The Lambertville record. [volume] (Lambertville, N.J.) 1872-1968, 1876-04-05
STURGEON on " EeCEyTRxC IREAcu
ERS.O


ERS.v
4 On Wednesday evening the annual tea
meeting Of the friends and supporters Of the
Pastors College connected with the Metrop-
olitan Tabernacle was held, after which adj
dresses were given III the Tabernacle by sew
eral Of the students, and during the evening
Mr. Sturgeon delivered 4 lecture on Eccen-
trio Preachers He said he was almost sor-
~ to speak on the subject Of eccentric preach-
ers, because somebody had been rude enough
to observe that he wondered If he should con-
slider himself to be an eccentric preacher -
Uaughter.) OF course, he did not consider
that there was anything eccentric about him,
whatever there might havc been years ago.
In every generation there had been objections
to the ministers. John the Baptist came
neither eating nor drinking. He was good
Tempar and a Baptist, and they said, g He
has devil" Jesus Christ came eating and
drinking, and they said He was a winebibber,
and friend to publcans and sinners. Neith-
er the one nor the other would exactly suit
He supposed he was eccentric to some people,
Granted; but they were eccentric to him.
| (Laughter) A man called him Dissenter
the other day, but he did not own to it at all.
That man belonged to the Established Church
and was dissenter-he dissented from him.
He had as much right to be the standard as
that man had. The man said to him, " You
are Nonconformist {" but he said, 6 No, it
is You who do not conform to me-. Laugh
teri And was not that so Because who
was to put down what it was they were to
conform to ? (Applause.) Who was to fix
the centre? "Oh,n some would say it is to
be found in the vestry." If they would open
the door they would see-what was it A
laundry Laughter.) Black gowns, and
white gowns, and green gowns, and abs and
birettas, and-but he was not we'll up in the
Technology of ecclesiastical millinery. What
was eccentric at one timo was not eccentric at
another. Some 100 years ago or more, when
John Wesley stood to preach on his fathers
grave in Epworth Churchyard, people said it
was eccentric to preach in the open air. But
Jesus Christ and his apostles preached in the
open air. Nowadays q Dissenter must not
stand on a gravestone or lie underit. Laugh
ter.) They were forbidden. Those holy
worms that fed on Churchmen would become
i'll if they fed on Dissenting bodies. loud
laughter.) One of the charges of eccentrici-
ty against Whitefleld and Wesley was that
they actually wore their own hair instead of
wearing wigs. Could anything be more mon
strous (Laughter.) A holy person from
Holland wrote to him and said he had read
his sermons with pleasure, but he could do
30 no longer, as he had been told he was
carnal and worldly man, who wore a NOUS
tache. cloud laughter.) He had not word
to say for scch men, but gave them over as
dead horses to the dogs of criticism. He had
heard of a man who tried to get a congrega-
ton by saying that if they would come he
would show them the easiest way TO make a
pair of shoes, and when they came he fulfilled
bis promise by taking pair Of boots, and
cutting the tops off. That was specimen Of
eccentricity which he would not advise any
one to initiate. Old Latimer was eccentric
but there was something very genuine about
him, and one could not help loving him.
Coming down to Wesley's time, there was
John Berridge. He could not live without be-
ing iuhhy iie was qualnC ny nature. Wnen
he preached the seats of the church had
double row of people in every one of them.--
People sat on the top of the beams, and lad
ders were placed to the windows, and there
was person on every rung. To judge right
ly of the conduct and sayings of minister,
they must know the circumstances in which
he was placed. Things often looked rdicu-
lous which they would not do If they knew
all. What seemed to have been eccentric
might have been the wsest thing after ALL
They should say the right thing and the true.
and discharge their conscienccs before God