A Fine Sermon Spoiled

Pacific Seventh-day Adventist Publishing Association · Oakland, California · Dec 28, 1876

A Fine Sermon Spoiled.

The Christian, of Quincy, Illinois, relates how effectually a fine “effort” of a smart young preacher was spoiled by an unappreciating father in the ministry who endured the discourse with much long-suffering. The incident fairly illustrates the modern practice of spiritualizing texts of Scripture, and giving them a meaning foreign to that intended by the inspired writer. Any judicious hearer is able to apply privately the same method of cure, and no opportunity of doing it should be neglected.

A young preacher—a graduate of one of the theological schools of the country—preached a very nice discourse from the following words: “Then, fearing lest they should fall upon rocks, they cast four anchors out of the stern, and wished for the day.” Acts 27: 29.

Said the young preacher, “The ship represents the church. The four anchors are faith, hope, love, and prayer. Christians are the crew. The sea represents the great ocean of life. The storm that prevailed is the trials to which we are incident here, and the island of Malta, where “they all escaped safe to land,” means Heaven.” The preacher dwelt with becoming fervency on the importance of casting out the anchors—faith, hope, love, and prayer, the necessity of abiding in the ship in order to be saved, and the consolation to be found in the fact that not a hair of their heads should be hurt, but that they (the members of the church) should all reach the shore in safety.

The preacher concluded by asking one of our aged preachers, whom he had invited into the pulpit out of respect to his gray hairs, to close the meeting with a few remarks. The old brother arose, and, placing his hand on the young theologian's head, as if giving him a phrenological examination, proceeded in his plain, uneducated style, substantially as follows:—

“My young brother, you've preached us a mighty pretty discourse to-day, but I'm afeard you've made some awful mistakes. You said that the ship meant the church. If that's so, we havn't got any church now, for the ship was all smashed to pieces and destroyed. You also said that the four anchors were faith, hope, love, and prayer. If that's so, we havn't got any faith, hope, love, and prayer, in the church, as they have been cast out. And you said that Christians are the crew. If that's so, they are a mighty blood-thirsty set, for they wanted to kill Paul. You told us that the island of Malta meant Heaven. Well, if that's true, Heaven must be a mighty snaky place, as one bit Paul as soon as he landed.”

It is stated as a historical fact that the young preacher was never known to preach that “pretty” discourse again in all that region of country.