.
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pifty Years ^
X „y
Religious Progress
cAn Emancipation Sermon
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'By 'Bishop L. J. Coppin
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EMORY UNIVERSITY
ptfty Years ^
Religious Progress
cMn Emancipation Sermon
(By 'Bishop L. J. Coppin
Delivered on the occasion of the Emancipa¬
tion Semi-Centennial, Philadelphia, Pa.
Sunday, September 14th, 1913
Fifty Years of Religious Progress
"To the Angel oj the Church in Phila¬
delphia, write: * * * " Rev, tii, 7.
I. The Place.
In the weird silence of Patmos,
far removed from human voices, and
the enchanting allurements of com¬
mercial activities; where the sound
of the rippling brook suggests medi¬
tation, and the choral of the night
songsters is a lullaby, came a voice
from heaven, saying: "What thou
seest, write in a book, and send it
unto the seven churches of Asia:
unto Ephesus, and Smyrna and Per-
gamos, and Thyatira, and Sardis, and
Philadelphia and Laodicea."
John, the Evangelist, quickly re-
3
4
sponds to the strange call to duty,
and, perhaps, realizes for the first
time during his enforced confinement
that the path of duty is not always
along the King's highway of pleas¬
antness, but may penetrate the des¬
ert of sorrow and suffering, and that
often the call to the most important
posts of human activities, is a voice
in the wilderness.
The resplendent glory that sur¬
rounded the Apostle, served to em¬
phasize the importance of the vision,
and to give his mind and thought
that spiritual bent, that is so neces¬
sary to him, who would understand
and interpret the ways of Providence.
Here is the graphic description.
"And I turned to see the voice
that spake with me. And being
.turned, I saw seven golden candle
sticks; and in the midst of the seven
candle sticks one like unto the Son
of Man, clothed with a garment down
to the foot, and girt about the paps
with a golden girdle. His head and
5
his hair were white like wool, as
white as snow; and his eyes were
as a flame of fire; and his feet like
unto fine brass as if they burned in
a furnace; and his voice as the soun-1
of many waters. And he liad in his
right hand seven stars; and out of
his mouth went a sharp two-edged
sword; and his countenance was rs
the sun shineth in his strength. And
when I saw him, I fell at his feet as
dead. And he laid his right hand
upon me, saying unto me, 'Fear not,
I am the first and the last; I am he
that liveth and was dead and behold
I am alive forevermore, Amen; and
have the keys of hell and of death.
Write the things which thou hast
seen and the things which are, and
the things which shall be hereafter."
No one can look upon this photo¬
graphic imagery of the Divine pres¬
ence, without realizing how infinite¬
ly more glorious, and more to be de¬
sired is fellowship with the Divine
person than any distinction that
6
earthly surroundings can afford. Up¬
on his lonely island home, the Apos¬
tle, doubtless, had moments of sad¬
ness when he longed for freedom and
fellowship with his old companions.
Deprived of liberty and the pursuit
of happiness, and, liable at any mo¬
ment to be deprived of life itself, his
existence seemed but a mockery.
"Give me liberty or give me death"
was the clarion note that fired the
heart of every American, and nerved
him for the unequal struggle which
followed the Declaration of Indepen¬
dence. Liberty of thought, of speech,
and of action, is the rightful
heritage of mankind. As the incar¬
cerated lion paces restlessly up and
down the narrow confinements of his
prison wall, or the ensnared bird
beats himself frantically against the
bars of the trap, so the human soul
longs for freedom, and struggles for
release, when the body is fettered and
bound by the selfish and sinful de¬
vices of man. But He who maketli
7
the wrath of man to praise Him, and
restraineth the remainder of wrath,
often selects the darkest hour in
human experience to speak with no
uncertain voice, and to say: "Be still
and know that I am God."
Joseph in the Egyptian prison re¬
ceives the power to interpret the
King's dream. Elijah, in the cleft of
the rock, hears the still small voice
calling him forth to his unfinished
task. Paul and Silas, in the Philli-
pian dungeon, witness the miracul¬
ous sundering of their chains and of¬
fer salvation to their oppressors who
are spiritually bound. John, the Di¬
vine, in the loneliness of his banish¬
ment, receives a message to the sev¬
en churches in Asia. A message,
which, still appealing to the churches
of Christendom, calls them to a
more perfect faith, to greater activ¬
ity, and to closer fellowship with
God.
8
II. The Time.
Commentators are not perfectly
agreed upon the time of John's vis¬
ion. The dates generally referred
to are A. D. 69 and A. D. 96. If the
former date be correct, then the mes¬
sage came about 36 years after the
Ascension; if the latter, about 63. At
all events, it was during, or about the
close of the first half century of
Christian freedom. Under the types
and shadows of Judaism, the church
at best saw through a glass, darkly.
The burden of rites and ceremonies,
however suggestive of better things
to come, tended to darken spiritual
vision, and keep the worshipper from
entering fully into the inheritance
which belongs to the children of God.
With the advent of Christ came a
new interpretation to religious life
and ceremony. Not that the "law
and the Prophets" were destroyed,
but spiritually fulfilled. The deeper
spiritual significance of the multi¬
form rites of the Old Dispensation is
9
now to blossom and bear fruit in the
New.
It is not an easy thing to revolu¬
tionize religious forms and faith.
There is nothing more inherent than
religion, and few things more eras¬
able than religious forms and beliefs.
The Church, in its new life, was
prone to hold on to many of the old
forms which did not contribute to
its spiritual growth. "I have a few
things against thee," is the oft re¬
peated accusation in the message to
the churches. After a half century
of religous experience in its Chris¬
tian form, the Evangelist is divinely
instructed to take a census of the
church. In the figurative language
which abounds in the Book of Rev¬
elation, seven is the perfect number,
and hence, an inventory of the Seven
Churches of Asia, figuratively, stands
for a perfect inventory or account of
the Christian Church as a whole
with admonitions and instructions
10
for such local branches, as each
might severally need.
We are holding on these grounds,
which will henceforth become his¬
toric, a celebration which is intend¬
ed to show the progress of a race
during fifty years of freedom. It is
deemed fitting that this celebration
should open with religious services,
in recognition of the fact that what¬
ever progress has been made it has
been by Divine help and guidance;
therefore, the first note sounded in
these series of meetings should be a
note of praise to Almighty God, in¬
stead of beginning with an exhibit
of what has been accomplished by
purely human agencies. We would
speak first of religious progress be¬
fore noting the strides that have been
made in things purely material. The
message of the Angel of the Church
in Philadelphia, besides affording an
accommodative text, really contains
suggestions that may be profitably
compared to conditions ini our own
religious life and progress.
11
III. The Message.
1. The Open Door.
The first declaration to the Phila¬
delphia Church is: "behold I have
set before thee an open door, and no
man can shut it." Verse 8.
I cannot think of anything that
more forcibly expresses the idea of
opportunity, than the expression,
"open door."
Conditions of slave life were more
conducive of emotionalism than of
real spirituality. The emotional side
of religion will develop as well in
bondage as in freedom. Indeed,
sorrow is especially productive of a
state of mind that appeals, even if
superstitiously to the unseen. A
people in bondage who are under the
furious lash of merciless task mas¬
ters, and who have no visible way of
escape from their wretched condi¬
tion, will draw upon their strongest
imaginations in search of a super¬
natural source of help. They will al-
12
so become easy victims of legends
and traditions, based upon the mys¬
terious. With, no opportunity * for
mental development, there is no tell¬
ing to what extent a people will drift
from the natural to the supernatural.
The doctrines of Balaam which af¬
flicted the church at Pergamos, and
that of Jezebel at Thyatira, were
doctrinal irregularities that troubled
the early Christian church. The step
from Heathenism to Judaism was
progress, and from Judaism to Chris¬
tianity was farther progress, but
there was always a danger that re¬
lics of Heathenism and Judaism
would be brought forward, and in¬
corporated into the new faith.
The advent of the African from
Iris heathen home to America, how¬
ever brought about, placed him
among an enlightened people, a peo¬
ple whose advance in commercial en¬
terprise, science and religion, made
them the vanguards of the world's
civilization. It was impossible that
13
the new comer should not be affect¬
ed by the changed environment. Lan¬
guage and labor would of necessity-
be enforced; religion would be taken
on by degree. The religion of the
master became the religion of the
slave, but not without the incorpor¬
ation of much that came from the
primitive life.
The superstitions, especially those
of a religious nature, now found a
new and fertile field for operation.
All the ills and woes, peculiar to a
life of bondage^ sought redress
through this half religious and half
superstitious source. "My Lord de¬
livered Daniel, and why not deliver
me?"
Contact with the religious life of
the new environment, stories from
the Bible that had never been heard
before, the observance of the Sab¬
bath day, and the public gatherings
for Divine worship, were the new in¬
fluences that led to the new religious
life and belief of the chattel-man.
14
But with the absence of doctrine and
discipline, of moral and ethical teach¬
ing as applied to others, and for the
want of an enlightened mind, the
emotional was unduly developed, and
the slave became the possessor of a
form of religion all his own. This
constituted, in a large measure, the
religious condition of my people fifty
years ago.
"Behold I have set before thee an
open door," was one of the blessings
that came with Emancipation. An
opportunity for intellectual develop¬
ment. An open door of opportunity
to learn to read the Bible. An
opportunity for religious teaching
that would not stop with "servants
obey your masters," but would show
that religion is a life, and a life
based upon the true word of God, in¬
telligently read, and faithfully inter¬
preted. An opportunity to improve
the talents each possessed, whether
they be five, two or one. Among the
slaves, there were those who, being
15
superior to their fellows in piety and
intelligence, became the religious
teachers, and preachers of those
times. They were the "Uncle Toms"
who had faith and patience and spir¬
itual vision. The "Richard Allen's,"
who held family prayers in the quar¬
ters until the household of the mas¬
ter was attracted and affected. They
were the light in darkness, that was
all the more conspicuous because of
the surrounding darkness. They
were the salt to season the lump, the
leven to leven the measure of meal.
But for their guidance and inspira¬
tion, the religious trend of the en¬
slaved masses might have been quite
different. As Elijah on Mount Car-
mel, of Paul on Mars Hill, they of¬
ten seemed to stand alone, but, be¬
cause they stood at all, the fire of
faith and hope was kept alive. These
were the angels of the churches to
whom the message came to write
when the door of opportunity swung
open, and from them came the spir-
16
itual guidance of the people during
the earlier decades of freedom.
They are not here now to rejoice with
us in the accomplishments of two
score and ten years of steady growth
in religious knowledge, and to wit¬
ness the broader horizon of our spir¬
itual vision, but the harvest into
which we enter is from the fallow
ground which they broke, and the
grain which we garner is from their
planting. Their names, at least,
the most of them, are not found upon
pages of history, but they are writ¬
ten in the Lamb's Book of Life.
Those who scoff at their ignorance
and imperfections, and speak dispar¬
agingly of their accomplishments, are
building, if at all, on the foundations
which they laid. If any who stand
in their place, can show progress
commensurate with their greater op¬
portunities, they are but the succes¬
sors of noble and illustrious ances¬
tors. Those who gather about this
place, to mark the evidences of fifty
17
years' progress, will be more con¬
cerned about our moral, intellectual
and religious progress, than about
any display of that which is purely
material. As is the foundation to a
building, so are morality and religion
to a nation, and without these essen¬
tials, all material progress is but a
house upon the sand.
In noting the religious progress
of the Negro in general, it may not
be out of place to say a word
upon his religious history as it re¬
lates to the City of Philadelphia. As
the ancient City of Philadelphia in
Asia had its place, in a general way,
in the religious life of the world, so
the modern City of Philadelphia in
Pennsylvania has a unique place in
the religious life of the American
Negro.
When William Penn set up his
Commonwealth, the evil of slavery
soon made its appearance, and for a
time received the sanction of the
good people of Quaker persuasion.
18
But as early as 1688 a protest was
made against the monster at the
Friends' Meeting House in German-
town, and be it said to the everlast¬
ing credit of the Society of Friends,
that their protests never ceased until
their labors were rewarded by an
Emancipation Proclamation.
In the year 1700, William Penn,
himself, introduced a bill in the
Council which read, "To regulate the
morals and marriages of the Ne¬
groes." Up to this time his status
as a moral being had not been fully
determined.
In this same year, 1700, the So¬
ciety of Friends appointed a religi¬
ous service for them, to be held once
a month. This marked an epoch in
the religious life of the African in
America.
This forward movement in the in¬
terest of God's sable children, proved
to be seed sown in good ground, and
bore its fir«t fruit in an organized
19
form, right here in the city where
it was sown.
The idea of religion and religious
liberty, that was all-pervading at this
period, soont found a response in
those newly awakened souls, and a
change began to take place.
In 1787, sufficient progress had
been made in religious knowledge,
to enable the Negro to distinguish be¬
tween brotherhood and subordina¬
tion in religious life and practice.
The result was a revolt from the
discipline of those who denied him
full fellowship, and the organization
of a new society, at whose altar the
demon of proscription would not be
permitted to kneel.
A blacksmith shop became their
first meeting house, and in the true
spirit of the age, they made a heroic
struggle for religious independence.
Out of the smoke and ashes of that
humble beginning grew an organiza¬
tion that now numbers nearly a mil¬
lion communicants, and a vastly
20
greater number of followers; and
upon the very spot where stood the
blacksmith's shop, stands a spacious
building, modern in all of its appoint¬
ments; a building of granite, prqud-
ly standing upon its rock foundation;
a building eloquently telling its own
story of the progress of a race.
While this building happens to
bear a title, designative of a specific
religious denomination, which is the
least important item in its honorable
history, it stands in the interest of
ten millions of people, as a protest
against discrimination in the Chris¬
tian Church, and as a refutation of
the idea that God had been partial
in the distribution of spiritual gifts.
Thou art black, and comely, thou,
daughter of Ethiopia; the long night
of oppression has passed and the
morning of liberty and opportunity
dawns upon thee; stretch forth thy
hands to God; put on thy beautiful
robes of righteousness, and continue
to proclaim to the world the doctrine
of the Fatherhood of God, the broth-
21
erhood of man, universal salvation
through Christ, and the gift of the
Holy Spirit to whomsoever believeth.
2. The Capital Stock.
"Thou hast a little strength,"
verse 8.
In the twenty-fifth chapter of St.
Matthew, we have an illuminating
discourse by our Lord, upon what is
required of men in His earthly king¬
dom. Distribution of talents is made
"to every man according to his sev¬
eral ability." In I Corinthians 3: 4
we have a treatise on diversities of
gifts. This diversity is not alone in
measure, but in kind also. All men
have not the same calling and voca¬
tion; all men of like calling and vo¬
cation have not the same ability and
responsibility.
Workmen on the same building
differ, as does the material of the
building. But whatever the differ¬
ence, in either material or workmen,
each and all are necessary for a com¬
plete building. One with plummet
22
and square erects the walls; another
carries the materials. That which is
required of both is faithful service.
In the distribution of talents, to one
was given five, to another two, and
to another one. Here again, faith¬
ful service is the thing required. In
the parable referred to, the unfaith¬
ful servant, was he to whom had
been given one talent. He either sup¬
posed that the absent Master would,
at His coming, require the same
amount of gain from him as He de¬
manded of the servant with five tal¬
ents, or he may have been unwilling
to be assigned to a less conspicuous
post of duty than his fellow-servant.
The former supposition is suggested
by his plea for justification. It of¬
ten happens in the course of human
events, that when obstacles are un¬
justly placed in the way of one's
progress, he either becomes discour¬
aged, and ceases to put forth any
effort at all, or else, becomes morose,
and spends his time moralizing upon
23
the injustice of his lot, and accusing
the Divine Master of partiality.
In the message to the Angel of the
Church of Philadelphia the "syna¬
gogue of satan" is spoken of. Those
who "say they are Jews and are not."
The plain inference seems to be, that
obstacles were thrown in the way of
the early Christians at Philadelphia,
by those who held on to Jewish tra¬
ditions to the detriment of Christian¬
ity. They "say they are Jews, and
they are" not, but so lie," says the
apostle. The idea of the writer is,
the only true Jews are those who ac¬
cept Christ as the Messiah. Others
posed as the religious teachers, but
they did not teach the whole truth.
The powerful influence exerted by
those imperfect and false teachers,
proved an obstacle to the growth of
the newly established church, but it
did not succeed in entirely putting
out the light of truth. "Thou hast
a little strength, and hast kept My
word."
24
One of the marvelous things about
the religious life of the American
slave, is, that in- spite of the contra¬
dictions in the life and practice of
the professing master, he did not be¬
come an infidel; but accepted Chris¬
tianity as true, not holding it re¬
sponsible for the irregularities in the
lives of its professors who were his
teachers. The fact that he was thus
held by Christian doctrine, is a strong
evidence of the truth of Christianity.
Never once did the enslaved hang
their harps upon the willow; or say,
"curse God and die.' But rather,
they would sing, "Wait till the morn¬
ing comes, and then we'll sing the
new song." For that morning of de¬
liverance, they prayed, and waited
with patience, until the "Day spring
from on high," ushered in the morn¬
ing of their faith and hope.
The advent of the African into
America was not an unmixed evil.
All uncivilized people have vague
and erroneous ideas concerning re-
25
ligion, and the step from the fetish
to a knowledge of the true God, how¬
ever imperfect that knowledge, is a
tremendous stride forward. Amer¬
ica was settled, not with bands of half
savage adventurers, but by a highly
civilized people, and all the slaves
saw and heard concerning religion,
was of the theistic form. And be¬
sides this, many of those who com¬
posed the earlier settlers, were men
and women of piety and spiritual
vision, and their kind constantly
increased. On account of its ma¬
terial advantage, many consented to
the system of slavery who, at heart,
were opposed to the institution be¬
cause it was out of harmony with
Christian doctrine. Hence, the bonds¬
man, instead of being denied the re¬
ligion of his master, was encouraged
to accept it, and by many, were actu¬
ally taught its true principles.
From the great house, there was
many a David, who would meet the
despised one at Ezel and tell him of
26
the King's business. Thus the found¬
ation of religion was laid in bondage
and came to be the strongest asset
in the gradual development from
heathendom to civilized life. While
there must not be any apology made
for the system of human slavery, it
must be admitted, that in- spite of it,
many advantages came, to the Afri¬
can in America, even in bondage, that
were not possible in his native land;
advantages, spiritual, intellectual and
economical. The school was a severe
one but was nevertheless a school,
and in it was laid in a large measure
that foundation which made possible
the progress of fifty years, which we
have met to consider.
3. Evidences of Religious Prog¬
ress.
All highly civilized people regard
religion as being first in importance
in the scale of progress. The church
precedes the school house and is of¬
ten used for both. Where the excep-
27
tion has been made the rule, the peo¬
ple have retrograded, lapsed into all
forms of sensuality and worldliness,
and finally lost their place and pow¬
er in the world. Indeed, there can
be no hope for a race or nation that
disregards morality and religion
which are inseparable. It was their
religion (the worship of Jehovah)
that kept the ancient people of the
Jews intact during the long years of
Egyptian bondage, and brought them
afterwards to a country and king¬
dom. It was the neglect of their re¬
ligion that carried them again into
captivity. It was irreligion that
caused the civilization and cities upon;
the Euphrates to perish. It was moral
corruption that caused Rome to fall.
There is nothing in the history of
our people, during their fifty years
of freedom, that affords more inter¬
esting study than their religious
progress. The intense emotionalism,
that was so prevalent at the church
service of fifty years ago is rapidly
28
going down to history as a relic of
the past. In the more enlightened
centers, both of the city and the
country, it has entirely disappeared.
It is to be earnestly hoped, however,
that the time will never come when
our worship will degenerate into a
lifeless formality, stripped of the fer¬
vor and earnestness that character¬
ized New Testament times, and that
made Protestantism the force and
power that it has long since become.
Of the two extremes, it were better
to be over zealous than to be without
zeal. But, intelligent, orderly wor¬
ship with that earnestness, that
comes of faith and sincerity, are
some of the signs of religious growth
that may be observed among us.
More to be desired still, is the un¬
mistakable evidences of growth, in
those sterling qualities of Christian
character, which constitute the very
soul of our holy religion. Our prog¬
ress in religion is to be seen:
In the number of communicant and
congregational members,
29
In the number and qualities of
church edifices.
In auxiliary societies for the moral
and religious development of our
young people.
In the number of theological
schools and the funds raised for their
support.
In the volumes written on ethical
and theological subjects.
In the constantly improved condi¬
tion of home life, and in the increas¬
ing number of worthy and qualified
religious leaders.
Our church is still the center of
our activities. It is the gathering
place for the masses, not only for
purely religious service, but it is, in¬
deed, the Ecclesia, where the people
p,-ather to discuss literary, economic
and social questions.
The church was our forum before
there was any other place for public
gatherings open to us, and still it is
the place where the largest numbers
can be brought together upon the
30
shortest notice. The church is, in ape-
culiar sense, our inheritance. The de¬
mon of proscription lurks about near¬
ly every place that is ostensibly set
apart for the public. He has even
intruded his vile presence into many
a sanctuary that has been dedicated
to the service of God, and into asso¬
ciations called Christian that are for
the moral and religious training of
young men and young women. Our
church, therefore, becomes all the
more to us a place of freedom and
fellowship; of privilege and oppor¬
tunity; of inspiration and hope to
all; where neither Greek nor Jew,
circumcision nor uncircumcision, bar¬
barian, Sythian, bond or free is ques¬
tioned as to his right to enter. We
value this heritage more than all the
material advantages that come to us
with the boon of freedom. We would
lead our children to the sacred altar
of our church, and there consecrate
them to the services of Almighty
God, who is no respector of persons
31
but, in every nation, he that feareth
Him and worketh righteousness, is
accepted with Him.
While we would not minimize the
value of all the human agencies and
secular means which were necessary
elements in the struggle for freedom;
while we would not forget the illus¬
trious roll of earth's noblest men and
women who counted no sacrifice dear
while engaged in the struggle for
emancipation, yet we would teach our
children and our children's children
that all agencies which contribute to
the overthrow of evil, are but the
hand of God in human affairs. We
would teach them that they have not
yet entered the Promised Land of
equal privilege and opportunity, and
that to forget God, is to perish in
the wilderness of difficulties. We
of sin is death," and that the fascinat¬
ing and deceptive paths, into which
the world would lead them under the
world would lead them under the
guise of civilization and progress, are
32
but roads to certain destruction.
"And thou Solomon, my son, know
thou the God of thy father and serve
Him with a perfect heart, and with
a willing mind; for the Lord search-
eth all hearts, and understandeth all
the imaginations of the thoughts. If
thou seek Him, He will be found of
thee; but, if thou forsake Him, He
will cast thee off forever." I Chron.
28: 9.
4. Recognition and Reward for
Faithful Service.
We come now to the closing words
of the message to the Philadelphia
church:
"I will make them to come and
worship before thy feet, and to know
that I have loved thee. Because thou
hast kept the word of My patience,
I also will keep thee from the hour of
temptation, which shall come upon
all the world, to try them that dwell
upon the earth. Behold I come
quickly; hold that fast which thou
33
hast, that no man take thy crown."
In the last analysis, right will tri¬
umph. God and nature have decreed,
that the reaping shall be in kind as
the sowing. The time to wait for
the millennium of righteousness may
be a day, or, it may be a thousand
years, which to God, is as a day.
"Thou hast kept the word of My
patience." By her faith under trials,
and patience in tribulation, the
church at Philadelphia made secure
the day of her triumph. Being called
upon to suffer for a time, is not
necessarily an evidence of Divine dis¬
favor. "For it became Him, for
whom are all things, and by whom
are all things, in bringing many sons
unto glory to make the captain of
their salvation perfect through suf¬
fering."
There are many branches or di¬
visions of the church of God; there
are many creeds and formulas to ex¬
press distinctive belief. The wor¬
shippers are of every nation and
34
kindred and tongue, and God is no
respector of persons. In the Divine
economy, large liberty is allowed for
the exercise of conscience. Who art
thou that judgest another man's ser¬
vant? to his own master, he standeth
or faileth. The non-essentials in re¬
ligion, are but the outside dress of
sects and cults.
"Circumcision is nothing, and un-
circumcision is nothing, but the keep¬
ing of the commandments of God."
That which is fundamental, is what
counts, when our religion is put to
the Divine test; and it is for the
maintenance of these fundamentals
that we earnestly plead. Africa was
an asylum for the Infant Christ when
Herod sought to destroy Him; Si¬
mon the Cyrenian helped to bear
His cross when Pilate surrendered
Him to His foes; and who knows but
that the descendants of the backward
Continent may yet become the con¬
servators of true and undefiled re¬
ligion?
35
"I will make them to come and
worship at thy feet," says the text,
' and to know that I have loved
thee."
In our Lord's parable of the unjust
judge and the widow, He first ex¬
horts to constancy in prayer: "Men
ought always to pray, and not to
faint." Then, He closed the dis¬
course with the significant words:
"When the Son of Man cometh, shall
He find faith on the earth?" This
was evidently a reference to His sec¬
ond coming to judge the world. He
saw the decline in faith, and the
seeming triumph of evil. He exhort¬
ed to patience, and fidelity to the
cause of righteousness. He looked
into the ages to come, and saw how
persistently evil would strive to be¬
come enthroned. He saw the wise
as well as the foolish virgins slum¬
bering and sleeping. He saw those
to whom had been entrusted the
keeping of the mysteries of the King¬
dom, proving to be unfaithful stew-
36
ards. He thought of the time of final
assize, when there shall be gathered
together, all nations, and tongues,
and kindreds, and people, and when
He shall separate them one from an¬
other as a shepherd divides the sheep
from the goats. When- separation,
and class, and division, will no long¬
er be based upon the accident of
birth, or social standing, but, the
line will be drawn only between- good
and evil; between those who know
Godr and those who know Him not.
Looking upon this scene, the judge
of all men seems to say: "With
whom shall such faith be found?
Who shall be accounted worthy of a
place at the right hand of God?" Of
the ten lepers that were cleansed,
only one returned to give glory to
God, and he was a stranger. He was
not of the common stock of Israel, to
whom had been- committed the ora¬
cles of God, but, in the plan of uni¬
versal salvation, he had been made
a partaker of the priceless gift, and
37
he showed his gratitude more than
those who had enjoyed superior
privileges. Who shall be found on the
Lord's side at His second coming?
Who shall keep the fire of faith and
love burning on the altar while He
delays His coming? Shall not Ethio¬
pia with faith sublime continue to
stretch forth her hand to God?
Shall not He who brought us safely
through the long night of darkness
still be our God and our guide?
We shall be severely tempted and
tried as we are more and more
brought to mingle with the fascinat¬
ing influence of this rapidly moving
and ever changing age.
St. Paul speaks of the perilous
times when men- shall be lovers of
pleasure more than lovers of God.
Our present age seems about as well
prepared to fulfill that prophecy as
any one that has preceded it. While
there are more agencies at work
than ever before, for moral and re¬
ligious instruction, for the dissem-
3S
ination of knowledge both secular
and religious, there are also more
agencies at work than ever before, to
draw the minds of men from th9
simplicity of the faith that was once
delivered to the saints.
The hidden rocks and treacherous
shoals that threaten the safety of the
goodly craft are not only found in the
more degraded walks of life but
worldliness has insidiously erected
her temples, guilded the walls, and
spread a feast so inviting, that the
very elect may be deceived thereby.
Wisdom cries aloud to us, to be
warned by the wrecks that are scat¬
tered all along the shores of time,
and bids us to be not partakers in
follies that have caused those wrecks.
"Hold that fast which thou hast
that no man take thy crown."
These closing words of the Evan¬
gelist introduce the condition upon
which the promise of recognition and
divine aid can be obtained. Nature
and grace promise their blessings
39
upon conditions. "Thou hast a little
strength; hold that fast which thou
hast." Thou hast believed and kept
My word, hold fast to that faith and
confidence. The prize is yet in front.
Fifty years is but a short probation
in the life of a nation or a race. Fifty
years bring us but to the border of
the Promised Land. The Canaan of
our citizenship is just before us, and
is infested with enemies who deny
our right to enter. The nearer the
approach, the more fierce the opposi¬
tion. Only strong men can enter
and take possession. Physical, and
moral, and financial strength are all
required for so great a task. We
cannot halt at the very entrance and
tarry at the banqueting hall to eat
the new corn of the land, and to
drink its florid cup, and dance to its
fascinating music, or to clandestine¬
ly take a goodly garment, or a wedge
of gold.
Onward to Shechem, must be our
watchword, with holiness unto the
Lord, described upon its banners.
40
Onward to Mount Gerizim for re-
consecration and worship.
Onward, with dauntless step along
the road of industry and economy
that a solid foothold may he gained.
Onward to the fields, and break
the fallow ground and sow bounti¬
fully and reap the harvest.
Onward to the realm of art, and
science, and mechanism, and vie with
the masters of handicraft.
Onward to the halls of higher
learning, and drink deep of the
Pierian spring.
Onward to the highest altitudes of
all that is good in goodness and great
in greatness; to all that is noblest in
holy ambition, and possible in human
attainment.
Let no man take thy crown.