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W.J. Erdman
William Jacob Erdman (February 21, 1834 – January 27, 1923) was an American preacher, Presbyterian minister, and author whose leadership in the premillennialist and holiness movements of the late 19th century bridged evangelical fervor with scholarly exposition. Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to John Erdman and Sarah Wunderly, he grew up in a German Reformed family before moving with his parents to western New York at age 11. Converted at 16 during an 1850 revival meeting in Rochester, New York, he graduated from Hamilton College in 1856 with a B.A., then studied at Union Theological Seminary in New York City (1856–1858), where he was ordained in 1860 by the Presbytery of Buffalo. Marrying Henrietta Rosenbury in 1860, he had six children, including Charles Rosenbury Erdman, a future Princeton theologian. Erdman’s preaching career began at Jefferson Presbyterian Church in Jefferson, New York (1860–1864), followed by pastorates in Jamestown, New York (1864–1870), and Dwight L. Moody’s Chicago Avenue Church in Chicago (1870–1874). Known for his clear, earnest sermons, he became a key figure in the Niagara Bible Conference (1876–1897), advocating premillennialism—the belief in Christ’s imminent return before a literal thousand-year reign. From 1875 to 1880, he served as superintendent of the New York Presbytery’s Home Mission, planting churches across the state, then pastored Second Presbyterian Church in Germantown, Pennsylvania (1880–1890), growing its congregation significantly. After retiring from regular ministry in 1890, he devoted himself to writing and itinerant preaching, speaking at holiness conventions like Keswick until 1900.
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In this sermon by the Preacher, he reflects on the futility of human life and the inevitability of death, noting that neither foresight nor wickedness can save anyone from the grave. He contemplates the perplexing contradiction between the fate of the righteous and the wicked, expressing his confusion and despair at the unfairness of life's outcomes. Ultimately, he concludes that the best one can do in the face of life's uncertainties is to find joy in the simple pleasures granted by God, such as eating, drinking, and being merry.
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The Prudence and the Conclusion. 8:1-15
But "the Preacher," cheering himself up again, and making his face shine with "sweetness and light," and interjecting further praises of prudence and seasonable conduct touching " the powers that be," however oppressive their rule, speaks sympathetically of the misery of men because of the lack of foresight, yet confesses also that neither foresight nor prudence of common men, nor wickedness of mighty kings can deliver high or low from the hand of the grave. He notes also the utter vanity of the evil life of a wicked ruler who, too, must not only die, but also will soon be forgotten when dead. " Out of sight out of mind; " a vanity indeed! From this the wise man, as if he must solve the problem, turns to consider again the contradictory treatment of righteous and wicked, the deepest, most perplexing problem, so tantalizing in its ever-vanishing solution. His " golden mean " will, somehow, not fit in or ex plain at all. He thinks human life should not be so full of these appalling contradictions and frightful extremes. He affirms and recants, and is soon involved in hopeless perplexity. He had once said, " Be not overmuch righteous," and now he says, "I know it shall be well" (on earth he means) "with them that fear God." In brief, in this world of the righteous and the wicked, he sees the righteous fares ill and dies early, the sinner fares well and lives long; and then, thinking if one fear God it will be just the other way, and finding out to-morrow it is, after all, not the other way, he sighs, " this also is vanity," and again commends mirth and the having a good and thankful time anyhow. In view of this strange inscrutable allotment, and as if he had gotten to the end of his wits, he most emphatically, says, "Then I commended mirth, because a man hath no better thing under the sun than to eat and to drink, and to be merry, and that this should abide with him in all his labors all the days of his life which God hath given him under the sun." He has gotten back to his old resort again, " And the tossed bark in moorings swings."
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William Jacob Erdman (February 21, 1834 – January 27, 1923) was an American preacher, Presbyterian minister, and author whose leadership in the premillennialist and holiness movements of the late 19th century bridged evangelical fervor with scholarly exposition. Born in Allentown, Pennsylvania, to John Erdman and Sarah Wunderly, he grew up in a German Reformed family before moving with his parents to western New York at age 11. Converted at 16 during an 1850 revival meeting in Rochester, New York, he graduated from Hamilton College in 1856 with a B.A., then studied at Union Theological Seminary in New York City (1856–1858), where he was ordained in 1860 by the Presbytery of Buffalo. Marrying Henrietta Rosenbury in 1860, he had six children, including Charles Rosenbury Erdman, a future Princeton theologian. Erdman’s preaching career began at Jefferson Presbyterian Church in Jefferson, New York (1860–1864), followed by pastorates in Jamestown, New York (1864–1870), and Dwight L. Moody’s Chicago Avenue Church in Chicago (1870–1874). Known for his clear, earnest sermons, he became a key figure in the Niagara Bible Conference (1876–1897), advocating premillennialism—the belief in Christ’s imminent return before a literal thousand-year reign. From 1875 to 1880, he served as superintendent of the New York Presbytery’s Home Mission, planting churches across the state, then pastored Second Presbyterian Church in Germantown, Pennsylvania (1880–1890), growing its congregation significantly. After retiring from regular ministry in 1890, he devoted himself to writing and itinerant preaching, speaking at holiness conventions like Keswick until 1900.