Morning journal and courier., 1891-04-10
DIR. STALKER AGAIN.

The Third Lecture on Prophetic Preaching-The Prophets Calling Nat1onal-Points to be Initiated in our Ministry-Defects of Our Civil.
 izatten.
 Marquand chapel stretched it's capacity yesterday afternoon to receive the usual audience accorded to Dr. Stalker. He spoke on ''The Relations of the Preacher or Prophet and the Patriot" At the very outset" he said, Eve are confronted with the difference between the work of the old Testament prophets and ours-that their message was to the nation, but ours is in- dividuals. If you read the prophets with any care you will observe that the unit for them is the whole nation which they ad- dressed. But Christ first discovered the individusl-his mission first was to seek and to save the soul. They have lesson, however; it was their vocation to awake to all the needs of their country.
 "One of the greatest methods of the prophet was criticism. Isaiah holds forth to scorn the idol-maker, picturing him using part of the tree for cooking his food and other purposes and worshipping the rest. Side by side with idolatry was luxury. The real reason for the repeated lapses of the children of Israel into idola- try was the attraction of luxury and sen sual enjoyments offered them by the wor- ship of Baal and Ashtaroth. It was the equivalent to the lapse into pleasure seeking in our day. Isaiah pictures and denounces the affectation and love of finery of the women of Jerusalem" :" TThe lecturer read passages to illustrate these points. s'Then there was the love of wealth, and the oppression of the poor by the rich. The land owner robbed the | poor on various slight pretexts, and re- moved the landmarks, easily bribing the courts of justice for immunity. The poor were reduced almost to condition of slavery. Hypocrisy, too, you remember, Isaiah let's loose his whole soul to denounce l in the very first chapter.
 "Another office of the prophet was the denunciation of sin. Though hand join 1 in hand, he said, the wicked shall not go l unpunished.' Israel was hemmed in be 1 tween two great nations at enmity with other, Egypt and Assyria; these always kept jealous eye on each other, and in doing so they had to look across Israel, which would, therefore, of necessity fall to one or other of them. They served Gods purpose in being 8 continual warn l tsThe third element in these books was comfort. Jeremiah is a good example. Tc the prophets Jerusalem was Gods home. The Jewish nation was to be married tc him, he was to fill it with an obedient spirit, and from it power would proceed over the whole earth In time of aflictior the prophets spirit was strongest
 hope of Messiah. They knew that in the womb of the nation was the promised Messiah.
 | "Now, gentlemen, the question if whether our message is the same as theirs l No doubt it was an immense step, wher Jesus Christ addressed the individual He is not fit to be preacher who does not hunger and thirst for the salvation o1 souls. Society may be kindly matrix fol character where nature is nurturec to health and beauty, and it may be {
 well of deadly poison. Tht mind of the church is grad
 ually being convinced by such books al that of General Booth that our civilization is defective. Does anyone doubt that Isa | iah or Jeremiah would have lifted up hi.
 voice to denounce it,and can anyone doub
 that it is the duty of every Christian min
 ister to do the same? Drink is the com 1 plaint Of every Christian worker amons the pariahs of our civilization. There ii
 something back of it, too, why men drink
 But the time has come to ascend higher and stop the causes themselves
 to keep men from falling as we'll a
 save the fallen. The church used to ap
 peal to kings and princes, for they had tht power; but now the people have it, and W,
 must appeal to them, and so to it that tn,
 laws are such that ill-doing is dificnlt and
 well-doing easy. The church must appea
 to the Christian conscience. I'm quit
 aware of this new venture-a danger O.
 forsaking the word of God and of making the minister the mouthpiece of party and it is not easy to know when to speal and when to be silent But it il
 not 80 easy to train the minis
 ter as the people to publi
 spirit-here we can build on natural ba
 sis. A man must do something to mak
 the world more beautiful and the peopl
 better. Robert Burns tells us how ever
 when he was at the blow he wishes onl,
 that he may live to do something fo
 Scotland, [the speaker repeated the poem]
 land nothing becomes a man more than t,
 ao something to better his country. Tha
 makes great light"