USA > West Virginia > The West Virginia pulpit of the Methodist Episcopal church. Sermons from living ministers. With personal sketches of the authors > Part 13
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Again: There were those in Christ's day, who object-
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ed to him, because his mission embraced the poor. Now, if there be one feature of the Gospel, or one char- acteristic of Jesus, more commendable than another, it is the thought that he specifies the fact that the poor, especially, are embraced in the atoning merits of his blood. And while all are included in the provis- ion made, (for Jesus tasted death for every man) all may come unto him and be saved. It seems to me that the poor have a two-fold promise, " Hath not God chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them that love him;" and again, "The poor have the Gospel preached to them." But instead of this being a cause of offence, and a reason for faultfinding, it but demon- strates the greatness of Christ's manhood, and the puri- ty of his great loving heart. Deprive the poor of the privilege of becoming the sons of God, and at once the happiness of millions of our race is forever gone. For many of the children of God can say,-
"No foot of land do I possess, No cottage in the wilderness, A poor wayfaring man."
But up through their tears, it may be, they can look, having faith in Jesus, they hold a title, bearing the broad seal of the Holy Ghost, to possessions in the New Jerusalem ; and can say :
"Yonder's my house and portion fair, My heart and my treasure there, And my abiding home."
And as they drop this mortal coil, it is to rise above the sky, and be with Christ forever.
Again : We would not be ashamed to be called the sons, or to be made the heirs of the rich, who com- mand their millions in gold, or to be put in posses- sion of great affluence, or have great honors bestowed ; and yet, all earthly honors and riches will fade and fail. The tooth of time forever wears and wastes. Time-Old Time-is a sword which cuts every way ; and soon, very soon, we will be bereft of, or leave behind all earthly possessions, for we brought nothing into the world, and we can take nothing out of it. But not so with those who have treasures in Heaven.
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Those who have sought and found " the pearl of great price," who have embraced Christ by faith, they are heirs of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords-"sons of God," now, " and it doth not yet appear what we shall be : but we know that when he shall appear, we shall be like him ; for we shall see him as he is."
Finally : There is no reason why we should be ashamed of our home in Heaven, or the associations of that better clime. Jesus tells us that the future home of the Christian is a mansion, " In my Father's house are many mansions." In this world the finest and most costly mansions yield to the ravages of time and soon decay, but in Heaven, never. Here, the grandest edifice soon needs repair-there, always in perfect order-all, all bear the stamp of eternity. For, when God has blown out the sun, and the stars have fallen from their places, and when he has rolled up the heavens as a mighty scroll, and all have passed away with a great noise, the home of the Christian is still secure. God, the Christian's loving Father, yet occupies his throne; and the foundation of the Eter- nal City is still unmoved and immovable. Still, we have
" No less days to sing God's praise, Than when we first begun,"
As to the associations of the heavenly country- how pure and desirable. When we remember that God is holy, and that Heaven is a holy place, and that none but the pure in heart can enter there, what must be the standard of society, where all sin having been washed out, all tears forever wiped away, and the pure and the holy of every age, kindred and tongue, mar- shaled upon the plains of immortality, with the an- gels of light, the tall sons of the morning, the cheru- bims and seraphims congregated before the throne of God and the Lamb forever.
PERSONAL SKETCH.
JUST how much life means, words refuse to tell, because they cannot. The very doorway of life is hung around with flowery emblems, to indicate that it is for some purpose. Life may be grand. God intended it to be glorious, and so paved its course with diamonds, fringed its banks with flowers, and over-arched it with stars; while around it he has spread the physical universe -suns, moons, worlds, constellations, systems-all that is mag- nificent in motion, sublime in magnitude, and grand in order and obedience.
But how few appreciate the grandeur of life. To float lazily down the stream is to move forward, but unless the speed is in- creased by personal effort, the individual will find himself always at the same distance from that which he is following. Rev. AN- DREW J. LYDA. D.D., the subject of this sketch, chose a different course. He chose to make the most and the best of the powers God was pleased to bestow upon him, and turn to the best pos- sible account every outward advantage within his reach.
Brother Lyda was born in .Hancock, Maryland, January 14th, 1821. His parents were religious-they had family worship, and through this great, silent, irresistible influence, his young heart was deeply impressed at a very tender age,-so that he re- alized the importance of giving his heart to God. The calm, deep stream of religious influence, moved on in silent, but over- whelming power.
In a letter to the writer, he pays this beautiful and touching tribute to his mother: "My mother taught me to pray when I first began to talk." And what is the result of that Godly in- struction? That mother's influence could not die. She wields a power to-day over the life of her son, more decisive far than syl- logisms in argument, or courts of appeal in authority. So much so that not a day has passed, from his earliest recollection, that he has not tried to pray.
He made a profession of his faith in Jesus Christ, and was re- ceived into the communion of the Methodist Episcopal Church January 23d, 1838, under the pastoral care of the late Rev. Wil- liam Simmons, in the Second Street Church, Zanesville, O.
Being early impressed that God had called him to the Gospel ministry, and that it was his duty to prepare for that high and holy calling, he spent four years in Augusta College, then the
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chief institution of his denomination in the west. Here his feel- ings and passions were disciplined and restrained. Here, also, true and worthy motives were inspired, and a profound religious feeling, built upon a pure morality, was inculcated. It was while he was a student in Augusta College that he was authorized to exhort. One year later, in 1842, he was licensed as a local preacher. With Rev. Isaac Collard as his Presiding Elder, and Wm. C. Doudy-now Dr. Doudy-as his class leader, we are not surprised that he succeeded so rapidly that he was recommended to, and received by, the Ohio Annual Conference as an itinerant Methodist preacher, October 14th, 1843, and was appointed to Georgetown Circuit with twenty-one appointments, with Rev. David Estel as preacher in charge. His next field of labor was Troy and New Carlisle, with Rev. David Kemper-then of Gallipo- lis Station-which was then as now, an important and difficult field, and required ability as well as piety to fill it successfully. At the close of this pastorate, he was sent to Gallia Circuit, with Rev. Samuel Maddox.
This year closed his labors in Ohio. His next appointment was to Point Pleasant, in Virginia. While laboring in this field, the Western Virginia Conference was set off to itself by the Gen- eral Conference of the Church. It was the privilege of our broth- er to have been present in Wheeling, when the Ohio preachers met with the Pittsburgh Conference, as ordered by the General Conference. The tie of Conference relation, which had hitherto bound them together, was now severed by one stroke of the Gen- eral Conference, and from the dismemberment then occasioned, sprang into being the West Virginia Conference, of which Bro. Lyda became a member of prominence at once. He was ap- pointed this year to Charleston Station, where he succeeded some of the strongest men the Church has produced in the past of her history.
During this pastorate, the recollection of which is still precious to the members and friends of Methodism in that city, the chol- era raged as an epidemic. No pastor was ever called to pass through a period of greater gloom; and yet as he was brought face to face with the suffering, and dying, and dead-ministering to their wants, standing by them in the final struggle, preparing them for the grave, and preaching their funeral sermons, he proved himself to be, not the Priest nor the Levite, but the Good Sammaritan. Here he labored for nearly two years, and did, it is but just to say, as much for his Church as any who had preceded him, or as any who have succeeded in that field of labor. While here, he secured a lot in Malden, circulated a subscription, em- ployed men, and built a neat and substantial church, ready for plastering and painting. He had the pleasure of occupying the church for some months, before he left the station. He was also blessed in his labors in Charleston with a glorious revival.
He was present at Clarksburg, in 1847, when the Western Vir- ginia Conference was organized-Bishop Waugh presiding. At the close of this session of Conference, Brother Lyda was sta-
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tioned in Clarksburg, at that time the educational centre of the Conference-a position he was, by both education and experi- ence, specially qualified to fill. He occupied this field for two consecutive years-the full limit at that time, and left the Church greatly strengthened in character as well as in numbers.
. His next field was two years at Parkersburg. Here, as in for- mer stations, heshowed himself a workman worthy of his calling, and in this important centre le performed valuable, and I may say, lasting work for the Church. He was sent from Parkers- burg to Weston, where he remained two years. The journey of eighty-four miles overland, was made in a common lumber wag- on, at that time about the only means of transportation which could be procured by those removing from one portion of the State to another. From this field, after two years of earnest and efficient work, Brother Lyda was appointed to Buckhannon, where he had a warm place in the affections of his people.
From this charge, he was brought into a new experience and placed in a new relation to his brethren, and the Conference. When the appointments were read, he was placed in charge of the Parkersburg District, where he remained for four consecu- tive years. In the position of Presiding Elder, he demonstrat- ed superior executive ability, something quite essential to suc- cess in such a position; and also proved himself popular with both preachers and people. While on this District, the suit in court involving the ownership of the church property in Parkers- burg, was decided by Judge Edmondson in favor of the M. E. Church. Brother Lyda was present when the decision of the court was read, and saw the profound sensation which it pro- duced.
At the close of this term of service, he requested as his field of labor, Troy Circuit, where he remained two years. He was in this field when the war commenced, and like all his brethren in the Methodist Episcopal ministry in the State, he was true to the cause of the Union. Many were the dangers he encountered, and many the trials through which he passed; but he was firm to the end. His courage never faltered, and his faith in the final triumph of the "old flag" never failed him.
From this field of toil and strife, he was removed to Mounds- ville Station, but about the middle of the year, having been com- missioned as Chaplain of the Third West Virginia Regiment, Volunteer Infantry, he entered the service of his country, where he remained, true to his Master and true to the Union, for eight- een months; when he, for reasons satisfactory to himself, tend- ered his resignation, which took effect April 29th, 1864.
His next assignment of duty was to the Clarksburg District as Presiding Elder. During his term of service on this District he preached the funeral sermon of forty-three men, on Sabbath, at 11 A. M., in the M. E. Church, at Rock Cave, in Upshur county. From reliable information, there were one thousand people pres- ent, among them about twenty-three widows and forty orphan children of the deceased men. Of sixty men who were drilling
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for home guards, forty-three died in Southern prisons. At the close of his four years of successful service in this field, his breth- ren elected him, at the head of his ticket, to represent them in the General Conference at Chicago.
His field of labor for the next three years, was Chapline Street, Wheeling. He was successful in all respects in this important station. While here the church and parsonage were greatly im- proved, at an expense of about $1,000; and during his three years service, the Church was blessed with several interesting revivals. At the close of his work at Chapline' Street, he was appointed to Wesley Church, where he remained three years.
In June, 1873, the Illinois Wesleyan University conferred upon Brother Lyda the honorary degree of Doctor in Divinity-an honor most worthily bestowed.
After a few years spent in business life, the Doctor is now the efficient pastor of the M. E. Church in Kingwood.
SERMON XIV.
BY
REV. ANDREW J. LYDA, D.D.
THEME :- MILLENNIUM, OR, SABBATH OF REST-TO GOD'S CHURCH AND PEOPLE.
TEXT :- They shall not hurt nor destroy in all my holy moun- tain ; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord, as the waters cover the sea."-Isaiah xi:11.
The prophet, in strains of divinely inspired elo- quence, reveals to us the advent of the Messiah, the establishment of his kingdom, and its final and glori- ous triumph in the last days of the world's history.
In the investigation of what we conceive to be the subiect involved in the text, we shall submit our own thoughts based on the Scriptures, aided in our calcu- lations by consulting the writings of others, who have given our theme their best thought and attention.
I. THE NATURE OF THIS KNOWLEDGE.
At no period in the history of the world have men been entirely destitute of at least a limited knowledge of God. A knowledge of his existence, nature, attri- butes and character must be derived either from tradi- tion, the book of nature or the Bible. The facts may be handed down from father to son and from one gen- eration to another ; such knowledge, however, would necessarily be dark and confused.
The philosopher enters the sublime field of nature.
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Here he contemplates the fragrant flower, purling stream, crystal fountain, blazing lightning and roar- ing thunder. Then, he turns his eye of amazement and wonder to the tribes of living creatures. From the smallest insect, perceivable only by the microscope, to the largest animal that prowls in the forest. From the smallest fish, found in the mountain rivulet, to the great leviathan, that baffles with the wild waves of the ocean storm. From the smallest bird to the eagle that wings its flight through the elastic wind,and sports with its broad pinions on the lofty clouds. On all these he sees the impress of the wise and Almighty hand.
The astronomer, as he computes the number, dis- tance, magnitude and revolutions of the worlds sus- pended in the immensity of space, cries out with adoring admiration, " The heavens declare the glory of God, and the firmament showeth forth his handy work." And yet, all these wonderful works of na- ture fail to give man a correct idea of God's real charac- ter ; hence, he must turn to the Holy Bible. Here.he finds on every inspired page that God is revealed as the ever pure, the ever living, self-existent God- throned in the bosom of immensity, and holding all secure the eternal destinies of all the worlds. This revelation being made in the Bible, is confirmed by all nature. These truths, however, are but demonstra- tions to the mind. God must be revealed to the heart. A saving knowledge of the Divine Being, infinitely transcends all other knowledge. "This is eternal life to know thee, the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom thou hast sent."
II. THE WORLD, TO AN ALARMING EXTENT, IS DESTITUTE OF THIS KNOWLEDGE.
The world is said to contain about fifteen hundred millions of human souls. About two-thirds of this entire population are in paganism; hence, without a knowledge of the true God and of Jesus Christ, the world's redeemer. As a result, look at the dark pic- ture the world presents. Go to China, that widely ex- tended and densely populated country, with her four
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or five hundred millions of inhabitants, mantled in moral darkness. To a great extent they are without a knowledge of God, of the Lord Jesus Christ, of Heaven, or hell, or of man's real immortality-no Bi- ble, no Sabbath, no temples of religious worship ; no altars on which to offer sacrifices to the true God. Go to India and Hindoostan, lying south of China, and you will find their habitations full of wretchedness and cruelty. Go to Africa ; here the sciences had their origin; here the alphabet was invented ; here stood large and opulent cities, and here stand the grandest pyramids of the world. For ages Africa has been wrapped in a dark night of superstition, ig- norance and error. We are glad to say, however, that light is dawning upon this land of memorable events, with all other parts of our globe. For a moment, let us look at our own America. We boast of the best government on the earth, of our civil and religious liberties, of our nation's flag, of her stars and stripes. For the perpetuity of which we have poured out our country's blood and treasure. We claim a population of fifty millions. Of these, not more than one-third are even nominal Christians. If summoned to the bar of God, and weighed in the balance of his eternal justice, how many of these millions would be found wanting? Thus we have presented a brief survey of some of the principal parts of our world, and find that it lies in iniquity, and men are without God, and are living in the region and shadow of death.
III. THE EXTENT TO WHICH THIS KNOWLEDGE SHALL PREVAIL IN THE LAST DAYS.
In devising a scheme of human redemption, God designed that it should be commensurate with the wants of our fallen nature and the interests of our race. "Therefore, as by the offense of one, judg- ment came upon all men to condemnation ; even so, by the righteousness of one, the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." "Like as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of Man be lifted up" to the gaze of the entire world. " The knowledge of the Lord shall fill the world as the waters
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cover the sea." This period is looked toby many able divines as a millennium, or Sabbath of rest and un- paralleled success to God's Church and people, which shall last a thousand years.
When will this Sabbath commence ? Let us exam- ine the question in the light of the Scriptures." The "little horn," spoken of by Daniel, the "man of sin," designated by Paul, and the " beast," referred to by John, evidently all denote the same power, and that power is the Roman Pontiff, or the Pope of Rome. The overthrow of this power, and the beginning of the glorious Sabbath or Millennium, will run parallel with each other ; one waxing-the other waning ; one increasing-the other diminishing. As the light of the great Sabbath morning approaches, the darkness of the moral night will be sweeping by. Light dawn- ing-darkness receding.
It is conceded that the fourth beast that Daniel saw in his vision refers to the Roman empire .* The pow- er of this beast is represented as deadly and terrible. It devoured and broke in pieces the other beasts. So Rome reduced the other kingdoms, commanding the whole earth and the navigable seas. Diverse, or dif- ferent in its form of government, it had ten horns, so Rome was divided into ten kingdoms. There came up among these horns another "little horn." It had eyes, denoting the far reaching eye of the Catholic Church in all her ecclesiastical movements. It shall
speak great words against the Most High. The Pope assumes to be infallible. It made war with thesaints and prevailed against them, says Daniel. This power shall wear out the saints. The Catholic Church has pursued the Protestant world with an unrelenting hand of opposition. It was this power that "spilt the blood of the saints, and the blood of the martyrs of Jesus."
Of the man of sin, it is said by Paul, " He opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, for- bidding to marry, and commanding to abstain from meats."
Of the beast, John says, " It was given unto him to
* Daniel vii: 7.
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make war with the saints, and to overcome them, and power was given unto him over all kindreds and tongues and nations."* Thus the "little horn," the "man of sin," and the "beast," all point unmistakably to the same power, and that power is the Roman Pontiff.
How long will this power continue ? History informs us that the Pope of Rome assumed the title of Universal Bishop under the Emperor of Constantinople, in the year 606, and was invested with temporal power in the year 755, about the time the man of sin was fully re- vealed.
Daniel says, the " little horn," or the power it rep- resents, shall continue for "a time, times, and the di- viding of time." A time means one year, times two years, and the dividing of time, six months; or three years and six months. There were thirty days in a Jewish month, and twelve months in a year, which gives us twelve hundred and sixty days. As a day in prophetic time means a year, we have twelve hundred and sixty years for this power to continue. Power was also given to the beast for forty-two months, or . twelve hundred and sixty years, prophetic time.
John speaks of the Church under the emblem of a woman. She fled to the wilderness, where a place was prepared for her, that she might escape the red dragon, that was waiting to devour her child, where she should be fed a thousand, two hundred and three score days, or for twelve hundred and sixty years of Jewish time. Now, add this twelve hundred and six- ty to seven hundred and fifty-five, and we reach the year 2015. Therefore, we are induced to believe that the power represented by the " little horn," the "man of sin," and the " beast" will continue, more or less, until the beginning of the seventh thousandth year of the world's history, when its influence shall be so cur- tailed, its doctrines and usages so fully modified and conformed to the principles of the True Christian faith ; while all branches of the Church of God are flowing together, and seeing eye to eye, shall resolve into one Holy Catholic Church on earth, and the great Sabbath of rest shall be ushered in and shall ast a thousand years.
* Revelations xiii : 7.
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I submit the following remarkable facts, which are worthy of consideration : Temporal power, as before stated, was vested in the Pope in 755. In 1870 the Ecumenical Council of the Roman Catholic Church, proclaimed the Pope infallible.
The war between Prussia and France, resulted in a union of the Italian States. The city of Rome, the home of the Pope, being the seat of the united govern- ment, and his temporal power was wrested from his hands. Thus he stood shorn of his strength. Strike a medium between the time that he assumed the title of universal Bishop, and the time he was vested with temporal power, and add, say 610 to 1260, and you are brought to the year 1870, when he lost his temporal power. Thus demonstrating the truth of Bible proph- esy, and clearly pointing out the Pope as the unmis- takable power represented by the " beast."
We propose to notice some of the important fea- tures which mark this period :
1. The power of Satan shall be curtailed, if not de- stroyed. John says, " I saw an angel come down from Heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit, and a great chain in his hand, and he laid hold on the drag- on, that old serpent, which is the devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years, and cast him into the bottomless pit, and shut him up, and set a seal upon him, that he should deceive the nations no more, till the thousand years should be fulfilled," so that he will exert but little, if any, influence in the world. Now, he seeks to destroy the souls of men. He would rob heaven, depopulate the world and bury the intelli- gent creatures whom God has made, in blackness and darkness forever. The great angel shall lay hold of the great dragon, and bind him with a great chain, and thus restrain his great and cruel power.
2. Christ shall reign. "He shall reign a thousand years." A period corresponding to that during which the devil is imprisoned in the bottomless pit. It is thought by some that the martyrs will rise, and that Christ will reign with and over them for a thousand years on earth. We cannot accept this as a Bible truth, but incline to the opinion that he will reign in his spiritual presence until his kingdom shall tri-
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