The Birmingham age-herald., 1906-05-14

one thought-the increasing power of this teacher. Greater today than ever in the world; His name spoken with reverence by more tongues than ever before; He Is seen by more eager eyes and apprecia ted by more anxious hearts than ever before in the history of this planet Somebody has said that history Is the supreme test of things. The fact is, if We give the almanac a chance many of these mat ters that we concern ourselves so seri- ously about and get 50 unhappy over
 would be solved. Did you eyer notice
 how anxious you are about something today, and you think if 1t doesn't suc- ceed probably the pillars of heaven will fall, and next week you find the world is going on just as 1t did before?
 Give 1t Chance.
 Give the almanac a chance. Time. time,
 time-how many problems time solves, :,
 Wait on the Lord; many of these things
 will be clearly made known, and fully revealed, that are now so perplexing and distressing By that supreme test. Jesus Christ is the worlds greatest teacher
 Others have lived-given their schemes of philosophy or of life to the world. and
 have gone down to their oblivion, and
 their schemes have been buried with them; but this great Nazarene, this great
 
 honored today than ever before. His great ethical teachings have become the worlds conscience How many teachers and speakers, for instance. can stand the l test of the printed page? You hear some ! man speak and you are influenced by his [ utterance but you read that speech, that | argument or address in cold type, and 1 1t does not effect you as 1t did when you I were listening to him. You cannot trans F,. +l,. toI soul that gave breath to that message, ] the flash of the eye, the tone of the voice. the strange magnetism of the per sonallty-you cannot transfer that to cold type. l have read that great sermon of Jonathan Edwards that he preached at Northampton about the fury of God at mans sin. that had such wonderful effect
 that strong men grasped the pillars that supported the gallery because they thought the pillars would fall I have read it in cold type but it did not particularly affect me. because the Great Preacher was not there. I could not lis ten to his clarion voice. I have read the great sermon of George Whitfield. which | he preached on one of his visits to Amer- l ca. and which had such wonderful influ- I ence from New England down to Geor- gia that sermon that made old Benjamin l Franklin turn his pockets inside out and | give every cb0l ne Ddu TOT t1HI or | phanage down in Georgia. l read it in | print. and 1t did not stir my soul as 1t | did stir the thousands that listened to l that prince of orators. Why? Because 1 the tones of the voice have been silenced | in the grave. and the flash of that eagle eye has been dimmed in death, and the power of that mighty soul Is not com municated because he has long since passed away.
 l The Living Voice.
 That leads me, my brethren, to say : this, that the world will never outgrow | the necessity for the living voice and for l the living messenger. I hear 1t said i sometimes that the day of the public l speaker. orator or preacher is gone; that l this is the day of the printed ps-ye. and 1 of the magazine and journal. That is I not true. You would have to reverse the l laws of man; you would have to reverse 1 the law given by God himself when He l said that the world is to be saved by l preaching. You may have the printed 1 page to inform the mind, but you need the living voice of the living messenger to stir the heart to action: and that is 1 Just as true today as 1t in the days l of our fore-fathers; just the same. How many teachers and speakers can stand to be reproduced by others? l go to a l great many school commencements and l hear the young orators, ana I like to hear them. I hear the orations of Sar- | gent S. Prentiss and others. but I never | imagine that the great orators who gave 1 breath at first to those mighty oratons I are there.
 You cannot reproduce the tones of that l voice or the flash of that eye. or the thrill of that mighty soul you cannot reproduce it. But. my brethren. and that is the reason some of us preach. You can l., .t- n .T.. and they have the same effect as when uttered by Himself They work the pow CT to cancel sim they set the prisoner free: they wake the sleep of the dead . they silence the storms of the sea: they heal the sick: they give Joy to saddened hearts.
 All my Lord needs is a voice-a voice
 10 echo Him. voice 10 repeat His own
 words. voice to take those marvellous
 sentences that fell from His lips. wheth-
 err spoken in parables on the slassy water
 or the sea. or on the shining summit
 of the mountain. or wherever he was, and
 repeat them, and they will do their same
 mighty miracle work as when He uttered
 them Himself.
 Sit at Ills Feet.
 So then today let us sit at His feet
 who spake AS never a man spake and
 learn those lessons of life by which our lives are 10 be regulated. and SO let me say to these young people here connect ed with this school some of whom may
 go out from the walls never to return,
 take with you as your constant instruc- tor. day by day. this Great Teacher. who
 taught as one having authority. and not as the sci1bes
 Write His great doctrines upon your
 heart: transmute them into the very fibre
 of your being; make them the regulator
 of every day; repeat them every morn
 ing. and your life itself will be a bene-
 diction. and every evening will be dox- ulogv to the world.