Year: 1868




This is certainly question Of Interest to
I all OF US, and especially to the ministry,
/ Ia regard to il the Pittsburg (hrtstipI Id
r0cotc says


If one would become Young old man.
he must ever be growing man. The great
law OF God in the natural intellectual and
moral world is, grow or die. The Intellect
ual powers must ever grow or die. This
fact unlocks the secret Of the success Of the
noble old men we have mentioned. They
were growing men to the last Their iHtcl-
lect was kept under a constant stimulus.
They were constantly seeking knowledge.
Even after the almond tree was in its fullest
bloom, they were as hard students aud as
close thinkers as ever before, and it was
this constant close thinking that preserved
them 70 the last their vigorous intellect
Aud in this we have tho explanation of the
intellectual ditferance between the ministry
and these Other professions.


The sermon We prepare at one time may
be of that general character as to have an
adoption 70 all congregations Thus the
sermon well prepared this year may answer
for every year Of our ministry Its prcpa
ration may have cost as much reading, ani
much close thinking ans thereby secured
US an intellectual growth, but its subsequent
use though perhaps equally valuable to all
the congregations TO whom we preach 1t,
will be of little intellectual profit to the
preacher and in the ministry there is great
liability in after years to fall back on the
preparation of previous years; thus the 10;
tellect, for want of ;he stimulus Of hard
study and new thought, becomes enieebled.
Failing to grow it dies. Not so with the
lawyer or statesman. Almost every case
o. i.rs 49,
features new one. Thus with him the
we'll prepared speech for to. day 5 suit can
not answer for tomorrow, nor for coming
years, because each additional case has new
testimony to weigh, and new principles Of
law to apply, SO that every speech the law
yer makes must be greatly a new one.
Thus, too, Of the statesman. Every year
brings out new phases Of politics New
questions are constantly arising, and old
speeches, however perfect at the time of
their preparation, would be sadly deficient
in their adoption 10 the altered condition
Of things Therefore the statesman, as
well as the lawyer, must be constantly pre-
pairing new speeches Another circum-
stance which greatly tends to stimulate
them TO mental activity is the fact that their
speeches are to beTepIied TO, and they have
an ambition not TO be beaten. These things
quite force upon them activity of intellect,
thus securing to them the conditions Of
mental growth. The minister on the con
trary lacking this measurable compulsory
stimulus, allows himself to fall into mental
inaction, and thus for the want Of growth
dies


There are two things which, carried ont
can scarcely fail to make one a young old
man. The first is the subsoiiing or plowing
deep the mental field The thoughts of a
superficial thinker, when the sun is risen,
soon wilher away, because they have not
much earth. We may read much with
intellectual profit 1t is not enough TO
pluck the flowers of others and transfer
them TO our minds as to vase, but we need
to take them up and transplant them, aud
this requires close thinking.