3


THE  PERILS  OF   THE   PREACHER


II

THE  PERILS  OF  THE  PREACHER

"  Lest. I  myself  should  be  a
castaway  "

I  BEGIN  our  consideration  of  the  perils
of  the  preacher  by  quoting  this  startling
word  of  the  Apostle  Paul. "  I  therefore
so  run,  not  as  uncertainly  :  so  fight  I,
not  as  one  that  beateth  the  air  ;  but  I
keep  under  my  body,  and  bring  it  into
subjection  :  lest  that  by  any  means,  when
I  have  preached  to  others,  I  myself  should
be  a  castaway."  And,  as  you  well  know,
the  word  which  is  here  translated  "  cast
away,"  and  in  the  Revised  Version  is
translated  "  rejected,"  is  applied  to  things
that  cannot  bear  the  standard  test,  that
reveal  themselves  to  be  counterfeit  and

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38  THE    PREACHER

worthless,  like  coins  which  have  no  true
"  ring  "  about  them,  and  which  are  flung
aside  as  spurious  and  base. And  the
Apostle  Paul  foresees  the  possible  peril
of  his  becoming  a  counterfeit  coin  in  the
sacred  currency,  a  spurious  dealer  in
sublime  realities,  a  worthless  guide  to
"  the  unsearchable  riches  of  Christ."  He
sees  the  insurgent  danger  of  men  who
are  busy  among  holy  things  becoming
profane. A  man  may  be  dealing  with
66  gold  thrice  refined,"  and  yet  he  himself
may  be  increasingly  mingled  with  the
dross  of  the  world. He  may  lead  others
into  the  heavenly  way,  and  he  may  lose
the  road  himself. He  may  be  diligent
in  his  holy  calling  and  yet  be  deepeningly
degenerate. It  is  the  ominous  forecast
of  what  is  perhaps  life's  saddest  and  most
pathetic  tragedy,  the  spectacle  of  a  man
who,  having  "  preached  to  others,"  should
himself  become  a  "castaway."

Now    the    Apostle    Paul    foresaw    the
peril,  and  studiously  and  prayerfully  pro-


THE  PERILS  OF  THE  PREACHER     39

vided  against  it. And  you  and  I  have
been  chosen  to  walk  along  his  road,  and
we  shall  encounter  all  the  dangers  that
infest  it. None  of  us  will  be  immune
from  their  besetment. Perils  are  ever
the  attendants  of  privilege,  and  they  are
thickest  round  about  the  most  exalted
stations. I  suppose  that  every  profession
and  every  trade  has  its  own  peculiar
enemies,  just  as  every  kind  of  flower  is
attacked  by  its  own  peculiar  pests. 