Life and Labors of Elder John Kline, the Martyr Missionary Part 51

SAt.u.r.dAY, June 8. Dine at Philip Baker's on way to Pendleton County.

Stay all night at George Cowger's on the South Fork. Delightful weather.

SUNDAY, June 9. Go to Brother Hughey Ratchford's on the Henkel mountain to see his sister Hannah, who is very sick of typhoid fever.

Give medicine, and leave some for her and for Hughey's wife who is also sick. Come back to John Fulk's on the Shenandoah mountain where I stay all night.

MONDAY, June 10. Call at David Hoover's, Michael Wine's, Widow Turner's, and home.

THURSDAY, June 13. Meeting for fasting and prayer at our meetinghouse.

Matthew 5 is read. Fasting has been observed from remote antiquity, in times of sorrow and mourning from afflictions and national distress.

We have no direct command in the New Testament to fast, but we believe if it is done in the spirit of deep humility before G.o.d, with confessions of sin and heartfelt desire to draw nearer to him in our walk and conversation, our fasting to-day will not be a meaningless service in his sight. Paul was "in fastings oft." These he observed to keep under his body, lest after having preached to others he himself should be a castaway. In regard to fasting in my own case, I can say that it strengthens my heart, and nerves my spirit to resist temptation. My love and faith and virtue are confirmed. Let us fast, not in appearance only, but in heart.

SUNDAY, June 16. Meeting at our meetinghouse. I baptize John Walker, Jane and Frances Sherkey, John Grimm's wife, and Mrs. Clemm.

TUESDAY, June 18. John Wine, Jacob Spitzer, and Christian Wine obtain license from our County Court to perform marriage ceremonies.

TUESDAY, June 25. Stop at Philip Ritchey's; dine at John Fulk's; preach at Bethel church, in Pendleton County, and stay all night at Peter Warnstaff's.

WEDNESDAY, June 26. Dine at Joel Siple's; go to Lough's church, but find no congregation; come to Martain Wise's (John Bond's) and find a gathering of people for night meeting. Speak from Second Corinthians 5. Stay all night at Martain Wise's.

THURSDAY, June 27. Meeting at Isaac Judy's; speak from Rev. 3:20.

"Behold, I stand at the door and knock." Stay at Judy's all night. But little else than war seems to be talked about or thought about. It seems to be everywhere much the same. The Lord looks compa.s.sionately upon his people. He knows we are but dust. "As a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him."

FRIDAY, June 28. Preach at Philip Kesner's; funeral for Michael Ratchford's child. Stay all night at John Judy's.

SAt.u.r.dAY, June 29. Meeting at Jacob Collor's. Subject, John 1:11.

Night meeting at Zion on the South Fork. Stay all night at Silas Henkel's on top of the mountain.

SUNDAY, June 30. Stop at Hughey Ratchford's to see Sister Hannah and Hughey's wife. They are both mending towards convalescence. From there I go to William Davis's in Sweedlin Valley; find a gathering, and speak from Matthew 5, first thirteen verses. Dine at Jesse Mitch.e.l.l's, and in evening preach the funeral of Sister Elizabeth Freed, whom I had baptized just four weeks before. Subject, 1 Peter 1:24, 25.

MONDAY, July 1. Dine at Philip Ritchey's; then home.

THURSDAY, July 4. This evening, about seven o'clock, a wonderful appearance was witnessed in the sky. A succession of meteoric b.a.l.l.s of fire flew through the air, apparently from west to east; attended by reports in rapid succession very much resembling those of heavy pieces of artillery and quite as loud. Some think this may be a providential mockery of the pageantry and pride displayed on each succeeding anniversary of this day over our national greatness which has now, for a time at least, departed.

SUNDAY, July 14. Meeting at our meetinghouse. I baptize John Driver and wife, Catharine Myers, Christian Zimmers and wife, Brady Ann Parker, Mrs. Fahrney, Ruthy Light, Bettie Miller, Susie Kline, Saloma Smith, Martha Jane and Sarah Catharine Swartz, and Martha McMullen.

SUNDAY, July 21. A very singular panic struck our part of the Valley this afternoon. A report of negroes breaking out and committing fearful outrages flew as on the wings of the wind. Women were frightened and men dismayed. It was, however, soon discovered to be false.

SUNDAY, October 20. Diphtheria is raging. In the past three weeks I have preached four funeral discourses for children between two and four years of age. But parents have better promises for the children that are taken than for those that are left.

SAt.u.r.dAY, November 9. Brother John Wine and I go to the South Fork.

Preach funeral for William Ratcliff's child. Age, two years, four months and thirteen days. Stay all night at Christian Dasher's.

SUNDAY, November 10. Meeting at Jesse Mitch.e.l.l's. Brother John Wine speaks on Jude, third verse. We stay all night at Samuel Trumbo's.

THURSDAY, November 21. Attend the burial of old Mother Wine, the mother of Christian, John, Michael, Samuel and George--four preachers, and one, Michael, deacon. Her age was seventy-one years, eight months and sixteen days. A woman of great usefulness in her community as a help in sickness, she will long be remembered. My subject for discourse was Rev. 14:12, 13.

SUNDAY, November 24. Attend the burial of Hannah Zimmers, wife of Christian Zimmers. Funeral services at Pine Grove meetinghouse. Her age was about fifty-seven years. TEXT.--"For here have we no continuing city, but we seek one to come." Heb. 13:14.

It is a blessed a.s.surance which the Divine Word gives the afflicted and dying children of G.o.d, that they have "a city which hath foundations; whose builder and maker is G.o.d." From the fact that the city has foundations we are clearly authorized to infer that it rests upon the immutable love, wisdom and power of G.o.d. It is not the baseless fabric of a dream. There is reality about it. Imagination did not construct it, for its builder and maker is G.o.d. This city is the New Jerusalem, so beautifully described in the last part of the book of Revelation. The foundations of the WALL of the city are there described. There are twelve foundations, each of stone, and some of them more precious than diamonds. The city itself is built of gold, and its streets are paved with the same. I often rejoice in the hope set before us; but not the foundationless hope of good from this world. Slaughter and blood are the order of the day here now. We have at no time much to hope for from this world, but there is nothing to hope for now. We should rather rejoice than be grieved over the departure of G.o.d's children. They are safe. Beyond the reach of suffering, temptation and sin, they are safe in the city of G.o.d, where no sickness, nor sorrow, nor pain, nor death can ever reach them more.

SUNDAY, December 8. Meeting at Turner's schoolhouse, in the Gap.

Catharine Fulk, daughter of Philip Ritchey, is baptized by me. Dine at the widow Peggy Turner's, and stay all night at David Hoover's.

FRIDAY, December 13. Council meeting at our meetinghouse. Brother Michael B.E. Kline is elected speaker, and Brother Noah Rhodes deacon.

FRIDAY, December 20. Write to John Hopkins, to John C. Woodson, and to Charles Lewis. I can but entreat these men to stand in defense of our Brethren, and try to devise some plan by which they can be exempted from the necessity of bearing arms. I feel sure that if we can be rightly understood as to our faith and life, there will be some way provided for their exemption. The Brotherhood is a unit, heart and hand against arms-bearing. These things I make known to these men; not, however, in any spirit of defiance, but in the spirit of meekness and obedience to what we in heart believe to be the will of the Lord.

Many have already expressed to me their determination to flee from their homes rather than disobey G.o.d.

SUNDAY, December 29. Meeting in our meetinghouse. The two ministering brethren, John Huffman and Nathan Spitler, both from Page County, are with us.

MONDAY, December 30. Write to General Jackson and to Charles Lewis.

TUESDAY, December 31. Traveled this year 3,930 miles. Preached thirty-eight funerals. Baptized about fifty converts.

WEDNESDAY, January 1, 1862. At this time medicines were scarce and physicians in the army. As a consequence of this the demands for Brother Kline's professional services as a physician were largely increased. The Diary for this year shows an almost incredible amount of labor performed by him in this line. He was called to go twenty miles to see patients on Lost River. He also treated patients in Pendleton and Shenandoah counties, and many in Brock's Gap and in his own and adjoining neighborhoods. He had no day of rest. In connection with all this labor and responsibility, the Brotherhood looked to him for counsel and comfort on every hand. At the same time he wrote many letters, not only to distant Brethren, but to men in civil and military place and power.

SAt.u.r.dAY, February 15. He wrote a letter to John Letcher, at the time Governor of Virginia; another to Secretary Benjamin, and one to Charles H. Lewis. His leading object in all his correspondence with these and other men in high civil and military positions was to acquaint and as far as possible familiarize the minds of these men with the true idea as to who the Brethren are, what they have ever been, and how they have come to regard arms-bearing as they do.

The correspondence we are now considering may be regarded by some as having been a small thing. Some may say: "It is a small thing to write a letter to the President of the United States, or to a member of his Cabinet, or to a member of Congress, or to the Governor of one's State." A small thing, no doubt; in itself quite as small as to write to any one else. It may be said that the greatness of all such correspondence depends upon the magnitude of the subject involved. Let us look at the subject involved here. We see some thousands of the most devoted Christian people the world has ever known standing in jeopardy; not one of all their number seems to know what to do. Their situation at this time reminds one of Israel camped on the mountain beside the valley of Elah, in hearing of the guttural defiance of the giant. At this critical hour, when something must be done, when some special but heretofore untried effort must be put forth to avert the impending destruction, a MAN of the Brethren, una.s.suming in all respects, about five feet seven inches in height, heavy-set, with a large but symmetrical face, hair down to the neck beautifully parted from the forehead across the middle of the head, voluntarily sets to work in secret through the mails to see what can be done. G.o.d only knows the full measure of Brother John Kline's service and influence in this way. It is a true saying that "to succeed is the best proof of success," and subsequent events show that Brother Kline fully realized this proof. As a humble observer of the movements of that day, and with a tolerably clear recollection of them, the Editor can only express his belief that Brother Kline's correspondence, with his other influence, contributed largely toward the enactment of the Confederate provision by which all the members of regularly organized Christian denominations or churches which have from their earliest establishment uniformly taught and practiced as one tenet of their faith non-arms-bearing and nonresistant principles, shall be perpetually exempt from all military duty to the Confederate States of America, or to any state belonging thereto, upon the payment of five hundred dollars to the person duly appointed to receive the same, for every member so exempted, and otherwise subject to military duty under existing orders.

The above is not the "Law of Exemptions" in exact words, but it is that part of it which was made for the Brethren, in _exact sense_.

SAt.u.r.dAY, April 5. This forenoon I am about home. In the afternoon I am taken to Harrisonburg and put in the guard house. My place is in the large jury room of the court house, up stairs, with others who are captives with myself. Rain this evening.

SUNDAY, April 6. Rain and snow all last night, and continues on so all day. Have preaching in our captive hall. My subject is "Righteousness, Temperance, and a Judgment to Come." I aimed at comforting my brother captives and myself with the recollection that Paul was once a captive like ourselves, and that in this state of imprisonment he preached upon the text which I have selected for this day. I said:

Brethren, if any have cause to tremble, we have none. Those should tremble who seek to lay obstacles in the way of others who aim to do good and no evil. As a rule, prisoners are nervous and sometimes tremble when taken into court: but judges are proverbially calm and self-composed. Hence the old adage: "As sober as a judge." But this order is entirely reversed in the case of Paul before Felix. Here we see that Paul is calm, collected and self-possessed, and that Felix is first nervous, and soon trembles all over. In this trial it appears that the judge is convicted of guilt by the prisoner himself, and that the prisoner shows himself clear. But this is not the only case in which an innocent criminal has stood before a guilty judge. Felix had never heard such a sermon before. All that he had ever heard were most probably eulogistic in character, and spoken in praise of the Roman emperor and his subordinates. Felix was one of these, and it was natural for him to appropriate quite a large share of this praise to himself. But he did not find a eulogist in Paul. Panegyric had no place in Paul's earnest nature. Life and death, holiness and sin were subjects of moment too great and too real to be trifled with. If Paul would have stooped to flattery he might have quickly obtained his release, because Felix and those following him in office confessed they found no cause of death in his case. They kept him bound merely to please the flattering, deceitful Jews.

He reasoned of righteousness first. And this logic was all new to Felix, who had never thought of righteousness or justice as being the end and object of government. Herod was a pretty fair specimen of those Roman rulers or kings as they were sometimes called, and the unrighteous cause for which he had the head of John the Baptist cut off manifests the measure of his regard for justice. If history be correct, Felix was not much in advance of him in this respect. He was governor of Samaria at this time, and his headquarters and home were at Cesarea on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It was in this same city that Paul defended himself so heroically before Festus and Agrippa. Paul is silent as to the course of reasoning employed in bringing his threefold subject to bear with a weight upon the mind of Felix. We may reasonably conclude that his first point was the righteousness of civil government; contrasting the corrupt and perverted ideas of rulers as they then existed in their minds upon this feature, with what they ought rightfully to be. In this connection he did not fail to make occasional home thrusts similar to the one made by Nathan when he said to David: "Thou art the man."

It is a newly-discovered truth that the Bible reveals the only true basis of civil government. That basis, from its lowest bottom to its highest level, is love, or "good will toward men." Government founded upon any other basis is tyranny or despotism, the exact form being determined by the depth of bondage and slavery into which the governed are willing to be pressed down, and by the will of the rulers as to how low they are inclined to press them. The Const.i.tution of the Roman government contained no trace of love. It was all force. History abundantly shows this. Neither justice in the administration of its laws, nor temperance in the demands and exaction of tributes, nor a judgment to come when accounts would be settled, was once thought of.

Those in power knew nothing and thought nothing about any day of final retribution.

It is not very probable that Felix was made to tremble by anything Paul may have said concerning civil government. The mind of Felix was too firmly fixed in his own ideas of civil righteousness to be deeply moved or disturbed by anything a prisoner might say upon that point.

His execution of Roman law according to his views of righteousness in their administration was satisfactory to his sovereign at Rome; and to please him, and thereby secure perpetual tenure of office, was the height of his ambition. The cause of his trembling must then be found in another quarter, or the adversary may say that Felix, just at that time, happened to be taken with an ague chill, which Paul mistook for the nervous agitation which he supposed to have been induced by the power of his discourse.

Felix was a pagan. His religion, if he had any belief at all in the supernatural, was idolatry. Paul did not appeal to his affections, to his emotional nature, but to his rational part. He _reasoned_ upon his great subject. We may justly conclude that he proceeded in a way similar to that which he took in addressing the Athenians on Mars'

Hill. "The G.o.d whom ye ignorantly wors.h.i.+p, him declare I unto you."

And he set him forth in a rational light. He told them about G.o.d's righteousness. He told them that G.o.d had appointed a day in which he would judge the world in RIGHTEOUSNESS by that man whom he hath ordained, and of whom he hath given a.s.surance or proof unto all men in that he hath raised him from the dead. This man was Jesus Christ the Lord. Here, also, he spoke of a JUDGMENT to come. And it becomes a thing self-evident that a judgment to come is the main fact upon which all moral and religious truth depends for its power over the hearts and lives of men. Take away from man all fear of accountability in a future state, and his b.e.s.t.i.a.l appet.i.tes a.s.sert their sway. "Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die" gives loose rein to every pa.s.sion, and l.u.s.t holds high carnival.

For our instruction here, it may be well to speak upon the subject of _righteousness_. What is it? Righteousness is obedience to law. This is its most general meaning. This is its human sense. In its divine sense it is obedience to the laws of G.o.d. Wherein the laws of men depart from the laws of G.o.d obedience to their laws is disobedience to G.o.d's laws. Here arises a conflict in which each individual may decide for himself which he will do, the will of men or the will of G.o.d. The decision of the apostles was "to obey G.o.d rather than men." By this obedience they stood righteous in the eyes of G.o.d. To be sinners in the sight of men gave them no distress, so long as they felt sure of being righteous in the sight of G.o.d.

Jesus is called Christ the righteous. He is set forth in the Word as the only example of perfect righteousness the world has ever had, for "he did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth." He challenged the Jews with the question: "Which of you convinceth me of sin?" They could bring up no charge. Sin is the opposite of righteousness. It is sin, or the love of sin, which is impersonated by our Lord in Matt.

10:28 as a monster of awful power: "And be not afraid of them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in h.e.l.l." The version of the same matter as given by Luke is terribly sublime: "Fear him, which after he hath killed hath power to cast into h.e.l.l: yea, I say unto you, Fear him." Brethren and friends, this is the only power we have real cause to be afraid of, and this is the enemy of all righteousness. And this enemy is right in ourselves. We need not go far to find him. Paul calls him by way of eminence as well as age "the old man of sin," "the first Adam," "the outward man," because he loves what is outside of us, fleshly enjoyments. Sin, or the love of sin, is the power that destroys both soul and body in h.e.l.l. Righteousness is what saves; or, rather, righteousness in heart and life is salvation.

If we look to the Lord in faith and prayer, by which I mean, if we love his Word and believe it with our heart, so as to make it the law and guide of our life, at all times and in all ways, we are sure of salvation; for it is through righteousness, as well as through much tribulation, that the saints shall inherit the promises. In the Revelation we read of a great mult.i.tude which no man could number, as standing before the throne. What a high standing they have! But by way of preparation for that honor they washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. The robe of each was and is his wedding garment. The Lamb is the Lord's Word, and the blood of that Lamb is the spirit and life of that Holy Word infused into our souls and made effectual unto our salvation, by living a life of heartfelt obedience to his holy precepts.

MONDAY, April 7. Rain and snow with sleet come down all day. Room very damp and cold, with insufficient fire. Several brethren come to see me to-day.