USA > West Virginia > The West Virginia pulpit of the Methodist Episcopal church. Sermons from living ministers. With personal sketches of the authors > Part 22
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I now call attention to two propositions :
First, the works of God manifest his wisdom. It must be apparent to the most casual observer, that the wisdom of God is displayed in the adaptation of means to ends. In all animal and plant life, from the simplest to the most complex, there is a plan for each -a complicated adaptation of means to ends. Pass from zone to zone, and see the varied wealth of forms. Each one a study, each one having some peculiar con- dition of life. No ingenuity of man, nor of all men could have conceived of the work, as it has been done, and when seen, no one can improve upon the work. There is not sufficient mechanical genius in the world to institute such a system, at once revealing the wis- dom and goodness of God.
This brings me to the second proposition :
The works of God manifest his goodness. We see the goodness of God in the provisions he has made for our comfort, and welfare. Many of these were here prior to our existence. How he has provided for us during all these weeks, months, and years of our lives. We have been fed at his table, clothed at his wardrobe, and slaked our thirst at crystal streams flowing at our feet. The divine thoughtfulness is all about us for good. He keeps us whether awake or asleep. The beautiful words of our Savior come to us with peculiar force, " Behold the fowls of the air, for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns, yet your heavenly Father feedeth them. Are ye not much better than they ?" As much as to say: If the Father's care is extended to the fowls of the air, will he not also care for his children, whom he has created in his own im- age, redeemed with his own blood ? No wonder, the Psalmist in meditating upon the goodness of God, should exclaim, "How great is his goodness !" "O
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taste and see that the Lord is good." There is more truth than poetry in the lines of Pope,
" For me kind nature wakes her genial power, Suckles each herb, and spreads out every flower ; Annual for me, the grape, the rose renew, The juice nectareous, and the balmy dew, For me the mine, a thousand treasures brings, For me health gushes from a thousand springs." Seas roll to waft me, suns to light me, rise; My footstool earth, my canopy the skies."
I have not selected this subject merely for the pleas- ure of it, nor to excite, in any one, a superficial love for the works of God. I trust I have been prompted by a better motive, governed by a higher aim. My purpose has been to bring God nearer to you ; to assist in forming a proper conception of his character and attributes. I do not believe in worshipping nature, but I do believe in a recognition of God in his works. I hold, it would be sheer madness, and moral insanity for a man to study the architecture of this world, and ignore the architect ; to endeavor to read the great poem of nature, and not seek to know the author ; to admire creation, and not see the Creator ; to be charmed with roses and lillies, and not admire him, who is rep- resented in the Scriptures as the "Rose of Sharon," and the " Lilly of the Valley." " All thy works shall praise thee O Lord, and thy saints shall bless thee." Amen and amen.
PERSONAL SKETCH.
REV. CHARLES P. MASDEN, son of John and Mary Masden, was born in Kent county, Delaware, in the year 1843. His pa- rents were Methodists, and at the early age of sixteen, he was converted to God at a camp meeting near his early home. At the age of eighteen, and while yet at school, he was licensed to preach the Gospel. The next year he joined the Philadelphia Conference, and was sent, as junior preacher, to Salisbury Cir- cuit, on the Eastern Shore of Maryland, where he spent two years in extensive revival work. His next appointment was Dorchester Circuit, where he remained one year.
The first Station, which he was called to fill, was Cambridge, the most important point for Methodism on the Eastern Shore- remaining the full term of three years. He next served Fletcher Church, West Philadelphia, and Central Church, Philadelphia. At both these appointments he preached to crowded houses, and began to attract attention, throughout the city, as a popular pulpit orator.
When the distinguished Dr. T. De Witt Talmage left the Sec- ond Reformed Church, Philadelphia, to take charge of the Taber- nacle in Brooklyn, the congregation he had served so long and well, unanimously called Brother Masden to succeed him; and in this church, one of the largest in the city, he remained as pas- tor for eight consecutive years, always preaching to crowded houses. During these eight years, he received four hundred and fifty members into the Church upon confession of faith ; and in the meantime edited a popular religious newspaper, which had an extensive circulation, for the time, throughout the country. The amount of work done by Brother Masden while serving this large congregation, was amazing ; and yet, he stood up under it, and was always found at his post of duty.
Being converted, educated, and by temperament a Methodist, and realizing that for the sake of health and prolonged useful- ness he must change his Church relation, he, therefore, re-en- tered the ranks of the Itinerancy, and was stationed by Bishop Simpson, in 1879, at Fourth Street M. E. Church, Wheeling, West Virginia, the wealthiest and most influential Church in the State. He remained in Wheeling the full term of three years, and the highest compliment I can give him is to state, that his audiencesgrew larger each year he remained ; and had it been in the power of the Church to have done so, the entire membership
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of it would have made him their perpetual pastor. He is a man of positive parts, and is among the most popular ministers of the day.
I subjoin the following personal notice published in the Wheeling Daily Intelligencer of November 27th, 1882:
" The Rev. C. P. Masden, who was for three years pastor of Fourth Street M. E. Church, this city, and went from here, in October, to Scranton, Pa., has received and accepted a call to the pastorate of Union M. E. Church, St. Louis. This will give him a much larger field of operation than he could have at Scran- ton, or indeed anywhere else outside the large cities. Dr. Mas- den is yet a young man, but has made for himself a reputation as a minister which has extended far and wide. He succeeded Dr. Talmage as pastor of a German Reform Church in Philadel- phia, where he remained eight years. From there he came to Wheeling and remained a full term at Fourth Street Church. In both places he sustained himself as one of the most forcible and attractive preachers of the day."
SERMON XXII.
BY
REV, CHARLES P. MASDEN.
THEME :- AN AWAKENED SOUL SOLVING THE PROB- LEM OF LIFE.
TEXT :- "Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?"-AcTs ix: 6.
The history of the text is familiar to all. Already the scene has passed before you-Saul, of Tarsus, on his way to Damascus, with authority from the high priest to persecute the Church and to imprison Chris- tians-the light from heaven, above the brightness of the noonday sun, that fell upon his pathway-not only a light but a voice saying, "Saul, Saul, why per- secutest thou me ?"-not only a light and a voice, but also a personage. "Who art thou, Lord ?" "I am Jesus, whom thou persecutest."
This whole phenomenon resolves itself into this Scriptural explanation, that Christ was surrounding his Church and protecting her from her foes, and said to the bloody persecutor : " Thus far shalt thou go and no farther." It was Jehovah surrounding the camp of Israel. It was Christ arresting the sinner, disarming the warrior, and enlisting the conquered man as a champion in his own service. " Lord, what wilt thou have me to do ?"
If you will analyze the text in connection with its history, you will find it contains two general princi- ples, which are embodied in the theme announced. First, It is the language of an awakened soul-an honest search for light-the cry for the Infinise. At
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certain flowers point always their painted petals to the sun, and move with him in his daily arc from east to west, governed by a certain law deep within the life of the plants, which draws them naturally toward the pleasant light and warmth by which they must live and grow, so do souls awakened by the Holy Ghost, minds quickened by the truth, turn toward the Cross of Christ, test the great facts of Christianity, and search for the highest possible life.
The query: "Lord, what," &c., is the expression of an awakened soul. Secondly, the text contains the essential conditions of a successful life, viz: con- sciousness of a life mission ; right choice of a voca- tion ; the power of individuality, and the recognition of the divine commission. These four points are em- bodied in the text, and are plainly taught by the phraseology.
I. THE CONSCIOUSNESS OF A LIFE MISSION OR A REAL- IZATION OF WHAT LIFE IS FOR. " LORD-TO DO."
Life is for doing. This world is to be cleared of its briars and thorns, improved, cultivated, and restored to Eden beauty. Humanity is to be instructed, ele- vated, comforted, redeemed, saved-till man shall be the crowned saint in glory. This is the design of God and mission of Christianity.
This world is not a floundered ship, from which we are to rescue and save a few of the drowning passen- gers by the Gospel life-boats, and then leave her to sink into oblivion; but rather a grand old domain, in ruins, it is true-its temples thrown down-its lands run to waste-its beauty defaced-its inhabit- ants cursed. The duty of man under the mission and reign of the Gospel is to rebuild the walls, reconstruct the temples, cultivate the gardens, sow the fields, plant vineyards, clear forests, bridge rivers, tun- nel mountains, join the hands of continents by tele- graphic wires, erect schools, build churches, improve civilization, advance religion, save men's souls and restore this earth to its pristine beauty, and make it the temporary home of redeemed man.
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What is man here for ? What is his earthly mis- sion ? How must he live and act toward this wilder- ness through which his path leads him to his eternal destination ? Shall he be a plunderer of the world ? Rob it ? Get all he can from it ? Pluck the flowers, and eat the fruit, and suck it dry and leave it barren ? If so, what shall become of those who shall follow ? Pos- terity would have a rough road, and this world would become a dreary Sahara, or wilderness of misery and death. Nay-man is to be a builder, a planter, a sow- er, a workman, a doer. This world is to be bettered by our having lived in it, both in a material and mor- al sense. Human life, then, is not for plundering the world, but for improving it. Not to rob it, but robe it. Not to plant thorns and sow nettles in it, but to plant flowers and sow the seeds of immortality.
The general sense of responsibility exists in a greater or less degree in all minds. This is evidenced by the idea and practice of sacrifice among all na- tions. This exists prior to conversion, and is the basis or ground work of conversion. But there must be more than this general sense of responsibility- there must be personal conviction-a realization of a divine call. Conversion is a divine call. When once a man's soul is touched with the live coal from off the altar, he awakes to the fact that life is not for mere enjoyment, but for doing-not for idle dreams, but for heroic deeds-not for aimless drifting, but for steady sailing.
While in the country, not long ago, I saw trees of various sizes and colors-flowers of various odors and hues-weeds of all sizes and shapes, and grass of different kinds, all growing in the same soil. I said, "Why is it that the same elements of soil produce this varie- ty ?" And the only answer I could find was that God was superintending the whole, and that each tree, flower, weed, and blade of grass had its mission in life. It was so. The tree was not for fragrance, nor the flower for shade. The weed could not charm the beholder with beauty, nor the flower so effectually ab- sorb the gasses. The grass could not make fuel, nor the tree nutriment for the beast. Each had its mis-
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sion, and without murmuring or dissatisfaction each place was filled. O that men would as naturally and as truly fill their places in life-whether it be preach- ing the Gospel, administering civil law, practicing medicine, selling goods, tilling the soil, manufactur- ing articles, building houses or patiently suffering for Christ, which is the highest and most Christ-like mission of all.
In many an humble cottage, or alley, or court, you may find the child of affliction, with but few wants, more contented than those in worldly strife. No mur- mur-no complaint-thankful for water and bread- with simple faith in God, and fulfilling a mission you and I would shrink from, and men of valor would shun. Even the babe of a few days, that came in loveliness and cast a sunbeam of joy in the home, and then faded so soon, had its mission, and often has done more to thaw selfish hearts and draw parents to hea- ven than a long and rugged life. Every human life, then, is a divine plan. Every one has a mission to this world. So fall in line-stand in your place-do not envy another. No place so grand for you as your own-none you could fill so well. None could make you as useful and happy. Without this conviction of a personal life mission, your life will be aimless, and consequently a failure-a drift life, tossed by the waves of circumstances and tide of events, driven by the winds of doubt, no anchor, no rudder, no compass. Some day the ship will be wrecked. Aim at God's glory. Take your bearings carefully. Know where you are going. One mistake may wreck unnumbered barks that follow in your wake. A wrong direction or bias may land you at hell's gloomy portals, instead of the pearly gates of the New Jerusalem.
II. THE SECOND ESSENTIAL CONDITION OF A SUCCESSFUL LIFE, AS GIVEN IN THE TEXT IS : RIGHT CHOICE OF A VOCATION. "LORD, WHAT ?"
While all men may have a general sense of respon- sibility, and while an awakened soul may be conscious of a life mission, yet the difficult thing is to know for what we are best suited. At what we can best suc-
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ceed. In what direction we are to spend our life ener- gies so as to bring in the largest returns to us, and the greatest revenue to the glory of God. "Lord, what ?" There are four things which should regulate the choice of a vocation in life :
1. Qualification or natural adaptation. You may tell me that work, industry and perseverance will fit and qualify persons for positions in life which they were before unable to fill. I admit the developing power of work. You will tell me of the necessity and sanctifying influence of the second birth. I ad- mit its importance, yet a great deal depends on the first. I would give due credit to work and to divine grace, yet natural capacity greatly determines the question of success.
Natural adaptation, combined with work and drill, will make the successful life. It would require a great deal of work to make a round ball fit a square hole, and the fit can never be a graceful one. It would re- quire considerable education to train a dog to fly or a fish to run. So it will require wasted energy and time to fit men for places for which they have no natural adaptation.
This world is full of misplaced men. "The pulpit has some that belong by nature to the blacksmith shop. The plow has lost an excellent hand, and the bar has gained a dupe. Some physicians who are very successful in repairing health, would have been also successful in repairing houses."
This is one reason why so many men fail of success. They are in the wrong places. Now, how are we to know for what men are best fitted, and to what voca- tion they are adapted ?
In some cases the talent is so marked, and the incli- nation so strong as to leave no doubt but the majority have no such bias, and are unconscious of any special qualification. What are they to do ? I will name cer- tain guides.
(1.) The absence of those natural faculties requisite for the position, is an evidence that God has not called you to fill it. For instance : weak eyes must preclude the business of the engraver ; lameness of limb, the. .
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farmer ; lack of voice and sense of sound, the musi- cian ; absence of speech or ability to retain thoughts and to express them, the orator.
(2.) Strong aversion to a business is a guide in the choice. I don't mean dislike to exertion, for humani- ty is constitutionally lazy, and men must learn to love work ; but where there is a positive dislike to any vocation, there can be, in the nature of the case, no great success.
(3.) Any deviation from a sense of honor or duty, may be evidence that it is not the place for you. No difference how attractive the position, how profitable the business, if conscience is involved, it is not the place for you.
2. Opportunity. It is often said, " where there is a will there is a way." That is not always true. There cannot be but one President of the United States, and thousands have the will. So opportunity must decide in a degree a man's occupation. Opportunity is a convenient time or favorable occasion, and, when once past, may never come again. Work at the right time, and everything assists you. Success is parent of suc- cess, and on you go to victory. But if you work at the wrong time-let the opportunity pass-you fail. Failure gives birth to failure, and your chance is lost.
"Opportunity is like a favoring breeze springing up around a sailing vessel. If the sails are all set, the vessel is driven on to port. If the sailors are asleep or ashore, and the sails all folded, the breeze may die away, and when they would go on, they cannot. Their vessel stands as idle as a painted ship on a painted sea." So, if you let the opportunity for study and mental development pass, if you fail to improve the season of youth, you will have no wind to drive the bark of life toward the port of success.
Some people imagine that opportunity is a golden chariot, drawn by the steeds of good luck, and some day will pause for them as they loiter in the shade on life's roadside, and the good angel of fortune will pick them up and put them on cushioned seats of dignity, or lay them on " flowery beds of ease," and drive on to success. Opportunity is no such thing,-but simply
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an open door, with an invitation written above it, "Come, for all things are now ready." Within are the golden harvest fields, ready for the reaper's sickle.
How often do we hear people say what they are go- ing to do "when their ships come in "-as if oppor- tunities would come and unload their treasures in their laps-when the fact is, they have no ships out at sea. You must first build your ships-cut down the tim- ber, hew the beams, frame the hull, erect the mast, weave the sails, furnish the anchor, rudder and com- pass, and then act as pilot yourself and send them out todistant ports, and they will come back richly freight- ed with the spices of other lands and the gold of other climes, and enrich you for your industry. Improve the passing hour-the present opportunity. Let this be the motto of your life, "Now is the accepted time."
" There is a tide in the affairs of men, Which, taken at the flood, leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life Is bounded in shallows and in miseries."
3. Self-interest. There is a great deal of cant in these times about the death of self. That would be the greatest misfortune that could come to an indi- vidual. Self-hood should never die. You should be a separate and distinct person in your thinking, acting, working and enjoying.
Selfishness is a sin. There is a legitimate and sub- lime self-interest, and there is a wicked selfishness. The forbidden selfishness is the exclusive regard for personal interest, supreme self-love, which leads to a disregard for others and the welfare of society at large. The legitimate and sublime self-interest is acting so as to bless humanity, and at the same time result in the highest good to the actor. No one has thought deeply upon the philosophy of life without observing the re- lation of this sublime self-interest and Christian un- selfishness which blesses others. A man must learn before he can teach. We must have before we can give. The general good demands the highest prosperity and happiness of the individual. Hence self-interest is not to be forgotten in choosing a vocation. A true self-interest is in harmony with Gospel self-denial. If
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you can better your condition and be of equal service to society and the world, you do it. It is your duty to do it. If it is no violation of conscience and dimi- nution of usefulness, and you can get a larger salary, it is your duty to accept.
It seems as if this were intended, in the Divine econ- omy, as an incentive to industry and self-elevation. You remove human incentives and personal rewards, and you dwarf humanity and hinder even the progress of religion.
Take two clergymen. One cares nothing about rep- utation or salary-if such a thing be possible-is prompted by no earthly ambition-a kind of inhu- man being. The other full of aspiration, not willing to be second-rate-prompted by a noble ambition. Now, who will do the more good? The man who couples self-interest and personal success with spiritual good. He will take hold of men as well as of God. The right hand will be on the throne, the left take hold of sinking humanity.
Take two boys at school. One cares nothing about his standing in his class, about prizes or medals. He studies not for any human motive, but for duty's sake, and to be wise in the world to come. Another does not intend to be excelled-is determined to take the honors of his class. Which will be the better student and the more useful man ? Facts answer.
Hence there is a sublime self-interest which be- comes an incentive to duty and activity, and is not to be ignored in choosing a vocation.
4. Usefulness. When the good of humanity is sac- rificed to self-interest, it becomes selfishness, and is a sin against God and man, and a curse to the individ- ual. Usefulness is not to be interfered with, but aug- mented by this self-interest. A good soldier does not fight battles for the sake of pay, but for his country's good, yet he ought to be paid. Doctors like fees, yet on the whole they desire to cure the sick. Preachers cannot live without salary, yet the first motive in preaching must not be dollars and cents. Usefulness is not to be sacrificed to self-interest. You must get
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in that position where you can shine the farthest, do the most good, reach the largest number.
These are the questions to be settled : For what am I suited ?- Qualification. What can I do ?- Opportu- nity. Will it pay me ?- Self-interest. Is it best for society, the world, and for God's glory-Usefulness. These should regulate your choice.
The traveler in the Alps, walking in the early morning and seeing the white clouds changing around the mountain-peak, cannot distinguish at a distance which is the summit and which the cloud. But after the sun climbs the heavens and lifts the wreathing vapor, and drawing nearer he sees at last, sharply de- fined against the pure sky, the one clear cone. So with us. Cloud after cloud delights us in the morn- ing of life; but when the noontide comes, the one thing we have to do will stand out boldly and promi- nently before us, and challenge effort. Having found our life work, let us settle down to steady toil, draw- ing our inspiration from the Cross of Christ, and our work will be eternal.
III. THE TEXT INFORMS US THAT ANOTHER ELEMENT OF A SUCCESSFUL LIFE IS "INDIVIDUALITY "-" ME."
I believe in the committee of one. What is every- body's business is nobody's. Individualism is lost in associationism. Some men lose their consciences in stock companies or corporations. They sin in the aggregate, and wash their hands in the waters of in- nocency.
So in churches. The man who does next to noth- ing takes credit to himself for what others have done. He gives a penny in a collection and then, with an air of charming hypocrisy, says, "We raised one thousand dollars last Sunday." He never offers a prayer and points a sinner to Christ, and says, "We have had a gracious revival." Is that honest ? This is one of the dangers of our day. We do too much by committees, and not enough alone. (The individual, conscience, duty, development and reward are blended with the great mass.) We cannot repent by commit- tees; we cannot believe by proxy ; we cannot escape,
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responsibility by going to church. We will not die in companies. One by one we pass over the river. We will not be judged as assemblies, but as individ- uals. We will wear our own crowns in glory, and not appear in borrowed array.
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