American and Scottish Preaching.
The Glasgow Evening News, of 12th November, contained an article on Scottish preaching and its popularity in America, with allusion to Dr. Kelman’s translation there. Personally, we regard Dr. Kelman as no acquisition to America from any sound or evangelical standpoint—his is a gospel of salvation by works, more injurious than beneficial to the Americans, and so any commendation of it has no favour from us. But the writer of said article does say some very true things which are worthy of quotation, the best being embodied in the following concluding sentences:—
“No man on earth can achieve great sermons if he has to spend his best hours chasing around the parish on fiddling errands. On the other hand, if the ministers themselves profoundly craved the mantles of the prophets, they would be quit forever of petty thoughts about the wonder expected to greet their literary talents, and their oratorical genius, and would be craving nothing but to be flames of fire burning up the selfishness of men. A fixed ambition, not to shine in preaching, but to illuminate by preaching—not to tickle ears, but to move hands and feet—would regenerate American sermon-making in many ways. It would require, in place of rambling allusion and poetical vaporising, the straight grapple with real sins and real perplexities of real people. It would demand in every sermon a purpose, and out of every sermon a result. It would definitise pulpit work to an undertaking instead of an exhibition of supposed art.
“Yet there would remain to be supplied one other essential, lacking to-day singularly in Scotch preaching as well as American, without which no pulpit can ever be a throne of might. Most people to-day call it passion. The fathers called it unction. At Pentecost the apostles called it the power of the Spirit. They got it by praying for it. And the ministry to-day sorely needs to be reminded that the gospel is one food that is of sadly little use, if served cold.”
Dancing and Church Attendance.
Surely devices to draw the young to a place of worship have reached the limit of degradation, when dances have come to be one of them. There is a vicar of the Church of England, Bouchier to name, at Hampstead, London, who holds dances in connection with his so-called Church, in order to influence the young to attend the services. He had recently a dance, where 300 were present. What spiritual benefit could possibly be received through such a man? We consider his scheme a Satanic trap. May the Lord deliver young and old from such delusive folly in connection with the name of religion!