EMORY UNIVERSITY
THEOLOGICAL
and
LITERARY SCRAP-SACK
A Convenient Hand-Book of
Theological and Literary
Information.
by
rev. g. e. taylor, d.d.
Author of " Silver Fleeced Monitor" Memoirs of Bishop Armstrongj
and Dr. A. F. Jacksonand " Golden Pebbles and
Seed Thoughts."
Atlanta, Georgia
Geo. W. Harrison, State Printer
(The Franklin Printing and Publishing Company)
1903
DEDICATORY.
To the Bishops, and all other Ministers and Teachers of the
A. M. E. Church, and to the literary people the world
over, we dedicate this little booklet.
PREFACE.
The title-page of this little book is indicative of
the character of its contents. For a number of year?!
<he author has been writing and gathering from the
f.eas and oceans of human knowledge an occasional
thought which he has placed in his scrap sack, and
which he has used for his own pleasure and profit.
Two years ago I was urged by my literary friends
and yoke-fellows in gospel bonds, to put them in con¬
venient printed form and give to the public, which I
did, in the form of a small booklet, which I chris¬
tened "Golden Pebbles and Seed-Thoughts." From
the large and rapid sale which it had, and also the
many favorable comments the book received from the
public press and individuals, I am led to believe my
efforts were highly appreciated and well rewarded.
The ' first edition of two thousand was soon ex¬
hausted, and the book has passed through three
editions. Therefore the favor with which my
"Golden Pebbles" has met has led me, on the advice
of some of my literary friends, to put my
"Theological and Literary Scrap Sack" in a more
permanent form. It will be observed that three
chapters contained in my "Golden Pebbles" have
been placed in this book. The "Theological and
6
PREFACE.
Literary Scrap Sack" will serve as a convenient
handbook of theological and literary information,
which, the writer hopes will be both entertaining and
instructive.
Yours sincerely,
THE AUTHOR.
Atlanta, Ga., January 1, 1903.
Theological and Literary Scrap-Sack.
HINTS FOR EXTEMPORANEOUS
PREACHING.
(a) Train yourself to think without writing,
This power of mental abstraction, or what Dr.
.Brown calls "the imperial presence of mind/' is the
source of extempore speaking, which has its spring
in the thinking faculty. Mental discipline tells on
the power of extemporaneous speech. One should
have some logical and theological training before he
can speak clearly on divine themes ; for "that which
is well conceived is clearly enunciated," says Bautain.
The real ability for extemporaneous speaking
comes from having clear ideas, not merely from
having the faculty of language. It did not require
much preparation for Luther, nor, in more modern
times, Robert Hall and John Wesley, to preach 011
any subject connected with divine truth. These
men were always searching into divine truth; their
minds were working constantly upon these great sub¬
jects; they could preach every day, and every hour,
almost, as Luther and Calvin did. And so it may
be with any man who is a working and growing the-
■8 THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCKAP-SACK.
ologian, and who lias cultivated a hoiniletical
habit of mind. Such a man's actual preparation for
speaking may be brief. But one, unless lie is pecu¬
liarly gifted in tliis respect, when beginning to speak
■extemporaneously, should make careful and particu¬
lar preparation for it.
(Jj) One should think through the subject before¬
hand. The foundations should be laid firm and deep.
There should be 110 indefiniteness or obscureness here.
Uever trust to the inspiration of the moment for the
solid parts of discourse—the main ideas, the argu¬
ments, the proofs, the conclusions. These should be
thoroughly arranged in the mind. It is a fatal mis¬
take to suppose that extempore preaching will suc¬
ceed without much previous study; here is the mis¬
take that has lain at the root of failure in extempore
speaking. Bautain makes a great deal of what he
-calls the umain idea"; there must be this main idea
in every living discourse, and this should be fixed
firmly in the speaker's mind. It will form its own
plan, and every detail will group itself naturally
about this principal idea. This sustains all, and musr
never for a moment be lost sight of. ("Nothing,'"
says Bautain, "is so fatal to extemporization as this
wretched facility of the mind for losing itself in de¬
tails, and neglecting the main point.'') One should
also avoid the common error in extemporaneous
speaking, of talking a great deal about unessentials;
of introducing long and stereotyped phrases of par-
THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. 9
liamentary or argumentative persiflage as to what he
intends to prove or say.
(c) Prepare beforehand, either mentally or on
paper, the actual wording of your main proposition
and the principal divisions, and perhaps of some of
the most important passages. It may be recom¬
mended, indeed, to some beginners to (combine the
two methods of the written and extemporaneous ser¬
mon;) i. e., to write a good portion of the sermon'—
the body of the sermon,—and trust the rest to the ut¬
terance of the moment. (The illustrations, for ex¬
ample, may be given extemporaneously), and will
.gain decidedly in freedom, vividness and life. But
perhaps it is best at first to write out the sermon al¬
together, and then destroy it. That will have
.aroused and clarified the mind; the subject will have
become a familiar road for the mind to travel; by
and by one can diminish, or give up altogether, the
written preparation. The German preachers pursue
this method of previously writing their sermons and
then preaching them without the manuscript. The
Welsh do it also, and they are remarkable preachers.
This, in fact, is F. B. Zincke's famous plan or method
•of making an extemporary preacher. He says, "ISTor
will the practice of extemporary preaching deprive
•a man of the advantage of attaining to that accuracy
which is a result of written composition. I am ad¬
dressing myself to those who have energy enough to
persevere for some years, or for whatever time may
10 THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK.
be required, in the practice of carefully compiling
their sermons during the week, and then preaching
them extemporarily on Sunday. The time will come
wlien full notes, containing only the more important
parts in extenso, will be sufficient, and at last nothing
more, in most eases, be needed than such a sketch as
may be written on one side of half a sheet of note
paper, the rest of the study being carried on mentally,
or without the aid of writing. I suppose that for
several years, more or less, of writing will be neces¬
sary, because that alone will demonstrate to the
preacher that he has mastered the subject, and prop¬
erly arranged his materials, and so will enable his
mind to rest on the fact that it has already produced
what it now has only to reproduce in the pulpit. And
I can imagine persons preferring to the last to write
very full abstracts of what they intend to say, and
doing this from a religious regard for their work. A
sermon, such persons will feel, is too important a
work too much depends upon it to justify the preacher
in leaving anything to the chances of the moment.
This must be done to some extent in a debate, and it
may be done generally in secular oratory, when the
main object is to please; but it is irreverent and un¬
wise to trust in this way to the moment for the matter
or arrangement of a sermon. It will, therefore, i
think, be better that the preacher, however practised,
should never wholly lay aside the pen."1 Zincke con¬
siders extemporary preaching, instead of being the
THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. 11
easiest, to be the most laborious style to attain; he
labored for it through a number of years. He was
driven to do so through poignant shame at the indol¬
ent ease of reading written sermons, and their com¬
paratively small effect upon the audience. He made
it a conflict, a long and sore struggle, to overcome the
marked inaptitude, because he wished to make the
most of himself as a preacher, and to be faithful in
his work. For a long period, therefore, he gave his
earnest study to the composition of his sermons; he
wrote them out fully, and rewrote them; though in
the pulpit he entirely discarded notes, and spoke from
a thorough preparation and a full mind.
Into the pulpit itself, Dr. J. W. Alexander advises,
"carry not a scrap of paper. But if a little schedule
would give more confidence at first, take it." We
should say, quite decidedly, take into the pulpit a
written sermon, or nothing.
One can learn to swim only in the water. Bautain
is strongly opposed to making use of any notes in ex¬
temporaneous speaking; he does not even think that
the advice of Cicero should be regarded. Mr. Mcll-
vain says, "Use no notes." Confidence in speaking
comes from a trust in one's own mental resources.
(d) Cultivate the faculty of expression. "For
you must not," says Bautain, "grope for your words
while speaking, under the penalty of braying like a
donkey, which is the death of a discourse." USTot only
the power of thinking, but the power of uttering, is
12 THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK.
to be cultivated; and to have this power never to
be at a loss for the fit words—this itself is a noble ac¬
complishment. The faculty of expression is a part
■of clerical education that has been too much neg'lectel.
Pitt used to translate alond, in a running method,
from foreign languages, being critical in the choice
of his words; Cicero's method was to read an author,
and then repeat the author's thought in his own
words. The principle of association is a great law of
facile expression; for one may accustom himself to
remember what he has to say even by a word in each
proposition or division,—by some word naturally sug¬
gested from the text itself; but it is better to remem¬
ber by the association of ideas, than of words. There
is, perhaps, no better way of cultivating the power of
expression than by cultivating the habit of convers¬
ing with facility, accuracy and correctness. Let no
one allow himself to converse loosely, vaguely, or in¬
coherently,—avoiding both mere facility of expres¬
sion, or fluency, which may become a dangerous gift
to a speaker. It serves him in the place of thought,
and will be soon discovered to his injury. It also
tends to destroy his power, by giving him an appear¬
ance of arrogance, or a dictatorial manner. More of
humility, and hesitancy of speech, is sometimes ef¬
fective in a young speaker. What have been called
"fluent, complacent, mechanical utterances" are not
■enough for the pulpit.
(e) Make a beginning at once. Stand not shiv-
THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. le¬
ering on the brink. Eloquent speaking is gained by
always working and striving for the power of free
and forceful utterance, and by giving one's whole at¬
tention to it—by coming up to it again and again,
even if one fails at first. It is doing it, and not pre¬
paring to do it. Robert Hall, at an earlier day, as
well as some distinguished extemporaneous preachers
of the present day, made, it is said, miserable fail¬
ures at first in attempting extemporaneous addresses.
(/) Do not choose too easy or familiar subjects.
This is a common error. The mind should be inter¬
ested in the development of some new and specific
truth, in which it may be thoroughly roused and
taxed.
(g) LooJc beyond and above the opinion of men
upon your preaching. To speak extemporaneously
one must have courage. Let one think more of his
duty than of his reputation. If one has this spirit
he will not be disheartened at a blunder, nor even if
he now and then breaks down. A little incorrectness
of language, or halting hesitation, in extempore
speaking, is of small importance, and will not be cen¬
sured by the audience so much as the speaker imag¬
ines—especially if they see he is in earnest. A mod¬
ern writer well says of a young speaker, "Sometimes
a momentary pause—a hesitation to collect the
thought and utter the right word—is a becoming act
of deference to an intelligent audience." 1 One who-
has "a mission to teach" is apt to forget that reserve.
14 THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK.
is an element of strength."" It is Letter not to be
always finished and polished. A rough, ragged, im¬
perfect expressed remark, boldly thrown out and. left,
is sometimes more suggestive to the hearers mind
than the most elaborate paragraph. One should not
go back to improve a sentence in extemporaneous
speaking. Let him press 011 boldly to the end, no
matter how he comes out.
But as the undue fear of man vanishes, so much of
the imaginary difficulty of extempore speaking van¬
ishes. If a great part of extemporaneous speaking
■consists in preserving one's presence of mind, what
will better enable one to do this than to look beyond
man to God ?
(7i) Mingle the written and extemporaneous
methods. Let one preach a written sermon in the
morning, and an extemporaneous one in the after¬
noon; and let him never think of writing out his
weekly lectures, or other public addresses. But a
man who does not write much can not speak well;
therefore it is usually recommended to pursue both
methods. Yet, if one will continue to write and
study carefully, and not let down his literary stand¬
ard, but be constantly advancing it, then he may, and
perhaps should, strive to make himself altogether an
extemporaneous preacher. Only let him not get too
-easy an idea of extemporary preaching; to be of the
right kind, it is the hardest of all. If he can attain
to it, it will keep his mind and body fresh; he will
THEOLOGICAL AXD LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. 15
not become the slave of his desk; he will be released
from the immense manual labor of writing so much,
and from leaving behind him a thousand sermons
stored away in a barrel, to be devoured, not
by admiring men, but by mice. All that he es¬
teems valuable in his sermons he can save and write
out after preaching, which was Robert Hall's and
F. W. Robertson's method. Professor Park remarks
that two hundred good sermons are enough to leave
for a long life.
The written sermon depends much for its interest
upon its carefully condensed thought; but the ex¬
tempore speaker must have everything in himself:
he must have the charms of good delivery, the trained
voice, the natural gesture, and the dignified and ex¬
pressive attitude. He needs all the helps that can
be given by the eye, the hand, the "eloquence of the
body"; for it is with him good delivery or nothing.
He should acquire a cler, distinct articulation, ris¬
ing and falling naturally with the thought; varied
and yet even; neat and yet capable of feeling, and
of vehement, rending force; and, above all, free from
tones of earthly passion, and breathing pure, holy,
spiritual emotions. The preacher may be his own
master of delivery and elocution teacher. It is
thought, chiefly, that does this. It is said that Mac-
ready studied the play of Hamlet seven years be¬
fore he felt himself equal to act it. Every sentence,
every word, every syllable, had received thougnt, so
16 THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAr-SACK.
that he was able to bring out its full meaning in de¬
livery, to give it its effective emphasis, to be the ve¬
hicle of the spirit's winged words.
This is an intense, unsettled age. Men are full of
restless thought, movement, and inquiry. Those who
would influence the age must think and. act boldly.
We are bound to try every method, to strain every
nerve, to be preachers equal to the demands of the
time, and to seize its opportunities.
If we imitate our true model, Christ, we shall be
willing to lose ourselves in order to gain the great end
for which the gospel was given—to win men to a
higher life. As ministers of Christ, we are to have
really but one business in life, and that should be
done well. Our business is to preach the gospel; to
preach it successfully; to suffer no personal incon
venience, or indolence, or dead theory, to stand for
a moment in the way of a living and life-giving min¬
istry. uLet the dead bury their dead, hut go thou
and preach the kingdom of God.''''
THE NEW SONG OF THE REDEEMED
IN HEAVEN.
"And they sung as it were a new song before the
throne. !Rev. xiv. 3.
The desert isle of Patmos was a mount of vision,
on which the lone exile preacher of the cross stood—
oftentimes awe-struck and wondering, and then again
filled with rapturous joy as brighter scenes opened
before him.
The Old Testament, from first to last—historical,
poetical and prophetical—is the work of inspiration.
Christ preached His own Gospel, exemplified in His
life, its redeeming character, sealed the truth by His
death, and bedewed the whole with the precious con¬
secration of His tears and blood. The epistolary
part of the jSTew Testament may be regarded as ex¬
pository thoughts on the four Gospels—for the Spirit
was to be given in rich pentecostal power, to bring
to their remembrance whatsoever He had said unto
them, and to abide with the church forever. But
there is something peculiar about the last and closing*
book. It is a revelation from God to Christ, from
Christ to the angel, from the angel to John, and from
John to the seven churches of Asia, and from them, as
radiating centers, to the whole church of God down to
2
18 THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK.
-the latest age of time. Here is presented tlie glorified
and ascended Redeemer as our mediator still. It
gives us a greater insight into the present life of
of Christ—what lie is now doing, the work in which
He is engaged. It is full of Christ and the workings
of the redemptory plan. He is presented to us in His
prophetic character, drawing aside the veil of futu¬
rity and giving a prophetic history, not only of the
•chances and revolutions of the world, hut of the trials
of the church—the scenes of carnage and blood
through which she would be called to pass, the fear¬
ful conflict of the powers of light and darkness, of
truth and error. But, to animate His people, to
-cheer the sacramental host of God's elect, He paints
in heavenly dyes a bright and golden period, when
every power should be subdued, and the glorious ban¬
ner of the cross wave in peaceful triumph. "We are
introduced to the scenes of the last judgment—the
clangoring trump, the rising dead, all worlds on fire,
and the appearing of the final Judge, who will come
seated on a great white throne—a throne specially
prepared for the grand occasion, and new to every
world. It is a tribunal throne, whiter than the
driven snow, and woven from the garniture of the
sky. Its decisions will be final, and the doom of
eternity will hang on His word.
The glories of immortality were unveiled, and
John saw the white-robed thousands standing on ]\It.
Zion; he listened to the story of their triumph, and
THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. 19
to the music of their song. It was the shout of the
victor when the battle was ended—the joy of the
wanderer when he finds himself at home. The re¬
deemed are said to come with songs unto Zion, and
everlasting joy upon their heads, and sorrow and
sighing shall forever flee away. There is song in
heaven, because there is joy there. Our inward
emotion seeks for outward impression. Grief pours
forth its wailings—joy is heard in the rushing tide
of holy song. In heaven they sing, and they sing
together. Their song is not only new, but they sing
the same; and the united chorus rises till the sound is
like breaking waters upon some rocky shore, or the
voice of sevenfold thunder. And they ascribe all
their conquest to the Lamb—their triumphs to llis
death. And His atoning death inspires our songs in
the house of our pilgrimage. We sing as we journey
—we sing to animate our fainting hearts, and cheer
tis on to battle and victory.
The death of Christ was not merely a splendid ex¬
ample of patience under suffering; it was not the
death of a martyr dying for the truth, but sacrificial
death—death appointed and accepted for sin. And
when we look into heaven and listen to its songs, our
views are enlarged of the moral grandeur of the atone¬
ment, of the redemption and glories of the cross. His
atoning death is the only plea we urge at the throne
of grace. On His bosom the sinking head reclines in
life's last hour; and when the redeemed unite in
20 THEOLOGICAL AND LITEEAEY SCJtAP-SACK.
celebrating tlieir final triumph, their language is to
Him that hath loved us and washed us from our sin?
in His own blood. While listening to its golden har¬
monies we will find out that heaven only sings what
the Bible teaches—that there is not a note of the new
song but is in harmony with the Book of God, and
that both combine in making Christ the centre and the
source—the all in all of revealed truth, glories and
triumphs of the world to come.
John looked through an open door and saw his be¬
loved Redeemer enthroned and adored by countless
millions. On earth, he was the disciple whom Jesu*
loved, leaning on His bosom, and standing near His
cross; and now, after years of persecution and trial,
from the portals of heaven, he gazes on Him whom
his soul loves. In all the visions we have of heaven,
we see the prominence given to the slain and bleed¬
ing Lamb. Whether bowing in deep devotion befi ire
the throne, surrounding the heavenly board, or led
out to the living fountains, or joining in full chorus,
they ascribe all their triumphs to His death.
We often muse about heaven. It is delightful to
meditate upon our heavenly home, and our thought*
are often directed thither. Friend after friend de¬
parts ; we bury them in the cold and silent grave, kit
our thoughts wander after them ? Where are the}
going? What scenes surround them? Do you love
us still, and watch and wait for our coming ? At
times, in lonely hours, we seem to hold a sweet and
THEOLOGTCAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. • 21
mysterious intercourse with them. We look into
those stars that shine upon the brow of night. Through
them the ascended Redeemer passed; they are but
the shining dust of His divine abode. But before
He went away lie said: "Where I am there shall ye
be also, and whither I go ye know, and the way ye
know." What, then, will be our visions of God ?
What interchange of thought between us and angels ?
Shall we know again our long-lost friends? But,
whoever appreciates Christ and His atonement aright,
will desire, above all things, visions of the crucified
One, and the sweetest song will be the mellow notes
of the redeeming story. The throne of grace, where
ministering angels hover, is sprinkled with the blood
of Atonement, while the gory cross is the only anchor
of hope for earth's anguished and dying millions,
while scenes of glory and songs of triumph fill the
whole apocalypse of heaven.
In the embra cement of religion, Christ is formed
in our hearts the hope of glory, and a new song is
put into our mouths—a song new to us, new to the
world, and new to listening angels; yet, when we look
into heaven we see that His atoning death is the bur¬
den to every song, tunes every harp, and even the
glory of the Lamb is the light of the heavenly place.
If a throne is spoken of, He is represented in the
midst as a Lamb newly slain. The waters of life
flow from the foot of the throne, while before it the
spirit He purchased by His death burns in sevenfold
22 THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK.
glory. As tlie good shepherd, He leads the heavenly
flock to the living fountains, and the countless multi¬
tude had washed their robes and made them white in
the blood of the Lamb; and when seen going forth
at the head of the armies of heaven, He has on a vest¬
ure dipped in blood. How well pleasing to God, to
all the elder born, and to the members without num¬
bers, is salvation through the blood of the Lamb.
When we look into heaven we will see that its many
glories, many crowns, and many mansions, all show
that many sons will be brought to glory. "'And John
saw not only a hundred forty and four thousand"
standing on Mt. Zion, a definite for an indefinite
number, "but he heard besides the shouting of a mul¬
titude which no man could number—the mighty ag¬
gregate known only to God. From every tribe and
from every land they have come, and though earth is
consumed into a thousand dialects, their theme will
be one—redemption through His blood—and their
song sweet and harmonious as the murmur of it=*
bright sparkling waters. The past shall be blotted
out; our sins shall no more be remembered; angels
will not be shy of our company; our cheeks will not
blush with shame—for whenever we enter heaven,
our fellowship is at once with the Father and with
the Son, and the song of our triumph—to Him that
hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in His
own blood.
AT e would notice the burden of the new son a--
THEOLOGICAL AXD LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. 23
what it is that inspires the hearts and harps of
heaven. IIovv shall we learn the song? How join,
without a discordant note, with the great company
before the throne ? Redemption by the blood of the
Lamb, is the hallelujah chorus. They celebrate His
death, and His life—his sacrifice, not His example—■
not His ministry, but His mediation—as forming the
burden of the song of songs. And that system which
lowers the character of Christ, which makes Him less
than God and man united; that ignores the meritori¬
ous nature of His death, and represents His sufferings
as merely an example of patience, and Ilis death as
of a martyr dying for the truth—such views are con¬
trary to the teachings of the Bible, and all the visions
we have of heaven. Redemption by the blood of the
Lamb is taught from Genesis to Revelation—from
preface to finis of the Book of God—and is the only
theme of the glorified throng above; and faith only in
His atoning merits brings us to God through the
blood of the Lamb. It is not orthodox views of Divine
truth, it is not morality, but simple faith in Jesus
Christ as the great and only sacrifice for sin. It is
not the convictions of the judgment, or the assent of
the understanding, but the faith that saves is a work
of the heart, in order to the melody of the heart—
for with the heart man believeth unto righteousness.
"If thou canst believe with all thine heart," said
Philip to the Ethiopean eunoch; and, said the Re¬
deemer, "that which fell on good ground are they
24 THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK.
which, in an honest and good heart, having heard the
word keep it, and bring forth fruit with patience."
Faith in Christ is like poor, blind Bartimeus, begging
by the wayside—"throwing aside his garment, and
coming at once to the Saviour. It is looking when
Christ says look; it is pressing through the crowd of
worldly anxieties and fears, and touching the hem of
His garment; it is venturing upon the broad atone¬
ment of the Redeemer; it is taking God at His word.
Faith and the troubled conscience are only satisfied
with that which satisfied the justice of God, and that
is the flowing blood of the dying Lamb.
Again, we would notice the mystery of the new
song. It is true they celebrate the Lamb in never
ceasing songs of praise, but still a feeling of sacreil
wonder pervades the countless millions before the
throne. They see but the fringe and golden border
of unveiled Divinity, and the very mysteries of Re¬
demption inspire their song and intensify their de¬
votion. Angels themselves are students, and all the
intelligences of the universe but wonder and adore.
The curtained tabernacle of the wilderness, the tem¬
ple of God upon Mt. Zion, were shadows of good
things to come—types of the heavenly place. There
we see the symbolic representations of angels "bend¬
ing over the mercy seat, desiring to look into these
things. No wonder that the great apostle of the Gen¬
tiles, who beheld the heavenly light that outshone the
sun and eclipsed all the stars, and who was himself
THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. 25
caught up to the third heaven, and so tranced and
overpowered that he knew not whether he was in the
body or out of the body; and when contemplating
the gre'at redemptory plan, what was his language ?
"0, the depth of the riches, both of the wisdom and
knowledge of God; how unsearchable are his judg¬
ments, and his ways of past finding out."
Redemption is the perfect plan of a trinity in coun¬
cil. It dates far back beyond the flood—before light
broke across the gloom profound, or morning stars
sung their Creator's praise. We are not astonished,
then, the eldest born of heaven should have desired
to look into these things; that prophets, speaking by
the Holy Ghost, when the inspired hour was passed,
endeavored to search out the meaning of their own
predictions ; that an inspired apostle gazed into the
mighty abyss, lost in thought and wonder; and that
the beloved disciple, poor, periled and in exile, should
have fallen as dead at the feet of his glorified Re¬
deemer, and was so overpowered by the visions and
songs of heaven. Much has been said and written,
and more has been felt, in regard to, our spiritual
state—to the embracement of the truth as it is in
Jesus. Thus we are said to come to Mt. Zion unto
Jesus, and to His precious and sanctifying blood; it
is thus we are brought into a sweet community of
sentiment and feeling, not only with the church be¬
low, but with the church in her triumphant state.
But still we only see as through a glass darkly—the
26 THEOLOGICAL AND LITEEAET SCKAP-SACK.
glories of the eternal future are veiled. We know not
what we shall be. We are looking and hastening on to
the day of the Lord Jesus. We stand on our guard
and catch glimpses of our future home. Strangers
and pilgrims here, we are journeying to our father¬
land—to the jewelled abode of God—the meeting
place of saints and angels. And when the poor exile
of the cross, banished away from churches, home and
friends, stood on the glorious mount of vision, he saw
angels veil their faces, and l>ow before the throne,
lost in wonder at the "ever-unfolding mysteries, ever-
brightened glories, of the eternal God-head." And
then there is the great company of the redeemed pour¬
ing forth harping melodies. Their theme is redemp¬
tion by the blood of the Lamb. On that the swell¬
ing anthem arises, floating over heaven like breaking
waters upon some rock shore; and John heard them
ascribe all the wisdom and the power unto God, and
in strains loud and melodious, as no mortal ear ever
heard before, he heard them sing, "Just and true are
thy ways, Thou King of saints." And without at¬
tempting to explain the depths of Creative wisdom
and of redeeming love, there will be spread out before
them a universe of new and G'lowina; wonders. The
heavenly chorus will roll on, and the song of the re¬
deemed be ever new.
We notice the newness of the new song, and here
a field, vast and varied, spreads out before us; but
we only glance and hasten on, expecting by and by
THEOLOGICAL AND LITEEAKY SCKAP-SACK. 27
to join the great company before the throne, and be
lost in wonder, love and praise. The old parts of the
new song were sung by angels in the morning of cre¬
ation, and referred to the God-head of the Redeemer
—for by Him were all things created. Its first notes
fell upon the ears of the shepherd upon the plains of
Bethlehem, when glad angels sung in heavenly strains
"peace and good will to men."
CHRIST WALKING AMONG THE
CHUCHES—"GOLDEN CAN¬
DLESTICKS."
And in the midst of the seven candlesticks one like unto
the Son of man, clothed with a garment down to the foot,
.and girt about the paps with a golden girdle.—Eev.$ 1:13.
The Look of revelation closes the sacred canon. We
need not expect any supplementary communication
from God. We have here His last thoughts m type,
and specially designed for the last eyes and genera¬
tions of time. In many respects it is still the sealed
"book of apocalyptic vision, and its full and final so¬
lution is reserved for that day when Christ shall de
scend from Heaven with the golden key hanging at
His girdle, and in the presence of angels and the
whole redeemed church he will unlock its mysteries
unroll the bright panorama of prophetic symbols anil
trace the glowing wonders of Providence. Then shall
be heard the universal acclaim: "Thou are worthy to
take the book, to open the seals, and to look therein.1
We may regard this book as a prophetic history of
the trials and triumphs of the church, through all
periods down to the last grand epoch in her wondrous
story—a prophetic history of ages and events yet t<i
come. The poor exiled prophet of the cross stood on
THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. 29>
the mount of vision and witnessed the wonderful
drama in which every intelligence in the universe
acted a conspicuous part. We shall never understand
all its mysteries. Commentators have differed
widely. Time is the best expositor. It is the office
and the triumph of faith to watch and wait like the
silent, thoughtful, bending cherubim, over the blood-
besprinkled mercy seat, for the fulfillment of its
prophecies, but serve to strengthen Christian faith,
and pale the cheeks of infidelity. Though much of
it may be dark and incomprehensible, its scenic rep¬
resentations, its fearful symbols, the tribulations of
the church, and the changes and revolutions of the
unchronicled ages of time may pass in review, clothed
in the awful drapery of the spirit world. The wroe
trumpet, blown by some strong-lunged angel, remind¬
ing us of Sinai of old; the terrific scenery of the
mount that burned with fire when the flaming law
■was given, while the thousands of Israel trembled
around its base; the seven thunders uttering their
voices, penetrating all depths, and producing such
1 wild commotion as ii the day of doom had come; but,
mingling with all these terrors, there are multitudin¬
ous scenes of glory to strengthen the good man's faith,,
to enliven his devotion, to animate his hope, and to
allure his often faint and tired spirit by the attrac¬
tions of God's eternal home.
John was more highly favored than any mortal has
ever been. He saw and heard more, and has written;
30 THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK.
more about the unseen world. He stood on the portals
of heaven and gazed long and rapturously upon
its uncreated glories. He beheld the radiant throne,
girt around with the emerald bow, and all reflected in
the sea of glass where the angel harpers stood. Eh
beheld the city which shone like the sun, with il>
jasper walls, gates of pearl, and streets of shining
gold. He listened to its songs and to its dialect. He
heard angels converse, and the redeemed in full
chorus sing the songs of Moses and of the Lamb. If
he had not been strengthened he could not have borne
what he did in his embodied state. Paul was cauglit
up into Paradise, but was so overpowered that he
knew not whether he was in the body or out of the
body. But the beloved disciple walks through the
many mansioned house, and speaks of heaven as if
familiar with its scenes—like a native, as one born
among the angels, and feeling himself at home—
gazing with rapture upon his glorified Redeemer, and
■charmed by the harping melody of angels, and the
choral strains of the white-vested throng. We are
not surprised that the hand of persecution was
stretched out against one who resembles so much his
Divine Master. He was driven from home and
kindred, from church and the communion of saints;
and though alone, he was not alone—carried away in
the spirit, and tranced with visions of heaven, while
ministering angels overshadowed his desert-island
home.
THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. 31
The prophet Elijah, exposed to royal vengeance
and hunted from place to place, his life in peril,
angels brought him food. In the strength of this,
he journeyed for forty days across the wilderness to
the mount of God. He entered into a cavern and
had sublime revelations of Diety and His power, in
the earthquake, the storm, and the fire. The storm
raged pitiless and wild, strewing wreck and ruin in
its pathway; the earth throbbed like the throes of
dying nature, while the fire flamed and burned as if
the Angel of J udgment was lighting his torch to begin
the work of the last great day. When this terrific
scene ended—when the-elemental strife had ceased-
and "nature calmed her ruffled frame"—there was
heard a still small voice, ringing soft, and musical,
through all the depths of the mountain came, and God
was in it. The prophet wrapped his mantle about
him—he was reassured, his fears were quieted. A
Divine intimation was given that his work would
soon be finished and he forever removed beyond the
persecuting rage of his enemies, the frettings and re-
pinings of earth. Tie was thus prepared, by the
scenes of Iloreb, for the wonders of his translation
beyond the Jordan, when, dropping his mantle, he
stepped into the chariot of fire, whose burning wheels
never stopped till they rested upon the mount of God.
The beloved disciple was subjected to the most try¬
ing persecutions—was wonderfully blessed and sig¬
nally honored. Among all the disciples of Christ,
32 theological and liteeaey sceap-sack.
tliere were three who were permitted to be with Hint
on several important, occasions, to the exclusion of the
others; and even among' these three, there was one of
whom, it was said, that Jesus loved. There was
something so lovely and attractive in his person and
character, that he endeared himself at once to the
Redeemer, was taken into Ilis confidence and per¬
mitted to lie on His bosom.
Thus Christ, by His own example, has sanctified
earthly friendships, and helps to comfort our troubled
hearts when we weep the loss of friends—for He has
illustrated, in the conduct of His life, and by the
scenes of the cross, that grace will only strengthen
our sacred affections—that death will not dissolve
our love for those who crowd around us in life's last
hour, loth to give us up, shedding their bitter tears,
and following us to the swellings of Jordan. How
often has the dying m< >ther impressed a kiss upon her
smiling babe, unconscious of its loss, and pointing
her pale and tremulous hand upward in lioly triumph
has exclaimed: "Whither I go ye know, and the way
ve know." The dying Jesus, forgetful of His own
suffering and the gathering gloom around the cross,
commits the virgin mother to the love and protection
of John. They had not forsaken Him—having
loved Him in life, they loved Him to the end; and
Mary felt, while gazing through her blinding tears
upon His dying agonies, that a sword was pie-rcing
through her soul, and the shadow of a great sorrow
THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. 33
spreading upon all this Ride tlie tomb. We are war¬
ranted, tlien, in cherishing the belief that our loved
ones dead are ours still, and though gone, they are
pioneering for us the bright lands of promise, and
we shall carry with us over into future life, all our
home affinities and social relations, even the very
names and designations of our earthly household, and
shall at last feel ourselves at home—forever at home.
John went hurriedly to the sepulcher. He found
I he seal broken and the stone rolled away, but the
body of his Lord was gone. Everything was so quiet,
the grave clothes were carefully folded—nothing to
indicate robbery, haste or alarm—his tender heart
could not but believe, though he could not understand
the mysteries of rising from the dead. With some
his fellow-disciples, he embarked upon the Gali¬
lean sea. They spent a night of fruitless toil. The
early dawn was blushing along the east, and hurry¬
ing in the full day, when they discovered in the twi¬
light a stranger standing on the shore. His clear
voice rang out over the waters. There was some¬
thing familiar in its tones—it was the language of
paternal kindness: "Children, have ye any meat?'*
In the conversation that followed, the disciples mis¬
interpreted his words, and the saying went broud
among them that John should never die. By a cruel
edict, he was banished to a lonely, uninhabited island
in the Egean sea. How long he remained we are not
informed, or how he was sustained and fed. Over
s
34 THEOLOGICAL AND LITEKARY SCRAP-SACK.
all this, inspiration lias drawn a veil. Elijah was
fed, at one time, by ravens, and by angels at another.
Alone, lie wandered over the desert island. All was
dull and monotonous; nothing in nature around him
to cheer his solitude—no variegated landscape
stretched away in the distance, no flowering shrub¬
bery, no music of running streams—nothing but tlie
roar of the storm, the cry of the sea bird, and the
eternal moan of the ocean. Wandering one Sabbath
morning along the beech, his thoughts were busy with
the past. This was the day on wilich his Redeemer
had risen from the grave. He thought of the cross,
of the dead and buried Christ, of the weeping ]\Iary,
of the sad orphanage feeling of his disciples. The
sepulchre was sealed and guarded, and the light of
hope had gone out in darkness; but with the early
dawn came the joyful news of His resurrection—
death and the grave were conquered, life and immor¬
tality were brought to light, and there were mes¬
sages of love and triumph from the heavenly throne.
While thus musing. the fire burned; there was a feel¬
ing of rapturous joy he had never felt before, border¬
ing on a translation scene, or full triumphs of the
.glorified throng; it was an ecstacy unknown, a pente-
cost of love—when the beloved disciple was so
tranced with glorious visions that exile was forgot¬
ten—his thoughts were wanderin among the angels
and the spirits of the redeemed., in the golden light
of heaven's unending Sabbath day. In this situation
THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. 35
he heard behind him a voice, strong and piercing as
that of a trumpet. Like the trumpet of Sinai, it was
designed to prepare him for the solemnities that
should follow. Turning to look, he saw one like unto
the Son of Man, with seven golden candlesticks flam¬
ing around him, emblematic of Christian churches;
while high in his right hand he held a rich constella¬
tion of seven stars, to denote the ministry, their duty
and their reward—that they are stars in the firma¬
ment of God's temple, to cheer the troubled heart,
allure to brighter worlds, and lead the way; and that
those who turn many to righteousness, shall shine as
the stars forever and ever.
He is still called the Son of Man, but how unlike
the babe of Bethlehem, the Man of Sorrows, the
bloody victim on the cross. His body remains in
heaven, an eternal monument of redeeming love. He
appears now in the robe of a High Priest, and with
a girdle richer than i^ron's, to show us that He is
Still exercising the priestly office in heaven. .Having
Once offered himself, through the eternal spirit, as
our great High Priest, He has passed into the
heavens, and appears in the presence of God for us.
Sprinkling the mercy seat with His own precious
blood, He ever liveth to make intercession. His
' I
blood is rich and smoking still—for John saw Him
as a lamb but newly slain, in the midst of the throne.
In the character of an angel, He stands beside the
36 THEOLOGICAL AND LITEKARY SCRAP-SACK.
golden altar, offering the prayers of all saint, and
filling with, perfume the bright skies of heaven. Hav¬
ing an eternal priesthood, he hears and offers our
humble prayers.
THE WISDOM OF GOD SEEN IN THE
ORDERLY GOVERNMENT OF
THE HEAVENS.
"The worlds were framed by the word of God, and
upholding all things by the word of hjs power."
"The sun is the central pivot of the solar system,
and round it the earth and all the other planets keep
whirling in illiptical orbits. Its power and influ¬
ence, its light, heat, and attraction, reach through a
domain in space which it would require six thousand
millions of miles to span. With the greater part of
this wide field, astronomers are familiar, and it may
be truly said that scarcely a man knows the roads of
his own parish or neighborhood, or a citizen the
streets of his own city or village, with more exactness
than they do the highways of the skies. Not only
can they map out to a nicety the paths of the planets
.careering through it like islands floating through a
sea of ether, but they can look backward and tell the
exact spot where each globe was at any moment of the
remote past, or forward, and point to the place where
each will be found at any given moment of the re¬
mote future.
"What is the mighty power which maintaints such
order in the Heavens, which steadies the planets in
38 THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK.
their orbits, and traces out for them a route so wisely-
planned as to avoid all chances of collision ? Two an¬
tagonistic forces—gravitation and attraction, com¬
bined with a centrifugal impulse—accomplish the
wonderful task To these faithful servants, God
commits the safety of the Universe, nor can anything
disturb or derange the order of this machinery, save
the Word which created it.
"The sun 'was placed in the center and became the
pivot of the whole system, tying to itself the different
planets by the cord of its superior attraction. In
accordance with the law we have mentioned, this*
loadstone power of the sun is the inevitable result of
its superior mass, as it is computed to be six hundred
times greater in magnitude than this earth and all
the planets put together." xkit behold the wisdom
and wondrous power of the Great Architect, in cre¬
ating these vast worlds, and placing each in its posi¬
tion in space; where each revolves within its own
orbit—some with the velocity of even one hundred
thousand miles an hour—yet maintaining toward
each other that centrifugal force which prevents their
being drawn by the attractive power of that vast
globe within the sun, into certain destruction, by its
surrounding fires.
"Astronomers inform us there are innumerable
suns, each of which is supposed to control a separate,
or its own system of planets; giving light and heat
thereto, even as our sun does to this earth, and its
THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. 39
jwn system of planets. Their distance from the sun
that lights up our Heavens are immeasurable—far
transcending our conceptions, or even our imagina¬
tion—in illumi table space. They also inform us
that the distance from this earth to the nearest one
of these distant stars, or suns, is about twenty bil¬
ling of miles." So vast is the distance here stated,
that the mind can not grasp or comprehend it. We
can more nearly approximate by the measurement of
light; a ray of which darting from its surface and
traveling at the speed of 192,000 miles a second,
would not reach our eye under three years and eight
month. "Such then," says Sir. John Herschel, "i&
the length of the sounding-line with which we first
touch bottom in the attempt to fathom the great abyss
of the sidereal heavens." Says Olmstead, "Until
recently, astronomers gave almost exclusive attention
to observations, and the study of the solar system.
But Dr. William Herschel turned his attention to the
-sidereal heavens, and opened up new and wonderful
.fields of discovery, as well as of speculation. His
son, Sir John Herschel, and Sir James South, of Eng¬
land, have followed the old master, with grasping
minds and brilliant intellects, until more has been ac-
complished by them, and others of the present day,
than all preceding astronomers had even ventured to
conjecture," and that their deductions are founded
plainly on facts, no intelligent mind will—on investi¬
gation—have reason to doubt.
40 THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK.
But having thrown anchor and "touched bottom"
in the wide expanse of the unlimited sphere of the
sidereal heavens, "let us/' says Dr. Child, "take an¬
other flight. Here next, within the domain of Sir-
ius, we find ourselves six times as far distant as when
at Centanri, first mentioned"—say one hundred and
twenty billions of miles—"from which it would re¬
quire twenty-two years for a ray of light traveling at
the rate of 192,000 miles a second, to reach our
earth." But, far distant yonder, we behold the
beauteous Capella, in all its splendor and glory,
throwing its effulgent rays across the wide expanse of
universe, and yet these rays of light, traveling at the
same mentioned rate—192,000 miles each passing
second of time—require about seventy years in tran¬
sit, before the inhabitants of our earth catch a
glimpse of their brilliancy and beauty. And yet now
the mind has only entered the borders of "the starry
regions'---far beyond, in illimitable space, lie the
'Host of the Stars'; their vast distances can not be
computed even by light itself."
A writers says, "It is wonderful to contemplate the
probability that of some of the more distant stars dis¬
covered, the rays of light which have found rest in
the eye of the astronomer, through the aid of the tele¬
scope, mnv have left their native sun thousands of
years ago, and traveled at the rate of 192,000 mile-i
a second ever since." "A certain cluster of stars was
estimated by Sir William Herschel to be V00 times
THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. 41
the distance of a star of the first magnitude—there¬
fore, at least, 700 times nineteen billions of miles!"
But, observes C.TUillemin, if this cluster was removed
to five times its actual distance, that is to say, 3,500
times the distance of Sirius, the large Herschelian
telescope of 40 feet focus would still show it, but onlv
as an irresolvable Nebula. It is, then, extremely
probable that, among the many Nebulae indecompos¬
able into stars, beyond the Milky Way in the depths
of the heavens, many are as distant as that of which
we speak. Doubtless, many are more so. Now to
reach us, light rays must have left stars situated at
such a distance more than 700,000 years ago!" says
Child, "When we have touched the verge of this ut¬
termost range, infinity, boundless as ever, still lies
beyond. The idea of God extinguishes in our mind
every suspicion that there can be any limits to space,
magnitude or power in relation to His works. The
mighty universe we have been considering is but the
stepping-stone to what is farther on; and although
cur imagination fails to grasp it, our reason assures
lis it must be so. There is no such thing as taking
from or adding to the illimitable.
"With what just propriety of thought has light
been called the 'voice' of the stars. * * * In the
'speechless' voice of light the stars proclaim to us from
the depths of space, the existence of innumerable
other worlds which, like our own, share the Creator s
care. * * * With mute argument stars prove to us
42
THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK:.
that in those far-off regions, gravitation—the power
that brings the apple to the ground—still reigns su¬
preme, tod with suggestive whispers of probability,
they persuade us that, like our own sun, they bathe
attendant worlds in floods of light; deck them in
colors of beauty, and shower countless blessings on
the life of myriads of beings."
"The great, the mighty God, great in council and
mighty in work."
THE GREAT MAGNITUDE OF THfe
WORK AND OFFICE OF THE
MINISTER.
The 'first thing which concerns the carpenter who
has a house to build is to know the dimensions of
structure he is to build and the material he is re¬
quired to use in its construction. And the business
of the preacher is to know the magnitude of his work
and how to do it and not to be discouraged though
ail the wicked forces of earth and hell oppose.
The Great Magnitude of the work is at once seen
in that he is an ambassador sent from God to man, a
representative of the court of heaven, a minister
plenipotentiary.
The New Testament contains a rule of faith and
Conduct for all men essential for their salvation, and
therefore is contained in this same record, the ap¬
pointed means of its administration. We could not
conceive of God's giving a revelation of such import
to men without at the same time distinctly arrang¬
ing the best methods of making it known to them, or¬
daining the best method of making it known to them.
He would not leave this to loose, uncertain methods.
If no regular divine agency had been appointed to
publish the message of reconciliation between God
44 THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK.
and man, we should be apt to think that God is not
in earnest in this; or that it is no true revelation. If
there is a word of peace from the higher government
to our souls, there must be also a permanent embassy
of peace, establish in the foreign government of an
alienated world. God could have converted the
world by the preaching of Christ; he could have re¬
generated it by a pure act of power; but why is it that
twenty centuries have passed, and but a fraction of
the earth is Christian? Is it not because God sees
fit to commit this work to men—to involve human ef¬
fort, trial, sympathy, responsibility, in this circle of
human redemption.
We clearly recognize the fact that all Christians
are involved in this circle of responsibility to win
souls to Christ, and we claim for the ministry no ex¬
clusive right to teach or to work. We do not forget,
for a moment that there is no essential distinction be¬
tween the people and the preacher in point of re¬
sponsibility. The preacher is but one of the people,
as a captain is but one of his company, whom the
company has chosen out of its own bory to perform
a certain duty. (All who love Christ are called to
the work of making known. And this universal
duty of Christians is now better understood j or
rather the church is returning to this primitive idea
of Christianity. God speed the progress of this idea
until all the energy and working talent of the church,
of whatever kind, shall be developed. We are no
THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK.
45
Sticklers for ministerial prerogative in doing good.
The minister has no monopoly in preaching, or pray¬
ing, or working. The church of God is the people of
God, and not the ministry. Still, there is a ministry
of the gospel and it has a great work to do which other
men in their worldly occupations and business can
not do.
The young people are being organized for Christian
work as never before, and by this method of church
work the primitive idea of church work is being car¬
ried out. The preacher of to-day who hopes to suc¬
ceed must get hold of the young people, and no better
way in bringing about this desired end than is used
by the different denominations in organizing the
young people for special Christian work in thei>*
churches.
Augustine says that this ministry was not given to
angels, because then "human nature would have been
degraded. It would have been degraded had it
seemed as if God would communicate his word by
man to man. The love which binds mankind in the
bond of unity would have no means of fusing disposi¬
tions, so to speak, together, and placing them in com¬
munion with each other, if men were not to be taught
by men.'' There were golden wrords spoken by a
great man.
Yet, Augustine himself had so profound a concep¬
tion of the magnitude and responsibility of this work,,
that when the eyes of the Christian world were fast-
46 THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK.
ened on him, he would go to no assembly or council
which could ordain him a minister, and at last, when
almost bv accident lie was cliosen to a small spiritual
charge, he received it with expresions of great afflic¬
tion, that his opposers said lie was troubled because
so small a place had been given him. In like man¬
ner, Cbrysostom, at the age of twenty-six, could not
possibly be persuaded to take up the public service of
the ministry, because he felt his unfitness for it.
God, in other things also, works by secondary agen¬
cies—himself originating power for all things yet the
only invisible One. lie loves to hide himself in his
instrumentalities, and to manifest himself through
them. "We are at all times only instruments in God's
hands. He who made the light before he collected
it into the sun, and hung that in the heavens to be the
steady reservior and distributor of the light, seems
to prefer, for his own wise ends this instrumental
method of working; and we should therefore expect,
in the revelation of a new Faith from the skies, the
simultaneous ordaining or special agencies to make
known this new message of truth and life.
We actually do find in the Scriptures of God's re¬
vealed will this work of making known his word com¬
mitted to the human instrument. As Christ gave
the bread to his disciples to be distributed to the fam¬
ishing multitudes, so God distributes the bread of life
to men through the hands of his believing ministers;
THEOLOGICAL AND . LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. 47
they are not priests, but ministers ; they are not medi¬
ators, but simply servants.
Acts 20:18. "Take heed therefore to yourselves,
and to all the flock over the which the Holy Spirit
hath made you overseers to feed the church of Hod."
2 Cor.' 5 :18. "And all things are of God, who hath
reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath
given us the ministry of reconciliation." Col. 4:17.
"And say to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry
which thou hast received of the Lord, that thou fulfill
it." Tit. 1:3. "But hath in due time manifested
his word through preaching which is committed unto
me according to the commandment of God our
Saviour." The Gospel is a word, even as Christ is
the Word. He was the prefect expression of God.
In his preaching, character, life and death, he spoke
the word of God; and he commissions preachers to
continue to speak this word. One of the most extra¬
ordinary passage in the Bible fitted to fill every Chris¬
tian preacher's mind with awe, is that contained in 2
Oor. 5:20: "JSTow then we are ambassadors for
Christ, as though God did beseech you by us; we prav
you, in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to God." True
preachers (and of these we speak) are here made to
stand for Christ; they not only testify of Christ, but
they represent him; they continue his work in his
spirit and power; they are clothed in his representa¬
tive authority. As ministers of Christ they exhibit
the love both of God and of man. In the Gospel
48 THEOLOGICAL AND LITEEAEY SCEAP-SACK.
which tliev announce, setting forth the way of united
faith, and bringing God into sinful humanity, they
sustain and carry on the blessed "ministry of recon¬
ciliation." And so long as they truly loye God and
man, God speaks purely and powerfully through
them to men; they persuade men to loye God, even
as they loye him ; they give God's invitations from
hearts stirred by his loye; they hold forth the means
of a divine life; they stand as does the cross they
preach, half in the light of heaven, and half on earth;
they are, not physically, nor officially, but morally in¬
struments of converting men to God; they do not pro¬
duce conversion, but they are the means to its pro¬
duction ; they use the truth to produce it, taking the
Bible out of the dead letter, and making it a living
word to men.
While they thus speak his word and manifest his
spirit and his love, they are the living ambassadors
of God as truly as were Elijah and Elisha, Paul and
John; and no man may despise them, for they speak
with a divine authority—they speak with the word
of God to man. "If any man speak, let him speak
as the oracles of God." God said to an ancient
preacher, 'kBe not afraid of their faces; for I am with
thee to deliver thee, saith the Lord. Thou, therefore,
gird up thy loins and arise and speak unto them all
that I command thee; be not dismayed at their faces."
This sense of his divine commission is indeed the
preacher's strength. He centers himself in God. He
THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. 49
speaks out of the consciousness of God's choice of
him, and of God's will expressed through him; and
herg is the source of his eloquence. The moment he
loses this divine presence, and is conscious that he is
delivering his own message, that he is speaking a
human word, he becomes an ordinary man, an
"earthen vessel" indeed.
This whole subject of the divine appointment of
the ministrv will be treated more thoroughly when we
come to speak of the Pastoral Office; but it is a good
opportunity here, though not rightly belonging to the
introduction, to say a single word on this mooted
point of the preacher's authority, as one who speaks
the word of God. As a practical matter, young
preachers find this trouble—that they have the feel¬
ing often that many of their audience do not receive
the Bible with the reverent faith that they do them¬
selves; and they think, therefore, that they can not
like the lawyer at the bar, point them to the word of
God as final authority, saying: "This is the law on
. the subject, this is the statute, this settles the ques¬
tion." In answer to this we would say that the
, preacher has a right, or, to put it stronger, is com-
\ pelled to take for granted two things. First, that the
r Bible is the word of God, and therefore is final au¬
thority. This he must do to have a right to preach
at all; here is his own commissions. Christianity is,
above all, a word, the word of God. He should
preach as if he believed this, and here lie finds his au-
4
50 THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK.
thority for what lie says, and here is liis standing
point to heave the minds of men from their deep-
rooted sinfulness and sensuality. And he has to as¬
sume, secondly, that the audience before him do also
"believe this. If the audience is composed of pro¬
fessed believers, as at the communion table, the diffi¬
culty vanishes. If the audience is a common mixed
one, composed of believers and unbelievers, still the
unbelieving portion put themselves in the position of
believers by coming to the house of God to hear the
Gospel preached. They know that it is the house of
God, where the Bible is preached as the word of Goil
There are, in any case, few in our congregations 011
the Sabbath who do not yield an outward respect to
the Bible as the revealed wrord of God. Even a
sceptical writer like Strauss concedes the historical
value of a great portion of the Bible, and the value
also of the religion which Christ, who he believed
actually did live, taught. At all events, there will
not, probably, be one in the audience who does not be¬
lieve in a God; and if one does believe in a God, he
must also believe that God has created him and cares
for him, and that lie has somewhere or somehow ex¬
pressed this care and love for him. The preacher
then has a right to assume that the Bible is that good
word and message of God to man; for if it is not,
where can such, a word be found ?
The apostles, when they preached to pure heathens
and infidels, planted themselves on the simple word
THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. 51
of God, and they appealed to the primary laws of
God written in the conscience to confirm what they
spoke. It was "by manifestation of the truth to
every man's conscience in the sight of God," that they
preached. The authority of the word of God was
final with the apostles, while at the same time they
cast themselves upon men's reason and consciousness
to confirm the word preached. The apostles' preach¬
ing was thus both authoratitive and persuasive.
"Knowing the terror of the Lord, we persuade men.''
"Abstain from fleshly lusts which war against the
soul:" here, while a command is uttered, a reason is
also given; and a preacher may develop this reason
to any extent, and show how inordinate appetites in¬
jure the spiritual nature. Times, it is true, have
changed, and the authority of the preacher has ap¬
parently diminished; other influences have now come
in to compete with the pulpit; and the preacher's
faith and patience are tried more than formely to sus¬
tain his heaven-delegated authority; but he should
plant himself the more firmly on the word of God.
He should awaken a deeper faith in his people in that
word which "endureth forever," though the human
preacher soon vanishes away. In the struggle be¬
tween the authority of divine revelation and that of
human consciousness, while Christianity admits both,
and brings both to utter the same thing, it founds its
final authority 011 the will of God; and here the
52 theological and literary scrap-sack.
preacher should stand, where Luther stood, and where
the apostles stood.
2. The magnitude of the preacher's work is seen
from the nature of the truths with which he deals.
These truths may be generally summed up under the
one name of divinity. "And what is divinity," says
Eobert South, "but a doctrine treating of the nature,
attributes, and works of the great God, as he stands
related to rational creatures, ancl the way how
rational creatures may serve, worship, and enjoy
him ? And if so, is not the subject of it the greatest,
and the design and business of its the noblest in the
world, as being no less than to direct an immortal
soul to its endless and eternal felicity ? It has been
disputed to which of the intellectual habits mentioned
by Aristotle it most properly belongs; some referring
it to wisdom, some to science, some to prudence, and
some compounding it of several of them together; but
those seem to speak most to the purpose who will not
have it formally, any one of them, but virtually,
and in an eminently transcendent manner, all. And
now, can we think that a doctrine of that depth, that
height, and that vast compass, grasping within it all
the perfections and dimensions of human science,
does not worthily claim all the preparations whereby
the wit and industry of mail can fit him for it ? All
other sciences are but handmaids to divinity; and
shall the handmaid be richer adorned and better
clothed and set off than her mistress ? In other things
THEOLOGICAL AND LTTERARY SCRAP-SACK. 53
the art usually excels the matter, and the ornament
we bestow is better than the subject we bestow it
upon; but here we are sure that we have such a sub¬
ject before us as not only calk for, but commands,
and not only commands, but deserves our application
to it; a subject of that native, that inherent worth,
that lustre we can put upon it. The study of divin¬
ity is indeed difficult, and we are to labor hard it is
not capable of any addition to it from us, and dig
deep for it. But when we dig in a gold mine, which
equally invites and rewards our labor, we are con¬
tent. This is a great truth, that there can be no
endowment in the soul of man which God himself is
the cause and giver of, but may, even in its highest
and choicest operations, be sanctified and employed
in the work of the ministry."
the regenerate life the cor¬
ner-stone of christian
character:
In tliis chapter it will be my purpose to speak of
the religious education of tlie young people, consid¬
ered as a divinely appointed means of Christian re¬
generation. My object in doing this is to call the at¬
tention of the church and the Christian people to
their duties and great responsibilities, which are tow
often neglected, and by this very neglect the spiritual
welfare of the young is sacrificed.
But that I may be more fully understood, I will
inject a few words here by way of explanation. What
is meant by the terms spiritual or regenerate life of
which we speak ? What is Christian regeneration'?
Is it a reality or only a figure of speech to which no
definite meaning can be given ? To these questions,
we would says that this regenerate life is a something
that every one must experience in the formation of a
true Christian character, to make it less would be to
say that it is simply a matter of historical interest.
Can it properly be called a change of heart, or is it
anything more than that general improvement in
manners and morals, the desirableness of which every
one admits, but to which no such radical expression
THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK.
55
can, without exaggeration, be applied ? According
to the answer given to these questions, the whole sub¬
ject of religious education assumes greater or less
practical importance, upon this the church must in¬
sist.
"If any man is in Christ," says the Apostle Paul,
"he is a new creature. Old things are passed away;
behold, all things have become new." (2 Cor. v. 17.)
We ask attention to the plainness and strength of fhis
'language,—"a new creature." But, strong as the
words are, they do not convey the full meaning of the
uriginal, which is, "a new creation." That is to say,
he who is in Christ is created again; and, lest the
words may fail to be apprehended, the idea is further
expressed, "old things have passed away and all
things have become new."
Nor is this the only instance in which the Chris¬
tian regeneration is thus described. It is the com¬
mon Scriptural mode of expression. The state of the
regenerate is declared to be the absolute renunciation
of one life and the assumption of another. As St,
Paul again said, "I am crucified with Christ,"—put
to death with him; "nevertheless, I live, yet not I,
but Christ livetli in me." The word "regeneration"
indicates the same thing, for it is, literally, a new or
renewed birth. And thus the Saviour himself spoke,
when he said, "Except a man be born again," or born
from above, by a higher, creative, spiritual birth,
"he can not see the kingdom of God."
56 THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK.
Whatever we may make of such words, there can
be 110 doubt of their containing a leading Scriptura1
doctrine. They are so often repeated, and in such
variety of form but unity of substance, that we can
not keep them out of sight if we would.
There is, undoubtedly, a Christian doctrine of re¬
generation which is intended to be received as a plain,
practical truth, of universal application.
Yet there is in the minds of some persons a preju¬
dice against it, and it is sometimes broadly de¬
nied. Particularly do men of pretended highly edu¬
cated minds turn from it with distrust or contempt,
as if it were the preaching of ignorance and supersti¬
tion. But, by so treating the subject, we think that,
they go as far towards one extreme as the most igno¬
rant and superstitious go towards the other. To
deny the doctrine of regeneration and to remain a
Christian, indicates either the misuse of words or an
imperfect knowledge of the Scripture, and those who
would stand upon safe grounds must accept the plain
statement of Christ (John 3:2-5.)
There may be, and not unfrequently is, a turning-
point of character—an epoch which is the beginning
of a new era in the life. In this sense, no one will
dispute the fact; but we must remember that, after
the direction of a life is changed, the whole progress
of life is to be accomplished.
But we still hold to the plain and practical mean¬
ing of the Scriptural words, u Whosoever is in Christ
THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK. 57
is a new creature." There is not only a seeming dif¬
ference, but an essential, radical, and thorough dif¬
ference, between the religious and the worldly life.
By becoming Christians we undergo a change, not
only of habit, nor chiefly of habit, but chiefly a change
of heart; or, in other words, of affection and of in¬
ward character. For nothing else than this can be
reasonably intended when a change of heart is spoken
of—the same experience which is variously expressed,
in the fifty-first Psalm by the words, "Create within
me a clean heart," and then by the equivalent words,
"Renew a right spirit within me."
Every one must feel" that his real or inward char¬
acter is not always indicated by his ordinary outward
conduct. "We know men by their fruits," but we
judge of the fruit, not by its looks, but its taste and
wholesome qualities. A man's real character can be
told only by knowing his leading motives, his ruling
passion or affection, the prevailing purpose of his life.
Of course, therefore, it can be known but imperfectly
to any one but himself and his Maker; and wisdom
should keep us from too positive judgments concern¬
ing each other. But it is none the less evident that,
if the ruling principle be changed, the whole man is
changed.
We may see, therefore, how radical is the clmjige
which the Christian religion proposes, and how tlior-
' oughly it must pervade the whole life in the process
of its accomplishment. It substitutes the principle
58 THEOLOGICAL AND LITERARY SCRAP-SACK.
of right for that of expediency. It makes the will of
God our law, instead of our own changing desires, or
the customs of the world. Instead of selfishness and
self-seeking, whatever form they may take, it Reaches
self-denial, and, it may be, self-sacrifice. In requires
us to live for others, not only by separate acts of kind¬
ness, but by going about to do good, and by making
the ordinary occupations of life the means of useful¬
ness. It teaches us to regard everything in this
world chiefly with a view to its uses in the formation
of that higher, spiritual life, which begins here, to be
perfected1 in heaven. It goes, therefore, to the deptV
of the soul, and changes the purpose of its existence.
It changes the meaning of life and the end to be ac¬
complished. It requires the change of our ruling
affections, and by infusing a new spirit into every¬
thing done, it effectually changes the whole conduc*
and conversation. To become a Christian is, there¬
fore, as the Scriptures teach, to undergo a change,
and being such a change as we have indicated, you
must be born again!