Y Goleuad

Our Connexion-its Aim and Work. Valedictory Address at Talgarth, by the BEV. J. E. DA VIES, M. A, London. (Continued). Statistics are very good things. It is not always a sin to number the people. The Statistics which we publish annually, in our Year Book, afford us the means of gauging our strength, and of mark- ing our progress or decline, as far as numbers are concerned. For many years past, our statistics show that we have been advancing considerably in numbers, and we bless God for the increase. But we must remember that the real strength of the church does not consist in numbers alone. We may increase numerically, and at the same time decrease as a spiritual power. The spiritual life of a church is not within the reach of figures-it cannot be entered in the columns of ouir statistics. The true strength of a church consists in its near- ness of God, and in the amount of spiritual energy it is able to put forth. Its chief glory is "Holi- ness unto the Lord." Three hundred people with the Spirit of God upon them are mightier than thirty thousand who depend upon themselves. Committees are of great importance in the vari- ous departments of our work. I believe in com- mittees^—we cannot do without them. Work, en- trusted to the care of a few active men, will be better and more thoroughly done, than that which is left to the mercy of ail, and attended to by none. Committees characterized with energy, earnest- ness, and conscience, are worth having: and when they do their work as unto God, and not unto men, they are sure to answer a good purpose; but let me say this,—no committee, however able, can do the work of Christ's kingdom except in so far as it is actuated by the Spirit of God. No human con- trivance, no machinery, can dispense with the presence of the Spirit. Committees, and methods, are excellent things in their place; but apart'from the presence of the Spirit, they may be productive of no end of mischief. I say with all my heart: Let us have committees to expedite work; but I must also add: Let the Spirit of God reign supreme at their sittings: and let it be remembered, at all times, that the interest and co-operation of the rank and file must be secured. We are a Body, and Rill the members must participate in the life of the whole organism. There was never a nobler effort made by our Con- nexion than the effort now put forth to raise a, 20th Century Fund). This is appropriately called Y Casgliad Mawr-the Big Collection. We mean it to be, first and foremost, a thank offering to God, -to be used in extending the kingdom of Christ, in assisting the smaller churches to pay their debts, and in providing a more efficient ministry for those churches which are too weak to provide for themselves. Nothing short of the Spirit of the Master could have inspired us to such an effort. But at the present moment, we cannot say that the movement has been crowned with the success it deserves. The leaders, to their credit be it said, have provedl themselves truly heroic in the matter, they have done marvellously well, and they have sacrificed not a little; but the Body as a whole has not, up to the present, done its duty. There are many, even at this late hour, who have not taken part in the work, and the figure aimed at has not yet been reached. We are still in need of something like £ 20/000. What are we to do P Shall we present a half-hearted offering to the Lord? Can we be satisfied without attaining our object in connection with such a heaven-born move- ment? God forbid. What then is to be dione? My answer is,-On the one hand, let us draw nearer unto God: let us pray Him to send us the money, for He can effectually reach the hearts of the people, and open their pockets too. Then, on the other, let every individual member be up and doing for the next three months, and the work will be accomplished. Our highest honour, if not our very existence, depends upon how we close our books in this matter. Fathers and Brethren, let us' make up our mindfe, that the cause of Christ shall not suffer at our hands in this instance, and that no discredit be brought upon our Connexion through lack of united effort. Let us, one and all, without further delay, put our shoulders to the wheel, so that in due time we may rejoice together at the Harvest Home. Have I been criticizing ? Have I been too fault finding ? Some of you may think so but let me make my position clear, by repeating what I have already said,-Our aim has not been changed, our principles stand firm, and the real nature of our work is the same now as in the days of Harris and! the Reformers. Our methods are modified, our system is more complex, our hearts may be colder, and our weapons may not be quite so sharp yet we have not lost sight of our great central aim, viz., the reformation of the country, and the sal- vation of the people. If we lack the depth, the earnestness and the spirituality of the Fathers, we have gained in breadth a,nd in multiplicity of means for doing work. If we are not so intense, we may be quite as loyal to the truth. There is possibly not so much firebut the light has not failed to shine. Our pulpit is evangelical, and the saving truths of Christianity are preached faithfully, and with nd uncertain sound. What we want is the Baptism of the Spirit to make us a mightier power for good. I had the privilege of seeing the Rev. Edward! Matthews on two different occasions shortly before he died: —On one of these occasions Mr. Matthews told me that there was better and Pibler preaching in Wales at that time than ever before. On the other occasion, only a. few weeks later, he told me he was afraid the days of preach- ing in Wales were numbered. How was it possible for the great man to hold two opinions, which seem to be so diametrically opposite? The question is, are they diametrically opposite ? Ap- parently they are so; but they are perfectly con- sistent the one with the other. There may be good, able, intellectual preaching, and there; may be lack of the unction from above at the same time, and the ablest preaching, without the unction of the Spirit, cannot long hold its own. I think the description hits the mark pretty straight with regard to the present day preaching. We have the intellect, we have the light; but we want the Spirit, we want the fire. I was very much cheered lately, at the close of one of our Associations:- A gentleman, who had been listening to most of the sermons, came on to me and said,—" You have lost many of the Fathers lately; but it is a com- fort to find that the God of the Fathers is with those who are in the field to-day, and that the old masters are not missed so much as one would ex- pect." I was very glad to hear the remark, com- ing as it did from outside our own ranks. At the same time, we cannot but long for the baptism of the Spirit, and the God of the Fathers, to make His presence more intensely felt in our midst. Let no one think though that God is not with us, or that we are not loyal to the truth. Our mission to the world is before us, our aim is the salvation of the people, and we don't mean to give up going out to the highways and hedges to seek and to save the lost. We ciling to our standards as ten- aciously as ever. When ocr principles are being as- sailed, we have yet plenty of grit in us to take up our stand against the invading foe. We would rather ourselves to suffer, than to allow prinoiple and truth to suffer at our hands. When an unjust Education Bill is being thrust upon us, we are pre- pared, in conjunction with the other Free Churches of the country, to take up the cudgels and fight for our rights. Our heart on this question beats in perfect unison with the sentiments of those brave men of Yorkshire as expressed in their song the other day: "Men of England! Rally, Rally in your might, Strong for falith and conscience, Justice, truth, and right; Truth your Fathers died for, Rights for which they bled Show that you are worthy Of the noble dead." We are true at heart to our principles: our funda- mental aim, and the 'nature of our work, are ever the same. Our one great need) is the Baptism of the Spirit from on High. A great deal has been said of late years about an "educated ministry," and not a syllable too much has been said. Looked at from a human point of view, there is nothing of greater importance. The spiritual teachers of the people ought, not only to be abreast of the age, but in advance. Education is a splendid aid to the ministry, and adds dignity and strength to the pulpit. The more educated) the ministry is, the more effective also, as a general rule. But God forbid we should think that edu- cation is everything. It is a help, and a most valu- able help; but permit me to say, education is nothing in the pulpit apart from that, inspiration which comes from the Spirit of God. We have made wonderful progress with the education, of the ministry even within my memory. We can reckon our graduates by the scores, and of this we are justly proud; but let us always bear in mind that university degrees do not make preachers. One man, called) of God, and sent of God, to deliver a message to the world, is worth all the graduates in the land, if they have not the unction of the Spirit upon them. Fathers and Brethren, let us do all in our power to perfect the education of our ministers; but let us strive, above all things, to be instruments in God's hands for the salvation of our fellow-beings. 0, for a. touch of the Spirit that brought about the Methodist revival—the Spirit that gave us Howell Harris, the Spirit that taught Daniel Dowlands to preach, William Wil- liams to sing, and Thomas Charles to write; nay, the Spirit that inspired Paul, that gave Peter a tongue of fire, and filled the heart of John with love. Our prayer should ever be — Come Holy Spirit-Heavenly Dove— With aill thy quickening powers, Kindle a flame of sacred) love In these cold hearts of ours." III. Our aim and work in view of future prospects. What are our prospects, and what are we to do in view of those prospects ? We. cannot say for certain what the future may bring forth. We can only reason from the past and present in the dir- ection of the future, and equip ourselves to the best of our ability to face the future on the ground of what is probable. When we look back at the history of the century that has just left, us, we find that the progress of education, and secular knowledge, has been immense: new discoveries, without number, have been made, and the- advance of science has revolutionized society. Judging therefore from the past, and! from what is going on at present, we have every reason to believe that simiilar progress, and even greater progress still, will be made in the future. What with the discovery of argon, helium, and! other elements with the invention of wireless telegraphy, air- na,viga,tion, and a host of other new things, we seem to be entering upon an altogether new era. We live more in a year now than our fore-fathers did in a decade at the beginning of the last cen- tury and if we continue thus to increase the speed, what will be the rate of motion by the dawn of the next century. Then our age is pre-eminent- ly the age of criticism, and criticism in a great measure is destructive. This 'last remark applies particularly to what is now known as the Higher Criticism of the day. Finally, there. is the ten- dency, on all handls, to, run after what is new, and to disregard what is old, in matter as well as in form. In the face of all this, we must be prepared in the future to face much greater changes than those of the past. We must expect to see old forms giving place to new at a faster rate than ever. With such a prospect before us, we are al- most tempted to say, as it was said by someone before us,—" Change, change, all is change." It is not correct though to say that All is change." Truth is unchangeable and, eternal. By the very nature of things truth cannot change'; but is the same yesterday, to-day, and forever. Systems may come, and systems may go; but truth must stand: eternally. Our aim as a religious body is based on truth, and the object of our work is to make known the truth as it is in Jesus, and so these must go on. Whatever changes the new century may bring about, our aim and work in so far as. they deal with eternal verities cannot be laid1 aside. Our methods and plans of carrying on the work may have to be modified more than ever, and some of them may have to be changed altogether. External methods are more of the nature of accidents than of truth, and these in many cases must, necessarily change. Some changes a.re most desirable. I will name one. It deals with an external arrangement: and some of you may consider the suggestion unworthy of notice on an occasion like the present; but I think it of great importance. It not only illustrates the point under consideration; but it is also one that must carry wieight as to the future of the Denom- ination. I refer to the system of arranging our pulpit supplies, for years- in advance. It seems to me quite unreasonable for ministers to give publi- cations, six or seven years beforehand. And why should this be the case? I feel personally that I have no right to promise to occupy the pulpit of Bethel, or Jtloreb, or axiy other chapel, six or seven years hence. I do not know what may happen before then—we do not know what a day may bring forth—much less six or seven years. I may be in another world before that time and independently of that, there are the changes of time, and the changes of circumstances, which must take place. Bethel may have its stated pastor, and Horeb may not want a supply, when the 'time comes round. Then the system is open to abuse, and is being abused in a way which would not be tolora,ted in business matters. The system causes no end of in- convenience when ministers move from one place to another, our students and young preachers are very much handicapped by it, and, above all things, the churches do not get fair play. I have taken some trouble lately to gather data, for my own n- formation on the subject, and I can assure you I would not like to make public all that I know. 1 do not blame individual persons, or individual churches; but I certainly blame the system-it is both wrong and unworkable as it is at present. If I had my own way, I would have all the public- ations, which are given more than six months in advance, cancelled, and begin anew. In the early days of Methodism, the pulpit arrangements were made only for one month in advance, and there was something very wholesome, and business-like, in the monthly arrangements, whereas the present system is not only unreasonable, bet it is also onen to bring discredit on both ministers and churches. A change is necessary. It is not mine to say what that change ought to be; but there must be some change. The point raised has to do principally with what is external and accidental; but it has a bearing upon what is vital and essential: and we ought to see to it, that no part of our system Is allowed to bring the cause of Christ into disrepute. Changes, as to method and' form, we must face, and a re-statement even of truth may be necessary- Truth in itself is ever the same, and cannot but b0 the same; but the form in which truth is present- ed may differ from one year to another. As some- one has beautifully said,—" Truth isaiScIJd as the light; but like the light, it comes to us every morning anew." Our duty is therefore dear-we must cling to the truth as it is in Jesus. However rapidly the world may move on, it cannot out- strip the truth. We may have to. alter our methods, we may have to accept restatements ot the truth, and we may have to adapt ourselves more than ever to meet the altered circumstances ot the future; but the truth underlying our aim must stand forever, and the work of salvation must g° on as long as there are. souls to be saved. changes; but truth remains. The mighty oak *9 m the tiny acorn; but the difference between the two is very great in form and proportions. The truths of Christianity are unchangeable but the doctrines, in the form we know them, may haV0 to undergo restatements, and I venture to say, that to march with the times is no more out ot nlaee for the theologian than for the educationist- I say, let us welcome criticism, and let us not tear the Higher1 Criticism of the day some good niy come out of it, and the truth will stand every tesfc- All criticisms, in the end, will only prepare ttie way for the Highest Criticism of all, namely, the criticism which will emphasize the conclusion that; Christ is our only salvation:. Again, let not tne wiles of Satan, or the power of -sin, discourage us; but let us prosecute our aim manfully, and wow on courageously, knowing that we stand on the fcr»