The Lutheran visitor. (Columbia, S.C.) 1869-1904, November 24, 1871, Image 1
ONE LOED, ONE FAITH, ONE BAFTI8M”—EPHESIANS IV: $
COLUMBIA, 8. C., FRIDAY. NOVEMBER 24. 1871
life of tbe next ; ua their decay
make* nourishment for tbe new buds
ami blossoms that are to be, ao the
lavishing of our camul strength,
all mercy—mercy too great for reek
oolng. Our Tffe la a wood, wherein
are tangled thorn*; hot Haten a mo
mentf la it not fall of aweet aoog
birds, akin to thoee of Paradise?
God la good la qa a* all points, and
greatly good loo. Than la m royal
road lo learning, bat there ia a royal
wicked ahafUbe turned Into UWl. dful
all tbenafiftisthat fhrgaftKpr"^
One advantage served by the
preralent eastern I* that it enaoren
that there ahall be In erery sermon
at leant one good thing. The text
It too often the only good thing tn a
uermon. ft 1a often the only part
that fastens itself upon the memory
of tbe bearer. The* la modi room
for both good taste and good aenae
on the part of a preacher in the ae-
lection* of kia text*. Only tm one
occaakm did oor Saviour speak from
a text of Scripture; and even then
hla subject waa derived from a whole
pa wage, rather than a tingle ten
tenor. Hi* more aet discourses, aa
well aa private eouverwtioa*, mo
to have been suggested bv aomethtng
«id tn him, or by aomethlng in the
aadtont* to whom he apoke—,t. O.
a Wifiilmr
jit bii an u-jm*
p* ilAinfqi 1
ore. “lie deaceoded Into bell f that
ia, he certainty waa dead, am hi
aapbyxia or coma, not feinting or
collapsed; hit Mol pnaaed oat into
tbe world of spirit*, ae that than
waa aa complete a reparation be
tween bis soul >nd body as it vn
possible to effect. “Tbe third day
he rose again ;* came back to the
body he had left !n the grave. It
waa accessary that he should have
left it there, soar to have personal
hold words in every port of the sir*
ihfled world. Little children, aa soon
aa they mm say anything, are taught
to lisp the name «f Jeans, and to
aufoiq
la aombwieas tiabbath schools and
Christian congregations the teachings
of Jesus arc unfolded every Lord's
day, and Uia uame ia fragrant aa
oialmant poured forth. tni . 4
fcfoeb, limn, ia the mighty differ
ence ia the results of these men's
teachings; and how is it to be ac
counted for l Uow 1 Ia only one
way. tiooratce, though aa earnest
enquirer after truth, wae—what be
professed tn be—a frail, iguosant
mortal, groping after truth, hut
•manual) able to had it or to he
kindness, |*vsd with crystal biooka
of graoe, all of pose geld, libs auto
d on tbs rub-
tipcst payini tit
perpetual. Be made a human body
tbe indestructible temple of the Btei
nal God, and is now aa visible in it
as he was when seen on Calvary, or
oo the Lake of Galilee, because “be
ascended into heaven."
*1'collect 1
mr piper
. u. '
fed, that A
•learn* waa—what he proiemed to be
—“the Light of the world
A part of that iron, artificial ays
tern by which the auaistv) uf the
present day la enslaved, is that the
preacher ia expected to take a single
passage of Scripture and coafiae bis
discourse to Its dacidatioa. All
aiatter which the text does not con
tain, or which is not plainly dedeci
bie from it, is regarded aa out of
place in the pulpit Nov, there is
no law In the Bible, or tw the shsn
•lard* of any rhureh that We blow
of, which req siren a mPrinter in lake
a text at all, ar to reager himself
not only
the Sou of man. hat the Sou of God,
U was) well said by the eloquent
blind peeaolHa .quoting it from Boa-
Menu), “riocratea died like a philoso
pher, but Jesus Christ like a God,"
With equal truth it uaju he said:
Horrates lived sad taught like a
Ithilusopbot, but Josas Christ like a
is over all, God 1 doused forever.” Ou
this suppositiou the widely differing
results of the teachings of these two
u»cu may be felly accmmted for, but
on no other. Ou au) other theory
the fecU of the ease, are au inexpli
cable cuigtua.—Iter. Jhr. Poml.
■hip regular!) ta owe plane should hs
formed ia ever) youth, and every
chrietiaa heasdiuld skonld he an an-
Tbeps wax, not long ago. a jioor
widow, who tried hand to provide for
her family by her works. Bhc was
a pious woman, and had tiught bet
rbfWren to look to tbefr heavenly
Father as their ewer living Friend,
who sent them day by dev their
daily bread. One morning, however,
her faith van sorely tried. There
was only enough good for one meal.
»he gave her children their break
land romniuuicatinns to
GhfeStfen, 6. (
to ha institieted and form habit*.
Eeligioua.
of God, sad hr ia that place regu
larly. Ever) ebarok ia reapausihle
for Ihe religious usiaiug of all the
children whose |tareaU | wo pci ly be
long to it It
The Iiwxrd
not diride its
responsibility with others, and others
should net in tar fora with lU nark by
eocoaragiug chihlreu lo conic to their
day by day," We all
meant by fhc cut
D, and bow he becomes old
fe, and sinks to to the tomb.
1 is this inward man that
strength and befcuty. while
l eau give yea, and
where you wig pat
Her little liny, * child
looked summing into
Every first day , if not uitmr, the
greater number of well-uieatiiiig per
sons in Euglaud thankfully receive
trow their teacher* a benediction,
couched in these terms: “The Grace
of uor Lord Jesus Christ, and the
Lows of God, and Urn fellowship of
the Holy Ghost U* with you.” Now,
1 do not kuow ]»rectfl*ly what sense
U attached iu the English public
mind to those expressions. But
What I have to tell you positively is,
that the three thing* do actually
exist, aud can be known if you care
to kuow them; and possessed, if you
can' to posses* them. Firstly, by
simply obeying the orders of the
founder of your religion, all grace,
grectousnesK or beauty aud favor of
geutle life, will be given to you iu
mind and body, in work and rest
Tbe Grace of Christ exists ami can
lw had if you will. Secondly, as you
know more and more of tbe created
world, you will find that tbe true
will of its Maker is that its creatures
should be happy—that he has made
everything beautlfa! in its time, aud
! its place, and that it hi chiefly by the
fault of men. when they are allowed
the liberty of thwarting HI* laws,
that creation groans or travails id
; pain. The love of God exists, and
you may see ft. and live iu it if you
wfH. Lastly, a Spirit does sfctmdly
exist, which teaches the ant her path,
the bird her bnlldHig, sud meu. tu an
instinctive aud marvelous way, whnt-
erer lovely arts and ncfole deeds are
possible to them. Without Him you
can do m» good thing. To the grief
unknown ia the early sgt
church, la the tiros of A
the ptaotica was fur tbe mi
rbouse his subject from (he
uf Scripture that wwrv ns
as Jexebrl wm, should he property
burled simply oo account of her
royal birth, what honor should be
psid to ooe who wa« at ooce so
noble sad to beloved.
Some preacher* hatc distinguished
I u nreiigtu #»u , "u»r
and flesh are tftftirt£ f Slot the
foe that is often sadly clouded
I age, Xot the soul, or the
flat nature, for that, ih tbe ease
ihitnde*, is degraded and de-
,s b| ^to. Jilt rttorf do bot be
Otter sml happier as their
s chnnble and perish.
having saleotod for the
texts, or by making applieatiou of a
familiar passage that Is diftrrtot
from s hat other* *ookl do. Only a
medusval preacher could have w
forced the duties of vigorows pnarb
iag sad quiet Iteariug trow the words,
‘'The oxen were plowing sml the
eases feeding heotde them."
, bou»e glory in abort text*. There
is a sermon of the lims of Jams* 1
for St. Bartholomew's lhq on the
munis, “Ami Bart no! urn >w." Tbe
author points oat the feci that the
fe “inward mkn* is sftokeu of In
t Inspired passages, as Horn, vii:
&Fot I delight in'tho law of God
{ tlie inner man Hph. iii : 1«,
^Dgfeeaed with mi^ht by his
M in the inner man ” ‘Aud Peter
ks (if “the bidden rimn of the
L* ‘In all these cases the ret-
i* A dearly to ‘ chriktian expe-
|e dnd ebuscionsnewi. Tliis in-
) jofcn is tbe “new creature in
S s,* 2 (’or. y : ft; “the
lieh w renewed in know!
I aftef the Image of him that
M him,” Col. Hi: 10 f «ihenew
r crSated fn righteodsndss and
catalogue. The most of ns, in our
ordinary moods, w ould not neqnirw a
ream of letter puper to write out
what we carelessly coneeive to be
a comprehensive and extruded list,
and when the eye is cleared with
a few briny tears straightway it seea
a hundred objects which Is observed
not before,
by divine correction,
and teem
no text.
To the soul chastened
, mercies swarm
where aforetime there
seemed but few.
Take note of this, reader. 1 jot it
down while 1 am newly escaped from
the chamber of affliction, and tbe
impression is fresh on me; it Is a
great merry to be able to change
sides when lying iu bed. Did I see
you smile ? I meant no pleasantry,
twit Intended to write a sober, seri
on* sentence. DM you ever lie a
week ott one side? Did you ever
try to turn, and And yourself quite
helpless? Did others Hft you, and
by their kindness only reveal to you
the miserable feet that they must
lift you buck at once into tbe old
position; for, bad as it was, it was
preferable to any other! Do not
smile again, bnt listen while I add—
it is a great merry to get one hour's
sleep at night. Yon go to Tied, and
never reckon upon opening y«"u
eyes again till yonr seven or eight
hours are over, bot some know what
it is, nfgfit after night, to long for
slamber and Bud ft not. Oh how
sweet an heart sleep when it has
fhterposed between long stretches of
pain, Mke a span of heaveuNi Mae
between the masses of thunder elond.
- . #-A - ! . 4 *
We bless God more for those dear
moments' of n^iose than for whole
weeks of prosperity.
What folly is it, however, to pot
down a few of these benefits selected
from so many more i it Is as though
we wonld catalogue the cattle 00
a thonsand hills, or enumerate the
waves of ocean
I honaan soul is regenerated
iplrit of God a r ne\r life is
l^to it—S heavetily germ is
and begins to gfcow within.
M is the image of'MChrlst: it
gitnrthg of a hoi f 'and celes
actor. As the butterfly lives
the caterpillar, irtud grows
1 that it is ready, when the
I* . a i
dale for a lectureship had to deliver
a discourse tn fort the trustee* oi the
endowment, lo the way of cuaapcti
Uon. Ha took for his taxi the single
word, “but." The doctrine deduced
from this was, that no position ia
without some oanwspoitding cross or
opposite trial. Neman waa a mighty
wan of valor, but ha was a leper.
The due* of the pUua ware ns fruit
ful as the Garden of Kile*, but the
men were exceedingly' sinful. 1
called, but ye refeaed, etc. When he
came down from the pulpit, ooe of
the trustees met him and said, “Sir,
you have given us a most ingenious
discourse, ami we are much obliged
to you ; bnt we do not want yea for
a preacher T
Tbe oddities of Rowland Hill were
very' numerous; bot his piety is so
unquestioned, and his reverence for
tbe word of God so great, that we
can scarcely believe that be ever did
hnything so foolish as tbe following,
which is recorded of him. In his
day it was the fhxhiou among tbe
The goad oi the child calb for this,
sad tin* cause of Christ neuds wore
*, to go forth iTjfo a higher
to flatter in the snushiiie,
wfSipon thh floWers—so the
ito dwells. Is notrrished and
flf these bokli es 0if ours. It
[beared day by 4 day for the
1(1 lAva ..r lU . * ■ * ’.
who have >te church
b ait; and before kwg* due wilt be
discovered, and your difticnltv solved.
Such is the answer of Faith to seep
tical cavil* aud objections. Where
a shallow learning and defective
knowledge of tbe past have led un
believers to think that they had
found out aa error, profouuder re
search has alwuys demonstrated the
veracity sud aeeuruey of tbe sacred
writer. 1 German Rationalists ob
jeeted, for example, that the Evan
gelist 8t Luke erred oouoeraing Ly-
saohfts: bnt s few years ago an
ipaeripthm was found near Baal beck,
which proved that there were two
persons named Lysuuias, father ami
son. Again, Ml tike supposed cou
tradictions of profane history b?
Dated, as to Bdshaaar, are entirely
removed by a little document ex
humed hi our own day from the soil
of Mesopotamia, by the exertioo of
an English gentlemen. The ebscu
rttv as to '^Bargon, King of Assyria,*
has been cleared up by recently die
covered Assyrian inscriptions: and
the scholarship of tbe prossut day
throws the clearest light upon Bt.
Both sore moral and religious
teachers, aud both claimed to be
acting under a divine commission.
Both wen? surrounded by a company
of attached followers; and though
neither of them wrote anything them-;
The feHowtug brief expomtiou of
the apestiro'creed is given by Dr.
Deems, paster of the “Church of tbe
Stronger*," ia a sermon eu “Him
that pomstii to me I will is ao wise
selves, but threw out their words’
upon the wfnds, the Hves ami say
jag* of both were recorded by their
friends. Those of 8ocrate* wete
committed to writing by Hato and
Xenophon, and those of Jesus by
the four evangelists. And to carry
the analogy a tittle farther, both
these great personages had mortal
enemies, and both came to a violent
death. Boerates was condemned to
drink the fatal hemlock, and Jeans
to suffer on the cross. In one respect
there waa a difference between them.
Boaretea was bora sad trained at
Jsaua Christ turua fruui every
thing else, from creating worlds and
from receiving the homage of angels.
ladles to wear high, showy bead’
dresses, called “top-knots.* Wishing
to discourage this, he took for a text
the words, “Let him that ia ou the
house top not come down ;* sud then
pointed out bow thetfl was s pro
hibitiou of such bead gear, in tbe
words, “Topknot, come down.*—
(This is also told with perhaps more
probability of Loreneo Dow.)
When that man of blessed memory,
Henry Xartya, was sailing away
from England as a missionary, he
frequently preached to the sailors.
Godhead to the redemption of man
kind. He does all that thaagtt ean
do, all that life can do, aN that death
one do. He travels every avenue of
life. He searches every depth of
death. He rsacbee evsvy height of
eternity, Idling all things Ahat may
rove man. * - ^
This we express Ms oor “Greed:*
“He was eooeeived by the Holy
Ghost f this was tbe divine process
of projecting God into humanity.
“He was born of tbe Virgin Mary f
this waa She parent inlet into human*
fey by which (.tod ooekt cater. “He
suffered under Bautins Pilate;” this
embraces all that h terrible in his
history of sefferia#, injustice, pain
•f body, aagaisk of seal, ignominy,
being sent to death by the conquer
ors of his own people. “He was
crucified;" the depth of human
shame and torture: “Deadfe he
The tender love
which chastises ns, the gentle kind
ness Which braises us, the fond affec
tion which crashes us to the ground
—these we do not so readily recount;
yet Is there as much of divine love
in a smart mi fa s sweet, as great a
depth of tenderness in buffeting as
in consoling. We must count oar
crosses, diseases, and pains, If we
wonht number up oor bh ssings.
Granted that the cross is very bitter,
we maintain with equal cmifldeoee
that it is also very sWeet. {■
We have a cloud of mercies aroaod
as as well as a elond of witnesses.
As tbe meadow Is bespread with a
thousand gay flowers, and we tread
upon them without attempting to
count them, even thns is it with our
life to Christ-Jesusr it-to mercy,
w tbe Inward. Worldly pros
» w *rfs Spiritual d svelopraent;
e *° rr °^ and affliction mellow
®jjch the soil iu khieh chris
gtsees flourish. ’ \> such an
But they did not like his dose deal
ing with their tools nod his faithfal
expositions of Oodb truth; so ooe
day they appointed a committee to
y that they were
A good deacon ouoe said totin'
wife of a clergyman, whefee salary
was seiaM, that it was a good thing
for minister* to have limited means,
it tended to increase their flritb, ami
wait ou him and
very willing to have him preach to
them, only they would be glad be
would roy nothing more to tin*in
about bell and damnation. Ou the