Phineas F. Bresee - A Prince In Israel - Media Sabda Org

"We concluded to tarry at Seattle, and take a partial day of rest, as we had been preaching from
once to three times a day since coming to the Northwest."
Dr. Bresee gives the following vivid description of a service which he attended Sunday morning,
at Seattle:
A Disappointing Service
"Sabbatic rest includes the attendance upon public worship, if possible. So, as there was no
Church of the Nazarene in Seattle, we determined to go to the First Methodist Episcopal church,
where we understood that a noted doctor of divinity was the pastor. We found a church of fair size,
well filled with people; I should judge from five to six hundred. There was a gossamer vail of
ceremonies--readings, anthem, prayer, ritual, etc., according to the printed program, until we came
to the place for the sermon, when the Reverend Doctor arose and quoted: 'Inasmuch as ye have done
it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye have done it unto me.' We said that you get the good will
of a mother by noticing her child, and that was the principle involved here, we pleased the Lord the
same way. He revamped the little story of the shoemaker to whom the Lord was to come, but came
in the person of some needy ones. He said that next Sabbath they would pile flour and potatoes and
clothes for the poor on the altars--he hoped higher than the pulpit. He took the offering, had a little
duet, and closed. There was no sermon, no message, no gospel: a real fiasco. We had come because
it was a church, a Methodist church, hoping at least for a little bread, and did not get even a stone.
We got nothing. To say that we were disappointed would express it mildly. Indeed, we left the
church after this poor little performance, praying earnestly to be kept from utter disgust. An
intelligent gentleman, a member of this church, told me afterward that he thought the people liked
that kind of a thing. We were reminded again of Mr. Lincoln's saying, that 'If you like that kind of
a thing, that is the kind of a thing you like.' This gentleman also said that 'This minister, in his public
performances, is a Socialistic Unitarian, though probably, if asked, he would maintain his belief in
the atonement.' There was nothing in this few minutes' of talk, but what a heathen might accept and
still be a heathen.
"How thankful we were for the privilege of a church where the dispensational blessing of the
baptism with the Holy Ghost is clearly proclaimed, and where hearts burn with holy fervor and
triumph; where men and women are led to Calvary, and into the cleansing fountain; and where the
shouts of the redeemed fill the place. A pile of potatoes and flour is well enough, but we question
whether the advertisement of it should take the place of the gospel message on Sabbath morning, or
whether its place is the altar of God, or, being there, it is a token of the near approach of the
Pentecost. Let the poor be fed and clothed, let us pour out of our substance for this purpose; but let
us keep heaven open, that they may receive the unspeakable gift of His love, in the transforming
power of the Holy Ghost.
"In the afternoon a few friends gathered at the residence of Brother Brown, desiring that we tell
them a little of the work of the Church of the Nazarene. All joined in thanksgiving for the way God
has led in this precious work. The beginning of the organization of a class has been made, several
names having been given by those desiring to enter upon the work. It is the expectation that a place
will be secured--probably built--at once, and a suitable leader secured for this great city, and this