JMII i ii nun IMIIIIIIIII iiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii" rJW"~ M. C. CHURCH, SOUTH. CHARLESTON, S. C. .' ----- No. RULES OF THE LIBRARY. I. The Teachers will be considered responsible for the books taken by their scholars. II. Scholars must not receive a second book until the one previously taken is returned. Til. Teachers are desired to inspect the books a- returned. Scholars will be expected to pay i for all books mutilated or lost by them. IV No book will be exchanged after having been selected by a scholar. E V. Books will not be given to new scholars until their regular attendance as permanent n lembers is assured. |^ VI. Books niii-t. not be kept out more than two weeks, except by being returned and re-charged.. iMimiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiHiiiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiimMiiiiiiiiiiiMiiiiiiiiiiiiiii THE EDITOR-BISHOP: LINUS PARKER, His LIFE AND WRITINGS BY REV. CHAS. B. GALLOWAY, D.D. Editor of the \ciu Orleans Christian Advocate, WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY BISHOP McTYEIRE. NASHVILLE. TENN.: SOUTHERN METHOMST Pt'BLISHIXO HOUSE. 1886. Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1886, HY THE BOOK AGENTS or THE METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, SOVTH, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 1 c SANTA BARBARA CONTENTS. INTRODUCTION (by Bishop McTyeire ) 7 HIS LIFE. ( 'HATTER I. Birth and Boyhood 17 CHAPTKR II. Early Religious History 23 CHAPTER III. Call to the Ministry '27 CHAPTER IV. His First Circuit SI CHAPTER V. Two Years at Shreve{x>rt 36 CHAPTER VI. First Year in New Orleans 43 CHAPTER VII. First Year in New Orleans (Continued) 57 CHAPTER VIII. The Diligent City Pastor , C2 CHAPTER IX. < 'orrespondence Up the River 70 CHAPTER X. Second Marriage John ("'. Burruss 87 CHAPTER XI. Again in the Country ' 9o CHAPTER XII. Twelve Years an Editor 99 CHAPTER XIII. Three Years a Bishop 103 CHAPTER XIV. Personal Tniits and Characteristics 107 CHAPTER XV. Last Hours and Burial .' 113 (3) 4 CONTEXTS. HIS WRITINGS. THK PREACHER CALLED. rAO Call to the Ministry 123 The Ministerial Woe 126 THE PREACHER AT WORK. ( H.dl y Craft 131 Comforting God's People 134 What and How to Preach 137 ( 'mmilative Preaching 141 THE PREACHER IN METHODISM. The Itinerant School 144 One Advantage of Itinerancy 148 THE PREACHER, YOUNG AND OLD. The Young Preacher 151 The Old Preacher 1 >"> THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD. Added to the Church 161 Church Pillars 104 Counting the Cost 167 Garments not Defiled 171 THE WORLD IN THE CHURCH. Forbidden Diversions 175 Loose Notions 179 Recreation in Religion 181 Peril to Methodist Experience 184 FAMILY RELIGION. Children at Home 187 The Bible at Home 1 90 Prayer in the Family 192 The Son of Thine Handmaid l'.". SOUL EDUCATION. Training for the Life to Come 199 At the Feet of Jesus 202 Waiting for the Lord 2<>~> CHRISTIAN DUTIES. The Duty of Pleasing 209 Helping One Another 2 1. '> Serving the Will of God Jlo CONTEXT?. 5 CHRISTIAN GRACES. HA01 Contentment 219 Love in Religion 222 The Denial of Self 225 The Grace of Gentleness 228 The Edifying Grace '23 1 The Surprises of Grace 235 THE BELIEVER'S POSSESSIONS. "All Things are Yours " 240 The Secret of the Lord 243 Christ's Sympathy 24ti Melody in the Heart 250 Divine Companionship 253 PRAYKR. Learning to Pray 257 Christ's Example in Prayer 200 Prayer and the Holy Spirit 264 Prayer Ended . 267 MISSIONS. Loosing from Troas 272 Jonah and Foreign Missions 276 The Appeal of Missions 280 An Old Objection to Missions 284 Dead and Buried , 287 THE MISSION OF OOM>. Christ Over Against the Treasury 289 Cost of Souls 292 Economizing for God 296 Sowing Money 299 FROM GRACE TO GRACE. The Birth of the Spirit 303 After Conversion 306 The Spiritual Face 310 The Glory in Us 313 Shining More and More 317 THE LIKES OF THE KINUOOM. Inspired Comparisons .".'JO Like Passions 32:5 Child-likeness.. . 326 6 CONTENTS. PLANTING AND TRANSPLANTING. ftat Planted in the House of the Lord 330 Transplanting . 333 TEACHINGS OF THE CLOUDS. Clouds Without Water 337 Clouds After the Rain 340 The Wind and the Clouds 343 DAYS AND SEASONS. Thanksgiving 348 Christmas Greetings 350 New-year 353 The Gospel of Spring 356 The Fall of the Leaves 361 Birthdays 363 LIGHT OUT OF DARKNESS. Out of a Dark Room 367 Not Orphans 370 God's Chastisements 373 The Discipline of Failure 376 THE LIFE THAT Now Is. As a Tale that is Told 379 " L Would not Live Alway " 382 The Duty of Living 384 Nothing to Live For 388 THE GRAVE AND BEYOND. The Death of Friends 393 Dying as a Little Child 397 What We shall Take with L's '. 400 Heaven a Character 403 MlSCKI.LANEors. One Office of the Spirit 406 Golden Vials Full of Odors 409 The Heated Term 413 The two Marvels of Jesus 415 Old and New Methodism 419 Elijah's Mantle 422 The Cake and the Cruse 425 Lenten Cook-books 429 Revival Expedients 432 An Effectual Quarantine 435 INTRODUCTION. SUCH a life as Linus Parker's ought to be lived over again many times. A character like his deserves to be perpetuated by a memo- rial. The world was the better for his presence, and this benefit may be prolonged and extended by a suitable portrait, now that he has left it. There was a healthful Christian influence emanating from Linus Parker, as a man and a minister. His virtues were real and im- itable. There was no quality abnormal, eccentric, or of doubtful import about him; no precocious growth; no moral rebate; nothing strained or sensational. A sound mental constitution; a genial, but not excessive, social temper; a taste for the true and beautiful as natural as is an ear for music; and a generous heart these formed in him a basis upon which the purifying and consecrating Spirit wrought a model character and a useful life. It is allowable here to describe my first impressions of him, and the beginning of our acquaintance. The coloni?,ing policy of New Orleans Methodism had been car- ried to excess. Three weak stations (or missions) Steele Chapel, Andrew Chapel, and St. Mary's occupied ground in the upper part of the city, which one commodious and central church could supply. Each had its own Quarterly Conference and officers, and claimed the privilege of enjoying its little autonomy, and of starving a preacher. William F. Brown, the pastor of the first, had died of yellow fever the year before the time of which I write; and Henry B. Page, on his way from Conference to take charge of the second, had been lost in the burning of the Yallobusha steamer, on the Mississippi River. BUhop Paine decided to unite these three charges into one, and in JMUODLCTIOX. December, 1848, sent me from the Alabama Conference to effect this reorganization ; and with the consolidated congregations and thi'ir assets small indeed, two of the three structures being built of " Hat- boat " lumber to build a good church somewhere near the corner of Magazine and Felicity streets. This task was not accomplished with- out friction; the majorities were willing, but there were unwilling minorities. The situation suggested a text Psalm cxxii., last four verses; and one Sunday, early in 1849, while preaching on this text in one of the three conventicles, my attention was attracted by a young man in the congregation: jet-black hair, and fine eyes of that shade; slender, and of full height. Possibly I had se?n him before, but now for the first time I perceived him. He had about him the earnest, abstracted air of one who was revolving a great and devout question. He was such a listener as the pulpit feels. Well do I re- member how his responsive attention caused the preacher to expand a certain part of the sermon beyond the original plan. Linus Parker was at that time hearing the voice, " Son, go work to-day, in my vineyard." And he answered and said, "I go, sir;" and went. After that day the parsonage was often favored with his company. From the way he quietly walked into the heart of every member of the household and took his seat there, and was ever at home, I un- derstood the mystery of those friendships, tender and strong, which he formed elsewhere through life. There was no mannerism, no wordiness, no set effort to make himself agreeable; but a modest consciousness of truth in the inward parts that seemed to say: "I am in no hurry; I like you, and when you come to know me you will like me." He succeeded me at Felicity Street Church, and my family fell heir to that nourishing discourse and gentle pastoral care which never can be forgotten. My wife insisted he had but one fault: Whenever you quoted any sentiment or told him of any thing that had occurred which he did not like, his dissent was so abruptly expressed as to leave on you an uncomfortable feeling, as though you were responsible for tho sentiment or the occurrence. INTRODUCTION. 9 It was in that pulpit, and over that congregation, I witnessed with deepest approval his pastoral methods. For though lie was not a re- vivalist, as some understand the term, seldom did a year pass under his ministry without a revival. There were special seasons of re- freshing; souls were converted and added to the Church. He hon- ored the preaching of THE WORD, and looked for the Spirit to use it for conviction and quickening and salvation. Nice though his taste was, he would listen without weariness and with unaffected pleasure to the humblest embassador of God who had something to say based on God's word. I can never forget his criticism to which he was little given upon hearing a popular preacher. In reply to my question, " How did you like him ?" his hand was lifted to his face and impatiently waved off a characteristic gesture: "No ideas. Vox, et prcrierea nihil." He loved diggers into the mine of truth, however rougli their tools. Linus Parker would have been an acceptable contributor to the Spectalotijn Addison's day. The nom deplume under which he wrote for the New Orleans CMttim Advocate was taken from the steam-boat on which he ascended Red River, "Woodsman." It required no keenness of editorial instinct to discern, by his first paper, that he had a gift. The manuscript needed correction in one particular only: it had no paragraphs from beginning to end it was run to- gether in an unbroken whole. And this was the style of his ser- mons. The divisions were in his own mind, and the occult, logical processes were evolved and thrown off without any breaks. There were no " firstlys " and " thirdlys" and " fmallys." The effect of his sermons remained with you, but it was hard to reproduce them. As a Church officer, in any capacity, he had these excellent quali- ties: intense admiration for truth and honesty, great love of justice, proneness to take the side of the weak, and, without being suspicious, he was so judicious that no "ring" could capture him. The Christian experience of Linus Parker by no means a solitary case presents a problem which I could wish to solve, or so to pre- sent it that others, more capable, might furnish the solution. His 10 INTRODUCTION. acquaintances might suppose that his religious life began when the young man attended the meeting at old Poydras Street Church, in New Orleans, went up to be prayed for, joined the Church, and at- tached himself to the Sunday-school and the class-meeting there. But, in fact, he was converted years before that even when he was a little child. How can we make the most of childhood religion, conserve it, develop it? What can be done for those who are in the perplexed, perilous, lamentable condition of backsliders from that blessed estate? How can that dropped stitch be picked up, or 'connection be made over that missing link? Or, rather, how can this too often occurring lapse be prevented? As a tree when rived up sometimes shows signs of violence that was done to the twig, so these signs of arrested moral development frequently meet us in the analysis of noble lives. I have heard his missionary speeches highly commended by good, judges; but the best platform addresses I ever heard from him were in favor of the temperance cause. He went, from the first, very heartily into that reform movement; but was a modest and moderate smoker. " Brother & ," he remarked, on lighting one of a fra- grant bunch of Havanas which a friend had presented him, "I do like a good cigar. It is such an antidote to fanaticism." I never saw him perpetrate the clerical vulgarism of smoking along the streets, or around the doors of a church. Well has it been said : " There are practices so unbecoming the ministerial vocation as to be inexpedient, and so inexpedient as to be unlawful. Christian ministers are, among other men, like statues upon a high pedestal, which must be larger than life to appear of life-size." There was somewhat worth studying in his friendships. Not quick to ingratiate himself into favor, and never a seeker after pop- ularity, he nevertheless numbered friends among the most different and even opposite classes of people; and, though not compromising in his disposition, I doubt if he ever lost a friend after once gaining him. In penetration of character he was not lacking; but he abounded in the charity of common sen-*' :is well a <>f piety. He looked not for INTRODUCTION. 11 perfection, and the presence of certain sterling and well-ascertained qualities atoned for much that was not according to his own mind. He enjoyed the prayer of the negro exhorter : " Lord, help us to put up with people you puts up with, and to bear with them you bears with." With felicitous tact he seized the right point of view from which to develop a text. To unravel a tangled subject, he began at the right place, wherever that was. And so he would, without any taint of moral indifferentism or the least affectation, look upon the best side of character; or, may be, make the most of the one virtue that hid a multitude of faults. Of the various positions filled by him in the Church of God pas- tor of a congregation, presiding elder of a district, editor of an ecclesiastical organ, General Superintendent I make no question but that the first was most congenial to his taste. Personal convenience and social and spiritual comforts all lay in this direction, and along this line of duties. To have "a people;" to be in close contact witli them, and enjoy the intimate relations and sympathy of a pastor's life; to watch the growth of individual religion, and minister to it; to know every one of his flock by name, and be known and loved by them this is a rare delight. No one, with his fine temperament, ever passed beyond this sacrod sphere into wider cares without look- ing back to it with regretful longings. Whatever of honor is im- plied by the summons of the Church to serve in more public places, and to bear heavier burdens, finds its offset in this separation from the throbbing heart of a spiritual family, and in the details of admin- istration. The election of Linus Parker to the office of Bishop in the Meth- odist Episcopal Church, South, by the General Conference of 1882, was at once a surprise to him, and a gratification to those who knew his abilities and his worth. At the first question propounded in his consecration to the office, he naturally hesitated. The Ritual has it: "Ques. Are you persuaded that you are truly called to this minis- tration, according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ? . "Atix. I am so persuaded." INTRODUCTION. But, while he conscientiously pondered the matter, before stand- ing before the congregation to take vows, light was thrown upon the question by an ordination service that occurred several years before: "Ques. Do you think in your heart that you are truly called, ac- cording to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ, to the order of elders ? "Ans. I think so." The call of the Head of the Church was, in both cases, providen- tially indicated to him by the free suffrages of his brethren, in a representative capacity. Dr. Summers, in his learned Commentary on the Ritual a book that might be studied to profit by preachers has this note: "Are you persuaded that you are truly called to this ministration, ac- cording to the will of our Lord Jesus Cliristf He may answer in the affirmative if he has been chosen by the free suffragesof his brethren, feels that he lias reasonable qualifications for it, and that he is in- fluenced to it by pure motives." It is possible that the history of simony, and of the corrupt prac- tices of State Churches, might disclose the origin of that question in the past. It remains a proper question still, for the possible evils it suggests or guards against. A preacher of excellent standing thus addressed another, in whose friendship and judgment he confided: "I have been written and spoken to by several persons about my election to the episcopacy. What shall I do?" The answer was: "Do nothing. As you fear God, and love the Church, and seek the path of safety which is the path of duty go right along as though no General Conference were approaching; doing nothing, of purpose, to promote your election ; and, on the other hand, doing nothing, of purpose, to prevent it. A soldier may not maim himself to keep from being detailed or drafted for any service. Ambition, self-seeking, and intrigue are entitled to no position in the Church. Hold an even scale; and then you can conscientiously accept the result of the balances and of the ballots. If you are thus elected, expect official grace for official usefulness; and, without ser.iplo, answer the question that meets you on the INTRODUCTION. threshold: 'Are you persuaded that you are truly called to this min- istration, according to the will of our Lord Jesus Christ?' " Unreservedly might Linus Parker say, " I am so persuaded." Brief, hut full and faithful, was his term of episcopal service. The first two years were given to the Texas Conferences, where it was my lot to follow him the next two just closed. Everywhere his name, among people and preachers, was as ointment poured forth. Another year's labor in a different part of the Connectional field showed the same painstaking and wise administration, edifying preaching, and blameless example. Then, with portfolio full of ap- pointments for District Conferences and special occasions, and the eyes of the Church turned on him with loving hope and large ex- pectation, it pleased the Master to dismiss his servant from labor, and to call him to the exceeding great reward. The following pages, by a most competent and appreciative hand, set forth the life and character of my beloved and lamented friend and colleague. I approved the design, and am thankful for the priv- ilege of making the least contribution toward its fulfillment. H. N. February 24, 1886. = -1?-f>-. Iiife. (15) KHiPTER L BIRTH AND BOYHOOD. T IN US PARKER was boi-n on the 23d of April, 1829, ll near the town of Vienna, in Oneida county, State of New York. His parents John and Alvira Parker were natives of Connecticut, and of the finest New England blood. To their sturdy virtues, strong characters, and pure, evan- gelical Christianity Linus was indebted, by the law of he- redity, for the characteristics that gave him greatness. " Monica is better known by the branch of her issue than the root of her parentage," said the eloquent Fuller of the pious mother of St. Augustine. And so, however honora- bly descended, the names of John and Alvira Parker will be best, remembered as having borne, trained, and given to the Lord a son of seraphic spirit and apostolic labors. His father was born in Watertown, Litchfield county, Connecticut, August 12, 1788; but in the fifth year of his age removed with his parents to what was then called " the liir West." As was the custom in that day, the entire household was packed on board a large sled, drawn by four oxen, and in ten days safely reached their new home in Greenfield, Saratoga county, New York, " a lonely wilder- ness scarcely inhabited except by savages and wild beasts." Thence, after a time, they moved into Montgomery county, and subsequently to Camden, in the picturesque and fertile county of Oneida. At the age of twenty-four he returned to his native Connecticut for a life-companion, and on the 7th of September, 1814, married Miss Alvira Wadham in 2 (17) 18 THE EDITOK- BISHOP. the town of Goshen. They at once returned^to New York State and settled on a farm in the vicinity of Vienna, where they lived comfortably and happily, and reared for the Lord a large family of sous and daughters. John Parker was a man of great intelligence, firmness, vigor of mind and body, and of large influence. He commanded uni- versal respect. His opinions were almost the common law of his neighborhood, and his 'counsel was sought as confi- dently as the ancients inquired of their oracles and patron saints. With strong domestic affections, he preferred the quiet of his home and farm to the responsibilities of public office. But no doubt, had his tastes permitted, he would have occupied an honorable place in the councils of his countrymen. And withal he was a consistent and devoted member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. He was a veritable and typical pillar of the Church, durable as gran- ite and transparent as light. At the advanced age of eighty- eight years he fell on sleep at Johnston, Wisconsin, on the 31st of January, 1866. Alvira Wadham belonged to an old and numerous New- England family. She was a woman of considerable cult- ure and of rare loveliness of character and piety. Reared a stanch Congregationalist, she united the systematic train- ing of that communion with the fervor and evangelism of " the people called Methodists." She had an exalted idea of the responsibilities and honor of motherhood. Her chil- dren were not a tax or a burden, but with old Jewish pride each was hailed as a special gift of God and token of his abundant favor. Rightly to train them for the highest use- fulness was her constant study and earnest prayer. After a long pilgrimage of full threescore years and ten, she fin- ished her course with joy at Johnston, Wisconsin, Septem- ber 20, 1869. On the occasion of her death the Bishop made this modest mention of his model mother : " Though BIUTII AND BOYHOOD. 19 very infirm fpr the past two years, and at death her facul- ties were almost gone, her tender love for me and all the children never abated." Milton's oft-quoted words, "Childhood shows the man as morning shows the day," were strikingly illustrated in the life of Linus Parker. The quiet, observant, thoughtful boy prophesied the modest, dignified, massive-brained man. His mind was cast in a large and serious mold. Genial and kindly in manner, and not lacking in warm, boyish friend- ships, he was yet far removed from the ordinary follies and frivolities of youth. From the beginning he was regarded as a mature child, having little affinity for childhood's rec- reations. He had a reflective disposition that readily ana- lyzed and assimilated the gathered treasures of his eager observation. Together with this he possessed a chaste, ex- uberant imagination, and a gentle under-tone of humor that sometimes rippled $>ut in school-boy rhyme. His class of reading was of the highest order quite beyond his years. Histories like Gibbon's "Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire" indicate the character of his thirst for literature. At eleven years of age he read D'Aubigue's " History of the Reformation," and his young heart was stirred to the depths by that graphic story of the struggle and triumph of divine principle. His father, who was fond of reading, and a man of large information, used to remark, "That boy reads understandingly.' When the merest child he attended a "General Training" in the county-town, which was quite an event in that day, and, while others brought away mem- ories of sports and revelries, he returned with a copy of the " Life of Sir Walter Raleigh." On such food his young mind fed and throve. The habits of farm-life and the charming scenery of Oneida were well calculated to wing a young imagination and nurse his genius for books. The county bore the name 20 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. of a famous, war-like tribe of Indians, which, being inter- preted, was " tribe of the granite rock." Traditions of their daring deeds were connected with many spots familiar to the thoughtful youth, and intensified his thirst for historic reading. The beautiful valley of the Mohawk, with ifcj poetic and Revolutionary associations; the great Erie and Cheuango canals, crowded with every curious craft; the mountain-range that towered away to the northward, and the rugged hills sloping to the south, were the scenes amid which his boyhood days were spent. The picture of his paternal home is best drawn by his own skillful hand. He describes it after an absence of more than ten years. He went away a beardless boy and returned a promising young preacher, stationed in one of the leading churches in the great metropolis of the South. The reader will notice his avoidance of the perpendicular pronoun. He writes: "From these emotions and scenes let such a one as we have imagined pass to the very roof-tree under which he was born, and let him stroll over the fields and woods of the old farm. Every spot and thing is a remembrance, and fruitful of associations. With a heart wild with ex- citement, he explores the old house from cellar to garret ; examines barns, stables, and sheds minutely; climbs the apple-trees whose fruit he ate and whose sprouts were ter- rible; until wearied, he throws himself upon the grass and reposes in the ample shade of trees vrhich his own hands have planted. It seems a desecration to find strangers in the old home, and the loved ones gone, all gone. The no- ble dog that chased the cars when we went away, and pined for weeks when his young master did not return, is dead; the ancient geese "that gabbled o'er the pool," and the ducks that quacked in chorus with them, are no more. The weather-cock on the barn's gable looks the wind in the face, BIRTH AND BOYHOOD. 21 and the petit wind-mill beneath it plays as briskly as it played in days of yore. There i.s the trout-brook running quickly, clearly, and as young as ever. The changes are in living things, all living things; but inanimate nature maintains its wonted aspect, and even ajt withstands the tooth of time better than the hand which executes it." And then he passes out into the family burying-ground and gives himself to meditation. His tenderly, beautiful reflections among the mounds that cover his precious dead, and especially at the grave of his little twin brother " an- other self under the sod " are as exquisitely delicate and discriminating as any thing in the English language: " Here in one plot is a row of little graves four in all with little head and foot stones to mark them. Of the last one but a single memory is left. The babe that seemed asleep, the tiny coffin, the gentleness and care with which its occu- pant was put in, the wringing hands and sobs of one who wept more than any of us, the crowd of people who came and took the coffin and the baby, and their return no more this is a picture which time has not effaced. The next one is of peculiar interest to just one other. He was one of two who saw the light at once, and was rocked in the same cradle. One was taken and the other was left. It is like another self under the sod, and strange, strong yearn- ings were excited to see one so doubly near and yet so to- tally unknown. More than a score of years he has spent in the silent land long and weary years to his cradle- mate, but bright and all-glorious to him. Of the other two maternal story says that they were blue-eyed children, who, like buds in sweetness and beauty, dropped into the grave. Connected with their names are treasured memen- tos of auburn hair, nicely curled and carefully kept, and other memorials, besides the mounds which are here. Dear, dear dust I Thankful for the life and immortality revealed 2'2 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. in the gospel, the sad heart turns away and rejoices in the light which it sheds 14)011 the graves of those who engross its affections." His opportunities for scholastic training were quite meager. Methodism had not then developed her splendid system of education. So, like many another leader in the Church, Bish- op Parker attained unto respectable scholarship by dint of his own unaided toil. The common schools of the coun- try furnished his only educational advantages, and they were attended not more than six months in the twelve from his sixth to his sixteenth year. One year he attended a somewhat better school at Binghampton, New York, and for four months, shortly after his arrival in New Orleans, he was a student in old Mandeville College, across the lake. But by patient and well-directed private study he became an accurate classical scholar, including a considerable ac- quaintance with Hebrew, and was a master in the depart- ment of belles-lettres. 6HAPTER 11, EARLY RELIGIOUS HISTORY. HIS parents were Christians in fact as welt as in name, and their religion shed its aroma over their home-life. The children were not unused to the voice of prayer, and were early trained iu the paths of righteousness. So carefully and watchfully was Linus Parker reared at the altar of Methodism that he said, "As a child I hardly knew that any other Church existed." In the shelter of that Chris- tian home and in the neighboring church, whose pulpit, to his young imagination, was "like the throne of Jupiter Tonans," indelible impressions were made that in after years {lowered out in his symmetrically beautiful character. Writing from that old roof-tree, he said: "Amongst the multiform instruments which work out the soul's regenera- tion, those which bear upon its earliest consciousness are most effectual. Not that these consummate the work, nor that they are more powerful, but that without them all after influences would be impotent." A sister thus refers to his early religious life: "To us he appeared like unto Timothy of old, knowing the Scriptures from a child. Surely they made him wise unto salvation." But the story of his first divine impressions, of his falling through the ice on the Chenango River and its influence upon his religious life, and all the circumstances attending his joyous espousal to the Lord Christ at eleven years of age, must be told in his own words: "My first serious impressions were received when six or (23) 24 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. seven years of age. At church there was a protracted meet- ing. An old class-leader, passing near where i sat, asked me if I wanted religion. I knew not what he meant, but I be- gan to inquire and think about it from that time. In 1840 the year I spent in Binghampton in the family of my brother-in-law, Dr. N. S. Davis I was brought to seek the salvation of my soul. Dr. Davis was a most exemplary Christian and Methodist, and my sister, Mrs. Davis, was also a pious member of the Church. Dr. Joseph Cross, afterward a resident of the South, was the stationed preach- er that year. In the early spring, while playing and run- ning on the ice in the canal, the ice, having been weakened by a thaw, suddenly gave way, and I came near being drowned. I was rescued by several of my companions joining hands and forming a line from the bank to the hole into which I had fallen. While struggling in the water all my past life and sins came vividly before me as in a moment, and I promised God, Avhile sinking beneath the water, that if my life should be spared I would serve him. From that day I took a deeper interest in my Sun- day-schvool, and in preaching, and began at once earnestly to pray and seek salvation. I made known my purposes to no one, and I suppose no human being ever knew of my religious awakening. I told no one, but continued to pray in secret probably for two or three months. One night in the summer, after praying as usual, I went to bed, but felt so much concern that I got up and knelt again by the side of my bed, and began to pray with more than ordinary feeling. There and then the blessing was received. ' Pre- cious Jesus! ' was the first and almost continuous expression of the joy of my newborn soul. I felt melted and com- pletely transfused with the heavenly baptism. I seemed to be in a cloud of light, and the plan of salvation but a moment before so dark seemed now perfectly clear. My EARLY RELIGIOUS HISTORY. 25 soul was filled with love. The Spirit was sent into my heart crying, 'Abba, Father!' Thus God revealed himself to my poor heart in my eleventh year. My faith has never been shaken in the truth and reality of the gospel since that clear and wonderful demonstration. In times of temp- tation to skepticism my mind recurs to that powerful and supernatural experience, and is convinced and confirmed. For the space of a year I enjoyed uninterrupted religious assurance, but afterward fell into sin and condemnation. The rock on which I came near making shipwreck was my unwillingness to make public confession and unite with the people of God. This was partly from natural timidity, and a good deal from pride. From 1841 to 1846 I was a backslider, all the time resisting the Spirit and refusing to confess Christ/' And so Linus Parker will rank with many others of the Lord's apostolic chieftains who came to Christ in tender childhood. Polycarp, the martyr, was converted at nine years of age, President Edwards at seven-, Dr. Watts at nine, Matthew Henry at eleven, Bishop Hall and Robert Hall at eleven or twelve, and scores in our American Meth- odism at a like early period of life. Thus God is pleased to perfect praise out of the mouths of babes and suck- lings. The first of July, 1845, when about sixteen years of age, Linus Parker left his father's house for the far South, which was henceforth to be his adopted home. He came to New Orleans an adventurous youth in quest of fortune. Little then did he know what a history he was to make, and what a memory Providence would bequeath to the world. But his ways are not as our ways. He who converted a dream- ing shepherd-boy into the prime-minister of a great empire, and made him the princely benefactor of his people Israel, guided the steps of this lad into a pathway that grew bright- 26 THE Euixou-BisHOP. er and brighter with the luster of a holy purpose and conse- crated zeal. He found not riches, but the pearl of great price. He became not a merchant prince, but a primv and leader in Israel. Forsaking the counter and ledger, he entered the pulpit and pastorate, and, with tongue and pen, became a messenger of life and peace to multiplied thousands. The Exchange lost a conspicuous figure, but the Church gained a hero and martyr. Immediately after reaching New Orleans he went across the lake to Mandeville College, and remained there prose- cuting a course of study for about three months. Return- ing, he became an employe in his brother's store first as a salesman and afterward as book-keeper. From the very first Sabbath he was a regular attendant at service, and joined the Bible-class in the old Poydras Street Church. The Hon. William H. Foster, the Robert Raikes of the South- west, was the superintendent of the Sunday-school, and the sainted William Sherry, the Carvosso of New Orleans, was the teacher and also his class-leader. These two at once discerned the fine spirit of the young man, and each became a trusted friend like unto David and Jonathan. In the winter of 1846 he united with the church which was at that time served by his old Binghampton pastor, the Rev. Dr. Joseph Cross. Of that event he speaks as follows: "At the time I became a probationer there was a protracted meeting in progress, and I felt, when constrained to yield, that perhaps I was experiencing the last call of the Spirit. Here in the discharge of a long-neglected duty my religious enjoyment gradually returned. I began by taking up every cross, going to the altar for prayer as a seeker, attending class-meeting, and praying and speaking whenever called upon." CHAPTER HI, EALLTO THE MINISTRY. HROM the hour he uiiited with the Church, Linus Parker 1 felt renewed convictions of a divine call to the ministry in greater power. From his earliest religious consciousness such impressions had vaguely pursued him, alternating in vividness and urgency with the mutations of his religious experience; but, as was his wont, the momentous question was only settled after the most thorough conviction and the calmest deliberation. He hated shams and dreaded mis- takes. Not until the clear trumpet-voice of the Holy Spirit w:is distinctly recognized, and became too authoritative for resistance, would he assume the sacred responsibilities of the gospel ministry. There had to be the distinct assur- ance of a dii'ine commission. But amid all his hesitation and plannings he was being equipped of God as a wise win- ner of souls. While diligently engaged in his clerkship the Spirit was preparing him for a higher calling and no- bler destiny. That thirst for knowledge which compelled him to rise early before business hours and sit up till the high noon of night studying so unweariedly was used by Prov- idence in developing one of the ablest expounders of the gospel known in the history of our Methodism. Even then, under the tuition of the Holy Ghost, he was strengthening and disciplining mental muscle and fiber which in after years made him a master of great thoughts and a master- ful defender of the truth. He enlisted as a young soldier, and went to the Mexican war; but camp-life and force- march failed to hush the voice within calling him to a C27> 28 THE EuiTOR-Bi.siiop. higher commission and a nobler warfare. He began the study of law, and pursued his course with characteristic diligence, at the same time serving at night as book-keeper in his brother's store; but the conviction remained that his mission was to practice in a superior court, and that Black- stone, Kent, and Green leaf were to be laid aside for Moses, Isaiah, Paul, and other canonical writers. About this time the Mississippi Annual Conference held a session in the Poydras Street Church, and young Parker was an interest- ed visitor. During that Conference Dr. William AVinans, the great leader and logician of South-western Methodism, preached a sermon that fastened the convictions of this duty most strongly upon him. One office of the presiding elder is to discern spirits and recruit the Lord's ministry. And in nothing does he dem- onstrate eminent fitness for his office more clearly than in discovering and presenting to Conference promising young men with gifts and graces. Richard Deering was such a one. His unfailing eye rested upon that young man, and God chose him to be the Elijah to clothe another Elisha with the mantle of the prophetic office. But the full his- tory, detailing conflicting emotions and yet growing con- victions, is given from the Bishop's own pen : " During the month of March, 1849, I preached my first sermon in the little Methodist Church at Algiers, called Good Hope Chapel. At this time I was studying law in the office of T. K. Durant and Charles Horner, and had not made up my mind to devote myself exclusively to the ministry. Rev. R. Deering was presiding elder of the New Orleans District, and through his persuasion, greatly aidul by my own convictions, I was induced to try a single ap- pointment. There were not more than fifty or sixty persons present, and my effort was better to my own mind than I expected. My hearers seemed well pleased, and the lead- CALL TO THE MIXISTIIY. 2U ing members having no regular preacher invited me to come as often as possible. The text was First Timothy, first chapter, and a fragment of the eleventh verse: 'Ac- cording to the glorious gospel of the blessed God.' This text was suggested to my mind by hearing the first sermon of Rev. William R. Nicholson after he was reo'idained in the Protestant Episcopal Church. The subject was unsuit- able for such a tyro as I was, but it pleased my fancy. The skeleton covered the half of a letter-sheet page. My position was: God is the source of all glory; ergo, a thing is glori- ous in so far as it exhibits the" divine attributes (1) the gospel exhibits God's justice, (2) his power, (3) his love. " I continued from this time to preach regularly at Good Hope Chapel every Sabbath for several weeks, pursuing my law studies the meanwhile, and debating the question of my call to the ministry. At one time my mind was so far made up against preaching that I refused to apply for li- cense of the McGehee Quarterly Conference, and continued to preach for two months or thereabouts with only verbal license from Brother Deering. At last my mind was de- cided. I determined to preach, and apply myself exclu- sively thereto. I received license of the Quarterly Confer- ence May 15th, 1849, left the law-office forever, removed to Algiers, and took charge of Good Hope Chapel. My charge consisted of one appointment of about thirty mem- bers. These were nearly all mechanics mostly ship-car- penters and their wives and children. They were poor and pious. The average of spirituality was greater than any of my subsequent charges. From May until December of this year I resided in Algiers, applying myself to study, pastoral duties, and preaching; and I can truly say I never spent so many months as pleasantly and happily. I con- tinued to prosecute the study of Greek and Latin, devoted a good part of every morning to the Scriptures, and before Go TUK Ebfros-Bisnop. the end of the year read Watson's Institutes, Wesley's Ser- mons, Dr. Chalmers's Select Works, and Fletcher's Appeal, besides some historical, philosophical, and light reading. Much time was then spent as ever since in preparing sermons. I should be almost ashamed to confess how much time these indifferent efforts cost me. I wrote but little, only the most meager skeletons a single letter-page was usually all. But the arrangement of subjects, the careful premeditation of every point, and the study of the whole theme occupied at least two whole days of each week so divided, however, as usually to give a portion to each day. My labor in this respect was most arduous, because of my ignorance especially of theological matters and the want of a library for purposes of reference. My remembrance of Good Hope Chapel is exceedingly pleasant. I was much attached to the few humble, pious souls there, and I left them in tears. These few months of ministerial life were rich in profit to me. They were to my mind a trial and a self- probation which confirmed me in the course I had chosen.'' Thus the great question was settled, and for all time. That was a willing sacrifice, without reservation or subse- quent regret. He kept back no part of the price, but for all time gave himself entirely to his divine and diligent calling. With the spirit and the understanding he could and did sing: "To taste this love our only joy, To tell this love onr best employ." And from that fresh, hopeful young morning of life, through a varied ministry of thirty-six years, to the gathering twi- light of the evening, when he " ceased at once to work and live," he never turned aside for a single moment to lay an offering upon any other altar. There were no other gods before him. A life of more perfect consecration it is rarely the privilege of any one to know. 6HAPTER IV, SIS FIRST KIRCUIT. A YOUNG preacher's first Conference is a time of visions and revelations, of sights and insights, of appointments and disappointments. Every face is a study, every item of business an observation, and every discussion a new disclos- ure of the economy of Methodism. The presiding Bishop seems so apostolic, the older preachers so heroic and grand, and the younger ones so brave and full of faith. How he covets similar gift*, and prays to be worthy of such compan- ionship! The intimate friendships and associated trials of subsequent years never obscure the romance and halo of the first Conference. How it impressed the calm, philosoph- ical young novitiate he has told us Avith his own pen : "A Methodist Conference is not like any other deliberative body in the world. It is perfectly unique. A Methodist preacher is a decided character, and an assembly made up of decided characters is of course full of decided characteristics. These peculiarities do not now, as of yore, consist either in tfhole or in part of the hat-brim or coat-tail. Whatever is distinctive of them as a class can no longer be located in their costume ; but it is rather found in their mental and devotional habits, and in theirgeneral fondness for bonhomie. The Con- ference floor affords opportunity for the display of all these qualities. For a specimen of mental acumen just witness the examination of a single chaiacter. With all the skill of anatomists they dissect their subject from crown to sole; every fact is brought out, and every feature of the case is can 32 Tin: EDITOR-BISHOP. examined and discussed at length. This ordeal, in some in- stances, reminded me of those Indians who improved their archery by making targets of their captives, and seeing how nearly they could throw the shaft and not pierce the vic- tim." The Louisiana Conference met December 25, 1849, in the city of Shreveport, then and now the largest and most pros- perous town in the northern part of the State. Bishop Ca- pers presided, and Philo M. Goodwyn was Secretary. The Bishop was in the zenith of his power. His gentle spirit, benignant appearance, and eloquent preaching and speaking profoundly stirred the young preacher and rebuked every lingering fear of failure. The trip up the river was un- pleasant and uneventful to all save one. The Bishop, the New Orleans preachers, and a number of other members of the Conference were crowded with all sorts of passengers, to the number of five hundred, on a small, miserable boat called the "St. Anthony," and were nearly a week in reaching their destination. There were two eager ears that caught every incident, anecdote, and observation of the venerable Bishop and other preachers, and from the boat's deck two thoughtful eyes studied the country that was to be the field of his ministerial labor. Four young men were admitted on trial Linus Parker, John Pauley, Elisha Waller, and Henderson A. Morse. Elisha Waller ceased to travel after one year, and the name of Henderson A. Morse soon disappears from the roll of Conference; but the memory of John Pauley and his he- roic labors in behalf of German Methodism in New Orleans is an abiding and an inspiring heritage. From a " niLr- picker on the streets " he became a consecrated apostle, worthy of the land of Luther. He had a genius for self- denying labor that knew no flagging, and a lofty Teutonic courage that feared neither the threat of ruffian nor the His FIRST CIRCUIT. 33 tread of wasting pestilence. His triumphant death two years ago in Houston, Texas, was the fitting close of a he- roic, apostolic career. He went up from the field of battle the veteran victor of many a struggle. His sword was in his hand, Still warm with recent Jiyht. Of his appointment to Lake Providence, Carroll parish, Louisiana, and his first year of itinerant service, Linus Parker will speak for himself: " My solicitude on the evening the appointments were read out was very great. I rather expected to be returned to Al- giers, and this was the wish of the people there, but it was not the order of Providence, and it proved for me far better. I had prayed over the matter often as the time of Conference ap- proached, and I had, at the time of my appointment, the full conviction that God had ordained it aright. Subsequently I clearly saw the wisdom and goodness of it. To me and to others it was an eventful evening when we assembled to hear our appointments. These times have always been affecting to me. There is in them, with all the hopes, fears, anxieties, and solicitudes that agitate evei*y breast, such an exhibition of the spirit of sacrifice, such a heroic, missionary spirit, and such a strength of faith, that I must pronounce the scene presented by a Methodist Conference receiving ap- pointments from the lips of a venerable Bishop amongst the most sublime that history has recorded or that the mind can conceive of. The impression made upon me on hearing my name read in connection with Lake Providence was one of perfect complacency. I knew nothing of its character, / knew not where it was. I had no recollection of having heard of it before; indeed, its mention was a positive en- largement of my geographical knowledge. How much I had gained or lost, therefore, could not enter my mind un- der these circumstances. I found out its position on the 3 34 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. map before I slept, and from intercourse with the preachers was tolerably acquainted with its character and history be- fore we reached New Orleans on our return. " I went to my work some time in January, and found that it consisted of two appointments one in the town of Providence, the other about sixteen miles below on the riv- er at Pecan Grove. Providence at this time was made up of a court-house, one hotel, and one church the Methodist quite a number of business houses, a Masonic hall, and several pleasant residences. The place was a village, and small for such a designation, not more than five hundred inhabitants in all white and colored, children and adults. I landed ia the night and slept at the hotel, and in the morning looked for the first time upon the head-quarters of my first real labors as a preacher. I did not know an in- dividual in the place, but Dr. Speer, my presiding elder, had furnished me with a letter to a prominent member Dr. Larche. I walked from the hotel (tavern?) around to the Doctor's before breakfast, introduced myself to the fam- ily, and never left them during the year. It was my pleas- ant and welcome home as long as I remained in the country. " The year passed away pleasantly and quickly. My serv- ices were more appreciated than they deserved to be. I was well provided for, and left for Conference with the wish of all that I should be returned for another year. In estimat- ing the fruits of the year's labors I felt humiliated and dis- satisfied. A very few had been added to the Church, all of whom, I think, remain faithful to their profession. The church was well attended, and the members were in better spiritual condition than when I commenced my labors. This was all the visible result. If other good was done, eternity will reveal it." Lake Providence first appears on the Minutes of Confer- ence in 1828, served by A. Hewett as a supply, and through His FIRST CIRCUIT. 35 all the intervening years has enjoyed the ministrations of faithful, devoted men. But the frequent and destructive overflows of the Mississippi River have arrested the devel- opment of the country and the progress of the Church. More than once our pastors have had to escape from the floods with all of their household goods on a speedily con- structed and insecure raft. Yet the little vine, long plant- ed, still lives and bears fruit unto God. CHAPTER V, TWO YEARS AT SHREVEPORT. JTIHE Louisiana Conference met December 25, 1850, in 1 the Felicity Street Church, New Orleans. Bishop Ca- pers again presided, and on the first day of the session formally dedicated the handsome new church in which the Conference was held to the worship of Almighty God. His sermon on that occasion was from Matthew xxiii. 17: "For whether is greater, the gold, or the temple that sanctifieth the gold?" and never did that silver tongue preach a gospel of greater sweetness or more spiritual power. He talked like one having authority, but it was the majesty of love. That church had been built under the wise administration of Dr. J. C. Keener, presiding elder of the New Orleans District, and by the active labors of the young pastor, Hol- land N. McTyeire. It was the consolidation of two or more smaller chapels, and has been for all the years a strong center of evangelical influence in the city. The corner- stone of that church has a history, related by Bishop Keener in the New Orleans Christian Advocate of March 22, 1851, and is worth preserving. Its reproduction here seems ap- propriate : " There is a corner-stone under the Felicity Street Church out of which the devil was fairly cheated. It has been twice dedicated once for a theater and once for a church. It lay out to the weather for a long time, until the Lord had need for it; and then, with prayer and thanksgiving, it was put into the ground, and a church built upon it. (36) Two YEARS IN SHREVEPORT. 37 It is not often that Satan is allowed to furnish a car- riage for the Lord's cannon. I am not quite sure that he lias even in this case. The history of this elect corner- stone is about this: In the year 1837 it was resolved to build a theater at the corner of De Lord and Foucher streets. With due flourish of trumpets a great crowd of people was assembled, a stand erected, an oration deliv- ered to suit the occasion, and the corner-stone was laid. At that time J. N. Maffitt was in the city and in the zenith of his fame, and on the afternoon of that day walked out in company with Mr. Fontaine in the direction of the celebration. Mr. Maffitt saw the crowd, asked what it meant, and soon they were both standing listening to the orator. Presently a messenger came from one on the stand to Mr. Maffitt, inviting him to come up. Mr. Maffitt de- clined. He was again sent for very pressingly, when they both went up, and were seated among the distinguished of the day. When the orator had finished, strange to say, the master of ceremonies asked Mr. Maffitt if he would ' con- clude 'the exercises with a blessing. Sure enough, Mr. Maffitt arose, stretched out his hands, and fairly went at it half oration and half prayer for some thirty minutes, in which he quite eclipsed the orator. Spoke of Isthmian, Olympic, Pythian ; of the design and influence of the stage; and prayed that He who is greater than him of Ida might mark and bring his own iniysterious and wonder-working power to overrule for good the scene of the day and the in- tentions of the hour; and, after having prayed with great eloquence and fervor, concluded. Now let the reader mark : the theater was never built, and that corner-stone is the identical one of the Felicity Street Church." At this Conference the young preacher of only one year's experience was assigned to Shreveport, the most important station outside the city of New Orleans. It was quite unusual 38 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. in that day to appoint young, unordained men to the full charge of a pastorate, and never to a prominent station. But so conspicuous were his gifts, and so marked his suc- cess, that no fear was entertained in intrusting the Methodism of the growing and wealthy city of Shreveport to the hands of Linus Parker. Nor did he disappoint expectation, it was there he developed his peculiar methods in the pulpit, and established his reputation as an able, instructive expos- itor of the word of God. Many of the sweetest memories of his beautiful life and helpful ministry linger around that place. Old friends and parishioners yet live who relate stories of his pastoral and pulpit experiences, and their children will keep in perennial freshness the traditions of those happy years. The influence of that young man abides, a heritage of radiant virtues and an inspiration to higher aims and deeds. His pulpit became a throne of light, whose ever-widening circles of mellow radiance were seen and felt even beyond the confines of his State. He now took rank as a popular preacher and eminently wise pastor. At this Conference a measure was inaugurated which, under Providence, largely determined the sphere and fame of Linus Parker. Unconsciously to himself and unsuspected by all, it became the most potential factor in his history as a Methodist preacher. Though the matter had been long and much considered, it was at this Conference the first authoritative action was taken which established the New Orleans Christian Advocate. A publishing committee was appointed, consisting of J. C. Keener, "W. E. Doty, and R. H. Rivers, and the first number of the paper appeared Feb- ruary 8, 1851, with H. N. McTyeire as editor. A similar committee of publication was appointed by the Alabama Conference, but, on account of some difference of opinion as to details of management, the Mississippi Conference did not officially become a patron of the paper until several Two YEARS IN SHREVEPORT. 39 years later. In this enterprise the young pastor became greatly interested, and, encouraged by the quickly discern- ing aud proverbially discriminating editor, began a corre- spondence that soon demonstrated journalistic genius. Over the nom de plume of " Woodsman " he wrote many articles for that Advocate in 1S51-2 then almost a boy-preacher that displayed the graces of style and vigor of thought which in inaturer years gave him Conuectioual fame. We cannot but wonder how a quiet, unobtrusive boy, scarcely be- yond his majority, and with few educational advantages, so thoroughly disciplined and richly stored his mind, and what models' he studied to give his pen such variety and classic elegance. During the summer of 1851 he attended his first camp-meeting not far from Shreveport, and wrote a charming description of what he saw and heard. The following were his closing reflections, and illustrate the pu- rity and flexibility of his style at that early age: "The rural pulpit is the light artillery of gospel warfare. Readily brought into action and admirably adapting itself to circumstances, it tells with lasting effect upon points which could not be reached through the instrumentality of church and chapel ministrations. Here I saw the peculiar adaptation of Christianity to man. as the religion of the world. It finds a rostrum and an altar everywhere. Christ taught upon a mountain, a well-curb, the sea-shore, and the deck of a fisher's boat. With the same felicitous independ- ence evangelists of every age have occupied the field of the world, and have sown beside all waters." During that year he conducted a controversy with Dr. Clapp, of New Orleans, a somewhat celebrated Unitarian preacher, on the subject of future punishment, and dem- onstrated undoubted polemic skill and logical power. But that was the one exception in his entire ministry. His was a gospel of peace. In that controversy he showed large 40 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. acquaintance with ecclesiastical science, and evidenced tho breadth and grasp of real statesmanship. The following on the most vital principle in our Methodist economy, dis- played a maturity of judgment far beyond his years: " The Conuectional principle, which is to some extent re- tained in most of our sister denominations, and eminently und fully illustrated in our own, is really the great con- servator of an evangelical ministry. It is not difficult to see how this principle guards against errors by placing mut- ual checks upon the idiosyncrasies of different minds, and by throwing wholesome restraints around the erratic tenden- cies of wayward thinkers. This is what makes Methodism everywhere the same. It is this which preserves her econ- omy intact and saves her doctrines from corruption. Pure Congregationalism is without these restraints, and the re- sults which we have noticed legitimately and necessarily follow. It is the embodiment of doctrinal liberty and in- dependence, where ' every one hath a psalm, hath a doc- trine, hath a tongue, hath a revelation, hath an interpreta- tion.' What wonder that in such an element of liberty a master-mind should sometimes shake off the thralldom of creeds? What wonder that genius r-hould shed its sanctity and its orthodoxy and indulge in the wildest heretical pranks?" The next Conference was held at Thibodeaux, December, 1851, and Bishop Paine presided. From Shreveport to Thibodeaux the trip was made almost entirely by private conveyance, which gave the young station preacher a real itinerating experience such as he had never before enjoyed. The fertile valleys, beautiful streams, broad prairies, and curious people along the way, awakened an intense interest. He was completely fascinated with the country. The New Yorker became a zealous, loyal Louisianian, and remained fo to the day of his death. Writing of that trip, he KIVS: Two YEARS IN SIIKEVEPORT. 41 " Louisiana, with all her alligators and agues and swamps, is surpassingly rich in history and beautiful in geography. He who has merely seen her from the deck of a steam- boat can have no correct or adequate notion of what she really is. To such an observer she presents a monotonous, funereal aspect, through which there scarcely gleams a sug- gestion of the wealth and interest that lie hidden behind her cypress boughs and palls of moss. Louisiana, of all the States, claims the Father of Waters as her sire; and though she sometimes feels his rage, she is more largely en- riched by his munificence. Right proud is she of her par- entage, and right royally she wears in one the names of consort sovereigns. The sole heir of the Mississippi, her soil and geology arc the hoarded sums of more than a thou- sand annuities. It was due to such a land that the proud- est and the bravest chivalry alone should achieve its dis- covery; and hence Providence has allowed the names cf La Salic and De Soto to stand foremost and almost alone upon the pages of her earliest annals." At that Conference he was returned to Shreveport, and labored with increasing diligence and growing popularity. Of his pastorate there he only made this modest entry in hu journal: " Two years they were of great enjoyment and of some usefulness." It is a striking coincidence that three members of the Conference at Thibodeaux afterward sat with Bishop Paine on the episcopal bencli Holland N. McTyeire, John C. Keener, and Linus Parker, whom he then ordained a dea- con. Bishop Paine also officiated when he was ordained an elder, and when he was consecrated to the high and holy office of a Bishop in 1882. For his venerable chief pastor the young preacher had the profoundest reverence, which ripened into increasing person: 1 .! admiration; while on tho other hand the Bishop watched with pride the develop- 42 Tin; EDITOR-BISHOP. inent of his son in the gospel, and rejoiced at his election as one of his colleagues. Of the intimate relations between the three Conference co-laborers and episcopal colleagues we shall learn more hereafter. CHAPTER VI, FIRST YEAR IN NEW ORLEANS. JTTHE seventh session of the Louisiana Conference was held 1 in the city of Baton Rouge, the capital of the State, be- ginning January 5fch, 1853. Bishop James O. Andrew was present and presided for the first time over this Conference. The session was pleasant and profitable, and became historic by adopting a tentative measure -in the interest of lay dele- gation, the first movement of the sort in Southern Meth- odism. Having completed a full pastoral term of two years at Shreveport, Linus Parker was appointed to Felicity Street Church, New Orleans, as the successor of H. IS". Mc- Tyeire. His former residence in the city and thorough ac- quaintance with its spiritual condition, together with a calm, philosophical appreciation of the character of work needed to be done, gave a specially providential expression to his appointment. Evangelical religion in Louisiana, and espe- cially in New Orleans, has won its way against "a sea of difficulties," and has demanded men of peculiar gifts and graces. Years ago in his admirable sketch of Richmond Nolley, the first pioneer preacher to die in that field, Bishop McTyeirc said: "The gospel plowshare never struck into harder soil than South-western Louisiana." The mass of pop- .ulation intensely Roman Catholic and speaking a foreign lan- guage, the country subject to epidemics of yellow fever and overflows of the Mississippi River, there were few conditions favorable to evangelical religion. Methods successful in other (43) 44 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. fields were fruitless there. Great revivals that swept over entire communities and counted converts by hundreds were impossible in a section dominated by priestcraft, ignorance, and infidelity. In a letter to the Nashville Christian Advo- cate the young pastor thus discerned the difficulties with the eye of a philosopher, and unintentionally outlined his own pastoral history : " Owing to variouo circumstances the aggressive move- ments of the gospel in Louisiana are slow. The laborer here must havefo/fciTOR-Bisnop. and in the hour of death committed family and estate into his hands. How far he impressed his own pure and noble .spirit upon the son, and how much it affected the character of his ministry, the eternal years alone can reveal. A very prince and leader in Israel was John C. Burruss. He had the splendid bearing"of a commanding general, the elegant manners of the highest refinement, and the gentle, seraphic spirit of " the beloved disciple." His voice was a marvel of compass and sweetness, and his eloquence was Cicero- nian in the sublime sweep of his periods. Of large benev- olence and ample fortune, he gave liberally and preached divinely. Whether as a zealous itinerant on an old-time cir- cuit, presiding elder of a district embracing half of a State, agent of the American Bible Society, city pastor, college pres- ident, or local preacher, he worked the works of his Lord, and left a heritage of worth and achievement as imperish- able as the everlasting hills. As president for some years of the Elizabeth Academy at Washington, Mississippi, he was a pioneer Methodist educator, and deserves to be re- membered as the Wilbur Fisk of the South-west. John C. Burruss was a native of Maryland and a child of the Church of England. He was born near Port To- bacco, October 7, 1788, but removed with his parents to Caroline county, Virginia, while yet a child, where he grew to man's estate. He was baptized in infancy by a clergy- man of the Church of England, but never assumed the vows of confirmation. Though he became a worldly, irre- ligious young man, his clear perceptions of Christian piety and propriety aroused distaste, if not disgust, for the fun- loving, card-playing clergy of that day. Into that section came Bishop Asbury and those godly men of " the people called Methodists." A great religious awakening followed. Among those convicted of sin was John C. Burruss, a gay, godless young man of twenty-four years of age. He sought SECOND MARRIAGE-JOHN C. BURRUSS. 91 spiritual counsel of the only deeply pious woman whom he knew, and she was a Methodist. As one of her daughter* had to lead the family devotions, the presence oi the young stranger occasioned some little embarrassment. But while the family were on their knees and the modesfc young daugh- ter of Israel was offering the evening prayer, wre visitor re- ceived a baptism of power his sorrow was turned jnto joy, and he rejoiced aloud. With the ardor and enthusiasm which always characterized him, he mounted his horse the^ery next morning and rode ten or twelve miles through a blind' ing snow-storm to the nearest Methodist "society," and had his name recorded among that despised and then persecuted people. His family were grieved and astonished beyond measure; but the new life which animated him, and the divine zeal that consumed him, overcame all opposition, and converted hostility into sympathy. He very soon had the pleasure of seeing his widowed mother and two younger sisters received into the same communion with himself, and within a few years an elder sister and his two brothers. Six months after his conversion he was licensed to exhort, and at the end of twelve mouths in 1814 was admitted on trial into the Virginia Conference. His first circuit was Glou- cester, which he traveled for two years, and on it was ev- erywhere a flame of fire. His winning address and gracious manners gave him access to the people, and his preaching was universally and exceedingly attractive. Endowed by nature with a handsome, classical face, and that best gift of an orator a voice of great flexibility, compass, and sweet- ness, the young evangelist went forth preaching free salva- tion with the rare grace of Whitefield and the intrepid ear- nestness of John the Baptist. But a shadow fell across his itinerant path and stayed his imperial career. The pro- longed ill health of his wife compelled him to locate and remove to the milder climate of North Alabama, That was 92 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. a noble company of emigrants from Virginia, during that ysnr and the following, which constituted the intelligent, cultivated community of Courtland, Alabama. Among them were the ReV. Alex. Sale, Rev. Jesse Butler (broth- ers-in-law of Mr. Burruss), Mrs. Le Vert, and her sons, John Poindexter and Richard Norment (brothers-in-law of Mrs. Burruss), and others. In 1822 Mr. Burruss joined the Mississippi Conference, and was appointed to the Cahawba District. In 1824 he war- stationed in Natchez, Mississippi, and the following year he became President of the Elizabeth Female Academy at Washington, Mississippi. In the minutes of the Missis- sippi Conference of 1826 there is this sentence in the list of appointments : "John C. Burruss, President of the Elizabeth Female Academy, to devote as much of his ministerial service as may be consistent with his other avocations to the village of Port Gibson." The same note api>ears in the minutes of 1827. In 1830 he located, but continued for some time at the head of the academy, and preached largely in the regions round about. In 1835 he again ap- peared in the regular work, and was appointed to New Or- leans Station. There his great gifts as a pulpit orator shone forth in full-orbed splendor. The following admira- ble pen-picture of the man and his preaching, by an intel- ligent hearer, is found in an old newspaper. It graphically describes a scene worthy of the ministry of Wesley or Whitefield : " It was at one of the early Conferences in Mississippi that I first saw John C. Burruss. He was in the prime of life, with a physiognomy decidedly classical, an eagle eye, a bold, high forehead; a nose prominent and aquiline; the mouth wide; lips thin, delicately chiseled and firmly com- pressed, throwing over the countenance a blended expres- sion of benevolence and firmness. His hair was fair, and SECOND MAR HI AGE JOHN C. BURRUSS. 93 worn long, and his costume strictly clerical -and scrupu- lously neat. Some eminent preacher had just concluded an impressive discourse, and a very solemn feeling, deep and intense, prevailed. Mr. Burruss, a stranger to the whole congregation, commenced to sing a revival hymn, and the feeling grew deeper and deeper. He read from the Epistle to the Hebrews, chapter tenth, and selected a text from versed twenty-five to thirty-nine, inclusive. Read the chapter, and you will find how appropriate it is for such an occasion and such a discourse as he delivered. He be- gan in a very low tone so low tUat it required the closest attention to hear him; and this was what he was aiming at, to concentrate the attention of the large and agitated con- gregation. His manner was extremely solemn, and at the same time so insinuating that each hearer seemed to feel that he himself was the object of special interest with the preacher. Gradually he pitched his voice to a higher key not loud, but vox argenlea, the silvery voice which Cic- ero praises so much. His manner grew animated, his gest- ures expressive, with such a flow of harmonious cadences, of beautiful words, of poetical imagery, and persuasive ap- peal, the whole congregation was enraptured captives to the fascinations of elocution. Having made this favorable impression, he addressed himself to the feelings of his hear- ers; painted their errors, their sins, their ingratitude, and their crimes with colors so vivid that many hung down their heads in shame, and felt that they were the basest of criminals. Groans began to be heard; and when he de- scribed the perils of their position, the vengeance about to fall upon them, groans were followed by shrieks, and many involuntarily, terror-stricken, moved toward the altar as though for protection. Observing this, the skillful orator made a rapid transition, and with inimitable pathos dwelt on the sacrifice or our Saviour and the efficacy of his blood. 94 Tin: EniTOR-BisHOP. His o\vn eyes filled with tears; his voice trembled. Una- hie to proceed, he descended from the pulpit, and the whole congregation wept with him. Sobs and cries were heard in every quarter. The revival had commenced, and it went on- from day to day. The ministers caught the holy fire, and throughout the bounds of the Conference its in- fluence was felt. Mr. Burruss became at onciS -an estab- lished favorite. He found a way to every heart. The spirit-stricken sought him for the consolation which his gentle spirit well knew how to impart; the worldly ad- mired his elegant manners; and the young and aspiring made his splendid eloquence their study. He was subse- quently prevailed on to take charge of the Elizabeth Fe- male Academy at Washington, Mississippi. It was the first institution in this section of the Union that the Meth- odists, as a denomination, established the first step, it may be the suggestive step, in the grand system of educa- tion which they now have in operation everywhere." In 1838 he again removed to Alabama, and remained there until 1845, when he removed to Aberdeen, Missis- sippi. In 1848 he settled in Caddo Parish, near Shreve- port, and there spent the evening of life as a laborious local preacher and successful planter, and where he died on the 4th of September, 1863. The last two years of his life were saddened and clouded by the anxieties and sor- rows of the civil war then in progress. The suffering and loss of life it brought upon the country seemed almost to crush his spirit. His tender, loving nature was utterly overwhelmed at the great national calamity. Thus passed away one of the grandest men in South-west- ern Methodism His life was a benediction to every com- munity where he resided, his example stainless and beauti- ful, and his name never mentioned but in blessing. CHAPTER XL ''AGAIN IN THE COUNTRY. T OUISIANA, and the city of New Orleans especially, il early felt the wild excitement and stirring enthusiasm of the war between the States. It was a sou of Louisiana that fired the first gun at Fort Sumter, whose echoes rang northward and southward, hurrying both sections to bloody conflict. A Bishop of that diocese, having had a military training at West Point, was induced to lay aside his episco- pal robes and accept a major-general's commission. The streets of New Orleans echoed only to the rattle of war- drum and the tread of gayly-uniformed volunteers organiz- ing and departing for the campaigns in Virginia and Ten- nessee. Nearly all lines of business were suspended and all vocations forsaken. The Church also suffered from the pre- vailing excitement, while many pastors enlisted either as soldiers or chaplains, and went to the front to preach and pray with the " boys in gray." But Linus Parker remained at his post, preaching regu- larly to the little flock at Felicity, now composed mostly of women whose sons, husbands, and fathers were far away in camp and field. There he staid, doing all the work of a sympathizing, helpful pastor, until the latter part of April, 1862, when Farragut's fleet having dismantled and success- fully passed Forts Jackson and St. Philip, anchored at the city's wharf, "black with men, heavy with deadly portent; the long-banished stars and stripes flying against the frown- ing sky." The city having surrendered to the Federal forc- (95) 96 Tin: EDITOR-BISHOP. es, he joined his family at Mr. Burruss's delightful home in Cacldo, and there remained until the close of the war. Our churches in New Orleans were soon placed in charge of Northern preachers, who retained them under the famous " Stanton-Ames Order" for some time after peace was re- stored, and surrendered them at last only in obedience to a mandate from the President of the United States. Though exiled from his regular pastorate Mr. Parker w 7 as not at ease in Zion. The preacher at Shreveport having entered the Confederate army as a chaplain, he supplied that sta- tion for two and a hali'- years. He resided some twenty- three miles distant on a plantation, but filled his appoint- ments regularly, and had a good degree of success. At the Conference held at Minden, beginning December 7, 1864 Rev. J. C. Keener, D.D., President he was appointed to Caddo Circuit. There he labored with accustomed fidelity, but the disorganized state of the country, and necessary sec- ular duties in order to obtain a support, rendered any up- building or ingathering quite impossible. After the death of his father-in-law he had charge of the large planting in- terests of the estate, and demonstrated no little aptitude for agricultural pursuits. Though a native of the far North and reared in the val- ley of the Mohawk, Mr. Parker became intensely Southern in his convictions and sympathies. He admired the con- servative spirit of the South, and rejoiced in her history and institutions. The uninformed and purblind are accustomed to speak of this people as passionate, hot-blooded, and fickle; quick in their impulses, unstable in their convictions, and fanatical in their preferences ; but as a matter of fact they are calm in judgment, catholic in spirit, conservative in prinicple, and tenacious of their opinions. Wild political vagaries and theological heresies, that find ready advocates and apologists in other latitudes, never secure home and AGAIN IN THE COUNTRY. 97 throne iii the South. On this subject the observant, philo- sophical mind of Mr. Parker meditated as follows : " Southern soil has not proved congenial to the growth of those morbid and wicked aberrations of mind and morals which have of late years sprung up and flourished in the temperature of the free States. There is iii the South some healthful principle of conservatism which saves us, in the main, from those evils that are so rampant elsewhere. That principle must lie in the profoundest elements of the genius of the people and in those extraneous circumstances which are peculiar to them. The history of Church and State for the last half-century sufficiently establishes the position that ultraisms are mostly born and bred in the North, ajid that a wholesome and constitutional moderation has been maintained in the South." And in the controversy and correspondence between the two branches of our American Episcopal Methodism he ably defended the Southern view. While desiring the es- tablishment of ecclesiastical and Christian fraternity, he in- sisted that it should preserve the plighted faith of the Plan of Separation, which in substance affirmed and secured the complete equality of the Southern Church, and its unim- paired rights of name and property. With the conclusions of the "Cape May Commission" he was entirely satisfied, and rejoiced in the removal of all obstacles to honorable, cordial fraternity with the Methodist Episcopal Church. In this connection it is proper to give Dr. Parker's ma- tured and dispassionate views concerning the negro and slavery : " If previous to their enslavement the American negroes had been civilized Christian people, there might be some reason in speaking of the unfavorable influence of slavery; but in fact, and in the order of a beneficent Providence, the ignorant and brutal savage of Africa has been immeasura- 7 98 Tin: bly elevated and blessed. The hand of God 'was in it, and when the mission of slavery was accomplished, the institu- tion was abolished. ... By it they were brought in contact with the very best type of Anglo-Saxon character and with the purest form of the gospel, as preached by the Southern Methodists and others. The negro, thus enlightened and saved by meaus of slavery, has reason to be thankful that in this wonderful way he was brought up out of savagery and made a Christian man. Slavery is a thing of the past, but why may not fair-minded men review the matter calm- ly and concede that incalculable good has come out of it for the negro? The salvation of the African continent is likely to grow out of American slavery. God, who sees the end from the beginning, had a great and benevolent purpose in it, and in time that purpose will be made more and more clear. With all the evils connected with slavery, it is evi- dent that the good greatly exceeded, and that the people enslaved were the chief beneficiaries. The English and o Yankee slave-traders, we may well believe, had no humane object in view, but we cannot now shut our eyes to the fact that good to the negro and to Africa has come out of their sordid traffic." CHAPTER XII, TWELVE YEARS AN EDITOR. JTIHE New Orleans Christian Advocate began its existence 1 in February, 1851, by the joint action of the Alabama and Louisiana Conferences. The Rev. H. N. McTyeire, then pastor of the Felicity Street Church, was made editor, and the paper at once took rank as one of the most influen- tial journals in Southern Methodism. He presided over its columns with masterly skill and ability until 1858, when he was elected by the General Conferenc&editor of the Nash- ville Christian Advocate. His successor in the office at New Orleans was the Rev. C. C. Gillespie, who for several years had been editor of the Texas Christian Advocate at Galves- ton. He had eminent literary gifts, and his polished edito- rials displayed wide versatility of genius. But with the outbreak of the civil war, and the early surrender of New Orleans to the Federal forces, the Christian Advocate sus- pended publication, and its brilliant editor went to the tent- ed field as the gallant colonel of a fine regiment. In 1865, after the alarms of war had died away and the avocations of peace were resumed, Dr. J. C. Keener revived the Chris- tian Advocate, and became its vigorous, versatile editor. Through this medium he rallied the scattered tribes of our Israel in the South-west, and largely aided in restoring their ecclesiastical autonomy. His editorship embraced that try- ing reconstruction period from 1865 to 1870, which wit- nessed the transference of war passions into party aggres- sion. The times demanded an apostle of courage and self- ' (99) 100 Tin: Enrron-liisnop. confidence, and he was not found wanting. His editorials had the epigrammatic freshness of Prentice and the sturdy strength of Carlyle that master of letters who has been facetiously denominated "a trip-hammer with an ^Eolian attachment." When Dr. Keener was called to the episcopal office by the General Conference of 1870,. the Publishing Committee of the New Orleans Christian Advocate unanimously elected Dr. Linus Parker as his successor. In January, 1806, he had returned to the city and to the pulpit at Felicity. Of that pastoral year he writes : " We were glad to see the city once more, and I was cor- dially welcomed back to my old pastorate. I opened my ministry with the text: 'As for me I will behold thy face in righteousness: I shall be satisfied when I awake in thy likeness.' (Ps. xxii. 15.) I was refreshed by the sight of old friends, but some were no more of earth. " The General Conference met the first Wednesday in April, in Carondelet Street Church. The session, lasting about one month, was one of great interest and importance. My charge was moderately prosperous this year; a number of new members were added, and a good many wanderers were hunted up and reclaimed." In that charge he remained until called to edit the paper to which he had contributed regularly from the days of his early ministry. His succession to that office \vas generally expected and universally applauded. As a journalist Bishop Parker was best known fro Con- nectional Methodism. For twelve years he presided over the columns of the Christian Advocate with such distin- guished ability that he increased the high character it had already achieved under his illustrious predecessors. He was preeminently a religion* journalist, and nearly all of his ed- itorials were on strictly spiritual .subject*. He eschewed TWELVE YEARS AN EDITOR. 101 both dogmatism and latitudinarianism, and aspired to be neither sensational nor partisan. He sought diligently the " old paths," and had no ambition to be an inventor or ad- venturer in ecclesiastical or theological science. His aim was to be neither sectional nor sectarian, but catholic and Connectional. " Food convenient " for spiritual nurture he prepared with anxious care and earnest prayer. His su- preme thought in the conduct of his columns was to honor God and help his readers to a higher spiritual life. The divine purpose ever in view, as he sent forth the Christian Advocate on its weekly visit, is best told in his own words: " Not what we would like, nor always what we think best for ourselves, but what will do our readers the most good, is the uppermost thought something to meet their spiritual, mental, and social wants, and help them to holy and happy lives, is our constant study. Scholars and philosophers are comparatively few ; the preachers are not numerous as com- pared with the people. A crumb now and then for them is well, but the mission of the Christian Advocate is to the peo- ple and their homes. We try to make it a wholesome, faithful, and acceptable visitor to them, putting into it just such matter and in such proportions as shall best serve this purpose. These years of care and labor would be well re- paid if even in a few instances the Christian Advocate has led sinners to Christ, helped believers to a better and deeper experience, and brought comfort to the bereaved and strick- en. As our thousands of readers come up before us we think of the time when God shall bring every secret thing into judgment, and when 'the fire shall try every man's work of what sort it is.' May those who read and those who write be clear in that day ! In view of this responsi- bility, we would endeavor to build up the personal piety of our readers, to break up the fallow-ground, and to urge each one to repentance, faith, and holiness." 102 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. His "leaders" were models of pure English and elevated thought. No writer in American Methodism excelled him in finish and limpid purity of style. Dwelling himself among the higher spiritualities, his writings were eloquent and redolent with the voice and presence of the Holy Spirit. The following extract from the writer's salutatory as his successor in the editorship, expressed a hope that has found grateful fruition through the intervening years: " The seeming emharrassment of immediately succeeding one so successful and distinguished is fully appreciated; but that embarrassment is only seeming; it is a help and not a hinderauce, an inspiration and not a discouragement. The high character his great abilities gave this journal will con- ceal many deficiencies. The momentum he gave it will long keep the machinery in action with a less skillful hand at the wheel. On every page will be reflected the genial ex- pression of his well-known face, and every damp sheet fresh from the press will infold the aroma of his kindly, generous spirit." 6HAPTER Xffl, THREE YEARS A BISHOP. (70UTHERN Methodism has been singularly favored in K) the selection of her chief pastors. They have possessed every variety of talent the widest diversity of gifts butthe same spirit. In one the genius and prescience of the eccle- siastical statesman was prominent; in another, the clear dis- cernment and calm deliberation of the great jurist ; in yet another, the magnetic orator and model preacher; and all these in great variety. But each had the same spirit of profound consecration to the office and work of the gospel ministry. Not one proved faithless to his high commission, and each went up to his reward without a blur on his name or a stain on his shield. Great in their consecrated gifts and culture, they were glorious in the peerless purity of their lives. In this Pantheon of apostolic chieftains must now be placed the name of Bishop Linus Parker. His epis- copate was short, embracing just the period of our Lord's active earthly ministry, but was no less faithful and honor- able than those of his illustrious predecessors and colleagues. Life cannot be measured by length of days. The dials of earth may show The length not the depth of years. Dr. Parker's elevation to the episcopal office was not of his own seeking or consent. He kindly but emphatically declined to hear any suggestions on the subject from special friends, and assured them of his greater love for the quiet editorial chair or the work of a pastor. Nor was his elec- (103) 104 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. tion the result of some special or brilliant achievement of his a sermon of thrilling power on some grand occasion, a General Conference speech on an important question, or some ringing paper evidencing the grasp and greatness of a parliamentary leader. It was the calm, deliberate judgment of his brethren, who knew him well and recognized his emi- nent fitness for the responsible office. So when the General Conference of 1882 met in the city of Nashville, it was gen- erally understood by the Church at large that if the episco- pacy was to be strengthened, Dr. Parker would be one of the elect. Nor was the judgment of the Church misplaced. His qualifications for the office were evident and eminent. He was a loyal lover of Methodism both in doctrine and polity. He was hopeful for the Church. Though readily recogniz- ing dangers and evils, and bravely warning and exhorting against them, he was no sour pessimist, idly lamenting that the former times were better than these. He was self-sacri- ficing. There was no desire or disposition to spare himself. He entered upon the duties of his office with an unreserved consecration of purpose and energy. To him the voice of the Church was the voice of God. He traveled much, preached frequently, and did all the work of a Methodist bishop. The burdens of the office oppressed him, and the care of the churches was a constant strain upon his sympa- thies. In the "station ing-room," where the laborers were distributed over the field, he earnestly sought divine guid- ance, and keenly felt the possible privations of each preach- er. With an almost unerring intuition, he was a ready dis- cerner of the spirits of men. He gauged the "gifts and graces" of his preachers with prayerful precision, and made their appointments in the immediate presence of God. Gen- tle and sympathetic, he was yet inflexible in purpose and courageous in the discharge of duty. He was dignified THREE YEARS A BISHOP. without austerity, and affable without familiarity. At the Conferences and elsewhere he was the same genial, modest, companionable man as a bishop that he was in the quiet pastorate or in the editorial chair. If long life had been granted, he would have grown upon the Church as a wise administrator and worthy successor of the apostolic men whose historic names are a precious, priceless heritage to American Methodism. The first two years of his episcopate were spent in Texas, and to the Texans he became warmly attached. It was doubtless his purpose to secure a permanent residence in that State, though many other and flattering invitations were extended him. His letters to the New Orleans Chris- tian Advocate from Texas indicated how thoroughly he had studied the necessities and possibilities of that vast field, and with what eager interest he marked its rapid develop- opment. He found especial pleasure in the work on the Mexican border, and talked delightfully of his experiences there. And it was a beautiful expression of their grateful regard when the members of the Mexican Border Mission Conference, at its last session, sent a free-will offering to the "Parker Memorial Church" in New Orleans, which is to bear the Bishop's name and perpetuate his fame. In a gen- erous, eulogistic mention of his death, character, and public services, the Texas Christian Advocate concludes: "His first two years of episcopal labor were spent in Texas, where by his courtesy, his faithfulness, his humility, his modesty, his firmness, his abounding charity, and his ability in the pulpit and on the platform, he proved himself well fitted for the office and work of bishop in the Church of God. His death after one year more of such labor seems to us a strange providence. He was not worn by age nor enfeebled by disease. He was in the full possession of all his physical and ixcntal powers. Why was he not 106 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. spared to perform, ibr many years to come, the duties of that high office which he had thus far filled with such great usefulness and distinguished ability? It may be that God would teach us how little he needs the best human counsel and the strongest human arm. He buries his workmen but carries on the work." His third episcopal tour embraced the Conferences in Mis- souri, and the North Carolina, Mississippi, and Baltimore Conferences. This round had been completed except the lasf, and he was about starting for that when the summons came, and he entered his Master's joy. Everywhere his la- bors gave the fullest satisfaction and left a fragrant memory. The Raleigh Christian Advocate, speaking for the brethren of the old North State, said : " No man ever impressed him- self so favorably and so indelibly upon our Conference in so short a time as did Bishop Parker." At the Mississippi, one of the old patronizing Conferences of the New Orleans Christian Advocate, and to which he had sustained official and personal relations for so many years, he was enthusiast- ically welcomed and highly honored. That was the last Conference over which he presided, and the preachers who had been so long and faithfully fed and edified by his fruit- ful pen were the last to be recommissioned by his episcopal hand. From that Conference he returned to New Orleans to spend a rest season with his family until the meeting of the Baltimore Conference. It proved to be a rest from his loved employ an eternal rest in the home of the glorified. gHAPTER XIV, PERSONAL TRAITS AND D ISHOP PARKER was a man of commanding presence. ID Standing erect, six feet or more, with a large, well-^uit frame, comfortably and handsomely cushioned with flesh, he was a fine specimen of manly beauty. The expression of his bright black eye blended at once the flash of intelli- gence and the glance of love. It evidenced keen, clear pene- tratior and a gentle, benignant disposition. His forehead was broad and massive, the seat of calm deliberation and ponderous thought. His movements were deliberate, an index to the smooth, even action of his mental machinery. There were no quick, jerky steps in his walk, nor was there any " lost motion " in the well-regulated enginery of his mind. It had not the action of a little " dummy," with its rapidly revolving wheels, but rather the majestic movement of a great Corliss engine, whose strides are like the tread of another fabled Jupiter, turning thousands of feet of shafting without apparent strain or effort. True poetry, it is said, is born, not made. It flows with scarcely more effort than a silvery stream sings along its pebbly channel borne by the fountain's exhaustless tide. And Ruskin has applied this thought to all mental operations. He says " no great intellectual thing was ever done by great effort." Though not accepting the truth of that statement, of Bish- op Parker it may be said that his finest thoughts, both as preacher and journalist, seemed to be produced without labor. His most polished and powerful editorials were writ- (107) 106 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. ten rapidly and with apparently perfect ease. The first draft of air article was ready for the printer without revision or emendation. Another distinguished characteristic was his singular modesty and unaffected sincerity. He coveted a quiet min- istry, and shrunk from conspicuous position. His promo- tion resulted from the persistent power of great merit, though against his own sincere protest. He always thought more highly of others than of himself, and found pleasure iutheir success. He was perfectly transparent the light shone through at every pore. He had no hidden motives, no ominous concealments, no diplomatic reserve. Envy and jealousy found no place to plant a foot in his generous bosom; hence the loving devotion of his old Conference comrades. He was beautifully innocent of ecclesiastical politics. He never projected plans nor abetted schemes for personal or ulterior reasons, for he neither had enemies to punish nor selfish friends to reward. His brethren honored him against his own judgment and desires. When Cente- nary College conferred upon him the honorary degree of Doctor of Divinity, he considered it more modest to accept than decline the flattering distinction. More than once, with characteristic humility, did he remark to friends that he feared the Church made a mistake in his election to the episcopacy. But her call was to him the will of God, and he obeyed with apostolic fervor and zeal. Bishop Parker was an humble, symmetrical Christian. He was one of the finest products of Methodist culture. He had a rich experience and a ready testimony. In the class-meeting he loved to sit, and was generally the first to speak, though in few words and with becoming modesty. On his rounds of episcopal visitation he never failed to attend the Conference love-feast and witness to the regenerating and sanctifying power of the Holy Ghost. There were no gaps or PERSONAL TRAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS. 109 chasms, no abrupt heights or dark gorges, in his re life. Whatever were his inward conflicts, he seemed to be ascending a regular incline. There was no demonstration, no ostentation, but a calm, constant, blessed glorying in the cross. His light burned with a steady flame. To outward seeming there was no eclipse no, not even an obscuring cloud. And in the grace of humility he had preeminence. It adorned and beautified his private life and public ministry. Bishop Parker was conspicuous for his generous, catliylic spirit. Every good cause found in him a helpful friend, and every Christian a brother beloved. No narrow iuclosure of ecclesiasticism could confine the wealth of his fervent sympathies. Though well defined in his convictions theo- logical and ecclesiastical and abundantly able to defend them, he was neither a partisan nor a sectarian. For con- troversy he had no taste, but a real aversion. Born of this broad catholicity were his generous judgments. He had a genius for discerning and commending the better elements in every character, and had an almost divine forgetful ness of deficiencies and unavoidable errors. Never condoning wrong, he loved to discover and applaud the right. In a long and intimate acquaintance I never heard from him an unkind criticism or an unsanctified judgment of another. And yet withal he had the fearless courage of a hero and the unflinching purpose of a martyr. Together with this, and of which it had birth, was a spirit of singular devout- ness. It threw a strange charm over his life, and gave him peculiar power in personal intercourse. A distinguished minister thus writes: "There was no conventional devoutness about the Bish- op, but it came from a heart animated and warmed by the fires of the Holy Spirit, and there was a peculiar contagion about it that made one feel he was in the presence of a man that held kinship and communion with the Father." 110 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. a man of much prayer. He frequented the holy of holies, and understood what is meant by a "sweet hour of prayer." And he offered the prayer of faith. The fol- lowing was related by Rev. Dr. J. B. Walker, presiding elder of the New Orleans District and the Bishop's life- long friend, in his eloquent funeral-address: " I remember an incident that illustrates this character- istic of our beloved friend. It occurred during the fearful epidemic of 1878. Our esteemed Brother Mathews, as many of us well remember, was- stricken with a second re- lapse of yellow fever. Brother Parker called on the morn- ing of the critical day. He met the attending physician, who remarked: 'Brother Mathews will die, for I have never heard of a man recovering from a second relapse of yellow fever.' Brother Parker said to the doctor: 'Go back to his bedside and exert yourself to the utmost of your ability, and I will go to the parlor and pray God to spare his life.' For over two hours did Bishop Parker plead with God to grant this favor; and on his approaching the sick-chamber the physician met him and said : ' There is a marvelous change in Brother Mathews. It was not wrought by human skill; it is the hand of God.'" Bishop Parker was an eminently wise counselor. He pos- sessed an even poise of character that exempted him from partisan bias or prejudice. This enabled him to look at all sides' of a question and render an unclouded, unprejudiced opinion. I have known no man wh.ose counsel was more frequently sought, and whose judgments were so readily and entirely accepted. He was an able preacher. As a sermoiiizer, he stood among the first in our pulpit. His style was expository and eminently practical. He opened the Scriptures to the peo- ple with a rare, luminous exegesis, and was peculiarly hap- py in discovering the hidden meaning of a text. He dwelt PERSONAL TUAITS AND CHARACTERISTICS. Ill on great spiritual themes, and studiously eschewed all mere speculation and parade of learning in the pulpit. It was his profound conviction that the best cure for doubt and the surest corrective of scientific skepticism was positive gospel preaching. And all his ministrations had the aroma of the closet and the overshadowing of the Almighty. Living much and intimately with his Lord, he testified of that which he knew, and with a confidence that carried convic- tion. Without the talismanic gifts and graces of the ora- tor, never soaring into the doubtful realm of popular elo- quence, he was an instructive, analytical, suggestive, pro- found preacher, rightly dividing the word of truth. And the oftener he was heard the- more he was appreciated. His was a vast treasury of spiritual knowledge, and out of it he always brought something fresh and savory " food convenient" for the nourishment and enrichment of the people. In this aspect of his ministry he strikingly resem- bled Canon Liddon and Dr. Joseph Parker, of London. He was not what is technically known as a revivalist, but he emphasized the old Methodist methods and reported large ingatherings. Logic, learning, and unction beautifully blended in his amplification of a subject, and often with immediate, mighty results. Every year he conducted a long protracted meeting, doing most of the preaching himself, and had the gratification of seeing scores joyfully converted to God. At camp-meetings he was diligent in the altar, instructing penitents and rejoicing with the redeemed. His home-life was beautiful. In that inner sacred circle his gentle virtues shed a fragance sweet as the breath of heaven. Of strong domestic attachments, he found the hearth-stone his earthly paradise. Among the hardest tri- nl.s of the episcopacy were his necessary and long absences from home. An ideal husband and a fond, considerate father, he illustrated the harmony and consistency of faith- 112 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. ful public service with the holiest domestic duty and happi- ness. His three sons John Burruss, Fitzgerald Sale, and Frank Nutting with their mother, treasure the sweetest memories of his amiable, beautiful life. The two younger sons have recently entered the Louisiana Conference, fol- lowing the footsteps of their illustrious father. Through them, he being dead, will yet speak. gHAPTER XV, LAST HOURS AND BURIAL ON Sunday morning, March 1, he preached to his beloved little flock at Louisiana Avenue, New Orleans, from the text, " I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ ; for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that be- lieveth : to the Jew first, and also to the Greek." After the sermon, which was characteristic in freshness and spir- itual power, there was a most impressive and delightful communion-service. That was the Bishop's last sermon, and doubtless if his own desires had been expressed he would not have ordered it otherwise. He would have sought that modest little chapel to deliver his last will and testament. At night he attended service at St. Charles Avenue with his family, and was a helpful hearer of the sermon preached by the pastor, Rev. Beverly Carradine. And what a hearer he was ! Not critical, not censorious, but prayerful, sympathetic, attentive, encouraging. On Monday he came down in the city, and spent two hours or more at the Advocate office. He was never more genial and companionable, and talked cheerfully of his work, the Bal- timore Conference he was to attend in a few days, and his long line of District Conferences during the year. Again on Tuesday he came down to Camp street, and, as was his habit, walked all the way home, a distance of three miles. Dur- ing the night he suffered great pain in one ear, but after the application of some simple remedies relief was given, and he fell asleep, resting comfortably till the afternoon of 8 (113) 114 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. Wednesday. There was no apprehension on his part or his family's that any serious illness would result; but as his symptoms seemed not to improve in the afternoon, a phy- sician was summoned, who arrived about seven o'clock. Mrs. Parker met him in the parlor, and explained the case in a few words, her entire absence from the oora occupying not more than five minutes; but a fatal congestion had seized him, and when they returned the Bishop was uncon- scious, and never again uttered a word or gave a sign of recognition. In that condition he lingered until Thursday afternoon at half-past six o'clock, when the silver cord was loosed, and the glorified spirit ascended to the house of many mansions. During the day the preachers in the city came and went, with softened step and anxious hearts, to inquire after their beloved co-laborer and revered chief pas- tor. Fervent prayers were offered that our Father might spare his precious life, but he chose to crown him early. When he ceased to breathe, for a moment there was a holy calm in the room. Not a word was spoken, not a sigh was heard. There seemed to be the vanishing sweep of wings and the faint, distant echo of an unearthly music. At length the silence was broken by Kev. T. B. White, who said, " The Lord gave, and the Lord hath taken away." Dr. John Mathews said, " He has fought a good fight, and kept the faith." Some one then observed, "It is a fitting time to pray ; " and at once all knelt around the sleeping Bishop, and Dr. Mathews fervently led in the devotions. How strik- ingly descriptive of his own death-scene are the words of his pen in an editorial entitled "Our Friends in Heaven:" " The death of one very dear to us seems to rend the veil that our faith had not hitherto quite penetrated, and the line of separation between earth and heaven, however nar- row it was, becomes less now. . . . We cannot but follow the spirit, just now breathing in our ears the words of a LAST HOURS AND BURIAL. 115 loving good-by, as it moves out into the mysteries and sub- limities of the better life. Surely heaven is not any more a bright abstraction, nor the subject of speculative thought nor of curious imaginings. It becomes as real as our own souls, and it is brought as near to us, and is as clearly dis- cerned, as our own heart-throbs. . . . And thus it comes to pass that this ordeal of affliction, under the ministry of grace, gives the highest touches and finish to the heavenly- mindedness of the children of God. It sets the riches of grace with brilliants and gems of an incomparable luster." There were no imposing scenes in his death. He was not privileged to talk with friends and loved ones at the hour of parting ; but such a life needed no dying-testimony. No triumphant exclamation then uttered could have given so glorious and cloudless an assurance of his heavenly corona- tion as the stainless beauty of his daily walk and conversation. He did not have to secure a ticket of admission at the gates of the celestial city, because for more than thirty years he had carried a " title clear " to a fadeless crown and an in- corruptible inheritance. Every day he caught "reveal- ments of God's paradise," and lived in the conscious pres- ence of the Invisible. The manner of his death so quiet, peaceful, and unim- posing was in accord with his modest, reticent disposition. Years before, he wrote as follows : "There is something unhealthful and morbid in the love which people sometimes have for death-bed scenes. It is certain that the Scriptures do not countenance nor gratify any extravagant tendency in this direction. Neither the truth of religion nor the piety of the saint is made to de- pend upon these phenomenal manifestations. If the Chris- tian dies in his senses, and the circumstances of his death admit of it, we expect to find peace and comfortable assur- ance. Christians die well, and there is sometimes what we 116 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. call triumph triumph uttered, dazzling light, wavy forms, and celestial melody. The end of the upright is peace ; but the death-scene often testifies nothing, and we are thrown back upon the holy life and the promises for assurance that 'all is well.' Chalmers died alone, in the still watches of healthful repose. Fletcher and Toplady, whose polemic lances had often crossed, died almost seraphically. In the death of eminent saints something remarkable is often looked for and not realized. The chariot and horses of fire come, but not with observation. They are carried home, but they glide noiselessly away. The wind that fills the parting sail is not felt by those who linger on the shore. How we should choose to die is best left to God. It mat- ters little, so we are ready. Happy dying may not be con- sciously for all, but substantially it is for every Christian. If death is a narrow stream, it grows narrower as we ap- proach the brink, until what we supposed to be the turbid flood is left behind. We have looked for death, but have passed it without recognizing the fact. 'Verily, verily I say unto you, If a man keep my sayings he shall never see death.' " He was buried from St. Charles Avenue Church, where his family worship, and which is but a square from their residence. The funeral-services were held at three o'clock on Friday afternoon. Long before the hour arrived hun- dreds came by every line of cars, and filled the spacious temple. The pall-bearers were representatives of the sev- eral Methodist churches in the city, and each had been a special friend of the Bishop. These men were preceded by all the ministers resident and visiting in the city. The church was heavily draped with crape, and just in the rear of the pulpit were the words, " Our Beloved Bishop." With- in the chancel two tables were covered with flowers of beau- tiful designs. One was a magnificent arched gate-way, on LAST HOURS AND BURIAL. 117 the top of which sat a white dove with wings spread for flight. The gates beneath swung back and stood open, ready for the triumphant entrance of the redeemed of the Lord. The other was a large cross of white flowers, with a heart and anchor on either side. After a beautifully ren- dered and appropriate voluntary by the choir, Dr. John Mathews read the ninetieth Psalm. Dr. C. W. Carter read the lesson from Corinthians, and Rev. S. H. Werlein offered prayer. Rev. Beverly Carradine then announced the seven hundred and thirty-ninth hymn, Servant of God, well done ! Rest from thy loved employ, which was sung with deep emotion. Dr. J. B. Walker, presiding elder of the New Orleans District, and the inti- mate friend and co-laborer of the Bishop, delivered the fu- neral-address. It was a pathetic portraiture of a spotless character and glorified comrade. At the conclusion of this address the seven hundred and sixteenth hymn was read by the author. At the cemetery the service was read by Dr. J. B. A. Ahrens, and the tomb was sealed forever from mortal eyes. Connjectional Methodism wept over the un- timely fall of a noble, heroic leader, and the churches in New Orleans, where his life was mostly spent, sorrowed for a personal friend and beloved pastor. In that narrower circle, where his rare virtues shone in full radiance, he was loved to devotion. Old and young, rich and poor, mingled their tears over his bier, and thanked God for his beautiful life. iis (119) PREFATORY NOTE. REQUESTS for Bishop Parker's editorials to be collected in book form have been many and urgent, and from the chief men in the Church. Long before his death, admiring readers of his "leaders" in the New Orleans Christian Advocate pronounced them the choicest gems of our sacred literature, and worthy of permanent preservation. They were "food convenient" for the thousands who sat at his ta- ble week after week, and will be strengthening meat to those who may read these pages. It is hazarding nothing to say, no man in American Methodism wielded a more polished pen. As a writer he had the classic elegance of Addison perfumed with the devotional spirit of Jeremy Taylor. Some of his editorials were as stately as "Corinthian mold," and others as beautiful as "Doric chiseling." In the following compilation the editor has been embarrassed most of all with wealth of material. Bishop Parker was a diligent editor for twelve consecutive years, and a regular correspondent of the religious press during his entire ministry. He left sufficient "copy" for several choice volumes. Those selected are in nowise superior to the vast number rejected. The plan of the compiler de- termined the selection and, not exceptional excellence. Doubtless some will be missed that were specially admired and remembered. In these editorials the reader must not expect an elaborate trea- tise on any subject. The function of the weekly newspaper is sug- gesti-e, and not exhaustive. Its domain is distinct and apart from the magazine or review. But unless the critical judgment of hun- dreds is at fault, many will be regarded as almost perfect pieces of art. For lofty spiritual thought and literary elegance, they are scarcely equaled in their sphere. (121) THE PREACHER CALLED. CALL TO THE MINISTRY. THIS may, in a general way, be defined as an impression made upon the mind by the Holy Spirit that it is a man's duty to preach the gospel. It is a conviction that comes to him, a strong and persistent persuasion, that God would have him devote himself to this particular work. There may be in some instances an anticipation of this call before conversion. Especially may this be the case in young men who have been reared religiously. In their awakening and concern for their souls, the realization of peace has been consciously suspended upon a complete sub- mission to the will of God in this regard. With them con- version carried along with it the vital qualification and the fully developed call to preach. We have known such cases. They may be more numerous than is generally supposed. The rule, however, is that some time after conversion the conviction comes gradually as a revelation speaking out of the depths of religious experience, and confirmed by the development of gifts and graces in the ordinary path of Christian life. There are sudden conversions, and there are surprisingly sudden revivals of spiritual power in believers, but we im- agine the call to preach is usually an impression of the Spirit that has a faint beginning, and that by slow degrees grows and expands until all doubt is dispelled. Those who have this impression are usually disposed to resist it, and to sift the matter with prayerful concern. It is well that they should put themselves upon a rigorous probation of self- (123) 124 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. imposed watchfulness and thorough self-examination, even when tried friends are forward to advise. In the midst of revival influences young men may sometimes, in their new- ly awakened fervor, conclude that they are called. They have never thought of the matter until then, and in their zeal the ministry seems to them to be the opening for their religious activity. In some instances they may be right; but before deciding let them wait until they have tested themselves. Perhaps when the excitement and the emotions enkindled at the camp or protracted meeting have subsid- ed, and they once more encounter the ordinary conditions of the spiritual conflict, they will reach the conclusion that they are simply called to a more devoted religious life. All that we insist upon is that young men move with de- liberation and with the utmost prayerfulness in this direc- tion. With them there can be no visible divine manifesta- tion, nor any voice to the ear, as in the call of Moses and of Paul. The secret of the Lord, however, is with them that fear him, and there need be no mistake if we move slowly and prayerfully. The judgment of the Church will always have its weight with those who have the right spirit. If the decision be adverse it may mean delay, or it may indicate that the in- dividual has made an honest mistake. If the Church per- sists in its belief that a man is not called to preach, it is a strong presumption that God has not called him. On the other hand, neither Quarterly nor Annual Conferences are infallible. Their authorization will go far to confirm the applicant's conviction. Very justly it contributes much toward the settlement of the question. But after all, the Church is sometimes in error, and the young licentiate finds that there was a mistake all around. The man must be tried by the Church before it can decide. The probabilities arising from character, experience, and general qualifica- THE PREACHER CALLED. 125 tions are strong, but only actual preaching can determine the possession of gifts, grace, and usefulness. There can be no fruit as a preacher until the attempt to preach is made. Nor can a man be fully satisfied in his own mind until he tries to preach. The call, previously and honestly felt, be- comes an assured' and joyous certainty when souls are con- verted and when the baptism of love and power is poured upon him in his pulpit ministrations. The call to preach is often reviewed with zealous and searching rigor by preach- ers who have spent years in the ministry. In their earlier ministry, under temptations and discouragements, they have wrestled and agonized over this question. The call thus has its various stages a conviction in the mind of the young convert, the voice of the Church con- firming and testing, and the ministerial experience of great- er or less duration. There should be no unseemly hurry in those who feel themselves called to preach. The Lord has done without them a long time, and if they had never been born it would have made but little difference. Be as sure as possible of the divine call, that it is "not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God ;" and then honestly accept every probationary step, until es- tablished and confirmed in the glorious but fearfully respon- sible work. And at whatever stage in the process of trial, if convinced that a mistake has been made, have the cour- age to retrace your steps. About the literary and theological preparations for the ministry we have little to say beyond this, that a call to preach does not make them unnecessary. If possible they should be secured. A few years at college will save time and double the fruit of most ministers. The preacher loses much and gains nothing by starting before he is ready. Wesley's eight years spent in the university were a saving of time. Education is important, but with a fair English THE EDITOR-BISHOP. education much can be attained in our itinerant school. Good preachers have been and still can be made without the college or the theological seminary. The call to preach is also a call to study ; but it is more than this a call to a life of labor, of self-denial, and ordinarily of poverty. It is not a divine call to serve rich and flourishing stations, and to occupy the green and well-watered fields, but to go to domestic and foreign missions, and to build up the waste places. There is in the Christian life no self-renunciation equal to that involved in the call to preach. Let our young men count the cost, and be sure that their call is genuine. THE MINISTERIAL WOE. IN Paul's case this woe was of the most serious import. Necessity was laid upon him of so grave a character that his salvation was involved. Of all the fearful things which a refusal to preach the gospel might have inflicted upon him, the loss of his own soul was that which he had chiefly in his mind. Taking all the circumstances of his conversion and call to the apostleship into the account, but one path was open to him. He was so unmistakably put into the ministry that it would have been the height of contuma- cy to have even doubted the fact. Disobedience to " the heavenly vision " would have placed him in an attitude of rebellion which must have ended in his eternal ruin. We might hesitate to apply Paul's convictions concerning him- self to all who in the ordinary way are moved to preach. There are pains and penalties attached to every departure from duty in the religious life, and this self-evident propo- sition applies with peculiar force to the obligations of the ministry. To resist or to evade the impression that a dis- pensation of the gospel is committed to us may not in every case lead to the absolute forfeiture of eternal life, but there will be spiritual depression, loss of comfort, and often well- THE PREACHER CALLED. 127 marked providential afflictions. The sin may not be " unto death," but the manifestations of the divine disapprobation will be neither few nor light. There are many good men in the Church, called in their youth to preach, whose lives have been embittered by conflict and disappointment, and whose temporal and spiritual welfare has been engloomed T>y this mistake of their earlier religious history. Their re- lease from a distasteful duty has been attended by trouble and disaster, by the loss of peace and satisfaction, and by heart-felt sorrow and regret that they did not heed the voice of God. The young man who is called to this w r ork will be happier in it than in any other condition, and if he does not lose his soul by declining to enter it, he will have cause to mourn over the most serious error of his life. Disobedience to this conviction may entail eternal ruin upon the soul. The grieved Spirit departs from him who willfully resists his operations, and he is left alone to his idols. The refusal to obey this call is the beginning of a course of backsliding, which ultimately reaches apostasy. Thousands who have taken the responsibility of deciding against the clearest intimations of God's will concerning them have sealed their doom by this act. They have sought relief from their convictions by keeping aloof from all re- ligious influences, and by plunging more deeply into the pursuits and pleasures of the world. They have fled from the presence of the Lord rather than accept the burden of calling sinners to repentance. The young man whom Christ called to follow him, although he went away sorrowing, still went away to keep his possessions and to lose his soul. Necessity is doubtless laid upon all who are called to preach. In some it may be a higher and more inexorable necessity than in others, but still there is a woe which follows disobe- dience. In some it is a more prominent element of convic- tion than in others, and in many it is nearly lost and over- 128 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. shadowed by a superabounding love for the work of saving souls. So glorious and delightful is this employment that they engage in it with the enthusiasm of volunteers, and are thankful for the privilege of proclaiming the riches of the grace of God in Christ. The point of perplexity is not whether they must, but whether they may preach the gospel. The blessing and not the woe stimulates and attracts, and they are drawn and allured 'by the constraining love of Christ. The sense of privilege may be greater than that of necessity, and so much greater that all consciousness of compulsion is lost in the freeness and gladness with which the divine commission is accepted. That view of the min- istry which regards it as a species of servitude to which some believers are condemned is far from the true concep- tion. It is rather the freest and noblest sphere of Christian duty, in which every peculiar sacrifice is offset by the grand- est compensations. It is an invitation to the highest seat at the gospel-feast, and a distinction which angels might covet. Inci- dentally, and to serve the argument in hand, Paul exclaims, " Woe is unto me, if I preach not the gospel ! " but gener- ally he alludes to his ministerial vocation in terms of thank- fulness and satisfaction. He magnifies his office, and glo- ries in its tribulations and sufferings: "And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry." The necessity was there, and in all his ministry, but it was outstripped by the nobler principles of faith and love, and overgrown by the fragrant bloom of a cheerful and joyous service. How- ever it might have been on the service in the beginning of his career, it gave place and became subordinate to the im- pulse of a consecrated and holy heart. We can scarcely think of John as uttering the Pauline woe at all. A nature like his needed not the lash to drive him into the field of duty, but it yielded readily to the di- THE PREACHER CALLED. 129 vine drawings arid the sweet enhancements of the spiritual life. His call was doubtless backed by as great a woe as that of Paul, but it may never have risen clearly into his consciousness, because its office was not needed. To him the ministry was altogether a call of privilege, a glory and a joy, and a service of perfect freedom. Prudential fear enters largely into ordinary Christian experience, but it loses prominence under the growing strength of the spirit- ual life, and almost fades from thought in the glowing and grateful affection of the believing heart. It is so in ministe- rial experience, in which the "Woe is unto me," however true in fact, is sunk in the all-pervading love of Christ and his work. Doubtless there are some preachers who have scarcely, even at the beginning of their career, felt any thing of it. The seraphim have touched their lips with fire from the altar, and when God has asked the question, " Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?" the response has been, "Here am I; send me." There is an inward moral necessity which the minister of the gospel feels without any distinct reference to the conse- quences as they may affect himself. The burden of the word of the Lord is upon him, and he must relieve his heart of the burning truths that stir within. He cannot hold his peace if he would, and utterance must be given to the message that he feels commissioned to proclaim. The prophet's words describe at least the occasional feelings of the man who is called of God to preach : " But his word was in mine heart as a burning fire shut up in my bones, and I was weary with forbearing, and I could not stay." This burning fire shut up in the bones is a necessity differ- ent from that which is laid upon the conscience by the dan- ger to our own salvation, and differing also somewhat from that grateful love' which gladly and freely accepts this form of Christian consecration. Many are moved by this sense 9 THE Ei)iTOu-Bi8iioi'. of woe to preach, many are perhaps held in their course by this influence; but it does not stand alone, nor is it the high- est principle of duty. It is an element in all Christian life and in the ministerial call, but it is not at all times present in the mind, and in some instances it may not have been recognized where other motives have been in the ascendant. An undue emphasis of Paul's words may lead to the er- ror that the ministry is a path in which the highest incen- tives are not adequate, in which the believer is driven by the whip of necessity, and in which the principles and re- wards of a religious life are not found. The apostle's " Woe is unto me" may also be perverted and misapplied by some who are exercised upon the subject of the call to preach. Perhaps they do not feel this woe; but is it needful in every case that they should? May they not be drawn by the love of Christ and moved by the word of the Lord in the heart? The permission may be stronger than the sense of require- ment, and the privilege greater than the feeling of necessity. Love may be stronger than fear, and the sense of blessed- ness in this service may overtop the conceivable conse- quences of disobedience. THE PREACHER AT WORK. GODLY CRAFT. T}AUL made a bold and instructive confession when he IT said : " Nevertheless, being crafty, I caught you with guile." Soul-saving is an art., as much higher than all other arts as its object is greater than all other kinds of human enterprise. " He that winneth souls is wise," and there is a fertility of invention and a studied application of means which are needful to insure success. These alone will ac- complish nothing, but they tell amazingly when united and in harmony with the operations of the Holy Spirit. While God gives the increase, and while only*the good seed of the gospel bears living fruit, the skill of the sower has much to do with the result. As workers together with God, we may work in such a bungling way as to do little or nothing in bringing souls to Christ. Paul artfully accommodated himself to the conditions around him. " I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some." The guile which he employed consisted in the wise and dexterous use of the lawful and the expedient to move and allure to virtue and piety. Prejudices were conciliated, habits, tastes, and opinions were treated with careful deli- cacy, and all the springs of human action were touched with such a deft and adroit manipulation as to lead the opposers unconsciously up to the acceptance of religious truth. In this there was no compromise of any thing essen- tial ; but where occasion called for it, there was the most unflinching assertion of the offensive doctrines of the cross. This combination of art and of fidelity is the element in (131) 132 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. * soul-saving which demauds our study and imitation. It is to have craft and guile, and to be at the same time without low cunning and clear of blamable duplicity. It is to be wise to win, without abating the clairqg of the gospel ; and to be all things to all men, while we know nothing among them but " Christ and him crucified." It will not do to fall back upon the divine power of the gospel, and to rest complacently in the conviction that the Holy Spirit is the adequate and only saving agent. If God accepts of human instrumentalities, and has made the world's salvation de- pendent upon them, we are responsible for their most effect- ive disposition and use. While every thing is in the in- spired word, there is much in the manner of its exposition and application. Christ might have put the substance of his teachings into a few propositions as dry and bald as the Thirty-nine Articles and as terse and compact as the Nicene Creed. He chose, however, a style ornate and lavishly em- bellished, illustrating by the most finished parables, and by the richest imagery, and by the largest affluence of figura- tive language. He taught with authority and with the ut- most fidelity, and yet with consummate art. His life and intercourse with men sliow of whom Paul had learned his craft. To seek and to save the lost he also, in some sort, became all things to all men, adapting himself to the ca- pacities and social customs of the times; but so that sin was always rebuked, sincerity, penitence^ and faith were com- mended, and the afflicted were cheered and comforted. The apostles were to be " fishers of men," and to take with them into their higher calling the tact, judgment, and practical resources which had been developed by their toils and per- ils on the Sea of Galilee. Here was a stormier deep before them, and prizes of infinite value to be taken. And here was occasion for the exercise of all their mother-wit and all their daring and shrewdness. The line and the net were THE PREACHER AT WORK. 133 scarcely to be cast at random, but rather to be handled with ingenuity and skill. They were to catch men not by casting their nets at a venture and by drawing it in a careless manner, but with elaborate art, with a view to re- sults. Our Qfforts to save men are too often perfunctory in their character, and we turn complacently from them with the doubtful satisfaction that we have done our part. If the sinner is not saved, it is his own fault. We have delivered our testimony, and here our responsibility ends. But have we used every possible art to awaken and attract him to the cross? Have we studied his character and adapted our means to reach his heart, and to interest him on the sub- ject of personal salvation ? The Christian, whether preach- er or layman, cannot be clear unless he has brought all resources and all expedients to bear upon his work. "That I might by all means save some " was Paul's endeavor. The adequacy of the gospel, the necessity of the Spirit's opera- tions, are all conceded; but still there was room for godly craft. Among the Greeks he reminded them of what their own poets had said, and illustrated the Christian warfare by allusions to their historic games and their military cus- toms. He was at home in the literature of Athens and Crete, and knew when and how to quote their standard authors. Among the Jews he appealed to his own unblem- ished Hebrew lineage, and drew his weapons with wonder- ful tact from the armory of patriarchal and Levitical lore. Of the eminent soul-savers among uninspired men it is enough to say that their business was an art in which means and expedients were studiously adapted to the great end in View. How to save souls, and how to save the most, is the thing aimed at. Whatever lawful expedients will reach this result are certainly legitimate. Luther and Wesley, scarcely less than Christ and Paul, had to break with the 134 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. traditions and methods of their times. Whitefield wielded his mighty power at the expense of regularity and order in the Established Church, but with a single eye to saving results. A church is built to be filled; the gospel is pro- claimed to be heard; Christian men and women are to leaven this great worldly mass, and to save the human race. Against the good is marshaled every form of cunning and the most multifarious devices and inventions of evil. World- ly sensations must be met with the religious, and the wis- dom of the serpent, along with the harmlessness of the dove, must inform our religious life and enterprise. If Christians are solely intent upon saving souls, they will not stand upon dignity and order ; they will not be content to move in the old ruts ; they will not be satisfied with a stated round of duties which produce no fruit, but they will seek new and improved methods. The elaborate wiles which the devil throws around a single soul surpass description. The snares and allurements of the world are a most formida- ble and complex apparatus for the destruction of men. We must also be fruitful in the devices and allurements of love, study effect upon character to a sanctified end, and seek by the most varied appliances and by the highest art to com- pass the salvation of perishing souls. COMFORTING GOD'S PEOPLE. THE ministry is specially charged with this duty. Theirs is the office of consolation. " Comfort ye, comfort ye my people," was the message given to the prophet; and it is also a part of the great commission given to the preacher of the gospel. God's people are an afflicted people. The ordinary ca- lamities of life fall to their lot. Sorrows are sown thick olong the path of many of them, and nearly all, soon or THE PREACHER AT WORK. 135 late, are made to drink of the bitter cup of misfortune. Religion does not exempt its possessor from pain and trouble. Among the most holy and devoted servants of God may be found instances of the most severe affliction. There is need of comfort, and it is alike the duty and privilege of the preacher to console those that are in distress. The fact that Christians suffer is too manifest to call for proof. The reason for it is one chief element in the balm which the gospel offers. Trial is a part of our earthly pro- bation, and its purpose is for discipline. God's paternal love is exhibited in the afflictions of his children. For spiritual ends, for the development of character, and to prepare us for the heavenly home, he has appointed these fiery trials. That they are of God and that they have a high and loving purpose are sufficient reasons for quiet and joyous endurance. With the assurance that all things work together for good to them that love God, there is no room for despondency. If God's particular and tender care is over his children, and if this conviction be strong in them, there is no occasion for misgiving. With the sure revelation of a future life, the resurrection of the* dead, and eternal blessedness, the present pain is of small moment. There is comfort in this blessed hope that asserts itself in the most desperate straits of life, and that triumphs over temporal misfortunes. The people of God are to be comforted not only because they need it, but also because they are in a condition to receive consolation. The strong consolation is possible only to those who have fled for refuge to lay hold upon the hopes set before them. It is in fact impossible to comfort the im- penitent and the unbelieving. Real comfort must flow from the divine promises, from Christ as our accepted Sav- iour, and from the hope that is born of the Avituess of the Spirit. For those who i>crsist in sin and in opposition to 136 THE EDITOR BISHOP. God there can be no particle of consolation. They delib- erately place themselves beyond the reach of the great an- tidote to human sorrow. But the people of God have need to be reminded of the richness of their inheritance of grace, and to be directed to the abundant resources of comfort which their faith contains. However we may explain it, there are Christians who do not seem to know how to summon the reserves of consola- tion in the time of trial. There is bewilderment under the first shock of sorrow, and sometimes a spirit of murmuring and distrust. With a cordial for every wound within reach, the hand that should be stretched forth is paralyzed. Just when the vision of the unseen world should be most clear and penetrating, the eyes of faith are holden. Until trouble came, the office of consolation in religion was subordinate and but little considered ; and when the sudden blow fell, the refuge seemed to be shrouded in mist and wrapped in the obscurity of a far-off object. It is well to keep the ele- ments of religious consolation in hand, so that when the emergency arises, and the fierce storm comes down upon us, we may be ready. For whatever reason the fact remains that tried and afflicted saints stand in need of this special ministry of comfort. The firm foundation, although built upon, must be measured and analyzed, and its deep and abiding character recalled to those who feel the shock of an unwonted conflict. There are " sous of consolation " those who have a spe- cial aptitude to help and strengthen weak and troubled souls. In temperament they are sympathetic, in discern- ment they detect the rooted sorrow, and because they have trodden the path of affliction themselves they are gracious- ly qualified to succor those that are tempted. There are " sons of thunder," and also " sons of consolation ; " but the complete ministry is that which combines the two. It may THE PKEACHER AT WORK. 137 not be possible in all in an equal degree, and yet it is an ex- cellence to be aimed at. To comfort is most Christ-like, and to be envied is he who is wise and strong in this min- istry of consolation. In every congregation are troubled, tempted, discouraged disciples. They are waiting and hun- gering for a crumb of comfort, for a word of good cheer, and longing for the hand that shall lead them " beside the still waters." The ministry of consolation is in accord with the office and work of the Holy Spirit as the Comforter. We may be sure that he is present to seal the message, to illumine the heart, and to apply the promises. It is a work in which we may suppose the Spirit especially delights. The meth- ods and expedients of divine love are often severe, but their end in holiness is a supreme and everlasting consolation. It is the privilege of the man of God to be a co-worker with the triune God in this blessed work of bringing forth the wealth of consolation from the treasury of faith, and to comfort the people of God. WHAT AND HOW TO PREACH. A YOUNG preacher writes : " Could not some of you doc- tors of divinity give us an occasional hint about what to preach, or how to preach, or any thing of the kind? You know we are slow to learn, and need just as much precept as we can get." There are many excellent works on preach- ing, such as Yinet's " Pastoral Theology," Bautaine, Broad- us. Bishop Simpson's " Yale Lectures," and "Ad Clerum," by Joseph Parker. Young preachers would do well to read works like these we have mentioned. A careful study of the Acts of the Apostles and Paul's Epistles, especially what are called the " Pastoral Epistles," will throw inspired light upon what and how to preach. It is plain, in general 138 Tin; EDitOR-BiSHOP. terms, that we are to preach the gospel. "Preach the word," is Paul's injunction. As embassadors for Christ the message is given, and it is the preacher's business to deliver it. Sinners are .to he called to repentance, and believers are to be built up and instructed. The law of God must be explained and enforced ; the plan of redemption in Christ, its means and conditions, must be made prominent; and all the duties and precepts of the Bible should be expounded and applied to the conscience and life. In what relative proportion these subjects are to appear in our preaching depends much upon the character of our hearers and of the congregation before us. It is sometimes expedient to take such texts as are of an awakening char- acter, such as are best adapted to produce conviction in the minds of the unconverted. Again, there arc occasions when Christians are to be addressed upon matters of duty and experience. Ordinarily, however, we would aim to give every one his portion, whether saint or sinner, in every ser- mon. The object should be to touch the heart, conscience, and life of every person in the assembly, and so to declare the whole counsel of God that you can meet every hearer in the judgment without condemnation. Our taste is in the expository preaching. The Bible is full of good texts, and instead of a sharply defined topic, with a mere scriptural motto appended, we greatly prefer a rich and juicy text that admits of unity of thought, and at the same time comprehends many aspects of doctrine and experience. There is life in the word, there is food in it, and there is the Holy Ghost in it. To get at the mind of the Spirit in any given text should be the main care. It may mean this or that, and many true and useful things may be said in connection with it, but the preacher should labor to bring out the precise shade of thought as accurately as pos- sible, the precise thing intended by the inspired author. THE FKEACIIER AT WORK. l;>9 Loose and careless exposition, or the quoting of texts with- out usuig them, or the perversion of Scripture to illustrate something foreign to their purpose, are all open to the charge of " handling the word of God deceitfully." A knowledge of the original languages in which the Script- ures were written is of great service to the expositor ; but in these days good commentaries are abundant, and by their use any studious man may attain to excellence in exposi- tion. Expository preaching has in it greater variety than the topical. Topics run out after awhile, but the word of God is deep, inexhaustible, and always abounding in fresh and varied materials. A good critical commentary, writ- ten by a man of true spiritual insight, in which the exact sense of the scripture is brought out, is, after the Bible, the most necessary book for the young preacher to study and consult. The habit of thorough analysis should be formed, and the method and arrangement should be such as to give the greatest clearness and force to the passage in hand. Attention to arrangement is important, because the maxi- mum of power in the preacher cannot be reached by a rambling and disconnected discourse, and because the hear- er needs method to assist attention and memory, and in order to any definite and powerful impression The young preacher has the opportunity of forming right habits of study and also of delivery. After middle life not much change can be expected; but early in the ministerial life the power of extemporaneous speaking can usually be acquired. And if it can be, it is the better way. Every ser- mon should be thought out, and ordinarily the outlines put on paper ; but it will be all the better if never so much as a catch-word be taken into the pulpit. Generally the use of notes and of manuscript is a habit gradually formed, and that might have been avoided. We mention what we re- gard as generally best. There arc exceptions to the rule, 140 Tin: Emxou-liisiiop. but they are few. With a previously thorough study of the subject, memory and self-possession will seldom fail those who trust them. Much has been written about the length x>f sermons. Young preachers do well to study brevity, and old ones too. From thirty to forty minutes is ordinarily long enough, though this depends on how often ^he people hear preach- ing, on the occasion, and on the preacher himself. As we advance in years the mental resources become more ample, the mind works more slowly, and the tendency is to grow prolix. Old men will not mend, but by considering in time young men may form the habit of preaching compar- atively short sermons. Our bishops and great preachers preach long sermons, and they have a right to do so. Peo- ple corne a long distance to hear them, and would not be satisfied with a short sermon. But the measure of Marvin, Munsey, Kavanaugh, Doggett, and others like them, is not for us. Let us call to mind the fable of the frogs and the ox, and not attempt greatness in the direction of long ser- mons. There is much in the manner of preaching the management of the voice, the gestures. Young preachers can improve themselves here. They can avoid and correct what is repulsive, and bring the physical powers into per- fect harmony with the workings of mind and the emotions of the heart. It falls to the lot of few to become popular orators; but the most can speak so as not to offend good taste, and so as to command the attention and respect of sensible people. It is scarcely needful to say that spirituality is the cap- ital qualification. This, fully possessed, will' shape our preaching wholesomely, both as to the matter and manner. There is a good deal of unspiritual preaching, dabbling in science, and a rage for sensational illustration. The preach- er must walk with God n.ud live a life of prayer and com- THE PREACHER AT WORK. 141 muninn with Christ. There is a lack of spirituality even in preachers. They often have a certain type of zeal, they are clear thinkers, brilliant declaimers, and religious, but they need a deeper work, of the Spirit in their own hearts. " The spirit of love, of power, and of a sound mind," is al- m6st sure to be found in connection with a close and hum- ble walk with God. ?he preacher cannot be too careful of his own spiritual condition. It is the essential element of a Christian ministry, and that which makes a personal ministry the appointed means of saving the world. CUMULATIVE PREACHING. As we were listening to a preacher the other Sunday we felt the force of the man's whole life poured upon us in a discourse of forty-five minutes. All that the man knew could not be told in that length of time, but the best that he knew on that particular subject could; and so we real- ized that we were getting the choicest results of a ministry of twenty-five years. The matter wr.s evidently culled and chosen from a large stock, and did not, by any means, em- brace all. A younger man could not have done so well, because the results of his thinking and gathering would have come from a scantier store. When Dr. Lyman Beech- er declared that hs was forty years in preparing a certain sermon he meant it in this sense, that it was the outcome of that many years of general study and of mental and spir- itual training, although the actual writing of the sermon may not have occupied him more than a few hours. We also thought that the cogent reasoning, the happy arrangement, the lucid statement, were the results of a quar- ter of a century of mental discipline and training added to the college course. It took time to develop these mental powers and to bring them to their present state of effective- THE EDITOR-BISHOP. ness and strength. These trained powers of mind were more completely exhibited in this single sermon than the stores of mere knowledge could be. So far as they were concerned, we were being served by the accumulated re- sults of all the preacher's past years of study and mental effort. This treasure, of a mind brought to its ripest strength and polish through so long a course^f training, was minis- tering, in its wholeness, to us in this one sermon. Just as all the weight of the costly and beautiful machinery bears upon the die in coining every precious piece, so the whole mind, with all that it had become, stamped itself upon this single piece of gospel gold. There was also the spiritual element. Paul knew whom he had believed, because he had long been acquainted Avith Christ. It was the knowledge of long acquaintance, of walking with Christ for many years, and of trusting him under many and varied circumstances. In the case we were considering, besides the early conversion, the Scripture study, there were years of religious experience. In all this time there had been growth in grace and growth in the knowledge of Christ. The deep things of God had been sounded as they could not have been in the first years of the most devoted ministry. Here was a mature piety, with its wealth of increase, and with its strong and deep insight, and spiritual enlargement and freedom, coming full-handed to anoint us with the gathered unction of years of prayer and of spiritual struggles and victories. We reflected further that nothing grows like character, and that the sum and might of it all are put into every word the preacher utters, into every blow he strikes. Up to the last hour before the sermon is preached something is added, and the entire power of a spotless and holy life goes into every sermon. What, we asked ourselves, is the value of a sermon that THE PREACHER AT WORK. 143 is the product of such manifold and rich materials gathered through many years of mental toil, heart-searchings, and consecrated living? And do we generally take into account what preaching is made of, and how much it costs those who are doing it? And it also occurred to us that one secret of good preaching and of a successful ministry lies in hoard- ing up, saving parsimoniously every thing in the way of thorough study, of religious experience, and ot Christian character. Where this cumulative process goes on, time is an important factor of excellence. But this process, un- fortunately, is not the universal rule. Perhaps there are not many who can put a whole life of thought and experi- ence and character into every sermon. There have been miscarriages, negligences, mistakes. But for these they would be greater preachers than they are. THE PREACHER IN METHODISM. THE ITINERANT SCHOOL. Q OME years ago, after hearing one of our bishops, a broth- O er said to us, " Is there any other system than ours that can develop such preaching as that?" The question came up in our own mind while meditating on the character and powers of our beloved and lamented Bishop Marvin. Those .to whom we have referred, though exceptionally eminent, may be regarded as representatives of a class of preachers who have come up through the itinerant school, and who have been made what they were in a large measure by its pe- culiar advantages and discipline. It is doubtful whether many of them would ever have been heard of as preachers if such a system as ours had not been open for their recep- tion. They were without the means to enter institutions of learning, and if the only path to the ministry had been through the college and seminary they must of necessity have turned to other pursuits. No matter how clear and strong the conviction that they were called to preach, but for this open door their way would have been closed, and many of its greatest and most useful preachers would have been lost to the Church. It is to be set down to the credit of the system that such men as McKendree, Bascom, Marvin, Winans, Pitts, Munsey, Green, and many others, came to be eminent messengers of the gospel. It afforded the opportunity, and gave them the chance without which they could never have entered upon that career in which they became so distinguished. The itinerant school gave them the needed opportunity for study and work, and by (144) THE PREACHER IN METHODISM. 145 its provisions afforded the facilities for improvement in knowledge and for the exercise and development of their gifts in preaching. That it would have been better if these men had been reg- ularly educated may be true; but as this was impossible, it was the itinerant school that took them up and trained them for the work to which God had called them. With rarely more than the imperfect rudiments of an English education, but with minds fresh and thirsting for knowledge, with hearts glowing with love to Christ, and with bodies har- dened by toil, they began their course as ministers of the gospel. What they read was of the most solid character, and in such measure as enabled them to digest it well. What they gathered from books was immediately incorpo- rated into their own thinking and wrought into their daily preaching. There was a symmetrical development of the physical, mental, and spiritual man, and effective, soul-sav- ing preaching was the object of all. They were called self- made men self-educated but perhaps it would be more correct to say thai they were educated in the itinerant school. This was the only school they well could enter, and for them it was probably the best. It was a hard and rugged school, but where the root of the matter was in the men no system could bring it out so well. It was eminently practical, not hampered with too much art, and in it the in- dividual gifts and characteristics were not so repressed as to bring all into one mold and to conform all to a single arbi- trary pattern. Instead of unmaking and perverting the work of God, it simply guided, pruned, and stimulated the natural powers, and turned the gifts of grace into the most effective channels. What the itinerant school alone has done and can do is seen in the history of many noted preachers who never went to any other school. Had this system taken them up at the 10 140' THE EbrroB-BiSHOP. end of a full college and seminary course they might have been more effective in some directions, but not as preachers. As preachers, to reach the masses and to persuade men to come to Christ, we doubt whether regular scholastic train- ing would have contributed any thing to their popularity and power. On the contrary, they might have been con- siderably shorn of their strength by the more exact and scientific methods of the academies and universities. The training of the college and of the itinerant school are not necessarily incompatible, and it is generally desirable that our young men should have the advantages of both. The great men to wnom we have alluded, however, stand as il- lustrations of what our itinerant system is capable of doing, and prove how wise, beneficent, and effective it has been in giving to Jhe Church many of her noblest and most eloquent and devoted preachers. We know of no other system of ministerial training that has equaled it in turning out so many truly great and powerful preachers. In no other school do preachers come in such close contact with all classes of the people and have such opportunities of study- ing human nature. And as a school of eloquence what other can be compared with it? It may be truly said that not many, in comparison with the whole who have been ed- ucated in the itinerant school alone, have reached the emi- nence of a Marvin or a Munsey. But the same is true of every system, only we would claim that the average power and effectiveness is greater in ours. It does not bette^qual- ify for authorship, for teaching, or for scholarly pursuits, but it is the best school in the world for the training of preachers. Henceforth our candidates for the ministry will be better educated than formerly. The times seem to demand it, and the opportunities are greater than they were forty years ago. A higher literary standard is required at the beginning of THE PKEACHEK IN METHODISM. 147 the preacher's course, but the discretion of the Conferences should be exercised with care. Some of the brightest names in Methodism have been saved to her ministry by recogniz- ing the capabilities of the itinerant school in its func- tions of disciplining and informing the mind as well as in forming ministerial character. It may be that there are more educated young men applying than are needed to fill the ranks ; but in drawing the line too strictly we may be throwing away some of our choicest material. In* the itinerant school it does not take long to find out whether the novice is disposed to study and whether he has capacity. If he have these, and the natural and gracious gifts, he is in a school where he is sure to grow into a useful preacher. The old preachers, who came up from the start through the itinerant school, were usually most thorough in doctrine. If their information was not wide and varied, they knew theology well and they knew men well ; and if not great in science and literature, they were mighty in the Scriptures. What our peculiar school did for them is coming to be regarded as the verjfcbest preparation for effective preach- ing. It can make great preachers without the aid of other schools, although it does not depreciate their advantages; but with all that other schools can do, we cannot dispense with this. A system that can point to so many trophies of its wisdom is not to be despised as an educational institution. There must be something in its curriculum and methods to be adjured and cherished when we remember the many great and devoted preachers who have been trained and de- 'veloped under its influences. It has given to the Church some of the grandest characters that adorn the pages of its history. The mission of such a system cannot end until the world is saved. 148 TIIK EDITOR-BISHOP. ONE ADVANTAGE OF ITINERANCY. THE itinerancy comes nearer furnishing the Church with the ideal and perfect ministry than any other system. It is hardly possible that one man should possess all the excel- lences in their completest development and exercise. By a regular and comparatively frequent change of pastors each congregation shares the benefits of many and varied gifts. Some men are better pastors than others, some better church- builders and financiers, some have preeminently the wisdom and grace of good disciplinarians; and every church has need of these qualities in its pastor from time to time. As they are not usually found in one man, the advantage of them all is secured through the ministry of several. The strong and the brilliant, the solid and the entertaining, the instructive and the popular, are secured only through change and variety in the preachers. One in a thousand may unite all in his single ministry, and some are possessed of more varied resources than others; but generally it takes a great many preachers to make up a full and effective ministry. Paul planted and Apollos watered. It took them both to meet the demand and to do the husbandry of the house of God. The doctrLal preacher builds up on the most holy faith. Under his teaching the church is instructed in the Articles of Religion, in the ordinances, and in the meaning of the atonement, the divinity of Christ, justification, sanctifica- tion. In the course of three or four years he has a well-in- structed church, well grounded in doctrine, and everybody convinced and settled in religious opinions. Much good has been done, but some classes have not been reached, and among the elect there is desire for a . change of spiritual food. The more eloquent and hortatory man one who moves on the wings of tropes and figures, and whose sermons swim THE PREACHER IN METHODISM. in illustrations and anecdotes has done a faithful work in his way, enlisting interest, drawing congregations, attract- ing the young people, and adding many to the Church ; but in all his term he has perhaps never clearly and fully stated any one of the leading doctrines of redemption. His hear- ers cannot give the meaning of justification nor tell the dif- ference between it and sanctifi cation. General ideas they have of goodness, grace, and salvation, but there is lack of clear conceptions and of the gospel as a system of truths. Some will feel the need of something more solid, and others who do not feel the need are the ones who, for their own good, most require a change. Let the doctrinal man take the place of the more spright- ly, and let the eloquent and hortatory man take the place of the doctrinal. Each is the complement of the other supplementing, perfecting, and completing what the other did not and perhaps could not do. Every forcible preacher will, in an average pastoral term, impress himself upon the spiritual and intellectual condition of his people. Their- type and degree of spirituality, and their grade of mind and thought, will answer more or less to his. They will reflect what is excellent, but at the same .time they will bear the impress of his defects and infirmities. There are few preachers that reach equally well all classes. Some have gifts for the perfecting of the saints, the edifica- tion of the Church, and others reach with most power the unawakened and unconverted. There are those whose min- istry is specially attractive to the poor and illiterate, but they fail in reaching the better, educated and those who move in the middle and higher walks of society. These "gifts differing" indicate the value and necessity of inter- change of pastors. Looking at the matter from this point of view only, the length of pastoral terms should vary greatly. Some men 1<30 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. do all they can do profitably in a year, others in four years, others in ten. If the itinerancy requires for its harmony and maintenance a maximum limit, our four-years' term is probably about the best that can be fixed. It very nearly strikes the average capacity of highest usefulness. Some preachers might be more effective in a much longer pastor- ate, and some churches lose something by the change which comes by the limitation, but the majority are benefited. The rich and diverse gifts of many are so distributed as to work together for the building up of the whole Church. The benefits secured to the churches are sufficient to reconcile the itinerant to the discomforts of the system ; but he should also consider that while it utilizes him to the greatest ad- vantage to the Church it also secures to him better average appointments than a voluntary system of settled pastorates. THE PREACHER, YOUNG AND OLD. THE YOUNG PREACHER. IN Methodism preachers generally start at an early age. The privileges of a collegiate education, and the growing opinion that a theological course, post-collegiate, is desira- ble, tend to give us in these days a more mature material for admission on trial ; but still the classes received are usu- ally made up of very young men some of them not yet having reached their majority. Thousands of our middle- aged preachers were in the saddle and riding circuits before they were old enough to vote ; and of the fathers and the old men fast passing away, the most of them began before they needed a razor, which the fashion of the times required beard-growing men to use. Our system of circuits and frequent changes is exceedingly favorable to the safe and advantageous employment of a youthful ministry. There are safeguards thrown around it in the presiding eldership and the senior preacher, and in the wise ordering of the appointing power against faults and errors in administra- tion ; and an undue strain upon the mind and its resources is obviated by the brief term of an annual pastorate, usu- ally over a work of several appointments. Not many sermons are needed at the beginning, and comparatively few are demanded to serve through the first Conference year. The horseback travel gives due exercise, promotes the flow of healthful spirits, and is a preventive of dyspepsia. It is killing work for a young man of lim- ited education and without experience to maintain himself in a station during ihe first years of his ministry. The (151) 152 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. circuit is the best gymnasium in the world, and the most healthful school for the development of the ministerial character. It has given soundness of body and mind to our preachers, improved their common sense, and secured that practical qualification for the work which neither books nor lectures can afford. As a rule the circuit should be the young preacher's first work, whether he comes from college, the theological seminary, or the plow. Collegians can never be well-educated Methodist preachers until they have gone to this most important finishing school, and the willingness to matriculate in Brush College is a tolerable test of prospective fitness for their calling. The youth who begins with a high estimate of his claims to appointments, and is offended by the roughness and obscurity of the work to which he is sent, will hardly turn out well. He will probably be a dissatisfied man all his life, and will finally quit the ministry or seek a place in some other Church. As an itinerant the element of failure is in him, and it will sooner or later develop into disaster to his standing and character. In no other ministry does real merit sooner obtain fitting recognition, and in no other does the man more surely reach the place to which he is best adapted. The bishops, as wise master-builders, are likely to put the living stones where they will most strengthen and adorn the temple, and the people will not be slow to see and appreciate the gifts and graces of those who minister to them in holy things. It is barely possible that some " gems of purest ray serene" may never come to the surface, and that some exquisite flowers may be left to "blush unseen," but, for the most part, with the fields and the laborers given, the man will reach the position for which he is best fitted by character and attainments. In no other ministry does a young man get on faster than in ours. His advancement is more rapid THE PREACHER, YOUNG AND OLD. 153 and the ground of his elevation broader than in other Churches. Our Connectional system puts its preachers into a field not limited by Conference boundaries, but as wide as the entire denomination, and his transfer to more im- portant appointments is effected with facility, without det- riment to the Church, and without damage to himself. Woe to the man, however, who in the beginning seeks great things for himself, or who, in the maturity of his pow- ers and experience, disparages his brethren and overesti- mates himself! The worm is in the bud, and blight will follow. To aim at greatness and usefulness for Christ is right, but there must be care, lest a wicked and selfish am- bition come to be the overmastering passion. It requires a great deal of grace to begin, and still more of grace to con- tinue in the work of the ministry. The simple and glow- ing piety of the first year, instead of being allowed to cool, must be fed and increased as the years roll on. There is no need for a man to think much about his position and appointments. Let him make himself the greatest and best of men, an effective preacher, a good pastor, and show himself " a workman that needeth not to be ashamed," and the rest will take care of itself. The finest-looking apple in the dish often has a blemish there is a speck which tells of some- thing wrong at the core. Many men feel that they are not appreciated, and wonder why they are kept in the back- ground while others are advanced. Not always is the ap- ple specked or decayed, but sometimes it is; and if not, it may not be as large as some others. Where a man's esti- mate of himself differs from that of his brethren, he should at least moderate his views or keep them to himself. The young preacher filled with zeal and love is hopeful, and the freshness of the dawn is on his heart. If he has a modest opinion of himself, has made up his mind to endure hardness, and feels called to save souls," he will be thankful 154 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. and satisfied with any appointment, and the first years will be the happiest of all in many respects. Alter thirty or forty years of faithful and possibly of eminent and hon- ored labor, he will think of that first circuit as the toiler at evening remembers the blush and dew of the morning, and he will probably conclude that he has all along been appreciated and blessed far beyond his deservings. The ministry of young men has its special value. We do not see how the Church could well do without it. This element of youth, this young blood, this almost beardless presence, in spite of its crudeness and incompleteness, puts color into the picture, and gives healthier tone to the can- vas. Gray hairs we must have and the wisdom of years, but we also need the ruddy cheek and the locks that arc not frosted. The gardener, the florist, the fruit-grower, un- derstand that there must be a succession in their planting and culture. There is utility as well as beauty in it. Some crops yield their best results before they reach maturity. They are ripe for use long before they go to seed, and have a worth because they are immature. For some purposes there is virtue in the tender shoot and the fresh-blown flow- er even more than in the stalk and car. The ministry of young men carries with it influences and sympathies of its own, and its sphere is productive of results of the greatest value to the Church. It has a temperament, a faith, and an elasticity which bring success and effect results peculiar to itself. The field of usefulness is not alone before the young man, and for which he is preparing, but it is around him, and he is gathering his best sheaves while he feels, per- haps, that he is only getting ready to sow. While he sharp- ens his sickle he is amidst the waving corn and thrusting it in. The first-fruits of our ministerial life are often the choicest, as they should be the earnest and promise of abundant usefulness in the future. Tin: PREACHER, YOUNG AND OLD. The young preacher must make himself. The kingdom is within him. Prayer, study, and work will develop and bring it out. After all the advantages of education, and after all the advice sought, the preacher must be self-made. Let him make the most of what he is and of what God has given him, and he will reach the highest round to which he is capable of mounting. He must grow like a tree rather*f than be built up like a wall. Let him take care about the too close imitation of admired models, and avoid depend- ence upon published skeletons. Above all, do not preach other men's sermons. The mind and heart will suffer from such a course, and the preaching will be barren and un- frui^ful. Some young men have fallen into this evil, this dishonest practice of supplying themselves with custom- made sermons, such as the English market supplies for a shilling apiece, and others use the stenographic reports of the popular preachers of the day. No matter whether tho theft is found out or not, the man who forms this habit curses himself, and when detected he forfeits the respect of his hearers. God bless the young preacher who sets out this year, in whatever Conference, and under whatever conditions of weakness or strength. It is the beginning of a path that has many rugged passages, many dark defiles of temptation and sorrow, and many conflicts with the powers of dark- ness. But it is also a course which has large and graqous compensations, and one that, if faithfully pursued, brings him to an incorruptible crown. THE OLD PREACHER. THE old as distinguished from the young the man of age and experience rather than the novice. In our system the age of the man generally corresponds with his ministe- 156 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. rial life. The man of forty has probably been preaching at least twenty years, and the man of sixty has usually seen his forty years of effective service. These years have been devoted to study and labor, and the education and charac- ter have been acquired while riding circuits and doing pas- toral work. After so long a term, the fittest only are likely to survive. In some sort the office of natural selection has retained in the effective ranks the best physical constitu- tions, the most devoted piety, and the sturdiest qualities of soul. The diseased and feeble have fallen at their posts, the weak and vacillating have turned aside to other pur- suits, the wicked have gone back to the world. Many, still faithful and true, by affliction have been compelled to retire from the^nore active sphere of toil. The residue of effect- ive men is, as a class, made of choice material, and from forty to sixty-five should be at their best. The rich stores, so long in the gathering, should appear in the sermon, and a ripe experience and a mellow piety should make their vis- its to the homes of the people most comforting and edifying. And so it is with the man of one work, who has gone steadily forward, developing his spiritual and intellectual powers in a strong and healthy way. He has become apt to teach. He is familiar with the processes of the Spirit in the awakening and conversion of souls, and as a fisher of men he has learned to handle the gospel-net with sound judgment and adroitness. With ordinarily good health, there should be no abatement in these middle years of fer- vidness of spirit, of sprightly thought, or of powerful and moving utterance. The breadth, depth, and strength should still be attended by the brightness and flexibility of youth. The old and the young tree are alike in the freshness of their foliage and in the sweetness and beauty of their blos- soms. In order to continued and increased effectiveness, men must keep growing. They must grow both in grace THE PKEACHER, YOUNG AND OLD. and in knowledge. All the powers must be kept up to their full strength by assiduous culture, and the whole man kept in tone by unabated diligence. Alexander Hamilton, amidst the busiest cares of his profession and the engrossing occu- pations of statesmanship, went through his Euclid frequent- ly. To keep the mind up to its highest working capacity there must be hard study for merely disciplinary purposes. It is not unusual for middle-aged men, and for those who have passed the period when soldiers are drafted, to be pain- fully conscious of an inaptitude for severe mental labor. Growth has ceased, and regression, after a brief stand-still, is sure to set in. The very excellences of mature life are apt to degenerate into defects. In youth much pruning was to be done, and as intelligence increased and the taste became more severe and cultivated, extravagances in manner and style have been lopped off and repressed. Perhaps in this process the other extreme has been reached, and not only the wildness and over-exuberance have been cheeked, but baldness and comparative sterility have ensued. With im- proved taste and wider culture, the preacher should culti- vate the imagination, and not be parsimonious in the de- scriptive colors which he throws into his well-studied themes. Let him not go too far in pruning, and let him aim to enrich and beautify while he strives after the solid and enduring. Many an old preacher would be the better for it if he should go back twenty years and pick up and put on what he then cast aside as blemishes and vanities. The good-ground hearers are mostly young people, and to reach its greatest effectiveness there must be an element of youth in the sermon. A little of the sophomoric is wis- dom sure enough in dealing with the average congregation. Young, fresh, and simple in style and thought, and with spiritual unction attending, there will always be a hearty response from those who are likely to be reached by any 1,0$ THE EDITOR-BISHOP. means whatever. It is the youthfulness of Mr. Spurgeon'a preaching more than any thing else that accounts for his wonderful success in the pulpit. He is doctrinal, expository, descriptive, practical, sympathetic, and always young. He was a mere boy when he began, and he preaches very much like a boy now that he is in the forties. It is not difficult, in looking into some matronly faces, to recall the beauty and delicacy of girlhood. In spiritual faces, however changed by age and care, these qualities come out and glow with the distinctness of a transfiguration. Th^cloud of years, in- stead of obscuring, only gives greater softness and sweetness to the light that dwelt upon the brow of youth. It is most unfortunate for the brain to be allowed to grow stiff and in- flexible in its action and for the heart to become dull and indifferent in its emotions. It is scarcely less unfortuate to lose the fres'hness and simplicity of early years and to fall into tastes and habits of thought which quench the fires of a more enthusiastic period. As youth reaches forward to grasp the wisdom of age, so age should strive to bring back and retain the freshness of youth. Age, however, has invaluable qualities of its own, and resources or usefulness that only age can give. Our old preachers are a perpetual benediction to the Church, and their presence and labors are necessary to the completeness of the whole. Their preaching, while it may retain much of the characteristics of earlier days, has in it an authority, weight, and power which come of time well improved. Ev- ery congregation needs a due portion of such ministries, and should, if possible, have the privilege of profiting by them. Their knowledge of Scripture, their large acquaintance with men, and their profound experience in the deep things of God qualify them for usefulness to which younger men can- not attain. The fruit of old age is the most indispensable of all to the feeding of the flock of God. The hoary head THE PREACHER, YOUNG AND OLD. 159 is not only a crown of glory to him who wears it, but it is a diadem of beauty and power to the Christian ministry. The abuse of this general principle lies chiefly in the spe- cial claims which old men sometimes base upon their years. Much is due them, no doubt, on the score of long service and ripe experience, but in their self-consciousness and ut- terances this ground of consideration may be made offen- sively prominent. It is better to let the fact assert itself, and to let character and influence stand upon their own merit. To be over-seisitive and exacting, and to seem jeal- ous of the respect duetto age, are infirmities to be guarded against. The psalmist enforces an important lesson by al- lusion to his years when he says: "I have been young, and now am old ; jfet have I not seen the righteous forsaken, nor his seed begging bread." The great apostle in his appeal to Philemon, for the only time in all his writings speaks of himself as "Paul the aged." We recall no other instances in which inspired men have sought to strengthen their dec- larations and teachings by reference to their years. Jacob, when in the presence of Pharaoh, makes but a modest reply to the monarch's question, "How old art thcu?" when he says: "The days of the years of my pilgrimage are a hun- dred and thirty years; few and evil have the days of the years of my life been, and have not attained unto the days of the years of the life of my fathers in the days of their pilgrimage." That elderly men are not as much sought after and are not as acceptable as the younger may be part- ly their own fault. The clamor for young men may be largely unreasonable, but in the ministry, as in other pur- suits, there must be effectiveness. The most difficult thing of all is to recognize the advance of age in ourselves, and to yield gracefully to the inexorable lot. One of the trials of middle life is the thought of* a des- titute old age. On one occasion the preachers asked Mr. 100 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. Asbury what they were to do when they became old. The old Bishop comforted them with the sage reflection that not many of them would probably live to be old. Prudence and economy will help, but in most cases preachers can barely support their families and live. They must walk by faith, and not by sight. They will do rather better than the average of men in secular affairs at the worst. But the devoted preacher has a right to trust the Master whom he serves. God will take care of wife and children and old age, if he is faithful to his high calling. Some, in sheer affright and desperation, turn to other pursuits; but owing to lack of experience and business habits, and to an unfit- nesa w r hich their previous life has superinduced, they fail. Generally, it would be better and wiser to stick to the gos- pel-plow, though driven through the most barren soil. To quit in mid-career is to lose to the Church and themselves the results of years of study and experience. The sun sets with a peculiar splendor upon a full day's work faithfully done THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD. ADDED TO THE CHURCH. HP HIS, at any rate, is the scriptural way of stating the J_ fact. A divine agency is recognized. The Lord added. The three thousand voluntarily joined the Christian compa- ny, but they were led to this by the moving of the Holy Spirit, and the apostles by divine authority received them. Besides their baptism and their formal reception, there was a work of grace in their hearts. It is Christ's prerogative to add people to the Church. Where the union is vital, and .something more than a mere form, it is the work of Christ. Numbers may have been "joined in," as some express it, but whether they have been truly added depends on the part which Christ has performed. The persons whom the Lord added are described as the saved not such as should be saved, but the saved ; so the best critics, Calvinistic and Arminian, agree. It is a fact in the narrative concerning the day of Pentecost. Those added to the Church on that day were of this sort. Our usage and discipline require that those received "desire to flee from the wrath to come, and to be saved from their sins ; " and they are further required solemnly, in the presence of God and of the congregation, "to ratify and confirm the promise and vow of repentance, faith, and obedience con- tained in the baptismal covenant." If these conditions ex- ist, they are as much as the Church can demand, and are a sufficient ground for admission to Church -membership. But surely, in view of the example in the Acts, less than these conditions should not be regarded as meeting the re- quirement. H (161) 162 THE EDITOU-JBISHOP. The conduct of those added exhibits the reality of their union with the Church steadfastness in doctrine. "They continued steadfastly in the apostle's doctrine." There was a doctrinal basis for their faith. They were well rooted in the truth, and were firm in their adherence to the gospel. "Fellowship" was with them distinctly realized. The com- munion of saints was a living and felt experience. Noth- ing more clearly distinguishes vital from formal Christian- ity than this. Fellowship is something spiritual, and none but the spiritually-minded know what it is. It is the living tie that binds the hearts of God's children in one; it is the antidote to bigotry, sectarian acrimony, and all un- charitableness. Thousands of Christians in name are stran- gers to the fellowship of the apostles. In this respect they have not been added to the Church ; they are in it, but not of it. The ordinances were observed by these first Church-mem- bers. Breaking of bread may stand for all the Lord's Supper and the rest. They continued in them steadfastly. If fit to be in the Church, we are fit to partake of the Lord's Supper. In what good sense is any one added to the Church who neglects this plain duty and important means of grace? It is something very sacred, but it should not repel the truly penitent and those who intend to lead a new life. It was designed to help the weak, and to strengthen and comfort all. The sincere, the contrite, the soul that is striving to walk in the narrow path, should be steadfast "in breaking of bread." If baptism is the ordinance of admission, the Lord's Supper is the ordinance of continuance in the Church. Those whom the Lord added to the Church are represent- ed as continuing in prayers. They were converted in a prayeMneeting ; in a meeting of great power and abundant supplication they were brought into the company of the THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD. 1G3 disciples. As they began in prayer, so they kept on. "Prayer" is the word. Social prayer, family and private this is the threefold cord that is not easily broken. How can a prayerless man be said to be a member of the Church? And if he does not pray in all these ways, is he of those whom the Lord has added? A man may have no family, he may be tongue-tied, or have other infirmities that shut him out from other than secret prayer; but his excuse must be a good one, or he is inevitably condemned. If the new member does not begin to pray and keep it up in the prayer-meeting, in the family, and in the closet, he back- slides rapidly, or he was never enough of a Christian to make backsliding possible. We might notice other characteristics of those whom the Lord added to the Church, such as their liberality with their goods, their gladness and singleness of heart, and that they continued praising God, "having favor with all the people." Some of these thousands may have fallen out by the way, but they started off well, and continued for some time in a manner that proved that Christ himself had brought them into the Church, and augured favorably for their faithfulness to the end. Such additions are something added to the Church. Each one counts in making up the strength and power of the whole. The measure of resourc- es is enlarged, there is an accession of workers, and the spir- itual momentum is increased. Where there is a large in- crease of numbers without any corresponding increase of strength morally, spiritually, or financially, the Lord's hand is not as manifest as we could wish. If the Lord adds to the Church there will be results, the work will be lasting, and the fruits of the Spirit will appear in manifold ways. Our dependence upon Christ is absolute. The means must be recognized and plied with earnestness; but let us be sure that the Lord does the work. In the main the hay, 1G4 Tin: Ei>rrou-BisiiOP. wood, and stubble are our work. Christ's hand is with ours in the gold, silver, and precious stones. Awakened people doubtless need instruction on the subject of joining the Church, and often need to be pressed to take the step, but the hard work is to lead them to repentance and prepare them for admission. When men are broken up under the hammer of the word, and deeply wrought upon by the Spir- it, and when converted, it requires little effort to bring them into the Church; they cannot easily be kept out of it. Those that are saved, or are being saved, are pretty certain to seek the fellowship of God's people. The Lord adds such to the Church. They come as persons graciously drawn by the Saviour himself, and prepared to make a good profession. CHURCH PILLARS. THERE vfere a dozen apostles, but of these Paul tells us that James, Cephas, and John "seemed to be pillars" in the Church at Jerusalem. Very different kinds of men were they, but each one was strong and useful in his way. The living architecture of the house of God embraces this conception of the superior strength and value of some of its parts. In almost every organization, even of a denomi- national breadth, there are of necessity those who have this eminence of character and responsibility. On them largely rests the structure to which they belong; and the stability and safety of the whole depend upon their capacity and wisdom. In every society there are usually those who seem to be pillars sometimes more in the seeming than in the reality. It is a fortunate thing for a Church to have in it enough of this sort of material of men whose broad views, love for Christ, and weight of position and influence, can give tone and power to the whole body. Both for strength and beauty are pillars needed. That THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD. 1C5 is an incomplete edifice, weak and impotent, that is without them. Many a Church enterprise has failed, and many an organization has come to naught, because it had none of these strong and capable shafts to support it. The house has not been built; or if built, it has tumbled down for the want of pillars. The character of a Church is usually shaped and determined by a few. Around them cluster the details of the structure, and the general effect is decided by the order and material of their composition. The piety, the intelligence, the method and quality of the benevolence, and the respect which a Church commands, depend upon the foremost spirits in it. Not all after the same pattern per- haps, but all should be sound and equal to the responsibil- ity. Whether Doric or Corinthian, Roman, Byzantine, or Saracenic, they are to help in sustaining the precious bur- den that is laid upon them, and in maintaining the symme- try, harmony, and unity of the edifice. They are plain, ornate, solid, graceful, but all useful in their places, and all contributing to the stability and glory of the temple. Church pillars may represent not alone the eminent in gifts and influence, but also the stable elements of the so- ciety or congregation. There is always a volatile and rest- less material, composed of those who float like the sea-weed. They are never well rooted, but move about from church to church, or simply hover on the outskirts, with no very vital tie to the main body. They have no earnest purpose, no serious idea of personal effort and work for Christ. Work for the Church, and in it, is not in their comprehension of duty and obligation. Their relation to the Church is that of incidental beneficiaries, who feel themselves entitled to what they may see and hear and enjoy, without contrib- uting any thing beyond their fitful presence to the life and expansion of the divine kingdom in the world. They are pillars who constitute the nucleus of power and effective- 166 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. ness, always in their places, and faithful to the post of duty under all circumstances. They are as much a part of the religious body as a pillar is a part of the house, and as per- manent and steadfast in their relations to it as the columns which bore upon their capitals the arches and cornices of Carnac or the Parthenon. The progress and prosperity of a Church depend greatly upon this strong, healthful heart, whose throbs keep up the circulation and vitality of the organization. This is to the whole as the citadel to the wide-spread and more vulner- able town. It is the stronghold and the hope of the cause of Christ in every Church and community. This old guard, well disciplined, always in battle array, and knowing nothing but fidelity and obedience, is the only de- pendence. In this respect every Christian may and ought to be a pillar. All should be planted in the house of the Lord, even built into it as an ornament and a support, and contributing in due measure to the firmness and comeliness of the building. In fact, however, the pillars as compared with the lighter and more chaffy material are few. The Church, as "the pillar and ground of the truth," is made up of the faithful ones, and by them the truth is exhibited and spread abroad. Between the real Church and the world there is this boundary between light and shade a penum- bra which partakes almost equally of the good and the bad. Another aspect of Church pillars is given in the promise to the church in Philadelphia: "Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out." The reference is probably to monumental pillars, as the promise continues: "And I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God ; and I will write upon him my new name." A faithful Christian here is always a monument THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD. 167 of grace. He bears inscriptions which God has written, but his office is service chiefly, rather than reward. To be made a pillar in heaven is the promise to him that overcometh. Whatever of this honor and glory comes within the expe- rience here, the most is beyond earth, and in the world of light. Not every believer, by reason of extraordinary of- fice or endowments, can be counted as a pillar in the house of God on earth, but the humblest who has overcome will be a pillar in heaven. And those who have been pillars in the militant church by their firmness and fidelity in the work of Christ, shall have the peculiar distinction of ex- hibiting through all eternity the love of Him who has re- deemed them from sin and death. From the earthly temple the pillars are removed; the strongest and most graceful are broken by age and death. The Jachin and Boaz of Solomon's temple, and the great temple itself, are no more. The pillars of Trajan, Pompey, and the Column Vendome must perish ; the sculpture, the entablatures, the reliefs and hieroglyphics of ancient art, and all the devices and records of earthly heraldry, are doomed to pass and fade away. Him that overcometh shall alone bear the imperishable name and forever wear the me- morials of triumph. " He shall go no more out." A mon- ument of mercy and grace, shining resplendent with the glory of holiness and in the light of God, he is to shine on and forever. These are the pillar-saints of the Bible ; not ascetics who have stood on pillars, but faithful workers in the Church below, crowned and emblazoned as pillars iu heaven. COUNTING THE COST. THE Saviour introduces the cases of building a tower and of the king going to war to illustrate the importance of ac- quainting ourselves with the conditions of discipleship be- 168 Tin; EDITOR-BISHOP. forehand, and in vindication of his method of declaring to those who waited on his ministry what this disci pleship im- plied. The illustrations are flanked by these strong decla- rations: "And whosoever doth not bear his cross and come after me cannot be my disciple." " So, likewise, whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." This was a severe method, apparently discouraging to awakened souls, and more calculated to re- pel than attract. But it was the Great Teacher's way, and, as he explains, the only true way. It was best that those who were concerned for their souls should fully comprehend the nature of his discipleship and the obligations which it imposed. Before laying the foundations of the tower, the cost of finishing it should be counted; before making war, the means of carrying it on should be estimated. The illustration applies only to this one point: the abso- lute self-surrender and consecration which Christian disci- pleship demands. The help needed, the grace demanded to assure of perseverance are matters of promise and of faith. The question to be considered and settled at the outset is: Are we prepared to bear our cross and to forsake all that we have? The principle involved in those conditions runs through the entire Christian life. It describes a consecra- tion of heart that is complete, and a life that is marked by self-sacrificing devotion. Christ's yoke is easy, but only so to those who take it; and his burden is light, but only so to those who bear it. After the surrender is made, and the service is heartily accepted, happiness flows in and satisfies the soul. In forsaking all, we gain all ; and in bearing our cross, we attain to the fellowship of the Saviour's joy. Nev- ertheless, there is a yoke and there is a burden. If these are not consciously and willingly accepted if all they in- volve is not apprehended there is a fatal defect in our dis- cipleship, and the probability is hat the tower of Christian THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD. 169 character will be left unfinished, and that the war upon which we have entered will end in humiliation and defeat. Is it not better to lead inquirers on by some easier meth- od, and to keep back these sterner features of discipleship until there has been some growth and maturity in experi- ence? Can we not attract and lure people to Christ while these conditions are masked and wreathed with fragrant and encouraging promises? It is true that he who repents and believes shall be saved. He that is athirst may come, . and whosoever will. Christ has said : "And him that com- eth unto me I will in no wise cast out." He promises rest to the weary and heavy-laden if they will come unto him. And yet all these promises and invitations must be inter- preted in the light of the declaration, " Whosoever he be of you that forsaketh not all that he hath, he cannot be my disciple." The Saviour puts this in the front of all his in- vitations, and insists that his discipleship is an impossibility until the surrender is made. What then? He would guard against self-deception, against a discipleship that was partial and wanting in reality and stability. The man who count- ed the cost and accepted Christ with all that the act im- plied, would hold out and be a disciple indeed ; while he who followed impulses destitute of strong convictions would delude himself and fail in the end. The plain meaning of Christ's cautionary words is that a profession of religion, of faith in Christ, is a very serious and important step, and that people should know well what they are doing when they assume the vows of discipleship. By whatever impulse moved, and under whatever influ- ences, if there have been no self-surrender, no covenant of cross-bearing, no purpose of the absolute following of Christ, there is in the endeavor an element of weakness and fail- ure. This kind of discipleship becomes a chronio seeking without finding, a periodical Awakening which must be an- 170 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. nually renewed a religion that is utterly shallow, and de- void of living and abiding power. The cost of being a Christian must be counted at the start. The gate is strait herein. Christ puts the counting at the door of entrance. All sin must be given up, all unspiritual pleasures. Prop- erty and life must be laid upon the altar. Talents, learn- ing, character, influence, time, must be devoted supremely to Christ ; the affections, with the lusts, must be crucified. Here is a glance at the cost to be counted. Are we willing to have discipleship at this cost? Have we got our own full and unreserved consent to the surrender? If so, the way is open through faith into the holy of holies. The gleamings of the shekinah over the blood of the mercy-seat begin al- ready to irradiate the souL When the cost has been count- ed and accepted one great barrier to faith is broken down, and the way of the penitent to the cross is comparatively easy. He could never get there otherwise. But we must not mislead. There are some who seem to halt between this self-surrender and faith. They have given up all, and yet the light does not dawn. Remember only a moral obstacle to faith has been removed, and faith does not look back even upon that, but forward and to the pre- cious blood alone. Without giving up all we cannot be- lieve unto salvation; but the- giving up does not touch the ground of pardon. Christ is the whole and only ground. Faith leans not one particle upon our self-surrender, but rests entirely, confidently, peacefully on Christ. Practically the great hinderance to discipleship and to salvation lies at this point of counting and accepting the cost. It costs too much in the way of self-denial, and men are unwilling to have discipleship on such terms. They are not persuaded in their own minds to give all for Christ. It is also the element of failure in thousands of professions that the conditions of a true* discipleship have been over- THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD. 171 looked. With no intelligent understanding of the duties and obligations assumed, religion has been a mere form, or the career has been of short duration. The tower that should have risen heavenward, strong and beautiful, is unfinished; the war that should have been crowned with victory ends in ignoble defeat. GARMENTS NOT DEFILED. WALKING in white in a dirty world requires no little care. There is uncleanness in every pathway, and the liability to jostle and contact is imminent. The clean and fine linen is easily soiled by the vile rubbish through which the saints have to pick their way to the bette'r land. A capital part of every man's religion is this : " To keep him- self unspotted from the world." Even in our efforts to save people there is a timely ad- monition "And others, save with fear, pulling them out of the fire, hating even the garment spotted by the flesh." It would seem that in pulling the fallen out of the ditch there is perilous risk of getting daubed with the slime. There is the possibility that in the effort at rescue we may get burned. Loving and pitying the sinner, we must keep up a most hearty hatred of the sin. "All things to all men" has this to qualify it : that we hate the spotted garment, and keep clear of any contagion there may be in it. Christians must not soil themselves in their ways and means of reaching and saving the world. The garments of the Church the con- sciences and character of its members are sometimes con- taminated by dubious expedients. It is the filth of world- liness that is to be avoided its spirit, frivolity, love of style and gain, its low motives, inordinate selfishness and love of pleasure. Catering to these may seemingly help the finances, and build brick walls and lofty spires, but it defaces and impoverishes the spiritual temple. 172 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. It is worldliness in its decent and respectable ways that is capable of defiling unawares. The pollen of flowers leaves a stain on the robe that brushes through the garden- walks. The very atmosphere of society is laden with the soot of unbelief and wickedness, and its polluting showers fall as silently and as unnoticed as the impalpable dust. Sardis was a bad place, we have reason to believe, and only a few had escaped damage. It is noted rather as a wonder that any faithful ones should be found there. " Thou hast a few names even in Sardis which have not defiled their garments." There was one family worth saving from the flood, and one man with a portion of his family escaped from Sodom. There are more good people in proportion to the bad now, but the world is very much the same. It de- files the garments of the saints unless the followers of Christ look well to their ways and take heed to their steps. The Christian garb, smirched and mottled with avarice, fraud, and leesing, is an uncomely thing. Nothing is so repul- sively untidy as robes pure and lustrous draggled in the mire, limp and begrimed with the foulness of the gutter. The defiled garment of Christian character and profession is a thing that may well excite the aversion as well as the pity and loathing of God and angels. Such objects are in every community. The plumage of more than angel-born, the crests of sons are seen drooping and besmeared with sensuality and diabolism. In the ways of business, of pleasure, of society, these spotted garments are trailed. The livery of what should be a holy and heavenly citizen- ship is flecked with the touches and pressures of evil asso- ciations and practices, and reeks with the odors and fumes of intemperance and lust. And yet the blessed marvel is with us, in our world and in our day. It is something more than a perpetual mira- cle, and more extraordinary than if we were to see troops THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD. 173 of angels in our fields, highways, and business marts this fact that there are people who have not defiled their gar- ments. This is the standing demonstration of our religion: the pure hearts and immaculate lives of at least a few who move about in the world and are not debauched and over- whelmed by its influence. If there is not much goodness, there is some. If not many, there are at least a few who have withstood the strong currents of worldliness and vice, and have kept themselves clean. The power of the gospel to save has its witnesses in every age, in every country, and in every community. There are names here and there bright and untarnished, shining like stars in the firmament, and attesting the greatness of redeeming grace and wisdom. Such exemplary piety may be comparatively rare, and yet there is altogether much of it. If in the worst of places there were a few names, we may believe that the aggregate of true devotion and faith is something to rejoice over. Proportionately there are doubtless far more holy souls and unblemished lives in the world than ever before, and we believe that the average type of our religion is higher and more complete than it was in those times when the few names were left in Sardis. One of the worst forms of skepticism is that which doubts of all goodness, and cynically scouts at the reality of Chris- tian purity. We are better for believing that there are clean hands and pure hearts, made so by the blood of Jesus and by the work of the Holy Spirit. The fact not only honors God and proves the gospel divine, but it lifts up to us all the possibility and the privilege of a like experience. How beautiful those lives must have been in their singular perfection, surrounded, as they were, by apostate professors and by the voluptuous vices of such a city as Sardis! How surpassingly beautiful are the holy lives we know of, made even more radiant by contrast with the wickedness 174 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. of the age and by the general ungodliness of the world! It is the most delightful thought we can have in relation to the world that there are good people in it, that there are souls sweet and pure in our midst, faithful ones whose gar- ments show no stain. It is not strange that the Master's prayer looked to this as the most vital of all interests. " I pray not that thou shouldest take them out of the world, but that thou should- est keep them from the evil." The Saviour's concern was for the purity of his followers, the holiness of his Church " not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing." The danger was from the evil of the world, that the garments might be defiled and the moral power lost. The disciples were needed in the world as its light, its salt, its salvation ; but to be these they must be kept from the evil. They must keep themselves unspotted from the world, free from its covetousness, inordinate affection, and unbridled lust. It would seem to stand for the highest eulogy upon the Christian that he has not defiled his garments. It means the consistent life, blameless conversation, the upright heart. And it must embrace much that is positive and active in the courageous confession and devoted service of Christ. It is not the life of the cloister, of the habitual recluse, but the stirring work of religious sacrifice, effort, and contact with the world in the great battle of Christian duty. THE WORLD IN THE CHURCH FORBIDDEN DIVERSIONS. A PASTOR informs us that in the bounds of his circuit x~\ the people are almost universally given to social danc- ing-parties, and that it would be impossible to obtain a sound committee for the purpose of trying the offenders. We have reason to believe that this is not a solitary case. Such ex- treme instances may be exceptional, but everywhere there are these manifestations of the worldly spirit. In some places the worldly element has become so strong in the Church that the enforcement of discipline is exceedingly difficult, if not impracticable. This is an alarming state of things, and calls for serious consideration. How does it happen that the Church is largely composed, in places, of those who have no scruples on the subject of worldly amuse- ment? We fear that the General Rules are not read and ex- plained from the pulpit as the Discipline requires. Once or twice a year the pastor should take a morning hour, in the presence of the largest congregations, for the purpose of enlarging upon the General Rules and of explaining the duties and obligations of membership in the Church. The pastoral address of the Bishops was ordered by the General Conference to be read to our congregations. Has this been done? In that address we have this: "An explicit utter- ance was given, by order of the last General Conference, in our pastoral address on the subject of worldly amuse- ments. We now repeat that utterance. We abate none of its teachings with respect either to the manifest inconsist- (175) 170 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. ency of such indulgences with the spirit and profession of the gospel or the peril which they bring to the souls of men. Their multiplied and insidious forms are a source of perpetual temptation and damage, and are denounced by the word of God and by that part of our General Rules which forbids 'the taking of such diversions as cannot be used in the name of the Lord Jesus.' This denunciation is explicit and comprehensive. ' The name of the Lord Jesus ' in this connection is a decisive test, and we are content to leave the issue to its sovereign arbitrament. Among those indulgences which cannot stand this solemn test is the mod- ern dance, both in its private and public exhibition, as ut- terly opposed to the genius of Christianity as taught by us. When persisted in, it is a justifiable ground of judicial ac- tion by the Church authorities." It will be seen from this extract that dancing is declared by the authoritative expounders of our Church law to be a justifiable ground of judicial action, and, by consequence, of expulsion from the Church; and yet there are thousands of members in the Church not all of them young people who pretend to believe that there is nothing in our rules which prohibits dancing and theater-going. Their ignorance may be owing to the fact that they do not read, and that their pastors have not taught them better. There may be much backsliding after people get into the Church, but one reason for so much worldliuess in the Church is owing to the way in which members are received. The door is not sufficiently guarded, and people are admitted before they have been instructed in reference to their duties and obligations. The Discipline says : " When persons offer themselves for Church-membership let the preacher in charge inquire into their spiritual condition, and receive them into the Church when they have given satisfactory assurance of their desire to flee from the wrath to come and to be saved THE WORLD IN THE CHURCH. 177 from their sins; and also of the genuineness of their faith and of their willingness to keep the rules of the Church. When satisfied on these points, let the minister bring the candidates before the congregation whenever practicable, and receive them according to the prescribed form." Are these points carefully inquired into by our preachers before the members are received? or do they not often re- ceive them without having had any private conference with the applicants, and when it is almost certain that they have never read the Discipline, and 'that they know nothing about the General Rules? If there is any one point in a pastor's administration that should be more searchingly reviewed than another, it is whether he has fully complied with the law in the reception of members. The count of additions to the Church should go for little until we know how they have been received. It is far from clear that application for membership should be made publicly. Their reception is to be before the Church and by prescribed form; but as the applicant, if examined, may fail to give satisfaction, it would perhaps be better for the application to be made pri- vately to the pastor. If after a thorough understanding of the rules and discipline of the Church including the pro- hibition of dancing, drinking, theater-going, and the like they are willing to assume the vows, their spiritual condi- tion being satisfactory, they could then be received in ac- cordance with the spirit and letter of the law. Such carefulness in the reception of members would prob- ably reduce the reported accessions, but we believe it would conduce to the soundness and spirituality of the Church. Under the old method of six months' probation, the worldly element was largely dropped without much trouble, but where no prescribed probation obtains we must insist that application for membership and reception into the Church be kept apart as separate and widely different transactions. 12 178 THE EurroR-Iirsnop. If people are invited to make application publicly, let it be well understood that it is an application, and is in no sense a reception into the Church. A prime cause of world- liness in the Church is in the careless way in which mem- bers are received. They are sometimes received while ig- norant of our rules, unconverted, and not even thoroughly awakened. The world comes in at the door of admission, and until this is guarded against we shall continue to be troubled with dancing and theater-going people in the Church. We do not believe that guarding the door will effect a complete cure, but it will save the Church from be- ing taken and governed by the world. We shall be able, at least, to maintain sufficient spirituality to administer dis- cipline. The business of the Church is, of course, to save as many souls as possible, but to this end she must keep herself pure and separate from the world, and maintain sound doctrine and strict moral discipline. The disposition in churches to bid for members as secular enterprises bid for patronage se- cures only an apparent and transient success. In the long run the " roomiest churches" will be empty or cease to be churches at all. Compromises with the worldly spirit may gain some members and keep them, but they are not saved thereby, and the spiritual power of the Church is weakened if not destroyed. Strictness in receiving members and in discipline after they are received will keep out some who will seek other and less scrupulous communions, but our gain in other directions will more than compensate. If the year's work foots up fewer members on the roll, the net re- sult may be better. The count of the saved will be more, and the work will be more likely to stand the test of the fire in the revelations of that day. THE WORLD IN THE CHURCH. 179 LOOSE NOTIONS. WE refer to the views which seem to obtain, to a consid- erable extent, among members of the Church in regard to sundry matters. The observance of the Sabbath is one of them. It is not uncommon to take advantage of the cheap Sunday excur- sion-trains. A contemplated trip to the country, or return, may be made at one-fourth of the ordinary fare. If the cheap trains were run on week-days they would take them, but as they do not, our Christian friends pack up and go on Sunday. There is saving of some money. A country trip that otherwise might not be afforded is gained, but the law of God is violated. Can Christians afford to be economical in this way? Again, it happens that provisions for the Sab- bath have not been made on Saturday. It may be the cus- tom, or the housewife has " forgotten to take bread," and so the first thing on Sunday morning is a trip to the market. With some the day is largely devoted to visiting and din- ing, much more than to home reading and public worship. Some men of business, and others not particularly busy, cannot forego a visit to the post-office, and there are odds and ends of the week that demand a few moments at the store or a ride in the field The relations of Christians to the whisky business ought to be above suspicion. As to its use, the Discipline takes the ground of total abstinence. Besides originating tract societies and Sunday-schools, Mr. Wesley put total absti- nence into the organization of his societies. If a man who drinks liquor except in cases of necessity may be a good Christian, it is certain that he cannot be a good Methodist. In taking the vows of membership in the Church he has pledged himself to total abstinence. We doubt whether the habitual drinker of liquor can be a good Christian, but we are sure that the man cannot be who has solemnly vowed to 180 'I'm: EDITOR-BISHOP; abstain and vet continues to drink. The wrong of drinking carries with it the wrong of selling or buying liquor as a beverage. No reputable Christian will retail the poison; but do not some regarded as in good standing deal in the article in a wholesale way, or in connection with the more general business of groceries and supplies? The liquor business, if it must be tolerated by society, ought to be a specialty, and left altogether to worldlings and sinners. No Christian can touch it, even by wholesale, without defile- ment. It hurts his influence and damages his soul. The liquor trade yields large profits, no doubt, but these profits would be much less if all who profess to be Christians were to cease to use or buy or sell the miserable stuff. At any rate, the gain of sin is not for them. Gambling as, indulgence in games of chance has a com- mon principle in all its ramifications. The lottery, the card- table, the horse-race, the dice-box, and many other forms, come to the same thing. Betting on elections is in the same line, and attended with the most corrupting results in the politics of the country. The chance of getting much for little or, practically, of something for nothing is a severe test of principle. Gambling is bad as an amusement, because it becomes a passion. It is bad for the people, be- cause it is unfriendly to industry, honesty, and labor, and because it impoverishes thousands where it makes one rich. Business gambling is as pernicious as any. It destroys con- fidence, unsettles values, and leads to the shipwreck of the most of those who indulge in it. The best business minds regard the inroad of the gambling spirit and methods into commercial affairs as a great evil. The dealing in futures certainly has about it something of the elements of a game of chance, and its influence in the business world is un- wholesome in the extreme. By lottery-tickets, by futures, by other chance ventures, now and then somebody makes a THE WORLD IN THE CHURCH. 181 fortune, and the fact is published, and multitudes are drawn into the vortex of ruin. Can a Christian consistently gam- ble, or touch that which has in it the gambling element? There is a broad line between the kingdom of Christ and the world. Very loose notions prevail in regard to this dis- tinction. What, in general, is the difference between a re- spectable worldling and a rather below average Church- member? Both may be found making the Sabbath a con- venience for business or pleasure; both may be side by side selling whisky ; both risking money on the same wild spec- ulations or in schemes of chance; both filled with the love of the world; and both found together in the ball-room and the theater. With some sorts of religious people there seems to be no rocognition of the principle and fact of a real separation from the world, and that in these days self- denial sacrifice, and even suffering, may be required in or- der to Christian fidelity. They accept things as they are, and do as the world does, oblivious of the broad distinction between Christian holiness and worldly-mindedness. These loose notions concern the vital principles of practi- cal righteousness, and their prevalence indicates a need of reform. The idea that people can gamble, dance, drink, sell whisky, and junket on Sunday with the world and as the world does, and yet save their souls, is a delusion that, with all its extravagance, needs to be exposed. Conformity to the world has always been a stumbling-block to the Church ; and the most difficult thing in religious practice, as well as one of the clearest tests of religion pure and un- defiled, is for the professed believer to keep himself unspot- ted from the world RECREATION IN RELIGION. THE Church is no more bound to furnish diversions for its people than it is to furnish them with employment. Re- 182 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. ligious principles apply to both, and the practical precepts of the Bible and rules of Church order and discipline indi- cate the line of Christian duty concerning them. If it be true that Christians must have amusements, and that the young people especially must have them, it does not follow that the Church is to furnish them. Religion is the busi- ness of the Church. Its mission is to preach the gospel, administer the ordinances, supply the means of grace, do what it can for benevolent and religious objects, and en- deavor to bring the people to Christ. Social reunions, Jiowever, under the guidance of pastors and Church-members, and conducted in accordance with the spirit of the gospel, may be productive of much good. Con- versation, music, and literary entertainment might fill up the evening, and there would be a decided benefit socially to all concerned. In this direction our churches could do much more than they are doing to supply harmless and even beneficial diversions to the young people. There is, apart from any expedients of this kind, an ele- ment of recreation in religion itself. As a relief from the weariness and cares of business and domestic affairs, there is nothing comparable to the duties of religion. The fa- tigued business man, the worried housewife, find refresh- ment in the weekly prayer-meeting. Nothing is more rest- ful to the tired body and the exhausted nerves than an hour spent in social worship. The craving for social intercourse is abundantly met and satisfied in the company of worshipers. The communion of saints is society in its religious aspects, and it is designed to be to the Christian what worldly society is to the worldly. Because of the higher purposes and benefits of religious association and worship, we are apt to underrate their value as a means of recreation. Thousands of people have scarce- Iv any other society than that connected with their duties THE CHURCH IK THE WORLD. 18') and relations to the Church, and the public and social serv- ices of the house of God are the only relief they have from the monotonous routine of secular affairs and daily toil. They find their recreation in their religion. Its duties aro pleasant, and their spare time is occupied with them. The bow of care and labor is unbent, the strain upon mind and body is relaxed, and the isolation of home-life is expanded into a circle of the most congenial and helpful character. Sunday with many religious people is a busy day. What with the Sunday-school, and the public services, and other meetings, the time is all occupied. And yet it is a change from the work of the week, and the effect is even more in- vigorating and refreshing than if the day had been spent in idleness and lounging at home. The Sabbath is indeed a day of true recreation to those who spend it in religious occupations. To those that labor, and to those that spend the day in pleasure-seeking, it is destructive of vitality. The spiritually-minded Christian will find that his leisure is fully taken up with his religious duties, and the recrea- tion there is in them will satisfy him. And this is about equal to saying that people who are zealously religious will have no desire to seek for mere diversions outside the path of religious duty. If the taste be formed for religious asso- ciations, and there be delight in religious services and exer- cises, and the mind and heart be filled and occupied with the truth and joy of divine wisdom, there will be no desire and no clamor for worldly amusements. The recreation of spiritual men and women is in their re- ligion, and not outside of it. Her ways are ways of pleas- antness. There is cheerfulness, joy unspeakable, and the most delightful and satisfying entertainment in them. The services of religion are not a gloomy dirge nor a perpetual penance. They are not a yoke of bondage, a cruel task, nor a repulsive burden. Neither is religion in opposition 184 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. to the healthy yearnings of our nature for that which shall entertain and invigorate. It is in itself the sum of all that is wholesome to the mind and body. It is the tree of life planted in the world to restore the wasting energies and to supply all the needs of the soul. It is every way and pow- erfully recreative. There is recreation in religion. PERIL TO METHODIST EXPERIENCE. THE Christian experience of the day is becoming con- fused and lamentably one-sided. The testimonies that we hear even in our Methodist love-feast in many cases lacks in the element of inward spiritual cleansing. One, and a very considerable current, seems to flow in the direction of a justification that is not attended by a conscious regenera- tion. Christ has paid the debt, and was delivered for our offenses. Resting in this, heaven is well assured. There may be no sense of victory over the easily-besetting sin, no realization of a pure heart, and yet there is confidence of being accepted, and of final salvation through the merits of Christ. None hold to the atonement as the ground of pardon and final salvation naore stringently than do our doctrinal standards; but we do not divorce this doctrine from that of sanctification. While Christ has paid it all, still with- out holiness no man shall see the Lord. There is a meet- ness of character, a personal righteousness, a purity of heart, that coincides with pardon, and goes along with it. It is this aspect of experience that has fallen out of our testi- mony to an alarming extent. The mere seeker and the backslider are now advanced to the front, often witnessing to an assurance of justification, based upon a mental opera- tion rather than upon the felt power of a new life. Salva- tion is a matter of premises and conclusion, and not an actu- THE CHURCH IN THE WORLD. 185 al sense of deliverance from the pollution and power of sin. Justification by faith is a wholesome doctrine, but it is a delusion to suppose that we are justified when sin still reigns in us and tKe fruits of the Spirit are unknown. The kingdom " is righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost." The true believer receives the Spirit of adoption, crying, "Abba, Father!" It has come to be a fashion to disclaim the very attain- ments in holiness which the Scriptures enjoin, and to seek to encourage the weak and troubled by relaxing the gospel demand of a perfect love. In some cases this may be the rebound from defective views of Christian perfection. It matters not how erroneously the doctrine has been advo- cated, we must insist upon a regenerated and sanctified nat- ure, the attainment of personal holiness, and the witness of the Holy Spirit. The baneful breath of Antinomianism and of imputed righteousness is already to be detected in our love-feasts and in the common religious talk of many of our people. The heterogeneous muddle of doctrines in the so-called unsectarian evangelists of the past few years has helped to corrupt and mislead. The miscellaneous and popular religious songs put forth by irresponsible individu- als, and eagerly caught up and used without discrimination in our social meetings, have contributed largely to the re- sult. Our pulpits have in some degree given way to a shaP 1 low sensationalism, and our doctrines are not preached as fully and habitually as in other years. Do one-half of our people know the distinctive meaning of justification and sanctification? Are they made to realize that they may and must be saved from sin, and that the adoption of sons, with the corresponding Spirit of adoption, is a present in- heritance and a blessing for the present hour? Errors in doctrine are connected with false conceptions of experience. The true pulse of the Church may be bet- 186 THE EmxoR-Bisiiop. ter felt in the exjxmence-meetiug thaii anywhere else. And it is here that \\e think may be detected the beginnings of a serious disorder. There are false notes and discordant strains in the tone of our experiences. It is perhaps to be expected that" the time of conversion and the attendant dem- onstration should be less marked now than fifty years ago. But conversion, as embracing faith in Christ and a new creature, must be the same. Inward holiness must not be dissevered from the clearest and strongest conceptions of Christ's merit as the ground of salvation. Our testimony needs to be strengthened in regard to the work and witness of the Spirit in the heart, and in regard to the cleansing power of the blood of Christ. We are glad to hear people declare that their purposes are right, and that they are trusting in the atoning blood ; but we should be gratified to hear more about victory over sin and the blessedness of clean hearts. The love-feast and the class-meeting arc full of revela- tions and suggestions to the diligent and watchful pastor. He need not draw his bow at a venture if he be attentive to their voice. 1 FAMILY RELIGION. CHILDREN AT HOME. IT is scarcely a home at all without children. A house in which there is none is desolate, whatever may be its spa- cious halls and rich upholstery. Grown people may move there in mirth and revelry, or live in quiet and orderly state ; 'every thing may be kept prim and neat, with no traces of the disorder and abandon of young life ; but there is a painful void. People who do not want children, and shun the care and worry of them, should by all means be- take themselves to cloisters, or live, as troglodytes, away from the society of civilized men. Not to sustain the parental relation is to be deprived of one of the most important conditions of our education. For moral and spiritual ends it is of invaluable service to have the parental affections awakened and developed, to be tried in our patience, and to feel the responsibility which the nurture and training of children demand. Where houses and people are childless through misfortune, Providence may have some compensating provisions; but the loss is one so serious that we can scarcely see how there can be any full reparation. Parents can understand better than others those declara- tions and promises of Scripture that refer to this relation : "If ye, being evil, know how to give good gifts unto your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to them that ask him?" Parents come nearer fathoming the fatherhood of God than even the an- gels do. They have a peculiar appreciation of the gift of (187) 188 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. the only-begotten Sou. Do they not get deeper into this profound and affecting passage than the seraphim : " He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him freely give us all things?" There is a richness of tenderness and pathos in the parable of the prodigal son which none but fathers and mothers wholly comprehend. They have in them the image of the divine paternity, and are brought into completest sympathy with the highest manifestations of divine love and compas- sion. There are chords in the human heart which it would seem that God himself cannot maketo vibrate except through the parental relation. It opens the understanding to some of the grandest disclosures of revelation, and presents a dis- tinct field for the display of submission, under sanctified sor- row. Children in the house, whether they are there to live or die, are a blessing. Their being and training call forth a class of affections and antagonize a selfishness which nothing else can reach. Their life is a discipline which has no sub- stitute, and their death is a sorrow that has no kinship in the category of afflictions. The home is the school of the children in it. Their characters are formed there, there they take their departure fcr a career of virtue and usefulness or for a course of vice, and to be the pests of society. Outside influences for evil are to be counteracted by the training in the family. Here and effectually nowhere else can they be fortified against the temptations which await them in the world. Neither secular nor Sunday schools can be intrusted with the Avork which must be done by the parents at home. Religion, morals, industry, neatness, practicalness, self-help, good manners, must all be taught in the house and in the child- hood period. Herein parents should have no need of priests or dancing-masters. The home circle and the fireside should be the school-room for piety and politeness. FAMILY RELIGION. 189 There is no adequate substitute for a good home, and to the young there is no privation more calamitous. In some families there is a tyranny that rebounds after awhile, and the children are the worse for it. Cunning, duplicity, and falsehood are fostered, and filial love and reverence are de- stroyed. In other households there is anarchy. The chil- dren run riot with excess of license, and are an annoyance to parents and guests. The broken chairs, the torn curtains, dirt, and general disorder, show the lack of all restraint. It is a positive trial to visit houses where the children govern the parents. The visitor feels embarrassment for the good, easy-going, slipshod, over-indulgent mother in her futile endeavors to- quiet the chronic rumpus and to secure tem- porary peace. Surely there is a more excellent way. Gov- ernment there must be ; obedience must be exacted ; and in well-ordered homes the children are olive-plants, green and beautiful and beautifying, and not nettles and stinging cac- tuses. "We think ot the model household as having in it not a lone child kept as in a bandbox, but a group of merry, romping, loving boys and girls, from the elder ones bloom- ing into their teens- to the little bud that is the care and pet of all. They are not to be too neat in their every-day clothes, and there are looseness and comfort in their array rather than any affectation of expense and style. And this bunch of little folk is instinct with the spirit of obedience and deference to the parental will, with no trace of painful fear, but with every element of sunshine and gladness in it. Obedience, rightly implanted, brings in its train truth, honor, candor, and conscience. About the rod and its use we cannot enter at large. The things we have indicated must be secured somehow, and generally they can be without much use of the classic birch. We have no quarrel with Solomon, but he turned out badly 190 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. himself, and his children were not models. As a rule, the whipping should be done before the child is ten years old, and not much need be done after the sixth year. More chil- dren have been spoiled and ruined by harsh and injudicious use of the rod than have been saved by its wise application. Since we have been living in a large city, with close neigh- bors, we have rarely been free from the annoying screams and cries of whipped children. It is a nuisance, an evil, a barbarous cruelty throughout the world that needs to be abated. A parent irate, frenzied with anger, belaboring a helpless and ill-instructed child, ought to be indicted for felony. The rod may be good in some cases, but few par- ents have the wisdom, grace, and patience to use it aright. Firmness, love, prayerfulness, and self-control will be more effective than the harshar course with the average child. THE BIBLE AT HOME. GOD'S Book was given us to be read. Some parts are more important and edifying than others, but every part is worth attention, and none should be neglected. It should be gone' through in regular course from Genesis to Reve- lation. Portions adapted to our immediate condition and wants should be selected as occasion arises; but the habit of reading the Bible regularly through should be maintained. The Bible should not be merely read ; it should be stud- ied, meditated on, and searched in a prayerful spirit. In general, we imagine Christians take too little pains in this matter, and that they devote too little time to it. Other books have usurped the place of the Book, and newspapers, magazines, and novels leave but a fragment of time for the word of God. It is a busy age, and many are occupied overmuch with the affairs of life. Remember, however, that the busiest must die, and that the treatment of God's FAMILY RELIGION. 191 Book will be brought up in judgment. The Bible is enti- tled to our greatest care; it must be the first not only in our reverence, but in our actual use. - What we write now is for Christians in their private home-life. How are you treating the Bible? how do you read it? how much do you know of it and about it? We like to see Bibles about the house well worn, showing use, and with the signs of wear on the binding and gilding, and the pages opening with facility almost anywhere. Ev- ery one should have his own Bible, and be familiar with the location of its chapters and paragraphs. A neighbor's house may be just like ours, but we are more at home in our own. There are margins, fly-leaves, and marks that we appropri- ate, and the volume comes at length to have a history and many blessed associations. It is an old traveling compan- ion ; it has witnessed many trying ordeals in our lives; there are upon its pages the stain of storms and shipwrecks and the print of teal's. But the main thing is to read it understandingly. "Un- derstandest thou what thou readest?" Do not pass over a verse without letting this question have its full force. De- termine to find out the mind of the Spirit as far as possible, and bring all your thoughts to bear upon the words under your eye. A little self-examination will probably expose our ignorance and carelessness, and show how unworthily we have handled the word of life. The reading will be a means of deepening piety, and the soul will be fed as it can be fed nowhere else. Without fa- miliarity with the Bible the Christian cannot pray to much purpose, nor can he get the largest benefits from the preach- ing and ordinances of God's house. To be eminently use- fill, to have a uniform and stable experience, and to be truly happy in our religion, we must see to it that the word of Christ dwells richly in us. To stand and to be panoplied 192 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. lor the holy war, first of all the loins must be girt about with truth. To young Christians and to the old, to all who would keep themselves in the love of God, and persevere till the crown is gained, Bible-reading is of the first im- portance. There can be no permanent, vigorous, growing spiritual life without it. PRAYER IN THE FAMILY. THE first Church was a family Church, the first priest- hood and ministry were over a household, and the first so- cial prayer was doubtless in the home circle. It is not need- ful to be argued out, or set forth in. the form of scriptural proof, that there should be prayer in the house. Our Meth- odist rules assume that it is one of several other duties which the "Spirit writes on truly awakened hearts." Such per- sons may neglect it, they may decline the performance from lack of courage, or from fancied incapacity, but they cannot be clear in their consciences. It is 'good for the whole family wife, children, guests, and servants to worship God in this way. Even the cats and' dogs and other domestic animals come to recognize the usage, and seem the better for it, though they may not un- derstand the import as fully as theft masters. Servants may avoid participation, but they feel the influence, and are conscious that God is under the roof as well as above it. Careless and ungodly neighbors come to know it, and in spite of themselves look upon that house as dif- ferent from theirs, and better. It is a testimony to the world without, witnessing for the truth, and preaching in an humble way. Going to Church is in the line of respecta- bility, and deep piety need not be supposed ; but prayer and praise daily at home indicate more than conformity to the habits and fashion of a community. Can that be called a religious home in which there is no family worship? The FAMILY RKLIGION. 193 world says nay, and so say we. There may be pious indi- viduals i'i it, but there is no Church in the house. It does not stand in the aggregate as a religious household, and its testimony in this capacity is wanting. The family is a good place in which to learn to pray. One can afford to pray indifferently here till practice gives greater facility and self-possession. It is a good school of training for the prayer-meeting and the public congrega- tion and for the sick-room. People who do not pray in the family usually pray nowhere except in secret. Shrinking from the cross at home, it cannot be borne elsewhere. After all endeavors to excuse themselves, we imagine that this omission rests as a cloud upon the consciences of many fathers and mothers. They cannot be quite satisfied, nor altogether easy, and there is a shade of God's displeasure upon them. They are living in the neglect of a means of grace and of an ordinance which is necessary for the wel- fare of their children. Without estimating the degree of guilt, or condemning too severely, we are persuaded that heads of families often lose ground and finally fall away altogether for the want of this most helpful assistant to godly living. The sons and daughters of a prayerless house cannot be expected to go out into the world braced for the inevitable conflict with sin and fortified against temptation. They have never heard the father pray, they have never heard him read the Bible, they have never felt the gracious dews which distill about the home altar. Their filial rev- erence and affection have never been raised and purified by the noblest exhibition of paternal dignity and love. The father who does not pray with his family never rises to the highest and best realization of his position as the head of his household. Prayer operates as a restraint upon doubtful and hurtful pastimes. It gives a sanctity to the home which rebukes 194 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. and excludes reveling and pernicious games. Dancing and cards are not likely to be allowed where the morning and evening sacrifices are regularly offered. The houses of pro- fessors of religion may sometimes be desecrated by these practices, but not the homes that' are hallowed by family worship. They cannot well exist in the same atmosphere and be indulged in the same hour with prayer. Whatever is hurtful to the Christian life will be banished by the erec- tion of the family altar. Prayer in the family requires a deep and consistent piety. Wife, children, and servants knq\v us better than we are known in the Church or in the community. Conscious in- consistency in temper, language, and manners is an embar- rassment which reaches its closest quarters at home. It is hard to pray with those who know our faults too well. Care- ful living and nmch grace are the conditions of free und comfortable prajjjng in the family. As to the manner there should be time, each one should take part in reading the Scriptures, and all should join in the Lord's Prayer. If not always, yet occasionally let the Commandments and the Apostles' Creed, as given in con- nection with the vows of baptism and Church-membership, be repeated by all. Singing should not be omitted. At least sing the doxology to Old Hundred or Sessions. Let there be always this much of praise. The Scripture-lesson should usually be short, attended sometimes with brief ex- position and questions, and let the prayer be short. Do not weary and disgust the children by prolixity in any thing, and let the whole service be lively and cheerful. It is family worship, the Church in the house; the children are all members, and let all have something to do. There are no aliens, no outsiders, no strangers here. The promise is to you and to your children : " Thou shalt be saved, and thy house." It is the place to gather the family under the FAMILY RELIGION. 195 wings of Jehovah, and to adore and praise him who hath "set the solitary in families." THE SON OF THINE HANDMAID. DAVID, in times of great distress, recalls the character of his mother, and pleads with God the fact that she was a handmaid, or servant of the Lord. " Give thy strength unto thy servant, and save the son oi thine handmaid." Himself a servant, he was also the son of God's servant. He was not only devotetl to God, and of his own choice the servant of the Most High, but his mother before him had been faithful in her allegiance to Israel's God. He thus recalls his mother, and dwells with peculiar satisfaction and comfort on her religious life. It strengthens his faith and it encourages his truit in God, and he sesms to urge it as a reason for divine deliverance. As a servant, he brings himself within the range of many gracious promises; but as the son of God's handmaid, he seems to regard himself as entitled to the benefit of other promises of such as are given to parental piety and faithfulness. As the sins of parents, their negligences and their evil example, fall upon the children in manyWays, so parental piety leaves an in- heritance of manifold blessings to them. He doubtless felt that, having honored his godly mother by obeying her counsel and walking in her footsteps, this might be pleaded in connection with the promise to faith- ful and obedient children. He might also have many pre- cious memories of the lessons received at his mother's knees, the prayers she habitually put up for him, and of some special act of declaration in which she had dedicated her child to God. We hear often in the history of the father Jesse, and the title " son of Jesse" is of frequent occurrence. In one of the grand Messianic Psalms it is impressively np- 196 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. plied : " The prayers of David, the son of Jesse, are ended." But to the mother there is hardly an allusion, except the two which David makes, and in these she is simply de- scribed as " thine handmaid." .Why should he not have pleaded the piety of his father as well, and have dwelt upon his uprightness and his character as God's servant? That he was a man of pure and righteous character we have no reason to doubt, and yet the sou of Jesse is still more the son of his mother. He honors her with such mention as indicates his deepest love and reverence, and as if his own character, as the servant of the Lord, were the out- growth of hers as the Lord's handmaid. We gather from these references that the mother's mem- ory was habitually cherished, and that the impress of her teachings and example was such as to leave a lasting influ- ence, and also that her relation to God, as "thine hand- maid," was to him a source ot strength and hope. He had come to a throne, and had come to be possessor of great riches and po.wer. Great and famous as he was, he refers to his mother, and counts it as his greatest honor that she was a servant of God, and that he had walked in the same path. It w r as something to be thankful for that he had such a mother; and the thought of her in his troubles was an inspiration to his faith and trust in God. Besides the broader field of promises which her relation to God opened to David's mind, there may have been also the remembrance of her prayers, and the feeling that the power of them still lingered at the throne, and might be as a shield to him in times of calamity. She may have been long dead, but he felt that her consecrated life and her fervent prayers were not forgotten before God. He prays as if God's strength and deliverance were somehow to reach him through her, and that, beyond his own relation to God as his servant, and beyond his own faith, hers were to be c<.unted and were FAMILY RELIGION. 197 to contribute to his welfare. He seems to feel that his mother stood related to him aud to God as the highest of any earthly priesthood. In his great trial, while he flies to God and hides himself in his pavilion, he also nestles in the bosom that pillowed his infant head. He comes to him who dwells between the cherubim for refuge and support, and yet in his coming he is emboldened by the memory of his mother's exemplary and holy life. He had not ceased to feel the power of it in his own heart, and he also felt that God had not forgotten it. Sure of being the servant of God, and claiming promises on that score, he strength* ens his case and makes his position firmer by reference to his mother's holy and consecrated service. In this hour of conflict and of prayer the only earthly name and the only human memory are the name and memory of his mother. No other influence is like this in its depth and power; no other except that of God himself so penetrates the whole being and survives the changes and fortunes of life. But for these brief allusions we should have known al- most nothing of David's mother; but, brief as they are, they disclose the fact that the greatness, glory, and piety of her royal son were chiefly due to her as the Lord's hand- maid. All this is the reiteration of a commonplace truth, and only an illustration of a mother's influence. And yet it is an illustration drawn from a somewhat peculiar aspect of that influence, as having its highest manifestation in the cry of the soul after God. Happy is the son who can revere his mother as the hand- maid of the Lord, and who, though dead, yet speaks by the faith which she exhibited. And happy is the mother who realizes the responsibility of her position, and who, as God's handmaid, consecrates her children to Christ, and stamps them indelibly with her own pure and heavenly character. Genuine piety in the mother cannot fail to tell 198 Tin: EBITOB-BISHOP. upon the character of the children ; but it must be of such depth and of such a type as to command the respect and the love of the children. There are thousands of devoted mothers, unselfish, careful, affectionate, blameless in general deportment, and attentive to the ordinary needs of their children; but the impression upon their children is not that they are first and chiefly the servants of God. Their religion is not the main thing, their nearness and consecra- tion to God do not so dominate the character and life as to make these the most memorable things in the thoughts and wiemories of their children. The mother's religion is apt to be that of the child. The son who has not seen it so ex- emplified in her as to command his respect and his convic- tion of its truth and excellence may doubt of it ever after- ward. A mother's piety is about the strongest bulwark against the attacks of skepticism and the inroads of vice that a young man can have. Her character as a Christian should be so decided, so unquestioned, and so clear in its exhibition of the Christian graces as to refute every device of the adversary of the soul. Fortunate are the children who in the hour of adversity can gain heart and hope from the recollection of a mother's piety, and who, even in their prayers, can make mention of her as "thine handmaid." SOUL EDUCATION. TRAINING FOR THE LIFE TO COME. IT gives dignity and importance to the most insignificant things in our experience if we habitually look upon them as a part of our education for the future world. There are a thousand littlt things important for the present welfare that we do not regard as having any bearing upon the endless hereafter. The child is taught industry, economy, and thrift, because these elements of character are the con- ditions of success in this world. He is given a practical education, is taught such branches as have an immediate application in his daily work. He learns a trade that he may win his bread and provide for his temporal comfort. Thus a great part of the training of youth has reference mainly to the preparations for the life that now is. The toil of men in the field of active pursuits is incited, first of all, by the groat argument of necessity. Food and raiment and an enjoyable home can only be secured by the drudgery of daily labor. Much of it is spent in menial services or in attention to details which in themselves have no interest or significance whatever. The farmer plods wearily after the plow. It is the same dull round of sow- ing and reaping, and the effort to extort from the soil that which is yielded with reluctance to his persevering indus- try. The mechanic shoves the plane and drives nails; he lays brick and plasters walls; he builds houses and repairs them. The thrifty housewife is busy all the day with the affairs of kitchen, laundry, and the sweeping, dusting, and mending and making. Woman's work is never done, and (199) 200 . THE EDITOR-BISHOP. much of it is made up of items both petty and irksome. Clerks, sewing-women, agents in all sorts of business, find nothing in their tasks beyond the money they command. It is very much the same with the merchant who is engrossed with the management of heavy operations, and with law- yers and doctors who spend their lives in ministering to their clients and patients. What a world of care, anxiety, and weariness is repre- sented by these manifold aspects of human activity and toil! And then we are to consider in this connection the failures, the poverty, the sore travail, the sharp pain of body, the heart-aches that are incidental to almost every con- dition. Surely all must have large reference to our eternal future. They must be for our learning not with sole nor with chief regard to this world. There must be something in these petty and groveling affairs which necessarily occu- py the most of our time that tells upon a nobler future. The earthly ends are ennobled by the love and sacrifice and patience that are in them. But these ends are only shad- ows of something higher. The discipline of the boy which fits him for the work of this life is also fitting him for some grander arena, and that which prepares him for his work here only introduces him to the more thorough school which is to complete his character and open to him the boundless future. The real discipline is in the practical and the arduous pursuits, in the duties which in themselves we loathe, and in the things that annoy, vex, and disgust us. For a time it would seem best that we should be bound down to the clods of earth, and that the powers and aspirations which have been divinely breathed into us should for awhile be chastened and repressed by this worldly turmoil and care. Out of this dark and trying condition pure and noble souls come up like the verdure and bloom that spring from the SOUL EDUCATION. 201 garden mold. It is the hardne^ of our lot in this ever- pressing round of trivial cares and labors that makes up the training element in it. The discipline that comes from what is seemingly mean and contemptible is what- the soul needs for its future destiny. The temptation to fret and pine under this dispensation of forced and uncongenial toil must be met and cured by the abiding conviction that it is a stage in the process by which the blossoms and fruitage of the skies are to be reached. We do not now refer to the discipline of affliction in its deepest manifestation. It is more difficult to see the good in our allotments of lowly toil and exacting and wearisome duties than it is to realize the mission of sorrow and be- reavement. Our self-respect and our claims upon the re- spect oi others are raised consciously by mighty and excep- tional griefs. These griefs command the homage of men as they do the special notice of the divine promises. They lift the soul up so powerfully and so graciously that a sense of their exalting influence is felt and realized. But these daily and hourly servitudes, and this inexorable bondage to the tyr- anny of earthly needs, require a patience, submission, and a faith of a higher order. Our blessed Lord, found in fashion as a man, " took upon him the form of a servant." The most of his earthly life was probably spent in Joseph's work-shop. Obscure toil was his. Those were long years weary ones that he spent in such work as the poorest peasant might have done. The healing hands, the miracle-working hands, the hands after- ward lifted in blessings as he ascended, were used to the rough tools of the carpenter. This mind of minds, this grandest and purest of souls, was for a period subjected to the ordeal of the most lowly and the most trying of earth- ly conditions. It was a part and much the longest period, of his human training. It is so with the most of his disci- THE EDITOB-BISHOP. pies. We are moving in the Master's footsteps, it' the train- ing be accepted by us with a contented and courageous spirit. There is a joy set before us as there was before him. Those who endure and labor with cheerful patience shall in due time go up from this training-school to the thrones and glories of the brighter world. AT THE FEET OF JESUS. THIS is the attitude of a true disciple. It is expressive of humility, docility, dependence. The disciple has every thing to learn. He is ignorant; he may be under the do- minion of error, and he comprehends but partially and im- perfectly the things which make for peace and righteous- ness. He is a learner, and is willing and anxious to be taught. He sits at Jesus' feet. Hig heart is open, his ear is attent, his eye is upon the gracious Teacher. He is more absorbed in him than in the outward affairs of life. These may occupy his hands and make his daily hours busy with the cares of the world, but he does not withdraw himself from Christ. He may intermeddle with all knowledge, and study what the great and good have written ; but Christ alone is his Master, and directly from him he receives the word of life. The art of Christian discipleship, if such an art there be, is in this absolute deference and submission to Christ, and all real disciples are taught of God through Christ. Mary "sat at Jesus' feet, and heard his word." This is a picture of beauty as clearly cut as a cameo, and as spirited in its lines as the most exquisite engraving. It stands for all time as the best type of the humble, unworld- ly, reverent, studious disciple as a learner in the school of Christ. It illustrates the Master's words : " Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart, and ye shall find rest unto your souls." All the SOUL EDUCATION. '203 riches of wisdom and knowledge are hid in Christ, and it is at his feet that these riches are discovered to us. The attitude of the soul toward Christ is every thing. The glory of the Lord will never be seen in his face until in humility, self-abasement, and faith we sit at his feet. The glory beams only upon those who look up, and the rays fall only upon the lowly and contrite ones. We may be sure that Jesus delights in such disciples; but how complete and satisfying is the joy of those who have come to realize that Christ is their Teacher and Lord! There is in him the teaching of himself. The Teacher is himself " the power of God and the wisdom of God." If he had only lived and said nothing, the light flashing from his person would have been greater than that which shines in the words of prophets and scribes. If man never spake like this man, it is also true that never man lived like this man. In other cases the treasure is in earthen vessels, but in him it is in a golden. His teaching life and his teaching character are absolutely perfect. At the feet of such a per- son we can sit, and feel that we are honored by such inti- macy. Whatever he may say, the background of his per- sonality is steadily luminous. He is himself the great les- son, and the faultless illustration of a perfect and glorious manhood. It is not so of Moses, Paul, or John. In them the ideal is blurred, and the outlines, at some points, are in- distinct. In Christ the Teacher himself is perfect. When we pass to the word-teaching of Christ we have at least the seed-truths of all truth and the words which are spirit and life. Here we sit at his feet not only when we study his own words, but also when we pore over those of Christ-inspired men. It is the Spirit of Christ in them that gives authority to the words of evangelists and apostles. We sit at the feet of Paul only as he sits at the feet of Christ; and thus, whether our text be in the prophets, Gos- 204 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. pels, or Epistles, we sit at the feet of Jesus and hear his word. The Spirit of Christ is the inspiration of all .Scripture, and in some sense it is true that the devout in all ages have sat at the feet of Jesus. The disposition of the heart and the recognition of a personal Redeemer have been the same. In this inquiring, receptive state of mind, ho\v powerfully and clearly Christ teaches! Under the spell of his words, how the heart burns, and how the whole Bible glows with promises and consolations! The good part, once chosen at the feet of Jesus, becomes a precious treasure that cannot be wrested from us. It is there that the heart surrenders, the final choice is made, and the imperishable blessing is re- ceived. In some degree all true believers are taught by the Spirit. How much and how truly depends upon this attitude of discipleship ! The "Spirit of truth " was given to those who sat at the feet of Jesus after he ascended. They were at the feet of their invisible and glorified Lord when the bap- tism of fire came upon them. It is while at his feet that the Spirit of the Son is sent forth into our hearts, " crying, Abba, Father!" "For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness, hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ." Christ teaches through the Spirit, even as he is glorified by the Spirit. This is the complement of his office as our Teacher, and the completion of the work. The need of the Holy Spirit is absolute. We have sat at the feet of Christ to little purpose if we have not realized this divine illumination and felt the presence of the Comforter. How and where is the gift of the Holy Spirit to be sought? It is at the feet of Jesus. This attitude of discipleship in- cludes all the conditions. Divested of pride, purged of self, humble, contrite, believing with the whole heart open and waiting and expecting the promised blessing. The only dif- SOUL EDUCATION. 205 ficulty is in coming to Jesus sitting at his feet. It is only the upward look the eye that gazes from the lowliest vale of humility that gets so much as a glimpse of the spirit- giving Saviour. What fullness of blessings are for us in Christ, in him who lived that we might learn of him, who spake that we might hear, and who ascended that he might flood the trust- ing and waiting soul with supernatural light! At Jesus' feet is the only place of rest and peace. Here only have the perplexed and the sorrowing, the guilty and the peni- tent, found rest unto their souls. At Jesus' feet, if we can only get there and there abide, we shall be so charmed with the sweetness and quietude of its bliss as to desire nothing more this side of heaven. WAITING FOR THE LORD. THIS attitude of waiting is insisted upon by Christ and by the apostolical writers. It is the condition of readiness and of preparation for the end. Whether of the end of the world, the end of existing order of society and of gov- ernments, or their own end, the substance of the admonition is to be ready. To be prepared for the second coming of Christ and for the final judgment is to be ready for what- ever may happen. In such a state the Christian is ready for tribulation, for bereavement, for tumults and revolu- tion, for sickness, and for death. If it be a definite looking for the personal coming for the great parousia this in- sures a spiritual readiness for whatever may come to pass. " Looking for that blessed hope, and the glorious appearing of the great God and our Saviour Jesus Christ," is connect- ed with the operations of the grace of God in the heart. To "love his appearing" is a mark of the true believer. This looking and loving is, however, consistent with the 200 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. conviction that the manifestation of Christ is yet very dis- tant. Ages may roll between us and that event, and it may come long after we have entered the paradise of God. All this does not affect the blessedness of the hope nor the wait- ing for the Lord's coming. Whether here on earth battling with temptation and sin, or yonder in the home of those who have entered into rest, the looking, the waiting, the ex- pectation are common to all the saints. We are waiting and they are waiting, " that they without us should not be made perfect." This polar star of hope never sets, but shines alike upon those who linger on earth and upon those who have crossed the flood. Every eye is turned toward this grandest and most momentous event. Every sanctified heart on earth and in glory is yearning for the appearing. As to ourselves, this waiting is practical. It is not a state of inaction, of wonder-worship, of indifference to the duties of life. The loins are girded, and the lights are burning, and the servants are diligently improving the gifts intrusted to them. There is no fanatical excitement, no interruption of the work given us to do. Rather does this expectation quicken the spiritual life and incite to greater zeal in labor- ing for the spread of the gospel and for the salvation of the world. If saved at all, the world must be saved before "the appearing of the great God and of our Saviour Jesus Christ." The grace of God and the present instrumentali- ties must achieve the salvation of the human race. The coming of Christ is the end, the consummation of all things, the last judgment, and the final and complete reward and glorifying of the good. With reference to such results, how necessarily the belief leads to vigilance, to the diligent use of the grace and op- portunities given, and to ever-increasing effort to advance the cause of Christ. It is the hour of our opportunity and of our responsibility. We know not when the end may SOUL EDUCATION. come; but our accountability will be gauged by its immi- nence by the possibility of its coming at any time. How much time God will give the Church to execute the great commission cannot be known. He never intended that we should know, and he has left it in obscurity, that every gen- eration should do its utmost to bring the world to Christ. The premillennial theory, based upon the idea that present gospel methods are a comparative failure and that the per- sonal reign of Christ on earth is to bring in more powerful and effectual means of bringing men to repentance, is a the- ory that paralyzes effort and weakens faith. Consistently with such & theory, we might wait inactive and with folded hands, and our missionary zeal might sleep until the voice of the archangel and the trump of God call us to awake. It is, however, the delay of that trump and the silence of that voice that loudly call us to action. The world must be saved before the Lord descends from heaven with a shout; and our own souls must be arrayed in righteousness, and we must be perfected in love before that day. Waiting is, therefore, working. It is laying broad and deep foundations, and building for the ages. It is an intense realization of the fact that the gospel is the only hope of the world, and that there is nothing more in the way of means and instrumentalities to come forth from God. The coming that saves and redeems 13 already consummated and at work ; the coming that judges and glorifies is that for which we look. How would preachers preach, how would Christians live, how would they all run in the race of usefulness, if they were thus waiting for their Lord? Their greatest readiness would be in their complete consecration and in the absorbing endeavor to pluck from the fire as many brands as possible. And yet there is a waiting that is full of self-deception ttnd danger a current talk about a millennium that is to 208 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. usher in a new and different dispensation, and in which the old gospel methods are to be superseded. Perhaps the serv- ant who buried his talent was one of these sincere but de- luded souls. He was waiting for his Lord, but not wisely waiting. He was looking for him, but only to be met with rebuke and shame. The foolish virgins were also waiting for their Lord, and they slept the sleep of carnal security. They thought they were ready, but the doors of heaven were shut against them. The true waiting is thus distin- guished from the false. It is a right apprehension of what the Lord's coming is a coming to judge, to punish, and to reward, and a coming that closes the gospel offer to the world. It is such a life as takes its tone and impetus from a blessed hope that also rivets upon the conscience and heart the vast issues involved. This true waiting brings Christian men face to face with their great and fearful responsibilities, and arouses in them all the faith and zeal and watchfulness of a trumpet-blast from the throne of judgment. Waiting for their Lord, they are in the vestibule of eternity, in the ante-chamber of the august Presence, and in joyous readi- ness to lay their charges down at the Master's feet. Wait- ing here with fidelity, they move at length into brighter con- ditions of waiting until he comes. CHRISTIAN DUTIES. THE DUTY OF PLEASING. '"PHERE are cynical and half brutal natures that take an JL evident satisfaction in crossing the desires and thwart- ing tho plans of others. They are rough, uncouth, and dis- obliging in their intercourse for no other apparent reason than that they like so to be. It is a way they have of as- serting their individuality and independence, or of taking their revenge for the selfishness and wrong which they im- agine the world has shown toward them. Those who have, through long and severe struggles, attained to wealth, and feel themselves masters of the situation, are often harsh and inconsiderate in their dealings with subordinates and with those who have been less successful in life. They sought to please when there was an object and when there were selfish ends to gain, but when secure in their wealth and position, they became domineering and repellant. Prosperity often mars the manners and destroys their amiability. The out- ward deportment becomes worse as the man's circumstances become improved. There are also stern types of morality, and even of godli- ness men and women, in their way both benevolent and devout, who regard it as a sin to make themselves perfectly agreeable. They act as if they feared some danger in the ordinary amenities of social intercourse, and as if remem- bering to be courteous would somehow compromise their high calling and stain the garments of their Christian pro- fession. Their principles are good. They are stanch in asserting them and conscientious in making them as repul- 14 (209) 210 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. sive as possible to those of a different persuasion. As the carnal mind is enmity against God, and as the cross is fool- ishness to the natural man, they would, as they believe, be chargeable with wickedness to attempt to conciliate the world. There is offense in the cross, and it is a mark of fidelity in the Christian that he make himself other than agreeable to the worldly. So far from seeking to please, they would regard such a course as a betrayal of the grace of God. They are religious scolds and ascetics, who are really better than they seem. They are such saints as chil- dren are afraid of, and such as Christians of a sunnier mold respect rather than love. The art of pleasing as it exists in society is for the most part selfish. True politeness is the expression of benevo- lence in little things. In social intercourse, and in all our relations with one another, it is a thing of great value. A right-minded and intelligent Christian must be polite. Char- ity "doth not behave itself unseemly." And yet the pages of Chesterfield exhibit the hypocrisy and the immoral de- signs which are often underneath the garment of outward elegance and decorum. The money-shaver is the blandest of men until he gets his victim in his power. It pays for the dealer to show his wares with a smile upon his face. The good salesman is the man with good manners. We are indebted to sharp competition for three-quarters of all the politeness that is shown us in business intercourse and on the thoroughfares of travel. To make headway in society, in business, or in politics, people must be affable. Popularity is cultivated as the means to the attainment of selfish ends, and as the path of success in securing wealth, influence, and honor. It is not unlikely, however, that with the most of people it is pleasant to please. If no self-interest is sacrificed there- by, they would rather make themselves agreeable than re- CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 211 pulsive. They rise above indifference, and \vould rather impart pleasure when it is in their power to do so. It may be akin to selfishness, and it may be something better. It may not spring from any high principle, but if a wild flow- er it has a certain beauty and fragrance. We meet with teasing, hectoring spirits now and then ; but they are the exceptions, and with them humor is largely in the ascend- ant. It is their way of giving and receiving pleasure. We come out of all these aspects of the subject to the high Christian assertion of the duty of pleasing. Paul was a gentleman indeed, and in his inspired moods he was care- ful to say, "Let every one of us please his neighbor for his good to edification ; " and he points to the perfect Example when he declares: "For even Christ pleased not himself; but as it is written, The reproaches of them that reproached thee fell on me." This was a principle of action in all his intercourse with men. He was probably the most courteous and affable man of his age. There was nothing gruff or boorish about him. He writes to his brethren, and cites his own uniform course: "Give none offense, neither to the Jews, nor to the Gentiles, nor to the Church of God ; even as I please all men in all things, not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved." We know not how the Christian duty of pleasing could be set forth more completely. The end is purely a benevolent one, divested utterly of the hollowness and selfishness which often taint the elegances and courtesies of worldly intercourse. Christians do well to study this masterly exhibition of a duty which, in its highest import, is too much neglected. No principle is to be compromised, no truth is to be surren- dered; and yet we are to seek to please, to make ourselves as attractive and agreeable as possible, and with the single purpose of benefiting our neighbor "Not seeking mine own profit, but the profit of many, that they may be saved." 212 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. The art of pleasing is not to be surrendered to human van- ity, selfishness, and venality, but it is to be appropriated and sanctified as a means of bringing souls to Christ, and of winning them from the service and bondage of sin. However the principle may apply to the minister of the gospel, as influencing his intercourse with the people and the manner of his pulpit ministrations, it is also very sug- gestive in its adaptation to our every-day Christian life. That the children of the house sometimes become averse to instruction and worship, and regard the Bible as the most dismal of books, may not be their fault altogether. There has been stern parental discipline and peremptory insistence upon obedience, but the element of pleasing has been over- looked. Religion, and especially religion at home, is a thing of beauty; but it has not been made so. Our neigh- bors have no good opinion of our iaith, because we have taken little or no pains to add something to their happiness by such considerate attentions as would secure their friend- ship. Our course may have been such as needlessly to awaken opposition and excite prejudice. We have been dogmatic rather than kind. We have been harsh in tone and censorious in spirit, forgetting that " the sweetness of the lips increaseth learning." The Christ-like man will study how to please his neighboi for his good to edification. He will please that he may lure him to the cross and hring him to Christ. He will endeav- or to catch men with this godly guile, and to lead them to the sanctuary by the strong but silken cords of love. The school of Christ is a school in which the duty of pleasing stands out prominently. The law cannot be silenced, sin must be exposed and rebuked, and the world's enmity must be encountered; but the unselfish and earnest purpose to make men better and happier is a mighty force in the Chris- tian's work. CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 213 'HELPING ONE ANOTHER. AMONGST other ways in which Methodists are to evidence their desire of salvation is the following, as found in the General Rules: "By doing good, especially to them that are of the household of faith, or groaning so to be; employ- ing them preferably to others; buying one of another; help- ing each other in business ; and so much the more because the world will love its own, and them only." The duty ot doing good to all men is clearly recognized "of every possible sort, and, as far as possible, to all men." The preference which the rule declares for the house- hold of faith is taken from Paul's words: "As we have there- fore opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." The apostle doubtless had reference to works of charity and gifts to the destitute and suffering, but Mr. Wesley has not gone beyond the spirit of the passage in applying it to business affairs. To help each other in business is the natural and sponta- neous tendency of fraternal feeling and brotherly-kindness. The preference which the relation of brethren demands in the bestowal of alms is certainly not less obligatory in the industrial pursuits of life. Believers are described as "the household of faith" intimately united in fellowship to Christ and to each other. Christ takes his disciples under his special care, denouncing the heaviest judgments upon those who shall cause them to stumble, and assuring him of a special reward who shall give " unto one of these little ones a cup of cold water only in the name of a disciple." Christ recognizes and rewards the good done unto his disci- ples as done unto himself: " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren, ye have done it unto me." The help which Christians can afford each other in the way of business is often considerable, and it is the most pru- 214 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. dent and rational mode of bestowing benefits. Where the poor can be placed in positions to earn their bread and to become independent of charity? they are more effectively aided than if gratuitously maintained. Many a worthy me- chanic, tradesman, or merchant, vainly struggling for a start in business, might have been saved from poverty and failure by a little encouragement and patronage from his brethren in Christ. Young men seeking employment are perhaps neglected by members of the same Church, who might with little trouble secure them positions. Where there is already abundant prosperity, the relation to the household of faith should still decide our choice in business transactions. We may hope that the wealth to which our patronage has contributed will be more expended to the glory of God in the hands of a Christian than in the hands of an unbeliever. Better enrich the man who consecrates his money to the support of the gospel than build up the fortune of another who lives only to hoard his gains or to expend them upon his lusts. This duty oi employing Christians preferably to others, and buying one of another, is of easy and wide application. Every day there are opportunities in some direction to prac- tice it, and yet it is often most grievously neglected. We do not mean that we are to buy of each other without re- spect to price, nor that we are to employ Christians without regard to qualifications. Other things being equal, the pref- erence is to be given them in trade and in employment. If the Methodist does not do as well by me as another, then I must go where I can do the best; but, with the rule thus qualified, we ought to be at some pains and inconvenience to make our connections in business with those who are known to be exemplary and good people. While we would reprobate an offensively clannish and bi<:ot3d spirit, we be- lieve that the rule of "helping each other in business" is CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 215 of scriptural obligation, and not to be neglected without censure and condemnation. However much we may affect a broad and liberal spirit, we cannot set aside the inspired declaration, "Especially unto those who are of the house- hold of faith." The rule is often broken through want of consideration and from the idea that business has nothing to do with the Church and religion. The claims of Christ's disciples are not thought of in such a connection. They have never thought of their merchant, their grocer, their employes as having any religion at all, but only as serving them to the best possible advantage. The duty, as Chris- tians, of helping each other in business has never amounted to a practical and serious conviction. It is not our purpose to give this subject a sectarian application, though in this respect Methodists need to be reminded of their delinquency. While we do not abate our catholicity of spirit, there is need that the ties of our brotherhood be drawn closer in the temporal affairs of life. SERVING THE WILL OF GOD. DAVID was a notable man a king and a personage who left an impress upon his own age and upon all ages such as few can expect to do ; and yet in that single stroke of Paul's concerning the great monarch of Israel we have a revela- tion of what all lives should be. The true order of the words is given in the margin: "After he had, in his own age, served the will of God." The way to benefit others, and to contribute to the general welfare, is to be governed by this principle of obedience to God. The highest ends of benevolence and usefulness are reached through this su- preme regard for the counsel of him who appoints to every man his work. The divine plan covers all the ages and moves toward a beneficent consummation. It has for its object the salvation of the world. Each consecrated person 216 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. is a factor in this great achievement. To be consciously in our place, and to do our part, would seem to be what is meant by serving the will or counsel of God in our genera- tion. It is much to serve our generation, to help those who are immediately about us, to lessen the miseries of our day, and to add something to the stock of its ha-ppiness. This, iu itself, is a worthy purpose infinitely better than a sordid selfishness. It is the limit of ordinary philanthropy and of pious zeal. But to serve the will of God in our generation is broader, because it looks beyond our own times and con- siders each individual life and each generation of lives as contributing to the completion of a divine purpose embrac- ing the welfare of all ages. Recognizing what the will of God is in its grand sweep of mercy and in its far-reaching plan for a redeemed world, the man of faith puts himself in har- mony with the divine counsel, enters into it with absolute devotion and self-renunciation, and feels himself to be vital- ly connected with the kingdom of God in its progress and development. His work is delivered in his own generation, but it is related to what others have done before him and to that which shall come after. While David served the will of God in his own generation, he" served that which is the light and hope of this and of all generations. What he did and what he was have come on down to us. The serv- ice to our generation is greater than that which he rendered to his own. In some sort we are like the madrepores, that build up the coral-reefs and raise up islands and continents. Each tiny creature serves the counsel of the Creator in its brief generation, and helps in carrying out a plan that stretches through centuries of the earth's history. The Christian man, however, is a conscious and intelligent worker, and comprehends the system of which he is a part. There is CHRISTIAN DUTIES. 217 this breadth and grandeur in serving the will of God: It touches most practically and beneficently the people and the times nearest to us, while it tells upon future genera- tions and will be felt in the consummation of all things. Local and temporary as to its field, the results of serving the will of God are universal and immortal. The life and character are divested of all narrowness, and are made sub- lime by the conviction that our works of love are tributary to a stream as vast as the needs of the world. For all time the world is blessed and made better by these who see the will of God and serve it. Serve it. His will of mercy and goodness, his plan for the world's salvation, his counsel of goodness toward us, may be delayed, and even thwarted. We can serve his will, or we can stand in the way, and by perverseness, opposition, or indifference, hinder the fulfillment of his purpose of love. God would have all men to be saved. His counsel in re- demption embraces all in the provisions of salvation. We may help or hinder in this work ; and we do. Our time is short, and our life-mission is to serve the will of God, emi- nently as that will goes out after the lost and as it has its expression in Christ as the Saviour of all men. The world was not saved in David's time, but he did what he could. It may not be wholly reached by the gospel in our day, but it is for us to lay something upon this rising monument of truth and grace, and to help swell the advancing tide till it covers the earth with the glory of the Lord. We might say and many do say practically that the counsel of God will take care of itself, and that his purpose for the salva- tion of the world will ripen in good time. But David served the will of God, placed himself in harmony with it, and wrought mightily and earnestly to bring it about; and this is enough to say of all who have wrought righteousness and have lived to much purpose in the world. 218 THE EortOR-BifiHOP. In its highest and best sense, no man serves his genera- tion unless that service has had reference to the kingdom of heaven advancing in the world and gilding all the ages with its promises and realizations of grace and the hope of immortality. In serving themselves men build railroads and factories, and fill the world with their cunning and use- ful inventions. Trade, commerce, and all the industries are advanced thereby, and material comforts and luxuries are multiplied. They have served their generation inci- dentally; but there has been no thought of the will of God, no concern about the kingdom which contains in itself the real essentials of human progress and happiness. Compare the great railroad magnate recently dead with Paul or with Sir Francis Lycett. Tom Scott served his generation; Jay Gould is serving his. But as to serving the will of God in their generation, how does the matter stand? It is a prac- tical age. Nobody is considered of much account unless he be an inventor or a builder or a bold projector of industrial enterprises. The danger is that, as a people, we shall come to the fearful pass of "having no hope, and without God in the world." The course of things must be reversed and the divine order must be restored. Men must serve the will of God, and by such serving reach the highest good for all generations. CHRISTIAN GRACES. CONTENTMENT. /CHRISTIAN contentment has reference to the disposi- \J tious of Providence. When clearly in the path of duty the Christian accepts the conditions of his lot. Content- ment can hardly be called a grace. It is rather a state and habit of mind to which several graces contribute. Faith, patience, submission, are some of the elements of it. It is not of course to be regarded as opposed to the spirit of progress. The inert character of the Orientals, the lack of all enterprise and improvement in some races, and the com- placent thriftlessness of some individuals, are not illustra- tions of this scriptural duty. Inertness, laziness, idleness, are as far from it as light is from darkness. Neither is it that aspect of fatalism which neglects the means and op- portunities of improvement, and then affects a pious resig- nation to the will of God. When we have done the best we can, have used our gifts and opportunities as we could, have followed the indications of Providence, and have sought in all things the glory of God, there is then occa- sion to be content. Men are to make their condition as good as possible they are to be active, industrious, provi- dent, energetic. It is right for them to desire prosperity and temporal blessings to pray for them and to work for them. But if adversity come, they are to recognize the hand of God in their afflictions, and to acquiesce in the dis- pensation. Paul has more to say about contentment than any other inspired writer; and the connection in which he enjoins it (210) 2i>0 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. indicates that it is to be specially cultivated under circum- stances of trial. He had learned, in whatsoever state he was, to be content. " Everywhere and in all things I am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need." He was sure of his divine calling, and if want overtook him in it he did nt fret or repine, but patiently and even cheerfully endured. As MacKnight translates his words, " I have learned to be self-sufficient." A contented mind is indeed a kingdom in itself. He had in a measure made himself independent of outward condi- tions by a trustful and submissive spirit. This is the appli- cation for many: contentment in poverty, in affliction, in adversity. And this, we may be sure, does not exclude the desire of the soul for a brighter and happier world. It rather ministers to contentment, under trial and in tribula- tions, that there is a gracious purpose in them and a benefi- cent end. They are working out for us a weight of glorv they are working together for good. Why should we re- bel and murmur against that which may be needful for our spiritual and eternal welfare? In other places contentment is urged as opposed to cov- etousness, to the spirit of those "that will be rich." "Let your conversation be without covetousness; and be content with such things as ye have; for he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee." "And having food and rai- ment, let us therewith be content." This is an illustration of contentment as opposed to inordinate desires. The de- termination to be rich, without regard to the means, or whether consistent with our Christian duties, is a form of discontent. If Providence has provided things necessary, but denied us the luxury and style of kirge fortune, we are to have thankful hearts, and not to sacrifice principle and conscience for wealth. The religious man is not grasping; he is not absorbed in the pursuits of gain. There is gener- CHRISTIAN GRACES. 221 ally less contentment among people who are prosperous and well-to-do than among the impoverished and suffering. Their discontent takes the form of greed is the unsatisfied craving of avarice. However large the accumulation, it is seldom that rich men have enough. Not satisfied with mod- erate profits and with the safe and slow increase of their pos- sessions, they launch out into wild speculations and reckless- ly run in debt. In the mad pursuit of riches they become selfish, indifferent to their obligations, and utterly forgetful of God. Contentment antagonizes the love of money, and clears the soul of it as the root of all evil. Does religion bring contentment? In other words, does it lead to patient, trustful submission to the providence of God? and does it s.o moderate the desires as to restrain from cov- etousness and all inordinate affection? Certainly the grace of God does not teach us to be idle, and to make no en- deavor after earthly things. It does not instruct us to be sick if we can be healed, nor to abide in poverty if we can get out of it. Contentment there may be in connection with enterprise and prosperous undertakings. The most laborious and energetic and successful may be content. They may be clear of covetousness and actuated by conse- crated motives. Contentment shines in both adversity and prosperity. It is the habit of the believing heart. It is another word for moderation, for resignation, and for peace. It is tranquil- lity in danger, joy in tribulation, a faith unshaken by the storms of sorrow. It is a state of mind that equalizes all conditions, and makes God and his will the sum of our happiness. It is that state wherein the affections are set on things above, wherein the mind is stayed on God, and where- in there is perfect peace. True contentment can be found only in Christ as the soul's refuge and as the stronghold of the tempted and distracted spirit. 222 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. LOVE IN RELIGION. LOVE is a positive grace. It is not merely the aosence of ill-will or hate. There may be no conscious enmity to- ward God, but there is indifference. There is no sense of love as supremely centered in God as its ^object. Not to hate any one is far from loving all. It is sometimes a con- fession meant for a state of grace: "I have no ill-will to- ward anybody in the world." This is more than the devil can say, but it falls below what the Christian feels. Love is not a religion of negations. It is actual and positive. God and man are not objects of indifference, or merely tol- erated without aversion. They are loved. The degree of love, to be loved at all, has this positive quality. The high- cst conception of it is in the Saviour's interpretation of the Commandments. God is to be loved with all the heart, mind, soul, and strength, " and thy neighbor as thyself." Paul's description of charity comes up to that of Christ, He describes the temper, behavior, and conduct which mark the possession and the fruits of it. Here is given the pict- ure of a complete inward life and the corresponding outward conduct. If we come short of this standard of excellence, by that much there is defect in our Christian character. Love is the essential in religion. Evidently men may die for their religion, they may give largely, they may work industriously, but there may be no particle of love in them. The force of Paul's delineation lies in the contrast between a religion of love and a religion without love. Witness such words as these: "Charity suffereth long, and is kind; char- ity envieth not; charity vaunteth not itself, is not puffed up, doth not behave itself unseemly, seeketh not her own, is not easily provoked, thinketh no evil ; rejoiceth not in in- iquity, but rejoiceth in the truth ; beareth all things, believ- eth all things, hopeth all things, endureth all things." The true Christian character is not here drawn in con- CHRISTIAN GRACES. 223 trast with that which is avowedly worldly and sinful, but rather as opposed to a type of religion in which there is pride, envy, and a puffed-up and carnal spirit. It is a test of the genuine as opposed to the false, as a detecter of the counterfeit and debased coin that somehow gets into circu- lation in the religious world. It gives the ring of the pure gold, and the image and superscription which attest the genuine money. Spurious forms of religion had already manifested themselves in the Church. Miracles and other extraordinary gifts had been perverted. Selfishness, ambi- tion, vanity, and sordidness had crept in. Vaunting on ac- count of superior gifts and attainments had become com- mon. Unseemly behavior had followed. Men had become intent upon the desire and pursuit of the wonderful and the sensational. Paul's picture of charity is drawn to off- set this miserable travesty of religion, and to correct it. We do not expect to find love in the world. We may find the very opposite of it among people who claim to be Christians. And yet love draws the line at the point of what is absolutely essential in Christian character. With- out love, whatever his profession and whatever his attain- ments and possessions, he is nothing. It would seem to be a description of that which we must have in order to salva- tion. Not an impracticable ideal, but a character to be re- alized in the experience of all who expect to be saved. It is manifestly something above ordinary morality, something in advance of all forms of religion. It is the heart and essence of Christianity, greater than faith or hope, because it is their object and end realized the heaven of character and also of happiness. Love is a point of perfectibility. It is said to be made perfect, and that perfect love casteth out fear. The infer- ence is doubtless sustained by a large experience, that there may be love in us, and yet, in degree, imperfect. Certainly 224 THK EDITOR BISHOP. perfection in it is set before us. At this point, if any, are Christians to go on to perfection, and to perfect holiness in the fear of God. We may take Christ's declaration of the law of love to love God with all the heart, soul, mind, and strength, and thy neighbor as thyself qr we may look at Paul's description of the more excellent way, or we may come to the ripe and mellow strains of John as he empha- sizes the nature and necessity of it. The perfect love may not be ours, and yet, in part, we dwell in love. It is of advantage to bring our self-examination to this one point, since love embraces all. To take in the whole life in de- tail may not be possible, but we may test ourselves by this one principle. In connection with this test the defects of heart and life are sure to be brought out. Love is something so positive, so pure, so unselfish, so en- ergetic for good withal, that the least deviation is readily detected. Perfect love, besides correcting what is uncome- ly and harmful in word and conduct, casts out the fear of death and the judgment. There is no fear in love. The second death can have no power over him that dwelleth in love. Love perfected must prove itself. It must keep a sweet temper under great provocation ; it must maintain humility in the midst of " visions and revelations;" it must assert its dominion in the presence of gainsayers and under the con- tradiction of sinners. If cleansed from all sin, the work will be displayed in the perfect love that reigns within. " When that which is perfect is come, then that which is in part shall be done away." If sin is anywhere left in- trenched in the soul, it will be revealed as a flaw in our love, and the swell and glow and power of a full salvation will be in the consciousness of love being perfected. CHRISTIAN (.JUACI*. 225 THE DENIAL OF SELF. THIS is the first element of discipleship, and one of the profoundest of religious principles. Self has been to the un- converted the center of all. A powerful centripetal force draws every thing in this direction. An all-ingulfing self- 'ishness governs the natural man. The first, the last, the only thought is self. If somewhat modified and thrown out from his own person by natural affection, it is selfishness t^till moving in an orbit which knows no other center. There is no higher law than his own will ; he turns " to his own way," and self is his only law. It is self in its rebell- ion against God that must be denied. Where it exalts and opposes itself against the divine authority, where it seeks to follow the bent and purposes of the carnal mind, where it presumes to dictate to infinite wisdom, it must be denied. A man must disown himself in order that he may come under the Saviour's yoke ; he must break off all connections with every other master that Christ may be received and confessed as his Lord. In putting off the old man with his deeds, he puts on the Lord Jesus Christ. Instead of obeying self, living to himself, and being full of himself, he is now full of Christ; imaginations and every high thing are cast down, " bringing into captivity every thought to the obedience of Christ." The soul, divested of self-will and the spirit of revolt against the divine authority, revolves in a new sphere, ami is drawn to Christ as the supreme and all-controlling good. This act and state of self-denial leads, of course, to the re- nunciation of sin and the disregard of all personal consid- erations in the path of duty. Ease, honor, liberty, and life itself will be counted but loss for the excellency of the knowledge of Christ. The fountain of all, however, is in the comprehensible principle by virtue of which a man denies himself, disowns himself, and realizes that he is the '226 THE EDITOR- liisnor. absolute property of God. Here is the beginning of hu- mility, which forbids him " to think of himself more highly than he ought to think," and which divests him of the in- tolerable egotism and conceit which sprout so rankly in the soil of the unregenerate heart. A life of unexceptionable temperance and morality may be wholly selfish. The an- chorite and the extremest ascetic in religion may live to self as completely as the veriest voluptuary in the world. Saint Simeon Stylites, on his pillow, with his fastings and exposure to the rigors of the seasons, was as full of him- self as any of the pleasure-loving throng who wondered at his almost supernatural endurance. To realize the self-denial of the gospel, it is not needful to seek the occasion nor to make it. It is himself that the be- liever denies, and in this renunciation every possible thing is embraced. It is not a fragment of appetite or of ambition that is sacrificed here and there, nor is it the mere fringes and periphery of the life's garment which are trimmed and sjhorn now and then. Christ strikes more profoundly and .more comprehensively. He does not begin by lopping off the branches, but the ax is laid at the root of the tree. "If any man will come after me, let him deny hiimelf." The poor body may be starved and lacerated and the soul re- main supremely selfish. Men may stand on pillars, live in caves, wear sackcloth, shut themselves up in cells, fare ab- stemiously, and yet know nothing of self-renunciation. A true Christian life will touch the point of sacrifice in every direction, simply because the denial of self underlies all. It is not so much in isolated instances and in partial phases of duty, but in the whole of life's purposes and achieve- ments. It will appear in the government of appetites, in the abandonment of ease and pleasure, in giving, in work- ing for God. The stream will rise to the altitude of its source, and the disowning of self and the renunciation of CHRISTIAN GRACES. 227 self will enter into every performance. While a man may submit to flagellation till the flesh drops from his bones, and even give his body to be burned, and yet know nothing of true self-denial, it is not possible for him to possess it and fail to exhibit it in every breath and pulsation of his being. The trouble should not be to find wherein we deny our- selves, but rather wherein we do not. And yet there are probably multitudes of professed Christians to whom this matter of self-denial is but little more than a gospel fiction. They are following their ease and pleasure. Their giving is measured by their convenience; their work in the Church never goes beyond what is perfectly agreeable. They lay up treasure on earth; they indulge in the fashionable pleasures of the world. To give something, to do little, and to keep within the ordinary bounds of continence and sobriety, is the measure of their devotion. There are those whose highest conception of this principle is exhibited in icfraining from sinful appetites and in observing the out- ward duties of the religious profession. To be crucified with Christ, to endure hardness as good soldiers, and to bring their entire practice up to the measure of this denial of self, is beyond their thought. Thousands are selfish, sensuous r even voluptuous, in their religion. A comfortable place in the Church, where the little work that is done is done by others, and where enter- taining sermons, inspiring music, and good society contrib- ute to the agreeableness of worship, is the chief and crown- ing object. Self-indulgence comes not only in worldly but also in religious forms, and spreads its enervating spell over the Church. The softness, shameful effeminacy, and cow- ardice of thus living to self is rebuked by the Master's call to self-denial. If Christians are to save themselves, they must have thi* salt of the religious life in themselves; and 228 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. if the Church is to save the world, her members must gird themselves for the great work by denying themselves and by becoming imbued with the constraining love of Christ, " that they which live should not henceforth live unto them- selves, but unto him which died for them, and rose again." THE GRACE OF GENTLENESS. To be gentle is to be godlike. In nature the rough and violent processes are exceptional. The storms that sweep the ocean and the tornadoes that devastate the land are fitful and unfrequent as compared with the general tranquil- lity and more quiet r>vements of the elements. The shocks of the earthquake are alarming because seldom repeated. For the most part, the mighty forces of the material uni- verse work quietly and even slowly. The continents and islands are rising and sinking without perceptible and start- ling convulsions. The wonderful contrivance for watering the earth, the falling showers, the refreshing dew, the growth of vegetation, the movement of the stars, the revolution of the earth, are all illustrations of gentleness in the work of God. The world was made, and is preserved, with but lit- tle violent demonstration. Every thing goes on with won- derful stillness and smoothness, as if all the ministers of nature were shod with wool. The worlds roll on with no clatter of wheels, the seasons continue their noiseless pro- cession, the birth and decay of the oak, and the blossoming and withering of the rose proceed in silence. The omnipo- tent hand, guided by wisdom and love, touches the vast and the minute, and forms and wields all with an infinite deli- cacy. It is a gentleness without feebleness and a quietude united with the most untiring activity.. This is largely true in the dealings of God with his ac- countable creatures. Severitv in the order of Providence, CHRISTIAN GRACES. 229 like that of nature, is exceptional. There is gentleness even with the unthankful and the impenitent. Long-suffering and forbearance usually attend their course. The ministries of love and persuasion are more than those of wrath. After the fire is "the still small voice," and before it also; and this is the constant and life-long appeal. David says once, if not twice, " Thy gentleness hath made me great." What would he have been without this gentleness of mercy in his hour of guilt and crime? And what would any of us have been and such greater and better, as Abraham and Moses without this same tenderness to the weak and erring? The operations of the Spirit are often mighty in their gentleness like the dew upon Hermon and as the early and the latter rain. In all the wide ministrations of the Spirit moving on millions of hearts, hovering and warming dead con- sciences into life, inspiring faith and love, and peace and joy there is much of this quiet march of power. All the visible instrumentalities, all the thousands of vocal tongues, all the stir and uproar of earnest declamation, are as noth- ing compared with the unseen and often unconscftms work of the Holy Ghost. This great power of life and light is abroad, ever acting in the world, awakening, converting, comforting, and sanctifying. It lies at the bottom of the events in the moral and spiritual movements of every age, molding, preparing, and consummating the great revolu- tions in character and history. In the sweep of centuries the effects are manifest, and in the individual experience the results are known and felt; but the Divine Agent himself is moving with an awful stillness, and in methods which defy analysis. When we come to him " who is in the bosom of the Fa- ther," the prophetical portraiture is fully realized in his character and ministry. " He shall not strive nor cry, nei- ther shall anv man hear his voice in the streets." On occa- 230 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. sion he could launch the withering anathema and hurl the bolts of wrath, but Christ was preeminently tender. He was considerate of the bruised reed and the smoking flax- He gives his own highest and most attractive qualification as a teacher: "Learn of me, for I am meek and lowly in heart." His Avas a great spirit always calm, and marked by the gentleness of a temper ever under the sweetest spell of love and compassion. Paul, when he appeals to the Co- rinthians, beseeches them " by the meekness and gentleness of Christ." Of his own conduct to the Thessalonians he declares that " we were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children." This grace he especially enjoins upon the ministry: "The servant of the Lord must not strive ; but be gentle unto all men, apt to- teach, patient ; in meekness instructing those that oppose themselves." Chris- tians are exhorted " to be no brawlers, but gentle, showing all meekness unto all men." Gentleness is enumerated among the fruits of the Spirit in such company as this: "Love, joy, peace, long-suffering, gentleness, goodness, faith, meeknes^ temperance." James, in describing the attributes of the wisdom that is from above, places this in the resplen- dent train : " But the wisdom that is from above is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mer- cy and good fruits, without partiality and without hypoc- risy." Paul's celebrated monograph on charity sets gentle- ness as a conspicuous gem in the crown of the queen of the graces. Unseemly behavior, self-vaunting, all roughness and harshness of demeanor are opposed to the love which towers above faith and hope. Conventional usage has borrowed the word and given it an indiscriminate application. Gentleman and gentlewom- an is a character of the most exalted religious excellence. How often it is a misnomer in worldly society it is needless to indicate. But among religious people gentleness has not CHRISTIAN GRACES. 231 always the prominence to which it is entitled. There is flurry and bluster where quietness would be more seemly and far more effective. A hard, overbearing, and intoler- ant spirit mars and deforms the character which abounds in strength and energy. Firmness and uprightness are desti- tute, perhaps, of tenderness and compassion, and the most invincible and admirable courage is utterly without delicacy or refinement of feeling. There is a supposed incompati- bility between strength and gentleness, and that it is rather in the way of vigorous action. The push and snap of vig- ^orous enterprise and aggression would l)e rendered impotent by the quiet temper and the patient spirit. Gentleness is thought to neutralize power and to stand for all that is merely negative in character. But it is not so in God. The meekness and gentleness of Christ did not weaken his min- istry, and Moses and Paul were the gentlest of men. It is the work of the Holy Spirit, and no subordinate part of it, to make men gentle. It is one of the brightest features of charity that it polishes the inward and outward man and softens the harsh and dictatorial disposition. It is often the one blemish of the otherwise good and great that they are not gentle. Christians though they be, they are neither gentlemen nor gentlewomen. Whatever other graces they have, they have not this. Other and admirable qualities shine with a somewhat compensating light, but gentleness is something foreign to their composition. THE EDIFYING GRACE. IN one of his characteristic parentheses, Paul, if he does not add something to his wonderful delineation of love, epit- omizes the marks by which it is to be recognized. " Knowl- edge puffeth up, but charity cdificth." The controversy in 232 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. the Church was concerning " the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols." On the part of some there was assumption of superior wisdom, and they were so puffed up as to disregard the views and scruples of others. The temper was dogmatic rather than charitable. There was a disposition to despise and override the opinions and feelings of those who could not agree with them. Their course was calculated to breed dissension and to pull down and destroy. Certain opinions and convictions are knowl- edge in the apostle's meaning; and these, when held with- out love, are the fruitful source of trouble. Knowledge thus held puffs up the professors of it, leads them to think more highly of themselves than they ought to think, and to brand those who differ from them as perversely ignorant and opposed to the truth. Practically, this knowledge without love is a false knowl- edge, a conceit and a delusion, and one of the worst aspects of self-deception. "Apd if any man think that he know- eth any thing, he knoweth nothing yet as he ought to know." As a matter of experience, the test lies in the spirit mani- fested. The same experience may be differently apprehend- ed, and, if formulated as a doctrine, the terms of the state- ment may vary; but if called to judge those who claim the experience, we must be governed by the apostle's declara- tion that " knowledge puffeth up, but charity edifieth." Charity, we are sure, is not puffed up, but there is a phase of knowledge pr opinion that is. Genuine love is always humble, considerate, and of seemly behavior. It takes the wind of pride and the stubbornness of dogmatism out of the heart, and those who have it will esteem their fellow- Christians more highly than themselves. If the matter in dispute happens to be love itself, then the test is all the more conclusive. The puffed-up spirit, that assumes superior sanctity and that sows the seeds of CHRISTIAN GRACES. 233 caste and divisions among Christians of the same commun- ion, is a wrong spirit. It may be mysticism and fanati- cism, but it is not the spirit of the gospel. That which en- genders strife is not charity. An experience that cannot be professed and held so as to promote harmony and peace among converted people, and so as to elevate without disin- tegrating the body of Christ, must be wanting in the great essential. Charity edifieth. It builds up the Church. Its sweetness and beauty are diffused in the society, and it is as a precious aroma in the house of God. It is at the point where good men differ that this edifying grace is most con- spicuously manifest. Here love comes in, if anywhere; and it is here that its power to heal and build up is exhibited. If at this point there is a puffed-up spirit, a temper of in- tolerance toward those who apprehend the matter as we do not, and a disposition to disparage their spiritual attain- ments, the presumption is that in disputing about love we have lost it. The measures of opinion may be intolerant and tend to schism, but those of love will always make for peace. The methods of the one are likely to be exclusive and separating; those of the other will be to unify and to promote the fellowship of all who have faith in Christ and are led by the Spirit of God. The differences among Methodists on the subject of Chris- tian perfection have led to a good deal of trouble and to much uncharitable controversy, especially among our breth- ren in the North. The variance seems to be largely in the way this experience is apprehended and in the manner of its attainment. It is agreed that the substance of perfection is love. In a letter to one of his correspondents, Mr. Wesley says: "I want you to be all love. This is the perfection I believe and teach ; and this perfection is consistent with a thousand nervous disorders which that high-strained perfec- tion is not. Indeed, my judgment is that, in this case par- 234 THE EDITOR-BISHOP. ticularly, to overdo is to undo, and that to set perfection too high is the most effectual way of driving it out of the world." As thus explained to Bishop Gibson, the prelate replied: "Why, Mr. Wesley, if this is what you mean by perfection, who can be against it?" An