Preach on Living Subjects.
THE great preachers of the churches in all ages have been men who understood their times, and had warm, personal sympathies with the social and religious questions of their generation. Such men only can be leaders. The masses of men are stirred by earnest hearts, pulsating with strong life. Profound thinkers and the best of men often fail to exert a marked influence because they cling to the past, and have little interest in the living questions which agitate their times. The author of the book of Chronicles has words of praise for the men of Issachar “who understood their times and knew what Israel ought to do;” and the providence and Spirit of God always honor such men by giving them power to move their race. The Bible preachers were eminently preachers for their times. Moses and Aaron rebuked alike the sins of Pharaoh and of the children of Israel. Samuel and Elijah lifted up their voice against monarch and people. The prophets of Judah and Israel were terribly in earnest against the unbelief and vices of their own age. John the Baptist was not content with reproving general sins—he applied the truth to the personal sins of soldier and Pharisee and of Herod. Paul dealt closely with the conscience of Felix and Agrippa, and with sins tolerated in Corinth and in Thessalonica. The Divine Master himself was noted for pungent reproof to individuals and classes of men whom he addressed. Any preacher who, with a high sense of his office, wishes to be a leader of men and to make his influence effective, must preach to the times. He must know men and understand the spirit of the age, and have a personal interest in living questions. He must know how to apply the great truth or truths of the gospel to existing wants. He must aim to correct the vices of his generation, and to answer the questions perplexing earnest minds. The preacher who is most closely in sympathy with his age will ordinarily be the most useful.—Living Epistle.