USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Pittsfield > First Church of Christ in Pittsfield, Mass. : proceedings in commemoration of its one hundred and fiftieth anniversary, Feb. 7th and 8th, 1914 > Part 8
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is enjoying peace has surely shut her eyes to the evil so prevalent. We sometimes forget that the Church is not a hospital, but a fortress ; and that we Christians are not pensioners but active men-at-arms. This is the truth that the apostle was emphasizing to his fol- lowers: "Gird yourselves; the hosts of evil are all about you; quit you like men; be strong. Resist- resist unto blood !"
The word resist, in the original Greek, means standing out against, enduring steadfastly. As used here it might apply to a Marathon runner as he nears the goal, covered with sweat and dust, ready to drop from weariness, but struggling on. It might refer to the gladiator in the arena, fighting desperately against overwhelming odds-the plaything of a Caesar -faint and bloody, yet never yielding. For the apos- tle has just been speaking of the contest, bidding his followers cast aside every weight and the sin which besets-that is, which clings about them as a garment retarding their progress ; and to contest, to endure with patience. But do not think that patience, as used here, means passive resignation, bloodless inactivity. Far from it; it means rather the endurance of the soldier who repels the enemy's charge again and again, the endurance of the martyr under the tortures of the rack.
Such endurance, such resistance as was displayed by Luther, when he said, " I will go to Worms though there be as many devils there as there are tiles on the houses "; such as Savonarola offered against the aggressive evils of the church of Rome; such as Lin- coln made when he stood firm against the wrongs of slavery, trying to avoid war if possible, but never yield- ing; such resistance as the Christian heroes of all ages have shown-the prophets, the martyrs, who
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through endurance "subdued kingdoms, wrought righteousness, stopped the mouths of lions, turned to flight the armies of the aliens "- the Abrahams, the Stephens, the Livingstones, the Pitkins of the ages- the heirs of the Kingdom.
A resistance unto blood; but their own blood, not the blood of slaughtered foemen. A conquest not in the name of self, but of right. Not in the spirit of hate, but of love. What can be nobler ? What more deserving of our reverence and imitation? Surely, one of the most divine traits of man is this spirit of endurance for a noble cause, in the face of great, overmastering difficulties. Who can read the story of Captain Scott in his fatal expedition to the pole without being deeply moved? who can picture his patient, uncomplaining, heroic struggle without a catch in the throat, as, with death staring him in the face, he writes :
"I do not regret this journey, which has shown that Englishmen can endure hardships, help one an- other, and meet death with as great fortitude as ever in the past. We took risks; we knew we took them. Things have come out against us; and we have no cause for complaint, but bow to the will of Provi- dence, determined still to do our best to the last." Splendid! And although the object may seem un- worthy to some, who can estimate the moral value of such an exhibition of manhood and self-sacrifice ? Resisting unto blood.
Or if you will see a man with a nobler motive, read the journal of David Livingstone during the last few days of his fatal struggle. Wading in water up to his waist, ready to drop from weariness and malarial fever, surrounded by hostile natives and the dangers of a tropical forest, he writes: "I am pale,
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bloodless and weak from profuse bleeding, and but for help could not move a hundred yards, yet nothing earthly will make me give up my work in despair. I encourage myself in the Lord, my God, and go for- ward." To open the dark continent to the light. Re- sisting unto blood.
And if we would have a still nobler example of such endurance, let us turn our eyes to Him who blazed the trail, who charted the wilderness of life, who taught men the great lesson of self-sacrifice, of undying devotion to a noble cause.
"Who died that we might be forgiven, Who died to make us good, That we might go at last to heaven, Saved by his precious blood."
The cross of Christ! What a stupendous mystery it is!
We do not understand the part it plays in the re- demption of mankind, but we do know that it is the supreme test of endurance, of eternal love, of resist- ance against evil.
And who can look at that cross without a tinge of shame? Before it, how mean appear our struggles, how petty our conquests! As we gaze upon it, the superscription appears altered, and instead of the taunting words of Pilate-" The King of the Jews "- we read the condemnation of the apostle: "Ye have not resisted unto blood, striving against sin." "The martyrs of all the ages have died for truth and right; what have ye done?"
What have we done? How much of an effort have we made in this eternal struggle against evil-evil in our own souls, evil in the world about us? How half-hearted we have been, how indifferent! We have
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made some effort, all of us, but we have not resisted unto blood. We did run well, but were soon weary; we put our hands to the plough, but we turned back, or we followed in a heartless manner. Many of us have allowed the weeds of sin to choke our very souls -selfishness, avarice, greed, impurity. And we stand condemned.
I need not mention these sins one by one. Each one knows his own. And each knows how poor and half-hearted has been his struggle to overcome. Some have sinned in the grosser ways; some in the subtler. But all have sinned and come short of the glory of God. Some have been indifferent, saying-" What is the value of all this effort? This life is all. Let us eat and drink, for to-morrow we die."
Others have made some conquests and are resting content. "We are better than many of our neighbors -we are abstemious, we are honest, we are truthful. Have we not in thy name cast out devils, and done many mighty works? Surely God cannot expect perfection of us."
Still others have started out bravely, but have lost courage when the inherited and the acquired sins seemed so impregnable. Yes, temperament is strong, and no man or woman reaches middle life without times of despair at the slight advance made in self- mastery.
How poor and weak is all such apology in the face of the heroism of the past! Can we be content with our little conquests, with such examples before us? How far would we get in the work of life, if we approached it so half-heartedly ? We would be ashamed to attack our business problems with as little heart. The successful business man to-day must be ever on the alert; he must work twelve, yes, fifteen hours
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every day to conquer ; he must throw himself into his business with absolute abandon. The scientist, the in- ventor cannot attain his goal without striving to the utmost. See the years that Thomas Edison worked to perfect his little incandescent lamp; see the time and strength that Dr. Carrel has put into his medical research. And shall we expect to conquer the in- grained sin of ages with less effort? No! Resisting unto blood-that is our duty. Getting a grip on that besetting sin and casting it away forever. Standing with back to the wall against the many temptations and forcing them to retreat. Masters of our fate; cap- tains of our souls.
But the conquest of self is not all. When we have overcome the evil within, there is still the evil with- out. Even if our homes are swept and garnished, there is plenty of dirt outside. And our duty as Christians is not done so long as there is sin in the world about us. Why do men still recline on the mediaeval idea that to save one's own soul is enough ? Surely, Jesus never taught such a selfish Gospel. " Follow me, that I may make you fishers of men." " Go into all the world, and make disciples of all peo- ples." " Depart from me, for ye did not minister unto the least of these, my brethren."
Christianity and selfishness are as far apart as nadir and zenith. Christianity means brotherhood, and so long as one soul is unsaved, our salvation is not assured; so long as one soul is struggling in sin- and we are conscious of it-our duty is not done; we have not yet resisted unto blood.
We may not have been the cause of the evil about us, but we are to blame if it continues. We are our brother's keepers. The danger that threatens him threatens us. And that there are many and great
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evils about us we all know too well. There are ills enough in home, in business, in state, to stagger any but brave souls. We see them right here around us ; we read of them every day in newspaper, periodical, and novel,-the evils of the saloon, and of the dive, the prostitution of justice, the many dishonesties in business, the exploitation of labor by capital, the op- pression of the poor by the rich and powerful, graft and mal-administration in public office, class-hatred, child-labor,-an endless host.
On one side a state shaken to its very foundations by the dishonesty of scheming politicians; on the other a huge corporation beggaring many dependent souls through its gross mismanagement. Here a mur- derer buying his freedom despite the laws of man and of God; there a great city given over to the powers of evil through the corruption of its officials. Here the stability of the home threatened through lowered standards and too easy divorce; there the Church itself endangered by too lax Sabbath laws. On all sides, the suffering caused by selfishness, lust, greed. And, shut our eyes as we will, the evil is there-we know it. Surely there is much to be done; and no man can call himself a follower of Christ who is not in some way trying to right these wrongs. They may not all come within our reach; we may not agree on our definitions of them, but there are some at our very doors, some that we can remedy. It is no time for pessimism, for the world is growing better ; a casual glimpse at the history of the past will satisfy us of this. But the advance is slow. Our fathers have done much; they have left much to be done. We have done much, but not all we could, and the times are ripe. Never were there nobler leaders -- men and women in all ranks of society-statesmen,
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educators, attorneys, philanthropists; but they need our help; they cannot conquer alone. And if we are loyal to our traditions, we will not sit idle. Until we have done our part, we will not rest content. We must resist unto blood, if we would be followers of Christ. "A high standard," you say, "an impossible ideal." Well, perhaps; but one glorious thing about Christianity is that it is always beyond us. We can never sound its depths, or climb its heights; the best endeavor of man always falls short of its ideals. The man who has forgiven seven times, is bidden to forgive seventy times seven; he who has been buffeted, is commanded to turn the other cheek; we are told to go the extra mile, to love our enemies, and to pray for those who despitefully use us. Discouraging at times, I admit; but, as Robert Browning says :-
" A man's reach should exceed his grasp, Or what's heaven for."
And to the courageous soul, this is a glorious truth- "the glory of going on." Always gaining, yet never attaining. Climbing one height only to find a height that is higher. Conquering one foe, only to face one more powerful. Such has been the ideal of the world's great heroes: Siegfried, striving with dragon and with fire; King Arthur and his Round Table, the Red Cross Knight, Bunyan's Pilgrim-what are they all but types of the courageous soul, never daunted, never despairing-always longing for harder quests.
" One who never turned his back, But marched breast forward, Never doubted clouds would break; Never dreamed though right were worsted Wrong would triumph. Held, we fall to rise, are baffled to fight better, Sleep to wake."
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And would we be sharers in their heroism-we must follow their leadership. Can we do it? Is it possible to make head against the evils of the day, to stand firm against them until we have conquered? In our own strength, no! But with divine aid, we can.
The apostle points the way when he says: "Con- sider him that endured, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds." Consider him! Let your mind dwell on Jesus, the great Saviour of man, the great victor over sin, him who loved us and gave himself for us. Consider him-his patience, his fearlessness, his won- derful strength; his divine pity, his unchanging love; yes, consider him and let your soul take courage. But most of all, consider the source of his power. Jesus was strong because the divine strength, the divine courage nerved his arm and fortified his soul; be- cause the divine purpose was his; because he was in close communion with his Father; because he and the Father were one.
" Believest thou not that I am in the Father and the Father in me; the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works." And that same power may be ours. "Verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me, the works that I do, shall he do also; and greater works than these shall he do." Consider him lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
Did you ever stop to think that the ideal heroes of the past failed when they trusted to their own arms ; but with their God-given weapons, conquered? What was Siegfried without his divine sword, Arthur with- out Excalibur, the Red Cross knight without his glis- tening shield and blazoned cross, the pilgrim without the armor of God! And though these are imaginary heroes, they teach us the greatest truth of life, that the divine is omnipotent. The prophet of old saw
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it when he said: "Ye shall not fear them, for the Lord God shall fight for you." The apostle knew it when he said: "We are more than conquerors through him who loved us." Livingstone knew it when he said: "I encourage myself in the Lord my God and go forward." It is the great truth that has come ringing down the ages, from the lips of prophets, apostles, martyrs-"The Lord of hosts is with us." With his help we cannot fail.
And it is our duty to carry on the noble work they have begun; it is ours to wage unyielding warfare against the hosts of evil, to follow our great Leader to the end-resisting unto blood.
" Soldiers of Christ arise, And put your armor on, Strong in the strength which God supplies Through his eternal son.
" Stand then in his great might With all his strength endued, And take to arm you for the fight, The panoply of God.
" That having all things done, And all your conflicts past, Ye may o'ercome, through Christ alone, And stand complete at last."
THE EVENING SERVICE
INVOCATION BY REV. THOMAS NELSON BAKER OF THE SECOND CHURCH
O God, our Father, we thank Thee for this time when we can remember that for a period of one hundred and fifty years Thou hast been making good Thy promise to build here Thy Church against which the gates of hell shall not prevail. We thank Thee for the men and the women who have given Thee their lives in which to build their Church. We thank Thee for the children of these fathers and mothers, who, generation after generation, have been giving their lives to Thee in which to build Thy Church. We thank Thee, O God, for the spirit of helpfulness that has pervaded the life of this Church from the begin- ning until now. We thank Thee for the healthy spir- itual condition of the Church at this time, at the age of one hundred and fifty years. We thank Thee, O God, for the hopeful outlook. We thank Thee for all the noble souls who have given themselves here as Thy servants: who stand and make it their own busi- ness to make men remember that their citizenship is not only of this world but in heaven.
O God, our Father, as we recount the great deeds that have been wrought by the great souls here, and remember the great good that has been done, help us to remember that except Jehovah build the house, they labor in vain that build it. Help us to remember
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that whatever worth while has been accomplished here through these years has been accomplished not by might nor by power, but by Thy spirit.
And O God, we pray Thee that after having listened to the great deeds of the great souls who have wrought and worked here for Thee, we all together shall end with the disciples upon the mount, where we shall see Jesus only, and where we shall hear Thy voice saying unto us, "This is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye Him." And help us, O God, to hear Him, and may this Church be a place in which the Spirit of God may have His right of way in the lives of the children of those who have gone before, and that great good may be done, to the glory of Thy name and to the salvation of the souls of men. Amen.
PRAYER BY REV. WARREN S. ARCHIBALD OF THE PILGRIM MEMORIAL CHURCH
Infinite Father, Father of all men and of the Lord Jesus Christ, Thou art worthy to be praised with all glory and honor and power, for Thou hast lifted up around us the magic and the mystery of the day. Thou hast covered the day with night, and crowned it with the glory of the stars; Thou hast prepared for us, children of the day, a way through the day and night, far beyond the sun and stars, even the way of our Lord Jesus Christ, unto whom be the glory and the power and the dominion and the beauty of holiness both now and forever more.
Infinite Father, as we lift up to Thee our prayer, we praise Thee for the Puritan and the Puritan Church, for the men in all centuries who have left
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their country and have gone in search of a far country, that is, an heavenly one. We praise Thee and we mag- nify Thy name for the men who in perils manifold crossed the hungry seas, and established a Church in liberty in this new world. We praise Thee for the men who levelled these forests, cleared these fields, and planted a Commonwealth and a Church. We praise Thee and we magnify Thy name for the brave women who in starry solitude, in strange dangers, and in heavy toil reared up godly families and noble and beautiful households. The wilderness and the solitary places have been made glad by them. We praise Thee and we bless Thee for this heritage, the Church of the Puritans and the prophets, who have resisted unto blood King and Emperor, Pope and Bishop, and the mobs of men, in order that Thy liberty and Thy righteousness might be established upon earth. God of the fathers, be Thou with the sons of the fathers. God of the nations, be Thou with the sons and daughters of the nation. God of the Church of Christ, Thou who hast blessed the Church in the past, we beseech Thee, bless the Church of the Puritan in the years to come. Ennoble the Church; enable her to endure hardness like a good soldier of the Lord Jesus Christ. So discipline her, so restrain her, so govern her, that she may be fitted like a good sword to Thy right hand. Even so, Lord Jesus Christ, arise, shine, let the enemies of Thy Church be scattered. Ennoble Thy members, so that they may fight like good soldiers; so that they may dash in pieces like a potter's vessel the injustice, the oppression, the tyranny of the times. Glorify Thy Church, Lord Jesus Christ. Hear us, as with trem- bling, with reverence, and with fear we pray that the glory of the cross may be the glory of the Church. We
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pray for the fellowship of Thy suffering, we pray for the fellowship of Thy cross, we pray for the austerity of a pure life. Sanctify Thy Church, O Lord Jesus Christ, so that we, casting aside every weight and looking eagerly into the wide years, may truly see that we are pilgrims and sojourners here as all our fathers were. Open our eyes to see that holy city which hath foundations. Open our eyes to see that unseen com- panion, who walks beside us on the road, until our hearts burn within us, and the Scriptures are opened to our understanding. Even so come, Lord Jesus. Enter into Thy Church. Purify our hearts until we see Thee. Open these windows and these doors until the vista rolls before us of a Church which is eternal and against which not even hell can prevail. Even so come, Lord Jesus Christ. Breathe Thy Holy Spirit into all the members of this body, this society of Thine, until the Church shall be the mystic body of the Lord Jesus Christ. Even so, Lord Jesus, come. Amen.
ADDRESS BY THE PASTOR
In St. Paul's second letter to the Church at Corinth, the eighth chapter, the fifth verse, we read: "And this they did, not as we hoped, but first gave their own selves to the Lord, and unto us by the will of God."
From this text, one hundred and fifty years ago, Rev. Samuel Hopkins of Great Barrington, preached the "lecture," as it was called, which followed the organiza- tion of this Church; the meeting for organization hav- ing been held in the house of Deacon Stephen Crofut, and the lecture being given in the meeting house just after. And after this lecture, the eight foundation
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men whose names you read to-night upon the shields on either side of this house along the gallery rail,- these eight foundation men were declared to be a Church of Christ. Those same words of St. Paul I would leave with you to-night.
" First they gave their own selves to the Lord." There you have the secret of any Church's success. It makes no difference whether the Church is great or small, it makes no difference in what country the Church happens to be, it makes no difference what its denomination may be: the secret of its success or of its failure as a Church of Christ depends exactly and precisely and eternally upon whether or not its mem- bers have given themselves first to the Lord.
There are a good many things which men and women would rather give first to the Lord. They would rather give their money. We sometimes think that people are not specially willing to give their money, or specially willing to give it to the Lord even if they are willing to give it otherwise, but they are. They are giving it continually. They are giving it in Pittsfield. They are giving it in the form of pew- rent, and they are giving it in the form of contribu- tions to the House of Mercy and the Associated Char- ities and the Day Nursery and a dozen other worthy and good causes. They are giving it for foreign mis- sions and for home missions. They are giving their money and they are giving it with surprising gen- erosity, but a good many of these same people have not yet given themselves with their gifts. They are willing to give their money to the Lord through all these channels, but when it comes to themselves, that is a very different and a far harder thing to do.
And people are ready to give their time and their strength to the good causes which are promoting the
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coming of God's Kingdom. They are willing to help in those ways often because they see others doing the same. They say they believe in the Church and they are willing to back it up, and they do, in large measure; but when you bring them face to face with the searching personal question, they are not ready to admit that they have given themselves to the Lord.
" Son, give me thine heart." That is the desire of the Lord Christ. That is the longing of God, the Father in Heaven, toward every one of his children. Think not that you can satisfy God any more than you can satisfy your own father or your own mother with any lesser gift than the gift of your own love and your own loyalty and your own self.
That, I say, is the secret of any and every Church's success. It is the secret of whatever glory this Church may have won in the past. It will be the secret and the cause of whatever glory and success and prosperity this Church may have in the days to come. Nay, further, this is the secret of success eternally for every human soul, for every man and every woman in this room. "First they gave their own selves to the Lord "; not " second," but "first." How true is it of us to-night? How true shall it be of the Church of Christ in Pittsfield,-well represented, I think, by this congregation. Not the First Church only, not the First Methodist or the First Baptist or St. Stephen's or any other of the different organizations which we speak of day by day, but the whole Church of Christ in Pittsfield, Protestant and Roman and all. Shall the Church of the Lord Jesus Christ be true to Him? It will depend wholly upon whether the members of His Church first have given themselves to Him.
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God grant that we may make it true of ourselves this night. Amen.
CLOSING PRAYER
Almighty God, our eternal Father, we thank and praise Thee for the Church of Christ in this town. We thank and praise Thee for that which it hath been under Thy providence and under Thy blessing in the years that are past. We trust Thee to be to us in the years to come our God, our Father, and our Friend, still. O Lord, our God, our fathers' God, grant, we beseech Thee, that the Church of Christ in this town may be, with every year that passes, more truly One Church; that the unity of Thy spirit which is the bond of peace may be made manifest and mighty among us; and that together, in loyalty to the name of Jesus, we may seek to know and to do His will in this community. So let Thy blessing abide with us now and evermore; Amen.
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