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6 THE PRESBYTERIA
the medium of prayer appeal to him who is a present
help in trouble. "In distress and sinking," is the cry.
"I'm coming" is the response. "Be of good cheer." It
is reasonable. If man can call man over unconnected
space, why may not man call God and receive his gracious
reply? If man can devise a process that bridges
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who cati say that Liod is not able to do it?
Every triumph of science is but added proof of the
power and possibilities of the divine. If the creature
can accomplish a plan for communication without visible
connection, why may not the Creator do it? If
the cry of a ship in distress is caught up a hundred
miles away, who is unreasonable in believing that the
cry of a human soul reaches the ear and touches the
heart of the loving Father?
But for the work of Binn, however, in that little apparatus
closet ou the "Republic" where the simple apparatus
stood that thrust the message out into space,
the relipf wnnl/1 TT*
. ?v.v, ..ui t.dvc tume. ins tireless energy
working with the wireless means told the story of the
distress. The soul that is sinking or discouraged, that
needs relief or help or strength, must send up its appeals.
The method which God has set up must be
used. "I will yet for this be inquired of by the house
of Israel, to do it for them." "Ask, and ye shall receive;
seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be
opened unto you." This is God's way. If we do not
call upon him as lie has directed he will not be nigh
unto us. We have a part to do. Whether we believe
that all the effect is subjective, that it draws us to God
"TO fluAf ^ - ' * *
. man vjuu 10 us, or mat the prayer puts into operation
forces that bring- communication between us and
him, or that it draws him directly to us, the result is
the same, the relief comes. The more we see the marvels
of applied science the more we can believe in the
power and wisdom of God. 1 *
DR. CHAPMAN AS AN EVANGELIST.
When we see clear evidence of the possession of personal
gifts which enable one man to impress and control
multitudes, it is natural and reasonable to inquire
as to the character of those gifts. In the case of Dr.
Wilbur Chapman he frankly denies having any extraordinary
personal talents and attributes the fruits of
his evangelistic work to the direct blessing of the Divine
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~x?v u..uuSii 11 ic earnest co-operation of the
Christian community, upon the simple gospel message
and in answer to united prayer. We all believe this
to be true in a genuine work of grace, but wc cannot
ignore the fact of personal qualities which fit one for
leadership and which are blessed to the yielding of unusual
results.
In our analysis of the sources of exceptional influence
possessed by Dr. Chapman we find three predominant
elements which we believe to be essential qualities
in anV fruitful minictni ? -e
^ ? - !iwvi j f uuu ucttilisc UI LII1S ItlCt,
they are worthy of note.
It must be said negatively, that he does not possess
to an unusual degree certain endowments or accomplishments
which arc frequently credited to popular
preachers. He is not eloquent in the sense that he has
the polished manner, inflection, or magnetic impulse
of the orator. Neither is he a rhetorician in the sense
N OF THE SOUTH. February 10, 1909.
that his sentences are studied, polished or elaborate.
He is not possessed of special grace of attitude or gesture.
He does not obtrude the impression of scholarship,
though evidently a man of culture. He does not
fawn upon, or beguile his audiences with charming sentiment.
He is a man of positive uncompromising conviction.
He believes deeply and with the full force of his enlightened
intellect the truth which he proclaims. The
rugged verities of the gospel arc accepted and heralded
with an honesty and fidelity that carry conviction to
the hearer. The sweet, sublime truths of redemption
are grasped tenaciously by his strong intellect and are
proclaimed clearly and enforced in a masterlv w^v
J .
His power of statement is unusual for it is clear and
pointed and convincing. In this particular then, the
man has unusual power; he has deep, clear, unhesitating
and uncompromising conviction of truth, and presentation
of that truth communicates that conviction
to others. There is no element of the "sounding brass
or tinkling cymbal" in his preaching.
An element of power closely allied to this is profound
appreciation of the value of truth; a fervent love
for the cherished verities of the kingdom of grace, the
realities of a finished redemption. His spirit glows as
he contemplates the cross, the divine love and compassion?pardon
for the guilty, the gifts and graces
of the Christian character, the mediation of our Lord,
the abiding presence of the Divine Spirit, the sanctifi
cation of believers and the "far more exceeding and
eternal weight of glory." There is a corresponding
awe, a profound solemnity manifest in utterance and
manner as he deals with the judgments of God, the
guilt of the sinner, the day of wrath, the eternal loss
of immortal souls. These themes become intensely
and overwhelmingly real to the hearer as they are presented
out of deep conviction in the mind of the speaker
and solmn appreciation of the awful ? ??*? ?-'?
_ -WW V.VU Liia t ai t
involved.
A third element of power in the ministry of this
evangelist is an intense, unyielding love for. souls and
longing for the salvation of his fellowmen. A wholehearted
belief of the realities of our religion would
conduce to this result. Salvation is a reality. How
transcendent a reality it is! How blessed is the life
that is offered; how marvelous is God's grace; how
trpniPnHfMlclv l1--1
....puiimii mat every soul should partake
of that grace and inherit that life! On the other
hand the loss of a soul! Who can estimate the magnitude,
the duration, the overwhelming consequences
of that loss; and while salvation is provided at such
a cost and while the Redeemer pleadingly offers life
through his own blood, how terrible the thought that
souls should reject the offer and perish forever!
Such is the attitude of the preacher toward the truth
which he proclaims in great fidelity; toward him who
is the Truth, and. toward guilty humanity for whose
salvation the truth is provided, and to whose needs
that truth is most perfectly suited. And such preaching
we believe is the need of this age as it has been
of all ages in the past and will be until He comes of
whom it is said, "For yet a little while and he that shall
come, will come and will not tarry."