The Minister in the Pulpit

Michael Angelo is reported to have said “trifles ma”ke perfection, and perfection is no trifle/ Under the patronage of this MgH antliority you will permit me to take note of sundry little things in connection with the Mglier matters with wMcli it is now proposed to engage your attention. Nothing should be despised which contributes to the increase of legitimate influence and nothing indulged which aids merely artificial effect. Everything connected with the ministry should at least be real. Now for particulars: —

1. You have to go into the You smile at this trite remark perhaps; there are however two ways of going into a pulpit. To ascend the pulpit with a hurried step, or with any air of affectation, is indecorous if not profane. Some ministers have an extraordinary way of rolling into the pulpit; others are severely perpendicular in their attitude; others are natural and solemn, without being either flippant or sanctimonious in their manner. Some ministers make their appearance at the vestry door with a bold and almost defiant look, others drop their eyes as if ashamed to hold up their heads; in both cases perhaps there is a little affectation: what you and I have to do is to be natural, sincere, and modest.

2. You have to announce hymns and chapters. Why

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announce them unless you wish the congregation to follow you? But how can the congregation follow you if you announce the numbers in a low or mumbling tone? or if you don’t announce them at all, but simply gabble them? or if you give out the five-hundred-and-seventy-sixth hymn and three-hundred-and-fifty-first hymn in the supplement, and get half way into the first verse, before you take your breath? For my own part I confess to a difficulty in giving out numbers, arising from the change of voice which should often be made from the tone in which it is proper to announce the number to the tone appropriate to the sentiment of the hymn; for example, in a large place of worship it may be necessary to say ‘^ five hundred and ninety-five’’ very loudly, but it might be shocking to say as loudly, “Alas! and did my Saviour bleed j ‘’ a subdued tremulous tone best becomes the utterance of such words: on the other hand, the peal of a trumpet would be fitting for the line, ‘^ Praise ye the Lord, ’tis good to raise,” I have found the best plan of overcoming this difficulty to be to pause for two or three seconds after announcing numbers; this plan has advantages for the hearer as well as for the speaker. In announcing hymns and chapters you should be very careful to distribute the emphasis properly, or your efi’ort will be a failure. In announcing, for instance, that you are about to read the second chapter of the first epistle of John, beginning at the tenth verse, great care is required: some persons (into whose secret may you never come!) would announce it thus — “Let us read from the tenth verse of the second chapter of John’s first epistle,” others, quite as bad,- or perhaps even a shade worse, would say Second CHAPTER of the first EPISTLE

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of John, BEGINNING at the tenth VERSE:” what a horrible perversion of plain common sense! The people do not wish to know that it is a chapter, but what particular chapter it is; they do not require so much to know that you are about to read from an epistle, as they require to know whose epistle it is. If I can represent emphasis by a variety of type I will show you how, in my opinion, the announcement should be made: ^’ The FIRST epistle of JOHN, — the SECOND chapter, — beginning at the TENTH verse.” Say this ticice distinctly, and after a momentary pause proceed. While giving oat numbers dont hold down your head as if giving them out to the book, but speak straightforwardly as if you meant to be heard.

3. You have to unite in the offering of worship. How can you do so if you fumble in the Bible, spread out your manuscript, and make sundry arrangements which ought to have been made before you went into the pulpit? Have you no part in the song of praise? Are you a paid conductor, or a fellow-worshipper? In my opinion the minister should enter heartily into the service of song, for even if he cannot sing he can show by a reverent manner that his heart is engaged in Divine praise, he can sing with the spirit and with the understanding.

4. You Jiave to read the Scriptures. Few men read them intelligently and expressively. Some ministers read the Bible in a tame and deadening tone, as if they had mistaken insipidity for veneration; others read it with a theatrical rant which is shockingly impious; others again read it in a slovenly manner, as if the exercise was hardly worth attending to, in comparison, as Mr. Binney truly says, with ^’ their grand intellectual sermon.’^ What

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is the remedy? We must, first of all, feel that the word of God itself is actually before us, and our elocution will then be dictated by our veneration. In the next place we must by private study prepare ourselves for the public reading of the Scriptures. I doubt whether it is not profane to read in the pulpit a chapter ta which no attention has been paid in private. How can the adventurer who does so know anything of the sentiment of the chapter? How can he remember the punctuation? How can he be prepared for change of subject, or for parenthetic modification? He cannot read the chapter; he can only pronounce the words, and flounder through the meaning. The indispensable requisite for good reading is an intelligent and sympathetic conception of the authors meaning; I say not only intelligent but sympathetic, because appreciation always suggests the best expression. It is said of a celebrated novelist, who occasionally reads his own compositions in public, that in anticipation of a public reading he will spend not less than six hours a-day in studying the most appropriate accent, cadence, and force; if he does this for a corruptible crown what shall lye do for a crown that is incorruptible? Surely we should at least read over in secret the portion of Scripture which we intend to read in public. “Whether the public reading of the Scriptures should be intermixed with explanatory remarks is still a controverted question: Mr. Binney objects to a running commentary ‘as spoiling the force of the simple reading by a crowd of trite commonplaces,’’ and no doubt the objection can be sustained by many confirmatory illustrations; on the other hand, some ministers have a very happy way of interposing an explanatory word: looking at both sides of the question I should

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strongly advise that at least one portion be read without comment, and that the minister feel himself at liberty to read another with such interspersions of his own as may in his opinion elucidate its meaning. A universal rule cannot be laid down; each man must work according to his gift; where a man cannot express himself tersely he ought not to attempt an intermixture of reading and comment; if he should be infatuated enough to do so the inspired word will soon be lost in the uninspired garrulity.

5. You have to ]pray. If few nien, even ministers, know how to read, fewer still, it would unhappily appear, know how to pray. I have known ministers of great reputation for pulpit eloquence, whose prayers were simply discreditable. The ministers in question have stumbled, and often done so incoherently, through a set of the merest commonplaces; they have seemed to be doing a work which was quite strange to them, and consequently to be ill at ease. The ‘poverty of their prayers was lamentable; take out the “O Lords,^^ and the “We beseech Thee, 0 heavenly Fathers,’’ and what would be left? In the confession of sin the sins have been enumerated as if they were only mistakes; and in the supplication for pardon forgiveness has been asked for as if it cost God’s heart nothing and was quite a matter of indifference, thoug-h common courtesy required that some notice should be taken of it. Who can doubt that preparation is as needful for prayer as for preaching? “The preparation of the heart in man, and the answer of the tongue is from the Lord.-” That some men have what may be called the gift of prayer in larger measure than others is evilent, and that consequently it is easier for some men to

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23ray than others is indisputable; yet preparation will secure great advantage to the least gifted. But lioio to prepare? Is it by writing? Is it by committing to memory? No. First of all, read the devotional portions of the Bible largely; in addition to this exercise, read the devotional writings of the most spiritual divines; and thirdly, make earnest and unsparing inquest into your own heart: to this end be much alone; dont live in excitement; pray God to search you with candles’*^ (Zeph. i. 12), and to reveal you to yourself. After such preparation you will, so to speak, pray from a spiritual and not an external centre; your prayer will be dictated by the Holy Ghost, and not merely suggested by circumstances; you will be inspired rather than instructed; you will descend upon the wants of life with heavenly strength, — not struggle towards them in earthly weakness. You have heard some so called prayers which were nothing better than catalogues of church institutions and advertisements of church work; such as “bless the ragged school,^’ “bless the band of hope,^’ “bless an institution lately formed in this place, having for its object,^’ etc., “bless the elder scholars’* prayer-meeting.’’^ When the devotional service in a large congregation is made up of such petitions it cannot be wondered at that some persons do not care to be in attendance “until the prayer is over.’’^ Of course there are times when speciality is necessary; my remarks apply to the general conduct of public worship.

In seeking a definition of prayer I have been led to the conclusion that prayer means different things to different people, — however strange that may seem. To the man of strong emotional temperament prayer signifies the poaring out of the heart in grateful praise and passionate supplication; languid and contemplative devotion is abhorrent to him; he must exclaim, and sing, and shout for joy, in the course of his rapturous prayer. On the other hand, to a man of more practical mind this rhapsody is distressing; he must base his prayers upon facts; he prays according to the circumstances of the time; his thankfulness never overflows; he is often satisfied, but seldom joyous. Then there is the suppliant the constitution of whose mind makes it very difiBcult for him to avoid an argument in his prayer; he sees life as a long process in appHed logic; he devoutly reasons upon the succession and inter-relation of events; he prays upon his feet, he never takes wing that he may pray just outside the gate of heaven; he never sings his praise, he only states it in accurate and sequential terms. In strong contrast is the contemplatist; he knows nothing of reasoning, ‘takes no heed of common life, never individualizes, and seldom makes a request; to him God is a Being to be looked at, talked about, and adored; the contemplatist has wonderful visions of creation — he sees God upon the wings of the wind, hears His going among the trees of the forest, beholds His shadow flitting over the stars, marks His hand rolling back the covering of the night, and sees the pillars of His throne in the foundations of the universe. His prayers are dictated by his visions; they are wide in range, reverent in tone, subdued in feeling; in hearing them we seem also to hear a solemn silence, as if all things had paused that his voice alone might be heard; he never touches the sin, the sorrow, and the poverty of common human life, — he makes us feel that we live in a temple, and that we are encircled by Divinity. Of this kind of devotion Theodore Parker presents a distinguished illustration; for example: —

‘^ A greater revelation than this of Thyself hast Thou made in Thy still small voice, which whispers in our soul that all this magnificence is but a drop of Thee, yea a little sparklet that has fallen from Thy presence, Thou Central Fire and Radiant Light of all. We know that these outward things are but a sparkle of Thy power, a whisper of Thy wisdom, a faint breath of Thy loving-kindness/^ Once more: — “Father, we thank Thee for the world about us, above, and beneath. We bless Thee for the austere loveliness of the winter heavens, for those fixed or wandering fires which lend their splendour to the night, for the fringe of beauty wherewith Thou borderest the morning and the evening sky, and for this daily sun sending his roseate flush of light across the white and wintry world,” Again: “We thank Thee for the exceeding beauty of this wintry day, we bless Thee for the ever welcome countenance of the sun, so sweetly looking down upon our northern land and bidding winter flee. We thank Thee for the moon which scarfs with loveliness the retreating shoulders of the night, and for all the wondrous majesty of stars wherewith Thou hast spangled the raiment of darkness, giving beauty to the world when the sun withdraws his light.” And finally: — ‘’ Father, we thank Thee for this beautiful day which Thou hast given us, for the glory which walks over our heads through the sky, for the pleasing alternation of light and shade, and all the gorgeous beauty wherewith Thou clothest the summer in her strength, making her lovely to the eyes of men. Father, we thank Thee that Thou Uever failest to Thy world but sheddest dew on meadows newly mown and rainest down Ttiine inspiration from the clouds of heaven on every little grass and every mighty tree. Father, we thank Thee that Then feedest and carest for all Thy creatures, the motes that people the sunbeams, and the sparrows which fall not to the ground but by Thy providence, protecting with Thy hand the wandering birds of summer and the wandering stars of heaven, holding them all in the golden leash of Thy love, and blessing everything which Thou hast made,“‘Now all this is very beautiful; but is it devotional? Is it not rhetoric rather than religion, or religion which never gets above rhetoric? In my opinion all this could have been more appropriately said in an essay than in a prayer: it is adapted to the human ear; and. probably it could not have been heard without drawing men to praise and magnify the ^’ Great King above all gods.” Mr. Parker could be more simple in prayer, and more human in his petitions, as for example — ‘^ We remember before Thee the sorrows with which Thou triest us, how often we stoop us at the bitter waters and fill our mouths with sadness j and if we dare not thank Thee for these things, if we know not how to pray Thee about them as we ought, we yet thank Thee that we are sure that in all these things Thou meanest us good, and out of these seeming evils still producest good, making all things work together for the highest advantage of Thine every child, with whom Thou hast not a son of perdition and not a single castaway.... We thank Thee for that home whereinto Thou gatherest the spirits of just men made perfect, and for our dear ones who have gone thither before us, and bless Thee that they are still not less near because they are transfigured with immortal glory, and have passed on’

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in the road ourselves must also tread,” This is the voice of the hearty — how much better than the song of the fancy! You will find much in the prayers of Henry Ward Beecher to suggest trains of devotional thought; as an example of his simplest and best method of prayer take the following: — ^’ If there are those in Thy presence that by ignorance or heedless mistakes, who by courses of folly and wickedness in times past, are suffering severe penalties and trouble, we pray that they may not spend their time in useless murmuring, that they may not rebel against the past, but rather may they take hope of Thee, and with all their heart turn to the living God, and find in a newness of life that peace which they cannot find in the present nor in the remembrances of the past; and may every one have hope in Thee! May none feel that they are in a state without hope j the most guilty, the most wicked, those that have sinned longest and deepest and darkest, may they remember that there is a grace of God in Christ Jesus even to them, to those afar off as well as to those that are near! Oh, make Thine atoning mercy and the glory of Thy forgiving goodness apparent unto every one; and may every one be able to see that, in proportion as they are forgiven, according to the magnitude of their iniquity and the greatness of their transgression, will be the glory transcending which Thou wilt have if Thou showest mercy unto them; and while we doubt ourselves, and while we may distrust one another, and while at times all things seem unstable and unsatisfactory, oh save us from that last and worst disaster, — distrusting Thee. May our faith in God be immutable; and even when we are so guilty that we cannot look up, at least may we be able to bow the head, to smite upon

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our breast and say, ‘God, be merciful to us sinners, And if we dare not sit bj Thee in Thy throne, if we dare not come to Thee as children to the knees of their parents, and look up, at least may we sit down at Thy feet, and find there that we are sitting at the feet of a Redeemer, pitying, gentle forgiving, all succouring. We pray that none may be discouraged;, may every one accept his life-work; may every one, undismayed and undaunted, go forward from good to better, from strength to strength. We beseech of Thee that Thou wilt make us useful; while we are seeking for our own growth, may we not treasure up strength gained, or experiences, or joys, for our own selfish using; but as we receive so may we give. May our whole life be a life of seed-sowing; may our life be a work for God and for man.’’’’

The use of what is termed ^’ free prayer ‘’ may easily degenerate into the most pitiable barrenness and even into the most shocking absurdity. It requires the utmost discipline, the coolest self-possession, and the highest spirituality both of perception and feeling. To express the wants of the multitude, to interpret the common condition of the human family, to condense within one brief petition all that is most urgent, and to do all this with appropriate reverence and simplicity, is not mthin the reach of indolence or insensibility. There must be forethought, preparation, and consequent steadiness of mind and fulness of heart. Among the faults which you should strive to avoid are the following r

1. Doctrinalism. — In your public prayer you should not take occasion to state or argue your theological opinions. Why should you tell man, in language ostensibly intended for God, why you are a Calvinist rather than an

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Arrainian? Or why should you set up in your prayers a Trinitarian argument in opposition to the Unitarian theology? In a few minutes you will have an opportunity of discussing your doctrines in your sermon; why be so eager to drag them into your prayer? Have you no sin to confess, no mercy to implore, no praise to render, no blessings to crave, that you should turn polemic on your knees and defender of the faith with your eyes shut? Your heart will have forgotten itself when your tongue becomes controversial in prayer, and it will be no wonder if God turn away from you as if His ear were heavy that it could not hear. How unprofitable too is such an exercise to the poor, the sorrowing, and the contrite! They feel that the prayer lies remote from their experience, and so it becomes to them an unknown and unprofitable tongue j they would recognise with instant thankfulness the voice which expressed feelings which they themselves could never put into language, and would feel as if God had sent an interpreter to their aid. The heart responds to the voice which takes its tone from the common experience of the world; but it is silent under the barren words of a sectarian argument.

2. Personality. — Your office-bearers may have outvoted you upon a debated question; one of the seatholders has offended your wife; a Sunday-school teacher has called your authority in question; under these circumstances what a temptation there is to jpray at the miserable offenders! How sweet to remember them in one condemnatory sentence! How just to brand them with one fiery commination! Or there is another plan; you may make yourself a martyr in prayer; you can adopt a whining tone of resignation; you can show the unhe-^led wounds ‘12G Ad Clerum: Advices to a Young Preacher.

of your suffering hearty and refer to them as if they were received and endured in a very becoming spirit; you can pray for your enemies with such desperate magnanimity as to create the suspicion that you would behead every one of them if a fair opportunity ever occurred; and thus by the very excess of your saintliness you may show how far you are from the kingdom of heaven. Never, never jjray at your congregation, — that would be profaning the altar. It is even worse to p7’ay at a man than to i:)reach at him: both are bad, — the first unpardonable. When we go before the Lord let us go vnthout bitterness or malice, — how otherwise shall God hear us? Amidst our remembrances of sin against Himself, have we time or desire to think resentfully of wrongs which men have committed against us? Are we ourselves quite unchargeable with social offences? Have we never aimed a dart that was intended to injure, if not to destroy, our brother? Think of this, and never make profanity the medium of forgiveness. On this subject the words of the late Rev. Edward Parsons are worthy of your best consideration: — But what shall be said of that spirit of rancour which so grossly violates the spirit, and perverts the design, of prayer? I am ashamed to reflect upon the angry and vindictive tones in which some are apt to address the God of love, whenever they happen to be offended with man. Whatever you may suffer from the scourge of the tongue, or any other instrument of a persecuting malignity, never let your sufferings extort from you a word that would savour of a retaliatory disposition. If we ought not to hint at private disagreements, disputes, and discords in preaching the gospel of peace, how much more cautious we should be against this, when we publicly supplicate the throne of grace! The raan who can be so overcome by an evil temper as to ’ pray at * those who displease him is guilty of contemptible meanness and disgusting impiety/^

3. Favouritism. — There is a very subtle temptation in this direction. When we pray in a rich man’s family, how affectionate we are apt to be I “Bless Thy clear and honoured servant; we thank Thee for all Thou hast done for him and by him, and we affectionately and earnestly commend him to Thy blessing; spare his valuahle life,, and may he and Thy dear handmaiden enjoy much of Thy presence; we bless Thee that their praise is in all the churches, and that all who know them love them for their Christian worth.” You have heard such words? So have I, and been disgusted with them. Our prayer for the 2^oor man has often been much shorter; we have seldom thought of him as God’s dear servant, we have named him as a stranger in God’s household, and barely admitted that God might care for him. Oh, shameful partiality, — miserable truckling to gold! But it is not irrayer; it is talk that never goes toward heaven, hypocrisy which delights the bad angels. Sir, remember that God is a Spirit, that He searches the heart, and that His poorest child is as a prince in His sight; and if ever you are tempted to dismiss the poor man’s case with one cold word may you be convinced of sin before you rise from your knees! When you pray, for rich or poor, be it without partiality and without hypocrisy!

4. Secidarity. — Many prayers relate almost exclusively to daily blessings, religious institutions, political affairs, passing events, and works of charity. These are not to be forgotten, yet surely they should not occupy the foremost place in supplication. Study to give spirituality to your prayers; pray for enlightenment of mind, obedience of will, and sanctification of heart; send out your soul in quest of the living God, and cry mightily for Him, until He draw near and make Himself known by His brightness and inspiration. Pray much for the Holy Ghost; from some prayers one might question that the church had ever ^’ so much as heard whether there be any Holy Ghost” (Acts xix. 2), so low are they in tone and so limited in request. We forget that this is the age of the Spirit; the visible Christ has ascended into the heavenly place to appear for us before God; miracle and marvellous sign have been withdrawn; and now we live in the Holy Ghost, and He lives in us as temples which Christ has built. The Holy Ghost is the all-inclusive blessing; to have Him is to have life and love and comfort: pray therefore for the Holy Ghost; with this great petition as a groundwork, you may traverse the whole circle of human need; without it your most elaborate prayer will be earthly, barren, and heathenish, — worthy of a pagan altar.

Some advisers would caution you against length in prayer, — for my own part I hesitate to do so. What are long prayers? The length of a prayer ought not, in my opinion, to be measured by time. A prayer of a dozen sentences may be long, a prayer occupying an hour may be short. Everything depends upon the spirit, the range, the appropriateness, and the purpose of the prayer. I have heard some prayers which I could have wished to go on for ever, — so wise, so tender, so deeply experimental, and so earnest were they; under their influence one felt that God was nigh at hand, and longed that He might ‘’ abide with us.^^ On the other hand I have

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felt constrained more frequently to sympathise with Whitefield when lie said to a tiresome man, “Sir, you prayed me into a good frame, and then you prayed me out of it,” As a general rule I should urge you to study brevity; but there are times of spiritual enlightenment and quickening when you must abandon all technical rules and give yourself up to the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. Above all things be earnest in prayer; mean what you say, and God will not leave you without a token of love; — remember the words of Brooks, spoken two hundred years ago, but true for ever:” It is only fervent prayer that is effectual prayer; it is only the working prayer that works wonders in heaven, and that brings down wonderful assurance into the heart. Cold prayers shall never have any warm answers. God will suit His returns to our requests; lifeless services shall have lifeless answers. When men are dull God will be dumb.’’

Something has been said about preparation for prayer. I never wrote a prayer for public use, and never committed a prayer or so much as a sentence of a prayer to memory, with a view to its being recited in the pulpit; at the same time I have enjoyed the exercise of writing prayers, and have derived spiritual advantage from it. Three of such prayers are now before me, and as they will illustrate my meaning better than any description I can give of them, I subjoin them for your perusal: —

Almighty God, our hearts have longed for Thee with unquenchable desire; even as the hart panteth for the waterbrook, have we panted for the living God. There is no fountain in all the earth which can cool our burn-King; Abana and Pliarpar cannot cleanse us, nor can all the waters in Israel take away our leprosy. We only know ourselves as we know Thee; out of Thy presence all is darkness but when Thou art shining upon us every feature of our life is made beautiful. Thou wilt give us more life so that we shall grow away from the littleness of our spiritual infancy, and come to great stature and power in Jesus Christ. Hast Thou not exhorted us to grow in grace? And as Thou dost send down the rain and the snow from heaven, and pour the light of the sun upon the earth, that it may be covered with fruitfulness, so Thou wilt give us all help in this growth to which Thou hast called us, until we attain Thine own idea of perfectness. We have trembled under our Saviours command to be perfect as Thou art perfect; it seemed to us a hard word, which could only distress our weakness and lead us to bitter disappointment; it sounded to us as a challenge to make earth as large and beautiful as heaven, and when we so regarded it our hearts sank in great fear. Lord God, our Father, tell us how we can be holy as Thou art holy! Our foundation is in the dust, and we are crushed before the moth; how then can we reach the measure of Thy perfection? Thou art not only holy, but glorious in holiness; Thy name is holy and reverend, and there is no darkness in Thee. But now we know wherein we erred when we were made sad by our Saviours word; we thought only of our own weakness, we forgot Thy strength; we looked in upon our own poor hearts instead of looking away to the unsearchable riches of Jesus Christ: it is not in Thee to be harsh with Thy children. Thou dost not strain their power; therefore do we trust Thee, that in this cll to holiness Thou wilt work mightily in us by Thy Holy Spirit.

It is in our hearts to speak freely to Thee to-day and to tarry long before Thee. Though we cannot tell Thee anything, yet we are comforted exceedingly whilst we commune with our Father; and in speaking of our sin and ignorance and shame we feel as if Thou wert taking away our old garments and clothing us with all the beauty of king’s children. Oh the sweet mystery of prayer! Lord, teach us how to pray. Open our hearts, that of our own will nothing may be kept from Thee. Thou hast made our life Thy care, and brought our feet into a large place. We remember the littleness of our beginning; how the scorner contemned us, and the haughty man looked upon us with disdain, but our secret trust was in God, and Thou hast crowned our confidence with exceeding honour. Thou hast made a place for us near the head stone of the corner, and set us high above many who prophesied evil of us. Lord, hold Thou us up and we shall be safe! Sometimes our feet have well-nigh slipped in secret places, and whilst men thought we were good our own spirits smote us with many a memory of distrust and inconstancy and hidden sin. We shudder as we recal the narrowness of our escapes; yet they were not narrow, for did not all Thy love stretch between us and the pit of the enemy? Were not all Thy angels near us, in overshadowing and protecting hosts? Wast Thou not our shield and buckler? Yet we have sinned, and Oar lips are not worthy to pronounce Thy name. We mourn over secret sins; in the depths of our hearts we have had thoughts which have afflicted us with much pain; our words have not always been sincere to our

K 2 fellow-men; the importunity of our own interests lias often put to silence the heavenly voice; we have sometimes secured ease at a heavy cost of conviction and duty; we have dallied with the tempter, and have borne a faltering testimony when we might have spoken the word of truth boldly. What is our hope? It is still in Jesus Christ; His blood cleanseth from all sin; wash us, and we shall be whiter than snow; hide Thy face from our sins, and blot out all our iniquities. O Lord, have mercy upon us!

We will speak aloud of our joys, for they are many and great. The world itself has become a new place to us since we knew Jesus Christ. Thou hast given us the spirit of interpretation, so that all things have meaning to us which aforetime seemed to have no place in Thy ministry. The earth has become to us our Father’s house, and all the hosts of heaven speak to us in Thy name; we see all living creatures around Thy table, they all wait upon Thee, Thou givest them their meat in due season. We thank Thee for our own daily bread; when Thou dost break it for us it becomes more than equal to all our hunger. What shall we say then of Thine unspeakable Gift? Thou hast not withheld from us the Son of Thy love; Thou hast set the treasure of Thine heart before us. At first we did not know Him; we thought He was without form and comeliness, and there was no beauty in Him to awaken our desire; we regarded Him as an intrusion and an ofi’ence, and gave our consent that He should be put to death. But now our best praise is too poor for Him; our hearts leap for joy, and though we look at Him through the mingled tears of penitence and thankfulness we see His heavenly beauty. We need not that men should tell us that He is God for we have proved His Godhead by His work in our lives; we judge Him no more by the testimony of the letter; we know Him by our transfigured and sanctified love, and His claims are upheld by the joyful and never silent witness of our hearts. We thank Thee, that being delivered from the bondage of the letter, we have yet come to see in the letter itself beauties which had long escaped us, so Thy testament in Christ Jesus is verily new to us day by day, and while the Godhead of Thy Son rises beyond all our thought and draws after it the wings of our prayer, yet His pure and gentle manhood covers the whole breadth of our lives with the sympathy and protection of loving brotherliness. We would that all men might know Jesus Christ as we know Him; that they might lay hold upon Him as their Saviour, and feel how good it is to begin their lives from His redeeming cross. Hear us on their behalf!

Look upon us as a congregation, and let Thy look be love. May the ministry of this house be baptized as with fire, and may its whole organization work out the highest ends. Bless all the churches round about us, by what name soever known amongst men; and through the united instrumentality of all Thy people may Jesus Christs kingdom be established speedily. As for our country, may Thy power be its defence. God save the Queen. We thank Thee for all the gentle womanliness which she has displayed, and we commend her to Thy blessing, 0 King of kings; may her children be Thy children; and may the God of the families of the earth be the portion of her household.

This is our prayer; Lord, answer us in peace.

Almighty God, tliougli Thou art unsearchable, yet in Jesus Christ we have seen the brightness of Thy face. We have long sought for Thee, but Thou didst not come closely to us in all the works of Thy hands; we said, Surely we shall find God in the light, and His face will shine upon us through the congregation of the stars; we have gone forward but Thou wast not there, backward but we could not perceive Thee, on the left hand where Thou dost work, but we could not behold Thee, Thou didst hide Thyself on the right hand, so that our eye could not see Thee. We heard that Thy way was in the sea and Thy path in the great waters, but in all the floods we did not hear the voice for which our hearts longed in sadness. We have wandered wearily through the temple of Nature, but it was as a chamber in which there was no light; we have watched all the seasons, yet they have been to us only as the beautiful garments of an unknown guest. All this has often made our heart ache, and destroyed the balance of our thoughts; we have felt very lonely, and sometimes in our sorrow we have wished to die. This morning we glorify Thee that Jesus Christ has satisfied all our hunger and thirst, and has given rest to eyes tired with long watching; Thine only-begotten Son, who dwelt from unbeginning time in the bosom of His Father, has risen upon us as the dayspring from on high j and our hearts are suflBced. We thank Thee for His human form, because it brings Him so near us; and we thank Thee for His great sorrows, because their recollection often lifts us above our own griefs. Truly Thou didst in Jesus Christ give us an unspeakable gift; we can sooner stretch a line upon the foundations of the earth, and comprehend the dust of the earth in a measure, than find out the length and breadth, the depth and height of Thy love which passeth understanding. Why didst Thou sc enrich us with all this love? Surely we had destroyed our beauty and perverted all the comeliness of Thine image, and all our dignity had been thrown down into the dust and covered with shameful dishonour; yet Thou didst come after us as if Thy heart was troubled by our absence, and Thou didst call us with a voice that was made tremulous by anxiety, so tender and overflowing was Thy love. Feeling our own poverty and littleness, we have often wondered how Thou couldst love us so much; why didst Thou not throw us into a pit of forgetfulness, and call around Thee the unfallen children of light, and throne Thyself above their adoring praises? Surely Thou hast purposed a great destiny for us, and in ages to come we shall know somewhat of the meaning of our amazing redemption: we confine our view within the dying day, and are lost in troubled wonder; but when we lay hold of our immortality in Jesus Christ, and think of the revelations which Thou hast yet in store for us, we are made strong and glad by a great hope.

To-day we are once more sheltered in Thy holy house, and in our hearts there is a calm. We are as men who have escaped from sore toil, and come suddenly to a sweet resting-place; round about us there is a light above the brightness of the sun, and the air is rich with reviving odours; surely God is in this place, and His hand is opened to give us gifts. We bring but a poor presence to Thy throne, and we might feel out of place when we think how many and how pure are the suppliants now gathered around Thee; the marks of the ravenous beast are upon us, we are quite without strength or beauty, and all that we can speak of in ourselves is unworthy of the calling where with Thou hast called us; yet we lift up our heads hopefully towards Thee because at Thy right hand is seated Jesus Christ our great High-priest, who has borne wounds and death for us, and who carries us all in the pain of His crucifixion and in the triumphant power of His resurrection. Blessed Jesus, our hearts overflow with loving thankfulness when we do but touch the hem of Thy garment, what then shall be our rapture when we see all Thy beauty and serve for ever under Thy rule in a universe where there is no sin! At present we have a twilight vision, but we shall yet see the full day; Thou hast thrown a few spring flowers, we know not all the riches of the summer that is above; we delight to think that we have seen only the beginning, that the sabbath and the sanctuary, the book and the altar, are only as entrances to the palace whose foundations are laid in infinitude and whose top stone is high beyond all measurement, the palace of the great King! We are thankful for any suggestion which enlarges the idea of our destiny, and so calls us to dignity of behaviour in the present world: the Berpent told us that we should be as gods, and we believed his lie; but Thou, blessed and mighty Saviour, hast called us to sit upon the throne which Thou dost share with Thy Father, and our hearths desire is that we may fulfil Thy will.

Make our present communion very sweet; may our hearts have rest, and let our minds be filled with the riches of our Lord: Thou hearest Him alway, and for His sake Thou wilt incline Thine ear to our prayer. Amen.

Almighty God, we are glad to be found again in Thy sanctuary for our feet are weary and our hearts long for rest. We have been all the week in the cold worlds and have sighed over its sinfulness and disquietude. Yet how poor is our estimate of its condition when compared with Thine. We see only the outside deformity and blemish; but Thine eye searches the recesses of the corrupt hearty and sees through all the dark and pestilent chambers of death. There is nothing hid from Thine eye. Our service in the world has quickened our desire to enter into the praises of Thy sanctuary, for we have felt as men who sigh in a far-off land for the sweetness and comfort of home. Now are we in Thine house, and a sense of safety makes us glad; we feel that we are in a city of refuge, into which no manslayer may enter and where no ravenous beast may be found. This is our Father’s house, and the enemy has no place in it. Thou dost shut the gate upon the foe, and he cannot elude Thy watchful eye. Come then, and meet us, speak comfortably to our hearts, and by the infinite tenderness of Thy love rather than by the alarming thunder of Thy law do Thou bow down our hearts in the joyful sorrow of penitence.. We do not claim to be better than our fellow-men, for we are by nature the children of wrath even as others; but if there is aught in us well-pleasing to Thy holiness and love it has been wrought in us through the brotherliness and priesthood of our Lord Jesus Christ, to whom as unto Thyself we humbly desire to give the adoration and thankfulness due to His Godhead. Yet though we are in our Father’s house, we are not altogether at ease, by reason of those whom we have left behind. Our love to Thee fills us with love to men; and this divinely excited love goes out in sorrowing wonder and earnest yearning after the wandering and the lost. How much more does Thy heart go after them! We are amazed at Thy lingering patience, for we know not all the depth and tenderness of Gods unutterable love. Yet all our hope is in that long patience, which is patient above all womanly love and motherly care, and which would gladly weary out the devices and temptations of the great enemy. To Thy love and all the ministry which is centred in Jesus Christ Thou needest not that we commend all who are not with us this day. Yet it is in our hearts to pray much for them, that they may be recovered from the captivity of Satan.

What shall we say of our own sin? We cannot speak of it without shame and confusion of face, especially when we think of all the mercy which Thou hast shown towards us. Thou hast given us so much that it would appear as if our very sin could not quench the fountain of Thy blessing, yet surely this is a foolish imagining on our part, for we cannot tell how much Thou canst give if we had but spiritual capacity to receive it. Our iniquities have kept good things from us. God be merciful to us sinners! We lay our hand upon the cross, and find all our hope in the blood of Thy Son, which cleanseth from all sin. Think of us in Jesus Christ’s name, and even yet our sins shall not shut Thee out. Thou seekest to dwell in us as in a holy temple; come and do so, and be the only Guest in the whole sanctuary of our love. Thou hast made us for Thyself, and we mourn that other gods have had dominion over us: they were unclean and cruel gods, and we would cast out every sign of their awful presence. While we are yet speaking of our sin do Thou forgive it.

The Minister in the Pulpit, 139

and tliougli we would not have our sense of its enormity diminished we would see Thy love exceeding and overshadowing our great sinfulness. How much hast Thou already forgiven us! We know not of any hour in oui whole life that did not need to be purified and brightened by Thy forgiveness that it might be worthy of a place in the immortality which is given us in Jesus Christ. Even noWj whilst we are in this Thy house, let us hear Thee saying that all our sin is cast behind Thee.

We know not how to tell Thee of our many wants; our joy is that Thou needest not to be told. As Thy great waters flood all the beds of the sea, and Thy rains fall even upon the desert and the rock, and the light of the sun shines upon all the earth, even more doth Thy love pour itself down upon the poverty of our needy and anxious hearts. We would be wise in Thy wisdom; we would love more according to the quality and measure of Thy love; we would be high above the world as Thou art, yet ever caring for it, and helping to make it good; we would partake of Thy riches, that other men might partake of our bounty. Thou hast given us all that ‘has ever been for our good, every clear idea of truth, every tender emotion towards human suffering and want, and every aspiration which has raised us out of the benumbing influences of grovelling pursuits. Nor have we exhausted Thee; Thou art not a hireling serving an appointed time. Thou art the everlasting Father, full of all riches, which Thou offerest to the children of men; therefore we come again to the overflowing river of Thy lovingkindness.

We aspire very highly this morning, being encouraged to do so by Thy rich providential mercies. Thou hast given us the joy of early harvest; and just as mens hearts were failing theni by reason of long continued drought wherein the water springs did fail and the rivers shrink from their banks. Thou hast made a way for the lightnings and through the paths of the thunder Thou hast poured the cooling and freshening rain upon the parched fields. Thou hast also showers of blessing for Thy church, yea, even a blessing which the church has not room enough to contain. Excite in our hearts intense covetousness for this blessing, that we may give Thee no rest until Thou hast opened the windows of heaven. Give us firmer hold of Christs truth, and a truer experience of His unspeakable peace; and may we prove that Thou hast heard us by living a holy and most heavenly life among men. Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, receive the praise and trust of our waiting hearts. Amen.