USA > West Virginia > The West Virginia pulpit of the Methodist Episcopal church. Sermons from living ministers. With personal sketches of the authors > Part 24
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3. Look next at the doctrine of the Atonement. If Christianity came only to make to us a revelation of our fallen condition, telling us of the impassable gulf digged between us and God, shutting out forever all hope of mercy and pardon, and had no further communication to make, it would be a sad office to preach such a Gos- pel. But I thank God such is not the case. In the same chapter that announces man's fall, I read of a gracious plan for his recovery. Though in the exer- cise of free choice man superinduced sin upon himself and by sin separation from God and eternal death, yet "God so loved the world that he gave his only be- gotten Son that whosoever believeth in him should not perish but have everlasting life." Yes, glory to God! for he hath redeemed us not with corruptible things such as silver and gold, but by the precious blood of Christ. Tell me unbelief, what fault hast thou to find with this gracious truth ? Here, and here only, canst thou find an answer to that greatest of all questions-which rises by intuition in the heart of the civilized and savage alike, "What must I do to be saved ?" Men searched in vain for an answer to this question of questions among the other religions of the earth.
Philosophy tried but failed to answer, turning,
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away in sorrow from the false religions and vain phi- losophies of earth. Man next appealed to Nature to answer; but Nature had no answer to give. With an eloquence peculiar to himself, another tells the story of nature's helplessness in the presence of the pleading heart of humanity : "Sweltering nations have knelt at the feet of the Himalayan mountains for ages asking that question, but the mountains made no response. Not one of the old peaks stooped down to lift a single soul on its shoulders into heaven. Still the people cry, and still the mountains are silent. " What must I do to be saved ?" Nations in blind- ness and death, have knelt on the shores of the Cas- pian Sea, the Persian Gulf, and the Bengal Bay, moan- ing out that question ; but still there was nothing in all the rumbling surf that responded. The winds mocked, and the waves spit their spray in the face of the dying nations. And so the cry went round the world, but the desert spoke not, and the Alps were silent-and the stars were dumb-all the caverns and hills and seas but echoed back the dismal cry, " what must I do to be saved."
Eighteen hundred years ago a prisoner in jail at Philippi, with back bleeding and feet in the stocks, gave the only answer to the question to be had in heaven above, or the earth beneath : "Believe on the Lord Jesus Christ and thou shalt be saved."
"Salvation let the echo fly The spacious earth around, Until all the armies of the sky Conspire to raise the sound."
4. The Scriptures contain the sublime doctrine of the resurrection of the body and the immortality of the soul. What offense do these glorious doctrines in- fiict on frail, dying humanity? Why should it be a displeasing thing to you my friends, to be told that these bodies of such beauty and grace, upon which has been expended such infinite skill of workman- ship,and which you so fondly love; upon which you lavish such tender attention, are not like the worms to be thrust into the earth to moulder back to the ele- ments from which they were originally made, to be-
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come again a part of the common dust; but on the contrary, are to be lifted up in the last day, reorgan- ized in celestial and deathless form; and rising from the scenes of their earthly existence, shall enter the skies and begin the blissful experience of their new and ceaseless life. To my mind no hope can bring such consolation to our hearts as the coffin lid closes down and shuts from our tearful eyes the face and form of our dead kindred for all time, as the hope of the resurrection of the dead. We cannot deny that it is a stupendous mystery; but shall this be sufficient to prove it a baseless dream ? Which is the greater mystery, your creation or your resurrection ? You cannot deny your existence, but the ground upon which some reject the resurrection, viz: that of mys- tery, would compel them to deny that they are. O, relentless sceptic take not away this.consoling hope ! If it is a delusion, it will not hurt us to believe it, but take it from us, and we sit in the thick gloom of de- spair, with the angel of hope dead in our hearts.
As to the immortality of the soul, what can be more in harmony with our highest reason and best feelings ? What is there in this doctrine derogatory to the dignity of man, or in what way does it inter- fere with his interests on earth? An eternal life under such conditions as by the Word of God are predicated of the future state, is to my mind the most inspiring and helpful hope that blesses the heart of humanity. Why should a man want to die-to cease to be, when the narrow bounds of his earthly life is reached. What object do men have in denying the future life ? Says Massilon, the famous French divine, "We have only to trace the origin of an opinion to ascertain whether the interests of truth or passion have established it on the earth." Go upon the streets of this city to-morrow,-begin with the purest and noblest souls that bless the race, and descend the scale until the vilest and lowest spirits that curse and shame the name of man are reached and put these questions, Do you believe that human conduct is a matter of lively interest and minute record with God? Do you believe there is a future life, and that the weal
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or woe of that life will be determined by this record ? At the top of the scale your questions will be answered, with a possible exception, in a great number, in the affirmative; but as you descend, doubts will be ex- pressed, and before the bottom is reached, they will be flatly negatived. It is not the good men in this world who want to abolish the future state revealed in the Bible. Is there no significance in this? Take yourself: When is it that the future state seems more desirable and reasonable? Is it when under the sway of some vile passion, when conscience is lashing thee for some carnal indulgence ? Or is it when ruled by thy better self-following the guidance of right reason, thou art conscious of the rectitude of thy life and the purity of thy motives? Am I not right ? Ah, my friends, these men who tell us that conscience is a myth, the soul a little flame that will flicker and go out in death, that the future state is the dream of the enthusiast and hell a delusion, have not reached these astounding discoveries by consult- ing Virtue and Reason, for these unite in enforcing the Bible doctrine of the immortality of the soul.
5. The last of these precious doctrines of the Chris- tian religion of which I will now speak is, the super- intending providence of God. Though there are many inscrutable things about it, yet it seems that it cannot in any way, be offensive to the feelings or minds of men. To me it is a pleasing thought that this world, with its varied forms of life, animal and human, man and beast, with their many and ever re- curring wants are not left entirely at the mercy of fixed and feelingless law, but that we are all closely super- intended by the great Father, God. Let it be a delu- sion, and let him scoff who will, I cannot give up the faith that the steps of a good man are ordered of the Lord, and that the same hand that clothes the lily and feeds the birds, will feed and clothe me. God has said, "I will never leave thee nor forsake thee; lo, I am with you always."
"So beside the silent sea I wait the muffled oar;
No harm from him can come to me On ocean or on shore.
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"I know not where his islands Lift their fronded palms in air, I only know I cannot drift Beyond his love and care."
O boasting unbelief, these are the doctrines of the Gospel we preach. What of wrong-what of harm have they inflicted on the lost race of Adam ? Speak if thou canst, and indict one or all of these doctrines of hurtful influence upon human life.
We have failed to find any thing either in the aims or doctrines of Christianity that would deprive it of that reverence and affection with which the masses of mankind have regarded it for nearly twenty centu- ries.
III. LET US NEXT STUDY ITS EFFECTS UPON THE .
HEART AND LIFE.
If a system, whether of philosophy or religion, be right in its aims, sound in its doctrines, good in its effects, who dare assault and revile it. The Christian religion has produced a more beneficient and salutary effect upon National and individual life than all the other reformatory and civilizing influences combined. What has the Vedic writings and the Shastra done for India, or the Zend Avesta, the Koran or the writ- ings of Confucious for Persia, Africa, Turkey and Chi- na, as compared with what the Bible has done for Eng- land, Scotland and the United States of America ?
Christianity has breathed its genial breath upon the desert places of earth, and made them to rejoice and blossom as the rose. It touches humanity on all sides, and wherever it touches it imparts purity and hope. It has permeated our literature and has refined and purified it. It has succeeded in some way in incar- nating its gracious principles in our laws, and as a consequence, we have the best system of jurisprudence in the world. But no where has it done a more blessed work for man than in the home. Oh, how our homes have been hallowed and sanctified by the teachings of the Gospel. How the tender and sacred relations of hus- band and wife, child and parent, brother and sister, have been revealed and established by the Christian religion. What is the home, what are the family re- lations in those lands where no Christ is known and
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loved ? But I must not keep too far from you in this part of my subject-Let us come closer together and study the divine effects of Christianity. First in the transformation of character. How does it operate here ? Does it make man better or worse? There is not a man under the broad, blue sky to-day, who can pro- duce a solitary instance where the individual was made more licentious, vain, false, or selfish by this sacred book. But I could summon from this presence witnesses to testify to the fact without a single excep- tion, human character, wherever brought under the magic power of the Christian religion, has been ex- alted and made all glorious to behold. I know a man who, at one time, was the most profane and unclean of speech, indecent of action, drunken and abandoned wretch in the community in which he lived. But he is not so now. A work as miraculous as raising the dead, has taken place in that man's heart and life. He has been converted to God. His tongue is free from profane speech. His conversation is chaste, and his whole deportment is sober and virtuous. He is a kind and an affectionate husband and father, an honorable citizen, a Christian gentleman. His old com- rades in crime-the gambler, the debauchee-are com- pelled to believe, let them sneer never so much, that his religion has lifted him up and far away from the degradation he once shared along with them. I chal- lenge any man to find fault with a work like that.
Such examples of moral heroism and self abandon- ment as have been produced by the religion of the Cross, can be found no where else. Time would fail me to call the names of the noble men and women, who, in all ages, have counted their lives as nothing for Christ's sake. Under the inspiration of Christianity, schools of learning have been founded, hospitals and asylums have been opened, wounds have been healed, tears have been wiped away, prison doors have been opened, and slaves set free. Amid the afflictions and bereavements incident to the life we now live, what has been such a stay and comfort to humanity as the religion of Christ ? Could we live without it ? Last summer I stood by the bed-side of a young man (a
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member of the church of which I am now pastor), who was dying from an injury he had sustained a few days before. For a few hours after the accident the physi- cians were unable to determine whether the hurt was fatal or not. At last, symptoms developed that told the sad story-he must die. He received the announce- ment without a tremor of alarm. I saw him call his young wife to his side for a last farewell on earth. She came with their sweet babe in her arms, so soon to be fatherless. The dying man took the little one in his arms, and held it for a moment to his heart, and then handed it back to its mother. He then took a tender leave of his devoted wife and sorrowing friends, and met death as tranquilly as if he knew himself to be only falling into a sweet sleep. Since I witnessed that triumphant death, I wonder why all men do not live the life of the righteous, that the last end may be like his.
And yet we are told, after all we are able to say in its defense, we must give it up. There are those who say it is a wicked delusion -- a cruel hoax-a super- stition, which must be destroyed; and they are ran- sacking heaven and earth for arguments to break its hold upon the reverence and faith of the world. Will they succeed ? Never. Millions of loving hearts, who have sadly laid their kindred in the grave, are comforting themselves with the hope of the resurrec- tion of the dead. The unfortunate and down-trodden of earth find their only happiness here. The weak and tempted know no other refuge. Men who have suffered failure and defeat in this life, are only saved from its despair by the hope of a life to come. These will never give up the Bible. Ah ! no, friends, be not dismayed. Men may attack our holy religion, but they will never conquer it. The earth may dissolve, the heavens pass away as a parchment scroll, but God himself hath said, " One jot or tittle shall in no wise pass from the law till all be fulfilled."
PERSONAL SKETCH.
REV. JOSEPH LEE was born and educated in Ireland. He is now 35 years of age and is stationed at Buckhannon, W. Va. Brother Lee was converted at the early age of fifteen, and was ·only about sixteen when he began holding religious services. Soon afterwards he was licensed to preach, and for several years in Ireland and Scotland, as a local preacher, he made "full proof of his ministry." His parents died when he was very young, thus leaving him to " face life's great battle," with more than ordinary exposure to temptation ; but always and everywhere his mind was pure and his life untainted.
Brother Lee came to West Virginia from the Old World, in the summer of 1872, and served the remainder of that year on the Mannington Circuit. He joined the West Virginia Conference in March, 1873, and has served the following Churches: King- wood, one year; Fetterman, three years; Grantsville, Mary- land, one year; Guyandotte, two years, and Clarksburg, three years. He is in his first year in his present appointment at Buck- hannon.
Brother Lee has had liberal educational advantages, and he has used them well. He has read a large number of books, and is at home on almost any topic of conversation which may be introduced.
As a preacher he is logical and eloquent, frequently taking his audience by surprise as by some beautiful flight of oratory he il- lustrates the Sacred Truth. He is one of those preachers to whom the people are more firmly attached, year by year, and whose preaching never shows any indication of sameness or repetition. He might preach a lifetime in a charge, and always have some- thing new to say. In disposition, he is exceedingly modest and retiring. In temper, calm and self controlling. As a minister, heis true in every department of his holy work, and equally suc- cessful. While as a friend, he is steadfast as a rock, and help- ful to the utmost of his ability.
In the autumn of 1879, Brother Lee was married to Miss Ida M. Engle, of Grantsville, Maryland, who is to him a faithful and devoted helper in his work as a minister of the M. E. Church. Only those who are personally intimate with the subject of this sketch, and know his sterling worth and ability can fully appre- ciate the man, and his many sacrifices for the sake of our beloved Methodism in the State of West Virginia.
SERMON XXIV.
BY
REV. JOSEPH LEE.
THEME :- DIVINE AND HUMAN WORK.
TEXT :- "Let thy work appear unto thy servants and thy glo- ry unto their children. And let the beauty of the Lord our God be upon us: and establish thou the work of our hands upon us; yea the work of our hands establish thou it."-Psalm xc: 16, 17.
I. FIRST, DIVINE WORK.
The work of God is made manifest in creation. He called into existence the vast universe and peopled space with innumerable worlds of greatness and grand- eur. He laid the foundations of the world and built it up in beauty and strength. He has moved the stars in their solemn march through the heavens, and made them praise him in the music of their spheres. He has "loosed Orion and bound the influences of Pleiades." He wields the lightning, and rules the whirlwind, and chains with unpassable barriers the ocean's proud and restless waves. Thus the work of God is grandly unfolded in the splendor of the skies, the beauties of the earth and the wonders of the great deep.
Then, again, we see the work of God in Providence, by which, in its comprehensive operations, he sus- tains all his creatures; and by which in its minute operations he especially cares for the interests of his own people. This work of God appeared to Noah and his family in their escape from the great deluge. It
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was made known to Lot and his family in their deliv- erance from the cities of the plain. It was wonder- fully made manifest to Moses, in his history and char- acter as the great leader of Israel. It appeared clear to the children of Israel in their emancipation from Egyptian bondage; in their passage across the Red Sea as on dry land; in being fed with Manna from the skies, and refreshed with water from the rock. While they were wandering in the wilderness, they were brought near to the mount, where Moses received the law, amid blackness, and darkness, and thunder- ing, and lightning, and storm; where instructions were also given regarding the ark of the covenant, the mercy seat, the priesthood, the sacrifices, and the va- ried operations of that dispensation. This work of Divine Providence has been made manifest to the people of God throughout all generations.
But there is another, which is God's greatest and grandest work. It is his work of redemption, by which he saves the sinner from the ruins of the fall; by which he lifts him into his favor and transforms him to his likeness, and by which he qualifies him for the glory and blessedness of heaven. None but God could do this work. It is a work of reconciliation to be ac- complished by one, who from the earliest times, was announced as Jehovah, who should undertake and ac- complish the salvation of the world. He took our na- ture into close union with his own-so God is in Christ reconciling the world unto himself. The death of Jesus Christ was the great and effectual means of man's reconciliation to God. It was a sublime sub- ject for angels to study : it was the grand theme of the Old Testament writers; it was the great subject which was presented on Mount Tabor (or Hermon) when Christ was transfigured ; it is set forth in the Lord's Supper, and it is the song of the glorified,-they adore the Lamb that was slain, but is now alive from the dead and is to live forever more.
In this work, we see God graciously willing the recov- ery of the lost, arranging the whole scheme of redemp- tion, according to his good pleasure which he had pur- posed in himself; and in the deepest and greatest
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tenderness, offering his only begotten Son, being the most costly sacrifice which he could bestow. We also see the Divine Son humiliated, despised and smitten. He enters into the mystery of sorrow, which the hu- man mind fails to conceive. He is obedient in his death, and the humanity which he took upon himself, he loved so well, that he did not leave it to perish in the tomb, but took it with him into the glory of heav- en, in order that all other redeemed and saved hu- manity might not be strange or lonely amid the splen- dors of that palace eternal in the sky.
Now, God's work of grace and mercy is in constant operation for the personal salvation of man. This divine work produces the sublimest results. It gives light to our understanding, tenderness to the con- science, godly sorrow to the heart, and confidence in God to the self-condemned spirit. It conveys to the heart of those who trust in Jesus, conscious pardon, renews it in righteousness and true holiness, makes it radiant with celestial light, and fruitful of all good works. A new creation is evoked out of the wild waste of man's spiritual nature; mantled with a se- rene sky, brightened by divine illumination, refreshed by dews of grace and showers of blessing, enriched with the peaceable fruits of righteousness, which are by Jesus Christ to the praise and glory of God,-and over the whole is spread an almighty defence so that no foe can conquer and no spoiler destroy. The di- vine energy of this work is unceasing. It changes us from glory to glory by the Spirit of the Lord. The inward man is renewed day by day; holy principles gather strength ; spiritual graces assume richer hues of beauty; piety towards God and benevolence towards man appear in lovelier and more impressive forms, and the good work of God is thus carried on, until it is perfect and complete.
It is also a work of power to those that believe. It sustains and blesses them amid the trials and tribu- lations of life. Whatever be the nature of our trials or their number, the work of divine grace is a sus- taining power. It brings relieving brightness in every obscure day and dark night. It dries up our
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tears, and silences our complaints. It solaces us in our sorrows, upholds us in our weakness, and com- forts us in our tribulations. It gives us songs in the inner prison, glorying under stripes, and divine he- roism when brought to the stake, or cast into the flames. It takes away the sting of death, crowns the departing spirit with victory, and inspires it with hymns of praise to God and the Lamb.
This work of God includes the resurrection of the body to eternal life. The mortal shall put on im- mortality; the victor shall be vanquished ; death shall be swallowed up in victory. Behold the immortal form, as it is fitted and made ready for the ransomed and glorified soul, and the dignity of a higher situ- ation! The Judge of the whole human family ap. pears, and before him all are called to stand. Where now is he who is saved by the work of almighty power and grace? Look at the blaze of glory on the right of the Judge! You find the Savior there; but does not the light and glory dazzle and overwhelm you ? We are not surprised that it does Your na- tural vision is not now prepared to bear the sight; but the Judge sees him. He singles him out, brings him forward to the front, and there he stands in the presence of the great assembly! Every ear is atten- tive; every eye is fixed. Then the Judge says, " enter thou into the joy of thy Lord." Behold the crown he wears, the society with which he mingles, the ever- lasting pleasures he enjoys! He has ears to hear, eyes to see, and an immortal nature to understand the deeper things of the Kingdom of God. He is raised to glisten in the splendors of deity. He enters that home, where the walls of jasper, the gates of pearl, and the streets of gold are surpassed by the glory of God, the presence of Christ and the society of angels. The Father, Son and Holy Spirit are inti- mately nigh; they give of their fulness, and satisfy him to the utmost. Thus in all these things we can see the great work of God in the complete redemp- tion and glorification of the believing soul.
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II. HUMAN WORK.
Man being ignorant of the ways of God while in his natural state, he therefore finds it necessary to se- cure knowledge. We are told that most of our orig- inal ideas are acquired through the senses ; that nearly all we know is by sense ; that we have no innate ideas ; and if we had only one which we brought into this world with us, it would be that of the being of our great Creator. The Holy Scriptures tell us that man, not only in the lowest savage state, but by wisdom, knows not God. He comes into the world in a de- praved moral state, and he is more stupid than the ox, " which knoweth his owner." And so it is very evident that nothing can be of greater importance than that man should know himself. "Know thy- self," was a popular expression among the Greeks; and so highly mentioned among the Romans that it was declared to have decended from heaven. It has always been and is a subject of great interest at the present time. Man should work in order to know himself in regard to hisimmortal nature, his depraved moral condition, his unrighteous state, his accounta- bleness to God, and his future destiny. To secure this knowledge, he is endowed with the faculties of mind ; has been blessed with sufficient means of infor- mation, and the most powerful incentives, both from the command of God and the importance of the mat- ter itself. This knowledge, therefore, is at the found- ation of moral principle and religious duty. But it is of as great importance that man should know his maker-know him as a God of infinite perfection- what he is to man, as the author of his being, his ben- efactor, redeemer, his soul's chief good, and his judge who will arrange his destiny in eternity. To know God is the great end of man's being. For this pur- pose he is made what he is-invested with exalted faculties of mind, surrounded with grand and glorious objects of sense, intrusted with a divine revelation, and favored with the presence of the Holy Spirit, who makes known to the mind and reveals to the soul the unchangeable God. Man, by a right use of these
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