The Stark County Democrat. [volume] (Canton, Ohio) 1833-1912, 1879-01-23

or in the poor ventilation OF the church that
makes us dull. The fact that ministers are the
most merciless critics in the world is not because
their hearts are worse but because their digestion
is frequently poor. Much their life is sedentary
and the whole Of II draft on the nervous system.
When / was editor of religious newspapers and a
book was sent in that thought ought to be cut to
pieces, always gave 1t to
CLERICAL CRITIC WITH THE DYSPEPSIA
But we ought to resolve to fight against dullnesS,
and for that purpose we ought to marshal every
faculty that God has given us for the pulpit; If
imagination, harness that, or humor, harness that;
or physical exuberance, harness that Anything
that in paror or on lecture platform is available
In the work of po'suading people to right feeling
or to the right action, is appropriate for the pull
pit.
shall soon preach sermon on the sarcasm of
the Bible. Elijah used it, Paul used 1t, Christ used
1t. To say thing iu church merely to make peo
pie laugh is reprehensible. To say thing 80
strkingly true that itmakes people laugh is all.
other thing. do not care whether they laugh, or
CRY, or hiss, or applaud or condemn or get upand
go out, If they oAly quit sin and start with feet
feet for Heaven, We must ransack the mineral
botanical, agricultural esthetic, literary, scientific
poeticsl historical and astronomical worlds for H.
lustrations. IT I'VE can get nothing but two hard
lnts, we must beat them together till they strike
fire. Dullness in church we must pray against
and fight against In vain the gold chasing on the
sword If the edge of 1t is not sharp enough to cut
In vain the hundred dollar fishing rod and reel
from Conroy's with iy ofgolden pheasant or gray
drake five do not get a bite In vain our expen.
sve collegiate and theological education of seven
or ten years if we are buried up hopeessly in our
armor.
During the war, I was chaplain for few weeks
ina Pennsylvania regiment, was told of caval.
ryman who was wounded and sick, and, perhaps
dying, In barn some four or fve miles from our
encampment. l walked over to see il could
serve him, He said to me, II wish you would take
my horse, which is suffering from lack Of atten.
tion,and my equipment to headquarters at Hagars.
town" consented and started, but knew not
what had undertaken. | had on me and around
me heavy sword and carbine and pistols and
saddlebags, and many things that knew not the
names OF, and l was so loaded down that was
compelled to go on slow walk to hold to the
pommel of the Mcclellan saddle. Half way up to
headquarters, the girth broke and l went off. A
Confederate soldier a straggler from the Confede
rate army, came out OF the woods and helped me
load up. asked him If he was not afraid, and he
said no. and when rode into encampment, and
the boys gave three cheers for the chaplains cap
ture of horse, my embarrassment was greater
than my exhilaration; my condition that day
was the condition of many of us in the gospel mir.
istfy,
We are loaded down with equipment enough to
slay Apolyon, but we cannot WELD it, and all our
days we go on on q slow walk trying to keep our
system of djdacic theology from the falling off on
one side and our church history and homeletics
from falling off on the other side; while David
felled GOliah with a shepherd boys sling, and
shamgar slew 600 men with an ox.goad In the
day of eternity IL may be found out that some
backwoOds Methodist minister, who had only
three months schooling in his life but with zeal
for God tlat set all the praires on fire with reli
gious awakening, and preaching in his shirt
sleeves has done more good than some of us who
had all the titles Of the schools, and who were
wrapt In gowns and surplices which were not
I ick enough to keep us from freezing to death In
eccleslasticisms twenty degrees below zero.
The third result that have been trying to car.
ry out in this decade Of my ministry here is new.
er to explain to the people doctrine that do not
understand myself. believe in Gods sovereign
ty and mans free agency, but to harmonize the
doctrines can not. believe that God is one In
three persons explain it can not. believe that
Christ was God and man at the same time; ex-
plain 1t 1 can not tried for some years to do so,
but found 1t the greatest undertaking in my lite
to make people understand what was beyond my
own comprehension. After hoped that made
the subject palmer to others than 1t was to me,
and had pronounced the bene diction, at the foot
of the pulpit some plain man would ask me
question on the subject discussed that could not
answer, and was obliged to tell him that wo'd
see him some other time But there are some
things do know. Sin is wrong that know.
Christ came to get us out Of that know. That
he is so sympathetic that fatherly and motherly
compassion are cruelty compared with 1t, that l
know. That 1t is the mightlest comfort in might.
lest calamity that know. That the