The enterprise. [volume] (Wellington, Ohio) 188?-1899, 1892-05-25

me have the Lord for my light, my
peace, my fortress, my pardon, my
hope, my Heaven.
What sinners value, resign; rr
Lordl It's enough that Thou ore mine,
shall behold Thy blissful face,
And stand complete in Righteousness.
This world is all an empty show,
But the bright world TO which go
Hath joys substantial and sincere;
When shall wake and find me therei
oh glorious hour! Oh blest abodel
shall be near and like my God,
And sin and sense no more control
The endless pleasures Of my soul.
But when speak of the Selah Of en-
phasis must notice it is startling. a
dramatic emphasis. 1t has in It the
Hark, the Hist of the drama. That
Weakening, and arousing emphasis we
who preach or instruct need to use more
frequently. The sleepiest audiences in
the world are religious audiences.
You Sabbath-school teachers oughtto
have more of the dramatic element in
your instructions. By graphic Scripture
scene, by anecdote, by descriptive ges-
ture, by impersonation, urge your
classes to right action. We want in all
our schools and colleges and prayer
meetings, and in all our attempts at re-
form, and in all our churches, to have
less of the style didactic and more Of
the style dramatic. Fifty essays about
the sorrows of the poor could not affect
me as a little drama of accident and
suffering saw one slippery morning in
the streets Of Philadelphia. Just ahead
of me was lad, wretched in apparel,
his limb amputated at the knee;
from the pallor of the boys
cheek the amputation not long be-
fore. He had package Of broken
food under his arm-food he had begged,
/ suppose, at the doors. AS he passed
on over the slippery pavement cautious
ly and carefully, steadied him until
his crutch slipped and he fell. helped
him up as well as could, gathered up
the fragments Of the package as well as
could, put them under one arm and
the crutch under the other arm; but
whom saw the blood run down his pale
cheek was completely overcome. Fifty
essays about the suffering Of the poor
could not touch one like that little
drama of accident and suffering.
Obi We want in all our different de
partments of usefulness-and l address
hundreds Of people who are trying TO dc
good--we want more of the dramatic
element and less of the didactic. The
tendency in this day is TO drone religion
to whine religion, TO cant religion, tc
moan religion, TO croak religion, t<
sepulehrize religion, when we ought u
present II in animated and spectacular
manner.
Sabbath morning by Sabbath morn
ing address many theological student,
who are preparing for the ministry
They come In here from the different
institutions say TO them this morn
ing: II you will go home and look ovei
the history of the church you will find
that those men have brought mos
souls to Christ who have been dra
matte. Rowland Hill, dramatic
Thomas Chalmers, dramatic; Thomas
Guthrie, dramatic; John Knox
dramatic; Robert McCheyne, dra
matte; Christmas Evans, dramatic
George Whitefeld, dramatic; Roberf
Hall, dramatic; Robert South, dram
attic; Fenelon, dramatic; John Mason
dramatic; Dr. Mott, dramatic. Wher
you get into the ministry, II yor
attempt TO culture that element
and try and WELD II for God, you will
meet with mighty rebuff and caricature
and ecclesiastical council will take you
case in charge, and they will try TO pu
you down; but the God who starts yor
will help you through, and great viii
be the eternal rewards for the assidioui
and the plucky.
What we want, ministers and laymen
Is 10 get our sermons and our exhorta
tions and our prayers out Of the old rut
l see a great deal Of discussion In tn,
religious papers about why people Dc
not come 10 church. They do not com,
because they are not interested. TIL,
old haclxneyed religio us phrases tha'
come moving down through the cen
turies will never arrest the masses
What we want to-day, you in you
sphere and in my sphere, is to fresher
up. People do not want in their ser
mons the sham flowers bought at tn,
millinery shop, but the japonicas wet
with the morning dew; nor tn,
heavy bones of extinct megatherium O
past ages, but the living reindeer caugh
last August at the edge Of Schroor
Lake. We want to drive out the drowsy
and the prosaic, and the tedious, an,
the humdrum, and introduce the bright
ness and vivacity, and the holy sar
casm, and the sanctifed wit, and tn
epigrammatic power, and the blood-re,
earnestness, and the fire of religion
zeal, and do not know Of any way o
doing as well as through the dramatic
Attention. Behold Harl5l Selah.
Next, speak Of the Selah Of per
petuity. The Targum, which Is tn
Bible In Chaldee, renders this word o
my text forever" Many writer's agre
In believing and stating that one mean
ing OF this word Is forever" In thi
very verse from which take my tex
Selah means not only poetic signifl
canoe, and intermission, and emphasis
but II means eternal reverberation :
foreverl Gods government forever