The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1905-11-04
RECORD SERMONS.
One Preacher Just Got Started In.
side of Two Hours.
Rnstnn HAraldl

/ Boston Herald)
The good people who consider them
selves aggrieved if they have TO listen
TO a sermon that exceeds twenty-inm-
utes have good reason to congratulate
themselves that they did not live IN
Puritan days, when a preacher was
only warming to his subject at the end
of an hour, and felt that he was not
discharging his duty II he did not give
his hour glass at least two turns before
his oratory came 10 a pause.
Thomas Hooker rarely sat down un-
til he had reached the end OF his third
hour: and or one occasion, after
passing this limit by a good thirty
minutes, he only resumed his seat on
promising TO continue hts discourse on
the following Sabbath. Once, il is true,
he electrified his congregation by COM
ing to a full stop after fifteen minutes
preaching, but II was merely TO re-
cover from a passing feeling Of indis-
position, after which he resumed his
discourse and continued for two hours
longer.
DR.. Isaac BafrOw-of whom Charles
IL said, He is the most unfair preach
er in England, because he exhausts
every subject and leaves no room for
others to come after him'-invariably
preched three hours; and SO fasci-
mating was his eloquence that the only
complaint ever heard against him was
that his sermons were too short.
Baxter, Knox, Hooper, Bunyan and
Calvin rarely preached less than two
hours, and often saw the sand run out
In the hour glass for the third time be-
fore they come TO lastly" but not
one of them all could rival the proliX-
ity of the Rev. Thomas Banks, a sew
enteenth century divine, who on one
occasion, after keeping his congrega-
ton. over two hours, said, And now,
having cleared the ground by these
few preliminary remarks, 1 viii ad-
dress myself more directly TO my text"
An amusing story is told in this con-
nection of the Rev. William St. George
Paterson, who, not many years ago,
was requested by Dean Bickersteth to
preach for him on the following Sun
day. The clergyman who thus object
ed to being a stop-gap, declined the
duty, whereupon the dean retorted by
commanding him to preach.
AS there was no way of escape, Mr..
Paterson determined TO "be lever with
the dean. and. announcing as his text
the 119th Pslam, he began by reading
his text of 176 verses through twice.
Then taking each verse in turn he de-
livered a hOmily on it, finally resuming
his seat at the close of the third hour
by which time the only surviving
member of the congregation was the
dean himself. After the service the
preacher said goodbye to the dean in
he robing room. Good afternoon,
Mr. Dean" was the parting shot. Il
don't think you'u command old Pater-
son to preach again in a hurry"
In striking contrast TO these long
Winded sermons are the discourses
which begin and end Within a minute,
like that of the Rev. Charles H. Vat
man a short time ago at Ocean Grove,
n. J. After announcing his text. he
said: Don't worry; its wicked
only that and nothing more. and then
he sat down. Almost equally short
was the sermon of the Rev. Henry
Jackson. an old-time Yorkshire vicar.
on the text, God is love" This was
hio homily: If my friends. 1 were
to preach to you for a month / could
add nothing to the glorious signifi-
canoe of these three words; and so l
leave them with YOU"
More remarkable was the sermon
OF the Rev. Andrew Clarke, delivered
a few years ago in Chicago. Il
waited patiently for the Lord" was his
text; and this was his sermon: Now,
my brethren, put it TO you. if Da-
yid could wait patiently and found it
worth while, why can't you?"
But II one wants a model for short
sermon-one which can be comfortably
delivered within sixty secOnds-it
would be difficult TO find a better one
than DR.. Whewelrs discourse on the
text, MAN is born to trouble as the
sparks fly upward"
Il shall divide the discourse into
three heads" said he 81. Mans in
gress into the world. ? His progress
through the world. and 8. his egress
out of the world. l. His ingress into
the world is naked and bare. >. His
progress through the world is trouble
and care. 3. His egress out of the
world is nobody knows where. To
conclude: II we live we'll here we
shall live well there, and I can't tell
You more if / preached whole year"