The Divine Word has always been the first Power in the World.
The Gospel still the first of Books.
There can be no Christian Eloquence without the Accent of Personal Conviction.
Hitherto, we may be said to have treated merely of human instrumentality; we must now consider our subject in a higher point of view. Reason, imagination, and sentiment are necessary qualifications to success in our vacation; but we require besides these the power of God, because our aim is to lay hold of and to direct the souls of men. Now, as that mighty genius Bossuet has remarked:—"There is nothing so indomitable as the heart of man. When I see it subdued, I adore." And why? Because he recognized in such submission a superhuman agency.
This power we possess in the Word, which is the power of God; before which every head must bow, and every knee bend, whether on earth, in heaven, or in hell. Armed with the Divine word, our power is immense; only, in order to wield it, we must ourselves be thoroughly penetrated thereby, and, above all, be able to convince others that we are so. It must be felt, seen, and acknowledged that God is with us.
The Divine word is the foremost power in the world. It has withstood and overcome every other power. … It has uttered its voice everywhere: in the catacombs, at the foot of the scaffold, under the axe of the executioner, and within the jaws of wild beasts. It has spoken while the feet of the speakers have been drenched in blood. …
During the middle ages, mighty barons, sheltered behind impregnable strongholds, had cast the network of their sway over the whole of France, and silence was imposed on all lips. Nevertheless, on more than one occasion did the Divine word, in the guise of a priest or monk, venture to ascend the steps of those redoubtable fortresses; and its voice alone sufficed to inspire fear in the breasts of men clad in armor of steel.
There was a king in whom power seemed incarnate. That king was Louis XIV. He dared to say:—"L'état, la France, c'est moi." Under his inspiring look, military genius triumphed in war; poetry begat the sublimest conceptions; canvas spoke; marble was animated; and the arts replenished even the gardens of his royal abode with master-piece s of skill.
One Sunday, Louis XIV., surrounded by his court, took his seat in the chapel at Versailles, when the preacher boldly uttered from the pulpit those terrible words: "Woe to the rich! Woe to the great!" whereat the monarch lowered his eyes and the courtiers murmured. … After the sermon, there was some talk of reprimanding the priest for his temerity; but the King remarked, with a justice which does him honor:—"Gentlemen, the preacher has done his duty; it behoves us now to do ours."
We may recognize herein the power of the Divine word; and it is that same word which is on our lips.