CHeiSTIANIT! REVIEWED.
RY THE
RBV. WILLIAM CHHETHAM.
AUTHOR or
"I.icHTs ANH Shadows of Clerical Lifiu'"
"The voice of one crying in the wilderness, prepare ye the xmj af
the Lord, make His paths straight.— il/a//..? fAa/.jv.
HROCKVILLE:
Thk Rkcorder Printing Co.NtpANv.
1890.
Entered according to Act ol Parliament of Canada, in the
year one thousand eight hundred and ninety-six, by the
Rev. William Cheetham, in the office of the Minister
of Agriculture, Ottawa.
56899
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
Thk liiiiLK FROM A Common Sense STANDpoiNr,
CHAPTER n.
Handling the Word ok Cod.
CHAPTER HI.
The Inconsistencies of Professinc. Christians,
CHAP'l'ER IV.
Church Methods and Work.
CHAPTER \.
Prayer.
CHAPTER \T.
The Prayer Meetin(;.
CHAPTER VII.
The I'hilosophy of Salvation.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Duty of Supporting the Gospel.
CHAPTER IX.
The Pastoral Relation.
chapti<:r X.
I'mk Ethics of Christianity.
to the memory of my onl\ son,
whose death,
deeply lamented,
<;ave forth the c.erm and (,)ltckenin(;
FROM \YHICH these PACES FLAVE
SPRUNG,
THLS VOLU.N[E IS AKKECTIONATELN- INSCRHIED
P.Y
THE AUTHOR.
rkiirAci:.
Christianity i.i niorca life than ;•• creed, and as such it
is reviewed in the following jxiges. 'J'he author is just
presumptuous enough to indulge the hope that his book
may do some good. That has been iiis object in writing
it, if he understands himself. Whether there is need for
it the Christian public must judge. The author, at
least, thinks there is. There arc many things said that
need to be said, and that he has long waited for an
opportunity to say.
'I'he reader will fmd nothing of a sectarian nature
here. The matters treated are, for the most |)art, com-
mon to all denominations of Christians, and they are
very |)ractical. Truth has not been sacrificed, neither
has charity been neglected. It is not expected that all
the views advanced will meet with universal approval.
It would be a denial of average human experience to
indulge such an expectation. If, however, they meet
with anything like gdieral attention, thought will likely
ibe stimulated in some useful directions, and as that is
the precursor of action, something; practical may result.
The prcaclicrs have not escaped criticisui, neither
h.'tve they lacked a bold and fearlers defence when
necessary ; and both, it is claimed, within the limits of
truth and charity. I'hey may pick u[) a hint, here and
there, worth remembering ; and tl^ey will find that some
things have been said that will tend to their easement
and better appreciation. Many things, pertaining to.
Christians and to (Christian Churches, have been dealt
with in a kindly but faithful spirit ; that kindlines.s
which is founded upon truth, and that faithfulness which
springs from the love of truth.
Indeed it is fervently hoped that the following pages
may be found, in some humble measure, "profitable for
doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in
righteousness."
CHAITKK I.
The Bible, from a Common Sense
Standpoint.
J\M 1 absolutely sure that the Bible is what it claims
to be, a Divinely inspired book? 1 frankly admit I am
not. Is its Divine origin capable of absolute demon-
■stration ? I do not think it is. (!an the candid mind
reach a point in its enquiries where not a shadow of
<loubt rests upon the validity of its claims ? 1 think not.
What then ? Are we to give the Bible up, and cast it
away from us ? By no means. What we have to do,
however, is to be more reasonable in our claims, and
iuster in our defence, than we have hitherto been. We
-pre dealing with intelligent men, in a wide-awake age,
•who will not accept assumption for argument, nor mere
<logmatism for clear and reasonable jiroof. We must
not atttempt the impracticable, and the impossible.
8 (URISTIANITY UKMKWKP.
We must not try to explain everything, and luirmoni/e
everything. Above all we must be honest : that is, we
must not be slow to admit what is clearly our duty to
admit, though the admission may seem, in some mea
sure, to militate against the claims in which we so
fervently believe, and for which we so earnestly contend
The IJible has been injured, in the past, by the unwise
advocacy of its well meaning, but sadly misla'ven friends.
It mi"ht justly cry, deliver me from my friends ; at least
from some of them. The lact is undeniable that unten
able and unnecessary claims have been i)ut forth in its
behalf, and too little has been conceded to the logic of
facts, and the dictates of common sense.
VVhile I do not claim, and think it unwise because
untenable to claim, proof complete and absolute for the
Divine origin of the Dible, I, nevertheless, ^ive it my
strong confidence, because the balance of evidence
internal and external — is ovorwhelmingly in its favor..
And as this is the principle by which human judgment
and conduct are regulated in all things— even in the
commonest as well as the most momentous affairs of
life, it cannot be inappropriate or exceptional to apply it
to the present case. Indeed, it is the part of wisdom so
( MUISTIANITV RKVIKWKO. 9
to apply it, and so to rest upon it. Objection has been
made against the Hible, on the ground that while it pro-
fesses to be a revelation, there are some things in it not
only hard, but impossible of human comprehension and
understanding. The fact, as stated, must be admitted,
and wJthout (juibbling or evasion. There are things
hard to be understood. There are some things which
transcend the faculties of the human mind. What then
is the force of the objection ? Does it really, and in any
measure, invalidate the claims of the Book ? Not at all.
I'hcre are several considerations worthy of beinu noted
in this connection.
irhe first is that the l]ook claims to be of Divine 'origin
that is, the product of an infinite mind — and therefore
n need not be at all surprising if some things, [)er-
fectly consistent and harmonious in themselves, ai)pear
impossible of .satisfactory solution to the human mind,
-which, at its highest and best, can never be anything but
finite ; that is, necessarily limited in its scope and range.
The second cons'deration is, that it is probably one
of the prime intentions of the Book not only to affirm,
which it frequently does, the necessary limitations of
human knowledge, but to give full and ample illustra-
10 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED,
lions of the same, as an incentive to a Fx?comin«i;
humility in the midst of our increasing knowledge.
The third consideration is that, what we know not
now we may know hereafter. V>y this is meant not only
the possibility of development in knowledge in the
future state which is clearly and plainly predicted and
promised— but also the possibility of such increased
accjuisitions in what lemainsto us of the present life ; or
if not to us to succeeding generations of men, if such,
acquisitions are deemed by the All-Wise necessary and
useful. The Bible is adapted not only to all nations-
hut to all times, and it may be a Divine intention that
its t'-uths shall be educed and understood according to-
the ever expanding rscjuircments of the race.
Again, it is not imusual for the unfriendly critic tO'
adduce certain passages of Scripture which by compari
son seem contradictory, and he instantly assumes and
affirms that they arc so, when, in fact, rightly considered
and interpreted, they arc not. Viewed verbally, and
in'c'.kitiially they may be opposed, and in some cases
radically so, but looked at spiritually, that is, by the aid
of what the Scriptures call spiritual discernment, and in
the light of a sanctified Christian experience, there is at
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 11
'oncc seen a harmony which is both beautiful and pro-
found. Spiritual things in order lo be understood must
be spiritually discerned. That is the dictum of the
liook itself, and we must be honest enough to take it on
nts own ground. .*'The natural man receiveth not the
things of the Spirit of Ciod, for they are foolishness
unto him, neither can he know them, because they are
spiritually discerned." ist Cor. 2 ch. 14 v. Thus there is
a spiritual faculty — a new-birth faculty, it might be called
-not inherent in man naturally nor intellectually, but
gi^en to the earnest seeker under certain specified con-
a-
•ditions ; a faculty essentially distinct from the intel-
ilectual, and yet necessarily allied with it in its exercise,
and i)y the aid of which the harmony and beauty of
spiritual truth may be clearly perceived.
Numerous illustrations of this might be given. Let
one suffice. Take those three oft-repeated passages on
burden-bearing, "For every man shall bear his own bur-
den," (lal. 6 ch., 5 V. ; "Bear ye one another's burdens
and so fulfil the law of Christ," Gal. 6 ch , 2 v.; "Cast thy
burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee," Psalm
55 ch., 22 V. Now, viewed from a verbal and merely
intelluctual standpoint, these passages may be safely and
12 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
frankly admitted to be self-contradictory. They alf
refer to the same thing, burden-bearing; but something
essentially different, as far as action is concerned, is pre-
dicted in each case. In the first you have to bear your
own burden. In the second you share it with another.
In the third you cast it upon God. Are they, in their
proper relation and meaning, antagonistic ? Not at all..
A blessed harmony, in the .seemingly inharmonious, is
clearly seen by the soul that is taught by the Spirit of
God, and by a sanctilic 1 Christian experience. Respon-
sibility, as a central thought, inheres in each passage..
In the first we have personal responsibility ; in the
second mutual respon. ibility; in the third Divine re-
sponsibility. Where personal responsibility ends mu
tual responsibility begins, and where mutual respon
sibility ends Divine responsibility begins. Instead of
being mutually destructive they are mutually consistent
and helpful. There is a logical sequence leading to a
complete harmony of statement, of sentiment, and of
thought.
Passing from this let me here observe that there are
some things, in regard to tne Bible, that it is neither
wise, necessary, nor useful to contend for. I emphatic-
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 1-^
ally, and in the plainest possible way, state, that my deep
conviction is, that it is not wise, it is not necesspry. it is
not useful to contend that the Bible, as we have it, is a
perfect book, containing an absolutely adequate expres-
sion of the depth and splendor of the Divine thought.
It may be, and probably is, sufficient for our safe guid-
ance, but that falls short of the perfect and the absolute.
Indeed, from the very nature of the case, it must Ixj
more or less inadequate when we take into account the
imperfect media through which it has come to us. How-
can a Divine thought be adequately expressed in human
language ? How can the finite hold the infinite ? As
soon, and sooner in fact, might you expect to engulf
Jupiter in this little globe of ours.
Indeed this inadequacy — and inevitable inadequacy- -
is recognized by the record itself. Christ evidently felt
the insufficiency of human language to convey the ful-
ness of the Divine thought that was in Him when He
said to Nicodemus : " For God so loved the world, that
he gave his only begotten son, that whosoever believelh
in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.'*
John 3 ch. t6 v. Clearly, how much God loved the
world words could not express, and the use of the word
14 CHRISTIANITY RKVIEWED.
.CO recognises the impotency. There was a great thought
daborino; for expression, and it had to go forth without
aull expression, and was left in an indefinite state.
Neither can it be measured by our conception, because
that is finite, as we are, and the love is infinite, as
<lod is.
Then the apostle Paul seemed to labor under the
■same difficulty in that matchless utterance of his about
affliction : ■' For our light affliction, which is but for a
moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eter-
nal weight of glory." 2 Cor. 4 ch. 17 v. He i)iles one
epithet upon anofher in a vain endeavor to reach the
•si)lendor and immensity of the thought, and then takes
refuge in that momentous word eternal — so grand, and
yet so indefinite, and incomprehensible to finite minds
to express the magnitude of the heavenly reward which
is in store for the aftlicted believer.
1 will further stsate here that, it is neither wise,
necessary, nor useful to contend for the absolute
verbal accuracy of the Ih'ble. Why? Because as a
matter of fact, it is not only not probable, but, under
the cir(-unutances, it does not seem possible ; at least,
the possibility is so contingent and so remote as to
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 15
make it practically worthless. It can be readily seen
that when this concession is made — as it may be with-
out diminishing in any appreciable degree the just
weight and authority of the record — you cut the ground
from beneath the feet of a thousand objectors.
Does a verbal inaccuracy, or a number of verbal inac-
curacies, invalidate any book, or make it unreadable, or
not understandable. As a matter of fact they do not.
Indeed, we expect to find them, and we should be rather
surprised than otherwise if we did not ; for we know that
in some measure they are inevitable in any book, the pro-
duction of which is dependant, in whole or in part, upon
the imperfect intelligence and mechanical activities of
man. ( lOd is infallible, necessarily so, but man is not ;
and SO long as He works in conjunction with the human,
in the production of any give.i result, a certain amount
of necessary imperfection must ensue.
IMease to observe, however, that I am not, at present,,
admitting that there are verbal inaccuracies in the Bible:
neither am I contending that there are not. The force
of the argument is not dependant upon any admission
one way or the other. I admit, and I think any reason-
able man will admit, when I have done, that the Bible
16 CHRISTIANITY RKVIEWKD.
Is of ( rod ; that it is a divine booic ; that it is not simply
a human production ; that men were inspired by the
Holy Cihost to write it, and that they were guarded
against error in so doing. But I frankly confess I am
not prepared to admit that the men who copied the
sacred writings, through all the intervening centuries,
were equally, or even partially, inspired, and guarded
against, error, in what was purely a mechanical opera-
tion. And I am not prepared to admit that the men,
good as they were, who, from time to time, translated or
revised the Book were inspired, and guarded against
error. And if these men were not insi)ired in transcrib-
ing, translating, und revising, verbal inaccuracy to a cer-
tain extent — that is, to the extent of the necessary and
ivell known imperfections of man — is not only possible,
but exceedingly probable. It is what we might reason
ably expect ; and to think otherwise, or affirm otherwise
is to flatly deny the clearest dictates of reason and com-
mon sense.
Having cleared the way thus far, by answering
certain objections, and by frankly admitting what
the probable facts and the necessity of the case
seem to call for, we are entitled to proceed with the
CHRISTIANITY REVIFAVKD. 17
main enquiry, namely : Is the Hible what it professes to
JO be, the word of CJod ? Is it of Divine origin ? And if
•so is the evidence clearly discernible by the candid
mind, and is it of such a nature that it ought to carry
conviction with it ? I think it is.
I. The first consideration to be submitted is, that
there is a strong presumption, from the nature and con-
-stitutioM of things, in favor of a revelation, and such a
revelation as the IJible claims to be, and is. This argu-
Tnent m.ay be thus briefly stated.
Assuming the existence of Ciod— and we may be
allowed to assume it for the i)resent purj)ose — and that
vtc are His (^reatures. His children if you like that term
better, the work of Mis hands, and the objects of His
solicitudf and care, de{)endent upon Him i)hysi(ally,
mentally and morally, it is reasonable to suppose that
He would not leave us without a revelation of His will
to guide us. Judging by the analogy of nature and
human experience the thing is at least probable. There
are many things pertaining to us personally and our
relation to Him, necessary for us to know, and concern-
ing which He alone could instruct us. We think it
iwecessary, and it is necessary, not only to care for and
18 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
support our children, but also to instruct and guide ihem..
In short, to let them know, from time to time, what our
will is concerning them, and this is necessary for their
well-being. Surely (tod, thj Infinite l-'ather, is not
likely to do less than we; not likely to be less mindful
than we are ; not likely, in fact, to omit such a revelation
of His character, and such an expression of His will as
are necessary for our enlightenment and safe guidance.
So that a revelation, and .such a revelation as the Bible
contains is clearly probable, and constitutes a strong
presumption in its favor.
n. Not only is H Divine revelation probable, but it is
necessary. There are many things which nature, and
reason, and science may explain, with more or less of
completeness and satisfaction, but there are other things,.
of great and lasting importarice to us, upon which they
are as silent as the grave.
There is not even an answering echo to our deep and
anxious enquiries, Whence am I ? What am I ? And
whither am I going? The origin, the nature, and the
destiny of man are insoluble problems apart from the
Bible. As to the first, the origin of man, science knows-
nothing and can say nothing. As to the secondi, the
( MKISIIANIIY kl.VIt\VKD. 19
'Mature of man, it may offer some descriptions or expla-
nations of a materialistic knid, that is in regard to what
lis ap[)arent to the senses, but the deeper and real nature,
Avith its insatiahle longings and far reaching aspirations,
it cannot touch As to the third, the destiny of man, it
is as impotent as it is in regard to the first — that is, it
knows nothing, and can say nothing. And yet we want
these (juestions answered. It seems necessary to our
•comfort and well-being that they should be answered.
They will not back down, and out. The) will force
themselves to the front. They voice themselves
ill our inmost consciousness. They cry aloud, and
spare not. Whence? What.^ Whither? Reason is
silent. Nature is silent. Science, the interpretation,
and classification of nature, is silent. The Bible alone
is vocal, and is our only reliance and interpreter. It
tells me I am of God, and from God ; that I am made
of the visible and the invisible, body and soul ; and
that I am tending in the direction of fixity and eternity;
•an eternity unspeakable in its nature and possibilities.
Other (questions arise in the thoughtful and earnest
Tnind, equally profound and important, and equally in-
soluble apart from the IJible, .such as : Why am I per
20 CHRISTIANITY RKVIKWF-D.
petually dissatisfied with all things earthly ? Why am l
constantly drawn in the direction of natural, mental and
moral disintegration? Whence this constant tendency to-
the evil in preicrcnce to the good ? Why must I suffer
so much in this world, and especially why must I suffei
so much through the wrong-doing of others ? I know I
must die, because it is the universal experience, but why
must I die? What is the reason of it? Why cannot the
present state of being, and present relationship, be con-
tinued endlessly ? Why must I give up a certainty for
what, if it be not an uncertainty, is, at least, an uncer
tain quantity ? Why do I heave my aching heart, and
stretch out my feeble hands, and articulate with my
faltering tongue, and peer with my glistening eyes into
the dark future after the vanished form ?
Why all this ? These and other questions come un-
bidden, unsought. They well up in the mind involun
tarily, and bid us seek, and seek earnestly, the possible-
answer. We have a right to ask, and we have a right to
seek. It is not meant we should be ignorant where
knowledge, by lawful means, is attainable. Close your
Bibles, and you must remain in the dark. You may
think, and think until nature is exhausted, and you wiH.
CHRISTIANITY RFVIF.WKI*. 2?
think in vain. These problems are too deep for ;l
merely intellectual solution. They call for a Divine one,
and that, in the nature of the case, must be a revelation,
by some connecting agency, frop: on high. There is
something terribly wrong in this world. Things are out
of joint. There should be harmony, and peace, and
contentment, and light, and perpetuation of life ; but
instead, the sad experience of all men in all ages testifies,
we have confusion, strife, dissatisfaction,.darkness, siffer-
ing, separation, death. Why? The Bible furnishes the
answer. It speaks of something it calls sin, and it
defines sin as the transgression of the law, the law of
God. That explains everything. That furnishes the
key to these manifold difficulties and perplexities. That
shows us why we are as we are. That is the prime root
and cause of all that afflicts humanity. Take sin out of
the world, and the change would be marvellous and
complete.
III. Then look at the purity of the Bible. It is so
pure in its tone., so elevated in its morality, so excep-
tional and original in its teaching, so impartial in its
history of men and nations — even the rp'::st exalted and
the most favored — so consistent in its denunciation of alt
22 CHRISTIANITY KK.VII.WKD.
impurity and wrong doing, and so constant in its uphold
ing of what is pure and right, that it is incredible to
suppose that it had simply a huinan origin. Where did
the ten Commandments - the Moral Law —come from ?
How did they originate ? What mind gave birth to that
marvellously perfect, all-embracing, far-reaching, and
enduring code. It was put forth in what was really, as
<*ompared with the present, a dark and barbarous age.
Certainly it wai^ not an age distinguished for moral excel
lence as we understand morality. Certainly the most
Aivored nation in the world at that time — God's chosen
people — had not within it a man of intellect so gigantic,
and .iioral proportions so colossal, as to produce such a
code. It was not likely to emanate from any humar, -ource
in such an age as that, nor for the matter of that in any
age. The only way to arrive at a reasonable and satisfac-
tory .solution is by admitting the correctness of the record,
that it came from Cod, and in the time and manner
there stated. Then, turning from the old to the new
Testament, look at the teaching of Jesus Christ. Take
that peerless utterance, which has been the wonder of
the intellectual and moral world for over eighteen hund-
red years, the Sermon on the Mount. How it shines
CHRISTIANITY RFVIF.WKI). '2'^
Still, after the lapse of eenturies, in its pure crystalline
brightness and unfading glory. It is so pure so incis-
ively pure, if sueh an expression rnay be used, that it
strikes deep down into the inmost recesses of the human
heart, and tracks the motive as well as the act, the inten-
tion as well as the execution of the intention. A man
must not only not do evil, he must not think evil, for
(lod will call him to account for the one as well as the
other. Now as far as human law is concerned -even in
this advanced age, and amongst nations of the highest
probity, culture, and nioral advancement — we never
entertain the thought of calling a man to account for
thinking evil, much less punishing him ; and what is
more, we are utterly incompetent to do il. He may
think as much evil as he likes, and as long as he likes ;.
he is safe from punishment so long as his thoughts,
however vile, do not mature into words and acts that
may operate to the disadvantage and injury of others.
Surely, this is a Divine principle which lays hold of the
motive, and makes a man responsible for evil intention,
or unlawful desire that stops short of the act. It cer-
tainly is not of the human, nor is it within the compe-
tence of the human.
"24 CHRISTIANllY REVIEWED.
IV. Then let us also consider that the unity of truth in
the Bible is as remarkable as its purity, and points to
the same origin. Now whatever adverse criticism may
be offered in regard to any isolated portion of Scripture,
or indeed, if you like, in regard to the whole, one thing,
in all fairness should be conceded, and that is that there
is a oneness about it, and that all the books of the Old
and New Testament are substantially one book.
One grand increasing purpose runs through the whole,
from Genesis to Revelation, the education, uplifting and
recovery of a lost race. No sooner is the sad fact
stated of the fall of the first pair — as it is in one of the
earliest chapters — than the Deliverer is announced and
promised ; and the great and beneficent enterprise is
kept .steadily in view unto the last chaper, and almost
the last verse of the last book that the volume contains.
Let it also be borne in mind that while the Bible is
-substantially one book, it is made up of a number
of books by different writers, who wrote at diff-
erent times, extending over a period of fifteen hundred
or two thousand years ; and that these writers were as
varied in their personality, education, disposition, sur-
roundings, experience, mental calibre, and even preju-
CHRISTIANnV RI'.VIF.NVKl). 25-
dices, as men generally are ; and yet we have a substantial-'
and marvellous unity of truth, that cannot reasonably be
accounted for on the ground of either collusion, design,
or chance. The only way to account for it, without
doing violence to common sense, is to frankly admit
what the record claims, that " Floly men of (lod spake
as they were moved by the Holy Cihost."
One prevailing and powerful personality dominates
the whole Book, securing unity amid much that is
diverse, and that iiprsonality is ("learly not human but
divine.
V. We have also much valuable concuirent testimony,
in regard to the more ancient facts of the Hible, inscribed
upon clay tabltts dug out of the ruins of Nineveh, which
now are, and have been for many years, treasured in the
British Museum. These records, which are said to be a
part of the library of the grandson of Sennacheiib of Bible
fame, contain accounts, more or less full, of the Crea-
tion, the Fall, the Deluge, the building of the Tower of
Babel, and the Confusion of Tongues. The account of
the Creation, and the VaW is said to be much longer and
fuller than the record in (lenesis ; also some important
details are added about the origin of evil, the fall of the
r
-*■.-
•26 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
angels, and the wickedness of the serpent The condi-
tion of things before the creation is described as chaos,
answering to the Biblical account that " the earth was
without form and void, and darkness was upon the face
of the deep." Creation is represented as being the
work of a plurality of gods, answering to the Elohini of
(jenesis, which is well known to be plural, and thus
giving the first intimation of the doctrine of the I'rinity.
Successive stages marked the creation of the world,
answering to the Bible days, or the indefinite periods of
time which science calls for. At each stage in the por
cess the work is pronounced good. Then man *' is
made upright, and free from evil, and endowed with the
noble faculty of speech." (lod instructs hhn in his duty,
but he yields to temptation and falls ; then the curse is
pronounced, and its effects fall upon him and his poster
ity, producing all the attendant evils which have ever
since afflicted humanity. Mention is also made of the
fall, through ambition, of a Celestial Being of great in-
telligence and power, of a war in heaven, and of the
defeat and final overthrow of the conspiring and rebel-
lious powers ; answering to the Scripture references to
.Satan, "and the Angels which kept not their first estate."
( r/RISTlANn\ KKVIKWEI). 27
One of the most interesting records is that about the
Deluge, which is, m all the main and important points,
the same as the Mosaic account. Here it is in brief,
according to the translation of Mr. ("lecrge Smith of the
British ^Fuseuin : "A great flood was sent upon the
earth to punish men for their wickedness. One man,
Sisit, receives a Divine warning, and a command to-
Ijuild a huge ship, and to take into it a chosen few only of
mankind, together with some of all other living things.
The flood came, then subsided ; the ship grounded upon
a mountain ; birds were sent out and returned twice,
but the third time returned no more. Then Sisit went
forth, built an altar, and made a sacrifice."
These are important confirmatory evidences of the
integrity and accuracy of the sacred record, and they are
all the time increasing. New and even more important
discoveries are being made. The hoary past has become
vocal. The earth has lifted up its voice. The very
stones are crying out, and claiming to be heard. Even
the long lost sepulchres of the illustrious dead have
opened, and given their testimony. I'he bodies of some
of the ancient kings —the Pharaohs of ICgypt have been
found and identified beyond any doubt ; and so perfect
"28 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
•svas the art preservative among the Egyptians that after
three thousand years or more they are in a perfect state
of preservation. You may travel to Egypt, and enter
the museum at Bulak, and there see the very form and
features of Seti I. the father of that " Pharoah's daugh
ter " who rescued the infant Moses from the Nile, and
the man who issued that infamous edict for the slaying
of all the male children of an enslaved and oppressed
people. And along with it you can see that of his son
Rameses II. called Rameses the Great and so per
fectly has the decay of nature been arrested, by the
marvellous art of the Egyptians, that after the lapse of
thirty-two centuries, while there is a difference in the two
faces- the father's being more refined than that of the
son - there is nevertheless an astonishing and unmistak
able likenes.s.
Rameses II. was said to be a great man — great in
battle and conquest, great in l>uilding palaces and
temples which even in their ruin and decay are the
wonder and astonishment of the world but he was
emphatically a hard man, brutal we might say. He,
even more than his father, was an oppressor, and his
fearful exactions and unrelentless cruelty made the
CHRISTIANITV REVIEWED. 29
t.Mislaved race groan by reason of their bondage, and cry
■mightily unto God for deliverance.
1 ,et me explain here, parenthetically, to guard against
a possible misapprehension, that the body of the
Pharaoh of the plagues, the hardened heart, and the
exodus Menephtah, son of Rameses II. — has not been
found. Probably it never will be. He may have found
a nameless grave, with the pursuing host, in the Red Sea.
At least, the non-discovery, up to date, is significant and
suggestive.
There they are, tiiose two, vSeti and Rameses, father
and son, side by side in that museum at Bulak. Over
ihree thousand years have gone by since they lived, and
moved, and had a being. Conjointly and singly they
ruled a mighty empire for near upon a century, if not
quite. They lived sumptuously, ruled despotically, built
palaces and temples of surpassing magnitude and gran-
'<ieur, fought battles, made extensive conquests, and
under them the empire attained its zenith of renown and
glory. They were worshipped as gods, and yet they had
to pay the debt of nature, and die as other mortals die.
They were embalmed with an ex([uisite art, and decked
Avith gold, and silver, and all manner of precious stones,
30 CHRISTIANITY RKVIEWKD.
and then carefully and secretly put away in the royaT
sepulchre, in the valley of the Tombs of the Kings,
under the Theban hills. After a period of silence and
forgetfulncss, equal to a full half of the entire history of
the human race, a chance discovery brings them forth
again to the light of day. In the presence of competent
witnesses the wrappings were carefully removed, the
inscriptions and symbols noted, and the identification
completed, and established beyond reasonable doubt.
Those uncovered faces, full of life-like expression everi.
yet, and gazed at by the passing tourist, hush the soul in
awe, and speak volumes to the reverent mind. They
have a language all their own, and an eloquence which
death and the reverberating centuries can alone inspire,
and say to us in deeply solemn and admonitory tones,^
in the words of Holy Writ: "Let not the wise man.
glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in
his might ; let not the rich man glory in his riches, but
let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth
and knoweth me, that I am the Lord which exercise
loving-kindness, judgment and righteousness in the
earth." Jer. 9 c. 23-24 v.
And to the unbeliever — who has tried to persuade
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. ,*U
'himself and others that these ancient facts of Biblical
history are simply pleasant myths and legends fit only for
the entertainment of children — they utter a stern rebuke,
•and call for a reasonable exercise of faith in the unity
•of the word of God.
VI. ('onsciousness, or the answer of the human soul
to the Divine word, is perhaps the most important, and
•the most convincing evidential consideration in regard
to this subject. At least, after a good deal of thought,
1 am disposed to assign it that pre-eminent position.
"What do I mean by the answer of the human soul to
the Divine word? I mean this, that the Bible strikes me
.as being remarkably unlike all other books. So much
higher, purer, better in every respect as to, at least, sug-
•gest that its origin cannot be human. It is, in fact,
unique. Kven in a literary point of view it is admitted
by the best authorities to be unrivalled. Then, there
.ire references in it to certain things which it is almost
incredible to suppose were within the scope of human
knowledge at the time they were made. Isaiah speaks
of God as "He that sitteth upon the circle of the earth,""
40 ch., 22 V. Every school boy knows, or should know,
that the knowledge of the rotundity of the earth is a
32 CHRISTIANITY RKVIEWED.
comparatively modern acquisition. At least, \vc have-
no evidence that it was understood in the limes of
Isaiah. The strong probability is that it was not. Then
how did the idea get into the prophet's mind, except
from a source other than human, in fact, Divine. Then
again Job says, chap. 26, 7 v. : "lie stretcheth out the-
north over the empty place, and hani;eth the earth upon
nothing."' Ifthatisnot a clear recogintion and state
ment of the law of gravitation I shall have to give up-
trying to understand what language means. We know
that gravitation is a modern discovery, and perhaps the
greatest ever was made, or ever will be. And yet
there we have it in that ancient record. How did it get
there? Where did it come from? Was it human or
Divine? It is not necessary, for the force of the argu-
ment, to suppose that the Old Patriarch understood the
nature of the law, of which his statement is an illustra-
tion, or its boundless extent and application. Probably
he did not, but it is there neverthless, and common
sense must recognize it, and admit that it came from a
higher source than he. In other words, it was a little
bit of light shot straight from heaven, through the mouth
of this ancient man, giving the first intimation of that
( iiRisriAMTV ri;vii:wi:d.
n3
law whicii cnl\)lcls ihc universe in its grasp, and which
the wisdom and researches of the wisest and tlic l)est,
lor centuries upon centuries, failed to discover.
Then take a reference of a somewhat different nature,
|])iil ilhistraiing the same point, Isaiah's i)re(liction regartl-
in<^ the (lominp; Deliverer, «; eh., d v. : *' lor unto us a
[child is horn, unto us a son is given ; and the govern-
ment shall hcupon his shoulders; and his name shall bo
ailed Wonderful, (.'ounsellor, The Mighty dod, TliC
iCverlasting I'ather, J'he Prince of Peace." The literary
xcellence and moral '^rantleur of that forecast of the
uture is simply unaj^proachahle. What a reach of pure
nd elevated thought : What a comhination of epithets !.
A'hat a climax ! 1 am not unnn'ndful of the many sam-
(les of rare eloquence which we have, and which the
icmory of a moderately informed man may recall. ( )f "
Xante's force and fire, and intensely realistic descrip .
Sons. Of Shakes[)eare's profundity, wide knowledge,,
larvellous reach of t.h()uuht, and felicity of expression.
'^f the melting pathos of Milton's Eve's lament on
leaving Paradise. Of the [irofound religious tone and
impressive diction o4 Hums' Cottar's Saturday night.
~X)f Burke's matchless eloquence in his peroration on the.
3+ «. HRISTIANITV RKVIKWKK.
impeachment of Warren Hastings. Of Macaulay's
polished periods and rhetorical climaxes in his descrip-
tion of the I'uritans in the essay on Milton. .Ml these
and more may easily be recalled, but they " pale their
ineffectual fire," and sink into comparative nothingness
before the simple majesty of the Okl Seer's prophetic
utterance.
And then look at what follows in the jthverse : " Of
the increase of his government and peace there shall he
no end." Whoever heard of a government without an
€nd before? How i;ame such a thought to the surface
xit all ? Is there anything in the wide range of human
experience to suggest it ? Is there aught in ancient or
modern history to give it birth ? Nothing : Absolutely
nothing ! It is notoriously universal that human govern-
ments have an end, and sometimes a very speedy one.
There has been no exception to the rule thus far, and it
is not likely there ever will be.
I repeat, where did that thought come from ? There
is only one reasonable and common sense answer. It
came from above. It is a Divine concci)lion, relating to
a Divine person, and a Divine goveftimenl ; for perpetuity
cannot be predicted or affirmed of that which is human.
( HKISTIANIIV UKVIKWKI). .15
V\o have been ilcalinj; wiih Old Teslnmcnt references;
lake one now from the New as an example of what might
be ])rodiu'e(J from that source. I'aul in his defence
before Agripi)a Acts 26 ch. 13 v. says. "At midnight,
king, 1 saw in the way a h'ght from heaven, above the
brightness of the sun, shining round about me and them
which journeyed with me " That, l)Oth as to the phen-
omenon itself and the expression of it, is very unicjue.
Who, except I'aul, under these extraordinary circum-
^tances, ever had cognizance of a light above the bright-
ness of the sun. And we may fairly assume that he had
no such experience before, and therefore nothing to
suggest either the thought or the expression. The sun
is by far the brightest object within the sphere of human
.vision, and therefore no man of himself, and under
ordinary circimistances, would be likely to conceive and
formulate such an ex[)ression.
The conclusion is plain and irresistible, namely, that
here we have a remarkable fact stated, and staled
in such a manner, that it strikes us as something other
than huaian, and far above and beyond the human.
The.se instances might be multiplied, but T forbear,
and perhaps wisely. I have not made this aspect of the
.
7i6 CHUIsriANIIN KKVIKWKIt,
subject a nuitler of s[)ocial or extended investigation for
the present writing, but have«in)i)ly given such ilhistra-
tions as are immediately within my present recollection.
Others there arc, and many, and perha|)s more forcible
than these I liave given. I scarcely ever read the liible
>vithout coming across some thought, or fact, or peculi
arity of expression that strikes mc with astonishment, and
appeals to my consciousness in favor of its claim to be the
very word of (lod, and the revelation of his will to man.
The liible is both the foundation and the text book
of Christianity. I have made some attempt to pass its
claims under review, not from a critical, but from a com-
nnon sense standpoint.
It is eminently a common sense Mook, and is niost
fairly treated, and best served by a common sense
<lefence. (let rid of the notion, once for all, and as
ijuickly as possible, that it is necessary to understand,
and explain, and harmoni/c everything in order to
believe in it as an inspired record. Such a consumma-
tion is neither practical, nor necessary. If the weight of
evidence inclines in its favor, you are bound as a reason-
able man to accept it : and if you accei^t it, you are
bound as an honest man to live bv it.
CHklSTIAMIV KI.VIKWKI). 'A'l
('H.\i'ii:r II,
IlaiuUiiii,^ the Word of (lod.
'Ihkkk can be no douhl about llie importance of the
Word of (iod, and tiic responsibility of handling it.
riure are many directions and admonitions given. The
A[)ostle Paul gives one, which, combining the negative
and the positive, is at the same time a valuable piece ol
autobiography. "Therefore seeing we have this min-
istry, as we have received mercy, we faint not ; but have
renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in
craftiness, nor handling the word of (Iod deceitfully ;
but by manifestation of the truth commending ourselves
to every man's conscience in the sight of (iod ;" 2 Cor ,
4 ch., 1, 2 vs. 'I'he whole scope and meaning of this
statement seems to be, that as far as the apostle was con-
cerned, in his ministry, he gave the Word of Clod a
strictly honest treatment. He put away dishonesty,
38 CHRISTIANITY RKVIKWEI).
crafliiiess, and deceit, and depended upon a slraighifor-
ward presentation of the truth. Whatever others might
do, he would not resort to any tricks. Model man, and
model minister ! Where are your successors today ?'
Are they few or many? Paul answereth not, and
until some one does, of equal experience and authority,
tl'iC question may safely be left open.
Then, it is possible for a man to be dishonest, and
crafty, and deceitful in handling the Word of (lod?
Well, that is plainly implied in what the apostle says ; and
it is not at all improbable that his mind, at that time, was-
painfully dwelling upon some signal examples of this
strange perversity, which had come under his own obser-
vation. Perversity did I say? It is altogether too mild a
word. Strike that out and write depravity, and in large
letters too, for he who is not honest in such a business.
is certainly depraved.
Let it be observed here, that a man handles the Word
of God deceitfully when he attempts to handle it at all
— that is, with a view to the edification of others with-
out the proper and necessary (jualifications for such an
important work. Manifestly he is conveying a false
impression, for the expectation, and the just expectation.
CHRISTIANITY RKVIEWKF*. .'iO
is that he is capable of doiiiT; that for whicli upon trial
he is found unfit. He commences by deceiving himself,
and ends by deluding others. Truly was it said by One
who spake much truth, "The children of this world are,
in their generation, wiser tluui the children of light." In
the world, and in all secular occupations and callings, a
man is invariably expected to be fitted by special train-
ing and experience for his work. He doesn't rely upon
luck, or chance, or inspiration, for the right discharge of
important functions and duties. He must be taught,
and he must learn before he can perform aright and
successfully, and especially before he can become an
efficient instructor of others.
How is it that common sense and human experience
are ignored, in regard to the most exalted work that man
can engage in, namely, " handling the Word of God."
In the.se days there is a growing impressicjn among many,
I fear a great many, that every man who is converted, or
\)roresses to be converted, is at once able, and that it his
duty, to handle the Word of (lod to the edification of
others. Any man may speak as far as he knows, that
is, as far as he is really educated and qualified ; but the
truth is that converted novices are liable to go beyond
40 CHRISTlANirV UKVIKWKD.
their "olual ;ic(iuircmcnls, and assume that ihey are a:>
capable, as the most educated and experieticed, to tio
that for which their present acquirements and experience
do not fit them. They will sometimes go farther than
this, ancl assume that they have a special endowment of
wisdom and enlij^ .venment, by which they are enabled
to instruct the most instru(^ted in the deep things of
(lod; while, at every stc[), ihey are palpably manifesting
their incompetence, and injuring the cause of truth.
ft
which they sincerely wish to serve.
Do 1 wish to discourage these novices in the faith?
Yes, to the extent of inducing them to cultivate a
diffidence which fits their immaturity, and is realb
charming, and a modesty which is very becoming. No,
if you mean would I frown down all their attempts at
increase in knowledge, and usefulness. They must
begin somewhere, and that is at the bottom of the ladder
of Divine knowledge, and ascend gradually. They must
learn before they begin to teach, and it is advisable
always to keep within the limits of [)ersonal experience*
and well-ascertained truth.
Nor is this unwisdom confined to young believers. I
have seen and heard old believers, old in faith and in
CHRlSTlAXnV RF.VIKWED. 41
vears, get up in a meeting, and read a chapter containing
the profoundest truths, and without previous thought, or
■oven pretence of preparation, launch out into a discon-
nected incoherent explanation, to the disgust of the
hearers and the injury of the truth.
When will men, even good men, learn that tiie most
serious, and the most responsible busines'^ any van can
undertake is '' handhng the \Vord of (lod.'" A very
great man once said, " Who is sufficient for these
things?"
I fear that that widespread and useful organization,
for which every lover of his fellow men must cherish a
sincere respect, the Salvation Army, will not pass entirely
without some adverse criticism in this connection. 'I'hai
the organization has met a real need, and accomplished
.1 great deal of practical good, cannot be doubted. That
it cannot be wrong for people to cry Hallelujah, and
sing spiritual songs, and pray, and exhort one another to
■cleave to the Lord is ecjually beyond doubt ; but when
It comes to ''handling the Word of (iod," one has to
confess that it is done, for the most i)art, in a crude and
unsatisf:ictory fashion. This is no doubt mainly because
the importance, the tremendous importance, of the
42 (URISTIANITV kKVIKWKM.
matter is not fully realized. It is true that the ordinary
Salvationist does not travel very far, or attempt much, in
the way of Biblical exegesis. His remarks are generallv
short, and if they were as correct and pointed, in dis-
closing the mind of the spirit, as they arc brief, they would
be truly admirable and effectual. IJut, unfortunatelv, this
is not the case. There is too often a pointless, endless-
iteration of the same things, whatever the portion of
Scripture under review may be. The two words upon
which the Salvationist rings all his changes are salvation
and damnation, and so long as he keeps to them he is
liable to be tolerably consistent in his .statements ; but
when he travels into the region of expounding, the result
is generally disappointing, and in some cases mimitably
grote.sfjue.
What about the Bible in our public schools? Is it
treating the Book rightly, that is honestly, to admit it or
to exclude it ? Probably the majority will contend
that the honest and rightful treatment is in the admis-
sion. Is the majority right .^ With becoming humility,
and with becoming firmness I beg to confront that
majority and say no, you are wrong. Unless a better
argument can be addticed than any I have yet heard, for
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 4?
nhe retention of the Bible in our public schools, it is at
least inexpedient to keep up a perpetual strife, and pre-
vent a possible solution of what promises to be an end-
Jess difficulty in our educational system. Let common
.sense rule, and a conclusion will be reached alike just
to all, to Catholic and Protestant, to believer and unbe-
liever, and to the Book itself. It is doubtful if the
average teacher is capable, certainly not specially
<apable, of dealing with "the oracles of (iod ;" and yet
you reciuire special capability in every other department
of duty. For I hold that a man in order to read the
Bible, with any profit to others, must have a good under-
standing of its deep and widely extended meaning, and
must be imbued, in some measure, with devout feeling.
And is it not a fact that devoutness and special knowl-
edge of the Bible are not insisted upon as part of the
■necessary (lualifications for teaching in a public school.
And then there is another consideration, that so long
as our teachers are of all shades of religious belief
or disbelief and from the necessity of the case they
must ever be so— and so long as no special ciualifica-
tions are required in that direction, the wisdom of
making the public reading of the Bible a part of
their duties may be seriously cjuestioned.
44 (URi.srr.wnv RKVii.wr.o.
W'c have arrived at such an advanced slate of
.civih'zation now, liiat children are conipejled to go to
school to he educated; hut no man who knows anxlhinu
of the Divine nature ortlie I >ivine.law will seriously con-
tend that anyone, younj^ or old, should be, to any extent,
compelled to read the Dible ; or be placed in any [)osi-
tion where disadvantage mii^ht accrue from a seeming or
real indirierence. No, comj)ulsion, even in a-mild fornu
has no place there, nor is it in accortlance with the mind
of its author, whose judgment is perfect, whose will is
absolute, and whose decision in any case is without
appeal. The place for ihe IJible, or to read or teach the
liible, is in the home, the Sabbath School, and the
Church, but not in the [)ul)lic school, where the purely
secular and educational, as distinguished from the
religious, is being pursued ; and where a certain amount
of com[)ulsion may be lawfully exercised, that is plainly
-not allowable in regard to the reading of the U'ord of
( lod.
I am ([uite aware that some wonderfidly pious and!
orthodox people may possibly lift up their hands in holy
horror, and cry heretic ! unbeliever 1 1 care not for your
maledictions, I value truth above aught else, and I wil!
( llUISir \M I \ KKVIKWKD. i'*
not part with it to please you, or to secure your devout
patronage and good o[)inion. And 1 know, too, that, as
Lucretius says, " N'o ])Ieasure is comparable to the
standing upon tiie vantage ground of truth."
But what about the [)ul|)it, that most widely extended
agency for " Ifaniliing the Word of (lod?" Are all its
occupants always honest, always truthful, never crafty
nor deceitful ? " 'I'ell it not in (lath, puljlish it not in
the streets of Askelon," I fear not. Does the man who
occui)ies '• The sacred desk " always exhibit evident
([ualifications and fitness for so important a function ?
Again I say, 'out in a whisper, 1 fear not. W'e are touch-
ing tender ground here, gentle reader, and we must walk
softly antl cautiously. When we begin commenting
upon i)reachers you must know that we are dealing with
a class of men who arc proverbially sensitive, at least a
little more so than some other men. 1 don't know what
makes them so, exce[)t that, perhaps, they have not
knocked about the world as nnu:h as vou and I have :
and they are just a little liable to stand on personal and
l)rofessional dignity, which is aboyt the worst thing a
man can do if he has anv real regard for his own com-
fort, or the comfort of the people about him. They are
4G CHRISTIANnV KK.VIKWKJJ.
not all alike, of course not. V'ou could scarcely expect
them to be so. They vary as indefinitely and as widely
as other people ; l)ut they have many things in common,
and of the things they have in common, those most
prominent that is, those most clearly recognized l>y
others if not by themselves -.ire sensitiveness, profes-
sional dignity, and fallibility.
Am I going to apply the lash to the clergy ? Not at
all. Am 1 going to pronounce a fulsome eulogy ? Not
that either. I don't propose to do either the one or tiie
other. As a class they are amenable to criticism the
same as other people, and they genf rally get a good
share of it. As a class they have distinguished excel-
lencies, and, honesty will add, some weaknesses.
They have produced some of the keenest intellects
and iJiost consecrated lives that have ever illuminated
the darkness of this dark world ; and they have produced
some of an entirely opposite com[)lexion ; and they have
produced a very large number that might fairly be
assigned a middle position between these two extremes
men of average ability, goodness, and consecration.
1 have met ministers of all denominations, Catholic and
I'rotestant, whom any man must love for their sterling.
LMRISTFANITV KKVIEWKD. 47
integrity, honesty, and truth ; and I have met others to
whom my better r.ature and my kindliest feehngs did
not respond. They arc human, and strange to say
people are hable to lose sight of that most obvious fact
and expect altogether too much from them. At present
I am simply assuming the part of a critic, a kindly one 1
hope, with a view of pointing out some things that may
be amended in regard to thai most-important function
of '• Handling the Word of (iod.''
Are sufficient care and judgment exeicised in the
selection and education of young men for the occupancy
of this important office, and the i)erformance of these
important duties? I fear not. Is the fundamental
requirement, namely, the (Jod-given faculty, sufficieHtly
recognized and understood ? Again I say, I fear no
Indeed, it may be doubted whether in a great many
cases it is recognized or understood at all, J'his, if true,
is a lamentable state of things, and it leads, and must
lead, to a widespread state of inefficiency and barrenness.
Do we practically, as well as theoretically, recognize
that preachers, like poets, are born not made ? We
should, and having found the born i)reacher it is
our plain duly to accord him every possible chance
I?< IMKISIIANITV ki;\ II.\VK1>.
of niciiUiI iniprovcnic'iU aiul c(]iii|)incnt, and cveiy
possible opportunity (<f ac(|iiiriii^ a widely extended
knowledtre, of a special kind, to lit iiini for his
life-work. At the same time \vc nuist get rid of the
notion, once for all and as (piiekly as possible, that any
young man of respectable appearance and connections,
of average mental capacity, and of Christian conviction,
can be educated into a preacher, li is not so. Educa-
tion will educe, that is, it will draw out and develop the
(iod-given faculty, but it cannot create il. nor confer it.
A young man may be taught to make and recite a
sermon correctly, and with a certain amount of ct'ficiency
perha[)S, but he cannot be taught to preach one : that is
<!()d"s work, resulting from an inborn faculty, and a
Divine endowment and call. It is not difficult to dis-
tinguish between the reciter of sermons and the born
preacher. The former reminds you of a school boy
getting off his lesson, while the latter strikes you as a
dominant force, and a " Master of Assemblies "
Has it ever occurred to the reader that among the
thousands cf good, excellent, devoted, pious, learned
men who occupy our pulpits to-day, really original
thinkers and preachers are, to put it char-'tably and
( iiKisTiAMTv ut:vir:\vKi>. 49
mildly, in a most distinguished minority. Is it not So,
,Tnd why is it so ? The cause is neither obscure, nor far
to seek. The fault is mainly in the beginning. N'o
man, however well (jualified otherwise, is fit to have the
•charge of young men whf) have the ministry in view, who
is not himself an independent and vigorous thinker ;
.md who is not i)re[Kuvd to insist upon common honesty
in regard Id the niental treasures of others, and the
■exercise of honest independent thought. 'I'hey should
Ijc taught that it is their duty not to retail other men's
thoughts, but to be themselves creators of thought, as
they can most certainly be if they are true to themselves
.md the gift which is in them, llach one should be a
voice, not an echo. Who would be an echo, when it is
•(juite within his power to be a voice. And they should
l>e further informed, kindly but firmly, that as they begin
they will be likely to continue ; and that if they do begin
rising crutches they need not be surprised if they dis-
<:over, some day, that they have lost the use of their
legs, and are cripples ibr life, and objects of pity, if not
of contempt.
'..'I'his touches the root of a good deal of manifest
pulpit inefficiency to day. 'I'here is altogether too mich
r>0 tllklSTIAMrV KKVIKWKI).
dependence upon " Pulpit Aids," " Sketches of Ser-
mons," " Homiletic Reviews,' and "Sermons hy dis-
tinguished I'reachers"' ; and too little dependence upon,
painstaking;, independent thought, and patient, personal
investigation of the Word, of (lod. A great statesman
once said that a man who does not speak his own>
thoughts cannot be interesting, and he might have added
cannot be cfTective.
" This abuvi; all -to thine own self be true :
And it must follow, as the nijjht the day,
Thou canst not then bo false to any nian.'\
One source of weakness in the pulpit, which is to be
sincerely deplored, and which is clearly apparent to the-
intelligent observer, is the tendency to exaggeration and
undue vehemence, with the evident intention of pro-
ducing an immediate effect. There is too much straining,
after effect, and especially inmiediate effect. The end
sought may be good, uncjuestionably so, but if the
means for its accomplishment have even the appearance
of being questionable or strained, the effect will be in
large measure, if not totally, destroyed. There should
not be a semblance of unfairness in stating a truth, or
rebutting an error. The Word of Ood must not be
handled dishonestly, craftily or deceitfully. All exagger-
( HklSTIANITV KKVIKWKD. 51
^ition and hick of candor, or lack of proper discrimination
are self destructive. I'he moment a preacher produces
ihe impression that he is straining a point to enforce an
obligation, he discredits his calling, lowers himself in the
esteem of his hearers, does violence to the truth, and
most effectually defeats the very object he has in view.
One or two illustrations ol what is meant may not be
•out of place here.
When a preacher slates for instance, in order to
induce a m()re regular and constant attendance upon the
means of grace, that it is the duty of his hearers to
atten<l church with the same regularity and constancy
that he does, he is stating what is manifestly untrue.
The obligation is the same up to a certain point, l)ut be-
yond that it is not the .same, in fact it is totally different.
^Vith regard to tlie duty of worshipping God, and
paying proper honor and respect to the place where he
•lias covenanted to meet with his people, the duty is the
same ; but the preacher is under another obligation, and
that is to the church with which he has agreed to per-
form certain duties, at certain stated times, and for a
monetary consideration which is supposed to he agrec-
-nble and adequate. He is paid for his attendance ; his
f)!* ( HRISTIANITY KKVIEWKD.
hearer > arc not, but raiher ihc reverse ; therefore the
obh'gation is not the same, neither ean it be accounted
ecjual. It is manifestly and honestly his duty to be
there, and ready to perform his appointed task, whether
they are or not. And further there may be many valid
reasons for their non attendance which cannot apply tO'
him, but they are too obvious to need mentioning.
It may l)e as well, pcrhajjs, to mention one. It is the
most obvious, and may pass with the least cjuestion.
Preaching and attendance upon the services of the
'sanctuary form the main and the most important occu
pation of the preacher's life. To these, nearly if not
(juite, he devotes all his thought and strengtii. and he is
enabled to do it by an arrangement to which he is a
consenting party. . ■
With the hearLM- it is totally different. His main
occupation, that to which he must devote his thought
and strength, is nat in the <:hi:rch, but in the world ;
and if he pursues his vt)caiion honestly, and- with
the fear of (lod i)efore his eyes, he is serving (iod,
and subserving his -purjxjses, just as truly as the preacher
in the pulpit. .\m 1 excusing wilful negligence of
sanctuary duties ? By no means. I am simjily pleading
CHRISI lANITV KKVIKWF.I). ;).)
i\ r common sense, and a fair >tatem«'nt of relative duties.
I once beard a young minister keen, brilliant,
learned, and witb a fair endowment of common sense
say lo his congregation that neither he nor they
had done a thousandth part for dod of what they might
have done. He was urging with impassioned elo(]uence,
and wonderful vehemence, the duty of a larger liber-
alitv when he made the statement ; and it is worthy of
remark that if ministers ever lose their heads, in an
exceptional way, it is liable lo be when they are urging
people to give more. Now he must have known, i'[)on
a moment's consideration, that the statement he made
was an exaggeration. The most casual reflection would
have told him that there was probably not a single
-person present, especially himself, who if he ;iave all he
had would give anything like a thousand times more
than he had already given, or do a thousand times more
than he had already done, in the enthusiasm of the
moment he was led, no doubt imcons(>iously, to sacriiice-
truth to effect ; and yet he failed of the elTect too,
because it was s,o clearly manifeiit that the statement was
not in harmony with the jjrobable fact.
In nothing, |)erhai)s, is this tendency to exaggeratioiy
•51 CMRISTIANITV RKVIEWKl).
•more manifest than in what are called earnest appeals to.
the unconverted for instant decision. 1 have been pain-
fully impressed by this fact many a time, and 1 have
pitied the speaker, and j)itied the hearers too. Intelli-
gent and (iodly earnestness I do not disapprove, but
most sincerely and heartily commend.
1 honor the man who feels *' the burden of souls "
<iipon his heart, and is determined to deliver himself of
a fearful responsibility by a plain and faithful deliverance
•of the ('.ospel message with which (Jod has intrusted
him. Yes, 1 honor that man, and I know that God will
honor hmi. But the man who steps outside of this
plain line of duty, and by mere vociferation, and
menace, and crude unintelligent explanations and a[)pli-
-cations of Scripture, and hell and damnation in abund*
ance, seeks to coerce moral beings, and frighten people
into heaven, I have the profonndest contempt.
Men must be treated, and have a right to be treated,
as reasonable and intelligent beings, and as God always
treats them, for He says, "Come let us reason together."
If you tell a man he is a sinner, he has a perfect right to
ask you to prove it, and you should be ready with your
iproof. If you tell a man to rej>ent, he has a right to
CHRISTIANITY RKVIKWKD. O^y
ask you what repentance is, and why lie should repent..
If you tell a man to believe the (lospel, he has a right
to ask you what the (iospel is, and why and how it
niccls his need. These (juestions can, and should, he
answered reasonably, intelligently, satisfactorily, and
with that sweet and persuasive elo(iuence which should
always characterize the ambassador of Jesus C'hrist.
" He that winneth souls is wise."
There is one conspicuously dishonest method of
" Handling the Word of God," which is not uncommon
with a certain class of preachers. I allude to the plan
of taking a text not lor the purpose of explaining and
endeavoring to show what the mind of the Spirit is, but
simply as a peg upon which to hang a number of miscel-
laneous ideas and observations which have no particular
connection, and are certainly not " profitable for doc-
trine, for reproof, for correction, or for instruction in
righteousness."
I'he most consjjicuous example of this method of
treating a portion of Scripture I ever heard was on
these words, "There shall not a hoof be left behind.""
A rejnarkable text indeed, and it was followed not
by a remarkable sermon, but b.y a remarkable series-
•")() ClIRlsriAM 1\ Ki:\ IKW l'.I>.
•of o',)servalioiis, good, had. and indifferent, branching
oul in every conceivable direction. I cannot recall the
tliscour.se, if we must for the sake of convenience call it
that, for it was of that kind you never can remember,
even if your life depended upon it. I recall one thing,
howevei, and that is, that in spite of the i)rediction the
hoof was left behind, for we never heard anything about
il until we got to the end of the sermon, when the text
was again ([uoted as a sort ol' artistic finish, and as a
gentle reminder of a sup[)Osed connection between it
and the discourse.
This is surely not the way to treat the Word of Cod.
No man in his senses can either approve or commend
it. It plainly comes within the sco[)e of the Apostle's
implied censure, and may be justlv called "Walking in
craftiness, and handling the Word of (lod deceitfullv."
And if ever a man does that consciously and designedly
— that is, with a full consciousness and knowledge of
what he is doing — it must be because he is not only
dishonest but depraved. I s[)eak strongly, but I speak
truly. I fail utterly to see how a sane man could bring
himself to believe that he could convey any part of the
mind and will of (lod to his hearers from such a text as,
■*• I'here Jihall not a hoof be left behind."
cUKIsriAM r\ KKVIKWKD. Ot
Ah ! but you sny, look at the analogy ; ( omcmi)latL- it
in ils analogical bearings. \'e.s, I know what you mean,
and in answer let me say that analogical [)reaciiing is of
all [)reaching the most unsatisfactory and nnsleading.
What is analogy, or rather what is the nnalogica! ? It is
pointing out certain resemblances that exist, or are
supposed to exist, between diflerent things. And if you
can find a congregation that is simple enough to accept
analogies for arguments, and resemblances for Divine
truth, you can prove anything you like to their entire
satisfiiction. And yet analogy, sparingly and wisely
used, may be useful, and to a certain extent is necessary .
l)Ut it must be distinctly Ixjrne in mind that it can never
prove anything —it can only illustrate.
Analogical sermons are not difficult lo make, and I
suppose that is (jne reason why young [)rcachers, for the
most part, fall readily into that kind of preaching.
All that is necessary is to take a [)ortion of Scrij")ture.
long or short, but generally short, and get up a list of
corrcs[)ondences or resemblances between certain per-
sons, things, facts, or events, throwing in a few .ip[)ro-
priatc passages of Scri[)ture, and a few choice anecdotes
which will appeal to the sympathies of the hearers, and
■IjS CHRl.sriAMTV RJiVIKWKl).
you have a sermon complete in a short sjjace of time.
And I have no doubt that numbers of people will say it is
a very nice sermon, and that tiie preacher is a very nice
man, and will go away in the full persuasion that they
have been very much edified and blessed. Ah I those
nice sermons and those nice preachers, that send people
iiway well satisfied with themselves, will not, I fear,
bear successfully the final analysis and judgment.
Su{)pose you heard somebody call Christ, or John the
Baptist, or l*elcr. or Paul a nice preacher, or their
fieaven-born deliverances nice sermons, what would you
think ? You would think it a most inappropriate
descrii)tion, and you would be perfectly right.
So now, the sermon that is worth hearing, and that
will do you lasting good to hear, is not a nice sermon,
but a heaven born deliverance by a heaven-born man
that shows forth plainly and clearly the mind and will
of (lod.
.\nd how arc sucli sermons made ? They are
made by tiie gracious helj) of Almighty Clod, by the
Spirit's endowment, by common sense, by prayer, by
patient, earnest, consuming thougb.t, by strong crying
and tears, by fighting the good fight of faith and success-
( HRISTIAXITV RKVIKWKI). r>l>
lully combating doubt and diMicuIty, by agoni/ing llie
excellent agony ; and then, delivered in the same spirit,
and by the same aids, they are *' Mighty through (iod,"
Let it i)e distinctly and constantly borne in mind, by
those whose special business or calling is *' Handling
the Word of (Jod," that a sermon may be eloquent,,
orthodox, learned, scriptural, pleasing, laultlcssly deliv-
ered, and offending none of the recognized proprieties,,
and yet it will fail utterly of its real purpose and end
unless it stamps upon the minds of the hearers some
definite and clear perception of the Divine Will.
The preaching that is needed to meet the require-
ments of the age is plain, direct, practical, expository
preaching. Preaching that contains information of the
most important kind, clearly conceived and as clearly
expressed. Preachmg that is void of whims, fancies,,
and conceits, and full of un(iuestioned authority and
Divine truth. What the preacher him.self thinks is i\
matter of small account, but what Cod thinks and what
(Iod says, if that can be clearly ascertained, is a matter
of paramount importance. Hence we need less exhor-
tation, and more explanation. Less of I think this, and
^'ou ought to do that, and more of '• Thus saith the
4»0 (HKIsriANITV KIAIKWKI).
llio Lord." l.'ss ot cxhorlalion to duly, and more of
furnishing adeciualo motives for the performance of duty
iji which tlie Scriptures ahound. .\nd you may appeal
rii^htly and successfully to the selfishness, or at least the
self-interest of men, for that is sanctioned by the highest
authority. As for instance: "For what shall it i)rofil
a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own,
soul, or what shall a man give in exchange for his.
soul," Mark <S ch. ,^r)-37 v. "(lodliness is jirofitahle
unto all things, having promise of the life that now is,
and of that which is to t:ome,"" i Tim. 4 ch. 8 v. *'Seek
ye fust the kingdom of (lod, aixl his righteousness, and
all these things shall be added unto you.'" Matt. 6 di.
o3 ^"- ^^ hen you have convinced a man, or even par
tially convinced him, that, as an actual fact ai.d not a
mere sentiment, it is more profitable to be (lodly than to
be ungodly, you have started him in the direction of a
moral change which may lead to the entire transform-
ation of his life, and the uplifting of his soul into a
higher and purer sphere. ,
() I thou who standest in the place of Chr'st, between
man and God, think much of His meekness and gentle-
ness, and emulate His e\am[)le, and drink in Mis
( MKISTIANirV KKVIKWKH. 61
spirit, who did not break the bruised reed, nor quench
ihe smoking flax. Deal licntly, and wisely, and reason-
ably with thy brother man. and he will respond to thy
i^entleness and wisdom, and follow thee in the way of
truth and righteousness. Deal otherwise with him, and
he will be repelled. ''I'lie servant of the Lord must
not stiive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach,
patient, in meekness instructing those that oppose
themselves." 2 'i'im. 2 ch. 24-25 vs.
i'hese arc the qualities needed for successfully com-^
mending the truth to the conscience, and bringing men
to Christ humility, gentleness, patience, meekness, and
aptitude to teach. Jlut it must be confessed, and con-
fessed with shame and confusion of face, that these are
not ordinarily the ([ualities sought for, in a minister of
Jesus Christ, by the churches of today. \o, they seek
yoiithfulness and immaturity, showiness, a fair exterior,
a glib tongue, and especially a minimum of knowledge
combined with a maximum of assurance.
Do you say this is a caricature ? I wish it was, but
unfortunately it is not. Alas ! for the cause of Christ it
is too true. Why is it not a fact, too well known to be
successfully denied, thai when a minister has lived, and
r>2 CHRISTIANITY UKVIKWKD.
Studied and labored, and suffered long enough lo be-
humble, and gentle, and patient, and meek, and apt to-
leach, it is discovered that he is too old to be interesting
And not to be interesting, to young people of course, is-
the unpardonable sin in a minister. His noble wiight of
years, his ripe experience, his widely extended and
varied knowledge, his deep insight into the human hearty
his keen analysis of thought, his pathos and his deei>
sympathy born of years of trial and suffering ; — all these
are outweighed by that one remarkable defect of not
boing interesting.
iMiough of this. Ring down the curtain. Church of
('hrist, as thou callest thyself, hide thy face in shame.
Alas I for sanctified humanity. "How long, O I.ord,
how lonir,"
CHRISTIAMTV RKVIKWF.D. 0.>
CHAITKK III.
Tlif Inconsistencies of Proressinj>-
Christians.
WiiAP is a Christian ? What is a professing Christian
What is an inconsistent professing ('hristian ? Three
important questions, which if we can answer with a fair
show of clearness and satisfaction, we may hope to know
just about where we are, and what to do with the caption
at the head of this chapter.
What is a Christian ? Have you ever thought how
widely the ideas of men vary on this matter, and how
diverse are their definitions ? Any reputable Knglish
dictionary will give you several, and almost any man
you meet, who is fairly intelligent, will be likely to make
a contribution to the already existing list.
One will tell you that a Christian is a civilized
being as distinguished from a heathen or a barbarian ;
C4 ( HRISTIAXnV KKVIKWKD.
or in (Jtlicr wouls, an inliahilant of a civili/cd antS
(.;hii.sliani/c(l country. Another will tell you that a
C'hrinlian is one who lias been hapli/ecl iccording to the
orthodox usage of the church to which he belongs.
Another, that he is one who attends chun h with'
more or less regularity, and gives of his means
for the supi)()rt of the cause of (lod. Another,
that he i*^ one who has been formally received into
the fe'lowshii) and membership of the church, having,
his name duly inscribed upon the roll. Another, that he-
is a member in good standing of any particular orthodox*
communion or church. Another, that he is one who is
a member of a parti(nilar sect or church, outside ot
whicii it cannot be allowed that a man can be a'
Christian at all ; for that, it is contended, is the true
(Church of Christ and there is no other. If I wanted tO'
give a defmition, in as few words as possible, it would
be this :- a Christian is one whf) has been born again,
believes in jesus Christ, and follows his Leader.
It is simply amazing to what extent human nature can
deceive itself. The intellectual sloth of men, in regard
to what pertains to their highest interest and welfare, is
almost incredible. They allow themselves to slide and
chrishanhv ukvikwhi). 65
fiopelessly sink into merely traditional definitions and
beliefs ; and hence, there arc thousands u[)on thousands,
at ease in their consciousness of a possessed Christianity,
which no legitimate application of truth or chanty could
])ro.iounce Christians. It is undeniably so, and this is one
of the most cunning, and one of the deepest wiles of the
Devil. We have it on the most undoubted authority,
that a man may live to the end of his life ihinkinp; he is a
Christian, die in the full persuasion that he is a Christian,
go before the judgment throne, and make a strong appeal
to the Judge on the score of the reality and eminence
of his Christianity, and yet find that he has been woe-
fully and totally deceived.
This is no vain imagining, for we have it on the
authority of Christ himself, and in such positive*,
language that leaves no room for doubt. "Not
every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shalb'
enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he that doetlv-
the will of my l*"ather which is in heaven. Many
will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not;
prophesied in thy name, and in thy name have cast
out devils, and in thy name have done many wonderful'
•works? And then will I profess unto them, I never-
66 CrHRISTIANITY REVIEVVKD.
knew you : depart from me, ye that work iniquity."
Matt. 7 ch., 2 1 23 vs.
There can be no doiilit about what is meant by the
phrase " that day," for it is used in many i)assages of
Scripture besides this, to indicate the great day, the
judgment day. " They shall be mine, saith the Lord of
hosts, in that day when I make up my jewels,' jMal. 3
ch. 17 V. "The Lord grant unto him that he may find
mercy of the Lord in that day." 2 Tim. 1 ch. 18 v.
Other references might be given to illustrate the [)oint
that " that day '' means the great day of account, but
these are enough for the present puri)ose. IJesiJe, the
reference in Matthew, above (juoted, is too plain to be
mistaken. Therefore we are confronted by, not simply
an awful possibility or probability, but by an awful
predicted actuality, that " Many will say unto me in
that day," etc.
Clear therefore is it as noonday, and more terrible
than any thunder which ever shook the earth,
that many can and will cherish a sad delusion with
reference to their spiritual state through life, through
death, and up to the Judgment throne, which will not
be dissipated till they hear the decision which cannot be
CHRISTJANH Y KKVIIAVF.I), 67
impeached, and the sentence from which there is no
appeal. " I never knew you ; depart from me."
The ciuestion which settles the reahty of your Christian-
ity is, does Christ know you and do you know Him ? This
then is a very important matter to ascertain, if it can be
ascertained, whether Christ knows you and \ou know
Him in that deep s[)iritual sense which he intended.
In other words, whether you are a Christian, that is a
Christ's man, and one whom He will recogni/.e and
accept in " tHat day."
There are (pn'te a number of marks or evidences of a
Christian in the New Testament, as for instaiKX', love to
the brethren --*' We know that we have i-assed from
death unto life I)ecause we love ths brethren;" ist
John, ;, ch., 14 v. It would be tedious to attempt to
notice them all, and it is not necessary, because there
are three which are fundamental and substantially in-
clude all the rest faith, obedience, and moral con-
formity to Christ.
I'aith in Christ is the first. This is the pr-'me requi-
site, and is the foundation of all that follows. 1 mean a
personal faith in a personal Saviour in order to the
personal salvation of the soul. 'I'his is somethin<T that
t>8 CHKISTIAMTY UKVIKWKl).
•each one has to attend to for hiniseh. It cannot be
delegated to another, neither can it he assumed for
another. It is a purely personal matter between the
soul and (iod. Of course a condition of sinfulness, and
helplessness in that condition, must be previously recog-
nized as existing, in order to make the reception of so
great a gift as salvation necessary and o|)erative. But
faith varies, not in nature, but in strength. It may be
the firm grasp of a giant upon Christ, or it may be the
tender grasp of a little child upon the hem of His gar-
ment. I think the reality of faith is the principal test of
its value and efficacy.
Then it leads to something else, namely, obedience,
■^vhich is the second fundamental characteristic of a
Christian. He who has a genuine faith in Christ is
likely to render an unquestioned and un(|uestioning
obedience to Him in all things. He will not ask useless
questions about the reason of this or that, but he will
iiscertain, as far as he is able, the will of the Master, and
then do it without unnecessary delay, and without
reservation.
Vou and I may honestly differ, in our interpretation
of the Will of Christ, in some particulars. That is both
CHRISTIANITV RKVIEWED. 69
Ijossible and likely, but we must each follow Christ
according to the conviction and light we have, or may
attain unto. Wo must be true to our honest individual
interpretations of Christ's will. 1 am not your master.
Vou are not my master. " For one is your Master even
Ciirist, and all ye are brethren."
The third characteristic follows as logically, and as
necessarily, upon the second, as the second upon the
fir?.t : namely, conformity to the character and life of
Christ. Faith in Christ leads to obedience to Him, and
obedience to Him culminates in likeness to Him. It is
impossible to obey Him without getting into closer
sympathy, and an ever increasing moral conformity.
Are these tests reliable ? I think they are. The
passages of Scripture by which they might be enforced
and illustrated are very numerous, and are too obvious
to need cjuoting. They will readily occur to any one
ha ing even a moderate accjuaintance with the New
Testament.
Having answered, somewhat at length, the first (jues-
tion at the head of this chapter, the second and third
shall be disposed of more briefly.
What is a professing Christian ? The answer is simple
70 CIIRISIIAMTV RKVIKWKI).
and plain. He is one who professes to be and do what
we liave been endeavoring to describe. He [)roresses to
have faith in (Ihrist, to obey Christ in all things, and to-
be growing daily into the likeness of Christ.
What is an inconsistent professing (Christian? (Mearl\
and unmistakably, he is one who, in some degree or
measure, is false to his profession, false to his faith, false
to his obedience, false to his moral (^jiiformiiy, and
therefore lalse to Christ.
15ut why all these definitions and explanations, some-
impatient reader may ask? Well, 1 like to be frank with
you, and 1 will tell you why. They may be of some use
to somebody. Some i)00r soul not so highly privileged,
nor so well informed as you are, may be benefited by a
rehearsal of these simple, self-evident truths. Some one
who is in doubt and darkness may get a little light,
which will give him a clearer ajjprehension of truths,
which are certainly important and fundamental. Or
some lone mariner, by this feeble light, may steer his
craft clear of the rocks, and get at last into a safe haven.
IJut there is another reason. I have been trying to see-
that the yard stick is the right length, because 1 am
going to make]an attempt to measure somebody, perhaps.
CHRISTIANITY KICVIKWKD. 71
you, and T want to be strictly honest. I don't want to
be unfair, neither do I wish to take any unfair ad
v.intage.
Or to change the simile, to illustrate the same idea, T
have been trying the balance to make as sure as a poor
f.illible mortal can that it is all right. 1 want to give
\ou your just weigiit :
"Nothing extenuate
Nor set down auglit in malice."
Surely you will admire my good inlenlion.s, whatever
vou may say of my performances when \ou weigh them
in your balance.
And then thirdly, as the preachers say, how can 1 tell
you, or even pretend to tell yo'., what is inconsistent in
a Christian, until 1 have first settled, as well as 1 can,
what he ought to be and do, according to the highest
standard, and the most undoubted authority. Nv,
clearly, what has been already i)ut down here is neces-
sary in order to execute the remainder of our task with
pro[)er discrimination and justice, and in such a way
that he who may get hit, and perhaps hit badly, may
at least confess that he has not been treated unfairly.
One thin.; may safely be taken for granted, confirmed
72 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
as it is by undisputed facts and a large experience, that
there is no argument for Christianity so convincing as a
consistent Christian life ; and there is no argument
against it so weighty and overwhelming as an inconsis-
tent one ; hence, the fearful responsibility resting upon
all who bear the Christian name, and make a Christian
profession. Men of the world may neglect the Hible,.
and leave it upon the shelf unused and forgotten, but
they do not neglect to observe and study the lives of
professing Christians. Whether they are co.npctent
judges may be seriously doubted, but they are judges
nevertheless ; and they should be able to see in a
Christian some reflection of the Divine AVill as clear,
though not as full and perfect, as they might, if they
w e so minded, read it in the Written Word. This is
plainly what the apostle means in Rom. 12 ch. 2 v.
where he says, " lie not conformed to this world, but be-
ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye
may prove " that is, that ye may show forth, manifest
— " what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect will
of God."
I wish to introduce here, before I forget, some obser-
vations about that common, oft-repeated chari^c of
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 73
inconsistency in ministers in accepting calls to larger
salaries. We have heard it so often that it has become
stale and unprofitable. Is there anything in it ? Not
much ; certainly not near so much as some unfriendly
•critics imagine. Theie would be nothing in it at all if
ministers displayed more common sense, and would be
more honest in their pretensions and statements. I
have come, to the conclusion, after a good deal of
thought, and I might add a good deal of painful
•experience, thai while the call to preach the Gospel
must be admitted to be a Divine call, the call to exercise
the gift for the exclusive benefit of any particular com-
munity or church is largely, if not wholly, a human
arrangement ; the desirability or otherwise of which
should be decided by considerations based upon circum-
stances, reason and common sense.
, 1 am willing to admit the reality of the headship of
jesus Christ, and what seems to logically follow from
that admission ; but I confess it passes my comprehen-
sion how to associate the honored name, "which is
above every name," with the ordinary circumstances and
methods, attendant upon calling and uncalling min-
isters, which are well known to exist in many churches
7+ CHRISTIANITY RKVIEWLD.
of to-day. It seems to be the maxim of some churches,
at least of some people in them, to reverse the apostolic
injunction, " Neither give place to the devil;" and this
would appear to exemplify itself in a marked degree in
the matter of settling and unsettling ministers, I there-
fore feel myself irresistibly drawn, by the logic of facts,
and by ". scrupulous regard for the untarnished honor of
the (Ireat Mead of the church, to come to the conclu-
sion, that while the call to preach is divine, and must
ever be maintained as such, the call to occupy any par-
ticular si)here is human, and therefore a l)usines»>
arrangement.
Will any man seriously contend that the Divine
Man could even remotely, or by implication, give
His sanction to the calling of a minister to two or
three churches ?t the sa^ne time, which is notoriously
the case in some instances we have heard of? Are such
calls Divine calls ? We know they are not. No stretch
of human credulity can make them such. Therefore if
ministers and churches would throw away their non-
sense, and come down to plain sense, the charge against
the former of woridliness and inconsistency in accepting
krger salaries would instantly vanish. Why? IJecause-
fHKISlIAMIY RKVIKWKI). 75
it would cease to apply, for any reasonable man would
admit that, on the basis suggested, a minister has the
same right as any other man to make the most of his
abilites for himself, his family, and the future of both,
without sacrificing conscience, truth, or his loyahy to
< lod.
Having disposed of tiiis matter, I hope with some
measure of conviction and satisfaction, let us look now
at the (juestion of wealth, its responsibilities, duties and
failures, from a Christian standpoint. Charity and
truth suggest that there are some wealthy men who arc
<"hristians, known to be such not only by their [)rofes-
sion, but by their deeds. By their fruits they are known.
Also, there are doubtless a great many of that class who,
;)t least, make some sort of a profession of Christianity,
and who would feel very much hurt if you cast any
doubt upon the reality of that profession : and there are
others who would scarcely be affected at all by your
opinion concerning them. I confess that with all the
<harity I can bring to bear, a very wealthy Christian,
while 1 do not deny his possible existence, is a jiu/zle to
me. I dont understand him. 1 fmd myself looking at
him with wistful, doubting eyes. I cannot help thinking
70 (URtSTlANITV KKVIKWKD.
of what Christ said : "How hardly shall they that have
riches enter into the Kingdom of dod," showing
clearly that the rich man is likely to have a hard time of
it when he attempts to go in the direction of the king-
dom, with that large pack of accumulated wealth on his.
hack. He may get in Christ does not say he will not
but his case would be a good deal less problematical
and doubtful, and he would move along with a quicker,,
firmer, lighter step, if he would take ofif that precious-
pack, and distribute its contents, at least a part of them,
to those who are ready to [)erish, and who would live to
bless his name. .
And then I cannot help thinking of that terrible
picture which the Divine Artist has drawn, with a
master hand, in w^hich He puts aside the invisible veil,
and lets us look for a moment into the next world. If I
wanted to invent a name for that picture, I would call it
This and That. The main figure in it is a certain man.
Not a bad man, according to the generally accepted
meaning of the word, but simply a "rich man ; a mar>
well housed, well clothed, and well fed every day of his
life. He had the l)est of everything, and simply enjoyed
himself, as he thought he had a right to do with his.
CHRISTIANITV KKVIKUKD. 77
own. Whnt did he care about the poor man at his gate?
The dogs could take care of him, and they did. Wealth
could not purchase immunity from death. Me must
|)ay the debt of nature. He died, and then, O horrors t
what a change when he lifted up his eyes, and saw where
he was. Why this ? What had he done ? Simply lived
for himself, and neglected his plain duty to (iod and h' >
fellow men. Simply did what thousands of his class are
doing t( -day, and seme of them are in our churches,
and they call themselves (Mirislians. (Christians I and
professed followers of Him who *' though he was rich,
yet for your sakes he became poor, that ye through his
poverty might be rich."
My rich brother, does it not strike you as a very grave
inconsistency, that you should profess to be daily
striving after a likeness to Him who literally emptied
^iimself to fill other people, while you are concerned
about how to make and to keep. He distributed of His-
abundant resources, even to the extent of giving Hi.s^
life, while you are not happy unless you see your
precious pile of wealth increasing day by day. And
then you profess to believe in the Iliblc, and accept its.
teaching as the guide of your life, and it tells you
78 ( HkisriANiiv ki:viI',\vki>.
plainly that "you are not your own," and if not your
own how can what you have he yours. i\ntl then you
are told '* to lay not up for yourself treasures upon
earth, but to lay up for yourself treasures in heaven.'
And how can you lay up treasures for yourself in
heaven ? \>\ using and distributing your wealth, accord-
ing to the will of Him who owns you and the wealth
too. ^ ou will then become rich toward (lod.
And then what about those men and women, and
boys and girls, in your factories, and workshops, and
stores ? Do you look u[K)n them as real (lesh and blood,
as human beini^s, as brothers and sisters in the flesh,
and perhaps in the spirit too; as members of the one
common brotherhood of which you form a part ? Or do
you follow the wake of the world and worldly craft, and
enterprise, and account them as so much raw material
out of which to manufi-icture wealth ? Which is it ?
They know you i)rofess to l)e a Christian, and they
expect to sec you act like one; and it will be a glad and
joyful, and even profuable thing for them if you do.
Well, you say, I conduct my business on business
l)rinciples. Vou do ? Well, I suppose you really
mean that you conduct it on the same princi[>les
ciirisiianh V kkvikwkd. 7i>
as a fairly honest man does who makes no profession of
(Christianity. Or in other words, your C!hristianity is
not taken into account, nor does it appear in your husi-
ness at all. N'oii think you have done your duty when
you have done what other people arc doin^', uoder like
eonditioMs, who do not profess what you do. Do you
call that consistency? Tan you call it honesty? (.'an
you really persuade yourself that it is common sense? I
have a better opinion of you than to suppose you can.
.\s a ( Christian you are bound to conduct your busi-
ness on Christian principles, that is, according to the law
of Christ, for you are commanded "to let your light
so shine before men, that they may see your good works,
and glorify your l-alher which is in heaven." And if
your light docs not shine in your business, where is it
going to shine ; for it is in that you grind out your life
daily and show unmistakably what you are.
Uut, you say, I must do as other people do, else I
shall not be able to successfully (•omj)ete with them.
Not so my brother. You must not do as other people
do, except so far as they do right. \'ou must do what
Christ, your rightful Lord and Master, bids you do.
What, in my business ? Yes, m your business. lUit 1
80 CHUISnANlTY RKVIl'AVKI).
can never mike it a success on that line, and people
'\x'ill laugh at me, and say I am very peculiar, and all
that. Well, let them laugh, and remember there is a
9>aying to the effect that he laughs best who laughs last.
But I can never succeed on that line, because com-
petition is keen, and the majority of people — I might
say nearly all of them -are working on the other line.
Then give up your business or calling, and try to find
something, the working of which will not conflici >vith
your high and sacred profession. But I cannot do that
either, for it is my living, my all in this world. Well
then, be honest and give up your Christianity, or at least
your profession of it. Come, settle this business as you
should S' ule it. Face the alternative and decide. Be
SI man. Give up that wretched, abortive attempt at
being a man of the world and a Christian at the same
time, which is being no man at all. Either strike your
colors and doff your regimentals, or toe the mark, and
stand straight up a full, honest, consiscent Christian man
before Clod and the world.
1 h-ear some one whisper, that man is a crank. Well,
what is a crank ? A crank, in a general way, is some-
thing crooked, twisted : and in these days it has come
CHRISTIANITV KEVIKWKD. 81
to be applied in a variety of connections by people of
limited ideas and of a limited vocabulary.
It is certainly a misnomer as far as 1 am concerned,
for I am contending, all along the line, for what is
•straight, as opposed to what is crooked.
]Jut you say it is a high and impossible ideal of
Christian consistency and duty I am setting up. Do you
think so ? Allow me to inform you that it is no ideal a^
All, out something practical and practicable, and certainly
<:onsistent, and you know consistency is a jewel. And
you rich Christians and employers of labor must try to
get the notion of ideality out of your heads, and try to
^ee that business upon Christian principles is consistent
and practicable, and can be made actual, to the mani-
fest advantage of men, and to the (Uory of God. Failing
this, notwithstanding your profession, the day of reckon-
ing will come, when the prediction of the centuries will
be fulfilled in your bitter experience : — " CiO to now, ye
rich men, weep and howl for your miseries that shall
<:ome upon you. Your riches are corrupted and your
garments are moth-eaten. Your gold and silver is
cankered, and the rust of them shall be a witness against
you, and shall eat your flesh as it were fire ; ye have
82 CIIRISTIAMTV KKVIEWEI).
heaped treasure together for the last days. IJehold, the
hire of the laborers who have reaped down your iields^
which is of you kept back by fraud, crieth ; and the cries-
of them which have reaped are entered in the ears of
the Lord of Sabaoth. Ve have lived in pleasure on the
earth, and been wanton : ye iiave nourished )onr hearts
as in a day of slauf^hter. Ve have condemned and'
killed the just, and he doth not resist you." James 5 ch.
1-6 vs.
A glaring inconsistency, which scarcely any one can-
fail to notice, is the undue value attached to wealth, and
the comnianding influence exercised by men of wealth
in the churches of today. There arc two things of
which we may feel morally certain in regard to this
matter.
The first is, the small value that (iod attaches to-
wealth ; the second is, the great value attached to it by
the churches. Anyone will be convinced of the sound-
ness and truth of the first proposition bv carefully read-
ing Christ's sermon on the mount, especially that [)art of
it beginning with : "Therefore I say unto you, take no-
thought for yovr life,'" etc. The spiritual is of paramount
importance, and is worthy of our highest regard, and un-
CMUISTIAXITV KEViKWKI). 83
•ceasing care, while the material is not worth the thought
•ordinarily bestowed ui)on it. Mence, "Seek ye first" —
fir«;t in point of importance as well as time '^'the King-
dom of Ciod and His righteousness, and all these things
shall be added unto you.' The things to be added
are food and raiment, and all necessary material things,
which as compared with the spiritual are of small value
indeed. As to the second proposition, the great im-
]-)ortance attached to wealth in the church and by the
church, it is self-evident and indisputable, to any who
have eyes to see, ears to hear, and understanding
-enough to understand.
(lO into anv church, I mean anv communitv of
<!hristian.s, and you will soon find out that the men of
"Commanding position and influence, who mainly decide
what shall be done and what shall not be done, are not
the men eminent for piety, and poor, as such generally
4ire, but the men of wealth and social position. There
may be an exception here and there, and I hope for the
credit of the church there is, but I cannot honestly say
that I ever met one. Now, this is all wrong : it is man
jfestly inconsistent : it is at variance with the will of the
]•»! aster ; it is reversing the proper order of things which
84 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWB^D.
ought to exist in a Christian church, and it ought to bc-
trampled upon, and stamped out as speedily as possible.
Do not misunderstand me. T dislike being misunder-
stood, and it shall not be if 1 can avoid it. I do not
say that there may not be some men in a church emi-
nent for wealth and piety too ; and I do not say
that they should not have their just recognition
and influence which their possessions, lawfully accjuired!
and generously used, fairly entitle them to.
Hut I do say, and will maintain with my latest breath,
that wealth alone, without regard to the methods of its
ac(iuirement and use, and without regard to qualifications-
of a spiritual nature, does not entitle its possessor tO'
distinguished position and influence in a Christiai^
church.
It is singular, and worthy of observation, how these-
inconsistencies, which we have been commenting upon,
and others that might be mentioned, all spring from,
or are connected with, or cluster around that one word,
money. It is only another way of saying that thev
spring from conformity to the world, and worldly
maxims and customs. There is that matter of dress, for
instap'^e, which helps to intensify and perpetuate dis-
CHRISTIANITY RKVIEWKD. 85>
crimination against the poor as such. It is a difficult
matter to toucli, and a very deh'cate one, and a wise
man, however much he may deplore the e\il, finds him-
self unable to say much about it. And especially will
he hesitate, and distrust himself, in view ot the fact that
he most pungent dissertation ever given, about invidi-
ous distinctions in the house of God, based upon differ-
ence in dress and worldly estate, was given eighteen
hundred years ago. and as far as can be seen with little
or no effect.
*' My brethren, have not the faith of our Lord Jesus
Christ, the Lord of glory, with respect* of persons. For
if there come into your assembly a man with a gold
ring, in goodly apparel, and there come in also a poor
man in vile raiment ; and ye have respect unto him that
wearelh the gay clothing, and say unto him, sit thou
here in a good place, and say to the poor, stand thou
there, or sit here under my footstool. Are ye not then
l)artial in yourselves, and are become judges of evil
thoughts ? Hearken, my beloved brethren, hath not
(iod chosen the poor of this world rich in faith, and
heirs of the kingdom which he hath promised to them
that love him? But ye have despised the poor. !h>
-<S() ClUKISTIANI IT KKVIKWKI).
not rich men o[)press you, and draw you before tiie
judgment seats? Do not they blaspheme that worthy
name by the which ye arc called ? If ye fulfil the royal
law according to the scri[)ture, thou shalt love thy
neighbor as thyself, ye do well. IJut if yc have respect
to persons, ye commit sin, and are convinced of the law
as transgressors. I'or whosoever shall keep the whole
law and yet offend in one [)oint, he is guilty of all."
James 2 ch. i-io vs.
While things may not be quite so bad now, in this
res{)ect, as they evidently were in apostolic times, it is un-
deniable that this, spirit of invidious worldliness is not
altogether extinct. Distinctions are made, lines are
drawn, significant looks are exchanged, remarks are
made, and the poor are offended. It must be ap[)arent,
even to tlv asual observer, that a man of good social
position, and ample means, making his advent into a
('hristian community, is received quite cordially, and
•even effusively; while a poor man, however high uj)
intellectually and spiritually, is received (juite formally
.and with discrimination.
Again I may be misunderstood if I don't put in one
of my [>arenthetical explanations. Do I o!)ject to the
( HRISTIANITV RKVIKWKD; H7
rich man being received (*ordially, and if yon like
effusively ? I do not, but you might as well spare your
exuberance he will not miss it, and may not be worthy
of it -and bestow it upon the poor man who may l)c
cheered by it, and will certainly appreciate it if it be
transparently sincere. Do you know where the incon-
sistency of this discrimination against the poor as such
comes in ?
It comes in just here, that it is totally opposed to the
spirit, will and conduct of Jesus Christ. Have you ever
given the matter a really serious thought ? If you have
not, do so now, and you will find it will bear the closest
investigation, and the severest scrutiny you can bring to-
bear upon it. You will find tiiat not wealth, nor
position, nor loud professions of exceptional saintliness,
but character was the coin which passed ctuTent with
Jesus Christ. You will find also that the severer aspects
of His character and demeanor. His unbending stern-
ness and His withering denunciations, were invariably
manifested to and hurled against the i)roud, the opulent,
and the wealthy, the men of commanding intlutnce and
undoubted position in church and State. 13u to the
poor and lowly He invariablv showed the tenderest
4^8 CHRISTIANITY RKVTliWKU.
^nspect of His infinitely tender nature, and spoke to them
4ind of them kindly, gently, and manifested toward them
a remarkable patience, and a loving consideration. He
was always ready to take up their cause and defend them
as He alone could, unmasking their oppressors, and
'launching upon them His fierce invective and blighting
scorn.
Bear in mind that in making these statements, con-
•ccrning Christ, I am not indulging in hyperbole, or
exaggerating facts for the purpose of making out a case.
T am stating in strong, but not too strong, language
what you and I, who have read the life of Christ as re-
corded in the gospels, know to be true.
As an illustration of Christ's severity to certain classes
take the whole of the twenty-third chapter of Matthew,
of which a part only shall be quoted here : " But woe
unto you, Scribes and Phraisees, hypocrites! for ye shut
up the kingdom of heaven against men ; for ye neither
go in yourselves, neither suffer ye them that are entering
to go in. Woe unto you. Scribes and Pharisees, hypo-
crites ! for ye devour widows' houses, and for a pretence
make long prayers; therefore ye shall receive the greater
-damnation. Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees,
CHRISTIANITY RFA IKWKD. 80*
hypocrites I for yc compass sea and land to make one
proselyte, and when lie is made, ye make him two-fold
more the child of hell than yourselves. Woe unto you,^
Scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye pay tithe of
mint and anise and cummin, and have omitted the
weighter matters of the law, judgment, mercy and faith ;
these ought ye to have done, and not to leave the other
undone. Ye blind guides, which strain at a gnat, and
swallow a camel. Woe unto you, Scribes and Pharisees,
hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres,
which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within
full of dead men's bones, and of all uncleanness. Even.
so ye also outwardly appear righteous unto men, but
within ye are full of hypocrisy and ini(iuity. Ye .ser-
l)ents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the
damnation of hell."
As illustrations of Christ's tenderness and compassion
and care for the poor, the unfortunate, the heavy laden,
and the defenceless, take those deeply heartfelt utter-
ances of His commencing with " Come unto me ;" or
the parable of the good Samaritan, which answers that
world-wide but much neglected question, " Who is my
neighbor ? " or that plain statement concerning the-
1IU CIIKISTIANITV UKVIKWKl).
proper direction, and the fitting objects of generosity
^ind liosi)iiality recorded in I. like 14 ch. 12 14 vs.
" 'I'hcn said he also to him that bade him, whcti ihou
makcst a dinner or a supper, call not thy friends, nor thy
brethren, neither thy kinsmen, nor thy rich neighbors,
lest they also bid thee again, and a recompense be made
thee. lUit when thou makest a feast, call the poor, the
maimed, the lame, the blind; and thou shalt be blessed,
for they cannot recompense thee ; for thou shalt be
recompensed at the resurrection of the just."
\Ve must bear in mind that this language is not
figurative, but absolutely literal ; as literal as that two
and two make four. It has been on record for about
eighteen hundred years, and comes with unquestioned
authority, and from the Divinest source. There can be
no doubt that it was intended to have an important
bearing upon one aspect of the social life of the follow-
ers of ('hrist, and to teach a practical lesson of priceles.s
worth, the connection between the conduct of the
present and the blessed fruition of the future. How
many are practising it ? Indeed, are there any who treat
the matter seriously at all, or even give it a transient
thought. Not many I fear, certainly it is not general.
t.HRISTlANITV RKVlKWlin. !» I
It is SO uncommon, so universally rccogni/cd as beinj;
a.i^ainst the propri':tics to ask people to visit you and
partake of your substantial who are not of your set,,
hut are heneath you in social position, that if, by rlnncc,
you should see some good simple minded (Christian
consistently carrying out the plain directions of his
Master, he would be put down as a crank, and that is
the next thing to being calleil a lunatic, Ihen, why is
this ? Vou cannot successfully disput'* the literality of
the exhortation, or doubt the sincerity of Jesus Christ.
Me meant just what lie said. Then, why don't you as-
a professed follower of Him attend to it, and please Him
by a literal and prom[)t obedience ? O I you say, 1 think
you arc making too much of it, and forgetting that "the-
Ictter killcth, but the spirit giveth life."' \\'ell. sup|)Ose
you try to extract the spirit or principle, and see what it
looks like. I think you will see that it comes io the
same thing exactl\', namely, the necessity of shn[)ing
your conduct in this i)articular not according to the
usages of the world, but according to the well-known
leanings and preferences of the Master you profess to
love and serve.
Of course, if you do this, peo[)le will say that you are
1)2 CHRISTIANITV KEVIEWED.
peculiar, very peculiar, and with a very peculiar em-
phasis upon very ; but you will have the satisfaction of
feeling and knowing that you arc consistent and loyal ;
^md even they will scarcely be able to refrain from
honoring you for your consistency and loyalty. And
then think how the poor will bless you for your love and
goodness, and think of the reward — "thou shalt be
recompensed at the resurrection of the just "
I propose to stop here. I have not exhausted the
list, and had no intention of doing so when I com-
menced writing this chapter. Exhaustiveness is liable
to end in exhaustion, and that is not pleasant. It would
take a volume to cover the whole ground, but tl-.at is
neither desirable nor necessary. Quite a number of
inconsistencies, caW them little if you like, crop up con-
stantly, and are matters of common observation— these
are too obvious to need mentioning. The gross, flag-
rant ones, that are aired in the public prints, and that
make people stare and talk, for nine days at least, shall
not be advertised in these pages. They get all the pub-
licity thev -ire entitled to.
One thing more. If, as a follower of Jesus Christ,
you are sincerely desirous of leading a consistent life,
CHUISTIANITV KKVIEWED. 93
you must pay small heed to the world, and much to
your Leader, And you had better keep in mind this
apostolic exhortation and the rich promise attached :
*• Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye
separate saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean ;
and I will receive you, and will be a Father unto you,
and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord
Almighty," 2nd Cor., 6 ch., 17, 18 vs.
04 ClIKISIIAMiN RKVIOVKIJ.
CHAITKR IV.
Cliurcli Methods and Work.
TiiK present chaplcr is likely to cover a wide Held of
observation, involving matters of the most j^raclical
kind, and recjuiring a fan- amount of knowledge and'
skill in their proper treatment. Any one, to speak with
advantage, and with some measure ol authority. i;j)on
(Church Methods and Work, should have occupied
different points of vantage ground for observation,
and should be able to speak clearly, truthfully and
charitably. He must not be afraid to tell what he has
seen and knows, and yet he must not forget that the
best of men are human, and some of them intensely so.
It is one thing to look at the church and its workings-
from the pulp't ; it is (pn'te another thing to make your
observations from the pew. He who observes exclusively
from either the one or the other, is likely to come to a
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 1)5
jxirtially erroneous and unsatisfactory conclusion. I
<laim the advantage f>f making my observations from
both points of view.
I have, at different periods of my h'fe, occupied the
one position, and then the other, and had the privilege
of criticising the pew from the pulpit, and the [)ulpit
from the pew : and from this dual position I propose to
record my observations, lor the benefit of any who may
choose to '' read, mark, learn, and inwardly digest.' I
suppose it is scarcely necessary to warn you that I shall
not shrink from stating the naked truth as it appears to
me. 1 ask no man's favor ; I fear no man's frown. I
seek the favor of (lod, and ho[)e to obtain it by a strict
adherence to truth and charity. Truth and charity did
1 say ? Yes, these are my attendant angels. J>y the aid
of the one I shall mark keenly ; by th'^ lid of the other
1 shall record my judgments as leniently as the limits of
truth will allow, Kven then they may appear harsh to
■some people, but remember that the harshness of truth
is really a blessing. " I'aithful are the wounds of a
friend,'' and truth though sometimes wounding is always
,1 friend.
The most important and the most conspicuous
96 CHRISTIAN ITV KKVIKWi:!.).
worker, in any individual church, is the minister, or
pastor, or whatever else you choose to call him. Name*,,
in this connection, are quite immaterial. However
titles may differ in designating men occupying the same
office, and doing the same work, minister is an appio-
priate designation in any or all of them, for their
vocation is to minister to the spiritual necessities of
others. 1 say the minister is the most important and
the most conspicuous worker. On him, under (iod,
much depends, and round him cluster all the forces, fur
good or evil, which issue from the individual community
of which he is the recognized head.
The power of appointment varies. It may be witU
the l>ishop, as in the Catholic and Anglican churches.
It may be with the Stationing Committee, representing
the Conference, as in the Methodist Church. It may be
the congregation, with the concurrence of the I'resby-
tery, as in the Presbyterian body. Or it may be with
the church absolutely, as in the Baptist and Congre-
gational bodies. In any case a deep responsibility rests
upon the appointing power, for much depends upon
fitness to secure success.
It is worthy of remark in passing, that the Anglicani
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 97
and Methodist bodies are drifting in the direction of
a more democratic form of government, especially in
the matter of allowing the people a larger power in
the selection of their ministers. Thrs is doubtless a
movement in the right direction, although, as we know,
there are evils connected with a pure democracy. But
whether the appointing power is with the Bishop, or
the Stationing Committee, or the Presbytery in con-
junction with the congregation, or with the church
itself. Is the question of fitness, between the minister
and the charge assigned to him, sufficiently consider-
ed ? Is it the prime consideration ? It is suppos-
ed to be so, but is it so, in every case, or in a
majority of cases ? I am told tha), he who stands best
with the Bishop is likely to get the best appointment.
I am told that there is a good deal of wire-pulling, and
consequent heart-burning, at Conference ; and that he
who has friends at court is likely to come off best.
These things I have been told, and I give the inform-
ation as it has come to me, and without exaggeration ;
and you are quite at liberty to adopt your own method
of estimating its value. But with reference to the
Presbyterian, and Baptists, and Congregationalists I can
98 CHRISTIANITY RF.VIFAVKD:
speak more positively ; for I know there is a good deal
of self-seeking, and the (question of fitness is frequently
left far in the rear.
What is fitness ? Before I answer that question I
want to put a few questions on this matter, because I
think the answers that would probably be given will go
a long way towards showing that fitness, in- the tru«
application of that word, is about the last thing that is
seriously thought of in a general way. You can suppose
the questions addressed to different congregations, or
churches, that are pastorless ; and who are therefore
presumably looking for the right men, according to their
ideas, to fill the vacancies.
What are the ([ualifications you are looking for in your
future minister?
Well, we must have a man who will suit the young
people. That is absolutely necessary. We have a large
number, and unless we get a minister who will suit them
they will wander off to other churches and be lost to us.
But what about the middle aged, and the elder people
in your congregation? Do they not merit some con-
sideration ?
Well, we don't mind so much about them. They can
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 99
get along anyhow, and so long as the young people are
suited they will be satisfied. Beside many of them
are getting considerably advanced in life, and will die off
in a few years, but the young are likely to remain, and
they are the hope of the future you know.
But what do you mean by getting a man to suit the
young people ? What sort of a man must he be ? I
suppose you have a conception, or perhaps an ideal ?
Well, he must be young, the younger the better.
He must be interesting ; have taking, pleasant, agree-
able ways with him ; be quite familiar, and shake hands
all round, and play with the boys and girls, call them by
short names, such as Tom, Dick, Harry, Jane, Mary, etc.
Why, bless you, young people alwj^ys like a young
minister. It's natural you know. Yes, I see you are
going a good deal on the natural, and not much on the
spiritual.
Will it ever occur to any one, with sufificient force to
lead to some practical result, that perhaps this perpetual
desire to please young people in the selection of minis-
ters, which obtains in some churches, is being carried
altogether too far. Is the object aimed at really definite
and worthy ? Are they the best judges, and if not why
100 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
the allowance of a preponderating influenc3 in so import-
ant a matter ? That it is best for them may be seiiously
questioned. That it is unfair to the elder part of the
community may be presumed to be self-evident. That
it is injurious to the real interests of the church, exper-
ience abundantly testifies.
And that it leads to a gross injustice to a large
number of worthy, efficient ministers, who unfortunately
for them are no longer accounted young, cannot be
denied. This craze for young ministers to suit young
people, and a few older ones who are sti'I very immature,
is being carried too far, and should be stamped out.
You have heard of the dead line of fifty in the ministry!^
If you don't happen to know what it means let me
enlighten your ignorance by telling you. It doesn't
mean that a minister is dead at fifty, but it means that
he might just as well be dead as far as his chances for
getting a call are concerned, if he happens to need one.
That is what it means unless he is one of a thousand
who by extraordinary talents or exceptional good fortune
has escaped the general doom. These things ought not
so to be. You never think that years, and experience,
and knowledge, and wisdom arc disqualifications in the
CHRISTIANITY RKVIEWKI). 101
|)rofc3sioiis of law and medicine. Then why in the
highest of all callings where these qualities are so
dnipcratively recjuired. The very best work can be done
by the most experienced ministers if you give them a
fair chance.
liut suppose we address a question to a leading
brother connected with cjuite a different congregation.
Wh It sort of a minister are you expecting to get ?
What (lualifications, etc. ?
Well, nothing but the finest man that can he got will
suit us. You see our congregation is (juite aristocratic.
The best people socially and intellectually attend with
us, consequently we must have a minister of undoubted
refmement and culture. We must feel that he is
unquestionably one who will not, in private or in public,
offend any of the recognized proprieties. He must be a
perfect gentleman in every sense of the word ; one who
can go into the most select company, and always be a
credit to us. And then in preaching he must have
choice thoughts, a refined manner, and a strictly correct
pronunciation. Not too much voice, a little emphasis,
but no gesticulation, or next to none, and he must avoid
all excess and urgency. We don't want to have one's
102 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
nerves shocked by what some peoi)Ie call earnestness,,
which in some preachers is liable to degenerate into
vulgarity. In short, the man we want must be of
finished education, eminently judicious, and thoroughly
refined in tone and manner.
Perhaps by far the largest number of pastorless-
churches are looking out for the man who can make a
great hit, and create a sensation. One who can fill the
church with a gaping crowd, and may-be, lift a hand-
some debt, and re-fill an empty treasury. I pity the
man who accepts a call, or is appointed to a church
with such plans and expectations. In a large percentage
of cases disappointment will ensue, and the end will b?
not far off.
Having disposed of these hypothetical cases, which
may be taken as fairly representative of the actual, 1
propose to answer the question, What is fitness, and
what are the qualities that should be sought for in a
minister of Jesus Christ ? First you are justified in
requiring that he shall have the ordinary evidences of
being a converted man. Well, all ministers are con-
verted, are they not ?
I wish they were, but human experience, and obser-
CHRISTIANITV RKVIKWKl). 103
v;Uion, and incontrovertible facts suggest that probably
they are not. Indeed, there have been some notable
instances of this kind. Have you not heard or read
that the celebrated Dr. Chalmers was, upon his own
confession, an unconverted man for several years after
his induction into the ministry, and the pastoral charge
■of a church ? And if Dr. Chalmers could be mistaken
in so vital a matter it is not unreasonable to suppose
that other and lesser men may be. I am not referring
now to men who designedly try to pass themselves off
as Christians when they know they are not, but to those
who are genuinely, from whatever cause, deceived in
regard to their true spiritual state. This is clearly and
plainly possible, hence the necessity for circumspection
and close analysis.
If you want to make as sure as you can that you are
getting a converted man to fill your pulpit, you must
pay small heed to rich, ambitious worldly men, who
because of their riche* and social position, and not
because of any exceptionally keen spiritual discernment,
seek to exercise paramount influence in such matters.
You must also depend less upon certificates of mem-
bership, character, and standing ; recommendations by
104 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
distinguished ministers, and especially reports of past
achievements and brilliant successes, which have ap-
peared from time to time in the columns of religious-
periodicals and papers. And always be careful about
reports of a man receiving many and very distinguished
calls.
Again I say don't depend so much upon these things,,
but place some reliance upon your plain common sense,,
and powers of observation, and spiritual insight. Then
if you are in any doubt, and want a reference, go to-
some experienced Christian, who, though poor in this,
world, is rich in faith. One whose worldly position may
be nothing, or next to nothing ; but who is godly tO'
the very core, varied and wir*** in experience, mighty in
the Scriptures, and deeply imbued with the Spirit of
God. He will be a safer guide than your rich neighbor
or brother, however much he may vaunt his piety, or
display his liberality.
Not only have you a right to expect that your minister
shall be a converted man, but you are warranted in
looking for certain distinguished personal qualities,
fitting him for his work in the pulpit and out of it.
What are they ? We surely cannot be wrong ir" we say
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 105
that they are those set forth eighteen hundred years ago,
in a letter written by an old minister, putting off the
.harness, to a young minister who was just putting it on,
— the aged Paul to young Timothy, his son in the faith.
What he has to say should carry considerable weight,
for it springs alike from inspiration, from a large and
varied experience, and from a genuine regard and affec-
tion for the young man to whom the letter was addressed.
Here is what he says, " The servant of the Lord must
not strive, but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach,
patient ; in meekness instructing." etc. 2 Tim. 2 ch.
24-25 vs. You have to bear in mind that he is the
Lord's servant, and he must keep it in mind too, for
itherein the responsibility is properly estimated and
fixed ; and let no man interfere with it.
He must not strive. He is not a man of war, but a
iman of peace. His message is peace, and his mission
too. He must not cultivate a contentious spirit, but
*he opposite. He must not allow himself to be drawn
into contention, nor kept in it. But there is a liinit,
and the limit is truth, or principle, or loyalty to God.
When he is pushed there, by the devil or his agents,
and peace is demanded on such terms as involve a
lOG CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
sacrifice of truth or loyalty, he must resist, and if need'
be, in the strength of God, fight to a finish. The not
striving, or avoiding, by all lawful means, occasions of
strife, shows a peaceful and humble spirit, and humility
should characterise a servant of the Lord. Gentleness
is another admirable and necessary feature, and "gentle
unto all men," showing that it is not assumed for
extraordinary occasions, or for a select few. He is to be
patie.1t too, and he must cultivate meekness. He needs
both, and fortunate for him, and for others, if he has
them in an eminent degree.
But there is another qualification, and probably the
most important one, " Apt to teach." That means that
he must be able to teach, that he must like teaching,
that he must have a peculiar aptitude and readiness in
teaching ; and that he must regard teaching as a very
important and necessary part of his work, without which
all the rest will not amount to much.
But perhaps the most practical and the most im-
portant meaning which may, at least infeientially, be
attached to the phrase is that teaching is the most
important part of preaching. In other words, that
teaching is preaching, and preaching should be mainly
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 107
teaching. An eminently able and fearless man has
jsaid, and said truly, " As the principal business of a
ipreacher of the Gospel is to teach, or to communi-
cate to his fellow-men the nowledge of the truth,
the necessity of this qualification is obvious. No one
should be allowed to enter the ministry who is not
•qualified to impart instruction to others on the doctrines
and duties of religion ; and no one should feel that he
■ought to continue in the ministry, who has not industry,
and self-denial and the love of study enough to lead him
constantly to endeavor to increase in knowledge, that he
may be qualified to teach others. A man who would
teach a people, must himself keep in advance of them
•on the subjects on which he would instruct them."
These are brave words, and wise. They have the true
ring. They come (rom a veteran watchman on the walls
•of Zion. They have a discriminating, dividing quality,
and are like a two edged sword striking at the entrance,
and striking into the ranks. True it is, and indisputable,
that no man should be nllowed to enter the ministry
unless he has evident qualifications for teaching others ;
and true is it also that no man should remain in the
ariinistry unless he is a growing man, and increasingly
108 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
answers to that terse description of a capable minister^
"Apt to teach."
Now sum up these quahties 'or quahfications, and
look at ihem fairly and squarely, and what have we ?"
We have a truly converted man who is humble, gentle,
patient, meek, and able and apt in teaching others.
These are the qualities you have a right to expect in the-
occupant of your pulpit, whether actual or prospective.
Are you looking for them, or for the man in whonij
they inhere, or are you looking for something altogether
different ? Are you measunng the candidates that come-
before you to preach their trial sermons by this Divine
standard, or by some other standard which you have set
up ; or perhaps by a dozen different standards set up by
a dozen different cliques contained in the one, supposed
to be, united church ?
How is it ? You are supposed to follow the King's,
leading, and act in the King's spirit, and obey the
King's coHimands. Are you doing that, or are you fol-
lowing out your own little petty schemes and devices ^
and trying to thwart some other brother, or some sister
church, that is plotting and scheming as you are ?*
Which is it ? I am not a rich man, but I will undertake
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 109
to give a reward of unmentioned nature and value to
the man who will point me out a church whose oflficers
and members, when seeking a minister, deliberately set
to work to guide themselves in their choice by the New
Testament model, and by those requirements and
qualities set forth in Paul's letters to Timothy.
You think there is something odd and whimsical
about this proposition, and you may be right, but under-
neath, if you will look, there is a deep seriousness which
you cannot fail to see. If what is, in the strongest
manner, implied by the proposition be true, it reveals a
lamentable state of things, and goes very far to show the
fundamental cause of many things which weaken and
disgrace our churches. How can the most important
engagement, into which a church can enter, be right, or
continue right, or end right if the beginning is wrong.
Whether a minister shall serve a particular church, on
the basis ot certain important and necessary consider-
xitions, may be largely a business arrangement ; but
whether the church has a right to call him and he to
acceot at all is dependent, or should be dependent, not
upon personal likes or dislikes, but upon his manifest
and undoubted fitness for the position according to the
110 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
New Testament standard. And the churches that do
not choose their ministers, where they have the chance
of choice, according t > that standard fail in their
loyalty to Christ, and are neither consulting nor subserv-
ing their own best interests.
It is time to consider now how you should treat your
minister when you have secured him. What ought to
be the demeanor, and what are the duties of the church
to him, its chosen head ? Unfortunately these things are,
for the most part, regulated by what were the dominant
ideas of the dominant men in the church when the
pastor was called. He, poor man, in the simplicity of
his heart, probably supposed that the church in calling
him was following the directions given in the inspired
text book, and that he was chosen because he was
thought to possess the qualities therein described ;
but he finds out, after a while, that other and totally
different considerations decided the case. Hence the
ecclesiastical machine gets out of gear from the start,
and smoothness in the running of it becomes an utter
and palpable impossibility. O ! when will men and
churches get to be honest in this business? All sorts of
trouble, and disappointment, and heart burning, and
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. Ill
failure would be avoided by il, to the manifest advant-
age of all concerned.
If you want a minister not after the New Testament
model be frank enough to say so. If you want one
simply to lift a mortgage, or replenish an empty treasury;
or to fill some big empty galleries, which stare you out
of countenance, and make you shiver every time you
look at them ; or to be pleasant and agreeable all round,
dancing attendance upon everybody ; or to be quite
aesthetic so as not to offend your refined tastes ; or to be
able to work in perfect harmony with some overbearing
ambitious brother who wants to rule the church and the
minister too ; — if you want a minister for any or all of
these purposes be kind enough and honest enough to
tell him so, and then he will know what to do. He will
at least know whether he is dealing with honest people,
and with a Christian church.
But need you l>e in any doubt as to what is due to
him from the church as its pastor and as the servant of
Jesus Christ ? I think not. Without going into detail,
which would be tedious, let me say that if you are
satisfied you have, not a perfect man, but a good man,
a converted man, a true Christian man ; a man who
112 CHRISTIA.^ITY REVIEWED.
is humble without being servile ; gentle, without being
weak ; meek, without being tame ; patient, without
being irresolute and sluggish ; and fully able to give you
instruction in the doctrines and duties of Christianity ;
— if you have such a man, he is worthy of all the respect
and honor you can pay him, and all the support you can
bestow upon him. With such a man you cannot be too
generous with your good will, your esteem, your confi-
dence, or your money. It will all come back to you in
real blessing, and a hundred fold.
At the same time, don't be so foolish as to expect to
agree with him in everything. He does not expect it,
neither should you. You should accord him all deserv-
ing honor, and all needed support, not in proportion as
he may happen to fall in with your ideas and please
you, but in proportion as he is faithful to his high and
sacred trust.
Yes, I say faithful, and I use the word advisedly, and
with a definite purpose and meaning. There is too
much worshipping the god of success to-day, and too
much discount on fidelity. It is fidelity that God
honors, and will honor, and not success ; and it is
fidelity and not success that should be honored in the
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 113
servants of God, by the church of God. And further it
is fidelity that the servants of Gcd should aim at as their
highest ambition and chief glory, and not the attain-
iment of success, however complete and distinguished.
And yet, what are the facts, the melancholy facts ?
That niinisters and churches have alike gone clean mad on
this subject of success ; and it has led, and is still lead"
ing, to all sorts of contention, disorder, and weakness.
Do you know that succeed and success are not once
used in the New Testament ? Why, you may ask ? We
.are not told why, and yet the probable reason is neither
obscure nor remote. Evidently the writers had no need
•of them, or their equivalents, in the language m which
they wrote, as they had no ideas to convey at all corres-
j>onding to them, rendering their use necessary.
I claim that this is a most significant fact, and one
■which if properly understood and applied, would go far
towards making a complete revolution in church
methods and work as they exist to day. Why, sirs, is it
not strange that the text book of Christianity says noth-
ing about succeeding, or about success, and yet these
words are perpetually on the lips of professing Christ-
ians, and are, indeed, the watchwords and the tests of
Christian churches.
114 tiiRisriANrrv reviewed.
These are the common, ordinary, every day
questions asked. Is he a success ? Has he bcerv
a success ? Is he likely to prove a success ? What
do you think about his chances of success? How are
you getting along as a church ? Are you succeeding ?
How have you succeeded since you adopted your new
plans, and got your new minister ? Has this year been a
decided success in adding members to the church, in^
strengthening the treasury, in paying off a standing or
floating debt, or in increasing the congregation ? And
so on, almost ac. infinitum.
I am reminded of a story told of George Whitfield.
The great evangelist was riding along the road, probably
to fill one of his numerous preaching engagements, when*
he heard a voice from the ditch, that of a drunken man,,
call out, — " I say, Mr. Whitfield, Mr. Whitfield, ypui
converted me." He was evidently one of Mr. Whit-'
field's successes, and the evangelist after quietly looking^
him over said, " Yes, it looks like some of my work,,
the Spirit of God never converted you."
It is to be feared there are a great many of these man-
converted, and man-made Christians. And what pro-
duces them ? A desire on the part of the ministeir, or
CHRISTIANITY REVIKWED. 115
the church, or both combined to make a success. The
idea is that numbers make success. That if a large
tnumber of people are added to the church, and these
.additions are faithfully reportid in the recognized
•denominational organ — which is almost invariably done
— it will soon be taken for granted that so and so is a
highly successful minister, whose services will always be
at a premium, and in great demand ; and that such a
church is a prosperous and desirable position to ccupy,
and likely to be greatly sought after whenever a vacancy
occurs. I am far from wishing to insinuate that these
ideas are always entertained with a full consciousness of
theii presence and force — although I fear in many cases
they are — or that all considerable ingatherings are the
result of such planning and scheming ; but I do
contend that they are liable to be there, as an impelling
force, when the one dominant idea is simply that of
making a success. It is thus that poor samples of
Christians are made, who prove only a weakness and a
hindrance, if not somethuig worse. Or rather it is thus
that many people are persuaded they are Christians
when they are not, which is probably the most fatal
injury that one well meaning man can inflict upon
IIG CHRISTIANrrV RKVIEWED.
another. And let it evermore be borne In mind that
there is no case so utterly hopeless, and so likely to-
entail incalculable and irremediable los'^, as that of an.
unconverted member of a Christian church.
Tiy influences which (iod alone can fully estimate, and
the conse(];uent responsibility which he alone can rightly
fix, the individual is brought to believe a lie concerning
himself, which as a delusion of the worst kind may go
on increasin;^ through life, and abide with him in death,
and not be dissipated till he stands before the judgment
throne, and hears the words from the lips of the Judge r.
" I never knew you ; depart from me." The possibility
of such a disastrous ending, to what seems to be such a
fair beginning, should, at least, make the high priests
who minister at the altar of success, and the devotees
who worship there, pause in their mistaken and perilous
devotion and zeal.
But wh'le it is true that succeed and success are
never used in the New Testament, the word faithful is-
used with considerable frequency. As a matter of fact
it is used over forty times, and that mainly, and almost
exclusively, in regard to the servants and service of God.
Take a few examples out of many : ** Well done, good
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 117
and faithful servant ; thou hast been faithful over a few
things." " Let a man so .iccount of us, as of the min-
isters of Christ, and stewards of the rnyitcries of (lod.
Moreover it is recjuired in stewards that a man be found,
faithful." "Timotheus, who is my beloved son, and
faithful in the Lord." "Tychicus, a beloved brother,
and faithful minister in the Lord." " Epaphras, our dear
fellow servant, who is for you a faithful minister of
Christ." *' He counted me faithful, putting me ii.to the
ministry" "The same commit thou to faithful men,
who shall be able to teach others also." " IJe thou
faithful unlo death, and I will give thee a crown of life."
How significant is all this ! How admonitory ! Will
the Christian church, the world throughout, take the
trouble to place these facts side by side, and look at
them, and see what they mean ; namely, that success is
not even mentioned, but that being faithful is constantly
commended, and that it is the only attribute in a ser-
vant of God to which a reward is annexed. It is really
a wondc that the idea of reward for successful service
did not slip in somewhere, if it had any existence in the
Divine thought or plan.
But perhaps you want to know whether I am cot.
118 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
Tiding this horse a little too hard, or carrying this dis-
•ciiminating process a little too far ? I think not. I
certainly have no wish to be unfair. I only wish to get
^t the truth, and place it as clearly as I can before
others. To show that I am thoroughly sincere and
honest; in this matter I will go so far as to expose the
one seemingly assailable point in my argument. It is
this. In the parable of the talents did not the Lord
commend and reward the faithful servants for successful
•dealing, inasmuch a? in each case tht; deposit had been
doubled by the using ? That is a fair question, and
fairly put, and I will try to answer it. My answer is a
•direct negative. No, the Lord did not coniinend and
Teward them for successful dealing, because the reverse
of that is expressly stated. He did not say, well done
good and successful servant, thou hast been successful
■over a few things, but He did say faithful servant, and
faithful over a few things. It was plainly not the success
of the undertaking, although that was considerable, but
the fidelity, the attention to orders and just expectations,
>the faithful, assiduous, and rightly directed use of the
talents, which secured commendation and reward. And
ihen it is doubtful if the success achieved appeared
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 11^
great in the eyes of the Master. He says, — " Thou hast
been faithful over afciv things" not many, and presum-
ably not great. He had evidently no idea of giving
them to understand that they had achieved wonders, or
been eminently successful. No, his language rightly
understood, inferentially if not expressly, forbids their
entertaining the idea of having accomplished a notable
success at all, and pins them doun to the thought that
it is their fidelity that has secured his approbation and
reward.
But will not all faithful service be successful ? The
answer to that question is twc fold. Yes, and No, Yes,,
if you mean will not God honor such service always, and
make it accomplish his purposes. No, if you mean will
it always produce such large and immediate results as
bear the unmistakable stamp of what men account
success.
A faithful service will always secure the Divine bene-
diction and approval, and the results will follow ; but
whether they will be large or small, immediate or
remote, God himself will determine. We have, strictly
speaking, nothing to do with success. It is not our
business. That is God's business, and God's care and
120 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
Tesponsibility, and He is certainly able to take care of
His own. And whenever we interfere, or attempt to
interfere, with what belongs to God, trouble and weak-
mess, if not something worse, are likely to follow. It is
•certain that God does not hold his servants responsible
for success, but he does hold them responsible for being
faithful. Says Paul : '*! have planted, Apollos watered,
but God gave the increase;" and any increase there may
be, however large, thit is not from that source, is not
worth having.
And then the exact justice of God in this ar-
'rangement is quite apparent to the thoughtful mind.
Being faithful is a personal quality, and is in the keep-
ing and under the control of the individual, and he
■can rightly and justly be made accountable for it ; but
•success is not in his keeping, nor under his control.
It may be promoted, or it may be hindered, by con-
siderations and circumstances and influences outside of
(himself; and it is mainly dependent, as far as the opera-
tive, moral compelling fc'-ce is concerned, upon the
favor and blessing of Almighty God through the Spirit.
^o that the servant of God cannot justly be made re-
•sponsible for success, neither is he; but he can justly be
imadi responsible for fidelity, and he is.
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 121
What then should be done in view of these important
considerations ? Is the church of God to go on forever
following the world in its methods and standards? Must
Christians always go on sacrificing quality to quantity,
in the different departments of Christian work, when it
is well known that God has small esteem for the latter,,
and rates at the highest possible value the former ?'
Must the church go on glorifying itself instead of glori-
fying its Great Head? In short, is the church willing to
continue its world wide operations, and regulate the
same by a standard which is totally misleading and
absolutely false.
I am fully aware that I am bringing a very serious
indictment, and one which has a widely extended
application ; but I claim that my position is not only
tenable, but absolutely impregnable. It cannot be
successfully assailed. I have said the standard is mis-
leading as well as false, and it is misleading because it is.
false. Have you not known churches, year after year,
chasing the phantom of succcs.s, and with constant and
unvarying disappointment ? Everything and everybody
in turn is supposed to be at fault, and answerable for the
failure, while all the while the fault is fundamental, and
122 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
not being on the surface shallow minds fail to see it.
The mistake is in ainnng at success at all, as that word
is popularly understood. Rather aim at being faithful,
and whatever of success that is worth anything, and of
an enduring nature, will come, and come in God's time,
which is the best time.
Given a faithful minister, a faithful church with
faithful office bearers, a faithful Sabbath-school super-
intendent, a faithful body of teachers and other
workers ; and all habitually and increasingly con-
cerned to be absolutely loyal to Jesus Christ, and
the result cannot be doubtful. But whatever the result,
whether large or small, immediate or remote, the reward
of faithful service is sure. Success may go unrewarded,
but fidelity never ; for, over and above the future reward
whatever that may be, it brings its own reward, as unfail-
ingly as the operation of cause and effect, in the building
up and consolidation of pure and noble character. What
is needed to-day in the individual Christian, in the
individual church, and in the church universal, is more
character and less profession ; more likeness to Christ,
and less pomp and show and all sorts of vain imaginings;
in short, more real Christianity, and less religion.
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 123^
Some one has said that the need of the church is not
so much an increase in the number of Christians as an
improvement in the quahty of the existing type, and I
know nothing that would be so likely to bring about
this desirable end as that of aiming to be faithful rather
than successful.
Beware of the prevailing mania for success, for it is
destructive alike of character and usefulness. It is
essentially a worldly spirit. I have thought deeply
upon this matter, and long, and I feel strongly, and am-
determined to speak plainly. Success is the rock upon-
which the church of the nineteenth century has already
sustained considerable damage, and upon which, if left
to herself, she might become i wreck. It leads tO'
all sorts of bitterness, and contention, and unholy
rivalries, and large, useless expenditures of money. It
sets minister against minister, congregation against con-
gregation, church against church, denomination against
denomination, and the whole against Christ, whose
spirit is the very opposite of that manifested by his pro-
fessed followers in their eager race for pre-eminence.
And then there is no sense in the thing anyhow.
There is no recognized standard of success ; that is,
124 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
.none to which you could gain anything like a unanimous
consent.
Ask a hundred different people what a successful
church is, and you may get a hundred different answers ;
certain it is you will get quite a number totally different,
or in varying degrees of difference. With one it will be
a church that has succeeded by questionable or unques-
tionable means in paying off a big debt. With another,
it is in building and owning the finest church edifice in
village, town, or city, whether it is paid for or not, or
whether the contractor has gained a fair profit, or lost
heavily by the transaction. With another, it is having
the cleverest preacher, no matter what questionable
means may have been resorted to in order to get him,
or what injury inflicted upon a sister church, or ultimately
upon himself. With another, it is in having the largest
Sabbath-school, or a full church, or a splendid choir, or
a rich, aristocratic congregation. With some it is in
having rousing meetings, with plenty of talk and little
doing; or a revival in progress with a large ingathering
of souls.
You can never be certain what a man means by a
successful church till you ask him to explain, and then
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 125
the explanation may he anything but convincing and
satisfactory. There are some people who are ahvays
quite sure about everything, because they don't know
enough to make them modest, who will tell you that the
only successful church is the one where additions are
constantly being made to the membership. But then in
spite of this oracular deliverance it must be borne in
mind that there are churches, or at least people in them,
who look upon a revival as a sort of calamity ; and it
may be, or it may not be. I am simply stating facts. I
am not expressing an opinion. One thing only seems
to be clear, that there is no recognized standard of suc-
cess, that is, none which all would consent to accept.
The fact is the church is losing, or has lost, its head
over this thing.
You talk to the world about its mad race for wealth.
The world might justly retort upon the church about its
anad race for success. Let the phantom go I Pursue it
no farther. It is a delusion and a snare. Simply be
loyal to Christ, and always loyal, and leave the issues'
with Him^ He, not you, is " mighty to save."
126 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
CHAPTER V.
Prayer.
There can be no doubt about the importance of prayer^
and the pre-eminent position it occupies in the Christian
system. Many and varied definitions have been given
of it, but one should suffice, namely, that it is speaking
with, or talking to God. Whatever else it may be, it
must be that, if it be a reality at all. And herein, at
the outset, we are confronted by the main difficulty
regarding prayer, philosophically considered. Some one
has said that a personal God is unthinkable, and there
should be no difficulty, and no hesitancy, in making the
admission. The fact is that all personalities, outside of
our own, arc unthinkable, and even that would be
unthinkable apart from actual consciousness and exper-
ience. The personality of an angel is unthinkable, and
so is that of a disembodied spirit, apart from contact
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. ll'7
iind observation, which the many do not, as yet, deem
possible.
So there need l)e no difficulty in admitting that such
an immense personality as God, is to us, unthinkable,
for it is only another way of saying that He is incom-
prehensible. He is so necessarily, and there the matter
must rest.
We cannot, however, help, constituted as we are,
associating with a person, or personality, the ideas of
substance, dimension, form, and shape. And yet (lod
has neither, as far as we can conceive, or understand.
Hence, " No man hath seen God at any time." Not
•only has God no form, as we understand that term, but
He has no history ; because a history presumes a begin-
ning and an end, and God has neither. So that every
time we attempt to touch (iod, feel after Him, we are
met by the insoluble, and get into the region of the in-
•comprehensible and intangible. But while we cannot
think of a person without the idea of substance, of some
kind, and dimension and form ; we yet have to admit
the personality of God, if we admit it at all, without
ihese things, and that necessarily.
Why necessarily ? Because the moment you have
128 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
circumscribed (lod in your thought, if such a thing were
possible, you have destroyed the fundamental idea of
His being, namely. His ilh'mitableness. "Canst thou
by searching find out (iod ; canst thou find out the
Almighty unto perfection ? " God is necessarily diffusive,
because if He is anywhere He is everywhere. And yet
we feel the necessity of locnli/.ing Him, and there is only
one way in which we can do it, and that is by realizing,
that He is in us, and over us, and underneath us, and
all i-bout us. In other words, that because He is.
illimitable, He is near us, and can never be away from
us, nor we away from Him. This seems to be the
Psalmist's idea. *' O Lord, thou hast searched me, and
known me. Thou knowest my downsitting and mine
uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off. Thou
compassest my path and my lying down, and art
acquainted with all my ways. For there is not a word in
my tongue, but, lo, O Lord, thou knowest it altogether..
Thou hast beset me behind and before, and laid thine
hand upon me. Such knowledge is too wonderful for
me ; it is high, I cannot attain u.ito it. VVhithei shall I
go from thy spirit ? or whither shall I flee from thy
presence ? If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there ;
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 129
if I make my bed in hell, behold, thou art there. If I
take the wings of the morning, and dwell in the utter-
most parts of the sea ; even there shall !hy hand lead
me, and thy right hand shall uphold me." Psalm 139
i-io vs.
God surrounds and permeates us as the atmosphere
does. He is in us, and around us, and in a constant
state of circulation through us. '* In Him we live, and
move, and have our being." Wherever we go He is,
because He is everywhere, and we cannot flee from His
presence. .
Although Ood cannot be local, in the sense of defin-
able limits in His person, He can be vocal, and whenever
and wherever that occurs localization is practically
secured; and for the time being, at least, it is actual.
«
But this is God's act, not ours.
God was vocal to Adam and Eve in the garden.
" And they heard the voice of the Lord God walking in
the garden in the cool of the day. And the Lord God
called unto Adam, and said unto him, Where art thou ?
And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was
afraid. And the Lord God said unto the woman, What
is this thou hast done ? And the woman said, thq
serpent beguiled me, and I did eat."
130 CHRISTIANITV RKVIKWKD.
(iod held converse with Cain. " And the Lord said
unto Cain, why art thou wroth, and why is thy counten-
ance fallen ? And the Lord said unto Cain, where is
Abel, thy brother ? And he said I know not. Am I my
brother's keeper And Cain said unto the
Lord, my punishment is greater than I can bear."
Ciod spake often to Noah. "And God said unto
Noah, the end of all llesh is come before me ; for the
earth is filled with violence through them, and behold I
will destroy them with the earth." He further instructed
him to build the ark, giving him the exact dctail.s, and
what to do when built.
And after the subsidence of the flood he spoke to him
again. " And God spake unto Noah, saying go forth
ovt of the ark, thou and thy wite, and thy sons, and thy
sons' wives with thee."
God talked with Abraham, and the effect showed how
real it was. " And when Abram was ninety years old
and nine, the Lord appeared to Abram, and said unto
him, I am the Almighty God; walk before Me, and be
thou perfect, and I will make my covenant between Me
and thee, and will multiply thee exceedingly. And
Abram fell on his face, and God talked with him say-
CHRISTIANITV UKVIFAVKD. 131
ing : As for Me, behold, my covenant is with ihec, and
thou shall be a father of many nations. Neither shalt
thy name any more be called Abram, but thy name shalt
be Abraham, for a father of many nations have I made
thee." (len. 17 ch., 1-5 vs.
Ciod spake many times unlo Moses, the most remark-
able being that on the Mount, at the giving of the law.
"And Moses went up unto (lod, and the Lord cnlled
unto him out of the mountain. And the Lord said
unto Moses : Lo, I come unto thee in a thick cloud,
that the people may hear when I speak with thee, and
believe thee forever. And vvhen the voice of the
trumi)et sounded lonj.;, and waxed louder and louder,
Moses spake, and God answered him l/y a voice. And
the Lord came down upon Mount Sinai, on the top of
the Mount ; and the Lord called Moses up to the top
of the Mount, and Moses went up. And all the people
saw the thunderings and the lightnings, and the noise of
the trumpet and the mountain smoking ; and when the
people saw it, they removed, and stood afar off. . , .
And Moses drew near unto the thick darkness where
God was. And the Lord said unto Moses, thus thou
shalt say unto the children of Israel, ye have seen that I
have talked with you from heaven." Ex. 19-20 chs,
132 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
I am quite willing to admit that the personality of
God cannot be demonstrated by human reason ; that it
is, in fact, incomprehensible to the human mind, and
that therefore those who depend upon reason alone may
be expected to find insuperable difficulties strewing their
path in their march Godward, if they mean to move in
that direction at all.
But it is plain from the instances quoted, and others
that might be, that notwithstanding His illimitableness
God has, and God can, localize and vocalize Himself, in
such a way as to give a satisfying conception of His
personality, to those who are willing to accept His word
and be instructed by it.
I find no fault with those who reject the Bible as an
inspired book, if they fail to entertain the personality of
God as a personal belief, and fall back upon the theory
that what we call God is simply a great controlling and
upholding force. Although they might, perhaps, be
pushed so as to make them admit that the force they
perceive and believe in is an intelligent one, and there-
fore, possibly, at least, resident in a personality. I say
they might be pushed thus far, and logically so too ; but
they cannot be pushed far enough to admit the person-
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 133
ality as demonstrable from their standpoint ; that is
from the standpoint of pure reason, because it is simply
incomprehensible.
But for those who accept the Bible as a guide there
is no excuse, for that supplements our reason, and helps
us to a conception and knowledge that we could not
otherwise attain unto.
Reason then, in a certain measure, aids us in our
search after Ciod, but it cannot enable us to apprehend
His personality. The Bible does that for us, for therein
it is revealed that God can localize himself when neces
sary, and speak with a voice and in language that we
can understand But some may contend that the-^e
conversations are imaginary. The true believer in the
Bible will not think so. To give up their literality and
reality would be giving away all that they arc worth to
us, for they establish the personality, a thing so neces-
sary in approaching God. Hence, " he that cometh t(j
God must believe that He is"; that is, great and
mighty as He unquestionably i.s, and incomprehensible
to us, He is yet a person whom we can a[)proach, and to
whom we can speak.
What is the pioper habitude, or frame of mind, in
134 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
which we should" approach God ? The general and
popular belief is that it should be one of awe and deep
solemnity. I am disposed to cjuestion the correctness
of that belief; and I don't mean by that, that we are to
run to the other extreme, rind be frivolous — far from
that. I mean that when we approach God, in prayer,
we are not coming into the presence of the King, or
before the Judge, but we are approaching " Our Father
which art in heaven," and the spirit suitable for that is
neither fear nor solemn awe, but filial feeling and child-
like trust.
God is represented as pitying us in the same way that
an earthly father pities his children, but with the addi-
tional advantage of having a perfect knowledge of what
we are, by which his compassion can be made more
available. The pity of an earthly parent for his child,
far and constantly, outruns his opportunities and his
knowledge. If he knew more he would do more, and
gladly and freely too ; but his always limited power is
still further limited by the necessary limitations of his
knowledge.
Here God has the advantage, and His pity the larger
scope for its exercise, " for he knoweth our frame, he
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 135
remembereth that we are dust." He knows what we
are, our formation, our make-up, our surroundings, our
weaknesses, our temptations, our exact power of resist-
ance at all times, and the nature and strength of the
tempting pov> He can effectively pity, and effectively
help, because He knows all. And He never forgets.
" He remembereth that we are dust." He keeps that in
mind all the time. So that when we put all these things
together, what we are necessitated, by nature and exper-
ience, to understand by the term father ; what we know
God must be when we approach Him in that capacity,
and not in the capacity of a king or • a judge ; and what
the Word states as to His perfect knowledge o^ us, and
His abiding tenderness and love towards us ; when we
sum up all these things, we at once see that in coming
before Him it should not be in fear and awe., but with
simple, childlike confidence that knows no fear, and
even with some amount of that legitimate familiarity
which genuine confidence always engenders.
Yes, I say, familiarity, but I am far from meaning
irreverence, or anything like that, or even approaching
to it. I mean, in fact, the very opposite ; a familiarity
that springs from confidence, sincerity and 'love ; and
with this God is always well pleased.
136 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
One of the most remarkable examples we have of this
childlike familiarity with (iod in prayer, is that of the
eminent and good man who has passed to his reward,
Charles Haddon Spurgeon. Remarkable as he was as a
preacher, compelling the rapt attention of thousands by
the witchery of his magnificent voice, his plain language,
his homely illustrations, his seraphic fervor, and his
Pauline zeal, he was still more remarkable in prayer. In
that he was earnest, simple, and familiar. Whether in
the home, by the sick bed, in the prayer meeting, or in
the vast congregation, he literally talked with God in
the simplest and the most familiar forms of utterance.
Some people thought he was flippant, and irreverent ;
greatly lacking in solemnity, and not sufficiently con-
scious of the greatness and majesty of God.
But he knew more of God than his critics, and what
seemed to them undue familiarity was really the result
of a more vivid conception of God as a real personality,
and a closer and deeper acquaintance with Him as a
loving Father, than is ordinarily possessed. No one
ever seemed to doubt that he was talking to (Jod when
he was praying.
With many ministers it is, unfortunately, the reverse ;
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 137
that is, you are frequently in considerable doubt
whether they are talking to God or the congiegation.
What does all this mean about flying off in prayer, in
fine rhetorical language, about the greatness, the majesty,
and the glory of God ? It is out of place. God Joesn't
need it. God doesn't want it. We are not required
to approach Hmi as a great andaugust personage, in-
spiring feelings of awe and deep solemnity, but as a
Father who loves us, and pities us, and cares for us,
and who is pleased to hold simple, familiar converse
with His children. Christ settled that point, for ever,
when he said, " After this manner therefore pray ye.
Our Father which art in heaven."
And it is worthy of remark that Christ is perfectly
consistent with Himself, and invariably tells us to make
our approaches to God as a Father, and to think of
Him, and resort to Him constantly in that capacity.
" Pray to thy Father which is in secret, and thy Father
w'hich seeth in secret shall reward thee openly." " Your
Father knoweth what things ye have need of before ye
ask him." " If ye then, being evil, know how to give
good gifts unto your children, how much more shall
your Father which is in heaven give good things to them
138 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
that ask him." " If two of you shall agree on earth as
touching anything that they shall ask, it shall be lone
for them of my Father which is in heaven." "When ye
stand pnying, forgive, if ye have aught against any, that
your Father also, which is in heaven, may forgive you
your trespasses. But if ye do not forgive, neither will
your Father wich is in heaven forgive your trespasses."
" The hour cometh, and now is, when the true worship-
pers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth, for
the Father seeketh such to worship Him." " Whatso-
ever ye shall ask the Father in my name, he will give it
you." "The Father himself loveth you, because ye
have loved me, and have believed that I came out from
God."
We have also Christ's example to guide us in this
matter. He is not only consistent with Himself, but
He is also consistent with His own teaching. What He
taught His disciples to do He did Himself. His invar-
iable habit was to address God as Father. There is
only one exception, as far as I can find out, and that
was in that supreme moment of His great agony upon
the cross, when He felt He had lost His Father, and
He " cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama
CHRISTIANITV REVIEWEt). l39
sabachthani ; that is to say, My God, My God, why
hast thou forsaken me."
As examples of the invariableness of His practice
of addressing God as Father take the following : '* I
thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because
thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent,
and hast revealed them unto babes. " Even so, Father,
for so it seemed good in thy sight." "Jesus lifted up
his eyes, and said, Father, I thank thee that thou hast
heard me ; and I know that tliou hearest me always."
" These words spake Jesus, and lifted up his eyes to
heaven, and said Father, the hour is come." " Now
is my soul troubled, and what shall I say ? Father
save me from this hour ; but for this cause came I
unto this hour. Father, glorify thy name." " O my
Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me ;
nevertheless, not as I will, but as Thou wilt. " He went
away again the second time, and prayed, saying, O my
Father, if this cup may not pass away from me, except I
drink it, Thy will be done." *' Then said Jesus, Father
forgive them, for they know not what they do." "When
Jesus had cried with a loud voice, he said, Father into
thy hands I commend my spirit ; and having said this
he gave up the ghost."
140 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
So our contention should not be difficult of admission,
and if admitted and acted upon it is beyond all price,
namely, that in making our approaches to God, in
prayer, we come to Him in no other capacity than that
of a child to a father, and with sentiments of pure and
entire affection, and complete confidence. We do not
fear, we love ; for love hath cast out fear.
Having settled, I hope with some measure of clear-
ness and satisfaction, the personality of God, and the
spirit in which we should approach Him, there remains
for consideration the question as to what we are justified
in expecting from Him.
We are confronted with a serious difficulty at the out-
set, which probably will go far towards explaining many
of our disappointments in prayer. It is this : God's
estimate of the material and the spiritual, the temporal
and the eternal, is diffierent, very different, from ours ;
or rather, our estimate is, unfortunately, not the same as
His. His estimate of the spiritual and the eternal is
large, and of the material and temporal small ; that is,
relatively so, at least.
We, such is our nature and the force of circumstances,
have a constant tendency to reverse that order. Hence
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 141
we are liable, and constantly liable, to ask for what He
is least disposed to grant, and not to ask for what He is
most disposed to give. Or, to put the same idea in a
somewhat different form, our estimate of what is needed
for our real well-being, is apt to be different to God's,
hence disappointment, not uncommonly, ensues.
And this, unfortunately, must evermore be so, so long
as God is what He is, and we are what we are ; or until
we recognize the conditions, and give up everything to
Him ; for He can see all the way, but we cannot see, in
advance, a single step of the journey.
From this it is not necessary for us to think that God
is unmmdful of our temporal well-being for we know He
is not. He simply forms a more correct estimate than
we do, and therein is the sole difference. He gave us
this life, and He expects us to do the best we can with
it. Food and raiment, and other temporal things, are
necessary for the sustenance, and comfort, and perpetua-
tion of life ; and these are promised in conjunction with
our honest efforts to obtain and to enjoy. But they are
only means to an end, not the end itself, and that end
is spiritual and eternal.
But are we justified in expecting God to give us what
l42 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
we aak for, or may we expect Him to grant our requests,
without fail, when they are made known to Him ?
Some people say we are, and that their experience
justifies the expectation. I have always felt somewhat
at a loss to know what to say to these good people, for
I cannot admit their contention, at least as a principle
generally applicable, and I do not like to call in question
their veracity. I simply content myself by saying that I
think they are mistaken, or if not mistaken, that their
experience is not the average ; and if they put it forth
as the average, as what all may expect, they are liable to
inflict considerable discouragement and damage upon
those whose experience is not, by a long way, so favor-
able as theirs. I think the average experience is that
good people ask a great many things of God that are not
granted. Besides it may be as well to bear in mind
that it is in the very nature of a petition, whether
presented to God or anybody else, that it may be denied;
because if it may not be denied it ceases to be a petition,
and really assumes the authority and dimensions of a
command.
But my extremely fortunate and greatly favored friend
and brother, will probably say in reply to this, that he
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 143
does not say that a petition may not be denied, but that
it will not be. Well, that is merely cavilling about
words, for experience testifies that what may be, in a
certain proportion of cases will be.
liut what about those definite promises in regard to
prayer, by which, if language means anything, we are
led most certainly to expect that we shall receive what
we ask for ? Let us look at some of them. " Ask and it
shall be given you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it
shall be opened unto you. P'or every one that asketh
receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that
knocketh it shall be opened.'' '* If two of you shall
agree on earth as touching anything that they shall ask,
it shall be done for them of my Father which is in
heaven." "All things, whatsoever ye shall ask in prayer,
believing, ye shall receive." " What things soever ye
desire, when ye pray, believe that ye receive them, and
ye shall have them." " Whatsoever ye shall ask in my
name, that will I do, that the Father may be glorified in
the Son. If ye shall ask anything in rry name I will do
it." *' Whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name.
He will give it you." " If ye abide in me, and my words
abide in you, ye sh'^ll ask what ye will, and it shall Le
144 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
done unto you." " Whatsoever we ask, we receive of
Him, because we keep His commandments, and do
those things tint arc pleasing in His sight." "This is
the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any
thing according to his will, he hearcth us."
It will be observed that the first promise here quoted
is absolutely unconditional, and it comes from the lips
of Christ, whence all the others proceed, except the last
two. We are told, in the plainest way, to ask, and seek,
and knock ; and we shall receive, and find, and the door
will be opened. Then as if to make it more emphatic,
and absolute, and place it beyond all doubt and con-
troversy, the universality and unfailing natuie of the
experience is affirmed, " for everyone that asketh
receiveth, and he that seeketh findeth, and to him that
knocketh it shall be opened."
The second promise has a definite condition attached,
namely, harmony or agreement ; *' if two of you shall
agree," etc. The third and fourth have faith annexed to
them as a condition ; " believing, ye shall receive ;
believe that ye receive them," etc. The fifth and sixth
are based upon the condition of asking in Christ's name;
" if ye shall ask anything in my name " ; " whatsoever
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWKD. 145
ye shall ask the Father in my name," etc. The seventh
has the condition attached of our abiding in Christ, and
His words abiding in us ; " if ye abide in me and my
words abide in you," etc. The eighth is based upon
obedience ; *• we receive of him, because we keep his
commandments," etc. The last is based upon conform-
ity to God's will ; " if we ask anything according to his
Will he heareth us."
Now there cannot be any difficulty about the last
statement, because it is self-evident that (lod certainly
will both hear and answer any and all prayers that are
according to His will. He must do so, in fact, to be
consistent with Himself, and He cannot be inconsistent.
With Him. to will is to do. The two things are simul-
taneous and identical in Him, but not in us. In us
they are different and separate, though closely con-
nected, but in Him they are the same. Therefore
there can be no failure in anything that is in harmony
with His will. Prayers that fulfil that condition must
be answered. There can be no may-be about it, if
prayers are answered at all.
But have we any satisfactory and convincing means of
deciding when our prayers are in harmony with thq
146 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
Divine will ? That, from surface considerations, may
seem an easy question to answer, but if you will go
deeper you will be liable to think it is not so easy. Take
this case, for instance, as an illustration : We know,
certainly, that God must, and God does desire the sal-
vatior* of men. We know it because we have His word
for it, given with a most peculiar and exceptional em-
phasis. God stakes the reality of His existence, as a
solemn pledge, of his absolute sincerity in this respect.
" As I live, saith the Lord God, I have no pleasure in
the death of the wicked, but that the wicked turn from
his way and live."
We would naturally conclude from this, that prayer
offered for the conversion of some one in whom we have
a deep interest, would be in harmony with the Divine
will, and that it would most certainly be answered.
But such a conclusion, while it may follow, does not
necessarily follow, and for this reason : We must take
into account the free agency X)f man. God cannot save
a man in spite of himself, or against his will. Man is a
responsible, consenting party to his salvation, and with-
out that consent, freely given, he cannot be saved.
Nothing is clearer than this, from the nature of man as
CHRISTIANITY REVIKWED. 147
a moral agent, and from the explict statements of Scrip-
ture regarding it. And from this the conclusion is
irresistible — startling as the statement may appear — that
God is not likely to have willed the salvation of a man
who obstinately and persistently wills his own con-
demnation.
That is one o!de of the question. There is another
side equally truthful, and much more comforting for
many an anxious soul. It is this : That while God will
not do violence to man's moral nature, even to save
him, He can, such are His infinite resources, constrain
him to freely and gladly accept, what, if left to himself,
he might reject. And we have the statement of Christ
that God does exercise this peculiar power, this sweet
and sacred violence, to draw men to Himself. " No
man can come to Me, except the Father which hath
sent Me draw him, and I will raise him up at the last
day." So that looking at the matter, in all its bearings,
it would seem that we are justified in coming to the
conclusion, that prayer offered for the salvation of others,
is in harmony with the Divine will and a favorable re-
sponse may be confidently expected.
But by far the most serious difficulty in regard to
148 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
prayer arises in connection with the promise which is
absolutely unconditional, — " Ask and it shall be given
you, seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened
unto you. For every one that asketh receiveth, and he
that seeketh findelh, and to him that knocketh it shall
be opened."
How to harmonize the average Christian cxperitMice
with that promise and that statement seems impossible.
And we shall not get rid of the difficulty by shutting our
eyes to it, and affecting to ignore it. Better look at it,
fairly and squarely, and if possible stare it out of coun-
tenance, and out of existence.
It will not, however, meet the difficulty to say that a
condition is implied, which is quite a favorite way some
people have of 'getting over these rough places. There
are two fatal objections to such a supposition. The first
is, that it is a very unsafe law of interpretation, and
capable, when admitted, of being greatly abused. The
second is, that it is extremely unlikely that Christ
inte-ided a condition to be implied, because he was
certainly in the habit of stating conditions when He
deemed them necessary to guard, and at the same time,
fully express His meaning. It was his almost invariable
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 149
custom to supply a condition, as we see by the quota-
tions given, and the present one seems to be the solitary
exception to the rule. No, it is not reasonable to
suppose that a condition is imph'ed. That will not get
us over the difficulty. What then ?
Some people will tell you that it can be met by saying
that God sometimes answers prayer by not answering it.
All that is necessary to say about that is, that it is as
absolutely absurd and self-contradictory a statement as
any man, in or out of his senses, could make. And yet
it has been made, many a time, in all seriousness, and
accepted without question as a very sagacious obser-
vation, and a profound truth. What Shakespeare says,
in his " Antony and Cleopatra," regarding prayer, may
have had something to do with the origin and currency
of this idea about a denial being, in some mysterious
manner, an answer. •
" We ignorant of ourselves,
Beg often our own liarnis, which the wise powers,
Deny us for our good ; so lincl we prwfit,
By losing of our prayers."
Here it is frankly admitted that we may lose our
prayers ; that is, they may not be granted ; at d yet, in
certain circumstances, we may gain a negative good by
150 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
the refusal, which is simply the absence of a positive evil.
We miss the possible evil by not receiving the answer.
And here it may be worthy of observation that Shakes-
peare, in this instance, fails somewhat in his usual fine
discrimination of thonght, and exactness of expression.
Profit means, and always means, something gained and
added to our present possessions ; and a negative good,
or exemption from possible positive evil, cannot be said
to be an addition to what already exists. The fact is,
that no amount of sophistry, however clever, and neither
Shakespeare nor anybody else, can make a negative a
positive, — not while the world stands.
Then, again, we are told by some grave commentators,
and some easy going preachers, that of course God may
not give us just exactly what we ask for, but He, never-
theless, answers our prayers by giving us something
different, and i:erhap3 just as good, or better. It ought
to be sufficient to say, in answer to this, that such an
explanation of a grave difficulty is an absolute denial of
common sense ; and whenever you divorce Christianity,
or any part of it, from common sense, you simply
succeed in making it ridiculous.
Besides, just look at what immediately follows the
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 151
unconditional promise we are considering, " Or what
man is there of you, whom if his son ask bread, will he
give him a stone? or if he ask a fish will he give him a
serpent ? If ye then, being evil, know how to g\\e good
gifts unto your children, how much more shall your
Fathev which is in heaven give good things to them that
ask him ?" No, Sir, the reception of something other
than what is asked for is not an answer to prayer, and
all the clever sophists in the church cannot persuade me
that it is. And allow me also to add, that if you are
offering such explanations to Clod's discouraged and
afflicted children, you are giving them a stone instead
of bread, and a serpent instead of a fish. Such expo-
sitions of the Divine intentions and promises are
unsatisfactory, misleading, useless, derogatory to (lod,
and an unspeakable bitterness and disappointment to
His people, in the times of their greatest need. It is
like feeding a hungry man on the Apples of Sodom ;
. nothing but ashes are left in the mouth, and a bitter
taste.
O, it is sad, unutterably sad, pitiable in tlie extreme,
enough to make an angel weep, and the Christ of (iod
to shed tears again, to see the wretched, miserable at-
162 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
tempts that are sometimes made, by shallow, well-mean-
ing people, to give comfort to a soul stricken with a
great and enduring sorrow. Relying upon a definite
promise of answer to prayer he has asked, as a child
would ask, for a great good, and to his unspeakable
astonishment and dismay he has received what he can-
not but regard as a great evil. And you tell him, poor
miserable comforter as you are, that a condition was
implied, though "not expressed ; or that God has really
and truly answered by denying his request ; or that He
has given him something else instead, which may turn
out to be a great good ; and you expect him to be com
forted, but alas, he is not. Then you tell him he is re-
bellious, but he shakes his head, and with a look that
should make your heart ache, quietly throws back your
ungenerous imputation.
He is simply dazed, confused, confounded. He does
not know what to make of it all. He can see no har-
mony between the promise upon which he relied, and
which caused him to hope, and his experience ; and
your explanations do not help him to surmount the
difficulty. Can anything be done for him ? Yes, if you
know what, and how. Take him by the hand, and look
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 163
kindly into his face, and in soft but firm tones tell him
that that Being to whom he prayed, and upon whose
promise he relied, is a Soverign, and that He can do
what he likes with His own; and that therefore His
right to give or withhold cannot be called in question.
Tell him that Divine Sovereignty is antecedent to Reve-
lation ; that it was an essential and fundamental part of
God, a whole eternity of years, before a single line of
the Bible was written, or any promise was ever made to
man ; and that nothing the Bible contains can alter that,
or ever was intended to alter it. Tell him, too, that
when God talks with His children He has to use such
language as they can understand to show His willing-
ness to hear, to answer, and to help ; but He cannot
abdicate His sovereign right to be the supreme judge of
what is best in any given circumstances.
Christ Himself recognized this, when, in dark Geth-
semane, He said, " O my Father, if it be possible, let
this cup pass from me ; nevertheless not as I will, but
as Thou wilt." And then again, " O my Father, if this
cup may not pass away from me, except I drink it, Thy
will be done."
That selves the difficulty, and nothing else will ; for
154 CHRISTIANITY REV1P:VVEI).
He who was the mouthpiece of the Father, in bidding
us hope, when He said, "Ask and it shall he given you,
seek and ye shall find, knock and it shall be opened
unto you," Himself recognized the necessary limitation
imposed by the Divine Sovereignty. " Thy will be
clone," is the sum of it all. Only prayers in harmony
with the Divine will can be answered. '' And this is
the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask
anything according to His will He heareth us. And if
we know that He heareth us, whatsoever we ask, we
know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him."
I John 5 ch. 14-15 vs.
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 156
«
CHAPTER VI.
The Prayer Meeting.
The prayer meeting is a time-honored and all but
universal institution in the Christian church. Could it
be attended and conducted as it unquestionably should
be, it might become the most potent agency for good,
and the most profitable of all the means of grace. And
yet the general experience is far, very far, from realizing
this possibility, or this ideal as some people might choose
to call it. I have attended prayer meetings at different
times, in different places, with different denominations
of Christians, extending over quite a considerable num-
ber of years ; and simple honesty coi.ipels me to make
the sad and melancholy confession, that with only a
solitary exception here and there could any individual
meeting be called, by any stretch of charity, anything
but a weekly formality. As a rule, with a few notable
loG CHKISTIANITY REVIEWED.
exceptions, I have found the attendance small and the
exercises of the most formal character.
It may be that my experience has been unfortunate
and exceptional. Upon that I am not prepared to ex-
press an opinion I give it honestly for what it is
worth, and I have a strong suspicion that many others,
if ecjually honest, could conOrm it.
1 have it on unquestioned authority that in a certain
influential and aristocratic church in one of our chief
cities, which has a large membership and a still larger
congregation, and pays its eloquent young minister about
three thousand dollars a year, there were present re-
cently, at the usual weekly prayer meeting, nine persons
all told, perhaps the minister made the tench. Evidently
the weekly meeting for prayer is not esteemed very
highly in that congregation.
There are, as we know, different methods of conduct-
ing a prayer meeting. First, there is what may be
called the regular service method. In this the minister,
or leader, assumes the whole responsibility and work of
the meeting, and it differs from the ordinary service on
the Lord's day only in its being not quite so elaborate
nor so lengthy. It is strictly speaking a religious ser-
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. loT
vice, .uid it is altogether a misnomer to call it a prayer
meeting. It is a week-night service, and nothing more
nor less.
Another method is that of calling upon brethren to
pray, leavmg nothing to voluntariness or .spontaneity.
The plea for this method generally is, that few or none
will respond unless the call is made.
There are two well founded objections to this method.
The first is, that generally a certain number of brethren
who are supposed to be — whether they are or not —
both willing and able to engage in prayer, with pro-
priety and profit, are called upon constantly, a.id a
monotony is engendered which is felt to be anything
but delightful, and is certainly anything but profitable.
A rut is made, and ruts are proverbially difficult to get
out of.
The second objection is that iuis a temporary violation
of human freedom in one of the most, if not the most,
important and sacred engagements of a man's life.
Nothing, when properly understood, can possibly be
more important or more sacred than that of prayer,
whether in private or in public ; and whatever of com-
pulsion or force is brought to bear on that is clearly
ir)H CHRISTIANITY REVIKWED.
wrong. Hut you say there is no force when a man is
called u[)on in meeting to engage in prayer. I know
there is not, and yet I know there is, and you know it
too ; and you know also that there is no essential con-
tradiction in this statement, although it may look like
one.
It is not necessary to explain or illustrate this
matter further to any one who knows experimentally
what is meant, and to any one who does not, scarcely
any amount of explanation or illustration would suffice
to make it perfectly clear. It is really and practically a
violation of human freedom, although it is not meant as
such ; and no one should, at any time, he called upon to
pray in public, unless his consent has been previously
obtained I will, even, go further than this, and say
that no man should pray unless he has an earnest desire,
and a God-inspired impulse in that direction, to present
a definite petition to the Almighty for himself or for
others.
liut you say a Christian should be ready at all times
to pray. I am not so sure of that as you are, or seem
to be, but I am sure of this — as a matter of fact which I
think no one can successfully dispute— that the average
CHRISTIANITY RKVIKWKlJ. 159
Christian is not always in a praying mood ; and I am
also sure that one should not be a hypocrite in this
important and sacred exercise, neither should he allow
himself to he made one to suit anyl)ody's will or con-
venience. Prayer is like a good deal of our modern
Christianity ; we should aim more at improving the
quality than increasing the (quantity. I'ray less and pray
bette- would not he a bad motto to adopt and follow.
While upon this part of the subject I may as well take
the opportunity of adverting to a thought which has
been a long time in my mind, waiting for a fitting and
favorable opportunity to express. It is in regard to
prayer by the minister as a part of the public service of
the sanctuary on the Lord's day. With the custom of
reciting forms of prayer I am not dealing now, but with
extemporaneous utterances common to several denomi-
nations of Christians which are well known, and need
not be mentioned here.
The universal custom has been established, and is
implicitly followed, of a minister offering never less than
one, and in some cases as many as four prayers, during
any single service in whicH he may engage. Custom
has v;roueht the matter into an inexorable law which
160 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
tew, if any, seem to have courage enough to set at
defiance, however much they may, in their hearts,
sometimes wish to do so.
The minister, h'ke the average Christian, is not
always in a praying mood, and it would be far better for
him not to pray when he feels, from whatever cause, that
he has no Divine impulsion in that direction. No man
should preach without that Divine impulse, much less
should he attempt to address God in prayer without it.
He should be accorded a wise discretion in the conduct
of every service that may go to the extent of leaving out
the prayer altogether, if he deem it best occasionally so
to do. There would be an immense gain in many ways.
A gain in reality and sincerity, very much needed. A
gain in a larger acceptance with God in consequence of
becoming more real and more sincere. A gain in the
accession of more elasticity, a larger liberty and the
breaking down of the domination of mere custom and
habit. A gain in deliverance from many formal, cold,
wearisome, and unprofitable prayers. The fact is that
the tyranny of custom and the despotism of fashion are,
in some respects, just as potent and operative in the
church as they are in the world. Get rid of cumbersome
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 161
machinery, and dull monotonous routine, as much as
possible, and you will have a purer spirit, a larger
liberty, and a fuller life.
The third method of conducting a prayer meeting
which I propose to mention, and which I am disposed
to endorse, is that which may be best described as the
prayer and conference meeting. It has its weaknesses
and imperfections, in the working, just as other methods
have, but it probably meets with the largest amount of
favor, and is the most extensively adopted and practised.
It consists, as is well known, in about one half the time
being occupied by the leader, and the balance being left
to the meeting for free, voluntary, individual efforts in
prayer and exhortation.
I revert to my former statement, and am prepared to
justify it, that the prayer meeting might become the
most potent agency for good, and the most profitable of
all the means of grace. To make it this, in any
individual church, or in all the churches of Christ where
it has an acknowledged place, several things are required,
which I will now proceed to notice.
I. The fundamental requisite is that its paramount
importance^ and its vast potentiality for good must b^
162 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
generally conceded and recognized. If there are any
skeptics they must be converted from their skepticism.
Those who are cold, formal, and indifferent must be
roused into something like interest and li"e. The wet
blankets must, if possible, be wrung out and diied, so
that they may be a comfort instead of a chill and a
desolation. An enthusiasm must, by some means, be
aroused in the entire community, from the minister
down to the humblest member, and a firm faith engen-
dered and established as to the utility and vast
possibilities of the institution. It is too often regarded
as of secondary importance, whereas it should be looked
upon as of the very first importance. It is liable to be
viewed as a simple necessity or duty whereby Christian
cb.aracter and pr.)fe3sion may body forth some sort of
formal consistency, whereas it is a privilege, and one of
the highest, and the means for quickening and sustain-
ing the life, and expressing the power of the church. It
is an old saying and a true one, that the prayer meeting
is the pulse of the church, that by which the sign of its
life may be measured, and in which its full heart throbs,
imparting life and vigor to every member of the body.
It seems a twofold purpose ; when it is weak, it not only
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 163
shows that the church is weak, but it further induces
weakness by producing chilliness in the hearts of the
few faithful ones who are struggling to uphold it. When
it is strong, it is not only an evidence of the strength of
the church, but it produces strength by warming, and
cheering, and blessing the hearts of all.
2. Much depends upon leadership. A good and effici-
ent leader is necessary to a good meeting. Those who
are present will, in the main, take their cue from him,
and catch his spirit. His demeanor and bearing will be
infectious. To a large extent what he is, at the time,
the meeting will be. If he is dull, and cold, and formal,
the meeting is apt to be the same. If he is lively,
earnest, devotional, enthusiastic, the meeting will feel
his warmth and geniality, and respond to his earnest-
ness, enthusiasm, and devotion. He should therefore
be impressed with his responsibility, and realize, every
time, how much depends upon him, and prepare and
bear himself accordingly. He can make or mar the
meeting. He has the first chance. He is in at the
start, and as he leads others are likely to follow. He
should make the best possible preparation. The hymns
should all be selected beforehand, and selected with
164 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
great care and discrimination ; hymns that are famihar,
and with good, lively tunes ; and they should bear, as
far as practicable, upon the subject that is to be intro-
duced, so that there will be harmony, and a complete-
ness of effect. At the same time care should be taken
not to repeat the same hymns too often, however good
they may be. . . .
„ The portion of scripture selected for reading should
be short, and it is of the greatest importance that it
should be well read, with that just and discriminating
emphasis which is the best commentary. The prayer
also should possess the same characteristics. The ex-
position, or exhortation, should be short and very
definite. The aim should be to have one clearly
defined thought, not many. If there are many, people
get bewildered, and they end in catching on to nothing.
But one thought clearly defined, explained^ illustrated,
and driven home, will fix itself in every mind, and pro-
duce a unity and permanency of impression, and a
(juickening and fructifying effect. When people are
plainly and clearly instructed, and get fairly roused by
the earnest thought of another, they require no prompt-
ing to either speak or pray.
CHftlSTlANlTY RfeVlfiWED. 165
3. Due preparation of heart is required. There is
something to be done before you enter the house of
prayer, if you would have and enjoy CJod's blessing when
you get there. It is safe to say that this is very much
neglected. Indeed, we might ask whether, in the
majority of cases, it is so much as thought of as a
necessity at all. Thought and tare are given to other
matters of less importance. Due preparation is invar-
iably made as far as the adornment of the person is
concerned. Time is always found for the puttiilg on of
a suitable garb to appear respectable before men, while,
perhaps, the heart is left entirely unprepared. It is the
soul and not the body that is to be blessed, the inner
man and not the outer, and therefore that should have
all needed preparation for the blessing. Wherever and
whenever it is practicable let some time be spent in
silent meditation and prayer before you go to the
meeting, and your profit will be larger, and more
manifest to yourselves and to others.
4. Punctuality is an essentia/ e/enieut, therefore be
punctual, and always so, as far as possible. Punctuality
is a habit, and so is unpunctuality, and one of the worst
kind, engendering all sorts of discomfort and disorder.
166 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
One is to be cultivated, and it is worth cultivation ; the
other is to be shunned as you would shun the devil.
The unpunctual attendant is apt to carry along with him
a feeling of worry and confusion, that not only interferes
with his own comfort and spiritual well being, but is apt,
by sheer contagion, to spread to other people, and thus
anything but a feeling of calmness and devotion is
engendered. Let not a few but all be there at the time
announced. It is easier, and certainly much pleasanter,
to be punctual than to be unpunctual when the habit is
once formed. It is true the best and most nr.ethodical
of people may, by stress of c'rcumstances, be behind
occasionally. It is not occasional but habitual unpunc-
tuality that is so injurious and reprehensible. There
are some good people who make it a rule not to leave
their homes until the time for commencing the meeting;
hence they succeed, admirably, in being very punctual,
or at least regular, in their unpunctuality. It is a bad
habit which those who are the subjects of should try to
get rid of as soon as possible. A meeting may end with
a full attendance, but if it is to be really and truly
profitable it should have a good beginning, and one way
of securing this is by commencing with a full attendance.
CHRlStlANlTV R^VlEWEt). iG?
It engenders warmth of heart, and it is well to be warm
to begin with.
The leader should be punctual, too, not only in being
there in good time, but also in commencing the meet-
ing and ending it. Commence on time, and leave off
on time, to the minute, if possible. It is setting a good
example, and it is being just to those who are present. If
you prolong a meeting beyond the time which it is gener-
ally understood it should occupy — an hour at the most
— and especially if it be somewhat frequently repeated,
some, and perhaps many, may take it as as an injustice,
and quietly resent it by staying away.
5. There should be union of spirit and of purpose, aud,
as far as practicable^ of sentiment. Much depends upon
this. Christ said : " If two of you shall agree on earth
as touching anything that they shall ask, ii shall be done
for the.n of my Father which is in heaven." We read also
in the Acts of the Apostles that '' They all were with
one accord in one place." Now, while it is true that all
prayers are necessarily subject to the Divine Sovereignty,
and will be answered or denied as God sees to be wisest
and best, it is also true that when certain .specified con-
ditions are complied with, the probability of a favorable
168 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
lesponse is increased. Unanimity, agreement, harmony,
are essential elements in a profitable meeting. The sad
weakness is that Christians are seldom sufficiently
agreed " as touching anything that they shall ask." In-
deed, I fear the rule is that there is no accordance,
nothing definite, nothing agreed upon, no conveying the
united desire upon one specific matter, and calling upon
Clod unitedly in prayer (or that.
There are exceptions it is true, rare exceptions, but
the exceptions, in this aj; in other cases, prove the rule
to be what is here stated. We should aim at converting
the exception into the rule, and if we succeed, even in a
measure, the blessed results will soon be seen.
6. Closeness of association and contact is necessary as a
contrilnitary effect. Pecple who really love one another,
and are glad to see one another, do not, as a rule,
exemplify their attachnivUit by sitting a dozen yards
apart, if there is any fair chance of approaching nearer,
without offending the recognized proprieties ; and,
happily, there is that chance in a prayer meeting. And
yet it is strange how isolated and repellant some people
are when they ought to be. by their very profession,
something altogether different. There are brethren, in
CHRlSTlANItV REVIEWED. l60
every church, who always develop a peculiar penchant
for sitting very near the door, and there can be no
wonder if they feel very cold, especially when the
mercuiy has taken the hospitable fit of going below zero.
In a small meeting sometimes, especially if it be in a
large room, the brethren and sisters, who profess to love
one another so much, sit so far apart that it becomes
necessary to s[)eak of them as occupying different geo-
graphical positions ; some north, a few south, one or two
east, and some lonely brother west. This should not
be. It is injurious. Whether few or many it is better
to keep close together. It shows the reality of brotherly
and sisterly feeling.
Besides, apart Trom that, there is something in mag-
netism. By close proximity we are likely to influence
one another for good more powerfully. We give and
we receive. If you want to make a fire you must not
only have plenty of wood, but you must put each piece
in some measure of contact with another. You may
burn all the wood in the country, but you will never
get the kind of fire you want, or that will be of any
practical use, by lighting and burning each piece separa-
tely. So it is in a prayer meeting. Each individual
170 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
may have, in some degree, the elements of spiritual
light and warmth, but you cannot make a fire, which
will diffuse its genial and comforting and quickening
influences through all, unless you get all together, in the
closest contact, actually, sympathetically, and spiritually.
The larger the number the greater the probability of
interest, mutual edification, and profit. A large meeting
is generally more interesting than a small one. It is a
law of nature as well as of grace, or rather the same law
runs through both.
7. As soon as the meeting is left open there should he
an instant response^ and a thorough and general com-
munication of thought and sympathy, in testimony and
prayer ; and I am inclined to add that this will,
generally, be the case when the leadership is what it
should be. It cannot be too much emphasized that
much, very much, depends upon efficient leadership.
Secure that and the rest will follow. Each one should
feel it his duty and privilege to contribute his share to
the general interest. Each should feel that the profit-
ableness of the meeting is in some measure dependent
upon him.
Each should realize a share of responsibility. It
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. \* [
is a grave mistake, but withal a prevalent one, to leave
the couduct of the meeting to a stereotyped few, how-
ever excellent they may be. There is some spiritual
force in every brother if he likes to let it out, and it
should come out for the general benefit. We come to
such meetings to minister as well as to be ministered
unto. Cast out the devil. He is always intruding
himself. 1 verily believe he is more busy there than
anywhere. If, as the hymn informs us he *' trembles
when he sees the weakest saint upon his knees," we may
imagine his concern when he sees a number of saints
gathered together expressly for prayer. He will certainly
not fail to do all he can to hinder. He will prevent you
joining in the exercises if he possibly can. He will tell
you that you are not able to speak or pray with any
credit to yourself or profit to others. Pay no heed to
his insinuations. Sternly refuse to be influenced by
him. Tell him he is a liar from the beginning, and the
father of lies. " Resist the devil and he will flee from
you." " Whom resist steadfast in the faith."
If you are prompted, from within, to say a few words
or pray, rise upon your feet at the first opportunity and
do it, and don't let the devil dissuade you by any of his
172 CHRISTIANITY REVlEWEt).
specious suggestions or arguments. In seeking to bless
others you will be all the more blessed yourself; for no
one gets such profit out of a meeting as he who takes
some voluntary part, however humble. And be not dis-
couraged by your seeming failures. You may not on
every occasion, succeed to your own satisfaction, but
take comfort and encouragement from the thought that
if you are really sincere, God may make His strength
manifest in your weakness, and may convey, through
your faltering words, a blessing to some one.
One mistake is very common, and it acts as a dis-
couragement, especially to beginners, in this kind of ser-
vice. They are apt to think that people who speak and
pray often, and are thereby familiarized with the ex-
ercise, do it with perfect self composure, and with little
or no difficulty, while they are always in a tremble and a
fright.
Consequently they are apt to think they are fully
justified in leavinj the speaking and praying mostly with
the old hands, the veterans in the service. Believe me,
the whole thing is a mistake, and arises from an entire
misconception of the facts. Take the testimony of one
who knows, and who has at least the reputation of being
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 173
able to speak off hand, without the slightest apparent
dififidence or difficulty, that the most experienced and
the readiest speaker never entirely overcomes a natural
reluctance to rise on his feet, for the purpose of saying
even, a few words, to any audience, whether it be large
or small ; and others equally experienced, and perhaps
more so, will readily confirm the absolute truthfulness of
this statement. No, you must never expect to conquer
entirely that peculiar besetment of all speakers, a natural
diffidence and tremor at the start. It may decrease, in a
measure, by practice, but it probably will never wholly
disappear, and you need not expect it.
If you want to speak with a fair measure of conifort to
yourself, and profit to others, you must closely observe
and act upon the following advice, which should be
worth something, because it is born of much observa-
tion, and a large experience. Never rise to speak for
the purpose of breaking the silence of a meeting, or fill-
ing in the time. Have a distinct thought in your mind
when you rise ; something definite you want to say, and
. that you think needs to be said. Say it in your com-
mon, plain, every day language, without straining after
fine phrases ; and be content to stop when you have
174 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
done, even at the risk of seeming a little abrupt.
Lengthy speeches are neither required nor relished in a
prayer meeting, and lengthy prayers, as a rule, are not
prayers at all. Be sure of this, that with those whose
opinion is worth regarding, sincerity will always count
for more than grammar and rhetoric.
8. As far as possible keep strictly to the subject in hand.
Don't wander all over creation. The pastor, if he has
done his duty, has come to the meeting with his heart
and soul full of a subject, which, if it takes hold of you,
and enlists your sympathies and prayers, will profit you.
It is your duty to abide by his leading, for he is the
shepherd, under Christ, to you. Avoid the bad habit,
which some well meaning people have, of always going
off on a side track, and starting something new. Keep
to what is introduced, and try to see and feel its
bearings, and to make others see and feel too. You will
thus help to preserve unity of thought and effect. If
these simple hints and suggestions are carefully noted,
and carried out, they may help a little to make the
meeting for prayer what it should be, the most potent
agency for good, and the most profitable of all the
means of grace.
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 175
CHAPTER VII.
The Philosophy of Salvation.
Salvation is a state of being saved, or a deliverance
from some actual or threatened evil, or both, including
the present and the future, time and eternity. It is
deliverance from sin, including its far reaching con-
sequences, and its vast and overwhelming power. Sin
is defined in ist John, 3 ch., 4 v., as "the transgression
of the law," namely, the law of God. Or to put the
matter in plain, every day language, with a slight tinge
of legal technicality and exactness, sin is a violation of
law. That, at least, is one aspect of it, and probably
the main one. It is what we call not observing the law,
breaking the law. So there cannot be any difficulty in
understanding the nature of that terrible evil, in its
active form, from which salvation is a deliverance,
namely, sin ; but there is almost, if not quite, insur-
176 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
mountable difficulty in finding out the why and the
wherefore of the evil. Where did it come from ? How
did it originate ? Why did a merciful God permit it ?
Could He not have prevented it, and if so why did He
not?
If my kind and indulgent reader will exercise a little
patience I will try to give some sort of an answer to
these difficult and constantly recurring questionr,, and
for two reasons. The first is that I have come to think
that an answer is possible and practicable, at least
approximately so. The second is that we can scarcely
understand salvation aright, in its manifold bearings,
unless we get some sort of a common sense and con-
sistent idea of the origin of sin, and how it came forth
to curse the world, in spite of the loving-kindness and
goodness of God. /
That sin was anterior to the existence of man on
earth we know, for the temptation to it, before which the
first pair fell, came from an outside source and agency.
It is not, however, with the origin of sin in the universe
we are dealing, but with its origin in this world, and its
sole relation to man.
That man was made perfect we must take for granted,
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 177
and be fully prepared to take it as such notwithstanding
the difficulties that may arise in connection with that
fact as related to subsequent mutations and events.
Indeed, he must have been perfect, if we admit per-
fection in God, for he was expressly and designedly
made after the Divine image and likeness. *' And God
said, let us make man in our own image, after our
likeness." " So God created man in his own image, in
the image of God created he him, male and female
created he them." It could not be a physical or form
and shape likeness, for it is expresslv stated that '* The
Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground." It
was, undoubtedly, a soul likeness, embracing the intel-
lectual, the emotional, and the spiritual ; for he
" breathed into his nostrils the breath of life, and man
became a living soul."
What time elapsed between the creation of the first
pair and the fall we are not informed. The main facts
alone are given, with just enough detail to intelligently
understand and connect them, and this is really all that
is necessary. They were created. They had a single
restriction imposed upon them by their Creator. They
were tempted by a certain agency, in a certain way.
H
17ft CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
They yielded to temptation, and did what they had been
expressly and plainly forbidden to do. They fell,
and became actually and painfully conscious of the
reality and unworthiness of their disobedience. These
are the main facts.
Questions have been asked times without number,
and may continue to be asked to the end of time : How
could beings made perfect sin ? Or why did God issue
a ccmmand that He must have known they would be
successfully tempted to disobey ? Or why did He not,
in some way best known to His infinite wisdom,
successfully interfere to prevent a catastrophe so far-
reaching and direful in its consequences?
It would be a perfectly safe, and should be satisfac-
tory, answer to reply, that taking into account all the
necessary conditions and circumstances of the case, God
could not prevent, or we may presume He would most
certainly have done so. This answer, when properly
elaborated and understood, really covers the whole
ground.
But am I limiting the power of God ? Not at all.
No man can do that. God only can restrict His own
power, and I am sin ply pointing out, or endeavoring to
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 179
do SO, the limitations which He has created and im-
posed, and which therefore He cannot pass. We must
ever bear in mind that when God crowned the edifice of
creation He made a man, and not an automaton ; and
he would not have been a man, whatever else he might
have been, if he had not been endowed with the power
to discriminate and choose between good and evil, and
right and wrong, involving obedience or disobedience
according to his own deliberate choice or will.
Being made in the likeness of God he was necessarily
a free agent. His liability to fall was involved in his
freedom ; his freedom was involved in his moral agency ;
and his moral agency was his chief glory, and constituted
him a man. That God having made him, and made
him what he was, a free agent, had a right to put his
loyalty to the test, and leave him to his own deliberate
choice, whatever the consequences might be, may be
regarded as self-evident. What else could he do ? To
have done otherwise would have been to inflict injustice
and degradation upon the highest and noblest work of
His hand.
The test itself was neither complex nor difiEicult, but
exceedingly simple and easy. It expressed the whole
180 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
law of God to them as it then existed ; and it was put
so plainly that it could not well be misunderstood ;
" And the Lord God commanded the man, say-
ing, of every tree of the garden thou mayest freely
eat ; but of the tree of knowledge of good and evil,
thou shall not eat of it ; for in the day that thou eatest
thereof thou shalt surely die." Gen. 2 ch. 16-17 vs.
That this prohibition applied to Eve, as well as
Adam, though subsequently created, is quite clear from
subsequent admissions and events. She was the first to
acknowledge the prohibition; the first tempted, and the
first to yield to temptation and to fall.
The narrative leaves us in no doubt that they both
fully undersood the nature of the restriction imposed
upon them, and therefore disobedience meant, and
could only mean — for they had probably a very high
degree of intelligence — that they were not willing to sub-
mit themselves, fully and unreservedly, and with an un-
questioning faith, to the guidance of God, their Maker
and only Friend ; and yet it is not at all improable that
they had a clear and intelligent idea that their safety
and well-being depended upon that. Hence, immed-
iately the fatal transgression was committed they felt
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 181
guilty, and that before the accusing voice of God was
heard. "And the eyes of them both were opened."
*' And Adam and his wife hid themselves from the pres-
ence of the Lord God amongst the trees of the garden."
After that God spake to them, and they neither denied
nor attempted to justify their disobedience ; they simply
offered an excuse, and there is always an important
difference to be observed between an excuse and a
justification. The excuse was that the serpent tempted
the woman, and the woman the man. That they, in
their inner consciousness, condemned themselves befoie
God pronounced judgment upon them is quite evident.
It would be manifestly unfair, however, not to admit
that the temptation was the proximate operating cause
of their fall, though it must also be admitted that they
might have fallen without it ; for the liability to do
wrong as well as right is clearly involved in moral
agency. Not only then, and now, but for evermore, obedi-
ence and disobedience must both be possible to a free
agent ; for that positively must exist if the freedom be a
reality and not a sham. This sufficiently explains, to
my mind, the origin of sin, or at least its possible origin,
whethsr in the wide universe of God, or in this world in
which we live.
182 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
To what extent the race is involved in the first
transgression has always been a debatable point. That
it is involved, and that very seriously, as far as conse-
quences are concerned, does not admit of doubt, because
facts, manifest to all, prove it. But that it is involved
to the extent that some people thinic may, perhaps, be
successfully called in question.
That mortality has passed upon all men, as the result
of the first sin, cannot be doubted ; for it is attested by
necessity, by universal experience, and by Scripture.
«
" In the day that thou eatest thereof thou shalt surely
die," or as the margin has it, which is more literal and
more correct, " dying thou shalt die," was literally ful-
filled in the sad experience of the head of our race.
From the moment of disobedience the Divine threaten-
ing was fulfilled, the seeds of decay and death took root
in him ; he began to die, and dying was consummated
in death, the separation of soul and body.
This mortality has necessarily descended to his
posterity. It is inherited from him. But why ? Why
should I die because he died on account of disobedience?
For the simple and all-sufficient reason that it could not
be prevented, if the race continued through him. It
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED, 18.3
was simply inevitable. The only way that mortality,
with its attendant evils personal and relative, could have
been prevented wonld have been by making a posterity
impossible, by cutting off humanity at its source. So it
was simply a choice between not being at all, or being
what we are in regard to death.
Then we have the testimony of univer.sal experience.
It is a fact that death has reigned in the world from the
beginning, explain it as you may ; and it is also a fact
that there is a universal expectation and belief that it
will continue to the end of time, explain that as you
may. We have also the plain attestation of Scripture,
especially this, which I am sorry to say has l)een sadly
misinterpreted, and considerably misunderstood : " For
as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made
alive." This passage occurs in Paul's sublime and
masterly argument about the resurrection of the body,
in the fifteenth chapter of his first epistle to the Corinth-
ians, and in the previous verse he says : " For since by
man came death, by man came also the resurrection of
the dead." Clearly he is speaking of the body in both
cases. " By man " — that is, Adam — " came death " ;
" by man " — that is, Christ - " came also the resurrec-
184 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
tion of the dead." " In Adam all die ; in Christ shall
all be made alive." Adam, by his disobedience, made
that mortal which was immortal. Christ by His obed-
ience is destined ultimately to make the mortal immortal
again. He has brought not only life, but also immor-
tality to light ; the first by His death, the second by His
obedience, and His own resurrection is the pledge and
guarantee. " Because I live, ye shall live also."
The question remains and waits for an answer : Is the
race further prejudically affected, and if so, in what
manner and to what extent? Here we arrive at a point
where theologians part company, and where it becomes
us, who value the truth, to look well to our steps, and
ponder the piiih of our feet. Some contend— probably
the minority — thnt the evil resulting from the first trans-
gression, as far as the race is concerned, is confined to
mortality, or natural death ; and the pains and sorrows,
both personal and relative, incident to it. Others con-
tend — and this is probably held by the majority and
may be accounted the orthodox belief— that the evil in-
cludes not only natural, but also spiritual and eternal
death. This is where theologians differ, and where we
come to the parting of the way. /
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 186
Spiritual death is defined as alienation from God.
Some are in the habit of defining it as separation from
God, but that is a loose and incorrect way of putting it ;
for the soul, as a matter of fact, can never be separated
from God, because God is everywhere ; and escape from
His presence is impossible. Absolute and complete
alienation can exist between two persons, in mind,
heart, sympathy, and purpose, though in constant
proximity, and dwelling beneath the same roof. So, the
soul can be alienated from God, in the most absolute
and complete sense, without being separated from Him.
This is not hyper-criticism, for it is really necessary,
as far as possible, to correct these inaccurate modes of
thought and expression which are altogether too com-
mon. I am quite aware that the Psalmist says in one
place, " Cast me not away from thy presence," but I am
also aware that he says in another place, " Whither shall
I flee from thy presence ;" and clearly indicating by his
subsequent language that he cannot flee from it ; for he
says : " If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there ; if I
make my bed in hell, behold thou art there. If I take
the wings of the morning, and dwell in the uttermost
parts of the sea ; even there shall thy hand lead me,
186 . CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
and thy right hand shall hold me," Psalm 139, 7-10 vs.
So when he says, " Cast me not away from thy pre-
sence," he clearly means that separation of soul which is
correctly expressed by alienation. True, alienation is
separation ; that is, it is the cause, and separation is the
effect, soul separation. But the popular idea of separa-
tion from God partakes a good deal of the geographical.
It is taken to mean that God is not only at a great but
indefinite distance, which is not the fact ; and it is the
popular idea, which, being erroneous, we have to correct
as far as possible.
And then if we keep this distinction in mind it will
not only tend to a more correct apprehension, but it
intensifies the thought itself. It shows what alienation
is more fully. If you are alienated from a person, and
yet for social, business, or any other reasons, you have
to spend a good deal of your time in that person's pres-
ence, it is a far more irksome and painful thing than if
the circumstances were such that you could dispense
with the presence of that person altogether. Inevitable
proximity adds to the pain and discomfort of your
alienation. So it is well to keep this thought constantly
in mind that the soul that is alienated from God, and
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 187
really separated from Him, is still for ever in His
presence, from which there is no possible escape.
When theologians speak, as they do, of natural death,
spiritual death, and eternal death, some people are apt
to think that there is a difference in nature between all
three. This is a misapprehension. Between the first
and the second there is a difference in nature, the first
being the death of the body, and the second the death
of the soul. But between the second and the third
there is no difference in nature. They are the same.
The difference is not in the nature, but in the extension
or duration. In short, eternal death is spiritual death
indefinitely extended. So that as spiritual death is
alienation of the soul from God, eternal death is the
indefinite or eternal alienation of the soul from Him.
Or, in other words, the one is the same as the other, but
it is the projection of the other into the eternal future.
Inasmuch then as the two are identical, apart from
the element of duration, they may safely be accounted
one as far as the purpose and scope of the present
enquiry are concerned. This is the definition in full, of
spiritual death I propose to adopt, namely : it is alien-
ation from God, resulting in soul separation ; and that
188 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
this condition, first engendered by the disobedience of
Adam, was transmitted, like mortality, as a sad legacy to
the race. That as we inherit natural death from Him, so
we inherit spiritual death, as inevitably, as literally, and
as fully ; and so every son and daughter of Adam comes
into the world with alienation from God deeply ingrained
and implanted in the soul, which time and circumstances
in every case, infallibly develop. The alienation may be
conscious or unconscious ; there may be a lively sense
of it, or there may not be ; but that does not affect the
reality of the condition. It is an indisputable and
universal fact.
I suppose we sholl be likely to meet at this point pre-
cisely the same objections that we have already met in
regard to death passing upon all men as the result of
the sin of one. People have said, times without
number, and many have thought who have not said,
that it does not look at all just that people should be
born into this world, placed in it without any possibility
of consent, and under such unfavorable conditions from
the very start.
I am not at all surprised at people who think, having
such thoughts, and giving occasional expression to them.
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 189
I would be very much surprised if they did not. Such
things must come to the surface, sometimes, in any
thoughtful mind. Why should I suffer on account of
what somebody else did thousands of years ago ? Why
should I be an unconsenting party to beginning a life
under such unfavorable auspices, and with such serious
disadvantages and disabilities ? Why should I be born
into this world, if not in a condemned state from the
start, as some people believe and affirm, yet with the
moral certainty of my soon assuming such an attitude as
will bring me into that condition ? Why should I
be [^affected by the sin of another at all, especially to
such a serious extent ? The all sufficient and only
answer to all these questions, which are quite under-
standable and allowable, is th; t these things are so,
because, under the conditions and circumstances, they
could not be otherwise. When we meet with the in-
evitable, it is wisdom to submit.
We must bear in mind that the law of cause and
effect was just as operative then as it is now ; and law,
and especially this law, is evermore inexorable, and will
not be entreated. As it was threatened so it came to
pass that disobedience wrought a great and marvellous
190 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
physical and moral change in our progenitors, and if the
race must continue through them it was inevitable, as
inevitable as the operation of cause and effect, that their
physical and moral characteristics and disabilities must
be inherited.
Do I mean that sin is transmitted? I do not. I have,
I hope, too much regard for common sense to make any
statement that can fairly bear any such construction.
Sin cannot be transmitted, because all moral distinctions
must be subverted to achieve such a result as that ; but
the condition, or nature, or bias, or whatever else you
choose to call it, that may produce sin, can be trans-
mitted ; and it is capable of precisely the same proof as
the transmission of mortality, namely necessity, experi-
ence, and scripture. There was simply a choice be-
tween nonexistence, by cutting off humanity at its
source, and thus preventing a posterity, or existence
under such conditions as we have, unpleasant and un-
desirable as they are in some respects. •
God must have thought that the latter was better for
humanity, and for His own glory, than the former, and
all right thinking persons will be likely to concur in the
wisdom of the Divine choice. Non-existence is nothing :
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 191
existence is something, even under unfavorable con-
ditions ; and it has before it endless possibilities of good
under the Divine plan. It does at least give the chance
of holding what is, with a fair prospect of gaining all, or
perhaps more, than was lost.
It may, however, be objected to this process of reason-
ing that the alternative referred to was not the only
possible one under the circumstances. By which is
meant, I suppose, that it was not absolutely necessary to
continue the race in the projected and now vitiated line ;
but that God might have allowed Adam and Eve to
perish in their sin with no hope or chance of posterity ;
and then have created another pair, equally innocent and
perfect, who might more successfully stand the test of
obedience to their Maker, and thus become the head of
an obedient and perfect race of beings.
This suggestion or objection, whichever you choose to
call it, may seem, to some people, trivial, but lam not
disposed to regard it in that light. I think it is reason-
able and worth consideration, and if a fairly satisfactory
answer can be had it should be forthcoming. The main
thing to determine, as far as possible, is : What are the
reasonable probabilities in the supposed contingency
192 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
that is submitted for consideration ? I think they are
the following ; at least, they are so far as they appear to
me. Suppose God had done as suggested, destroyed
the first pair after their disobedience, and prevented all
possibility of increase along that line ; and suppose He
had created others with like nature and endowments,
and submitted them to the same test ? What would
have been the likely result ?
To my mind there is not a shadow of probability that
the result of the second trial would have been different
from the first. Of course, it is purely a matter of con-
jecture in a supposed case, but this is the only basis of
reasoning which such a case admits of. We must
reason this way, or not reason at all. That is, the fact
of the first pair falling furnishes a reasonable conjecture
that the second would be more likely to incur the same
fate than not to incur it ; especially in view of the fact
that they would be of the same nature, and would be
put to the same test, having, as moral agents, the same
liability to fall, and the same temptations to it. Granted
the same nature, the same conditions, and the same cir-
cumstances, the result would be more likely to be the
same than to be different.
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 193
But you ask, could not God make a man without his
being liable to fall ? The answer is that both experience
and reason say no, and that emphatically.
A man cannot be a man, without being a free agent, and
free agency means liberty and ability to discriminate
and choose ; and choice, if it be a reality and not a
sham, necessarily involves — while right and wrong
exist — the liability to choose either in preference to
the other ; and this power, which involves such a
liability, is, and must ever remain, the strength and
weakness, and the glory and danger of a moral being.
We have been concerned so far, in this enquiry, with
the nature rather than the precise extent of the moral
damage inflicted upon the race by the first transgression.
In the fifth chapter of the epistle to the Romans the
extent is defined and illustrated with more amplitude
and precision than anywhere else ; and the summing up
of the whole is given in the nineteenth verse where we
have the somewhat startling statement : " For as by one
man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by the
obedience of one shall many be made righteous."
Please to observe this statement very closely. There
is no ambiguity about it, and there is nothing in the
194 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
original, nor in any manuscript authorities, to suggest or
warrant any alteration in the terms or meaning. VVe
must take it just as it is, and try to understand it as well
as we can, though at the first blush it seems to conflict
with our reason. I say it seems so ; I don't say it does.
I am anxious that the reader should be very particular
in noticing what is said in this ':onnection, for this rea-
son, that, I frankly confess, if I had met the first part of
the Apostle's statement anywhere except in a book
which I believe to be inspired, I should have been dis-
posed to reject it as untrue, as something that could not
be. Why ? Because according to the ordinary meaning
and use of language, it looks like a point blank declara-
tion of the transmission of sin ; and as a ma*^*'T of fact
sin cannot be transmitted, because to admit the possi-
bility of such a thing would be to admit th it man's
moral nature and all moral distinctions can be entirely
and absolutely subverted. In other words, it would be
admitting the possibility of a moral impossibility.
Two things, of some importance, should be noticed
here before we proceed further. First, whatever the
*' many " means in the first part must logically and
reasonably be accepted as its meaning in the second,
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 195
Common seuse and fairness will preclude anyone say-
ing that "many " means all in the first part and only a
part in the second. It cannot be taken as universal in
one case, and limited in the other. It must be either
one or the other in both cases. Therefore we are shut
up to the conclusion that it is universal in both cases,
for ve know the first is universal because all, and not a
part, are involved in the consequences of "one man's
disobedience." So also the all, and not a part, are, in
some sense, partakers of the benefits accruing from the
obedience of Christ.
Then again, observe that he says : " For as by one
man's disobedience many were made sinners." There
is a very important and even fundamental difference
between that and saying that many were made sinful,
which is about all that reason seems prepared to admit.
This simple consideration places before us in its true
light, and in its full magnitude, the difficulty we have to
meet in the statement we are considering ; and we must
make some attempt to harmonize it with the dictates of
reason, and with our ordinary ideas of what is possible
and just. We naturally, and very properly, ask : How
can one man's sin make another man a sinner, and
196 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
especially how can it make an innumerable number of
sinners ? And even if it could be done, which seems —
I say seems — morally impossible, where would be the
justice of it, as we understand justice ?
In answering these questions, which are quite allow-
able and reasonable, and endeavoring to show that the
statement of the Apostle is both possible and just, we
must bear in mind that much, if not all, depends upon
what we understand by sin, and how we define it. Sin
is a biblical term and expresses a biblical idea, some-
thing, .n fact, peculiar to the Bible. The Bible is our
sole and only authority upon that subject. It is there
we learn all about it ; its origin, nature, progress and
effects. We must therefore let the Bible speak for itself,
and let it inform us as to what sin is, if we would judge
rightly of its effects. We can scarcely expect to come to
a right conclusion unless we accept the definition, or
definitions, it gives.
I find four distinct definitions of sin in the New
Testament. The first is Romans, 14 ch. 23 v. : " For
whatsover is not of faith is sin." The immediate and
local application of this need not concern us, for what-
ever that may be we have here a definition of sin, Faith
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 197
is belief, and belief is the opposite of unbelief, and
therefore unbelief is sin. Unbelief represents character,
and is a condition of mind and heart. Observe, it is a
condition. This is confirmed by Romans, 8 ch. 6-7 vs.
"To be carnally minded is death." "The carnal mind
is enmity against Clod." So it is clear that a certain
moral condition or state is in itself sin according to these
definitions.
The second definition is in James, 4 cb. 17 v.,
"Therefore to him that knoweth to do good, and dbeth
it not, to him it is sin." According to this, sin is
negative, and although negative it is a step in advance
of the other, which is simply a condition or state. It is
sin not to do good, when knowledge, and power, and
opportunity arc possessed for doing it. Failing to do
right is sin. Not doing what we are told to do is ju.st
as literally sin as doing what we are told not to do. The
one is disobedience as well as the other, and has its
appropriate penalty attached. " And that servant,
which knew his lord's will, and prepared not himself,
neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with
many stripes." Luke, 12 ch. 47 v.
The third definition is that which is best known, and
198 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
most frequently quoted in ist John, 3 ch., 4 v., "Who-
soever committeth sin transgresseth also the law, for sin
is the transgression of the law." This is positive and
refers to the express violation of specific enactments.
This is sin in its commonest and most definite form. It
is a ^iolation of law. It is positive disobedience.
The fourth definition is in ist John, 5 ch., 17 v., "All
unrighteousness is sin." We have nothing to do with
these words in their specific connection, in the present
enquiry. We simply have to do with them as giving us
a definition of sin ; and in that they are not at all am-
biguous, but very explicit. The definition is compre-
hensive. It sums up the other three. Unrighteousness
is what is morally \ ong in all its forms and manifesta-
tions, and therefore it includes character and condition,
as well as conduct in its negative and positive aspects.
If I speak of an unrighteous man I may have reference
to his character, or his conduct, or both. I may mean
that unrighteousness expresses the character he bears, or
his moral condition or state ; or I may mean that he
acts unrighteously ; or both ideas may be included in
my statement. So that we arrive at this conclusion,
from these scriptural definitions, that sin is condition ls
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 199
well as action, character as well as conduct, negative as
well as positive.
It will now be apparent to any one reading these
pages that if the Bible contained no other definition of
sin than that of its being the " transgression of the law,"
it would be impossible to harmonize the statement of
the Apostle with reason and common sense, and with
our ordinary ideas of what is possible and just. Because,
what I must, for the sake of distinction, call positive sin,
cannot be transmitted ; for that would involve a com-
plete subversion of man's moral nature, and all moral
distinctions ; neither can it harmonize with our ideas of
what is morally possible or just to suppose that one
man's sin can make another man a sinner — much less a
whole race — in the positive sense of the term.
Fortunately we are not obliged to adopt the wild
theories that have been promulgated upon this subject,
and that lead to all sorts of moral contradictions and
absurdities; which theories may have hnd their origin in
the forgetfulness of the fact that there is more than one
definition of sin in the Bible. Sin, as expressing a cer-
tain moral condition, may be taken as the initial and
primal thought, and the first stage of development ; and
200 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
taking this, which is the first biblical definition, as the
basis of our exegesis of Paul's famous statement, con-
cerning the effect of the first act of disobedience upon
the race, we are warranted in stating that the Apostle
means that Adam transmitted to his posterity the
moral condition of alienation from the Life of God
which sin produced in him. And this was inevitable,
just as inevitable as the transmission of mortality through
him to his posterity.
There is nothing arbitrary in this, and I fail to see
that there is any thing punitive. It is simply the work-
ing out of the inexorable law of cause and effect. It
was inevitable that the race, descending from him, would
inherit his physical and moral characteristics and
disabilities. , -
The question that calls for our careful consideration
now, is, — and it is an important one and a wide one —
How, in what manner, and to what extent does the
obedience of Christ repair, meet, or rectify the moral
damage inflicted upon the race by the disobedience of
Adam ? We are bound — as we have already observed
• — by the laws of fair interpretation, and of common
sense, to admit that what " many " means in one case,
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 201
in Rom. 5 ch. 19 v., it also means in the other; that
they are, in fact, co-extensive ; and we should be pre-
pared to admit this, frankly and fearlessly, because it
seems to us right, whatever the logical outcome may be.
And what is the logical outcome ? As far as I can see
it is simply this : that as the whole race is related to and
affected by the disobedience of Adam, so the whole race
is affected by and stands in an important relation to the
obedience of Clirist. The one was meant by Divine
wisdom to be an exact counterpoise of the other. No
sooner was the fall an accomplished fact, the race
involved, and the damage to the race potentially done,
than the promise of the effective counterpoise was
immediately issued, in which the race was equally
involved, and tlie good to the race potentially done.
" And I will put enmity between thee and the woman,
and between thy seed and her seed ; it .shall bruise thy
head, and thou shalt bruise his heel." Gen. 3 ch. 15 v.
From that moment the obedience of Christ was a poten-
tial fact, and immediately operative for the benefit of the
race, according to the Divine purpose, and in the Divine
mind. So there was no delay in providing an effective
remedy, and that remedy was at once available ; available
for the first transgressors, and for all their posterity.
202 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
When we speak of the obedience of Christ we must
bear in mind its important relation to His death. " He
humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross," Phil. 2 ch., 8 v. The cross was
the climax of His obedience. It was the highest point,
the severest test, and the most signal manifestation.
Higher than divesting Himself of His glory ; higher than
coming to earth ; higher than the humiliation of His
humble birth and life ; higher than His voluntary servi-
tude ; higher than His sufferings and privations ; higher
than the agony and bloody sweat of Gethsemane. It
was higher than all these, and His voluntary submission
to it was the crowning act of His obedient life. Yes,
the crowning act, and, merciful heavens ! what a sight it
was. What a spectacle for men and angels ! What an
object lesson to stamp itself upon the imagination of the
ages ! How humiliating the associations ; how excruciat-
ing the pain ; how disgraceful the mode, that reserved
for the worst criminals. And oh ! that hideous vul-
garity, and that mortal hate that gleamed from those
Jewish eyes. The worst passions were dominant in that
infuriated mob. How they jested, and sneered, and
mercilessly heaped one indignity after another upon the
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 203
Almighty victim. Hell was let loose. No wonder crea-
tion shuddered, and the earth shook, and the graves
were opened, and the veil of the temple and the rocks
were rent. No wonder that the heavens put on sack-
cloth, and that "there was darkness over all the land."
And oh ! that startled, piercing, agonizing cry, which
must have touched and moved the very throne of the
Eternal, as it has touched and moved millions of human
hearts : "Eli, Eli, lama, sabachthani ; that is to say. My
God, My God, why hast thou forsaken me." *' When
he had cried again with a loud voice, he yielded up the
ghost." This was obedience, obedience unto death,
even the death of the cross.
We may well enquire, What has this obedience and
death accomplished for the race ? It has accomplished
two things, and by accomplishing these, it has proved
an exact moral counterpoise of the disobedience of
Adam. What are they ? The first is, that it has
brought iiTimortality to light. Adam's disobedience
brought mortality into the world. Christ's obedience
restores the balance in that particular, and restores it
for the whole race. " For since by man came death, by
man came also the resurrection of the dead ; for as in
204 CHRISTIANITY REVlfeWEt).
Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive."
1 Cor., 15 ch. 21-22 vs. The plain and obvious mean-
ing is that in and through Adam we all die, and in and
through Christ we shall all be made alive, — raised from
the dead.
The second benefit that Christ's obedience unto death
has secured for the race is, that it has made atonement
for sin. He died for all. All are included in the scope
of the great and merciful plan. Not one is left out,
from the first to the last. The mighty sweep of that
marvellous obedience takes them all in. It is the rain-
bow of promise and hope for a lost world. It contains
the germinal principle, which, in its gradual but unceas-
ing development, will ultimately sweep away the mighty
wreck that sin has made, acquire universal dominion,
and re-constitute all things upon a firm and enduring
basis ; even to the extent of a new heaven and a new
earth, when the first heaven and the first earth are
passed away.
The universality of the atonement should be accepted
as placed beyond all doubt by the following explicit
statements : " All we like sheep have gone astray ; we
have turned every one to his own way ; and the Lord
fw
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 205
hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Isaiah, 53 ch.
6 V, *' For the love of Christ constraineth us, because
we thus judge, that if one died for all then were all
dead ; and that he died for all, that they which live
should not, henceforth, live unto themselves, but unto
him which died for them and rose again." 2 Cor. 5 ch.
14-15 vs. " We see Jesus, who was made a little lower
than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with
glory and honor ; that He by the grace of God, should
taste death for every man.^' Heb. 2 ch. 9 v. " And he is
the propitiation for our sins, and not for ours only, but
dihofor the sins of the ivhole world'^ i John, 2 ch. 2 v.
The last two statements, especially, must evermore
be accepted, by all reasonable minds, as placing beyond
any possibility of doubt the universality of the atone-
ment ; that Christ died not simply to put away sin, but
died with full, loving, sacrificing intent and purpose for
every son and daughter of Adam ; and that He secured
two things for every one, a potential immortality which
will become actual at the resurrection — of which His
own is the pledge — and a condition of potential salvation,
which can be made actual by simple acquiesence. And
thus all mankind, from the first man to the last, saved
206 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
or unjaved, are left without any just ground of complaint
regarding the inevitable effects produced by the first
transgression.
A question may arise here, in any thoughtful and
logical mind, and which had better, as far as possible, be
met at once, as a more favorable opportunity may not
occur. Having established an equality of effect — the
one exactly meeting the other — between the disobedience
of Adam and the obedience of Christ upon the race ;
the one creating and entailing mortality, the other des-
troying it in His own person ; the one entailing a con-
dition of sin, the other creating and introducing to a
condition of salvation ; what about the effects resulting
from the inevitable development of both conditions ?
Are they equal, or does justice require that they should
be ? I think not, for the latter case, which is supposed,
and concerning which the query is made, is fundament-
ally different from the former. Ho^ different from the
former you may ask ?
I answer, different in this, that in the former, man's
attitude is passive, while in the latter it is active. In
the former we have nothmg to do with the production
of the effects, in the latter we have everything to do.
CHRISTIANITY RIAIEWED. 207
In the former choice does not come into operation, in
the latter it does. In other words, we had nothing to
do with creating the dual condition in which we find
ourselves, in regard to sin on the one hand, and salva-
tion on the other ; but our moral agency, or choice,
comes into operation in the development of both.
Therefore, while the conditions created for us are equal,
the one balancing the other, the results of their develop-
ment — dependent as they are upon choice — may be dis-
proportionate, without in any wise reflecting upon the
goodness and justice of God.
So then both conditions are potential, and can not be
anything else in view of the free agency of man ; and
they are equal, as far as we can see ; and both may be
converted from the potential into the actual by the action
of the human will.
Whatever the environment of a free agent may be, he
sins because he wills to sin. In fact no action can be
sin, as far as the actor is personally concerned, without
the free action of the will. So on the other hand in
regard to salvation, where the necessary knowledge is
possessed, a man accepts or rejects ; and the acceptance
or the rejection is the result of the operation of the will.
208 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
If he accepts, he is justified and saved. If he rejects—
knowingly, consciously, wilfully rejects, he is already in
a state of condemnation ; not for his sin — for that has
been atoned for, and salvation is potentially his upon
the basis of that atonement — but for his rejection. Faith,
which is a personal appropriation and use of the benefit
conferred, saves. Unbelief, which is a failure to so
appropriate and use the benefit, is condemnation.
To show the correctness of this view a number of
passages of scripture might be given, but it is not neces-
sary a> they are quite familiar to the intelligent reader of
the Bible, or they can easily be found by any one who
has any interest in this enquiry. Just a few must suffice
here, and I will confine myself to the words of Christ,
than whom no one could be better qualified to speak on
this subject, for He is the fountain of truth. The third
chapter of John's gospel — which, next to the Sermon on
the Mount, is perhaps the most important and remark-
able exposition of spiritual truth that Christ ever gave —
contains all the references that we need to make our
contention plain. Take verses 14, 15, 16, 18 and 36
" And as Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness,
even so must the Son of Man be lifted up ; that whoso-
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 209
ever believeth in Him should not perish, but have
eternal life " *' P'or God so loved the world, that He
gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in
Him should not perish but have eternal life." " He
that believeth in Him is not condemned ; bpt he that
believeth not is condemned already, because he hath
not believed in the name of the only begotten Son
of God." "He fhat believeth on the Son hath ever-
lasting life; and he that believeth not the Son shall not
see life, but the wrath of God abideth on him." The
last two verses present the grand alternative in its full
and complete form, and the former of these two is
remarkably full and very precise, admitting of no possi-
ble chance of mistaking or perverting the meaning :
" He that believeth not is condemned already, because
he hath not believed."
It is a melancholy reflection, that rich and all suffici-
ent as the provision for man's need is — wide as the
world, and extensive as the fall — more than half the
whole of mankind cannot, from a variety of causes,
make a personal appropriation of that provision. I
allude to infants who die before attaining the position
of moral accountability ; those who are mentally incap-
K
210 CHRISTIANITY RKVIEWED.
able ; and all to whom the knowledge of Christ and His
salvation has not come ; and by the latter I mean those
who have had no opportunity of receiving that knowl-
edge.
It will at on^e be seen that we are approaching a
difficult aspect of the subject, the relation of the three
classes mentioned to salvation. What is it, and what
the effect of that relationship ?
Of the different theories propounded in regard
to infant salvation, which I am unable to ac-
cept, there is only one which I propose to notice,
namely, that all infants dying before committing
actual sin do not need salvation by Christ. To dispose
of this by showing that it cannot be maintained is not
difificult. If Christ died for all He died for them, and
if He died for them there was certainly a needs be for
His doing so. Furthermore they inherit a corrupt
nature inevitably, just as inevitably as they inherit
mortality ; and when this begins to manifest itself it
shows a strong likeness to the first transgression ; for, as
the first sin was insubordination, or a revolt against
God's authority, .so the first manifestation of a child's
will, invariably takes the shape of resistance to constituted
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 211
— parental — authority. I conclude that infants need
saving, and that they can only be saved through Christ.
With reference to the second class, the mentally
incapable, it may be as well to explain that those are
meant who are so far incapacitated as not only to affect
but to cut off their moral accountability. Of course
there are different causes, and degrees, and duration of
incapacity, which enter into the absolute determination
of cases, but into these we do not propose lo enter
With reference to the heathen, who are comprehended
in the third class, those only are meant who have had
no opportunity of coming to a knowledge of Christ and
His salvation.
I am fully aware — and perhaps it may be as well
to give a passing notice to this — that when peo-
ple ask about the unenlightened heathen, in regard
to salvation, it is usual lo refer them to what Paul says
in his epistle to the Romans, 2 ch. 12-15 ^s- ^^ y^^
will take the trouble to look and read carefully you will
fi"d nothing there about salvation. In fact, the whole
chapter is taken up with reasoning about human con-
duct, and the parlicular portion referred to is intended
to prove what the apostle states in the eleventh verse,
212 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
that, " there is no respect of persons with God " He is
taking the self righteous, proud Jew down from his high
and self-assumed position, by telling him that God will
not discriminate in his favor. He will be just to all,
and Jew and Gentile alike will be judged by Him
according to the light and knowledge possessed.
With the view of making some contribution to a pos-
sible solution of the grave and important problem we
are considering, namely, the salvation of infiints, the
mentally incapable, and all to whom — through no fault
of theirs — the knowledge of Christ and His salvation
has not come, I submit the following propositions.
They are in regular sequence, and lead to an inevitable
conclusion.
1. That Christ died for all, which means every, son
and daughter of Adam, from the first to the last.
2. Therefore His death is coextensive with the fall of
man.
3. Therefore there is no need of any other salvation,
or any other method of restoring fallen humanity, under
any circumstances, to the life and favor of God.
4. Therefore there is no salvation out of Christ, as
the scripture saith : " Neither is there salvation in any
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 213
Other, for there is none other name, under heaven, given
among men, whereby we must be saved" Acts, 4 ch.,
12 V.
5. What is provided for all cannot be denied to any,
except those who knowingly and wilfully reject.
6. Knowledge of an obligation is necessary to its
performance.
7. Ability to perform an obligation is necessary to the
just requirement of its performance.
8. God is just
9. God cannot be unjust.
10. Therefore God cannot require the impossible.
11. Infants, who have not attained to the necessary
knowledge and moral responsibility ; the mentally in-
capable, whose condition is such as to cut off moral
responsibility ; and all who have not come to a knowl-
edge of Christ and what He his done, can neither
accept nor reject salvation.
12. Therefore the salvation provided for all must
take effect, in all the cases, where absolute inability to
accept exists, except where the inability is the result of
personal fault.
It may be objected to these propositions, and the in-
214 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
evitable conclusion to which they le^d, that they seem to
make practically unnecessary the preaching of the gospel
to the heathen. To this objection, fair and reasonable
as it seems to be, the Great Commission is an all-suffi-
cient answer : " Go ye into all the world and preach
the gospel to every creature." No consideration, no
series of considerations, can, in any wise, or to any
extent, successfully interfere with the discharge of a
paramount obligation like that. It may furthermore be
contended that what the Psalmist calls " the joy of sal-
vation" is something worth having: and this, it is clearly
evident, is only possible to the conscious recipient of
the great benefit. Besides, there is the advantage of
consecrated service, and of growing up into the life of
Christ, and a consequent fuller capacity and meetness
for the service and life of heaven. All these are great
and manifest advantages that grow out of the conscious
possession and exercise of salvation. They are of con-
siderable value here, and they project themselves, with
increasing force and worth, into the eternal future.
It may also be objected that upon the basis of the
conclusion reached by the propositions, we may inflict
irreparable damage upon many in the heathen world by
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 215
taking the gospel to them, inasmuch that while many
may accept, many will likely not ; and these, by rejec-
tion, will be placed in a worse position than they would
have been if left in entire ignorance of the gospel
scheme.
It is quite sufficient to say in answer to this, that if
the objection is valid at all it will equally apply to the
preaching of the gospel anywhere, in any country, or in
any age ; for the gospel is not only a saving but also a
condemning power, wherever it is proclaimed, according
to the acquiescence or non-acquiescence of those to whom
it is made known.
Paul, referring to the effects of his own preaching
(2 Cor., 2 ch., 16 V.) says: "To the one the savour
of death ".nto death ; and to the olher the savour
of life unto life." And then he adds — with an evi-
dent feeling of great responsibility at the thought of
being instrumental, in some measure, of the condemna
tion of some, by their rejection of the gospel which he
preached to them— "And who is sufficient for these
things." He did not, however, forbear to preach on
that account.
Having noticed these objections, let us return to the
216 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
main question, to present some considerations confirm-
atory of the soundness of the conclusion we have
reached, in regard to the salvation of the three classes
referred to.
1. We may be tolerably sure that we are on the line
of truth, when we do not violate sound reason and
common sense, in dealing with matters upon which the
Bible is either silent, or not entirely explicit.
2. We are certainly on the line of a true conception
of the Divine character and intentions, when the ten-
dency of our reasoning, being in itself sound, is in the
direction of enlarging our views of the exceeding wide-
ness of the Divine rr.ercy ; for God certainly intends to
include all, in the scope and benefits of His gracious
plan, who do not wUfully and responsibly exclude them-
selves.
3. If it be maintained that God intended that non-
acquiescence should be an effectual bar to the possession
and enjoyment of His mercy, in every case, and under
all circumstances, we must conclude either that He is
unjust in dealing with His creatures, or that His plan is
a partial failure, which would be a serious reflection
upon His wisdom.
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 217
4. Had God intended that there should be no excep-
tion to the rule, as to the prescribed acquiescence, it is
impossible to resist the conclusion that He would, by
some agency, within His competence, have made the
knowledge of the facts, and the opportunities and power
of compliance, as universal as the obligation to believe.
5. If only those can be saved who have a knowledge
of, and exercise a conscious faith in Christ, infants and
incapables are as effectually excluded from a participa-
tion in the benefits of the gracious plan, as those to
whom, from no fault of theirs, the knowledge of Christ
has not come. And no one but a monster, or one who
thinks that God is such, could for a moment entertain
the belief that infants aid incapables are, for non-
acquiescence, which they cannot avoid, shut out from
the Divine mercy.
Let us be thankful ihat (iod's plan is larger than
man's mind. He is juster and more merciful than we
are, and more merciful because He is more just. It was
an act of Sovereignty in Him not to cut off the race at
its source, after the first transgression ; for He willed it
so, and will and action in Him are necessarily syn-
onymous and simultaneous.
218 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
It was an act of justice in Him to provide an efficient
and exact counterpoise for that condition which the
posterity of Adam had nothing to do with creating ; and
upon that foundation He has built that marvellous
structure of " grace and truth," which, as far as we
know, is the solitary moral wonder of the universe.
With Him, justice and mercy are not opposing and con-
tradictory terms, for in His being and nature there is
nothing contradictory. From His justice we see the
outflow of His mercy, and when we behold His mercy-
we see Kis justice too. God's character is perfectly
harmonious, though made up of separate and constituent
parts or attributes, which, like the colors of the rainbow,
blend, and form a wondrous arch of beauty, of promise,
and of hope. O ! when will men understand how good
God is, and how deeply and unalterably He loves them.
He is not exclusive ; He is inclusive. That is His
nature, and the whole bent and energy of that nature.
He is concerned to save His erring, lost children, not to
condemn them ; and no heart can reach out to Him,
however feebly, but will find itself encompassed by the
Everlasting Arms, He who knew the heart of God, as
no one else did or can, said : ** For God sent not His
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 219
Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the
world through Him might be saved." John, 3 ch., 1 7 v.
" There's a wideness in God's mercy,
Like the wideness of the sea ;
There's a kindness in His Justice,
Which is more than liberty.
There is welcome for the sinner,
And more graces for the good ;
There is mercy with the Saviour ;
There is healing in His bleod.
For the love ot God is broad'^r
Than the measure of man's mind ;
And the heart of the Eternal
Is most wonderfully kind.
If our love were but more simple,
We should take Him at His word ;
And our lives would be all sunshine
In the sweetness of our Lord."
220 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
CHAPTER VIII.
The Duty of Supporting the Gospel.
This is a very practical subject, and its importance
will be immediately and fully recognized. Of course
pecuniary support is meant. There are other kinds of
support, which Christians may and do render to the
Gospel, but the pecuniary is that aspect of it — and a
very important one — which will be considered in this
chapter.
Here, be it observed that this specific support which
the Gospel needs, in order to its propagation, is the
foundation of all human instrumentality. We cannot
work without tools. We cannot successfully conduct a
warfare without weapons. We cannot overthrow the
enemy, so far as his overthrow depends upon human
endeavor, without the necessary appliances. The Gospel
cannot be propagated without keeping the Divinely
ordained human machinery going.
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 221
God, perhaps, might have converted the world with-
out any human instrument ; but inasmuch as He has
seen fit, in His infinite wisdom, to honor us by ordering
it otherwise, we must fall in with the plan, and render
all the support that is needed, on our part, to its proper
and efficient execution.
The duty we are considering may therefore be re-
garded as enforced by the necessity of the case. I mean
by necessity neither chance nor fate, but that which has
been, evidently, ordained by Divine wisdom. God has
seen fit to make us, who are human, co-workers with
Himself in the accomplishment of His merciful purposes
oncerning men. The human instrumentality is as
Divinely ordained as the Divine agency, and therefore
on that account as necessary, though not as efficient, in
the accomplishment of the result contemplated. We
see the combination — and, indeed, the expressly de-
signed combination — of these two agencies, human and
Divine, in the Great Commission : " Go ye therefore,
and teach all rations and lo / am with you
alway"
It was not the preaching of Peter, or the working of
the Holy Spirit, contemplated separately, which pro-
222 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
duced the stupendous result of the conversion of " three
thousand souls" on the day of Pentecost. It was the
combination of the two. It was the working of the
Divine, all-subduing power, through spiritual truth,
presented by a human instrument. It is to be observed,
however, that the human instrument, concerned in this
work, unlike the Divine agent, is so constituted, and its
necessities and surroundings are such, that it needs
human support as well as Divine aid. It cannot evist,
work, nor grow in working without it. It is made
indispensable by a Divine ordinance. It should be
enough to say, in plain words, that God has mide it so,
and it is not for us to neglect or, in any wise, alter the
Divine plan. His ways are not only higher, but better
than our ways, and His thoughts than our thoughts.
Those who contend for the gospel bemg free are
right. It is free in its essential nature, made free, and
free to all. That is the genius of the gospel. But those
who contend for a ministration of the gospel, which in-
volves no charge, are blind to the teachings of cctnmon
sense, human experience, nnd the Divine word. They
are like a man, who because he can get the clear, spark-
ling water from its mountain source for nothing, will, on
CHRISTIANITY RKVIEWED. 223
that account, insist upon having a pitcher, in which to
carry it to his home, for nothing too. Or to slightly
vary the illustration ; water is free, free enough, and
there is certainly enough to make it free, as far as the
simple element itself is concerned. You can go down
to the free flowing river and get as much as you like,
and probably no one will say you nay. Under no cir-
cumstances do you pay for the water, that being God's
free gift to all His creatures alike, but you may have to
pay for the appliances and expenditure involved in
bringing it to your homes, and rightly so too.
So the Gospel is free, as free as anything in God's
creation can be, free as air, free as water ; but inasmuch
as there is a human instrument employed, and necessarily
employed, in conveying it to man, we must pay for the
instrument, and it is certainly reasonable that we should
do so. And then the Scriptures are neither silent nor
ambiguous upon this matter. Indeed, they are very
explicit, and exceedingly plain. There is no mistaking
the meaning. The quotations following are from Paul's
epistles, and Paul was well qualified to speak upon this
subject, for he was not only inspired to declare the mind
of God, but he was also remarkably, and, we have reason
to believe, exceptignally disinterested.
224 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
VVhile not allowing himself, for reasons which he
plainly states, to become a burden to the churches,
he never allowed them to call in question the right
of the laborer to an adequate support. '' Who
goeth a warfare, at any time, at his own charges ?
Who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the
fruit thereof? Or who feedeth a flock, and eateth
not of the milk of the flock ? Say I these things as a
man, or saith not the law the same also ? For it is
written in the law of Moses, thou shalt not .nuzzle the
mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God
take care for oxen ? Or saith he it altogether for our
sakes ? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written ; that
he that ploweth should plow in hope ; and that he that
thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. If
we have sown unto you spiritual things, is it a great
thing if we shall 'eap your carnal things ? If others be
partakers of this power over you, are not we rather ?
Nevertheless we have not used this power, but suffer all
things, lest we should hinder the Gospel of Christ. Do
ye not know that they which minister about holy things
live of the things of the temple ? And they which wait
at the altar are partakers with the altar ? Even so hath
CHRISTIANITY REVIKWED. 225
the Lord ordained that they which preach the Gospel
should live of the gospel." i Cor. 9 ch. 7-14 vs.
'* Let him that is taught in the word communicate unto
him that teacheth in all good things." (lal. 6 ch. 6 v.
" Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of
double honor, especially they who labor in the word and
doctrine. For the Scripture saith, thou sholt not muz/le
the ox that treadeth out the corn ; and the laborer is
worthy of his reward." i Tim. 5 ch. 17 18 vs.
This duty of supporting the gospel is further enforced
by the consideration of steivardship. We are " stewards
of the manifold grace of God." What we have is en-
trusted to us, and not for our benefit alone. There are
two plain propositions which every Christian will fully
and readily admit. The first is that every good gift
cometh from God. The second is that the things
which come from Him should be disposed of according
to His will, so far as that will can be ascertained.
Accumulation may be the law of man, but distribution
is the law of God. " Freely ye have received, freely
give."
Getting money honestly, and for definite and good
purposes, is a virtue, but getting it for the mere purpose
226 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
of accumulation, and with the view of personal enjoy-
ment and benefit only, is a sin, and that because it is
opposed to the law of the Giver of all Good, namely distri-
bution. The man who, in any way, impedes the circulation
of God's gifts, commits more than a mistake; he commits
a sin, for which he will most certainly be called to ac-
count. That any human creature should want for any
temporal benefit, or .spiritual gift, is no reflection upon
God. The want does not arise from any inadequacy in
the supply, but from a lack of proper and efficient dis-
tribution. It is a failure in stewardship. There is
certainly enough for all, at all times, and if the due pro-
portion which each needs fails to reach each one, some
one is blameworthy. What we, in our personal capa-
city, really need — and God is the judge of that — of
temporal and spiritual things are ours ; all that we are
possessed of beyond that belongs to the needy ; and we
are culpable, or they are, or it may be a measure of
culpability attaches to both, if it fails to reach them.
In truth, we receive God's gifts for our own needs and
enjoyment, and for the need and enjoyment of others.
It is both a mistake and a sin when a man, and especi-
ally a Christian man, stops short at himself, and fails to
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 227
consider the condition and claims of his fellow men. A
stream will furnish the moving power for a hundred
mills as well as one, if you let it flow on in its natural,
course. You will get all you need out of it, and it will
be a benefit and blessing to others without in any wise
impoverishing you.
We receive light that we may shine for the benefit of
others, and the glory of God. " Ye are the light of the
world. A city that is set on a hill cannot be hid.
Neither do men light a candle, and put it under a
bnshel but on a candlestick ; and it giveth light unto
all that are in the house. Let your light so shine before
men, that they may see your good works, and glorify
your Father which is in heaven." Matt, 5 ch., 14-16 v.
Knowledge is given to us — and especially Divine
knowledge — that we may enjoy it ourselves, and instruct
others, and in giving we always receive the more. We
receive comfort from the Divine source, not for our own
advantage only, but also that we may comfort them who
are in any sorrow.
We are prospered in our worldly concerns, our sub-
stance is increased, partly for our own advantage, but
mainly that we may become the ministers ot good to
228 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
Others ; especially in the spreading abroad of that
gospel without which the world, at its best, is a blank,
death is a terror, and eternity is a darkness awful and
indescribable.
The Apostle lays down this principle very simply and
very effectively in the twelfth chapter of his Epistle to
the Romans : '* Having then gifts differing according to
the grace that is given to us ; whether prophecy, let us
prophesy according to the proportion of faith ; or minis-
try, let us wait on our ministering ; or he that teacheth,
on teaching ; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation ; he
that giveth, let him do it with simphcily ; he what
ruleth, with dilligence ; he that showeth mercy, with
cheerfulness."
This truth is not sufficiently recognized, though it is
here implied in the plainest inferential manner, that a
Christian man who is blessed with wealth is as respon-
sible for giving to the fullest extent of his power, for the
propagation of the Gospel, as the minister who is
endowed with the gift of prophesying is responsible for
preaching the Gospel to the full measure of the ability
granted to him. We plead for the development, to the
largest possible extent, of the efficacy pf the pulpit, and
CHRISTIANITY REVIEV/ED. 229
rightly so too ; but let it not be forgotten that there is a
corresponding duty incumbent upon the occupants of
the pew. Let there be a holy rivalry in giving and
working. Let there be a real and earnest contention,
not ar • which can do the least, but which can do the
most, for the Master and His cause. If the gifts of
teaching and preaching are to be increasingly developed,
let the gift of temporal means be increasingly developed
too. Let the servants of Christ teach with all their
power, preach with all their power, and give to the full
extent of their power. Give, till you feel it. Give, till
giving becomes a sacrifice. If you give till you are
poor, you will only be faintly approximating the example
of your Divine Lord, who, "though He was rich, yet for
your sakes He became poor, that ye through His
poverty might be rich."
This duty is further enforced by certain prudential con-
siderations. It is not only wise, but it pays to give the
gospel a liberal support. A whole-souled liberality often
has its reward, even in kind, in this life. " There is
that scattereth, and yet increaseth, and there is that
withholdeth more than is meet, but it tendeth to pov-
erty. The liberal soul shall be made fat, and he that
230 CHRISTIANITV REVIEWED.
watereth shall be watered also himself." Prov., 1 1 ch.,
24-25 vs. "Honour the Lord with thy substance, and
with the first fruits of all thine increase; so shall thy
barns be filled with plenty, and thy presses shall burst
out with new wine." Prov,, 3 ch., 9-10 vs. "But this
I say, he which soweth sparingly shall reap also spar-
ingly ; and he which soweth bountifully shall reap also
bountifully. Every man according as he purposeth in
his heart, so let him give ; not grudgingly, or of neces-
sity, for God loveth a cheerful giver." 2nd Cor., 9 ch.,
6 7 vs.
Nature exemplifies this law of ificrease. Every farmer
know.s, or should know, that the earth yields its fruit, to
a large extent, according to the care bestowed upon it.
Liberal expenditure in cleaning, tilling, ploughing, seed-
ing, and any other necessary operation.s, will produce
liberal crops ; while a niggardly expenditure, and want
of proper care and attention, will be apt to produce very
small and unsatisfactory results. The earth will use you
as you use it. If you are liberal, it will be profuse. If
you are parsimonious it will pay you back in your own
coin.
Business exemplifies this law of increase. Many a man
ClrtRlSTIANiTY REVIEWED. 2^1
has suffered a considerable loss by parsimoniously
avoiding a little judicious expenditure. Here is a man
who has a valuable property. He thinks he will save
the insurance money by taking extra care. He goes on
all right for a time. He saves a hundred, two hundred,
or perhaps five hundred dollars, and then, notwithstand-
ing his extra care, the fire fiend comes, and sweeps all
away. The poor, thrifty man has perhaps saved five
hundred dollars, and lost ten thousand. He withheld
more than was meet, and it tended to poverty.
The man who succeeds in business is he who has full
capacity and is wise, and at the same time has daring
enough to launch out and enlarge when the fitting op-
portunity presents itself. He who is afraid of risking a
hundred dollars will certainly never become rich by his
efforts.
The work of God is no exception to this same law. A
liberal expenditure pays better than a niggardly one. If
a church is constantly running into debt, one of two
things is tolerably certain ; either it is without a pastor,
and is conducting its operations on the cheap principle ;
or if it has a pastor, it is paying him an insufficient
salary. Churches, as a rule, that pay good salaries don't
232 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
get into debt ; while they who pay poor ones do, and
they are rightly served.
In secular business, if you want to get and keep a
good servant, you must pay him well, and you know it
is profitable to do it. Ministers are not yet entirely
angelic. They are men, and they are liable — indeed,
very liable — to be influenced by human considerations,
as well as Divine impluses.
As to " Systematic Giving," of which much has been
heard, not much need be said here. No doubt system
in all things is good. The man who gives, like the man
who works, systematically, will be likely to accomplish
more than the man who does not. Such is the cupidity
of even sanctified human nature, that it is probably
an advantage to make a liberal bargain with one's self,
on behalf of the cause of God, and stick to it.
The system incidentally recognized in the New Testa-
ment is that of giving to God's cause as God has
prospered us. " Upon the first day of the week let
every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath pros-
pered him, that there may be no gatherings when I
come." I Cor. i6 ch. 2 v.
But there is a larger, if not a higher law, which it
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 233
behooves us constantly to recognize and act upon, that
not merely a part, but all belongs to God. If anything
belongs to Him everything does, and only that offering
can be acceptable which is thorough and complete.
" Ye are not your own." " Ye are Christ's." Our
material possessions, our bodies, our faculties, our souls,
all we are and all we have, belong, by the rights of
purchase and blessing, to the Redeemer.
Is this law sufficiently recognized, and the Divine
claims fully admitted ? I fear not. If God were address-
ing the church of to-day, through some specially mspired
medium, I see no reason for supposing there would be
any considerable modification of His language when He
spoke to His ancient people, through the mouth of the
prophet : " Return unto me, and I will return unto you,
saith the Lord of Hosts. But ye said : wherein shall we
return ? Will a man rob God ? Yet ye have robbed
me. But ye say, wherein have we robbed thee ? In
tithes and offerings. Ye are cursed with a curse, for ye
have robbed me, even this whole nation. Bring ye all
the tithes into the storehouse, that there may be meat in
mine house, and prove me now herewith, saith the Lord
of Hosts, if I will not open you the windows of heaven,
234 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
and pour you out a blessing, that there shall not be room
enough to leceive it." Mat. 3 ch. 7-10 vs.
Do the people of God to-day admit this charge, and
will they accept this ancient challenge of the Almighty ?
Let us do our part, and God will certainly do His. Let
us furnish, and equip, and fully maintain the instrumen-
talities for the propagation of His Gospel, and He will
give the blessing abundantly.
The needs of the world are great and ever pressing,
and if we do not come to the rescue, who will ? Men
are perishing, even at our very doors, for lack of spiritual
knowledge, and if we, who have the light and the truth,
do not give unto them, who will ? We are the reposi-
tories of light, and we are commanded to let the light
shine before men. What is needed to-day, in the church
of Christ the world throughout, is a fuller and a deeper
consecration, and the development, on the largest possi-
ble scale, of all material and spiritual gifts, and the
Spirit of God resting upon them.
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 235
CHAPTER IX.
The Pastoral Relation.
That the pastoral relation is an important one will be
readily admitted, and like another important relationship,
of great antiquity and almost universal prevalence, it
should not be entered upon lightly, " but reverently,
discreetly, advisedly, and in the fear of God, duly con-
sidering the objects for which it was ordained." Whether
it is always, or even in the majority of cases, entered
upon in the spirit here indicated may be seriously
doubted. Indeed, I think, we may, with good reason,
fear, that if all the pastoral relations now existing,
among all denominations of Christians, were tested by
that standard, and dissolved if found wanting, there
would be the greatest ecclesiastical upheaval that the
Church of Christ has seen for eighteen hundred years.
Perhaps you may think this statement extravagant,
236 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
and upon the first blush it probably seems so, but the
more you think about it the more you will be likely to
come to the conclusion, that, after all, it is no vain
imagining, and no exaggeration, but rather a plain,
honest forecast of the probable facts in the supposed
contingency.
Who are to blame for all this, the Pastors or the
churches ? Both, but mainly the latter.
That there is a lack of fitness which leads to perpetual
change is matter of common, every day observation.
This is clearly chargeable, to a certain extent, to the
ordinary methods in vogue for securing settlements.
And here blame belongs lo both sides — Pastor and
church— and unworthy scheming is not by any means
uncommon, such as would not be likely to do much
credit to any respectable business concern.
A young man, just on the point of leaving college,
was seeking his first pastorate. He preached with great
acceptance, for several Sabbaths, to a pastorless church.
The impression was very favorable, in fact, as far as he
and others equally interested could see, unanimously so.
A meeting was called lo decide the matter of extending
a call. A resolution was .submitted, and passed, that a
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED 237
call be extended. And then, without negativing this,
another resolution was passed, that he should be invited
for three months only ; and he was told, in the com-
munication that was subsequently sent to him — after
reciting both resolutions— that he was to inform the
official, who made the communication, whether he
accepted the call for three months. One would like to
believe that this was downright ignorance, but probably
it was not. It was more likely a deliberate attempt to
thwart the will of the majority ; and it succeeded, for
the younc; aspirant for office saw through it at once, and
he immediately wrote that he declined to accept.
A Pastor of fair ability, and considerable experience,
was incidentally supplying the pulpit of a vacant church
for a few Sabbaths. The church had recently extended
a call, and it was being considered by the brother who
had received it One or two leoding brethren inter-
viewed the party of the second part, and asked him if
he would be favorable to accepting a call. With surprise
he asked if they had not a call to another brother
pending, which they admitted. Then said he, you
should wait for your answer, and see whether your call
be accepted or declined, before making any overtures to
238 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
me. Upon the assurance of a favorable consideration
they were, evidently, prepared to set the machinery in
operation for withdrawing the call at once, without
waiting for an answer. Future developments showed
that if they had received the necessary encouragement,
and done this, they would have been excusable to a
certain extent, for the brother, who received the call,
was holding it in abeyance in the expectation of receiv-
ing one from a larger church, for which he was scheming
and waiting, and sacrificmg his Christian consistency in
more ways than one. As soon, however, as he got the
hint that he was running some risk of losing both, he
quickly despatched his acceptance, following it, almost
immediately, by himself and all his belongings.
These instances might be multiplied, but perhaps not
to much advantage. It is certainly not pleasant to
reflect that any who bear the Christian name, whether
lay or cleric, can act so unworthily ; but nothing can be
gained by shutting our eyes, or denying the facts that
are well known to exist.
The problem of settling a pastor is apt to be a con-
siderable one, and I have, for a long time, had grave
doubts of the wisdom of many of the methods that are
CHRISTIANITY RKVIEWKD. 239
employed for securing that desirable end. Of course I
am speaking of those churches who have entire, or
almost entire, control of the selection of their ministers.
Of the others no useful result would be likely to come
from any observations of mine.
They have their systems into which they have grown,
and which they are likely to retain.
But there is one' thing common to them all, which
may be briefly referred to here, and that is, that the
ministers of all denominations are dependent upon those
to whom they minister for their temporal support. Now,
correct as this may be, and doubtless is, in theory, it
works badly, in quite a number of cases, in practice.
Under such conditions fidelity is necessarily at a dis-
count, and the fearless man of God is liable to suffer
harm. For, it is a fact, that people will profess to
admire fidelity in a minister, and yet quietly, but in a
most effectual way, resent it, when it strikes them, or
they think it strikes them, personally. In saying this I
know, most assuredly, whereof I affirm.
And here, before I forget, it, let me enter my most
solemn and emphatic protest against a practice which
is altogether too common, in churches of the purely
240 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
democratic order, where there is no effectual check upon
anything that is done, outside of the organization ; and
where, oftentimes, moral considerations which should
most prevail, seem to prevail the least, in certain exi-
2;encies. " Thou shalt not steal," might be shouted, in
stentorian tones, into the ears of some churches with a
measure of appropriateness and effect, when they are
intent, in their vaunted opulence and strength, in not
only coveting, but also really pilfering the best gifts, or
what they think the best gifts.
" We that are strong ought to bear the infirmities of
the weak, and not to please ourselves," is not acted
upon at all, but the reverse ; and hence the strong are
made stronger and the weak weaker. It is downright
robbery, and opposed, as clearly as anything can be, to
the spirit of Christ, and the plain statements and prin-
ciples of the New Testament— of which the above is a
sample — and yet men who call themselves Christians
seem to glory in it.
I have said there are different methods of securing
Pastors. So there are. The old time candidating plan
is considerably in vogue yet, and may never go out of
fashion altogether, but in the larger and more opulent
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 241
churches it is giving place, a good deal, to what we may
call the Committee Method ; and a committee, in the
modern ecclesiastical sense, may be composed of one
person or several. This committee may be appointed
by the church, or it may be self-appointed, as some of
them unquestionably are. In either case it is supposed
to contain the quintessence of the wisdom of that par-
ticular community. These brethren are credited,
generally, with knowing all about the needs of the
church, and as they have itii welfare deeply at heart,
they, of course, know what kind of a man is needed.
A committee of this kind varies very mnch in its
scope and powers. It may be limited, or it may be
practically unlimited. It may enquire, hear, judge,
decide, and then recommend, and its recommendation
may or may not be accepted by the church ; or it may
be understood that its recommendation, whatever it be,
will be accepted, which, of course, gives it, practically,
unlimited authority and power.
1 am not disposed, at present, to say which is best, or
even whether either is good. I have my doubts, and
serious doubts, and what I do think will be better known
and understood a little further on.
242 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWEb.
It is claimed for this method of securing a Pastor that
it has answered admirably in many cases. So it may
have, but I suppose it would not be difficult to prove
that those who have adopted it have been led, in many
cases, perhaps unconsciously, into grievous errors ; and
these are, to a large extent, necessarily incident to the
method itself.
One or more of the collective wisdom may be des-
patched, or may despatch themselves, to hear on the
sly some one whose reputation for excellence, in some
respect, has been wafted on the breeze of popular
applause.
The idea is that that they will be able to hear his
average sermon ; what he does at home, and what he is
able to maintain all the year round. Besides, they can
make enquiries, etc.
Do these missions always prove successful ? I fear
not. Are no mistakes made resulting in consequent
failure and disaster to somebody ? I think mistakes are
frequently made, and necessarily so too. Take one or
two cases in point, the verity of which you may rely
on.
^ was requested to go and hear B preach, ^nd repqrt
CHRISTIANITY REVIE\yED. 243
to C, which was the committee of a pastorless church in
a large city. A, went and heard the gifted brother, all
unawares of course to the brother himself, and duly sent
in his report, which was to the effect that " B was a man
of advanced ideas," a most indefinite and unfortunate
description. It might be commendatory or otherwise,
according to the construction placed upon it.
To a great many people a man of advanced ideas is a
veritable scarecrow, something to awaken considerable
apprehension, and make them fe^^l uneasy ; and, indeed,
something to be shunned. 0% he is one who is likely
to do considerable damage if let loose in any com-
munity, like the traditional bull in the traditional China
shop. He is supposed to have small respect for the
past, and for old worn out ideas and theories ; to be
exceedingly radical, and being a bold thinker there is no
telling when he will bring something out of his restless
brain that may come very near upsetting everything, and
turning the world upside down. He is altogether
theiefore a dangerous character, or if not as bad as that,
he is, at least, what some timid people call an imprac-
ticable man, which is nearly the same as being a
dangerous one.
244 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
To some, however, — and God be praised for it — he is
not all this, but something altogether different. He is
simply one who has brains, and courage, and industry
enough to do his own thinking, and consequently he
moves, advances, is a growing man, and is liable to
create a little life and movement in others, to their
unspeakable benefit, and, perhaps, to their eternal
advantage.
To make this veritable episode short let me say that
the man of advanced ideas was never asked to show
himself in that vacant pulpit, and it is safe to venture
the assertion that that unfortunate, but nevertheless
truthful, description, killed all his chances of ecclesias-
tical preferment in that direction.
Take another case. A committee rtpresenting a
vacancy in " the City of Churches," went to another
city of no mean importance or dimensions, to hear a
pastor of some repute, and make all due enquiry con-
cerning him, with a view of seeing whether they deemed
him suitable and competent to occupy the position of
pastor of the church which they represented.
What they thought of him as a preacher, when they
heard him, I aui not in a position to say, for the simple
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. ^46
and all sufficient reason that I have no information upon
that matter. The point I wish to make is, that in pros-
ecuting their enquiries —so unwisely will even wise men
act sometimes — they called upon the one man in the
whole community, who, unfortunately for him and all
concerned, was the pastor's avowed and open enemy.
And it was a case of
"I do not like you Dr. Hell,
Tlie reason why I cannot tell."
It was a very bad case, as all such cases are liable to be.
No dislike — I will not say hatred — is so bitter as that
which has no proper foundation, and which is alike un-
intelligent and unreasonable. Said He, whom no man
had any just cause to hate, " they hated me without a
cause."
What the result of the interview was may be easily
conjectured. It would be expecting too much from
human nature, and denying all human experience, to
prognosticate a favorable issue under the circumstances.
Nothing came of the visit of the mysterious strangers
as far as the Pastor was concerned, and even white robed
charity will admit that possibly a grave mistake was
made, and a great wrong done to some one. The Lord
have mercy upon us — poor miserable sinners !
246 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
Recommendations, and testimonials to character and
fitness, from men occupying distinguished positions in
the church, have come to be discounted considerably in
recent years, and it is believed by many with good and
sufficient reason. And yet the case is not unusual, even
now, when a leading man in college or church, especially
if he be self-assertive and naturally dominant, will wield
immense, and well nigh despotic influence, within a
given domain, more or less extended. He becomes a
sort of little pope, especially little ; that is, if you analyze
him closely you will probably find more of the little
than the pope after all.
I have known such men, and I am free to confess that
I have held them in great and merited contempt, and so
have you. And I have known churches so transparently
imbecile, and so abominably servile and foolish, as to
sacrifice their own individuality, and to accept men for
Pastors upon the simple fiat of such men. And also I
have known these said churches refuse to look at, much
less give a hearing to, men of unimpeachable character
and integrity, and undoubted ability, because the said
autocrat refused to nod his head in that direction. " O
foolish Galatians, who hath bewitched you, that ye
should not obey the truthJ"
CHRISTIANITY RfeVIEWED. 247
I am far from saying, or wishing to be understood,
that all influential men are of the stamp I have feebly
portrayed. I am willing to admit that men may become
influential by genuine goodness and undoubted ability,
and that there are such it would be unfair and ungen-
erous not to admit ; but I must be allowed to say that,
in my deliberate judgment, and as the result of consid-
erable experience and observation, they are largely in
the minority. Nor, perhaps, can it well be otherwise in
this essentially wicked and stupid world that is not
naturally friendly to goodness and virtue ; and the same,
I fear, must' be confessed ifi regard to many churches
where common sense is, unhappily, as rare as the queen
of virtues — charity.
The desire to secure pastors, who have m?de what is
called a good record, is a prevailing weakness of many
churches at the present day. Ask them what they
mean by a pastor who has made a good record, and you
will find they do not mean one eminent for piety, good-
ness, fidelity, purity, consecration, and other common,
but priceless virtues ; but they mean a man who has
made a great noise, and achieved some notable success ;
without enquiring, very particularly, into the nature and
248 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
reality of the success, or the means by which it has been
accomplished. They want, and they mean to have, a
man who has been a decided success somewhere, as
they understand success, in the hope, of course, that his
great abilities, or something else, will achieve results as
great and notable for them.
I say this is not uncommon, and it is thought by
many to be a right and praiseworthy ambition. I dis-
sent from this entirely, and without any hesitation am
prepared to afifirm and maintain that it is wrong in
principle, utterly delusive, oftentimes greatly disappoint-
ing, and even; in some cases,"disastrous to airconcerned.
God does not judge his servants by what we call suc-
cess. The rewards of the future will not be apportioned
upon that basis, but upon an entirely different one,
namely fidelity ; and it is neither right nor safe for the
church of Christ to depart from the Divine standard.
Besides it is essentially a worldly principle, and a
worldly spirit. It is regulating a sacred function, and a
religious institution, by secular policy and wisdom.
It is delusive too, for»we are poor judges of what suc-
cess is. We are very liable to make great and grievous
mistakes. The record is not always faultless ; not
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 249
always to be implicitly depended upon Sad as it is,
let it be known, and not readily forgotten, that as a rule
— whatever the exceptions may be— it is the untrust-
worthy schemer, and not the honest worker, that makes
the record that tells in statistics, and in religious papers
and periodicals, and upon which many rely who think
they are more than ordinarily wise.
And then, be it observed, that when success is not
largely fictitious, or merely apparent, but real and
substantial, it does not follow that the same or similar
results will be accomplished in another sphere by the
same worker. And it is just here that mistakes are
made that lead to disappointment and possible disaster.
The very qualities that ensure a Pastor's eminent success
in one sphere, far from making probable his success in
another, may lead to his comparative if not utter failure;
because there may not be the same fitness, and the
aptitudes and conditions are not unlikely to be altogether
different ; and upon fitness and harmony of conditions
peace and prosperity much depend.
This is not an exceptional contingency we are con-
sidering, but one of constant occurrence, and one which
many Pastors and churches have recognized with lasting
250 CHRISTIANITY RKVIEWEt).
regret when too late to remedy. So that we practically
come to this, that in the majority of cases at least, if not
all, it would be safer and wiser not to adopt the record
theory as a guide to action, and thus escape the tempt-
ations to covetousness and stealing. Leave the useful
and successful minister alone. If he is really doing an
important work, with more than average adaptation and
success, that is an all-sufficient reason for his remaining
where he is ; and no church that cares to be accounted
strictly honest, or that is really wise, will make any effort
to tempt him away. If, however, on the other hand,
the usefulness and tlie success are largely fictitious, and
therefore of the nature of a fraudulent pretence to
bolster up a reputation upon which to base a bid for a
rise, you have made a lucky escape, and may hope to
retain the sweet consciousness that " honesty is the best
policy."
Having offered these free criticisms upon some of the
prevailing methods for facilitating pastoral settlements,
I may be expected, and that not unreasonably, to offer
some suggestions as to the best and wisest course for a
church to pursue in that periodically recurring exigency
called a vacancy.
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 251
And here let me observe, at the outset, that the first
thing to be done is to get rid of the idea, so deeply set
and so prevalent, that a Pastor is absolutely necessary to
the usefulness and prosperity of a church. I say abso-
lutely necessary, for that is the ground generally and
practically taken I am far from meaning that a Pastor
is unnecessary, or that a church may be as useful and
prosperous without one as with. But I do mean that a
church properly constituted, and that has been well
instructed and trained, may and ought to maintain its
well-being and usefulness practically unimpaired without
a Pastor; and until such time as, unmistakably, the
right man makes his appearance.
It is somewhat amusing to call to mind some of the
stock phrases that have crept into use to describe a
church that is temporarily without a pastor. It is a
vacant church, a destitute church, a church in a desti-
tute condition, etc. Some prolific scribe who con-
tributes to the ne«rs column of the denominational
organ, or writes the annual letter to sister churches, will
say: "As a church we are destitute," and instantly
every one knows precisely what is meant ; and it may be
known to some that that same brother has been the
252 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
main instrument in causing that destitution which he so
pathetically describes, and seems so sincerely to mourn.
And then a church is sometimes spoken of, in equally
plaintive tone and language, as a flock without a shep-
herd— meaning, of course, an under-shepherd — and yet
this poor shepherdless flock may have, right in the
midst of it, one or two able-bodied shepherds ; but the
sheep have long since ceased to hear their voice, and
prefer the voice of a stranger.
These cases are not uncommon, and when they occur
they reflect no credit upon either the Christianity or the
wisdom of the churches concerned.
I will venture to suggest that the next thing to be
done is to adopt the best means, that are possible and
available, for the regular and efficient supply of the
puli)it. And I do not mean the supply of the pulpit
with the one prevailing and absorbing idea of securing a
Pastor, but simply with the view of making that import-
ariC branch of the church's work as useful and eff'ective
as possible in the inevitable interim. That is the one
imperative duty to attend to, and it should have all the
thought, and care, and time, and intelligent performance
which its paramount miportance merits. The very best
CHRISTIANIIY RKVIEWKP. 253
talent that is available should be got, and remunerated
as liberally as the resources of the church will allow.
I would not ask any one to preach on trial, or with a
view to a call, or as one brother very innocently, but
aptly put it, to be sampled. He was referring to a cer-
tain period in the history of a church, and to make his
meaning, as to time, plain, he said it was wiien there was
a vacancy, and they were engaged in sampling ministers.
I had never heard that particular descriptive phrase
before, and as it somewhat interested and aumsed me, it
stuck, and has lingered in my memory ever since.
There are two objections to this sampling process.
The first is that it is not very dignified, and proper
dignity in this transaction should count for something.
The second is that the best men are not liable to pro-
duce a very good specimen of what they can do, in an
ordinary way, when they know they are being sampled ;
and especially when the samplers are known to be so
different in their capacity, education and disposition ;
and many, perhaps, not very competent to form any
reliable judgment at all.
Throw the sampling to the winds, and fill the pulpit,
from Sabbath to Sabbath, with the very best talent that
254 . CHRISTIANITY REVlEWEt).
can be got, and the problem of settling a Pastor will
eventually solve itself ; and I believe in a more satisfac-
tory manner than by many of the methods that are
ordinarily employed to expedite that desirable end. Let
a church work faithfully, act wisely, wait patiently, and
the right man will, in due time, appear, and will not fail
to be recognized. Many churches have had to mourn
undue precipitancy, but few, if any, have had to regret
making haste slowly.
What are the advantages to be derived from following
out the course here suggested ? Several. Less mistakes
will likely be made ; more lasting settlements will be
effected ; the church will become more self-reliant ; and
its expectations, in regard to the Pastor, more moderate,
and its demands less exacting ; and this is certainly a
movement in the right direction.
When a church has successfully solved the problem of
obtaining a pastor, the next one that waits for solution
is how to retain him.
A good and efficient pastor is not only a valuable
acquisition, but he is worth making some effort to keep.
I do not know that anything can be offered in the way
of suggestion here, beyond what is obvious and com-
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 255
mon place, but even that may have some practical
value as contributing, in some measure, to the sum total
of truth in regard to an important relation, which cannot
but affect for good or evil the character and destiny of
many. Take a few suggestions :
I. The pastor should have the entire confidence of
his people, for without that he is like Samson shorn of
his locks, and weakness and instability must ensue. He
should not only have it, but he should know that he has
it, else it is nearly worthless. The knowledge of the
fact will create in him a feeling of content and satisfac-
tion ; and it will brace his mind, encourage his heart,
and nerve his soul to do the best that is in him.
This confidence should be made abundantly apparent
by deeds not words. Words are cheap, proverbially so ;
a cent a bushel would be quite a price for some of
them. Deeds cost something, perhaps more than
money, and thereby is their genuine worth attested.
'* My little children, let us not love in word, neither in
tongue, but in deed and in truth." i John, 3 ch. 18 v.
Of course in making these observations, I am assum-
ing that the Pastor is a man who is worthy of confidence,
and transparently so / and I mean by that, that it is so
256 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
apparent that you are not left in any doubt about it ;
neither do you have to look long and earnestly to
find it out. I assume also that his demeanor and con-
duct are such as to merit, without any faltering, its
retention. If, however, upon fair and trustworthy
grounds of observation, it is evident these are lacking,
confidence not only may, but should be withdrawn, and
the sooner the better, so that the worthy may be
protected, and the unworthy meet their just reward.
2. The second requisite for retaining a Pastor is to
give him cause to believe that his people have formed a
fairly just estimate of his worth and capabilities, so that
he will not be liable to be either over-rated or under-
rated. There is one thing that unthinking people don't
seem to realize, and that is, that their dear Pastor — as in
their gushing tenderness they sometimes call him — can
be as effectually injured by the over-estimate^ and
extravagant eulogies and compliments of his well mean-
ing friends, as by the reverse, proceeding from those
whose judgment and attitude are different.
Many a good man has wished, most heartily and sin-
cerely, and with just cause, to be delivered from his
friends ; for if he is a man of geuuine ability, he mil be
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 257
likely to form a moderate estimate of himself; and
whatever clashes with that may come as a surprise, if
not a pain ; and that sweet unconsciousness of the
genuine man, which is so charming and so rare, will be
disturbed. Besides, exaggerated estimates, and extrava-
gant eulogies, lead to possible disaster by creating
unreasonable expectations which can never be realized,
and which therefore are likely to end in disappointment.
But some, and perhaps many, think that the strongest
tendency is in the opposite direction, that of under-
rating a pastor. I can only say that neither my experi-
ence nor my observation confirms this view. But where
it does exist, as it certainly does in some cases, it is both
discouraging and injurious, alike to the pastor and his
charge, for both suffer together inevitably.
As a matter of fact truth cannot be sacrificed either
way without possible, and perhaps lasting, injury to all
concerned. No genuine man, and true hearted min-
ister, wishes to pass for more than he is, nor less ; and
only such is worth making any effort to keep. All else
is chaff which let the wind drive away.
3. The third requisite for retaining a pastor is that of
giving him an adequate temporal support ; and such a
N
258 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
support as will be a fair and respectable embodiment of
the financial ability of his charge. And I wish it to be
understood that it should be adequate not only so far as
his present and immediate daily needs are concerned,
but it should meet the contingencies of life ; and especi-
ally that supremest, and most common, and most
imperative of all contingencies, when he may, perhaps
for many years, outlive his vigor and his usefulness.
What an adequate support is may be an open question
generally considered. One thousand dollars per annum,
or less, may be adequate in one place ; and yet two
thousand may be only respectable poverty in another.
It is also true that the ministry, like other ranks of life,
furnishes examples of sad mis-management and extrava-
gance where no amount of salary avails to keep out of
debt. But these cases we may hope and believe are
rare, and we know the chances of a reckless expenditure
are very exceptional. Seldom is a Pastor's income
much of a temptation in that direction, but rather the
reverse. Of one thing I am sure that if you want the
best that a Pastor can do, and wish him to labor on with
average contentment and real vigor, you must contrive
to make his mind easy in regard to his financial coh'
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 259
dition, and outlook. Treat him liberally, and he will be
more likely to have his affections fixed upon where he
is, and what he has to do, and less upon some other
possible place where he is not. In other words, make
his position worth keeping, and worth laboring to keep,
— for remember he is human as you are — and wishes
to meet the world honestly as, you do.
4. A church should seek to cultivate the grace of
being considerate, and contrive to be reasonable and
moderate in its demands for service. " Thou shall not
kill," is still in force, and is as applicable to the individ-
ual church as the individual man. A man can be done
to death by over-work and anxiety as well as by slow
poison ; and severe as the statement may seem, I fear
the church of Christ is not altogether guiltless in this
respect. God only, absolutely, kncws, and where there
is blood He will surely make inquisition for it.
It is believed by some people, and not without reason,
that of all corporate bodies, that are said to be without
souls, a church can, in certain moods and circumstances,
be the most thoughtless, the most exacting, and even
the most cruel. It is certainly amazing with what com-
placency, or at least indifference, professing Christian?]
260 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
will look on while a pastor is visibly working himself
into the grave, and not utter a word of friendly and
intelligent remonstrance, or lend a helping hand to
avert, what must be a calamity to some, and perhaps to
many, the possible premature extinction of a useful
life.
And in saying this I am far from wishing to convey
the impression that all pastors are over-worked. There
are some who, no doubt, have the "pleasant places,"
and the " goodly heritage ;" but these do not fall to the
many, and not always to the most worthy.
Neither do I think it can be successfully maintained
that ministers, as a class, work harder for a living —
looking at their calling in that light — than men in other
walks of life. Indeed, I suppose the general opinion is
that they have a very much easier time than other
people. Neither extreme is correct. The ministry is a
laborious calling when the duties are faithfully per-
formed, but not more so than many others ; and perhaps
the average remuneration is not less ; but I think any
unprejudiced observer, who is competent to judge, will
admit that it is more liable to unreasonable expectations
and demands; and it is just here where the burden
CHRISTIANITY REVlfiWEt). S61
comes that leads to a temporary break-down, or an utter
collapse of the powers of endurance and effective work.
When this happens, as happen it does with moderate
frequency, the Christianity of the church is put to the
test.
The test, in many cases, is met nobly and well. In
others, to the eternal disgrace of those concerned, it is
not ; and the disabled Pastor is cast off, and left to shift
for himself, and solve the problem of physical regener-
ration unaided and alone. Am I severe ? I am not, or
if I am, know thou who readest these lines that it is the
severity of truth ; and if the mantle of shame cometh to
thy cheek so let it be. For me it is enough that " 1
speak that I do know, and testify that I have seen."
5. As a final, and somewhat practical, suggestion, let
me remark that if you wish to retain your Pastor, and
keep him in good health and strength for the effective
performance of his duties, you should give him an
annual vacation ; and insist, most strenuously, upon his
taking it, and using it in such a way as to best secure
the end sought, namely, his physical and mental
recuperation.
Of one thing I am as sure as I can be of any truth,
263 CHRISTIANITY UfiVIfeWED.
that any worker, especially a brain worker, and most
especially a ministerial brain worker, can do more
effective work in eleven months than he can in twelve ;
that is, if he use the twelfth wisely, and for the object
above indicated. Many a good man has mourr'ed in
secret, and felt grieved at heart over the want of thought
or the illiberality of his people in this particular. He
feels the need, but he will not beg, and he may not
wish, for proper reasons, to boldly prefer a claim. It
should not be necessary. Selfishness, if no higher
motive, should prompt the church not to permit but to
insist upon a needed change and rest. The bow must
be unbent, for a season, or it will not abide in strength,
nor shoot the arrow of truth with unerring aim.
He has, strictly speaking, no Sabbath. The day of
rest for all mankind is to him a day of exhausting toil,
and this contmues the year throughout. Neither can he
successfully make a Sabbath, for whatever his plans in
this respect may be, they are liable to daily and hourly
frustration. So much the more necessary that he should
have, without fail and without grudging, an annual
Sabbath. So let it be, and with a free hand, and a
willing heart ; and the fruit and blessing will be sure
and manifold.
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 263
Of course, if some ingenuously enquiring brother is
anxious to know how most effectually to get rid of a
Pastor — having perhaps some benevolent scheme of that
kind as a not remote possibility — I can only say, do,
and get as many of the dear people as possible to do
just the opposite of what has been advised with the view
of retaining him. Withdraw your confidence and take
special pains to let him know it. Persuade yourself into
an incorrect and unjust estimate of his worth and capa-
bilities, for that will create an atmosphere about you
which his moral sensibilities will not fail to detect.
See that his salary develops in the inverse ratio of his
needs, for it will tend to make him humble, and show
him most conclusively and convincingly that he should
not trust in man, nor expect the adequate rewards of
his labor here. Be as inconsiderate, unreasonable, and
exacting as possible. Don't let him have any vacation.
Keep him grinding out sermons all the time, or if he slip
away for a Sabbath or two without leave let him under-
stand that you don't like it, and that he had better not
repeat the experiment. Keep this up, faithfully and
persistently, and get as many as you can to join in the
hunt, and the chances are that the dear Pastor will ere
264 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
long find another sphere, if not here, then in the Great
Hereafter.
If you ask my advice about attempr'ng any or all of
the above, I say — Don't.
"Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no
harm."
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. ^^5
CHAPTER X.
The Ethics of Christianity.
What about them ? This much, at least for the
present, that they have come to be very much neglected;
in fact, for the matter of that, literally snowed under
that sum total of revivalistic theology, " only believe."
" Only believe," and then do what you like. " Only
believe," and then live a selfish, grasping, worldly life."
*• Only believe," and then be as unscrupulous as your
neighbors. " Only believe," and yet keep on acting the
Devil, and doing the Devil's work. *' Only believe,"
and then heaven will be opened to you some day, after
you have got all you can out of this world ; thus, making
the best of both worlds. Substantially and practically,
that is the theology of a great many so-called Christians
at the present day, and anything more odious or per-
nicious could scarcely be.
2GG CHRISTIANITY KEVlliWIil).
It makes Christianity a byword and a reproach amonp;
men. It comes near, very near, making even the
faithful stumble. It evokes the laughter of fiends and
the tears of angels. It is the great stumbling-block to
the onward march of truth. Christ is wounded in the
house of his friends, or professed friends ; for enemies
of the worst kind they certainly are.
Does this language seem extravagant ? If so, be it so.
Alas ! for once at least, it is the extravagance of simple
truth. What is here put down, in language not other-
wise carefully selected, except with the view of presenting
a condition of things known to exist— '"n all its naked
deformity and repulsiveness — is secretly acknowledged by
many who have not the courage of their convictions,
and who do not reprove and expose it as they should.
Alas ! for the watchmen on the walls, for a fearful day
of reckoning is surely at hand.
I am neither an alarmist nor a fanatic because I put
forth these sentiments without circumlocution or reser-*
vation. "I am not mad, most noble Festus, but speak
forth the words of truth and soberness." I am simply
giving utterance to — proclaiming upon the housetop — •
the unspoken convictions of hundreds and thousands,
cMristianitV RKVIEWED. «'f)7
who have eyes to see, ears to hear, and understanding to
understand, but who will not or cannot command their
tongues to speak the thought that is in them. Small
thanks, I suppose, I shall get for pushing a crusade
along this line, l)ut as I don't happen to be in quest of
thanks, I shall not be likely to meet with a very severe
disappointment.
Let me explain what I mean by the ethics of
Christianity. As ethics and rfiorals are synonymous,
and morals relate to character and conduct, therefore
the ethics of Christianity are related to and comprised in
the Christian life. They are the legitimate and inevit-
able fruits of a belief in the Christ of God. Faith in a
Divine person must, as a necessary result, produce a
Divine life, or a life approximr.ting to the Divine pat-
tern, just as certainly as effect follows cause. " Faith
without works is dead," and dead faith is no faith at all,
for faith is a living thing. It has life in it, and is neces-
sarily active and productive. Simple, and self-evident,
as this truth is, there is abundant and constant need for
its being emphasized, even at the risk of being charged
with preaching, what some people call a gospel of
works.
268 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
And, truly, there is a gospel of works, and h6 must be
blind indeed who fails to see it It is the outcome and
final analysis, and that by which each must stand to be
judged, and by which, in his deeper consciousness, he must
constantly judge himself. Need I remind you of the
twenty-fifth chapter of Matthew, that marvellous indict-
ment, and masterly summing up and application of all that
Christ said on earth. It runs along the line of works pure
and simple. We are givefi clearly to understand, in words
that r.o man need mistake, that whatever the grounds of
present connection and acceptance may be, the ultimate
analysis and judgment, which will decide the complexion
and condition of the future for each one, will be upon
the basis of what has been done, or not done. " Inas
much as ye have done it unto one of the least of these
my brethren, ye have done it unto me. ......
Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of these ye
did it not to me And these shall go away
unto everlasting punishment — but the righteous into life
eternal."
Thus, the tree — tlie human tree I mean — will be
judged not by the roots, nor by the trunk, nor by the
branches, nor by the leaves, and not even by the bloom
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 269
it may put forth, but by the fruit it bears. For heaven's
sake, and your own, don't mistake this thing ; and don't
forget that it is further said upon authority which cannot
be called in question — indeed, the same authority — that
*' they that have done good shall come forth unto the
resurrection of life, and they that have done evil unto
the resurrection of damnation."
You say you are saved. So be it ; but did you ever
sit down and calmly push thought and rt flection far
enough to find out and realize to yourself what is really
meant by that important statement ? Did you ever
think that possibly your life — your every-day life — may
be giving the lie to it. It is not necessary for your life
to be a grossly sinful one to do that. It may be out-
wardly decorous and correct, and more or less devout
and sincere — tint is, devout' and sincere on special
occasions — and yet it may fall so utterly and so con-
stantly below the Christ-life, in its general tenor and
level, as to place in doubt, or discredit your pretensions
altogether.
Again you say you are saved. By whom? from what?
and how ? These are three important questions you
should be able to answer intelligently and satisfactorily.
270 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
By whom ? You say by Jesus Christ. That is satis-
factory, and all that need be said.
From what ? From sin you- say. Right you are
agam, but be kind enough to yourself to try and take in
the full and literal significance of what you are saying.
Take the Apostle's definition, for it will help you much.
"' But now being made free from sin, and becon.e ser-
vants to God, ye have )0ur fruit unto holiness, and the
end everlasting life." How that word fruit comes in,
and the kind of fruit, " fruit unto holiness," and this
precedes and culminates in everlasting life.
You, like many others, as you unfortunately have been
taught, are thinking of and looking forward to everlasting
life as something absolutely secured, on a sort of commer-
cial basis, forgetting all the while the vital connection be-
tween it and the fruit unto holiness. You must not separate
these two, for God hati; joined them together. More-
over, ho^v can you say that you are saved from sin when
it is clearly apparent that it is constantly, and perhaps
increasingly, asserting its dominion over you. It is not
perceptible to others that you are daily growing into the
likeness of Christ, who knew no sin, but may be the
reverse. You have clearly and manifestly made a mis-
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 271
take here, perhaps for the want of a clear-cut definition
to begin with.
You, perhaps, think that being saved ifi sin is the
same as being skived from sin, but it is not so. Sin and
its consequences, ahhough as closely allied as cause and
effect can make them, are different, very different ; and
anyone who will think seriously for a moment will see it.
And you fondly and delusively imagine that because, by
a certain arrangement to which you say you have given
your personal acquiescence, you are delivered from the
latter you are therefore from the former. The fact is,
you may be, or you may not be ; but your character and
life — what you are and what you do — must be the
p'-oof, and the only proof available in the case. It is a
question of fact, and must be tested by experience and
not testimony.
This is simply rising to the level of what a Christian
should and must be, even upon the basis of the first
principles of the gospel of Christ ; and the sooner the
church comes to realize, and act upon the realization,
that the testimony of the life, and not thdt of the lips, is
the true revelation and test of Christian character and
standing, the better it will be for the church and for all
concerned,
272 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
It is a fact worthy of note — for in theological discus-
sion it is not unfrequently overlooked — that the conse-
quences of sin follow inevitably, so that there is no
actual deliverance from them, at least in this life. The
law of God cannot be broken with impunity by either
saint or sinuer, saved or unsaved. It is ceaseless in its
operation, and absolutely inexorable, and is no respecter
of persons ; for the broken law exacts its penalty from
all, and never fails. Indeed, from the nature of things
it cannot fail, any more than God can.
This consideration has weighed heavily upon the
minds of some people, and has raised what seemed to
them a formidable difficulty in regard to the gospel
scheme, which finds expression in the question : If
Christ suffered for sin — universal sin, the sin of all men
— why do we suffer ? This difficulty, formidable as it
may seem at first sight, instantly diappear"? when we
remember that Christ died for sin, died to save men
from sin, and not to free them from the natural and
inevitable operation of law.
The infraction of law has from all eternity, and will to
all eternity carry with it its appropriate penalty. "What-
soever a man soveth that shall he also reap." There is
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 273
no escape from that, either in this world or the next.
That is, and must be, a universal and endless law of
being.
So that instead of the glory of what Christ has done,
being, in anywise or to any extent, obscured by the
foregoing considerat'on, it is thrown into stronger relief,
and becomes more manifest ; and what we may be
permitted to call the ethical value is more clearly seen.
Christ lived and died to put a'v.iy sin. He dealt with
the primal cause of all evil. He didn't lop off the
branches, but struck at the root of the tree. He went
down to the foundation and source of all the sorrow and
wickedness of the world. He dealt with the cause, and
through that with the effects. " Behold ! the Lamb of
God which taketh away the sin of the worli." "Thou
shalt call his name Jesus for he shall save his people
from their sins." " He was manifested to take away
our sins." " He is the propitiation for our sins ; and
not for ours only, but also for the whole world."
" Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures."
" He hath made him to be sin for us." " He appeared
to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself." " Christ
was once offered to bear the sins of many."
o
274 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
It surely must be evident to the dullest understanding
what the meaning of these scriptures is. It is so plain.
Christ died for sin, to put away sin, to save men from
sin, to conquer sin, to kill sin ; and when believers in
Him rise to the level of desiring to be freed Jom sin
rather than from its conse([uences, as a primary consid-
eration, we may expect a higher type of Christian and of
Christianity. We do not deem him to repent after a
Codly sort who is simply sorry because of the evil effects
that come upon him as the result of his transgressions ;
neither should we regard him as believing after a Godly
sort who aims at escaping the penalty of sin rather than
sm itself.
The whole end and aim of faith in Christ should be
not escaping pains and penalties, present or future, but
escaping sin, and becoming daily more like Him, the
sinless One. ', '
The third question we noted waits for an answer.
How are you saved ? You say, of course, by believing in
Jesus Christ. Right you are again. The answer is
unquestionably correct, because it is undoubtedly scrip-
tural ; and yet how stereotyped and comparatively
meaningless, in a great many cases, that answer has be-
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 275
come. How much it does mean, and yet alas ! how
httle it imports in the average grade of testimony. It is
as deep as hell and as high as heaven — for it is the link
of power that saves from the one and e.\alts to the other
— and yet not unfrequently it is practically reduced to
the meagre dimensions of the assent of the understand-
ing to a recognized plan ; nay, it is sometimes not even
that, being only a meaningless, and, for the most part,
unintelligent repetition of a cold formula of words.
Do these strictures seem severe? It is the severity of
truth, and truth even when most severe is kind. Almost
anything is better than delusion, for scarcely anything is
more perilous, especially in things pertaining to the welfare
of the soul. Without losing sight — or wishing to lose sight
— of the vicariousness of Christ's sacrifice,and the doctrine
of substitution founded thereupon, it may be seriously,
if not absolutely questioned, whether the faith that does
not transform the life can save the soul. The faith that
justifies also sanctifies. The celebrated and oft quoted
text, " The just shall live by faith," means more than
justification, though that is the ordinary accepted mean-
ing. In fact, it is doubtful whether that is its primary
meaning at all. But even supposing it means that, it
276 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
means more, vastly more. It means that, by faith, the
life of the just, or the justified one, is regulated, sanc-
tified, ennobled, and made fruitful unto God ; and
where the latter is not clearly manifest the existence of
the former may be regarded as exceedingly doubtful.
Fortunately the New Testament does not leave us in
doubt as to the evidences, effects, and duties of the life
of faith. " How shall we that are dead to sin live any
longer therein." " Reckon ye also yourselves to be
dead indeed unto sin, but alive unto God through Jesus
Christ our Lord." " Let not sin therefore reign in your
mortal body." *' For sin shall not have dominion over
you." " Servants to righteousness unto holiness."
" Being made free from sin, and become servants to
God, ye have your fruit unto holiness, and the end
everlasting life." " We should bring forth fruit unto
God." " There is, therefore, now no condemnation to
them which are in Christ Jesus, who walk not after the
flesh but after the Spirit." " Be not conformed to this
world, but be ye transformed by the renewing of your
mind." *' Abhor that which is evil ; cleave to that
which is good." " Let us therefore cast off the works
Qf darkness, an^ let us put on the armoyr Qf light,'
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 277
" Let us walk honestly as in the day." " The temple of
God is holy, which temple ye are." " The body is not
for fornication, but for the Lord, and the Lord for the
body." "Ye cannot drink the cup of the Lord, and the
cup of devils ; ye cannot be partakers of the Lord's
table, and of the table of devils." " Let us cleanse our-
selves from all filthmess of the flesh and spirit, perfecting
holiness in the fear of God." '• That we should be holy
and without blame before him in love." " That ye put
off concerning the former conversation the old man, and
that ye put on the new man, which after God is created
in righteousness and true holines.^." " That ye may be
blameless and harmless, the sons of God, without rebuke,
in the midst of a crooked and perverse nation, among
whom ye shine as lights in the world." " Walk worthy
of God who hath called you unto his kingdom and
glory." " Follow after righteousness. Godliness, faith,
love, patience, meekness." " Let every one that nameth
the name of Christ depart from iniquity." " As obedient
children, not fashioning yourselves according to the
former lusts in your ignorance ; but as he which hath
called you is holy, so be ye holy in all manner of
conversation ; because it is written, be ye holy, for I am
278 CHRISTIANITV UIIVILWKD.
lioly." *' We being dead to sins, should live unto
righteousness." " What manner of persons ought ye to
be in all holy conversation and Godliness." "Whoso-
ever doeth not righteousness is not of (iod, neither he
that loveth not his brother." " For whatsoever is born
of God ovcrcometh the world ; and this is the victory
that overcomcth the world, even our faith." *' He that
doeth good is of God, but he that doeth evil hath not
seen God." " Who is he that overcometh the world,
but he that believeth that Jesus is the Son of God."
" Let your light so shine before men, that they may see
your good works, and glorify your Father which is in
heaven." '* Not every one that saith unto me, Lord,
Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven, but he
tlat doeth the will of my Father which is in heaven."
" Whosever heareth these sayings of mine and doeth
them, I will liken him unto a wise man which built his
house upon a rock." " He that abideth in me, and 1 in
Him, the same bringeth forth much fruit." " Herein is
my Feather glorified, that ye bear much fruit, so shall ye
be my disciples." " By their fruits ye shall know them."
" If a man love me he will keep my words." " Ye are my
friends if ye do whatsoever I command you." " In
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 279
every nation he that feareth Him, and worketh righteous-
ness, is accepted with Him." '* Glory, honor, and peace,
to every man that worketh good, to the Jew first, and
also to the Gentile." " To whom ye yield yourselves
servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey ;
whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto right-
eousness." ** We are his workmanship, created in Christ
Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained
that he should walk in them." "That He might redeem
us from all iniquity, and purify unto Himself a peculiar
people, zealous of good works." "This is a faithful
saying, and these things I will that thou affirm con-
stantly, that they which have believed in God might be
careful to maintain good works." " What doth it profit,
my brethren, though a man say he hath faith, and have
not works ; can (such) Hiith save him ? Yea, a man
may say, thou hast faith and I have works ; shew me
thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my
faith by my works. For as the body without the spirit
is dead, so faith without works is dead also." " Hereby
we do know that we know Him, if we keep His command-
ments. He that saith 1 know Him, and keepelh not his
commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.
280 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
But whoso keepeth His word, in him verily is the love of
God perfected ; hereby know we that we are in Him.
He that saith he abideth in Him, ought himself also so
to walk, even as He walked."
I need scarcely remind you that the last two, of this
somewhat long list of New Testament quotations, are
from James and John. How explicit and decisive their
statements are. Query whether they would not, if they
were here, make a good team to head a much needed
propaganda upon the basis of this truly apostolic
theology.
But taking the quotations as a whole — representing as
they do the very marrow and substance of all that the
Divine has given us upon this subject, for our instruc-
tion and admonition - can any one fail to see that holi-
ness, obedience, and fruitful ness flow inevitably from
faith in Christ ; and that where these are absent a
bastard faith is being cherished ; a faith which is nothing
more than the mere assent of the understanding, and
not the living faith which is "the gift of God," and is
born of the Spirit of God.
Two agencies, totally dissimilar, and as wide as the
poles in their methods, have contributed, in no incon-
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 26l
siderable degree, to dim the lustre of the Christian
name, and hinder the growth of a healthy and fruitful
Christian life— Churchism and Revivalism. One has
practically, though perhaps not intentionally, taught that
the church and its ordinances are all sufficient ; the
other with equal practicality, though probably void of
the intent, has produced a wide-spread impression that
an undeveloped faith in Christ is all that God requires,
or the soul needs.
There need not be any doubt in the mind of the
intelligent reader — who is noting carefully what is here
put down — in what sense the word churchism is used in
this connection ; neither will he fail to see, upon a
moment's reflection, that it has a somewhat widely
extended application. This peculiar ism is not confined
to any one particular church or denomination, although
it may be more manifest in some than in others. All
have it, more or less, consciously or unconsciously,
though not in an equal degree ; and it comes out in,
what may be called, a sort of deification of the ecclesias-
tical organism, and the attachment of undue importance
to what is merely the ceremonial expression of its life
Indeed, it is wonderful, in this wondrous age of pro-
282 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
gress in almost every department of life, that there
should be such clinging to the mere paraphernalia of
wo. ship and organized Christianity. It is more than
standing still ; it is going back.
Progress is in the direction of simplicity, and an in-
sistence upon, and cultivation of, the vitalities and the
essentials. Semblances are nothing, or next to nothing ;
truth and life, and what follows upon their development,
everything.
But the evil goes deeper than this. It seems to be
invested, as if by some subtle and malign power, with a
fatal and self-propagating tendency downwards. Not
only does this wide-spread indulgence in, and cultiva-
tion of, semblances lead to mistaking them for realities,
hut ultimately they come to be accepted as such ; and
all the more delusively and fatally, because, perhaps,
unconsciously. The stone is taken for bread, and the
serpent for a fish.
Any one who will take the trouble to examine care-
fully, cannot fail to see, that much of what Christ
charged against the church in His time, is, to a consid-
erable extent, applicable, in varying degrees, to the
church to-day ; showing that human nature, even m its
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 283
professedly best forms, has the same degenerating tend-
encies and weakness, in all times and places.
As an example of what is here meant take the follow-
ing : " But whereunto shall I liken this generation ? It
is like unto children sitting in the markets, and calling
unto their fellows ; and saying, we have piped unto you,
and ye have not danced ; we have mourned unto you,
and ye have not lamented." Matt, ii ch. 16-17 ^■■''•
I am quite aware that in quoting this passage, in this
connection, I am departing from the ordinary accepted
explanation of what must be acknowledged to be a
somewhat obscure reference. The fact is, the ordinary
recognized expositors don't seem to know precisely what
it means, hence the great variety of conjecture and
explanation. My impression is that Christ had a deeper
meaning than any usually conjectured, and one accord-
ant with common sense, and in harmony with many of
His other trenchant utterances concerning that gener-
ation ; namely, that He meant to charge that professedly
pious and eminently religious people with simply //^zj/vj;
at religion ; a state of things which, by the way, is not
uncommon at the present day.
As a sample of those trenchant utterances above re-
284 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
ferred to as harmonizing with this view, take the follow--
ing : " Woe unt,o you Scribes and Pharisees, hyprocrites !
for ye pay tithe of mint, and anise, and cummin, and
have omitted the weightier matters of the law ; judg-
ment, mercy and faith ; these ought ye to have done,
and not to leave the other undone. Ye blind guides,
which strain at a gnat, and swallow a camel." Matt.,
23 ch., 23-24 vs.
Perhaps sor.: '■uper refined Christian, or one claiming
to be such, may ask : Would you take away entirely the
esthetic element in religion ? Much depends upon your
ideas of the esthetic, and what you precisely mean. If
you mean what the word really imports, as applied to
Christianity, my answer is no. The esthetic has to do
with matters of superlative beauty, and of pure taste ;
and therefore Christian estheticism — if you will kindly
allow the phrase — is appropriately expressed and defined
thus : " Pure religion and undefiled before God and the
Father is this, to visit the fatherless and the widows in
their affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the
world " James, i ch., 27 V. That means, be good, and
do good, which should be, and is, the highest ideal of
man. Can there be anything more beautiful, or in
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 285
better taste, than love and purity ; a heart overflowing
with practical sympathy for Cod's afflicted ones, and a
soul while and clean, free from the defilement of the
world ?
Ah ! but you say, that is not what I meant by
esthetic. No, my friend, I know it is not what you
meant. You meant something altogether different, not
quite so high and pure as that, and therefore you are
one of those to whom the scorching words, already
quoted, may apply : " Ye pay tithe of mint, and anise,
and cummin, and have omitted the weightier matters of
the law— judgment, mercy, and faith."
Possibly, and even probably, the most injurious
manifestation of churchism, from which the present
generation of Christians is not by any mean^: free, is
that which shows itself in the pride and selfishness of
the individual church, and in denominational arrogance
and exclusiveness. There is nothing more pitiable, and
scarcely anything more discreditable to the Christian
name. It is an offence alike to common sense, to
humanity, and to the Lord of all. It is essentially a
worldly spirit, and therefore utterly at variance with the
spirit of Christ, and all He said and did on earth ; as
286 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
well as being opposed to the most solemn and repeated
admonitions to individual believers and churches con-
tained in the epistles : " Let nothing be done through
strife or vain glory ; but in lowliness of mind let each
esteem other better than themselves." Phil, 2 ch. 3 v.
Whenever I hear a member of any particular church or
denomination, however high he may be ecclesiastically,
vaunting the pre-eminence, and the distinguished excel-
lence and success of the communion to which hj
belongs, I pity him with all sincerity, for I know he has
much to unlearn and much to learn, and may be much
to suffer in heavenly discipline, before he can attain the
sweet temper, and rise to the simple level of the Christ-
life. One only is paramount, and He says : " Learn of
me, for I am tneek and lowly in heart." " One is your
Master, even Christ, and all ye are brethren^
I have many times asked myself the question, How is
it that so many believers in Christ utterly belie His
spirit, and not only fall short of His meekness and
gentleness, and His simple and pure life, but exhibit
characteristics that are the very opposite, and not in a
mild, but in an intense degree ? I confess I have
sought long and earnestly, looked over and under, and
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 287
all round, for an answer that will not seem harsh and
uncharitable, but in vain.
Truth which is immutable and eternal, and keeps on
its majestic way in spite of us, demands that the answer
shall be, that there are many professed believers who are
not believers at all. They are deceiving themselves, for
" if any man have not the Spirit of Christ he is none of
His."
I once heard a very earnest and godly man expound-
this text, and he contended — very sincerely no
doubt, but I think erroneously — that the spirit there
means the Holy Spirit. I confess, I prefer the meaning
that lies upon the surface, and that the words oO plainly
convey. But even supposing the Holy Spirit : i meant,
we reach the same conclusion, not with diminished, but
added force ; for " the fruit of the spirit is love, joy,
peace, long suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meek-
ness, temperance" — certainly the very spirit of Christ.
So, it is a delusion, of the worst and most fatal kind, to
cherish the thought that you believe in Christ, and are
born of the spirit, if your life does not bear the fruit
here indicated. You might as well affirm that a cause
can exist and operate without producing its appropriate
effect,
288 CHRISTIANITY REVIKWED.
Before proceeding to offer any criticisms upon Modern
Revivalism, in its relation to Christian ethics, let mc
carefully restate the position I have taken, so as to
guard against any misapprehension of my meaning in
regard to so important a subject. I say, Revivalism as
it is ordinarily conducted — whatever the exceptioiis may
be, and there doubtless are exceptions — has tended, in
no inconsiderable degree, to dim the lustre of the
Christian name, and hinder the growth of a healthy
Christian life ; and that by producing a widespread
impression that an undeveloped faith in Chiist is all that
God requires, or the soul needs.
And be it observed that reference is here made not
alone to the efforts of professional Revivalists, — that is,
men who are consecrated wholly to this kind of work —
but also to the periodic efforts which occur in the
individual church, with or without extraneous, supple-
mental aid, and which generally come about at certain
seasons of the year, which are supposed to be most
favorable for originatmg, and carrying forward to a suc-
cessful issue, a special work of grace.
These special efforts are, in some sections of country
and among certain classes of Christians, called " pro-
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 289
traded meetings," and they are not inappropriately
named ; and the truly herculean efforts that are some-
times made " to get up an interest," indicate that there
is considerable dependence upon the human ; and that,
possibly, vocalized force, and emotional effervescence
are being mistaken for divine impulsion.
Another phase of revivalism is that of the earnest and
enterprising pastor, whom you meet with here and there,
who is determined, for some reason best known to him-
self and to God, to have his church in a state of constant
revival. He thinks that should be the normal condition
of the church, and perhaps it should if it be real, for
then only will the results achieved stand the grinding
tests of time and circumstance. All depends upon
reality, and reality depends upon submission to Divine
conditions and conformity to Divine methods.
It must be confessed, however, — and I do it with
deep sorrow — that instances of these enterprising breth-
ren, who seek to maintain a state of perpetual revival, or
what passes for such, have come within the sphere of
my observation, where the methods adopted, and the
motives that shone through them, have been so trans-
parently and excessively human that scarcely any stretch
p
200 CHRISTIANITY RKVIKWPID.
of charity could associate them with the Divine. In
such cases it is clear, even to a mind of ordinary acute-
ness, that numerical success, or the reputation of being
successful, —that Clod whom so many ignorantly worship
— is looked upon as the one thing most to be desired,
and by all means possible attained. Motives are not
examined very critically, nor methods scanned too
closely, because it is somehow complacently assumed
that the means will find their complete justification in
the end. Thus, alas ! doth it come to pass that the
worship of this strange god perverts the judgment, and
blinds the eyes of the miserable devotees.
Oh ! when will men try to keep in memory the most
notable object lesson ever given to the world, the
greatest defeat, or seeming defeat, resulting in the
grandest victory — the Christ upon the cross. He did
not seek victory. He simply and solely sought to do
the will of His Father, and victory came without seek-
ing. So will it come to every true servant of God, who,
with pure intent, seeks to do and suffer His will, and is
content to leave the results with Him, who is the only
infallible judge of the times and seasons for the mani-
festation of His power in the outpouring of His Spirit
upon men,
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 291
If the reader should conclude from these criticisms
that I am opposed to revivals, let me inform him that he
has come to a false conclusion, and one that the criti-
cisms do not justify. I am not opposed to revivals.
No true Christ's man can be, for it is thus, when (lod
vvilleth, that the Divine Sovereignty, and the Almighti-
ness of the Spirit are made conspicuously manifest for
His own glory, and for the good of men ; and even the
world is compelled to look on with surprising wonder,
and exclaim surely this is the power of (lod. When
God works there is no mistake about it, and criticism is
silenced because it is unnecessary, and, indee*. im-
possible.
What I object to is that human devices, however skil-
fully and successfully executed, should pass for Divine
working. I know that God works through the human —
that is, through the human presentation of a Divine
message, but when the human is painfully conspicuous,
far more conspicuous than the Divine, I have reason,
and good reason, to be skeptical about the genuineness
of the operations themselves, and of the results
achieved ; and I am compelled to accept at a consider-
able discount their possible ethical value.
292 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
And then again, it is a matter open to very serious
speculation whether, after all, the ordinary level of
Christian life is not perceptibly lowered by a constant
and almost exclusive insistence upon one truth, however
important, and the straining after large and immediate
results upon the basis of that truth.
But you say, the truth is important and fundamental.
I admit that it is, and for that very reason I insist that
it shall be used as such. Lay it as a foundation, and
the true foundation, and then go on and develop the
other important truths, the understanding and assimil-
ation of which, by the individual soul, are necessary to
" growing unto a holy temple in the Lord."
A good foundation is of great and indispensable value
in regard to the edifice that it is proposed to rear upon
it, but apart from that it has no meaning, and is neither
valuable nor useful. Indeed, it is worse than useless,
for it is cumbering ground that might be more profitably
occupied ; and is unsightly and repugnant. And if we
follow the analogy that comes to the surface here — and
it is not unworthy of recognition — we shall plainly see
why so many professing Christians are so useless and so
unlovely in their lives ; people who instead of being
attractive are positively unattractive and repellant.
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 293
They professed faith in Christ, perhaps during some
season of special interest, when excitement ran very
high, and, may be, intelligent conviction ran correspond-
ingly low. When the season was over they settled
down into a conviction of security for time and for
eternity, but they forgot all about the building opera-
tions that ought to have immediately followed. We
look, expecting to see a manifest change in the life, and
a fair super-structure of Christian character arise, as
stone on stone is laid of pure and noble thoughts and
deeds. But alas ! we look in vain, in a great many
instances. If there is not absolute vacancy, wu see or
hear only a confused mass of Pharisaical notions and
ideas, interspersed, it may be, with vain exhortations to
other people to believe, that would scarcely do credit to
a parrot ; a lot of " wood, hay, and stubble," which the
first unfriendly wind or fire will scatter, or burn up.
But you say you are on the true foundation, and you
know it. Then, in God's name, and for your own sake
and others, set to work and build. Don't talk ; build.
If you are satisfied the foundation is all right, and you
say you are, let that conviction suffice for all time, and
go straight on and build. Build something that God
294 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
will sanction, that your own purest convictions will
approve, and that men and angels may regard with
favor, and give glory to God for it.
Go into the quarry of intelligent, unreserved obedi-
ence, and you will get there any amount of building
material. No lack will you find, but enough and to
spare. Eternity — to say nothing of time — will not ex-
haust it, for improvement and increase come by use
And as each stone is quan.fd, and cut, and polished,
and put in its place under che eye of the Master, the
fair super-structure of a consecrated manhood will arise,
imposing and symmetrical, and like unto His because in
obedience to Him Obedience ! Obedience to Christ !
Yes, that makes a Christian what he should be, like unto
his Lord. Not merely obedience to a few sacramental
directions, but that of the whole life, heart, and soul.
That builds character, guides conduct, and makes life
pure and brave.
" Men of the 97th follow me," said the saintly Hedley
Vicars as he leaped the trenches before Sebastapol, when
his keen eye caught sight of the foe stealthily advancing
under cover of darkness. " Follow me," h'=' said again
as he turned his face to beckon on his men, and with
CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED. 295
sword uplifted pointed out the way. Just at that
moment a pale moonbeam smote the glittering blade,
and illumined the face of that brave and saintly man,
and at that moment he fell. The loved leader had led
his last charge, and men with strong arms and beating
hearts surrounded the prostrate form, and bore him
back to his tent, where, in a few short hours, he breathed
out his brave, sweet life.
Thus died Captain Hedley Vicars, A man of rare
qualities of mind and heart. His Christianity was as
conspicuous as his regimentals. He served Christ as
faithfully and as bravely as he served his Queen and
country. He was a lovable man ; loved by all who
knew him, and deeply lamented in death, especially by
the men of the 97th who knew he was brave, and knew
he was a Christian.
Perchance he learned that battle cry from the captain
he so fervently loved, and so faithfully served. " Follow
me " fell from the lips of the greatest leader of men the
world has ever known, or ever will. It has come down
the centuries to us not with diminished but with added
force by the lapse of time ; and when it is fully under-
Stood and heecjed, by all who believe in Him, there will
296 CHRISTIANITY REVIEWED.
be such an awakening, and such a manifestation of
spiritual life and power, as this round globe has never
yet witnessed.
Far off as this brighter dawn may seem, it is coming,
surely coming. Coming, not with blare of trumpet and
loud acclaim, but as the light cometh, silently, softly,
yet irresistibly. Coming, in the pure radiance of conse-
crated lives, reflecting " the brightness of His glory, and
the express image of His person." In that day, that
which was proclaimed from the beginning, as the proof
and bond of Christian brotherhood, will be universally
accepted : " Whosoever shall do the will of My Father
which is in heaven, the same is my brother, and sister,
and mother."
THE END.
l^