"Remember now thy Creator in the days of thy youth." "Seek the Lord while he may be found; call ye upon him while he is near;" for, saith he, "they that seek me early shall find me."
"But you may desire to know how you are to seek the Lord, and where you are to look for him. I hope you are thinking of this now; so I will tell you. The only place where the Lord can be found is in his Holy Word. There you find him in the form of the man Christ Jesus. And whilst he is there set forth as the "man of sorrows and acquainted with grief," he is also set forth as the "true G.o.d and eternal life."
He there says: "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink."
"And he that drinketh of the water that I will give unto him shall never thirst." This water is the TRUTH of his Word. It so fills the soul with love and light and joy and peace, as to become a fountain of delight within us. Reading G.o.d"s Word in the right spirit is drinking of the Water of Life. When this truth finds a place in the memory through the love of it, the memory keeps our thoughts perpetually supplied with it, and thus it becomes, as our Lord says, "a fountain within us unto everlasting life.""
SAt.u.r.dAY, March 21, Brother Kline, in company with Brother Daniel Miller, went to Brock"s Gap, and spent the night at Brother Sunafrank"s.
BROCK"S GAP.
This is a small area of country in Rockingham County, Virginia, containing about one hundred and fifty square miles. It is the head basin of the north fork of the Shenandoah river. It is almost completely surrounded by high and rugged mountains; and where the river has broken a gap for its outlet the scenery is not surpa.s.sed by that of Harper"s Ferry.
A considerable number of people live in it, and there are some good farms and thrifty farmers. In Brother Kline"s day Brock"s Gap was only a mission field. At this time the German Baptist Brethren have two well-built and commodious houses of worship in it. At the time Brother Kline commenced preaching there they had no house of worship and the membership was very small. The membership at this time includes some from nearly all the leading families in the section. The Fulks, Fawleys, Richies, Hevners, Moyerses, Smiths, Doves, Lambs, Shoemakers, and many others are represented in the Brotherhood.
SUNDAY, March 21.--The two brethren crossed the Shenandoah mountain and arrived in
SWEEDLIN VALLEY.
This valley lies in Pendleton County, West Virginia. It extends northward along the west foot of the Shenandoah mountain for about eight miles, and is separated from the South Fork valley west of it by Sweedlin mountain. It is the habitation of a good many families, is exceedingly picturesque, and is in some respects beautiful.
The two brethren were called here to preach the funeral of old Brother Nazlerode. His father had been a Hessian, and served under British colors in the American Revolution. At the close of the war he, with many others, declined returning to his native home in Hesse-Darmstadt in Germany, and decided to stay in America. But this cla.s.s of citizens was not very welcome among the patriots of American liberty. They were looked upon with a degree of opprobrium; and hence they sought homes in the more remote and secluded valleys among the mountains. Brother Nazlerode had died some time before. The preaching was at the house where the old brother had lived.
_Sermon by Daniel Miller._
Brother Daniel Miller spoke first in the German language. He took for his subject 1 Pet. 1:24, 25. "For all flesh is as gra.s.s, and all the glory of man as the flower of gra.s.s: ... but the word of the Lord endureth forever."
He spoke very beautifully and impressively on the short-lived pleasures of earth. He said that the new birth and the new life, which lift man to G.o.d and fit him for heaven, are not begotten of the corruptible seed of man, but of G.o.d through the Word of his Truth, which liveth and abideth forever. He pointed them to Jesus as the "Lamb of G.o.d that taketh away the sin of the world." He then, in a very affectionate manner, exhorted all to accept the salvation offered and walk in the way that our Lord has made plain in his Word.
Brother Kline followed and said: "Brother Daniel and I both felt moved to pity when we considered the situation of these people. They have a poor chance to hear the Gospel, and but few of them can read the Bible. We closed the services suitably, and then went to friend Jacob Wansturf"s and spent the night."
MONDAY, April 13.--Brother Kline, in company with Brother Frederic Kline, went to Brock"s Gap on the yearly visit. He says: "We found some of the members in a very poor condition. One sister, in particular, moved my feelings deeply. Her husband is somewhat dissipated and does not provide for his family as he should. She is the mother of three small children; and, judging from their present appearance, they have undergone a good deal of suffering for want of food and clothing. None of them have any shoes; and the thin coverings they have on are so patched and darned that one can hardly tell the kind of goods they were originally made of.
"I inquired how they were off in the way of food. She replied that they had about a peck of corn meal in the house and several bushels of potatoes buried in the garden; and she reckoned they could do right well till she could get some more washing and other work to do. I gave that patient, uncomplaining sister three dollars out of my own pocket money. "It is more blessed to give than to receive." There is a day coming when we shall more fully realize this truth than now."
THE YEARLY VISIT CONTINUED.
TUESDAY, April 14.--"We have found a quiet and peaceable state of feeling in the Brotherhood generally. There is, however, among the younger members, too great a tendency to conform to the world in dress and conversation."
MEETING AT BENJAMIN BOWMAN"S.
FRIDAY, April 17.--"His son, Samuel Bowman, was baptized to-day, and the subject of discourse was the baptism of Jesus as recorded in Mark"s Gospel. John seems to have been a sort of open link by which the chain of prophecy in the Old Testament was united with the chain of its fulfillment in the New. As a prophet, he went forth in the spirit and power of Elijah. But Elijah of old uttered his prophecies surrounded by midnight darkness. John utters his in the light of the rising Sun of Righteousness; and they all point to the future glory of that Sun. The Sun rose publicly from the waters of Jordan in the person of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, when the Spirit of G.o.d in the form of a dove descended upon him, and a voice came out of heaven, "This is my beloved Son in whom I am well pleased."
"What a recognition! What a reception! And will not our heavenly Father meet every true-hearted believer in the same way, as he rises from the baptismal wave? Not visibly, to his natural eye; not audibly, to his natural ear; but by the Holy Spirit bearing witness with his spirit that he is a child of G.o.d. For "baptism is the answer of a good conscience toward G.o.d." This is its first blessed power."
_Sermon by Elder John Kline._
_A Funeral Sermon at Sunafrank"s in Brock"s Gap, Sunday, April 26._
TEXT.--Verily, verily, I say unto you, the hour cometh, and now is, when the dead shall hear the voice of the Son of G.o.d; and they that hear shall live.--John 5:25.
The Lord spoke these words to the Jews. They would not believe that he was the Son of G.o.d. They sought to kill him, not only because he had broken the Sabbath by healing a man on that day, but also because he said that G.o.d was his Father, making himself equal with G.o.d. In his reply to them he uttered some of the most wonderful truths the world has ever heard. He said: "THE DEAD SHALL HEAR."
In the ear of a Jew these words had an ominous ring. They could not gainsay them in a direct way, because the Lord had, that very day, and before their eyes, wrought a miracle which was almost equal to that of making a dead man hear. It appears strange to us that any cla.s.s of people could harbor feelings of enmity toward one so kind and good as Jesus was. But the Jews were a very proud people, and exceedingly _vain_ in their imaginations. And because the Lord would not flatter them, and give them credit for great knowledge and wisdom in divine things, they fell out with him and hated him.
Jesus does not say that _all the dead shall hear_. But he does mean that all shall have a chance and the power to hear if they will. But who are the DEAD of whom he speaks? They are all who are not spiritually alive; Jews and Gentiles. The Scriptures in many places speak of men as _dead_ who are bodily alive. They are dead in one way, and alive in another. I will explain this. In respect to faith in the Lord and love to him, the Jews were dead. There was no spiritual life in them.
Jewish worship was all an outward, external thing. But G.o.d regards a man"s spirit, his heart. "For they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth; for the Father seeketh such to worship him."
There stands a tree. It is just now in full bloom, and the sight is beautiful. A few months ago that tree was dead in one sense and alive in another. It was winter-dead. There were neither leaves, blossoms nor fruit upon it. Had it continued in that state, it would be cut down as a worthless thing. But it had a receptacle of life, and that life is in the sun which imparts heat and light to everything. The sun makes the earth warm; the watery vapors to ascend and form clouds which give rain; the sap to rise and form itself into leaves, blossoms and fruits. Every unconverted man and woman, just like that tree in winter, is dead as to all divine or heavenly life in the soul. Let us see: He is dead as to faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. He does not love him. He lives just as if there were no G.o.d to love and obey; no h.e.l.l to shun; no heaven to obtain. He does not love the people of G.o.d as such. But, notwithstanding all this, he has a capacity, such as G.o.d has given to every man, to be made alive in Christ Jesus. Christ is called the Sun of Righteousness. He is so called because he, like the sun in our sky, rises and shines upon the evil and the good; and whosoever opens his heart to the light of this Sun is filled with the light of _truth_ and _love_, and made alive to walk in the way of righteousness before him.
This light comes through his Word, the Gospel of our salvation, as it is proclaimed by his faithful ministers, and falls upon every sinner.
If the sinner will open his ears to the voice, and his eyes to the light, the promise in the text is that he "_shall live_." Jesus says: "I am the light of the world. He that followeth me shall have the light of LIFE. In him is light, and the light is the LIFE of men." But if the sinner, like the owl, closes his eyes to the light of truth, and his ears to the voice of the Lord, he will abide in death, and, like the owl, love darkness rather than light forever.
SUNDAY, July 19, Magdalena Wampler and John Miller"s wife baptized.
_Sermon by Elder Daniel Miller._
_In the German Language, at the Linville"s Creek Meetinghouse._
TEXT.--And there went out unto him all the country of Judaea, and all they of Jerusalem; and they were baptized of him in the river Jordan, confessing their sins.--Mark 1:5.
Judging from the mult.i.tudes that went out to John"s baptism, his preaching must have created a lively sensation in Jerusalem and Judaea.
All who went out were Jews. In justice to the text, we must notice the fact that the word ALL, as there used, applies only to the common people. These came to John confessing their sins. He pointed them to the "Lamb of G.o.d which taketh away the sin of the world." The scribes and Pharisees and lawyers, the chief men of Judaea and Jerusalem, went not out to be baptized of John. These had no sins to confess; no ignorance to deplore; no spiritual ailments or infirmities. "They that be whole have no need of the physician, but they that are sick."
It was with the common people that John succeeded in preparing the "way of the Lord." May we not also do the same? When we induce men to think upon the subject of religion, when we persuade them to repent and believe the Gospel, we too are preparing the way of the Lord. The Word of Truth does not have free course all over the world yet. Many amongst us oppose it. Millions far away are still in pagan darkness.
But every soul that truly believes in Jesus and is baptized has the promise of salvation; and every such soul is a fresh light in the world"s darkness. The more of such lights we can get to shine in the world the lighter will it grow, and the more and more will the way of the Lord be prepared.
In John"s day the people were not ashamed to come and be immersed in the Jordan. There does not seem to have been any doubt or uncertainty with them as to the mode or form of baptism. Every one went to the river Jordan. If a few drops of water, applied to some part of the body, had answered the end of baptism as well as the immersion of the whole body in water, I think most of them would have saved themselves this long journey. They would have called John to Jerusalem, to that wealthy and populous city. He could have just pa.s.sed through the streets with a pail or pitcher of water in his hand, and with little trouble could have applied a few drops to the head or face of each one that asked it.
For want of room, we now pa.s.s over all the entries in the Diary from July 19 to September 11. This time was actively taken up by our beloved brother in attending love feasts, council meetings and regular appointments. In body he was robust, vigorous and active: in spirit he had long reaches of faith and hope and love. This incited him to great activity; and I often heard him say: "An hour misspent or trifled away is just so much time given to Satan."
JOURNEY TO OHIO AND RETURN THROUGH KENTUCKY AND TENNESSEE.
This journey occupied _two months_ to the day. Friday, September 11, he pa.s.sed up through Brock"s Gap, and down the Lost River Valley.
LOST RIVER.
This is a small but very clear and beautiful stream in Hardy County, West Virginia. It flows through a rich and delightful valley between Church mountain on its eastern side next to Shenandoah County, Virginia, and the South Branch mountain on its western side. After a course of about twenty miles in a northeasterly direction it suddenly disappears at the base of a mountain extending like a huge dam across the valley. After a subterranean pa.s.sage of a few miles it reappears on the opposite side "clear as crystal." From this point to its mouth in the Potomac it bears the name of Ca-capon or Capon. Tradition says this is an Indian name, and means FOUND. This stream, from its head to its mouth, may aptly represent the life, death and resurrection of the Christian.
STATE OF THE COUNTRY.