A Book of Gems E-Book

Benjamin Franklin

• Herausgeber: anamsaleem
• Kategorie: Gesellschafts- und Liebesromane
• Sprache: Englisch
• Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2018

Beschreibung

Benjamin Franklin FRS FRSE (January 17, 1706 [O.S. January 6, 1705] – April 17, 1790) was an American polymath and one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, freemason, postmaster, scientist, inventor, humorist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat. As a scientist, he was a major figure in the American Enlightenment and the history of physics for his discoveries and theories regarding electricity. As an inventor, he is known for the lightning rod, bifocals, and the Franklin stove, among other inventions. He founded many civic organizations, including Philadelphia's fire department and the University of Pennsylvania.

Leseprobe

A Book of Gems

Benjamin Franklin

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THE SHORTNESS OF HUMAN LIFE.

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 after nation rises, enters and occupies a place among the nations of the earth, falls, and is only known in the faithful records of history. Generation after generation comes forth, enters upon the great theatre of life, throngs the world for a little while, falls in death and passes into eternity. Upon an average, about once in thirty-three years, the whole of the inhabitants of the earth, or as many as are upon it at any one time, over one billion souls, are carried beyond the reach of all missionary effort—beyond the reach of all repentance—all gospel invitations, and so many as are not saved, beyond all possibility of salvation. During the same short period, the preachers, missionaries, writers and professors of religion of one generation are all born where no mistakes can be corrected, and no amendment for wrongs done, or time trifled away, can ever be made. Taking off from this time, eighteen years for childhood, only leaves about fifteen years for the vast work of personal preparation, for a state of boundless duration in the pure and holy society of just men made perfect, the angels of God, Jesus the mediator of the New Covenant, and God, the Judge of all. It also leaves about the same length of time for the good and virtuous, those with the love of God in their hearts, and lovers of mankind to make an effort to save our race. [2] In this view of the subject—and no other can be justly taken—it will readily be perceived that what we do must be done quickly. Those who do anything for mankind, must engage in the work immediately and with energy. All who intend laying up a good foundation against the time to come—laying up treasure in heaven to which they can go, and upon which they can rely when their temporal supports shall all fail, must commence the work immediately, persevere in it, and abound during the short space afforded them. There must be no delay, for there is simply time enough to do what must be done immediately, if done at all. Those who have never prepared to meet God, have still greater reason to enter at once upon the examination of the subject. With them, everything to secure their eternal happiness, so far as their own action is concerned, is yet to be done.

How short the time, in view of the amount to be done; and how carefully every moment should be employed by every person who has not been reconciled to God. What vast multitudes, throng our streets, lanes and highways, who have never seriously thought upon, much less taken the elementary steps, to come to God, and who will remain in their present condition, unless arrested in their thoughtless career, by those who have already tested the good word of God, and felt the power of the world to come. What an everlasting reason we find here for a most energetic, persevering, and godly effort to rescue them and bring them to God.

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THE GRAND WORK BEFORE US.

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 people God has raised up in the nineteenth century and founded upon the apostles and prophets, Jesus the Christ, the chief corner-stone, have not been raised up in vain. Only a small part of their work is in history yet. What has been done is only a drop to the bucket of the stupendous work to be accomplished. It is only a foretaste, an earnest of what is yet to come. It is only the incipient movement, the inauguration of the work, the entering wedge. The great body of the work lies in the future. Let no man become disheartened if a few faint-hearted do turn back and hanker after the flesh-pots of Egypt. In all great movements some of these have been found. They were in the camps of Moses and among the first followers of Jesus. They have been the timid, faithless time-servers, afraid of the people and lovers of the world. But these are only spots in the feast, mere blemishes, and no more to the great body than the spots in the sun compared with that wonderful body. These poor little souls that desire to be like the clergy, or to be actual clergymen themselves; that want titles, and the people to call them Dr., Rev.; that get on the white cravat, the priestly coat buttoned up to the chin; that drop on their knees and make a public private prayer, as they enter the “sacred desk,” and that teach the disciples to drop the head and offer a secret private public prayer before an assembly, are not the men whom God sends. They [4] are the men who think the largest offer in money is the loudest call from God, and the call which they obey most implicitly. They can be bought and sold like sheep and oxen. God never calls such men as these. They are a burlesque on the religion of Jesus Christ; the plainness, simplicity and humility of our Lord. The idea has never entered into their heads to be servants of Jesus Christ. Their idea is to be masters. They are not thinking of obeying, unless to obey the men with the largest purses; but their idea is to be obeyed. They are not thinking of adoring, but of being adored. The third epistle of Peter is the one in which they find their likeness, and they are following the directions in that epistle. Some of these may be reformed, and others will go to their own place. They are not the men that run the world; the world runs them.

But there is another class, that do not worship at the same altar with these, nor are they of the same stripe. They do not draw their divinity from clerical titles or clerical attire, nor from public private prayers, from imitating Jewish rabbis, or sectarian rabbis, from imitating ancient or modern Pharisees or Sadducees, but from the living oracles of the living God. They are not under the thumbs of rich men, nor under the influence of high salaries; nor ancient nor modern priests. They cannot be bought and sold. They are the Lord’s free men. They have cut loose from the bondage of the world of sin, of sectarianism and the clergy. They belong to Christ. They get their gospel from him. They are his servants. They adore and worship him. They are men of faith and of prayer, too, but when they pray in [5]secret, it is in secret, where none but Him who sees in secret sees them. They know their Bible and they are devoted to it. There is a grand army of these, we believe, as time as the needle to the pole. We cannot say that there are seven thousand in the field, public preachers, but we are astonished wherever we go to find such numbers of them, and to find their firmness and determination in the faith; and to learn, too, of the sacrifices they are making and the additional sacrifices they are determined and willing to make. They are many of them living almost as economically as we did thirty years ago, in our incipient work of opening the way.

When the British general found General Marion living on roots, and his men fighting without pay, he admitted that the prospect of overcoming such men was gloomy. So, when our opposers see the glorious army of which we speak, of faithful young men struggling with only a half support, and, in some instances, not that, and behold the love for the gospel, the Lord Jesus and their fellow-men that impels them on; and when they witness their determination, zeal and energy; that they cannot be discouraged, disheartened and turned back, they give up all idea of ever conquering them or withstanding them. Let not one word we are saying be construed into an excuse for any Christian who has the ability not sustaining these precious men whom God has raised and put into the field. Nor need any one wait for a “plan,” nor an “organization,” or “system.” Plans, organizations and systems give no money. Men and women must give the money, if it is given at all. No man who has the means, and refuses to do his part, according to the ability God has given, to aid in this glorious work, need flatter himself that [6] he will be a partaker in the final reward. According as a man sows shall he also reap. We know that there are hard-hearted and sordid men in the church, that do nothing of consequence, and men of this sort that will never be any better. They have but one idea ingrained and imprinted on their entire being, and that is to hang on with a grasp like death itself to the goods of this world. But the good and the true, the men of faith, and love, and zeal; the men who have their eye on a kingdom not of this world, and who are devoted to saving men and women from ruin, will not stop for these, nor brood over them, but turn away from them as they do from other abandoned characters who are past feeling, and go on with their glorious work. God will be with them, and, though poor in this world, they will be rich in faith, and the Lord will hold them up.

But what has this great army of young preachers to do? Where is their work? There is work enough for them to do. The only fear we have is, that when they look and see the vastness of the work, they will think, like one of old, “There be more against us than for us.” We have a vast amount of worldliness and carnality to drive out of the Church; conformity to the world; love of pleasure more than love of God; the love of Christ to restore; the gospel and the true worship. Where the cause has gone back, it must be recovered; where the gospel has been lost and superseded by something else, it must be restored, and where the worship has been corrupted, it must be purified, and the right way of the Lord established. Men who do not love the gospel, the worship and the things of God, will slough off when everything is driven out [7] that did not come from God; when the only things they loved are taken away. In a few instances entire congregations may be carried away with worldly policies and appliances; but the whole number thus lost will amount to but little, compared with the grand throng that will stand together for the faith once delivered to the saints, and that will go on. What remains for good men to do is, to go on; stand fast; be strong in the Lord and in the power of his might; put on the whole armor of God and fight the good fight of faith, and stand to the Bible and nothing else, and thus make the Bible a grand power in the earth. We have started with our Bible, and let us go on with it and carry it through the world. We have a book that nobody denies, except out and out skeptics, and one of supreme authority. Let us assert and maintain its authority, and carry it through the world. All the other books that in any way rival it, or are in anywise in the way of it, must be set aside and rendered a dead letter. There is not one particle of divine authority in anything that did not come out of the Bible. We must push all other books aside.

All the names not applied to the people and Church of God in the Scriptures must be repudiated and discarded, and we must determine to speak of the people and Church of God in the language of Scripture. This we can do; to this, no child of God can reasonably object. There will be no difficulty in this, when we shall have no other kind of people or Church but the people and Church of God. While we have other kinds of people and churches, we shall need other names for them. But we shall have no trouble about this, for they will select and give [8] themselves other names, such as they think fitting and appropriate. All we have to do in the matter is to call them by the names they give themselves. If they will not permit the Lord to name them, but will call themselves by some name not given to the Lord’s people in the Bible, it is their own doing, not ours. There is no reason why the Lord’s people should follow their example, and not accept the designations found in Scripture, and use them exclusively. If we are the Lord’s people, we can be spoken of in the language of Scripture; if we are not, then we might have some other name.

THE WORK OF CREATION.

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 Moses states the wonderful fact that “In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth,” without stating when it was, only that it was “in the beginning,” he proceeds to give a brief account of the state of things after this first fact, and before the work of the six days. He says: “The earth was without form, and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep.” This state of things was preceded by the creation of the heaven and the earth. The next thing in the successive acts was to operate on material created, brought into existence; to form or fashion it. What was the first thing? “The Spirit [9] of God moved upon the face of the waters.” This was not bringing into existence, but operating on that which was in existence. “And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness. And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.” Here we have the work of the first day. What was done on that day was not the same, no matter how we describe it, as the first act. It was forming, shaping, operating on material previously brought into existence.

Moses proceeds, “And God said, Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters, and let it divide the waters from the waters. And God made the firmament, and divided the waters which were under the firmament from the waters which were above the firmament: and it was so. And he called the firmament Heaven. And the evening and the morning were the second day.” Here we have the work of the second day, like that of the first day, forming, fashioning and bringing order out of chaos. This “firmament,” that God made, and “called Heaven,” is not the same as mentioned in the first verse, but is included in the words: “The heavens and the earth.” This is the work of arrangement, ordering, etc.

Then follow the gathering together the waters into one place, and the bringing to view the dry land, the naming of the dry land, Earth, and the gathering together of the waters of the seas; the ordering of the grass, the herb, the fruit-tree upon the earth. This was the work of the third day. Then comes the ordering the heavenly bodies, the great lights for day and night, the dividing the light from the darkness, [10] etc., the work of the fourth day. All this is fashioning, forming, arranging, ordering, and not creating from nothing. Then follows the ordering of the waters, to bring forth the fishes, the fowl, and all the inhabitants of the seas on the fifth day. This is followed by the ordering the earth to bring forth the cattle, the creeping thing, and all the lower orders of the inhabitants of the earth, and concludes the work of the sixth day by the creation of man, or forming him in the image of God.

We have both the words “made,” and “created,” used and applied to this work of the six days, where it is manifestly used in the sense of shaping, forming, fashioning, ordering, arranging, and not in the sense of the word “created” in the first sentence in the Bible, where it manifestly means creating from nothing or bringing into existence. This wonderful act of the Infinite One, of bringing into existence the heaven and the earth—this stupendous universe—may have been performed an indefinite period of time before the commencement of the work of the six days described by Moses. In this view there is no danger. It makes the work of the Creator none the less wonderful, glorious and overwhelming. It matters not how long before the work of the six days it was that “God created the heaven and the earth,” or brought the universe into existence. Nor need we be startled at this. The work of the six days, as described by Moses, is wonderful beyond all human imagination. We can comprehend but little of it. We may well exclaim, as Paul did, in view of a different matter: “O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable are his [11] judgments, and his ways past finding out! For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counselor? For of him, and through him, are all things; to whom be glory forever. Amen.”

LOTTERIES.

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 entire lottery scheme is gambling. The desire and intention in lotteries is to get money by a base method, or, in other words, dishonestly. The desire and intention is to get money without rendering an equivalent, or to get something for nothing. The man or company that conducts a lottery knows the precise per cent. that is made in selling out the tickets. If everything is conducted fairly; that is, what they call fairly; that is, to conduct according to their proposed rule, some few would draw prizes of much value and some larger number will draw small prizes, while the great body of them will draw nothing. They simply give their money to make up the prizes that others draw, and make a fine purse to run the establishment. Think of the following:

1. We do not profess to know, but probably if the green ones that buy lottery tickets would pay $100,000 for tickets, all the prizes they would all draw would not amount to more than $66,000, thus leaving $34,000 in the concern. This is swindle No. 1, to the tune of $34,000! [12]

2. There can be but very few who can draw prizes of any considerable value, for there are but few of that kind in the concern. The purchasers of lottery tickets would be astonished to know how few could possibly draw a prize to the amount of $1,000, if enough would draw tickets to pay in $100,000.

3. They would be still more astonished to know how few can draw even small prizes, and most of all astonished to know how few can draw anything.

4. The concern proceeds on a principle of dishonesty on both sides—the principle of getting something for nothing. The man that studies how to do this, and tries to accomplish it, studies dishonesty and how to practice it. In its very nature it is corrupting, and must end in degrading a man. Young men ought to shun it as they would a viper.

NO PREACHERS ON DANCING, ETC.

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 man goes through the country delivering able and finely-prepared discourses advocating dancing, going to theatres, playing innocent games for amusement, etc., etc. These things, like the weeds in the garden, need no advocates, but come themselves, and that, too, in opposition to all moral feeling, restraints and entreaties. They are not cultivated fruit, but the spontaneous growth that must be removed before we can have the precious fruits of the Spirit. They are the [13] fruits of the flesh, of the carnal mind. The man who builds up churches, maintains the spiritual devotions, order, purity, discipline, elevates and ennobles humanity, must work; war against the flesh and all the works of the flesh; cultivate, be faithful and watchful. He has something to do more than to inquire, what harm is it?

The Romish Church has reached the climax in the easy system. She makes her members chiefly of infants before they can make any successful resistance, and then never excludes except for heresy. In this way she has grown up to the enormous number of about two hundred million, or one-sixth of the inhabitants of the world. Dancing, drunkenness, or any other works of the flesh except heresy forfeit no membership in that carnal body. We do not want to go back toward that body.

There are more than seven thousand or seven times seven thousand, remaining, who have not consented to any departure, who are to-day as determined for the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, as A. Campbell was in the best days of the Christian Baptist, and the man who talks to them about any new departure under the name of progression, or any other name, is not only idling away his time and talent, but letting himself down in their estimation from the faith to sectarianism. They estimate a man, not by his learning, his talent or money, but by his love to the Lord Jesus the Christ. They judge of this love by his integrity to the Lord, as seen in a strict adherence to the gospel, the teaching of the Lord and his apostles; his example; his appointed worship; all he said and did; his devotion to the Lord in all respects; a settled and determined adherence to him in all things. [14]

Men may turn away from him, and some will, as some did under the eyes of the apostles. Whole churches will turn away and go to nothing, and the names of some men will stand ingloriously connected with these ruins. The first churches the Lord established have long since been buried in ruins, but the men who spread the desolation will not be overlooked in the eternal judgment. They will there receive their last notoriety. The Lord has not raised the building now standing on the rock, in vain, but to stand the pillar and support of the truth. The main body understand that they have entered into covenant with God, and that they are bound by all the honor that is in them to maintain every inch of ground they have gained. There is, we believe, salt enough in this body to preserve it. It has the power and Spirit of God in it; and God will hold it up and perpetuate it when men who have it not will be forgotten. By the grace of God it will stand till the Lord comes. Let us labor to “present it to him a glorious church, without spot or wrinkle, or any such thing.”

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HARDENING PHARAOH’S HEART.

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 are two senses in which things are ascribed to God. 1. When he does things directly, as in the work of creation. 2. When he permits things to be done. In this latter sense God raised up and hardened Pharaoh. It is simply in the sense of permission—permitted him to rise up and be hardened. The hardening is also ascribed to Pharaoh. He hardened himself. This was the direct act. He did it. When the holy writer is looking at the providence of God, in permitting him to rise up into power, and assigning a reason for it, the explanation is made, that it was done to make known his power in all the earth. This is the sense in which God raises up kings and other rulers, that are bad, and uses them as vessels fitted for destruction. He permits them to rule and rule badly, do wickedly; oppress the people, as vessels of dishonor and wrath, making them examples to all the earth, in their overthrow and utter ruin, to teach other rulers and the people that they are all in the hands of the Lord.

The judgments of God have two different results on men, either, on the one hand, to subdue the heart and lead to repentance, or to harden the heart and lead to greater deeds of cruelty and oppression. When the holy writer speaks of it, in view of the case where men are hardened and become worse by it, he says, God hardened them. In the other case, [16] where they are subdued and led to repentance by it, he says, God makes them “vessels of mercy,” leads them to repentance and saves them. The dealings of God are precisely alike in both cases, but the result is different. In one case it is a savor of life, in the other of death. The difference is not in the divine treatment, but in the patients. The one becomes a vessel of wrath, and the other a vessel of mercy. God is said to save the one and harden the other, because we have the two results from the same treatment. In that sense it is from God and ascribed to him, in both the hardening and saving. See the following:

“At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, and to pull down, and to destroy it; if that nation, against whom I have pronounced, turn from their evil, I will repent of the evil I thought to them.” See Jer. xviii. 7, 8. This assures us, that where a nation or a kingdom repent, the Lord turns away the threatened calamity. The Lord then states the case for a nation that shall turn away from the Lord:

“At what instant I shall speak concerning a nation, and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it; if it do evil in my sight, that it obey not my voice, then will I repent of the good, wherewith I said I would benefit them.” See Jer. xviii. 9, 10. This sets forth the foundation of making vessels of honor and of wrath. God can make either the one, or the other. The ground of his doing this is their doing good and doing evil.

When God sent a judgment on Pharaoh, to subdue him and lead him to repentance, he promised to repent and let the children of Israel go; [17] but then hardened his heart, broke his promise and refused to let them go. This was repeated ten times on him, and every time he broke his promise and he became still more hardened, and God permitted him thus to go on till his overthrow, thus making the power of God known in all the earth, and making the hardened monarch of Egypt an example to all the nations to follow. No doubt God hardens men now in the same sense as he did Pharaoh, subdues and leads others to repentance as he did the Ninevites, who repented at the preaching of Jonah.

OUR CENSUS.

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 an age when people compare themselves with their neighbors, look at the comparative size of their hymn books, the size, splendor and elegance of the temples in which they meet, the amount of money they raise, their church organs, festivals, choirs, popular preachers and numerical strength, the census is looked to with great concern; but where people are greatly devoted to the Lord, diligently striving to please him and be accepted of him in the great day, they are led to think of the piety of the people, their purity, their culture; their faith, and hope and love; their efforts to save men and build up the kingdom of God, and not to be troubled seriously about how they shall [18] appear in the census. We are vastly more concerned about maintaining the purity of the gospel, the faithfulness of the preaching, the discipline and order of the church, the pure worship as prescribed in the law of God, than we are about the census. We are more concerned about how we appear before the Lord than we are how we appear before man.

We are perfectly contented and satisfied with the things of God as set forth in Scripture. We are contented and satisfied with the very words and forms of speech in which God speaks to man. We love the lowliness, simplicity and humility of Jesus. It is the manifestation of infinite wisdom and goodness. The wisdom of this world is foolishness with God. “The Lord knows the thoughts of the wise that they are vain.” He takes the wise in their own craftiness.

TRUE MISSIONARIES.

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 early members in our great movement in this country were nearly all preachers. They read the Scriptures to and talked with their neighbors, explained matters to them, and, in many instances, when the preacher came they were already convinced and ready for baptism; or, if they had been baptized ready for uniting on the Bible. This accounts for our having such large success by preaching a few discourses. Much [19] of the preaching was done before the preacher came, by private members and in private circles. These were missionary people in the true sense. They were in the work all the time. They did not need games of amusement for pastime. They had no time to spare. They were all busy, and all alive and at work. The love and spirit of God were in them, and the divine influence was shed all round. They did not have a little missionary spasm, pray a week for the spread of the gospel, give a few dollars and do no more for three months or a year, but they prayed for the spread of the gospel all the time; kept at the work of spreading it all the time. They had no trouble about plans, but kept at the work, and spread the gospel. It can be spread in the same way again, and is being thus spread largely now wherever it is spread at all. If we honestly desire to spread the gospel of the grace of God, to turn sinners to the Lord, free them from the manacles of sin and death, and save them, let us go to work and do it. There is nothing to hinder us, if we have the faith and love and zeal, from carrying it forward to any extent. The people are weary of sectarianism, and ready to hear something intelligible on the way of salvation.

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NO DEPARTURE FROM THE JERUSALEM CHURCH.

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 we are to depart from the Jerusalem Church because it was in its infancy, and not reproduce the primitive church, we should like to know how far we are to depart from it, and in what. If the faith and practice, the precept and example of the primitive church may not be adopted now and followed; if in all things we should not now have the same faith and practice, precept and example they had, we should be pleased for some expounder of the new doctrine to explain to us in what the departure shall consist, and what rule we are to adopt now. If we let go of the rule that governed the first church, what rule shall we adopt? If we cut loose from the divine, shall we adopt a human rule? If so, what human rule? Some one of these already made? or shall we have the presumption and folly to think we can make a better one than these human rules already in use?

We are not ready to cut loose from the Jerusalem Church, its rule of faith and practice, its precept and example. We have more confidence in the old ground than ever, and have no idea of departing from the Jerusalem Church, its faith and practice, precepts and example. The men that will not stand on apostolic ground, the faith and practice of the first church, will not stand on anything long. We want something reliable, permanent, sure and steadfast—a kingdom that cannot be [21] moved. In the old Bible, the old gospel and the old church, we find it. Here is something to lean upon living and dying, for this world and the world to come. If we leave this, all is uncertainty, darkness and night. Let us “hear what the Spirit says to the churches,” and not he of those who “depart from the faith,” giving heed to seducing spirits, and not listen to “unstable souls,” or those “ever learning and never able to the knowledge of the truth.”

BORN OF WATER AND THE SPIRIT.

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 is but one birth mentioned or alluded to in the conversation with Nicodemus.

There is but one kingdom mentioned or alluded to in the conversation.

The conversation is about one birth and entering into one kingdom. The whole is in the phrase, “You must be born again,” or the previous phrase, “Except a man be born again he can not see the kingdom of God.” This figurative expression “born again,” is precisely the same, or includes the same as conversion. A man born again is a man converted. In being born again precisely the same agencies are employed, and the same thing is accomplished as when a man is converted. This is literally a man turned from darkness to light, from the world to God. This is not done by the agency of water without the agency of the [22] Spirit. There is no such thing as a birth of water without the Spirit. A man is “born again,” not by water without the Spirit, nor by the Spirit without the water, but “born of water and of the Spirit,” no matter how many fine theories are spoiled. Nothing leads to more useless theories and speculations than attempts to build a theory on a figurative expression. The literal must always explain the figurative. The clear and unfigurative language of the commission has precisely the same in it as the phrase, “born of water and of the Spirit.” “He who believes and is immersed shall be saved.” Believes, in this passage, is literal. Born of the Spirit, or, which is the same, “begotten of the Spirit,” is figurative. The meaning is the same as, “I have begotten you by the gospel,” or made you believers by the gospel. Begotten of God is made a believer of God. Begotten of the Spirit is made a believer by the Spirit. It is in some instances ascribed to God in view of his being the Author of it. It is ascribed to Christ in view of it being through his mediation. It is ascribed to the Spirit in view of his inspiring the apostles or speaking in them, and thus making believers, and those thus made believers are said to be begotten of the Spirit, and, when immersed, said to be “born of water and of the Spirit.” This is precisely all there is in it.

There is nothing about the resurrection in it, the first resurrection or any other resurrection, unless it be a resurrection to a new life. Nor is anything in the resurrection ever called “a birth of the Spirit.” We are perfectly aware that the dead will be quickened by the Spirit, and that the Spirit of Christ will quicken their mortal bodies; that Christ was the “first-born from the dead,” the “first-born among [23] many brethren,” and that the dead will be raised at the sound of the trumpet, but there is not one word about all this or an allusion to it in the conversation with Nicodemus. Nor is there one word about or allusion to the everlasting kingdom in that conversation. We must not make something out of that conversation that is not in it.

Nicodemus was standing on his birth-right, “born in thy house,” as expressed Gen. xvii. 13, for membership. The Lord sweeps this away in one sentence: “Except a man be born again he can not see the kingdom of God.” His being born in the house or family of Abraham availed nothing. “Flesh and blood can not inherit the kingdom of God.” No matter in whose family he was born nor whose blood coursed in his veins, a man must be born again, born from above, born of water and of the Spirit, or he cannot enjoy the kingdom of God. As the Spirit is the agent through whom the gospel is preached, and the gospel the instrument by which the Spirit makes believers, the agent is mentioned for the effect, which is belief—made believers by the Spirit and baptized into Christ, into one body. It is of God, of Christ, of the Spirit, of the apostles and by the word.

There is no such thing as the new birth without the Spirit, nor any such thing as entering into the kingdom of God or the body of Christ. The faith, the work of the Spirit in preaching the gospel, through the apostles, and baptism, or, figuratively, “born of water,” must be present. The man who believes the gospel with all his heart and is immersed into Christ is “born of water and of the Spirit” in the sense intended by the Savior.

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A HIGHER MORALITY REQUIRED.

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 need a higher morality, a more pure and unadulterated piety and greater simplicity of benevolence. We do not want money extracted from the pockets of the people by the Church offering them sensual gratification, amusements and entertainments, to say nothing of the ball, the lottery and other gambling. Let us in the name of the Lord and of religion, in a manly way, come directly to the people for means to support religion and ask them to give from love to Christ, and no matter if we do not obtain one-fourth the amount it will do ten times as much good. The Lord needs no money made by lotteries, gambling, fairs, festivals, or any such appeals to the lust of the flesh, the human appetite, the love of fine companies, etc. He needs no money only that given to him through love and devotion to his cause. Those who appeal to entertainments, amusements, fine companies of men and women, the dance, lotteries, festivals, fairs, etc., etc., thus publish to the world their impression that there is more potency in these worldly and secular appliances than there is in the grace of God and the love of Christ, and we doubt not they find it to be so, in raising money in their assemblies. They have tried it and demonstrated it to be so. We care not if it be so; we care not if it has been demonstrated that the people will give more money for a monkey [25] show than for the kingdom of God; we will not resort to the monkey show; nor do we care if they will give more money for revelling than for the holy cause for which Jesus died; we will not resort to the revelling. There are other matters aside from the question, how much money can we raise, that must be kept in view.

We must maintain our piety, devotion to the Lord, purity, and must not be conformed to this world, but transformed by the renewing of our mind. We have never consented to this modern element that will appeal to anything and everything that will raise money. It is not Godliness, nor the love of God, but sensual; it is devilish. Come directly to the children of God in the name of the Lord and appeal to them for his sake to give, to give freely and of a willing mind; that “it is more blessed to give than to receive,” and appreciate what is given in his name.

POIMEEN—SHEPHERD—EVANGELIST—OVERSEER.

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 will not go back to the Old Testament to find any office or officer in the kingdom of Christ. What currency, then, has the word “pastor” in the New Testament? The word is in the New Testament, in some translations, in one place. That is its entire currency in the new and everlasting covenant. But then the word “Easter” is found in one place in the common version. Is that authority for Easter? If it is [26] in the New Testament in one place, rightfully, it is authority as much as if it were in fifty places. But how does it happen to be there in one place? If the translators had, in that one place, given us passover, as they have done in every other instance to represent the same original, we should have had no Easter in the New Testament. In the same way, if the translators had given us the word shepherds, Eph. iv. 11, as they have done in every other case to represent the same original word, we should have had no pastor in the New Testament. On this one variation from the rule, to translate poimeen, shepherd, hangs the “pastorate,” so called, the office for the pastor, and we might add, all the “installations,” etc. Probably it is Dr. Watts that exclaims, with other matters before him: “Great God! on what a brittle thread hangs eternal things!” On what a slender prop hangs the pastorate! Still, on this platform the pastors stand.

In one place and only one, in some translations, the original word for shepherd, and so translated in every other place in the New Testament, is translated pastors. When the common version appeared, King James issued a proclamation commanding the translation to be read as the word of God. If we obey this command we must read the Latin word pastor as the word of God, though the same translators give us shepherd as the English representative of the original word poimeen in every other occurrence of it in the New Testament. In this way we get divine authority in the word of God, and human authority from King James, not only for the unscriptural pastorate in the Church [27] of England, but the equally unscriptural pastorate now trying to grow up among us, first under one plausible pretext and then under another.

Why translate poimeen, shepherd, in every other place, and cover up the word shepherd with the Latin word pastor in one place? Whatever idea the Lord and the apostles intended to convey in this matter, they deemed the one word sufficient. What reason can any man give for representing the original word poimeen by the word shepherd in every instance but one, and there using the Latin word pastor? Rome loves Latin. It is not the vulgar tongue. What reason is there for departing from the otherwise invariable rule and giving us pastor, Eph. iv. 11? Why not give us “Chief-Pastor,” or “Arch-Pastor,” and not “Chief-Shepherd?” Why not style the Lord “the Pastor of the sheep,” and not “Shepherd of the sheep?” Pastor would not read well as the correlative of sheep. We hear sermons on the offices of our Lord, as King, Priest, Prophet. Why not have a sermon on his office as Pastor? Then we might have a sermon on the office of the church as a flock, or the office of the members as sheep. Could we not say flock’s office, sheep’s office? The Lord has no such office as shepherd, or, in Latin, pastor. There is no such office as pastorate, nor officer as pastor. There is not one word in the New Covenant about the qualifications of a pastor, the election of one, the calling of one, or the installation of one. As the correlative of the word flock, when the church is figuratively called flock, the Lord who cares for the flock and has the oversight of it is figuratively called Shepherd, or, when the followers of the Lord are figuratively called sheep, the Lord is figuratively called “the Shepherd of the sheep.” [28] When the Lord is called “the Chief-Shepherd,” or “Arch-Shepherd,” the church is in view as the flock of which he is Shepherd, and the overseers in the church are under shepherds, but there is no shepherd’s office, nor flock’s office. The bishops or overseers are as certainly bishops or overseers, when figuratively called shepherds, as if literally called overseers. No other office or work is meant.

Coming now to the practical matter, we desire Bible things and Bible names for them. We desire to preserve the church and everything in it as the Lord gave it. We desire, in the matter in hand, to prevent the creation of any new office in the church. There is nothing new or unscriptural in the idea of an overseer who devotes himself wholly to the word and teaching. There may be other overseers who do not give themselves wholly to the word and teaching. Then there is nothing unscriptural in an evangelist remaining with a church one, two or more years, to set in order things that are wanting, assist in qualifying the church to take care of itself, and preach the gospel to the community. In this capacity he is not a church officer at all, but doing the work of an evangelist. He is not with the church to “perform divine service” for it, to lord it over it, or as a ruler, nor permanently, but assisting the church in her infancy and enabling her to take care of herself.

Every preacher connected with any church is laboring in one of these two senses: as an overseer who labors in the word and teaching, or as an evangelist. In the former capacity he may be there permanently. In the latter capacity he is not there permanently, but setting in order [29] the things wanting, with a view to qualifying themselves to every good word and work; to instruct and edify one another in love, but intending to go on to another place as soon as he has finished his work where he is. But the overseer who labors in the word and teaching is not to assume any airs of authority, or any great chair with his subordinates on more humble seats by his side. We abominate all these great chairs, pulpits and preferences for public men. If they are good men they do not want them, and if they are bad men they certainly should not be honored with them. Really great and good men are plain men—want no great chair nor great titles. They need no priestly robes, clerical coats nor titles. They make a record that tells the story for them. They do the work. Let us do the work, seek the simplicity of Jesus and the humility of children. While we sing, “Nearer, my God, to thee,” let us strive to live nearer to God and do our utmost to excel in understanding and practicing precisely what the Lord has laid before us in the Scriptures.

[30]

CALL NO MAN REVEREND.

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 will call no man Reverend. We make this a matter of conscience. There is no more reason or gospel for addressing a preacher differently from other men than there is for a preacher to be attired differently. If a man is not preacher enough to be known as a preacher, without the white necktie or the priestly coat, let him pass without being known. We like to treat a preacher, or even a Roman priest, with common civility, but we do all that when we treat him as any other gentleman. We want no preacher’s garb nor titles, and will recognize none of them. Many have those who have never been “born again;” who are not in the kingdom of God—not Christians.

PREACHER DID NOT SUIT.

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 must say a few things in the way of generals before we come to particulars. We visited a church some years since, and there was quite a general impression among the members that their preacher did not suit them—that he was not “the right man in the right place,” etc. Many fine things were said, as to the kind of a man they needed, etc., [31] and the idea prevailed that they had better turn their preacher off and get another. We suggested to them in a circle one day that possibly they had not at all discovered the real malady; that possibly the main difficulty was not at all in reference to the kind of a preacher they needed, but to the kind of a church they needed; that possibly the change they needed could be effected by turning off the church and getting another and a better one.

THE OLD AND NEW TESTAMENTS.

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 need a vast amount of instruction in regard to both the Old Testament and the New, not only in the sunday-school, but in the church, the family, and to individuals. We need some thorough work in this matter. Much of what is now passing for teaching both the Old Testament and New is in no proper sense teaching either the Old or New Testament. The general idea is, that the Old Testament embraces all the sacred writings or the books of the Bible, beginning with Genesis and ending with Malachi, and that the New Testament embraces all the sacred writings or books of the Bible, beginning with Matthew and ending with Revelation. Such is the sense in which these terms are now used. When it is said, the Old Testament is abolished, the idea generally received [32] is that all the sacred writings, or the books of the Bible, from the beginning of Genesis to the end of Malachi, are set aside, of no use, and not to be studied. This is a very superficial view, and one that in no sense comprehends the matter.

The word “testament” means covenant, and the Old Testament is simply in the Bible sense the Old Covenant. This was made with the seed of Abraham, or fleshly Israel, and includes what Paul calls “the law.” This is what he calls “our pedagogue to bring us to Christ.” It is not “school-master” as the common version has it, but pedagogue. His office was different from that of school-teacher. It was to take charge of the children from the time they started from their homes till they reached the school-room and put under the teacher. This was the office of the law of Moses, to take charge of the seed of Abraham, Israel according to the flesh, and bring them to Christ the School-teacher. Paul does not say, as some quote him, “The law is our school-master to bring us to Christ,” but being a Jew, and speaking as such, he says, “The law was our pedagogue to bring us to Christ,” the School-teacher. This law, containing a full development of all that was in the covenant with the seed of Abraham, or fleshly Israel, is what was abolished, had waxed old, and was ready to vanish away in Paul’s day. This most certainly did not include the history in the five books of Moses, or any other history in the Old Book, commonly called the “Old Testament,” the book of Job, the Psalms, Proverbs, or the Prophecies. None of these are abolished, but are all of as much value to those under Christ, and as legitimate books for study, as they ever were to any people in any age of the world. They are not included in the [33] law, or the covenant, or in what was abolished, but have a relation to the gospel, to those in the kingdom of Christ, and are of immense value.

By making ourselves well acquainted with the sacred writings, the dealings of God with man, and the portions of revelation given in various manners and at sundry times, we can see as we can in nature now that we have revelation through which to read it, that there was one Divine Mind before the beginning of time that looked down through the ages, and by the agency of men that did not understand him, carried out his wise and gracious counsels according to his eternal purpose. Going back to the early sacred writings found in the Old Book we look down through these writings to Christ, the kingdom of God, the gospel, as one looking through a telescope at objects in the distance; but, standing at the other end of revelation, we look up through the New Book containing the revelations given at later periods to the persons and events of the Old Book, as one who turns the telescope the other end foremost, and bring Moses and the prophets down near to us.

Christ is the soul of the Bible, the theme of the revelation from God to man. Turn the portions of revelation given at early periods, next to the eye and look down through the Bible, and through the ages to Christ, and then turn the last part of revelation to the eye, and look up through it to Christ, and we thus find that it all centers in Him “who is Head over all things to the church.”

It is not right in the church, family, or anywhere, to teach the Old Scriptures exclusively, or the New, but teach both, in their [34] relation to each other. The New can not be thoroughly and successfully studied without the Old, nor the Old without the New.

The popular custom of memorizing and repeating verses in view of prizes to the most successful, or the study and answer of such questions, as who was the first man, who was the oldest man, who was the meekest man, etc., gives us no understanding of the Scriptures. Much of this is a mere exercise of the memory, and there is nothing in it to make a pious impression, or give any comprehension of the mind of God. It appears at times wonderful how many things can be taught, and correctly enough too, about the Bible, and at the same time keep out of view entirely the divine purpose, the very import and intention of the wonderful book professedly taught. The eternal purpose of God, running through the Bible from side to side, as it does through the works of nature, should be taught and kept in view, not to find any definite number that will certainly be saved or lost, but to find the Lord’s Anointed, his gospel and kingdom; a revelation of the mystery, an unfolding of the secret hid in God from before the beginning of time, but now made manifest, and by the Scriptures of the prophets, according to the commandment of the everlasting God made known to all nations for the obedience of faith.

[35]

WILL YOU ALSO GO AWAY.

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 matter how many go the wrong way, nor how popular they are, nor how much money they have, the Lord is able to bring them to judgment, and he will most certainly do it. When the people went away from the temple and abandoned him, and only a few disciples remained with him, and he inquired of them: “Will you also go away?” the prospect looked dim, but the Lord did not change his course. When he expired on the cross the enemies exulted and triumphed; but their triumph did not last long. “He was quickened by the Spirit.” God raised him up. “He was justified by the Spirit.” The armies in heaven were with him. The upper world was in motion. God vindicated him, as he did all who will listen to him. When they burned Tyndale at the stake they thought they had put him down; but, while the names of his persecutors have, with few exceptions, gone into oblivion, the name of Tyndale is held in esteem by all good men. The name of Luther will live to the end of time, while the time-servers who opposed him are rapidly sinking into forgetfulness. The man that leads the people to God, to the Lord Jesus, by the gospel, and maintains the will of God, will abide forever; while the man that tries to catch the giddy throng with a little show of some human devices, and who may attract their attention for a time, will pass away and be forgotten forever. [36]

We are for progress in the true sense in every department, but not for the progress backward. We are for the progress in the church that goes forward and converts sinners, and builds up churches; that infuses piety, devotion to God and to the right way of the Lord; but not for the progress that is nearly all money, and almost no work. We are for the progress that goes forward and not backward.

THE GROUND OF UNION.

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 what are Christians to be united?”

They are to be united on Christ—on being Christians. This embraces the entire revelation from God to man, all the truth uttered, the commandments given and the promises made by our heavenly Father. The truth must all be believed, the commandments obeyed, and the promises must be hoped for. This includes the entire faith, obedience and hope of the gospel. In this we must be united.

II. “What are the essentials of Christianity which can not be compromised?”

Christianity itself, as a whole and in all its parts, is essential. All that is in it is essential, and all that is not in it is not essential. We are for christianity itself, not in part, but the whole of it, as it came from the infallible Spirit of all wisdom and all [37] revelation. It is all essential. Nothing may be added to it or taken from it. The “doctrines and commandments of men,” the doctrines of “expediency,” of “deductions” and “inferences,” from principles, are not essential; but these are not christianity, nor any part of it. Nothing in christianity can be compromised except at our peril. The wisdom of God gives us no non-essentials. If the wisdom of man pronounces anything given by the wisdom of God, or, which is the same, any part of christianity, non-essential, such wisdom of man must be set aside as presumptuous.

What an idea for men to sit on the grave question of essentials and non-essentials, in the divine institution given by our Lord and confirmed by the most indubitable signs and wonders! What part of that which has been given by the wisdom of God is essential, and what part is not essential? It is all essential, or the wisdom of God would not have given it, and the authority of God would not have required it. The very circumstance that the infinite wisdom devised it and the infinite authority required it makes the whole of christianity binding. There is not a non-essential in it.

III. “How far is diversity to be tolerated?”

We are all required to “speak the same thing,” to “teach no other doctrine,” to “preach the word,” to preach no “other gospel,” to teach the things that become “sound doctrine,” and if we “speak not according to his word it is because there is no light in us.” In one word, we are not to have “all sorts of doctrine from all sorts of teachers,” but to “earnestly contend for the faith once for all delivered to the saints.” [38]

IV. “How shall we reconcile the right of private judgment with the right of the Church to maintain the faith in its purity, and still preserve the unity of the faith which the word of God enjoins?”