Show Mr Gladstone on Preaching Mr Gladstone has just been putting forth in the columns of a London cotem porary Ins views a to the best kind of a sermon Possibly the term will be considered con-sidered as involving a paradox there being be-ing no best kind of a sermon a against lany and every hired But there certainly is a method of preaching which is more effective than others the concrete and direct di-rect sermon is always preferable to the abstract and unpronominal discourse which makes no appeal to the Individual I conscience To return to Mr Gladstone writing in the columns of the Presbyterian Presbyteri-an of London on this subject of the most effective preaching the great commoner declares that he leas one thing against the clergy both of the country and in the town they are not severe enough on their congregations They do not in Mr Gladstones view sufficiently lay upon the souls and consciences of their hearers their moral obligations and probe their hearts and bring up their whole lives and actions to the bar of c n science The class of sermons which Mr Gladstone thinks to be most needed are of the class which offended Lord Melbourne of whom he tolls this story I Lord Melbourne was seen one day I 1 earning from a church in the country in mighty fume Finding a friend he exclaimed ex-claimed It is too bad I have always been a supporter of the church and 1 have always upheld the clergy But it 1 really too bad to have to listen t a sermon like that we have had this morning morn-ing Why the preacher actually insisted upon applying religion to a mans private life I Commenting1 upon this singular episode Mr Gladstone remarks But this is the kind of preaching which I like best the kind of preaching which men need most but it is also the kind of which they get the least To a large extent it must be admitted that Mr Gladstones criticism is justified justi-fied Theological essays Biblical critl I ism social problems are all popular Bubjects with many modern preachers but of applied religion we have less than I we could wish The serman which enlarges en-larges a mans mind or throws light on theological dogma has its place but after all the sermon which man needs most is one which appeals directly to the individual conscience When after listening t the words of a preacher a man is Induced to look toward at his own soul and say to himself I am not living a I should I am not doing as Christ would have me do I must change it 1 here and nowuch a preacher has assuredly delivered a great sermon although very likely it is not one he would put aside to preach to some other congregation upon occasion of exchange in this respect ministers often show themselves to be the poorest judges of their own sermons Arid perhaps per-haps we shall not be accused of offering a premium upon ignorance Ue say that eloquence literary gifts and critical criti-cal knowledge are poor substitutes for directness The reader may here recall of what a noted e England statesman his day once wrote to a pastor a divine equally distinguisheU of the time and which was most infelicitously made public pub-lic I can testify wrote this statesman states-man that in < 1 the years during which I have attended upon your ministry you have never aroused a single respntiihent nor for one moment disturbed > the perfect per-fect restfulness I have always found in your preaching What an awful satire upon the pulpit What pleased our Boston ton statesman would surely have delighted delight-ed Lord Melbourne We would not for one moment underrate under-rate the efficiency that comes to the pulpit pul-pit from finished education from eloquence elo-quence from the literary faculty these are all valuable accessories but only valuable val-uable as accessories Certain it is that unles the preacher can Induce his hearers hear-ers to probe their hearts and bring up their whole lives and actions to the bar of conscience lie 5s of but little 5 rice to the Church of Christ The pulpit orator does positive harm if he is wanting this power Oratory is good but in the pulpit it must motstand alone That there are thousands of good preachers to be met with all over the country is Indisputable never we honestly believe was the pulpit pul-pit so effective as i is today Yet we fear Mr Gladstone only drove homo an evident truth when ne declared that the kind of preaching which men need most Id 19 the kind which they get the least I is to be honed the great mans 3iints will be pnropriated wherever they are needed need-ed Such preachers may in doing this offend at times some of their hearers just < as the preacher of fifty years ago offended Lord Melbourne But if they hesitate to declare the whole counsel of God because of this they show themselves them-selves unworthy ambassadors of him whom they profess to serve Christian I Work Evangelical |