"O Saul, it shall be A Face like my face that receives thee; a Man like to me, Thou shalt love and be loved by, forever; A Hand like this hand Shall throw open the gates of new life to thee! See the Christ stand!" Browning's "Saul." gft. NOTE. THE publication of this volume was undertaken at the earnest request of friends and parishioners who desired to retain in permanent form words which had been helpful and inspiring to them, and to preserve the fragrant memories of a noble and self-forgetting life. My thanks are gratefully offered to the many friends who have so freely given their assistance in its preparation: to President Gates for his labor of love in the sketch of his friend's life; to Dr. James M. Whiton, of "The Outlook," for careful revision of the sermons; to the group of North Adams friends who gave time and thought to the choice of the sermons to be used; to an honored friend for the title given the volume; and to many others who in various ways have contributed to its completion. The sermons here included were, with one or two exceptions, first preached to the North Adams people and rewritten for the Denver Church, and were chosen partly for that reason, but chiefly be cause they set forth that which Mr. Coyle best loved to preach, the imperial character and position of Jesus. Whether this volume shall serve the purpose for which it was prepared or not, I can but be thankful for the consolation afforded and the sad hours brightened by the thought and labor given to it. MARY CUSHMAN COYLE. NORTH ADAMS, Mass. October 19, 1896. |