The Newtown bee. (Newtown, Conn.) 1877-current, 1901-03-15

particular point of study; it may come
as new conscious thought. There
are many ways and means by which
the Spirit of Truth works in men, "to
will and to do of His good pleasure. :"
But however it may come, the impor-
tant thing is to be conscious of the in
ceptiOn of a distinct truth which a t
once SeiZes upon the heart, mind, i'm
agination and will, possessing the SOUL
Thus we come to the second stage
of it's progress which is the conception
Of the thought of the subject. The
affections feed upon it, and it gains
power, working like leaven in the con-
SciOuSneSs. The mind drinks deep of
the spirit of the theme by means of
meditation and prayer. The quicken
ed memory brings forth it's precious
treasures of personal experience and
collates the experiences of others. The
searching of the Scriptures begins,
and the cleaning of all knowledge and
wisdom which naturally will crystal
| ize about the norm of truth to be ex-
| pressed. Conscience enters into the
work, the sense of pity lends a help
ing hand and so on till the whole man
with all his powers and attachments
is involved in it and the spark of the
| divine life becomes as fire shut up in
UllC pIOp1cUS UOIlcS. L liz WOTk Ol uldk-
| ing sermon is exacting and exhaust
ing, but glorious. The true preacher
like his divine Master, ''giveth his life
| for the life of the world"
The work of conception, study, and
thought having been well begun, how
shall it be preserved? The best pos
Sible way in which to make a sermon is
to write it. When thought is once
clearly in the mind, put it then on pa
per. Give it permanent form, and let
it be embodied. The best time to pre-
serve thought is when you are in the
best mood and condition for thinking.
Being in the spirit of the subject,
write. The conditions will in all prob
ability never be the same again. The
thought and feeling will never have
the same force another time. The in
spira ton may never express itself
again in the same happy form, because
you may never be in the same receptive
frame. If the truth has been revealed
to your seeking soul, it is yours; keep
it while you may. The power it has
for others depends upon it's power in
you. 1t may never make the some i'm
preston upon you twice.
No man can safely depend upon his
memory of that which he has thought
and felt-of that which has convinced
and persuaded him, and fired his soul.
Memory has little power to reproduce
the most vital, exalted states of the
spiritual consciousness; and the pro-
cess of recollection is limited in most
men to mere outlines of thought The
work of one day may easily be overlaid
Obscured and confused by the thoughts
and experiences of the next. And 50
the written work of the first day is nee
essary to the continued thought of the
next, and onward. If possible there
should be an unbroken succession of
thought, day by day, until the whole
subject is evolved and recorded, the
first days'work preparing the way for
the next, to the end. Varying states
of body, mind and spirit may inter-
fere with the work, and this which
has been written will help to preserve
the form and spirit of the whole. Cir
cumstances may arise which will
powerfully affect the form and even
the spiritual tone and substance of
ones thinking except as he is firmly
held to his theme. The Holy Ghost is
order and power, and the work of man
cannot fifty express and embOdy it save
as he is Sanctitied to do his duty.
The ideal sermon is not the creature
of circumstances, nor OF freaks of
thought, nor of gusts of emotion, but
it is the fruit of the Spirit of Truth
working in and through the spiritual
consciousness of the preacher.
The ideal sermon is first an inspi-
ration; second study; and third a
work Of art AS work of art the SER
mon may have any one of many forms.