Life and Labors of Elder John Kline, the Martyr Missionary Part 11

But I do not love to dwell upon these sad scenes, and will turn your attention at once to a birth that knows no death, to a flower that never fades, to a beauty that knows no decay. And can this be true?

Can it be that there is a deathless life, a fadeless flower, a shadowless beauty? It may be that some of you are skeptical about things like these. You may have the unbelief that held the heart of Aaron Burr's daughter against all comfort, when she saw her son die.

In her agony of despair she cried out: "Omnipotence itself can never restore to me what I have lost in my only boy."

Your faces may be turned the wrong way. You may be like Lot's wife, _looking back_. And one might just as well talk to a pillar of salt about the glory, and the beauty, and the bliss of the eternal state of the righteous after death, as to talk to men whose backs are heavenward and their faces earthward. You have no eyes in the back part of your heads. Your ears are set to hear what is said to your face, and to catch the sounds that meet you in front. You must turn yourselves round. And more than all this, you must open the eyes of your understandings that the light may s.h.i.+ne in, and take the wads of earthly wax out of your ears that you may hear the Savior's words of "_spirit_ and _life_," and loose the strings of your hearts that the _good_ and _truth_ of G.o.d's Word may enter. If you will do this I will show you wonderful things. I will show you a fountain from which, if you drink, you will never thirst again. Not like the fabled "Fountain of Youth," which many sought, but never found. The fountain I mean has been found by millions of the human race. It has quenched their thirst forever.

Do not, I beseech you, understand me to mean that _one_ drink of its water is sufficient to do this. No! no! But I do mean that after you have come to the spring and taken _one_ drink it is your privilege to stay by it forever: nay, more; the spring, like the Rock in the wilderness, will follow you wherever you go; and by and by a spring will be opened up in your own heart, flowing with the same sweet water of everlasting Life, and then you can sing:

"I heard the voice of Jesus say, Behold, I freely give The Living Water: thirsty one, Stoop down and drink, and live.

"I came to Jesus, and I drank Of that life-giving stream: My thirst was quenched; my soul revived: And now I live in Him."

But I will show you bread also. It is wonderful bread. The Israelites, many centuries ago, kept a representation of this bread upon the table connected with their altar of wors.h.i.+p; and they called it "s...o...b..ead,"

because it showed something to come. A kind of bread also fell upon the face of the ground all around them, when they were encamped in the wilderness; and they called it "MANNA." They gathered this in the morning, and the supply never failed. But it did not keep them from dying. They died all the same as if they had lived on wheat bread, as we do. It is of this that Jesus says: "Your fathers did eat of the manna in the wilderness, and they died." But our Lord, in speaking of the Bread of Life, which is none other than the great love of G.o.d in Christ Jesus, says: "This is the bread which cometh down out of heaven, that a man may eat thereof, and not die. I am the living bread which came down out of heaven: if any man eat of this bread he shall LIVE FOREVER."

_Live forever!_ Does not that sound pleasant in your ears? Does it not have the note of solid comfort? If you believe it, it does. It is on this account that our Lord says so much about FAITH. Faith makes a man thirsty for the water of eternal life, and faith makes a man hungry for the bread of eternal life. Millions in heaven to-day, each one out of his own heart, can sing:

"I heard the voice of Jesus say: I am the Bread of Life: Eat of this Bread, O hungry one, And have eternal life.

"I took the Bread he gave me then: My hungry soul it fed; For this, he said, I gave my life, And on the cross I bled."

When our Lord was on earth he spoke to the people and to his disciples mostly in parables. In fact we are told that "without a parable spake he not unto them." It is from this that so many similitudes, and metaphors, and figures of speech are found in the New Testament. Thus, _water_ and _wine_, in many places, mean divine truth; and _bread_ means divine love. And now I will venture to make a statement for the consideration of every thinking mind in this house--a statement which, if it be true, is of infinite and eternal importance--and it is this: _Love and truth support and keep life in man's spirit, just as bread and water support and keep life in man's body_.

Jesus said to the tempter: "Man does not live by bread alone." Do any of you suppose that Jesus meant to inform the devil that man needs other kinds of food in addition, such as meats, and fruits, and vegetables? He had no such thought. He did not mean to inform or instruct the devil by anything he said to him. But he did mean to teach his tried and tempted followers to the end of time that _love_ and _truth_ are the very life and support of man's spirit. "My words,"

says he, "are spirit, and they are life." Man may love, and ardently love, what is evil. But divine truth tells him what to love. Hence our Lord's answer is about equivalent to this: "Man does not live by bread [_love_] alone; but by [water also, which is the _truth_ of] every word which proceedeth out of the mouth of G.o.d."

And now, in conclusion, I will ask you, friends, do any of you desire everlasting life? If you do, I say unto you, Come to Jesus. Accept his love. He loved _you_ "_and gave himself for you_." Accept him by faith. He is the Bread of eternal Life. "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved." He invites you to come and take of the water of life freely. This water is none other than the _truth_ of his Word. Be filled with it. Be immersed in it. As a most impressive emblem of your willingness to be thus, submit to the ordinance of baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost.

By your immersion in the name of the Father you declare to the world, and say to the church that you believe that G.o.d the Father loves you, and wills your salvation; that you accept his love in faith, and prove your faith by this act. By your immersion in the name of the Son you profess your faith in the efficacy and sufficiency of what Jesus Christ did to save you, that he is the Word made flesh, and that men should honor him, even as they honor the Father. By your immersion in the name of the Holy Ghost you profess your faith in the power and everlasting presence of the Holy Spirit in your heart, to lead you into all truth, to make you more and more holy by means of this truth, until you are filled with it, thoroughly leavened with "the leaven of truth and sincerity." The Holy Spirit is called "The Spirit of Truth,"

and "if the truth make you free, ye shall be free indeed;" free from falsities in your faith. What benefit can there be in believing what is not true? Whoever yet found any substantial good in believing a delusion, a falsehood, an error? But we do read of some who "believe a lie that they may be d.a.m.ned." This sounds rough I know; but it is their own fault, because they _love_ a lie; and "whosoever loveth a lie" is excluded, shut out of the Holy City, because nothing but truth and love can enter there. I again call upon every one here present to believe on the Lord Jesus Christ, and, believing, he shall have life in his name.

AN ENCOURAGING THOUGHT.

The following encouraging thought comes into Brother Kline's mind in connection with a review of his work on Lost river. It is dated:

SUNDAY, February 18. One man may sometimes strike a hard stone a good many times without breaking it; when another may take the same hammer, strike it in a slightly different place, or in a different way, and it falls to pieces. It may be that the first man's strokes accomplished more than he knew of. The force of his blows may have diminished the solidity of the stone, and thus made it easier for the second man to break. If I cannot see much fruit of my labor here now, perhaps some, who will come after me, may.

THE COVE.

SUNDAY, April 22. Brother Kline and Daniel Miller had meeting in a place among the mountains in Hardy County, Virginia, called the Cove.

This consists of an area of country so nearly enclosed by mountains of a somewhat circular form that it has but one outlet both for its streams and its inhabitants. Viewed from the summit of some neighboring peak it has the appearance of a vast amphitheatre whose dome is the sky, whose floor is a variegation of corn and wheat fields interspersed with beautiful green meadows, and whose walls are the substantial mountain masonry of nature's own sublime art. Here these two beloved brethren broke the Bread of Life to a small gathering of people, mostly residents of the place we have described.

Acts 3 was read. After many instructive remarks by Brother Kline concerning the great Prophet spoken of in the latter part of the chapter, Brother Daniel Miller followed with a brief discourse, so clear, so pointed, so forcible, that I will give his remarks as nearly as I can in the order and manner in which he presented them.

He first endeavored to draw the attention of the unconverted part of the audience specifically to these words: "_Every soul, which will not hearken to that prophet, shall be utterly destroyed._" "I know of no expression in the Bible," said he, "more sharply pointed than this.

The word '_destroyed_,' as here used, does not mean blotted out of existence. But it does mean _cast out as evil_, unfit for the companions.h.i.+p of G.o.d's people in heaven. In much the same sense of the word it is said that intemperance _destroys_ men. It unfits them for the duties of life, and for the society of the pure and the good.

"A s.h.i.+p may be said to be destroyed even though its dismantled hulk still floats upon the sea, borne by the waves and driven by the winds.

A fruit tree is destroyed when a worm, secretly gnawing at its root, girdles it with a belt of deadness. It may still stand, but fruitless and lifeless. An eye is destroyed when it becomes so far injured by disease or accident as to be forever out of the reach of power to restore its sight.

"And is this the sense in which every soul will be destroyed who refuses to hear this Prophet? Most a.s.suredly it is. O, friends, how shall I tell you the difference between a soul saved and a soul destroyed? The one is forever happy, the other forever miserable. The one is an eye that sees and enjoys all the beauties of earth and sky, the other is an eye forever blind. The one is an ear that will forever hear the melodies of heaven, the other is an ear forever deaf to all but the wailings of h.e.l.l. The one is a s.h.i.+p completely rigged and fitted to bear herself n.o.bly and safely over the surging surface of a stormy sea, the other, a floating hulk; mastless, sailorless, only waiting to be cast upon some desert sh.o.r.e to rot.

"But no one can ever have a just excuse for being thus destroyed; for it is plain that whosoever hears this Prophet shall be saved. Jesus Christ is a wonderful Savior. 'He is able to save to the uttermost all who come unto G.o.d through him.' Will not you come? 'G.o.d so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth on him should not perish, but have eternal life. For G.o.d sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world.' The text does not say that G.o.d will destroy every soul that will not hearken to that Prophet. I do not believe that this is meant. Our Lord says in one place: 'Fear him, who, after he hath killed the body, is able to destroy both soul and body in h.e.l.l: yea, I say unto you, Fear him.'

Who is this that is thus to be feared? I tell you that it is SIN, impersonated in the devil. _Sin_, SIN is what is able to destroy both soul and body in h.e.l.l. Sin, disobedience to G.o.d, transgression of G.o.d's law, has placed the seal of _death_ upon every living human body in the world; and sin has stamped the _seal of death_ upon every unsaved soul in h.e.l.l.

"O friends, I am _afraid_ of sin. I am afraid to disobey my G.o.d and Savior. I am more afraid of sin than I would be of smallpox in an infected district. I am more afraid of sin than I would be of leprosy on the plains of Syria. That or this could only kill my body; but SIN is able to destroy both my soul and body in h.e.l.l.

"It is plain that to hear the voice of that Prophet, who is none other than our Lord Jesus Christ, to hear his voice with an ear to find out what he says and what he wants us to do, and then in love and faith to do it, is the only way any soul has by which to escape the threatened destruction. I wish that I could implant in the heart of every sinner here to-day such a fear of sin and its awful consequences as would lead him to flee for refuge, to lay hold of the hope set before us in the Gospel. Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ is this house of refuge.

Sinner, come to him. No, no! You need not do that, for he comes to you, and you only need rise up and open the door and let him in."

A SINGULAR PHENOMENON.

FRIDAY, June 1. This day, says the Diary, I witnessed a very wonderful appearance about the sun. About eleven o'clock I saw a bright circle around the sun like a rainbow, with the sun in the center. At the same time there was another circle somewhat larger than this, on the west side of the sun; and the east side of this ring rested upon the face of the sun. At the points where the rings crossed each other there was a peculiar brightness and blending of colors. The whole was a sublime and beautiful sight.

_Sermon by Benjamin Bowman._

_Preached in Brock's Gap, Virginia, June 17._

TEXT.--There remaineth, therefore, a rest to the people of G.o.d.--Heb. 4:9.

FROM NOTES IN THE DIARY.

We are informed by the Apostle of the Gentiles that the sojourn of the children of Israel in the wilderness and the subsequent dealings of Jehovah with them were examples to us who live under the gospel dispensation. These examples comprise two great facts:

I. Their obedience was always attended with blessings.

II. Their disobedience was always attended with sufferings.

These two great facts comprehend the _all_ of man's life and experience in both worlds, from the alpha to the omega. I am well aware that many in this a.s.sembly are not Bible readers. I will therefore give you a brief sketch of the children of Jacob or Israel as I find it in the books of Moses and the book of Joshua, which comprise the first six books of the Bible.

Jacob, who is also called Israel, was the grandson of Abraham. He had twelve sons, of whom Joseph was the next to the youngest. These twelve sons, with their descendants through all time, are called the children of Israel. Later on they are also called Jews. The Jews of the present day claim to be the descendants of these twelve sons of Jacob or Israel. Joseph's older brothers became envious of him and sold him to a company of merchants who carried him into Egypt. Here he was elevated by the Lord to a position of great power, to a place and power next to the king on his throne.

Soon after this a very grievous famine came upon the land of Canaan, the country in which Israel, with his other sons, still lived. They heard that there was plenty of food in Egypt, and so Jacob sent his sons there to buy grain for bread. When they arrived in Egypt, to their great surprise, they found their brother Joseph there, whom they had sold to the merchants for thirty pieces of silver. He received them kindly, supplied their immediate wants, and very soon made arrangements for them and their father Jacob to come down to Egypt and live with him. And Jacob went down into Egypt and lived with his son Joseph till he died.

These Israelites grew and multiplied in Egypt until they became a great people. But the time came when the Egyptians oppressed them, laying heavy burdens upon them; and treated them as slaves. At this time the Lord said to Moses: I have seen the affliction of my people in Egypt; and I now send thee thither to bring them out of that land, and into a land that I will tell thee of. Under the leaders.h.i.+p of Moses, the most interesting and instructive part of their history is found.

After a succession of miracles, wrought by Jehovah through Moses, Pharaoh, the king of Egypt, agreed to let them go. But they had to pa.s.s through a desert and uninhabited country, which lay between Egypt and the land of Canaan. Pharaoh knew this, and to get revenge for the way the Lord had compelled him to let them go he gathered a very large army and pursued after them. Just at the time Pharaoh thought he had them in his power, and when the whole camp of Israel trembled with fear of being suddenly destroyed by the hosts of the Egyptians, the Lord opened a pa.s.sage for the children of Israel through the

RED SEA.

The Red Sea, at this place, had a very smooth bottom of sand, as has been discovered since, although it is very deep, and perhaps twenty miles across. The water stood like a wall on both sides of this pa.s.sage. Some of you may think this could not be. I will here relate the substance of a conversation, which is said to have really taken place between the first English minister to Siam, and the king of that country. Siam is a very hot country in the south part of Asia. There is never any winter, or even cool weather, in that country. So the people there know nothing of ice, and even the king himself had never heard of any such thing. The English minister told him many things about England and other countries, and among other things referred to the effect of cold upon water, that it makes it hard.

"You do not say," said the king, "that water gets _hard_ in your country!" "Indeed I do," said the minister. "It sometimes gets so hard all over the surface of broad rivers and lakes that men, and even heavy beasts, may walk upon it with dry feet; and if your heavy elephants were there, even _they_ could walk upon the hard water too."