Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1885-03-16
The APOSTLE PAUL.
A Consideration of His Character
and Letters.
Or. Cunningham breaches the Sixth o. MS
Series Of Sermons on the Great
Evangelist.
The Demand for Dwelling Houses, and IN
crea.e in Rents---The Art ENhi6i-
Eon---Prsctical Civil Service
Reform---The City Debt.
General Local Gath
eringS.

cred the sixth Of his series OF ermon on
The Apostle Paul, combining his remarks to
Paurs letters and q consideration OF hts
character. His text was ii. ThessalonIans,
nj IT. The salu;atiou of Paul with mine
own hand, which is the token IN every epis
tie; so l write. 90.
The thirteen epistles of Paul, said the
sneaker torn y most important part OF
the B,5le. They also reveal to US the heart
and character OF the great apostle OF the
Geutilcs. No other letters have mate such
a urolouRd impression in the world no 9th
.rs yill be read 5y such millions OF the hu-
man family. The old and the young, the
rich and the poor, the joyful and the 5oT'
r1w,ul. have found in them what could not
be found in any other writings. 1t Is a
marvel how the Apostle accomplished so
much literary work. Is ne hurried
from province to province, from
continent TO continent. over land and sea,
sreac ing the gospel and establishing
CHURCHES, he wa at the same time Proloc-
irg writings which have ever since been
among the mightes: intellectual forces OF
the world and are still growing II their Ia.
Fuepce. la this respect he rises ABOVE all
other ~evangelists and missionaries. Some
Of them may have approached him IN Ger
rain respeCts-Nayier or Livingstone IN the
world. ~conQueriug Instincts. Bernard or
WhitefelI IN earnestaess or activity. But
few OF these men added g single new idea
10 the worlds stock Of beliefs, whereas
Paul. while IL least eqIalng them in their
own special line. gave 10 mainland q new
world Of thought. II bis ePistle5 could
perish. the loss to literature would De the
greatest possible with one eXcepton-,hat
49, the gospel which records the life, the say
ms and the death OF our Lord.
They have quickcred the mind OF the
church as 10 Othe, writings have done, and
scattered in the sol. OF the world hundreds
Of, seeds whose !yujt is now the general pos
session of mankind. Out Of these have been
b ou.hl the watchworls Of progress in every
information which the church has expert
epced. When Luther Gwoke Europe trJm
the Sluu.bers Of centuries, 1t was a word o.
Paul which he uttered with his miSht!
voice. and when, one hundred wears ago
Scotland vas revived from almost urlyerSa.
spiritual dearh. she was called by the yo.ccs
q. E.tl NQO l-A afaas-aONNA-HA NtA# 81 ~.
themselves in the pages OF Paul.
Speaking OF the characteristics OF thos'
letters, he said that in TcnnIng MS ep,s'.e:
Paul may himself have had little idea o
the par, they were to play in ths t,tire
He vas moved by the Holy Spirit 10 write
them. as the eXi-euCies Of his WORK re
grirei I'm the ,ruest sense OF the word
thew we're letters, written to meet particular
occasions. Letters Of the right kind are,
before snythirg else, products OF the heart
and II was the eager heart OF Paul, yesrn
ing for the veal of his spiritual children, or
alarmed by the dangers 10 which they were
EXPOSED. that produced all bis writings, 1t
could not be maintained that PauIs EpIs
ties are models OF style. They were writ
ten far TOO hurriediy for that. Often, III
deed. his ideas, 6y the mere virtue OF their
frmuess and beauty, run into forms OF ex-
guisite language, or there is IN them such a
sustained ,hrob of emotion that they shape
themselves spontaneously into sentences
OF noble eloqUeEce. But ot;euer
his LANGUAGE was rugged aud form
less. lie throws on, his ideas IN humps, IN.
stead otf4siug them into mutual conference
Nowhere, perhaps, vii! there De found so
exact q parallel to the StyGs Of Paul as IL
the letters and speeches OF Oliver Cromwell
Ia the Protectors brain there lay the best
and trues, thoughts about England anu the
cou. plicated affairs which existed al the
time in those Islands; but when he tried 10
express them in speech or letter there issued
from his mind the most extraordinary mix
ture OF ordinations, questions, and argu-
meuts soou losing themselves in the sands
OF words. unwieldy parenthaseS and morsels
90 beautiful pathos or su5duiug eloquence.
\ ct. as you read these amazing u~tterances,
,ou come by degrees TO feel that you are
getting to see the very heart and soul OF tho
Puritan era, and that you would rather be
alongside this man than any other repre-
sentative of the period. You see the events
and ideas Of the time, in the very process o.
Ton nation. Paul, in his meetings, is hurting
orth he original one OF truth. We owe to
n IN ELrduds of ideas which were never
rt,er,d before. After the original man has
cot bis IDEAS out, the most commonplace
-crite may be able to express 1t for Others
Better than h., though he could never have
originated il. So, throughout the writing
o. Paul there ere materials which other:
may combine into systems OF theology and
-,h.,s, ard it is the duty If the church tc
10 50
Paurs character, said the speaker, pre-
scented q wonderful combination Of tbs
natural and The spiritual From nature hc
mad received u strongly marked individu
atty. but the change which Christianlt!
Produced was no less obvious on him. il
no saved mans character is it possible t,
.elara'e nicely what IS due to nature anc
Mat TO grace; for nature and grace blenC
s~veetly in the redeemed life. In lSul, tn,
rujou Of the tvo was Siugularly complete
set il was always clear that there were TIVE
elements in him of divine origin; and thi
is. indeed. the KEY 10 q successful estimation
OF bis character.
After portraying Paurs physical aspect
character ing him as small Of statute snl
the reverse of robust. Rev. Cunningham
went on 10 talk Of his great spirit Of enter
Prise. passing from that to a consideration
OF the apostles influence over the minds o
men. He could adopt himself he said
20 every man and every audience. IL
might be addressing a king or q CouuCl
the one hour, and a roomtul of slaves o
Common soldiers the next. One day he ha,
to speak in the synagogue Of the Jews
smother to a crowd of Atheniau philoso
piers. another 10 the inhabitants OF som,
provincial, town tar from the seats of cul
ture. aud 10 the Jews he spoke As q RABBI
out OF the Old Testament scripture; to tn
Greeks ne quoted the words OF their owl
poets: aud to the barbayianS be talked 0
the God who giyeth rain from heaven an,
fruitful seasons. filling our mouths with foo,
and our hearts with gladness.'
He spoke Of he apostles great popu
lariry-of the numbers Of Young men VIII.
we're alwas about him-his unseihshnes:
his tenderness, his sense of having n Divin
mission to preach Christ, and his persona
devotion to the Savior. and closed by eS
korting his hearers to think Of what an in
fueuce they WELD for Christ BY writing goo,
letters. They might no; be inspired oy III
Holy Ghost as Paul was. vet thev might b
ETn ! II II -. 4 rL-s l.. -.