These promises are all so full of love and truth that a long and
instructive discourse might be based upon each one separately, and
then much of their subject matter remain untouched. We are told how we
may be true disciples of the Lord. A disciple is a learner, one who is
receiving instruction because of a sincere desire in him to know the
truth. We are truly his disciples when we abide in his Word. What is
the meaning of the clause, "If ye abide in my word"? Let James, the
apostle of charity, answer: "If a man be not a forgetful hearer of the
word, but a doer that worketh, this man shall be blessed in his
doing." For myself, I must say that learning the lessons of Christ is
very much like learning the lessons given in almost any other branch
of knowledge. We send our children to school. Some take delight in
their books, and make satisfactory progress. Others, that have the
same opportunities to learn, seem to take very little interest in
their lessons or in the instructions of their teachers, and move on
very slowly. Why is this? It is mainly a lack of love for study. One
hungers and thirsts for knowledge, another does not. But the one that
loves to acquire knowledge is the one that abides in the instructions
of his teacher and his books, and he is a true disciple or learner. It
is very much the same way in the school of Christ. Some hear, obey and
profit greatly by what they hear. Such abide in his words. Such are
his true disciples.
Some one may ask: "What are his words in which man must abide?" I
answer, They are all the words he has spoken. "Man liveth by every
Word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." Jesus never uttered an
idle or unnecessary word. All "his words are spirit and they are
life." In his last great prayer our Lord lifted up his eyes and said:
"Father, sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth."
Remember, too, that the Son spake none but the Father's words; for he
said to those very wicked Jews who sought his life: "The things which
I heard from the Father, these speak I unto the world." Moses, the
prophets, and the Psalms of the Old Testament; and the writings of the
New Testament comprise the entire Word of God. It was of the
life-giving power of this Word, Old and New, that the angel said to
John on the isle of Patmos: "The testimony of Jesus is the spirit of
prophecy." All teaching is prophecy; and all teachers of Divine Truth
are prophets. And as the spirit and meaning of all the words God has
ever declared to man in their most exalted sense bear witness of Jesus
and set him forth as the very life and truth and way, this, therefore,
is what is meant in what the angel said to John. "And the Word became
flesh and dwelt among us, full of grace and truth." This Word made
flesh was none other than our Lord Jesus Christ. To abide in his Word
is to live in him as the way, the truth and the life. In this state we
are truly his disciples. We will now turn our thoughts to the
SECOND PROMISE.--"And ye shall know the truth." This promise will
surely be realized by every one, without exception, who abides in the
words of the Lord. It is a promise very much like that other in these
words: "If any man will do his will, he shall know of the doctrine,
whether it be of God, or whether I speak of myself." Books have been
written in defense of the truth of Divine Revelation. I have read
several. They are ably written, and with good intentions. But I doubt
if any unbeliever has ever been converted by any of them. In the first
place, unbelievers are not likely to read books on such subjects; and
in the second place, without a heartfelt desire to know the truth,
they would not be persuaded though one should arise from the dead. To
one who loves the truth, the truth bears witness of itself. It is
self-evidencing in its own light. It bears its own testimony.
I not long since read what purported to be a true story of a man by
the name of Casper Hauser, who had been intentionally brought up in a
dark cave from his very infancy. Up to mature manhood he had never
seen a ray of light, except what proceeded from the dim lantern which
his keeper used in supplying him with food and other things. Had this
man been told, while in the cave, of the wonderful light of the sun
and the beauties of the outside world, he would not have been able to
understand what was told him. But if he would have been willing to
take the hand of some true friend and be led out into the light, he
would not have needed any argument to convince him that what he had
heard was true. Like the queen of Sheba, when she visited King
Solomon, he might have said: "It was a true report I heard, but now
mine eyes have seen it, and the half had not been told me."
Let me say to you, friends, that right here in this Divine Word is one
greater than Solomon, whose eyes are as a flame of fire to illuminate
the sinner's dark understanding, and whose countenance is as the sun
shining in his strength to warm and cheer the sinner's cold and
cheerless heart. That one is Jesus. As the Divine Word, he revealed
his glory on the mount, and Peter in the joyfulness of his heart said:
"Lord, it is good to be here." How often does the true disciple, when
the Word is revealed to his heart, in the warmth of its love and light
of its truth, feel like exclaiming in the same words: "Lord, it is
good to be here!" But not all know the truth; and we ask, Why is it
so? In answering this question several things have to be kept in mind.
Some--but very few in our land--are not in reach of the preached Word,
are not instructed so as to be able to read it, and are so situated
socially as to hear nothing of the Gospel. Some are born deaf, who can
neither hear nor read. Some are born idiots who are incapable of
understanding. With such ignorance is no sin. But what shall we say of
the great army of unbelievers who, in the very blaze of gospel light,
shut their eyes and, like the Gergesenes, beseech the Lord to depart
out of their borders. These "love darkness rather than light; and they
will not come to the light." This answers the question, "Why do not
all know the truth?" They will not abide in his words. They will not
do the truth: "For he that doeth the truth cometh to the light." We
now turn to the
THIRD PROMISE.--"And the truth shall make you free." This is the most
precious promise of all. It is just what the truth will do for every
one who knows the truth and obeys it in his life. It will make him
free. Like the Jews, some may say, "We have never been in bondage. We
are free now, and how can you say, The truth shall make us free?" The
Lord may answer you on that. The Jews claimed the same freedom that
you claim. They said: "We be Abraham's seed, and have never been in
bondage to any man." But Jesus answered: "Verily, verily I say unto
you, Every one that committeth sin is the bondservant of sin." You
decide now for yourself whether you are a bondservant or a free man.
Do you commit sin in the love of it? Do you willingly transgress God's
holy law contained in the Ten Commandments? If so, Jesus says you are
a bondservant of sin. Paul says the same in these words: "To whom ye
yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are, whether of sin
unto death; or of obedience unto righteousness."
Again: You are commanded to repent and believe the Gospel. You are
commanded to be baptized, confessing your sins. Have you complied with
these plain precepts of Holy Truth? If not, the seal of bondage is
still upon you, and every day you live in sin stamps that seal deeper
and yet deeper upon your heart. But there is balm in Gilead for you if
you will accept it; and there is a physician there for you, if you
will but let him administer the remedy. That balm is the heavenly,
holy, healing Word of the Lord, and that Physician is the Lord
himself. Do you ask how you are to take it? Take it in faith, "for he
that believeth is not condemned; but he that believeth not is
condemned already, because he hath not believed on the name of the
only begotten Son of God."
"And the truth shall make you free." Thousands on earth and millions
in glory bear testimony to the truth in these words. A living, loving
belief in the words of Jesus; a faith that works from love and
purifies the heart is the only power that will break the yoke of sin.
This faith God is ever ready, through his Holy Spirit, to help you to
have. Of yourself you can do nothing; but the very last words Jesus
uttered on earth were these, "Lo! I am with you to the end of the
world."
SUNDAY, April 22. The two brethren had meeting at Doe Hill, in
Highland County. They took dinner at Joel Siple's, and had night
meeting at George Wine's. On the twenty-third they went down the South
Fork to Jacob Stone's and had meeting in one of his outbuildings. In
the afternoon they had meeting at the widow Hoover's on the Fork, and
stayed all night at Dr. John Keister's. On the twenty-fourth they had
meeting at Bethel church in the forenoon; got dinner at Jacob
Warnstaff's, and in the afternoon have meeting at Zion church in Hardy
County. They stayed all night at the widow Peggy Dasher's. Mrs. Dasher
(quoting from Diary) is a member of the Methodist denomination, and a
very kind and hospitable woman. She lives up to her Christian
profession as taught by her Discipline. We held family worship in her
house and tried to impress upon the minds of her sons, who are
intelligent and promising young men, the "one thing needful," the
giving of their hearts to the Lord.
WEDNESDAY, April 25. They had meeting at Nimrod Judy's. Brother Kline
spoke from Matthew 18:11. TEXT.--"The Son of man is come to save that
which was lost."
If man could fairly realize what he has lost through sin; and what may
be gained by forsaking all for Christ; in other words, what it is to
be lost, and what it is to be saved, he could not rest satisfied to
remain one moment longer in his sin-ruined state. Like the Philippian
jailer, he would instantly cry out, "What must I do to be saved?" Like
the people on the day of Pentecost, being pierced as to their hearts
by what they heard and saw, he would say: "Brethren, what shall I do?"
"The Son of man is come to save that which was lost." It is of the
utmost importance to know what was lost, so as to know what it is that
the Son of man came to save. I will try to tell you this. It is you,
it is I, it is every human being upon the face of the earth. And are
all lost? Yes, without an exception. To what extent are we all lost?
To the extent of all that is of us--body, spirit and soul. And are our
bodies lost? Yes, our bodies are lost to all that God intended them to
be. Our bodies were never designed to be the abodes of disease and
suffering; neither were they intended to be subject to infirmity from
age. When God looked down upon a finished creation he saw that it was
good, yea, very good. Can this be said of our bodies now? Let the
blind, the deaf, the lame, the countless sufferers on beds of
affliction, the child-bearing mother, the decrepit consumptive, the
rheumatic invalid, let these say whether our bodies are very good now.
And how about our spirits? I use the term _spirit_ here in the sense
of its being the basis of human perception and thought. Are our
spirits or minds very good? Let those who are trying to learn and look
into the secrets of knowledge and science answer this. From the child
in school to the highest rank in scholarship ever held by any man, the
same complaint comes up, that lessons are hard, and what is acquired
as knowledge is very unsatisfactory.
But I have touched only the hem of sin's garment in what I have said.
If the soul or will of man were still very good, I mean to say here
that if man had not lost his love for his fellow-man and his love for
God; in other words, if man still loved the Lord his God with all his
heart and his neighbor as himself, feebleness of body and weakness of
mind would be matters of small moment. The body is soon done with any
way; and the mind or intellect is still sufficiently clear for all the
purposes of life in this world; and when once disengaged from the body
that here clogs and fetters it,--as it will be at death,--in the hope
of being lifted to a higher sphere of perception and thought, the loss
to man suffered by the fall in these two departments of his being
would be comparatively small.
But man's will or inmost love is the secret spring of life. From this
all his affections flow; and right here we find his Marah, the bitter
waters of his soul. In reading the story of the children of Israel in
the wilderness we learn that they came to a place where the waters
were all bitter. Brethren, that place is right in our own hearts. Our
hearts are the springs from which these bitter waters flow in the form
of "evil thoughts, adulteries, fornications, murders, thefts,
covetousness, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye,
blasphemy, pride, foolishness." Mark 7:21, 22. What an outflow of
bitterness! Enough to flood a world to destruction! And this
destruction had come, and its arm would have held its power over man
eternally, had not the great Prophet, the Moses of love, come and cast
a tree into the waters whereby they were made sweet. The Lord in his
Word is this tree. He is the tree of life, whose leaves are for the
healing of the nations. His voice comes to us from far: "I am the Lord
that healeth thee; for the Son of man came to save that which was
lost."
It is of infinite importance for us to know how he saves us, what we
are expected to do, how we are to work with him and to what extent. I
will try to give some light on this from the Word itself. Jesus said
to his disciples: "If any man walk in the day, he stumbleth not,
because he seeth the light of this world. But if a man walk in the
night, he stumbleth, because there is no light in him." This beautiful
and striking parable, showing the benefit of knowledge and the
disadvantage of ignorance, lights the sinner's way for his first step
toward the Lord. Knowledge, which is light from the Lord through his
Word, is the very first thing every one must receive. The sinner first
receives the clay and the spittle applied to his blind eyes. He does
not get his sight from this application. When he hears the Gospel with
something of a desire to have his eyes opened he is receiving this
anointing of his eyes. He must go to the pool of Siloam and wash
before he can have sight. This washing in the pool is the first step
in that humble spirit of obedience by which the understanding is
cleared up and prepared to know the Lord. When any sinner gets this
far the Lord is sure to find him and whisper in his heart: "Dost thou
believe on the Son of God?" Every true penitent sinner, with his eyes
open, will answer in heart: "Who is he, Lord, that I might believe on
him?" Then the joyful response will be whispered again: "Thou hast
both seen him, and it is he that talketh with thee." The Lord meets
the returning sinner in his blessed Word, and there he shows himself
to him, and there he talks with him.
Water, in many places in the Old as well as the New Testament, is the
emblem or symbol of Divine Truth. I need not say that without water
man cannot live. His body is largely composed of water. It is
consequently essential as a beverage; and as an ablution,
indispensable to cleanliness. Reading and hearing the Word of Divine
Truth from a real thirst or desire to know the truth, is what is
spiritually symbolized by drinking water. This may be proved by what
the Lord said to the Samaritan woman: "He that drinketh of the water
that I shall give him, shall never thirst; for it shall be in him a
well of water springing up into everlasting life." By the expression,
"never thirst," Jesus does not mean that there will never be any
further inclination to drink the water of life, but he means that
there will in that soul never be any more perishing, dying thirst, for
the water of life will be like a spring in the heart that will flow on
forever from the Lord. It will be the rock in the wilderness that
supplied the camp of Israel with water, and that Rock is Christ.
But again. The sinner's whole inner man is defiled with sin. This may
be illustrated by the spots and scales and raw blotches on the skin,
caused by the disease called leprosy. This disease affected every part
of the body; but, like smallpox and some other kindred affections, it
made itself mostly visible upon the surface of the body. It gave the
victim a horrible appearance, so much so that no one was willing but
such as were similarly afflicted, to go near a leper. But the water of
Divine Truth will effectually and forever wash away all this filth and
loathsomeness from the redeemed sinner's soul and prepare his
spiritual body for that bright array of fine linen, clean and white,
in which the saints shall be clothed as a fit emblem of their
righteousness. Paul calls all this the washing of regeneration. In
that great change, without which no man can see the kingdom of heaven,
called regeneration, or the new birth, wrought by God only, the water
of truth is the means employed. This is so evident that water is
specifically named in connection with it in these words: "Except a man
be born of water, and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of
heaven."
Ananias did not forget this when instructing the penitent Saul of
Tarsus; for at the close of all the words the Lord had authorized him
to say to Saul, we find these: "And now, why tarriest thou? Arise, and
be baptized, and wash away thy sins, calling upon the name of the
Lord. And Saul arose and was baptized." Saul's sins were not washed
away by the water in which his body was baptized, but that water
symbolized the truth, the Lord's truth, that does wash away sins. And
his being immersed in it in each of the three names, according to the
great commission which the Lord had given some time before, signified
his faith in the Word of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy
Ghost. Peter says: "Baptism is not the washing away of the filth of
the flesh," but I feel authorized to say that it is the outward sign
or emblem of the power of divine truth to wash away the filth of the
soul. The change in Saul, wrought by this act as the crown of
obedience, was so great that from this time on he was a new man, and
had a new name, for he was called Paul ever after.
But we must not forget that salvation is all of God. Of ourselves we
can do nothing. Jesus is the way, the truth and the life. All that man
can do is to take the Lord's hand and be led in the way; to open his
eyes to the light, and his ears to the truth, and his heart to the
life, in faith receiving, and in life living the precepts that make
him wise unto salvation.
THURSDAY, April 26. The two brethren preached the funeral of Isaac
Shobe's mother. She had passed away shortly before, at the high age of
ninety-four years. They spoke from First Corinthians 15. From here
they went to James Parks's and had night meeting. The next day they
had meeting at William Parks's; and on
SATURDAY, April 28, they had meeting at Enoch Hyre's in forenoon, and
at Elijah Judy's at night. They anointed Sister Elijah Judy with oil
in the name of the Lord.
SUNDAY, April 29. They had meeting at Sister Chlora Judy's in the
forenoon, and then crossed the Fork mountain to Nimrod Judy's, where
they had night meeting and stayed all night.
MONDAY, April 30. They got home. Quoting from the Diary Brother Kline
says: "I love to go among the mountains. The people there seem to pay
better attention to what is said, and manifest better behavior at our
meetings than they do in the thickly-settled and more fashionable
sections of our State. It is true that ignorance and poverty abound in
some places; but are the souls of the poor less dear to the Lord than
the souls of the rich? On one occasion our Lord referred to the fact
that the Gospel was preached to the poor as a proof of its heavenly
origin. But there are intelligent people living among those mountains.
And in the way of hospitality and genuine kindness, meeting you with a
smile and a hearty welcome, they are probably unsurpassed as a people,
rich and poor alike."
The high regard in which Brother Kline held the people of the western
part of the old State of Virginia, and the reciprocation of that
regard by their high appreciation of him and his mission, accounts for
the many visits he made among them, and his devotion to their
spiritual welfare. Nor was his work evanescent. The seal of his
influence was so deeply impressed upon their affections and memories
that to-day, after the lapse of fifty years, its stamp is almost as
fresh as when first made. Nor is this a matter of wonder or surprise.
The sermons I have set in order were substantially preached by him and
other ministers, mostly led into that section by him; and the power of
such discourses, together with the worship and instructions held and
given in families wherever he stayed, had an influence that will never
be forgotten. The writer's own personal acquaintance with the people
living in sections of his vast district of labor gives him to know
that the name of John Kline is still as a household word with many of
them. Nor is this all. The indoctrination of these people into the
beliefs and practices of Revealed Truth as held by the Brethren was so
profound, so clear, so convincing, that they to-day stand abreast of
others in defense of these doctrines as at first received, in the face
of all the isms and religious innovations of the times.
FRIDAY, May 18. Start to the Annual Meeting. Ride Nell. Stay first
night at Isaac Dasher's.
On this journey the Editor can not depart from the simple but
beautiful and almost childlike daily entries in the Diary. If they
appear monotonous to the reader, the Editor begs him to leaf over them
and find something that will suit his taste better. He must, however,
say something about Nell. She proved to be a very remarkable mare
indeed. For strength and endurance, through cold and heat, in hunger
and thirst, over mountains numberless and pathless woods and valleys,
on long and exhausting journeys, Nell has had few equals. History has
not been willing to drop the name of Bucephalus; and Nell is more
worthy of a place on its roll. He bore a conqueror for a corruptible
crown: she bore a conqueror for an incorruptible crown. His was an
earthly service; hers a heavenly. The name of Nell, under very
peculiar and distressing surroundings, will appear again.
SATURDAY, May 19. Meeting at Elijah Judy's. Hebrews 12 is read. After
meeting go to James Parks's, and stay second night.
SUNDAY, May 20. Meeting at Patch's church on Looney's Creek in Hardy
County, Virginia. Speak from Acts 2. Dine at John Stingley's. Have
night meeting at Jacob Cosner's, where I speak on Hebrews 12, and stay
third night.
MONDAY, May 21. Come to meeting at Solomon Michael's. Elections are
held. Thomas Clarke and Michael Lion are established; William Michael
is elected speaker; William George and Thomas Lion are elected
deacons. Come to Samuel Arnold's on New Creek, and stay fourth night.
TUESDAY, May 22. Dine at Robert Broadwater's on the Alleghany, and
stay fifth night at Eli Whetzel's.
WEDNESDAY, May 23. Meeting and elections. First John is read. John Ogg
is elected speaker, and Eli Whetzel deacon. Love feast in the evening.
A little company of brethren and sisters, with the Lord in our midst.
A time I shall probably never forget. Stay sixth night with Brother
Whetzel.
THURSDAY, May 24. Meeting at the Greenville church. Matthew 5 is read.
In the evening have meeting in a schoolhouse near the widow Berkley's,
and stay seventh night at her house.
FRIDAY, May 25. Meeting in a schoolhouse near Daniel Beachley's.
Matthew 24 is read. Five persons baptized. Stay eighth night at John
Beachley's near the Berlin meetinghouse.
SATURDAY, May 26. Meeting at the meetinghouse. John 3 is read. Stay
ninth night at Brother J. Beachley's.
SUNDAY, May 27. Meeting at the meetinghouse. Acts 2 is read. Stay
tenth night at same place. We had much edifying speaking on the
chapter read. One beloved brother spoke at some length on these words
in the last verse of the chapter read: "Having favor with all the
people." He said in substance: "Brethren, the having favor with all
the people is very pleasant to us naturally, and encouraging
spiritually, if the favor be of the right kind and obtained in the
right way. I am here reminded, in the way of a comparison, of what a
distinguished statesman once said of the presidency of these United
States. He said it is an office that is neither to be directly sought
nor directly declined. I do not think his statement would be far out
of the line of true wisdom if applied to us as Brethren, in relation
to our standing in the eye of society at large. What may be truthfully
said of one brother or sister in private life, in this particular
regard, may be truthfully said of our entire Brotherhood in a public
regard.
"We all know how pleasant it is to enjoy the favor, the friendship and
respect of those living around us. The enjoyment from this source has
given rise to the formation of 'harmonies' and 'colonies,' with some.
Such establishments are favorable to social enjoyment, no doubt; but
it is to be feared that segregation in that form may engender feelings
akin to selfishness, and dwarf the higher impulses to general good.
But the favorable regard in which we may be held should not be sought
as a consideration of the first importance. To serve and please the
Lord should be the first and foremost aim of every brother and sister.
If the favor and respect of others meet us in the line of duty, as set
forth in our doctrines and practices as a Brotherhood of believers in
and humble followers of the Lord Jesus Christ, let us regard it as a
desirable token of good already done, and a promise of good that may
still be done.
"Brethren, a review of our growth in numbers and influence as a body
of Christians, with our original and, in the eyes of the world,
peculiar observances as to ordinances in the church, and deportment
and customs in the world, is to say the least pleasantly surprising.
Our name as Brethren is hardly a century old, if I am rightly
informed; and what are we now? A legion, not of devils, but of angels
for good. And may I not here add the words of my text, 'Having favor
with all the people'? I do not think these historic words are to be
construed to mean that the Brethren of that Pentecostal day had no
enemies; but that they had the favor of the disinterested and
unprejudiced classes. This is just what I think _we_ have, where we
are known. There has been a day,--but thank God that day is
past,--when public opinion, if history be correct, was largely the
reverse of what it is with us. Vice, then, was virtue; and goodness
was criminal. Rebukes of sin and calls to repentance and reformation
of life were silenced by the martyr's faggot and stake. We cannot
here, and we would not if we could, attempt to trace the sublime array
of causes, both divine and human, that have contributed to the happy
change we now enjoy; but sure it is, we now realize the ideal dream of
the far-off seer, described in these words: 'But they shall sit, every
man under his vine and under his fig tree; and none shall make them
afraid.' We have the favor of the people when we have the favor of the
government; for the people are the government.
"Brethren, we have cause for inexpressible emotions of gratitude to
God for the favor we enjoy. The outlook is bright; the sky of promise
calm and serene. It is said that a Grecian patriot and statesman once
assumed a very weighty responsibility, which required him to leave his
home and State to meet it. He seemed loath to go. He expressed fear
that things would not go on in his absence as they had in his
presence. Finally, however, he secured a pledge from every member of
the Athenian court that no change in the order of government and the
laws should be made during his absence. He went; but such was his love
for his country that he never returned. Brethren, the time is not far
distant when I, your humble servant, burning with love for my church
and people, will have to leave my home and country. Nothing, I say
nothing, could give me more comfort when I make the start than the
assurance on your part that you will make no changes in our faith and
rules of order, _in_ church and _out_, during my absence. Then will I
bid a joyful farewell to all, feeling that no changes from our present
order will ever be made, for I will never return."
MONDAY, May 28. Our Annual Meeting begins. Questions received and some
motions made. Stay eleventh night at same place.
TUESDAY, May 29. Council continues. Good order and love prevail. Stay
twelfth night at same place.
WEDNESDAY, May 30. The business having all been disposed of in a way
as satisfactory as we could do it, after prayer and the singing of the
hymn,
"Blest be the dear uniting love
That will not let us part,"
the meeting closed, and we gave each other the parting hand about 10
A.M.
Have night meeting at Brother John Ogg's on way home. Speak from part
of Luke 13, and stay thirteenth night with Brother Ogg.
THURSDAY, May 31. Stay fourteenth night at Thomas Clark's.
FRIDAY, June 1. Stay fifteenth night at Jacob Cosner's.
SATURDAY, June 2. Meeting at Rorabaugh's on New Creek, in Hampshire
County, Virginia. Acts 10 is read. Get to Enoch Hyre's and stay
sixteenth night.
SUNDAY, June 3. Meeting at Enoch Hyre's. Part of Acts 2 is read. Polly
Stambaugh is baptized. Cross the mountain to Leonard Brake's, where I
stay seventeenth night.
MONDAY, June 4. Attend the burial of Frederic Dove in the Gap. Age,
eighty-seven years, two months and seventeen days Stay at Dove's
eighteenth night.
TUESDAY, June 5. Attend the burial of Brother Nasselrodt, near Dove's.
Age, sixty-one years, five months and twenty-eight days. In the
evening get home.
FRIDAY, August 17. Attend the burial of Elizabeth, daughter of William
Hevner, in the Gap. She died of typhoid fever. I speak from these
words in Psalm 103: "Surely, man's days are as grass: as a flower of
the field, so he flourisheth: ... and the place thereof shall know it
no more." Her place in the home is sadly vacant. We can only bow in
tearful sympathy with the bereaved family.
THURSDAY, September 6. Perform the marriage ceremony of William Miller
and Sarah Shoemaker, and the same for Levi Runion and Elizabeth
Aubrey.
FRIDAY, September 7. This day Brother Kline started on another journey
to Hampshire County, Virginia. He attended a succession of meetings
and love feasts both going and returning, as was his custom. He got
home September 21, after an absence of just two weeks. He does not
forget Nell. On the evening of his arrival home he says: "On the
journey from which I have just returned, Nell has carried me 221
miles. If Martin Luther and John Wesley are correct in their opinions,
Nell may be rewarded for her uncomplaining faithfulness, in a future
state of existence. But as we have no assurance of this, I desire to
reward her in this world as well as I can, for her gentle and untiring
service. I think the comfort of brutes generally is not thought of as
much as it should be. Solomon says: 'The righteous man regardeth the
life of his beast; but the tender mercies of the wicked are cruel.'
Prov. 10:12. Solomon deals out a bit of very cutting sarcasm here, in
the subordinate clause of his proposition; but it is fairly merited by
such as are cruel to brutes. People do not, I am sure, regard the
comfort of brutes as they should. There are, here and there, noble
exceptions; but horses labor faithfully for us, and very often the
only reward they get is harsh treatment and scanty feeding. The Lord
has graciously given to man the supremacy over the brute creation. But
man should not show his supremacy by acting the part of a tyrant; but,
like a wise ruler, 'do justice and love mercy.' Whatever else may be
brought against me on the day of judgment, I am resolved, by the help
of God, that no brute shall there, in fact or figure, rise up and say:
'You mistreated me intentionally.'"
SUNDAY, September 30. Attend the burial of William Hevner's son
Harvey. He died of typhoid fever. His age was twenty-seven years, two
months and four days. It has been a very short while since his sister
Elizabeth passed away. We should weep with those who weep: but our
deepest sympathy for others cannot give us a realization of the depth
of grief felt by bereaved parents and their children. Happy are those
who can look beyond the tomb to have their sorrows healed.
Between this time and the close of the year Brother Kline made only
one long journey. He and Anna went in his family carriage to Maryland
first. After attending a number of love feasts and other meetings
around Frederic City and Shepherdstown, they went down the Cumberland
Valley beyond Harrisburg, and after a few days' sojourn there they
return by very nearly the same route they went. They were just three
weeks and two days on this journey.