The Indianapolis journal. [volume] (Indianapolis [Ind.]) 1867-1904, 1883-10-29

of humanity to-day, the speaker declared he had
no sympathy with the insane cry about "the de-
cadence of the pulpit" The old faith is not dy-
Ing out, nor is the pulpit Weakening its hold upOn
the masses On the contrary, the gospel of
Jesus Christ was never in greater demand
than it ia to-day, nor has the world ever wit
messed such an array of oonsecrated genius and
power as that which fills the pulpits OF Cnristen-
dom now The nineteenth century surpasses all
previous centuries in genuine pulpit eloQuence
There IS "a good deal, indeed, of what is called
"sensationalisn" in modern preaching-and a
good deal ia needed-yet there is more of it in
the songs and music OF the Churches and espe-
claly in those of the sunday O0ls, than is 10
be found in the pulpit,
In order successful preaching It must, first,
be dOctrual, BY this is not meant ''dogma." There
is an infinite difference between dogma and
doctrine The one is Oftentimes naught but
the arrogant and overhearIng assertion of men;
the other is the simple word of God. The world
and the church have gained nothing by cTeeds
and formulated systems of belief, established
by councils and assemblies and synods. On the
contrary, both have been cursed and weighted
down Herewith in their aspirations after truth
and liberty On the other hand, neither has
been suTfeited by asuperabundance of the Cos
pei; it is needed aud called for more than ever,
to-day, ana it will continue to be needed aud
called for until the end of time. Paul
laid special stress upOn this when he instructed
Timothy to "give attendance to doctrine" la the
fourth verse of the chapter of the text we have
the two great facts of divine truth, on which
hinge all true preaching, very clearly enunc-
ated-"who gave himself for our sln5'-thlS is
the doctrine of the atOnement; 'Frhat he might
deliver us from this present evil wOrld"-this ls
salvation wrought by the atonement The death
of the cross and the redemption OF the sinner
thereby, are about all the truths that men need
10 know and must know In order
to be eternafly happy. Not that it IS
necessary TO present these truths in their naked
simplicity in each sermon Preaching Christ cruel
fled does not mean simply recital of the hstO rio
scene of Calvary. 1t embraces all that Christ
was and is; all that he did and is now doing for
man. sermon may not have in it any direct
mention of all this or even of Christs name,
and yet may be gospel sermon. Whatever ut
terance will lead man to become better and
holier, is in the line of the gospel aud God Will
bless it.
Preaching must be exploratory. First, let the
truth of God he preached with all the elOquence
at your commando then let it be sent home TO
the heart and conscience by exhOrtation.
Paul did not deem it sufficient on the part of
Timothy TO "give attendance to doctrine" but
he urged him also to give heed to elaboration"
And why nOt2 Why should 1 not ''speak to
that young man." and urge him to accept
Christ now. To preach the truth is sowing; to
exhort is reaping; both 20 together in all sue
cessful preaching.
The preaching Of the day demands power
something that will take hold of mems intellects,
not only, but of their hearts and consciences,
and subject their wills III loving obedience to
the will of God. Not many Years ago." said
the speaker, 81 heard Wendell Phillips deliver
one of his magnificent addresses That prince
of orators was at his best; his sentences were
complete, his rhetoric perfect his gestures fin
lshed; and yet the whole Grafton, albeit mastery
in every detail of snbject-matter and delivery.
was perfect iclce-cold as death and
the grave-with nothing in it to
hang au exhortation upon" In PauPs
ADDRESS before Agrippa we have a potent ex-
ample of the power referred to- The Apostle
caused FesIus to shout lmpulsively: Paul,
thou art beside myself; much learning doth
make thee mad" and so wrought upon AGrippa
that he said: "AlmOst thou persuadest me to
be Christian" While the sermon not
with enticing words of mans WISDOM" it was
certainly sin demonstration OF the spirit and
of power" "A business of my
acquaintance" said the speaker, mot long ago
spent several weeks in the East. On the first
Sabbath he heard BeecAer, on the second DIR.
Chaplin, and on the third one of the pastors of
Philadelphia, Beecher impressed his hearer
with his universal genius; the grand sentences
rung In his ears day after day, while the lofty
| flights otimaglnatiOn were like panorama that
kept unfolding itself continually. Chaplin
impressed him with the massiveness of
his thoughts ana his profound philosOphic in
sight of human nature. In both instances
IL was the man that was foremost,
not the thought IL the story
over again of the spanish artists, whose chased
cups were painted real TO obscure the
glory of the Masters face, of which they were
intended in the picture only as accessories.
After listening TO the Philadelphia brother, how
ever, the business man forgot all else save the
soul-absorbibg thought and purpose to return
home to his wife and babies, a better man. Here
was true power in the preaching, and the Gospel
was made to be the power and the wisdom of
God unto salvation"