Christian herald., August 03, 1883, Page 3, Image 3

CHRISTIAN HERALD
how he was pleased with the
preacher, the answer was prompt,
Very much. He said that the dis­
course was a plain, earnest and
faithful exhibition of the subject of
conversion, and as such much more
agreeable to him than any amount
Of unspiritual brilliancy/ A inatcli
for this is found in a statement
contained in an obituary notice of
the late Rev. Wm. T. Sprole, D.D.,
in the Herald and Presbyter. Dr.
Sprole was for many years pastor
I
I’resbyiei'ian XJhurdi— mx
Washington, and at one time chap-
, | lain to one of the Houses of Con­
¡8 gress. Not a few of the public
men of that day were his hearers,
and among these was the Hon.
Rufus Choate, Senator from Massa­
chusetts. A Unitarian Church had
been organized, and a leading
V just
member waited on the honorable
Senator and urged him to attend
« their services.
They had for a
minister, he said, a poet, philosopher
and orator. The Senator heard
him through, and replied that when
he wished for poetry he could read
the poets, for philosophy lie could
consult the masters, and as for
oratory he could do little of that
himself ; but when he wished to
learn about the Lord Jesus Christ,
he proposed to go down to Four-
- and-a-half street and hear Rev. Mr.
Sprole.— Christian Intelligencer.
r )
I
P ositive P reaching .—The Roman
eagles built their nests in the sacred
oaks, in the’days of Hadrian. The
nightingales sung sweetest, it is
said that dwelt hard by the grove
of Orpheus.
That preacher or
teacher is most successful who
keeps close to the sacred Scriptures
and under the inspiration of the
Cross of the Crucified. Excursions
into the frigid zone of modern spec­
ulations brings a chill to the heart
of the teacher and taught The
age of agnosticisms is not that of
warm personal piety. Primitive
piety was not fed on uncertainties
and hypothetic negations. Apos­
tolic preaching was not tremulous,
vague, indecisive, made up of ifs.
It was determinate, authoritative,
incisive, because decisive ; cogent,
because certain. Paul did not say
that he held the matter of inspira-
l tion, regeneration, resurrection or
future punishment in suspense,
waiting for new light, but he said,
i " knowing the terrors of the Lord
we persuade men.” An uncertain
. blast upon the trumpet rouses no
one to the battle. No bridge of
future probation spanned the gulf
of ruin of which Paul told his
hearers “ weeping.” Positive ideas
have always been an inspiring
power, whether in science, in the
political or Religious world. To
hesitate, waver, vacillate, to assert
and then retract, to affirm and then
quaTify~witli“cohcessionii that elim-
inate the significance of all you
have said, is to confess yourself
beaten. The world has said enough
of guess-work in religion. It craves
some solid ground to rest upon, in
reference
„th.ia. world
eternal. The Bible gives it. It is
a finished revelation and the atone­
ment of Christ is a finished work.
This life is the only probation we
know of. Knowing these things,
we have motive enough to work
out our salvation with fear and
trembling. Keeping close to these
central truths we' get the only
power and inspiration by which we
can move men.— Christian at Work.
the office to buy a drink of whisky.
Every time he went out the cashier
was instructed to drop ten cents in
the drawer to our credit. At the
end of seventeen months, the man
who had gone out so often had
drunk himself out of a good situa-
tion, and the drawer, when opened/
was found to contain four hundred
and nine dollars, which we loaned
to a young mechanic at seven per
cent, interest. He used it to pur­
chase a set of tinner’s tools. On
.. of—February, 187fi, he.
returned it to us with interest, say­
ing that he had a wife, two children,
and property worth five hundred
dollars.
The other fellow is a
bummer, hunting for food.— -Pome­
roy's Democrat. *
Original Contributions.
RECAPITULATION.
CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY.
For certainly not one article written
in review has given evidence that
the ■ writer has understood me.
Allow me then to restate in another
form some of my positions.
I will first enumerate some
things done, and commanded to be
Jon^m t!ii"Scriptures which we do’"
not do, justifying ourselves on the
ground that they do not apply to
us at all, pr at least in the pre-
scrilied form washing feet was done
by Jesus, commanded to be done
,Ly,..Li.s.- iii.sr.ipies, .and practjr.nd by____
them. We do not practice it on the
ground that the editor has well
taken, that the lesson humility, can
be better shown in other ways now,
but not because it was not a church
ordinance. Now I say again in
the institutions of the Lord’s
supper and washing feet, there is
just as much evidence that one was
to be for the Church and perpetual
as the other. Both were given by
Jesus to his disciples, a request
made that they be continued, and
both observances were continued.
But the character of the institutions
Sometime ago I was induced to
write some article on Christian
Cooperation in the spread of the
gospel. In doing so 1 >vas led to
make some strictures upon certain
things that pass current as a part perpituity.
Now in aeknowedging this prin­
of the gospel and Christian teach­
ing, which I felt confident were ciple, (w’hich the editor has done)
never intended by the Sacred almost the whole of what I contend
teachers to be received and used for is conceded.
after the' manner of the present
The disciples under the apostles
had a community
age-
, of o goods—why
1 also, called attention ..to other- -don’t those who contend for Apos-
things not mentioned in Scripture tolic example adopt this method as
useful, true, lovely and good, the Scriptural method of.raising
and which subserve the purpose of money ? The facts are that there
carrying out the spirit of the are several methods .by which
gospel of Christ, but which are money was raised, neither one to be
bitterly denounced because not used specially to the exclusion of
mentioned in Scripture. I tried to the other, or any other that is wise
show that the Scriptures never and prudent. The Lord expected
intended to present an iron bed his disciples in a'l ages to have
stead for all ages, so that “ If we good common sense, and did not
were too short we must be stretch­ think it necessary to give a method
ed, cut off if we’re too long.”
that in the nature of things could
I also showed that all religious not be applicable to all ages and all
people, ourselves among the num­ conditions of society. The thing
ber, acknowledged the principle for to be attained is to get the money
which I contend in leaving off much and use it wisely for the varied
of apostolic example and practicing purposes for which it is needed;
many things not given by them. and in order to benefit the contrib- )
But I find I have stirred up a utor it must be given in the proper
hornet’s nest and already three spirit These ends attained and
scribes, including the editor, have you have all the plan the Loixl
rallied to protect the citadel of the ever intended you should have.
faith. Now in all my articles I
If you want to follow apostolic
have written hastily^each completed example, after the manner now
at one sitting, and may not have urged every disciple should at some
expressed myself clearly, but as my time in his life take a vow, shave
position is clear in my own mind, I his head and purify himself with
presume the trouble is that “ none others, at his own expense, in a
How it W orks .—Some years are so blind as those who wont see,” Jewish Temple. It might be urged
ago we had in our employ a man or “ A person convinced against his also as a part of the apostolic
who several times a day ran out of will is of the same opinion still.” method of doing missionary work
U nutterable P rayer .—There
are times when men’s thoughts
naturally take the form of w’ords
and arrange themselves in orderly
sentences. There are other times
when no words can reveal the
thoughts, but when a look might
cohvey what a volumn could not
contain.
So it is in regard to
prayer. Sometimes our ideas find
easy utterance ; again they struggle
at the door of a full heart and can­
not find exit. So Esther stood silent
before her Lord, disclosing only by
her wistful presence all her trust
and entreaty. So, as it is told of
the devout Bengel when he spread
out his hand before God as ho
turned from his Bible to retire to
rest and simply murmured : “ Lord,
it is all understood between us.”
And so may we all, if we will, turn
our hearts to Him to whom our
hearts are known and offer our
unutterable longings for His ineffa­
ble gifts of love and peace. “ And
in like manner the Spirit also
helpeth our infirmity; for we
know not what to pray for as we
ought; but the spirit himself
maketh intercessions for us with
jroanings which cannot be uttered.”
There is no moment so busy, no
place so crowded, but that this
form of prayer is then and there
possible, and thus it is that we may
obey the charge of the apostle,
" Pray without ceasing.”— Phila­
delphia S. S. Times.
*1