The Richmond palladium. [volume] (Richmond, Ind.) 1855-1875, 1874-08-05
RICHMOND,
LECTURE-ROOM TALK.
BY HENRY WARD BEEcHER.


j
tor, to indulge in confidential commu-
nications in my church. / might as !
we'll stand in Broadway, and shout
down the street confidential commune
cations to my friends. That which is
entirely proper for the private ear does
not always sound SO we'll on the house,
top, and that that which is proper in
family meeting, church meeting,
may not sound quite SO well in the
morning papers. Nevertheless, this
is the last prayer-meeting that | shall
be with you for now period Of three
months. 1t is a period, too, of the
summer, in which sickness and acute
diseases abound, to which | am as Ii
able as you are; and as the last week
has drawn on, have had impressed
upon me, as l have always had from
year to year, not sadly but very strong
", the feeling that l may never meet
my people again. This may be the
last prayer meeting, and next Sunday
may be the last Sunday, that | shall
ever be with you. l know there is
such thing as repeating these last
| words until they are hackneyed, and
| have lost all force; yet seasonable
| indulgence in them may be profitable;
and indeed we have justification of
| it in the example of the Apostle Paul,
who looked back on his ministry, and
recounted his own motives and exper-
fences. And now, | mean, tonight,
as your servant, and as servant OF
the Lord Jesus Christ, to say few
words in respect to my history and
ministration.
l was called toward the Christian
ministry from as early period as
can remember. There was no defn-
ite reasoning about it. grew up
finding that everybody expected that
| would be minister-my father, my
mother. my sisters, everybody. I did
! not know the point of transition.
| NY father was eminent in his day;
he was a warrior; and through him my
young imagination was very much
kindled. When / had finished my
preparatory studies, and was called to
20 into the field, my father stood fore
most, probably-at any rate, to us
Z children his name was very great
name; and yet, the idea Of measuring
myself or my ministry by him never
entered my head. The temptation
naturally would befall man, under
such circumstances, to say to himself,
{ |"Will YOU 20 out and try to be as great
/ a man as your father?' but | can al
, most say that never had the thought
. cross my mind. My love for my father
was such that would have been
, ashamed to be as great as he was, even
! if / could; and I would have been
!: ashamed to think that could be as
great as he was.
, As soon as left Lane Seminary, at
the invitation Of some one whose name
3 l do not now remember l crossed the
q Ohio river to Covington, opposite Gin
!. cinnati, and went into hall where an
8 attempt was being made to establish a
v New-School Presbyterian church. l
+ preached there every Sunday, not
d knowing what would become of my
v work, and caring more to fulfill my
d duty than anything else My first and
e only feeling was, Here is place that
' certainly needs work, and can work. y
q After preaching there three or four
: Sundays, l was called, by Martha
is Sawyer. Yankee woman, to 60 to
e Lawrenceburg and preach. There
It was a church in that place composed
it of about twenty members, of which
,e she was the factotum. She collected
n the money, she was the treasurer, she
d was the manager, she was the trustee
> she was the everything, of that church
10 Lawrenceburg was not very proud
,e METROPOLIS then, nor has it attained te
re such a stature now. 1t was twenty
IF tw, miles below Cincinnati, on the
N OHIO river. l went there to work
e. simply because there was yacan
q. church there, which was small, ant
es needed laborer. In that spirit en-
le tered that field. and worked for tive
v years, when | was called, without an.
ts agency of my own, to go to the capita
e. of the State, to take charge of tn,
ir New-School Presbyterian ehurcl
A. which had recently broken off from
If the Old School Presbyterian church
to There, in indianapolis, labored eigh
"A. years; and then | came to Brooklyn
a When l came here, came her
al without any expectations, and withou
j. any ambitions. | had no thought o
ed the future. l had scarcely any car
a. about it. | remember distinctly say
d. ing, on coming here, Il am determin
he ed to know nothing but Christ an
Il. him crucifed; | am determined t
preach the Gospel as power. and nc
to as o doctrine; l am determined t
he preach the Gospel of Christ as
he means of comforting and edifying an
ltc enriching men, and not as means {
in establishing one creed or sect, as CON
nd pared with another" That was tn
on feeling that had very strongly whc
IN | came here; and | recollect writin
10. to Mr.. David Hale, that if he expect
eel ed me to come to Brooklyn to bull
ch Nd Congregationalism, as an ism,
nv was very much mistaken, because
ed would never do any such thing.
AN | need not tell you that since thel
Of when we shall have come togetht
wn once more, l shall have been wit
ra, you twenty-seven years, SO that II
we ministry or ministerial life has exten,
nal ed over nearly forty years.
to Iwent into the ministry with tv
ver living truths. The first was the spi
ur- itual helplessness of men-the unive
ux sally low estate of men, and their nee
ted OF divine help; and the second was
be sense that God. as revealed in Jesl
oc- Christ, was God Of infinite resourc
on. OF compassion and patience and he'll
ac- fulness. | have aforetime told ye
ize how l came to that experience. II
cir consciousness of the spiritual he'll
cry lcssness Of men and the spiritual hel
fulness OF God was my stock in preacl
ing. All the rest that had was col
ventional, legendary l had bee
ing taught it, and preached it because
oy supposed it to be the right thing
mp preach. l never discussed either
., mo those two topics that l was not co
sy' scious that there was touched in me
oe- spring, certain vital element, viii,
60. transcended anything that felt /,
nto any other subject.