New-York tribune., 1873-03-21
THOUGHTS FOR MINISTER'S.
,rcruRE BY THE REV. IL. W. BEECHER.

day afternoon, at the College chapel In New-Haven'
the Lyman Bceoher course OF twelve lectures before the
students The lectures are to be gwen every
Wednesday and Thursday. aud will begin promptly at
ann The lecture yesterday was devoted to the con-
alteration of the auxiliary influences which are requisite
TO preachers life and the effect which his choice OF
path Of labor has upon his preaching.
In returning, young gentlemen after years nbsence
he began it will hardly be possible that shoald not In
some parts OF the several lectures shall give, have
cason TO touch again many OF the topics which came up
incidentally during the first course OF lectures ana yet
IL viii be my effort to pass over an entirely different
hed and without rigdly restricting myself to IT, pur-
pose to consider the auxiliary influences which arc
requisite to the preachers fe those institutions and
instrumentaes in aud out OF the Church by which be
will prepare himself as preacher. or by which he will
reap and secure the fruit OF his preaching. pur-
pose this afternoon in this Introductory lecture,
winch will be brief unless / continue IL long
Iamusemeutl, TO consider the influence upon q
mans preaching OF his primary choice OF place. That
will involve more than appears upon the mere state
ment apprehend that when the mind Is called to the
cba,ce Of profession 1t acts usually under influences
that are more Of sentiment more, In the proper sense OF
that term romantic. moro purely spirltua than wheh
the mind comes to act afterward upon the chOice or
place in which TO exercise tho profession man per
haps considering tho various avenues OF me- asks hmseh
into which of them he shall throw his lie FORCES great
variety OF influences upon him. but II be be In the
brone nm in the household where all the expectations
Of the father and mother pointed in one way then
when he determines to be minister u Is ofien-
times nero ratification Of certain vague general
expectation Of his whole fe and he 10 brought nto
the Kingdom of spiritual realities, there is glow and
sm upon him under which he determines to
become preacher OF the gospel Of Christ Now one OF
tbe incidental and unfortunate evils which come with
tbe laborous preparation for the ministerial work Is
the tonng down OF that generous and enthusiastic re-
ligous feeling that when one has studied aoorousy
for two or three years he may know great deal more
and In many respects his Christian character may have
rounded out and have become more symmetrical; but
he Ia very apt to have more consideration OF secular
things he thinks of things as they are and gains
and loses by the process accordng to the degree in
which it is carried out.
A CHOICE REcoSsIDERED.
Finally asks himself-now near the last part OF
his ceufse-"what shall I dol Where shall go
Where shall settle e. There begin TO arise multi
tude OF considerations which did not at all affect his
mind when he chose the profession OF preaehing-and
considerations too that not formally Objectionable
and yot which often do very great mischief Ordinarily
the presumption in the OF every young man who Is
about entering the field for preaching Is that he should
90 where preaching is needed most, and not where he
will himself be best off, He who follows the example OF
Christ and the Apostles most nearly not IN part but In
the substance in the spirit surely cannot be far from
ascertaned it is this that "He that was
rich for our sins became Door, that through his
poverty might become rich" If there be any trait In
the Apostles mind Of which he himself was aware ana
gloried in very few traits that he did not
know and did glory in if there be any one point
which Paul emphasizes it is that he would not boast OF
what had been by the Spirit Of God through other
mems iabors where the Gospel had been preached
around through extensive tracts but which he had done
LAYING the foundations himself, not building on other
mems foundations. He goried in going where none had
been before him. where the work was new, where
the hardshps apparent, where other
men, perhaps, would shrink from bearing
the burdens that he had the power and spirit
TO bear. And he who goes where men need him most
follows closely the example and spirit OF his Master
that h spirit OF the Gospel OF Christ to take care
first OF those most need care and TO do the mostt
them that lack most not to care for those that are
already well cared for but for those that are despsed
and ready perish. SO that the presumption i you
look upon the spirit Of the Master that men should 90
into the fields where the people are low down and re-
oure our work or into the remoter fields that may be
called mission fields. And the question may be summed
up in these two words, win you choose parish
or mission And when say ME-
sion," / do not mean foreign mission
necessarily VIII you take work that Is fresh to your
hand and where You will have TO he creative will
YOU undertake work that requires simple superintend
ing has its course. which you have 10 supervise
merely engineer runs an engine already builtf
great many considerations would incline one to go into
the mission eld but after all there are, think, nine
men who 90 to parishes where there one nat goes to
an open and new field for when man has finished his
studies he ia full OF IDEAS Ought he not 10 bei Yes
but he loves his IDEAS Ought he noti Yes but he loves
ideas better than he does folks and that Is heresy nat
[Applause.l He has got system and he wants
to try it, lIaughter.l He has got some sermons,
and he wants to see how they will fly. lLaughter.l
nth Tho nj 10
gian. But the feeling which should send every
man into the field to work is sympathy with the
aud that Ia the whole Of the Gospel In word-Dlvlne
nnTity Divine knowledge, Divine power, having SYM
ppathy and Compassion upon Imperfect, sinful lost.
wreched men, and he is true minister VINO mas tnat
sympathy with men, aud subordlnates everything else
"a the instrument OF that sympathy But when men
first out Of the seminary they are very apt to be
they want to 90 where their ideas will have free pass
YOUNG MINISTER'S PLEAS.
oWhat could 1 do with all my sermons IL were to
20 into the backwoods, where could not read them
what could do with my arguments what could do
with my statements what could do with my nicely put
questions and answers among people absolutely un-
cutiyatedr Next comes in this thought which is the
thought of ambition have taken three years to pre-
pare myself for college and worked nafd nave spent
have been In theological school There are ten years
have spent in improving my MIND, ana nov am going
hold the half Of me Is 1t duty ought not man to
put himself in field & where sv all m his ps5y SnS Of al bon mis-
deyelopedl Why should man tuck himself away in a
corneri Why should man go into field where there
won't be one part In Of him that he can make any
use OFF, SO the deceives himself under the plea of
conscience that he is bound TO dispose his goods in
larger barn than he would get in poor needy place.
Then comes In also very seductivey the vanity OF
friends which finds nest in our own vanity so easily
where 70 lay its eggs "Father has been poor and he
has stinted himself and the whole family 10 get me
through my course" And the father himself feels It,
that he has sacrificed everything for this boy He has
had hard time and has lived close to the bone Every
one says he is one Of the most promising young men
that ever went from this county lLaughterl He has
seen hard times enough. II Is time he should have
easier place. and he would better up TO such such
church where he can have good salary because he has
had so much Of poverty. They want to take turn and
90 10 larger place where the boy do good and en-