The Lutheran visitor. (Columbia, S.C.) 1869-1904, January 04, 1871, Image 1
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oon ntetion irtth 1 «nt Mdfc* But <*■ wl it tU n-pnuiMWt at L'lhtMMi
<l^in> that ttn> hcxBi-* of Am- frlt-mh and aitnam. ,tkey did not dt-.n u.
sbonl.T wmHnmi wifi, in In *k<It* n*y m<mU uat, umiil wiUi tUu
<* "** **■•**• ** toKaoa.rorth,uad l tovyd**>»<*»'feh
to the reading of the Paris* Ttrifer,
the Christian at Work, the first page
of Pte KpUonpoHa n, or some such
ik1?CBL^HKr
WEPN2SP
ttfrJMLfct «* lt,^
& MLL ER.
strong* Ml we desire that their
atllutf ^ ,.,4. _^y ^ kfolwk fc u A A k
"“H wl“Wl (TOIHlUilfD wt> r"Pt Iflfl
the death of their bodies. Yet thrtr
bodies have ;>eriah*d,'WhrHfe*tAiKl
Ihg' hit oar desires fi»r their pe»
longed ©xistwwfc^rftjd with them
hate perished,' sire, *ff the mesas
whereby we knew a* the Ixtotencc
of their spirits. May not their spir
its, them, hate ^risked with their
bodies f When the east was thus
presented, sad it washy every death
of a human body, the hope of phi
losophers, based upon the atroogrift
ariamentw they could drew from the
lidlrt of ttatare, gate wsy, aadtoM
them that thetr desires werivby lhi\
to be aw(H iii i ed with mumm
««, jWspse titef f^ere opppsfd to it,
and amawwlsl Hiss who qww to
soak and (a as vs* for dtreftti to
redai** them. Urn isypsvm sad our
fMd tbsm, Ue tmllad their attestem,
the feet that mankind gs*.
•rally rejoice ia mooli smaller mot
lying in their graves. Though you
go, yon sriH have to wait ontil they
shall have been raised. For they
“shell rise first/ not tmfcc* tbs
wished dead shall be rawed, as has
towelimee HpgLJgtfo}'<^iii4y inter
preted, but Ik lore ttithings
tbs nev er disembodied tftintv shall
go to meet the Lend. Then all sbaQ
be saoght up iugrthrr in the clouds,
to meet the Lord to to* air, and to
be aver with the Lord. “Where
annum
«a the
turn* indirectly, by implicate**, that
they should nut nnt*lihtf it banmtlb
tbsawelves to be interested hi tbs
or anrecRTii i>
(our inch of -<i
tor bfsvaa ia interested in it , *A»
i lira, suite tfc* Lord Adtinvah,, I
have no pleasure at the death of the
wicked; bat. that the wfc&td should
turn fram Ida way and Uvt%--is the
UdAg iu which l take jdsaesnv. To
thing f—*> ^, } ,n\ w „.
wiaswdwid
*t eentdFof
o are rent..
ate of
la aU our ehangHbi life, there ia
no hiding pluoe where oar Saviour
eaa not find ns. Alike in the clear
bright sunshine, or in the darkening
gloom of the winter storm, his eye is
over bis people, and his infinite
knowledge weighs them in the bnl-
snoe. When the hib is steep, and
briar* and thorns grow up its steep
ascent, hr k watching the weary
*<»*. and helps and pities them as
they strain up the mountain side.
When the fond lies through velvet
Inwaa, and beside peaceful waters,
the Hbejiherd gates tenderly, yet
tearfully upon them, ter these are the
“Enchanted Grounds,* where there Is
danger that the pflgrim ftd! into a
and upw;ml>.
‘Ton Fboriwms and, Aon baa who are
t* peering hrerefe think k tewrekb
you to ho interested in thoir repent
aasr, hut thMsn who h»v* guns to
payable in
»rt.r.
g'lUBBt
ly interested M aH qnestiooa whleh
tom b upon the enlatdbte% the «m-
dlthm, and the retatVxm of hninan
spirits disembodied. What rid that
change called death actually bet
How will this fhfokrog, feelln|r some
thing within us eaflsd spirit—which
now animates and eoutrols thin body
—which now through this body cone
mitnioateo its thoughts and feelings
to other similar souls within other
similar bodies—how win it feet and
think when ft comes to ha disem
bodied ? Concerning this state we
may wonder; but we can form no
proper conception of it, having nev
er tried it nor anything like It We
need not, how over, be impatient, ter
we will soon know.
Concerning ad disembodied spirits
which had, before leaving tela world,
»n interest in Christ by faith, tbs
Scriptures declare that their present
disembodied condition hf“ter better"
than was their previous omboiHmeot.
milling the rebuke, to auntnmt thoir
pride and iodiflereooe with the Jng
uf Jehovah, whom they tailed ihrte
God, over cue repentiug stnocr. Of
enures “holy pngsis* sad |h* S*ir\U
uf just area made ponses’* sss In
snob a fnum* of mind that limy
wonld rsjutes nvar such rvpwntiag
tDnttreUiwi and arguments is
needed. With these alone a certain
kind of preparation can be made,
bat nut obe that will enable us to
reach the hearts fad nourish the
souls of others. What is needed f
Warm sympathy, a glowing zeal, a
fire within that wfTl melt till material
isk tbd desirable Shape and oonste
Having .had beloved farm
depart trop^this work , we
sot aroi4 following the a wit
thoughts; land onr^jfcreg|fl|g
uat«T»Ily take the tend of
tions. Do they exist |eyou<
gravel J ^ie they haj py tJ
walking on the slrirts of the broad
forest of thp world, or whether they
r them again t M
nan spirits ei at. in their
i state, lias ever been
ilso frtHjueutlv express'd
ias of mask ml. There
only a few theoretical
ip ancient ai d in mod-
and these hi ,ve ex|*tisl
not entirely in. lands
by Kevdatii u. Doubt
lave been dn wu out by
anion to himself He knows when
they extend a helping hand to the
pale children of sorrow, mad when
they shut their ears to the cry of the
desolate. Their motives are all open
before him. Men judge by results.
Christ sees the secret spring.
Let the thought that our Maker
knows our works stimulate ns to do
and dare for him. When the spirit
is weary la well-doing, let ns lift its
eyes to Jesus, who went about doing
good. In the hour of prayer let us
take encouragement, because he who
knows of its secret wrestlings will
hear and sustain. Upborne by the
, Should the uiiilreftN of a kitchen
•sleet the choicest vegetables nod
the most coveted meats, and yet
have no regard to the fire in her
range, her table, however attractive
in appearance, mould furnish noth
inf palatable or noprishlDg for the
hungry. To prepare acceptable food,
•he most be sure that her fire bums.
So we must be aare there is the
proper degree of warmth in our own
«f thoughts and teH
ilteeuibotliad spirits of the salats in
fUry are latently watshiag th«Kr
friends on earth, and are sacked
with bop*# or fo*re as they are there
giving evkfottre ef rrpsntanrii re
tha contrary. '
h and West
i all Xydii
d, and Bag-
points.
57%g|£
Thivhl say s, “As I mused, the fire
bamed.** And many devout Chris
tian*, as they have meditated and
canmstiy sought the assistance of
the Hedy Spirit, have found the fire
kindling up in th**r bosoms and pee
paring them to speak to the hearts
of their follow men. But aO we not
thus highly favored, and some have
found additional Weans not a little
cottdtKxve to this same end.
A clergyman of my acquaintance
a few weeks ago found himself, on a
Saturday evening, unprepared for
htM three apiH>iutments of the follow■]
iag Sabbath. He, had selected his
Lexta, meditated, prayed and stud
ied, and obtained abundant knowl
edge, but stin felt that his knowl
edge was crude, ami that if he were
to speak in that frame of mind, ft
would be with much labor to hhnself
and no profit to his hearers.
Instead of using the last momenta
of the week in fofther effort* to sys
tematise and arrange hit thoughts,
ho toft his stady awl went ta a
meeting of the Young Mens' CUrto-
foritre
^ptures very distinctly
homao spir to oxint in
died state. 5 » teaching,
otter what nankin^ in-
teel, and feeing w*th to
rcepting, M < mws^ jhose
tence ia ambit ered l>^ the
ibie weight o theirj own
; wwrtblessngw ami guilt,
foat it liad bfeu gm d for
f they had »evcw been
jjjMfi howev* tv tbUi felt
iteuikiml for hture ,t>xis-
[never a suftic eufe ground
the “sinriwv milk of the
sensation and mould U
preachers, in their attemp
up ’the foehnga of thsir
W« hear*) nno in a am
that, if anv af its ssiLfi
In a printing office, sometime*,
when a form or page is not well
locked up, a type, a word, or a
tine drops out and spoils the mean
iag. The chase must be square and
sound, and the quoins Urm and well
driven. So when a church has no
definite rule of faith, and no dis
ciplinary appliances by which to
bold meo together; in the looseness
of doctrine and duty, men drop out
from their appointed places in entire
words and lines, as represented in
the fettowbood of families—drop out
and are pied, marring the signifi
cance of great congregations.
It ia difficult to read the meaning
for that we would he unclothed, hot
clothed upon, that mortality might
be swallowed up of life.” It h in
finitely better for a% while in this
world, t« lie “in Christ? than to bs
out of Hum ? hot it will be “for
better” to be “with Christ” though
“absent from the body,” than So be
in Him wbUe. ia the body. Yet the
beet of aft will be, te be “over with
the Lord,” “clothed upas with oar
bouse which is -from heaven,” in-
vested with those powerful, ira
mortal, glorious resurrection bodies
which the Scriptures promise. There
distinctions the Scripture* dearly
make. Sometime* we Overlook them
and predicate ot the disembodied
apirit thing* taught only refqtecttng
the whole man, whore soul ami body
shall have been re united.
’t Concerning human spirit* ia their
disembodied state it tore generally
bee* assureed shat they have other
channels of intercourse in the stead
of those which perished with thoir
hdfiy^ mid that by means of them
they exchange thoughts, and mutu
ally excite feelings to one another,
just m they had been accustomed to
do while toatbe body. Then, pro-
they would “inquire for his daagh
tar from * , and tell her that the
tost rime they saw the ohl man. her
father, ho was at -—, laboring with
all his might for the advancement
We hoard of another who rode surer
distance to deliver to a dying chrin
tian a vaJU>t of family news, nod
some of it rather carnal news, to
band over, on her arrival to heaven,
to his daughter who bad bee* snire
lime away from earth. And we
have heard others of Um senaatioa
school attempting t.» work np the
feeling* of thoir auditory hy repm
•eoting the departed spirits of thoir
deeaared Ct tends ns hovering around
and looking on with intense interest
at the struggles to the luwaste of
their earthly friends who are to daa-
ger of gristing Um Hpirit.
> r ow, to pay,the very Uutet, Ihres
are very questionable applionres. It
was not with thfso that 1’sal caused
Felix to tratable >uid Agrlppa to cry
oat, “Almost thou persuadeot ms to
be * Christian.* Surely, sa>* one,
they are Komaotou who hare been
doing such things 1 So, surely they
*rt- Mteie Ungll, ignorant, f/harirai
sect t JTo, all tha preachers reflfo
ml to. bviougiHl to a largo and in
fluential denomination that glories to
ito orthodoxy, in its, <minsert atism,
and to the toaruing, taleuto and
piety of iu miuistry. If they knew
that the friend to whom they would
send the message, and also the one
by whom they, would send lt*wUw
oeiteinly reach heaven -4f they.knew
that the spiriteof men in heaven Are
racked accordtog to what wgfft their
geographical tocatiusa—if they knew
spirits to. their disem
bodied Mate have any means of to
tercommuuicutMig ids.^. aud that
they are not 1 otherwise employed
than ip talking ever the affairs of
this world—then there would be
^ome urubaLiilii v that a ^at
from earth woold reach tha desired
destiii.it ion. I tut -in •• it i. coiitiiUou
ed upon so malty {/#, nt> one oC whkfo
^ *>&‘y ptota Scripture
wbdicver, if even that doc
trine should be rev^fi They arc,
£hert‘fur-ej jjbad mental philosophers
wbh wpipi explain this strong de-
«rv- universally elt, by sup
tetneUnly, a ray back to
tlw <.Uukunliistorical tmes of our
nu)e,jlto imagi te that the
merit* ci the <lead stil exist, that
he told P s iniaginatior to others,
tiwt toey happened' to be pleased
with it, and that they4* tarn hand
ed it dowji to utlier^. A well might
timy exppn the foet ti it men per-
^ bfi keen tktog^ be relation
of cause and eflect, or mrceive the
grand am snlilime in
bj .supposing ti» it some one
bapiJOiiel jto unagioe. « icli p^rfec-
tions atfflj then teuglinr.tob' is sa'
For thg phestlou wilf *1 ji come up,
How kasjUt happened tha , for nearly
6,000 y«*r*, nearly the whole hu-
»»« fo*»|y have been j leased with
beta are missing. The blanks arrest
the ere of the world before the
beauties. A full pew will not begin
to excite the remarks that an empty
pew will exrite, because these breaks
and vaeanms are unnatural. Borne
fashionable churches prefer, doubt
less, to hare the people adjusted in
select groups, and for between, rich
ly dad and sweetly scented, in a
kind of poetical measure ot fours
sod iwoe, the vacant places of crim
son cushion being supposed only to
give accent syllabled solemnity that
vaages Itself rhythmically across the >
pews, as a printer arrange* short
ened bat deep-thonghted * poems
across tbs middle of the page. But
there is mare truth than poetry to
• solid page of print at last
A student to a boarding-school,
on handing his composition to the
teacher, Iwas asked, “Why do you
begin every line with a capital let
ter W j “Why, air, that’s poetry/
Just as if! And to are the manner
to which some pewed churches ar- v
Christians from abroad w ere to take
part to the exercises. Some things
that he heard there did not accord
with his teste; but he did not go
there to criticise or gratify his taste.
He went to pot hiamelf alongside of
those whose hearts had been “touch
ed with a live coal from off the altar, 9
to worship God and catch a spark
of that life other* were manifesting.
And he came away to quite a differ
eat condition from that to which he
went. He felt that his subjects for
the uext day were vastly more im
portent and practical than he had
before imagined. Hi* knowledge was
to the right shape, and text* and
illustrations came in abundance; and
the work of the next d*y was per
formed with great care to himself
and apparent acoeptablenees to his
oongregations. “The fire burnt.” ,
. I very one who has given religions
instruction daring a genuine revival,
“a season of refreshing from the
pretence of the Lord, 9 has noticed
bow readily at such a time the mind'
is adapted to
tereoarre will fie restored and im
proved. “-Bat for some reason the
•sripistts hnvw sot used tWs »
Miinuwl I iak^>W mite! ms a/ .vmwnl'i
WllHvtl *iM.t flff* rw* W-MA * * •» •
tton; hut srirwys pass oa to the
fit* — a M~t* 11 m ml. I ^ I ytte- I sa.
K~rei YUrlr ffl WW n WlllUlnNI in HHIIf
indefinite, distant thture Mate, If
r>i.‘ H««inn.d Middl'd real OUIS It bre
ever besagWnd for a fotog time uwy
eoatimte to be, mneh nearer to the
greater partita of mankind ritaa tha
this toi«?i>»ath§baud Ua SjjWltiql j^
it, «Wt4*r£»t|fc ot *th. r ima«:
uatious a* good »» thii if this be
“Ot trufert have nevta* bo u told the
*»ecomi timof f V.
There ho an m aptftti*H) in
the hie* to meet * router adapto-
tioa toijt^e henrta of men, or it
would not jknve pistole} 1 90 widely
anti exirijto *° 1 «»«* Y t, aotwith r
standing; this adaptatioj, there wa*
nanrii to- <le.pres* the hop* of rapt. ^
We btof no coburiotu uere of ,tim
guartlian angels and “mtatetering
s|*ms” to their friends there txdow.
notions may be realities, r Ws do
pot wish to tic understood *s deny
tog; that they may be. This we
could not do uMleAa. ssfo* Bcriptsro,
explicitly qr by nuavoidable impli
vat ion, denied ijk But While no such
.deinal i# ra\(le f HLt is just as eertaiu
that no such doctrine is taught, by
any fair interpretation af any text-
The one usually relied ou: “There
shah b* joy to fcfotJM over ooo
sinner that ropewteth 9 does not *t
all require the iutorpfetation that
the saints in heaven know what fe
taking place here on earth- The
Pharisee* and Scribes.,took no Inter.
<£ <>«r own spi its, excujK:
tion with pas bbdie*. We
Piect toe existeu of otlisr
►frits until we i re certified
i existence pf t icir bodies,
ibfer that they ave sphfos
te ms shall uot ao. If von
should be privileged to awajfiS
coming of our Lord, and withe*
dying, go with him to the mansions
he has prepared for hi* jkfeods, do
gives hint of the student** vain «*-
bition, “Why, air, torn is poetry/
Jnshaa if, agsto!—IForWsy Ckrit-
fidutiv v "^" ' ~ .v -■*,
■ ■ . « — • — \V
It is better to endow one man,
who will work as the Father works,
j«t the right laud of a discourse.
Whyisthist Ia it not because the
instructor has hhnself the requisite
fire within t ^ fu>; *,
The clergyman above alluded to,
when he feels the lack of this fire) is
accustomed to give a half hour or ao