Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1910-05-10
I'VE US A REST
on on DAY OF REST

During the reign OF Emperor William
of Germany DR.. Frommel was Court
preacher at Berlin.
One day the Emperor said to his pastor,
Il enjoy your sermons exceedingly, and
particularly on account of the fact that
you never make my presence subject OF
comment" To this DR.. Frommel replied,
Your majesty, burdened as you are, for
six days with the heavy cares of govern
ment, must feel it positive relief to be
able to sit on Sunday in the House of the
Lord, listening as a simple Christian to
the plain preaching of the Word of God. y
THAT is true" rejoined the Emperor.
This we'll authenticated incident is full
of instruction to both pulpit and pew, and
especially to the former. 1t is greatly to
be feared that many preachers do not ap-
preciate sufficiently that the pulpit is the
place in which the Gospel of Christ, anG
that only. should be proclaimed. Serious
and sensible people go to church to hear
the Gospel, and not to listen to lecture
on some current topic, preceded by the
announcement of text that in the end is
seen to be only pretext. When they are
forced to sit through a discussion of some
semi-secular theme of passing interest
they are disappointed and go away feel
ing that they have suffered a wrong close
akin to swindling. Coming to the house
of God for rest and worship and inspira-
ton. and finding instead renewed consid-
Grafton of topics of which they have
heard more than enough during the week
they go away more wearied, less worship
full and less spiritual than when they
came. They asked the bread of life and
were given in its place something worse
| than a stone-a bunch of raw and I'M
wholesome greens" II should not sur
prise any one If such preaching results
finally in estranging many people from
the sanctuary. The best of men do not
/ care for a kind of preaching that is little
better than the weekly talk of the presi-
dent of a current topics club" Even
when they feel some interest in the topic
discussed, they do not wish to have 1t
thrust before them on Sunday. Neither
IN mind nor soul are they profted by
such pulpit performances.
| 1t is sometimes said in explanation and
defense of such preaching, that the Cos
| pei is not narrow set of pious plati-
tudes: that IL is concerned with life in all
its forms and phases, and that whatever
engages men during the week is quite
within its range. There is a modcum OF
truth in this view. but only a modicum.
Christianity is concerned with all the en-
gagements of life, but ii best serves those
interests by addressing itself directly to
mans spiritual nature with it's unearthly
| aspirations and heavenly cravings. The
beams of the sun are related to every
! form of vegetable and animal life, but
sunlight is not to be applied with a show
! ell or distributed with a fertilizing ma
chine
| The man of business goes back to COM
mence on Monday with conscience purer
and moral purpose more vigorous. II on
| the Sabbath day he has been caused to
hear the voices OF the spiritual world
| far out of hearing of the feverish cries
OF the market place.
| The public servant in an executive. ju-
dicial or legislative office Is better pre-
pared for rendering high service by hear
ing the gospel of the kingdom on Sun
day rather than by listening to a clerical
deliverance on the tariff, or the trusts or
| the programme OF socialism.
| There was never a wiser teacher than
| the MAN OF GALILEE. His contem-
poraries said of him most truly never
i spoke man as this man." Yet in all his
preaching he never approached men
as a mere reformer. He came saying as
the preacher of the wilderness had come
before Him crying, Repent for the
kingdom of heaven is at hand The
! government by which his country was
ruled was the worst possible. but he ut