Joseph Arch as a Preacher.

Bruce Herald, Volume VII, Issue 650, 17 November 1874, Page 7

Joseph Arch as a Preacher.

Mr Arch, as our readers know, was a preacher before he became a public agitator, and it is but natural that at times he should .reappear in his original character. Recently be preachtd in the Standard Theatre, Shoreditch. In that quarter of the. town the clas* who would sympathise with Mr Arch are numerous, and they were there in great force. The upper gallery of the theatre was empty, but the boxes and pit were well filled, and there was a strong body of friends on the plat form. The audience coflsisteo' chiefly of males. The sight from the platform and the upper boxes was truly grand. The theatre itself is one that would credit to the Westend, and as it is said to accommodate 5000 people, it is easy to see Mr Arch had thus a congregation which he could have secured nowhere else in the city, St. Paul's excepted, on Sunday night. Mr Arch does not 6eem much the worse for bis laborer's life. Perhaps it is his teetotalism that enables him to get through his work ; at any rate, after the service was' over, he took tbe chair at a teetotal meeting that was - held in *tbe theatre, and lasted till 10 o'clock, where Mr Noble repeated one of Mr G-ough's orations. I did not stop to hear it, though an enthusiastic young gentleman of a teetotal way of thinking did his best to get me to do so. I should be glad to hear Mr Q-ough himself; I should be very sorry to hear him at second hand. At half-past six Mr Arch appeared on the stage with Borne unmistakeable specimens of the agricultural laboring class by his side. One man bad a fustian coat without sleeves, and truly, in the heated atmosphere of Sunday night not only sleeves but coats themselves might have been easily dispensed with. A lady seated in tbe orchestra, with a harmonium, led tbe singing. The hymns were printed on a piece of paper, which contained a statement to the effect that there would be a collection at the close of the service on behalf of the locked out farm laborers — and which laf erwards learnt amounted to the sum of £10 4a lOJd. Tne first hymu was one rarely heard in London chapels, and begins

*' Lord, as Thou didsfc invite of old, We weary heavy-laden come ; Thy roused uprising poor behold, And those with hopeless misery dumb" Longfellow's "" Psalm of Life" was the second hymn, and the last was the national hymn : —

"Lord, while f >r all mankind we pray, Of every clime and cast ; O hear us for onr native land, The land we love the most."

The lesson of Scripture read waa the 18th chapter of Luke, from the 4'3od and 43rd verees of which the text was taken ; the prayer was quiet and f-asy, and a full recognition of the Fatherhood of Grod and His provideniial care. All of us worship, ping in the same temple were commended to God To some, the way of life had beeu serene, others had to drink the waters of Marah. A desire bad been awakened in the minds of the Buffering poor to raise themselves. In spite of the opposition that had been created, a hope was expressed that God would give them success. It was prajed that genuine Christianity — Christianity that acted as well as spoke— might be commended to them. Prayer was offered for the country, from the Queen on hei 1 throne to the meanest peasaut in the land. God waa besought to remove oppression and prejudice out of the way, and all selfishness ; lastly, the preacher besought Grod's blessing '-for thy unworthy servant" to discharge his duties aright in his responsible position, as between God and bis fellow man ; and for all of us it was supplicated that when our work was done we might be brought home to Christ. There waa great freshness and force in the prayer, and it was one that was felt as well as beard. It seemed to me better than the sermon, though in the course of that Mr Arch made three hits, which were received with, an applause that would have been loud and hearty if it had not been suppressed out of deference to the day. The main idea of the sermon was the philanthropic character of ( hrist. It was recorded of Him that He went about doing good — every action of His life, every word He spoke confirmed that. Nor was He a respecter of persons ; everywhere when He saw human suffering, the sympathies of His great heart were aroused — the ruler's child, the widow's son, the infectious leper, the miracle of feeding the multitude, were all referred to as showing that, whilst Christ lived to bless the souls, He blessed the bodies of the people as well. A further illustration of this waß the maniac who was found clothed, and sitting, and in his right mind. *' Was it not strange," asked Mr Arc-h, "that any j man should oppose a being whose life was | devoted to doing good ? Why should the voice of the slanderer be heard 1 Kut, ah, friends, evil is always opposed to good, light to darkness. There was the instance of the man with the withered hand; His enemies watched this case. They said nothing till Christ had healed his arm, and then they conspired as to bow they ; might take away His life. He was dialiked because, said Mr Arch, laying great stress on the first syPablp, "He exposed the hypocrisy of the so-called religionists of His day. Christ knew this, and He encouraged His apostlea to follow in HisJ steps." In the chapter he had read that evening there were two instances of Christ's exposing hypocrisy — one was that of the publican and Pharisee, another was that of the wealthy young man. Religion required no splendid parapherna lia, no worldly advantages.. It was grand as seen in the life of Christ. The quesj tion of the young man seemed to indicate that lie thought be could purchase religion. .What a blessing it was; that was not the case! Had flhriat been a respecter of persons Hs would have paid honou/tQ this vou,n,g pp ua a man of

wealth ; but he did nothing of the kind. " Ah dear friends," said the preacher, '• the grandeur of the Gospel is sunk in the gold of the earth " — a remark which, was cheered. The next illustration referred to was the case of the bliod man. There was a great multitude as Chriat passed by No doubt many people followed Christ because of a desire to be connected with such a man. When the disciples told the blind man to hold his peace, probably they felt it was wrong of such an outcast to address the Saviour ; and this was the way of the respectability uf the Church in our day. "Let tbe poor degraded drunkard come and cry for mercy, and is he not told to hold his peace? Christ tells us that it is not the appearance, but the want of the man that enforces his claim on us." And here in a sentence — of a kind which always tellß ia a theatre — Mr Arch brought forth a grandiloquent utterance about there being as much religion beneath the smockfrock of the working man as beneath tbe robe of the prince. People would have said to the blind man, what is your creed ? would have asked him his pedigree ; would have questioned him as to the dissipation of his parents Christ would not add sorrow to sorrow in that way. This line of remark led to another •cheer ; and then Mr Arch passed on to the command of Christ to the man to glorify Him. Stern Christians were much astonished at this. A poor man sings to show his joy, no cherub's song was more acceptable than, that. "Finally," said Mr Arch " what is the lesson to be learnt ? We are creatures with many wants, let us take them to Christ. He is as ready to bless as ever.'' Mr Arch here paused, and then referred to his preaching there on behalf of the locked out farm laborers. He hoped the farmers would be led to see their folly, and that soon tha time would come when there would be no slaves in this land, but liberty from the highest to the lowest. The sermon lasted about; forty minutes. It was delivered with great ease, and was listeaed to by hundreds, who saw in the preacher oae of themselves, the exponent of their wrongs the champion [of their rights. — 'Ljndon Paper.'