Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1901-09-16

: pulpit and with the thunder and light.
! ming Of Christian eloQuence show them
! how. What would you think Of q fac.
! ulty of unsuccessful merchants to train
! young merchants or q faculty of IN
j successful lawyers to train young law.
yers: II is often the case that fheoIog
ical senlinfAies cut q man and clip him
and square him and mold him and bore
him and twist him until all the individ
ual is gone out of him and he is only
a poor copy Of a man who was elected
to professorate because he could not
preach. We want less deadwood in
the theological seminaries and more
flaming evangels. 1 declare that man
who cannot preach himself cannot
teach others how to preach.
Practical Gospel.
At q meeting Of the general assem-
bly, Of the Presbyterian church of the
United States a clergyman accustomed
on the Sabbath to preach to an audi
ence Of two or three hundred people in
an audience room that could hold 1900
was appointed to preach a sermon on
how to reach the masses! I am told
the incongrutty was too much for the
risibilities Of many Of the clergy in the
audience. Now, Il young man coming
out from such bedwarfng influences,
how can he enter into the wants and
the woes and the sympathies of people
who want on the Lords day practical
gospel that will help them ali the week
and help them forever?
Young ministers are told they must
preach Christ and him crucffied Yes,
but not as an abstraction. Many a
minister has preached Christ and him
crucifed in sch a way that he preach
ed an audience of 500 down to 200 and
from 200 to 100 and from 100 to so and
from so to 20 and on down until there
was but little left save the sexton, who
was paid to stay until the service was
over and lock up! There is great deal
of cant about Christ and him crucified.
1t is not Christ and him crucified as
an abstraction, but as an omnipotent |
sympathy applied to all the wants and
woes of our immortal nature, Christ |
who will help us in every domestic, So
cial, financial, political, national strug- |
gle, Christ for the parlOr, & Christ for |
the nursery, Christ for the kitchen, a
Christ for the barn, a Christ for the !
street, a Christ for the store, a Christ |
for the banking house, Christ for the |
factory, a Christ for the congressional |
assembly, q Christ for the courtroom, a |
Christ for every trial and every emer-
gency and every perturbation.
1t is often the case that the difficulty
begins clear back in the home circle,
with misrepresentation as to which child
ought to be cOnSecrated to the minis-
try. John is a keen, bright boy. He
is good at q bargain. When he trades
at school, he always gets the best of it.
Make him a merchant. He will soon
gather q fortune and go right up to
take his place among the commercial
princes. George has great cerebral de-
velopment. PhrenologicaIly, language
is large. Make him lawyer. He will
argue his way to the front, and he will
take his place among the Mansfields
and the StOrys. Henry has large girtk
at the chest and is military in his step
and bearing. Send him to West Point.
We shall see him yet brigadier gen
eral William is fond of sketching, es-
pecially Of sketching ships, and he
knows as much about a vessel as an
old sailor. Make him a shipbuilder
fully wrestIe with the Caribbean whirl-
wind, Aleck is not very well. He has
never had very good digestion. Since
that last malarial attack his spleen is
He has a morbid way Of
looking at things. He will sit for hours
looking at one figure in the carpet. His
manners are SO mild, so soft, so gentle,
so affectiohate, so heavenly, and he
cries easily. Make him a minister.
Now, my friends, that is a great mis-
take. If you want to cOnsecrate one
Of your sons to the gospel ministry,
take the ole widest awake, the Drawn
lest, the most brilliant, the most ire
the most potent, A tremen-
dous work opens before a profession
whose one object is to lift the nations
toward God and prepare them for
heaven.
Ministerial Laziness Denounced.
All, my friends, churches will be
largely attended just in proportion as
we ministers can meet their wants,
meet their sufferings, meet their be-
and meet their sympathies.
If there be a church with small help,
small audience; medium help, medium
audience; large help, large audience.
If there be a famine in a city and
three depots Of bread and one de-
pot have a hundred loaves and an
other depot five hundred loaves and an
other depot ten thousand loaves, the
depot that has a hundred loaves will
have applicants, the depot that has five
hundred loaves will have far more ap-
plicants, the depot that has ten thou
sand loayes will have throngs, throngs,
throngs.
Oh, my brethren in the Christian