Wheeling register. [volume] (Wheeling, W. Va.) 1878-1935, 1901-02-04

terrain church, preached his first ser
mon as pastor of that church
yesterday. His pulpit was ~tastefully
embellished with flowers, and a judi
cious arrangement Of potted plants
gave an artistic effect to the decora-
lions. A large congregation attended
the service, and Mr.. Robinson was
listened to very attentively, making
an excellent impression upon all who
heard him. Following is the full text
of his sermon:
The pertinency to this occasion of the
words which l have chosen as my text
this morning is, l think, easily appar-
ent. They are, in form, Peters in
CURRY upon arrival in Caesarea In the
house of Cornelius asto the purpose for
which they have summoned him. The
story of which these words are a part
is familiar to you. / need only recapit-
ulate the facts. Peter had just received
and accepted a cali to a new field and
a new work. The call had found him
busy preaching the gospel in the Jew
ish seaport town of Joppa. 1t was evil
IDENTIFY not more a call of man than of
God. There was in it a human voice
there was also a heavenly vision.
Yielding himself to this double imDer-
alive, he had Immediately %relinquish-
ed the work in Joppa and betaken him
self wither the call lbade him to the
great Gentle city of Caesarea and to
the church in the house of Cornelius.
All of which meant immensely more
than Peter knew. 1t marked the be-
ginning of a new and epochal chapter
in the history of the church. 1t meant
the breaking of the shell of national
form and tradition, and prejudice in
which the church had been
born and the awakening of it
to new and broader life. In
q word, it was the Inauguration Of that
era of worldwide missions which is
still ON and which in these latter days
has witnessed the planting of the ban
ner Of the cross upon every shore and
the carrying Of the gospel to every
nation. All of which, as | have init
mated, was not revealed to Peter in
the hour of his call. To him the call
of God was simply a summons to new
duty, to larger opportunity, to might
Ter responsibility. What these were,
he knew not, and therefore, standing
at length upon the scene of his new
work and in the presence of those who
had summoned him, he says, Il ask
therefore for what intent We have sent
for me-" i stand this morning for the
first time in this pulpit as the minis
ter of this congregation. A few weeks
ago your call assuringly hearty and
unanimous was presented to me. Its
Observation-Disclosures meup, standing in
indecision. On the one side was the
little church whose birth l had wit
messed, whose infancy | had nOurished
and whose developing powers | was at
tempting to direct, and on the other
this congregation and its call upon me.
Soon tear wet faces began to
plead-the argument of love and af-
lection pressed me hard-the personal
appeal seemed in the nature Of the call
all on one side. In almost bewilder-
mont l lifted up my eyes, but there
was no vision; 4 listened, but there was
no angel voice. At length in the prov
idence of God and in what seems to me
q rather marvellous way. duty was
made plain. Gods voice was heard
upon the lips of tried counsellors. and
it said, This is the way, walk you in
it," In obedieuce to that command I
am here this morning willingly, heart
lily. gladly. | do not know what my
coming to you means. l realize in a
general way that it means for me new
duty, larger opportunity. mightier re-
spOnsibility and for us are just what
We together make it mean under the
blessing of God; but for the present the
precise issues are hidden. In ignorance
at this point l am content to stand
among you with a full heart and in the
simple faith that God will take care of
the issues. | come to you with al
overwhelmingly sense of personal in
adequacy to the task assigned to me.
l bring to you, however, the very
best l have. l want to work and work
hard. l am ambitious to make this
church more and more worthy of the
splendid prestige which she has earned
by long years of service and which she
NOW so richly enjoys. To this end and
to all the ends of the grace of God
among you, l am now your minister.
What is my work? In the words of
Peter to the Gentle church in the
house of Cornelius. Il ask you, there
fore, for what intent We have sent
for me-" To answer this question as
! think you want to have it answer
ed and as l think it ought to be ans
wered, is my single and simple pur-
pose for you this morning. And in the
first place, l take 1t. you have sent
for me to preach to you the unSearch-
able riches Of Christ. This is the
ranking obligation of the minister Of
God-to preach the gospel. To this
all other things are subordinate. In the
New Testament statement of it the
public preaching of the word may have
many adjuncts. but no substitute. The
gerat commission reads, 60 preach"
The New Testament is a message to
stand to that-to deliver the message
to preach-to unfold, and enforce by
all the strenuous powers of heart and
head, the truth of God. This is the
first business OF the Christian minister.
The minister is first and chiefly a
preacher, and it is worthy of recall that
upon preaching God has staked the
tTiumphal progress Of His kingdom.
This is the lesson of church history.
1t is by the foolishness of preaching"
that the church has pushed her con-
quests and recorded her triumphs in
the past. 1t is here that we locate the
point of the church's most effective