Peninsula enterprise. [volume] (Accomac, Va.) 1881-1965, 1899-11-25
AccoMAc c. Ill., VA. SATURDAY, NOVEMBER IS, 1900.

pleased with the criticism, so he got
another block Of marble and chiseled
away on 1t two or three years, and
then he brought in his little child, 4
or 5 years Of aye, and said to her,
"Who do you think that is? She said,
"That must be the one who took little
children In his arms and blessed
them" Then the sculptor was salts
fed. Oh. my friends, what the world
wants is not cold Christ, not an in
tellectual Christ, not severely magis-
terial Christ. but Il loving Christ
spreading out his arms of sympathy to
press the whole world to his loving
heart.
Short SermOns.
But remark again that the religious
discourse Of the future Will have to be
short. Condensation is demanded by
the age in which we live. No more
need of long introdnctlons and long mp
plications and so many divisions to Il
discourse that it may be said to be
ydra-headed. In other days men got
all their information from the pulpit.
There were few books. and there were
no newspapers. and there was little
travel from place to place, and people
would sit and listen two and half
hours TO religious discourse, and
"seventccn1hly" would find them fresh
and clipper. In those days there was
enough time for Il man to take an hour
to warm himself up to the subject and
an hour to cool Off. But what was a
necessity then Is superfluity now.
Congregations are full Of knowledge
from books. from newspapers, from
rapid and continuous intercommunicA-
ton and long 1isquisitions Of what
they know already will not be abided
II religious teacher cannot compress
what he wishes to say to the people in
the space Of 10 minutes. better adjourn
it to some other day.
The trouble is we preach audiences
into a Christian frame and then we
preach them out Of It, We forget that
every auditor has so much capacity OF
attention. and when that is exhausted
lie Is restless. That accident on the
Long Island railroad years ago came
from the fact that the brakes were out
Of order. and when they wanted to stop
the train they could not stop. and
hence the casualty was terrific. In all
religious discourse we want locomotive
power and propulsion. We want at the
same time stout brakes to let down at
| the right instant. 1t is IL dismal thing,
after Il nearer has comprehended the
whole subject, to hear man say,
"Now to recapitulate." and "A few
words by way of application" and
"Once MORE" and FINALLY" and Now
to conclude"
Paul preached until midnight, and
Eutychus got sound asleep and fell out
of window and broke his neck. Some
would say, Good for him." would
rather be sympathetic, like Paul, and
resusctate him. That accident Is often
quoted now in religious circles as q
warning against somnolence in church
1t Is just as much warning to minis
tiers against prolixity. Eutychus was
wrong in his somnolcnce, but Paul
made Il mistake when he kept on until
midnight. He ought to have stopped at
II o'clock, and there would have been
no accident. II Paul might have gone
on to too great length. let all those OF
us who are now preaching the gospel
remember that there is a limit to re,
ligious discourse, or ought to be, and
that in our time We have no apostolic
power of miracles. Napoleon in M adj
dress of seven minutes thrilled his
army and thrilled Europe. Christs
sermon on the mount, the model SER
mon, was less than Is minutes long at
ordinary mode Of delivery. 1t is not
electricity scattered all over the Sky
that strikes. but electricity gathered
into thunderbolt and hurled, and it is
not religious truth scattered over and
spread out over q vast reach of time,
but religious truth projected in COM
pact form that flashes light upon the
soul and riyes its Indifference.
Popular D1BcOuFbebs
When the religious discourse of the
future arrives in this land and In the
Christian church, the discourse which
| Is to arouse the world and startle the
nations and usher in the kingdom, II
will be brief discourse. Hear it, all
theological students. all ye just enter
Ing upon religious work, all ye men
and women who in Sabbath schools
and other departments are toiling for
Christ and the salvation Of immortals
-brevity brevityl
But | remark also that the religious
discourse OF the future Of which
speak will be popular discourse.
There are those in these times who
speak of Il popular sermon as though
there must lie something wrong about
it. AS these critics are dull themselves,
the world gets the impression that
q sermon is good in proportion as it is
stupid. Christ was the most popular
preacher the world ever saw and, con-
sidering the small number Of the
dience ever gathered. He never preach
ed anywhere without making a great
sensation. People rushed out in the
wilderness to hear him reckless OF
their physical necessities. So great
was their anxiety 10 hear Christ that,
taking no food with them. they would
have tainted and starved had not
Christ performed a miracle and fed
them. Why did so many people take
the truth at Christ's hands? Because
they all understood it. He illustrated
his subject by hen and her chickens,
by bushel measure. by handful of
salt, by O birds fight and by lily's
aroma. All the people knew what he
meant and they focked to him. And
when the religious discourse of the
future appears 1t will not be Princeto-
MAN, not Rochesterian, not Andoyerlan,
n 10