What can be more feeble than the Church of God? She has no carnal weapons. “My kingdom is not of this world, else would my servants fight.” The Church has no great riches; the most of her followers are poor. She has no wisdom; they who use logic and cunning can soon overthrow her disciples and ridicule her advocates; she understandeth not the wisdom of human speech, or, rather, she forsweareth it, and speaks with simplicity, as she ought to speak. Philosophers laugh at her; kings hardly take her into account; they think the Church so insignificant that they can put out her candle when they will. But, ah! not so; the Church is still secure, despite her feebleness.
It is wonderful how during these last nineteen centuries God has been pleased to keep that spark alive. All the devils in hell have been spitting at this candle, but it burns still: they have sought to throw the whole of the floods of evil upon the heaven-kindled spark, but the spark has lived still; they have tried to stamp it out but it has blazed the more. The Church’s feebleness, because it drives her to God, is the Church’s strength. I pray God that our Church may never confide in wisdom, or wit, or eloquence, or riches, or rank, or fame. No, Lord; thou art the unbuttressed pillar of thy Church’s sure support, and if we rest on thee we are secure; but if once we depend elsewhere, we fall to our confusion.
From a sermon entitled "Broad Rivers And Streams," delivered January 18, 1863.
Photo by Josef F. Stuefer; some rights reserved.
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