Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-03-04


Yesterday morning the Rev. S.. B. Bar
nitz. D. D., of Des Moines, Ia, a former
| pastor of the First English Lutheran
church of this city, preached In interest
ing sermon in that church. The Rev. Mr..
Barnitz is now the western secretary of
| the Board of Home Missions of the Cen
| eral Synod.
He chose for his text the twelfth verso
| of Second Samuel, tenth chapter: BE of
good courage, and let us play the men
for our people, and for the cities of our
God.'
The Rev. Barnitz began his discourse by
saying: "a great battle was to be
fought. David had sent greeting to a
neighboring king to do a indness in re-
turn for a indness that had been done
his ancestors. The kindness had not been
received by the neighboring king, as he
had been ill-advised. The messengers that
David had sent were ilI-treated and sent
back. These actions brought on a war.
The generals on the Lords side were
very sensible, more so than some of those
of the present day. There was no
| jealousy, but in its stead was harmony
of action. and they were victorious.
There is a battle now on in Wheeling,
all over the country. If the enemies of
God succeed in this war our country goes
to destruction. This battle is between
righteousness and unrighteousness. We
must all take a part, as it concerns us
much how the battle shall end"
The Rev. Barnitz then went on to say
that wherever the word of God is not
preached there is Generalization. Those
who are opposed to the work of God
would not live where the gospel is not
preached, as the person or his property
would not be safe without the restraining
influence OF the church. What a struggle
between right and wrong is constantly
going on.
When the Master founded the church
He did no foolish thing, as He is all wise.
There are many of our people who
have no place to go to hear the gospel.
They have no opportunities to be taught.
Yet, here in our city it is difficult to get
people to walk two squares to come to
church and Sunday school. There is one
girl who came two hundred miles across
Arizona to be taught in the Christian
church. See the boy on the mustang; he
has come twenty-five miles every Friday
to be instructed in the church. Is this
not encouraging?'
He then went on to show the rapid
growth of the church.. comparing the
present and twenty years ago.
I'm the beginning of this century there
was ne such thing as what we now call
the west. The centre of population was
at a point near Baltimore City. Now we
| haua oyar ona-tbirJ IF o,,r ,opuIot;op il,
the west, and the center is beyond the
city of Indianapolis, in Indiana. In ten
years the population of the middle west
increased nearly 80 per cent, and of the
new west, over 20 per cent. with immense
increase also in manufacturing and every
material interest. 1t is not, however,
great population or great material wealth,
or art, or science, or armies, or navies,
that make a nation truly great, but
righteousness exalteth a nation" and the
nation or kingdom that will not fear God
shall perish, says the Holy Book. There
fore the truest patriot is the righteous cit
izen, and the only divinely ordained in
stitution for redeeming men and. women
and making Of them Christian citizens, is
the church of Jesus Christ"
DR.. Barnitz referred to the great field
of the Evangelical Lutheran church be-
cause of the large immigration from the
southern lands of Germany and Scandin-
avia. and their rapidly anglicizing chill
! dren-now numbering between four and
five millions between the ages of thirteen
and twenty-three. The responsibility for
giving of the Gospel to these and holding
them to the faith of their fathers is be-
yond the power of tongue or pen to i'm
press. The speaker then gave a number
of touching incidents of reaching 'our
people in the far west in sod house or dug
out, city and prairie homes" These ex-
periences brought both laughter and tears,
and at times there were few dry eyes. DR..
Barnitz then spoke of the cities, having
now SO per cent. of the population, with
great temptations, traps and snares which
only renovation by the Gospel can over
come. He emphasized the encourage
ments, among them the fact that the
Lutheran church has grown in the United
States from 10 pastors and $500 commu-
nicants in 1870, to 6,S14 pastors and Liza
IT'S communicates in 1900.
The speaker urged earnest prayer, SYM
pathy and larger gifts of money for home
mission work, in order to give the Gospel
TO many places in the United States
where as yet they do not hear it. The
congregation was a large and appreciative
one, and scores gathered about the speaker
to take his hand and express gladness for
the visit to Wheeling.
In the afternoon the western secretary
spoke at the Sunday school of the First
English church. on Sixteenth street, and
in the Second, on Thirty-sixth street, also
occupying the pulpit of the Second church
at night and preaching to a congregation
that crowded the hall on the theme, THE
Call of the Master.
DR.. Barnitz will spend part of to-day
with his venerable father-in-law, David
Park. Esq, at Martins Ferry, and will
return to the west tomorrow.
Do Y0u Suffer
from any chronic disease and have lost
oil h@~4 -.