Newspapers / The Biblical Recorder (Raleigh, … / June 6, 1883, edition 1 / Page 1
Part of The Biblical Recorder (Raleigh, N.C.) / About this page
This page has errors
The date, title, or page description is wrong
This page has harmful content
This page contains sensitive or offensive material
The Biblical Recorder PUBLISHED EVERY , WEDNESDAY AD Kit-tt Ti'iiV V it A. lAH.. Sfacx. ltime. 1 m. 3 m. 1 6nu 1 12 EDWAEDS, BROUGHTON & CO. .''.':; .RALEIGH, N. a ' -l Oflce: Cor. Hargett and Salisbury Sts. 1EKX8 OF SZTBSCRIPilON ; One copy, one year,, ;....,..,.,..,., 1 2 00 One copy, six months..... ..... 1 00 dobs of five,.. .. ...... ..,..10 00 , Clubs of ten, ......... . .........20 00 I Remittances must be sent by Registered Letter, Post office Order, Express or Draft, payable to the order of the Publishers. j 1 Inch. 2 do 3 do $100 2 50 $7 50 tl4 00 25 00! 30 00 40 00 125 00 2 00 3 00 5 00 " 7 50 14 00 20 00 25 00 85 00 40 00 50 0U 60 00 75 00 130 00 250 00 4 do 4 00 00 10 00 W col'm 14 00 50 00 10 00 25 00 50 00 80 00 1 do 16 00 40 001 90 00 175 00 Special notices charged 20 cents per line, t !r No contracts made lor every-other-week ' advertisements, nor for special position in Daoer. :sw:sfj .-mi-w-v-;,---.-. The Organ of the North Carolina Baptists, Devoted to Bible Religion, Education, Literature Agriculture,1 and General Intelligence. Obituaries sixty words long, are Inserted ; free of charge. When they exceed thi ; length one cent for each word must be paid i' Volume 47. r i RALEIGH, 0., WEDNESDAY, JUNE 6,1 1883. Number 48. in advance. The Biblical Recorder. mternatlonal SMay. SgHooI Lesson, SECOXI QCAUTEIt, I Lesson XIL-Jane 17. END OF THE FIRST MISSIONARY. " i r JOURNEY. - f Acts 14: 19 28 J C. 8. FAB.RIS&. - HOME STUDIES. ' ' ! The Lesson, ... 1 1 , ; ; .'.Acts1 14: 19 28 T. MeantaHDess,., 4...v i;..Phil 4: 14. The Kingdom of Go.1,.1 llwr. 15: 60 5a Tribulations First,... Heb 12: 1-17 28 ' Elders and Cvcons,. ... ,.I Tun cb. 3 1 Grace to ihe Gentiles,.;:. Col. Is 18 2a. The New SoDg, Rev. ch. 5. W, T. F. . s. f COLDFN TEXT.' : "" "Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations; baptizing them io the name of . the Father, and of i he Son, and of the Holy Spirit." Matt. 28:19. -.'- - . . j . . - THE LtSSON. 1 , I. Panl Stoned. ' - . ' 19. And there came thither certain Jews from Antioch and Iconium, who persuaded the people, and, having stoned Panl, drew him out o the city, supposing he had been dead. , t . , ; : 20. How bcit, as the disciple stoad round about " him. he rose up. and came into the city: and the next day he departed with Barnabas to Derbe. (II. Tim. 3: 10, 11; H. Cor. 11: 2.; Gal 6: 17.) -v ' ' f ' ', i ... 19. Came thiiher.-To Lystra, Where Paul and Barnabas were preaching.ia Jewtfrqm Aniioch and Iconium. The Jews, persecu ted the apostles in these cities, which are supposed to have been about 100 miles dis- ' tant; but bearing of their success in Lystra they went there also. Their' zeal is a lesson to Christians,! some of whom are too , lazy .or indifferent td attend Sunday School ' at their own doors. H Whopertuaded Vie peo ple. Doubtless by lying and misrepresen tation. . When the apostles refused to allow these heathen Lystrians to sacrifice to them, they weakened thetr hold upon them. Had "the LystriaBS been honest and intelligent, they would have admired their unselfish ness. But they were ignorant heathen and easily! believed the lie the Jews told them. ' 1. We should increase in knowledge, be cause Satan may take- advantage of our ig norance especially spiritual ipnorano. Stoned FauLA Jewish mode , of punish-, ment, showing that the Jews were leaders of the mob." Drew Aim out of the ctty, tup. posing he had been dead. (See IL Cor. lis 25, and Gat 6: 17.) Here was drinking of the cup ef which the Master drank. - Paul's punishment was horrible, and be doubtless ! bore the marks through, life. , And yet,' it wss sweet for Paul tosuffer for Christ ! 20. A the dudplee ttood round about him. These were new converts. Among them , were probably Lois and Eunice, the grand mother' and mother of Timothy, and, as Canon Farrar says, we '.'may a well with pleasure on the thought that Timotbeus stood weeping ia that group of disciples, ; who surrounded the bleeding missionary," Et rote p. Even while they, were looking on in sorrow. '. It was a miracle. Crushed and bruised with great stones to the satiety of the vengeful Jew, that which raised him up and sent him on a journey of -20 miles was not bis strength, but God's. And came, ' into the city. To strengthen the faith of the converts, to dress his wounds, and prepare for the morrow's journey .which was with Barnabas to Derbe, a place thought to be 30 miles further on. ; 1. The loss of a spiritual instructor -as mother or father or friend-j-is a less o make us weep. 2. Ood permits his people to suffer; but never forsakes theiii. i. 3. Unlike Paul, those who believe not in Christ are slain by sin, and lay dead on the bosom of a cold world, ( which it, in a sense. Sin's graveyard.- How. pro cieus is the promise, "He that believeth on me, though he were dead, yet shall he live"! Death baa, a power over u all; but Christ baa power -4ver death. Had Paul slept till tba last day, the same power would have raised him up. 4 Let us pray for an unquenchable zeal for Christ. Paul evinced it. 'Cast down but not destroyed." i IL Further Teaching The Return. 2L And when tier had preached the pospel to that city, and had taught many, they returned again to Lystra, and to I coo rum, and Antioch, ! . 22. Confirm ijig the sou.j of the disciples; and exhorting .them to continue in the faith, ard that we must through much tribulation enter into the kingdom of God, (Acts 15: 32, 41; Dan. 2: 44; 7: 13, 14, 27; Luke 12: 32; Matt. 13: 43; 23: 34; ' II. Tim. 3: 12; John 15: 18; 16: 33; . Rom. 8: 17: Uark8:34; 10:3tl.) v - ' j - 23. And when they bad ordained them elders ia every church, and had prayed; with fasting,, they commenaea in em to ue Lxra, on wnom uey UeveuVi (Tit. 1: S.) ' w. i . 24. And after they had passed throughout 1 dia, they came to Pampbylia. - 25. And when they had preached the word ii . Perea. thev went down into Attalia: i -.. i 2& And thence sailed to Antioch. from whenc - they had been recommended to the grace of God ;for the work which they fulfilled. , : ' : 1 21, 22i The apostles now arrive at Derbe! This was the farthest point Paul reached id bis first missionary journey Though only a short distance from Lystra, they were not intimid ated ; but pi eached the: gospel to thai city. The limit of their journey reached! .bey must bow go back; in the face of dan ger and death, ancLwater the plants they, . had planted in that desolate waste., They : went back, -"the twenty miles from Derbe - to Lystra, the 40 miles from Lystra to Ico , nium, the 6Q miles from Iconium : to Anj tioch." , Confirming ths touts of the disciple! t Young converts, tbey would be - tempted and needed encouragement and Instruction! ' This they gave by exhort ina them to continue in the faith. Hot an easy thing to break eff from old companions and sins. : Especially was this true of those who had been pluck ed from debauched and wicked heathen. A convert who bas been reared in a Christian; home is not beset with - the temptations which beset one who has spent his life iq sin.-- The thing to do. however, ;ls "to con-j tinue in the faith." These young converts also were liable to be persecuted. For this reason the apostles say to them; We must , through much tribulation enter into tha kingdom of God." The same truth has .come down through the generations to tha Christians of toiay. - f V I - 23. When thev had ordained them elders. Elder is Hebrew for presbytanxi Wtat .merly referred to aee; but after ac while) atucfaed to those in authority. ; As used in the New TesUment,' Dr. Hackett says: "The -elder or vresbyters, in the ofScial -tense of the term, were those appointed in tr e first churches to watch over their gene ral discipline and welfare. With reference to that duty they were called also overseers fenlskoDoii that Is superintendents or Disn ops.. '..The only other church officers be sides bishops recognized in the New Testa- men appear to, pe. oeacons,".... jstaer, then, means the same as pastor;, bishop, a resb vter. &c 24-23r Had passtd throughout Pisidia, f ; which Antioch was the capital city, located in the extreme northern part or. tne prov ince. The spostles journey . from Antioch about 100 miles to the southward to Terga, where they preached the word, (no meDtion et their having preached here on their nrst visits and vent down into Attalia, sixteen miles to the southwest, i where they em barked for Antioch,. ia Syria, from whence they had been recommended to the grace of Godforthtuork which they fulfilled. This city, it will be remembered, was the dwell ing place of those who had ordained and, sent forth the missionaries. , ' " .. -. :. v "' ;4'-'-' " l III. The Missionary Meeting. s i 27. ' And when they were come, and had gather d the church together, they rehearsed all that God had done with them and how he had opened the door of faith unto the Gentiles. (Matt. Uk 31: Acts 11: 18; 1.V 3; 26; 20, 23.) ! t - , 28. And there they abode long time with the dUciples. i ., i ' " 27. 2SV Had gathered the church together.il The church berejvssdoubilesM large. The meeting, thetef ore, was thronged with eager bearers.' The j mrney had occupied qirle two years, and covered a space of 1 500 miles, more or less. Tbey therefore f fttarted nil that God had done with tkem i It waa God's work. . . Ttoey cf triemseivt-s woull have failed. 1. Without God's help tOKlay. the wickedness of the world would absorb us. His people are instruments M bia power. s A had opened the door 'gf faith to the Q entile Men, Gentiles or Jews, would never become personally interested in their salvation, , were not this door open ed before them. " The door stands w ide open and the Spirit of God bids us enter. That whs a great love that inclined the hearts of the heathen to accept salvation. It was a matter for hallelujah and praise on the part of the brethren at Antioch II is a matter of like interest to Christians of to day, that the Asiatic, the African,3 the Eu ropean and the American are inclined to enter the same : ope door. ,, The apostles abode a long time io Antioch. . Thought by Some authorities to have been two years. Wherever Paul was, it can be said with confidence. A was at work for Christ. . - ! OTJR LORD'S TRIAL BEFORE SANHEDRIM. THE A SERMON BT C. H. SPTJBOEO. ' And they all condemned him to be guil of death. Mark xiv. 64. ? i.. j , v t . . ' ' This one sentence is selected be cause custom demands a text; but in reality we shall follow the entire nar rative of our Lord's trial before the high-piiefct. We shall see how the Sanhedrim ariyed at their tmright- eons sentence, and what they did af terwards and so, in a sense, we shall be keeping to 5 onr text.; We hate just j been reading ' three passages John xxiii. 12-24; Mark xiy. 53-65 : and Luke ' xxii. 66-71. Please to carry these in your minds while I re hearse the mournful story. ' f ; L We will : begin our narratite this morning by first asking you to think Of THE PEELMISARY KX.UCt- nation op Oub Blessed ;Lobd and Master by the high priest. ' They brought in our Lord fipm the garden bound: but they also kept fast 1 hold upon him, for we read of the "the men that held him." They were ev idently afraid -ot their prisoner, even when they had him entirely in their power. . He -was all . gentleness and submission; but conscience -made cowards of them all,- and they there fore took all a coward's care to hold him in their grnsp. -' As the court had not ;yet. gathered Ju-sufficient num bers for a general examination, the high 'priest resolved ' that he would fill up the. time by personally interro-i gating his prisoner..' . ' " ; ' t He commenced his malicious exer pise. ;' xhe hign pnese aseea veaus c oncernintf his disciples. We cannot tell what" were the questions, but 1 suppose rthey were 'something like these: -"How is it that thou hast gathered about thee a band of men? What did they with thee? .What was thine ultimate intention to do by their means? . Who were they ? Were they not a set of fanatics, or men dis contented and ready for sedition?!; I do not know how the crafty Caiaphas put his' questions; but the' Saviour gave no reply to; this particular id quiry. What could he ,haye said, if he had - attempted to answer? , An, brothers, what good ' could he have said of his- disciples? We may be sure ne wouia(8ay no iu. rte mignc navp said, -f Concerning mf disciples,'1 one of them has betrajed me; he has still the blood-money in his band which you gave him as my price. Another of them, down m the hail there, be fore the cock mows will deny that he ever i knew' me, and ' add ' oaths and cursing to his denial; and as for the rest, they have all: forsaken me, and fled." Therefore our Lord said nothi ing concerning his disciples, ' for hi will not turn he accuser of his owni whom he came, not to condemn, but to justify.' 1 ; ' ; I The high priest also asked him con cerning Aw doctrine. . -I suppose he said to him, "What new teaching is this of thine? ; Are we not sufficient to teach 'the people-r-the Scribes so! learned in the law; the Pharisees sd attentive to ritual, the' Sadducees so philosophical f epecul ative ? ' ' Why needest thou ' intrude into this do4 main? I suppose thee to be littl more than a, peasant's son! what ii this strange teaching of 'thine? ' ' i uTo this inquiry our i Lord did an s wer, and what a triumphant reply it wasl Oh that we could always speakj when it.is right to epeak, as meekly and as? wisely as he I .He said, :"1 spake openly to the ; world; I evef taught in the synagogue and in the temple, whither th Jews always re4 sort, and in secret I have said nothi ing. -Why r askest i thou me? v Ask! them .which heard me what I have said unto them; behold they know; what I have said.". Oh, brethren, no reply to a: slander can he compared with a blameless ; life. Jesus had lived in the full blaze of day. where all conld see. and vet he was able to -challenge accusation and Bay, 'Ask them. which heard me.": - .-- . ; .This overwhelming answer, how-s ever, brought the Saviour a Mow front one of ihe officers -of the court who' stood by Was not this a most shocks ing deed? -Here was the first of a new order of assaults.' : Hitherto we have; not heard of strokes and blows; but, now it is fulfilled, They iball imite the Judge )f. ,lrte with a rod, upon his cheek,'?; ' '',;. lt .- t ': Thus have wo seen the first pari f our Lord's sufferings in the housed of (the high priest, and ' the, lesson '.from it is just tus Let us be meeK : ana lowly in heart as the Saviour was, for herein lay his ; sti ength and ,d ignity You may tell me I have said that before.5 u Yes brethren;4 and I shall have to say it several more times be fore you and 1 have learned the lesson well. It is hard to be meek ' when falsely accu8'd7 when roughly inter" rogated, when a canning adversary is on the C4tch, meek 5 when smarting under crnel blow which was a dis grace, to a court" of justice.' . ; You hove beird of the patience of. Job, but it pales before the patience of Jesus. , Admire bis forbearance, but do not stop at admiration; ; copy his .example, ; wri'e; under, this head-line and follow every stroke. 0 Spirit of God, even with Christ for an example, we shall not learn meekBess unless thou dost teach ns; and even with thee for a teacher wt shall not learn it unless we take his yoke upon ua learn of him; for it is only at his feet, and under thy divine anointing that ,we shall, ever become meek and lowly of heart, and so find rest unto our souls. - t; : : " ;V j . The-f preliminary., examination therefore over, and it has ended in no success Whatever for the high priest. He has questioned Jesus and he has Bruitten himj-but the ordeal brings nothing to content the adversary. The prisoner is supremely victorious, the assailant is baffled. II, , Now , comes . a , second scene, THE SEARCH FOB WITNESSES AGAINST him. f "The chief priest and all the council sought for witnesses against Jesus to put him to death; and found none." i A strange court that meets with the design to find the prisoner guilty, resolved m pome way or other to compass his death. They must proceed according" to the forms: of justice, and so they, summon witr.es ses, though all jthe while they violate the spirit of justice, for they , ransack Jerusalem to find witnesses who will perjure themselves to accuse the Lord. Everyman of the council is writing down somebody's name who may , be fetched in from the outside, f for the people have come from all parts of the land to keepfthe Passover, and surely some may"-be hunted up who, in one place or another, have heard him use an actionable mode of speech. They fetch in, I therefore, every -one that they can find of , that , degraded class who will venture upon perjuring themselves if the bribe be forthcom ing. : :-.Tf. ST.t i.. We must not refrain from noticing the comfort which in some degree had been ministered to our Lord by the accusation which came most to . the front. He8taud8 therend he knaws they are about to put Jnim to death; but they themselves remind him that their power over him has no longer lease than three days, and at the end of that short time he will be raised up asain, no more to hi at their dis posal. His j enemies witnessed . the resurrection to him. I say net . that hia memory was weak, er that he would possibly have forgotten it amid his sorrows; but yet- our' Lord waa human, and modes of comfort . which are valuable to us were also useful, to lim. . When the - mind ia tortured with malicious falsehood,.; and the whole man is tossed about with pains and grief 8, it is good for us to be re minded of the consolations of. God. ; We read of some who where ''tortured, -not 5 accepting deliverance,'' and a ic was the hope of . resurrection which sustained them. Oar -Lord knew that his soul would not be left in the abodes of. the. dead, neither should his flesh see corruption; ;and the false witnesses brought this vividly., before his mind.; :Now,; indeed, could our Redeemer say, ."Destroy this temple5, and in three days I will raise it up. t These . ravens : have is brought the Saviou r bread and . meat, r . In t these dead lions, our glorious Samson, ijbas found honey, i Sustained by the joy that was set before him, ? he despises the Bhame. Strange that out of the mouths of those who sought his blood j. there should come the memorial of on of his greatest glories! ( III. ' THE PEBSONAL INTEBBOOA-' Hon which followed upon the failure to bring !i forward ; witnesses. The high priest, too indignant to sit still rises and Btands over f the "prispneii like a hon roaring over his prey ana begins to question him again It was an unrighteous thing to do.' - Shoul the judge who sits to administer lair set himself to prove the prisoner guil ty; orwhat is worse, shall he try tp extort confession from the accused which may be used agiinst him? -It wai a tacit confession that Christ had ; been1 proved innocent up till then! The high priest would not have needi- -J ed to draw sometningout oi ine act- cused one," if there had been sufficient material against him elsewhere.! Th'e trial had been a dead failure up tb to that point, and he knew it, and , was red with rage. .Now he attempts to bully the prisoner, - that may exj tract some declaration from him which may save all farther trouble ojf witnesses, and end the matter. The question was forced home by a solemk adjuration, and it effected its pur pose, .or the ljord Jesus did spea though he knew thereby he was fa nishins: a weapon against ihimsel: He felt, under bond to answer ; the high priest of his people when - he used such adjuration, bad man- aa that high priest was; and : he could not 3 draw back from a charge so 8olcmn, lest he should seem,; by his silence, to deny the truth upon which : the salvation of the world is! .made to hinge. So when the high priest Bald to him, "Art thou the Christ the Son of the Blessed ?" how :- distinct and outspoken was the Master's " reply I Though he ..knewthat his death would thus be compassed, he witness ed a good .confession. -Jle plainly said "L am j and then he added to that declaration: v 'Ye shall Jsee the Son of man" so he brngs out his humanity as well as his deity -''flitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven." What a majestic faith 1 It is wonder ful to think that;he ahould'he so calm as to confront his mockers, and assert his glory while in the depth of shame. ' He did as good as say, MYou sit as my iudeesr but I shall soon;; sit as your judge: I, seem to you as an insignificant peasant; but I am the Son of the Blessed : you think -that you will cruBhme; but you never will, for I shall speedily sit at the right hand of the power of God, and come in the clouds of heaven." ; He speaks boldly, as well became him. I admire the meekness that could be silent;! I admire the meekness that could epeak gently; but I still more wonder at the meekness that could speak cour ageously, and still be meek. Some how or : other when ; we rouse our selves to courage, we let in harshness at the same door; or if we shut out our anger, we are very apt to forget our firmness, r Jesus never slays one vir tue to make room for another." His character is complete, full-orbed, per fect, whichever way we look at it. i IV. .We must now pass on and lin ger for a second or two over the con demnation. They condemned him out of his own mouth; but this, while it wore the semblance of justice, was really unjust. The 'prisoner at the bar has affirmed that he is the Son of God. What next ? May he hot speak the truth ? If it be the truth he1 must not be condemned, ; but adored. , Justice requires that an en quiry be made as to whether he be the Christ, the Son of the -Blessed, or not. He has claimed to be the Messiah Very well, all thoee in the court are expecting ths MetBiah; some of them expected him to apprear very speedily. May not this be the sent one of the Lord ?. Let an enquiry be made into his claims. What is bis lineage ? Where was he born ? Have any prophets attested him ?. Has he .wrought miracles ? .j, Somo such en quiries are due any man whose life is at stake. You cannot justly condemn a man to die without examining into the truth of ' his defence, for it may turn out that his statements are cor rect. ? But, rio't they will not, bear the man, they hate, the mere claim con demns him; it is blasphemy, and he must die. ; !( . ' 1 He says he is the Son of God. Come, then, Gaiaphas and council, call for witnesses ; for ; the defence. Enquire whether blind eyes have been opened and the dead raised up. Ask whether he has wrought miracles such as no man ever .wrought in the midst of Israel through all time. Why not do this ? Oh, no, he must be taken from prison and from judg ment, and none shall declare his gen eration. The less enquiry, the more easy to condemn him unjustly.- He has said he is the Christ the "Son ef God,; he is therefore guilty of death Alas,' how many .there are who con demn Christ's doctrine without mak ing due enquiries into it condemn it on the most . trivial . grounds. " They come to hear a sermon, and. perhaps find fault with the mannerism of the preacher,1 as if that were sufficient reason for denying the truth which he preaches; or else they say, ".This is so strange we cannot believe itj" Why not ? KfAre' not strange things sometimes true, and is not: many a truth wonderonsly strange until you ' get familiar with it ? . These men will not condescend to near Christ's proof of claim; they will make no en quiry. In this, like the Jewish priests, they practically cry; ?'Away with him 1 ; Away with him !" ;,:' J ' i V.,, I am almost gl ad that my time is so far advanced, for I must needs set-before you the fifth and most painful scene. No sooner have these evil , men oi ' the Banhedrim pro- nounced mm guuty oi oeatn, man the servants, the guards, " and ' thole that, kept the hiffh priest's hall, ea- ger, to please their masters,' and 1 touched . with the same j brute-like spirit which was in them, - straight way began to abuse the 1 infinite majesty of our Lord. ' UonBider the abuse. Let me read -the words: Some began to spit on him."," Be gan to spit on Jiim YYi This was con tempt expressed more effectively than bywords. Be astonished, O heavens, and be horribly afraid. - His face is tne ngnt oi the universe, hi3 person is the glory of heaven? and they be gan to spit on him 1" Alas, my God, that man should be so base 1 Some went further, and they 5 "covered his face,'? It is an .-Eastern custom'i io cover the face of the condemned, as If they were not fit to see the light,. nor fit to behold t their i fellow : men.-j 1 know.noL-whether for jthis , reason! or in pure mockeryr;, they .covered. Jbis face, so that they could not-see and he could not , see , them.":., How could they thus put on$ the uu arid shut up bliss. Then, when "all wis dark to him, we read that they began to say: . 4 Prophe y, swho is he Hhit smote thee .? Then another did ' the like; and many were the' cruel culls they laid about his blessed facer' The mediaeval writers delighted 'to 'talk about the teeth that were broken, the bruises on a the cheeks, - the '' blood which i: flowed;;; the ? flesh that was bruised and blackened; but we daro not thus ' imagine. : Scripture" has; cast a veil, and there let it abide.' Yet it must have been an ' awful sight to see the -Lard of glory with his face best&ined by their accursed phlegm, and bruised" with their cruel fiats. Here insult and cruelty -were combined : ridicule of his prophetic claims , and dishonor: to his divino person. ,. Nothing was thought bad enough, v They invented all they could of shame and scorn,1 and' he stool patient there, thought a single flash of his eye would have consumed them in a moment.; ; i I ;. ' First, how ready should we be to bear slander and ridicule for Jesns' fialte Do not get into a huff, and think it a hard thing that people shonld mock at you.' Who are you, dear sir ? Who are you ? Who can you be if compared with Christ ? It they Bpatupon him, why should they not spit upon you ? If they buffeted him, why should they not buffet you? Shall your Master have all the rough of it ? Shall he have all the bitter,. and you all the sweet ? A pretty sol dier you, to demand better fare than your Captain 1 Jttow earnestly, next, ought we to honor our dear Lord. If men were so eager to put him to shame, let ns be ten times more earnest to bring him glory. Is there anything we can do to-day by which he may be hon ored ?i Let us set about it. Uan we make any sacrifice ? Can we per form any difficult task which would glorify him ? Let ns not deliberate, but at once do it with our might. et na be inventive in modes of glori fying him, even as his adversaries were mgenius in the methods of his shame. -:'r" s Lastly, how surely and bow sweetr y may au wno, believe in mm come and rest their - souls in his hands. Surely I know that he who suffered this, since he was verily the Son (of the Blessed, must have ability to save us. ; bach griefs much be full atone meats for our transgressions - Glory be to tioa, tnat spittle on his coun tenance means a clear bright face for me. Those ia'ee accusations on his character mean no condemnation for me. That patting 'him to death proves the certainty of-cur text last Sabbath morning, " Verily, verily, I sav unto you, he tnat believeth on me hath everlasting life." Lit us sweetly , rent in Jesus, ' and if ever our faith is agitated, let us get away to the hall of Caiaphas, and eee the J ust - standing -' - for the un jusrl .; the faultless One bearing condemnation for; sihnerv Let - us v in 4 the biarh priest's hall judge and condemn every sin and every doubt, and come forth glorjing that the Christ ; has con- quere for us, and that we now wait for his appearance with delight. uod niesa yon, sake. Amen. brothers, for Christ's CONFERRING WITH FLESH AND -BLOOD. : " -1 As an apostle to the Gentiles! Paul magnified his office. He under stood its duties and o meet, knew its trials and final reward, appreciated its dignity and importance. He loved it above all callings. To the Romans he says, " 1 am not ashamed of the gospel; to the Galatians, . " Far be it from me to glory, save in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ," ; To this high conception of his privilege and responsibility is to be attributed much of the success of his ministry The ideal which constantly floated before his mind he thus expresses V mat we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus."-; No mod ern apostle to the Gentiles - can have a lower aim. . . To the preacher the question of all questions is: "liow can 1 beat fal hi my miDistry and present myself approved unto God r Two answers nave oeen given, xne one quotas the words of Scripture, and is iu sub stance this: 1 : The preparations of the heart in man and tne answer of the tongoe is from the Lord. ' " This we may call the spiritual , method. The other we may call the natural, and it may be illustrated by the fol lowing incident: A certain young preacher, with his companion in the gospel, went to hear the most, pop ular preacher in the city. , When the sermon was ended, the companion remarked: "Well.with the help of the spirit, 1 thine 1 could beat that my self." Tho other replied; 'f I think I. oould beat it. Spirit or no Spirit." The second view bf the matter supposes that, inasmuch as conviction is the aim of the sermon, as it is the aim of all public discourse. Only the subjects being different, the preparation which avails for the latter is ample also for : the former. Each of these views his adherents, extreme as they are; but we shill find that the true view; is between them where they blend into one Possibly from Paul we may gain some instruction here; for Is he net the model preacher of 5 the New Tes tament ? He is. the.model iii doc trine, iu consecration, in the . bold utterance of convictions', in nntirio energy, in the masterly grasp an control of -a great syBtem, and in the wide sweep cf - his beneficent labors. No man has by his life and' writings mflaenced so "large a proportion- pt mankind during so many centuries, Let us try to discover how Pajrl reacneu this eminence, oi ,ufeinine38. L 2iot, conferring with, .flesh ad blood. One of the proof texts pf those who maintain the sufficiency of spiritual preparation to the exclusion of intellectual is GaU 1:16: " Immo- I diately I conferred not i with flesh and-blood;" or as Conybeare and' Howson translate it " I did not iin-' mediately take counsel, with flesh and blood." ..Study of the context will show- the error, of this inference. After expressing his wonder that the i.:.. i u: vataiittua uhtv ou bouu ici.ii uiui. auu the gospel he preached, the apostle declares that he did not learn it of man, vbut by the resurrection tion of Jesus Christ.". He .reminds, them of what he was before his con version, and declares that immediate ly after it he conferred not with flesh and blood. ' " Neither went 1 up ;to J ernsalem to them which were apos tles before ' me, but I went into Arabia, and returned again unto Da mascus." . It appeals, therefore, that it is the gospel not his preparation for preachine- it which Paul pro fesses not to have received from men. It is the gospel, its doctrines and un derlying facts, which he retires into the solitude of Arabia to receive by direct revelation. - .The necessity fof this retirement will' appear - when we consider the fact i that, he had not been with Jesus, the-- three years i of his public life, po88ibl5,never heard a word from his Hps; it was tnererore needful that the teacher of thou sands of generations should apply for instruction to - the uncontaminated f on tain-head of all ' truth. ' Besides, it was natural and fitting that, before starting in hi great race, he should, by, prayer and meditation in : undis turbed seclusion, tone up his spirit to the key of his high calling., liow many others who . have . largely influ enced , their fellows and . succeeding generations, .. have t - passed through Arabia . on. the. way to their great work:-Moses, ."Elijah, David,, John the . Baptist, .Gautama,; . Moham med, Luther, and onr Saviour him self. - ' ' ' The nreacher: therefore. who seeks to imitate raul. will not confer witn flesh and blood when he wants - to know the truth that is in Jesus. To know that' truth, he must come di rectly; to the fountain.'; it was re vealed to.raul; we have the same re velation in the; written Word of God This spiritual S knowledge cannot ; be communicated by man's wisdom;1 but is from above, and 'qomes to the docile mind through the enlightening of the Holy bpint. iiiHe who would know most of its power, must come closest 'to it, must suffer no gloss or incrustation of unsanctihed learning to come between his heart and the truth's freshness and purity. To this and fre quentj prayerful meditations-cn the truth, and we see at once where the preacher's Arabia is hi4 Bible; there is no suostuute ior it. 2. Conferring with flesh and blood.' V ith respect to rani s preparation for proclaiming to others the knowl edge gained by revelation, let us aee if he did not take counsel . of men. Another text often quoted in such discussions is: ' Aud 1, brethren, Vherf I came to you, came hot with excellence of speech, or, of wisdom, etc. .i uor. 25:1-4;. xnose wno maintain the sufficiency of the Bible study alone for all the ends of preach ing consider this passage a demon stration of their opinion. J; It simply shows, however, what invariably the subject of . Paul's preaching, and the little confidence he had in the atts of the orator for ' the purpose of bnng- ing men to Christ. , He relied upon the demonstration of the bpint. lut let us see what sort of instrument the Spirit chose to operate with. " I Tarsus; deserved the description given of lt'by its 7 most di8tingui6ed citizen : it was "no" mean .-' city." Its situation and commerce made the ac quisition of the Greek language quite a matter of .course; but .Paul went further, becoming so, well acquainted " . 1 SI V 1" . . , . 1 . witn s. ureeK literature as j to quote freely from the Greek poets. 5 He was ; in due time sent up tor Jerusalen jto be."hrought.UD at the, feet of Ga maliel." .The accounts which we have of the schools of the Babbis show that they must have been powerful agents in mental discipline and the strength ening' of the reasoning power, .The school had some of the elements jof the . debating society. - The learned doctor of the law presided.' The sub ject was opened by the readmg of An essay. Then followed , a general discussion well calculated not only to inform the mind, but greatly quick en and develop itsr activities.' The profound learning which lies . at 'the oasis of all the reasoning of Paul's Epistles confirms his own account; of the rapid progress which he made." ' It- appears; therefore, that, when he was called to be a Christian and an apostle, Paul-was as thoroughly educated as the times would allow. Such was the intellectual training cf the man whom the Spirit chose to perform - the t chief ? part in the dif f asion of christiatiity, to be the spir itual teacher of all coming ages. Such alsoin part at least, must be the in tellectual training 'of the spiritual teachers of oar later times, if in pow er for good they would, approach the inspired man who wrote in three several places, Bo ye followers !of me.'"' W. L. Poteat Wake Forest College. ; " LETTER FROX HENDERSON.' Dear Bro Bailey: We missed your cheerful words and happy smiles !at our commencement exercises last week, though we had among us dis tinguished men from several sections of the State. Our; flourishing little city, so well known on account of material prosperity, central location and healthfulness, is evidently on the road to intellectual advancement and moral elevation. And no true lover of his country could witness the inter est and enthusiasm of our thrifty people on ' this important ' subject without realizing a degree of pleasure and satisfaction. ' - &rts ?.:'; f The school of Messrs. T. J. & W. D. Horner, advertised in your paper, has attracted students : from ' several counties, village i and.' towns in? the state and: imparted instruction .-so thorough that North Carolina should at once recognize the Messrs Horner as benefactors of the State and in ev ery sense competent to instruct and guide the youth of par land. :. vi i fc The past session has given great encouragement to the principals and there is a talk of new and much larg er and v handsomer ouiidings being erected for the accommodation I of the matriculates. We trust that a new era has dawned upon this Mathe matical Classical and Commercial High School and that the increased patronage may justify at an early day, an outlay of two or three thousand dollars in beautiful and substantial buildings. During commencement weeK many old students of the school returned to pay their respects I to their Alma Mater and testify - to the faithful and thorough instruction given them while at this school years ago. And the senior professor- in Ian appropriate speech ' recognized with joy the fact that so many of his stu dents were now occupying; positions of honor and usefulness in this and other States. Said he, fit makes me feel strong to see all around me my old pupils who to day rank among the true, brave and useful men of the State." . f. ; Our heart rejoiced with the princi- pal on this occasion and we thought to ourselves "the work of the teacher is only second to that of the preach er.' A very large interesting and order ly audience assembled on Thursday in the new Opera hall recently built by Burwell ; Bros., and listened . with much appreciation to the declama tions and original speeches of the students. The declamations u were prepared, and indeed all preparation for the closing exercises, were I made outside of the; regular work of the school. , The young men .were required to attend every recita tion of their classes and in no' case was an except ion . made the daily recitations were continued until the session closed. This I mention because it shows that the session waa notide voted to preparation for commehce-' ment display, but the improvement of the students in the various branch es of learning taught in the school. Several "medals "were awarded , for spelling, writing; composition, decla mation and greatest improvement in daily recitations.: 5 The medals were presented by the distinguished visit ors and honored townsmen and their presentation added much the pleas ure cf the occasion. . At night the scene presented by the audience the bouquets of flowers and richly decorated hall made as all feel like we were in some enchanted l.tnd. The exercises were opened with pray er by Rev. J. A. Mundy and as the young men of the 2nd division and of the aenior clas3 performed successful ly their respective duties we knew that many hearts were proud and lov ing friends were indulging not a v lit tle in pleasing dreams of the future ; ; Mr. Beckham of Raleigh; delivered an original speech on "Emigration" which showed that he had thorough ly studied the advice of Horace Gree ly "Young man go West." He disa bused the minds of all ' of - the idea that: the "Western .World" offers greater inducements or is in any way more inviting than "tee old North State." The speech, by competent judges, was pronounced an admirable one full , of . ; good 'A sense, - rounded periods, and referrence. sMr.; Ferebee of Camden, took for his 1 subject "Money, its uses and abuses" and in a scholarly style, with graceful jea- tures and impressive illustrations showed us all the uses and abuses' of that much coveted article money. Mr, Ferebee is a close student and his speech exhibited many literary excel lences. We are loth to part with these two young, gentlemen; during their sojourn axong us, they have gained the admiration and esteem! of the community. . f 1 The literary address to the school was delivered on Thursday by Col. Wm. H. S. Btwgwyn a native North Carolinian who for many years has oc cupied prominent positions in anoth er State but who a year or more ago returned to the land that gave him birth io share her joys and sorrows. He is now our successful banker. His speech was listened: to with marked attention and . the speaker's ; senti ments were greete I ; with repeated round 8 of applause. It was p ttriotic, beautiful and solid, and all things considered we are satisfied that : the exercises were of a refining, and - ele vating tendency and our community will henceforth with pleasure look forward to the closing exercises of the Horner school. "I ; ' M. V. McDrFFTE. .' -rr-; ;.. : ' . ;; .' VSHE HATH DONE WHAT SHE" , COULD." '-' . . ; . . : f . "And Jesus sat over against: the treasury, and beheld how the people cast money .into the treasury:, and many that .were rich, cast , in much. And there came a certain poor widow, and Bhe threw in two mites, which make a farthing. ; And he called un to, him his disciples and said unto them, Verily I say unto you, That this poor widow' hath cast more in, than all they which have cast into the treasury: for all they did cast in of their abundance; but she of her want ; did cast in all that Bhe had, even all her living." ' . .- ; If Jesus always Bits over against his treasury and sees what those who ; profess to love do for him, I wonder if he has not made a record of this that I am about to relate: ? ;; Our missionary in the Pee Dee As sociation wrote me a few , days ago: " A sister of Saron church, Pee Dee Association, handed me a 15 bill yes terday and, with "loving heart speak ing through her glad "voice, beaming in her joyous countenance and flowing with her tears;' as they lingered long enough to be seen and felt too by her ; pastor, said: Send it to brother Kay for the .Board1 01 our state M.is- : sion work. " . : iu My brother, she. is not worth $35 of property in the world, and this is not half that that she gives yearly ! for the Master. She shames us all by her liberal, noble, Christ-like gen erosity in w giving ; to, the Master's ; cause." . l-v.it-.-Wii-w;f..;l;V -This good sister always sends up her pr.wera with her contributions : for the blessings of God upon what she gives for the advancement of his causu." I i withhold the name,: be cause ner modesty would forbid even this mention of her noble work, but God knows who she is. , I know, nothing more encouraging in our great, grand" work than that God is moving the people generally all over the State to contribute to its support. I don't know how many contributions I' have received recent-. ly from just such sources. God will reward them for it. Every few months the widowed mother of the late President; of Wake 'Fores'. Col lege fends me a contribution. I am not surprised ' that W. M. Wingate was a great man. . Such a mother could rear none other. May God ; continue and increase his great work, for we are still, more than a thousand dollars ; behind. Won't you help ? . . John E. Kay. THE PRESS, Texas Messenger. , , , . i It is gratifying to notice that , all over j Texas there is a rising sentiment against gambling and violations of ' the ' Sun day law. ' Judges, in their charges-to grand juries are emphasizing r the law touching these crimes. Earth and heaven is witness that we need reform in these matters. Hay the good work go on. " ' ' ; ' To this the good, people of this country, as of every other country, respond a hearty amen. : , Nashville Advocate. ,7 . The Wesleyans of Great Britain have sent a petition to Parliament for the closing of public houses on Sunday,' on a roll of paper two and three-quarter miles long, containing 590.332 names. , - -,; : . The force required to loosen the gresp of Satan on the hearts of men is indeed great. Will Parliament hear t Christian Index. R. G. Ingersoll, at a recent funeral said: "Again we stand face to face with the great mystery that shrouds this world. - We ques tion, but there is no ' reply. Out on the wide waste of seas there: drifts no spar. Over the desert of -death the sphinx gazes forever, but never speaks,".- And is it for this hopelessness that men ask us to sur render "the hope of the righteous in his death?" A glorious immortality is not so lightly thrown away by those who have tasted toe powers or tne worm to come. (Speeeh of Dr. ZL L. Wayland; editor of the National Baptist, hi the Saratoga Bible. Convention.') - If I should so far forget myself as to touch on the resolution, I trust that the chairman will call me to order. I have listened to all that bas been said, hoping to gain wisdom; and with greater or less suc cess. I listened yesterday to my honored brother from Jersey Heights ( Dr. Everts ) and was filled with admiration, as always, for hie enthusiastic eloquence. But I felt like the mariner when he sees a meteor shoot athwart the sky, u scattering the flamingo lightnings from its blazing hair. The mariner gazes with -admiring awe; but he feels that for a knowledge of his latitude and longitude, and for bis guidance across the seas, - he must : look to some humbler planet. 1 do not sympathize .with my es teemed friend in regarding economy as a base and rascally virtue. AS he was speak ing in his large and lavish way to the dis paragement of economy, I was reminded of a remark made by a former President of Brown University (Francis Wayland) to the gentleman who is now President of Vas- j sar College: " Caldwell,' there is one vir tue that , has survived the fall; it is the vir tue of being generous with other people's money." When the question is Whether a dollar shall send one Bible or five to the heathen, I do not think that economy is nn worthy of us. .The great principle is that 2 and 2 make 4. The most powerful ap peal during our meeting was by my friend troni North Adams ( Dr. Osborn ) showing that a s denominational aiDie . society is spending 9 per cent, of its receipts in send ing the bread of life to the starving, while the remaining 91 per cent, goes to feed a ' multitude no doubt equally as hun gry.; I wonder that no reply to this show ing was made by the Secretary of , the So ciety ( Rev. F. A. Douglas, the reputed au thor of the Herald attack on the Treasurer of the Missionary Union ), who is supposed to have great faculties for detecting finan cial inaccuracies. When X remenber how our missions have languished for want of means, when I remember 4 that ' Dr. Jud son was recalled f rom Ava because the Ex ecutive Committee could not send him. the means of remaining in Ava, I wonder how much money was there lying idle or wasted in needless agencies. 1 v - i Our friend. Dr. Church, has urged that our action be unanimous; but unanimity is an impossibility. . It is idle to talk of 2, 300,000 Baptists being unanimous. ' Why, I am not unanimous myself,: when' I am all alone.;; I only carry things by a small ma jority. Let us have some action that will be understood, even if it be by a divided vote. Let us know whether Jonah swallowed the whale, - or the rwhale swallowed Jonah. There is only one place where people are unanimous; and that is m the grave yard.
The Biblical Recorder (Raleigh, N.C.)
Standardized title groups preceding, succeeding, and alternate titles together.
June 6, 1883, edition 1
1
Click "Submit" to request a review of this page. NCDHC staff will check .
0 / 75