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 God 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 God. For 'baptism is the answer of a good
conscience toward God.' 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 God; 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 God. 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 God was his Father, making himself equal with God. 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 class 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 God 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 God to love and obey; no hell
to shun; no heaven to obtain. He does not love the people of God as
such. But, notwithstanding all this, he has a capacity, such as God
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 Judæa, and
all they of Jerusalem; and they were baptized of him in the river
Jordan, confessing their sins.--Mark 1:5.
Judging from the multitudes that went out to John's baptism, his
preaching must have created a lively sensation in Jerusalem and Judæa.
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 God which taketh away the sin of the world." The scribes
and Pharisees and lawyers, the chief men of Judæa 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 passed 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 pass 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."