Part 7 (2/2)
Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? It is to a life of toil, not of indolence, we are called. The fields are white already, unto harvest.
Who will bear the sheaves away? Who among our young men in this congregation will take the place of Elder Knowles? Can you be engaged in a grander or n.o.bler work? He that winneth souls is wise. Is there any purer pleasure in this world than the joy that is experienced in the heart when souls are converted to G.o.d? Oh, young men, deeply meditate on that precious pa.s.sage. He that converteth a sinner from the error of his ways, doth save a soul from death, and doth hide a mult.i.tude of sins. Are not the opportunities great in this city for doing good? Is not the wickedness great? Are not souls peris.h.i.+ng around you for lack of knowledge? Resolve, from this day, that, G.o.d helping you, you will dedicate all your powers of heart, soul, and strength to the blessed service of Christ. You are not your own. You have been saved, that you may save others by pulling them out of the fire. Haste then, haste to the rescue. Souls may perish, and go down to h.e.l.l, while you are deliberating.
I remember, years ago, while coming into New York Harbor, we lost a very promising young man overboard. The life-boat was launched, and the life-buoy was cut adrift. But through some delay, the young man perished. What a tremendous disappointment those parents experienced as they stepped on board the frigate at the Brooklyn Navy Yard, and learned that their darling boy had found a watery grave.
I never think of the above sad occurrence but I am forcibly reminded that through the delays and sad neglect of Christian parents and Sabbath-school teachers, many young persons perish, and I inquire, Who is responsible for their destruction? Many ask the question that Cain impudently put to the Lord, ”Am I my brother's keeper?” We can be guilty of other men's sins. This is a mysterious fact, but it is nevertheless true. If you are an idler in the Master's vineyard, you are, to a certain extent, responsible. Oh, that the Holy Spirit would show us our duty to our fellow-men.
Our departed brother realized this truth. Just look at a man seventy-five years old, occupied every Lord's Day teaching a large cla.s.s of youth in the Sabbath-school. But you must remember that for six days in the week he n.o.bly toiled as a printer, from eight in the morning until six at night. And he seldom missed the prayer-meeting, or other gatherings of the Church. He was, indeed, a worker that needeth not to be ashamed.
In the absence of the pastor he frequently led the prayer-meeting, and his expositions of the chapter read as the lesson of the night were very scriptural, cheering, and full of encouragement.
He was familiarly acquainted with the Word of G.o.d, and his prayers were earnest, solemn, and to the point, because his soul was surcharged with Divine truth.
It is no wonder, then, that everybody loved him--his young men in the various Bible-cla.s.ses especially. Eternity alone will reveal the amount of good he accomplished by his kind, gentle, meek, cheerful, and quiet spirit.
Servant of Christ, well done; you rest from your labor, and your works do follow you.
Let us look at his work as a ruling Elder of the Church of Christ.
Paul, in writing to Timothy, says: ”Let the elders that rule well, be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine” (1 Timothy v. 17). An elder is one who rules the house of G.o.d. They are, therefore, the magistrates of the Church. They are to administer the laws of His holy sanctuary. How great and important this work. Who is sufficient for these things? The pastor, in apostolic times, was called an elder. But as an under-shepherd his labors are greatly a.s.sisted and augmented by the hearty co-operation of a judicious selection of men filled with the spirit of G.o.d, and duly ordained for their work. Men who recognize among their fellows no moral superiority, but that spiritually-mindedness that flows from prayer and the study of G.o.d's Word. Their work is immortal. Their duties are great. But their peculiar privileges are greater--to rule well the House of G.o.d.
It is, certainly, a sad sight to see men filling this sacred office without the requisite qualifications. The negotiations between man and man are so stupendous, that it is not every member of the Church who is fitted for this responsible work. We ought to study adaptation in the selection and ordination of ruling them.
Every time I looked in the face of Elder Knowles, I was deeply impressed with the thought that no blunder had been committed when he was chosen and set apart in this line of Apostolic toil. For he was a good soldier of Jesus Christ.
He knew full well how to rule his own spirit, and he that can do that is more mighty than he who taketh a city. Self must be slain by the sword of the spirit, if we would lead the army of the Lord on to victory. Hence the solemn injunction of Paul: ”I charge thee before G.o.d, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.... Lay hands suddenly on no man” (1 Timothy, v. 21-22).
We commend, for attentive perusal and prayerful reflection, the qualification of an elder, as laid down by Paul, and elaborated by the holy McCheyne, strictly germane to the life of Elder James Knowles.
They are fundamental requisites. The good McCheyne, of St. Peter's, Dundee, says: ”I feel, brethren, that a minister alone is incapable of ruling the House of G.o.d well. If a minister is to thrive in his own soul, _he must be half of his time on his knees_; and therefore, if Christ's house is to be ruled well, there must not only be pastors, but there must be ruling elders.”
”The first qualification is grace. Grace in the heart. If it be a qualification in a church member that he should have grace, then much more ought it to be a qualification in one who rules the Church of G.o.d.
How is it possible for him to admit any to the Lord's table, when he is but a judge himself?” How is it possible to excommunicate, when he ought to be excommunicated himself? So, brethren, a graceless elder is a curse instead of a blessing.
We can safely say our dear departed elder had grace. This was remarkably developed in his Christian character. Patience found a permanent home in his heart. It occupied a significantly prominent place there, and was strenuously cultivated. It was copied and commented upon by all who knew him, and uniformly evoked universal favor and approval by the various ministers and sessions of the different Presbyterian churches in this city, in which he was an elder.
He had many trials, and we think he could say with Paul, in his letter to the Church at Rome: ”We glory in tribulation, also knowing that tribulation worketh patience, and patience experience.”
It seems they had some little misunderstanding in the session of one of the churches to which he (our elder) formerly belonged. And some remark made by the elder to the pastor was so cutting, that the minister said unless the elder would take back what he said, that next Sabbath he would tender his resignation to the congregation.
The elder replied that he would not take it back for him. To preserve harmony, and be a peacemaker, Elder Knowles stepped up to his brother in the session, and asked him if he would not take it back for his sake, and the sake of the blessed Jesus. At this, the elder said, with tears in his eyes, ”Yes, James, for your sake, I will take it back.”
Perhaps the minister was partly to blame, and also the elder, but by having the grace of patience, not only was a reconciliation brought about, the pastor was retained, and permitted to resume his work, and precious souls were added to the Church. Oh, how much trouble and scandal might be averted in some of the churches if our elders and deacons and church members would only strive to cultivate the grace of patience.
We have great need of this grace in our hearts, as we work for the Master. May the Holy Spirit work it in us, for, as Paul says: ”Ye have need of patience, that, after ye have done the will of G.o.d, ye might receive the promise” (Heb. x. 36).
The life of a ruling elder in the Church, and in the world, is like the erection of a beautiful building. Great patience is requisite, in order to bring it to a successful completion. So, as a wise master buildeth for eternity, we most build the structure of Christian character upon the apostles and prophets, Jesus Christ, Himself, being the chief corner-stone. What a model of patience is Jesus. What difficulties He encountered. What trials cl.u.s.tered around Him. What provocations he meekly endured. All through His life, and even amid His unutterable agonies on the Cross on Mount Calvary, when His body was shedding the last drop of blood to seal the mysterious work of redemption, even then, amid mockings and scoffings, and tortures, the sacred lips of the Crucified Christ uttered this prayer for his enemies, ”Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do” (Luke xxiii. 34).
The dear Master considered this prayer essential before He could conscientiously exclaim, ”Consummatum est”--It is consummated, or finished. Our dear elder was like his Lord in this respect. He could say, with Newton,
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