of W—, crawling out only to deceive God's people with a kiss, till ready to spring upon them with his poisoned fangs? Upright, faithful, and earnest as were the people, they were not proof against flattery and deception. There came among them one quite unused to their unostentatious way of serving God, and ambitious, as he said, " of seeing them make some stir in the world." We know from God's Word that "one sinner destroyeth much" good, and yet we are often annoyed at the wide result of one evil man's work in the church; one may sow tares which a hundred cannot pluck out, and therefore does it become God's children to stay the enemy in his first efforts.

He who aimed at the life of the Gospel Church in W- was dead while he had a name to live." He scorned many of the humble ones whose crown is waiting them on high. He hated the humbling doctrines of the cross, and desired to see man glorified and exalted; he rebelled against the "iron bars," as he chose to call the bonds of love which separate God's chosen and obedient ones from the world that lieth in wickedness. He declared that the millennium could never dawn till all Christians were as one-by which he meant that, for the sake of union, right must yield to wrong-as if he was of the number who loved and longed for the appearing of Christ! He began stealthily to sow his poisonous seeds among the younger and weaker of the flock, and when he saw the first token of their taking root he grew bold, and began to cast them in on the strong high hills. But here he found resistance; the soil which had borne such rich harvests of grace repelled his seed from its bosom; and he came to the mad resolve to assail the deacon, and try how he would receive it. If he, with his piety, zeal, and influence, opened his bosom to it, the end was easily attained. The minister was not worthy of consideration in the matter-ministers are so readily put out of the way if they do not yield to ungodliness. If he proved a dead sentinel, he would not molest him; if alive and jealous of his Master's honour, one bullet would settle him for ever.

In pursuance of his "liberal views" and his deep-laid plan, our valiant reformer rode up and fastened his horse before the unpretending dwelling of Deacon Lee. Ushered into the neat "keeping room" to await his coming from the harvest field, his restless spirit was almost awed by the silence which reigned there. The tall clock in the corner, with its ever-sailing ship, ticked painfully loud, and even the buzzing of the few flies on the panes annoyed him. He suffered much the same oppression as do those who wait long in a silent darkened room, the coming of a minister to a funeral. He first wished for and then dreaded the good man, being not quite sure of a warm reception. He had just decided on a clandestine flight when the door opened and the deacon entered, as calm and neat as if toil had never ruffled his spirit or soiled his garments. After the usual greetings, and a dead, awful pause, the visitor began-think of the wiles of Satan-by lamenting the low state of religion, and asking the good man why this church had enjoyed no revival for three or four years! What cared he for God's set times to visit Zion? He was far more deeply interested in the opening of a new stage road to the Summit, and in getting up stock in the projected hotel there.

"Now, what do you think is the cause of things being so dull here ? Do you know?" he persisted in asking.

THE SILENT DEACON.

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The deacon was not ready to give his opinion, and after a little thought, frankly answered, "No, I don't."

"Do you think the church is alive to the work before it ?" "No, I don't."

"Do you think the minister fully realizes the solemnity of his work?" "No, I don't."

A twinkle was seen in the eye of this troubler in Zion, and taking courage, he asked, “Do you think Mr. B. a very extraordinary man ?”` 'No, I don't."

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"Do you think his sermon on 'Their eyes were holden' was anything wonderfully great ?"

"No, I don't."

Making bold after all this encouragement in monosyllables, he asked, "Then don't you think we had better dismiss this man and hire another ?""

The old deacon started as if shot with an arrow, and in a tone far louder than his wont, shouted, "No, I don't."

"Why," cried the amazed visitor, "you agree with me in all I have said, don't you?"

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No, I don't."

"You talk so little, sir," replied the guest, not a little abashed, "that no one can find out what you do mean."

"I talked enough once," replied the old man, rising to his feet, "for six praying Christians; but thirty years ago I got my heart humbled and my tongue bridled, and ever since that I've walked softly before God. I then made vows solemn as eternity, and don't you tempt me to break them !"

The troubler was startled at the earnestness of the hitherto silent, immoveable man, and asked, "What happened to you thirty years ago?"

“Well, sir, I'll tell you; I was drawn into a scheme just like this of yours, to uproot one of God's servants from the field in which He had planted him. In my blindness I fancied it was a little thing to remove one of the 'stars' which Jesus holds in His right hand, if thereby my ear could be tickled by more flowery words, and the pews filled with those who turned away from the simplicity of the Gospel. I and the men that led me-for I admit that I was a dupe and a foolflattered ourselves that we were conscientious. We thought that we were doing God service when we drove that holy man from his pulpit and his work, and said we considered his labours ended in B, where I then lived; we groaned because there was no revival, while we were gossiping about, and criticising and crushing instead of upholding by our efforts and our prayers the instrument at whose hand we harshly demanded the blessing. Well, sir, he could not drag on the chariot of salvation with half a dozen of us taunting him with his weakness, while we hung on as a dead weight to the wheels; he had not the power of the Spirit, and could not convert men; so we hunted him like a deer, till torn and bleeding, he fled into a covert to die. Scarcely had he gone when God came among us by His Spirit, to show that He had blessed the labours of His dear rejected servant. Our own hearts were broken and our wayward children converted, and I resolved at a convenient season to visit my former pastor and confess my sin, and thank him for his faithfulness to my wayward sons, which, like long

buried seed, had now sprung up. But God denied me that relief, that He might teach me a lesson every child of His ought to learn, that he who touched one of His servants toucheth the apple of His eye. I heard my old pastor was ill, and taking my son with me, set out on a twenty-five miles' ride to see him. It was evening when I arrived, and his wife, with the spirit which any true woman ought to exhibit towards one who had so wronged her husband, denied me admittance to his chamber. She said—and her words were as arrows to my soul-' He may be dying, and the sight of your face might add to his anguish !"

"Had it come to this,' I said to myself, 'that the man whose labours had, through Christ, brought me into His fold, whose hands had buried me in baptism, who had consoled my spirit in a terrible bereavement, and who had, till designing men alienated us, been to me as a brother-that this man could not die in peace with my face before him?' 'God pity me!' I cried,' what have I done?' I confessed my sin to that meek woman, and implored her for Christ's sake to let me kneel before His dying servant, and receive his forgiveness. What did I care then whether the pews by the door were rented or not? I would gladly have taken this whole family to my home for ever as my own flesh and blood, but no such happiness was before me.

"As I entered the room of the blessed warrior, whose armour was just falling from his limbs, he opened his languid eyes and said, Brother Lee! brother Lee!' I bent over him and sobbed out, 'My pastor! my pastor!' Then raising his white hand, he said in a deep impressive voice, 'Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm!' I spoke tenderly to him, and told him I had come to confess my sin, and bring some of his fruit to him, calling my son to tell him how he found Christ. But he was unconscious of all around; the sight of my face had brought, the last pang of earth to his spirit.

"I kissed his brow, and told him how dear he had been to me; I craved his pardon for my unfaithfulness, and promised to care for his widow and fatherless little ones; but his only reply, murmured as if in a troubled dream, was, 'Touch not my anointed, and do my prophets no harm.'

"I stayed by him all night, and at daybreak I closed his eyes. I offered his widow a house to live in the remainder of her days; but like a heroine she said, 'I freely forgive you, but my children, who entered deeply into their father's anguish, shall never see me so regardless of his memory as to take anything from those who caused it. He has left us all with his covenant God, and He will care for us.'

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'Well, sir, those dying words sounded in my ears from that coffin and that grave. When I slept, Christ stood before me in my dreams, saying, 'Touch not mine anointed, and do my prophets no harm.' These words followed me till I realized fully the esteem in which Christ holds those men who have given up all for His sake, and I vowed to love them evermore for His sake, even if they were not perfect. And since that day, sir, I have talked less than before, and have supported my pastor, even if he is not a very wonderful man. My tongue shall cleave to the roof of my mouth, and my right hand forget its cunning, before I dare to put asunder what God has joined together. When a minister's work is done in a place, I believe God will show it to him. I will not join you, sir, in the scheme that brought you here; and moreover, if I hear

SIGNALS FOR PREACHERS.

23

another word of this from your lips, I shall ask my brethren to deal with you as with them who cause divisions. I would give all I own to recall what I did thirty ago. Stop where you are, and pray God if perchance the thought of your heart be forgiven you.'

This decided reply put an end to the new comer's efforts to get a minister who would make more stir; and left him free to lay out roads and build hotels.

There is often great power in the little word "no," but sometimes it requires not a little moral courage to speak it as resolutely as did the silent deacon.

Signals for Preachers.

I.-R. W. DALE ON PREACHING.

WE present a series of quotations from this series of Lectures,* as examples of the good sense, matured judgment, keen discrimination and impressive ability by which they are characterised. Every preacher, "local" and otherwise, will find his preaching richer in power and in the most enduring results, from fellowship with Mr. Dale in this book. To students it will be an invaluable boon.

THE INTELLECTUAL DISCIPLINE OF THE PREACHER.

"Throughout life it is a wise practice to have always on hand two very different kinds of intellectual work-work which is a pleasure to us, for in that direction probably our true strength lies; and work which is a trouble to us, for by that our intellectual defects will probably be modified and corrected. . . The (latter) will give you what will be one of the chief elements of your power by and by, a despotic control over all your intellectual faculties, which will enable you to compel them to do their work, and do it thoroughly, when they are most disposed to rebel."

"A true sermon," observes the author, "is meant to do something. It is not intended to be listened to merely." Having once listened to a sermon by a friend of his, which was "delicately beautiful," and seemed to have been written simply because it was pleasant to the preacher to do it, Mr. Dale suggests that "it would do him a world of good to make twenty or thirty speeches at ward meetings, held night after night, in a hot municipal contest."

"To carry the vote and fire the zeal' of our congregations-this, gentlemen, is our true business. If we are to be successful, their must be vigorous intellectual activity, but it must be directed by a definite intention to produce a definite result."

"The root of the power, I believe, lies in honest intellectual habits. Be sure that you know what you think you know. Instead of yielding too much to the passion for making your way into fresh and untravelled

Nine Lectures on Preaching. By R. W. Dale, M.A. Hodder and Stoughton. 9s.

provinces of truth, make yourselves perfectly familiar with the truth you know already. Do not imagine that you know anything because you have a convenient formula in which you can express it. Get at the facts which lie behind the formula, and live among them."

"You will fence round the prime hours of the day and keep them for hard work, or else you will be lost. But the humblest cottage should have a flower-bed as well as a potato-plot; and even in England, where ground is becoming scarce, I should be sorry to see the village green ploughed up and turned into a corn-field. This desultory and miscellaneous reading will give you a certain intellectual exhiliration, and will enable you to do your severer work with greater vigour." “INTELLECTUAL" PREACHING.

"Some preachers are always 'intellectual,' and always cold. Their minds are never heated, even by the rapidity of their own movement. They seem incapable of passion-even of what may be called intellectual passion. They put no more thought into their sermons than other men who have more fire; but because the thought is there and not the fire, they suppose that they are more thoughtful' than their brethren. It would be just as reasonable to suppose that a skeleton in a surgeon's cupboard has more bones than a living man. The living man has quite as many bones as the skeleton; and besides the bones he has flesh and muscle, an eye that may be filled with sunshine or with tears, a voice that can command, or entreat, or comfort, a hand that can help or strike." GROWTH OF THEOLOGY.

These

"The gradual development, through successive generations, of vast theological systems is at least as noble an object of investigation as the gradual formation of the material world beneath our feet. systems have also their fauna and their flora, and perpetuate the memory of types of human life and thought-some of them beautiful, some of them terrible, some of them grotesque-which have now quite disappeared. You will find in them the craters of extinct volcanoes, which once poured out rivers of flame and clouds of smoke that darkened the very heavens. They have had their glacier periods, and their periods of torrid heat. The history of the evolution of the Calvinistic theory of the Divine government during the ages that lie between Augustine and Francis Turretin is quite as remarkable as the history of the formation of the tertiary strata; and a sentence of the Athanasian creed, with the impress upon it of the subtle theories and protracted controversies from which it derived its precise form, is quite as curious a subject of study as a remarkable fossil in the limestone. Nor can we use the commonest theological terms intelligently without a knowledge of the roots from which they sprang-roots lying, some of them, far away in the obscure but daring speculations of Alexandria, and others in the philosophical systems of ancient Greece. For the very words of the great moral sciences are living things; they are not an artificial manufacture, like the technical terms of the physical sciences; they have come from the very life and soul of man; they tell the story of the deepest thoughts and most tragic struggles of the race, of its sins and its sanctity, its darkest fears and its divinest hopes."