Publisher's Synopsis
Excerpt from The Death of John Brown; A Discourse Preached on the Occasion of His Public Execution, Delivered at the Free Congregational Church, Bloomington, Ill: Dec, 4, 1859
d104 Judge not according to appearance; but judge righteous judgment. -john VII. 24.
On any topic Of such absorbing public interest as to set all other tongues in motion, a Christian minister has no right to be silent. Every event which excites the feelings and rouses the thought of the people must deeply affect their moral char acter and Spiritual life. Events are our teachers. If we rightly interpret them, we grow wiser; if we misinterpret them, they do but lead us astray. If we gather useful instruction from any event, it must be because we see it in the clear light of some moral principle. The minister, whose high mission it is to deal with moral principles, must never hide their light under a bushel, when some event is passing by which the people are half afraid to look in the face. That light has a right to shine; and whatever cannot bear that light con fesses itself to be evil.
There are two ways in which the pulpit may abuse its power; two ways in which a ministermay dishonor his position. One is by speaking what ought not to be spoken; the other is by not speaking what ought to be spoken-rashness and cowardice. If a minister falls into the evil cur rent Of party spirit, and lends himself to a narrow, fanatical love of agitation, pandering to passion and to a morbid craving for excitement, or to sec tarian and party ends-that is a shame! Let him bear the indignation Of an injured public. Preach er though he be, he is a pestilent fellow. We have no use for such. The sooner he quits the church and the world, the better for both.
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