THE PREACHER'S TECHNIQUE
Lord," says the sacred writer, "on all manner of instruments." If God has made you a clarinet or a flute, do not complain that you are not a violin or a harp. Shall the trumpet say to the oboe, "I have no need of thee"? Or the drum to the ’cello, "I have no need of thee"? Shall the great Master Musician, who controls them all, say to the humblest of His instruments, "I have no need of thee"?
Be yourself, then; but also, forget yourself. You are to use for the delivery of the Word every faculty God has given you; and simultaneously you are to renounce yourself utterly, so that in the end the messenger shall be nothing, the message everything. You are not to cramp or stifle your individuality; but you are to offer it so completely to God upon the altar that, when the service closes, the dominating thought in the worshippers' minds will be, not of any obtrusive human proficiency or cleverness, but only this—"The Lord was in His holy temple to-day!"
We are desperately self-conscious creatures, and that miserable fact of self-love tends to thrust its way into the picture, even in our work for Christ. To achieve release and self-obliteration, one thing is essential for the preacher; as he leads the worship of his congregation, let him see to it that he is worshipping along with them. As he uplifts the supplications of his people to the throne, let him be bowing there himself in heart and mind. Then, when he stands up to preach, he will have found deliverance through worship from the tyranny of self. Not only so, but his words will now
187
