Monday, May 16. Come to the meetinghouse. Committees are appointed. Go to Jacob Saylor's and take in questions. In the meantime preaching is going on at the meetinghouse as yesterday. We stay all night at Brother Deahl's.
Thursday, May 17. Business progresses slowly.
Wednesday, May 18. At about four o'clock it is announced that all the business before the meeting has been disposed of, and the meeting breaks up, with many farewell salutations and much tender feeling. We stay all night with John Waltman, married to Martin Deahl's daughter.
Monday, May 23. Love feast at our meetinghouse. A great concourse of people, but good order. The brethren John Bowman and Daniel Crouse are here. They speak to good acceptance.
Tuesday, May 24. Go to the Tristle meetinghouse. Christian Funk is buried. Age, eighty years, three months and nineteen days. He was a very consistent member of the Mennonite persuasion, and suddenly died in the meetinghouse, on Sunday before, in the very act of singing a devotional hymn with the congregation. Let us hope that as the song died on his lips here his soul caught its echo in heaven.
Sunday, June 19. Go to Philip Ritchey's schoolhouse in the Gap. Speak from Jer. 7:23. Text.—"But this thing commanded I them, saying, Obey my voice, and I will be your God, and ye shall be my people."
I said in substance: Man is to-day what he has ever been. "The carnal mind is enmity against God" now, quite as deep-seated in man's heart as when he led his unholy and rebellious people out of Egypt. Man's will now, as then, is contrary to God's will. But God wants to change man's will so as to incline it to good instead of evil. God is infinitely blessed and happy, because he is infinitely just and good. Man is unblessed and unhappy, because he is unholy and evil. One of the clearest proofs of man's degeneracy is found in his willingness to remain in his sinful and unhappy state. Like the man among the tombs, he is ready to cry out, in thought if not otherwise, "Let us alone! what have we to do with thee? Art thou come to torment us before the time?"
The two great lessons given in the text, are obedience and reward. I will tell you about obedience first. To make this very plain you must first be told that obedience consists in doing what one is commanded to do. Two things, however, are necessary to make obedience a duty. First, the command must come from a right source; it must be based upon the right authority. Second, it must be given in a way that can be understood. The command must be plain. These two things being established, it is the duty of every one to hear and obey what he is commanded to do. Disobeying good commands is as sure to bring suffering and loss as violating the laws of health is sure to bring disease into our bodies. Let us notice some of the commands which, in the course of our lives, it may be our duty to obey. There is no difference between a law and a command. Every law is a command in substance, and every command is a law. There are very deep things involved here, but I will not now enter upon them. Every command is but the expression of the will of the commander; and the will of the commander in every case, when expressed, and compliance with it is demanded, is a law.
Authority has many grades. There is parental authority, teachers' authority, magisterial authority, legislative authority. All these grades of authority are necessary for our well-being. But no benefit can be derived from authority of any kind without obedience to that authority. The best law can do no good unless it be obeyed. Parental laws, no matter how wise and good they are in themselves, are of no account unless the children obey their parents. It is the same with all laws.
Possibly it may not be clear to the understanding of some how obedience to God's laws makes man happy. Let us then consider this matter of obedience on a lower grade. Parents love their children. Parents have much of life's experiences. They are capable of knowing better than their children can what is best for the children. Now if children will heed what their parents say to them in the way of good counsel, instruction, and government, love, peace and harmony will prevail in the household. Joy will be a constant guest. Happiness will crown the board. Habits of good will be formed in the young which will not forsake them when they are old. In youth the foundation is thus laid for honorable success in later years. Reverse this picture: instead of happiness, discontent; instead of joy, distress; instead of peace, contentions and broils; instead of respectability, disgrace; instead of honor, shame. What an amazing difference between the rewards of obedience and the effects of disobedience! The good results of obedience to good laws are boundless in extent and endless in duration.