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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 rlicf ?>? ?/?? ~ 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 - ------ ~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."