As there was but one rock in the wilderness from which all the tribes of Israel were supplied with natural water, so to us, G.o.d"s spiritual Israel, there is but one Rock from which flows to us the water of life, and that Rock is Christ Jesus in his Word. On this Rock the church is founded, and I rejoice to know that the gates of h.e.l.l shall not prevail against it.
WEDNESDAY, October 22. Love feast to-day. Matthew 23 is read.
THURSDAY, October 23. Meeting. Matthew 13 is read. Brother Daniel Miller goes to the Greenland Gap. I stay all night at old Brother Arnold"s.
FRIDAY, October 24. I and Daniel Yount start for home. We dine at Sister High"s, and stay all night at Vanmeter"s.
SAt.u.r.dAY, October 25. Dine at Elijah Judy"s, and stay all night at Isaac Dasher"s on the South Fork, Hardy County.
SUNDAY, October 26. Meeting at Rorabaugh"s. John 10 is read. I baptized Lydia Shireman. Stay all night at Rorabaugh"s.
MONDAY, October 27. Preach funeral of Joseph Reel"s daughter. Age, seven years and nine months. Stay all night at James Fitzwater"s in the Gap.
TUESDAY, October 28. Reached home.
SAt.u.r.dAY, November 8. Brother Benjamin Moomaw and family, from Roanoke County, come to my house this evening.
SUNDAY, November 9. Brother George Kline"s little Daniel died to-night. I was with him when he died. Just three years and four days old. How deep the grief with which this kind family is stricken! On Tuesday, October 21, while I was in Hampshire County, Virginia, Anna, aged seven years, two months and nineteen days, was laid in the cold grave. On the thirty-first, only nine days later, little Mary pa.s.sed away, aged four years, seven months and eleven days. And now, only nine days later still, another, little Daniel, pa.s.ses away. All three bright, promising, happy children. We can only lift up our voices and weep. The only light that breaks in upon the darkness of this providence comes from heaven. There is light beyond the cloud that now hangs so darkly and heavily in the sky above our heads. G.o.d is our refuge. His promise is: "When thou pa.s.sest through the deep waters, I will be with thee." Thou wilt not leave nor forsake us now. The little lambs have been gathered into his arms. He took them into his arms and blessed them here; how much more can he bless them there, for "of such is the kingdom of heaven."
THURSDAY, November 27. Have night meeting in Winchester, Virginia, in the Methodist church. I speak from Luke 13. Subject: "The Strait Gate." Stay all night at Henry Krumm"s.
FRIDAY, November 28. Breakfast at Brother Fahnestock"s; dine at Brother Mummert"s, and have night meeting in the Quaker meetinghouse.
Speak on John 4:24. Text: "G.o.d is a Spirit; and they that worship him must worship in spirit and in truth." As the house in which we have met for worship this evening has been erected by the Friends, or Quakers, and called after their name, I feel that it will not be out of place for me to speak from a pa.s.sage of Scripture upon which they very much rely, as a strong support to their faith and ways of worship. I must, at the same time, confess that I love these people dearly, as far as my acquaintance with them goes. Their views and convictions in regard to simplicity in manners, and plainness in dress, and general nonconformity to the world; in regard to bearing arms, and using human laws in the adjustment of difficulties between brethren, are so very much like our own that I cannot avoid a strong attachment to them in my religious sympathies. And I would not desire to eradicate this sympathy from my heart if I could. These considerations, in connection with my early knowledge of them in Pennsylvania as being an honest and virtuous people, have always kept me in friendly love with the Quakers.
The language of my text is part of the instruction given by our Lord to the Samaritan woman at the well. She said to him: "Our fathers worshiped in this mountain; but ye [meaning the Jews] say that Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." She alluded to the temple, I suppose. But our Lord at one stroke levels every support on which these false conceptions of him rested in her mind, by a.s.suring her that G.o.d is a universal Spirit, and not confined to any one place; and that the worship which he delights in is not that of form and ceremony, but that of the heart, in the inner man, in spirit and in truth. The meaning of my text also lays the axe at the root of all hypocrisy and spurious professions of religion.
In addition to all this it sets up the only true sanctuary for his worship on earth, the sanctuary which is found in the heart of every sincere and obedient believer in him. Paul says to the Corinthian brethren: "Know ye not that ye are the sanctuary of G.o.d? If any man defile the sanctuary of G.o.d, him will G.o.d destroy; for the sanctuary of G.o.d is holy, which sanctuary ye are."
Every step the sinner takes in his return to G.o.d, and every step the Christian takes in his walk with G.o.d, must be in spirit and truth.
Repentance is heartfelt hatred of sin. Faith is a loving acceptance of Jesus as the Way, the Truth and the Life. For with the heart man believeth unto righteousness, and with the mouth confession is made unto salvation. This confession includes all the ordinances of G.o.d"s house, which is the church of the living G.o.d. How men can think, as many seem to think, that they can confess Christ in spirit and truth, and at the same time reject the chief means by which Christ intends this confession to be made public, I can not see. Baptism, or the immersion of the body in water by a proper administrator, in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost, is either laid aside entirely, or argued out of form, or very lightly regarded. The ordinance of feet-washing, the salutation of the kiss, and the Lord"s Supper are entirely cast away. In love I say all this, because I burn with desire to see the Truth accepted in the love of it and obeyed from the heart. When man does this, like little Samuel of old, he responds to the call of the Father who seeketh such to worship him.
WEDNESDAY, December 31. In the year that is just closing, I have traveled 3,578 miles. This I have done mostly on horseback. I have done what I could for G.o.d and humanity. I hope that when I come to die I may not have cause for deep regrets, or to mourn over a misspent life. I hope to lay my body down in peace, in the bright hope of a glorious waking up at the call of my Lord.
THURSDAY, January 8, 1846. Go to Christian Shoemaker"s in the Gap and perform the marriage ceremony of John C. Miller and Deborah Shoemaker.
Stay all night at Ely Spitzer"s.
THURSDAY, January 15. Write a letter to Henry Kurtz, and one to George Hoke.
TUESDAY, February 17. Make an amicable adjustment of complicated business matters between the widow Judith Detrick and Abraham Detrick.
It is pleasant to straighten between members of our body business matters which present a somewhat crooked and tangled appearance, when all the parties are willing to have things adjusted through the mediation of disinterested Brethren. How much better this than to go to law! The tendency of private adjustments by arbitration is to heal over breaches of friendship and love between members; but going to law before the world is almost sure to widen them. I am glad to be able to add, here, that I say this, not from any experience with law that I have ever had in my own case, or in that of any of the Brethren; but I speak it from what I have observed in others who have gone to law.
THURSDAY, February 26. Go to David Kline"s and perform the marriage ceremony of Abraham Neff and Elizabeth Kline.
TUESDAY, March 3. Perform the marriage ceremony of Josiah Sowder and Elizabeth Dove.
SAt.u.r.dAY, March 21. Abraham Knopp and I go to Lost River. Stay all night at Jacob Motz"s.
SUNDAY, March 22. Meeting at the Lost River meetinghouse. Luke 24 is read. Come to Abel Dove"s and perform two marriage ceremonies; one for Isaac Whetzel and Catharine Dove; the other for Michael Myers and Julia Ann Dove. Stay all night.
SUNDAY, April 5. Meeting at the Flat Rock. John 6 is read. Brethren sent out on the yearly visit. I and Jacob Wine go together. We stay all night at the widow Cherryholms"s in Brock"s Gap.
TUESDAY, April 7. We get through with the visit. The members generally expressed themselves as being in sympathy and full fellowship with the church. We hope they told the truth.
WEDNESDAY, April 8. Council meeting at the Flat Rock. Jacob Wine is elected speaker. He gives promise of becoming an able and active worker in the vineyard of the Lord.
FRIDAY, April 10. Council meeting in the Brush meetinghouse. Joseph Miller, son of Daniel Miller, is elected speaker. John Wine, son of Samuel Wine in the Brush, and John Miller, are elected to the deaconship.
SAt.u.r.dAY, April 11. Council meeting in the old Garber meetinghouse.
Solomon Garber is elected speaker. He likewise gives promise of becoming a very useful man in his calling. Surely the Lord has established a beautiful order in his house. "Whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound in heaven." When the church fairly chooses a brother to any office or service, to the ministry of the Word or to attend to the temporal duties connected with keeping the Lord"s house according to order, he need no longer question as to whether the Lord has called him or not. The Lord uses the church to show his will in these things. "Lo! I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." I was once very much impressed with the answer a beloved brother gave in the presence of some three or four others, just outside the meetinghouse, after an election had been held just about an hour before. The church had voted for two, only one of whom was needed. The vote had been so nearly a tie that the brother elected had a majority of but one. Some one asked: "Are we to infer from this that the Lord wanted both of these brethren elected?" The brother above referred to answered promptly, "No, he only wanted to show that both were fit for the place."
Michael Flory and Samuel Long are elected to the deaconship.
FRIDAY, April 17. Go on the visit in the Cove, in company of Jacob Mathias.
SAt.u.r.dAY, April 18. Finish the visit in time to have council meeting in the Lost River meetinghouse. In all my visiting this spring but very little complaint or dissatisfaction has been laid. Our council meetings, too, have been harmonious. The members generally show a heartfelt will to live in the church, to be built up in the church, and to help to build up the church so long as the church keeps house according to G.o.d"s order.
MONDAY, April 20. Get home in the night. Go right on to John Zigler"s.
Catharine is very sick. She dies at 4 o"clock in the morning.
WEDNESDAY, April 22. Catharine Zigler is buried to-day.
FRIDAY, April 24. Jacob Wine, Joseph Miller and I go to Forrer"s furnace in Page County, Virginia, and have night meeting. Jacob Wine speaks from John 1:29. He prefers the German language. He makes a right good stagger even in English for a beginner, but he will need much practice before he can use this language with much freedom. But it is not by the might nor the power of man that souls are saved, but by the might and power of the Lord working with man.
SAt.u.r.dAY, April 25. Dine at Isaac Spitler"s, and stay all night at John Huffman"s, both in Page County.
FRIDAY, May 8. Go to Brother John Harshbarger"s on my way to Albemarle.
SAt.u.r.dAY, May 9. He and I go to the Ferry on the Shenandoah river, but finding the river too high to ferry in a horse boat, we go around by the bridge, and get to Brother Coverston"s in the night.
SUNDAY, May 10. Meeting at Brother Coverston"s. Matthew 7 is read.
"The Strait Gate" is the subject.
MONDAY, May 11. Dine at John Conrad"s, and come across the mountains by a _desperate path_, home; thirty-eight miles. The path by which we came to-day is almost or quite as steep in places as stairsteps, and very rough from large stones in its bed, with others projecting into it on either side. Brother John was in front of me slowly leading his horse down one of the very steep places, when his saddlebags slid out of the saddle down over the horse"s neck and fell on his arm. He pleasantly looked back at me saying in a very cheerful way, "It looks as if my baggage wants to go ahead of the horse that carries it."
WEDNESDAY, May 13. Love feast at our meetinghouse. Five persons baptized. Brethren John Bowman, from Franklin County, and John Barnhardt are with us. They are this far on their way to the Annual Meeting.
FRIDAY, May 15. Start to Pennsylvania.
SAt.u.r.dAY, May 16. Through Winchester, Virginia; Opequon past fording, go round by the bridge, and stay all night at Smithfield.
SUNDAY, May 17. Through Charlestown, by Harper"s Ferry and Fredericktown, on to Daniel Bowers"s, where we stay all night.
MONDAY, May 18. Get to Uncle John Garber"s, where we stay all night.
TUESDAY, May 19. Spend day in visiting Henry Beecher"s, Widow Deahl"s, William Deahl"s, and get back to Uncle John Garber"s.
WEDNESDAY, May 20. Visit John Pfoutz"s, Jacob Saylor"s and Solomon Garber"s, where we stay all night.
THURSDAY, May 21. Get to Brother George Deardorf"s, where we stay all night.