us plead with God for the fulfillment of his
gracious promises in the Spirit directed in the Sixty-ninth
chapter of Isaiah : " Ye that make mention of the Lord,
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keep not silent and give him no rest until he establish
and until he shall make Jerusalem a praise in the earth."
Let us thank Him for His promises. They are as staffs
for us to lean upon ; they are resting places for us by the
way ; they are enduring monuments of God's love to us.
The first promise brought the Messiah into the world
in the flesh ; the second brought him in the Spirit. The
first brought him into the world to be crucified ; the'sec¬
ond to crucify the sins of the people. The first to shed
his blood for the remission of sins ; the second to give
redemption and remission of sins, with more grace and
dignity than any earthly King could grant a pardon to
one of his subjects. O, the grandeur of this great plan
of salvation, arranged by God himself. Surely his way is
in the sea, and his path in the great waters; his footstep,
are not known. He travels through the mysterious deep
and is only seen from the opposite side.
There were a great many hooks and links joined to the
chain that raised the Israelites out of the house of bond¬
age. They must be brought to Eygpt in the time of fam¬
ine ; their numbers must increase.; be oppressed; their
cries must reach Heaven, and God descending to the
bush, Moses is called ; the rod is put in his hand ; miracles
are wrought ; Pharoah's heart is hardened; the first¬
born are slain ; the blood of the paschal lamb is sprink¬
led upon the door-posts ; the pillar of fire and cloud leads
the people.; the sea is divided and they are led into the
promised land of Canaan. Had any one of these links or
hooks been broken, the whole chain of deliverance would'
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
61
have been like a broken arch of a bridge. So it is in the
salvation of sinners by Jesus Christ. All the blessings are
inseparably connected with their conditions. Had it not
been for the advent of Christ, there would have been no
redemption for us. Were it not for His ascension the
Holy Spirit would not have come from Heaven as our
blessed Comforter.
The Operation of the Holy Spirit is Invisible. It is like
the wind which " bloweth where it listeth, and thou hear-
est the sound thereof, (or as the New Version has it, " the
voice thereof" ) but canst not tell from whence it cometh,
or whither it goeth. So is every one that is born of the
Spirit." It can only be seen by its effects. It might be
compared to a drop of water. It is a drop that will be¬
come a fountain that will become an ocean springing up
unto everlasting life. It might be compared to a spark
of fire. It is a spark that shall become an unquenchable
flame that can never be put out. The Holy Spirit strives
with the souls of men, plants a living; and holy principle
in their hearts, dwells in them, leads them in all truth,
and beareth witness with their spirits that they are the
children of God. He illuminates the dark understanding,
subdues the stubborn will, rectifies the inordinate affec¬
tions, not by an audible voice from Heaven, but through
the instrumentality of the Word of God.
It is the office of the Holy Spirit to Convince, to Correct
and Regenerate Sinners. In short he is the power that is
in the gospel. All Scripture is given by his inspiration.
The Holy Spirits making intercession for us. He is
62
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sent from the court of Heaven, in the name of Christ, to
convince men of the dreadful consequences of fighting
against the Divine government, and the utter folly of re¬
fusing to have Christ reign over them, and thus continu¬
ing in a state of horrid rebellion against him. It is his
prerogative to speak to the hearts of sinners, that they
may listen to the message of mercy that he brings from
Heaven, and receive the atonement that he has to seal to
their poor, wounded hearts, and receive the promises of
Divine grace that he exhibits and the support that he
has to impart, that they may " renew their strength, mount
up with wings as eagles, run and not be weary, walk and
not faint." This blessed Holy Spirit is ours, beloved fel¬
low-laborers. He is ours to reconcile enemies and invigo¬
rate friends; to console us when we are cast down and
dejected ; to strengthen us when we are weak and feeble,
and to support us under all the trials of our ministerial
life. O, brethren, as you have gone qut the past year
amid the seeming hindrances, preaching the blessed word
of truth, how often, when the labors of the Sabbath were
over, and you thought of the insufficiency of the work¬
man and the great work required at your hands, did you
feel sad ? But in that hour of sadness, did not the whis¬
perings of the Holy Spirit saying in your hearts, " Lo, I
am with you all," comfort your hearts and throw a halo
of Divine light in your pathway ? Ah, brethren, that
word abideth, and the word has always been a precious
word to me during my short ministerial life, and made me
so often forget the weariness of the journey, as I realized
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
63
that I had a blessed Comforter and a sympathizing Jesus
—a friend that sticks closer than a brother.
A proof-text that the work of the Holy Spirit is also
that of an intercessor, may be found in the Eighth chap¬
ter of Romans and the Twenty-sixth verse : " But the
Spirit maketh intercession for us." The Spirit, the Com¬
forter, who maketh intercessions for us, is able to convince
the whole world of sin and the plan of salvation through
the cross of Christ. In his hand alone is the word of God
effectual. As we preach He intercedes for us. He is able
to rend the veil of darkness, that our hearers may see
their lost condition, and that the only foundation of their
hope of being more than conquerers over all their ene¬
mies is through the conquest obtained on Calvary. In
the light that the Holy Spirit commands to shine into the
heart, the sinner sees himself in an awful condition, un¬
der sentence of condemnation. It is the Holy Spirit that
shows him the fullness of the atonement in the blood of
Jesus Christ, and throws to him the rope of the promises,
and bids him t«-> take hold and fear not. For Jesus says,
" Him that cometh to me, I will in no wise cast out."
The difference between the intercession of Christ and
the intercession of the Holy Spirit, deserves our notice.
We have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the
righteous. And the Holy Spirit is making intercession
for the Saints according to the will of God. Christ is
making intercession in the upper court, sitting on the
right hand of the Father in the third heaven, in glory,
majesty and power. The Holy Spirit is making interces-
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sion in the lower court—the court of conscience—sitting
on his throne, between fear and presumption, between
good hope and a fictitious hope. In the midst of pover¬
ty and corruption, fitting and preparing such as you, my
brethren, for the enjoyment of a better life. In the pres¬
ence of a holy God, Jesus Christ is making intercession^
where no enemy can harm him. The Holy Spirit is
making intercession with the Saints, and for them, while
they are on the earth, wrestling against principalities and
powers, rulers of darkness and spiritual wickedness in
high places, Jesus Christ is making intercession for trans¬
gressions. The Holy Spirit upon earth is framing the
minds of corrupt men and women to pray, to seek God
and draw nigh unto him. It is he that renews, purifies,
and cleanses them, as with washing, by the word. He
opens the eyes of the blind and unstops the ears of the
deaf. He makes the lame to leap as the hart and loosens
the tongue of the dumb to sing aloud the praises of God.
Jesus Christ is making intercession for us, with our names
on his breast-plate, written in his own atoning blood. He
appears before God for us. The Holy Spirit is making
intercession, in the name of Jesus, to glorify him in the
sight of his followers. By the first our names are raised
in honor above, and by the latter He raises the name of
Jesus in honor with men. Jesus performs the office of,
intercessor, without us, before the Father. But the
Spirit, by quickening and moving us to act and setting
our hearts in order, is making intercession for us here
Hence, faith and repentance are graces of the Holy Spirit,
A (Jasket of Pulpit Thought
65
but He will neither believe nor repent for us. We must
repent and believe or we will be condemned. There is a
human and a Divine side to the plan of salvation, and the
two are inseparably connected in the blessed work of hu¬
man redemption. Jesus said, " Come unto me all ye that
labor and are heavy laden." This was the human side,
and when this was done, then we had the Divive part,
"I will give you rest." The human side to "take my
yoke upon you," the Divine, " and you shall have rest to
your souls." Ours is to hunger and thirst after righteous¬
ness ; God's part is to fill us, or satisfy our craving appe¬
tite with the Heavenly manna. He says, " Let the wick¬
ed forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts ;
let him turn unto the Lord." Then comes the Divine
work : " He will have mercy, and our God will abun¬
dantly pardon." The human is, " to open the door of
the heart," and the Divine is to " come in and sup ; "
that is to commune with the human, share their joys and
sorrows. If the trials of life are great, you shall have a
friend at hand, one in whose fidelity you can safely con¬
fide. So you can plainly see that if there is no coming
there is no rest; no opening of the door, no coming in
and supping. Yes, we cannot be mistaken. All must
come to Christ who want salvation, and he assures us,
" He will in nowise cast us out." Yes, praise the Lord !
He sweetly draws us by the gracious influences of the
Spirit and chords of his love. He does not only sanctify
himself, but we are under the sanctifying influence of this
Holy Spirit. We shall be like Christ, our head. "We
66
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know not what we shall be," says the Apostle Paul, "but
we know that when Christ our life shall appear we shall
be like him, for we shall see him as he is." Ah, brethren,
we shall be satisfied when we awake in His likeness. It
is our duty to pray for the forgiveness of sins. It is our
duty to mortify the lust of the flesh that warreth against
the Spirit. The Holy Spirit will not do these things for
us. But, thank God, he is able to give power, life and
vigor to do them. He will never understand and love the
truth for us, but he will lead us in all truth for his name's
sake, and shed a Savior's love in these poor hearts of ours
and kindle a sacred flame.
This Spirit is to Abide with us Forever. The Church
of God has suffered in all ages, if we look at it from a hu¬
man standpoint, by the ruthless'hand of death. Since our
Conference was organized some of our strongest and best
men have been called from labor to reward. Since our
last General Conference three of our worthy Bishops,
Dickerson, Cain and Shorter, have crossed the dark river,
laid aside their implements of Christian warfare, and amid
the refulgent glory of the Heavenly land, they join in the
song of redeeming love. Many other eminent ministers
of our faith have laid aside their robes of mortality and
put on the spotless robes of salvation. Some of us are
nearing the margin, and, at times, we think we can al¬
most hear the rapturous hosannas of the deathless spirit
of Richard Allen, Paul Quinn, Edward Davis, J. A. War¬
ren, Wm. Newman, John Tibbs and a host of others, as
they look down upon the growth of our beloved church
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
67
and hear them sing. " Not by might but by my spirit,
saith the Lord of hosts, shall the Church gain her victory."
Yes, some are gone over, some are going soon ; but thank
God the Holy Spirit abideth with us. Let us thank God
and take courage to still fight the good fight of faith.
Though the old Ship of Zion, tossed on the sea of time,
has lost some of her hands ; though strong and powerful
they might have been to pull the ropes, and though quick
in their motions to climb the masts and let down the
small boats to take the drowned and drowning on board,
they are all gone one after another, and new hands are
now filling their places. But the Captain, the ship's own¬
er, is still living. His place has never been vacant since
he took hold of the compass and register book on the
day of Pentecost.
Deaf Bishop and brethren of the North Ohio Confer¬
ence, this is our consolation : We have a Christ that
cares and sympathizes for us. And he prayed the Father,
and the Father gave us the Holy Spirit, our Comforter,
and he is to abide with us forever. To God the Father,
God the Son, and God the Holy Ghost, be the glory now
and forever.
Amen.
The Glory d! the Latter House,
By Rev. Bishop Jabez B. Campbell, D.D.„ LL.D.
" The glory of this latter house shall be greater than that
of the former, saith the Lord of hosts : and in this place
will I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts."—Haggai
II: 9.
The prophet Haggai, it is probable, was born in Baby¬
lon in the time of the captivity. He appears to have
been the first prophet sent of God with a message to the
Jewish people after their return from Babylon to their
own land. The message sent by him was to encourage
the Jews, who had returned, to go forward in the work of
rebuilding the temple of God at Jerusalem, the foundation
of which was laid after the issuing of the decree for that
purpose by Cyrus, King of Persia, in the first year of his
reign, 536 years before the coming of Christ.
At that time the seventy years of captivity, foretold by
the prophet Jeremiah, had ended. When their enemies
who dwelt in the land had knowledge of the decree of the
king for the rebuilding of the temple at Jerusalem, and
that he had ordered material to be given for that purpose,
also had given them the vessels of the house of the Lord
with everything else necessary for the rebuilding and furn-
(68)
A Casket of Ptilpit Thought.
69
ishing of the temple, they raised objections, withstood
them, and brought an influence to bear upon the king
himself, sufficient to cause another decree to be issued
which compelled the people to cease from building, even
after the foundation of the second house of the Lord was
laid. So great was the influence brought to bear against
them, upon the kings, that Zerubbabel, the son of Sheal-
tiel, the governor, and his brethren, and Joshua, the son
of Josedech, the high priest, and his brethren, were so
disheartened, that, after abandoning the work, they made
no further attempt to continue the building until the sec¬
ond year of Darius, King of Persia, 520 years before
Christ
In the sixth month of that year, we are told that the
word of the Lord came to Haggai, the prophet, unto
Zerubbabel, the governor, and to Joshua, the high priest.
By this word of the Lord, Haggai reproved the people
for neglecting the building of the house, and urged them
to build. He promised assistance from God to help them
in going forward with the work.
When they had received the message of the Lord,
through this prophet, then Zerubbabel, the governor,
with Joshua, the high priest, together with all the people,
obeyed the voice of the. Lord their God and the words of
Haggai, and they came and did the work in the house of
the Lord. When they had begun the work again, the
prophet encouraged the people with the promise that a
greater glory should come to the second house than had
been in the former.
70
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The house which was built by Solomon, the king, had
been the earthly residence of Jehovah for a period of four
hundred years. Here dwelt the Holy One of Israel, in a
sense in whicn He did not dwell in any other place upon
the earth.
It was in the heart of David to build a house for the
Lord, and he resolved to do so. This he did when he
found himself dwelling in a beautiful palace, built of the
cedars of Lebanon, and surrounded by a royal court, with
every other dignity and comfort becoming his kingly es¬
tate. As he looked from his palace on the old and dil¬
apidated tabernacle which was built in the days of Moses ;
which was with the children of Israel during the forty
years' sojourn in the wilderness; with them when they
conquered and took possession of the land of Canaan,
the promised land; with them in all of the wars for that
conquest; with them during the reign of all the judges
down to Samuel; with Samuel forty years; with Saul,
the first king, forty years; and with David himself forty
years,—in all, from the time of its building, a period of
more than four hundred years,—he said, " I will not give
sleep fo mine eyes, nor slumber to mine eyelids, until I
build God a house." So said David to Nathan, the
prophet. Nathan was pleased, and approved of the good
resolution of the king, and departed from his presence
until the next morning.
In the morning Nathan returned, and again told the
king that his purpose to build a house for the Lord was
good, but that nevertheless he was authorized by the
A Casket of Pulpit Thovght.
71
Lord to say unto him that he should not build the house,
for the reason that he had been a man of war, and had
shed much blood. But the Lord had promised that he
would give to him a son, a man of peace, filled with wis¬
dom and understanding for the work, and that he should
build that house. However, he informed David that he
had permission to gather materials for the building of the
house, all that was necessary, or the means to purchase
the materials. And the Lord also promised David that
He would give to him the pattern, and that He would
give to his son Solomon the wisdom to build the house
after the pattern given to him.
All this was fulfilled to the letter ; the house was built,
finished, and dedicated to the service of Almighty God.
At the dedication, the house was filled with the glory
of God when the divine presence took possession of it,
just as it did when the tabernacle was finished in the wil¬
derness, and dedicated to the service of Jehovah.
Solomon's temple was a building of wonderful magnifi¬
cence. It was an object of taste, beauty, and sublimity ;
and thus it is said, " Beautiful for situation, the joy of the
whole earth is Mount Zion, on the side of the north, the
city of the great king." God is known in her palaces for
a refuge. Walk about Zion, and go round about her ;
tell the towers thereof; mark ye well her bulwarks ; con¬
sider her palaces, that ye may tell it to the generations
following. For this God is our God forever and ever.
He will be our Guide even unto death."
All this has been said, and very much more might be
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said, concerning the glory of the former house.
In the first temple or house of the Lord, there were to
be seen several things which were never seen in the sec¬
ond temple. Among these we may name the ark of the
covenant, which contained the two tables of the law writ¬
ten with the finger of God ; there was Aaron's rod that
budded ; the Urim and Thummim ; the pot oi manna;
the sacred fire which fell from heaven ; and the mercy
seat; above it stood the cherubim, over which appeared
the heavenly shekinah, or manifestation of the divine
presence, in the most holy place,—all of wTiich were types
and shadows of good things to come.
But, alas ! alas ! for the sins of the people, for their
iniquities, and often-repeated violations of the laws of
God ; their wonderful proneness to idolatry ; the serving
of the gods of the nations round about them, against
which the judgments of the Almighty for many genera¬
tions had been threatened.
Their beautiful house was destroyed and razed to the
foundations of it; their magnificent temple burned with
fire; the walls of the city were thrown down; their
houses burned ; their kings, their princes, and their no¬
bles were made captive, and carried to Babylon in chains.
By the rivers of Babylon they sat down in sadness and
silence. Their enemies tauntingly said unto them,
" Come, Jew, sing us .one of the songs of Zion ! " I hear
the pious Jew saying, while his eyes were turned toward
the Holy Place of Jerusalem, toward the mount on which
the house of the Lord had stood, " How can I sing the
A Casket of Pulpit Thovght. ( 73
Lord's song in a strange land ? If I forget thee, O Jeru¬
salem, let my right hand forget her cunning; let my
tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth, if I prefer not
Jerusalem above my chief joy."
As we have said, the time prophesied by Jeremiah had
now expired ; the seventy years were accomplished, and
the Lord had " turned again the captivity of Zion." The
writer of the one hundred and twenty-sixth Psalm refers
to the event of their return in this beautiful language :
" When the Lord turned again the captivity of Zion, we
were like them that dream. Then was our mouth filled
with laughter, and our tongue with singing • then said
they among the heathen, the Lord hath done great things
for them. The Lord hath done great things for us, where¬
of we are glad."
Josephus, speaking of the second house, says : " It is
a work the most admirable of any that had ever been seen
or heard of, both for its curious structure and its magni¬
tude ; and also for the vast wealth expended upon it, as
well as for the universal reputation of its sanctity."
All this, and very much more, has been said concern¬
ing the temple which was built by Herod the Great,—
that temple concerning which the Jews had said to the
Savior it had been forty and six years in building. It in¬
deed was large, strong, and in its arrangements and furn¬
ishings magnificent. But that was not the glory to which
the prophet referred when he said that " the glory of this
latter house shall be greater than of the former." A
shadow is never equal to that of which it is a shadow ; a
74 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
type never is, nor can be, equal to the antitype.
The law given by Moses was a type, and only a shadow,
of good things to come by and through the gospel of
Christ. Christ is the ark of safety to all of His followers,
and for all who will follow Him. As the people were led
through the wilderness, guided by the presence of the an¬
gel Jehovah, with a pillar of cloud by day and of fire by
night, for forty years, so Christ leads His people through
the wilderness of this world, by a pillar of cloud by day,
and of fire by night. His word is a lamp unto our feet,
and a light unto our pathway. Christ appeared in the
latter house as the way, the truth, and the life,—the light
which lighteth every man that cometh into the world.
In this latter house there appears, instead of Aaron's
rod that budded, the rod and staff of Him who has prom¬
ised that He shall comfort the believer in the valley of
the shadow of death ; instead of the pot of manna, in the
second temple there appears One who says, " I am the
bread of life" ; and as an antitype of God's provision for
His famishing people before ev.en the building of the for¬
mer house, instead of the smitten rock in the wilderness,
of which the people who drank afterward died, we have in
the latter house One who said to the woman at Jacob's
well in Samaria, " If thou knewest the gift of God, and
Who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink, thou
wouldst have asked of Him, and He would have given
thee living water." And upon another occasion, it is said
of Him : " On the last day, that great day of the feast,
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75
Jesus stood and cried, saying, If any man thirst, let him
come unto me and drink ; he that believeth on me, as
the Scripture hath said, out of his belly shall flow rivers
of living water. This spake He of the Spirit, which they
that believe on iHm should receive."
In this latter house we have that which excels in glory
the Urim and Thummim, or the symbol of light and per¬
fection. We have Christ revealing Himself as the light
of the world, the desire of all nations, in the Holy Spirit
who cleanses, purifies, and makes perfect all who will re¬
ceive Him, the Spirit of truth which guides into all truth.
In the latter house, instead of a cloud of glory above the
mercy seat which represented the divine presence, we
have God manifest in the flesh, seen of angels, preached
unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world, received up
into glory. In Him the Godhead dwells bodily. He ap¬
pears in this latter house as prophet, priest, and king.
As a prophet, He spake as never man spake. As a priest,
He made an atonement for our sins by offering Himself
as a sacrifice. He appears as a king reigning in the
hearts of those who believe on Him. The glory of the
latter house will appear greater than the former when we
consider the character, the work, and the present and fu¬
ture position of the Son of God, the blessed Redeemer,
in this latter house. In the context it is said : " Thus
saith the Lord of hosts, 'Yet once it is a little while, and
I will shake the heavens, and the earth, and the sea, and
the dry land ; and I will shake all nations, and the desire
of all nations shall come, and I will fill this house with
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glory, saith the Lord of hosts. The silver is mine and
the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts." Then follows
the declaration that " the glory of this latter house shall
be greater than of the former, and that in this place will
I give peace, saith the Lord of hosts."
In order to be better understood, let us briefly consid¬
er the character of Him who is the desire of all nations-
His name is Wonderful—He is called the seed of the
woman ; the seed of Abraham ; the hope of Isaac ; the
prophet of Moses ; son of David ; the son of a Virgin.
Isaiah is very bold, and says of Him, " For unto us a
child is born, unto us a son is given, and the government
shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called
Wonderful, Counsellor, the mighty God, the everlasting
Father, the Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His gov¬
ernment and peace, there shall be no end. Upon the
throne of David, and upon his kingdom, to order it, and
to establish it with judgment and with justice from hence¬
forth even forever." Again, he says, "And there shall
come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse and a Branch
shall grow out of His roots, and the spirit of the Lord
shall rest upon Him, the spirit of wisdom and under-
stanJing, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of
knowledge and fear of the Lord."
When our blessed Lord entered upon the work of His
ministry, it is said, " He came to Nazareth where he had
been brought up, and as His custom was He went into
the synagogue upon the Sabbath day, and stood up for
to read, and there was delivered unto Him the book of
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. ?7
the prophet Esaias, and when He" had opened the book
He found the place where it was written. The spirit of
the Lord is upon me because He hath annointed me to
preach the gospel to the poor ; He hath sent me to heal
the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives,
to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the ac¬
ceptable year of the Lord. And He closed the book and
gave it again to the minister and sat down. And the eyes
of all them that were in the synagogue were fastened on
Him, and He began to say unto them, This day is this
scripture fulfilled in your ears."
Thus we see that the prophecies to which we have re¬
ferred all centre in our blessed Lord and Savior Jesus
Christ. According to His own statements, He is the de¬
sire of all nations, the Lord of hosts. His kingdom will
come, and His will will be done in .earth as it is in
heaven.
His knowledge is peii'ect, lacking nothing. Three sev¬
eral times Peter denied Him, as Christ had before told
him that he would do. During one of the last interviews
He had with His disciples before He ascended to heaven,
He said to Peter three several times, " Lovest thou me
more than these ? " Peter was grieved at heart because
He said the third time to him, " Lovest thou me more
than these ? " And he answered Him, saying, " Lord,
Thou knowest all things. Thou knowest that I love thee."
He*saith unto him, "Feed my sheep." His wisdom ex¬
ceeds all of our conceptions. " It is as high as heaven,
what canst thou do ? Deeper than hell, what canst thou
78 . A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
know?" The length thereof runs through eternity, and
the width encompasseth the universe. " If I ascend up
into heaven, Thou art there. If I make my bed in hell,
behold, Thou art there." His power is unlimited. It is
not possible for the human understanding to comprehend
the limits or extent of the power of God, and Jesus Christ,
the Son of God. He upholds all things by the word of
His power ; He spreads out the heavens with a span ; He
measures the sea in the hollow of His hand, and hangs
the earth upcn nothing. His nature is perfectly holy.
Of Him, and Him only, can it be said, He was holy, harm¬
less, undefiled, and separate from sinners. He never had
an evil thought; He never spoke an evil word ; He never
did a wrong deed ; His compassion was full for all hu¬
manity. " It is a faithful saying, and worthy of all ac¬
ceptation, that Christ Jesus came into the world to save
sinners." Covering the race of man, and every individu¬
al member of the race, without a single exception, from
Adam to Moses in patriarchal ages, and from Moses to
Christ under the law, and from the coming of Christ to
the end of the world under the Gospel dispensation, He
is full of pity and compassion for all the human race.
For a mement, let us look at the work of Him who is
the desire of all nations. He fulfilled the law, and thus
made it honorable. No man beside Him did ever fulfill
it. He made an atonement for sinbeing put to death
for our offences, and raised again for our justification.
Let this truth be told throughout earth's remotest bounds.
He tasted death,for every man, when H eddied upon the
A Casket of Pulpit Though/.
79
cross. When Christ died, salvation flowed from that cross
in two ways,—from the cross to the beginning of the
world, and from the cross to the end of the world, em¬
bracing the whole human family from the beginning to
the end of the world, without an exception. So much for
the extent of the atonement, the benefits of which are of¬
fered to all them who believe this glorious truth ; for he
that believes shall be saved, but he that believeth not
shall be condemned. There is no salvation for the final¬
ly impenitent, but all things are possible to him who be¬
lieves. He conquered death, and by His ressurection He
became the first fruit of the resurrection of them who
sleep in death. Christ must reign until He has put the
last enemy under His feet. The last enemy that shall be
destroyed is death. The destruction of death by Christ
signified two things,—first, last in point of difficulty ;
secondly, last in the order of time.
He appointed a gospel ministry to supercede the minis¬
try of the Jewish church, as it was under the Mosaic econ¬
omy. After His resurrection He ascended into heaven,
where He now appears in the presence of God for us.
He is our Great High Priest; for He is the propitiation
for our sins, and not for our sins only, but for the sins of
the whole world. After His ascension into heaven, ac¬
cording to His promise, He sent down the Holy Spirit to
enlighten, cleanse, purify, and guide us into all truth,—
that Spirit which is the Comforter ; the Holy Ghost, who,
according to His promise, is to abide with us forever.
Let us consider the present and future position of Him
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who was the desire of all nations,—the Lord of hosts.
We believe the Scriptures, and can repeat with confidence
from the "Apostle's Creed,"—"He ascended into heaven,
and sitteth at the right hand of God, the Father Almighty,
and from thence He shall come again at the end of the
world, to judge the quick and the dead."
In a spiritual sense, the former house was the Old
Testament church, or the church under the first covenant.
The latter house signifies the New Testament church, or
the church of the new covenant, which God, by the mouth
of all the prophets, promised to establish when Christ
should come. But Christ has come at the end of the law
for righteousness.
Of the Mosaic economy, we are distinctly told that it
was the shadow of good things to come; under it, there
was the tabernacle, containing two distinct departments in
the one tabernacle. First, there was the holy place, which
represents the visible church upon earth, composed of all
believers, or followers of Christ upon the earth ; and sec¬
ondly, in it was the holy of holies, or the most holy place,
representing heaven itself, the final abode of the saints, or
the invisible church.
The apostles say to the visible church, Ye are God's
house, ye are God's building. The church of God is
called His house in I Tim. iii: 15, where it is said :
" That thou mayest know how to behave thyself in the
house of God, which is the church of the living God."
Again, in Heb. iii: 6, it is written : " But Christ, as a
Son over His own house, whose house are we." In this
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 81
house the promise is fulfilled that " I will give peace in
this place." That is to say, God promises that He will
give peace to believers in the visible church, unto all who
believe on the name of the Son of God. We have no
reason to doubt that such was the meaning attached to
the promise, that " In this place will I give peace, saith
the Lord of hosts."
Nothing can be more morally certain than this,—that
the prophets foretold the establishment of the Christian
Church by Christ and the apostles, and the universal
spread of the Gospel. Such was the meaning of the pre¬
dictions of the prophets, when they said : " It shall come
to pass in the last days that the mouiitain of the Lord's
house shall be established in the tops of the mountains,
and it shall be exalted above the hills, and all nations
shall flow unto it. And in that day there shall be a root
of Jesse which shall stand for an ensign of the people ; to
it shall the Gentiles seek, and His rest shall be glorious."
The Apostle Peter and his companions so understood this
matter upon the day of Pentecost, when the Holy Ghost
descended and sat upon them as cloven tongues of fire,
at which time Peter applied the prophecy of Joel, in the
memorable discourse that he delivered upon that occa¬
sion, and said : " And it shall come to pass in the last
days, saith God, I will pour out of my Spirit upon all
flesh, and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy,
and your young men shall see visions, and your old men
shall dream dreams. And on my servants and on my
hand-maidens I will pour out in those days of my Spirit,
82
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
and they shall prophesy. And it shall come to pass, that
whosoever shall call upon the name of the Lord shall be
saved."
The world, religiously, was in two great classes,—Jews
and Gentiles. To Peter was given the keys by which the
kingdom of heaven was opened to the Jews at Jerusalem,
and to the Gentiles in Cassarea, the Spirit attesting the
genuineness of the work in both instances ; and before
the close of the apostles' days, both Jews and Gentiles
were brought within the one Christian Church.
We are told that devout men from every nation under
heaven—that is, as we understand it, throughout the then
known civilized w0¥ld—were present on the day of Pente¬
cost, and heard Peter's first publication of the Gospel un¬
der the new dispensation. Within a period of less than
forty years, the Gospel was preached in Asia, Africa, Eu¬
rope, and the isles of the sea, and particularly throughout
the Roman Empire, which extended over, perhaps, one
third part of the land surface of the then known world.
The Lord added unto the church daily such as should be
saved. Their numbers were increased, not only by hun¬
dreds and thousands, but by thousands of thousands.
From that time until the present, the church of God has
been growing and increasing both in numbers -and
strength, until now she spreads out her wings towards all
the ends of the earth. We live to see the stone cut out
of the mountain without hand, becoming a great moun¬
tain, and filling the whole earth. We live to see the ful
filling of those predictions, or utterances, of the prophets
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
83
which point toward the coming of the kingdom of the
Lord, which shall succeed all other kingdoms, and which
shall fill the whole earth.
We have no good reason for not believing, from what
our eyes have seen and our ears have heard, that the king¬
doms of this world will ere long become " the kingdom of
our God and His Christ," when and in which Christ shall
reign triumphantly, glorious king over the whole earth.
We are living in the times when the prediction is begin¬
ning to be fulfilled, that swords shall be beaten into plough¬
shares, and spears into pruning hooks, and " nation shall
not lift up sword against nation, neither shall they learn
war any more." When all of these antl many other pre¬
dictions relating to the same triumph and peace have had
their complete fulfillment, as they will have, upon this
earth, then shall we realize the truth that the glory of this
latter house hath been greater than that of the former.
There is an invisible church of which the Savior says :
"In my Father's house are many mansions ; if it were
not so, I would have told you; I go to prepare a place
for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will
come again, and receive you unto myself, that where I
am, there ye may be also." That is heaven itself, the
most holy place. " In the world," said He, " ye shall
have tribulations, but in me ye shall have peace," and
this, He said, because " the meek shall inherit the earth
and dwell in it forever," and there shall they delight
themselves in the abundance of peace. There their
" peace shall be as the river, and their righteousness as
84
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
the waves of the sea " ; sorrow and sighing shall all be
done away ; " God shall wipe away all tears from their
eyes, and God Himself shall dwell with them and be their
God and they shall be His people." " It doth not yet ap¬
pear what we shall be, but we know that when He shall
appear we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He
is."
" There we shall see His face,
And never, never sin ;
There, from the rivers of His grace,"
Drink endless pleasure in.
" Yea, and before we rise
To that immortal state,
The thoughts of such amazing bliss
Should constant joys create.
" The men of grace have found
Glory begun below;
Celestial fruit on earthly ground
From faith and hope may grow.
" Then let our songs abound,
And every tear be dry,
We're marching through Immanuel's grounds ,
To fairer worlds on high."
Sin may afflict us for a sea&on, but sin is not of God,
and must perish. It was a heathen philosopher who said
of nature's God :—
" No evil can from
Thee proceed,
'T is only suffered,
Not decreed,
As darkness is not
From the sun,
Nor mounts the shades
Till he is gone."
If a heathen could arrive at such a conclusion, derived
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 85
from the light and study of nature alone, what faith ought
a Christian to have ? It must soon appear that sin itself
shall die. God, in the government of the world, both
physical and moral, brings light out of darkness, and good
out of evil. The crucifixion of the Lord of life and glory
was an evil, the greatest, perhaps, ever known after that
of the fall of man. By that evil the hope of the church
was taken away for a season, but the greatest possible
good was the result afterward ; and hence the apostle
Peter saith : " Blessed be the God and Father of our
Lord Jesus Christ, which, according to His abundant
mercy, hath begotten us again unto a lively hope, by the
resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, to an inheri¬
tance incorruptible and undefiled and that fadeth not
away, reserved in heaven for you/' By the persecutions
of pagan Rome, the spread of the gospel was much hin¬
dered for a time; thousands of faithful men and women
were made to suffer, and in varied forms were put to
death, because they earnestly contended for the faith
which was once delivered to the saints. But through the
triumphs of the cross of Christ, Christianity became the
religion of the empire, with a Christianized emperor at the
head of the church ; and though church and state became
united under this national espousal of the new faith, that
evil wrought itself out in righteousness.
The natural result of such a union was that vital piety
was brought to a low ebb, while nominal Christianity be¬
came wealthy, proud, haughty, and cruel beyond descrip¬
tion. We have heard it said that sixty millions of Christ-
86
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ians became martyrs for the faith, but the very blood of
the martyrs was made the seed of the church. As the re¬
sult of the corruptions of papal Rome, we have the Re¬
formation under Martin Luther and a host of other re¬
formers, raised up under God for that purpose. If the
church of the Reformation became contaminated, formal,
cold, indifferent, dead, spiritually dead, as a result of this
deadness, God raised up such men as Wesley, Fletcher,
and Whitfield, and others in Europe ; Edwards, Asbury,
Allen, and others in America, through whose indefatigable
labors and earnest preaching again of the doctrine of
justification by faith only, we have " a revival of primitive
Christianity in earnest," bringing us to these days of moral
agitation and general reformation. And still the work of
God goes on. The spirit of Christianity presses out into
the byways and highways to effect the renovation of all
our people, and national vices and crimes are eradicated
by its power of influence. " Slavery, the sum of all vil-
lanies," makes its appearance in the new world, upon the
American continent, side by side with New England pu-
ritanism \ and these two spirits enter into deadly conflict
for a period of two hundred and fifty years. Dark, dark
indeed, and most cruel, were the days of slavery and the
African slave trade, but the light of truth and the doc¬
trines of the cross have triumphed, and slavery has per¬
ished. It was always a curse, it never was a blessing.
But God hath made the wrath of man to praise Him. To¬
day, a result of the triumphs of light over darkness,
truth over error, and the Gospel- over the power of sin
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 8'/
and Satan, slavery sleeps the sleep that knows no waking.
The white, the black, and the red are freemen, and we are
met here to-day as men and brothers. There is no more
distinction on account of race, color, or previous condi¬
tion of servitude. We have come to the acknowledgment
of the fatherhood of God and the brotherhood of man.
What could have forced this marvel of grace upon us but
the spread of the truth of the Gospel of Christ and the
infusion of the principles of that higher civilization which
has its foundation in the word of God ? The glory of the
latter house hastens upon us. When peace on earth and
good-will to men are accomplished, the glory of the lat¬
ter house will have fully come. My prayer to God is,
that we may all become partakers of that peace which
bringeth to all joy, unspeakable and full of glory.
Amen.
The Earth Filled with the Glory ol the Lord.
By Rev. D. W. Butler, of Dayton.
" But as truly as I live, all the earth shall be filled with
the glory of the Lord"—Numbers XIV : 21.
Glory is the manifestation of excellence. The glory of
God is the display of His most blessed character and will,
which opens the way for His intelligent creatures to know,
to love and obey Him.
This glory is exhibited in various ways, it shines in all
the works of Creation. All the works of God, we are told,
praise Him. " The heavens declare His glory and the
firmament showeth His handiwork." " Day unto day
uttereth speech, and night unto night showeth forth
knowledge ; there is no speech nor language where their
voice is not heard; their line is gone out through all the
earth, and words to the end of the world."
Again, the glory of God is manifested by the marks of
His Providence. The doctrine of Divine Providence is
set forth and illustrated in every part of Holy Scripture.
It denotes the vigilant care which God exercises in rela¬
tion to all the works of His hands.
The Proverbs of Solomon say, " the Lord is good to
all, and His tender mercies are over all His works."
(88)
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
89
God has not merely created all things, but He continues
to uphold them. All of the omniscience, omnipotence,
omnipresence, justice, goodness and faithfulness are con¬
tinually illustrated in His providential control. The
same perfection that was employed, or exerted, to create,
is in like manner employed to sustain, the orderly
movements of the heavenly bodies, the changes of seasons,
the growth of plants, the provisions made for the count¬
less varieties of inferior animals, the prosperity of nations,
the history of the Church and its preservation amidst the
most discouraging circumstances.
The history of every individual m^n affords evidence
of the directing, controlling and sustaining influence of
One who possesses within Himself inexhaustible resources.
The Lord, we are told, is known ; that is, is made known
by the judgments which He executes.
But above all is the glory of God displayed in the work
of redemption, that great plan of love and mercy by a
Redeemer, which was first promised, or revealed, to our
first parents immediately after the fall, which was more
and more unfolded in the ceremonial economy, and which
reached its meridian brightness when the blessed Sun of
Righteousness rose upon a dark world with healing in
His rays.
In this wonderful plan of salvation, in the Spirit of the
only begotten Son of God, the glory of God shines with
its brightest lustre. Here, in this precious gift, all His
perfections unite and harmonize, and shine with trans¬
cendent glory.
90
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A Casket of Pvlpit Thought.
Now, when the gospel, which proclaims this plan of sal¬
vation or mercy, shall be preached throughout the world,
and when every kindred and people and nation shall not
only be instructed in its sublime doctrines, but also
brought under its justifying and sanctifying power, then
with emphatic propriety may it be said that " the earth
is filled with the glory of God."
What is the highest glory that fellow creatures are cap¬
able of? It is being the image of their Maker. So the
highest glory that the Church and the world at large is
capable of, is to be filled with the holy and benevolent
spirit of Him who is the brightness of His Father's glory
and the express image of His person, and of Him who
died to save the world. Now, then, this soul-saving, life-
giving disposition, that was in Christ, is universal, for He
says : " Look unto me, all ye ends of the world, and be
ye saved."
Christ gave His life to save the world ; so we must give
our time, our money, our lives if necessary, to save our
brethren from heathen darkness, and bring them to the
marvelous light and liberty of God.
And when this benevolent, Christ-like disposition per¬
meates every heart of this great African M. E. Church,
with its eight noble bishops, 2,540 travelling preachers,
7,760 local preachers, 12,138 trustees, 12,150 stewards,
1,500 probationists and 409,100 full members, if this great
army will follow the example of Him who gave His life
to save the world, by giving our means to aid and sup¬
port foreign missions, we can find scores of young ladies
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
91
and gentlemen who will be willing to take up the cross
and go to Africa to teach and preach the Gospel of the
Son of God to our brethren, who are living in heathen
darkness.
The religion of Jesus Christ is a benevolent religion.
God is love and religion is love, and love is benevolence,
a disposition to help the needy, instruct the ignorant,
and to save the dying.
Now, then, when religion is allowed to rule, direct and
lead every man who professes saving faith in the Lord
Jesus, then will the power of the gospel and all the graces
and virtues, which it inspires, reign over all the family of
men. When the highest intellectual and moral culture
shall be everywhere enjoyed ; when the voice of praise and
prayer shall go up to God from every nation, and the
Sabbath is universally kept unto God; when the temper¬
ance reformation shall pervade the world, when brotherly
kindness and charity shall universally reign ; in a word,
when the Church of God, with all of its choicest influences,
shall fill the earth, then shall the promise be gloriously
realized.
This will be emphatically the Glory of God. What
reason have we to believe that these scenes of glory will
be realized ?
Let us refer to some of the promises contained in the
word of God :
"The kingdoms of this world are become the kingdoms
of our Lord and His Christ." Rev., 11, 15 ; "All the
ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord,
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and all kindred and nations shall worship before Him."
Psalms, 22, 27 ; "I will gather all nations and tongues
and cause them to come and see my glory." Isaiah, 66,
18 ; "For the earth shall be filled with the glory of God."
From these promises we are confident that the religion
of Christ will fill the whole earth with the glory of God.
What is our present duty in relation to the promise be¬
fore us ? A lack of faith is the great crying sin, not of
an ungodly world only, but eminently of Christians. It
is the littleness of our own faith that makes us dwarfs in
spiritual stature, cowards in conflict, and in enterprise
narrow-minded, narrow in our views and plans of duty.
What is the cause of this narrowness ? Unbelief.
Christians, let us believe, and act as we believe, and we
shall see the salvation of God.
Ministers and brethren, we are workers together with
Christ in hastening on the triumphs of Immanuel's reign.
Let us work, work, work, until the praises of God shall
go up from every nation, kindred and tongue. Hallelu¬
jah ! Hallelujah ! for the Lord God Omnipotent reigneth.
Amen.
Christ is J\Me Unto Us Redemption
By Rev. Joseph M. Ross.
" But of Him are ye in Christ Jesus, who of God is made
unto us wisdom, and righteousness, and sanctification, and
redemption—1 Cor. I : 30.
What could the world hope for in eternity without re¬
conciliation to God in the present life ? And whence the
source of a reconciliation upon which we can build a hope
of immortality ? It is found in the Lord Jesus Christ,
who was " foreordained of God, that He might be the
firstborn among many brethren." " He was the bright¬
ness of the Father's glory and the express image of His
person." Of Him it is said, " He shall see of the travail
of His soul and shall be satisfied."
Let us then, observe
1st. The Author of Redemption ;
2nd. Redemption Defined ; and 7
3rd. Its Gracious Benefits.
1st. As the Lord Jesus is "of God made unto us re¬
demption," it is proper that He should be adored and
regarded as the author of it. And it is to this thought
that I now call attention.
We think it unnecessary to consider Christ in His re.
(93)
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lation to the Levitical offerings of the old dispensation,
but as He is set forth in the New Testament. " He was
made sin for us who knew no sin." This can not mean
that He was considered guilty, or that He became guilty
in the sight of God for any crime of His own or the
people who were to be redeemed, but that Christ became
the propitiatory sacrifice to God in behalf of the guilty
sinner. The favor of God is secured to the sinner through
the meritorious death of the blessed Jesus. Then, the
hope of the world for salvation and the ground of that
hope is founded in the fact that Jesus has instituted the
redemption scheme. But a step farther. Is Jesus the
author of redemption ? This is a great and important
question, and can only be answered from Holy Writ.
Christ is announced by John as " the Lamb of God,"
and that not with reference to meekness or any other
moral virtue, but with an accompanying phrase which
would communicate to a Jew the full sense of the term
employed, " The Lamb of God which taketh away the
sin of the world." He is called our passover, sacrificed
for us. He is said to have " given Himself for us, an of¬
fering and a sacrifice to God, for a sweet-smelling savor."
As a priest it was necessary that He should have some¬
what to offer, and He offered Himself, " His own blood
to which is ascribed the washing away of sin, and our
eternal redemption." These quotations from Holy Writ,
give us a semblance of the fact that fhe author of our
redemption is He of whom it is said, " The chastisement
of our peace was upon Him and with His stripes we are
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95
healed." But another passage may lead us into fuller
light on this subject. " The Son of Man came not to be
ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ran¬
som for many." Matt., 20, 28. It is by the blood of
Christ that the scheme of redemption is made valid, and
two passages of Scripture confirm this statement. First,
"Without the shedding of blood there is no remission of
sins Second, Jesus says, "For this is my blood of
the New Testament, which is shed for many for the
remission of sins." Matt., 26, 28. The first of these two
passages shows that in order to the remission of sin, the
shedding of blood is required, and is the inevitable, while
the second shows that this requirement has been met,
and the terms accepted by the Almighty. This require¬
ment could only be met by the Lord Jesus submitting to
death—" Even the death of the cross." Therefore we
conclude that Jesus is the author of redemption, from the
following passages: Gal. 3: 13, 14; "Christ hath re¬
deemed us from the curse of the Law, being made a
curse for us, for it is written, cursed is every one that hang-
eth on a tree ; that the blessing of Abraham might come
to the Gentiles through Jesus Christ, that we might re¬
ceive the promise of the Spirit through faith." Tit. 2 :
14 ; " Who gave Himself for us that He might redeem us
from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar
people, zealous of good works." How precious in the
sight of the Almighty must have been this sinful world.
Here we see the motion of God's great heart of love, to a
lost and sin-ruined world. Jesus is given to save them
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from the curse of the Law and give them peace with God.
2nd. Redemption Defined ;
We understand redemption to mean the repur¬
chase of captured goods or prisoners, deliverance from
bondage, etc. The repurchase of that which has been
forfeited. So, man having forfeited his right to eternal
life by disobedience, and having sold Himself to sin and
the devil, was no longer the child of God, but of wrath.
He was disinherited and became an alien to God. And
in order that man might be restored to the divine favor,
the price of blood had to be paid for his redemption.
And the language of the Apostle is very expressive of this
fact, "Ye are bought with a price." 1 Cor. 7 : 23. The
price which has been paid was sufficient to free man from
the power of sin and the devil, and make him the servant
of Christ. " For he that is called in the Lord being a ser¬
vant, is the Lord's freeman ; likewise also he that is called
being free, is Christ's servant." By the price being paid
man is brought from under the curse of the law and placed
under the power of divine grace. He is, therefore, to
recognzie Himself as being altogether the Lord's, if he
would receive the reward of inheritance. "For ye are
bought with a price ; therefore, glorify in your body and
in your, spirit, which are God's." The price was not a
worthless or vain one, but a precious and glorious price.
Strong and expiatory, it satisfied the claims of divine jus¬
tice and met the requirement of God. It was the only
price calculated to purchase salvation for a world in
bondage to sin and Satan. Human agencies could not
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
m
do it, neither was it in the power of angels to free their
fallen brethren from the curse of the law and the power
of sin, and bring them back to God. The offerings made
under the old dispensation had to be repeated continual¬
ly ; that is, annually, but eternal salvation could not be
purchased by them, for these were only shadows of good
things to come, but could not make the comers there¬
unto perfect. They may have had the form and the ser¬
vice rendered with great solemnity, but the efficacy to ef¬
fect a cure was not in them. But Christ was, " Once of¬
fered to bear the sins of many." "Who His own self
bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that, we being
dead to sin, should live unto righteousness ; by whose
stripes ye were healed." In God's plan of redemption is
found enough balm to heal all nations of the maladies of
sin, and power is found to bring the rebels back to God.
" For ye were as sheep going astray ; but are r.ow re¬
turned to the shepherd and bishop of your souls."—1
Peter, 2 : 25. What streams of mercy, what an ocean of
love and divine grace are here poured upon an unworthy,
unthankful and sin-ruined world ! Sin lifted its deformed
head to make the conquest of the world, while death
reached out its pale hands to take it into its embrace, but
Jesus comes and draws its sting, levels the head of sin,
binds death and chains both to His triumphal chariot,
and " dragged them to the portals of the sky."
Death is no longer to be dreaded, when by faith we
have had the blood of Christ applied to our hearts. How
great a price Jesus has paid for the redemption of the
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world is beyond our ability to calculate, and hence we
will note the language of the Apostle, as it seems to come
the nearest to a description, or gives the grandest idea
of it: "Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not re¬
deemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from
your vain conversation received by tradition from your
fathers ; but with the precious blood of Christ, as a lamb
without blemish and without spot." In this we have a
declaration that the ransom has been paid, and such only
as God would accept. " Not corruptible things, as silver
and gold." The precious blood of Jesus is the price by
which the souls of both Jews and Gentiles were redeemed.
It was a price paid down, and such a price as God's right¬
eousness required. Corruptible things may here mean
anything which man gives in exchange for another, but
the term necessarily includes all created things, as all these
are corruptible and perishing. Corruptible things could
not purchase salvation for the souls of men, or else the
sacrifice of Christ would have been unnecessary. Could
anything less have done, God would not have given up
His only begotten Son. Even silver and gold, the most
valuable medium of commerce among men, bear no pro¬
portion in value to the souls of men. Nothing but such
a ransom price as God provided, could be sufficient ran¬
som, oblation and satisfaction for the sins of the world.
Behold the greatness of the love of God to a fallen world !
"Jesus comes to seek and to save that which was lost.''
And we were all lost, the curse was upon us, sin had de¬
faced the soul, and death had hold on its vitals ; the
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99
image of God was gone and a vail intervened between the
world and heaven. What rivers of love and mercy '
" O, for this love, let rocks and hills
Their lasting silence break ;
And all harmonious human tongues
The Savior's praises speak."
God be praised for the wondrous plan of redemption,
by which the sinner is brought back to the divine favor
and reinstated in the celestial family. The songs of the
redeemed shall swell the anthems of the celestial choir in
honor of the name of Him, " who loved us and washed
us from our sins in His own blood."
3rd. The Gracious Benefits of Redemption.
Redemption not only brings a lost world back to
the divine favor, but lays the foundation of eternal joy
and blessedness. Justification! by faith would have no
force in the Christian system without a sure foundation
on which to rest. This foundation appears from the fact
that Jesus has laid down His life for the world. " Other
foundation can no man lay than that is laid, which is
Jesus Christ." And as a foundation He is the one and
chief foundation. The church built upon Jesus Christ,
shall stand amid the thunders of the cannon from the
enemy's fort; it shall stanJ against all the wiles of the
devil, " And having done all to stand." But I have said
that this redemption scheme laid a foundation for eternal
joy and blessedness, and I shall now examine this truth.
The idea and fact of immortality and eternal life, rest
upon the potent truth that the soul is rescued from death
only through the atoning merits of the Lord Jesus Christ.
100
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
Without the sacrifice of Christ, or the price of His blood
paid for the souls of men, the doctrine of the new
birth would be of far less importance to us than the songs
of birds mingling with the vibrations of the air, or the
rippling of streams, lending sounds to the bustle of the
world. Far less important than these, because it would
be sound without meaning, and noise without music.
There would be nothing in it to lift the fainting spirit up,
or bring to life the dead. The heart would have nothing
to cheer it when contemplating a removal from this, to
another world, and th$ thoughts could not be winged
to heaven upon the pinions of faith. Ah ! What gloom
would cover the grave without the assurance of a better
and a more glorious resurrection and a triumphant en¬
trance into eternal happiness ! Without the blessed ex¬
pectation of eternal joy and rest, immortal spirits would
ever cling to the things of time and sense. Without this
hope, the language of Paul would have no weight upon
our hearts, and we would not say with him, " We groan
earnestly to be clothed upon with our house, which is
from above." But on account of the atonement made for
us, by which we are brought into sweet communion with
God, we therefore are sure, first, of triumphing over
death by accepting the Lord Jesus Christ as our living,
present and complete Savior ; and having thus accepted
Him, we are assured, secondly, of a seat of prominence
and exaltation in the kingdom of His Father. " As I have
overcome and sat down with my Father in His throne,
so shall ye overcome and sit with me in my throne."
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 101
Having obtained such an exalted station by obedience to
Christ, we are certain also, thirdly, of spending a blissful
etprnity with Him and the Father. And there shall be
no more sorrow to pierce the heart, no cloud to dim our
vision of glory, and no painful toil to fill the soul with
anguish. " God Himself shall dwell among them, and
shall be their God, and God shall wipe away all tears
from their eyes." How glorious will be the Christian's
home in the eternal world, where no thunder is heard, no
lightning flash of despair is seen ! It is a home prepared
for the people of God, for says Jesus : " I go to prepare
a place for you," and hence we are certain of a " sure
dwelling, and a peaceable habitation." And therefore,
" we know if this earthly house of our tabernacle were
dissolved, we have a building of God, an house not made
with hands, eternal in the heavens." He who knows this
by faith will be numbered among the most honored of the
children of men ; but not as children of men, but as the
children of God. Redeemed out of every tribe and kin¬
dred and nation under the heavens, they shall be received
by the Lord Jesus into that home which He has prepared
for them. The assurance of this is given in the words of
the Blessed Master : " I will come again and receive you
unto Myself, that where I am there ye may be also."
And now, the reason for which they shall be there is
given in some of the words of the prayer which Jesus of¬
fered for His people before He ascended to heaven :
" That they may be with me to behold my glory, the
glory which I had with Thee before the world was."
102 A Gasket of Pulpit Thought.
Hence, the Christian's vision in heaven will. be a glo¬
rious one; indescribably so, as he shall see more of God
than ever before. Let God be praised to all eternity for
the wonderful manifestation of His love to the fallen race
of Adam.
Amen.
The Privileges and Prospects oi the Believer,
Sketch by Rev. P. Tolliver, D.D.
" We, receiving a kingdom which cannot be moved, let
us have grace, whereby we may serve God acceptably, with
reverence and godly fear."—Hebrews XII : 28.
The Apostle, having stated in the forgoing verses the
pre-eminent privileges and prospects to which true believ¬
ers in Christ are admitted, and having shown by a refer¬
ence to the prophesy of Haggai, (II : 6.) the stability and
perseverance of the New Testament dispensation, which
is to remain to the end of time as the only form of divine
worship and religion acceptable to God, from which alone
men can obtain a certain and bright prospect of everlast¬
ing glory ; he adds the words of the text, as a practical
reference from his argument. See verses 18—27.
Let us consider :
1st. What is implied in serving God, and when it may
be said we serve Him acceptably? To serve God is to
worship Him. Matt. IV : 10 ; also Luke IV: 8. See
particularly Heb. IX : 1, where ordinances of divine wor¬
ship are termed ordinances of God's service," and verse
9th, where worshipping God is termed " doing service ; "
(103)
104 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
also see Acts XXVI : 7, where the twelve tribes worship¬
ping God are said to " serve Him night and day."
But what is it to worship God ? It is to do Him hom¬
age outwardly by attending His appointed ordinances,
public and domestic ; inwardly, acknowledging and being
sensible of our dependence on him for life and breath,
and all things temporal and spiritual, and of our obliga¬
tions to Him as our Creator and Preserver, for all -we
have—time, talents and blessings—for all we hope for in
this world or the next, of His absolute power and author¬
ity ovei us, as our Law Giver, Governor, and Judge. It
is to venerate His matchless glories, to adore and praise
Him with Seriousness and solemnity, awe and self-abase¬
ment, with joy and delight; it is to feel in ourselves and
show to others affections and dispositions suited to His
godly attributes, and the blessed relations in which He
stands to us ; this is worshipping in the spirit and there¬
fore in the truth.
In prayer it is to ask only for what we really need}
and what His word authorizes us to ask, and to do so
with sincerity, fervency, perseverance and faith. It is to
give thanks with gratitude of heart, to he.ar, read or have
read, and meditate in His own word, with sincere desire,
concern and resolution, through God's help, to understand,
believe and experience the efficacy of it, and to practice
what we hear ; to receive the Lord's supper with faith
and love, so as to " feed on Christ in our hearts with
thanksgiving ; " this, and only this, is worshipping accep¬
tably. It is to be subject and obedient to Him, as a ser-
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
105
vant to an employer or master, (see Rom. VI : 16, also
XII : 1.) We must yield ourselves to Him in a complete
sense ; whose servant we claim to be His sons and daugh¬
ters ; this implies that we no longer yield ourselves to the
world, the flesh, sin and Satan, but to the Lord, with de¬
sire that He would and does accept us through His Son.
Hereby we are joined to the Lord to serve Him. (Isa.
LVI : 0.) It is to serve His cause, that which He is car¬
rying on in the world, advancing His glory, and the pres¬
ent and everlasting good of mankind, by promoting the
progress of His Gospel or of His truth and grace among
men. As to the properties or elements of this service, it
must be in sincerity and truth, termed by David a "per¬
fect one," (Chron. XXVIII : 9.) with reverence and godly
fear; (see text) that is, from a sense of His presence,
His glory, wisdom, power, eternity and immensity, to
which should be added watchfulness and fear of our spirit¬
ual enemies ; intimidity of mind, arising from a deep
sense of the distance between Him and us, and a consci¬
ousness that we are unworthy to be permitted to serve
Him, and that our best services are unworthy of His ac¬
ceptance. We are also to be resigned to all His dispen¬
sations, believing that His Providence is over all, that
His dispensations are wise, just and gracious, and His eye is
upon each of His servants, and He will make all things
work together for their good. All our services are to
flow chiefly from love as their principle, to be guided by
the Divine will as their rule, and directed to the glory of
God as their end. Thus they will be performed with a
,106 A Casket of Pulpit Thought. '
willing mind, and the service of God will be.perfect free¬
dom. Let us consider
2nd. The reasonableness and importance of thus serving
Him. Every part of God's service is reasonable, (see
Rom. XVII : J.) "1 beseech you therefore brethren, by
the mercies of God, that ye present your bodies a living
sacrifice, holy, acceptable unto God, which is your rea¬
sonable service." It was different from the unreasonable
services of the heathen in the worship of their gods. Their
bloody, lewd, ridiculous, unmeaning rites, the expensive,
burdensome, shadowy and hardly intelligible sacrifices
and ceremonies of the Jews. The Christian's service of
faith, love and obedience, is highly reasonable, for faith
has for its obj-ects, not lies, but truth. Love has beauty,
excellence, goodness and obedience, commands ; which
are wise, holy and good.
It is reasonable we should perform this service—In
justice ; for we are God's by right of creation, preserva¬
tion and redemption.—In gratitude ; for His numberless
and great benefits. Its infinite importance appears in that
it is our indispensable duty, in justice and gratitude. It
is to our great interest, in time and eternity. In conclu¬
sion,
3rd. How we may be enabled to. serve the Lord as
above described. We must have grace.
1 (I.) Enlightening grace. In order to our serving God
acceptably we must know Him. (see 1 Chron. XXVIII:
9.) „ "And thou, Solomon, my son, know thou the God
of thy father [and serve Him with a perfect heart, and
A Casket of Pulpit 'Thought.
107
with a willing mind." We must be acquainted with Him.
We must know ourselves or we shall not be humble, re¬
signed, meek, as we ought to be. We must know the
Mediator, through whom alone we can come to God.
We must know God's will,, or we cannot do it, and must
know the truth, which has a vital connection with the ser¬
vice of God.
(2.) We must have quickening grace, awakening the
mind to a sense of the certainty and importance of spirit¬
ual and eternal things ; convincing, humbling, begetting
repentance unto life, a living faith in a living Christ, a
union to Him, and a spiritual mind.
(3.) We must have pardoning grace. Without this
we cannot serve God with confidence, hope, joy, comfort
and peace.
(4.) We must have renewing grace, for a corrupt
tree cannot bring forth good fruit, nor an impure foun¬
tain send forth clear streams. The heart must be changed,
that the life may be changed, and we must be created in
Christ Jesus unto good works, if we would walk in them.
(5.) We must have strengthening grace ;*to inspire
fortitude, resolution, constancy and power to resist the
devil, overcome the world, crucify the flesh, conquer the
power of sin and the fear of death, and enabling us to do
and persevere in doing the whole will of God.
(6.) Lastly, we must have comforting grace, to support
us in the midst of reproaches, injuries, losses, afflictions,
the death of loved ones, friends, snd the various trials and
108 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
%
troubles which we shall certainly meet with, chiefly by im¬
mortal hopes, and an earnest desire of heaven in our
hearts, and to God be all the glory.
Amen,
Holiness, Entire SanctiJication
By Rev. D. F. Caliman.
" And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly ; and
I pray God your whole spirit and soul and body be pre¬
served blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus Christy
— ] Thesi. V : 23.
In theory and in experience, holiness of heart and life,
sometimes called " perfect love," " pure in heart," " sancti¬
fied wholly," " perfection," and which, so far as experience
is concerned, signify about the same thing, is a promi¬
nent doctrine of Methodism.
The state and work of holiness in man begin in regen¬
eration, when the heart is renewed, when the new spirit¬
ual and religious life begins ; the life of faith, hope, and
love. In the progress of religious experience it exists in
different degrees of development. Entire sanctification
refers to the whole person—the " heart, mind, and
strength," or " body, soul and spirit," which are devoted
to God and His work, so that we love God with all the
powers of our nature.
This entire salification is completed in an important
and scriptural sense, when we become holy in heart and
life,—" As He who hath called,you is holy, so be ye holy
(109)
110
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
in all manner of conversation."—1 Pet. I : 15.—when
our love is made perfect. God is love, and he that dwel-
leth in love, dwelleth in God, and God in Him-. " Here¬
in is our love made perfect."—1 John, IV : 16, 17. It is
a state of grace and of experience attainable in this life ;
"Herein is our love made perfect."—1 John, IV: IV.
" This is the will of God, even your sanctification."—1
Thes. IV : 3. And by faith in the atonement " we are
sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus
Christ." " Let us draw near, therefore, with a true heart,
in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled from
an evil conscience."—Heb. X : 22.
Manual of Methodism.
Now, brethren, it is not to find fault with your conver¬
sion or regeneration, that you are exorted to seek and
obtain entire sanctification. For, it was the regenerated,
" the children of light, and the children of the day " for
whom Paul prayed, " May the God of peace sanctify you
wholly, etc."—chap. V : 5. It was the "beloved," "the
sons of God," that were to purify themselves, " even as
He (Christ) is pure."—1 John, III : 2, 3.
It was the disciples, who had been kept in the name of
the Father, who were " not of the world," even as Christ
was "not of the world ; " for whom Jesus prayed might
have His joy fulfilled in themselves, and " that they also
might be sanctified through the truth."—John XVII.
Therefore, this text and its connections teach most
plainly :
1st. That true Christians are sanctified but in part when
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
Ill
they are regenerated, for the members of this church
were regenerated ; and still Paul prays that they might
be entirely sanctified. In the first chapter they are ad¬
dressed as " the Church of Thessalonians, which is irj God
the Father, and the Lord Jesus Christ." Their " work of
faith, and labor of love, and practice of hope in our Lord
Jesus Christ, in the sight of God our Father," was remem¬
bered "without ceasing," and their " election of God''
was known by Paul himself. They had received the gos¬
pel, not "in word only, but also in power, and in the
Holy Ghost, anil in much assurance." " And ye became
followers of us, and of the Lord, having received the word
in much affliction, with joy of the Holy Ghost." "And
how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and
true God."—Chron. I: 6, 9. Now all this shows that
they were real Christians, and truly converted to God ;
and still he (Paul) prayed in the language of the text for
the very God of peace to sanctify them wholly—entire.
•2nd. That the state of entire sanctification is attainable
by all true believers ; for if this church could attain the
blessing, all churches in any age could do the same ; and
further, if it had not been attainable, the inspired Apostle
would not have prayed for them to be " whojly sanctified."
3rd. That if it is the believer's privilege to be sanctified
wholly, it is also his duty to so be. It is his privilege ;
for" Faithful is he that calleth you, who also will do it."
" Every branch (Christian) that beareth fruit, He purgeth
(cleanseth) it, that it may bring forth more fruit."—John
XV : 2. It is his duty ; for " But as He which hath called
112 A Gasket of Pulpit Thought.
you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of conversation."
4th. The text also teaches that this blessing is to be
attained now-^-not wait till death or after death ; for they
were Jo be " preserved blameless unto the coming of our
Lord Jesus Christ." While living in this present evil
world, through faith in the blessed Christ, we are to be
"delivered from the hand our enemies," that we "might
serve Him without fear," " in holiness and righteous¬
ness before Him, all the days ot our life."
To-day is the day of salvation from actual and original
sin ; for the Gospel of Christ is the power of God unto
salvation to every one that believeth." "The Lord is
faithful, who will establish you, and keep you from evil."
> I. We enquire what is the state of the truly converted,
before they are entirely sanctified ?
1st. It is a state of justification. All sin (actual sin)
is pardoned by faith in the Lord Jesus, through whom'
" is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins ; and by
Him all that believe are justified."
The act of God's free grace for the sake of Christ, who
has made atonement for sin, frees us from the penalty of
a transgressed (divine) law, and by faith in Christ we are
accepted and dealt with as if we were just and righteous.
" One only gift can justify
The believing soul that knows his God."
" Justifying faith implies not only a divine evidence or
conviction, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world
with Himself, but a sure trust and confidence that Christ
died for my sins, that He loved me and gave Himself for
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. llv>
me. And the moment a penitent sinner believes this,
God pardons and absolves him," and he stands acquitted
before God of sins that are passed.
2nd. It is a state of regeneration, which is the new
birth of the soul in the image of Christ, whereby we be¬
come the children of God, and begin a new and spiritual
life. So we become new creatures, having passed from
death unto life ; that is to say, we are born again—born
of the spirit. *
The work of justification or regeneration is complete
in itself. The seeds of holiness are planted in a renewed
heart and universally extend to all the faculties, affections
and actions of life. " Therefore, if any man be in Christ,
he is a new creature ; old things are passed away; be¬
hold, all things are become new." The evidences of this
change are : (1.) Hatred of, and abstinance from sin.
" Whosoever is born of God doth not commit sin." He
abstains and forsakes it. (2.) " Love, peace, joy, power
over all outward sin, and power to keep down inward sin."
(3.) Love to the word of God, and delight in meditating
on it, (Psa. I : 2.) and love to the public ordinances of
religion. (Psa. XXVI ; 8.) " Lord, I love the habita¬
tion of Thine house, and the place where Thine honor
dwelleth." (4.) Deadness to the world, and victory over
it; for " whatsoever is born of God, overcometh the world ;
and this is the victory that overcometh the world, even
our faith." This state of grace must be maintained, and
it is only those who so do, that are true Christians. Such
114
A Gasket of Pulpit Thought.
only are eligible for entire sanctification, as is plainly seen
from the following :
" Ye are all the children of light, and the children of
the day ; we are not of the night, nor of darkness. There¬
fore, let us not sleep as do others ; but let us watch and
be sober. Wherefore, comfort yourselves together and
edify one another, even as also ye do. See that none
render evil for evil unto any man ; but ever follow that
which is good, both among yourselves and to all men.
♦
Abstain from all appearance of evil."
" And the very God of peace sanctify you wholly."
Who? "You who are the children of light, and of the
day, etc."
III. In this state the soul enjoys the witness of the
Spirit. " He that believeth on the Son of God hath the
witness in himself."
"Cheered by the witness from on high,
Unwavering I believe,
And Abba, Father, humbly crv;
Nor can the sign deceive."
IV. We are heirs of eternal life. " For if children, then
heirs, heirs of God and joint heirs with Jesus Christ."
V. In this state the saint is kept from voluntarily com¬
mitting si|t; for the inheritance of glory is to them " who
are kept by the power of God through faith unto salva¬
tion."—] Peter I ; 4, <>.
§
Unless this state is maintained, as inferred above. The
soul drops back into a more or less inactive state, as the
case may be. It enters uptn a wilderness journey, sin¬
ning and repenting. Faith in a measure is lost, and thus
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. * 115
the conclusion is, alas ! of many, that such is the " Christ¬
ian's lot" down to death. Oh ! May we have the spirit
of wisdom and understanding along this line of Christian
experience. Be it remembered that Paul's prayer was
for the entire sanctification of believers who were walking
in the light of regeneration.—vers. 4, 5 ; which really is
the most essential condition, to a faithful consecration
for the blessing. Those, and only those, press into the
" inner court and enjoy the bliss of perfect love." We
know, that "whosoever is born of God sinnethnot; but
he that is begotten of God keepeth himself, and that
wicked one toucheth him not."—1 John V : XVIII.
VI. Still every true Christian knows that this is a con¬
flict.
1st. Because of "inbred sin," called by some "the car¬
nal mind," and "the root of bitterness."
The inherent principle of our fallen nature is the cause
of sin as an act, and as long as this remains there is more
or less a voice within, answering to the various tempta¬
tions from without. The conflict is not one and the same
with all believers. Some are plagued with evil tempters
or angry passions ; others with envy, jealousy, hatred,
lust, etc.
By vigilance on his part these uprisings of evil will be
held in due bounds and controlled by the grace of God ;
yet, notwithstanding the true believer is grieved and of¬
ten filled with doubts, unbelief and fear by reason of the
existence of this " carnal nature."
2nd. There is a conflict with th£ world. Its charms
110 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
and enjoyments which foster evil and deaden the " spirit¬
ual life " are not quite dead to the soul. Alas ! how many
fall right here ! Every earnest believer cannot fail to see
this, whether in himself or in others.
3rd. Satan keeps up the conflict in the soul not fully
saved. He can enter the soul by the various avenues
that these sins have left open, and he is not slow to take
all possible advantage. He entered the heart of Peter by
the door of fear ; he found admittance to the hearts of
Ananias and Sapphira by the door of covetousness. " The
sweet singer of Israel" was invaded by the door of fleshly
lusts ; others are entered by the doors of vanity, trifling
and negligence.
II. We enquire what is the state of the wholly or en¬
tirely sanctified ?
That participation of the Divine nature, which excludes
all original depravity or inbred sin from the heart, and-
fills it with perfect love to God and man."—Binney's
Compendium.
" It is washing the soul of the true believer from the
remains of sin ; it is the making one who is already a
child of God, more holy, that he may be more happy,
more useful in the world, and bring more glory to his
heavenly Father."—Adam Clark.
" Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see (en¬
joy) God." " Now are ye clean through the word which
I have spoken unto you."—Jesus.
1st. It is clearly seen that this is a state of Christian
purity. An all-cleartsing act of the Holy Ghost, through
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
117
the precious blood of Jesus Christ, wrought upon the
heart; removing hereditary or inherited depravity, mak¬
ing it pure." " This entire cleansing does not take place
at regeneration ; it does not consist in the repressing of
in-dwelling sin ; it does not consist of the imputation of
Christ's personal holiness to us ; but is wrought by the
Holy Ghost through faith in the blood of Christ."
Doubts, fears of death, envy, pride, siothfulness, negli¬
gence, adultery, lasciviousness, variance, emulations,
drunkenness, revellings, and such like ; when held out to
us by the tempter, inviting our indulgence, there is no
spirit from wishing, contending for, or to be sup¬
pressed from, such indulgence. Thanks be unto God
who giveth us the victory; yea, to keep in-dwelling sin
under or suppressed ; but more especially ior casting out
the " old man ; " for destroying " the works of the devil."
Praise God for a complete salvation !
2nd. It is obtained by faith.
It must be borne in mind that faith has certain condi¬
tions, which must be complied with. The believer must
make an entire consecration or sacrifice of himself to all
the will of God. Rom. xii, 1.
3. It is attained instantaneously ; for " he that believeth
shall be. saved." "He purifies their hearts by faith."
" Therefore, when the renunciation of sin, entire conse¬
cration and the general use of means is complied with,
entire cleansing from all sin instantaneously ensues ; as
all unrighteousness is sin, so he that is cleansed from all
unrighteousness is cleansed from all sin."—1 Jno. i, 9. •
118
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
4 th. It is retained by faith.
"Ye are kept by the power of God through faith unto
.salvation." Faith, of course, without works, is dead, and
h'e that knoweth and doeth the will of the Father shall be
saved ; therefore, " if ye are diligent to make your peace,
calling and election sure, ye shall never fall." You can
"walk in all the ordinances cf the Lord blameless."
"Your whole spirit and soul and body " can " be pre¬
served blameless unto the coming of our Lord Jesus
Christ; " for " faithful is He that calleth you, who also
will do it." — 1 Thess. v, 24.
5th. " Entire sanctification may exist in connection with
many infirmities. Not sins, but weaknesses—unavoida¬
ble, inevitable, involuntary, constitutional. This makes
no excuse for any weakness or evil that we can avoid,
but errors of judgment, ignorance, and mental weakness,
may remain until the end of life." Truly, "we have this
treasure in earthen vessels."
6 th. It is necessary for further usefulness in the service
of God.
(1.) "Purge me with hyssop, and I shall be clean;
wash me, and I shall be whiter than snow." " Create in
me a clean heart, O God ; and renew a right spirit with¬
in me." " Uphold me with Thy free Spirit," or in other
words, " Sanctify me wholly and fill me with the Holy
Ghost." " Then will I teach transgressors Thy ways ;
and sinners shall be converted unto Thee."—Psa. Li, 7,
10, 12, J 8. • ■ ■
, (2.) " Herein is my Father glorified, that ye bear much
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
119
fruit." " He that abideth in me, and I in him, the same
bringeth forth much fruit." Now, in order that we may
be able to bear much fruit, be of great service in the
Master's vineyard, and be better qualified to take charge
ot the work, Christ says : " Every branch (Christian)
that beareth fruit, He purgeth it, (cleanseth it, or spiritu¬
ally purified and made more fruitful) that it may bring
forth more fruit."—John xv, 2, f>, 8.
(.'}.) In John xvii, Christ prayed that all believers might'
be " one," or " made perfect in one." " Sanctified through
the truth." Why, Jesus, should this be? The answer is,
"That the world (sinners) may believe that Thou (the
Father) has sent me."—verse 2L. It is evident that the
manifestation in believers of this inward union of love
and holiness, first with the Father and the Son, and then
with one another, is to the world the most convincing
proof of the truth of Christ's mission.—verse 23.
Tth. It is necessary for a home in heaven.
No soul can be fit for heaven that has not suitable dis
position for the place. Therefore, " Follow after peace
with all men, and the sanctification, without which no
man shall see the Lord."—Heb. xn, 14, R. V. That
state of continual sanctification, that life of purity and de¬
tachment from the world and its lusts, without which de¬
tachment and sanctity, no man shall see the Lord—shall
never enjoy his presence in the world of blessedness.
In conclusion, allow me to say if you would grow in
grace and in the knowledge of God, go to the fountain of
cleansing and have (" the sin," " the old man.") the ob-
120
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
structions of Christians or spiritual growth removed from
the heart. " Put on the whole armor of Go 1" and " Be
strong in the Lord and in the power of His might."
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is
stayed on Thee ; because he trusteth in Thee."
Oh ! come to this fountain, " where you may wash and
be clean ! "
Amen.
Baccalaureate Sermon of Wilhericrce
By President S. T. Mitchell, A. M.
Where is thy brother?—Gen. IV, 9.
First Lesson, Psalms lxii; Second Lesson, Matt, xxv,
31—46.
The sun had looked down upon the greatest tragedy
ever wrought beneath the bending skies. The envy and
hatred that had rankled in the breast of an unnatural
brother culminated in violence. Under the quiet shade
of a verdant glen, with the sweet warbling of the birds
above and the innocent bleating of the flocks around, lay
a human form, bleeding, mangled, lifeless.
Nature, that had looked with glad eyes upon the coro¬
nation of man as rightful sovereign of the lower world,
shuddered at the wail of dying agony and felt her own
heart strings break, as the first life of the race went out
with fixed gaze and convulsive tremor.
Fraternal blood, that crimsoned the earth around, lifted
a voice that reached the ear of its Maker. Retribution
came on swift wings. God descended, met the murderer
while his hands w( re yet stained by his brother's gore, and
(121> •
122
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
with words that burned into his remorseful soul, demand¬
ed, " Where is thy brother?" And that soul, quaking
with guilt as it did, blinded by the blackness of its terrible
crime, in the desperation of the hour, dared to respond,
"Am I my brother's keeper?" And the Father of man¬
kind made answer, not in a declaration of words, Inspira¬
tion has not so recorded it; but in the imposition of a
penalty which banished the murderer from the presence
of Jehovah, paralyzed the labor of his hands, and made
him a fugitive and a vagabond upon the earth forever.
The infliction of punishment presupposes the existence
of law and is, in a degree, the measure of its importance.
In the instance before us the result of the fratricide dis¬
closes a law of the race at once fundamental and impera¬
tive, to which your attention is to be directed.
Revelation teaches the unity of God. From the sub¬
lime statement, " In the beginning God, " on through the
sacred writings until you come to the equally sublime
statement, "I am Alpha and Omega," in decalogue and
- in prophecy, in lyric and in historic narration, Jehovah
is God, and beside Him is none other. The unity of God
postulates unity in His creation. To my mind this truth
is axiomatic. No diversity that abounds in earth or sky
can invalidate this principle. As the threads of the warp
run through the entire length of the fabric, and are not
lost amid the changing designs and hues that drop from
the skillful fingers of the weaver, so the elements of power
and wisdom-and goodness, of beauty and truth and love,
that dwell in infinite perfection in the Deity, express the
A Casket, of Pulpit Thought.
123
unity of His purpose in the endless variety displayed in
His handiwork. There is not an isolated entity in the
universe ; the connections may be obscure, the relation¬
ships subtle, yet their existence is absolutely certain.
The achievements of science in all ages have been the
discovery of these relations. What their nature, what
their direction and their strength, how they receive and
how they influence other relations—to answer these ques¬
tions, in greatest degree and with greatest accuracy, is to
reach the lofty summits of philosophic genius.
Two hundred and twenty-one years ago an inquiring
mind, drawn out by a trivial circumstance, put itself into
contact with some of the ordinary phenomena of Nature
and essayed to grasp a relationship that would explain
the unknown law of their action. To an honest question,
nature, thirteen years later, made response and the truth-
seeker announced to the scientific world the sublime the¬
ory of universal gravitation. Rising to his point of ob¬
servation and apprehending in measurable degree, the
character and scope of this principle, we may recognize
it in the gathering and the vanishing cloud, in the gleam¬
ing dew-drop, in the whirling rapids, in the heaving tides
—trace jits presence in the weeping willow, in the destroy¬
ing tempest, in the gamboling herd, in the wasting con¬
flagration. It binds the satellite to its primary, holds in
eternal adjustment the center of stars in binal relation¬
ship, marks out the parabolic path of the airy comet, bids
Cassiopea lead forth her shining coterie of worlds be¬
neath the expanding archway of the skies, prescribes a
124
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
limit to the attenuated nebula of Andromeda and presents
a solution to the question submitted to the patriarch of
Uz, " Canst thou bind the sweet influences of Pleiades or
loose the bands of Orion ? Canst thou bring forth Maz-
zaroth in his season, or canst thou guide Arcturus with
his sons ? "
From unity in matter to unity in mind we turn ; with
the interrogation upon our hearts that has fallen from the
lips of God Himself—" Where is thy brother ? "—I need
not pause here to declare and establish the brotherhood
of man. The Fatherhood of God makes it necessary ;
and ever since Paul proclaimed on Mars Hill, that God
" hath made of one blood all nations of meu to dwell on
all the face of the earth," has it been an accepted princi¬
ple of Christian faith.
It is my purpose to-day to present its application and
offer an answer to the question which our text submits.
We utter the first word of that inquiry " Where," and
stand before it for reflection. How vast the diversity to
which it leads ! Were our brother to make vocal answer,
there would come, rising up from fourteen hundred mil¬
lions of the race, a swelling response that would be like
the voice of many waters. It would greet us from the
populous plains of India, from the classic vales of Europe,
from the jostling multitudes of America. It would ring
Out from amid Siberian snows, from the 'palm groves of
the tropics, from sunny isles that sport in playful dalli¬
ance with the ocean's wave, from arid desert, from track¬
less jungle from wherever God's image animates organic clay.
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
125
Nor less diverse would be the accidents of condition or
of circumstance. It is our brother that sits upon the
throne of human sovereignty, whose slightest wish is law,
to the royalty and pomp of whose state, the nations of
the earth contribute their noblest treasure. It is our
brother, whose untiring and honest industry and good
fortune have gathered under his hand princely accumula¬
tions of wealth and whose great heart prompts him, at
times, to return it with interest to the classes from which
it was received ; and it is our brother, too, that sits amid
his gold, the hoarded vanity of an exacting and unprinci¬
pled life. It is our brother, whose callous hands, whose
sun-burnt brow, whose thread-bare garments show that
the lash of cruel want drives him from his cot of straw,
from his ill-fed family, and holds him to his task for a
pittance that will not satisfy the clamor of the hour, much
less furnish a hope against the day when heart and flesh
alike shall fail. It is our brother, that has descended to
the lowest depths of crime, wallowed in the mire of dissi¬
pation, allured the innocent into the net of the destroyer,
robbed the widow, defamed the honorable, assailed vir¬
tue, trampled upon every law that bound him to his fel-
lowman, to himself, to his environment, to his God.
Where is thy brother ? Listen ! He makes answer, kiss¬
ing the crucifix that symbolizes the foundation of his
hope, undergoing bodily penance that fits him for holy
orders in the service of Siva, making his devotion three
times a day toward Mecca, bowing down before the Ami-
das of Japan, uttering his incantations in the presence of
126
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
the dying Kaffrarian, appeasing the wrath of his gods with
human sacrifice. Listen yet again, and your brother
pleads for light where the Nile and the Gambia, the Zam-
bize and the Congo, roll their tepid waters to the sea ; he
pleads for liberty in the mines and on the plantations of
Brazil; he pleads for moral culture, for a conscience en¬
lightened by Christian training, for a heart that can re¬
spond to the thrill of noble sentiments, for these he pleads
amid the unfortunate districts of our glorious land.
Where is thy brother ? I have but one more answer to
offer. It was given by the circumstances that suggested
the first inquiry. I cannot ignore it, for it constitutes one
of the living relations of life. You will meet it as cer¬
tainly as you experience the unfolding contingencies of
the future. You should meet it in the proper spirit of
Christian fortitude. Your brother is your acquaintance,
your neighbor, a member of your community, perhaps one
with yourself of the sacred family circle. No matter.
He is your enemy. He looks with jealous eye upon your
every act. Do you prosper ? He hates you for it. Is
your sacrifice an accepted one ? Do men speak approv¬
ingly of anything you say or do ? It fills his very soul
with envy and with rage. He lays his plans, he secures
his accomplices, he whets his dagger. With murder in
his heart, he kisses you in deceit. He slanders your
character, he impugns your motives, he magnifies your
faults, he manufactures falsehood. Should calamity over¬
take you, he rejoices in your downfall and mentions it as
the just recompense of your deeds. Yet this Cain is your
A Casket oj Pulpit Thought.
127
brother, holding a place in the great Iraternity of man¬
kind.
How wonderfully varied are the places and the stations
in which we find our brother. They are numerically as
great as is the race itself, and more, for every man is com¬
plex in character and relations. What he is as brother
socially he is not as brother politically and with the
stages of his development come corresponding changes
\n his fraternal relations. Thus it is that the moral pre¬
sents a variety as marked and as profuse as nature exhib¬
its in any other portion ol her magnificent display.
Returning again to the language of our text and keep¬
ing before us the geographical and social status of our
brother, to which a passing allusion has been made, we
find ourselves confronted by an inference that constitutes
the central thought of inquiry : " Where is thy brother."
The propounder of the awful question knew ; the living
brother knew as well; the saddened zephyrs that bore
their perfumes to that vale of death, knew likewise ; and
the tender offspring of the flock, that ever and anon sought
the caresses of a hand now cold and motionless, could
have answered where.
The question asks not alone for place; it searches for
responsibility. I could wish this morning, my young
friends, that I were able to uncover the momentous im¬
port of this personal interrogatory, to pursue the lines of
influence and relationship as from self, as a center, they
diverge in infinite number and direction and reach our
brother wherever he may be found and whatever may be
128
A Casket of Pulpit Thought..
his rank, his condition. May I claim your earnest atten¬
tion, while together we attempt to outline the bearings of
this important question? To do so in the terrible crime
that Genesis narrates, is not difficult. We passed it in
brief review in our opening remarks, and the tragedy is
familiar in all its details. Nor would it be more difficult,
in hundreds of instances connected with our personal his¬
tory, to establish the fact that we have contributed in
greater or less degree to determine the sphere in which
others live and act. It is where we pass the circle of im¬
mediate and apparent associations, and include within the
expanding range of brotherhood the entire race of man¬
kind, that we stagger under the conception that we share
in the responsibility of our brother's condition wherever
and whatever he may be. " Where is thy brother ? " says
Jehovah, to you and to me, brother in its generic sense,
that compasses the globe in the scope of its application.
Ah ! my young friends, when the responsibility of the
world's condition is inferentially laid at your door, do
you not find, spontaneously re-echoing through every
apartment of your being, the deceptive and extenuating
response, " Am I my brother's keeper ? " What have I
to do with the treachery of the Afghan amid the defiles of
the Sulimani ? What have I to do with the idolatry that
is practiced upon the banks of the Niger ? What have I
to do with the socialism that threatens the life of the
monarchies of Europe ? What have I to do with the
misery and degradation that abound in the vicinity of
Five Points in New York? Much every way. The
A Casket of Palp 11 Thought.
129
world is what it is to-day because you live in it. The
world was prospectively affected by you ere you drew
the first breath of life. How common place is the expres¬
sion that the earth was fitted up by the Divine Architect
as an abode for man. But this general statement is sus¬
ceptible of analysis. It must mean that it was prepared
for you in your individual character and capacity. Nor
was the work of adjustment confined to the physical ele¬
ments around you. Man himself in the years gone by,
became a factor in the changes required for the throng¬
ing millions of the race to-day, for the increased millions
of mankind to-morrow. Hence it transpired that you af¬
fected the world by the demands you made upon it for
your place and life, ages before that life was begun.
Thus far, your relation is one of obligation. You affect¬
ed the world, yet not by your voluntary act. But with
the first movements of conscious activity, when you take
your place under any of the ties that bind you to your
brother, at that moment your responsibility touches hu¬
manity at every point of its varied and extended exis¬
tence. The members of the race are individually and
conjointly amenable for the present and future condition
of society. Mankind is an organic unity. No man liv-
eth to himself. We wonder at the far reaching effects of
force in the domain of matter. We weary our imagina¬
tions in trying to explore the world of actions and reac¬
tions that springs into existence at the stroke of a ham¬
mer, at the lighting of a match. We grow incredulous at
the thought that the destruction of an atom would dis-
130
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
turb the equipoise of the universe and bring an inevita¬
ble return to chaos and disintegration. Yet science holds
us to the conclusion and subtle reason yields her unquali¬
fied assent. It is just as true with man as with matter.
We are joined to each other by the indissoluble bonds of
brotherhood. Np more nicely adjusted are the relations
of molecule to molecule, of law to law, in the material,
than of brother to brother, of life to life in the Spirstual
Universe. Each of us constitutes one of the fourteen
hnndred millions that move upon this earth. Let one life
be annihilated, fourteen hundred million hearts would vi¬
brate to the blow. You and I might not be able to trace
the tremor of the undulation as it would move through
human wires. God has His fingers upon the strings, and
in earth's remotest borders would receive the on-coming
vibration and adjust it to other life and other purpose
throughout the world.
And yet there are effects wrought by human life not so
occult. Permit an illustration. You" read the morning
paper. Through cable and wire has flashed the intelli¬
gence that some missionary in distant field has laid his
life upon the altar of his Master and gone down beneath
the hate of a native chief. You read again. In another
quarter an obscure laborer performs an heroic deed un¬
der circumstances that chilled the stoutest hearts. Again
you read, and a base betrayal of confidence fills to the
brim the cup of a brother's sorrow. And so the life of
mankind passes under review. At the table of the world's
transactions you digest your morning meal. Through
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
131
the arteries of your spiritual being flows the nutrient life
blood. In the excess of its strength, you go forth to will
and to do. What did your brother know would be the
influence of his life upon you, ten thousand miles re¬
moved .from his local sphere? Reverse the circumstan¬
ces and you perform a deed that is distributed by the
white-winged messengers of the press and ten thousand
hearts strive anew to reach a higher life, or sink to lower
degredation by the force of base example. And you and
they in turn, thus influenced, touch other lives that are
contiguous to your own and thus, in ever widening cir¬
cles, the waves roll outward and onward until they reach
the farthest limits of our humanity. And as the world
makes progress in the arts of civilization, the concentric
bounds of our fraternity are diminishing in the same ra¬
tio. Humanity is greater in numbers to-day than ever
before in the history of the race. It is more extended in
its distribution than in any other age. Yet to what a re¬
markable degree is mankind brought into closer relation¬
ships. What is steam, what is electricity, what is the
press, but agencies under God by which you and your
brother, though separated by sea and land, approach very
near in reciprocal influence? To facilitate transporta¬
tion, to reach distant points by more rapid routes, to tear
down the obstructions that prevent a mutual exchange of
the products of human skill, to satisfy our cravings, to
administer to our necessities, to multiply the luxuries of
home, to grow rich by availing ourselves of our brother's
property or labor by advantageous exchange, (obtaining
132
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
oftimes something for nothing), these stimulate our inven¬
tive genius to its highest exertion to make the road to our
brother direct and accessible. Ah ! have you ever
thought that the material products of field and of factory
ane potential with the moral and mental characteristics of
yourself or of your brother ? That while they satisfy
want in one instance or increase power in another, they
are surcharged with the latent influences of personality
that need but to come into contact with your own or
your brother's life to exhibit a force that shall tell on
other life than its own ? And so it comes to pass that
directly, on the one hand, indirectly on the other, you
are now and always will be affecting the life of your
brother for weal or for woe. You cannot tear yourself
loose from the inevitable relation. You may seek the
retirement of the cloister, the isolation is only apparent,
not real; for influence will emanate from what has not
been done as well as from what has been done. A nega¬
tive life is oftimes as forceful as a positive one. Omitted
duty may be as far reaching in result as committed wrong,
both terminating alike at the outer limits of mankind.
Where is thy brother ? In point of place, wherever a
human soul exists ; in point of position, from the throne
to the hovel, in point of responsibility, where you and I
have helped to put him. Man is where he is and what
he is because you and I contributed to his state of life.
God announced it 6,000 years ago as a fundamental prin¬
ciple of human development. It is one of tlje most valid
conclusions of reason to-day, save, where a Divine hand
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
133
has directed otherwise that the good in life has produced
good fruit and the evil, bad fruit. Your nobler virtues
and sentiments, your purer thoughts and words and deeds
have helped to give to the world its broader liberty, its
more enduring prosperity, its truer religion, its divine
benevolence, its fervent piety. The sad, unfortunate, sin-
stained events of your life have added to humanity's cup
of woe and swelled the category of the world's crimes and
vices not by simple addition, more than that, by unfailing
consequences. Where is thy brother ? We have exam¬
ined location and rank, we have asserted a far reaching
responsibility, we conclude with suggestions as to duty.
Members of the class of '87, many years of your life have
been spent in preparation for the express purpose of hav¬
ing dealings with your brother. Soon you will leave
these halls of study and discipline and transfdr the base
of your operations to other fields. Two of you are
chosen messengers to carry the tidings of peac'e. The
recognition of the brotherhood of man, not in an abstract,
theoretical manner, but with a warm, sympathetic regard,
will be the key to your usefulness as ministers of the gos¬
pel. To you, I have presented no strange doctrine. It
is the warp and woof of applied Christianity. In view of
this was announced that divine law," Thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself." Teach men everywhere to recog¬
nize their fellowman as being of the same flesh and blood.
It is but a single step, and short, from love for man to
love for God. There were five who aspired to the im¬
portant avocation of the educator. One may have re-
134
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
ceived a summons to join the community of angels in the
realms of the blest. Four remain. Wasting disease has
not as yet thrown a mantle of doubt over the activities of
the future. You will meet your younger brother in the
relation of pupils placed under your hand for physical,
for mental, for moral training. He comes to you from
the home of refinement, from under cultured parental
care. He comes to you from the haunts of wretchedness
and debauchery. He is docile, amiable, pure on the one
hand ; he is sensual, stubborn, unteachable on the other.
In either case he is your brother. Hitherto you influ¬
enced him in small degree and at a distance. Now you
mould his plastic nature by direct contact and daily in¬
struction. Ten, twenty years hence, God will inquire the
status of your brother. The former possibilifies of life?
now realized in full measure, will make the unerring re¬
sponse and define the nature and extent of your account¬
ability.
Again, you will meet your brother in other relations.
He stands at your side an equal in intellect, in influence,
he outranks you in point of accomplishments or is want¬
ing in every human impulse and falls below the level of
the brute. Brother he is, whether he be the noblest ex¬
ample of intelligence and virtue or the most despicable
renegade and libertine. You will have no right to ignore
him whatever be his lot. God has given him a claim up¬
on you, has put him in relation to you. He is where he
is because of yeu ; you are where you are because of him.
Your nature and acquired endowments," your experience,
A Casket of Pulpit 'Thought.
135
your position, in a word, whatever constitutes your indi¬
viduality, must stand as reserve force for your brother.
To hi., diverse condition you must adapt your attitude.
Is he arrogant? Be humble. The child in the midst of
sages is God's symbol of accepted manhood. Is he re¬
vengeful ? Be forgiving, until seventy times seven, is the
recorded rule. Is he selfish ? Let him see in you the
rare beauty of a noble charity that prefers another's glory
to her own. Is he ignorant ? Do not despise him. He
may be basking every hour in the sunlight of his Father's
smiles. Is he making an heroic struggle to be a man ?
Give to him the encouragement of a brother's greeting.
Let him know that there is at least one heart in the world
that throbs with real joy at his efforts to attain a higher
altitude of Christian life.
"Where is thy brother ? " From the throne of God
the final inquiry resounds throughout the moral universe.
It does not now ask for place. It does not now ask for
station. It does not search for responsibility nor for
duty. It is to become the standard of acceptance with
the Father when the ultimate verdict shall be pronounced
upon human action and human character. You would
think that love to God, reverence for His character, obe¬
dience to His authority, these would be the requirements
whose observance would determine man's eternal destiny.
Not these alone. These only as involved in the discharge
of other obligations. Ponder the declaration of the Son
of God when He comes in His glory and all the nations
shall be gathered unto Him. The momentous issues that
•136 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
hinge upon the performance of fraternal duty are clearly
designated. To the righteous the King shall answer and
say : " In as much as ye have done it unto one of the
least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me."
To the reprobate of earth He will say in like manner
" In as much as ye did it not to one of the least of these,
ye did it not unto me." "And these shall go away into
everlasting punishment, but the righteous into life eter¬
nal."
Amen*.
ThE Kit oi Christ
By Rev. John W. Lewis, of Marysville, Ohio.
" Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift."—1
Cor. IX : 15.
In the treatment of this text we shall notice four things :
I. The Donor.
The language is that of the inspired, godly, eloquent
and successful Apostle of the Gentiles—St. Paul.
He calls our attention to the greatest, best and most
wonderful Being unfolded in the world's history—God,
the God of the Bible—whose existence is declared so pos¬
itively and emphatically in the first sentence of the " Book
of Revelation," as penned by the inspired Moses, " In the
beginning God created the heaven and the earth." He,
who is further unfolded as the only true and living God,
and whose glory even the heavens declare ; and who fills
immensity of space, as Well as earth and heaven with His
effulgent glory. The name " God " has been defined as
"The Good Being," and this definition is very suitable
to this Holy and Infinite One, whose Divine goodness is
so wonderfully and admirably seen in Creation, Preserva¬
tion and Redemption. This Great Spirit, who is without
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138 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
body or parts, and who is eternal and everlasting, first
shows this power and goodness in the Creation—calling
this great and stupendous world, as well as all worlds, in¬
to existence out of nothing, and then bringing order and
system out of chaos and confusion, and who said, " Let
there be light, and there was light." Truly, if we had
nothing else but the first chapter of Genesis to tell us of
God, it ought to be enough to convince us of the power,
might and goodness of the Almighty God, the Creator of
the heavens and the earth.- But, thank God, not only
have we the Old Testament Scriptures, but also the New,
and the whole glorious Revelation is full of God and His
goodness to the sons of men. And though He is high
and holy and past finding out, yet hath He respect unto
the lowly, and heareth their prayer. Yea,-"The Lord is
a refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble."
One whose eyes are over His people, and whose ears are
open to their cry. Well might the Psalmist say, " This
God is our God forever and ever, He wiil be our guide
even unto death." St. James declares, "That every good
gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh
down from the Father of light, with whom is no variable¬
ness, neither shadow of turning." And this is the true
view tov take of God. Thus we* briefly behold Divine
goolness in Creation and preservation. This God brings
this beautiful world into existence, fits it up and prepares
it for a home and habitation for man, and then, when all
is ready, He makes man—makes him in His own image
and likeness, and gives him entire dominion over the
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
139
things He hath made. He places him in the beautiful
Garden of Eden and lavishes upon him His best and
choicest gifts, after having given him His commands.
Thus man started out with a happy future in prospect.
But, alas ! soon came the fall, and " in Adam all died."
Hence, we come now to behold the goodness of God in
redemption, as foreshadowed in the text. Therefore, we
shall notice
II. The Donation, or Gift.
" Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift." God
has given to the world many precious gifts as tokens of
His grace. Among them we might mention the Bible,
the Holy Spirit, the Gospel and all the riches of an eter¬
nal salvation, for all of which unceasing praise and thanks¬
giving should be continually rendered. All these blessed
gifts, however, are dependent upon the one great Gift we
wish to present to your attention. This Gift was Jesus
Christ, the Son of God, who died that we might live.
The Apostle was learned and eloquent, as we have already
set forth, and he could express himself in many tongues,
and yet, when he comes to contemplate this amazing and
gracious gift of God, language fails him ; he cannot ex¬
press his feelings, and hence, he calls it, the unspeakable
gift. Well might the poet exclaim,
" Angels, assist our mighty joys,
Strike all your harps of gold,
But when you raise your highest notes,
His love can ne'er be told."
Thank God for the gift of Christ—heaven's best gift.
" God so loved the world that He gave His only begot-
140
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
ten Son, that whosoever believeth in Him might not per¬
ish, but have everlasting life."—John hi, 16. " But when
the fulness of time was come, God sent forth His Son,
made of a woman, made under the law, that we might re¬
ceive the adoption of sons. And because ye are sons,
God hath sent forth the Spirit of His Son into your
hearts, crying, Abba, Father."—Gal. iv, 5-6. This great
gift the apostle had, through the goodness of God, re¬
ceived personally by faith, and hence, he could also rap¬
turously exclaim, " This is a faithful saying and worthy
of all acceptation, that Jesus Christ came into the world
to save sinners, of whom I am chief."
Even though the fulfillment of the promise of this gift
was delayed for four thousand years, and kings and proph¬
ets waited long, but died without the sight, yet in God's
own good time, Jesus came and God was manifest in the
flesh, and the problem was solved in the- birth, life, death,
resurrection and ascension of the Holy One of God, who
ever liveth to make intercession for us, and redemption
is complete—salvation in this life, and in the life to come.
" I am he that liveth, and was dead, and behold I am
alive forever mor£." " And because I live, ye shall live
also," for He is the resurrection and the life. Paul
thanked God from his heart for the gift of Christ, and so
should we all. O, that everything that hath breath would
praise the Lord ! We notice
III. The Receivers.
According to our understanding of the Scriptures this
gift was given to all men without respect of persons,
A Casket nf Pulpit Thought.
141
" As in Aclam all died, so, in Christ, shall all be made
alive. Jesus Christ, by the grace of God, tasted death
for every man. Come unto me, all ye that labor and
are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Whosoever
cometh unto me, I will in no wise cast out. Whosoever
will, let him come and take the water of life freely." We
might quote numerous other passages to prove our asser¬
tion, but these are enough to convince any honest and
candid mind of the truth that Christ died for all, and
would have all turn unto Him and live, and that they can
come if they will; for in His lifting up He hath drawn
all men unto Him, and He commanded His Gospel to
be preached to every creature. To all who receive Him,
He becomes wisdom, righteousness, sanctification and re¬
demption, and being the way, the truth and the life, He
will finally take all who receive Him unto himself, " and
they shall be like Him, for they shall see Him as He is."
We notice in conclusion
The Gratitude Due.
O, what do we not owe to God, the best friend we ever
had, the most faithful friend we can ever find in this life
—the "friend that sticketh closer than a brother."
Thanks be unto God for His unspeakable gift. Though
we were sinners by nature, and had made ourselves more
so by practice, though we were guilty, miserable, lost and
undone, and on the way to hell, yet He pitied us, He had
mercy upon us, He saved us, ever plucking us as brands
from the eternal burning. How our hearts thrill with love
and gratitude when overflowing with the love of Jesus.
142 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
11 Amazing grace, how sweet the sound
That saved a wretch like me !
I once was lost, but now I'm found,
Was blind, but now I see."
Yes, for me He died—for me ; Christ is my love, my
life, my all. In Him all fullness dwells. The knowledge
of what Christ has done for His people and the promise
of what He will continue to do for them, should lead all
to an entire consecration to His service—to earnestly
strive to do something for Him. The Gospel is to be
preached, the church is to be built up, precious souls are
to be saved, and there is no time to be lost. God help
one and all to do and dare for Christ. Help us to be
faithful unto death, that we may wear crowns of life. Up
my brethren and let us be doing, for life is fleeting, and
will soon have passed away. " Let us not be weary in
well doing, for in due season we shall reap if we faint not."
Thus, while thanking God with the apostle for His un¬
speakable gift, let us follow his example—live for Christ,
work for Christ, hope in Christ, die in Christ, and then
live forever with Him in heaven, where His praises shall
never cease, and we shall reign with Him forever and
ever. 1
Amen.
The Ground and the J4an
Annual Sermon at Wilberforce By Rev. B. F.
Lee, D.D.
" And when the Lord saw that He turned aside to see,
God called to him out of the midst of the bush, and said,
Moses, Moses. And he said, Here am I. And He said,
Draw not nigh hither ; put off thy shoesfrom off thy feet;
for the place whereon thou standest is holv ground.''''—Ex :
III : 4, 5.
Hunted by jealousy, secreted by love, rocked on the
Nile, educated iff the palace of the Pharoahs, driven to the
desert to feed Jethro's sheep forty years—these are the
outline facts of Moses' eighty years schooling. At the
burning bush his course was completed, and He was sent
out in public life with such a commission as no other
man has ever received. Did time permit, or circumstan¬
ces demand, we might spend considerable time at the
place of graduation ot the law giver of Israel. We should
observe with much interes t the occurence of two divine
titles in the text. The Lord (Jehovah) saw Moses turn
aside,—God (Elohim) called unto him. God out of
Christ is a consuming fire, but here is God in Christ—,
the fire does not consume. The feelings of Moses must
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144 A Casket of Pulpit Thought,.
have been like those of Jacob three hundred yeacs earlier,
when he awoke from his bethel dream—or like those of
the three favored disciples, on Mt. Hermon, fourteen hun¬
dred years later, when Moses and Elias, glorified, were
entertained by the transfigured Christ. But we wish to
draw from the burning bush practical lessons, rather than
to revel in pleasing fancies. No other biography of man
is more attractive and edifying than that of Moses.
Every life is a miracle—his is a succession of miracles.
The student is no more entranced by his brilliant succes-
es and achievements than bewildered by the rapidity and
extent of the variations in his life; like the scenes in a
panorama, they hold the mind in one continuous train of
high entertainment. In deep sympathy, studying the
babe on the Nile, we are suddenly considering the prince
in royal court. From this imposing subject we hasten to
seethe man-slayer fleeing into the Midiantlesert, disguised,
watching the flock of Jethro. Forty years later, standing
before the Lord, filled with awe, his feet in immediate
contact with the sacred ground, he receives authority
above that of all other men, to return to Egypt, and lead
God's people through the wilderness.
The words at the burning bush conveyed to Moses
stupendous facts. They were not merely words for- the
instant, but declarations of God's great interest and pur¬
pose, inspirations of extraordinary energies, and prophecies
of universal redemption. History has never repeated the
phenomena of the burning bush, Providence has but once
presented to man so great deliverance,—the high hand
A Casket of Pulpit Thought..
145
and outstretched arm of God's mercy in the gift of Christ
to the world. The assurances of God, as well as His di¬
rections, left Moses nothing to do but obey.
THE SANCTIFIED GROUND.
"The place whereon thou standest is holy ground."
Is it possible that the ground once cursed, because of
man's presumptuous sinning, is now blessed to his salva¬
tion? So it is declared in Scripture, and so demonstrat¬
ed in history. To every man there is a land that flows
with mild and honey, though many perish in their efforts
to reach it. The immediate ground upon which Moses
stood was not the same that was occupied by the non-
consuming fire, but near it. The whole country of Midi-
an was made holy, was consecrated to the forty years pil¬
grimage and tabernacling of God's people. More, the
whole earth, the material universe was made favorable to
human escape from moral bondage. Besides this, the of¬
ficial position of Moses was rendered holy, secure and
typical.
He was made as God to Pharoah and to the Hebrews ;
the type of the prophet whom God should raise up to be
heard in all things, the man whom other men were to ob¬
serve in immediate relationship with the great I AM,
when they could not so much as touch the mountain on
which he stood. Every heaven instituted leader occupies
holy ground. In the exercise of his special funcrionsj
Moses used a rod, as the visible insignia of official power,
but that rod, in itself, was no more powerful than the rod
of the Egyptian magii. God used it as an instrument,
146 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
sanctifying it with fire for His purpose as the visible con¬
nection between cause and effect. At its touch the waters
became blood, the air swarmed with insects, the heavens
became darkness, death draped both field and palace, the
sea made a solid pathway for a million pilgrims who were
under right influence and in the same place, a gulf of
death for those who were not acting from right motives.
The heavens furnished an unerring guide to the Hebrews
and a perplexing confusion to the Egyptians. The Mar
ah waters yielded to the sweetening property of the leaf,
the twelve wells at Elim satisfied the thirst, and the three
score and ten palm trees comforted and cheered the pen¬
itent murmurers ; the rocks of Horeb sent forth their
gurgling springs, and the clouds of Paran rained manna
and quail for their sustentation. Verily, God prepared
them a table in the wilderness. Nothing proved an in¬
surmountable barrier to the progress of this people, who
out of their straitened conditions, formed a kingdom, laid
the foundations for universal civil law, built a gorgeous
temple for the Most High, and established an everlasting -
religion. Yet the material universe is as highly favorable
to the right progress of mankind in general, as it was to
the Hebrews.
The beautiful imagery and magnificent conceptions of
their marvellous history may be found in greater or less
magnitude in the march of a single soul, or an entire race,
from moral slavery to moral freedom. The stars are al¬
ways on the side of righteousness. The miracles that
marked the crooked road from On to Ai are many times
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
147
multiplied in the history of man. The marvels of science,
the wonders of art, the prodigies of discovery and the re¬
sultant elevation and expansion of mankind are real mir¬
acles, and were they to come less gradually, would be so
considered. The earth remains full of the glory of God,
and still has reserve forces " to help the woman " in the
struggle with the dragon. As civilization and natural
growth demand of the physical world more and more, in
quantity and in mystery, it answers back, " There is
enough forevermore." Genius plunges into the waves of
the sea, rides the billows, sounds the depths, brings up
great pearls from their sunken beds, or gold from their
foreign shores. It sinks its shaft and causes to well up
from the earth, minerals, oils and gases. It mounts the
heavens and brings the stars to the guidance of those
struggling in the darkness. It flashes its thoughts through
the air thousands of miles, while Mose is stretching the
wonder working rod toward the sea. Are these feats of
genius any less divine than was the rod ? Scarcely so—
if genius itself is consecrated.
The whole world is anxious to yield to the pressure of
science at any point. God touches the earth with sanc¬
tifying influence for all. But He requires of mankind, as
He did of the Hebrews, agreement, harmony, with him¬
self as a condition of blessing. If He seems to bless alike
the evil and the good without discrimination, to use or
to abuse, a careful analysis shows that, though God is no
respecter of persons, He is a respecter of morals. Even
the riches of grace and the depths of mercy in the re-
148
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
demptive wcrk do not come to us to destroy moral dis¬
tinctions. The world of worth is presented to open eyes,
hearing ears, furnishing ground for the play of intuitions,
fields for consciousness, and acts for conscience. If man
is wanting in some power addressed, the all-powerful will
not impress him at that point—hence we have so often
in prophecy and preaching, reference to the possession of
useless ears, sightless eyes and hearts of stone. There
may be whole tribes lacking some power of cognizing
God. They sit in the region and shadow of death; not
because the world is a waste, howling wilderness, but be¬
cause their hearts are a barren desert. Despite the lead¬
ing pillar, the opening rock and the fruitful desert, they
murmur for the fleshpots of Eygpt, for the leeks, the on¬
ions, the garlic, the bondage, the degradation. Thus in
the long run it is plain that the just, the righteous, get
the most out of the beneficence of God in the material
world, as they do in the spiritual world, because they pre¬
pare themselves for the reception ot good from the Lord.
The grace of God in the material world, however, like
His grace in the spiritual world, is plain. It is grace that
has made the earth sanctified to repentant man, so that
as Mrs. Browning says, " God, in cursing," has given us
"better gifts than man in benediction." The material
side of His mighty impressiveness is in the same direc¬
tion as that of the spiritual side. " He cannot deny Him¬
self," whether on this side or that. He is man's friend,
as such hinders Him in no right avenue, nor aids Him
in any wrong course. The lessons drawn from nature
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
149
are in perfect accord with those drawn from revelation,
though we may often fail to read them alike. Upon the
stairs of the physical world man makes wonderful strides
upwards, toward God. The ancients, indeed, often be¬
came bewildered studying nature, and called nature, God.
So do some moderns. This might be the case with many
more but for the influence of divine beauty, power, wis¬
dom, love and grace in the gift of Jesus Christ, through
whom we have the sanctifier to guide us into all truth.
That the sanctified ground, the earth, may be considered
as God's means to an end, not itself the end of our study
and devotion, and the ground, the position of Moses, the
inspired leader as holy, in that his words shall be to us
as the oracles of God, his examples as those of sanctified
man, and his work a symnu trical building, constructed
under divine supervision. " The scribes and pharisees
sit in Moses' seat; whatsoever they command you to ob¬
serve, that observe and do," is the teaching of Jesus.
This idea will bear expanding so as to include teachers
who are sent to us by God as Moses was sent. The place
on which they stand is holy ground. They are between
us and God, in a significant sense. But this idea may
the better be exalted to the teachings of Jesus Himself.
THE SANCTJFIED MAN.
But for here and there a man, here and there a race of
men, more or less prepared by will and moral character,
to appreciate properly the great glories of the face and
riches of the soul of nature ; men who have reached pre¬
eminence by standing where God has bid them, and go-
150 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
ing where He has commanded—what would the human
race be to-day? What a sad picture it would present to
angels and to God. The lowest tribes are said to have
little interest in their fellows, little religious feeling or ac¬
tion and no admiration for nature. This would be the
case with all men, notwithstanding the sanctified earth,
were there not a remnant that never forget the voice of
God, and that by an excellent evolution has spread itself
like the cedars of Lebanon in evergreen strength and
balminess. Moses, gazing on the burning bush, with feet
bared to the holy ground, head bared to the holy skies
and heart bared to the holy voice, is the very picture of
the " man of God," the man with God. Once more har¬
mony has been created. The earth, the skies, man and
God, in an especial understanding, join in the work of
man's release.
Many of the most brilliant leaders have been like other
men in morals, but Moses lived as far above his fellows
as he lived below God. Did it ever occur to you what
an immense undertaking he had ? How little natural re¬
spect his own people had for him, is shown in the sudden
repulse he had received when he attempted to separate
his quarrelling brethren before fleeing to the desert. Yet
his duty leads him to gain their implicit confidence, to
assume absolute control over them, to attract their almost
slavish following, that he might inspirit them with enough
courage to venture to break ties that bound them to
Egypt, leave what they possessed, and go into an unknown
wilderness. I know it is sometimes thought that the He-
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
151
brews had nothing in Egypt in which they could have
any interest, nothing—unless it were the bones of their
fathers—that they were all glad to link their fortunes with
any man who would say " Let us get out of here," but
this is a mistake. There was never a system of slavery
that could prove stronger than the native thrift that is
likely to develop itself in humanity, irrespective of con¬
dition. It is probable that the inclination to own some¬
thing was not crushed out of the Hebrews. Doubtless
the Egyptians considered all the possessions of the He¬
brews their own, by right of owning the owner. It is not
among the most unreasonable theories of explanation of
the apparent loan of jewels, etc., made to the Hebrews to
into the wilderness to worship, that it was composed of
property of this class. But besides property ties, there
were ties of blood, of place, of associations, of worship
and of feeling. From all, Moses was called to lead them,
from all he did lead them. Who can limit the influence
of a sanctified leader ? His steps are ordered by the
Lord. The prudent man seeth the evil afar off and hid-
eth himself, and is a safe man to follow. His will is sanc¬
tified to God's ways. He delights to do God's will. The
highest object God can have in the sanctified leader must
be the exercise of His own infinite mind in observing
holiness in His creatures, and the contemplation of the
worth of holiness to the individual himself and his service
to others. The highest means that God uses in behalf
of man, is the immaculate and infallible. Jesus, the aton¬
ing blood, the Holy Spirit, as moral causes to effect a
152
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
moral reform within man. He uses the material universe
and the inspired book as means in the hands of lower
teachers, who are themselves corrected by strict obedi¬
ence and the cleansing blood. With the exercise of all
these powers moral education is very slow; but not so
slow that it cannot be seen. Its greatest achievements
certainly have not been reached on earth. The wilder¬
ness is made gladt and the desert places to rejoice, but
the perfect obedience that brings men before the burning
bush with life exposed to its glare and heat, heart study¬
ing its mystery, and mind ready to reply to the voice of
God, " Here am I," is too rare. The consecrated earth,
in material beauty, grandeur and strength, forces itself
upon man's vision. The voice says, " Take off thy
shoes." With mind filled with what is supposed to be
wisdom, but what is really only knowledge unsanctified,
too many men reply : " I accept thy joy-springs, O, Na¬
ture. I drink at thy fountains. I eat thy manna, I in¬
hale thy air, but I can't take off my shoes. I don't be¬
lieve in holiness. I want intellectuality. If I am to be
a leader of the people, let me run with my shoes on, that
I may do a greater work soon. I am not so much inter¬
ested in the sanctified life as I am in getting great num¬
bers to join our church." Alas ! for these blind leaders,
and for the blind people whom they lead—sooner or later
they all must fail.
It is true that men of great natural powers who will
make all possible effort may accomplish vast good, but
not all men have great intellects or are capable of extra-
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
153
ordinary efforts. Progenitive causes prevent large num¬
bers of men from knowing just what they should do or
just what they can do. They are not responsible for these
lacks, but the loss to them is as great as if they were re¬
sponsible. The eunuch may not have been to blame for
not understanding what he read ; this did not compen¬
sate for his ignorance, nor make it any the less necessary
that Philip should obey the spirit and join himself £b the
chariot. Leaders, teachers, controllers of men must be
prepared by the Holy Ghost for their work. Until this
fact is appreciated we may expect our fair land to be
stained with self-shed blood and scourged by murders.
The sanctified guide does not feel obliged to stoop to
the ways of sin to conquer numbers of persons. Moses
demanded of men what God demanded of him. He al¬
lowed to men what God allowed to him. Where Moses
directed, was but where God had beforehand directed
him. The sanctified guide is a fearless guide. ■ He does
not sink in despair when thousands of his people die in
the wilderness on account of their sins. He prefers to
march on with but two of those who originally came up
out of Egypt with him, to leading a million of them un¬
tutored in morals and unsanctified by religion, entirely
unable to drive out the immoral tribes already in the land,
whither they go to possess it. He can take forty years
to reach the land that others reached in a few weeks. It
is God's way ; therefore it is Moses' way. Consecrated
leaders can give such object lessons as will assist to
quicken, strengthen and render stable the morals of their
154 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
disciples. Thousands of men have been morally elevat¬
ed by the application of this principle. Jesus teaches us
to so let our light shine, that men may see our good works
and glorify our Father in heaven.
By means of the sanctifying grace, God will bring up the
lowest races, if they will but bare themselves to His
ground and His word. Abraham proceded from a hea¬
then family and became the father of the faithful, by obey¬
ing God. Joseph, out of an Egyptian prison by his in¬
tegrity, rose to the second place in the kingdom. Moses,
educated in the idolatry of Egypt, became God's mighty
leader by uncovering his life to God and receiving His
holy benediction and inspiration. By these and other
sanctified leaders God has made a great nation out of an
insignificant handful of heathens, because they were teach¬
able. Do you suppose there is any class of men that
may not be reformed by the application of the principles
of Christianity ; that there is any race so low in the scales
by means of which men are weighed, that God cannot
elevate them ? Do you fear that God has cursed any
given race, so as to declare against it in His moral count ?
I do not. There is no race of men upon whom He has
placed a curse, covering every individual, or covering
any individual, regardless of his moral character based
upon faith and obedience. Disregarding these principles
any individual may be self cursed. There are race sins,
but they do not necessarily include all individuals; they
are those sins that races have made theirs by universal
practice. But sanctified teachers may be used by God
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
155
in battling against these with success. It is an eternal
fact, that where sin enters there is death, but that the gift
of God is eternal life. There is life for all men. There
is no wearying on the part of the spirit world ; there is
no tiring in the material, in efforts to bring man to ever¬
lasting life, to have the whole human race take off its
shoes, touch the sanctified ground and ever after walk
thereon.
SANCTIFIED CONTINUANCE.
God engaged with Moses, as He had done with Abra¬
ham, for an everlasting relationship. It was of no greater
interest to the Lord that the Hebrews begin their remark¬
able life, than that they continue in it forever. Certainly
He designed that Abraham should be the father of the
faithful in all generations and that mankind should for¬
ever keep his covenant. There is a kind of perseverance
of the saints that it would be well for all men to accept;
the continuation in well doing and full consecration.
Any scheme of elevation and progress omitting this must
fail. The weary in well doing may, upon recovering
themselves, reap their reward ; but those who do not
weary shall reap. There is the greater necessity of main¬
taining strong faith in Christ and perfect life before men,
since there is at these times a not insignificant effort be¬
ing made to shake the confidence of men in everything
that is old, in everything that binds the moral nature, in
everything that includes the idea of Christian morality"
that comes by repentance toward God and faith in the
Lord Jesus Christ.
156
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
Men say, if after so many centuries, Christianity has
allowed members of the human race to actually lose in¬
terest in its own life and regard for the life of their fel¬
lows, is it not time to try something else ? So the mod¬
ern ethical society is established. This is like the mur¬
muring Hebrews. They wanted to give up trusting God
because so many more were dying in the wilderness than-
had died in a corresponding time in Egypt. If the way
of righteousness is not the way to God, then there is cer¬
tainly no way to God. If the way of righteousness is the
way to God, it is the only way to God. If it is the only
way to God, it should be no question how long it requires
the world to find it. It must persevere. But the ad¬
vancement of Christian life is as rapid as that of any
other form of human life. The progress of morals is not
a moment behind that in science, in art or in literature.
It is true there are many discouraging features on the
face of the Christian question, but in its heart there is
great satisfaction, great and abiding peace, that will ere
long produce unparallelled fruit unto holiness and the
end thereof will be everlasting life. We are educating
our youth, but the tendency ot education is to cast reli¬
gion into the line of sciences, making it depend upon
knowledge. There are outer forms of Christianity that
may be acquired in this way, but, as a whole the acquisi¬
tion and maintenance of Christianity depend on abiding
•faith. The knowledge of Christianity follows, not pre¬
cedes faith. The old method—the method prescribed by
God, is to tell the great truths to children ; that they may
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 157
tell them to their children. The only way for the chil¬
dren of Israel to keep the law was to have it rehearsed
every day. This made them emphatically Jews. To
have the world positively and constantly Christian is to
rehearse the word of God and the formulated doctrines
line upon line. To this end, on having their children
baptized, parents are obligated to teach them the Lord's
prayer, the ten commandments, the apostles' creed, and
the catechism, together with the Scriptures generally.
Faith must be preceded by hearing, and hearing by the
word ot God. All men are enjoined to train up a child
'in the way he should go. God showeth mercy unto
thousands that love Him and keep His commandments.
The burning'* bush, the holy ground, the holy leader, the
indoctrinated race, the atoning Christ, the sanctified
people, the people whose God is the Lord, the Christian
world, that is the course of redemption.
Amen.
The Christian's Voyage
By Rev. W. J. Johnson, B. D.
Text :—" Then, feartng lest we should have fallen upon
rocks they cast four anchors out of the stern and wished
for the day." Acts XXVII: 29 Verse.
It is midnight on the dark waters of the Mediterranean ;
the silvery moon and twinkling stars are shrouded by
blackness and clouds ; a perilous voyage is being under¬
taken. The winds are blowing furiously ; the waves are
lashing the ship to such an extent that sailors and pris¬
oners fear and tremble. Yonder sits the royal King at
Rome, anxiously awaiting the arrival of the vessel that he
may revenge himself by imprisonment and by death upon
those men of God. The speed of sailing is counteracted
by the terrible storm ; the disastrous sand-bars, upon
which they are momentarily expecting to be cast. In the
midst of this gloom and fear, the great God sends an
angel comforter to Paul, his servant, and whispers inspired
words into his ear, words that should spread joy in the
soul of every passenger. Oh ! what reliance upon Him
who speaks and the seas obey. Him, says Paul, to rivet
his exhortation: "I believe God, that it shall be even
(158) .
A Casket of PulpU Thought.
159
as it is told me." The lead line is thrown out, one hun¬
dred and twenty feet of water, again it is thrown out—
ninety feet of water, then fearing the rocks which were
very numerous, an anchor is lowered from out of the
stern. The surging waves cause the anchor to move,
another is let down, and still another. I see that old
vessel inclining to move about from place to place. She
must be settled for fear she stikes her bow against a huge
rock and goes down. Another is let down. With her
stern deep down in the water and her bow pointing to the
skies, all is still, all is steady, as she stands in this posi¬
tion. How many anxious hearts are seen standing wish¬
ing, longing and praying, between midnight and morn,
only waiting for the soft gray twilight of morn to appear
above the eastern horizon, when they may proceed on
their journey towards the Royal City. Thousands of
christian men and women to-day are on their voyage
from the modern Jerusalem to the city of their King. All
glory we give for the reason and confidence we have of
his love rather than his wrath; for the promise of life
eternal, rather than his will to consign us to imprison¬
ment and death forever. Over this sea which we must
pass, this sea of life,—Oh how many storms arise ! How
great the blackness seems ! Often it appears that the
moonlight of hope is forever gone down, and the twink¬
ling stars of his promises are gone out forever. The
heaving waves of opposition seem to often make us think
for the moment that we shall be engulfed. The foam and
sprays of the most serious calamities lash each other.
160
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
The qiucksands and sandbars, upon which many a chris¬
tian has stranded, are numerous, and the rocks upon
which many pilgrims have been dashed to pieces are just
before us. So often we find ourselves not only in the
midst of all the missies of destruction, but drifting to¬
wards shallow water, toward the rocks. Then oh ! then,
is it ours to thank God, to cast out our anchors, four in
number, four strong onea, that is insured to every travel¬
ler, bought and paid for by the incarnate son of God.
Church of Christ, this morning I see your sails hoisted
for the Glory land. I perceive before you blackness and
despair ; your ship will soon be in the midst of the fog;
night heaves about you; your sky is darkened ; your
way is cloudy ; the howling storm of persecution is about
you. Oh, I see your bark leaping from wave to wave.
*> Sometimes I see you with uplifted hands tightly clutched
above your heads, and now on bended knees invoking
God Almighty to calm the troubled sea of life. There is
another with tears streaming from her eyes, asking where
shall rest be found. Oh my soul how disturbed art thou !
Another stands on the decks looking over the guards into
a hopeless and godless ocean, where no refuge can be
found. Hell's Gate is just in front, what must be done to
save the crew ? Sailors for the Kingdom of Glory,
stand on deck in your midst, and at the top of my voice
I cry out in this perilous hour—"cast anchor." As
quick as the command, the capstan and windlass are set
to work. Down goes the anchor, I hear the thud as she
strikes the bottom. I shall call this anchor—" Promise."
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
161
Oh ! my dear friends, did you ever stop for a moment to
think that God Almighty's guide has within it thirty-seven
thousand of. those glorious promises? However fierce
the storm may be, as quick as thought this anchor can
be let down. See the inscription on the anchor. In the
context we have a grand one—" Fear not Paul, thou
must be brought before Cgesar and so God hath given
thee all them that sail with thee." Again, " So I am with
you always, even unto the end of the world." " Fear not,
little flock, it is your father's good pleasure to give you
the Kingdom." " But he that shall endure unto the end,
the same shall be saved." "To him that overcometh,
will I grant to sit with me in my throne, even as I also
overcome and am sit down with my father in his throne."
Thousands, thousands, thousands-more of them, as rich
as the reward to which they point. God sends me here
as his agent to tell you his book, like a great and fruitful
tree, abounds with inscriptions for this anchor. Yes, they
are fragrant and sweet, and He who promises, is fully
able to perform it. Hear the poet:
" Ye fearful saints, fresh courage take,
The clouds ye so much dread
Are big with mercy, and shall break
In blessings on your head."
Glorious anchor is this God's promises will never fail.
Whatever my condition of life, health, sickness, or death,
I find a promise to suit my case ; whether attended by
success or adversity, this anchor is always mine. I have
often heard it remarked of individaals, who had given
their pledge to perform a certain act—" Their word is as
162 - A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
good as the bank," or " their word is a bond." If it be
possible that finite creatures can give to their fellows such
assurances, while being surrounded by the hundreds of
liabilities of failure, can we not with, the greatest certainty
risk our all upon the Infinite, upon the promise of Him,
" in whom there is no variablenes nor shadow of turn¬
ing." Sailors, I ask you this morning to tell me if this
anchor God promises is a safe one ? Do you think it
can be trusted in a storm ? Do you think the chain that
holds it is a strong one ? Have you ever tried it ? Oh !
my God, I hear millions of voices crying out—Yes. A
thousand times—yes. The convert, who has just started
his voyage, says it is secure. The old christian, who has
nearly ended his voyage, looks back and heralds the
sound—this anchor has been my support. Yea, my
security in hundreds of storms. The pilgrims, that have
landed in the City beyond the vale, stand looking over
the battlements of Glory singing :
" Rock of ages, I'm secure,
With thy promise full and free.
Faithful, positive and sure,
As thy days thy strengh shall be."
I see the old vessel is inclined to be restless, so great
and violent is the storm. So I cry out again—Let down
another anchor. I see it descends into the depths. I
shall call this anchor—Faith. Qh ! glorious faith, thou it
is that places my eyes on the bleeding Lamb. By faith I
see my Savior dying on the tree. To every nation he is
crying "Look to me." Come with me for a moment, and
Stand on the decks of this ship during the gale, in the;
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
163
midst of confusion and the lashing of the waves as they
beat and strike us on the voyage. Look over the stern—
I see too mighty weights let down in the seas. One, I
call Promise, the other Faith. About as good a defini¬
tion as I ever heard for faith was given by a little Sunday
School girl—when asked what she understood by faith,
she exclaimed, " To do what God tells you to do, and ask
no questions about it." Is this not just what God wants
us to do ? Stand, and look, and believe that He, who
had promised, is able to perform it. I sail on, not know¬
ing what shall befall me. I see the waters becoming tur¬
bulent. With the anchor of Promise let down, and by it
lay the second, Faith, with the strong cable of Grace
attached thereto ; while fierce and wild the storm of life
is raging-—O'er the waters dark—I look in the distance,
I see, I hear the Savior of mankind saying in a voice of
love, a voice of sweetness, a voice of trust—I'll stand by
you until the morning. Oh ! Grace, dost thou bind and
hold me fast to this Almighty anchor. Yes, 'twas grace
that has kept me secure thus far. Oh ! bountiful grace,
thou wilt ever secure me to this faith, which gives me an
eternal reliance in reaching the harbor. What has this
faith, this mighty anchor, been to those who made the
voyage long since, and that which we are making now ?
" By Faith the elders obtained a good report." " By
Faith Abel brought the firstling of his flock and God gave
him the witness that he was righteous. By Faith Enoch,
'was taken up to God without seeing death. By Faith,
Abraham offered his beloved Isaac. By Faith Rahab
164
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
hung out of the window a scarlet string by which her
house was saved. All of these trusted in the anchor
Polycarp, it is said a few days previous to his death,,
dreamed that his pillow was on fire, when urged by the
Pro-Counsel to renounce Christ, he replied, "Fourscore
and six years have I served him and he has never done
me an injury. Can I blaspheme my King and my Sa¬
vior ? " Precious faith ! A strong anchor for the dis¬
tressed soul. To me "Thou art the shadow of a great
rock in a weary land." It was the anchor for John on
Patmos' lonely isles. It was the anchor for Paul on the
night of the fearful voyage to Rome. It was the anchor
for Luther in the Reformation. It was the anchor of the
Wesleys, and their co-adjutors, 'and glory to God it is
the anchor of the Christian church to-day. " Church of
the living God," have you this morning this blessed
Christ given anchor ? If so, let me invoke you in the
name of Jehovah, when in the midst of the bitter, wailing
and destructive storms of life, cast out your anchor of
faith in Jesus, and His all sufficiency to save, and stand
with clasped hands and fervent prayer to Almighty God,
waiting and watching for the morning. But my friends,
I want to tell you this morning that this plan of salvation
is a sure one. Jesus full well knew how great the storms
would be; with what dangers the sailors to the Beulah
Land would be attended. How dark the nights, and num¬
erous would be the rocks upon which some storm tossed
soul might perhaps be lost. How glorious the thought
comes ringing down this day—a perfect Savior, a perfect
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 165
salvation, a perfect harbor of rest, and the grandest
thought yet, a perfect supply of anchors to hold us steady
in the wildest and mpst perilous storm in our onward
journey to the Gates of Paradise. Therefore, I am again
on deck of this vessel. I see the vessel yet seems to be
disquieted; the sailors know full well there are two an¬
chors. The promise of His words and faith in the prom¬
ise let down ; still they seem tremulous and fearful. Like
a maniac the old ship seems to plunge. I see her still
rising and surging, keeping time to the waves that lash
about her. She seems striving to break the chains which
hold Promise and Faith fast, as they lie hidden in the
deep. These cables or chains, which hold these anchors,
are God's ; they were arranged by Him ; given by Him ;
fastened by Him. No power can break them ; no storm
can tear them asunder from His church. However, to
encourage the sailors on board, again I cry aloud, " Let
down another anchor." I see it, too, descend into the
depths. I shall call this anchor Hope. Christians, I
shall call upon you to-day to behold what safety is ar¬
ranged by your God, by my God, by the God of the
Christian church. Prayer is the chain that holds this
hope of ours. Did you ever see such a sight ? God's
great anchors to the soul; there they lie, side by side.
Let me name them—Promise, Faith, Hope. Oh ! what
a momentous trio of safety ! Fathers, do you doubt the
safety of the Church, with these ? Mothers, are you will¬
ing to risk your soul with these strong safe-guards ?
Christians, are you fearfnl of these in the darkness ? Oh !
166
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
Hallelujah ! I hear the response from the old, from the
middle aged, from the young, crying out from the depths
of their soul: " What time I am afraid, I will trust in
Him." Let me quote the poet in his imagination of this
anchor, Hope :
" Methinks I hear Hope sweetly singing,
Singing in an undertone,
Singing as though God had taught her,
' It is better farther on.'
" Day and night she sings the same song,
£>ings it when I sit alone,
Sings it so my soul may hear it,
' It is better farther on.'
" Hope ou, hope on, my soul forever,
All thy doubts and fears be gone.
Jesus will forsake thee never;
' It is better farther on.'
" Daily coming to the fountain,
Open free for every one,
We are safe, and Hope still singing,
' It is better farther on.'
" Farther on, but how much farther,
Count the mile stones one by one.
No, not counting, simply trusting
' It is better farther on.' "
Pilgrims, ypu that are journeying to join the church of
the First Born, let me ask you to halt for a moment; furl
your sails, stop the journey, and with one halloo, ask the
watchman who stands on the glittering walls of Glory, to
tell you something of this Hope. Listen ! Oh ! men
9
and brethren, hear the response as it comes ringing down
from Glory's height: " It is better farther on. It is bet¬
ter farther on." Here is one who has been in the cause
A Casket of Pulpit Thought..
167
of Christ fifty years. Tell us, father, what you think of
H,ope. " It is better farther on." Tell me, young con¬
vert, what assurance you have of Hope. " It is better
farther on." Oh ! my Lord and my God, what a cloud
of witnesses ; what an assurance of safety has the Chris¬
tian voyager. I invoke you this morning, if you are sin¬
ful, if you are wretched, if you are depraved, if you are
lost in sin—Come, come, oh ! come ! I ask you, and get
on the old ship Zion. She has her anchors always ready.
Is there safety in God's promises ? Is there safety in
that faith we have in our blessed Jesus ? Is there safety
in the hope we have of our home, sweet home, whose
maker an<d builder is God ? If so, get aboard. Storm
after storm has arisen, and no soul that ever cast out
he se anchors has been lost in his voyage. My brothers,
my sisters, my friends, I ask you this morning to lift up
your heads, cast out in this great ocean of Christ's love,
your anchors, if you are being rocked in the cradle of
deep distress. Lift up your heads and turn your .eyes
toward Glory. Join in the scng :
"Oh ! what a blessed hope is ours,
While here on earth we stay ;
We more than taste the heavenly power,
And antidate that day."
Stand steady, and with courage bold, sing on, pray on,
hope on ; soon the morning light will come, soon the gale
will be hushed, soon the sun of Righteousness will shine
upon you once more, and you can hoist sail and forward
to the Glory Land. I have one more anchor to lower,
and then I shall leave the crew in an infinitely satisfied
168
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
and happy condition.. Sailors of the Lord's annointed,
lower another anchor. Those that have been already
lowered will give you eternal security, but the one I have
just lowered is the old, old anchor ; it is used chiefly
when the most perilous voyage of life is at hand, it is used
when groans and shrieks are heard, aud when the tear
drop is seen to fall; it is used when the most intimate
friend plunges the dagger of treachery into your heart;
it is used when those you loved as your own life become
your intense enemies; it is especially needful when the
black hand of death is thrust into the family circle and
snatches from there the prattling babe, the rorsy-cheeked
boy or girl, the husband or wife, the father or mother.
Oh ! yes, my friends, it is needed in this dread hour, when
the cords of life are tightened and the heart strings break.
Do you ask me the name of this anchor ? I tell you it is
the " I know." Hail, welcomed anchor to the human
soul ! Repeat it over and over and again, " I know," " I
know," "I know." The chain that holds this anchor is
Christian experience. Grace, that binds faith to the soul,,
may grow weak. Prayer, that connects the Christian's
Hope to Heaven, may become careless, but this Christian
experience, that gives me all knowledge of my voyage,
is ever fresh. When my faith is weak, I can say, " I
know I have passed from death unto life." When I can
hardly offer a prayer unto God, then can I say, " I know
He has heard my prayer and answered my petitions."
How many testimonies can be given here this morning
concerning this anchor of which I am now speaking.
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
169
Call Job, put him on the witness stand. Hear him :
"For I know that my Redeemer liveth." Call up Paul
to Timothy. I hear him say, "For I know whom I have
believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that
which I have committed unto Him against that day."
What a glorious experience ! Again, the Apostle speaks
to the Corinthians : "For we know that if our earthly
house of this tabernacle were dissolved, we have a build¬
ing of God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the
heavens. One more witness to be examined, and we will
hear your testimony. Listen to John, that beloved disci¬
ple of Jesus. Hear him : " But we know that wher^ He
shall appear, we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him
as He is." How glorious an anchor ! I know He lives,
I know He will keep me, I know I shall be like Him, and
dwell with Him forever. What is your testimony this
morning, Christians ? Rise up and tell us. One says, " I
know wherein I was blind, I now see." Another says,
" Once I was dead. I know I now live." Another says,
I know when I was sinking down, God reached forth
His hand and saved me." Another says, " I know when
I was cast down, God raised me up." Another says, " I
know when I was old, God never forsook me." Another
speaks out from the grave and says, " I know when I was
passing through the valley, Christ was there; when in the
midst of Jordan, Christ was there ; when my sun of life
was almost set, in my greatest need, Christ was there.
In the great final struggle, clutched tightly in the arms of
death, in the dark hour of night, I found this anchor a
170
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
full and sufficient supply to hold me steady until the day
light and the sunrise was seen by me on the Evergreen
Shore." Poet, speak to comfort us :
"The soul that to .Tesus has lied for repose,
I will not, I will not, desert to his foes;
I'll never, no never, no never, forsake."
Followers of Jesus, sailors for Glory, oh, ye crew that
are heaven bound, let me, in my peroration, counsel you.
These anchors-—Promise, Faith, Hope and "I know"—
are the mighty powers that you need, that I need, that
the world needs, while in the midst of the voyage to the
" Christian's Home of the Soul." This old ship, thank
God, has landed many thousands safely. She has stood
many, yes, so many, of the most direful storms the world
has ever known. Her decks are covered with the blood
and tears of martyrs. Christians, out of every land un-
c\er the sun, are the witnesses of the surety of the jour¬
ney, if you are attended with these anchors, procured
with the price of sinless blood. " We are out on the
ocean sailing towards a home beyond the tide." Night
has come over us. Above ypn western slope of life, slow¬
ly I see the angry clouds arising. All is blackness ; all
is darkness. All is night. I hear God's thunder drums
rolling across the sky. His lightnings, with frantic mien,
are bursting and cleaving the clouds. I hear the moanr
ing of the distant winds, as they sweep down upon the
broad bosom of the ocean. The waves of trouble begin
to roll higher and higher, higher and higher, until the
soul, like the hart and the roe, panteth for rest. What a
terrible consternation is about us! What a restless
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. l/\
lj)reast! What drooping and despondent souls ! Picture
some of them—There is one, standing in the night of dis¬
appointment ; there is another, standing in the night of
extreme poverty ; there is another, standing in the dark¬
ness of despair ; there stands one, in the night of sick¬
ness ; another, in the mid-night storm of death. Oh !
my soul, canst thou pass over this rugged voyage ?
Death steps in. The babe is taken just at that period,
when it has learned to make its first smile, to cheer and
comfort the heart of the parent. The boy is snatched
away, just at the time where youth's evening almost
touches manhood's morn. The young husband is called
to follow his bride to the grave. The father looks upon
the casket, that contains the lifeless remains of her, who
has been the fountain of the family circle, let down in the
grave. Mourners, turn your faces homeward, your final
adieu is given. I hear the low, solemn farewell, farewell.
Let me ask you, must all this be endured in the midst of
this doleful, dark and stormy night ? Yes, all this. But
I stand here, this morning, as God's messenger, to tell
you to cast out your anchors and no harm shall befall
you. Down goes your anchor of Promise. Down goes
jour anchor of Faith. Down goes your anchor of Hope.
Down goes your anchor of " I know." Steady, oh ! my
soul! Now I can sing :
" No storm can .shake my inmost soul,
While to His cross I'm clinging."
My church, in conclusion, let me ask you again, hkve
jou got these four Eternal Anchors ? If you have, you
172 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
need fear no rocks, no storms. They will hold you
steady in the most turbulent waves of life, amid the black¬
est night. Cast them out and pray. Oh ! wish for the
morning. By and by, Jesus, the Great Morning Light of
the soul, will come. He will lift the anchors, and swiftly
land the vessel into the harbor.
" Safe, safe, safe at home,
Home, borne, home, sweet home."
" Rocks and storms I'll fear no more
When on that delightful shore.
Drop the anchor, furl the sail,
We are safe beyond the vale."
Amen.
The Promises of God,
By Rev. George W. Maxwell.
Heb. X : 23.
Hope in the promises of God is an ancher to the soul.
Whatever stornls or tempests are without, or however the
swelling waves of corruption may roll within, yet the
Christian knows that the God in whom he trusts is
mightier than all; and, therefore, rests himself on the
promises he has made to his children. David had fre¬
quently put the promises of God to a test, but never
found one of them oncq to fail him ; he was, therefore,
bold and daring. If a troop stood in his way he ran
through them, and if a wall crossed his path he leaped
over it; for he says, by thee I have run through a troop,
and by my God have I leaped over a wall. And when
his enemies rose up against him they stumbled and fell.
When the wicked, even mine enemies rose up against me
to eat up my flesh, they stumbled and fell. So David
could from a blessed experience say, the word of the
Lord is tried. In every age of the world's history, the
saints have tried it, and ever found it to be immovable as
a mountain of brass; for in E)uet. we read, know there-
(173)
174
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
fore that the Lord thy God, he is God, the faithful God, ^
which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love
him and keep his commandments to a thousand genera¬
tions. No matter how far forward some of the promises
may appear to be, they shall all be performed in due
season. Heai* Isaiah saying, "O Lord thou art my God ;
I will exalt thee, I will praise thy name ; for thou hast
done wonderful things ; thy counsels of old are faithful¬
ness and truth." The word of the Lord has been tried
often, and never failed in any one thing. I am made to
say with Solomon, " Blessed be the Lord, that hath given
rest unto his people Israel, according to all that he prom-"
ised." There hath not failed one word of his good
promises, which he promised by the hand of Moses his
servant. Whatever God promises, he is sure to perform,
and we should consider his saying of it to be like his
doing of it. " I have spoken it," sayeth the mighty God,
the everlasting father, "and I will also bring it to pass ; I
have purposed it, I will also do it." Men frequently
promise; in order to deceive ; but not so with God ; for
should the sun forget to rise ; God will never fail to per¬
form all his word. Then let us hold fast the profession
of our faith without wavering; for he is faithful that
promised. The word of the Lord is tried. Heaven and
earth shall pass away, but my word shall not pass away.
Such is the declaration of the mighty God, the Prince of
peace. Never was there a foundation so strong and s§>
durable as that on which a disciple of Christ builds his
faith ; and that is laid in the promises of God. The
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
175
mountains may be hurled from their seats, and buried in
the mighty deep, the pillars of Heaven may tremble, bend
and break, but God's word, that is tried, remains the
same. The grass withereth, the flower fadeth, but the
word of our God shall stand forever. God's word is as
immutable as himself. It is the same to-day, yesterday,
and forever more. Heaven and earth shall pass away ;
for God hath ordained that they should be changed, for
we read, where David says, " Of old hast thou laid the
foundation of the earth ; and the heavens are the work of
thy hands. They shall perish, but thou shall endure ;
yea, all of them shall wax old like a garment; as a ves¬
ture shalt thou change them, and they shall be changed.
But the word of God is settled in heaven, as also revealed
on earth, and shall not pass away. Turn whatever way
you will and you meet with the mercies of the Lord, can
trace His providence, and still find cause for depending
on His truth, for all that He has promised. And that
truth having never deceived you, what more can you want ?
What further evidence can you require ? Is not eternal
veracity sufficient? Is He not your tower, your rock,
your refuge, your strength, your Redeemer, and your
portion ? It was He who graciously invited you, en¬
twined the cords of His love around your wandering
heart, and drew you ") himself. The covenant which He
i has entered into with you has «been, thank God, sealed by
his blood, and can never be broken. God says, incline
your ear, and come unto me ; hear, and you shall live ;
and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, even
176
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
the sure mercies of David. The Redeemer's dying legacy
to all His dear children is peace. Nothng but love
dwells in His heart; and nothing but peace is heard
from his lips.
Faith in the promises of God will remove all fears, and
chase away all sorrow. Was He ever faithful and kind ?
He is still the same. Jesus Christ the same yesterday,
to-day, and forever. Ye know in all your hearts, and in
all your souls, that not one thing hath failed, of all the
good things which the Lord your God, spake concerning
you ; all are come to pass unto you, and not one thing
hath failed thereof. Jesus, the Logos, the Word, the
maker of all things, who was made flesh, declares, that
His word shall not pass away. Our hope is established
and strengthened through patience and comfort of the
promises of God. The word of the Lord is tried, and
shall not pass away. He stretched out the heavens, hung
their lofty arches with brilliant lamps ; and created the
earth and sea by the word of His power ; and these shall
all be changed ; but God and His word remain the same.
The word of our God, and the grace which He brought
with it to us, and wrought by it in us, shall stand forever.
When every creature-comfort withers and fades, a chris¬
tian has this best of all consolations left, the word of God
shall stand. In all generations the perfections of God
are the same. He who divfded the the sea—rained bread
from heaven—and broke the flinty rock, for the good of
His people, Remains ever the same. His words are clear
and distinct, without the least deceit ; and such as may
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
177
well secure the confidence, and satisfy the desires of the
weakest of all believers who hang upon them. Neither
heaven, earth, nor hell, have ever witnessed the least
deviation from truth and justice on the part of God. The
word of our God has- stood, does stand, and shall stand
forever.
' The word of the Lord is tried, and shall not pass away ;
for He is faithful that has promised. We often break the
promises we make with God ; but He never fails in any
thing He has promised to" us. And, therefore, His faith¬
fulness to His word may well encourage our faith in His
promises. Suffer not the carnal reasonings of the flesh,
the contempt of wicked men, or the base insinuations of
the Devil, to put you to a stand. 11 It is written," is an
argument sufficient to support your soul against every
attack of the most wily foe. The world and its children
may, yea, will prove false and fickle ; but the foundation
of God standeth sure. Paul says nevertheless the founda¬
tion of God standeth sure having this seal, "The Lord
knoweth them that are His." That God has hitherto
been faithful to His promises, I need only refer to your
own experience ; to the dangers, seen and unseen, he has
protected you in, and brought you through ; to the intri¬
cate paths through which He has led you ; and the many
troubles from which He has delivered you. Often He has
caused light to break out of obscurity, and turned your
midnight into noon-day. He has been your unerring
guide, even when you knew not how to ask His counsel.
He has often confounded your unbelief, by supplying
178
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
your needs unexpectedly; and though your faith has
often failed, His goodness has remained. Say,, have you
not hitherto found Him a kind, faithful, never-failing
fountain of mercy, goodness, and truth ? Has He not
frequently hushed your troubled breast and in the sweet¬
est accents spoken peace to your troubled soul ? Peace
troubled soul—recall to your mind the many times when
He has literally fulfilled his word by sending immediate
answers to your prayers ; and proved Himself your
helper, when every other help has failed you ; and you
will then be constrained to acknowledge, that " He is
faithful that has promised." You still have His faithful
word, His precious promises, His solemn oath, all
pledged for your security and salvation. He is faithful,
ever plead His faithfulness, and let a remembrance of the
past encourage you to trust him for the future ; for He is
faithful. Let faith carry you through all the ways of
God, while you rely on His promises, for He is faithful
that has promised.
How firm a foundation, ye saints of the Lord, is laid
for your faith in His excellent word ! What more can
He say than to you he hath said. You, who unto Jesus
for refuge have fled ? In every condition, in sickness, in
health ; in poverty's vale, or abounding in wealth ; at
home and abroad ; on the land, on the sea. As thy days
may demand, shall thy strength ever be. Even down to
old age, all m.y people shall prove my soverign, eternal,
unchangeable love ; and when hoary hairs their temples
adorn, like lambs they shall still in my bosom be borne.
A flasket of Pulpit Thought.
170
The soul that on Jesus still leans for repose, Iwill not, I will
not desert to his foes ; that soul, though all hell should
endeavor to shake, I'll never, no never, no, never, forsake.
The Wory of the Lord is tried, and shall not pass away,
for He is faithful that has promised.
Amen.
Work Out Your Own Destiny.
By Rev. T. W. Haigler, B.D., B.Ph.
Examine yourselves, whether ye be in the faith ; prove
your own selves—2 Cor. XIII: 5.
I. All nature is at work.
1 st. The heavenly bodies are at work.
The Psalmist says, " The heavens declare the glory of
of God, and the firmament sheweth His handiwork."
The great dome of the sky, glittering with the stars,
moon, sun, Jupiter, Mars, Venus, and other planets, is the
most sublime spectacle of nature. This dome, astron¬
omers tell us, is at work.
" One God, one law, one element,
And one far-off, Divine event,
To which the whole Creation moves.1'
The planets were to the astronomer, immovable
boundary lines, from which he determined the course of
the wandering heavenly bodies ; they were to the geog¬
rapher the signals according to which he surveyed the
chart of the earth by the heavens ; they were to the mar¬
iner the lights directing him over the dark, trackless seas ;
they were, and are, to the farmer, the hunter, the wan¬
derer, a clock and a calender. The historian fin,ds in
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181
them a memorable event in the oldest Grecian history ;
the poet reads in them the charming Grecian mythology,
which has furnished such rich materials to dramatic art;
and every person of sensibility receives from them an im¬
pulse to worship, meditation and hope. The astronomer
takes his telescope and measures the distance of the stars,
and planets ; computes the mass, size, years, season, days,
and traces many of the comets in their immense sidereal
journeys, and finally analyzes the structure of the sun
and stars, and announces that the whole canopy of the
heavens is at work.
" The spacious firmament on high,
' With all the blue, ethereal sky,
And spangled heavens, (a shining frame,)
Their great Original proclaim ;
The unwearied sun from day to day
Doth his Creator's power display,
And publishes to every land
The work of an Almighty hand."
2nd. Time, the realm which leads into eternity, is at
work. (1.) Night. This period of time " sheweth
knowledge.'' (2.) Day. This period of time " uttereth
speech."
Dr. Watts tells us :
" Time, like an ever-rolling stream,
Bears all its sons away ;
They fly, forgotten, as a dream
Dies at the op'ning day."
The second, minute, hour, day, week, month, year and
century constitute time, in which God has given to man
to make, or work out his destiny. Each man has to work
out his own destiny, and his future and eternal existence
182
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
depends on a proper use of the present time. To delay is
dangerous ; again, procrastination is a thief of time. On¬
ward, up and doing, watching and trying to be perfect in
every good work, should be our motto. The Bible says :
" Work out your own salvation, with fear and trembling.
For it is God which worketh in you, both to will and to
do of His good pleasure." Be faithful, sober, vigilant,
even unto death, if you would live with Christ and wear
the crown of life; for Jesus said : "The pure in heart
shall see God." Oh ! may God help us to live holy lives
and ever walk in the foot prints of Jesus.
//. Work is most essential to the well being of man.
The chemist tells us every atom and molecule is at
work,, and that everything is built up of atoms. The
seventy-one various elements are built up of atoms. All
the vast and countless myriads of compound substances,
either buried in the earth or drifting in the ocean's cur¬
rents, whether floating in the air or parts of the seething
mass which pours its volcanic torrents millions of miles
out from the surface of our sun are built up of atoms
bound together by chemical attraction into molecules,
and the molecules being piled one upon another grow
into masses. The earth is at work. The geologist is
diving into the strata of the earth and making these stra¬
ta speak to men, the will of the mighty God. The phy¬
siologist tells us that man was not created by chance,
but that he is both mortal and immortal, capable of grow¬
ing, as he is a compound being, composed of solids, li¬
quids and gases. But the Bible tells us : " Man is made
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
183
in the image and likeness of God, little lower than the an¬
gels, and that he is crowned with glory and honor."
" He that will not work," said St. Paul, "neither shall he.
eat." A man is known by what he does, both in time and
eternity.
Work maintained the well being of Rome. Laboremus
—we must work. One has said, " To live is to observe."
The Apostle Paul would have us look at the religious
work, and not so much physical or temporal work. For
he commands us to examine and prove ourselves.
III. The religious, or work of salvation, is the most
important work of all.
The words, "examine and prove," are different words,
but they are kin in meaning, and from both we will get
self-examination, which is very essential to the Christian
growth. There were different religions at that time, and
also different teachers. Paul had written this epistle to
have them try themselves by what he had written, and
see whether they retain the true faith of the gospel. No
more take that for religion, which is sin and folly, but ex¬
amine yourselves, prove yourselves, whether ye have the
true faith, the salt, substance, and light of Christianity.
Put down Judaism, follow not those Judaizing teachers.
Follow after Christ, put ye on righteousness, and have
faith in God. If ye be Christians, you have His spirit,
His power, and His mind. Don't be like the coin that
is counterfeit and thrown around. Neither be a post or
an old shoe. If you have the faith, the Spirit of God
will bear witness, and your conscience will be at peace
184 A Gasket of Pulpit Thought.
with God and man. Faith and sin are the two sides of
the road. On which side are you ? If you are a sinner,
seek God, seek Him now. God says : " Call upon me
in the day of trouble. I will deliver thee, and thou shalt
glorify Me." What will it profit you to gain the whole
world, and die and lose your soul? Heaven's gates
stand ajar. God is waiting, Christ is ready. The plan
of salvation is fixed. Hear the Lord : " My grace is
sufficient for all things." Mother, father, son and daugh¬
ter, will you enter? Won't you believe? Come, and
with His children, taste the riches of His love. Oh !
that you may gain and enjoy happiness of the soul.
Open to Jesus,, spread your wants before Him, asking in
faith, and you shall receive.
Life and death are before you, which will you choose ?
If you prefer life, seek Jesus, for the night of death draw-
eth nigh.
" Why do you wait, dear brother,
The harvest is passing away.
Your Savior is longing to hless you,
There's danger and death in delay."
Amen.
Denying Christ and Whal it Includes,
By Rev. J. I). Singleton, London, Ohio.
" But whosoever shall deny Me before men, him will I
alsb deny before my Father which is in heaven.'1'1—Matt.
X: iJ3."
Introduction. '
Retribution usually travels fast on the heels of trans¬
gression ; it even casts its dread shadow forward of the
steps of guilt, and spreads a premonitory dismay over the
conscience of the sinner.
It seldom fails to reach the guilty in this life ; but
when it does} so fail, it is certain to .overtake him in the
next. The text is an illustration of this deterred retribu¬
tion. It suspends execution here, but only to open its
appalling battery hereafter.
Brethren, in trying to develop the lesson taught in the
text, I shall consider,
1st. The fact of denying Christ and what it includes.
To deny Christ, to disown Him or reject Him, are one
and the same thing. What then is implied in it ? Or,
when raa) a person be said to deny or reject Christ ?
What are the sentiments and what the conduct of him to
|1KT»>
186 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
whom this flagrant criminality attaches ? That the scof¬
fer and the skeptic deny Christ, none can doubt; but can
this be said of. one who subscribes to the reality of his
sufferings, humiliation and death 3 and to the overpower¬
ing importance of that sacrifice which He made of Him¬
self on the cross ?
To answer the questions correctly, we must look at the
object of Christ's mission. Was it merely an exhibition
of divine compassion ? Was it a stupendous tragedy of
love ? Was it to atone for guilt merely, or was it to save
the guilty ? Was it to unbar the prison only, or was it to
bring the captive actually forth to light ?
The purpose of Christ evidently was the actual recov¬
ery 01 our fallen race ; not simply the means of salvation,
but the salvation itself. It was not merely to open an
avenue of escape from peril, but the actual escape of those
in peril. It was not merely to divide the Red Sea, but
the passage of those through it who crowded the shore.
It was not merely to provide a city of refuge, but that all
should fly to it. The purpose of Christ then Was to, save
man..
Now, he who disregards this purpose -in reference to
himself, he who resists its constraining force, practically
rejects Christ. He defeats as far as he is concerned the
object of Christ's mission and death. His belief in the
merits of the atonement, in the universality of its provis¬
ions, can avail him nothing.
The question is, how does he treat it himself? How
stands his own conduct in the matter? It is personal
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 187
action which here stamps his character and his creed. If
he witholds from Christ his own affections, he disowns
Christ. If he resists the purpose of Christ in his own
salvation, he rejects Him. If all others were to treat
Cnrist as he of what avail were the atonement ? Christ
would have died in vain. There would not be a church
on earth to treasure his love, not a heart in which his
claims would be enthroned. Were all like him the Sav¬
ior would have hung on the cross without a single fol¬
lower.
2nd. The causes of rejecting Christ.
These lie, first, in the insensibility of the human heart.
One of ^he inevitable consequences of sin is a callousness
to its enormity. The further one goes in sin the more
insensible he is, sin hardens the heart, and petrifies the
feelings. This insensibility is a prime cause of rejection
of Christ. And we must bear in mind that we are respon¬
sible for this state of heart. " He that hardeneth his
heart, shall fall into mischief.—Prov. XXVIII : 14."
Second, we mention pride a$ another cause of reject¬
ing Christ. It inflates him with the conceptions of the
dignity and self-relying powers of human nature ; and
fills him with repungnance to the humility of a cross-
seeking penitent. If he must go to t^e cross he wishes
to go there in state, as noblemen appear in court in the
insignia of their rank. If his own claims will not carry
him to heaven, still he wishes to travel on their force as
far as they will carry him, and be dependent on the
charity of the cross only, for the residue of the journey.
188
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
Poor vain man, his miserable vehicle of ostentation and
pride will not carry him a single inch toward heaven.
His flowing robes of self-righteousness will not do him
any good. Before he comes to Christ his pride must be
broken.
Third, presumption is another cause of denying Christ
He persuades himself that the forbearance and pleading
love of Christ will still hold out. He would make the
cross the last resort, a safe retreat when peril presses ; a
hiding place when the hoof of death's courser clanks on
his ear.
The sinner's destruction is the combined result of his
insensibility, pride and presumption. But his insensibility
cannot mitigate his guilt; his pride can not protect him
in the grave ; his presumption can only cover him with
confusion at the bar of God.
3rd. The guilt of disowning Christ.
He who rejects Christ, rejects the sacrifice which he
made of Himself on the cross. He who rejects Christ
pours disdain on that stupendous exhibition of sympathy
and love. He treats with indifference the agonies which
darkened the face of nature, and broke up the sleep of
the grave. This strange indifference would be criminal
indeed, were he a disinterested person. But it was for
him, that these sufferings were endured. It was to lift
the curse from his guilty soul that Christ underwent the
\
shame and sufferings of the cross. Is not ingratitude a
crime ? Are not the generous sacrifices of a benefactor
held sacred by mankind? Now man's greatest benefac-
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 189
* '
tor beyond all comparison is Christ. There is no parallel
in the history of benevolence, to the tragedy of the cross.
There never has been before nor since such a surrender
of glory and bliss, and such a submission to reproach
and torture. Other-sacrifices have appeased the wrath of
man. Other sacrifices have reached the welfare of a
community. But these bright hopes, these vast and
grand results, and the agonies out of which they spring,
are all rejected by him who rejects Christ. He throws
the dark cloud of unbelief between the cross and the
hopes of a perishing world.
He who rejects Christ puts out so far as he can the
light of the world. He breaks down the only arch which
spans the pit of perdition. But the guilt of disowning
Christ extends beyond a rejection of his atoning sacrifice
and a defeat of its benign purpose. It'reaches the Su¬
preme Divinity of Christ and pours dishonor on his
divine claims. Who is Christ ? And who is the being
guilty of this sin. O ! what love the sinner rejects.
4th. But let us now consider the consequences of deny¬
ing such a Savior.
Whosoever shall deny me before men, him will I also
deny before my Father which is in heaven. The cour¬
tier who has fallen into the disfavor of his Monarch, has
been known to end his humiliation in the crime of self-
destruction, even the night of the grave was more toler¬
able to him than the frown of offended Majesty. If the
displeasure of a mortal can so unnerve the soul, what
jnust the disowning look of Christ do ? If the discarded
190 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
*
coutier takes refuge in the grave, what gulf of night shall
cover the disowned sinner ? Where shall he go to bury
himself from guilt and shame and utter, hopelesS'ruin ? He
not only loses Christ as a Savior, but he loses heaven as
a home. That blessed home, the •• apostle Paul says,
" Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered
into the heart of man, the things which God hath pre¬
pared for them that love him." 1st. Cor. II : 9.
But all this is lost and lost forever. Where then will
the disowned of Christ go ? Where take his soul of
vast capacities. Where go ? We are taught in the
Scriptures my brethren, that they who deny, disown, re¬
ject, and are ashamed, of the person, the character, the
doctrines, and the requirements of Christ shall be turned
into hell. But, thank God, those who love the person,
the character, the doctrines, and the requirements of the
blessed Christ, shall go into life eternal.
The Gospel nf Christ,
By Bishop B. T. Tanner, D.D.
uFor I am not ashamed of the Gospel of Chrtst—Rom.
I ; 10.
Let us contemplate the change which has come over
the opinion of the world since the utterance of the above.
What a revolution of ideas ! What mighty strides on the
high road of man's best development.
Who were the leading masters of the world of thought
when Paul lived and wrote—they who attracted the
world's attention and the world's homage ? Beyond all
question, they were such as Socrates and Plato. These
dominated the thoughts, the morals and the religion of
men, and who presumed to break away from these must
either apologize or defy. But there was none of the apol^
ogetic in the make-up of Paul; he must, therefore, needs
defy, as is implied in the words of our text. But, how
has all this changed ! It is no longer necessary either to
apologize for receiving the gospel, or indirectly defying
those who oppose. The domination ot Socrates and Pla¬
to has been broken. The Greek has given way to the
Jew. Japhet steps down and Shem comes to the front,
1191)"
192
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
The mighty Aryan retreats, and the despised Semite holds
the field. Great and marvellous the change, thia ; so
great and so marvellous that the average man fails to
comprehend the full significance of the words : " I am
not ashamed of the gospel."
We have spoken at length of the change ; but what of
the nature of the change ? What of the trend of this
revolution ? What the direction of these mighty strides ?
The nature of this change is precisely what one would
expect who acquaints himself with the gospel. What we
see is simply the fruits of the gospel. What it has to say
of man, and what it has to say of God, is fast being rec¬
ognized the world over.
And what are its teachings on these lines :
I. The universal brotherhood of man.
A truth more disputed than this could not have been
presented to a Roman plebian or patrician. The rude
barbarinn of the north, my brother ; the hated Jew, the
negro beyond the setting sun—these all my brethren.
So the Gospel says. Nor was Paul, himself a Roman
citizen, ashamed to acknowledge all such. Nor was this
acknowledgment in sentiment only, but in practice.
What is the picture presented us by the Primitive Church ?
Read the Second Chapter of the Book of Acts. Three
thousand, composed of men out of every nation under
heaven—Egypt and Libia among them, had all things
common. The teaching of the Gospel is :
II. The common Fatherhood of God.
, According to the pagan mind only the great could
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
193
claim descent from the gods. According to the Gospel,
however, " now are" all believers " the sons of God."
And so universally have these truths been recognized,
that none need now say, " I am not ashamed of the Gos¬
pel.
The Fall of ]Vlan and Its iiiiect,
By Rev. A. Smith, B.D.
Text :—■" When the woman thought the tree wus good
for food, and that it was pleasant to the eyes, and a tree to
to be desired to make one wise, she took of the fruit thereof
and did eat, and gave also unto her husband with her, and
he did eat."—Genesis III : <>.
The happiness which man enjoyed was suitable to his
compound nature, which derived pure pleasure from the
external objects with which he was surrounded, and still
higher satisfaction from a sense of the Divine favor.
Placed in the fairebt spot on feartli, where his eye, his
ear, and all his senses were delighted, he held high com¬
munion with his Maker, and while he poured out his soul
hi God in thanksgiving and adoration, he rejoiced in the
communication of His love. But this happy state was
not of long (duration) continuance.
The gold soon becomes dim, the fine gold was speedily
changed ; there was only a short interval I we infer \ when
the favorite of heaven incurred (rod's displeasure, and
the beauty of holiness in which he was arrayed was suc¬
ceeded by the most revolting deformity. Into this mel¬
ancholy and disastrous event we are now to enquire ;
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195
and while we are speaking of the sin of the first man and
its lamentable effects, let us remember how deeply inter¬
esting the subject is to ourselves, who are his offsprings,
and derive from him, not only our nature, but all the pol¬
luted and disordered tendencies, which are now associat¬
ed with it.
Although man was perfectly holy, yet he was fallible,
as every creature necessarily is. I do not say that every
(creature must actually fall, but that the nature of a creat¬
ed being is such that a change from good to evil, from
virtue to vice and from happiness to misery, is by no
means impossible. Please note that this does not imply
any imperfection in the work of God ; for immutability is
an attribute of His own nature, which cannot be com¬
municated.
It is certain that God endowed man with freedom of
will ; it is certain that in the exercise of that freedom,
man lost his inn-ocerice and happiness ; and it is also cer¬
tain that Go4 was holy and righteous in this, as in all
His dispensations. Man, having been created a free
agent, was the proper subject of command, and accord¬
ingly was placed under the law of his Creator, the knowl¬
edge of which was immediately infused into his mind.
This law was virtually the same which was afterwards
engraved on two tables of stone, and is in every age the
standard of duty.
To all the precepts of the law he was bound to yield
obedience, and as we have already seen, he was furnished
with sufficient powers for complying with the will of his
196
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Creator. It pleased God, however, to sum up his obedience
in one point, with out loosening the obligation of the other
precepts, iu order to fix his attention upon one positive
injunction, that the strength and steadiness of his moral
principles might be tried, and it might be ascertained
whether he was influenced by a pure regard to his naked
authority.
The command not to eat of the fruit of the tree of
knowledge was accompanied by a penalty to be inflicted
in case of transgression. " In the day thou eatest there¬
of, thou shalt surely die."
While he was obviously threatened with the loss of this
present life by the separation of his soul from his body,
he was further exposed to the deprivation of the Divine
favor, and the everlasting misery consequent upon it;
although a promise was not expressly made, yet It was
implied in the threatening.
If death would be the punishment for transgression,
life would be the reward for obedience.
In this transaction there are all the constituants of a
covenant. There were two parties, God and man.
There was a condition prescribed which man, as he was
in duty bound, engaged, to perform.
There was a penalty which would be incurred in case
of failure, and there was a reward to which he would be
entitled by the fulfillment of the terms.
This covenant between God and man is sometimes
called the covenant of life, because life or happiness was
the subject of the promise and obedience was the condition
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 197
of it. Of this covenant the tree of life, which grew in the
midst of the garden, may be considered as the seal. To
my mind, the tree did not receive its name because there
was some mysterious virtue in its fruit to render the body
immortal, but because, if Adam had obeyed the voice of
his God, he would have been allowed to eat of it, as a
pledge of the eternal life to which he had obtained a
right.
I take this opportunity of stating, with respect to the
tree of the knowledge of good and evil, that it was prob¬
ably so called, because man should eventually know good
and evil by its means—good by the loss of it, and evil
by painful experience.
Permit me to refer to the serpent as an invisible agent.
It is certain that the serpent could not have spoken and
reasoned. The Scripture signifies that the fall of our
first parents was owing to the solicitations of a spiritual
being; hence the author of the temptation was that
spirit, who is the leader and prince qf the apostate an¬
gels. He boldly affirmed that the eating of the fruit, in¬
stead of subjecting them to death, as they feared, would
exalt them in the scale of intelligence, and that they
should become as Gods, as beings of a superior order,
knowing good and evil. But, had he addressed himself
to .the animal part of their nature, had he held out the al¬
lurement of sensual pleasure, had he appealed only to
the beauty and delicious taste of the fruit, his proposal
would have been immediately rejected. But no, he adapt¬
ed the temptation to the nobler part of their nature, and
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held out the spacious but deceitful promise of such an
augmentation of wisdom, as should elevate them far
above their present condition, and render them worthy to
associate with the inhabitants of the Celestial regions.
Man was endowed, not only with the knowledge of his
duty, and a fixed inclination to it, but also, with various
appetites, affections and desires, which were constituent
principles of his nature. These having been given him
by his Maker, were innocent in themselves, and might be
innocently gratified, and as long as they were subject to
his superior principles, and regulated by them, he was
perfect according to the state in which he was placed.
The desire having been awakened, by satan's suggestions
to the mind, while they were reflecting upon his sugges¬
tions, the moral principle was thrown off its guard, the
desire became urgent, and fixed their attention solely
upon its object, which at length, so fascinated them, that
they lost all power of resistance, and yielded to the temp¬
tation.
*
From this, i,t will appear, that our first parents were
guilty of sin in their hearts before they committed it with
their hands ; and that the eating of the forbidden frui:
was only an outward expression of the state of their
minds. The desire for knowledge by unlawful means
being indulged in, disordered their whole moral constitu¬
tions, and they had already rebelled against God in their
hearts before they openly violated His law. Says St.
James, I : 15, "For lust, when it hath conceived, bringeth
forth sin, and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death.
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199
The Effects.
The immediate effects of the fall is detailed in the 3rd.
chapter of Gen. and 7th. verse. "And the eyes of them
both were opened, and they .knew that they were naked,
&c." Now, that their bodies were without clothing they
knew before; and the opening of their eyes, and the
knowledge they had of their nakedness must mean some¬
thing different. The act of eating the forbidden fruit
was not the acquisition vf supernatural wisdom, as they
fondly hoped, but a discovery that they-had reduced
themselves to a wretched . and unprotected condition.
Being divested of original righteousness, and exposed to
the wrath of Jehovah, they covered themselves with fig
leaves, and hid themselves among the trees of the garden,
that He, (God) might not find them.
That Moses does not mean bodily nakedness may be
inferred from the words of Adam, who says not, " I was
ashamed," but that " I was afraid, because I was naked."
The nakedness that gave rise to fear, to my mind, was
that of the soul. They were conscious of guilt, and
wished to avoid a meeting with their Judge. But they
were summoned into his presence, and the sentence was
pronounced upon, them by which they were subjected to
all the miseries of life, and finally to death. They were
expelled from Paradise, a place too sacred to be the
abode of the guilty, and sent into the wide world, now
cursed for tneir sake, in which toil and trouble awaited
theft. " For the Lord God said, behold the man is be¬
come as one of us, to know good and evil, and now, lest
£00 A Casket of Pulpit 'Thought.
he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life,
and eat, and live forever, therefore the Lord God sent
him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground
from which he was taken, so.he drove out the man," etc.
Gen. Ill: 22-24. The seeds of mortality were sown in
his constitution, a change took place in his body, it was
subject to internal disorders, and external injuries ; it was
exposed to the wasting influence of the elements, it was
doomed to decline in vigor and activity, to feel the in¬
firmities of 'old age, and at last to sink into the grave.
At the same time his mind was disturbed with fear hither¬
to unknown, and the awful certainty of the termination ol
his earhtly career, aggravated the other evils which he
suffered, and embittered his remaining pleasures. Such
are the effects of the fall of our first parents, but they did
not terminate with them ; Adam was the federal head of
the. human race, ani as his obedience would have in¬
sured the happiness of all his descendants, so his trans¬
gression involved them all in guilt and perdition. The
fountain being polluted, the stream flowing from it be¬
came impure. It is owing to his sin that death has ever
since been making havoc of mankind, and sweeping one
generation after another into the grave. It is owing to
his sin that holiness has been so nearly banished from
the earth. It is owing to his sin that crimes and miser¬
ies have been multiplied from age to age. It is owing to
his sin that myriads of beings capable of immortal felicity
and endless improvement have been lost, and are (com¬
pelled) doomed to spend and interminable existence in
A Gasket of Pulpit Thought. 201
sorrow and despair. Says the Sainted Paul, Romans V :
112. " By one man, sin entered into the world, and death
by sin. And so death passed upon all men, for that all
have sined." But thanks be to God in the very face of
these effects and defects, he has laid help upon one, who
is in every way, equal to the situation, " Jesus Christ, the
Son of the living God," who has saved us, and washed
us in His own precious blood, and to his name be gloiy,
and honor, and might, and power, and dominion for ever
and ever.
Amen.
Knowledge Dillused,
By Rev. R. A. Johnson.
Delivered Before the Ohio Annual Conference
of the A. M. e. Church, 187k.
Text :—" The lips of the wise disperse knowledge."—
Prov. XV : 7.
We notice, first. The character of a wise man. A
wise man is one that has acquainted himself with wisdom.
Then the question arises what does wisdom imply ? Wis¬
dom implies a happy union of knowledge and prudence.
Without knowledge man is like a brute, and without pru¬
dence he is like a devil ; but when these are combined
and planted in his heart, he may be accounted truly wise.
Knowledge in many respects, is essentially necessary to
promote our happiness. It directs us what to do in all
the varying circumstances ot life, furnishes us with the
best of motives in every thing which we undertake, and
directs our actions to the best of ends.
The path of an ignorant man is gloomy and dangerous,
and he is perplexed with distressing doubts and uncer-
(202)
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
203
tainties. But a well-informed man sees his way clearly,
and enjoys safety and confidence. There is a kind of
knowledge, which in many respects, is both useful and
ornamental, and that is the knowledge of languages, arts,
and sciences. This makes an accomplished scholar, but
it does not renew the her rt in righteousness. St. Paul
says, " Though I speak with the tongues of men and of
angels, and have not charity, I am become as sounding
brass, or a tinkling cymbal.'* I do not wish to be under¬
stood as opposing literary culture, but I would n">t have
it divorced from the religious principle.
That knowledge which leads to true wisdom and which
is inseparably connected with it is a knowledge of divine
things. It includes a knowledge of God, of Jesus Christ,
and of ourselves. But even a knowledge of divine things
without prudence to apply it to its proper ends, falls far
short of true wisdom. It is the prudent application of
knowledge that completes the character of a wise man.
Had we the knowledge of angels, without prudence to
apply it, we might justly be denominated fools and mad¬
men. In that case no excuse could be made for our
folly. Knowledge, however extensive, is no use at all,
unless it be put into practice. Why do we study religion,
but that we may obey its precepts, and enjoy its privi¬
leges.
All christians who possess this wisdom, delight in dis¬
persing it. If it is the duty of the humble Christian to
spread this knowledge, then how much more is it the
duty of the Minister of Christ to disseminate th? knowl-
204
A Gasket of Pulpit Thought.
edge of the blessed Gospel? Brethren, if God has called
us to this work, then as wise men, let us be diligent in
scattering the seed of this blessed knowledge wherever
we may go.
Second, The dispersion of knowledge by the lips of a
pious ministry.
Divine Providence, for wise and gracious purposes, has
endowed men with the power of speech, whereby they
can communicate their ideas to one another with clear¬
ness and precision. Without this faculty, ignorance
would still hold its gloomy empire of the human mind,
and would stand near on a level with the brute creation.
But by this heavenly gift, there is a mutual communica¬
tion of thought. Light is added to light, and the general
fund of knowledge is astonishingly increased. Here we
may be instructed that one of the ways of diffusing sav¬
ing knowledge, is by the power of sanctified speech from
the lips of a Christian minister. Various are the instru¬
mentalities employed in dispersing the knowledge of
God. The Bible societies, the tract societies, the mis¬
sionary societies, the schools and colleges, the press and
the pulpit, are all mighty engines under God, to dissemi¬
nate the knowledge of salvation. If the knowledge of
God continues to flow through all these channels in rills,
in streams, and in torrents, until the world is inundated
with the waters of life, what will be the event ? I an¬
swer, there shall nothing hurt or harm in all God's holy
mountain.
Time would not permit me in this discourse to amplify
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
205
upon each of these instrumentalities, therefore I shall
confine myself to the dispersion of knowledge by the lips
of a wise and pious ministry.
A wise minister carefully improves the gift of speech.
Having acquired a rich store of useful knowledge, it is
the delight of his heart to disperse it abroad. That he
may do so in the best way, he prepares his knowledge
for dispersion, as the husbandman prepares his seed be¬
fore he scatters it in the field. By careful study he
selects what is useful, arranges his plans of communica¬
tion, and then goes forth into the field of the world to
sow the useful seed. This is his high calling. Labor¬
ious and painful studies in the closet prepare him for
the pulpit, from whence he disperses knowledge largely,
both to saints and sinners. Under his ministry, Chris¬
tians in every state, whether b^bes, young men, or fathers
in Christ, are taught those things which pertain to the
Kingdom of God. That this is the design of God in the
appointment of the ministry is clearly evident from the
declaration of the Prophet Malachi. " For the Priest's
lips should keep knowledge, and they should seek the
law at his mouth, for he is the Messenger of the Lord of
hosts."
From the pulpit a messenger of the Lord of hosts ex¬
plains and enforces divine commands, opens and applies
precious promises and states the awful threatenings of his
God. By this means the careless are alarmed, the fear¬
ful are encouraged, and the pious are edified. He teaches
his flock tu pray to God for a supply of all their wants,
206
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
to praise Him for all their enjoyments, and in all things
to love, honor, and obey Him. He teaches them how to
govern themselves and their families, and how to perform
every social and civil duty. At the same time He care¬
fully points out their weaknesses, frailities, corruptions
and sins ; and directs them to look up, by a living faith,
to the Lord Jesus Christ for a full salvation from the
guilt, the dominion and pollution of sin.
He makes known to them the adorable perfections of
God, the character and offices of Jesus, and the nature
and operations of the Holy Ghost.
But the preacher of the word does not confine his in¬
structions to the pulpit. He frequently goes from house
to house, as the pastor of his flock, scattering the seed of
knowledge with liberal hands. He visits the sick, the
fatherless and the widow, and pours consolation into their
troubled hearts.
When he mixes with company in the private circles of
friendship, he is not out of his work. There he watches
for suitable opportunies of conveying instruction to al^
around.
He does not, like a clerical hypocrite, put on gloomy
and melancholy airs.
You see him cheerful, without unbecoming levity, and
serious, without gloom or melancholy. The manner in
which he disperses knowledge on these occasions, is not
stiff or formal, haughty or overbearing ; but easy, affable
and sweetly engaging.
While he conducts himself on this plan, he is honored
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 207
*
in all companies as pleasant companion, a faithful friend,
and a venerable father.
If it be inquired, to what extent should a minister of
Christ disperse knowledge, the answer is obvious. The
whole world is before him, and he is commissioned to
preach the gospel to every creature.
" Go ye into the world and preach the Gospel to every
Creature. He that believeth and is baptised shafl be
saved, but he that believeth not shall be damned," saith
the Redeemer. When he talks with men or women in
the house, 01; by the way, he should endeavor to pour
light into their minds.
One objects to this perhaps, because he is not in his own
parish or station ; and another objects because he is not
in his own circuit. But the wide world is your parish,
and your circuit reaches to the ends of the earth. You
should be like the sun in the firmament, whose going
forth is from the ends of the heavens, and his circuit to
the ends of it.
Providence may send you tc the east or west, to the
north or south, but you will not be sent out of the field
of action until you are called to a better world.
Go forth, therefore, ye sons of wisdom, in the name
of the Lord, abide in your work, and leave the event
to him. Thus you will live respected, die lamented,
and your memory will be precious.
That the pastor may be successful in dispersing saving
knowledge—three qualifications of essential importance
he must possess.
208 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
y»
In this discourse these qualifications were anticipated,
and all along implied, but in this connection let us im¬
press them more distinctly. The first is piety. However
men of evangelical views and principles may difter on
some other points, they can have but one opinion here.
Piety is the life and soul of pastoral fidelity. Without
it every duty must be forced aud heavy, if not positively
irksome. For how can a pastor form any just estimate
of the worth of souls committed to his charge, if he has
never deeply realized the value of his own ? If the love
of Christ does not constrain him, what can hold him,
and bear him on, through evil report as well as good re¬
port, in the discharge of his duty ? What else but emi¬
nent piety can sustain him under the trials and dis¬
couragements which await him ? What shall arouse him
to action, when neither honor nor profit invites, and
when flesh and blood shrink back—when all worthy
motives conspire to discourage and impede him ?
If the love of God does not glow in his bosom, if an
ardent love of souls is not there, what shall counteract
the sluggishness of his own fallen nature, and induce him
to follow his very enemies with prayers and entreaties to
the mouth of the pit into which they are plunging. He
must stand by the bedside of the dying. He must ac¬
company many a trembling pilgrim to the entrance of
the dark valley, and as it were, go down and dip his own
feet in Jordan, while the dying who cling to him are torn
from his side and sink in the cold flood.
And how, if the standard of his piety is low and doubt-
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
209
ful, can he be to them a ministering angel ?
Let me exhort you, my dear yoke-fellow in the Gospel,
to aim at a high standard of piety, to rest satisfied with
no present attainments, to remember that your people
look up to you not only for counsel, but for a large
Christian experience.
Without this experience, you cannot discharge your
duties with comfort to yourself, or advantage to them.
The next qualification essential to a pastor is Pru¬
dence. It is is such a prudence as we claimed in the be¬
ginning of this discourse that the wise man possessed.
Genuine ministerial prudence keeps back no import¬
ant truth—listens to no compromise with sinners—con¬
nives at no fashionable vice—cringes before no lordly
worldling—and never sits quaking in cowardly conceal¬
ment when the 'honor of religion calls for boldness and
activity. But prudence is always the opposite of rash¬
ness and inconsideration. It -neither speaks nor rests,
till it has time to think. In rebuking transgression, it
strives to conciliate and gain the offender.
It disarms prejudice—inspires confidence—increases
the number of friends—and wards off the attacks of
enemies.
Ordinary talents, under the direction of prudence, will
do more in the ministry, than the greatest gifts without
it. Indeed, without prudence, no pastor can long be
either useful or happy.
A knowledge of human nature is another qualification
essential to ministerial success. Whatever a man's
210
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
talents, or education, or piety even may be, he will do
but little good, and often a great deal of hurt in pastoral
intercourse, if he is destitute of common sense, which is
only another name for a knowledge of men and things,
as they will be found in every congregation. However
pure his notions may be, and whatever pains he may
take to do good, he will often utterly fail for want of the
right tact. He will interest himself in things with which
a minister ought never, never to meddle. He will say
things which he ought never to say, and remain silent
when he ought to speak. He will be constantly morti¬
fied to find that he has gone to work in the wrong way,
and instead of gaining an influence with all classes in his
congregation, he will create a general distrust of his
judgment, and everybody will soon feel that he has mis¬
taken his calling.
Brethren, the volume which we as pastors must study,
is a very large one. Some pages and chapters of it are
hard to decipher, and it would take us more than one
life to master it. Still, we may learn a great deal in a
short time by diligent application. We want this knowl¬
edge for immediate and daily use. We must acquire it
early, or we will find it impossible to go on. *
Although every candid person will make some allow¬
ances at first, yet all expect that we should be apt sholars ;
and if we disappoint them here, we will soon lose our
influence, however Well we may preach.
Our congregations consist of the aged and middle aged,
of youth and children, of rich and poor, of the learned
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
211
and the ignorant, and of the friends and enemies of God.
It is certain that we will have the subtleties of human
nature—all its wayward propensities, and all its passions
and appetites to deal with.
How much wisdom, then, do we need ? What an inti¬
mate knowledge of the windings of the human heart,
should W2 have to discharge aright our many duties ? *
May God give us all, good, sound common sense, that
we may succeed wherever we may be sent.
Having these qualifications, we are more fittingly pre¬
pared, under God, to lead on the great army of the soris
and daughters of wisdom to effectual conflict, and push
the victories of the Redeemer's Kingdom to the ends of
our conference district.
The church of Christ, with her well organized plans,
and with her enlightened ministry, is making aggressive
movements on the powers of darkness.
Never before were there so many working Christians
as at the present time. Christianity to-day reaches farther
than ever before. It penetrates to the isles of the sea,
and into pagan lands.
God will eventually accomplish by a Divinely inspired
ministry, a complete triumph over all the enemies of the
cross of Christ, and will bring about the time, when the
latest foe of our race, shall cease to hurt or destroy in all
his holy mountain, when '■'■holiness to the Lord" will be
engraven on the bells of the horses, and the vessels in
the house of the Lord like the bowls before the altar—
the time when the earth shall be filled with the knowl-
212 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
edge of the glory of God—the time when the crimsoned
banner of the cross shall overshadow land and sea, and
the tidings of salvation roll upon every mountain top,
and re-echo through every valley, and across every plain,
till the rulers of the earth, together with their subjects,
shall meet in one common brotherhood, to pay their
homage at Immanuel's feet—the time when nation shall
no more rise against nation, and the eye of men be no
more pained with the sight of garments rolled in blood—
the time when the golden chain of the Gospel of peace
shall encompass the vast globe on which we live—and
the time when the undiminished light of Christianity
shall rise in full orbed splendor to the meridian of both
hemispheres and stand as a beacon light to all the sur¬
rounding nations of our world.
The African Methodist Episcopal Church is perform¬
ing her part in this great work of disseminating universal
knowledge, of which Elder Arnett will doubtless inform
us in his missionary discourse which he is to preach be¬
fore this conference. She certainly is interested in
bringing about these glorious results. Much might be
said in this connection, but I must close.
Brethren, through the protection of Him, who says,
" Lo, I am with you always, even unto the end of the
world," we have again met in our conference family re¬
union.
For twelve months we have been trying to publish the
knowledge of Christ's Kingdom in our various fields of
labor, and now we meet together to compare notes and
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 213
talk over our success and defeats. We are here, thank
God, with our armor buckled tight about us, and not one
piece have we surrendered to the enemy.
Two of our ranks are missing, Elder Woodson, and
Elder Hamilton. During the year the Lord called them
from the walls of Zion to repose their weather beaten
souls in the sunlight of heaven. Soon, and very soon, it
will be said of each of us, as it is said of each of them:
He is dead. He is dead.
But let the summons come when it will, may it find us
at our post with harness on. And when the captain of
our salvation shall command our retreat from the battle
field of life, our wearied souls will find that rest, which
remains for all the people of God.
An Address
Delivered by Mrs. Jennie B. Holland,
At the Memorial Services, at Stelbenville, Ohio,
on the Life and Labors of Bishop William F.
Dickerson, D.D.
No one possessed with a soul can think or speak of
the dead with other than feelings or language of justice
and praise.
An ancient pagan philosopher on one occasion while
standing over the bier of a departed friend, is known to
have exclaimed, " De mortius nil nisi Bonum ! "— Let
nothing but good be said of the dead.
The question with us, however, on this occasion is,
how can we in any measure render justice in our attempt
to portray the labors -of our illustrious dead ?
Bishop William F. Dickerson, though dead, has stamped
himself upon the minds of those among wlom he labored,
yea, indeed, upon humanity generally, that so long as
mankind shall revere true worth, his memory will never
perish.
It is not a part of the task assigned us on this occa-
(5}w>
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
215
sion, however, to present the life of the lamented Bishop
seriatim, but to pay our modest tribute to his memory,
hoping to weave another wreath in the chaplet of his
fame ; and shall content ourselves with leaving the scenes
of his birth, early life and education to be portrayed by
those better informed thereupon. Turning these we in¬
vite your association a? we transverse the pathway of his
successful career from the Episcopal Bench to the grave.
"Life is real! Life is earnest ! And the grave is not its
goal; dust thoii art, to dust returnest, was not spoken of
the soul."
He was elevated to the Episcopacy by the General
Conference of the church of his choice, convened in St.
Louis, in May, 1880. In that Conference were such men
as Jennifer of New England, the venerable A. T. Carr of
South Carolina, Towsend, of Indiana, Arnett and Jackson,
of Ohio, Turner, of Georgia, and Cain, of South Caro¬
lina, and many other stars of no mean magnitude, yet,
from these he was chosen one of the three to exercise
Episcopal functions. " Merit brings its own reward."
From what we learn, while in the Pastorate, proper,
Bishop Dickerson was a success, while having filled some
of the most important appointments in his church. He
was a scholarly and a spirited minister ; true to all the
instincts of nobler manhood ; broad and comprehensive
in views ; humane and sympathetic in nature ; pure and
spotless in character. Upon being elected Bishop it fell
his lot to transfer his field of labor to the South, as pre¬
siding officer of the sixth Episcopal district, comprising
216
A Gasket of Pulpit Thought.
the states of Georgia and South Carolina.
He selected Columbia, S. C., as his home, and re¬
moved thither with his family in 1880. To the duties of
his new office the Bishop devoted all of his noble energy
and extensive learning, with what success, his work re¬
mains to attest.
Glancing over his field of labor he soon learned that
an essential to the success of the work of his church was
an institution of learning, under its^own auspices. But
what was to be done ! There was but little money and
apparently little encouragement. But nothing daunted,
he resolved to " find a way or make one.1' A consulta¬
tion with Dr. J. C. Waters and others, culminated in a
plan to found a school in Columbia, S. C., under x\frican
Methodist auspices.
By his untiring labors and persistent efforts, what is
now known as Allen University, grew from a mere school
for rudimentary instruction, to an institution of no mean
pretentions, and stands to-day as a lasting monument to
his memory. He was President of the Trustee Board,
and by Allen he will be missed, and the future success of
the University depends upon the fidelity of the church to
which it belongs.
It was by no means an easy and a pleasant task de¬
volved upon the Bishop to execute the general Episco¬
pal work before him, pleasing to every man—since no
man ever lived—not even the great Christ himself, who
could satisfy every capricious desire.
Four of the largest conferences in densely settled
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
217
states, as well as much property, fell to his supervision-
An indiscrete man in such a position, could have sown
much discord, aroused rruuch jealousy, and disseminated
untold strife. The energy, the impartiality, and the tact
displayed by him under the most trying circumstances,
will always remain one of the most striking proofs of his
versatility.
He seemed to have comprehended every feature of
society, every need of his people. In my own city,
which he had made his home, Bishop Dickerson's in¬
fluence was greatly felt. Not long after coming among
us he conceived the idea of concentrating the young and
progressive talent of the city in an organization for men¬
tal and scientific investigation and improvement; irre¬
spective of church proclivities, devoid of clannish ten.
dencies, purely non-sectarian.
The talent of the city, (and Columbia boasts of Negro
talent) thus became associated in the Crowther Circle.
Among its members were Dr. J. C. Waters, D. A. Straker,
Prof. W. M. Dart, and others. My own connection with
the Crowther, forces the confession that he will be
missed.
Though deVoted to the church of his choice—be it
said to his everlasting honor—W. F. Dickerson was not
an ecclesiastical bigot. He respected the claim of other
churches, ever wishing them a Godspeed.
As a preacher he took high rank, never coming to the
discussion of a topic without much deliberation and
study. We have listened to him at times when it would
llis
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
seem by his powerful imagination, consecrated zeal, and
wonderful eloquence he would bear his auditors up into
the sublime.
In the family circle Bishop Dickerson's true character
could best be seen. Studious, prudent, and loving, he
was an examplary pater familias, witn a model christian
wife to impart counsel and to share his perplexities ; his
life could have been but a success.
The writer enjoyed the privilege of being on intimate
terms with his family, and declare from personal knowl¬
edge, his to have been a cheerful, christian home, a
nucleus around which, that which is enobling constantly
revolved.
Last June when we bade him good-bye, perhaps none
of us thought it was final or until " we meet beyond the
river." In all his dealings he desired justice, and was
zealous in his efforts for the race. Least of all men did
he harbor revenge ; rarely did he show resentment ; lib¬
eral in all things, possessing charity and respecting in
others the qualities he himself possessed. The lines of
friendship and confidence encircled men of various creeds
and denominations.
The last General Conference saw fit to change the
scene of his labors, but his home was to remain in
Columbia. He owns excellent property in a prominent
part of the city, where his wife in all probability will end
her days.
At home for a short time with those he most loved,
least did his friends think his earthly labors so near an
A Casket, of Pulpit Thought.
219
end—such, however, was the case, and on the 20th of
December last his spirit winged its flight. "Triumphant
in life, he was more triumphant in death." He trod the
wine press alone, and calmly as in a slumber passed
away in death, desiring rest. He knew the end was
nigh, and resignedly met it. His remains now rest in
the scil of his native state, New Jersey, and his soul en¬
joys the felicities of Paradise on high.
Those'who mourn his loss, can emulate his virtues and
profit by his life, while he, promenading the boulevards
of glory, listens to the angels as they sing :
" Soldier of (xod well done !
Rest be thy loved employ ;
And while eternal ages run,
Rest in thy Master's joy."
The Spread and Growth of the Gospel of Jesus
Christ Before the End of Time,
By Rev. R. H. Morris.
Text :—" This Gospel of the Kingdom shall be preached
in all the world, for a witness unto all nations, and then
shall the end come."—Matthew, XXIV : 14.
1st. What is the Gospel of the Kingdom ?
2nd. From whence it came, and its work here in the
world ?
Ord. What is its history ?
4th. The work yet to be accomplished before the end
of time.
We start out with the thought, that the gospel of the
kingdom is glad tidings of great joy to the children of
men on earth. It is that revelation and dispensation,
which God has made known to guilty man, through Jesus
Christ our Savior and Redeemer. It is the power of
God unto salvation to every one that believeth. It is the
means by which we find ourselves away from God, in the
world without hope and without Christ. It is the means
by which we are brought to the saving knowledge of
Christ. It tells us that we are in our sins and blood.' *It
CM0|
A fhixlcet of Pulpit Thought. 221
teaches us the way to the cross, is a hurnfble and a con¬
trite way. This Gospel of the kingdom, turns our dark.-
ness into day, breaks the bands of unbelief and sets the
prisoner free, takes our feet from the horrible pit of sin
and degredation, and places them upon the rock. Thank
God ! for such a Gospel as this.
This gospel is sometimes called the Gospel of Christ,
because he is the author of it. He it was, that brought
life and immortality in the world, through the Gospel. It
is called the Gospel ot peace, for it brings peace to the
souls of the penitent. It is also called the Gospel of pow¬
er, for it is the power of^God to every one that believeth,
Thank God, there is a power in this Gospel, men have
been made to tremble and cry out beneath its trumpeters,
" What shall I do to be save 1 ? " It is called a glorious
and everlasting Gospel ; glorious, because it is glory in
the souls of men who embrace it, and it is everlasting,
for it endures forever.
2nd. From whence it came, and its work here in the
world.
This Gospel came from the kingdom of God, it issued
from the bosom of the Father, it was born from above,
full of grace and truth, it is the only means by which the
guilty can be saved. Christ, the great head of the
church, says, u Come unto me, all ye ends of the earth,
and be saved," therefore, it is a saving gospel, for it saves
IUen from their sins ; its w )rk is, to civilize and chris¬
tianize the world of mankind.
Si toil after man's depravity in the garden, and the
222
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
fearless went forth to meet the wrath of God, we heard
of this Gospel ; it was through the inspired prophets
that we received it as facts, they were men whose tongue's
were touched by a live coal from the altar of heaven, to
declare the gospel. Hence the kingdom of God came in
the person of the Son of God, who was a preacher and mis¬
sionary in the full sense of the word. He did nof preach
at Jerusalem alone, but in the wilderness, upon the
mountains, and by the sea sides, also ; in the humble
dwellings of the poor, they heard Him gladly. When
He entered fully upon His missionary work, He called
twelve men from their daily avocations, to become mis¬
sionaries of the cross. For nearly three years, they fol¬
lowed their humble Master. He taught them the great
work, which He would soon commit to their charge.
He filled them with the missionary spirit. Their mission¬
ary field was the world, they were to go anywhere, and
everywhere, preaching the Gospel of the kingdom of
God. After Christ had finished His work among men,
and was about to commit the great work to their hands,
he said to them : " Let not your hearts be troubled, ye
believe in God, believe also in me," and closing His
parting benediction said, u Go ye into all the world and
preach the Gospel to every creature." What He said to
them, he said to us of to-day. Go ye : God help us to
g6 ; our missionary fields may be hard, God help us to
go-
They weni, ocmg filled with the Holy Ghost, and with
power from on high, they were willing to go everywhere
A (Junket, of Pulpit Thought.
223
and anywhere the spirit directed them, they were not
particular where they went, so they were preaching
Christ. But it is not so with some ministers of to-day,
they have certain fields of labor to which they desire to
be sent, not that they can do more good for God and
humanity, but for the filthy lucre. God help the minis¬
ters who are hunting fat fields of labor, for the fleece,
more than for a blessing to the flock. The apostles went,
like wild-fire, they scattereed the truth as they went;
they could not fail, for God was with them.
:jrd. What is its history ?
Since the commencement oi this Gospel of the king¬
dom, its success has been wonderful, beginning at Jeru¬
salem, amidst all kinds of oppositions, it has lived ever
since, amidst the darkest hour of persecutions, God has
preserved the church, the success of the Gospel has been
rapid, it has done much for the bettering of humanity, it
has been gathering in souls for God ever since, in de¬
spite of oppositions. The apostles preached in Jerusa¬
lem, this Gospel, right where their Master was tried, con¬
demned, and crucified, and there was so much power in
it, that men became pricked to the heart. After several
thousands had been added to their number, they left
Jerusalem, carrying with them the sacred truths, and as
they went, they preached Christ, and scores were added
to the church—such as should be saved. God was with
the apostles, in that grand work, this Gospel has been
preached ever since, by men called of God, and they
have succeeded grandly, notwithstanding infidels have
224
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
said, that the religion of the Bible was dying out. Never
was there a time, when the Gospel of Christ was so well
assured of its position as now. In all of the ages which
have elapsed, since Christ commissioned the apostles to
preach the everlasting Gospel, Christianity has never
been more pure, more active and aggressive, than at the
present time. The world is better and wiser, more cul¬
tured and refined, now, than at any former period of its his¬
tory. This is the result of the spread and growth of the
Gospel of Christ. May God send it on ; until the king¬
doms of this world shall become the kingdoms of our
Lord and His Christ.
Religious faith is more wide-spread, more profound,
and more earnest now, than ever before. Voltaire once
boasted, that, before the 19th century dawned, christian
ity would be banished from the world. God be praised,
we have lived to see the afternoon of the 10th century.
And where now is the Gospel of the Son of God ? It is
heard and felt in almost every land ; Jerusalem has not
only learned the sound of a risen Christ, but the wilder¬
ness and the waste places are breaking forth in praises to
Immanuel's God ; and in this beautiful land of America,
the consecrated cross has been lifted up, and the glad
sound of a Redeemer has reached from hill to hill, and
from vale to vale, the banner of the cross ot Christ is
seen and felt from the frozen seas of the north, to the
gulf-states of the south, and from the sparkling waters ot
the Atlantic, to the rock-bound coast of the Pacific, the
bells of God's consecrated temples, are heard all over
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
225
this land ; the shouts and triumphs of God's redeemed
hosts, are heard along the line of march, and the joyful
news of glad tidings of great joy, are sent on by the
trumpeters of God. It stops not here, but mounted the
bosom of the sea, amidst its rocking billows and deep
blue waters, and planted the banner of the cross upon
the Isles of the sea, and there this Gospel is heard, calling
sinners to repentence. It stops not here, but ploughs the
ocean waters, until it has reached the burning sands of
old Africa, our mother country, and there, the gospel
trumpeters are heard to cry, rise, shine, thy light has
come. This is the great missionary age, the records
show that only five hundred thousand converts were
gathered into the church during the first century ; this
number had increased to fifty million at the close of the
fourth century, and at the beginning of the present cen¬
tury that number had increased to two hundred million
of souls brought from darkness to light, thank God for
the grand and glorious work that has been done. In
1KK0 that number had reached to four hundred and
eighty millions, of which number, we compose a part.
*Lord ! let thy kingdom come, and over all prevail !
There have been more converts made, and more mem¬
bers added to the church, in the last eighty years, than
there was in eighteen hundred years before, (rod send
on the everlasting word ; this does not look as though
the church was dying out, or losing its hold upon the
world, this should be encouraging to us who are engaged
in this grand work, then I ask, shall we stop ? This
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
Gospel of the kingdom shall be preached, in all the world,
to every creature, and all nations are to be discipled by
it, for in it, Christ is to be salvation to the ends of the
earth, for this end, the gifts of tongues were the first
fruits of the Spirit. This Gospel is preached for a wit¬
ness to all nations ; that is, a faithful declaration of the
the mind and will of God, concerning the duties which
God requires of man, and the recompense, which man
may expect from God. It is a record. John says, oth.
chapter, 11th verse that "this is the record, that God
hath given unto us, eternal life, in his son." It is also a
witness for those who believe that they shall be saved,
and a witness against those who persist in unbelief, that
they shall be damned. u He that believeth and is bap¬
tized, shall be saved, but he that believeth not, shall be
damned." Mark. 16 : 10. The work that has been ac¬
complished in this countrv is wonderful. God has blest
His word here also. In 1KMJ the population of this coun¬
try has increased •'><) per cent, but the statistics show that
membership, within the same time, increased fifty per
cent. In view of these facts, what folly is it, for avowed
infidels to assert that Christianity was dying out? It may*
be, that the devil has yet a strong hold upon the world,
but Christianity is not losing its hold, or vitality, nor the
Gospel its power ; for this Gospel shall be preached and
it shall accomplish the end to which it is sent.
4th. The work yet to be accomplished.
Thus far, we have done a grand work, but there is yet,
much to be done, two-thirds of mankind is yet to be
A dasket of Pulpit Thought.
227
brought from darkness to light, from sin and Satan to the
power of God.
When the tidings of great joy shall have reached all
over the earth, and all nations shall have heard it, then
shall the end come. It shall be preached, and propo-
gated, and force its way through the greatest opposition,
though enemies of the church grow hot, and friends grow
cold, it shall yet be preached. When many fall by
swords and flames, and others do wickedly, the people
that do know and love God, shall be strengthened to do
grander work than ever. That which seemed chiefly in¬
tended in the text, is, that the end of the world shall be
then, and not until then. When the Gospel has done its
work in the world, fso that all nations shall have either
the enjoyment or the refusal of it, and then shall the end
come When the kingdom shall be delivered up to God,
even the father, and peace shall reign through all the
land.
AMEN.
Ministerial Authority and Gospel Evangel¬
ization,
By Rev. J. M. Griffin, Dcceased, of Wilberforce.
Text :—" As my Father hath sent me, even so send 1
you."-—John XX: 21. "Go ye into all the world and
preach the Gospel to every creature."—Mark XVI : 15.
The mission of the gospel minister is peculiar in itself.
It is intended to convey to mankind, everywhere and
in every age of the world, good news and glad tidings of
great joy. Its message involves the happiness of all
classes and conditions of the human family and the
rights of no individual in this respect are to be abridged.
The plans provided for its dissemination are fully equal
to the work to be performed. God sent forth his Son
into the world to become the founder of a religion, the
essence and central attraction of which was Himself and
the power of which was the life and light of the world. He
came armed with all the power and excellencies of the
Godhead ; and having laid a deep, broad, firm and last¬
ing foundation, He sent forth His ambassadors to dis¬
ciple the world. These go forth with no less authority
than that which He receives Himself. uAs my Father
(U2K)
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
229
hath sent me, even so I send you." Nor are they to re¬
gard their mission in a limited sense ; for their commis,
sion is clear and easily comprehended, '' Go ye into all
the world and preach the gospel to every creature."
With one glance over the entire earth, they view their
field of future operation. The broad ocean must offer
no barrier, nor an Uncongenial climate no discourage¬
ment to the herald of the cross. The islands of the sea
the burning sands of Africa, and the land of the vicious-
narrow-minded Hindoo, with all other lands whereon
human foot hath trod, must fix the home of the Christ-
sent missionary. The burden of his effort is to evangel¬
ize the world and bring it under subjection to the gov¬
ernment of Christ.
I. In this conflict the weapon to be wielded is the
Gospel of Christ.
In tracing history through the centuries 6f the past,
since the establishment of the church of Christ, we notice
that the gospel has been at the foundation of all reforms,
both moral and civil. In morality it furnishes a philoso¬
phy higher and purer than could ever have been con¬
ceived by any human being of the most enlightened
character, and has furnished for courts of justice, prin¬
ciples of equity, which if adhered to, make it impossible
to do injustice to any man. It has been the entering
wedge to the destruction of ignorance, vice and supersti¬
tion, and the inculcator of the grandest virtues the
human race could ever have fallen heir to. Its efforts
have been for the redemption and entire salvation of
230
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
the human family and its success has been surprisingly
wonderful. It is designed to accomplish all it has un¬
dertaken and must ultimately triumph. Notice, first,
that the Gospel of Christ is equal to its task, because it
is a system of revealed truth. Mankind in all ages and
localities of the world, have had an idea of a supreme
intelligence, to whom they should pay homage and rever¬
ence and to whom they looked for special blessings and
favors, and to whom they have made great sacrifices1
even to the giving of life. They have assisted their faith
in this intelligence by means of images and other sensible
objects, hoping for contentment and happiness. They
have from their imagination of what would please the
gods, made their forms of worship and codes of morals
which were found to be so corrupt and detestable, that a
prophet beholding their iniquities declared that darkness
had covered the earth, and gross darkness the minds of
the people. But the gospel of Christ steps in as a reveal¬
ing element and relieves man of his vain imaginations,
and discovers to him a sinful and wretched condition,
without God or hope in the world. It discovers salva¬
tion from sin and its consequentes through faith in Jesus
Christ and in Him new life and hope in consequence of
His having brought life and immortality to light. It dis¬
covers that our approach to God is through Jesus Chris^
and that he ever lives an advocate to make intercession
for us. It discovers that without holiness it is impos¬
sible to please God, and that we must all stand before
the judgment seat of Christ to give an account for the
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.. 231
deeds of the body, whether they be go id or bad. It fur¬
ther reveals to us that God has prepared a place for
those who have been faithful, where they shall rest from
their labors ; and on the other hand, it reveals a place of
punishment for those who will not obey the gospel of
Christ. These truths lie at the foundation of the chris¬
tian religion and are essential to be known, and consol¬
ing and satisfying in their operation.
Notice, secondly, that the gospel of Christ is suited to
the condition of the world, because it is sympathetic. It
does not drive the erring one from its embrace because
he has erred, nor bar the door of mercy against him;
but though he has blackened the annals of history with
his crime, it utters words of cheer and sets before him an
open door, wherein, if by repentance toward God and faith
in the Lord Jesus Christ he enters, he finds immediate
relief from a' stricken conscience, ?nd a blessed hope for
the future. Should he have been unfortunate to have
been born in a benighted > country, where the influences
of the gospel and civilization have not been known, its
sympathy is so great that it seek? through difficulties,
sacrifices and perils, to set within his reach the lamp of
light affording life. The spirit of the gospel is not satis¬
fied and does not content itself with bare expressions of
sympathy, nor with a long series of resolutions to be soon
forgotten, nor with an effort to inform christian communi¬
ties of the extent of ignorance, superstition, and idolatry
in the world, to be accompanied by faithless, meaning¬
less, empty prayers for God to interpose on their behalf.
232
A Gasket of Pulpit Thought.
But it places the christian in the front rank of imme¬
diate, active work, to scatter the works of darkness by
personal sacrifice and the offering of one's self and the
consecration of one's means, to be spent in tearing down
the works of darkness and in erecting the light of the
glorious gospel of Christ instead. As they advance, their
cry is heard in the land of the benighted with triumphant
strains, " Arise, shine, for thy light is come, and the glory
of the Lord is risen upon thee." Gospel sympathy can
never be satisfied until all its strength is exhausted, and
until every means available has been utilized. The
message of good news and glad tidings of great joy shall
be unto all people. This is the sentiment of a sympa¬
thetic gospel and its motto is not words, but work. It
manifests itself in the organization of societies, whose
sole object is to forward the cause of Christ and to estab¬
lish His kingdom in all the earth, by the accumulation of
means to support the cause of missions, both home and*
foreign ; and for the establishment of schools for the im-
partation of knowledge and industrial habits, which are
essential as factors in laying a foundation for the incul¬
cation of correct moral and religious principles. The
whole church must be regarded as ai gigantic machine,
and each member thereof an important part rendering
service to the extent of its capacity, before we can feel
that we fill the measure of duty as taught by a sympa¬
thetic gospel.
Notice, thirdly, that its success depends largely upon
its proclamation. It is the power of the preaching of
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
233
the gospel that has had the greatest effect upon the ma¬
jority of those whose hearts have been opened to receive
the truth.
The Holy Spirit accompanying the proclaimed word
makes it quick and powerful and sharper than a two-
edged sword. It instructs them in their duty toward
their God, their neighbor, and themselves; setting them
at variance with their sins, and awaking within them a
sense of the great moral responsibility that awaits their
actions. It affords a sense of the blesedness that attends
those who render an obedience to the divine will, and
of the misery of those who are conscious of having vio¬
lated it. The simplicity of preaching is also to be con¬
sidered. While the preacher is always to remember the
sublimity of the truth he proclaims, he must be enabled
to so break the bread of life, that all may eat and derive
its benefits. The greatest evidence of a minister's fitness
for the station he occupies as a proclaimer, is that he has
the ability to reach all classes, without failing to display
the beauty and power of the truth. In fact the beauty
of the gospel lies in its simplicity ; and he who fails to
show it signally fails. Preachers of the gospel should
not forget that the object of preaching is to reach down
for the purpose of bringing up. And in order to do so,
it becomes necessary to find their station and to know
their surroundings and stage of enlightenment, so as to
adapt the presentation of truth to the power of their con¬
ception. A simple effort at a display of fine rhetoric and
grand oratory to please the fancy and satisfy itching
234 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
ears, is totally unworthy of Him whose cause we repre¬
sent. To convince the judgment, convict the sinner
and convert the erring, is the end to be reached by the
preaching of the gospel. For we deal with souls and not
with bubbles in the air. And he who aims no higher than
to receive the applause of the curios, has his reward.
II. The warrior chosen for this conflict, is Christ's
ambassador, invested with full authority, having a gospel
so full and complete, offering such grand advantages and
blessings to the world and providing so fully for the
spiritual needs of a lost race. It is only necessary in
order to complete the work committed, that there be
honest-hearted Christ-sent, earnest workers for the.field.
Said Paul: "How shall they believe except they hear,
and how shall they hear without a preacher and how shall
they preach except they be sent ?" First—the evidence
of a Christ-sent minister or missionary is to be considered.
The same feeling that prompted Christ to leave the
courts of glory, prompts the Christ-sent ambassador to
leave his home, his comforts, his associates, and make an
unconditional sacrifice for the salvation of the world.
No man can become a true gospel minister, whose soul
has not been stirred by the Spirit of the Lord, and who
does not feel that necessity has been laid upon him, to
call sinners from darkness to light and from the power of
sin and Satan, to God. He finds himself impelled by a
powerful revelation to his soul of the miserable moral
condition of humanity and is made to see all men in
bondage and ruin. With a feeling of love and charity
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
235
for his fellows he imbibes the spirit of philanthropy, and
his heart cannot rest until his work is complete. The
marks which attend him are vigilence, soberness, good-
behavior, hospitality, aptness to teach, and the enforce¬
ment of what he does teach by his example. Notice,
secondly—That Christ's ministers are sent with the high¬
est authority. "As my Father hath sent me even so I
send you." Here we notice an organization of one of
the grandest forces, for the accomplishment of the great¬
est work that man can be engaged in. Christ's kingdom
is to be established throughout the earth, great difficul¬
ties are to be removed, dangers braved and hardships
endured. He who came to^ earth a missionary from
heaven, to emphasize and illustrate God's infinite long¬
ing for the salvation of men ; who lived among the lowly
and taught the multitudes, spending days in blessing the
poor, and nights in prayer, amid mountain solitudes ;
who looked into the hungry souls of the people and felt
their need ; who, having been rejected by his own, be¬
trayed by priest and disciple, who bore scourging, his¬
sing, hooting and spitting ; who staggered under the
beams of the cross and died on Mt. Calvary ; who was
laid away in the sepulcher and arose more than con-
querer, now speaks peace to his disciples, declaring that
all power in heaven and earth are in His hands, and bids
them to go into all the world and preach the gospel to
every creature. Their message, like their authority, is
not theirs, but His, and as if to encourage them in their
work, he says : " Lo ! I am with you always, even unto
236 A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
the end of the world." To be permitted to go in the
name, and with the authority of the King of Kings and
Lord of Lords, is the greatest privilege, the highest honor,
and the assurance of abundant success.
Lastly—III. The field of operation is the world.
In every quarter of the world there are now openings
for the gospel and in every part of the heathen world
there are some at least who are prepared to receive it.
To no heathen land do missionaries go without finding
some to welcome their message. The field is wide in¬
deed. The heathen and Mohamedans together are re
cor Jed at not less than nine hundred and fifty millions in
number. Here and there in this great field, some labor
has been bestowed, some seed has been sown and some
first fruits gathered in, enough, at least, to stir up and
encourage those who are engaged in the work. In some
parts of the world the people are eagerly asking for the
word of life; in others, old hindrances are being broken
down, and old prejudices are being softened ; while oth¬
ers have not yet been reached by the gospel at all. True
there are many hindrances and difficulties still, yet never
was the way so open and never did the fields seem so
white to the harvest as now. At the well of Samaria, our
Lord bade the disciples to lift up their eyes and look on
the fields. In like manner He would have His disciples
now to take notice of the state of the heathen world and
interest themselves in their behalf. We are not to be
indifferent to their condition, nor turn away our eyes
from them to attend only to home claims, as if our duties
A Casket of Pulpit Thought. 237
were confined to them. We are to spend our efforts in
other lands besides our own and care for souls wherever
they are to be found. Though afar off, the heathen is
'our neighbor in the sight of God. We must not pass by
on the other side, or come and merely look at them ; we
must look and help. It is true that the African Method¬
ist Episcopal church has set up her standard in foreign
lands and has been instrumental in doing some good.
But the work for it to accomplish has just begun. While
we have our own institutions of learning preparing our
children for the various duties of life, we must do what
we can to inspire them with a missionary spirit and a
zeal for missionary work. In conclusion, permit me to
say that in this glorious cause of missions, all may do
something. At harvest time there is work for all. One
reaps, another binds and a third gathers the sheaves.
Men, women and children work together and none need
be idle. The old, whose reaping days are over, can help
to gather what is left. The little ones, whose working
days have not begun, may each be seen returning from
the field with his little bundle of gleanings.
So it is in the spiritual harvest. The missionary who
crosses the seas to carry the news of salvation by Jesus
Christ, is the chief laborer in the field and reaper in the
harvest. But those who stay at home may be fellow
workers with him. The preacher, the speaker, the col¬
lector, the giver, the smallest contributor, are all engaged
in this great work. It is said that the reaper works for
wages ; and, I may add, the laborer in the spiritual har-
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vest has his reward too. For a cap of cold water given
for Christ's sake shall not go unrewarded. What our re¬
ward will be, we do not fully know. But part, at least,
will be the joy we shall feel for souls saved by faith in
Jesus Christ. Happy indeed, will all be who have labor¬
ed for God. Every sower, every reaper, and every
gleaner in the field of the world, shall shout for joy when
all the redeemed of the Lord are gathered in. What
pleasure to have born a part, however humble, in such a
work, and now to see the fruit! What happiness to
meet all fellow workers and rejoice with them ! No jeal¬
ousy now, no suspicion or distrust, no cold co-operation
or doubting sympathy. Now all is love and joy. Now
he who began in great discouragement and saw but little
fruit, meets him who came after him and brought the
work to a happy end. Now helpers at home and preach¬
ers abroad and those who have prayed and those who
have given and those who have spent anxious hours in
the cause—now they meet together and rejoice. They
are happy because the Redeemer is glorified—happy
because souls are saved—happy because it has been their
honor and blessing to bear a part in such a work. Let
none who know the preciousness of Christ refuse to bear
a part and thus neglect so plain a duty, so blessed a
work, and lose a share in such a glorious reward.
" Arm of the Lord ! awake, awake,
Put on thy strength, the nations shake;
And let the world, adoring, see
Triumphs of mercy wrought by thee.
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239
Say to the heathen, from thy throne,
'I am Jehovah—God alone !'
Thy voice their idols shall confound,
And cast their altars to the ground.
No more let human blood be spilt,
Vain sacrifice ior human guilt;
But to each conscience be applied
The blood that flowed from Jesus side.
Almighty God ! thy grace proclaim,
In every clime, of every name,
'Till adverse powers before thee fall,
And crown the Savior—Lord of all.
Note—The above sermon was delivered at the Third Session of
the North Ohio Annual Conference, at Cadiz, Ohio, Sept 25th,
1884, by Rev. J. M. Griffin. Brother Griffin, being an intimate
friend of the Editor of this compilation of sermons, this sermon is
published, not only for its true worth and merit, but also as a
tribute to his memory. # May he rest in peace. W. H. C.
The Duty of the Church to Their Pastors, With
an Appeal to the Unconverted,
By Rev. W. H. Coleman, P. E.
Text :—" And we beseech you, brethren, to know them
which labor among you and are over you in the Lord, and
admonish you, and to esteetn them very highly in love, for
their work's sake."—1st. Thess. V : 13.
In calling your attention to this subject, dear friends,
I wish to say, that in no country in the world, upon either
continent, can there be found a body ot ministers of the
gospel, who perform so much labor, in such a full spirit
of self-denial, under so little encouragement, and under
circumstances much straightened and often distressed, as
our traveling ministers in the A. M. E. church perform.
I am not unaware, however, that the announcement of
the subject of my present sermon will arouse many, and
I hope to action, in regard to this sacred duty of sus¬
taining a christian ministry. But, as I hope to furnish
clear and satisfactory proof that divine authority binds
this duty on the conscience, I presume that you would
consider it an insult to your good sense, and a reflection
on your christian principles, for me to consume your
(240)
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241
time in an effort to show the propriety of that which the
Lord ordained. Now, let us turn our attention to the
subject—and may the great head of the church guide
and strengthen us for this hour's meditation and thought.
The great apostle Paul, when waiting to the church at
Thessalonica, took occasion to instruct them plainly in
reference to their duty towards their ministers. He
wrote to them in the language of my text, which mate if
you please, " And we beseech you, brethren, to know them
which labor among you, and are over you in the Lord,
and admonish you, and to esteem them very, highly in
love, for their work's sake." Here the apostle shows
that churches should look upon their ministers as a prec¬
ious gift sent from heaven to them, and that they should
respect, love, and honor them as such. There is no
relationship which belongs to us that is more solemn and
important than the relationship which exists between the
christian minister and his people. It is a spiritual re¬
lationship, and one which should be fostered with the
greatest care. By taking heed to the word of God,
christian ministers need not mistake their duties, and the
way in which they are to be performed. Christian
churches, by the same rule, will at once perceive their
duty towards the ministers whom God has sent them,
and if the light of eternity would make ministers bear
better the trials of this life, so would it make christians
desire more to aid their pastors in all their du¬
ties. If a people saved will be the glory of a min¬
ister on the final day, the scriptures also assure us
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that a pastor supported is the glory of a people. We
do not mean mere pecuniary support, for the Bible tells
us that the servant is worthy of his hire. This is a matter
of no small importance, but chiefly as an index to the
state of true religion. It is not among the poorest peo¬
ple that pastors have most cause to complain of the want
of salary. The cause is shown to be in the heart, and
not in the pocket book. If the heart is right, a zealous,
people will support their pastor, and if they are not able,
a faithful pastor can and will share their poverty, when
he feels that other things are right. But we must re¬
member that other support is needed. Let the people
sympathize with their pastors ; attend punctually upon
his instructions ; lay up his words for their constant im¬
provement ; " esteem him highly in love, for his work's
sake ;" work with him in his plans for usefulness, and
present him at the throne of divine grace, and he shall
not be their shame, nor they his, in the day of the Lord.
Yes, dear friends, the ministers of the gospel, need all
the support that the people of God can give them. They
do not need flattery, nor should they have it. Perhaps,
indeed, one reason why God has withdrawn from our
churches is, that praises are too formal and are publicly
sounded for those that seem successful or highly accept¬
able in their work. They do not need affluence, but
living at the altar, where the power of God is received.
The ministers must have of the care God's people to guard
their reputations ; and their sympathy in their trials
and their confidence, that they may impart to them the
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243
blessed truths ot the gospel. I will also say in this con¬
nection there is no influence so valuable to parents in
rearing their children as the influence of the faithful
minister.
Do you not esteem very highlv the service of your
physician, who is looking after the health of your family ?
Now, your pastor is looking after your spiritual health,
which is infinitely more valuable than the health of the
body. Once more, let us ask, are not the services of the
helmsman, who directs the course ot the vessel, esteemed
of great value ? Now, your pastor is to show you how
you may safely cross the turbulent sea of life, and in the
midst of the thunder and lightening and storm he points
out to you the many dangers which are concealed from
your view. Oh ! how important is a true pastor's ser¬
vice ! All this he does in order that parents and chil¬
dren may reach in safety the haven of everlasting rest.
You should esteem your minister because he comes to you
when afflictions have entered your family ; he sits by the
bedside of your loved one,s, when disease is preying
upon the feeble frame, and comforts and cheers their
hearts by telling them of the glorious home for the soul
that the Heavenly Father has prepared for them. Again,
I
the faithful pastor comes to you when death has entered
your home, and that dear child, or wife, or husband, or
friend of yours lies stiff in his cold embrace and your
poor heart is bleeding on account of the sad bereave¬
ment. He comforts your heart by telling you that your
oved one is not lost, but only gone before. He tells you
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Jesus comes to you in the storm that beats upon your
household and you have only to listen and you will hear
his sweet voice saying, " Be of good cheer ; it is I, be
not afraid ! " Thus you see, dear friends, that God has
sent the minister of the gospel to you to perform the
most most important service for you through life and to
speak words of comfort to sorrowing friends when you
are dead. In consideration of what I have said, is it'
any wonder that God should inspire the great apostle to
direct, that the christian minister should' be, "esteemed
very highly in love, for his work's sake ? " I will ask
that liberal support for and in behalf of your ministers
who are breaking to you the bread of eternal life ; who
are laboring hard to instruct you and guide you in the
path which le?ds from earth to heaven. Those faithful
pastors, who have grown weary and prematurely gray
with hard study, that they might be better prepared to do,
you the greatest possible good in training your life work
for eternity. Do you think it a hard matter that such a
pastor should share your love, and your prayers and
your temporal support? Perhaps your pastor has a wife
and children, as dear to him as his own life, and as dear
as your wife and children are to you. If their temporal
wants are not well supplied, the pastor's heart grows sad
and the time he would have spent in preparing spiritual
food to feed your souls will be spent in sad reflections
about the destitution of his family. A happy, comfort¬
able pastor is indispensable to the prosperity of the
church. If you would have peace and prosperity in the
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
245
church, endeavor to make your pastor comfortable and
happy. Show him that he has favor in your sight and is
rooted deeply in your affections. Make him feel that
you receive him as sent to you from God. Be regular in
your attendance on all the means of grace. This we
have a right to expect. If your pastor must study and
preach, it is your duty to be present and hear what he
has prepared for you. Unite with your pastor in every
good work. When he stands in the sacred desk to preach
the word of life, hold up his arms, that the power of the
gospel may have its desired effect in the hearts of men.
Remember that your minister has his trials and discour¬
agements like other men and often comes into the pulpit
feeling very much cast down. He begins to speak as best
as he can, in the name of Jesus, who died for men. Af¬
ter speaking awhile he is about to sit down, feeling that
his effort at this time is all in vain, and just then
God puts it into the heart of some good brother or sister,
to sanction the truth by a hearty "Amen ! " This gives him
some encouragement to continue, and soon another and
another response is heard in the congregation. The fire
from the altar of God begins to burn in the heart of the
despondent minister and entering fully into his subject
he carries his hearers onward and upward, until they
imagine themselves almost in sight of the enternal city,
where God, the Father, forever reigns. Again, I would
say, pray for your pastor. Of all men he needs your
prayers the most. Notwithstanding the great apostle
was filled with the Holy Ghost, he often said, " Pray for
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me, that the word of God may. run, and be glorified."
Let prayer, then, ascend from every house, from every
sanctuary, from every prayer meeting, from every family
altar, from every closet, from fathers and mothers and
sisters in the church. Yes ! for the sake of our sacred
office, pray for us that we may adorn it ! For the
church's sake, pray for us that we may advance her inter¬
est ! For your sake and your children's sake, pray for
us, and your prayers shall be answered a hundred fold !
For the sake of dying souls pray for us, that we may the
more earnestly and successfully point those dying souls
to " the Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the
world." The souls of men largely depend upon the
favor of God, through His ministering servants, and in
order that His favor may be obtained, our earnest appeal
is, " Brethren, pray for us ! " Now, in closing this sub¬
ject, we will turn from those that do to those that do not
profess to love the Lord or His cause. Our appeal will
not be to call forth your prayers, unless we first urge
upon you that you pray for your own souls. But my
appeal to you, my unconverted friends,, is to bring before
your minds this important fact that you are not ignorant
of the devices of the devil, who is seeking to devour your
sovls. You are no unconcerned hearers of the messages
of the gospel. Why is it that unconverted men look
upon the engagements of the christian ministry with
favor ? Why do they listen to our sermons ! Why do
they hear of the barrenness or success of our ministry, as if
these were matters in which they had little or no con-
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
247
cern ? In solemn truth all these things are for you ! Let
me say to you, dying man, that within the breast of every
hearer before me dwells an immortal spirit. That spirit
is bound to the judgment seat of Christ and it will there
be approved or condemned, as it has personally accepted
or rejected the gospel we preach. We therefore appeal
to you to hear us for there is danger in delay. Sin is
riveting upon you more closely and firmly those adaman¬
tine chains which only the power of God can break. We
are hastening onward to the tomb.. There is no knowl¬
edge nor wisdom in the grave, whither we are going
The Holy Spirit of God may soon take His eternal,
flight from one who has so often grieved Him. Then,
friendly sinner,, hear us, lest your souls be forever lost!
" Now is the accepted time ; now is the day of salva¬
tion ! " " Call ye upon Him while He is near." The
time is close at hand when God shall say to his faithful
servants, the ministers of the gospel, " Come down from
the walls; close your bibles ! " Then, may God grant
that, while the world's Harvest Home shall be sung, both
pastors and people may go up through the gates of
the heavenly city, to live forever with the Lord ! Then
may be sung ,this glad hymn :
" Servant of God welll done,
Thy glorious warfare's past,
The battle's fought, the race is run.
And thou art crowned at last. j
"O ! happy, happy soul,
In ecstacies of praise,
Long as eternal ages roll,
Thou seest thy Savior's face."
Landing oi the Afric Fathers,
By Edward E. Underwood, Mt. Pleasant, Ohio.
We love to read of that Pilgrim band,
Who went forth amid the tempest's roar,
Who forsook their homes and native land,
And embarked for a foreign shore;—
Who, on the drear New England coast,
In a land by savages trod,
With grateful hearts, could hurnhly boast,
Of " Freedom to worship God."
The many conflicts which they withstood,
The dangers which were theirs to share,
Will ever be lauded by both bad and good,
As heroism,—noble and rare.
Their deeds have been inscribed on history's page,
In letters of living light ;
Their praise will be sung in every age,
And be kept in memory bright.
But, as worthy the stroke of the historians's pen,—
As worthy the poet's eye,—
As worthy the eulogy of eloquent men,—
As worthy of record on high,
Is the gloomy tale of Afric's sons,
Who were brought from their land of birth,
All fettered and clad in slavery's chains,—
The foulest and meanest on earth ;—
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249
Who were placed under yokes and bondage—sway,
Under the hellish master's rule,
And made to labor from day to day,
As the crafty white man's tool.
These martyrs lived,—these martyrs died,
And their offspring inherited their fate,
And had to stem the same rough tide,
And meet the white man's hate.
A paper was written by Jefferson's hand,
That declared all men were free,
Which was heralded all over this wide land,
As the " harbinger of liberty ; "
And, yet, it scorned the poor old slaves,—
('Twas a mean and flaunting lie.)
They looked in vain for a power to save,
There appeared no pitying eye.
With signal fortitude they witnessed it all,
Through long and arduous years,
And ate, and slept, and groaned and cried,
Had dangers and had fears.
They worked to aid the Nation's growth,
In fame and power and wealth ;
They shed their blood on battle fields,
To restore her shattered health ;
When freedom came they forgot and forgave,
The wrongs the whites had done,—
Went forth to breast adversity's wave.
And the race of life to run.
They're rising to a high and exalted plane,
Are enduring the white man's strife,
And laboring hard with might and main,
Are solving the problem of life.
A Casket of Pulpit Thought.
They're ascending the lofty hill of Fame,
Are struggling for honor's prize ;—
Are making a great and lasting name,
By the power that within them lies.
By the fountains of knowledge they take their stand,
They drink deeply of its crystal flood ;
They are grasping wealth with every hand,
And the Religion of- their God.
The historian who writes in future times,
If he writes an impartial story,
Must tell of the Negro's rapid rise,
And his deeds of grandeur and glory.
The poet who essays to form sweet rhyme,
Would be unworthy his honored name,
Should he fail to sing of the Negro's deeds
And his high and lofty aims.
The orator who stands with eloquent tongue
To address the listening throng,
Must tell of the flash of the Negro's brain,
Despite his grievous wrongs.
Yes, every tongue must speak his praise,
All nations his courage adore,
In every land,—in every age,
Forever and ever more.