The daily dispatch. [volume] (Richmond [Va.]) 1850-1884, 1876-09-20

THEIR RELaYasEa ME Rfrs mr. spuaaroE
CLEAR AND pEkCTTcAr DEAN STANLEY Or
y NATE AND IIBERAt.-4 ANON LIDDOE sELo.
| 4 5QuENT BUT CONSERVATIVE. Ii =
rFron an occasional spondent Of tho Tribune.
LONDON, August 2.--HaYing had excel.
lant opportunities for hearing the great
preachers OF London / win give my impress
| sfons regarding them. d 1t. Is strange that
with the rare advantages possessed by the
Established Church i'm, Its. universities, the
greatest and most popular preacher In the
city should be "a None nfoffnist who fias had
no collegiate training. Mr.. Spurgeon, to
whom refer, has been over twenty years
in London. There is nothing In his manner
TINT ordinarily gives a preacher popularity.
He Is not sensational, and has few eccen-
| tricities. He is never coarse, vulgar, nor
profane. There is no trifling or levity in
his discourses, though there is sometimes
trenchant wit. There is. however, care
full and thorough exposition Of the truths
OF the Scriptures rs he understands them.
| His sermons are constructed simply, and
clothed in the language of common, every
day life. They are lighted UP with brilliant
metaphors, and impressed on the mind with
strong illustrations drawn from various
sources, but mainly from the Bible. The
Sunday are held face to face with God.
pointed to the eternal Judgment which
awaits them. All this is not calculated
ordinarily to make the preacher .popu-
lar. But after all !, these years Mr..
Sturgeon has firmer hold upon the
public than !, ever. 1t may well I; be
asked how he succeeded In maintaining and
strengthening it. The answer is near ut
hand He has been q most laborious stu
dent OF everything connected with the
Scriptures. He is thoroughly in earnest.
No one questions his sincerity. His life has
been above all reproach. Besides, he has
been gifted with great common sense and
marvellous voice. His iabors are almost in
credible. More than sixty Of his sermons
are published every year, and they are of
such merit that they are eagerly reprinted
and read by Observation-Disclosures two continents.
His lectures and preaching and the pastoral
work among the students in his training col
lege for preachers are unsurpassed. Els
exposition of the Psalms Of David has
grown already to four large volumes, and is
acknowledged to be the best ever given to
the world, being read by all, Ritualists,
High and Low Churchmen, and Dissenters.
A very different preacher is Dean Stanley.
His sermons are as polished in their style as
are his lectures on the Jewish or the East
crn Church. They are broad enough for
the most liberal. In the sermon which he
preached in Westminster Abbey, in conclu-
ding course delivered by various clergy
men recently, from the text, 'sGather up
the fragments" the Dean said they should
gather up the fragments" of truth con-
tanned in hymns like one which he quoted
from Doddridge, and then he followed the
hymn with a glowing eulogy upon this
"great Nonconformist Of the last century,"
Z" Gather up the fragments" he said again,
60 of truth found in the Zenda Vesta," and
Fin the scientific teachings OF the times. The
Dean, too, is very popular, as might be
Judged from hundreds being unable to get
admission to the Abbey OH this occasion.
Canon Liddon, OF st. Paul's, is a preacher
Of different order. His style Of sermon
izing might be deemed almost iaultless.i His
style and form Of expression are unex-
celled. Although his voice is not over
strong, no one OF the 5000 people who sat
under the great dome last Sunday afternoon
need have lost q word of his discourse.
Unlike Dean Stanley, Canon Liddon leans
toward the Ritualists. This party is just
now giving the Establishment great deal
of trouble. The Arches Court is busy
dealing with accusations Of ritualism. What:
ever may be their faults, it must be admit
ted, however. that the Ritualists set in some
respects good example. st. Adams
church, which has confessional, and a sys-,
tenn resembling that of the Roman Catholic
monasteries, is in Baldwin's Court,
wretched place, inhabited by the very low
est classes. The rector of this church, who
has been repeatedly Under discipline for his
rituaistic practices, is doing more for the
poor people Of this district than all the
other churches therein. Perhaps, after all,
be is not under discipline by g the Judge Of
all the Earth" who may look more to his
work than how he does it. =