T H E K I N G ’ S B U S I N E S S
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PLAIN WORDS ON PLAIN SPEAKING My first piece of advice is in th e words of the Lord to Jerem iah, 2,500 years ago :— “Be not afraid of th eir faces.” If you are afraid of either the “ goodies” or the “badies," and I am no t sure which are the severest critics, you had better clear out, and take to scribbling, shoemaking or some o ther respectable business, as you are certainly no t fit to be a K ing’s messenger. II. Make them und erstand you.—A man said to me sometime ago, “The worst of you is th a t if you preach any wrong doctrine, you will destroy us, for you are sure to make us understand it.” . Well, preach th e tru th if you know it, and if you do not you had b etter hold your tongues until you do. III. Seek no t your own glory.—-If you do th a t, you are done fo r; and yet of all tem ptations th is is the most power ful. “Well preached,” whispers th e devil in your ear, as you leave th e pulpit. “Lord, h elp !” you exclaim. “Now, devil, pass on.” IY. Don’t offer th e Lord w h at costs you nothing.—Tf you th ink you can preach w ithout study, you are laboring under a g reat delusion. I preach very little; moreover, my sermons are no g reat things, but I never preach, one th a t does not cost me from four to six hou rs’ study.
Y. Don’t preach beyond your experience.— If you do, your audience will find you ou t before you have been a t it for ten m inutes, and God will find you ou t earlier still. I once heard a man preach on “ Christian P erfection,” and afte r th e service I went up to him , and said, “ Excuse my asking, sir, do you experience all you have been urging upon m e?” He replied, in a very flurried way, “Well, I am afraid I have an engagement now, bu t I will see you about it some o ther tim e.” And off he went. VI. Avoid politics in th e pulpit.— You have enough to do w ith th e passions of th e h eart, the reasonings of th e in tellect, the ambitions of th e soul, w ithout degrading celes tia l in terests by importing p artisan politics into th e pulpit. VII. H eat th e iron before you try to mould it.-—Re member th a t you have a difficult work to perform , and do it w ith common sense, o r ra th e r w ith uncommon sense. But in the citadel which you have to storm you have always a friend, namely, th e m an’s own conscience. T hat tells him th a t religion is righ t, and th a t he had b etter surrender. In conclnsion. You will find th a t your attainm en t in method, and achievement, and also in resu lt, will be p retty much according to your faith and your works. Go in for a big th ing while you are about it, and a t la st th e Sav iou r’s own hand will place on your imm ortal brow a crown whose g littering gems will forever reflect His sm ile of ap probation.— J. T. T.
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