BOOK II.

THE MESSAGE:--ITS ESSENTIAL NOTES.

Chapter I. The Note of Accusation
" II. The Note of Pity
" III. The Note of Idealism
" IV. The Note of Edification
" V. The Note of Cheer

BOOK III.

THE MESSAGE:--ITS FORM AND DELIVERANCE.

Chapter I. On Attractiveness
" II. On Transparency
" III. On Appeal

CONCLUSION

INTRODUCTION

"There is a river, the streams whereof shall make glad the city of God,
the holy place of the tabernacles of the Most High."--_Psalms_.

"Then said he unto me, These waters issue out toward the east country
and go down into the desert."

"And by the river upon the bank thereof, on this side and on that side,
shall grow all trees for meat, whose leaf shall not fade, neither shall
the fruit thereof be consumed: it shall bring forth new fruit according
to the months, because their waters they issued out of the sanctuary;
and the fruit thereof shall be for meat, and the leaf thereof for
medicine."--_Ezekiel_.

"But the water is nought, and the _ground barren_."--2 _Kings_.

THE MESSAGE AND THE MAN

INTRODUCTION

Among the many problems of a problem-ridden time the most important, as
it is the most difficult, is that of the apparent arrest which has
befallen the progress of Protestant Christianity in this and other
lands. For a long period now, we have heard from the various churches
an annually repeated story of decreases in membership, in
congregations, in Sunday School scholars. We have been told, also, of
a general decay of reverence for sacred things, of a growth of
frivolity, a surrender of high ideals and of old faiths to the spirit
of materialism which more and more, so it is said, dominates the age.
That Sabbath of our youth; that attachment by families to the sanctuary
which was so marked a feature of our national life; that fine old
English home life and filial piety; that deep communal consciousness of
God which, whether it produced personal profession of religion or not,
did at least create a sense of the seriousness of life and duty and so
make our people strong to labour and endure--these things, we are
informed, will soon be no more. Regarding the situation, all
thoughtful men are concerned and some are panic stricken. The account
given by the latter is to the effect that religion is losing its hold;
that the Church is being left high and dry; that the morality of
classes and masses