The Sword of the Lord: “We are delighted that Spurgeon's sermons are now being reprinted by Pilgrim Publications in Pasadena, Texas. The support of the college comes from the voluntary contributions of the Lord's people.
THE MINISTER’S SELF-WATCH
To a large extent, success will depend on the purity and perfection of the instrument. We are to live as under the more direct eye of God, and as in the glow of the great all-revealing day.
THE CALL TO THE MINISTRY
In the second place, combined with the earnest desire to become a pastor, there must be aptness to teach and some measure of the other
A brief account of Robert Hall, Junior's call to the work of the ministry at the church at Arnsby, August 13th, 1780. In October, 1778, he went to the academy at Bristol under the pastor's care.
In order further to prove a man s call, after a little exercise of his gifts, such as I have already spoken of, he must see a measure of conversion-
If such gifts and graces are not within you and abound, you may succeed as an evangelist, but as a pastor you are of no use. Surely it would be better to be a mud shoveler or a chimney sweep than to be a completely dry tree in the ministry.
A step beyond all this is however needful in our inquiry. The will of the Lord concerning pastors is made known through the prayerful judgment of
We received an application recently from a young man who had a kind of rotation of the jaw, which is most painful to the observer. Not a novice,” says the apostle; but a man who has not yet made up his mind on such points is admittedly and rudely a novice, and ought to be sent back to the catechism class until he has learned the first truths of the gospel.
THE PREACHER’S PRIVATE PRAYER
He will bring fire from heaven on your sacrifice, proving that the Lord has accepted it. His life," says Edwards, "shows the true way to success in the work of preaching.
OUR PUBLIC PRAYER
Where in the writings of the apostles we meet the bare idea of a liturgy. Prayer in the congregations of the first Christians was not limited to any kind of words. In the presence of the Lord of Hosts it becomes a bad sin to parade the feathers and pomp of tawdry speech with the prospect of winning the applause of one's fellow mortals.
But what glory there is in the acceptance of God to dwell, to take up his abode, in the praises of Israel, in the redeemed church. Why, on the other hand, some never sing at the close of the service. If anything beyond this should be tolerated, it would be the devotion to memory of the Psalms and passages of Scripture containing promises, prayers, praises, and confessions, such as may be useful in the act of prayer.
SERMONS — THEIR MATTER
As a rule, the discourse should jump out of the text, and the more obviously it does so, the better. A squire in a parish had given away a number of flaming scarlet robes to the oldest matrons of the parish. The surest way to preserve variety is to stick to the mind of the Holy Spirit in the passage in question.
It is not true that some teachings are only for the initiated; there is nothing in the Bible that is ashamed of the light. Do not paint the details of the background of the gospel picture with the same heavy brush as the large objects in its foreground. The world has yet to be told of its Saviour, and of the way to reach him.
ON THE CHOICE OF THE TEXT
Among many jewels, we have to choose the jewel that is most suitable for the setting of the occasion. Wait for that chosen word, even if you wait until within an hour of the service. I believe in the Holy Spirit." It is one of the articles of the creed, but it is hardly believed among professors to act.
I had passed through all the first parts of the service with joy on the evening of the Sabbath, and was distributing the hymn before the sermon. Anything is better than mechanical preaching, virtually ignoring the leading of the Spirit. To read through a long letter certainly requires a great deal of genius on the part of the preacher, and a world of patience on the part of the hearers.
ON SPIRITUALIZING
The professors of the second seminary usually had the common sense not to return it. The first feeling of transition should never be drowned in the drain of yours. Then comes the failure of the elect in the heavenly places, the failure that comes from making alliances with.
He "put his fingers into his ears," hinted at the source of excellence; sinners are convinced of their condition. He sighed,” showing that the Healer's sorrows are the means of our healing. It was full of allegory and held people's attention from beginning to end.
ON THE VOICE
When paying attention to the voice, be careful not to fall into the mundane and ordinary feelings of the day. One of the surest ways to kill yourself is to talk through your throat instead of your mouth. Moreover, brethren, avoid using the nose as an organ of speech, for the best authorities are agreed that it is intended to smell.
Speak loudly or loudly as the emotion of the moment may suggest and observe no. Don't be afraid of the low keys, because if you throw force into them, they sound as good as screams. With all the tights and button down vests; leave room for the full play of bellows and pipes.
ATTENTION!
Now there are some congregations whose attention you don't easily get, they don't care to be interested. Sometimes the manners of our people are unfavorable to attention; they are not in the habit of attending; they go to chapel, but do not go to the preacher. People don't want raw food, it has to be cooked and made ready for them.
Who wonders people don't listen the first time when they know it will all come again. Even more, don't repeat the same idea over and over again in different words. Do you wonder why people don't care about a man who doesn't feel like he has anything important to say.
THE FACULTY OF IMPROMPTU SPEECH
Certain members of the House of Commons have exercised the ability to speak extemporaneously to great effect. The power of improvised speech is invaluable, as it enables a man to extricate himself appropriately in an emergency in no time. This gift can be of utmost importance in the church meeting, where events may arise that are difficult to foresee.
Get used to heavenly meditations, search the Scriptures, delight in the law of the Lord, and you need not fear to speak about things that you have tasted and handled from the good word of God. In order to be able to exercise the holy and useful exercise of extemporaneous speech, the Christian minister must cultivate a childlike trust in the immediate assistance of the Holy Spirit. Some even reminded me of the serpent in the Apocalypse, which poured out of its mouth water so profusely as a flood that the woman was probably carried away with it.
THE MINISTER’S FAINTING FITS
Even under the economy of redemption it is most plain that we must endure infirmities, or there would be no need of the promised Spirit to help us in them. We have the treasure of the gospel in earthen vessels, and if there is a flaw in the vessel here and there, let no one be surprised. All mental work tends to weariness and depression, too much study is a weariness of the flesh.
Probably, if we were more like Paul and more nobly caring for souls, we would know more about what it means to be consumed by the zeal of the Lord's house. The Lord reveals Himself at the back of the desert while His servant tends the sheep and waits in lonely fear. Cast the burden of the present, together with the sin of the past and the fear of the future, upon the Lord, who does not forsake his saints.
THE MINISTER’S ORDINARY CONVERSATION
Some ministers need to be told that they are of the same species as their listeners. Say a kind word to each member of the family—big boys, young ladies, little girls, and everyone. Some of the world's greatest swindlers have been as dull in appearance as if they had lived on wild locusts and honey.
If you're trying to be the Apollo of the small party, cut the nonsense. Here I may perhaps insert a canon, which nevertheless I think quite unnecessary, in reference to each of the venerable brethren to whom I now address myself. We must imitate and sanctify, by the word of God and prayer, the exercises of the Jesuits.
TO WORKERS WITH SLENDER APPARATUS
But the subject is, what shall men do who have no shops, who have no church library, and who have not allowed them to supply books. Let us note at once that if these men succeed, greater glory is due to them than to those who have great devices. Great honor is ascribed to those workers for God who have done great things without useful tools.
This shows that those who have unlimited stores at their command find but a few standard books sufficient. I hope there is not so much need for me to say much about the return of books, as there would have been a few months ago, for I have lately met with a statement from a minister, which shows my opinion of human nature raised many; for he declares that he has a personal acquaintance with three gentlemen who have really returned borrowed umbrellas. I am sorry to say that he moves in a more favored circle than I do, for I have personal acquaintance with several young men who have borrowed books and never returned them.