Life and Labors of Elder John Kline, the Martyr Missionary Part 20

To collect money of John Garber, of Montgomery County, Ohio, for Solomon Garber, of Rockingham County, Virginia. I am to let John Garber have the note if he pays $150.00.

TUESDAY, September 17. Brother George R. Hedrick and I start from my home this morning, on horseback, for Ohio. We dine at William Fitzwater's, in Brock's Gap, and arrive in the evening at Isaac Dasher's on the South Fork, Hardy County, Virginia, where we stay over night.

WEDNESDAY, September 18. Come to Isaac Shobe's for breakfast, and on to Parks's for dinner. Meeting in the afternoon at Parks's. John 3 is read. On the way to-day Brother Hedrick and I talked over the interpretation we are to give the Lord's words in the thirteenth verse of the chapter read this afternoon. These are the words: "And no man hath ascended up to heaven." I asked Brother Hedrick if Elijah had not ascended to heaven? I quoted to him the very words recorded in the eleventh verse of the second chapter of Second Kings: "And Elijah went up by a whirlwind into heaven." Brother Hedrick confessed that a first thought on our Lord's words might lead the mind to conclude that there is a want of harmony between what he says to Nicodemus and what is plainly said of Elijah. But he removed the difficulty from my mind at once by explaining the Lord's words to mean that no one in his own strength or by virtue of his own power had ascended to heaven. "Elijah went up to heaven, it is true," said he, "but the horses of fire and the chariot of fire by which he went up, beautifully and impressively symbolize the Lord's hand by which he was taken up. And besides this, we read in 2 Kings 2:1, 'And it came to pa.s.s when the Lord would take up Elijah into heaven by a whirlwind, that Elijah went with Elisha from Gilgal.' Here it is plainly implied that the Lord took up Elijah into heaven. And this falls in as a part of the great lesson the Lord was seeking to impress upon the mind of Nicodemus, the great truth that the Lord alone has power to lift men, through the regeneration, up to heaven." Stay all night at Parks's.

THURSDAY, September 19. We go to Stingley's for breakfast; to Eliza Hays's for dinner (still in Hardy County, Virginia), and stay all night at Gilpin's. We are now within sixteen miles of the Maryland line.

FRIDAY, September 20. To-day we pa.s.sed through what is called the Glades and Wilderness, to the Briery mountain. A very lonely road; but the companions.h.i.+p of a man and a brother like George Hedrick makes solitude enjoyable. Only those who have experienced the agreeableness of a bright, serene, calm and contented mind and heart, such as I find in Brother Hedrick, can ever realize the pleasure of such company.

It does seem to me that we can almost adopt toward each other the beautiful sentiment of love which Ruth expressed for Naomi: "Whither thou goest I will go, and where thou lodgest I will lodge. Thy people shall be my people. Where thou diest I will die, and there will I be buried." We fed our horses and took breakfast at Smith's tavern, in Preston County, Virginia; took dinner at Bransonville, and find ourselves here at Brother Jacob Thomas's, where we are spending the night.

SAt.u.r.dAY, September 21. Meeting in the schoolhouse near Brother Thomas's. Deuteronomy, eighteenth chapter is read. I spoke on the latter portion of the chapter read, from the fifteenth verse to the end. I spoke particularly on the following words: "The Lord thy G.o.d will raise up unto thee a Prophet from the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me; unto him ye shall hearken." This was spoken to the children of Israel. What follows was spoken directly to Moses: "I will raise them up a Prophet from among their brethren, like unto thee; and I will put my words in his mouth, and he shall speak unto them all that I shall command him. And it shall come to pa.s.s, that whosoever will not hearken unto my words which he shall speak in my name, I will require it of him." I tried to show these people the great danger there is in a life of sin. The great Prophet spoken of and promised in the words of my text is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ. In the fullness of time he appeared. The prophecy just read was recorded by Moses very nearly fifteen hundred years before it was fulfilled by the appearing of our Savior. This single consideration may serve to remind us of the faithfulness of G.o.d in fulfilling his Word. And our blessed Lord while in the flesh more than once turned the eyes of his disciples to the prophecies that foretold his coming.

In one place he said to the people: "Think not that I am come to destroy the law or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfill." After his resurrection, on his way to Emmaus, in company with two of his sorrowing disciples who had not yet fully learned the truth of his having risen, he said in reference to his sufferings and death: "These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning me."

I am now prepared to tell you, and I trust you are prepared to hear some of the particulars in which Christ Jesus was like unto Moses. You know the text says: "A Prophet like unto me." This is the language of Moses. The Lord G.o.d had just before told him this. We will now turn to some of the points in the comparison of Moses with Christ. Moses told the people to believe what he told them and obey the commands he gave them. He taught them that if they would obey the commands and ordinances which G.o.d gave and established through him they would receive the favor of the Lord, and that as a reward for their obedience he would bless them exceedingly. But if they would turn away from him, he would turn away from them, and multiply their troubles greatly. Christ Jesus does the same. Just at the close of the most wonderful sermon the world has ever heard preached, a sermon in which all the moral and spiritual relations of men to each other and to G.o.d, together with the duties growing out of these relations, are set forth the Lord says: "Whosoever heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them, I will liken him unto a wise man, which built his house upon a rock: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell not: for it was founded upon a rock. And every one that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house; and it fell: and great was the fall of it."

Friends, let me say to you that each and every one of you is building a house for himself on one or the other of these foundations. Your life, your every-day life, from beginning to end, is the house you are building. If your life, from love to the Lord, is based upon the solid rock of his Revealed Truth, it will stand the temptations and trials symbolized by the floods and winds; but if not, it will never be able to stand, and great will be its fall. Some may think that because G.o.d is long-suffering, and does not punish sin in this world so manifestly as he sometimes did in former times, he is becoming more merciful and takes less account of sin than formerly. But this is a very great mistake. G.o.d has always been quite as merciful as he could be consistently with his justice and holiness; and the warning given in Hebrews 2:2 should be heeded. This is the warning: "If every transgression and disobedience" under Moses, "received a just recompense of reward, how shall we escape if we neglect so great salvation?" Notice this also from the same book: "He that despised Moses' law died without mercy under two or three witnesses: of how much sorer punishment, suppose ye, shall he be thought worthy, who hath trodden under foot the Son of G.o.d, and hath counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing, and hath done despite unto the Spirit of grace?"

Again: The children of Israel were baptized unto Moses, that is, into a visible covenant with him, in the cloud and in the Red Sea, as they pa.s.sed through. In this act of baptism, by which they declared their willingness to follow him as their leader, but the one action was required, and that action was their pa.s.sing between the walls of water on the right hand and on the left hand, with the cloud overhead completely shutting them in from the world. But the Christian, to be a true follower of the great Prophet of whom we are particularly speaking, is required to submit to a threefold baptism, which is an immersion of the body in water in the name of the Father who loved us and gave his Son; another immersion in the name of the Son who redeems and saves us; and lastly an immersion in the name of the Holy Ghost who convinces of sin, who comforts us, enlightens us as to our duties, sanctifies and makes us meet for heaven.

Again: Moses gave the people water from the Rock. Christ Jesus gives his people the water of life. He says: "If any man thirst, let him come unto me, and drink."

Again: Moses fed the people with manna, which they gathered every morning from the ground. Christ feeds his people with the heavenly manna, which I take to be the great and eternal love of the Father contained in the blessed words of truth which his Son has declared to the world.

In such and many other words did I speak unto these people, seeking to instruct them in the things of salvation, and induce some of them, at least, to turn to the Lord. After meeting we dined at Brother Thomas's, and started for George's Creek; crossed Laurel mountain to Hagtonsville, then to Brother Joseph Leatherman's, in Fayette County, Pennsylvania, where we stay all night.

SUNDAY, September 22. Go to George's Creek meetinghouse. We have forenoon and afternoon meeting. Second Corinthians 6 is read in the forenoon meeting. In the 3 o'clock meeting Luke 14 is read. I speak on the great supper, from the sixteenth to the twenty-fourth verse.

Whilst I am a stranger to most of you, I nevertheless feel a.s.sured by the signs I witness that I can confidingly and affectionately address some of you, and I trust a goodly number too, as beloved brethren and sisters. This is, so far, as it should be. But what would be the joy of my heart, and what would be the joy of heart with each one of you, could it be said that this entire congregation is of one mind and all speak the same thing! But the words of my text, harmonizing with the closing words of another parable, recorded by Matthew, which declare that "many are called, but few chosen," may continue to be true, for a long time yet to come. Whilst the advocates of election and predestination claim this as one of their proof texts, to my mind it proves the exact reverse. "Many are called." Here, if I mistake not, the German has it: "The many are called." I take this to mean that all are called. Now compare this with what is said here in my text: "Then the master of the house, being angry, said to his servant, Go out quickly into the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the servant said, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room.

And the Lord said unto the servant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled." This surely proves that all are called or invited to the great supper.

First, the Jews were invited. When Jesus sent forth the twelve he commanded them saying; "Go not into the way of the Gentiles, and into any city of the Samaritans enter ye not: but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel." Here it is plain that the Jews were the first to be invited. "But they all with one mind began to make excuse." Next then the poor of the city were invited. Still there was room. Next the off-casts and beggars were invited. These included the very lowest of the Gentile nations, and comprehend all that live, every creature.

Now I ask, in the name of all that is reasonable, can we, dare we, accuse the Lord of dealing deceitfully? Perish the thought forever.

No! He invites all because it is his blessed will to see all come and sit at his table spread with the great love feast which he has prepared for all who are willing and desire to come. This very thought is the joy of my heart and the boast of my tongue. And it is a joy which no man taketh from me, because it rests on the rock of Divine Truth. But a preparation is necessary. We can hardly separate the parable under consideration from the one recorded in Matthew twenty-second chapter. There we read of a wedding dinner made by a king, to celebrate the marriage of his son. And when the king came in he saw there a man who had not on a wedding garment. And the king said: "Friend, how camest thou in hither not having a wedding garment?

And he was speechless." And why was he speechless? If he would have had any reasonable excuse to offer for the unprepared appearance which he made, would he have been speechless? Reason says at once. He would have urged his inability to procure a suitable dress for the occasion, as the cause for his appearing in the way he did, if any such cause had existed. And the king knew this full well; otherwise he would not have required all to have on the wedding garment.

I now call your attention to the closing words of the parable: "I say unto you, That none of those men which were bidden shall taste of my supper." The reason for this is found in the fact that they would not come. They were the first to be invited. Had they come, they would have received the right hand of welcome. But notice the unreasonable excuses they made. One had bought a piece of ground, and he must go and see it, as if night were the time to look at land. Another must try the five yoke of oxen he had that day bought, as if night were the best time to do this. Another had married a wife and could not come, as if night were not a suitable time to enjoy a rich supper with his bride. We wonder at these vain and almost unnatural excuses; but do we find the excuses of men any more reasonable to-day? Men hazard their souls in a life of sin, not for want of invitations, entreaties and warnings from the Lord to come unto him, but because they will not.

The Lord pleads with men to-day, just as he pleaded with Israel centuries ago. Hear what he says to Israel by the mouth of the Prophet Ezekiel: "Repent, and turn yourselves from all your transgressions; so iniquity shall not be your ruin. Cast away from you all your transgressions, ... and make you a new heart and a new spirit: for why will ye die, O house of Israel? For I have no pleasure in the death of him that dieth, saith the Lord G.o.d: wherefore turn yourselves and live ye."

And now, Brethren and friends, to make a brief application of some of the great principles laid down, I will say that the Lord's Supper is the great love feast which he has prepared for you, for me, for all.

This great love feast, of which our own ordinance by his appointment, and bearing the same name, is a beautiful and fitting emblem, is neither more nor less than the bountiful provisions Christ has made for the salvation of all. These provisions are the great truths of his Word, filled with his love. The Lord Jesus says: "I am the bread of life." To the Jews he said: "Your fathers did eat the manna in the wilderness, and they died." "If any man eat of the bread which I shall give him, he shall live forever." When we are faithfully obeying the Lord from love in our hearts, we are eating this life-giving bread.

Every truth which the Lord has revealed, and by which the spiritual man is fed as to his soul, may be regarded as a component part of this great feast.

Jesus said to the tempter: "Man doth not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of G.o.d." The tempter here meant material bread for the body, and the Lord answered him according to that meaning. This is the kind of bread, material bread, with which the devil seeks to satisfy every demand of our being. It embraces everything the natural appet.i.te of man craves. The devil is ever seeking to lead men to feed on the husks which the swine do eat, and to be satisfied with that kind of food. But the blessed Lord Jesus resists the tempter, and continually seeks to lead men into a higher, n.o.bler and heavenly life. He says to every sinner: "Arise, and go to thy Father, and say unto him, Father, I have sinned before heaven, and in thy sight, and am no more worthy to be called thy son." This is repentance. This is the first move man makes in the way of approach to the feast the Lord has prepared. "Man liveth by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of G.o.d." This embraces all of Revealed Truth. Every law, every precept, every prophecy, every parable has some outflowing, healing virtue, some life-imparting power. We touch the hem of its garment when we read or hear in sincerity of heart. O sinner, come and partake of this feast, and thy soul shall live.

We stay all night with David Longenacre.

MONDAY, September 23. On towards Ohio. Dine and feed our horses at Brother David Wise's. This evening we are at Hays's tavern in Was.h.i.+ngton, Was.h.i.+ngton County, Pennsylvania, where we[1] stay all night.

TUESDAY, September 24. Go to Hickorytown where we feed our horses and get breakfast. Then on through Burgitsville and Florencetown to Frankford, in Beaver County, Pennsylvania, where we feed and dine at Duncan's tavern. Then on to Georgetown, where we cross the Ohio river in a horse-boat, and stay all night at Smith's tavern. A lonesome ride to-day, because we have seen no Brethren.

[1] Brother Kline in the Diary almost invariably puts it "_Stay all night_." I am not willing to depart from his usage in this.--ED.

WEDNESDAY, September 25. Breakfast and feed in Darlington at Dunlap's tavern. Then on to New Middletown to Daniel Summers's; and this evening reach Brother Henry Kurtz's in Columbiana County, where we stay all night.

THURSDAY, September 26. Meeting at Brother Haas's. Hebrews 8 is read.

Love feast this evening. Come back to Brother Kurtz's and stay all night. Paul has told us more than once of the joy he felt, and how his heart was refreshed on meeting dear brethren and sisters whom he had not seen for a time. In meeting the brethren and sisters here and elsewhere we experience much of the same feeling. They everywhere make us feel at home, and show us more love and give us more attention than we deserve. What a blessed thing it is to be filled with the love of Christ! This implants love in the heart for the Brethren. John says: "We know that we have pa.s.sed out of death into life, because we love the brethren." This is the first-fruits of the tree of life in our hearts.

FRIDAY, September 27. Go westward through Greene, Salem, Damascus, Westville, and on to Brother Joseph Bollinger's, where we stay all night.

SAt.u.r.dAY, September 28. Meeting. John 3 is read. Evening meeting at Brother Metse's, where we stay all night. Hebrews 12 is read. Begins to snow this evening, and continues all night.

SUNDAY, September 29. Meeting in the Franklin Lutheran church. Matthew 7 is read. After meeting we come to Brother David Sommers's. Evening meeting. John 10 is read. Stay all night with Brother Sommers. The weather has cleared up.

MONDAY, September 30. Visit Michael d.i.c.key who is very sick. We then attend a meeting at Eli d.i.c.key's, in Starke County. Galatians 3 is read. Stay all night with Brother d.i.c.key.

TUESDAY, October 1. On westward, through Canton, Ma.s.silon, Brooklin, Dover, Wayne County, to Brother Jacob Kurtz's, where we have night meeting. Matthew 9 is read. Fine weather.

WEDNESDAY, October 2. Pa.s.s through Jefferson, Pittsburg, and on to Brother Lucas's, where we have meeting. Second Corinthians 2 is read.

I spoke awhile on the last verse, particularly on these words: "Corrupting the word of G.o.d." In the margin the translation of this part of the verse is somewhat different, and, if I mistake not, is sustained by the German of Luther. It is this: "Making merchandise of the word of G.o.d." I regard this as the more literal of the two renderings. But they both mean very nearly the same, with this slight difference, that the one strikes more at the cause, while the other regards particularly the effect of "handling the word of G.o.d deceitfully." Men who make merchandise of the Word of G.o.d are exactly in line with the Pharisees as the Lord described them: "Verily, they have their reward." Jesus says: "Provide yourselves purses which wax not old; a treasure in the heavens which faileth not." But those who make merchandise of the Word of G.o.d provide purses for themselves, for this life, which do wax old; and they lay up their treasures here. Sad to say, such corrupt the Word by handling it deceitfully, that they may make the things of religion pleasing to the natural man, and thereby draw numbers to their side. But, brethren and sisters, I hardly need tell you that this world is no friend to grace--no friend to G.o.d--no friend to your souls. "Except a man deny himself, and take up his cross daily, he cannot be my disciple." How different these words of Jesus are from some remarks I heard one of those gospel merchants make from his stand not long since. I give them as nearly as I can. Said he: "Religion is natural to man. And that religion is the best which enables a man or a woman, in the easiest and most respectable way, to lead a good moral and civil life in this world.

Christ is your righteousness, and he gives you your necessary fitness for heaven without any effort on your part, any more than to just believe on him; so all you have to do is to sustain a respectable standing in the church, by attending to its ordinances, and you are and forever will be all right."

Now I would ask if such talk as this is not corrupting the Word? How any man, in the face of the sermon on the Mount, in which the deepest humility of heart--in the way of self-denial, forgiveness of enemies, love of the truth, obedience to every commandment, from supreme love to G.o.d--and the lowest self-abas.e.m.e.nt is laid down and set forth in the clearest light and plainest injunctions--how, I say, in the face of all this, can a man speak in this way? And more. Hear the awful, terrific denunciation at the close of this sermon: "He that heareth these sayings of mine, and doeth them not, shall be likened unto a foolish man, which built his house upon the sand: and the rain descended, and the floods came, and the winds blew, and beat upon that house, and it fell: and great was the fall of it." Ah! Brethren, something more than a desire to appear respectable in the eyes of the world, and hold an honorable place in the church, so called, is necessary to withstand the floods and storms of temptations that are sure to try us in this world. This is why so many make s.h.i.+pwreck. They do not count the cost; and this is why they desire to make peace, when they see and feel the army of twenty thousand temptations coming against them, and they have only ten thousand, very poorly equipped, to resist their attack.

The temptations to conform to the vain fas.h.i.+ons of the world, especially with the young, may be called legion. The temptations to commit adultery are a host. I speak plainly, Brethren, but I must not corrupt the Word. The temptation to acquire property from the avaricious love of wealth, more than we can use ourselves or handle to good ends, comes as the prince of darkness with clouds that shut out the light of heaven from our sight. Brethren and sisters, as I love you all dearly, let me say to you at the close of my remarks that the Lord says: "The scriptures cannot be broken." No man can intentionally break the Scriptures and be saved. We dare not corrupt the Word of G.o.d.

After meeting we go to Brother John Shoemaker's, where we have night meeting, and stay all night. Ephesians 6 is read.

THURSDAY, October 3. Take the Ashland road to Brother Joseph Rupp's, near Ashland, Ashland County, where we have meeting. Luke 14 is read.

Stay this afternoon and night with Brother Rupp.

FRIDAY, October 4. Go to Brother Jacob Whisler's, six miles north of Mansfield. Meeting at 3 o'clock. John 14 is read. To-day we crossed the Black Fork of the Mohican. Stay all night with Brother Whisler.

SAt.u.r.dAY, October 5. On westward through Shelby, to Brother Samuel Cover's in Crawford County, where we have night meeting. Last part of Acts 3 is read. Stay all night with Brother Cover.

SUNDAY, October 6. Meeting. Matthew 7 is read. Stay all night with Brother Martain Hestand.

MONDAY, October 7. Visit William Lupton, but not finding him at home, make settlement with his son of business connected with Hoover's estate. Look over Hoover's land, and stay all night at Bender's. Fine day.

TUESDAY, October 9. Meeting at Brother Hestand's in afternoon. Matthew 10 is read. Night meeting at Brother Clark's. Part of John 3 is read.

Stay all night at Brother Clark's. Fine day.

WEDNESDAY, October 9. Start for Allen County. Dine and feed at Upper Sandusky; then on to Huston's, in Hardin County. Bad road from the Bellefontaine road for twelve miles. Stay all night at Huston's.

THURSDAY, October 10. By Williamsburg, breakfast and feed at Michael Baserman's, and on to Abraham Miller's in Allen County, where we stay all night. Brother Hedrick and I have slept together in the same bed every night since we left home.

FRIDAY, October 11. Stay at Brother Miller's till after dinner, then go to Brother Samuel Miller's, where we stay all night.

SAt.u.r.dAY, October 12. Pa.s.s through Lima, dine and feed in Wapokaneta, and stay all night at Shannon's tavern.