Life and Labors of Elder John Kline, the Martyr Missionary Part 15

SUNDAY, July 18. Meeting at Jesse Whetzel's on Lost River. Acts 3 was read. Brother Daniel Miller is with me. In the afternoon we had meeting again, and Brother Jacob Motz was baptized.

_Sermon by Elder John Kline._

_Preached at William Fitzwater's, August 8._

TEXT.--We beseech you on behalf of Christ, be ye reconciled to G.o.d.--2 Cor. 5:20.

Every chapter and every verse of Gospel Truth discloses the love of G.o.d in one way or another. Our Lord came into the world, not to condemn the world, but to save the world; and all the words that make that salvation known to men are words of love. I am sure we think too little upon

THE LOVE OF G.o.d.

In my talks with sinners I very often discover in them a sort of impression that G.o.d is their enemy. I would not, on any account, intentionally misrepresent a single individual; either as to the opinions he may hold or the secret sentiments he may entertain; but I am impressed with the belief that if the hearts of many, if not all, unconverted persons could be laid open to view, they would in their inmost recesses disclose the belief or impression that G.o.d is not their friend; that he does not wish them well; that he is only bearing with them until it suits his time to cut them off and send them to h.e.l.l. This sentiment springs from a consciousness of sins indulged and duties neglected. Hence, when such fall into deep affliction, when danger threatens or destruction impends, they call on G.o.d to have mercy upon them; and beg him to turn away his wrath.

A wrong interpretation of many pa.s.sages in the Bible tends to foster this impression. I will here quote a few pa.s.sages of this kind, and then interpret them according to what I believe to be the truth. When the children of Israel were about ready to cross the Jordan over into the land of Canaan, Moses said to them: "Remember, and forget not, how thou provokedst the Lord thy G.o.d TO WRATH in the wilderness.... Also in h.o.r.eb ye provoked the Lord TO WRATH, so that the Lord WAS ANGRY with you, to have destroyed you." Deut. 9:7, 8.

The Old Testament abounds with pa.s.sages of similar import, and many are found in the New Testament. But let us examine carefully the _kind_ of _wrath_ and _anger_ to which the Lord may be provoked. It cannot be such wrath as men and devils feel. In Rev. 12:12 we read these words: "The devil is come down unto you, having great WRATH, because he knoweth that he hath but a short time."

We can not, we dare not, think for a moment that the word _wrath_, when spoken of G.o.d, means the same as when spoken of the devil. The devil's wrath implies a feeling in him to do all the evil and mischief he can. But the wrath of G.o.d cannot mean anything like this; because, when his wrath burns the fiercest, he is still ever ready to forgive all who repent and turn from evil. Nay, he even _entreats_ and beseeches men to be reconciled to him, that his anger may be turned away. I might quote many pa.s.sages in proof of this. I have time to give but one from the Old Testament. When the Lord made an end of laying before the children of Israel the blessings and the curses, he wound up all by saying: "And there shall cleave naught of the cursed thing to thine hand: that the Lord may turn from the fierceness of his anger, and show thee mercy, and have compa.s.sion upon thee, and multiply thee, as he hath sworn unto thy fathers; when thou shalt hearken to the voice of the Lord thy G.o.d."

An appeal to the light of reason must convince any unprejudiced mind that our heavenly Father is angry and wrathful toward no one, in the sense of willing evil to him, or of seeking an opportunity to do him mischief. _Men_ may, and no doubt often do, have this feeling; but it is a wicked feeling. Perish the thought of such wrath ever having a place in the heart of our heavenly Father. The Apostle Peter says: "The Lord is long-suffering toward us, NOT WILLING that ANY SHOULD PERISH, but that all should come to repentance."

But let us crown all this argument with the Lord's sunrise upon the night of Nicodemus. Here it is: "G.o.d so loved the world,"--the very worst, and wickedest, and most depraved and abandoned part of it; he made no exceptions--"that he gave his only begotten Son, that WHOSOEVER believeth on him should not perish, but have everlasting life. For G.o.d sent not his Son into the world to condemn the world; but that the world through him might be saved."

Do not imagine that G.o.d, our Creator, took a spell of love and good will when he sent his Son into the world. G.o.d does not take spells, either of love or wrath. He is the same yesterday, to-day and forevermore. The same G.o.d who brought destruction upon the disobedient, wayward, unthankful tribes of Israel, is the G.o.d who so loved the world. He loved it then, just as he loves it now. He loves it now, just as he did when he sent his Son to die for its sins. But let us inquire a little further into the nature of the

DIVINE WRATH.

When I am crossing deep water I always find it best to be calm, go slowly and steadily, and look well to the point where I expect to land. The wrath of G.o.d is such only in _appearance_. The _real_ wrath is in man, and upon man. Let me explain this. Our blessed Savior says: "Be ye therefore perfect even as your Father which is in heaven is perfect:" "for he maketh his sun to rise on the evil and on the good, and sendeth rain on the just and on the unjust."

There lies a man who gave himself up to intemperance. Alcohol had permeated his body, carrying its deadly poison into every nerve, and fibre, and tissue of his entire organism. He exposed himself to the sun's rays on a very hot day, and he fell dead from _sunstroke_. The WRATH of the sun destroyed his life. G.o.d made the sun to rise on the morning of that day; and G.o.d filled the sun with its heat; but it was wrathful to the man who was not prepared for it, and to no one else.

Nature everywhere rejoiced in its light and heat; the corn grew; the hay was cured; and devout hearts thanked the Lord for that lovely day.

Right there, on that sand, is where a man once built his house. He was told by many that it was not a safe place to build a dwelling house, that it would certainly be in danger of being swept away by high water. He would not hear, but went on building; and finally he moved in. But great WRATH came upon him; for in one night his house, with all in it, including himself, was washed away. Wise people all over the land rejoiced to see the rain. It had been a dry time, and everybody said: "What a fine rain! It has replenished our wells and flushed up our springs. The mills can now start up again. When the ground dries off a little people can go to plowing again." But this very same rain was destruction and WRATH to the foolish man who had built his house in the way of its flood.

You may now better understand what I mean by saying that the wrath of G.o.d is not wrath as we usually understand the word to mean; but wrath only in _appearance_. The Lord did not send the flood to destroy that man's house; the flood was just as necessary as the rain, and its end quite as benevolent. The destruction of the man's house was purely the result of his own folly.

All just laws are founded upon love, because their highest end and aim is to protect the good. But the law, "which is holy, just, and good,"

is full of WRATH to the evil doer when it overtakes and punishes him for his crimes. But does the good law, which essentially is nothing but love, change? Is it to-day in a good humor, and to-morrow angry?

Such is our heavenly Father. To the wise and good he is love, both in appearance and essence; but to the foolish and evil, the very same unchangeable love a.s.sumes the _appearance_ of anger and wrath. You are now prepared for

THE TEXT.

"Now then we are amba.s.sadors for Christ, as though G.o.d did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to G.o.d." The life of Jesus on earth was a life of love. A part of the angelic chorus as it floated down from the skies, announcing the birth of the Son of G.o.d, was: "GOOD WILL TOWARD MEN." Good will toward men was everywhere manifested by our Lord in the life he lived and in the death he died. In his life "he went about doing good;" and no part of that good gave him deeper joy than to see sinners repent of their sins.

The burden of John's ministry, by which the way of the Lord was prepared, had for its keynote: "Repent, and bring forth fruits meet for [corresponding to] repentance." When our Lord sent out the twelve to preach, he charged them to say: "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand." Right here I wish to impress your minds deeply with this thought that repentance and reconciliation mean one and the same thing; at least, there can be no reconciliation without repentance.

Reconciliation is repentance made perfect.

What keeps men in a state of enmity toward each other? It is pride, self-will, and self-love.

Pride says: "I will not bow to _him_. He has got to come to _me_."

Self-Will says: "If he will not accede to my terms, there will be no reconciliation."

Self-Love says: "What would others think of _me_, were _I_ to humble myself to him?"

It is self-evident that just so long as this state of feeling exists with the parties, the enmity will remain. Where deep enmity exists, both parties may be in fault, as is often the case; but this is not necessarily so. There are cases where the fault and enmity are all on one side, and nothing but love and a desire for reconciliation on the other. I just now call to mind a case of this kind. An avowed infidel had been at considerable expense to have his daughter educated in the refinements of learning and art. She excelled in these, and became her father's pride.

But a day came when her heart was stirred within her. Accidentally meeting with these words of Paul, "She that liveth in pleasure is dead while she liveth," her mind was led to think and wonder what they could mean. Her father had taught her to look upon religion as a thing of mere superst.i.tion, and to treat the Bible as a book of fables and delusions. But these words clung to her thoughts, and with them some others which fell from the lips of the minister who preached where she sometimes went to church.

Finally she opened her heart to a minister who took great care to instruct her in the way of salvation, and gave her a Bible. This she read to the illumination of her mind and heart, made an open profession of her faith, was baptized, and would have gone on her way rejoicing every day but for one thing. That one thing was her father's displeasure. His daughter's conduct in the things of religion had wounded his pride. He became wrathful, and for a time lost his self-control. In this outburst of pa.s.sion he ejected her from her home, and threatened her minister with violence. In this case you readily see that the fault and enmity are all on one side, and if a reconciliation is ever effected it must be based upon the repentance of the guilty party.

I see you are interested to know how all this turned out. I will tell you very briefly. About two years after the above occurrence the lady's father met with a very serious accident, in which his leg was broken and his body otherwise injured. His recovery was slow. When he could begin to sit up a little he thought what a comfort it would be to have his daughter's company, if she still were as she once had been.

Waiving all this, he resolved to ask her to come back home. She had been with her uncle all this while. Having returned home in compliance with her father's request, she showed him all the kindness and attention in her power. One day, when the two were alone together in the room, he asked her what had induced her to treat him as she had done. Her tearful eyes and gentle words, as she told him of the love of Christ which had constrained her to do as she had done, of the joy and consolation she felt in his service, of her bright hope of bliss with angels and glorified saints in heaven so impressed him that he listened with rapt attention. He had never been so talked to before.

From this time on, up to his complete recovery, conversations on the subject of religion were of daily occurrence; and I am happy to say that they resulted in deep and G.o.dly repentance on his part, which effected a reconciliation to his daughter and her minister forever.

My dear, unconverted friends, the enmity between you and your G.o.d, like the enmity of this father towards his daughter, is all on one side, and that is _your_ side. No steps are needed to reconcile G.o.d to man. No such steps ever have been needed, because G.o.d holds no enmity in his heart towards men. His words of invitation, "Come unto me, and I will give you rest," mean love, love to the guilty. "If any man thirst, let him come unto me and drink," means love. His bleeding heart on the cross, and his bleeding hands, and his bleeding feet and his side, all, all mean love. He ever loves you, and asks you to be reconciled to him. He is not visibly here now, but he has committed to his faithful ministers this word of reconciliation; and as a very humble one of their number I take up the refrain, and in the words of my text I say to you and to all: "Now then, I am an amba.s.sador for Christ, as though G.o.d did beseech you by me: I pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to G.o.d."

ELDER JOHN KLINE AND ISAAC LONG VISIT PENNSYLVANIA.

THURSDAY, August 12, the two brethren started on their journey. They attended council meeting at the Flat Rock. Here they took leave of the Brethren, and started on a journey that was to occupy about five weeks. Brother Kline, as was his custom when his spirit stirred him to go on a journey of this kind, had sent many appointments ahead; and many were eagerly expecting and hopefully awaiting his arrival.

The imagination can find much pleasure in accompanying these two brethren on this protracted visit to the churches. Both on horseback, they had every opportunity to view the country as they pa.s.sed along; and many must have been the remarks and observations suggested by things along the way. Brother Kline's mind was peculiarly active, and his temper and social disposition genial in an eminent degree. It was never my privilege to be with him on one of these protracted excursions, but from the short ones I occasionally took with him in later years, I feel sure that each day, all else favorable, was a sort of heavenly delight.

Seeing a fine looking tree in the forest, whose leaves and branches and general appearance showed that it was solid to the core, straight grained, and deeply and firmly rooted in the soil, he would say: "That tree is a fair representation of a good church member. He stands upright. You see he does not lean to one side or the other. He holds his head high in the perpendicular line of justice and truth. The squirrels that run up and down on his trunk and over his Branches do not annoy him: these are his little charities. They feed on his fruit, to be sure; but a pleasant smile is all the account he takes of them.

You tap him with a mallet, and his trunk gives out a dull but certain sound of solidity to the core. There is no wind-shake about him. His thrifty appearance proves this. The storms, in the church and out of the church, have never disturbed the solid texture of his faith and Christian integrity. He is not twisty. The fibers that compose his huge trunk are just like his principles; they all run straight up and down. You always know how to take him, and what to depend on when you have him.

"But there stands another tree of a very different character. Tap that tree, and the drum-like sound tells you at once that it is hollow. You can see, too, by the furrows in the bark not running up and down in perpendicular lines, that it is twisty. It can hardly be said to be wind-shaken, for there is not enough solid timber in it to be affected in that way. The few nuts or acorns which it bears are worthless; for there is not sufficient vitality about it to mature its fruit. It would have been to the ground long ago but for the support given it by that other tree on which it leans. I leave you to form your own opinion of the church member represented by this tree. I hope there are not many such, for if there were I fear we would not be able to find enough solid material to build a house that would stand."

Brother Kline was gifted with that fortunate cast of mind which enabled him to draw from nature themes for thought and conversation, which added much to his happiness when alone, and to his geniality in company; and not only so, but even in his preaching he drew largely from the magazines of G.o.d's creation. I have not a doubt that if all the items of interest that pa.s.sed between himself and Brother Long, in the way of conversations on this journey, could be collected and presented in proper form they would make a most instructive and entertaining volume. I sometimes fear that the world's best thought escapes its hands. It may, however, so turn out that after awhile stenography will set her delicate nets and catch these wild birds which now flit by us on such active wing that we catch but a glimpse of their forms and beauty.

FRIDAY, August 13, the two brethren got to Jonas Goughnour's, below Woodstock, in Shenandoah County, Virginia. They had meeting in a schoolhouse near by. Brother Isaac Long, at this early day, gave clear indications of the ability and usefulness which have characterized his ministry to the present time. Trained to correct business habits from early youth, he carried them over into his church work; and judging by his success, to plan and to perform, to design and to execute, with him mean one and the same thing.

Between the fourteenth and twentieth of August the two brethren visited John Rowland's, Emanuel Long's, Joseph Long's, Daniel Reichert's, Daniel Long's, David Kinsey's and John Brandt's.

FRIDAY, August 20. The two brethren, in company with David Kinsey and John Brandt, go to Brother Nussbaum's. They went through London, Path Valley and Fennelsburg. They must have had a long ride this day; but who could think the road long with such company? The next day they went towards Huntingdon. Brother Kline says they crossed a tolerably high mountain this day, and dined at Brother Jacob Berket's.

I wonder how they kept him from wandering off and hunting for medicinal roots and herbs while crossing that mountain. You may be sure that no patch of Lady's Slipper, Golden-Seal or Golden-Rod escaped his eye. The absence of a hoe is all that saved them from a deal of trouble with him. They went on through Shirleysburg, and got to Brother Andrew Spanogle's about sunset.

Following Brother Kline on this and similar journeys, by means of the Diary, enthuses my soul with an undefinable longing to have been with him. The excitement, and danger, and hurry and bustle constantly incident to travel at the present day were all unfelt and unfeared by this company.

Brother Kline's habit was ever to rise early; and, especially on excursions like the present, would he often rise before the family and walk out to take the air, as he said, and see the sun rise. This he did even when the days were at their longest. To get up with him and take a walk before breakfast to some elevation not distant from his lodging place, and hear him discourse upon the rising sun, the balminess of the air, the clearness of the water, the songs of the birds, the delicate tints and wonderful mechanism of the flowers of fields and woods, was a treat of rare enjoyment.