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AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 Reproduced from original oil painting 
 
 By Aithur S. Covey. Copyright 1911 by American Tract Society 
 
tr rt.iiJ''- 
 
 \ 
 
 AT THE 
 
 GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 THE STORY OF A DAY 
 
 BY 
 
 V' 
 
 DAVID JAMES BURRELL 
 
 ^-^%1) 
 
 AMERICAN TRACT SOCIETY 
 
 150 Nassau Street 
 
 New York 
 
Copyright, 1911, by 
 Ameeican Tract Society 
 

 ^^HZZ^:^^My W^^^^/ w^^-^^e^ 
 
J 
 
TABLE OF CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Foreword 5 
 
 A Notable Miracle 7 
 
 An Eloquent Sermon 19 
 
 An Extraordinary Trial 32 
 
 An Eventful Meeting 45 
 
 An Ideal Community 58 
 
FOREWORD 
 
 IT was on an April day, a.d. 33, not 
 long after the Day of Pentecost, 
 that these things happened. They 
 covered a brief period of not more than 
 fifteen hours — from the time of the eve- 
 ning sacrifice, 3 p.m., until candlelight 
 the next day. But what a memorable 
 fifteen hours they were; and what issues 
 have flowed out of that day! 
 
AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 A NOTABLE MIRACLE 
 
 npHE leaders of the Jews had recently been 
 -■- disturbed by a series of significant events. 
 Their hope was that the crucifixion of Christ 
 would make an end of his propaganda ; but the 
 tragedy was scarcely over before the air was 
 vibrant with rumors of his resurrection. He had 
 shown himself to many of his disciples, to five 
 hundred on one occasion, all of whom were pre- 
 pared to say they had seen and conversed with 
 him. Then came the Day of Pentecost and the 
 preaching of this Crucified Christ to a multitude 
 with such effect that thousands espoused his cause. 
 On that day his disciples were endowed with 
 spiritual gifts, known as charismata, by which 
 they were enabled to perform wonders in his 
 name. The healing of the cripple at the Gate 
 Beautiful was in evidence. It was clear to the 
 religious leaders that they were mistaken in sup- 
 7 
 
8 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 posing that they had disposed of Jesus. His in- 
 fluence was a troublesome fact, which was likely 
 to vex them more and more. "What shall we 
 do to these men?" they asked, "for that indeed 
 a notable miracle hath been wrought through 
 them is manifest to all that dwell in Jerusalem ; 
 and we cannot deny it, ' ' What was to be done 
 about it? 
 
 The miracle was notable because of the two 
 wizards who had performed it, namely: Peter 
 and John, a Man of Rock and a Son of Thun- 
 der. They were the original Pope and Car- 
 dinal ; but tell it not in the Vatican ! For this 
 Pope wore no tiara and this Cardinal no scarlet 
 robe. No acolytes went before them swinging 
 censers or ringing bells, and no lackeys followed 
 to carry their trains. They were plain men in 
 homespun, once partners in the fishing trade, but 
 now serving Christ without pomp or circum- 
 stance. They were destined to be heard from in 
 the coming ages; for they were the vanguard 
 of the militant church advancing, two and two, in 
 the name of Christ to the conquest of the world. 
 
 The man at the Gate had been a cripple from 
 his birth. Forty years he had suffered from his 
 infirmity, like a dog chained to his kennel. As 
 
A NOTABLE MIRACLE 9 
 
 far back as he could remember, pain and poverty 
 had been his lot. In childhood he had looked 
 enviously on other children playing in the streets. 
 In the world of affairs there was no room for 
 him. Day after day he sat wearily at the gate- 
 way of the Temple, seeing the people go by with 
 springing steps, while he in his misery sat help- 
 less, pleading for alms. His day had come, 
 though he knew it not. The years of his suffer- 
 ing had all been moving forward to this supreme 
 hour. His case was not so hopeless as he had 
 deemed it, for God was about to smile upon him. 
 Beggar as he was, the stuff of manhood was in 
 him. He was still a man, the ruin of a man, 
 the masterpiece of God. The gates of Corin- 
 thian brass by which he sat would in process of 
 time be lost and forgotten ; but he was immortal, 
 destined to live beyond "the war of elements, the 
 wreck of matter, and the crush of worlds. ' ' 
 
 Let the cripple tell his own story: "I was sit- 
 ting before the gate with my hands stretched out 
 for alms. It was three o'clock, the hour of the 
 evening sacrifice. I saw two men approaching 
 whom I knew as disciples of Jesus. I had seen 
 them with him in Solomon's Porch, when he 
 was preaching there and advancing his claims as 
 
10 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 the long-looked-for Christ and veritable Son of 
 God. I had seen them always together, as insep- 
 arable friends, notwithstanding their disparity 
 in years. As they drew near I dropped my eyes 
 and cried piteously, 'Charity, for the love of 
 Godr Peter said, 'Look on us!' I lifted my 
 eyes, expecting to receive something ; whereupon 
 he said, ' Silver and gold have I none ; but what 
 I have, that give I thee. In the name of Jesus 
 Christ of Nazareth, walk!' I know not how it 
 was, but in that instant hope sprang exultant 
 within me. I felt that the power of Christ, the 
 wonder-worker, was able to heal me and, with- 
 out a word or a question, I sprang to my feet ! 
 My sinews were unloosed ; the warm current of 
 new life and strength was flowing in my veins. I 
 was healed ! And as the two disciples went on 
 to the Porch of the Temple, I followed them, 
 walking and leaping and praising God." 
 
 THE PROBLEM 
 
 This was a notable miracle, because it furnished 
 the key to the most serious problem of the ages. 
 It meant immeasurably more than the healing of 
 one cripple ; no less, indeed, than the healing of 
 all cripples till the end of time. The world is 
 
A NOTABLE MIRACLE 11 
 
 full of cripples, of maimed and halt and withered ; 
 crippled in body and mind, crippled in will and 
 conscience and heart ; prisoners of sin and shame 
 and poverty, cumberers of the earth. How to 
 reclaim them ? That is the problem. How to 
 set all cripples on their feet, so that not the fit- 
 test but the unfittest shall survive ? There is the 
 problem at the base of social science, the prob- 
 lem that vexes the souls of all philanthropists 
 and lovers of God. And the key to that problem 
 is indicated in the miracle before us. The fac- 
 tors are here furnished for its solution: 
 
 THE FACTORS 
 
 First, the name of Christ. Peter said to the 
 multitude who marveled at the miracle, "Why 
 fasten ye your eyes on us, as though by our own 
 power or godliness we had made him to walk? 
 By faith in his name hath his name made this 
 man strong; yea, the faith which is through him 
 hath given him this perfect soundness in the 
 presence of you all. ' ' 
 
 Oh, there are thousands of other names, names 
 of priests and prophets and patriots, of great 
 thinkers and great teachers ; but there is only one 
 Name that has the power of salvation in it ! "For 
 
12 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 neither is there any other name under heaven, 
 that is given among men, wherein we must be 
 saved' ' ; saved from sin and all its attending 
 evils, saved from fret and worry and poverty, 
 from all moral and physical ills. This is the 
 name "which is above every name that is named, 
 not only in this world, but also in that which is 
 to come.'' 
 
 "All hail the power of Jesus' name; 
 Let angels prostrate fall ; 
 Bring forth the royal diadem 
 And crown him Lord of all!" 
 
 Let a man once espouse that Name ; and, how- 
 ever poor or crippled, he stands upon his feet and 
 throws away his beggar's rags. What other 
 name can do it? Plato? Epictetus? Marcus 
 Aurelius? Let the whole soul of a man say, 
 "Christ!" and, behold, it is done! He who was 
 a misery to himself and a burden on society is 
 become a new man in Christ Jesus and, being 
 born again to self-respect and usefulness, must 
 needs go walking and leaping and praising God. 
 
 The second factor entering into the solution 
 of the great problem is the Church. The Chiu-ch 
 is called EkJclesia, because it is a body of people 
 "called out" and separated to Christ. As he 
 
A NOTABLE MIRACLE 13 
 
 was "sent into the world" so are they sent and 
 commissioned "to seek and to save." This is 
 the business of every Christian. Is the Church 
 attending to its business ? Not ideally ; for the 
 obvious reason that every one of its members is 
 still a sinner, though saved by grace. But this 
 can be affirmed without a peradventure : the 
 Church is doing more than all other instrumen- 
 talities on earth toward the accomplishment of 
 the desired end. Why was the cripple placed at 
 the Temple gate rather than in the market or be- 
 fore the Castle of Antonia ? Because he knew, 
 as everybody knows, that the people who pray 
 are the people who pity; that the people who 
 worship are the people who give. The world, 
 however it may criticise the followers of Christ 
 for their shortcomings, knows that the Church is 
 the universal almoner. It is safe to say that 
 nine-tenths of all the charitable work on earth is 
 being done by the people who fear and serve God. 
 We hear much of secular beneficence, but there 
 is more of real charity in the little finger of the 
 Church than in the loins of the whole world out- 
 side of it. 
 
 The third factor in the problem is the power 
 of the Spirit of God. This is the great dynamic. 
 
14 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 I do not undertake to explain the supernatural 
 influence that came down upon the disciples at 
 Pentecost or the spiritual gifts that followed it. 
 In my boyhood I met Professor Morse, the in- 
 ventor of the telegraph, on a Hudson River boat 
 and asked him to explain electricity. He said, 
 "I know nothing about electricity; I am only 
 trying to make some applications of it. " A few 
 years ago I asked the same question of Mr. Mar- 
 coni, of wireless telegraphy fame. He smiled 
 and answered, ' ' I know nothing about electricity 
 in itself ; I only know it is a tremendous fact and 
 I am interested in making some practical appli- 
 cations of it. ' ' To say that we cannot define or 
 definitely explain the power of the Holy Spirit is 
 to cast no reflection on an obvious fact which is 
 constantly in evidence. The record is that when 
 Jesus had accomplished his redemptive work he 
 went back to the "glory which he had with the 
 Father before the world was""; and that at his 
 departure he said, "The Holy Spirit, whom the 
 Father will send in my name, he shall abide with 
 you forever. By him ye shall be endued with 
 power. He shall reprove the world of sin and 
 righteousness and of judgment. He shall glorify 
 me. " So to the Holy Spirit was committed the 
 
A NOTABLE MIRACLE 15 
 
 consummation of the redemptive work. He is 
 and continues to be the Executive of the divine 
 administration in this world of ours; and will so 
 remain until "the restitution of all things." 
 
 THE SOLUTION 
 
 By the operation of these three factors the 
 great problem is being solved. Progress is a 
 fact. The world rolls around every twenty-four 
 hours, and with each succeeding day it rolls a 
 little farther into the light. The problem is 
 being worked out in Christian civilization. This 
 means that the lapsed masses are being reclaimed, 
 that the "submerged tenth" is being rescued, 
 that those at the bottom are being brought to the 
 top. Sin is the root of all the ills that human 
 flesh is heir to. The remedy for sin is salvation, 
 and salvation is only through Christ. The final 
 regeneration of society will be accomplished when 
 the gospel is proclaimed universally and accepted 
 by the last man. In that day there will be no 
 more cripples begging at the gate ; all who now 
 cumber the ground as non-producers will be lifted 
 up to self-respect, becoming contributors to the 
 public welfare and thus repossessed of their lost 
 heritage as children of God. What else can ac- 
 
16 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 complish this but the gospel ? Can secular phi- 
 lanthropy do it ? Can it be brought about by 
 the mere giving of alms or feeding of the hungry 
 or clothing of the naked ? The gospel does not 
 deal with symptoms but aims directly at the seat 
 of the malady. To cure sin is to cure all. 
 
 But before this end is reached there are two 
 things which must be attended to. The first is 
 Communication. "To do good and to communi- 
 cate forget not." What is to be communicated? 
 Material help and comfort, such as the healing 
 of physical pain or the distribution of wealth? 
 These are incidents along the way. It is much 
 to be feared that we are laying too deep an em- 
 phasis on the importance of monetary gifts as a 
 means of extending the Kingdom of Christ. The 
 Church is rich to-day. But while God requires 
 that every man of means shall honor his steward- 
 ship, let it be remembered that God is not depend- 
 ent on our gifts. He uses gold; but he can 
 get along without it. 
 
 At Rome, twelve hundred years after the heal- 
 ing of this cripple, two men not unlike Peter and 
 John were on their way to worship at St. Peter's. 
 One of them was Pope Innocent IV and the other 
 was Thomas Aquinas. As they approached they 
 
A NOTABLE MIRACLE 17 
 
 saw a beggar before the gate, to whom Aquinas 
 gave a gold coin ; whereat the Pope smiled, say- 
 ing. "Things have greatly changed since the 
 apostles were obliged to say on a like occasion, 
 'Silver and gold have we none.' "" Aquinas re- 
 plied, "Yes, your Holiness, things have indeed 
 greatly changed ; for I fear we could not say, as 
 Peter and John did, ' In the name of Jesus Christ 
 of Nazareth rise up and walk. ' ' ' 
 
 The wealth of the Christian Church to-day is 
 a matter of congratulation only so far as it is 
 wisely and prayerfully invested for the advance- 
 ment of the Kingdom. At best it is only a 
 means to that end. Our time and energy and 
 earthly possessions are all to be "communi- 
 cated, " as we ourselves are devoted, to the salva- 
 tion of men. 
 
 The other prerequisite to the regeneration of 
 society is Appropriation. When the Church com- 
 municates and the world appropriates there will 
 be nothing further to be done. We call atten- 
 tion to the proclamation of the gospel as Peter 
 and John did when they said to the cripple, 
 "Look on us !" The heart must then follow the 
 eyes. Men must think before they can believe ; 
 and hearing must be followed by saving faith. 
 
18 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 Water is free; and there is enough in God's 
 rivers for the salvation of all; but a man will 
 perish of thirst unless he drink it. 
 
 It was a memorable day for the cripple when 
 he heard the call and heeded it. He never for- 
 got the Gate which is called Beautiful. But he 
 never again sat there to ask for alms ; for he was 
 loosed from his infirmity and able to do for him- 
 self as a whole man. 
 
 THE OUTCOME 
 
 It will be a great day for the Church when it 
 goes forth like a mobilized army, in the power of 
 the Name, to seek and to save. And it will be a 
 great day for the world when sinners shall hear 
 the Name, shall see its power in the life of those 
 who profess and preach it, and shall answer to 
 the word "Rise up and walk!" There will be 
 no cripples then and no beggar at any gate ; but 
 all alike shall go up the Temple stairs "walking 
 and leaping and praising God. ' * 
 
AN ELOQUENT SERMON 
 
 THE words, "In the name of Jesus Christ of 
 Nazareth, walk!" had been like the wa- 
 ving of a magic wand; for immediately the 
 beggar, helpless from his birth, arose and went 
 walking and leaping and praising God ! 
 
 Here was something that needed to be ac- 
 counted for. The people, "being filled with 
 wonder and amazement, ran together to Solomon's 
 Porch" ; just as the people go to church nowa- 
 days, to find out. They want to know about all 
 things pertaining to the spiritual life ; but the 
 one thing that puzzles them above everything else 
 is the presence of a Power in the world which 
 declines to be explained in any common way. 
 
 As to the presence of the Power there is no 
 doubt. Every saved sinner, every healthful 
 community, every Christian government, all 
 progress and civilization are in evidence. To 
 deny it is to contradict the hearing of one's ears 
 and the seeing of one's eyes. The world grows 
 19 
 
20 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 better; what is doing it? The people want an 
 answer to that question ; that is why they heed 
 the summons of the church-bells ; and the sermon 
 that furnishes no answer is no sermon at all. 
 
 THE TEXT 
 
 The text of Peter's sermon on this occasion 
 was the cripple himself. There he stood, a won- 
 derful verse of holiest Scripture, a living epistle 
 written by the hand of God. Look at him ! He 
 that was a cripple stands erect like other men. 
 He cannot keep quiet, but leaps for joy. He 
 cannot keep silent, but insists on praising God. 
 He is changed in soul as well as in body. Old 
 things are passed away, all things have become 
 new. This is conversion. His shame and beg- 
 gary have dropped from him ; the hopelessness 
 has gone out of him. Is it strange that the peo- 
 ple who had known him in his abject helplessness 
 could scarcely believe their senses when they 
 heard him crying, "Glory to God!" This is 
 the text that must needs be expounded. It is the 
 ubiquitous and perpetual text ; for the miracle is 
 going on everywhere about us. Not only are 
 sinners converted, but neighborhoods are trans- 
 formed, by the mysterious Power. Go to mid- 
 
AN ELOQUENT SERMON 21 
 
 Africa and build a church in the midst of densest 
 barbarism, and savage eyes and hearts will fol- 
 low its upward-pointing spire. Give the Power 
 time, and, like leaven, it will leaven the lump. 
 How to explain it? That is the problem to 
 which Peter must address himself in Solomon's 
 Porch; and which every preacher, "answering 
 unto the people," is bound to solve in some way. 
 
 THE PROPOSITION 
 
 The proposition of Peter's sermon contains his 
 answer : it is expressed in the words, ' ' God hath 
 glorified his Servant Jesus. ' ' 
 
 The people who made up the congregation 
 that day had seen Jesus in homespun. He wore 
 no halo and displayed no tokens of sovereignty 
 when he walked among them ; wherefore he had 
 seemed to them as a root out of dry ground, 
 without form or comeliness; and there was no 
 beauty that they should desire him. They had 
 seen him going about on his itineraries, dusty 
 and footsore like other wayfaring men. They 
 had followed him to Golgotha, as a malefactor, 
 bowing under the burden of his cross, and had 
 seen him hung up betwixt heaven and earth to 
 die ; and they hid, as it were, their faces from 
 
22 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 him. And it is of this Jesus that Peter now 
 says, "God hath glorified him." 
 
 This is his explanation of the Power: "The 
 name of Jesus, through faith in his name, hath 
 given the cripple this perfect soundness in the 
 presence of you all."" If that proposition can 
 be sustained, it furnishes a clue to the dynamic 
 problem of the ages. 
 
 We find an amplification of this proposition 
 in Paul's letter to the Christians of Philippi 
 where he says of Jesus, "Who, existing in the 
 form of God, counted not the being on an equal- 
 ity with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied 
 himself, taking the form of a servant, being 
 made in the likeness of men ; and being found 
 in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, becom- 
 ing obedient even unto death, yea, the death of 
 the cross. Wherefore also God highly exalted 
 him and gave unto him the Name which is above 
 every name, that in the name of Jesus every knee 
 should bow, of things in heaven and things on 
 earth and things under the earth, and that every 
 tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, 
 to the glory of God the Father." In other 
 words, the eternal Son, who had been in the 
 bosom of the Father before the world was, came 
 
AN ELOQUENT SERMON 23 
 
 to our rescue in the fulness of time ; and, having 
 accomplished his work of redemption and re- 
 tvu-ned to the glory which he had with the Father 
 before the world was, left behind him a Name, 
 an influence, an irresistible Power which was des- 
 tined ultimately to accomplish the eternal pur- 
 pose in restoring the world to God. 
 
 If the proposition thus laid down, to wit : that 
 " God hath glorified his Servant Jesus," can be 
 sustained it will, I repeat, furnish a key to the 
 problem of history and an explanation of the up- 
 lifting and transforming Power which is mysteri- 
 ously seen and felt everywhere in the world 
 to-day. 
 
 THE ARGUMENT 
 
 The argument of the sermon is under two 
 heads, namely : the Messianic prophecies of Scrip- 
 ture, and their fulfilment in Jesus as the Christ 
 of God. 
 
 We have only a brief outline of the sermon ; 
 but there is enough to indicate the line of rea- 
 soning by which Peter endeavored to prove that 
 God had fulfilled in Christ those things which he 
 had foreshowed by the mouth of all the prophets 
 concerning him. 
 
 It was comparatively an easy matter for him 
 
M AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 to do this, because his congregation was familiar 
 with the Scriptures and believed in them as the 
 veritable Word of God. If he referred to the 
 protevangel, "The Seed of woman shall bruise 
 the serpent's head," all would instantly recog- 
 nize it. But who was that "Seed of woman" 
 who was to come in the fulness of time to deliver 
 the people from their sins.-* The preacher no 
 doubt pointed out the figure of Christ marching 
 through the colonnades of ancient Psalm and 
 prophecy and chronicle, faint at first but advanc- 
 ing into ever clearer light, a child, a God, a 
 burden-bearer, a king, a man of sorrows and ac- 
 quainted with grief, wounded for our transgres- 
 sions and bruised for our iniquities, a conqueror 
 on his way to universal dominion, a sufferer with 
 wounds in his hands, a man of war, the Prince 
 of Peace, a light-giver as when the Sun of right- 
 eousness ariseth with healing in his wings. Who 
 is this? None other, says the preacher, than 
 Jesus of Nazareth ! And this he proceeds to 
 prove after the method common to all ministers 
 of the gospel in those days. 
 
 It was like tracing a river to its source. Time 
 was when the springs of the Nile were lost in 
 mystery. Then came Stanley, the explorer, who 
 
AN ELOQUENT SERMON 25 
 
 followed it from the Delta up through Nubia 
 and the Sudan, onward through deserts and 
 malarial swamps and jungles, till after a journey 
 of four thousand miles he came upon Victoria 
 Nyanza. He had found the fountain of the Nile ! 
 So did Peter and the other apostles, when preach- 
 ing to Jewish congregations, lead them always 
 through the mysterious and otherwise inexplica- 
 ble windings of their own prophetic Scriptures 
 until they found themselves face to face with 
 Christ. The source of the river of prophecy, on 
 its way to the infinite sea of eternal life, was 
 found in Christ, in the bosom of God ! 
 
 All these prophecies are shown to have been 
 fulfilled in him. The birth of Jesus, his life and 
 character in minutest detail and particular, his 
 vicarious death, all were in pursuance of the plan 
 marked out. "Thus it was written and thus it 
 must be. ' ' And the consummation of the argu- 
 ment was reached in Christ's triumph over death. 
 "God hath raised him from the dead,'' cried the 
 preacher, "whereof we are witnesses!" He, in 
 company with John, who now stood beside him 
 in Solomon's Porch, had run to the sepulcher. 
 spurred on by a strange rumor ; and there they 
 saw the empty tomb, and that evening the risen 
 
26 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 Christ himself! They were eye-witnesses. He 
 had appeared to others also : five hundred had 
 seen him at once ; five hundred in court prepared 
 to testify to that effect ! Refute them who can ! 
 What then ? He that was dead is alive and 
 liveth forevermore! Yes, verily, "God hath 
 glorified his Servant Jesus!" 
 
 A few days previously the people had seen the 
 miracle of Pentecost and "were all amazed and 
 were perplexed, saying one to another, What 
 meaneth this?" Peter tells them that the 
 "sound as of the rushing of a mighty wind"" was 
 the breath of this glorified Son of God ! An 
 hour ago they were "filled with wonder and 
 amazement" at the miracle wrought on the crip- 
 ple at the gate; and again they asked, "What 
 meaneth this ?" Peter tells them it was the hand 
 of the Christ whom they had crucified. If this 
 man were preaching to-day I doubt not he would 
 say, "Why marvel ye at the miracles of progress, 
 at the tokens of a supernatural Power in the 
 great movements of history that make for truth 
 and righteousness ? These are but the footfalls 
 of Jesus coming with stately steppings down the 
 ages ! ' ' 
 
 This is the argument of the sermon ; the "an- 
 
AN ELOQUENT SERMON 27 
 
 swer to the people." Thus simply but conclu- 
 sively does the apostle prove his proposition, 
 ' ' God hath glorified his Servant Jesus. ' ' 
 
 THE APPLICATION 
 
 The application of the sermon is in the words, 
 ' ' Repent ye therefore and turn again, that your 
 sins may be blotted out!" 
 
 The need of repentance is obvious from the 
 terrific indictment which the preacher brought 
 against his hearers that day : "Ye delivered Jesus 
 up and denied him before the face of Pilate, 
 when he had determined to let him go ! Ye de- 
 nied the holy and righteous One, and asked for 
 a murderer to be granted unto you ! Ye killed 
 the Prince of Life!" In spite of all remon- 
 strance they had cried, "His blood be upon us 
 and upon our children after us!" Their hands 
 were red, dripping red, with the blood of One 
 whom God had dignified as his only begotten 
 Son! 
 
 Brave preaching this, and worthy of careful 
 scrutiny on the part of preachers in these days ! 
 
 Sin itself has of late been minimized almost to 
 the vanishing point, so that no room is left for 
 repentance. In some quarters the very word is 
 
28 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 lost. ' ' New times ; new manners, ' ' indeed ! Yet 
 sin is a fact, an unchanged and unchangeable 
 fact. It stands as it ever stood, ' ' black as night, 
 fierce as ten furies, terrible as hell." And the 
 sin of all sins is the rejection of Christ. This 
 is the unpardonable sin, in the necessity of the 
 case ; because it closes the only door that has ever 
 been opened for a sinner to return to God. Re- 
 pent ye, therefore; ye who, despite the demon- 
 strations of Christ's power in the passing ages, 
 still reject him. Repent, while it is called to- 
 day. "O foolish Galatians, who did bewitch 
 you that ye should not obey the truth, before 
 whose eyes Jesus Christ was openly set forth cru- 
 cified !" Nay, rather, O foolish children of Chris- 
 tian birth and nurture, who hath bewitched you 
 that ye should not perceive how God hath glori- 
 fied his Son ? 
 
 Had the people known that Jesus was the 
 Christ, it goes without saying that they would 
 not have crucified him. It was by reason of 
 their ignorance that an opportunity of repent- 
 ance was given them. As Jesus said, "Father, 
 forgive them ; for they know not what they do," 
 so Peter says. "I wot that through ignorance ye 
 did it." In this, however, he finds no exculpa- 
 
AN ELOQUENT SERMON 29 
 
 tion of their sin, but only an assurance of par- 
 don on condition of repentance and faith. ' ' Re- 
 pent ye therefore,'' is his word. So Paul, in his 
 great sermon on Mars Hill, said, "The times of 
 ignorance therefore God overlooked; but now 
 he commandeth men that they should all every- 
 where repent; inasmuch as he hath appointed a 
 day in which he will judge the world in right- 
 eousness by the Man whom he hath ordained ; 
 whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in 
 that he hath raised him from the dead!'' The 
 opportunity for repentance comes when one dis- 
 covers that the Christ whom he has rejected is 
 shown to be the veritable Son of God. As he 
 cares for eternal life, let him improve it. 
 
 Conversion is the corollary of repentance. To 
 be converted is to turn ' ' right about, face. ' ' It 
 is to change one's mind, one's purpose, one's at- 
 titude toward Christ. In short, it is to believe 
 in him. 
 
 He who thus repents and is converted has 
 his sins ' ' blotted out. ' ' Oh, gracious words ! 
 Blotted out! Let us get the figure before us. 
 An Oriental merchant in those days kept his ac- 
 counts by making indentations on a wax tablet. 
 In order to cancel a debt he had but to draw an 
 
30 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 inverted stylus over the wax. To cancel an ac- 
 count in a ledger leaves a trace behind ; but to 
 blot out an account on a wax tablet was to leave 
 no trace on the wax. The record was a blank, 
 tabula rasa, as if it had never been. So are the 
 sins of the penitent blotted out the moment he 
 believes in the crucified and glorified Son of God. 
 They are gone ! They are forgotten : as it is 
 written, "I will forgive their iniquity and their 
 sin will I remember no more." 
 
 It is an old sermon that we have been study- 
 ing ; nevertheless it is quite up to date. For sin 
 and repentance, faith and salvation, are constant 
 factors in the problem of life. 
 
 God help us, whether we are ''in holy orders" 
 or not, to preach as the apostles preached in those 
 days ! Let us preach Christ and the Bible ; nay, 
 rather, the Christ of the Bible, for neither is 
 there "any other name under heaven that is given 
 among men wherein we must be saved. ' ' God 
 help us to set forth sin unto repentance, and 
 faith unto conversion ; ' ' then shall the lame man 
 leap as a hart, and the tongue of the dumb shall 
 sing; for in the wilderness shall waters break out 
 and streams in the desert, ' ' because sinners every- 
 where shall see how God hath glorified his Son. 
 
AN ELOQUENT SERMON 31 
 
 m Rome they say that Christ gave Peter the 
 power of the keys. His statue may be seen in 
 the churches and on the street corners, always 
 with the keys at his girdle. It is true ; Christ 
 did give Peter the keys, and with them the power 
 of absolution ; but no more than to me and to all 
 preachers and to every true follower of his. In 
 his name we are commissioned to turn the key in 
 the door of heaven and throw it wide open to 
 every sinner who will believe in Christ; and the 
 humblest of Christians has power to say to the 
 worst of sinners, "In his name, by faith in his 
 name, you shall have absolution of sin!'' For 
 in this has God pre-eminently glorified his Son, 
 that he, the Prince of Life, "hath authority on 
 earth to forgive sins." 
 
AN EXTRAORDINARY TRIAL 
 
 THE record says that Peter and John "were 
 going up into the Temple at the hour of 
 prayer." But they did not reach the Temple, 
 and the prayer had to be postponed for a while. 
 To begin with, they met the cripple sitting at 
 the gate, and they could not pass him by. The 
 call of humanity was stronger than the blast of 
 the ram's horn calling to worship. Or shall we 
 not rather say that the act of humanity was 
 really a higher form of worship ? 
 
 "He prayeth best who loveth best 
 All things both great and small ; 
 For the dear Lord who loveth us. 
 He made and loveth all. ' ' 
 
 The purpose of the two disciples was further 
 
 interrupted by the gathering of the people ; an 
 
 eager throng ' ' filled with wonder and amazement 
 
 at that which had happened'' and clamoring for 
 
 32 
 
AN EXTRAORDINARY TRIAL 33 
 
 an explanation. To pass them under such cir- 
 cumstances was as impossible as it had been to 
 pass the cripple ; for here was an opportunity to 
 preach the gospel ; and what true disciple could 
 resist that ? So Peter spoke to them of the power 
 of the Name. From the prudential standpoint 
 this was a great mistake. He should have known 
 that his preaching was an infringement on the 
 rights of the ordained ministry. He and his 
 companion were arrested accordingly, and thrown 
 into jail. It must have been a dreary night. I 
 imagine that, after a while, John asked Peter if 
 he was still awake. 
 
 "Yes," answered Peter, "but it's cold and my 
 chain is heavy. Nevertheless, I am sure the Lord 
 is with us. ' ' 
 
 "And what of to-morrow? Will they convict 
 us, think you, and possibly stone us?" 
 
 ' ' I know not ; but I have no fear. I have been 
 thinking of the Babylonish youths in the fiery 
 furnace, and how One walked with them like 
 unto the Son of God. The Lord is surely with 
 us." 
 
 ' ' I, too, am confident, ' ' said John ; ' ' where- 
 fore let us sing." And possibly they sang, 
 "God is our refuge and strength, a very present 
 
34 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 help in trouble. Therefore will we not fear, 
 though the earth do change and though the 
 mountains be shaken into the heart of the seas. 
 Jehovah of Hosts is with us, the God of Jacob is 
 our refuge ! ' ' 
 
 In the morning they were brought into the 
 hall Gazith for trial. The Sanhedrin was as- 
 sembled. It was an august court. There were 
 the aged Annas who had been deposed from the 
 priestly office, and Caiaphas, his fanatical son- 
 in-law and successor, and Alexander, with other 
 illustrious leaders of the Jews. 
 
 THE CHARGE 
 
 The charge brought against the prisoners was 
 a singular one. They were accused of pernicious 
 loquacity- They would not keep still! The 
 rabbis felt that Jesus had troubled them enough 
 in his lifetime and, now that they had accom- 
 plished his death, it was inexpressibly annoying 
 to have his disciples keep on talking about him. 
 Of course they could not be allowed to perpetu- 
 ate his influence in that way. So they said, 
 in substance, to these disciples, "If you will 
 agree to hold your peace nobody will trouble 
 you." 
 
AN EXTRAORDINARY TRIAL 35 
 
 THE DEFENSE 
 
 The defense was as singular as the charge. 
 It was that they could not keep still. And for 
 this they were able to give a number of good and 
 sufficient reasons. 
 
 First, they could not consent to keep quiet be- 
 cause they didn't have to. They knew they were 
 well within their rights under the Roman law, in 
 which provision was made for the free exercise of 
 religion. So long as they created no disturbance 
 they were at liberty to preach the gospel even to 
 the Jews. 
 
 Second, they could not keep quiet because 
 they were under orders not to. They had re- 
 ceived an express commission from their Master 
 to declare his name. His word was "Go, evan- 
 gelize!" That is: "Preach the gospel, even to 
 the uttermost parts of the earth." This was 
 their business and they must follow it. 
 
 Third, they could not keep silence because 
 they did not want to. The gospel which they 
 were required to preach was a panacea for sin 
 and all evils attending upon it. The people 
 needed that gospel, and in the name of common 
 humanity they must dispense it. 
 
36 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 And fourth, they could not keep quiet because 
 they wouldn't, and they frankly said so. They 
 were warned "not to speak at all, nor teach 
 in the name of Jesus." Their answer was, 
 "Whether it is right in the sight of God to 
 hearken unto you rather than unto God, judge 
 ye ; for we cannot but speak the things which we 
 saw and heard. ' ' There is the ring of manhood. 
 It sounds like Luther when admonished not to 
 appear at the Diet of Worms ; his answer was, 
 "Were there as many devils in the way as there 
 are tiles on the housetops, yet would I go!" 
 And later, on trial in the Diet, he uttered that 
 other manifesto which has come ringing down 
 through the ages, ' ' Here I stand ; I cannot other- 
 wise; God help me!" 
 
 This was the defense set up by the prisoners 
 at the bar ; but there was another or secondary 
 line of defense, which operated mightily in 
 their favor. This did not express itself in 
 words, but in the personal life and character 
 of these men. 
 
 THE EFFECT TTPON THE COURT 
 
 It is recorded that when the members of the 
 Court "beheld the boldness of Peter and John, 
 
AN EXTRAORDINARY TRIAL 37 
 
 and had perceived that they were unlearned and 
 ignorant men, they marveled; and they took 
 knowledge of them, that they had been with 
 Jesus, ' ' 
 
 How did they know that these men had been 
 with Jesus ? By the fact that they had learned 
 of him. He had called them from their fishing- 
 boats at Gennesaret, when they were indeed 
 "unlearned and ignorant men," and for three 
 years — the precise term of a theological course in 
 modern times — they had been at school with him. 
 Then they were graduated with the degree of 
 "Master of Arts." 
 
 Of him they had learned the Ars Medicatrix, 
 that is, the healing touch. He had taught them 
 how to open blind eyes, cleanse lepers, cure crip- 
 ples, and do many other wonderful works. It 
 was proper that such gifts should be conferred 
 upon the disciples in the infancy of the Church. 
 They would not be necessary when the Church 
 should once be upon its feet; wherefore we can- 
 not exercise them. But if we have lost the 
 power to heal, we can still perform the most 
 wonderful miracle of all. It is written, "He 
 who converteth a sinner from the error of his way 
 shall save a soul from death and shall cover a 
 
38 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 multitude of sins/' The curing of a physical 
 malady is nothing in comparison with the bring- 
 ing of an immortal soul out of darkness into 
 light ; for the issues of this miracle reach on into 
 the eternal ages. In fact, the healing works of 
 Jesus himself were of evidential value only so 
 far as they pointed to the greater miracle, by 
 showing that he "had power on earth to forgive 
 sins." 
 
 Of him they had learned also the Ars Homi- 
 letica ; that is, how to preach. In their fishing 
 days they had known nothing about preaching ; 
 but now, after three years of theological training 
 with him, they were able to utter "thoughts that 
 breathe and words that burn.'' Their sermons 
 were like an echo of the voice of their Master, of 
 whom it was said, "Never man so spake!" If 
 there were no perhapses or peradventures in their 
 preaching, it was because they had caught the 
 note of positiveness from him who ever spoke 
 ' ' as one having authority. ' ' The minister who 
 airs his doubts in the pulpit betrays the fact that 
 he has not been with Jesus or learned of him. 
 He said "Verily, verily, I say unto you"; and 
 his disciples are commissioned to say, "That 
 which we have seen and handled declare we unto 
 
AN EXTRAORDINARY TRIAL 39 
 
 you." An "if" in a sermon is like a crack in 
 a pitcher; the truth leaks through it. The 
 "Autocrat of the Breakfast Table" says: "A 
 probability is provided with buffers at both ends 
 to break the shock of opposite opinions clash- 
 ing against it ; but a certainty has no springs. ' ' 
 Truth is positive. Duty is imperative. The 
 gospel is Yea and Amen. Our preaching is with 
 a ""Thus saith the Lord," not "I think so." 
 
 And they had also learned of Christ the Ajs 
 Militaris ; that is, how to stand unflinching in 
 the face of foes. These men were unused to the 
 customs of courts, yet they were unabashed in 
 the Sanhedrin. This Peter who speaks so boldly 
 now was, a little while ago, as timid as a hare. 
 He had quivered like a leaf when a maidservant 
 pointed her finger at him. Behold him now ! 
 Cannon to right of him, cannon to left of him ; 
 yet he stands to his colors like the men at 
 Balaklava. He is under orders. "Whether it 
 is right or not, judge ye!" To his mind the 
 only question is not whether it is prudent, but 
 whether it is right. His master bade him stand 
 on the thin red line, and there he stands. This 
 he had learned of Jesus ; the Hero of all heroes, 
 who seeing the cross in the distance swerved not 
 
40 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 a hair's breadth, but "set his face steadfastly to 
 go. " By him the disciples had been forewarned 
 that they should be "brought before kings and 
 governors for my name's sake. It shall turn out 
 unto you for a testimony ; for I will give you a 
 mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries 
 shall not be able to withstand or to gainsay." 
 Behold how that promise was fulfilled this day ! 
 
 And of Jesus they had learned the Ars Sacra ; 
 that is, character, which is indeed the most sacred 
 of arts. Let it be observed how Peter, the most 
 headstrong and undependable of the apostles, had 
 learned at length how to quit himself like a man 
 — Peter the swearer, the blunderer, the denier of 
 his Lord ! If we follow him through the years 
 we shall find him growing more and more until 
 he becomes by pre-eminence the very apostle of 
 character. In one of his letters, dated thirty 
 years after this incident, he writes : ' ' Adding on 
 your part all diligence, in your faith supply vir- 
 tue, and in your virtue knowledge, and in your 
 knowledge self-control, and in your self-control 
 patience, and in your patience godliness, and in 
 your godliness brotherly kindness, and in your 
 brotherly kindness love. For if these things are 
 yours and abound, they make you to be not idle 
 
AN EXTRAORDINARY TRIAL 41 
 
 nor unfruitful unto the knowledge of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ." In those words we have the 
 finest monograph of symmetrical manhood. And 
 therein is the ultimate and unanswerable defense 
 of the gospel against all charges brought against 
 it. The time will probably never come when 
 the adversaries of Christ will have nothing to say 
 against him ; but there is one incontrovertible 
 reply ; namely, his own character as reflected in 
 the character of those who follow him. 
 
 This was the great rebuttal in the Sanhedrin 
 that day. Peter and John were what they were 
 because they had been with Jesus and had learned 
 of him. The judge who presided at the trial of 
 their Master had said, "Behold the man ! I find 
 no fault in him. " And the purpose of these dis- 
 ciples was to be like him. True, they were not 
 saints as yet, only sinners saved by grace ; but 
 they were on their way to sainthood. They did 
 not profess to be good, ''as though they were 
 already perfect," but only to be trying to be 
 good : and better than that can be said of no 
 man. And by divine grace they were growing 
 every day, "adding" to their attainments by the 
 imitation of the perfect Man. They "had not 
 attained," but they were "stretching forward to 
 
42 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 the things which were before" and "pressing on 
 toward the goal,'" 
 
 This is what makes a Christian ; not faultless- 
 ness, but an ever-increasing hatred of sin and 
 love of holiness ; a constant growing in the knowl- 
 edge of Christ; a progressive approach toward 
 the ideal, toward Christlikeness, which means the 
 regaining of a man's lost birthright. 
 
 To this, I say, there is no answer. In one of 
 the letters of Daniel Webster he writes: "I can 
 speak and argue against a theological proposi- 
 tion ; but there is one thing I cannot gainsay : I 
 have an old uncle up in New Hampshire, a plain 
 farmer, who professes to be a follower of Christ. 
 I go to visit him occasionally and note the man- 
 ner of his daily life. I see him at the family 
 altar with his children about him. And against 
 that argument in favor of Christianity I can find 
 nothing to say." This is the perpetual and 
 irrefutable reply to all that has ever been or can 
 be urged against the gospel of Christ. It makes 
 character. It makes men ! 
 
 THE VERDICT 
 
 The verdict found by the Sanhedrin in this 
 trial was as singular as the charge and the de- 
 
AN EXTRAORDINARY TRIAL 43 
 
 fense. The prisoners were adjudged guilty and 
 then "let go/' No penalty could be prescribed 
 under the law. 
 
 There they go. Whither.? Peter, "the Rock 
 Man," goes to a life of unceasing toil and priva- 
 tion in preaching the gospel to the Jews. John, 
 "the Boanerge," goes to his pastorate in Ephe- 
 sus, and thence to his exile in Patmos. Both are 
 destined to share the sufferings of their Master, 
 even to the tragic end. 
 
 THE LESSON 
 
 Is there anything here for us ? Yes ; he that 
 would he like Jesus must keep company zvith him. 
 Christian character is the fruit of communion 
 with Christ. In one of Goethe's "Wonder 
 Tales" he tells of a magical lamp in a fisher- 
 man's hut. At night the fisherman, returning 
 from his labors, felt his way through the dark- 
 ness of his home until the lamp was kindled ; and 
 then, in an instant, the humble place was trans- 
 formed into a temple of silver studded with 
 priceless gems ! It reads like a parable of the 
 Christian life: a poor stumbling life at best, but 
 in the light of Christ's countenance it assumes the 
 graces of his character, until, out of our moral 
 
44 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 homeliness, we grow to be like him. And this is 
 what makes life worth living ; this is what makes 
 heaven worth having. "We all, with unveiled 
 face beholding as in a mirror the glory of the 
 Lord, are transformed into the same image from 
 glory to glory, even as from the Lord the Spirit. ' ' 
 We shall close our eyes presently, and when we 
 open them ' ' we shall be like him ; for we shall 
 see him even as he is. ' ' 
 
AN EVENTFUL MEETING 
 
 IT is related that Peter and John, "being let go, 
 came to their own company, and reported 
 all." Of course they did. Everybody goes to 
 his own company. Like seeks like. This is in 
 pursuance of a universal law. All things crys- 
 talize. The ultimate particles of matter are pro- 
 vided with positive and negative poles, so that 
 those which are mutually attractive gather about 
 a common center. In social life this crystal is 
 called a community. Birds of a feather flock 
 together. Judas goes "to his own place," sooner 
 or later. So does John, and everybody else. 
 Our destination is bound to be that for which 
 our character fits us. Those who care for God 
 and the great verities which center in him go to 
 heaven ; while those who care for none of these 
 things will stay outside, by preference as well as 
 by moral adjustment. If the wicked were to be 
 transported to that holy, psalm-singing place 
 called "the New Jerusalem," the environment 
 45 
 
46 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 would be so miserably uncongenial that they 
 would immediately flee from it. The present ar- 
 rangement is as right as it is inevitable. Men go 
 ultimately not only where they are fitted to go, 
 but, all things considered, where they want to go. 
 
 So when Peter and John had been acquitted in 
 court they naturally sought their own. Where 
 they found them it would be hard to say. The 
 little band of Christians had previously met in 
 an upper room ; but on this occasion they proba- 
 bly required a larger place. The Day of Pen- 
 tecost was just past, when thousands had been 
 converted. The Jerusalem congregation was no 
 longer a feeble folk like the conies. Perhaps 
 they were gathered in some open court where 
 they had remained during the night, overwhelmed 
 with fear and with anxiety for their two leaders 
 who had been caught red-handed in the act of 
 preaching the gospel. They were like a flock of 
 frightened birds. No doubt they were praying 
 and hoping against hope, not knowing what new 
 trouble awaited them. 
 
 Then suddenly all was changed. There was a 
 stir at the doorway, and Peter and John walked 
 in ! What greetings then, congratulations, ques- 
 tions thick and fast ! It is safe to say that John's 
 
AN EVENTFUL MEETING 47 
 
 mother was present, and Peter's wife — for, mira- 
 hile dictu, the original Pope was a married man ! 
 All alike were overjoyed. Then the meeting 
 was called to order. 
 
 It may not be unprofitable for us to attend this 
 primitive service in the apostolic Church; for 
 this was the nucleus of the Church of the ages. 
 I think we shall find that the Order of Service 
 was not unlike ours. 
 
 THE INVOCATION 
 
 The meeting opened, as ours do, with an in- 
 vocation: "O Lord, thou that didst make the 
 heaven and the earth and the sea and all that in 
 them is!" If these people had ever doubted that 
 the Lord was God, they knew it now ; for he had 
 made bare his arm to help them when they were 
 at their wits' end. And now they wanted to 
 commune with him. Their hearts were full of 
 gratitude and they must tell him so. 
 
 THE SCmPTURE LESSON 
 The next thing in the Order of Service would 
 naturally have been the reading of the Scrip- 
 tures ; but this was omitted, for reasons easy to see. 
 They had been reading the Scriptures all night, 
 
48 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 searching for promises of help in time of need. 
 The Bible was never slighted by the Christians 
 of those days. They believed it, loved it, and 
 founded their life upon it. But just now they 
 were eager above measure to hear from Peter 
 and John. The Scripture Lesson would come 
 farther on. 
 
 THE SERMON 
 
 The sermon preached at this point in the serv- 
 ice was in the nature of a Report ; as it is writ- 
 ten, "They reported all that the chief priests and 
 the elders had said unto them." As a rule, 
 Reports are dull. Audiences are apt to be list- 
 less until committees are through with what they 
 have to say. But this is not always the case. 
 In a recent assembly a missionary just returned 
 from Korea presented a "Report of Progress," 
 telling how souls had been coming into the king- 
 dom like doves flocking to their windows; and 
 when he concluded with the words, "We beg you 
 to join us in the faith of a glorious outlook ; for 
 we are expecting the conversion of a million souls 
 in Korea this year," there was no one in the 
 great audience who was not moved to the very 
 center of his heart. 
 
AN EVENTFUL MEETING 49 
 
 The Report of Peter had to do with events 
 covering a period of only fifteen hours. It was 
 three o'clock yesterday afternoon when the crip- 
 ple was healed at the gate ; then came the sermon 
 in Solomon's Porch, then the arrest and the 
 dreary night in the Castle of Antonia, then 
 the trial in the Sanhedrin. He reported all: 
 the questions and cross-questions; the warning, 
 ' ' Speak no more in the name of Jesus' ' ; their 
 answer, "Whether it is right in the sight of God 
 to hearken unto you rather than unto God, 
 judge ye" ; the perplexity of the rabbis because 
 they could find no suitable penalty under the 
 law; and how they were finally obliged to let 
 their prisoners go. Then I think Peter said, 
 ' ' Let us praise God ! ' ^ 
 
 THE HYMN 
 
 It was an old hymn, a thousand years old ; and 
 all the better for that. Everybody likes the old 
 hymns, such as "All hail the power of Jesus' 
 name," and "There is a Fountain filled with 
 blood," and "My faith looks up to thee," and 
 "O God, our help in ages past." What sa- 
 cred associations gather about them ! Who can 
 sing 
 
50 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 "The Lord's my Shepherd, I'll not want; 
 He makes me down to lie 
 In pastures green ; he leadeth me 
 The quiet waters by," 
 
 without a warm remembrance of the Covenanters 
 who sang those words while listening for the foot- 
 fall of bloody Claverhouse, in their Conventicles 
 among the hills. And here is another : 
 
 "O happy day, that fixed my choice 
 
 On thee, my Saviour and my God I 
 Well may this glowing heart rejoice, 
 And tell its raptures all abroad." 
 
 That is the birth-song of many a soul. It car- 
 ries me back through the years to a frontier town 
 in the West, where, at "the mourners' bench" in 
 a Methodist Church, I knelt to seek the pardon 
 of my sins. Or take this hymn of heaven : 
 
 "There is a land of pure delight. 
 Where saints immortal reign. 
 In-fi-nite day excludes the night, 
 And pleasures banish pain." 
 
 It is always "in-fi-nite" for me, because my 
 mother pronounced it so. I hear her voice now, 
 in the chimney corner of the old home — a sweet, 
 quavering voice, full of the longing of a ripened 
 
AN EVENTFUL MEETING 51 
 
 saint for the Land o' the Leal. She has long 
 been there singing the praises of God. 
 
 Oh, there are many, many of the old hymns 
 that lift the soul to the very gates of glory. 
 What shall we say of Wesley's "Jesus, lover of 
 my soul," or Toplady's "Rock of Ages" ? Wes- 
 ley and Toplady were at odds in their theologies, 
 so that many a bitter word passed between them ; 
 but I imagine they had scarcely crossed the 
 threshold of the Great Temple before Wesley 
 suggested that it would be well to sing "Rock of 
 Ages, cleft for me," and Toplady called for 
 "Jesus, lover of my soul." For up yonder all 
 differences are forgotten and all voices blend in 
 the service of praise. 
 
 So, in this meeting of the primitive Church it 
 is said, "they lifted up their voice to God with 
 one accord." The words "with one accord" are 
 literally "hearts together." Yes, hearts to- 
 gether! And voices, too! That was singing 
 worth going to hear. There were women's voices 
 tremulous from the strain of long anxiety ; and 
 children's voices piping up to a Gloria which 
 their dear hearts could scarcely grasp as yet ; and 
 men's voices, some of them rough and hoarse 
 from the stem training of storms on Gennesaret ; 
 
52 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 but they all had a mind to sing that day; and 
 they sang as by a common inspiration and "with 
 one accord," How the people who were passing 
 by must have wondered when they heard it ! 
 
 I have said that the hymn on this occasion was 
 an old one. It was the second Psalm, written by 
 David a thousand years before ; but it was as 
 appropriate as if it had been prepared for that 
 very day. It was the Psalm in which the Lord 
 is represented as reading the Riot Act to those 
 who conspire against him. Here it is : 
 
 "Why do the nations rage 
 And the peoples meditate a vain thing? 
 The kings of the earth set themselves, 
 And the rulers take counsel together, 
 Against Jehovah and against his anointed, say- 
 ing' 
 'Let us break their bonds asunder. 
 And cast away their cords from us ! ' 
 He that sitteth in the heavens will laugh ! 
 The Lord will have them in derision. 
 Then will he speak unto them in his wrath 
 And vex them in his sore displeasure: 
 'Yet I have set my King 
 Upon my holy hill of Zion!' " 
 
 What strength and consolation there is in know- 
 ing that God is holding up the pillars of the 
 
AN EVENTFUL MEETING 53 
 
 world, and that he has not forgotten but cares 
 for all! "Come, Philip," said Luther to his 
 friend Melanchthon when the storms of the 
 Reformation were beating over-hard, "come, let 
 us sing, 'A mighty fortress is our God.' " No 
 organized movement against the propagation of 
 the gospel — and there are movements all the 
 while with the power of Kings and Councils and 
 Governments behind them — has ever been or ever 
 shall be successful; for God stands pledged to 
 the perpetuity of his Church. 
 
 Hammer away, ye rebel bands ; 
 
 Your hammers break; God's anvil stands!" 
 
 THE PRAYER 
 
 The prayer, which came next in order, was a 
 singular one in many ways. There was no re- 
 quest for exemption from persecution. These 
 petitioners seemed to forget themselves in a great 
 longing for the triumph of the Gospel and for 
 personal fidelity along the way. There were 
 three things which they desired above all, to wit : 
 Faith, Power, and Boldness. 
 
 They professed their Faith, with a touching 
 simplicity, in "thy holy Servant Jesus." Twice 
 
54 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 that expression is used ; as if they were standing 
 by the cross looking up into the face of the 
 Crucified, and thinking of the stupendous con- 
 trast between this apparent defeat and the recent 
 baring of his omnipotent arm. What were 
 "Herod and Pontius Pilate with the Gentiles 
 and the peoples of Israel," all put together, 
 against the power of the Son of God? They 
 were but doing "whatsoever God's hand and his 
 counsel foreordained to come to pass." The 
 Lord would have his way. 
 
 And then the prayer for Power, "while thou 
 stretchest forth thy hand to heal ; and that signs 
 and wonders may be done through the name of 
 thy holy Servant Jesus." They had a great 
 promise: "Ye shall receive power when the Holy 
 Spirit is come upon you." At Pentecost that 
 promise had been in part fulfilled ; so that in the 
 name of Jesus they had already been able to do 
 many wonderful works. God wanted them to 
 be strong. He wants us to be strong. He 
 means that his people shall do "signs and won- 
 ders. ' '' The power of converting souls by bring- 
 ing them to Christ — which is the greatest of signs 
 and wonders — is within the province of every 
 Christian. To that end the gift of power is 
 
AN EVENTFUL MEETING 55 
 
 vouchsafed to all who will receive it. The whole 
 world "groaneth and travaileth in pain together 
 until now, ' ' waiting for the revealing of the sons 
 of God. Oh, to be willing in the day of God's 
 power — to be willing to be as strong as God 
 wants us to be ; to be willing to receive of the in- 
 fluence of his Spirit as he would fain bestow it ! 
 
 And they prayed for boldness, too: "Grant 
 unto thy servants to speak thy word with all 
 boldness. ' ' What they wanted was to be proof 
 against all threatening, all fear of persecution, 
 all false considerations of prudence, all the ter- 
 rors of the pointed finger ; to be bold in courts, 
 in councils, at home, in the marketplace, every- 
 where ; to be bold with the courage of willing 
 hearts, of strong hands, of unlocked lips. 
 
 THE BENEDICTION 
 
 The service was closed with the benediction. 
 And God pronounced it. For "when they had 
 prayed, the place was shaken, and they were alK 
 filled with the Holy Spirit." A mighty bene- 
 diction that, and a glorious answer to their 
 prayer ! It was an afterglow of Pentecost. The 
 word "shaken" is the same used of a tempestuous 
 sea, when masts are broken and shrouds torn by 
 
56 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 the shrieking winds. The breath of the Spirit — 
 the wind that "bloweth where it listeth" — had 
 come upon them. The power they prayed for 
 was given before they expected it. God's grace 
 is ever better than our prayers. The souls of 
 the assembled company quivered under the heav- 
 enly gift. Their tongues were unloosed and, 
 fearless of a thousand dangers, they went forth 
 and "spake the word of God with boldness," 
 magnifying the name of Christ. 
 
 The meeting was over ; but its influence was 
 destined to abide. A few nights ago I stood on 
 a hilltop at Lake Mohonk and saw a great clus- 
 ter of lights shining in a distant ravine. It was 
 a town of workmen, engaged in building the 
 great reservoir which is to furnish the water sup- 
 ply of New York. So this meeting of the primi- 
 tive Church sends its luminous influence down the 
 ages. The people who went out of the open 
 court that day were the germ of that "Holy 
 * Catholic Church" which in millions of congrega- 
 tions all over the world worships the Holy Child 
 to-day. Its praise and prayer have never 
 changed ; and God is willing as ever to bestow 
 his benediction upon it. Wherefore let us lift 
 our voices for more faith, more power, more bold- 
 
AN EVENTFUL MEETING 57 
 
 ness, that we maybe worthy of our high privilege 
 and our grave responsibility. We are, as Chris- 
 tians, for the most part what we desire to be. 
 We can become what we are willing to be. God 
 will always make us what we specifically ask to 
 be. Therefore, in the name of God's holy Servant 
 Jesus, let us fall in with the irresistible march of 
 events, and with faith, power, and boldness quit 
 ourselves like men. 
 
AN IDEAL COMMUNITY 
 
 THE events of the wonderful day culminated 
 in an incident which was destined to have 
 far-reaching consequences. It is recorded that 
 "the multitude of them that believed were of one 
 heart and soul ; and not one of them said that 
 aught of the things which he possessed was his 
 own; but they had all things common." 
 
 We have here the keynote of Communism. 
 Alas, what strident discords have followed it! 
 what grotesque perversions of social order ! what 
 brawls and bickerings in the sacred name of 
 brotherhood ! what shouting of mobs and confu- 
 sion worse confounded ! Nevertheless, back of 
 this tortured proposition lies a splendid truth, if 
 we can only find it. 
 
 The usual definition of Communism is " a con- 
 dition in which there is no recognition of sepa- 
 rate rights to property." Socialism is applied 
 Communism : a system which has for its object 
 the reconstruction of society on the basis of an 
 58 
 
AN IDEAL COMMUNITY 59 
 
 obliteration of property rights. The underlying 
 principle is a general distribution of goods. 
 This is the prolific root of nearly all the social 
 heresies which have prevailed in recent times; 
 and their origin is traced, almost without excep- 
 tion, to this incident in the primitive church. 
 An examination will show, however, that they 
 have generally been as far removed from its spirit 
 as night from day. 
 
 A MUTUAL AFFAIR 
 
 The first point of divergence is observed in the 
 fact that this Christian community was distinct- 
 ively a mutual affair. There was nothing com- 
 pulsory about it. There was no confiscation of 
 goods, but a voluntary giving up. 
 
 In modern Communism there is a frank denial 
 of property rights. The best definition of a 
 Communist is that given by the "Corn-law 
 Rhymer' ' in these words : 
 
 "What is a Communist ? One who has yearnings 
 For equal division of unequal earnings ; 
 Idler or bungler, or both, he is willing 
 To fork out his penny and pocket your shil- 
 ling." 
 
 But that definition does not apply to these disci- 
 
60 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 pies. There was no confusion of the terms meum 
 and tuum. There was no attempt to subvert the 
 social order by enforcing the maxim, "What's 
 yours is mine and what's mine is my own," but 
 simply a cheerful surrender of the possessions of 
 each for the benefit of all. 
 
 As if to prevent any misunderstanding, at this 
 point, mention is made of two definite cases. 
 One is that of Barnabas, known as the ' ' Son of 
 Exhortation." He was a native of Cyprus, 
 proverbial for its wealth and luxury, and there- 
 fore probably a wealthy man. It is recorded of 
 him that he sold his land "and brought the 
 money and laid it at the apostles' feet" ; that is, 
 he placed his property at the disposal of the 
 Church, as a steward of God. 
 
 The other case is that of Ananias, who also 
 disposed of his property, but, privily withhold- 
 ing a portion, "brought a certain part and laid 
 it at the apostles' feet." He was reproved in 
 these words, ' ' How is it that thou hast conceived 
 this thing in thy heart? While thy property 
 remained, did it not remain thine own ? and after 
 it was sold, was it not in thy power ? Thou hast 
 not lied unto men, but unto God. ' ' Here is a 
 distinct recognition of the rights of property. 
 
AN IDEAL COMMUNITY 61 
 
 The fault of Ananias was not in withholding, 
 
 but in posing as a Communist while "lying unto 
 
 God." 
 
 A BENEVOLENT AFFAIR 
 
 The second point of departure is in the fact 
 that the Communism of the early Church was 
 purely benevolent, while secular Communism, in 
 its various forms and phases, is avowedly selfish. 
 
 The thought of the disciples was to relieve the 
 necessities of the poor ; not to pull down, but to 
 lift up. There was no clamoring for a share of 
 what belonged to others ; but every one was eager 
 to do what he could to help his fellow-men. 
 The root principle at the center of modern Com- 
 munism is the very opposite ; that is, to destroy 
 rather than to build up. In France the cry is, 
 ' ' Down with the old order of things ! " in Grer- 
 many, "Down with feudal rights!" in England, 
 "Down with the lords and nobility!" in Ire- 
 land, "Down with the landlords!" in Russia, 
 ' ' Down with government and order ! " in Amer- 
 ica, "Down with capital!" And the object 
 always is to give the man at the bottom a share 
 of the possessions of the man at the top. 
 
 Let us ask the "Captain of Industry" what he 
 has to say about it. 
 
62 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 "I stand for capital. I began as a poor man 
 and have worked my way up. I have made my 
 money honestly, and I mean to keep it. More 
 than that, I propose to invest it so as to amass 
 more, if possible. Who will challenge my right 
 thus far ? I intend, still further, to combine with 
 other capitalists for mutual help and protection 
 and increase of gain. In doing this I am well 
 within my rights. You say that this method 
 will force other smaller factors to the wall? 
 That is their lookout. I am doing nothing 
 wrong or irregular; but only insisting on my 
 own. ' ' 
 
 Let us ask the Union workman what he has to 
 say about it. 
 
 "I stand for labor. I have no money to 
 speak of, but I have bone and sinew. That is 
 my asset, and I propose to make the most of it. 
 I contend for the maximum of wage in return for 
 the minimum of toil. That is my right ; and 
 who will challenge it ? With this end in view I 
 join my fellow-workmen in the Union. Who 
 questions my right to do that ? You say it in- 
 volves 'the closed shop,' and deprives the non- 
 union workman of his job? Why not? That 
 is his lookout. Let him come into the Union. 
 
AN IDEAL COMMUNITY 63 
 
 We are contending for our rights, and we intend 
 to have them. I simply want my own." 
 
 Let us ask the man on the bench in Madison 
 Square what he has to say about it. 
 
 "I stand for neither capital nor labor. I am 
 neither a millionaire nor a workingman, but a 
 plain ' hobo. ' I have muscle, but I do not intend 
 to use it. Why not ? Because the world owes 
 me a living. You say I ought to be a producer 
 and add my contribution to the public weal? 
 Why so ? The trouble is that there is overproduc- 
 tion now. There is enough money lying around 
 loose to support me comfortably if I could only 
 get my share of it. I am a Communist. I 
 want what is coming to me. I insist on my own. " 
 
 So runs the world away. "My own!" "My 
 own!" That's it. Selfishness is rampant. Give 
 me my rights ! But the gospel speaks not of 
 rights but of privileges ; not of claiming but of 
 giving. It asks not, "What can I exact of 
 others?" but, "What can I contribute in the 
 Name for the benefit of those about me ? " 
 
 A RELIGIOUS AFFAIR 
 
 The third point of departure marking the dif- 
 ference between secular Communism and that of 
 
64 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 the early Church is in the fact that the latter was 
 distinctly a religious movement. God was back 
 of it and the mind of Christ was in it. The 
 motto of the disciples was "To do good and to 
 communicate forget not. ' ' Their two command- 
 ments were, "Thou shalt love the Lord thy 
 God," and "Thou shalt love thy neighbor as 
 thyself." 
 
 The best illustration of secular Communism is 
 the French Revolution. It began with a formal 
 enactment of the Corps Legislatif in these terms, 
 ' ' There is no God. ' ' The red-capped mob caught 
 up the cry and passed it along the streets, 
 "There is no God!" That night The Terror 
 began ; and the streets of Paris ran with blood. 
 The best men of the nation were led to the guil- 
 lotine. The test of loyalty to the New Order 
 was the drinking of a cup filled with the blood of 
 the aristocracy. The homes of the wealthy were 
 looted and a practical demonstration was afforded 
 of the results of a general distribution of prop- 
 erty. The sanctions of government were de- 
 stroyed ; law and order were overturned ; the 
 foundations of the great deep were broken up. 
 
 We find another illustration of the same sort 
 in the "New Harmony," established by Robert 
 
AN IDEAL COMMUNITY 65 
 
 Owen about a hundred years ago. Owen him- 
 self was an open and avowed infidel. The basis 
 of his Community was announced in these words : 
 "The trinity of evils is religion, marriage, and 
 property." The result was a very Bedlam of 
 vicious confusion which was presently scattered 
 to the winds. There have been numberless ex- 
 periments of like character, and always with the 
 same outcome. The reformation of society can 
 never be effected by irreligion. The world may 
 be lifted, as Archimedes said ; but not unless you 
 can find a fulcrum for your lever : and there can 
 be no fulcrum which does not rest on faith in 
 God. 
 
 The disciples in framing this original Com- 
 munity were moved by their conviction that God 
 is owner of all. As to their possessions, whether 
 much or little, they were only held in trust until 
 called for. 
 
 The teaching of Christ on this matter is clear. 
 In the Parable of the Talents he represents him- 
 self as "a man going into another country, who 
 called his own servants and delivered unto them 
 his goods." In the Parable of the Pounds he 
 "gave them ten pounds, and said unto them, 
 Trade ye herewith till I come. ' ' And sooner or 
 
66 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 later "the Lord of those servants cometh and 
 maketh a reckoning with them." Meanwhile 
 the Christian, as a steward, holds everything on 
 call. The moment his Lord requires his own the 
 surrender must be made. A tithe? No, ten 
 tithes if called for ! The Lord owns all. The 
 penny is his ; the million is his ; the servant is 
 simply a trustee for him. 
 
 No Christian, therefore, can speak of "his 
 own." This was the fault of the rich man 
 whose ground brought forth plentifully ; so that 
 he said, "What shall I do? I will pull down 
 my barns and build greater ; and there will I be- 
 stow all my grain and my goods. And I will 
 say to my soul. Soul, thou hast much goods laid 
 up for many years ; take thine ease ; eat, drink, 
 be merry. But God said unto him, Thou foolish 
 one, this night is thy soul required of thee ; and 
 the things which thou hast prepared, whose shall 
 they be ? " The man spoke of " my grain, " " my 
 barns," and "my goods," forgetting the prior 
 and absolute claim of God. It is to be feared 
 that many are accustomed to reason in the same 
 way. 
 
 But these early Christians so far realized the 
 Lord's proprietary right in all their possessions 
 
AN IDEAL COMMUNITY 67 
 
 that, when he wanted them, they were instantly 
 and unreservedly ready to restore all. "They 
 brought the prices of the things that were sold 
 and laid them at the apostles' feet." This was 
 in pursuance of their Master's word, "Wherefore 
 gavest thou not my money into the bank, and I 
 at my coming should have required it with in- 
 terest ?" The Church is the Lord's ' ' Exchange, ' ' 
 through which he would utilize the wealth which 
 he has committed to his servants to be held for 
 the propagation of the gospel and the bringing 
 of the world to God. The time will come when 
 all God's talents will thus be placed at his com- 
 mand : and then his messengers will run to and 
 fro, the welkin will ring with the song of salva- 
 tion, and the earth will be full of the glory of 
 the Lord as the waters cover the sea. 
 
 A PROPHETIC AFFAIR 
 
 The fourth point of departure is in the fact 
 that this primitive Community was not a mere 
 experiment, but a forecast of conditions which 
 are to prevail in the last days. Plato's "Ideal 
 Republic" was a castle in the air. More's 
 "Utopia" was a golden dream. Owen's "New 
 Harmony" was a nightmare. There have been 
 
68 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 hundreds of like experiments, all ending in the 
 same way. 
 
 The Community established in the early Church 
 was not a temporary venture into cloudland ; nor 
 was it a premature endeavor to precipitate the 
 Golden Age ; nor was it an experiment ending in 
 failure. It was a foregleam of the Millennium, 
 like a sun-spot on the mountains, painted by the 
 light shining through a rift of overhanging 
 clouds, as a forecast of the splendor of a cloudless 
 day. It was the setting in motion of great prin- 
 ciples which, murmuring still like a subterranean 
 river, are destined to reappear and assert them- 
 selves in the ultimate Commonwealth of God. 
 
 It is obvious that the present order is not 
 right. Things are out of joint. God never 
 meant that different classes of people should be 
 forever clutching at each other's throats in this 
 world of ours. In the Millennium it will not be 
 so. The Millennium will be heaven on earth. 
 In heaven there can be no such conditions as 
 prevail among us. It goes without saying that 
 there no classes are at odds. Dives does not sit 
 at the marriage supper, clothed in purple and 
 fine linen and faring sumptuously, while Lazarus 
 lies at the threshold waiting for the crumbs that 
 
AN IDEAL COMMUNITY 69 
 
 fall from the table. To say that there is finally 
 to be a heaven on earth is to affirm that present 
 conditions must be changed. 
 
 "For a' that an' a' that, 
 
 It's comin' yet for a' that, 
 That man to man, the world o'er. 
 Shall brithers be for a' that!" 
 
 Two things are needed, however, before the 
 great light can break upon us. First the Church 
 must regain its lost mission. It must realize the 
 purpose of its life. The Church is not a social 
 organization, not an Ethical Society, not even an 
 organized body of seekers after truth. Nor is it 
 a great company of people engaged in prayer and 
 psalm-singing or in seeking their own salvation 
 and sanctification. It is a Guild of consecrated 
 workmen whose sole business is to reorganize the 
 social order by the personal betterment of souls 
 in bringing them to Christ and so restoring the 
 world to Grod. 
 
 The other prerequisite is that Christians shall 
 individually regain their lost commission. The 
 business of a Christian is not to save his own 
 soul, or to build up character for himself, how- 
 ever important these may be. It is to follow 
 
70 AT THE GATE BEAUTIFUL 
 
 Christ in the giving up of everything for the bet- 
 terment of men. The mind that was in Christ 
 Jesus must be in those who profess to follow 
 him. He emptied himself of his glory that he 
 might be servant of all. He had nothing which 
 he called his own. That Christ is in the world 
 to-day, the living Christ, the great leveler, not 
 leveling down but leveling up. "He came not 
 to be ministered unto but to minister, and to give 
 his life a ransom for many." The man who 
 bears the name of Christ must follow him. 
 
 To speak of "giving a tithe," in this connec- 
 tion, is only another way of holding to the nine 
 tithes as our own. All that we have is his. 
 Give, therefore ; give thy penny or thy million, 
 as the case may be ; give time, talents, physical 
 and mental strength ; give all ! The man who 
 has caught the spirit of Christ holds nothing as 
 his own, but everything in trust until the moment 
 when his Lord wants it. All his getting is sub- 
 ordinate to the high privilege of giving. All 
 his rights are subservient to the Golden Rule. 
 This is "the great renunciation." This is the 
 mind which was in Christ Jesus. 
 
 When we have reached the point where we 
 gladly conceive that nothing is ours, we shall 
 
AN IDEAL COMMUNITY 71 
 
 find full recompense in the saying that is written, 
 "All things are yours; the world, life, death, 
 things present, things to come, all are yours; 
 and ye are Christ's and Christ is God's." 
 

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