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��MEN AND THEIR PROFESSIONS.
��all worldly bickerings and strife; he may be comparatively free from sin, and, if he will, eminently respectable, hope- ful of the life that is and is to come, with- out making any considerable effort as compared with those mortals, who, by force of circumstances over which they have no control, are compelled to diekcr, trade and associate with the rabble.
THE PREACHER.
The preacher of to-day is deciedly un- like the preacher of the past. To many this is undoubtedly a matter of regret and lamentation. It is nevertheless a fixed reality, the sequel of which is ob- viously in the fact that the sources of ed- ucation have increased and the masses thereby advanced to the point where the utterances of the most profound thinker are subjected to the rigid examination of a multitude of men of equal intelligence and argumentative ability. Time and in- stitutions of learning have wrought won- derful changes, and instead of the sim- ple, unquestioning faith of the fathers there is a spirit of determined inquiry — not to pay doubt; a disposition to inves- tigate, to ignore acceptance simply be- cause the Rev. Mr. So-and-so says so. This being in a large degree the animus of the public mind, the minister who ser- monizes the year round on themes that provoke discussion, loses his hold on his hearers ; while the minister who is anx- ous mainly to impress the beauty of the Christian religion — whose concern is that men shall live better, think holier, study the amelioration of humanity, and feel more of love to God and man, and take more interest in deeds of charity and mercy than in discussing Adam's fall — comes nearer the wants of the people and the mission which the masses of this gen- eration are content to hear and espouse. Those who accept the latter as the ideal find two classes of ministers.
1. The first is cold and formal. He comes to you like an apparition from a refrigerator. His ' good morning' and 1 good evening' freezes the blood of the individval to whom it is addressed, and the mind quickly suggests that he should walk in the sunlight an hour at morning and evening before coming into the pres-
��ence of men. He addresses his acquaint- ance emphatically as ' Mister,' and never condescends to smile or be cheerful. The average sinner is ill at ease in his com- pany and gets the impression that there is no happiness here ; that all of joy and good fellowship is ' way over there some- where,' and it is a wicked sin to be so- ciable, comfortable and companionable, till he get there. Men who are in trouble do not seek this sort of a clergyman. They shun him and scold about him.
2. The second is warm and fraternal. There is no formality in his greeting, no ice in his hand with which to chill the blood, no suggestion that it is a sin to be happy, no indication that he would like to give somebody a theological nut to crack, no mannerism that asserts ' I'm holier than thou.' He has evidently left his creed — which doesn't amount to much anyhow — in his study, put aside his ser- mon paper, and started out with a view of dispensing and receiving just as much of good fellowship as can be convenient- ly crowded into an hour. He enters into conversation on the things that concern the daily life, and, feeling that he is ac- corded privileges that men will not grant the multitude, drops a word in one place and a remark in another, that lightens burdens and leaves those whom he has met more contented with their surround- ings. In short this much is observable. ' The minister who mingles, with the peo- ple and participates in their joys and sor- rows, discovers their need, and is enabled to preach directly at them, while the min- ister who stands aloof preaches over their heads and leaves only the impres- sion that religion is a gloomy article that belongs to sick people and those who have no further pleasure in the world.'
The first mistrusts a thorn in every bush, and the wicked one as manager of all public amusements. He is a sort of parish monitor; a censor whose behest everybody is bound to obey. He vents his spleen on things that are none of his concern, orders straight jackets for per- sons who are abundantly able to govern themselves, and never omits an opportu- nity to exhibit his spite against the Ma- sonic body and Odd Fellowship. The
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