startles most may be least valuable; that which calls forth most remark may be mosi barren, '!'he_ apostle had to_ rebu~e the childish Cori?thians who _were captivated by the strange gift of speakmg in foreign languages-a gift most precious when foreigners 8peaking these languages were addressed, but valueless when they were absent. Yet the Corinthians, forgetting that the gift was bestowed for its special usefulness, exercised the gift and gloried in it when its usefulness was impossible! Here were selfishness .and pride conjoined to supernatural endowment! What penetrating power has evil! It seems to touch everything, even the holiest, most God-like tbings, that man touches! Here is the touchstone which tries our work-Is it truly useful 1 ID. MAr:.Ks OF USEFUL GIFTS. 1. Plainness. We want to make men understand Divine truths; we should then assuredly use "great plainness of speech." Our speech . should be "easy to be understood" (ver. 9). What a mass of preaching and praying has been lost because it was too ornate, or high-flown, or expressed in incomprehensible language! The ability to speak so that no one can understand us is a gift which should •be earnestly desired by fools only. Some men are so profound that they are quite unfathomable, even to themselves. '!'hey dig the well so deep that they drown themselves in it. Possibly some avoid plainness intentionally, because they want no one •to perceive the poverty of the portion which they are dealing out. They place nothin~ in many wrappers, with the fond expectation that it may pass for something amongst the ignorant. But such trickery is unworthy of the servants of the Most High, and would be called knavery if it were practised by a pedlar. The Romish Church is greatly censurable for continuing the use of Latin in her services, which is a "tongue unknown" • of the people. 2. Clearness. No mean endowment is required so as to speak with lucidity upon scriptural topics. We need to think clearly ourseh-es. Hearers often . do not understand because preachers do not. "\Ve may expect to be useful according to the measure in which we make clear to others Divine truths; and we must never forget how peculiarly prone men are to misapprehend these. A clear statement is like a piece of music played correctly ; an involved and obscure one is like music in which the notes are all jumbled together without reference to order or time. Hoth may have ~xactly the same notes, but what a contr:..st ! 3. Force. Like the sound of the trumpet when well blown (ver. 8). Life and vigour are needed in our utterances. We must not weaken the message which we deliver. If we wouhl lead men heavenwards there must be power in our appeals. Our aim should be, not to tickle men, but to incite them. Force may be quiet; often is. But there is much quietness in which there is no force. Noise is not force, but earnestness and passion are generally its accompaniments. 4. Certainty. The trumpet-blast which directs must not waver. A halting, uncertain testimony is generally woroe than useless. Some are so " gifted" that they are certain of nothing. One should not desire such gifts. Notwithstanding all boast about them, they carry much more folly than wisdom, and the devil's hand is more manifest in them than God's. We have truth-which is not an uncertain thing; one of the most precious and most useful gifts is a certain grasp upon tbat • which is of the very essence of certainty.-H. Ver. 15.-How we should sing and pray. I. AN rnP0RTANT MATTER, SINCE SINGING AND PRAYER CONSTITUTE THE CHIEF PARTS OF PUDLIC WORSHIP. II. THE "EXTERNALS" OF SINGING AND PRAYER AilE NOT OF THE FIRST IMPOlt- TANCE. 1. Music. 2. Eloquence. 3. Form. III. THE RIGHT METHOD. 1. With the spirit. Intellectual worship alone is very imperfect. It is cold, formal, not stimulative. Our emotional nature should take pan "\Ve should make melody in the heart, and should be deeply stirred in heart as we approach the Deity. To this end we must pray and sing "with the Holy Spirit;" the Holy Ghost must fall upon our spirits, and we shall then become acceptable worshippers who "worship the Father in spirit and in truth." 2. With the under- standing. As the intellectual alone is not sufficient, neither is the emotional. The whole man should engage in the acts; even the body taking its subordinate part . . Man, being an intelligent creature, should worship intelligently; should realize (1) to tvhom he speaks, (2) what he utters, (3) what he is. IV. A TOO COMMON METSOD. 1. Without realization of the worshipped. 2. With • inattention to th<; sentiments expressed. 3. With souls unmoved.-H. 476 THE FIRST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. (cH. XIV. 1-40.
Ver. 20.-Mind and Christianity. I. RELIGION IS NOT MERE SENTIMENT, lJ. RELIGION DEMA::-'DS THE }:XF.RCISE OF MENTAL POWERS, l!J. THE MORE DEVELOP~:D THE MIND DF.COllES UNDF.R GRACIOUS INFLUENCES, THE MORE USEFUL, HAPPY, AND HONOURED WILL THE POSSESSOR DECOME. 1. Detter fitted to labour for God's glory. :,!. For the advancement of mankind. 3. Will become himself more firmly e~tablished in the truth. (1) '!'he grasp of revealed truth will be more tenacious; (~) the conception of the Divine character loftier; (3) the realization of personal duty clearer and stronger. lV. CULTIVATE THE MIND. 1. Store it. 2. Exei·cise i·t vigorously. Generally minds are wrecked by too httl_e effort, not by too much. 3. Discipline it carefully. 4. Keep it evei· under salutary influences. Lest you become wise in your own conceit., Pride has great facility for entering by the door of knowledge.-H.