Year: 1871

A subject that is now engrossing the atten-
ton of Christian ministers and the religious
press of the country is the sparseness Of the
congregations on the Sabbath. The complaint
is not confined to any particular church or de-
nomination of Protestants, but is experienced
more or less by them all. They find that mag
nifcent and well appointed churches, exquisite
ing-sensational, popular or otherwise-and
all that can charm the senses and crafty the
aesthetic tastes of men, fail to attract the
masses. On any given Sabbath in the year 1t
will be found that not one in fifty of any re-
ligious congregation belongs to the working
classes or to the really poor Of our population.
This may be accounted for, however, partly by
the fashionableness of our churches, which
have been built of late years without much, if
any, regard to the moral or spiritual wants Of
the poorer people, and partly by the style and
character of the preaching, which consists very
much Of the novelistic materal-a grain Of
wheat in bushel of chaff-or the newspaper
jenkins style Of two lines of news and col
umn of dummy and dilution." Ministers
do not seem fully to appreciate the
age in which we live, or to compre-
bend that the people to whom they preach
understand theoretically as much of religious
truth as do their teachers. People live
deeper and higher now than they ever did, and
the various forms of truth, social, moral,
spiritual, scientific, enter far more into the
daily life and conversation of every one of us
than they ever did in any age before. There
is, therefore, greater inquiry than ever; but
this inquiry is after truth, not theory or specu-
lation.


In all the range Of Scripture teaching sue
cess is promised only upon the adoption and
enforcement of the command that heads this
article-Preaching of the Word. The Word,
in Scripture parlance, signifies Jesus Christ,
and He says of Himself, ''And if be lifted
up will draw all men unto me-" Aud st.
Paul gives to a young minister the charge
most needed in our day, as it was in his,
''Preach the Word" This, and this only, can
be depended upoa to draw the masses. Jesus
Christ, the beginning and the ending and the
centre and life of all preaching, is the only
magnetic power which can bring Fifth avenue
and Five Point sinners to hear the Gospel.
But our pulpits seem to think differently, and
they discuss the war in Europe and browbeat
Romanists, and infiies, and frecthinkers, and
liberal Christians, and discourse about every
thing else under the Sun but the one thing
upon which the Master predicated success
Gospel truth carries with ii conviction that
cannot be resisted wholly. 1t will make inf
dels and sceptics at some time or other cry
out, ''Truly this man was the Son of God"
Ministers should therefore exalt Jesus and
not themselves or their peculiar theories.


But the Caristian Church members are not
altogether free from blame in this matter
There is not in the lives and coaversation and
acts Of hundreds of them anything to encourage
church going or a search after the hidden
things of religion by others; but, on the con-
trary, there is great deal against it. IF
religion and morality are what they are popu-
lary believed to be, why do not the professors
of either talk more about them and advocate
their adoption by others, instead Of leaving
this work to be done by ministers on the Sab
bath? If Christianity is worth possessing at
all it is worth talking about oftener than once
a week. Christian men and women can talk
about stocks and bonds and houses and
jewels; but thsf can't find either time or
heart TO talk abo';t or 10 recommend the price
less jewels which God gives, or the house not
made with hands, eternal in the heavens,
which lIe has prepared for them that love
Him. Tho things which are seen and temporal
are of more account with Christians in daily
life than the things which are unseen, though
they be eternal. How, then, can they expect
persons who nave no relig gious tastes or cxpe-
rience to long for or to seek after good
which they themselves declare oft and again is
not of much value when they have it ? II the
churches of this city and of any other are to
be filed, and the people to take an interest in
the preaching, ministers must preach The
Word, and the Church people must talk more
about it. We have no doubt at ali that
preachers who aim only to please God and to
win souls for Him will have good audiences, if
the Christians of their congregations do their
part as faithfully and as well. Spurgeon finds
no difficulty now il drawing six thousand per-
sons to every service Of his, Notwithstanding
his first efforts were made in d garret with Il
few mechanics. Let our ministers and people
take these suggestions to heart, and see il in
this new year on which we are entering they
cannot do better than they have done in 1870
to fill up their churches.


SECRETARY BoUTwELL's FINANCIAL Policy
is just at this time the subject of most unfavor-
able criticism, the present stringency of the