The daily banner. (Cambridge, Md.) 1897-2008, 1911-05-08
COMMENCEMENT OPENS.
Big Audience At Westminster
Hears President Elderdice.

Westminster, May THE bacca-
Theological Seminary was held
this morning in the Methodist Pro-
testant Church, of this -city,and was
attended by an audience that crowd
ed the spacious edifice. The SER
vice. was conducted by Rev. Drs.
Brown, Forlines, C. G. Douglas, and
Greenfield, pastor of the church.
Rev.4 Dr. Hugh E.!aElderdice, presi-
dent Of the seminary, delivered the
baccalaureate sermon, basing it up
on the text, Thou Art the Man"
He said in part:
"This Old Testament prophet, Ma
than, was a splendid specimen of
the personal preacher, his require
ments and his reward. He had a
special message for a certain man
and without losing time or. vast
ing words he found him and had
his say. He did not ramble through
the royal art gallery to indulge his
esthetic taste, nor linger in the
national library to confirm his Gre
dentials, nor yet tarry in the coun-
Gil chamber to flatter the cabinet
on the recent victory of the army;
but made hot haste to the kings
throne and thrust deeply at the
kings conscience.
Herein is he model for some
ministers, whose preaching is 50
impersonal that it fails to find men.
Dealing with creed rather than with
conduct, speculation instead of rev.
citation, every Sabbath they travel
from Dan to Beersheba,' without
saving a. single soul.
Preaching is an oral message
from person, by 4 person, to a
person; from God, the Divine Per-
son, by the minister, a human per-
son, and to an audience of flesh
and blood. 1t follows that it must
be personal; for the mere delivery
of sermon is not preaching; what
it is will depend upon how it ends.
If it closes without a direct applica-
ton to the persons present it is
only abstract truth in the hands of
an intellectual gymnast.
90 The Lord sent Nathan unto
David This Divine authority was.
essential to equip a subject to meet
hic n,iSSinn
he been inspired only by his own
sense of wrong, or urged alone by
the petition of the friends of dead
Uriah, he would have had neither
the diplomacy nor the bravery to in
dict the royal criminal.
Though it was Nathan's tact
that invented the parable, it was
his courage that made the applica- I
ton. In these days of high livingl
and low salaries; ministers are
to be friendly and compro-
missing rather than courageous. With
a family to feed and clothe and
children to educate, they hear the
tempter whisper: Go easy, par
son, you will lose the subscription
of Squire Smith But subscriptions
are not lost that way, for even bad
men admire courage in the pulpit.
Nathans reward was the sight of a
penitent king on his knees. This
was to him richer than the crown
Of the king or the wealth of his
kingdom.
Brethren of the graduating class.
my plea is be personal preachers.
Fail anywhere but here. You dare
not miss this mark. Let your mes
sage be so direct that men will
know you are talking to them and
lot to the absentees. Do not play
1t preaching, but face your David
ike a man. Do not enter your pull
bit until convinced that you are
1od-sent; then your sermon will be
lot a rehearsal Of theological lee
ures from your seminary notebooks,
Tor a ventilation of some theory of