children to anger, lest they be discouraged." Eph. vi, 4: "Ye fathers, provoke not your children to wrath: but bring them up in the nurture and admo- nition of the Lord." Acts ii, 39: "For the promise is unto you and to your children." Jer. x, 25: "Pour The Dying Corn of Wheat, and Its Glorious John xii, 24: "Verily, verily I say unto you, except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it The Prosperity and Efficiency of a Church Eph. iv, 15-16: "But speaking the truth in love, may grow up into him in all things, which is the head, even Christ: from whom the whole body fitly joined together and compacted by that which every joint supplieth, according to the effectual working in the Heb. x, 22: "Let us draw near with a true heart, in full assurance of faith, having our hearts sprinkled EDITOR'S PREFACE Many of the admirers of Dr. Girardeau will doubtless be disappointed when they read these sermons. They will remember their emotions under the spell of his eloquence, and will be surprised that they do not experience them again as they read this volume. Dr. Girardeau had all of the gifts that belong to the orator,-figure, voice, gesture, emotion, imagination and magnetism. When he was on his feet before an audience, the spirit of the orator dominated him. He was also a profound thinker,-analytical, logical, cautious, and clear. When he sat down to write, the spirit of the thinker dominated him. These sermons were written, and, with the exception of the one on "The Last Judgment," are not as eloquent as those that were outlined at his desk and filled out as he spoke. It has often been said that sermons were to be heard, not read. He understood this, and seldom wrote a sermon. He was frequently urged to prepare a volume for publication, and went so far as to write a list of subjects to be treated, but he carried the scheme no further. The editor and the committee concur in the opinion that all of the sermons left by him should be published, even though they do not fully portray his power as a preacher. They show the doctrines that he preached, and his general method of presenting truth; some of them treat timely subjects, and others are connected with important events. There is another reason for their publication. Our clearest notions of the religious life of any age are gathered from the sermons of the representative men |