Nashville union and American. [volume] (Nashville, Tenn.) 1868-1875, 1871-03-07
The Sabbath DaV.

Among the many excellent sermons de-
livered from the Nashville pulpit last Sun
day, we have only space to-day TO refer
to that of Rev. VIM. Graham, the new
Rector of Christ Church Parish. Mr.. Ora
ham IS an entire stranger in Nashville.
His opening remarks were therefore at
tentiyely listened to by his large auditory.
But there was something in the fervor of
his manner, the elegance of his expressions
and the deep piety Of his teachings which
told that it was more than novelty which
enchanted those who heard him. His sub
ject, in briet, was the duty and calling of
the preacher of the Gospel. He began:
In the name of the Father, and the Son.
and the Holy Ghost, 1 greet you and all
the beloved members of this flock now
committed to my trust. The ties which
connect minister with his people are of
no slight and ordinary texture. There is
a chain binding US whose adamantine
links shall not give way or yield even to
the commissions of death. 1t will be mine to
actamong you and toward you as the mes
senger, the Waterman and the steward of
the Lord; to preach Christ and Him eruci-
fed, warning every man and teaching
every man in all wisdom, that we may
present every man perfect in Christ
Jesus" In the ful6lment of those duties
we shall be brought -.oft-times very close
together-in times of Joy and in times of
sorrow, in times of sickness, of difficulty,
and of doubt. Together We shall sit by
the bedside of some loved one; together
pray for the soul that is passing within
the vail; together stand by the closing
grave, looking on beyond to the general
resurrection and the life of the world to
come.
At the close Of these and similar intro
ducsory remarks, Mr.. Graham chose for
his text Cor. i, II: ''Christ sent me to
preach the Gospel" The division of the
subject was threefold: The Gospel that we
preach Is a message. l. OF Infallible
Truth; 2. Of Infinite Mercy; and g. OF
Immortality. We regret we have space
only for few remarks bearing on the pull
pit of The present day. On this subject
Mr. Graham remarked: There are many
instructors of mankind in the world, but of
them all, the religious instructor sustains
the most important and honorable position.
The artisan, the merchant, the lawyer,
the physician, the philosopher, the state =
man sustain offices which dwindle into IL
significance when compared with that of
the preacher of the gospel. Thedoctrines
he teaches are SO sublime, the motives he
employs are so lofty, the precepts he en-
forces are so pure, the prospect he unveils
is so splendid as to claim for him the pre-
eminence. am aware that few may agree
with me in tbs Judgment. The speculs-
lative world thinks of the religious teacher
as the dispenser of hackneyed dogmas.
II ~ he e ~
pulpit as a system of effete and barren
commonplace truisms. beyond which the
literary intellect of the age has shot far
ahead. How far such an opinion applies
to existing forms of religious instruction
does not come within the scope of my pres
ent purpose though believe there never
was time when the pulpit was as thor
oughly efficient ss it is now. Take the
world over, there is to-day more abil-
ity of every kind in the pulpit
than ever before. Never was the
character Of pulpit literature so high as
now, and never were her preachers SO
learned and scholarly. If ever there was a
day in which the man of the pulpit should
be the man Of thought and of study it is
the present. The age in which we live is
critical one. The whole world stirs and
throbs with life. knowledge is widely
difused. The press is continually at work
pouring information and quickening senti-
ments of every kind alongs thousand chan.
nels. Preaching, to be appropriate or effec.
tive, must meet this state of the
community, must coalesce and &c
along with all this mental activ
ity, and at the same time, command
or control it by due exhibition of supe
Iior things. Even warm and pious utter.
ences of the heart will not be accepted
now, unless they come forth in close al
lance with truth which justifes and re.
generates them. There must be though
profound, vigorous, manly thought
and we must think, that we may speaH
with effect. But learning must be closely
allied with deep, genuine piety. The min.
isterial Office is holy Office, and the Holy
One can do no other than require all who
fill it to be pure in heart and righteous il
life. Let Us cling to the cross. Let III
keep close to the Master. Let us com,
out as from ''the Holy of Holes" to on
waiting flock. Let the "blood sprinkling
be upon our conscience. Let the junction
from the Holy One shed fragrance through
our hearts. Thus believed and sanctifsd
we will speak with tenderness and forc
which no man can possess.but he who hs
obtained them from these cele 1tial foun
1 faTn