USA > West Virginia > The West Virginia pulpit of the Methodist Episcopal church. Sermons from living ministers. With personal sketches of the authors > Part 17
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1. The law of adaptation or fitness. In so far as we have studied the construction of this world, and all pertaining to its government, there are plainly visi- ble marks of intelligent design ; everything seems made for a purpose, a definite end; all is closely jointed, and articulates distinctly. There are no miss- ing links here. That a wise Creator should blunder on the tallest plane of his creation is scarcely reason- able. How great a blunder would it be to create this soul-hunger and leave it unsupplied.
2. The character of God. He is represented in the Bible as a being of tenderness, sympathy and affec- tion, and, withal, deeply interested in the progress and welfare of man. Does not the inspired Psalmist say, " Like as a father pitieth his children, so the Lord pitieth them that fear him."* To create this soul hunger, and then not provide for its supply, would be bitter mockery. God cannot mock his creatures !
3. God's care for animal and vegetable life. In the domain of animated nature, God, thoughtfully and kindly, provides abundant supplies of food and drink. All forms of animal life exist where the food adapted to their needs and wants is found in greatest abund- ance ; and they are provided with a climate suited to their natures and structures ; they are furnished with coats of scales or fur or feathers, that adapt them to their spheres ; and they are so formed as to fit them
*Psalm ciii:13.
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for securing and eating their food. Fish are so con- structed as to fit them [for deep or shallow water, ac- cording to the location of their home. In the world of vegetable life, God provides the elements of life and growth-namely: seed, soil, atmosphere, sun- shine, dew, rain, storms and darkness. Plants are adapted to their surroundings, and to the use for which they are intended. Is animal life, or vegetable life, comparable for a moment with soul life ?
4. The instinct of animals. Among God's humbler creatures, some are possessed of remarkable instincts. There is the instinct in birds that leads them to make their migratory flights to a warmer clime. They have an instinct that calls for a sunny south, and God has provided the sunny south. The dumb brute that is famishing for food, or dying of thirst, has an instinct that drives it forth for food and drink, and God has provided the supply whither it goes. The beast that is diseased has an instinct that prompts it to seek a remedy, and God has provided that remedy. Would God honor that instinct in animals and mock the in- stinct in man?
5. The principle in the practice of medicine, that the world contains, somewhere, in some form, a remedy for every disease that man is afflicted with. The mute cry of suffering bodies is met by the Creator with a cure for their ills. Would this good Being be more deeply moved by the cry of a suffering body than by the cry of a hungering soul?
6. The conduct of man. Mankindinstinctively act as though they felt within them that the soul could be sat- isfied. We see them constantly seeking to satisfy this soul hunger on bread that turns to ashes on their lips; we behold them endeavoring to quench soul-thirst at fountains that only intensify it. They are following an instinct blindly and partially, not wisely or fully. May not that instinct, yearning for satisfaction, wise- ly followed, yet lead them to the true source of supply?
When we step out of the realm of simple reason into the domain of revelation, we leave all uncertainties behind us. We tread firm ground. We have a "thus saith the Lord," for our foundation; and we affirm,
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with confidence, that the soul-hunger of humanity is comprehended, appreciated and provided for by the All Father. This hunger is acknowledged as a real ex- perience, in the following intense exclamation of the Psalmist: "O, God, thou art my God; early will I seek thee; my soul thirsteth for thee, my flesh longeth for thee in a dry and thirsty land, where no water is .* In that sweetest of sermons, by that Prince of preachers-the famed sermon on the mount-Jesus Christ promised to satisfy this hunger, in this truly remarkable language: "Blessed are they which do hunger and thirst after righteousness, for they shall be filled."+ On another occasion Christ affirmed: "I am the bread of life; he that cometh to me shall never hunger : and he that believeth on me shall never thirst.# The Psalmist speaks of this great satisfac- tion as an accomplished fact : "For he satsfieth the longing soul, and filleth the hungry soul with good- ness."§ How thankful should humanity be for the revealed Word of God !
III. IF WE HONESTLY AND FAITHFULLY FOLLOW THE LEADINGS OF THESE INSTINCTIVE HUNGERINGS, WE SHALL REACH THE WISELY PROVIDED SUPPLY.
God not only, wisely and kindly, provides the sup- ply to appease all proper desires, but he has created within us an instinct, that is well nigh infallible, in leading us to the source of this supply. This may be . illustrated by the migratory instincts of birds, refer- red to a few moments since. They instinctively yearn for a southland, and, implicitly following that instinct, it directs them to that southland. It is noticeable, again, in the instinct of direction, with which animals are endowed, and, following the impulse of that in- stinct, it leads them to the desired point in their jour- neyings. When animals are sick they have an in- stinct that there is a remedy, and following that in- stinct, they find the desired remedy. These illustra- tions could be greatly multiplied were it necessary.
In the physical department of our being we hun- gered for food, and, following that instinct of hunger, we were speedily directed to a supply of that which
*Psalm Ixiii: 1. +Matthew v: 6. #John vi: 35. ¿ Psalm cvii: 9.
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we most needed. The instincts of a hungry man will lead him infallibly to food.
In the social department of our being we had a long- ing desire for pleasant and agreeable society, and, our instinctive yearnings led us into the midst of such so- ciety, and we were satisfied.
In the mental department of our being we had con- stant cravings for knowledge, and the instinct of the mind carried it to the fountain of learning, and the burning thirst was swiftly allayed.
Reasoning by analogy, would it not seem exceeding- ly reasonable that instinct would be as reliable in the upper realm of our being as in these lower depart- ments? That if we were safely guided by instinct in the physical, the social and the intellectual departments of our being, we would be fully as safely guided by the higher instincts of the soul. If these lower in- stincts are so wonderfully honored by the Almighty One, we may rest assured that these mute, unuttera- ble yearnings of the soul for rest, peace, comfort-in a word, satisfaction-if faithfully followed, would most certainly lead us to the divinely provided supply.
There is, however, this difference between satisfy- ing this hunger, and those referred to in the lower de- partments of our being : the physical, the social and the mental cravings may be fully satisfied on the ordi- nary plane of human life-or, at any rate, on a mod- erately elevated plane of human life. But man has demonstrated that this hunger of the soul cannot be appeased on the summit of the loftiest altitudes of hu- man life. All of life's earthly avenues have been- trodden in vain, and man has returned to the point of beginning, as thoroughly unsatisfied as when he en- tered them.
Let us now add revelation to reason, and contem- plate a soul that is fairly well educated in the primary principles of salvation : a soul that comprehends its condition fully-the greatness of its guilt, its vast moral distance from God, the enormity of its peril, the importance of reconciliation with its Maker, and the advantages of communion with God. Enlightened by the Book, touched by the Spirit, there springs up with-
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in this soul an instinctive hunger for rest-for satifac- tion-for God. If all false shame is extinguished, and all evil suggestions and temptations are brushed aside, . and the true interests of the soul studied, this instinct of the soul will be obeyed. Following confidently this instinctive craving, the soul goes by and beyond self and human friends ; sweeps past the world, and even the human church ; it cannot be satisfied on pleas- ure, indulgence, friendship, moralism, formalism, rit- ualism, or anything strictly earthly or human. This spiritual instinct directs it swiftly and surely to the feet of the Holy One. The conditions of salvation are met-complied with ; and the trembling penitent is fully forgiven, the soul purified, the tears all kissed away, and the returned and welcomed prodigal is pressed closely to the tender bosom of the forgiving Father. The soul has been directed, by its infallible instinct, to the divine source of supply, and is restful and happy in the glow of its discovery.
IV. THE SOUL THAT HAS FOUND THIS SOURCE OF DIVINE SUPPLY IS ABUNDANTLY SATISFIED THEREWITH, AND DOES NOT GO ELSEWHERE SEEKING SATISFACTION.
When I speak of being abundantly satisfied when our spiritual instinct leads us to God, I do not mean to imply that this satisfaction necessarily carries with it the idea of joyous demonstration, or physical fervor, or delicious ecstacies, or soft, dreamy raptures. These may or may not attend the soul's discovery of God. But they are not unusual appendages, and frequently are attendant emotions, of that wondrous transition ; but, not properly, elements of the soul's satisfaction. There are many phases of Christian experience at this period of the new life. Suppose we append a few spec- imens. Here is one of the rapturous, ecstatic sort, writ- ten by Charles Wesley, full one hundred years ago :
" O, the rapturous height Of that holy delight, Which I felt in the life-giving blood ! Of my Savior possessed, I was perfectly blessed. As if filled with the fullness of God."
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Here is one expressing quiet satisfaction, written by Philip Doddridge, more than one hundred and fifty . years ago :
'. Now rest, my long divided heart ; Fixed on this blissful centre, rest ; Nor ever from thy Lord depart, With him of every good possessed."
Let one more suffice. This also was written by Charles Wesley, and expresses a sense of safety and confidence :
" My God is reconciled ; His pardoning voice I hear ; He owns me for his child ; I can no longer fear ; With confidence I now draw nigh, And 'Father. Abba Father,' cry."
How truly has Paul expressed it: "Now, there are diversities of gifts, but the same spirit. And there are differences of administrations, but the same Lord. And there are diversities of operations, but it is the same God which worketh all in all."*
In the lower realms of our complex being we may not only have enough to satisfy us, but more than enough ; we may not only attain to satisfaction, but to satiety. When we are ravenously hungry, we may not only eat till our hunger is fully appeased, but un- til we are surfeited with food. We may live so con- stantly in society, and so overdo social life, as to grow tired of it, and long for solitude. We may so feast upon knowledge that the brain tires, the nerves be- come unstrung, the blood grows turgid, and the sys- tem relaxes; so that we, weary of books, and long for the fresh air, the leafy forests, the green fields. and the bright sunlight. But soul hunger is on a higher plane. It is a paradox. We are satisfied and yet constantly hungering. A surfeit or satiety, in this realm, is an impossibility. Bernard of Clair- vaux beautifully expressed this thought, in a hymn written more than eight hundred years ago :
"Insatiate to this spring I fly ; I drink and yet am ever dry ; Ah ! who against thy charms is proof ? Ah! who that loves, can love enough?"
Having found satisfaction in Christ does not im- ply, much less teach, the doctrine that we are to for-
*I. Corinthians, xii:4-6.
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sake all the ordinary walks of human life, for the purpose of devoting ourselves and our time to the con- templation and service of Christ. Being satisfied with Christ we do not retire from domestic life, nor from con- genial society, nor from business activities, nor from literary pursuits, nor from educational enterprises, nor from philanthropic efforts, nor from reform move- ments. No; thank God, no! We take Christ into our hearts, and being satisfied in him, and with him, we are better fitted to enter all of these spheres just mentioned, and all the other avenues of life that are honorable and pure, than we were before; and all the callings of secular life are hallowed, and made sa- cred by taking Christ into them.
But, having found complete satisfaction in Christ, we have been delivered from that sickly, morbid crav- ing for sinful pleasures and worldly amusements, that has so constantly controlled us hitherto. Now, we are restful, quiet, contented and satisfied. What the soul has been seeking, hither and thither, it has found at last in Christ, and seeks no farther in other directions.
It may be asserted that not all professed Christians do possess this sense of satisfaction that Christ promises, and that the Christian may enjoy; and that some Christians frequently, indeed almost constantly, may be found on the level of the world, seeking pleasure where worldings seek it. I presume this is measurably true-slightly exaggerated, perhaps-but still it must be admitted to be true-too true, and as sad as it is true.
Communion with God, in its character is voluntary, in so far as we are concerned. This communion was entered into of our own free, unfettered choice; we may withdraw at our own untrammeled volition. There is nothing compulsory about its continuance.
While the communion is maintained the satisfac- tion abides. When the communion is broken, in- stantly the satisfaction ceases to flow, and the soul is filled with disquiet and unrest, and becomes ill at ease. Then, in this dissatisfied state, comes that morbid, abnormal longing for the vanities, frivolities,
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pleasures and amusements of the world, that is occa- sionally observed among professed Christians.
To see followers of our Lord Jesus Christ in the ball room, the opera, the theatre or the circus, or at wine parties, or in saloons, or on Sabbath excursions, is, in itself, always an unpleasant spectacle to one who magnifies the sacredness of a Christion life. But, en- gaging openly in these sinful pleasures is not so sad a thing asthe state of heart that drives them into these channels. In the majority of such instances, these professed Christians are guilty of apostacy before they become guilty of dancing, drinking aud theatre go- ing. The gravest charge is not that they disgrace the Church of Christ by mingling with the world in its sinful pleasures, but that " They crucify to themselves the Son of God afresh, and put him to an open shame."*
If, on the other hand, the communion with God is maintained inviolate, the satisfaction of soul abides in its abundance, and all sinful pleasures and im- proper amusements are cheerfully eschewed-freely given up for the sake of him, " Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world."
*Hebrews vi:6.
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PERSONAL SKETCH.
REV. JOHN RHEY THOMPSON, A. M., was born in Carrollton, Ohio, March, 14th, 1852. He attended the district school, the Academy of the town, the Rural Seminary at Harlem Springs, Ohio, and graduated from Mount Union College, at Alliance, Ohio, as Bachelor of Arts, in 1871. He therefore entered upon the duties and realities of life with a cultured mind; his scythe was keenly ground, and he has since then been swinging it most successfully in the cause of truth.
Brother Thompson was converted under the labors of Rev. J. R. Roller, and united with the M. E. Church, February 6, 1868. He entered the Pittsburgh Conference in 1871, immediately after his graduation from college, and remained in it two years. In 1873, he was transferred to the West Virginia Conference, and stationed at Chapline Street M. E. Church, Wheeling. He re- mained in this station three years, and in 1876, was stationed at Morgantown, the seat of the West Virginia University. After preaching at Morgantown nearly a year, in January, 1877, he was elected President of the West Virginia University, which office he held four years.
The position came to him unsought, and he discharged the duties connected with it, in the most acceptable manner. Though less than twenty-five years of age when called to pre- side over the State's highest school of learning, he was, nev- ertheless, a ripe scholar, and seemed to possess those other req- uisites of character necessary to manage an institution of this character. From the day he took charge of the University, it seemed to start anew, and up to the close of his term as Presi- dent, its growth was continuous-indeed, unprecedented. Dur- ing the four years of Bro. Thompson's Presidency, the number of students at the University more than doubled. He delivered ad- dresses on the subject of education in all of the principal towns in the State, and aroused the people to the importance of fur- nishing their children with collegiate educations. These ad- dresses were masterful productions, and made for President Thompson a reputation throughout West Virginia, as a platform speaker, superior to any other gentleman who had ever presented this and kindred subjects to our people.
President Thompson is an orator-an eleoquent man; but his is not a stultified or strutting eloquence to please the ear; it is the eloquence of nature, of thought, of sentiment, of feeling- the only eloquence that can reach the heart. As President of our
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University, he left his impress upon the minds ;and hearts of hundreds, and even thousands, of the young men of West Vir- ginia, which will influence them through life.
While in charge of the University, in October, 1879, he was elected a delegate to the General Conference of the M. E. Church, which held its session in Cincinnati the month of May following. President Thompson was the youngest white member of that larger body of representative men ; and yet, his superior talents enabled him to take an active part in the proceedings of the Con- ference.
He was one year editor of the West Virginia Educational Jour- nal, a large weekly newspaper, devoted to the educational inter- ests of the State. This journal was a powerful auxiliary to the University ; but the duties of President were too onerous to al- low him to continue his editorial position longer than one year. For a number of years he has been a regular contributor to the press in various localities-always writing articles which were read and which influenced men in the direction of philanthropic and reformatory work.
In March, 1881, President Thompson resigned his position at the University, was transferred to the New Jersey Conference, and stationed at Hedding Church, JerseyCity, where he is now laboring acceptably to a large congregation of appreciative hearers.
While President Thompson did not lack success in the educa- tional field, still the broadest field for the display of his talents, lies in the pulpit. As a preacher he possesses unusual pathos and power. He is one of the brightest men of his age the writer ever knew ; and I hazard nothing in saying that Provi- dence has a wide field of usefulness in reserve for him.
SERMON XVIII.
BY
REV. JNO. R. THOMPSON, A.M.
THEME .- THE USE AND ABUSE OF THIS WORLD.
TEXT .- " Use this world as not abusing it."-1. Cor. vii: 31.
In the moral and religious history of mankind, two great forces or currents have appeared contending for the supremacy. Now one, and now the other of these forces, has prevailed to the almost entire exclu- sion of its rival. I will not be far from the truth when I denominate them as the ascetic spirit and the worldly spirit. The worldly spirit culminated in Greece in the time of Pericles, and in Rome in the time of Augustus. In both nations, the period of the supremacy of worldliness was the beginning of the de- cline of their vigor and power. The causes were in operation in the time of Pericles, which rendered Greece an easy prey to Philip of Macedon, and Gib- bon's Decline and Fall properly begins with the close of the Augustan age. The spirit of asceticism began to creep in the Christian Church toward the close of the third century, became dominant and controlling in the fifth, and thenceforward was supreme for al- most a thousand years. The ascetic spirit conquered in England during the time of Oliver Cromwell, and had its fitting culmination in the prohibition of Christmas festivities. The restoration of the Stuarts under Charles II. introduced the spirit of worldliness and pleasure, the worship of vice, if it only were clad in the garments of beauty.
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The text incisively condemns both the ascetic and the worldly spirit. In opposition to the former it says, "Use this world." In opposition to the latter, it says, "Do not abuse this world." Observe the healthfulness of Paul's religious spirit. It is neither fanatical nor sensualistic. We have a right to this world, but we are not to allow it to destroy our spirit- ual instincts. Not the slightest trace of the dark and corrupting spirit of asceticism is to be found in Paul, and yet there never was a man so utterly unworldly, so far removed from earthliness, so akin to the spirit of Jesus Christ. If ever you shall become weary of theological hair-splitting, if ever you turn away in disgust from ecclesiastical asceticism, if ever you shall become victims of a soulless materialism, have re- course, I beseech you, to the writings of St. Paul. They are natural, cheerful, beautiful and attractive. Christ and Paul-not their fallible human intepreters -shall ultimately bring men to a reasonable religious faith and life.
This world has been abused by the intense cultiva- tion of a narrow and ignorant religious spirit concern- ing the future life. It is a discouraging fact that man will persist in abusing his best blessings. Nothing has been more precious to the weary race than the solemn hope of immortality. As the heavens over- arch the earth, so the great life of the hereafter over- hangs and perfects this fleeting, evanishing existence. But men have been so anxious about this fuller life to come, they have so absorbingly thought of it, they have dreamed so much of its surpassing glory, they have painted so many pictures of it, they have so lost themselves in the contemplation of its ineffable expe- riences, that they have scorned, derided, contemned this present life. They have seemingly despised its humble, necessary every-day duties. To be meek, to be kind, to be thoughtful of others, to be willing to per- form even menial offices for the imperfect and crude men and women in this actual world-all this and more they have forgotten. They were to be kings and priests unto God in the heavenly sphere. Why, then, should they content themselves with the obscure and in-
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significant duties of this prosaic world ? They resem- ble the boy who is ambitious of becoming a merchant prince, but despises a store room and the duties of an under-clerk. There are no princedoms either on earth or in heaven for such men. Let us not forget to pre- pare for the other life of the soul, but let us also re- member that the best preparation we can make is to faithfully, kindly and unweariedly discharge the du- ties devolving upon us in this present life.
God meant something when he created this world, and established its manifold economies. This world is not a mistake. It was not made on a venture. It is not the devil's world, stolen from God and ruined after he had finished it. The experiences of this world are all valuable and necessary. Our environ- ment here is absolutely necessary to our education and culture. This world is full of evidences of Intention- ality. It was thought out by a great Thinker. It is God's world. Our chief business just now is with this world. We ought to know itslaws, and their influence over us and human civilization. It is the height of impiety either to refuse to know or obey the laws of the globe which we inhabit. We grossly irsult its Mak- er when we despise it, villify it, refuse to read its rev- elations, or seek to hide from ourselves the wisdom and beneficence of its economies. If I should write a book, and send you a copy with the good wishes of the author, and you should give it a respectable place in your library, but never read it, would I not have just ground for offence ? In this world of ours, we have a book of God's. Every object on it is a letter, and it contains a literature most solemn, most sublime, most precious. This book men have forgotten, yea, at times despised, yea, at times they have denounced those who were trying to read it as irreligious and infidel. But to read the great book of Nature, to study its facts, to ascertain its laws, to admire its beauty, to extol its wisdom, to imitate its impartial and unwasting bene- ficence, is our high and sacred duty.
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