Virginia citizen. (Irvington, Va.) 1891-1921, 1905-05-12


interests that IL they are being tried
for life am disturbed In my sleep and
dream about them. Every moment Of
my waking thoughts Is with them.
| often get up in the middle OF the night
during a trial and write. so anxious am
| I TO save them" "Ah.- then 1 said to
! myself. mo wonder you are a great
speaker when you plead for life In
| this way No wonder your whole soul
goes forth into a mighty plea for your
clients when you are as one pleading
for your own hfe." No wonder the Cos
pei orators plea Is a mighty plea. Ev-
cry word he utters. every gesture he
makes. every thought that Is born in
his braiu. has the mighty purpose OF
| saving some man from eternal death
| Nightly as n Christian lawyer does
he plead for the salvation or men.
But the Christian orator has a higher
and even a greater inspiration than the
| saving OF sinful men and women from
| eternal death. He stands In unique
position He Is not only pleading for
the salvation of men. but also for what
Is pleasing to God. Aud OF all inspira-
tons TO "subhirnest oratory" there Is no
iuspliutlou ike uutO I0BI.
The Christian orator, the advocate of
the divine will and PLEASURE Let me
illustrate my thought by u simple YER
bal picture. You are not the only son
OF your mother. She has another boy.
younger than you. But. whereas you
are in one sense the good boy, he has
been the bad. He drinks: he swears;
he lies; he does everything he ought
not TO do. Again and again your moth
or came to his rescue. Your father left
her little money. She has spent IL all
| trying to save him. One night he came
home from a drunken spree When
she spoke to him 1t made him mad In
rage he Knocked her down and kick
that kick cancer has formed. She is
going TO die. You are beartsick. "Oh.
mother. motherr' You say. III could
only make you well and happy againr'
| AS you kneel by her bedside she runs
her fingers through your hair just as
she did when you were boy and
answers: 'Harry, you can make me
happy. VIII you2 Then I want you
TO go after your brother Joe and get
him to come home again for my sake. -
| With a cry you leap to your feet.
You shake the dying woman's hand off
your forehead. "What-go for that
drunken brute, whose cruel heel has
given you your death wound? Never,
mother-never! l will see him in Jail
| aye, or in the Internal regions-first.' -
Then your mother begins to plead. She
says: Harry. you have suffered on ac-
count Of Joe. but have not suffered ?
Have not l given my life for him ?
And, oh, Harry, ! cannot die happy un-
less we save your brother joe" Once
there was time when you wanted to
save your brother Joe for his own sake.
Now there comes a greater inspiration
Into your life. You want to save him
because you can make your mother
happy, who Is dying ON account of Joe's
sins. is not this the figure of Gods
| lover The Christian orator Is inspired
with desire to save sinful man from
eternal death for himself. But more
than that-aye, far more than that
he Is inspired with the transcendent
| hope OF pleading for man TO turn from
SIN and be saved in order TO satisfy
the desire OF divine Father for the
return OF his prodigals. He does II
now for Christ's sake-for Christ's
sake. "For God SO loved the world
that he gave his only begotten Son, that
whosoever believeth on him should not
perish. but have everlasting life" Oh.
the mighty inspiration which makes n
gospel orator not only plead TO save
men for themselves, but TO save men
| for the sake OF the divine Fathers
forgiving love!
The Power of the Holy spIrft.
Thus. while the sublime oratorv of
the gospel speaker may be awakened
by many different inspirations. its
migbtiest factor Is due TO the power or
the Holy Spirit himself When Jesus
Christ stood up before the Jewish peo-
pie TO speak. his hearers Intuitively felt
there was strange, a superhuman and
divine power about him. When the
true Christian orator arises TO sneak.
then also this strange influence is felt.
The same divine influence that Christ
had over an audience you and may
have In degree " we will only let the
Holy Spirit work In us and through us,
for Christ distinctly says that the very
works he did we may do IL we will
only let the Holy Spirit live In us.
~ Christian orator." some one SAYS
what does that mean? II truly give
myself up to the Holy Spirit. can 1 be-
come great speaker and address great
audiences? Why. have not the voice.
have not the physical strength. In
one sense have not the education.
could not stand before a multitude of
people IL tried" No, not that. I do
not believe God will ever call you TO be
Sturgeon, a Guthrie. a Beecher or n
Mason Not that do not believe. week
In and week ont. you will be called up-
on 70 flll an arditorium with a formal
sermon But you can be a great orator
for Christ nevertheless. Did you ever
stop to think tkat public speaking is only
public conversation on a big scale?
The other day was talking to an
old man who used to be a student OF
the great DIR. Eiiphalet Mott OF Union
college. One day in the oratoriai
class a student arose to speak. He
began to let out his voice In rotund
style, He dramatically lifted his arms
and fwitched his eyebrows when DIR.
Mott stopped him and said: MY son.
that Is not oratory. II you have some
thing to say, just tell 1t to us as you
would IL there We're only three OF us
alone In room. Public speaking Is
only public conversation on big
scale" Don't you grasp the truth? BY
the law OF Christian oratory you may
never be called upon to address a large
audience at once. but you can address
two or three hearers for Christ ut the
breakfast table. You can address
neighbor for Christ in the street car
going down TO business You can
speak for Christ I'm the prayer meeting
and In the Sunday school You can be-
come an exponent OF tie sublimest or
atory OF the world. the gospel oratory,
by which the Holy Spirit works in
You and through you In conversation.
Will you consecrate an eloquent tongue
to the divine AIaSfer2