The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1899-10-23
THE RESTORATION PERIOD,
DIR. BROWN DELIVERS THE FIFTH
OF HIS SERIES OF LECTURES.

Large and Appreciative Audience
Enjoy Highly Meritorious and
Able Lecture ON "John Bunyan" In
Marquand Chanel.
Inc Rev. Dr. Brown lectured Thurs
day afternoon in Marquand chapel on
John Bunyan' The chapel was filed
TO overlooking with very appreciatiye
and cultured audience. The lecture in
full follows:
Hitherto in these lectures we have
followed the unfoldings of Puritanis,n.
so far as the preaching of the Puritans
was concerned, on to the middle Of the
seventeenth century. To-day we pass
from the commonwealth period to that
which followed the restoration OF the
monarchy in England, during which,
whrough the passing of the act of uni
formity in 1862 Puritanism almost
ceased to be described as such and
came to be more generally known as
non-conformity. Looked at on one side,
the side of the sufferings and hardships
endured, the tWenty-eight years be-
tween 1860, the year of the restoration,
and 1883, the year of the great revolu-
ton, may be described as the period Of
the wilderness wandering of the church
OF God in England. Looked at on the \
other side, the side which displayed the
bravery and steadfastness of the men
who were loyal to conscience, even to
bonds and imprisonment, it may be de-
scribed as the heroic period of free
church life. The men who mainly were
the makers of that period are eminently
worthy of our consideration also from
the point of view Of the preacher and
the pastor; propose. therefore, setting
some of the foremost of them before YOU
for purposes Of suggestion and instruc-
tion. AS to who shall be the first Of
these the choice seems largely deter
mined for me by my own personal sur
roundings. For the last five and thirty
years I have had the honor to be the
minister of the church at Bedford, Of
which John Bunyan was minister dur
ing the last sixteen years of his life.
AS circumstances have thus made me
somewhat familiar with the word he
did and the spirit in which he did it, I
ventured to think that you would not
be impatient with me if before you,
who are to be ministers of Christ, I
were to set forth John Bunyan as life
study for preachers.
The methods Of great artists are
charged with instruction for those to
whom art is to be the masterwork of
life. 1t Is the province of genius to
touch life livingly, as by sort of in
stinct to open out new paths Of life
which other feet may traverse. No
doubt every man will do his best work
by simply being himself, and no mere
copy of some one else. limitations are
usually failures. Still even the most
original artist may find it worth while
to make study of color and form as
exemplifled in the best works of the
great masters; and true men may re-
ceive stimulus and help by carefully
noting how true men have done their
work before them. John Bunyan is
chiefly thought of as a dreamer OF
wonderful dreams, but he was also, as
his contemporaries have told U.S. one of NJ
the most living preachers England has
ever known. His own intense religious
experience largely aided his genius In
this. AS he tells us himself, he had
tarr1ed long at Sinai to see the fire and
the cloud and the darkness, that he
might fear the Lord all the days OF his
life upon earth and tell of his wonders
to others. So that when in after days
he spoke with kindling eye and tongue
of fire the things he had seen and felt,
men bent to his words as the corn bends
to the wind. No piler-up of mere rhe-
toric was this Dreamer of Bedford, but
one deeply learned in the lore of human
souls heaven-taught in the great and
art of laying hold of men.
1t so happens that in the memorable
dream by which Bunyan will always be
best known he has in several ways Civ
en- us his conception of what the minis
ter Of Christ ought to be and to do.
Few things are more characteristic of
this man than the high ideal he had
formed for himself Of the office and
work of the Christian minister. 1t was
not the ecclesiastical greatness of the
nan which impressed him, for he had
scorn for the mere priest, for
hose unreal men who had come into the
priests office for piece of bread, and
"iOhi hC. was WOHL ~ uGSCTlU6 DIS the
,arnal ministry"-not the ecclesiastical
srea tness of the man as mere official,
out the greatness of his work as one
lealing with human souls as the mes
senger of God OF this work, I say,
Bunyan had a very high IDEAL let me
1rst show you what that ideal was as
We gather it from various scenes and
characters in his Pilgrim story and
hen let us see how he worked out his
deal in his own life and ministry.
You will remember that part of the
Pilgrims Progress where Christian ar
ives at the house of the Interpreter
Come in" said the Interpreter, 81 will
show thee that which will be profitable
o thee" Whereup he lead him into a
private room and bid his man open
loor-"the which when he had done
christian saw the picture of a very
rave person hung up against the wall;
md this was the fashion Of It: 1t had
yes uplift to heaven, the best of Books
n his hand, the law of truth was writ
en- upon his lips, the world was behind
I