The Penn's Grove record., 1911-05-26
Hypocrisy in the
Pulpit
to Be Deplored

- HE term inverted hypoc-
NG&M risy" is not original with
y 80 me. l heard or saw it
aAN somewhere, and wondered
SM)NS what 1t meant, and when 1
heard 1t defined l thought
1t a convenient phrase. Hypocrisy is
supposed to be a pretense of being
better than one really Is. But there is
another form of hypocrisy which
thrives on a specious pretense of be-
ing worse than one really is. Years
ago, when / was preaching in the
Tennessee mountains, We had a con-
vert, so called, an ex-gambler, and
saloonkeeper. who forthwith became
an exhorter. l never believed in him.
But see how humble he is," expos
tulated my friend, to whom / confided
my misgivings. who can hear him
confess his sins and doubt his genu-
Inc conversionl" To which I replied,
IF ever he confessed that he had
been a miserable sneak and dupe, and
then felt so ashamed of 1t he "
spoke of 1t again, l would trust him.
But to hear him boast of having been
a leader in sin, of having made havoc
with all the ten commandments at
once, l incline to think he is still
breaking one of them. l believe he is
still a liar and a hypocrite." And he
vas.
Public confession of Sin. =.
The public confession Of sin is
sometimes a very wholesome exercise.
But nine times out of ten l doubt its
value, and at least one time out of ten
it is hypocritical, egotistical, and a
self-righteous delusion.
Now there is an element Of this
vice in the ministry. 1t calls itself
humility, but 1t is egotism, and is a
mild form of hypocrisy. of the invert-
ed sort.
Years ago l attended a meeting of
the Lake Shore association in Cleve-.
land, at which a young minister read
a paper, and a very good one. He
prefaced it with the words, This pa
per is somewhat homiletic in its form,
and it is the substance of a sermon
/ inflicted on my people last Sunday"
Doctor Leavitt was there, and when
the discussion began, he said: L like
that paper, but not the introduction.
No man ought to speak Of 'inficting a
sermon on his people. Let him mag
Nifty his Office"
It was a brand new idea to me then.
1t had not occurred to me that 1t was
unseemly for a minister to make jok-
ing and deprecatory remarks about
his own ermon But 1 began to no.
tice then, and l have neve enjoyed
such reference since. If do 1t myself
I think of it afterward and am
ashamed of myself. If l hear another
man doing it, / feel like saying to him
what l heard Doctor Leavitt say.
Apologies In the pnlnit
of making apologies in the pulpit.
What is the use of saying, Il trust
the congregation will bear with me
this morning, as I have a cold?" They
will learn soon enough that you have
a cold, and will respect you all the
more for not making an appeal for
pity. Let them forget you. if they
can, and you forget yourself and your
cold, if you can, and preach the word.
And If a sermon is felt by the preach
er to be below his average, why
should he say, II have been inter
rupted in my preparation, and this SER
mon is not as good as I had hoped
to preach?" They will find out how
poo it is. Or, what is better, maybe
they will not find out! If the min
lister says to his God that morning, 20
Lord, thou knowest l have not been
negligent. 1 chose this text expect
ing to have many hours to study this
week. But 1 had to go out AND visit
the sick, and comfort the mourning,
and I am not taking beaten oil to the
sanctuary. Oh, God, make the mes
sage strong through thy spirit, and
let not the weakness Of thy messenger
preyent the operation Of thy grace
If he SAYS that to his God IN Sunday
morning, and can say 1t honestly, may
be no n will ever know how poor a
sermon it really Is! For sometimes q
really great sermon grows out OF
conditions. Yet the minister better
not ssum upon n such experience
to the habitual neglect of his study,
or some day he will say as Samson
did. 81 will now go out and shake my
self as at other times" and will visit
not that the Lord is departed from
him.-The Advance.