Ashtabula weekly telegraph. (Ashtabula, Ohio) 1880-1886, 1880-08-27

to deal in distractions. The realm Of
ideas in which the preacher lives Is to
thom an unfamiliar world, which has
but distant relation to their wants and
| struggles and temptations. They 60 to
| church to got something TO help them
over the hard places in life, to get en-
couragement, sympathy and inspiration
to hear their burdens and be faithful to
their duties From such preaching,
they come away disappointed. In
legitimate sense they ask for bread and
receive q stone-for the marrow and
fntnoss Of the gospel, and receive dry
husks Of philosophy or polemical con-
trovorsy. "And thus the preacher, who
should have come down upon human
life as an angel charged with messages
from the secret places of the Most
High. becomes mere chatterer OF un-
profitable words. talking in an unknown
tongue to men who long for truth and
love-
The pulpit is not the place for CON
stant theological, scientific or philo-
sophical disputation. The Gospel does
not need such defense. 1t is its own
best defense. If a preachers con-
gregation were made up entirely of
skeptcs and doubters, he could best
convince them by eschewing all argu-
ment and all reference to their theoret-
ical errors, and confining himself to
their practical errors aud duties, Very
few men, comparatively, have been won
to Christ by argument. More have
been entirely argued out OF religion
than have ever been argued into it.
Those who would be confirmed in their
doubts by the ablest attempt to refute
them with human arguments, may be
won to Christ by preaching the Gospel
in its simplicity and purity and power.
God does not ask us to defend His truth,
but simply to preach it. He has prom
ised to defend it Himself by the demon
stration and power of the Spirit.
The truth is, we find very few skep-
tics in any of our congregations. They
do not, as a rule, go to church. We do
find there, however, people who want
or need to know how to order their con-
duct in the practical affairs of life. We
| find in church men who are beset with
the cares and perplexities of business
| life, who are in danger of being drawn
into the trickeries of trade and need to
be strengthened against the insidious
| temptations to dishonesty. We find there
mothers whose lives ''oscillate between
pain and care" who meet with daily
difficulties and attritions in ordering
their households, in training their chill
dren, in getting on with their neigh
bors. They need preaching that will
help carry the Christian disposition into
these relations. In all congregations
are Young men and women who need to
be saved from frivolity, and stimulated
| to fidelity and nobleness of soul. Here,
too, are laborers who need to be taught
| that sighting their work is sin, and
that an essential part OF religion is rem
dering honest service to their employ
ers. And here are employers who have
no conception that they owe their en-
ployees anything more than market rate
of wages, and need to be Taught the
gospel Of Christian sympathy and care
| for their servants. That is practical
preaching which aims to meet these
practical needs of the people. Any
thing else is of little value to them.
The business of the Christian min
lister is not merely to teach men what
to believe, but how to live. To do this,
| he must get close to men-live among
them as Christ did know them as they
are, and meet their actual, living neces-
stiles. He must feed the flock of God
over which he is placed as an under
shepherd, "with food that is conven-
lent and within their reach. 1t is
Ito give them their meat in due sea-
son." that the "faithful and wise serv-
anti is set over the household. "Bless-
ed is that servant whom his Lord when
He cometh shall find so doing. IN
| w. Christian AdUOcdte.