Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-05-06

YESTERDAY MORNING-THE TEXT.
A SKETCH OF THE MAN-HIS
WORKS-THE SERMON.

l A SKETCH OF THE MAN-HIS
/ WORKS-THE SERMON.
| Yesterday morning the Rev. Jacob
Brittingham, the rector of the st.
Luke's p. e. church, preached an in
| teresting sermon on the subject OF
'Gamaliel." He chose as his text
Acts 5:33-40.
The success of the early Apostolic
church, the miracles wrought by the
Apostles, and the bold words they al
ways spoke in behalf of the Crucifed,
Risen and Assembled Lord did not tend
to pacify the enemies of the church.
The world was bitter against the church
as represented by this little band of
Christians, but God was with His peo-
pie and the institution He had set up
in the world for the elevation and re-
generation of mankind
He had promised to be with His
church to the end of the world and on
this occasion he fulfilled it by sending
| His Angel to open the prison doors, and
by leading to liberty those who suffered
wrong and raising upright out of the
ranks of the enemy a man to counsel
moderation, when it seemed that the
Sanhedrien were on the point to vote
for the death of the Apostles, because
they were bold enough to tell them that
they had slain Jesus" but that the
God of their Fathers had raised Him
from the dead. and exalted Him to
DE Prince and Savior, for to give re-
pentance to Israel, and forgiveness of
sins; and that the Apostles were wit
nesses of these things and so also was
the Holy Ghost, whom God hath given
to them that Obey Him
AS faithful witnesses, they could not
hold back what they knew, and be-
sides all this they declared they ought
to obey God, rather than men," IN
other words these men represented the
| truth as the church does to this vegy
authority higher than that of man or of
| any set of men.
Rage and indignation, envy and NAL
| ice might result in their death, but not
| in the death of the truth, which they
| were commissioned to announce to tie
world. Truth is mighty and will pre-
vail. 1t may for time be hindered by
violent opposition of enemies, or indif-
ference of friends. but it is bound to
win in the end.
Now there was just one man among
! this enraged court who saw the posi-
| ton the Apostles took, and that man
/ was Gamaliel, whose head was cool
/ enough to check the enfuriated conn
| Gil, whose heart was large enough to
see some good even among this despised
band of Christians, and who had bold
ness enough to advise moderation and
| influence enough to carry his point
| l. Gamaliel the record tells us was "a
| Pharisee and doctor of the law, and
had in reputation among the people.
| Being Pharisee, he belonged to the
| strongest party of the Jewish church
as doctor of the law he lectured on
the sacred authors and trained pupils
| in the Old Testament. This was the
| Tarsus sat, and under whom tradition
| tells us Stephen and Barnabas studied.
1t is said he was the son of Simeon, in
I whose arms the Infant Savior rested
when He was brought for presentation
| in the Temple. He was the grandson
of the celebrated Hillel, and was pres
| ident of the Sanhedrien under Tiberius,
| Calipula and Claudius. He died, it is
| said, eighteen years before the destruc-
ton of Jerusalem. But whoever CANT
| liel was, and whatever position as
! Pharisee or doctor Of the law he held
the fact that he was had in reputation
among his people shows that he was
a man Of commendable moderation cid
| therefore not apt to go into extreme
measures. Such men are justly heli IN
reputation in any age, for they are the
men who act as checks upon the fur
| ious passions of the multitude. They
act as the governor on the boiler, as a
brake on the train. Without the first
the boiler would be in constant danger
| of explosion, without the second, We
could never feel certain of reaching our
destination on car. And SO without
| our moderate man. men of openminded
calm judgment, society would be in
| constant danger of drifting into con-
] fusion, turmoil and strife. What can
we desire more, we are ready to ask
| than an adviser of caution-a man re-
minding the powerful of the rights OF
the humble, and the prejudiced OF the
| supremacy of the Truth?
Men of this stamp are the conser-
vators of society, because they have the