Vermont watchman and State journal. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1836-1883, 1873-11-26

j. there no hope mid the toll Of years.
Naught but o. strive in "a vale u tears
Yesn and at last with tho JOY 'tls bringing
Seemcth that voice like no angel singing
Trust in the hand that at last shall sever
Bitter md sweet, gwen here together
Then shall thy will and Thy Lords be one,
Conflict be over and rest begun"
EgLLwrrs.
Beecher ON the Prayer-Meeting.
THE srcond series Of Mr. Bccchors lectures to tho
Yale Divinity students s just publl.hed containing
two upon the specific topic Of the prayermoetlng.
No ono can read even the extracts we make with.
out soeng the spiritual power which resides 10 the
meeting of conference aud prayer, and which has
given to the social meetings Of Plymouth Church a
worldwide reputation.
There is an idea that 70 men speak in meeting
they must speak in some sense TO initiate the min
ister and this idea shuts out not few from par.
iicpauou 10 the exercises. Mr. Becchcr says
Now, if you get rid of that idea, there
are a great many men who have a great
deal to say. As, for instance the value Of
patience is up, and say, Mr.. --, what
has been your experience in respect to that
You had family Of four boys; they all
died drunkards, didn't theyp He rises
very slowly, he is very broken in his Ian.
guage, he says, "Yes, they inherited that
tendency from my ancestors" did you
6nd it very easy to bear with tbem2' "Oh!
when my first boy came home, it seemed as
though would give up everything; it
seemed as though | was all on fire. my
brain and everything upset" He goes on
and gives the way in which his feelings
were changed. You question him, you
help him, you bring him out How was
it when the second one came in ?" And
that man will unfold the history Of fathers
heart striving aud moaning after faith and
hope in God, and holding on to these boys
that are bringing disgrace on themselves
aud wretchedness on the household. There
be has been, to my certain knowledge, for
twenty years, carrying four boys, clinging
to them, losing his own life almost literally
for their sake.
From this Nlr Beechor passes to some more prac.
tical points. Aner ursns that women he allowed,
and even Invited to have their say, he emphasizes
the way In which the praJ er-fneetng may be made
10 make Truth personal and specific. Thustl
| am continually struck with this, that
when introduce topic in prayer.meetiDg
and open it as it runs in my mind, hardly
get through presenting i'll am hopeful, |
look at things in the light Of courage and
hope-beiore a brother on my left hand
who always has kind of melancholy eau.
ton, brings me up with, Don't you think,
Brother Beecher, that if persons were to
follow that out in such aud such relations
it would be liable to such and such peryer-
tious ?" "Oh, yes; never thought to
stop up that hole" so then give it little
plaster 10 that direction And 50 it goes
all around, and men look at the subject
from some experience Of their own, from
some habitude Of their own. They put
questions which result, 10 the end, in bring
log this truth home from its generic state
to a personal truth, to black and white, to
each particular person. lie gets it as he
wants it.
SO truth, when you bring it into the con-
gregation, is like a roll Of cloth. which may
be cut and fitted to all the different sizes Of
man. 1t comes in cloth, it goes out gar
menis. When you come to see how truth
stands 10 its relations TO the individual man I;
the iufnity Of it, the universality Of it, the
multitudinousness oft, the wonderful power
in it, this is Que Of the most convincing eyi.
dences Of its divinity. The truth, when you
come to study it in relation to mems wants,
is like nature itself, when you come to study
it in all its infinite diversites and minute
differences
"A pmyer-mectng. according to Mr.. Bceeher should
be conducted to attract outsiders-those who
are not Christians and one means to this end he
points cut as follows
Don't let prayer-meeting know that
there is anybody there but the brethren.
Don't say word to sinners" | would
shut up mans mouth who begins to talk
in that way, as quick as would turn the
faucet Of wine cask if the wine was leak.
ing away. 1t is the actual sight of what
we mean by piety, it is the sight Of tears
it is The recital of joys, it is faith, it is
hope, it is love, it is fellowship, it is help
fulness not in any of their grander poetica
forms, but as they exist in actual men and
women-it is the battle Of life going on be-
fore mans eyes, that makes the most i'm
perative and impersonal Of all ways Of
preaching the truth to many men. There
is many a man that can stand the greatest
fifteen inch gun of the pulpit, that cannot
stand the mitraiiie,Se, this multitudinous
FIRE, Of the whole church. have been ac-
customed, in times of revivals of religion
to say 20 persons awakened and coming
slowly along in their steps towards the
light, Come to the morning prayer.meet.
ing" The most converting agency have
known in my whole ministry has been the
morning prayer-meeting, when could keep
the hounds off of men, so that they should
not be exortiDg them and telling them how
sinful they were. Let them alone let
them see what the grace Of God is in the
brotherhood
"A very good hint Is contained in the following
wordsl
A wise pastor who is conducting meet
ings will be conducting meetings all the
week long. There will be an undertone in
his mind. All manner Of feelings and
thoughts are running through your mind,
and you may just as well have something
which will be Of value to you. You see a
man. You say to yourself {" wonder how
his sensiblities are2" You will survey
him, and look at him, as an engineer looks
at fort. You say, How can | attack
that man ?" General Sherman never rides
through country, | believe, without look
ing at the topography Of it. lie says,
There is good place for batteryi how