Morning journal and courier., 1882-02-08
Favor Of the sermon Barrel.


terested in the following which appeared IN
recent number of The C1yistSdH IBtessgese<r,
signed Experience.
L Nh. EDrroR VIII you take leaf from the
personal experience of one of the older
brethren who does not believe much IN the
'theroism" which burns good sermonss Some
excellent men appear to have been gifted In
that direction, and their action Is just now
calling forth such expressions OF admiration
that expect we shall soon hear of some Of
the more daring of our younger brethren be-
ing moved to do the like, though It Is
not by any means certain that they VIII
thereby increase the efficiency of their min
istry. Ny barrel is quite respectable As TO
size; much of its contents might as well be
in ashes, as far as any temptation to use
them is concerned; but some of them !
would be very reluctant to burn, and doubt
whether l shall ever pray for courage to
do it.
1. Ny sermons have cost ne too much
They represent many years of anxious
thought, research and prsyerful toll Ny
mind works slowly, and 1 have rarely ever
preached sermon on Sabbath morning that
did not cost the working part of three On
four days to compose Many can uaakesNE
very respectable preparation for the pulpit IN
q single day; and it is said HAT some have
the faculty of writing half dozen sermons q
week tcith0llt making anything Of u. They
back yard every Monday morning. But, un-
fortunately, whatever 1 possess in this line
has been obtained through q severe tax upon
NV powers both mental and physical Ny
barrel represents my ife-vork, and do not
intend to burn it; and / would regard any
inspiration to do so temptation Of tbs
devil, suggested with malice aforeshought on
his part.
1 have in my library many volumes Of ser
mons by my brethren; some Of them per-
haps are not very superior to q few Of my
own; many of them have not looked 1T for
years; and may not look at them again IN
nv life: but have no intention to destroy
them; they may be of service to somebody;
whatever is valuable deserves preservation
3 A goodIy number of my sermons can
not kindle fire under, because God has sig
nalIy blessed them His spirit aided IN their
ureparation and made them fruitful They
have been the instruments of leading men 70
Christ and building up his kingdom The
memory of the results of their delivery, and
the joy and thankfulness those results awak-
ened in my soul, keep me from the least in
cIination to put them in the stove This
NAV be very foolish feeling; nevertheless
some allowance must be made for weak
brother who is insensible of his coxardiee.,
and Is honest enough not to lay claim to any
of the peculiar heroism of stronger men
8. My sermons have not yet been consumed
in the back yard, because they may be
destined, under Providence, for further use
fulness. Some of them have done double
work. and have been put IN the harness Of
eener than that to serve the Master; a1f<
am not ashamed to own il. In some cases
the second and third usings have apparently
been the most effective. Sometimes there
was no opportunity TO do anything respect
able without recourse TO the barrel. / have
been suddenly called to special services, when
Al. "a a 6lgr0rFaa
which would do justice to the occasion By
being able to lay my hand upon previous
ureparation the respective cases seemed 70
Be Satisfactorily met What IL those sermons
had gone up in the smoke of e bonfire?
I have spent many Of the best days of the
week in ecclesiastical assemblies, where =
large share of the perplexing business has
home utterly exhausted; then funeral &C.
casion was awaiting me. or a member of the
church lay dying at distance, to whom
must hasten Saturday afternoon afforded
the only opportunity to prepare two dis
courses for the Sabbath Nov Whist Give
the people some pious talk Come out Of
the pulpit mortidsd-and yet thanking God
that you had had the courage 70 take the
beaten oil, which at great cost you had pre-
pared for the service of his sanctuary, and turn
| Il out in the back yard What course do
those heroic burners take when they have
been in Ill health nearly ali the week. or
when they feel the iaSzit7de which advAnc-
ing years sometimes bring With them tof
which know somethinR), when close, con-
seeutive thinking is next TO impossible 30,
they always keep fresh; and from the rich
experisuce of the heart, and the abundant
mental furniture with which they have sup
piled themselves, they are able always to
bring things new and old from the treasury
IF they nave only Srengtn enough 70
stand upon useir feet les. that may DC
true IN rare inssAncss- bat aAse ns1snS1
to some OF TINS nenness i-ana Noala ave
been very thankful Tor some thougnt when
had been arranged IA me vlgor Oh neAItn ana
IN the prime OF mAnnooa-
Thls saoeamiAnness aDoa. csins o.a p1ePA-
rstions bold 10 De a mistake and some
times am stfslo u Is worse tnAn H.
people can iisesa sceasionAny 20 : olseoorss
Which they have once heard, WITH e-esf ao-
vantage 10 themselves II aecosas wAe-AAs
experience that nine people Out OF ten m our
intelligent congregations would prefer 70
hear an OLD sermon In Wnacn tne thoughts
are pnngent, wen digesteo, and arranged IN
order, than 70 near new one In VINCE the Z
are disiolnted, hastily thrown togetner, and
poindess 1 pity man VINO Is not strong
enough with his people to feel free 70 50 TO
his barrel occasionally and pity him mere
when be does it and Is ashamed to own Il
preach old sermons myself as occasion or ne
sessity requires, and am very thankful
that 1 have them to preach, and have not
been tempted to destroy them They may
be of service to Christ yet have no desire
TO have them in print but my children nay
| find comfort and blessing In an occasional
perusal of pages penned BY familiar hand
/ from which the pen mas falien- Inc grand
| children VIII probably De al q snnclent dis-
/ lance to make the bonnre wafn heroic En-
thusiasm-
| was In the pulpit when large portion or
I our present ministry Was unborn or in early
/ boyheod. / have had several charges and
my brethren who are acquainted with my
| history bear testimony that my work IN each
1 new charge, has been decided improvemenf
| upon the preceding one. Ny success in
! my present field, in every respect, Is beyond
| comparison above that of any have before
occupied Without the advantage Of YreFions
preparations would not have dared TO as.
sumo the position, and surely could not
have met its demands. A judicious use Of