Wessington Springs herald. (Wessington Springs, Aurora County, Dakota [S.D.]) 1883-1891, 1884-06-13
"FIND1NGn THE HEARER.

And the weary are at rest"
N. 7. Observer.
HFINDING" THE HEARER.
We remember to have heard, some
years ago. a plain intelligent Christian
man from a rural district say of a GER
tain sermon, sit found mo-" At the
time we took this phrase to be a pro-
vincial expression, confined to a par
ticular and remote section of the coun-
try. We have since learned better. 1t
has a good standing in English litera-
ture, being used by so eminent an
authority as Coleridg &c, and may be a
very old style Of speech. Possibly
Ahab's question to Elijah suggested it
Hast thou found me, o mine enc
my?"
However it may be a to the origin,
age and prevalence of this peculiar use
Of the word ''tind." it certainly denotes
in a picturesque and forcible way that
quality which causes a sermon to take
hold of us with a firm grip, to become
a message addressed to our particular
consciousness and need. When a nearer
says or feels that the sermon
.tinds' him, he does not simply
mean that it '.hits' him, as touch
ing some weak spot, uncovering
and rebuking some besetting sin.
It is not merely that it has a de-
tective character and excites a lively in
terest, SO that it is impossible under it
to plan q house, or complete a bargain,
or make a journey. Above and beyond
this, the nearer means that the sermon
suits his case, comes to him in a fitting
and helpful manner, and is an inspira-
ton and comfort as well as a revelation
and rebuke. This, surely, is about the
highest and finest quality of a genuine
ermon Robert Hall said that the
audience should feel the hand of the
preacher moving among them and lay
ing hold of their hearts and co~nsciences.
The truly finding" sermon does even
more than this; it has a strengthening,
e%nriching, uplifting, as well as a detec-
tive and c~onstraining force. 1t is a great
thing for one to be able to 60 away from
the house of God. honestly saying:
"that sermon found me-" In so say
ing he t~estiies that he is invigorated
for Christian service and consciously
helped in attaining a nobler character
and life.
1t is curious to observe how sermons
differ at this point. We may take two
men of equal ability and apparently
equal spirituality. In plan, construc-
ton, power of illustration, effectiveness
of delivery, their sermons may have the
same grade of excellence. But some
how the preaching or the one 'ttnds''
us; that Of the other does not. The SER
mons OF the one seem remote, vague,
unreal, as if addressed to a PARKWAY
congregation. They are a sort of shot
in the air, OF a bomb unskillfully aimed
that bursts without effect. The SER
mons of the other, no better on the
whole--perhaps in many respects not
so good--come right home to mems
bosoms and business, and make an APP
probable addition to their spiritual
strength and resources. 1t is a worthy
ambition in the preacher to belong to
the ''fnding' class. TO be of this class,
or not to be, makes all the difference
between success and failure. People
like to be ':found." They like the SER
mon that comes home to them, even
when It rebukes and pinches. They
like it still better when along with mer-
tied exposure and rebuke it is a minis
try of encouragement, stimulus and
comfort.
1t would be a great mistake to sup
pose that one can become a .tinding' -
preacher by simply making his address
very direct and personally say
ing, ''%brethren, 1 mean you." This
may not help matters at all. It NAV.
indeed, work just the other way, and
seriously MAI them. There is nothing
more wearisome and Improbable than
mere personal exhortation. 1.-The ssind-
ing quality of a sermon4is a subtle
and pervasiye element lying in. the sub
stance, spirit and tone of the discourse.
1t is born OF the preachers spiritual ex-
Perlence and ea~rnestness, his deep
knowledge of human nature in its
strength and weakness, and the wide
and delicate sympathies which make
hlm q brother to all men. The find
ing preacher is en- rapport with his
audience through a kind of ..mind-
reading faculty, and by virtue of SUBJ
tie threads OF connection along which
the magnetic current of communica-
tlon and interest freely passes. He has
NJ much occasion to make formal can
Pllcations." His sermon, from first, 70
last, applies itself, because it is deaEno
with eternal truth in it's relations to our
sqrest consciousness and deepest need
No doubt the rare and fine ability of
which we treat depends a good deal
upon individual constitution and tenn.
perament: but it is a power that All
preachers can cultivate to a con.idera
PIE degree. The more fully it is enter
tanned, the more truly effective must
preaching become.-M. Y. Ern,o,a,es.