The Locomotive the Chariot of Our Christian Civilization.

The chariots * * * shall seem like torches; they shall run like the lightnings.-Nahum ii: 4.

These words are descriptive of the war chariots of old. They bring to mind that triumph of modern sciencethe locomotive. The locomotive stands for the subjugation of physical forces. Nowhere has this subjugation taken place with such signal rapidity and success as in America, and at no time here as during the year now closing.The extension of the railroad system.The opening of the Northern Pacific.

The perfection of the electric light, etc. God's command that we subdue the earth is being obeyed. These victories reach in their consequences beyond the material world.

The Idea of Brotherhood Triumphant. All ye are brethren.-Matt. xxiii: 8. The leaven of equality is working mightily. Everything that stands in the way of the liberty of the individual is being resisted and overcome. The machinery of party politics has proved itself weaker than the sense of justice and of liberty. The American people will not brook anything that places obstacles in the way of the development of any individual. The black man, the Indian, the Chinaman, must have opportunities for growth equal with those enjoyed by the Anglo-Saxon. The anti-Chinese legislation is hostile to this spirit and must give way-is a reaction that cannot last. Every man a brother is an inspiration. America to-day is the logical result of the recognition of this idea.

The Response of a Grateful Heart. For this child I prayed, and the Lord hath given me my petition which I asked of Him; THEREFORE also I have lent him to the Lord; as long as he liveth he shall be lent unto the Lord. And he worshiped the Lord there.-1 Sam. i: 27-28.

The truly thankful heart does not rejoice less in the repayment than in the receipt of blessings from God.

True Gratitude a Characteristic of True

Piety.

I will sing of mercy and judgment: Unto Thee, O Lord, will I sing.-Ps. ci: 1. The truly pious heart can sing of judgment as well as of mercy.

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FAULTY IN CONCEPTION AND EXECUTION. -"E. B." sends us a sermon, with the request that we criticise it on general grounds." His accompanying letter is so full of good sense, and evinces so strong a desire to improve, both in style and method, in order to greater effectiveness in preaching, that we comply with his request. While excellent in spirit, and not wanting in scholarly traits, the sermon is essentially lacking in the chief elements which go to make up a good and impressive discourse.

1. The title of the sermon shows that the author had no definite, well-matured conception of his subject. It does not clearly and properly express the substance of the discourse.

2. The text does not suggest the sermon, and the sermon is not evolved from the text-a very "general" fault, but inexcusable, and fatal to the highest success, nevertheless. The subject is "Life"-the true and the false view of it-and the text is the record of Christ's temptation in the wilderness! And yet there are scores of texts exactly adapted to the subject chosen-pointed, pithy, striking words of the Spirit, fitted to arrest the attention and impress the mind. To make a bad choice of a text is to throw away the main chance of a sermon.

3. The plan of the sermon is also defective. Next in importance to a good text is a good plan. No beauty of

thought and style, or variety and aptness of illustration, will make up for a faulty plan. The adaptation of the text and the wisdom of the plan will give character to the discourse, and gauge its power to interest and affect the audience. A good plan is always simple, natural, logical, progressive, symmetrical, and exhaustive of the doctrine or topic proposed. Without such a plan, the thoughts of the preacher will be confused and rambling, his hold on his audience weak, and the effect of the sermon feeble and transient. Our friend fails here; sadly fails, like too many other preachers. He has not thought out his subject, mastered it in his own mind, before he put pen to paper. Hence he fails to grasp his theme. His thoughts and arguments and illustrations are not skillfully arranged for effect. There is no reach of thought, no resistless logic, no cumulative power of conviction, no ground-work laid in the body of the discourse for practical home thrusts in the way of concluding application. The sermon is hazy; the sunlight does not flood it. There is scarce a word of Scripture in it. One apt, singing text is better than pages of man's thoughts. The literary element dominates the spiritual. Hence, while an audience might be interested, it would not be swayed as by a strong wind, or deeply and permanently impressed.

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SLANG AND THE PULPIT.-In the September HOMILETIC, Dr. Porter states his belief that "dignified colloquialism is the perfection of pulpit style." Doubtless what the worthy Doctor intended to express by the term "dignified colloquialism" is perfectly appropriate at times in a sermon; but it is not so certain that what some ministers may understand by the term would be likewise desirable. People's ideas of dignity differ; and we have seen men who appeared to regard dignity as assured for any phrase by the fact that they use it, with impressive tones and an imposing shake of the head. But what is slang -not in the abstract, but in the concrete? What words are slang, and what have ceased to be slang? The English language has many such expressions as blizzard," "bulls and bears,' pet-baggers," ""on a strike," "at a discount," "making a hit," "high-toned," etc.; and to draw the dividing line sometimes takes as much research as composing a sermon. One fanciful writer even suggests, recently, that, prior to Shakespeare, "shuffle off this mortal coil" might have been slang. Who, then, can say that some daring genius may not yet make "fire him out" a classical phrase for the violent ejectment of an unruly member of the congregation? If we were to hazard a definition, we should say that, as dirt is matter out of place, so slang is language out of place. Now, there is a place in the pulpit for the homely, every-day language of men: but that place is in the treatment of homely, every-day scenes and occurrences. "The language," says Kame, "is the dress;" and it would be about as appropriate to appear in the pulpit in corduroy breeches and shirt-sleeves, as to dress some of the sublime truths of the Gospel in the rough-and-ready phrases of the work-a-day world. Lincoln's homely advice, "Don't swap horses in the middle of the stream," was more effective than a tome of swelling phrases would have been; but what effect would such language have had in his oration at Gettysburg? Association counts for

much for nearly all. Language which, though in itself unobjectionable, is sure to call to mind the gutter or the barnyard, should be rigidly eschewed by the preacher, unless he is dealing with barnyards and gutters. W. E. J.

THE SENSATIONAL PREACHER.-This preacher determines to attract the "camp-stool congregation," and he sometimes does it by advertising that he will preach on some strange and irreligious subject. The theory of the announcement is, that the public is weary of religion and wants something else. If the camp-stools are full, it is because the sensational preacher has established a reputation for sprightly talking on other subjects than religion. He will sweeten them a little with religion, but the points that interest his motley crowd are not religious. Another type of the sensational preacher uses the truth of Christ, and really means to drive it home to the conscience. He is a good man who is mistaken; and he does not go home with the people and learn from their conversation that what sticks to them is not the truth, but the ludicrous story, or the sentimental incident, or the slang phrase. What these were meant to help in teaching is not remembered. The conscience is at ease, while the sinner laughs over the sensational preacher's jest, or sheds tears over his sweet little story. A good test of a sensation is what comes of it. If men are led to cry out, "What must we do to be saved?" the sensation is legitimate. The sensational preacher may be known by the fruits of his work. If a preacher arrests attention by his methods, and fixes it on truth, he will be called a sensationalist only by very careless people. To create a sensation must not be the aim, but if a sensation can be made legitimately a means to bring home the truth, let us have the sensation. Better sensation and life than no sensation and death.

LOGIC AND LOCOMOTIVES.-It has been well said that a logical sermon is like a locomotive-good for nothing without

the fire. The comparison may be carried a step further. The difference between English and American locomotives is, that the former are so compactly built that it would be impossible for them to take the curves and grades on our American lines. The same difference strikes us between logical sermons: some are so tightly jointed that they can move only in a direct line. It matters not what beauties of landscape or what riches there are off in this direction, or how many people with their needs and sufferings are in that direction. The track must be laid straight, and the Gospel train goes thundering on, but, alas! with empty cars. there is a place for each kind of engine, and each kind of sermon. But study the topography, brother, and don't put the English locomotive on the American track.

Now,

TACKING ON TEXTS.-In your December (1882) number you cited a glaring instance of a non-pertinent text. In your January number, page 244, occurs a double illustration of the same fault in the sketches entitled "The Compass of Life" and "The Thief in the Night." Let any one transpose these passages, and then say if the comment on the second one is not more appropriate, or, at least, as appropriate, for the first, and vice versa. It appears to be a practice now with our craft to compose a sketch, sermon or essay, and then tack some passage of Scripture to it as a text. This is not explaining the Word of God, whatever else it may be. W. P. [The two texts mentioned are easily transposable, which, however, does not prove that either is non-pertinent as it stands. If a preacher waits to find the best text in the Bible, his flock is liable to go a long time unfed.-ED.]

LOOSE REASONING.-"I see that a grotesque performer by the name of Lorrella died in Philadelphis a few days since of paralysis of the brain. Is it not natural that such a result would follow a prostitution of intellect? God has ways of making the law of cause and effect felt."-Extract from a Sermon.

This logic would be stronger if no

clergymen or other men who are spending brain force in good works ever died of paralysis of the brain. We cannot measure Providence with so short a line.

THE FIRST PERSONAL PRONOUN.-In the July number of our excellent Homiletic Monthly appeared a sermon in which the preacher used the first personal pronoun sixty-six times, besides several allusions to "me" and "myself." Is that a good model? Ought not the speaker avoid everything that suggests egotism? E. H. A.

Vinton, Iowa.

Things a Preacher Should Do. -Grow in grace, power, and adaptation to his work.

-Keep up the reputation of his class by being just as good a man as possible.

-Read the most important new books, if he can possibly buy them or borrow them. -Cultivate habits of punctuality; begin every service on time, and close it on time. -Interest himself in the children and young people, for their good and for his own. -Take kindly all honest criticism, and learn something from that which is not kindly. -Remember that his real rewards are a good conscience, a growing character, and immortal hope.

-Make a vigorous push for honest success, doing his very best all the time-not merely now and then.

-Neglect nothing; life is made up of details, and small matters neglected by a preacher soon provoke much justifiable fault-finding. -Avoid condemning in haste, without evidence, a brother minister, and as carefully avoid defending a bad man because he is a minister.

-Take time enough in deciding difficult questions arising in his church. The silence of the pastor will often convince both parties that they are wrong, and a well-pondered judgment will have weight.

Things a Preacher Should Not Do. -Insist too much on being respected for his office; but rather let the office command respect by his personal character. -Get tired of work that is good work, but seems fruitless. Soul crops last a long while, and often take a good while to grow.

-Hesitate to preach a truth because it is unpopular. It may be misunderstood; and the misunderstanding should be sought out and removed, -Try to be eyes for people who are not blind. Every church has a few saints of whom the preacher may learn the way of God more perfectly.

-Be so rhetorical as to be vague. A great use of rhetoric is to make light strong on a particular point; but there is a rhetoric which is nothing but unaimed brightness.

-Be always hiding his thoughts behind general orthodox terms that people do not understand. Peter, on the day of Pentecost, spoke in plain words: so should we always speak.

Early in life I consecrated myself to the ministry. I worked myself through college and seminary, supporting myself by teaching. When licensed by the Presbytery of New York, I was ready to go anywhere I was wanted. I offered my services to the Home (Pres.) Missionary Board, to the Foreign Board, to the American Board, and at last obtained a little mission station in New York City, where I remained a year. I left through no fault of my own, and obtained a year's supply on Long Island, outside of my own denomination. At the end of that time I was ready for a settled field of work. I could speak French and German, and had numerous offers of good positions as teacher: but I wanted to preach, and again offered myself to Boards of Home and Foreign Missions, and candidated in churches wherever I could hear of a vacancy. was ready to accept any situation regardless of salary, but failed to obtain one, and at length accepted one of the many positions open to me as teacher. I became principal of an academy in one of the oldest cities of the State, and remained in that position seven years, doing, I think, a good work. Last year a vacancy occurred in a neighboring church. I was pressed to accept it. The salary is small, less than half my salary as teacher; but I resigned my

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position and was settled as pastor over the church. During the past year up. ward of forty have been added to the church on confession, and the general work has prospered greatly; and yet at no time during those seven years could I get a church of any kind anywhere, for I tried to do so often, and during that time I believe I could have done as good work as I am doing now, perhaps better. But there were so many better men than myself in the field that there was no chance for me. If I had been particular about salary or location, I would not have wondered at my want of success; but that was not the case, and I can only attribute my failure to an oversupply of ministers. I could go to any one of several churches now, but I have no desire to change so long as my present relations are pleasant. My experience is that it is hard to get in; when once in, it is not difficult to circulate. PASTOR

The answer to the question, "Is there a dearth of ministers?" will depend very much on the point of view from which we discuss the question. On a superficial examination, looking at the large number of unemployed ministers, and the fact that there are often a dozen candidates for a vacancy, we might conclude, as many do affirm, that we have enough and to spare. But looking at the year-books of the several denominations, and comparing the number of ministers with the number of existing churches in each, we shall find the churches far outnumber the entire clerical force. Taking a more critical survey of the subject still, and deducting the large class of idle or superannuated ministers, arising from old age and broken health and other causes, and also those who are always candidating, who have never been settled and never ought to be, who are hopelessly unacceptable to the churches, and have no business to be in the ministry-and the discrepancy is seen to be far greater still. Taking