Perform the marriage ceremony of Isaac Brady and Leanna Hulvey, at John Hulvey’s.
SATURDAY, March 3. Night meeting at John Mongold’s on Lost River. I speak from Luke 10:42. TEXT.—“But one thing is needful.”
Various interpretations have been given of this text. Having given it a good deal of thought myself, from the belief that a right understanding of the passage is all-important, I will endeavor to make clear to your minds what appears to me the Lord’s meaning. All of you take time to-morrow to read the tenth chapter of Luke, and you may see many things I will not take time to notice to-night.
“But one thing is needful.” If one were to come to each of you privately to-night, and say to you: “I have plenty of this world’s goods to give away, tell me what you need, and I will supply you,” and remove all doubt from your mind of his meaning to do what he said, we might be surprised at the varied answers and statements that he would receive. Possibly—but I sincerely hope there are none such here to-night—some might say tobacco, or snuff, or whisky. There are, however, many things really needed for the support of life in this world, and it is a part of wisdom to know our real needs, and how best to supply them. Our Lord, on one occasion, referred to the two most general needs of people,—food and clothing,—in which he instructed them not to be forgetful of God in all their efforts to obtain these, for, said he, “Your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things.”
Our Lord does not limit our bodily wants to one thing; so it cannot be any worldly good he has in view. It must then be a need above, and of vastly more importance than any worldly consideration. On one occasion our Lord uttered a self-evident truth in these words: “He that walketh in darkness knoweth not whither he goeth.” By darkness in this place ignorance of divine and spiritual things is meant. Again: “The people which sat in darkness saw great light; and to them which sat in the region and shadow of death, light is sprung up.” In this passage darkness means ignorance and light means knowledge from teaching. Sitting in the region and shadow of death is a figure so strong in its import that we hardly know how to show forth its full significance. Sitting implies an easy state of mind and feeling. The region of death signifies the place where the