ed
hunger; your unquenched thirst; your empty pews!

But, to look at this matter of designation more in detail:--We have
said that it includes natural fitness and spiritual gifts and is made
manifest in a divine revelation to the consciousness of the person
concerned. Of this natural fitness, it may go without saying, the gift
of public speech will form a part. This should surely be regarded as
indispensable, yet how often do we come across instances in which the
importance of this prime essential seems to have been altogether
overlooked? It is not maintained that every pulpiteer need be a
Demosthenes, or that a man must possess the golden mouth of a
Chrysostom before he stands up to address his fellows on the concerns
of the soul. In these days orators are not numerous, and, if no man be
permitted to preach who does not possess this infrequent gift,
preachers will be few, while some of the greatest forces of the day
will be banished from the pulpit. What is needed is that a man be able
to express himself in such a manner as to command and retain the
attention of those to whom he speaks, and that, without outraging the
just sensibilities of the hearer whom he is sent to bless, he shall be
able to tell out the thing that is in him. Congregations are not
generally unreasonable in their requirements; indeed, as a rule they
are predisposed to indulgence, which has been well for some of us.
They do not clamour for an exhibition of elocution twice every Sunday.
They do not come to church demanding to hear in every preacher the
wonder of his age. But they _do_ ask that a man be audible; that his
voice, if not melodious as a silver bell, be human; that his
pronunciation, if not faultless, be distinct, and his delivery without
painful hesitancy or torrential rush. Surely these requirements are
reasonable enough, and it is, at least, open to question whether a man
who, manifestly, can never be able to meet expectations so moderate
should consider himself, or be deemed by others, as unmistakably marked
out for a preacher of the word.

Along with the gift of utterance to be required in the man who is
designated to the pulpit will, almost invariably, be found a mind
studiously inclined. The days are gone when it was held that study for
the work of preaching the Gospel involved dishonour to the Holy Spirit
and unbelief concerning the promise of the divine enlightenment and
guidance. The words of Paul to Timothy are now ac