The Presbyterian Pulpit Has Not Been Recreant to Its High Trust
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SYNOD OF MICHIGAN 8165 3 1293 10379 LIBRARY Michigan State University 102 pp 1995 9 MAX 2 200 2000 8 AUGO RERU By 9178 .Al E 3 LIBRARY Michigan State University WALLACE RADCLIFFE . THE PRESBYTERIAN PULPIT , A VOLUME OF SERMONS BY MINISTERS OF THE SYNOD OF MICHIGAN , WITH AN INTRODUCTION BY THE REV , LEMUEL B. BISSELL . BISSELL AND EASTMAN , PUBLISHERS . MONROE : SERMON PRINTING HOUSE . 1898 . 83082 Hest 6.28.61 A FOREWORD . The publishers of this volume are of the opinion that the stronger sermons of the representative minis ters of all our churches constitute an invaluable litera ture which should be made available to larger constituen cies than those to whom they were spoken . Placed in the homes of our people , in convenient and permanent form , their influence may be continued and extended almost indefinitely . The publishers fully believe that the people are pleased to see the printed sermons of their pastors , and that when properly presented to them they will both buy and read them . These are the con siderations which have chiefly encouraged the issue of this volume . It has been the care of the publishers that the plan and mechanical execution of this book should be credit able to the authors , and worthy the noble church under whose auspices it issues . It is believed that , to many people , the value of the book will be much enhanced by the half - tone portrait of the author preceding each sermon . It will thus become , to many , a cherished memento of pastors beloved . There is also , even with the stranger , a desire to look upon the face of one who has greatly interested and profited him . It will be noted that no general order of precedence has been observed , the sermons , for the most part , be ing inserted in the order in which they were received . The publishers , for themselves and many grateful readers , present to the authors of these sermons their 4 A FOREWORD . most sincere thanks for their generous contributions . It is no small thing for a busy pastor to pause amid the ceaseless urgency of pastoral duties and prepare a sermon for the press . The valuable favor is cordially appreciated . The high character and attainments of the authors , and the intrinsic excellence of the sermons assure this book a mission . Wherever it is admitted it will strengthen faith , promote piety , inspire zeal , and elevate the standard of Christian character and experi ence . THE PUBLISHERS . LEMUEL B. BISSELL . INTRODUCTION . BY REV . LEMUEL B. BISSELL . Pastor First Presbyterian Church , Monroe , Mich . John Knox on his death bed said : “ I know that many have complained of my too great severity ; but God knows that my mind was always void of hatred to the persons of those against whom I thundered my severest judgments . ” As his body was lowered into the grave , Nov. 26th , 1572 , the Earl of Morton uttered these words : “ Here lieth a man who in his life never feared the face of man ; who hath been often threatened with dagge and dagger , but yet hath ended his days in peace and honor . " Three hundred years after his burial , Dr. W. M. Taylor says of him : " Caution was never one of Knox's distinctive excellences ; your merely cautious men are of very little service to their generation or to the world . " John Knox was the father of Presbyterianism in Scotland . He was a man of faith , because he was a man of prayer ; he was a man of prayer because he was a man of faith . He prayed “ Give me Scotland or I die ; and the queen said : “ I fear the prayer of John Knox more than the combined armies . " Such prayer goeth * Mr. Bissell was born in Ahmednagar , India , Dec. 20 , 1853 . Graduated from Western Reserve College 1876 , and from Yale Divinity School 1880 . He ministered to the Congregational church , Memphis , Mich . , 1880–1882 ; Presbyterian church , Caro , Mich . , 1882–1890 , and Monroe , Mich . , 1890 6 INTRODUCTION . not out but from faith , and such faith cometh not but by prayer . “ Have faith in God . — Ye believe in God , be lieve also in me .-- He , the Holy Ghost , shall take of mine and shall show it unto you , and shall lead you into all truth . ” This most blessed Trinity was the foundation of his character as a man and as a preacher . It is the truth that has made Christian heroes in all ages of the world . “ Fear not , for I am with thee ; be not dis mayed , for I am thy God . ” The preaching for to - day needs this background . Isaiah spake of the public teachers of Israel , saying : “ His watchmen are blind , they are all without knowledge ; they are all dumb dogs , they cannot bark ; dreaming , lying down , loving to slumber Yea , the dogs are greedy , they can never have enough ; they have all turned to their own way , each one to his gain . ” God forbid that to - day this re proach should rest upon the pulpit of Christendom , or upon any portion of it . Fearless preaching is demand ed by present social conditions , though it be not wanted by present social beings . The messenger of God has his message from God . The kingdom of heaven is a kingdom of heayen , not of earth ; and the citizenship of earth is to be transformed into the citizenship of heaven . The twofold preaching of Paul appears in : “ Know ing the terrors of the Lord , we persuade men ; " and , “ We beseech you by the meekness and gentleness of Christ . " These two he combines in the one verse , “ Be hold the goodness and severity of God . " God is a God of peace ; he is also a God of war . “ The Lord of Hosts is his name . ” Christ is the peacemaker ; he is also the sword bringer . " I propose to fight it out on this line , if it takes all summer , " preceded , and will alway's pre cede “ Let us have peace . ” The most heroic soldiery brings the most desirable peace . “ The wisdom that is from above is first pure , then peaceable . " He who is INTRODUCTION . 7 constantly fighting is intolerable ; but he who never dares to fight is contemptible . I may surrender my rights , but I may never surrender my trusts ; and every human being is a trustee . To refuse a battle because it will do more harm than good , is both right and wise ; but to surrender a trust because you are too much of a coward to fight , is both sin and folly . Don't meddle with thistles if you can help it ; but grasp them with courageous vigor , if at all . Let love nerve your arm . Strike for a purpose . Let the purpose consecrate the blow . When the purpose is accomplished , declare peace . Don't fire blank cartridges . He who is always quarrel ing , never fights . He who fights only for God and hu manity , never quarrels . The worst possible symbol on a preacher's coat of arms is an interrogation point . Many a man brilliant in conception , fertile in resource , energetic in action , has failed , because , unstable as water he could not excel . No one is courageously firm who is always doubting as to himself and his work . Believe in yourself and in your work , because you believe in God who has given you both yourself and your work . Elijah's motto before Queen Jezebel should be the preacher's motto before the world , " As the Lord God of Israel liveth , before whom I stand . ” So stood John Knox before the Queen of Scotland . What he did for Scotland he did in four teen years . ' Tis not a long life , but a heroic life that is needed . The children have inherited their father's trait . Presbyterianism in Scotland has not known what it was to bow to friend or foe in the matter of conviction . And from two such contemporaries as John Knox and John Calvin , Presbyterianism has gone to the ends of the earth and found many a St. John who has been a very Son of Thunder in the world . As Carlyle says : “ If 8 INTRODUCTION . hero mean a sincere man , why may not every man be a hero ? " And Whittier writes : “ Deem not helm and harness The sign of valor true ; Peace hath higher tests of manhood Than battle ever knew . " In an article to the Independent on the “ Trials and Triumphs of the Preacher , " Dr. Howard Crosby wrote : “ Success with a godly minister is found , not in amass ing a fortune or achieving a great name , but in seeing the Spiritual Kingdom of Christ built up under his efforts . The conversion of a soul to God , or the marked advance in faith on the part of a believer is the minister's triumph . It is for this he speaks from his pulpit , teaches in his class and visits among his flock . It is only the bogus preacher , the charlatan , who makes a parade of rhetoric , seeks admiration for his eloquence , courts notoriety and subsidizes the press . Verily he has his reward . He is classed with the famous play actors and gains the applause of the multitude . That is what he sought , and that is what he gets . His triumph is the seal of his unworthiness . " These plain words of eight years ago are most timely still . " Preaching to the times ” is a just demand of the times . It is an example set by prophets and apostles who “ served their own generation , and fell on sleep , ” and before whom the present - day condition of their age always stood . The industrial , social and political , as well as ecclesiastical disorders received unfailing reproof at their hands .