SUNDAY, October 31, he reports himself at the Flat Rock
meetinghouse, in Shenandoah County, Virginia, replying to a discourse
on feet-washing delivered shortly before by J.P. Cline, a Lutheran
preacher of the same county. In his reply Brother Kline proves himself
"a master of his bow: his arrows never miss." I here present some
points in this reply:
Friend J.P. Cline made feet-washing "a household or hospitable rite."
Brother John Kline's main point in reply to this was, that bathing or
washing of the whole body in water, as also the setting out of bread
and wine before guests, was likewise included among the rites of
hospitality in the East and also in southern Europe. If feet-washing
is to be discarded from the list of church ordinances on this ground,
what becomes of baptism and the Communion? Can they, logically, fare
better?
Friend Cline's next point was, "that feet-washing has a spiritual
significance, that the example given by the Lord is complied with and
obeyed when we, in humility and love, do works of charity." In reply
to this, Brother John Kline merely asked the question: "What
denominations of professing Christians exhibit the deepest sense of
humility, and show the warmest affections of charity, those that
observe feet-washing as an ordinance of the church, or those that
reject it as such?" "It is not for me," said he, "to answer this
question. I leave it to the consideration of all."
"What I do, thou knowest not now." "This declaration of our Lord,"
said friend Cline, "clearly discards feet-washing from being a church
ordinance." In reply to this Brother Kline said: "I would like to ask
friend Cline if he claims to understand all the meaning and
significance of water baptism and the Communion. If he does lay claim
to such attainments in the knowledge of what God has not clearly
revealed in his Word, he must have had access to information from
which all other honest men have been debarred. Before friend Cline's
argument against feet-washing as a church ordinance can have any
weight, on the score that we do not clearly see all that is intended
to be signified by it, consistency does require him to show the full
meaning and significance of baptism and the Communion of the bread and
wine. It is self-evident that the argument which rejects feet-washing
from the list of church ordinances, on the ground of its not being
fully understood as to its entire significance, with equal power
rejects and discards baptism and the Communion from being ordinances
of the house of God."
In this brief report of Brother John Kline's sermon on this occasion I
have but touched some of the points in his argument, gathered from the
Diary, and from a personal conversation with him afterwards. He wound
up with the Fable of the Clock and the Sundial, as follows:
"The Town Clock claimed that it ought to be highly respected. 'Look,'
said the Clock, 'at my beautiful face, and the exquisite delicacy of
my hands. My head, too, internally and externally, is a perfect model
of scientific exactness and mechanical skill. You should depend upon
what I say. I run with regular steps, and strike the hours of the day
as I run. You should hear ME. Look at that broad-faced,
flat-headed sundial away down there. It has not a word to say.
_I_ am going to strike now. One--two--three! There--how musical!'
But when this bombastic speech was ended, the sun broke forth, and the
Dial only smiled to show that the boasting clock had not told the
_truth_ by some hours. The thirteenth chapter of John is the
Lord's sundial on feet-washing. Probably, after all, the best way to
discuss this question with any one would be just to read in his
hearing the thirteenth chapter of John."
SUNDAY, November 21. To-day we have our first meeting in the
new meetinghouse at the Plains. Hebrews twelfth chapter is read.
FRIDAY, November 26. Start for Pendleton and Hardy Counties.
Stay all night with Brother Jack Ratchford and his son Hugh Ratchford,
on top of the Shenandoah mountain, where we have an evening meeting
for prayer and exhortation. Cloudy and cold.
SATURDAY, November 27. Come to Peter Warnstaff's. No meeting
appointed. Clean John Pope's clock. Fix Mrs. Warnstaff's clocks, and
stay there all night. Snows to-night.
SUNDAY, November 28. Meeting at Warnstaff's tanyard. Speak on
1 Cor. 1:30. Dine at Peter Warnstaff's. I am always refreshed by
visiting this worthy and intelligent family, composed of Peter
Warnstaff, his sister Susanna, and their widowed mother. I can never
depart from their house without breathing a prayer for blessings upon
them. Night meeting at Lough's church. Speak on John 14:6. Stay all
night at Joel Siple's near the top of the South Fork mountain. Joel
Siple is raising an intelligent and industrious family.
MONDAY, November 29. Come to John Borer's on the South Mill
Creek. Preach his wife's funeral. Meet Brother Michael Lion and
Brother Martain Cosner there. We all stay over night at Brother John
Judy's.
TUESDAY, November 30. Meeting at John Judy's. The two
brethren Cosner and Lion speak to good acceptance, on John 3:14. Come
to Isaac Judy's, and stay all night.
WEDNESDAY, December 1. Dine at Manasseh Judy's. Manasseh Judy
always meets me with a pleasant face, such as makes me feel at home in
his house. After dinner, fix his clock, and cross the mountain to John
Davis's, in Hardy County. Night meeting at Zion church. Stay at
Davis's all night.
THURSDAY, December 2. Spend most of the day at the widow
Peggy Dasher's. In evening go to Nimrod Judy's, where we have night
meeting, and spend the night.
FRIDAY, December 3. Get home.
THURSDAY, December 23. Perform the marriage ceremony of John
Driver and Rebecca Kline, at the house of her father, David Kline, at
half past three P.M.
FRIDAY, December 31. I have traveled this year 5,674 miles. I
am at home, at the home of my life in the body; but I am not at home
as to the life of my spirit.
As on the verge of life I stand,
And view the scene on either hand,
My soul would here no longer stay.
I long to wing my flight away.
Where Jesus dwells I long to be:
I long my much loved Lord to see:
Earth, twine no more about my heart:
It is far better to depart.
SATURDAY, January 15, 1859. Get Howell's "Evils of Infant Baptism." I
regard this as a very instructive work on the subject indicated by the
title.
SUNDAY, February 13. Attend the burial of Christian Kratzer. Age,
eighty-six years, three months and twelve days.
SATURDAY, February 26. Attend a meeting which was held to-day, to
elect directors for the establishment of an academy, to be known by
the name of "Cedar Grove Academy," near my place. John J. Bowman, John
Zigler and Daniel Miller are elected.
SUNDAY, March 6. Attend meeting in Sangersville, Augusta County,
Virginia. Brother Daniel Thomas replies to Soule's sermon on "the
modes and subjects of baptism." Friend Soule is a Methodist preacher
in high standing with his denomination. He argued on the ground that
"whilst the New Testament does allow immersion in water, and favor the
baptism of adults, it does not cancel the validity of the rite when
properly performed by pouring or sprinkling, either in the case of
adults or infants."
Brother Daniel Thomas, on this occasion, exalted the truth by
appealing "_to the law and the testimony_." He proved _baptism_ to be
a positive term as to its signification; that the word BAPTISM, with
its derivatives, has a specific and not a variable sense. He likewise
established the great truth that all the good of obedience consists in
doing what one is commanded to do. He showed that "to obey is better
than sacrifice, and to hearken is better than the fat of rams." Any
departure from the command vitiates the obedience, no matter how
professedly honest the steps of that departure may be. He here quoted
Peter's words: "Baptism is not the putting away of the filth of the
flesh." It does us no more good physically, said he, than would be
derived from bathing or immersing the body in water without any
religious motive connected with it. It is one's conscious obedience in
submitting to the rite, that gives "the answer of a good conscience
toward God." Can little infants realize this? These premises being
established, and after clearly stating the duty of all who desire to
obey to find out what they are required by the Lord to do, he brushed
away the mass of "wood, hay and stubble" which his antagonist had
piled together, and erected an impregnable turret of "gold, silver and
precious stones" on the solid rampart of Divine Truth. Brother Daniel
Thomas carries a heart as pure and kind as I have ever found within
the breast of any man, and a head as clear as I have ever seen upon
the shoulders of any man.
After meeting Brother Daniel Thomas and I dine at Brother John
Sanger's, and have evening meeting at Pudding Springs meetinghouse. I
speak from Heb. 12:25. Stay all night at Brother John Driver's. Fine
day.
MONDAY, March 7. Dine at Jacob Zigler's, and have night meeting in
Jennings's Gap. Stay all night at David Adams's.
TUESDAY, March 8. Morning meeting at same place. Speak on Jude third
verse, "the faith that was once delivered to the saints." I have
somewhere read that the faith, or rather the doctrines, upon which the
faith of the saints reposes, has never _but once_ been delivered to
the saints, that since Jude's day it has been so much perverted, and
so much mixed up with the opinions and doctrines of men that the
saints never more have it declared unto them exactly as Jude
understood and believed it. But I do not think exactly with that man.
Church history does disclose lamentable departures from the true
faith; and we witness the same, with their evil results, in our own
times; still God has had, even in the darkest hours of the Christian
era, "a people prepared for the Lord." I believe that what he said to
Elijah he might have said at any time since: "I have yet left unto me
seven thousand in Israel; all the knees that have not bowed unto Baal,
nor worshiped his image." We still have "the sure word of prophecy
unto which we do well to take heed, as unto a light that shineth in a
dark place;" and that word of prophecy is the Bible.
Something like this was the introduction to my discourse this morning.
Night meeting in Churchville. Speak on John 1:11, "He came unto his
own, and his own received him not." His coming was not to their minds,
nor according to their expectation. If earthly glory had been the goal
of Christ's ambition, and he had promised them a large amount of stock
in it, his welcome, on the part of the Jews, would have been sounded
and sung from Dan to Beer-sheba. Jerusalem would have been illuminated
in honor of him, and banners would have waved in praise of him. But
how different from all this were the surroundings of his coming! Born
in a stable--and if a certain poet _has_ beautifully and truthfully
sung,
"The manger of Bethlehem cradled a King:"
still is his "kingdom not of this world;" and the King, instead of
having the "right royal part," is "meek and lowly in heart; a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief." And no wonder. The cross stands
between him and the crown. "His own" could not understand this; and
once he was rebuked by one of his disciples for making mention of the
fact. They could not comprehend the spiritual character of his
kingdom--that love was the throne and righteousness the scepter. The
Jewish race, which are meant in the text by "his own," were not
prepared for the kingdom of heaven, and on that account they "received
him not." May there not be some in this house to-night who feel toward
Jesus as these Jews felt? If he would confer upon them a large share
of wealth, honor and power, would they not willingly accept him? I
imagine he would be the very sort of King they would like to govern
them. He would be the man for them. When such are told that worldly
wealth, honor and power are not the foundation of the Lord's reign on
earth and the glory of the heavens, and that these must be forsaken in
heart as the chief good by all who would follow him, they shrug their
shoulders, shake their heads with a down look and a half-suppressed
smile of unbelief, and say: "Not yet awhile." Self-denial is the exact
opposite of self-gratification. But our Lord declares that "except a
man deny himself, he cannot be my disciple."
But you want to know something further about _self-denial_. First, I
will say that it does not require any one to give up anything that is
for his present or future good. Love is at the bottom of all the Lord
says respecting it. He requires man to give up nothing but what is
opposed to man's present and eternal good. But I find it very
difficult to get people to realize that the only way to be happy is to
be good. And the only way to be good is to love the Lord our God with
all the heart, and our neighbor as ourself.
In the second place, self-denial is the giving up of all bad habits
and the suppression and removal of those evil states of mind and heart
out of which bad habits grow. When one is tempted to do evil, that
means to take strong drink that causes drunkenness, or to take God's
name in vain, or to steal something, or defraud someone, or to kill,
or to commit adultery, or to wish evil to some one, or to tell for the
truth what one knows is not true, self-denial for Christ's sake, stays
the hand from doing the evil and restrains the heart from desiring to
do the evil. This is the self-denial taught by our Lord, and this is
the cause of the Jews not receiving him.
But self-denial with the enlightened Christian goes still further and
suppresses all sense of pride or desire to appear above others. This
feeling was often checked by our Lord. He told his disciples always to
take the lowest seat when invited to a feast; that to be his disciples
in the true sense and become prepared for the kingdom of heaven, they
must have the meek and teachable spirit of a little child. With all
this and more, the enlightened Christian is not desirous of being
conformed to the world. True self-denial forbids all conformity to the
vain and useless styles in dress which are ever changing in the
circles of fashionable society. I will here relate what I once heard a
preacher tell from the stand. He gave it as a fact that really
occurred; but it appears plain to my mind that the incident proceeded
more from a desire to amuse than to reform; nevertheless it does show
that fashions, long ago, were probably subject to as frequent changes
as at the present time. This is it: A man who had several grown-up
daughters in his family was going home, apparently in a great hurry,
with a fashionable headdress or hat for each one, which he had just
purchased at a shop in the city. On his way he met a friend who seemed
inclined to exchange courtesies and a few words with him. But he
apologized for being in a hurry by holding up the hats he had bought
for his girls, saying as he went: "I must hurry home, or they will go
out of style before my daughters get to try them on."
Friends, the Lord claims you for his own--all of you. "Ye are his
people, ye his care; your souls and all your mortal frame." Ye are his
by creation and providence. Say, will ye be his by salvation and
redemption? He comes to you. Will the next century write the same sad
history of your case that stands recorded of the Jews: "He came unto
his own, and his own received him not"? Will this be the story? I hope
and pray that it may not be. But it remains for you to decide this
question. It remains for you to reject or to accept. If you receive
him not, what then will your portion be! Think of it. But if you
receive him, he will put you on the side of eternal salvation and give
you power to become the sons of God, being born of God. God himself
can do no greater thing for any one than to make him his son. What he
offers you here this night exceeds all the wealth and pleasures of
this world, as far as the light of the sun exceeds the light of that
lamp; nay, more, for the sun itself shall be darkened, but the soul
born of God, washed and made white in the blood of the Lamb, shall be
eternally safe in the possession and enjoyment of an inheritance which
is incorruptible and undefiled, and that fadeth not away. Repent,
therefore, and believe the Gospel, that your sins may be blotted out
in this season of refreshing from the presence of the Lord.
WEDNESDAY, March 9. Meeting again at Churchville. "The Great Prophet"
is my subject to-day. Dine at Brother Props's, and stay all night at
Brother Zeyk's.
THURSDAY, March 10. Morning meeting at Mt. Pisgah and night meeting at
White Hall. Stay at Brother Joseph Harshbarger's.
FRIDAY, March 11. Our District Council begins at the Valley
meetinghouse. Business is disposed of very satisfactorily and
pleasantly.
SATURDAY, March 12. Get through. Dine at David Wampler's, and stay all
night at Isaac Long's.
SUNDAY, March 13. Meeting in meetinghouse morning and night. A
beautiful day and night. Stay at Samuel Kline's.
MONDAY, March 14. Stop awhile at Noah Bowman's. Dine at Joseph Wine's.
Call at Joseph Good's. Get home in evening.
SUNDAY, April 3. Meeting at Ritchey's schoolhouse, in the Gap. Dine at
Brother Philip Ritchey's. Stay at Adam Baker's.
The writer will here relate a conversation he had with Sister
Catharine Frank, who was a daughter of Philip Ritchey, who lived very
high up among the mountains of Brock's Gap. Brother Ritchey's was a
favorite stopping place with Brother Kline and other ministering
brethren traveling that way. Sister Catharine Frank was buried on
Wednesday, February 4, 1891. While on her deathbed the above-mentioned
conversation took place. In this conversation she expressed herself
ready and eager to depart. At the mention of Brother Kline's name her
countenance and voice gave evidence of deep interest. "Ah," said she,
"I never will forget that man. He was as dear to me as my own father.
He first led me to think about my soul and my Savior. Often and often
did I hear him preach, and pray, and sing in our old schoolhouse. And
I do not think," continued she, "that I ever saw him leave that house
without first taking all of the young people in reach by the hand one
by one, and saying something in a low voice to each one. I do not know
what he said to others; but I know, as if but yesterday, what he
whispered to me. It was this: 'Do not neglect the salvation of your
soul: _it is the_ ONE THING _needful_.'"
THURSDAY, April 14. Council meeting at the Brush meetinghouse. Brother
Jacob Miller is ordained.
SATURDAY, April 16. Dine at Michael Wine's; call at Noah Lamb's; then
have council meeting in Hoover's schoolhouse. Stay all night at Isaac
Shoemaker's.
SUNDAY, April 17. Meeting in Hoover's schoolhouse. Emmanuel Rodecap is
baptized.
SUNDAY, June 5. This morning I am at Manasseh Judy's, in Hardy County,
Virginia, on South Mill Creek. My eyes behold what they have never
before witnessed, viz, a killing frost in June. The corn which, up to
day before yesterday, was vigorous in its growth and generally over a
foot high, is this morning frozen to the ground. The heading wheat is
frozen stiff. Forward grass is greatly damaged. Vegetable gardens will
all have to be reset. What may be the effect of this frost upon the
living of the people, or how far it may extend, I know not. It may be
that the Lord is pleased to make this an occasion by which his people,
in more favored parts of our land, can add greatly to their "crowns of
rejoicing" by ministering out of their abundance to the necessities of
this blighted region.
From Manasseh Judy's I go fourteen miles down Mill Creek and across to
Enoch Hyre's on the South Branch of the Potomac, and all the wheat
fields and corn fields in sight of the road look very much as if they
might have had a shower of boiling hot rain. So nearly alike are the
effects of extreme cold and extreme heat upon vegetation.
MONDAY, June 6. Meeting at Enoch Hyre's. I speak with a weight upon my
mind. If all had strong faith it would be different. But the faith of
some is weak, and many have very little or no faith at all. When
calamities come, like the one that now broods over the land, it is
somewhat difficult to make those of weak faith still feel that God is
love, and that he makes all things work together for good to them that
love him. I can do no more in the way of comforting these people than
to point them to the promises of the divine Word. These are man's only
assurance that God is supremely just and good and that he can do _no
evil_. The Psalmist David said: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not
want." He likewise says: "I have been young, and now I am old, yet
have I never seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread."
But it is only the eye of faith that can see the light behind the
cloud. If necessary, God can make the barrel of meal and the cruse of
oil as unfailing now as in the days of Elijah the Tishbite. My faith
in him is sealed with a seal that I hope will never be broken.
Attend an afternoon meeting at old man Parks's. Stay all night at
James Parks's.
TUESDAY, June 7. Meeting at Bethel. Speak from Mark 4:24. Afternoon
meeting at Jacob Cosner's. Speak from Hebrews 6:4, 5, 6, 7.
These words have a fearful sound, and much thought should be given to
their interpretation; and they should be well considered and due
self-examination gone through before any one presumes to apply their
terrific meaning to himself. After much study and research, I am led
to believe that they apply specifically to the apostate Jews. The
rejection and crucifixion of Christ was their great sin. "His blood be
on us and on our children," they cried. They invoked and accepted the
guilt of his cruel death. But God, in that mercy which endureth
forever, was willing to forgive even this sin upon their repentance
and faith. The veil was removed from the eyes of some. They "were
enlightened; they tasted of the heavenly gift," which is the Lord's
pardoning mercy. They were made partakers of the Holy Ghost; they
tasted of the good Word of God; they felt the powers of the world to
come; that is, they were impressed with a belief in a future state:
and all these expressions summed up together mean that they became
Christians.
But some of these Christians departed from the faith. They stumbled
and fell. In this act they rejected the Christ the second time, and
put him to an open shame. This, in God's sight, was just the same as
crucifying him afresh. They had crucified him once, and were forgiven,
because they did it ignorantly in unbelief. But now these that have
been enlightened to the extent described in the text cannot be excused
on the ground of ignorance, because they were enlightened to know what
they were doing. Their rejecting him must therefore be a deliberate,
willful act. Can any one ever repent of what he has done deliberately,
understandingly, premeditatedly, and with clear knowledge of all the
facts in the case? Paul, at least here in the text, says that it is
impossible to renew these apostate Jews to repentance.
But let none of us, brethren and sisters, be unnecessarily alarmed at
the text; but let us rather repent, if we have sinned, and draw near
and yet nearer to our blessed Jesus and only Savior in a loving and
faithfully obedient life. We need not fear that he will ever cast us
off. "Him that cometh unto me I will in no wise cast off." The
Christian's only danger lies in his casting the Lord off: not in that
he will reject us, but in that we reject him. But, beloved Brethren,
take courage. Ye do not feel, I know ye feel not, to cast off your
Lord and say to him: "Depart from me, for I desire not the knowledge
of thy ways!" Ye rather say: "Come, Lord Jesus." Come into my soul.
Fill me with thyself:
"Take my body, spirit, soul;
Only Thou possess the whole."
This is just the way he wants you to feel. He wants you to give
yourself wholly to him. He also says: "Rejoice evermore: pray without
ceasing: in everything give thanks: for this is the will of God
respecting you."
WEDNESDAY, June 8. Meeting at Greenland. Speak on the "Great Supper."
Dine at Solomon Michael's; visit Michael and Thomas Lion's; stay all
night at James Hilkey's.
THURSDAY, June 9. Come to the Pine Swamp. Dine at William Abernathy's,
and stay all night at John Abernathy's. Fine day.
FRIDAY, June 10. Meeting at William Abernathy's. In afternoon pass
through Bloomington, and on to William Broadwater's, where I stay all
night. Cold and cloudy day.
SATURDAY, June 11. Frost again this morning. Come to David Beachley's
for dinner; then walk to meeting and back. Meeting at Miller's barn.
SUNDAY, June 12. Meeting in three places: in the Elk Creek
meetinghouse, and in Miller's two barns. In the house I speak on
Exodus 14:13. I here give the text, and some of the leading thoughts
in my discourse: TEXT.--"And Moses said unto the people, Fear ye not,
stand still, and see the salvation of the Lord, which he will show to
you to-day: for the Egyptians whom ye have seen to-day, ye shall see
them again no more forever."
No father, in seeking to quell the needless fears of his child, could
ever use words more tender and pathetic than these. They flow right
from the heart, even from the heart of our Father in heaven. I often
think how appropriately they might be addressed to a dying saint.
These Egyptians, the temptations from our old nature, which, like
hounds upon our track, are constantly trying to overtake us, will all
be left behind as soon as the eyes are closed in death. "Fear not;
stand still; and see the salvation which the Lord will show to you
to-day: for the Egyptians whom you see to-day, you shall see them
again no more forever." Precious words would these be to one sick at
heart of sin and suffering, and longing to be freed from their power.
But these words may instruct us who are still healthy and strong, and
hold our places in the ranks to perform our part in the battle of
life.
This text has been criticised by some as being opposed to progress.
The command to "stand still" is the mark at which the criticism has
been aimed. But those who talk and think in this way fail to observe
that the Lord did not say this to the hosts of Israel until after they
had done all they could do, and gone as far as they could go. And when
they then became fearful, and in great danger of being seized by a
panic, and scattered to the four winds, he gave them the wise counsel
and glorious promise found in the text. Its great lesson to us is
implied rather than expressed.
FIRST. _We are to do what God commands, and go where he leads the
way._ This should be our aim at this our Annual Meeting. I sometimes
fear that we do not think and act with an eye to spreading the Gospel
as we should. It is not the way for us to stand still before our part
is done. In this and adjoining States, many, in various sections, have
never heard a genuinely true gospel sermon. Why could not these be
converted to a true faith and life as well as others? To be saved,
they need the same Gospel that we have. I am daily encouraged in my
travels by finding some in every section who have already received,
and others who are ready to receive our doctrines and practices where
they have been faithfully preached by us. And how can they help it!
The straight line of truth is easily followed. Truth, when rightly
presented, is not hard to see, because it lights up everything. It is
like the pillar of fire that illuminated the whole camp of Israel
throughout the darkest night. But error is never bright like truth. It
is like a cloud before the sun. And I am not sure but that the
apocalyptic vision of hail and fire mingled with blood was a symbol of
the perverted doctrines that are now being showered upon the people
from the clouds of error that float over the land. We may be too
slack. The Lord expects us to do our part. It is only when we have
done this that we have a right to stand still. I sometimes stand still
by the bedside of the sick, when I feel that I have done all that I
can do. Sometimes, after having exhausted all arguments and
inducements at my command to lead a sinner to repent and turn to the
Lord, I stand still. But I have no right to stand still so long as
there is one afflicted body capable of receiving help, or one unsaved
soul within my reach. "There is a sin unto death: I do not say that
you shall pray for it."
SECOND. After having done all we can do, we are quietly and calmly to
leave results with God. All our fear, and chafing, and anxiety pass
for worse than nothing. When our nearest and dearest ones are at the
point of death no amount of agony and tears, with wringing of hands,
or convulsions even, can avail anything. The very best we can do in
such cases is to stand still.
But one thought more. Let us, dear brethren and sisters, stand on safe
ground. We may stand, and "_stand still_," on very dangerous ground.
The only place where it is ever safe to stand is on the Rock of Ages,
the Rock which is Christ. Poised on this Rock, we need not fear. No
earthquake will ever shake the Rock of our salvation.
Very fine weather to-day. Stay at Daniel Miller's.
MONDAY, June 13. This morning organize the Standing Committee, and
take in queries. Get through forming subcommittees by three o'clock.
Stay at Daniel Miller's. Rain to-day.
TUESDAY, June 14. Subcommittees get through reporting to-day. Very
pleasant weather to-day. Stay at Miller's again.
WEDNESDAY, June 15. Work through by quarter past two o'clock. Go back
to David Beachley's; get Nell, and Brother Daniel Thomas and I come to
Brother Broadwater's and stay all night. Some rain to-day.
THURSDAY, June 16. Dine at Brother Samuel Arnold's, and have night
meeting at Susanna Arnold's. Brother Daniel Thomas speaks from the
first Psalm. As a propagator and defender of our faith he has few
equals in the Virginia arms of the church. We stay all night at
Benjamin Leatherman's. Fine day.
FRIDAY, June 17. Dine and feed our horses in Moorefield, and get to
Nimrod Judy's, where we stay all night.
SATURDAY, June 18. Get home.
SUNDAY, July 24. Go to Ritchey's schoolhouse, in the Gap. Isaac
Rodecap's wife is baptized. Dine at Philip Ritchey's, and have evening
meeting at Addison Harper's. A few references to the life of Brother
Addison Harper may not be out of place here. The Editor was intimately
acquainted with him. Brother Harper's early life was largely passed on
the Atlantic ocean as a sailor. He settled in Rockingham County,
Virginia, in the later years of his life, and openly avowed his
disbelief of holy revelation. A few years prior to the date above
given he was honored by the people of his county with a seat in the
Virginia State legislature. When the Rebellion broke out in 1861 he
raised a company of Confederate volunteers and served as their captain
through the war. Very soon after the surrender, when worldly ambition
had succumbed to the direful state of the Southern people, his mind
seems to have sought for something more enduring than aught the world
could offer. He turned to religion with the honest purpose of seeking
to learn if _that_ might have in it such proofs of its genuineness and
reliability as would give better hopes to his soul than those which
had so sadly disappointed him in life. One day as he and I were riding
together to attend a meeting in which we both took part, I asked him
to tell me the secret of the power that had made him a minister in the
church of the Brethren. Said he, "It is all traceable to two great
facts: first, the humble, peaceful, moral and charitable lives of the
members; last, the simple and unperverted truths they teach." "Without
the first," continued he, "the last would have made no impression on
my heart; but the proofs they gave of their _honesty_ in the _first_
led me to believe there must be _truth_ in the _last_; and the more I
learn about it, the more I am convinced that I was right. Johnny Kline
repeatedly preached at my house before the war, but I paid very little
attention to what he said. I always admired his earnestness, and the
simplicity of his manner, but beyond these I paid him but little
respect outside of the civilities of common decency. But now it is
different. I would willingly part with all I have to enjoy but one
hour's conversation with him, to but tell him how I now feel toward
him in my _new life_, and how much I now appreciate what I then could
not understand."
SATURDAY, August 6. Love feast at Michael Wine's, in the Gap. Absalom
Rodecap and wife are baptized by Jacob Miller. Fine day and evening. I
officiate at love feast. Brother Martain Miller is with us, and his
feelings are very deeply moved as he proceeds in his discourse.
The Editor will here add what a very dear sister, now gone to heaven,
told him shortly before her death. He read to her the above note in
the Diary, and all at once her face beamed with the happy recollection
and she exclaimed: "I was there at that love feast, and Brother
Martain Miller grew so warm and so happy in his theme that he got from
behind the table, came out into the middle of the room, and spoke as
if talking to each one personally."
We stay all night at Andrew Turner's.
SUNDAY, August 7. Meeting at Hoover's schoolhouse. I baptize David
Hoover.
MONDAY, August 29. Last night the sky presented a very wonderful
appearance. It was luminous with a scarlet light nearly throughout the
entire night. What it may portend I know not. People may brand me
superstitious, but I can not resist the impression that this, with
other signs, betokens the shedding of blood in our land.
WEDNESDAY, August 31. Daniel Thomas and I start on a journey to the
western counties of Virginia. Stay first night at Nimrod Judy's, and
have night meeting at Zion. TEXT.--John 15:3.
THURSDAY, September 1. Meeting and love feast at John Judy's on South
Mill Creek. Speak on John 14:6.
FRIDAY, September 2. Meeting at Martain Wise's, near the Upper Track.
Psalm 19:7, 8.
SATURDAY, September 3. Cross the Branch mountain to William Adamson's
at the mouth of Seneca. Seneca is a small stream from the east side of
the Alleghany mountain falling into the North Fork of the South Branch
of the Potomac. The scenery at the mouth of Seneca is probably
unsurpassed by any in Virginia. The perpendicular walls of solid rock
hundreds of feet high present a scene of surpassing grandeur. Night
meeting at the meetinghouse on Seneca. Subject, Luke 24:46, 47. Stay
all night at the widow Cooper's. Brother Daniel Thomas is very much
impressed with the sublime sights we witnessed to-day.
SUNDAY, September 4. Meeting at 10 o'clock. Subject, 1 Cor. 1:18.
Council in the afternoon. Asa Jarman is elected speaker, and
Washington Summerfield deacon.
MONDAY, September 5. Meeting at Abraham Summerfield's. Stay all night
at Brother Levi Wilmot's.
TUESDAY, September 6. Cross the Alleghany mountain; dine at Brother J.
Simon's; call at Samuel Pirkey's; and stay at Charles W. Burk's in
Randolph. We passed through extensive forests to-day of beautiful and
majestic timber, comprising wild cherry, tamarack, sugar-maple and
other kinds of trees which invite the woodman's axe. The means for
transportation alone are wanting to make this an immensely profitable
lumber region.
WEDNESDAY, September 7. Go back to Brother Simon's for dinner and have
night meeting in the meetinghouse. John 15 is read. Heavy fog this
morning, but a fair day follows.
THURSDAY, September 8. Meeting again at the same place. Same subject
we spoke on yesterday continued to-day. Brother Daniel Thomas is a
host. He possesses the rare ability to adapt his words and thoughts to
the mental states of these plain-minded people. "Milk for babes;
strong food for men," seems to be his rule. And a wise rule it is. I
have to guard against "inordinate affection" for him.
FRIDAY, September 9. Still in Randolph County. Dine at John Simon's,
and stay all right at Henry Wilson's. Pleasant weather.
SATURDAY, September 10. Meeting begins at one o'clock. Love feast at
night. Fine day and evening. Jacob Nickolas is elected to the
deaconship.
It may interest the reader to be informed that the two brethren are
now, and for some days have been, in a sparsely settled region. High
mountains separated the habitable valleys. Great progress has been
made, and is still going on, in the upbuilding of the social state of
these people, as well as the improvement of the country. Those living
in the highly cultivated States of our Union can hardly bring their
minds to realize the conditions in which these people lived at the
time that Brother Kline and Brother Thomas were laboring so faithfully
among them. Let me sketch a picture of the average house, its
surroundings, and its occupants: It is a log house, built up by
notching the ends of the logs so as to fit together at the corners,
and rises high enough to make one full story below and a half story
above. A huge chimney of stone is built up on the outside, with the
wide fireplace inside. The chinks between the logs are filled up with
a mortar composed of clay and straw. The chimney is supplied with one
extra small flue at the side of the large flue, and at the bottom of
this small flue, about four feet above the hearth, is a small opening
for light. This light is produced from the burning of small pieces of
rich pine knots placed in the small opening, and as one piece burns
out another is inserted, the smoke from the pine, the meanwhile, being
all carried off through the small flue. Above the door of entrance
antlers in pairs may be seen carefully fastened to the side of the
house, as evidences of success in deer hunting. And more than once did
the two brethren ministers feast on venison in the present journey,
for it was the chosen season for deer hunting. When the house is
approached by a stranger, the father, if present, stands near the door
with a doubtful look, as much as to ask within himself: "Who can that
be, and what is fetching him here?" He has, however, a kind heart
under a rough exterior. His wife is diffident at first introduction,
but gain her confidence by true Christian behavior, and you find the
heart of the true woman in her. The children retire upon a stranger's
first entering the house: but let him show a love for them; let him
learn their names and ages as one by one they make their appearance,
ranging in this respect according to the different degrees of
backwardness and modesty with them; let him notice them with loving
looks and gentle words, and they will soon play with his watch-chain,
and ask him what it is for.
I have now given an outline sketch of many a family in these
mountainous regions, in whose hearts Brother Kline never failed to
find a welcome, and in whose house a home. He loved the people and the
people loved him. But all this has passed into history. The church has
never had but one Johnny Kline, and it can never have another. Even if
born, the conditions for his development, and the sphere for his
labors, have both passed away. The Editor is happy to feel that he, by
a wonderful providence, has been made the humble instrument by which
the life-work of a great and good man has been snatched from the jaws
of oblivion.
SUNDAY, September 11. Meeting at Brother Henry Wilson's. Luke 13 is
read. Night meeting at Brother Jacob Nickolas's, in his house.
Subject, Rom. 13:11, 12. Stay there all night. Very pleasant weather.
MONDAY, September 12. Come to Philippa, in Barbour County. Stop at
David Kline's. Dine at Peter Reid's. Afternoon meeting at Peck's Run
meetinghouse. Acts 3 is read. Stay all night at Philip Dupoy's. Fine
day.
TUESDAY, September 13. Come to Brother Joseph Houser's, two miles from
Buckhannon. Meeting and love feast. Matthew 20 is read. Fine day and
evening.
WEDNESDAY, September 14. Meeting. Subject, Acts 2:37, 38. One man
baptized. In council Jacob Houser was elected speaker, and Brother
Hess deacon.
THURSDAY, September 15. Come to Wilson Osborn's on Middle Fork river.
After dinner, cross the mountain to Valley river; stop and stay all
night at William Kern's.
FRIDAY, September 16. Cross Cheat mountain, thirty-five miles, and get
to Brother John Riley's, where we stay all night.
SATURDAY, September 17. Wonderful rain last night. Waters higher than
they have been in a long time. Meeting at Liberty meetinghouse.
Subject, Luke 24:46, 47. Stay all night at Adam Hevner's. Cloudy and
misty, but waters partly run off.
SUNDAY, September 18. Sky almost clear this morning. Promise of a fair
day. Meeting again at Liberty meetinghouse. Subject, "The Great
Commission," Matt. 28:18, 19, 20. Come to John Riley's, where we stay
all night. Clears up beautifully to-day. Our congregations have not
been large, but they have appeared to pay attention to what has been
said. A preacher of Brother Daniel Thomas's power cannot fail to
impress an audience. He enjoys the rare ability of analyzing and
arranging his subject matter in a way that makes its presentation easy
to be understood. I have observed a very important truth, and I am
learning its lessons more and more every day, that people can be
interested only in what they understand. Uneducated people, and
children even, will listen with attention to what they understand.
Paul perceived this truth. Hence he said: "I would rather speak five
words with the understanding, than ten thousand in an unknown tongue."
Paul got at the very root of the truth, for his remarks imply that no
man can make a thought clear to the mind of another unless it be first
clear to his own mind. "If the blind lead the blind, both will fall
into the ditch together."
MONDAY, September 19. Dine at Adam Hevner's; come to Greenbank, to
Dunmore post office; then to Shenaberger's, but we cannot get across
the river. We then go five miles down the river and cross on a bridge
over to Knapp's Creek, and stay all night at William Harper's.
TUESDAY, September 20. Afternoon meeting near Harper's. Subject, Heb.
12:12. Stay all night at the widow Harper's.
WEDNESDAY, September 21. The widow Harper and Abraham Rankin are
married this morning. Meeting at Andrew Harold's in Mt. Vernon.
Subject, Matt. 7:21. After dinner we cross the Alleghany mountain to
Alexander Gilmore's, on Back Creek. Night meeting at Green Hill. John
1 is read. Stay all night at John Divner's. Much rain this morning.
THURSDAY, September 22. We return to Gilmore's and get our horses,
having walked from there to Green Hill and back to Divner's. From
Gilmore's we cross over to Jackson's river, and have meeting at Valley
Chapel. Brother Daniel Thomas preached to-day. His subject was 1 Cor.
1:8. Go with James Terry and take dinner with him. Night meeting at
Valley Chapel. Subject, "The Conversion of Saul." Stay all night at
James Terry's.
FRIDAY, September 23. Come to new meetinghouse on Stony Run. Preach
the funeral of Robert Gwynn. Subject, Heb. 9:28. Dine at David
Stephenson's. Come to Godlove Hindgartner's; night meeting; subject,
Matthew 11, three last verses. Fine day.
SATURDAY, September 24. Morning meeting at Hindgartner's. Subject,
Matthew 7, last paragraph. After dinner preach the funeral of old man
Robinson's wife. Subject, 1 Peter 1, last three verses.
SUNDAY, September 25. Meeting again at Hindgartner's. Subject, Heb.
12:14. I could wish that thousands could have heard Brother Daniel
Thomas to-day. As he spoke of the holiness without which no man shall
see the Lord, setting forth in strong and clear light what it is to
live a holy life, tears of penitence fell from many eyes.
MONDAY, September 26. Come across to Liberty meetinghouse, on the Bull
Pasture river in Highland County, Virginia. Subject, Luke 8:18. Dine
at Dr. Pullen's; then come to Amos Deahl's on the Cow Pasture river in
the same county and stay all night.
TUESDAY, September 27. Come by way of the Calf Pasture river, in
Augusta County, to the pleasant home of Brother Daniel Thomas, who
seems very well pleased to find himself at home again and all well,
after an absence with me of four weeks to the day. In Isaiah 52:7 we
read these words: "How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of
him that bringeth good tidings, that publisheth peace; that bringeth
good tidings of good; that publisheth salvation; that saith unto Zion,
Thy God reigneth." These words prophetically set forth the Lord in the
beauty of his holy life and good will toward men. His feet symbolize
his outward life. This was beautiful in the highest degree. No angry
word, no impure thought, no covetous feeling, no revengeful motive, no
unholy desire ever found a place in his heart; but, instead of these,
gentleness, goodness, meekness, kindness, temperance, mercy,
forgiveness, and charity, or universal and unvarying good will toward
men, characterized the whole of his good life as the outflow of his
good heart. In respect to these graces of our Lord, Brother Daniel
Thomas sets an example worthy of imitation. In the four weeks we have
spent together I have not heard a word from his lips that I thought
unwise, or seen an act of his body or hands that I thought not good.
This is my testimony of him in secret before God.
WEDNESDAY, September 28. Get home.
SUNDAY, October 2. Meeting and love feast at the Lost River
meetinghouse. Acts 3 is read. Brother John Harshberger officiates at
love feast. Stay all night at Jacob Mathias's. Pleasant day and
evening. Brother Daniel Thomas and Brother John Harshberger in their
relation to the work of the church remind me of the relation which the
lead-horse bears to the off-wheel horse in a team of four. Each has
his place: the one as much needed as the other; varied in talent and
usefulness, yet working together, the load goes on beautifully, and
the roughness of the way is forgotten.
WEDNESDAY, October 5. Meeting and love feast at our meetinghouse.
Great concourse of people present. Christian Keffer, of Maryland, and
David Long are with us. Fine day and night.
SATURDAY, October 15. Brother Kline and Brother John Harshberger
started in company of each other to the Piedmont counties on the east
side of the Blue Ridge mountain. How long they contemplated staying
there, the Diary does not say. The first appointment they expected to
fill was met without a congregation. It had either not been properly
given out and circulated, or the people did not wish to come.
Brother Kline preached one sermon on this trip, at a place called Good
Hope, in the county of Madison, Virginia. But from the spirit of the
Diary more than from its direct letter the inference is clear that the
name belied the character of the place, and that instead of Good Hope
it should be Bad Despair. His subject was Rev. 14:6, "I saw another
angel fly in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to
preach unto them that dwell on the earth, and to every nation, and
kindred, and tongue, and people."
The selection of this text shows a lofty sense of propriety in Brother
Kline. He was here among a people largely opposed to the views and
feelings of the Brethren on the slave question which was, at this
particular time, fearfully agitating the public mind. But the above
text was at once a passport in his hand to go "with the everlasting
gospel" in his mouth to preach to every nation, and kindred, and
tongue, and people. It showed at once that his mission was love, and
the end peace. Many preachers in the South about this time adopted the
following motto: "Keep politics out of religion; but put all the
religion you can into politics." This means: Pour the pure water of
Life into the cesspools of wickedness and deceit to cleanse them. This
is worse, if possible, than giving what is holy to dogs, or casting
pearls before swine. It is as "the sons of God going in unto the
daughters of men, and bringing forth _giants_--" giants of iniquity.
If every man and every woman in our land were filled with godliness,
politics, in its popular sense, would vanish. Governments would
continue, it is true, but the spirit of their administration would
make duty their joy, and love their law.
Finding little encouragement in these parts, the two brethren soon
started homeward through Page County, stopping one night at Brother
Hamilton Varner's, and one night at Brother Isaac Spitler's, where, at
either place, they could again enjoy the breath of love and the
heartbeat of peace.
SATURDAY, December 31. At home. In this year I traveled 3,929 miles,
mostly on Nell's back. Good, patient Nell!
WEDNESDAY, February 29, 1860. Up to this date there is nothing of
special interest in the Diary. It is mainly a record of visits in the
way of medical attendance upon the sick; matters relating to the
church; meetings attended, and neighborhood items of business looked
after and settled. Brother Kline assisted Brother John J. Bowman in
surveying lands. He also wrote wills and deeds, making himself useful
in almost every way in which an active man of eminently practical good
sense can serve his neighborhood and country. I here give his entry in
the Diary for this day exactly as it stands, word for word:
"WEDNESDAY, February 29. Go to Benjamin Miller's. Old Sister
Miller is buried; seventy-four years, five months and ten days
old; buried at Myers's graveyard. Preach at Green Mount; dine
at Jacob Miller's; then come by Strine's home; rain in the
afternoon."
The Editor was present at this funeral, and very well remembers some
of Brother Kline's words. He said that instead of being distressed or
grieved at the departure of one whose measure of life was so full of
the good works of faith and love, thereby showing eminent fitness for
heaven, we should rather rejoice. He spoke of the wisdom and fortitude
with which she had borne her separation from her husband, the dearly
remembered Elder Daniel Miller, years before. It is true, said he, her
children cared for her with all the tender assiduities that love could
suggest; they still could not completely fill the place of the one who
she had fondly hoped would be the earthly comforter of her declining
years. She lived and died with her youngest son, Benjamin Miller, who,
at this time [1899], has the oversight of the Green Mount church. She
was the mother of eighteen children. Sixteen of these grew up to
manhood and womanhood. Six of her sons, viz, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob,
Joseph, Benjamin and Frederick, were put into the ministry, and all
served the church acceptably. Most of these are now fallen asleep. But
their children are filling their places; and how long this remarkable
sister may continue to work in the vineyard of the Lord, through her
children and children's children, time only can tell.
I well remember that Brother Kline, on this occasion, was the first to
rise. After a few brief but appropriate remarks, he lined out that
joyful old hymn:
"There is a land of pure delight;
Where saints immortal reign...."
At the close of the singing he led in prayer, and the burden of his
prayer was thanksgiving for the glorious hope set before us in the
Gospel. He then delivered a brief but feeling address suited to the
occasion; and Brother Benjamin Bowman, after giving some interesting
facts connected with the Miller family, closed the church services.
THURSDAY, March 15. This day Brother Kline spends in Washington City.
He visits the Representatives' chamber, the Senate chamber, the Patent
office, and other places of public interest. His business, however, is
at Alexandria, in connection with the Manassas Gap Railroad Company.
He is in attendance at a meeting of the officers and stockholders of
said company in the city of Alexandria to-night; makes his report of
the amount of stock in said company which Rockingham County is willing
to take; hears it accepted, and next day returns home. Brother Kline
was deeply interested in this company's road. It is the same which now
passes close along by his place; but he did not live to see its
completion.
THURSDAY, March 22. Council meeting at the old meetinghouse above
Harrisonburg. Brother John Flory is elected to the Word, and Joseph
Good to the deaconship. Dine at William Byrd's and at night attend a
lecture on feet-washing in Dayton, Virginia. Stay all night at Brother
Solomon Garber's.
FRIDAY, March 23. This day Brother Kline, in company of Brother
Solomon Garber, starts up the Valley of Virginia, on horseback, to
the District Conference appointed to meet at the Valley meetinghouse,
in Botetourt County, on Friday, March 30; distant from Brother Kline's
home somewhat over one hundred miles.
SATURDAY, March 24. Dine and feed at Brother Samuel Zink's; then on to
Brother James Sprous's, five miles beyond; and from there to meeting
at Chestnut Grove, two miles distant. Subject, 1 Thess. 5:9.
Brother Daniel Brower, of Augusta County, joined company with them
about this time. On
SUNDAY, March 25, they have meeting at Carr's Creek meetinghouse, and
stay all night at Brother Danner's.
MONDAY, March 26. They stay at Brother William Runnell's.
TUESDAY, March 27. They have meeting in Hampton schoolhouse; dine at
Jonas Hill's, and have night meeting at Rapp's church. They stay all
night at Mathias Rapp's.
WEDNESDAY, March 28. Stay all night at John Pursley's.
THURSDAY, March 29. Dine at Sister Sarah Grabeil's, and stay at
Brother Peter Nininger's.
FRIDAY, March 30 and SATURDAY, March 31. They attend conference at the
Valley meetinghouse. On
SUNDAY, April 1, they attend meeting at the church, and dividing out
go to other appointments in reach.
MONDAY, April 2. They start homeward.
SUNDAY, April 15. Brother James Turner is very sick. I wait on him
to-day.
SUNDAY, May 13. Meeting at Ritchey's schoolhouse. Hebrews 4 is read.
Stay with James Turner all night. He seems a little better.
This is the last night that Brother Kline ever stayed with Brother
James Turner. On
MONDAY, May 14, he took leave of him and started on his way to the
Annual Meeting in Tennessee, never to see Brother Turner's face again
in this world, for in his absence Brother Turner died.
TUESDAY, May 15. Arrive at Brother Benjamin Moomaw's, where I stay all
night.
WEDNESDAY, May 16. Call at Brother David Plain's; then to meeting at
Bethel. Subject, John 14:24. Dine at Brother Moomaw's. Sup at Jacob
Bonsack's: then to night meeting. Brother Jacob Miller speaks. His
subject is the General Epistle of Jude, his discourse being made up of
remarks upon the spirit and general scope of the epistle. Stay all
night at Daniel Kiser's. Fine weather.
THURSDAY, May 17. Arrive at Brother John Lear's, who meets us at the
Union depot. Stay all night with him.
FRIDAY, May 18. Meeting at Knapp's Creek meetinghouse. Matthew 5 is
read. Dine at young Benjamin Basehore's. Then to meetinghouse again.
Subject, "The Pure River of the Water of Life." Revelation 22. Stay
all night at Peter Basehore's.
SATURDAY, May 19. Come to Joseph Bowman's; then go to Jonesborough,
Washington County, Tennessee. Dr. Alpheus Dove is located here, and I
spend the day and night with him.
SUNDAY, May 20. Stop at Conrad Basehore's. Forenoon meeting at the
Valley meetinghouse. Matthew 11 is read. Dine at Brother Conrad
Basehore's. Meeting in afternoon. John 3:7 is my subject. Sup at
Brother Joseph Bowman's and stay there all night.
MONDAY, May 21. Visit David Bowman's, Daniel Bowman's, Sears's, and
get back to Joseph Bowman's for dinner. Toward evening go to Brother
Daniel Crouse's, where I stay all night. Fine weather.
TUESDAY, May 22. Meeting in Brother Henry Swadley's barn. I give a
general talk on the fifteenth chapter of John. Stay all night at
Brother David Garst's.
WEDNESDAY, May 23. Come to Henry Linaweaver's; dine at Brother Samuel
Miller's, and in afternoon have meeting at the Seceder's meetinghouse.
Subject, "The Great Prophet." Stay all night at Brother John Nead's.
Fine day.
THURSDAY, May 24. Afternoon meeting at Brother Benjamin Basehore's. My
subject, Matthew 11, last three verses. Stay there all night.
FRIDAY, May 25. Stop at Emmanuel Arnold's. Meeting in the Limestone
meetinghouse. After meeting, deliberate in committee on the best ways
and means for a more extended and general spread of the Gospel. All
the members of the committee seemed to be impressed with the
importance of the matter under consideration. All agreed that it is
not contrary to gospel order for the church to help such preachers as
are not able, from poverty, to do what their ability as ministers
would enable them to do, if they could spare the time from their work
at home to go more. Many fields are still white unto the harvest. The
Lord may be to-day saying: "I have much people in this city," or in
this place. By this he means, ready to accept salvation and become his
people whenever the door of the church is fairly opened up to them.
Stay all night at Brother David Clepper's.
SATURDAY, May 26. Meeting at the meetinghouse. D.P. Saylor, H. Koontz,
and James Quinter all speak. Ephesians 2 was read. In the afternoon
Peter Nead spoke to a very large and attentive audience.
SUNDAY, May 27. A very heavy rain comes up to-day about meeting time.
We nevertheless have forenoon and afternoon services in the
meetinghouse. Stay all night at Brother Michael Basehore's.
MONDAY, May 28. Gather at the meetinghouse. Organize. Take in
questions: discuss some of them. Fine, delightful day. Stay at Brother
Emmanuel Arnold's.
TUESDAY, May 29. Get through with the business at three o'clock.
Brother Quinter and I come to Jonesborough, where he delivers a sermon
in the Presbyterian church. Subject, Rom. 1:17. TEXT.--"_The just
shall live by faith._"
This text was Luther's sword. With it he slew more of the enemies of
the Reformation than Samson slew of the Philistines with the jawbone
of an ass. The text readily suggests two questions.
_I. Who are the just?_
_II. What is faith?_
These two questions being clearly answered, the grand copula, upon
which the meaning and force of the text depends, is readily understood
as to the quality of the life which it involves. It evidently means a
good life, a holy life, an obedient life, a humble life, a pure life
out of a pure heart. It means that the just or righteous shall live a
life conformed in all respects to the character of that state of heart
in which love to God holds dominant rule, and subordinate love to man
prompts to a life of vital charity.
I. _Who are the just?_ The just, in the sense of the text, are those
who are righteous, and who desire to grow more and more righteous in
God's sight. Men may be righteous in their own sight, and very
unrighteous in God's sight. And precisely the reverse of this: they
may be great sinners in their own sight, and just or righteous in
God's sight. This last state was Paul's experience when he pronounced
himself "the chief of sinners." He felt that he was righteous or just
in God's eye; but in his own eye, enlightened by the Word and Spirit
of the Lord, he was vile. This consciousness gave vent to many
exclamations such as these: "O wretched man that I am! who shall
deliver me from the body of this death?" Again: "For I know that in
me, that is, in my flesh, there dwelleth no good thing." On the other
hand, the Pharisee, who stood praying in the temple was righteous in
his own view of himself, and "thanked God that he was not as other
men"--a sinner like unto them, he meant, of course. This line of
thought suggests another question:
_How are men to become righteous or just?_ "For the scripture hath
concluded all under sin." This same apostle tells us that "we are
justified [made righteous] by faith; ... for with the heart man
believeth unto righteousness." Probably no passage of Scripture has
been subject to worse misconstructions than this one. It has been made
to teach that a mere declaration of faith in Christ procures the
instantaneous forgiveness of all sin, passes the sinner out of death
into life, makes him a regenerate child of God, and gives him an
inalienable title to citizenship in heaven. But I have not so learned
Christ, nor do I understand Paul to teach anything like this. I do not
deny that a sincere and heart confession of Christ is a step, the
first step, to these heavenly blessings; but I do deny that Christian
perfection rests upon a naked confession of him by the mouth. The
thoughtless sinner does not know Christ. He has never in heart so much
as asked the question: "Who is he, Lord, that I may believe on him?"
God has never been in all his thoughts. "The world knew him not," and
the world knows him not now. When one, then, is suddenly wrought upon
by some influence as was the Philippian jailer, by which, in his
distress, he cries out, "What must I do to be saved?" the answer that
Paul gave is exactly the right answer. "Believe in the Lord Jesus
Christ, and thou shalt be saved." And this leads to my second and last
question:
_What is faith?_ I will here give Paul's definition. We come to God by
faith. "And he that cometh unto God"--or to Christ the same--"must
believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently
seek him." Faith must, then, be the very first step in the direction
of receiving good from the Lord. We see striking examples of this in
the life of Jesus on earth. What brought the throng from all
directions that attended and even pressed him? It was faith, the
belief that he could do them good. But it was not spiritual or
heavenly good they sought so much as bodily good. Jesus reminded them
of this in the words: "Ye seek me, not because of the miracles,--" not
because you desire proofs of my divine power to save your souls from
eternal death,--"but because ye ate of the loaves, and were filled."
But true faith, the faith that saves the soul, the faith by which the
just shall live, is _a loving acceptance of the Word of God; every
word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God; for by this doth man
live_. And how does man live by it? By obeying it, by making its
precepts the rule and guide of his life. By faith the Word becomes "a
lamp unto his path." "It is as the light that shineth more and more
unto the perfect day." All who believe the Lord's words, as contained
in our New Testament, because they love their truth, and from the
heart desire to live,--this means, order their lives and conduct by
them,--believe in the Lord Jesus Christ. And these have the promise of
eternal life: "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only
begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life."
These were the leading thoughts in Brother Quinter's discourse to-day.
We stay all night in Jonesborough with Dr. Alpheus Dove.
WEDNESDAY, May 30. Go back to the meetinghouse where the Annual
Meeting was held; arrange some matters left back in our hands; then go
together to Brother Jacob Nead's, where we stay all night.
THURSDAY, May 31. Start homeward.
SUNDAY, July 22. Meeting at Turner's schoolhouse in the Gap. Brother
Solomon Garber is with me. Mark 12 is read. Dine at the widow James
Turner's, and go to James Fitzwater's, where we stay all night on our
way to some of the western counties of Virginia.
The counties to which the two brethren were going are included in West
Virginia, which, as is well known, was organized a State during the
Rebellion. The people living among the mountains are generally
hospitable, and much attached to the scenes of their childhood and
that wild freedom of nature found in the mountains that surround them.
The motto engraved upon the State Seal of West Virginia is very
expressive and appropriate, and in Latin reads thus: "_Montani liber
semper sunt_." Translated, it reads thus: "Mountaineers are ever
free." The people are noted for the attention with which they listen
to the preaching of the Gospel. Brother Kline often spoke of the
pleasure it gave him to preach in these sections, because the Word was
received with so much readiness. His success among them proved this.
They were devotedly attached to him; and it is questionable if in any
part of the Brotherhood deeper grief was felt over his martyrdom than
that which filled the hearts of the brethren and sisters and friends
in West Virginia.
MONDAY, July 23. Cross the Shenandoah mountain over to the South Fork,
and have meeting at Zion, in Hardy county, 2 Corinthians 5 was read.
Dine at Nimrod Judy's, and in afternoon have a small gathering at
Leonard Brake's on the Fork four miles below Zion, for social prayer.
We then cross the Fork mountain to John Judy's, on South Mill Creek,
where we have night meeting, and stay all night. Attended three
meetings to-day; and traveled thirty-three miles on Nell's back across
two very high mountains.
TUESDAY, July 24. Meeting at Isaac Judy's, about four miles higher up
on the same creek. Brother Solomon Garber spoke from Luke 24:26,
"Ought not Christ to have suffered these things, and to enter into his
glory?" He spoke with much clearness and order in his mind. After
dinner we traveled by way of the Upper Track, across the South Branch
mountain, sixteen miles, to Solomon Harman's, near the North Fork.
Stay there all night.
WEDNESDAY, July 25. On this journey Brother Kline has noted the
distance traveled over between one point and the next in most cases.
Thus: Come to William Adamson's at the mouth of Seneca (five miles);
then to Seneca meetinghouse (two miles); find a congregation; speak
from John 3:14, 15, 16. Come to Jesse Harper's (two miles); dine; then
to widow Cooper's (eight miles); stay all night.
THURSDAY, July 26. Meeting at widow Cooper's; subject, Luke 14; dine;
then have meeting at soldier White's. Subject, 1 John 3:4; then come
to Abraham Summerfield's, where we stay all night. Fine day.
FRIDAY, July 27. Come to Levi Wilmot's (sixteen miles), and have a two
o'clock meeting. Subject, Matthew 5. Stay there all night.
SATURDAY, July 28. Cross the mountain to Leading Creek to Charles
Burke's (eight miles); and after dinner have meeting at the
meetinghouse (two miles). Council meeting continues till evening. Stay
all night at Brother Simon's.
SUNDAY, July 29. John 6 is read. Brother Solomon Garber speaks from
verses 44 and 45. Council meeting again; considerable discord; get
things partially settled by evening. Stay all night again at Brother
Simon's.
MONDAY, July 30. Come to Burke's again. Stay all night at Brother
Wilson's; fine day, but river high from yesterday's rain, and fords in
bad condition and dangerous.
TUESDAY, July 31. Come to Middle Fork of Cheat river (eight miles),
but find the river past fording, and have to go round by the bridge
(five miles), and on to Brother George Yager's (five miles), where we
dine; then to the meetinghouse, where I speak on John 14:6. We then
come to Peck's Run. meetinghouse and speak on Rev. 3:20, "Behold, I
stand at the door and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the
door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me."
Stay all night at Philip Dupoy's. Much rain to-day.
WEDNESDAY, August 1. Afternoon meeting at Houser's (ten miles); speak
from John 3:16. Stay all night at Houser's. Fine day.
THURSDAY, August 2. Meeting at ten o'clock, and love feast in the
evening. Luke 14 is read. Brother Solomon Garber baptizes Mrs. Jacob
Neff. Fine day and night. The love feast to-night is a healing balm to
our hearts.
FRIDAY, August 3. Council meeting at Houser's meetinghouse. Joseph
Houser and Joseph Michael are forwarded to baptize, perform marriage
ceremonies, and do other work within the defined limits of their
degree in the ministry. Come to Brother George Yager's (ten miles),
where we stay all night. Fine day. I baptized two persons to-day.
SATURDAY, August 4. After dinner come round by the bridge (six miles)
to Middle Fork (five miles), to Union schoolhouse (six miles), and
have meeting. Subject, John 14:16, 17. Stay all night at William
Wilson's. Clear and warm day.
SUNDAY, August 5. Very heavy rain throughout the forenoon. Start at
one o'clock to Union meetinghouse (seven miles); have meeting.
Subject, Mark 4:24. Go to John Skidmore's (five miles), where we stay
all night.
MONDAY, August 6. Come to Josiah Simon's (four miles). We have meeting
at the meetinghouse. Make remarks on the general scope of Hebrews 4,
and particular remarks on the thirteenth verse. Counsel after meeting.
Josiah Simon is forwarded to baptize. We stay all night at Levi
Wilmot's (six miles).
TUESDAY, August 7. Dine at John Wiat's; then to Abraham Summerfield's
(eighteen miles) to meeting. Subject, Titus 2:11, "For the grace of
God that bringeth salvation hath appeared unto all men." Stay all
night at Thomas S. White's.
WEDNESDAY, August 8. Come to Seneca meetinghouse (twelve miles). Luke
14 is read. Dine at Elburn's; stay all night at Ely Bland's (eight
miles). The entire time between Thursday, July 26, and the above date
we have spent in Randolph County. We are now in Pendleton County.
THURSDAY, August 9. Come to Circleville on the North Fork of the South
Branch (seven miles). Meeting in Circleville. Subject, Hebrews 12:1,
2, 3. Dine at Samuel Sollenberger's. Afternoon meeting. Brother
Solomon Garber speaks from Heb. 2:1, 2, 3. Stay all night at Solomon
Pharo's.
FRIDAY, August 10. Come to Brother Noah H. Lamb's. Meeting at Friend
Run schoolhouse (eight miles). Subject, John 1:11, 12, 13. Dine at
Noah H. Lamb's. Meeting at schoolhouse again. Brother Solomon Garber
speaks on conversion and baptism. Nine persons are baptized, viz, Noah
H. Lamb and wife, Henry Elyard and wife, Ban Lambert and wife, Elias
Wimer and wife, and John Wesley Lambert. Fine day but warm. Brother
Solomon Garber's remarks on conversion were very searching. It is
difficult to see how any one, after hearing such a discourse with an
understanding mind, could be self-deceived. I have great hopes in
regard to the genuineness of those who have been baptized to-day. His
remarks on baptism were necessarily brief, but pointed and clear. We
stay all night at Henry Elyard's.
SATURDAY, August 11. Come to John Hammer's on the South Branch, a few
miles below Franklin. Have meeting at the home of Jacob Hammer.
Subject, Acts 10. Dine at Jacob Hammer's. Meeting in the afternoon.
Solomon Garber speaks from James 1. Stay all night at John Hammer's.
Fine day.
SUNDAY, August 12. Come to Mountain Grove (four miles). Speak on John
3:4, 5, 6, 7. Dine at John Eye's. Afternoon meeting at Lough's church.
Brother Solomon Garber speaks from 2 Cor. 5:17. Come to Joel Siple's
where we stay all night.
MONDAY, August 13. Rain last night and this morning. Come to Peter
Warnstaff's (seven miles), take dinner with him and his kind mother
and sister; and at three o'clock start to John Fulk's, on top of
Shenandoah mountain (eight miles), where we stay all night.
TUESDAY, August 14. Stop awhile at Philip Ritchey's; dine at Philip
Baker's: and in evening get home.
MONDAY, December 31. Cloudy this morning. Snow eleven inches deep. I
work at my sleigh. Clears up prettily this evening. I have traveled in
the year 1860, 5,686 miles; married five couples; preached twenty
funerals, ten for children under ten years of age, one between ten and
twenty, two between thirty and fifty, two between sixty and seventy,
and five above seventy.
TUESDAY, January 1, 1861. The year opens with dark and lowering clouds
in our national horizon. I feel a deep interest in the peace and
prosperity of our country; but in my view both are sorely threatened
now. Secession is the cry further south; and I greatly fear its
poisonous breath is being wafted northward towards Virginia on the
wings of fanatical discontent. A move is clearly on hand for holding a
convention at Richmond, Virginia; and while its advocates publicly
deny the charge, I, for one, feel sure that it signals the separation
of our beloved old State from the family in which she has long lived
and been happy. The perishable things of earth distress me not, only
in so far as they affect the imperishable. Secession means war; and
war means tears and ashes and blood. It means bonds and imprisonments,
and perhaps even death to many in our beloved Brotherhood, who, I have
the confidence to believe, will die, rather than disobey God by taking
up arms.
The Lord, by the mouth of Moses, says: "Be sure your sin will find you
out." It may be that the sin of holding three millions of human beings
under the galling yoke of involuntary servitude has, like the bondage
of Israel in Egypt, sent a cry to heaven for vengeance; a cry that has
now reached the ear of God. I bow my head in prayer. All is dark save
when I turn my eyes to him. He assures me in his Word that "all things
work together for good to them that love him." This is my ground of
hope for my beloved brethren and their wives and their children. He
alone can provide for their safety and support. I believe he will do
it.
WEDNESDAY, January 30. Write a letter to John Letcher, Governor of
Virginia, in which I set before him in a brief way the doctrines which
we as a body or church, known as Brethren, German Baptists or
Dunkards, have always held upon the subject of obedience to the
"rightful authority and power of government." We teach and are taught
obedience to the "powers that be;" believing as we do that "the powers
that be are ordained of God," and under his divine sanction so far as
such powers keep within God's bounds. By _God's bounds_ we understand
such laws and their administrations and enforcements as do not
conflict with, oppose, or violate any precept or command contained in
the Divine Word which he has given for the moral and spiritual
government of his people. By _government_, to which we as a body
acknowledge and teach our obligations of duty and obedience, we
understand rightful human authority. And by this, again, we
understand, as the Apostle Paul puts it, "the power that protects and
blesses the good, and punishes the evildoer." The general Government
of the United States of America, constituted upon an inseparable union
of the several States, has proved itself to be of incalculable worth
to its citizens and the world, and therefore we, as a church and
people, are heart and soul opposed to any move which looks toward its
dismemberment.
This is in substance what I wrote to John Letcher, Governor of
Virginia.
I likewise attend Abraham Shue's sale: The candidates for seats in the
Convention to meet in Richmond were on the ground, actively speaking
both publicly and privately. Mr. George Chrisman, one of them, a man
of preëminent wisdom in things relating to government, publicly avowed
himself opposed to secession on the basis of both principle and
policy. "On the ground of principle," said he, "secession violates the
pledge of sacred honor made by the several States when they set their
hands and seals to the Constitution of the United States. On the
ground of policy," continued he, "the secession of Virginia will
culminate in the breaking up of her long-cherished institutions,
civil, social, and, to some extent, religious."
FRIDAY, February 1. Write to John T. Harris, our representative in
Congress. Beseech him to do all he can to avert the calamity that now
threatens us, by pouring oil upon the troubled waters until the
tempest of passion abates. I esteem him as an incorruptible patriot at
heart. May the Lord guide him and all the other lawmakers of our land.
SATURDAY, February 9. Martha Kline, wife of John B. Kline, dies very
suddenly to-day.
SUNDAY, February 10. Funeral of our dear sister, Martha Kline, at our
meetinghouse. TEXT.--"I have fought a good fight; I have finished my
course; I have kept the faith." Age, twenty-eight years and eight
days.
FRIDAY, April 5. Council meeting at our meetinghouse, William Summers
and wife, Harvey Fifer and wife, Sophia Fifer, Sally Wampler and Sally
Helbert are to-day baptized by Jacob Miller. A terribly malignant type
of diphtheria has recently made its appearance in the Shenandoah
Valley and is now invading our immediate neighborhood. Four of Andrew
Crist's children are now dangerously ill with the disease. Some in
other families have died; and others are sick. The outlook, both as to
health and peace, is very disheartening. But we are admonished in the
Divine Word not to fear. The people of God have a better portion than
this world can give--"an enduring substance, which death can never
reach."
SUNDAY, April 7. Attend the funeral of Christian Shoemaker in the Gap.
His age was about eighty years.
SUNDAY, April 21. Meeting at our meetinghouse. Great excitement on
account of secession and war movements. The volunteers are being
called out to enter the field of war, and God only knows what the end
will be. There is great commotion everywhere in the realm of thought
and sentiment, men's hearts failing them for fear, the sea and the
waves of human passion roaring.
THURSDAY, May 2. Council meeting at our meetinghouse. I this day
baptize Isaac Kline, Lucretia Spitzer, Joseph Wampler and wife,
Rebecca Driver, Anna Kline and John McKee's wife.
FRIDAY, May 3. Go to Nimrod Judy's on the South Fork, where I stay all
night.
SATURDAY, May 4. Snow this morning. Have meeting at Jess Mitchell's.
Second Corinthians 4 is read. Stay all night at John Davis's.
SUNDAY, May 5. Meeting at Jacob Collers's on the Shenandoah mountain.
Luke 10 is read.
SUNDAY, May 12. Perform the marriage ceremony of James Fitzwater and
Catharine Showalter, at the house of her father, Brother Anthony
Showalter. I then attend meeting at the Brush meetinghouse, and after
meeting witness the baptism by Brother Jacob Spitzer of Mrs. Beahm,
Mrs. Henry Frank, Mrs. Hottinger, and two of Michael Showalter's
daughters.
FRIDAY, May 17. At home calmly enjoying the company of Dr. Jacob
Driver, of Allen County, Ohio.
The Editor was intimately acquainted with Dr. Driver; and as he and
Brother Kline were lifelong friends and in later years of their lives
brethren, a brief reminiscence of Dr. Driver will here be given: Jacob
Driver was born in Rockingham County, Virginia, about the year 1801.
His parents came from Pennsylvania, and their baptism into the church
of the Brethren is noted in this biography. About the year 1838,
Jacob, their eldest son, became very strongly impressed with the
rational and logical arguments given by Dr. Samuel Thompson in a work
written and published by him entitled: "GUIDE TO HEALTH." This guide
indicated and represented the way from sickness back to health as
being very short and easy to find, exempt from dangers and free from
doubt. Jacob Driver entered the field of medical practice, and his
success in that line added enthusiasm to his faith, by which as time
went on, mountains were removed. He soon deservedly acquired the title
of "Doctor;" and although not conferred by a medical college, still
the title of "Doctor of Medicine" has rarely been conferred by diploma
upon a man more worthy to hold it, or borne with the honors of better
success. His removal with his family to Allen County, Ohio, in the
autumn of 1852, was deplored by many families in Rockingham, who had
learned to depend upon him as their most trustworthy medical adviser.
He died in Allen County about the year 1867, leaving an excellent
lineage of sons and daughters, among whom Jacob, his youngest son, is
now an active minister in the church of the Brethren. The ties of
affection which bound the hearts of Brother John Kline and Jacob
Driver into an inseparable union were those of a double brotherhood:
brethren in church, and brethren in medical practice.
SATURDAY, May 18. Dine at John Bowman's above Harrisonburg, and stay
all night at Daniel Thomas's.
SUNDAY, May 19. Meeting in the Beaver Creek meetinghouse and at two
other places near by. A very great concourse of people on the ground.
The spiritual peace and composure of heart, however, usually manifest
in the Brotherhood on all former occasions of this kind, is sadly
interfered with now by the distracted state of our country. But the
weather is pleasant, and we hope to have a good meeting. Preaching in
the meetinghouse to-night, and also in Dayton, Virginia.
MONDAY, May 20. The Annual Meeting opens to-day at Beaver Creek
meetinghouse, in Rockingham County, Virginia. First, organize for
counsel; take in questions; have public preaching in forenoon. "Much
people." In afternoon form subcommittees. Some rain and mist to-day.
Stay all night at Martin Miller's.
TUESDAY, May 21. Proceed with business to-day; work through four
committees. Cool but pleasant day. Stay all night at Isaac Miller's.
WEDNESDAY, May 22. Get through with business by eleven o'clock, and
the Annual Meeting breaks up, most of those present from the North as
well as from the South carrying away with them heavier hearts than
they ever before have borne from a meeting of this kind. Many prayers
were offered in the course of its progress in the behalf of our
country. The Shekinah of God's care may be gloriously waving over our
heads now, and we not able to see it. The Red Sea is before us, but
Jehovah will part its waters for us to go through unharmed.
When Egypt's king God's chosen tribes pursued,
In crystal walls the admiring waters stood:
When through the desert wilds he led their way,
The rock relented, and poured forth a sea.
What limits can Almighty Goodness know,
When seas can harden, and when rocks can flow?
SATURDAY, June 1. Go to Jesse Mitchell's, in Pendleton County,
Virginia, where I stay all night.
SUNDAY, June 2. Meeting at Jesse Mitchell's. Speak from 1 Cor. 1:17.
THURSDAY, June 6. Attend the burial of Brother Samuel Myers near the
head of Linville Creek. His age was forty-six years, eight months and
eight days. He leaves a widow and comparatively young family to battle
with the ills of life. May God bless and keep them as he only can.
SATURDAY, 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.