Virginia free press. (Charlestown, Va. [W. Va.]) 1832-1916, 1891-06-17
airgiuia FREE gress.
WV. b. GALLAHER, Editor.
iaarlesto,on, jefferson County, Vest Va.
June II, 1891.
FTFTEEN-MINUTE SERMONS.
BIZ Reu. Dr., Charles T. Deems, pastor OF
the Church of the Strangers.


You ask me what l think of the Ger
man Emperor's edict that the clergy at
the Prussian Court shall confine their SER
mons to the space of fifteen minutes |
have seen no announcement of any such
stupendous folly on the part Of any man.
| should like to know the exact facts IN
the case. But l may say that If any man
ever did what is imputed to the German
Emperor he would at once furnish sub
iect de lunatico inquirendo.
There are some things over which
neither Emperor nor Empire can have
any control. No church can have a
right to say how long its clergy shall
preach. Certainly much less can any
secular power. A minister is an ambas-
sador from God, and is to be listened to
as the representative of foreign power.
1t would be a nice piece Of impertl'
nence for the Queen of England TO say
how long the representatives of the Ger
man Empire should address her in con-
veying a message from the Empe-
ror to her majesty. She might not
give hearing, she might retire, she
might indicate by very proper and lady
like and queenly behavior when she
thought it was for Minister Plenipoten-
tiary in addressing her TO bring his re-
marks to close, and she could direct her
own Minister not to speak to another
longer than fifteen minutes.
Perhaps it is upon that ground that
the Emperor has issued this direction.
He may regard the clergy as his officers.
Perhaps they are, if they soregard them
selves, and an established church would
seem to give color to this supposition.
Then there is no more to be said. Their
trouble is that they belong to a church es-
tablished by law, and when a minister Of the
Lord Jesus Christ submits to that humilia-
ton he can have nothing more to say.
As to the length of a sermon in general,
no rule can be laid down, either for oneself
or for another No preacher needs the same
length of time for every subject. Some ser
mons need not be over fifteen minutes long,
and | have heard sermons which occupied
some ninety and some a hundred and twenty
minutes, and were not one second too long.
Three factors must unite to determine the
length of any sermon-the preacher, the
subject and the audience In gunnery the
elevation of the gun will be affected by the
charge of powder; so in preaching the
preacher ought to know about how much
powder he has in him when he goes to the
pulpit, and he must take account of the tar
get he is going to hit.
To change the figure, he is like an adyo-
cate he must know his case and the legal
strength Of the position it occupies, and the
jury he wishes to carry. 1t is playing with
preaching to have a little moral discourse to
be read off, Every sermon should be deliv-
vered with an absorbing desire to win YER
dict from the jury, and the advocate must
hang to them if it requires six hours and
he doesn't know his business if he doesn't
quit at the close of six minutes if he is sure
he has won his verdict
Somuch depends upon the congregation
If a man perceiyes that he has an inyinci-
bly, stupid congregation, which can neither
be softened by all the sweetness Of Calvary
nor blasted by all the dynamite Of Sinai, the
sooner that man quits preaching after he has
begun the better for all parties in heaven
and earth. But to measure off sermons by
the yard-stick three times five minutes to a
yard, just as you would measure off un-
bleached shirting, seems to me to throw con-
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