HERALDS OF GOD
than those lines of Charles Wesley, surely the most characteristic he ever wrote:
O Thou who earnest from above,
The pure celestial fire to impart,
Kindle a flame of sacred love
On the mean altar of my heart.
There let it for Thy glory burn.
Think of the news you are ordained to declare. That God has invaded history with power and great glory; that in the day of man's terrible need a second Adam has come forth to the fight and to the rescue; that in the Cross the supreme triumph of naked evil has been turned once for all to irrevocable defeat; that Christ is alive now and present through His Spirit; that through the risen Christ there has been let loose into the world a force which can transform life beyond recognition this is the most momentous message human lips were ever charged to speak. It dwarfs all other truths into insignificance. It is electrifying in its power, shattering in its wonder. Surely it is desperately unreal to talk of themes like these in a voice deadened by routine, or in the maddeningly offhand and impassive manner which is all too familiar. It ought not to be possible to conduct a Church service in a way which leaves a stranger with the impression that nothing particular is happening and that no important business is on hand, "Went to Church to-day," wrote Robert Louis Stevenson in his journal, "and was not greatly depressed." If that is the best
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