The Penn's Grove record., 1903-07-24
A SERMON FOR SUNDAY
AN ELOQUENT DISCOURSE ENTITLED
COPS TRAINING OF A WORKER"

The Rev. DR.. o. F. Bartholow shows the
Evil Results That Follow the Atrophy
Which Has Settled Over the Spiritual
Thinking of Our Time.
New York CITY.-Dr. O. F. Bartho!ow,
pastor of James M. f. Church. preached
Sunday morning on Gods Training of a
Worker" His text was taken from Exo-
dus, w.: /, 2, 3 and 4: and Moses an
not believe me: nor hearken unto my
voice; for they will say, The Lord hath
not appeared unto thee. And the Lord
said unto him, What is that in thine hand:
And he said. A rod. And the Lord said.
Cast it on the ground. And he cast it
on the ground and it became a serpent; and
Moses fled from beforeit, And the Lord said
it by the tail. And he put forth his hand
and caught it and it became a rod in his
hand" DIR. Bartholow SAID:
Our text presents Moses in what many
have considered an unfavorable light.
Standing in the presence of the great God,
the recipient of a glorious revelation ard a
divine command with promise, he appears
hesitating, uncertain and weak. A study
Of the occasion and ground of Moses re-
luctance dissipates the u~nfavorabie light
and presents to US a study in human life
under divine direction altogether true and
common. The call Of God to Moses was
certain, clear and we'll attested. 1t came
to a man refined and schooled by abundant
experiences, to one who was more than
familiar with human nature in its relation
to spiritual truth.
The shepherd of INDIAN knew how dull.
apathetic and incredulous toward jehovah
and His truth the children of Israel had
become in their base servitude to the
Egyptian Pharaoh. Foreseeing the. cruel
skepticism and the all but universal leth-
argy of his people, Moses was for the mo-
ment blind to Gods knowledge and power.
Under the spell of fear he uttered the
me, nor hearken unto my voice; for they
will say, the Lord hath not appeared unto
thee"
To Christian faith this may appear weak,
but it certainly is not unnatural. History
affords us abundant illustrations of re-
formers, heroes and preachers hesitating
and trembling, not because. they doubted
God, but because they feared the reception
Gods truth would receive at the hands of
His reputed friends. Jerome. Huss. l.uth.
er, Wesley, Savonarola, etc., had but little
to fear from the world, but much to fear
from the church, and at times they trem-
bled and were hesitant at the commands
Of God. Ut takes grace to be wounded ip
the house of your friends).
Gods response to this tendency or i'm
pulse of Moses nature is full Of interest
ment to Christian daring and zeal. "And
the Lord said unto him, What is that in
thine hand? And he said, A rod. And Ie
said, Cast it on the ground. And he cast
it on the ground, and it became a serpent,
and Moses fed from before it. And the
Lord said unto Moses, Put forth thine
hand and take, it by the tail. And Se put
forth his hand and caught it and it be.
came a rod in his hand" Now, it is of no
wrought, or whether magieians could sim.
ulate it or not. What we do desire to
know Is. What answer or revelation to the
great hesitancy of Moses did jehovah
give in this peculiar work Of power!
To our mind three truths constitute thai
answer-the first of which is this: All the
helps, gifts and attainments of the soul
disregarded and neglected, tend to become
perieneed man. The shepherds staff sym.
bolized him perfectly. As it was an instru'
Inent OF defense and. rescue, SO nigh:
Moses, by. what he had done and what he
could do. be an instrument in the hand oil
rGU2tg defend and rescue his people. God
elected him to a mighty and glorious serv
ice. He gave him q complete and adequate
preparation, a. clear mind, an indomitablt
\ VII y optItttiut dUu AUttf ,udLuIe.
Would Moses accept the election? The
significance of o possible refusal was seer
in the meaning miracle. The discarded
staff became a serpent. It is the common
teaching Of the day that powers and gift.
unused become atrophied. that men may
die to spiritual things through simple neg
lect. This is correct teaching SO far as IL
goes, but it does not compass the whole o
the matter. Spiritual calls. gifts and pow
ers cannot wholly die. They may be dis
claimed or cast aside, as was Moses rod
but they return with inherent life to stins
and bite. As an example, the direction
and commands of conscience may be cas-
aside, the impulses Of love and faith ma,
be ignored, the direct calls of the Hol,
Spirit be unheeded and yet the soul hav'
more conscious relation with these spiritua
entities than ever before.
John Newton, the hymn writer, tells II
that there was a time in his life when h,
deliberately insulted and drove from hi
mind every holy thing of which he has
knowledge, yet at times the moral judp
ment and the hearts love for eterna
things would 80 torment him that life wa
full. Of misery. Those elements in his lii
designed for peace and joy be- me tn
sources Of unrest and unhappiness. Re
spiritual powers crying night and day, i
silence and in great connections, "Alas
alasl It might have been"
The doctrine Of annihiIation and atroph,
has so settled over the spiritual thinkin
Of our time that the consequence of disc
bedience to the equipments and purpose
OF. life and to the voice of God are in Ger
tain quarters reduced to mere n~othings. ]
is high time that the truth illustrated t
Moses. become our truth. that we realiz
that there is no such thing as spiritual an
inhalation, even to the gifts and powers 0
God, but that there is transferencs, trans
fo~rmation-the going lin a spiritual sense
from Mount Gerizion lblessing) to Noun
Ebal (cursing).
Disobedience to God and His law is no
mere negation and the withdrawal of cei
tain gifts, but it is ia a. certain and awfu
sense an affirmation and a possession-th
serpent Of menace rather than the supper
OF life. Gods rain upon the thirsty cart
is in itself good-that it be so for man do
ponds altogether how and for what pun
poses he uses it. He may use it for tn
growing Of feod products or for the produs
ton Of weeds. That the rain was mad
for mans blessing is evident. That ma
may disregard and SO convert the gift int
the earth so are the gifts, helps and call
Of God to man. For these things God sha
bring us unto judgment, the judgment bs
gins with the obedience or disobedience.
In our beloved Methodist church "
have a host of God placers at work: Pee
pie who do not expect to meet God ia ne'
forms or expressions, who, like Moses b.
fore his enlightenment, know or net 9
though they knew just how He woul
manifest Himself. That Christian 10
and expectancy die in such lives is natural
the glory Of God is to conceal a thing, br
these people will not nave it so. They al
perfectly sure God is in some particuls
form OF class meeting, revival service {
Christian experience.
Another people of God thought til
thought SO intensely and held it so ten
ciousiy. that they missed the glory Of Il
Messiah when He came to walk the fiels
and streets of earth. He had mo form
comeliness that they desired or expecte,
He came to His own and they receive
Hun potslRnt in His coming they Ia
kingly and exa5eed forms which they wei
certain He would posses; they were sal
Of the order of His coming. The rod OF
Of the stem of Jesse they cast forth; the
would have none of Him. Oh, the bling
ness and duilness of the human heart. l
that rod were the power, the know!ede
and the love Of God; with it alone lsra'
could have overcome all oppression an
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