LETTERS ON THE
OBSERVANCE OF THE MONTHLY CONCERT
LETTER 2
Hints as to the best methods of conducting the Monthly Concert.
Christian Brethren: In the preceding letter, on the Monthly Concert in prayer, I have endeavoured to show the importance of that exercise; its value as a means of grace; and how much it is to be lamented that attendance upon it is so much neglected by many professors of religion, belonging to those denominations which acknowledge the general duty of paying respect to it. This neglect was traced to a declining state of religion in the individuals who indulge it, or to erroneous views of the character and claims of the exercise. But it is probable that the entire blame in relation to this matter ought not to be laid at the door of private members of our churches. Do our Pastors in all cases conduct this exercise in a manner calculated to attract and interest those who attend upon it? Thin assemblies on the Lord’s day, in many of our places of worship, are, doubtless, to be ascribed to the want of attraction on the part of the officiating ministers. Can it be any marvel, then, if, when the monthly exercise of which we speak fails to secure that large and general attendance which its nature demands, we should feel constrained to lay at least a portion of the blame at the door of pastors, who will not take the pains to engage in it the attention and the hearts of their people? So far from such a supposition being improbable or marvellous, it would seem that nothing can be more natural or consistent with the strictest justice.
When I have gone to the house of God, at the beginning of each month, and have there found assembled three or four dozen hearers, out of, perhaps, three or four hundred communicants; when I have seen every thing wearing the aspect of chilling coldness; the prayers formal, dull, and full of vain and spiritless repetition; the pastor manifesting no zeal, and giving no information respecting the cause of missions, or the advancement of the Redeemer’s kingdom; and nothing adapted to enlighten, to warm, or to edify,I have felt as if it was impossible to wonder that the attendance was so small, or that those who did attend seemed to look and feel as if they should care but little ever to attend again.
Perhaps one of the greatest faults in such meetings, as now too often conducted, is their continual dull sameness. We are commonly called to unite in a succession of prayers, comprising the same topics, couched in the same or similar terms, and adapted to confine the minds of those who join in them to a narrow field of desires and requests. We justly regard it as one of the advantages which we, as Presbyterians, enjoy, that we are not confined to a liturgy, but are at liberty to enlarge and diversify our plan of social prayer, so as to accommodate it to the various circumstances in which we are placed. There is a love of variety inherent in our nature, which may not be, in all cases, unhallowed, and which, undoubtedly, ought to be, to some extent, consulted and gratified. That this principle is not sufficiently remembered and consulted in conducting the monthly concert in prayer, has, no doubt, been often lamented by most of those intelligent Christians who have had frequent opportunities of attending on its exercises, Of course, the introduction of an improvement in these exercises, in this respect, would add materially to their attraction and their usefulness.
Let it be remembered that the objects of prayer contemplated by the original proposers and founders of this monthly service are many, and highly interesting. They are such as these
Giving thanks that, while unnumbered millions of our fellowmen are destitute of the gospel we are favoured with it, in all its fulness and glory; beseeching that the kingdom of God may comethat every obstacle to the spread of the gospel may be taken out of the way; that more labourers may be raised up, properly qualified, and sent forth into the great harvest; that the labourers already in the field may be protected and strengthened, and made to speak boldly as they ought to speak; and that the word of the Lord proclaimed by them may have free course and be glorified; that the beloved brethren and sisters who have left homes as dear to them as ours can be, for the sake of bearing the word of life to the benighted pagans, may be inspired with wisdom, and girded with strength, aided in every difficulty, and comforted in all their sorrows; that the millions throughout the world who have never heard the glad tidings of salvation, may have them preached to them in purity and power; that those who have the direction and management of selecting and sending forth missionaries, and of providing means for their support, may be counselled and guided, and their work crowned with abundant success; in particular, that the Boards of our beloved church, entrusted with the great work of training candidates for the holy ministry, and afterwards sending them forth to the domestic and foreign field of labour, may be enlightened, counselled, and prospered in all their measures; that the schools established among the heathen, and other destitute parts of the world, for training up children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, may be multiplied and greatly prospered; that the Holy Spirit may reach the hearts of young and old among those who are sitting in the region and shadow of death; that those who call themselves Christians may feel their obligations to send the gospel to "every creature" [Mark 16:15] who is destitute of it; that the sleeping church may be roused to a sense of her duty in regard to this great concern; that the triumphs of evangelical truth may be great and glorious wherever it is sent; that the great Lord of the harvest would go with his ministering servants wherever they go to preach his blessed gospel; that the pagan heart may be everywhere enlightened and softened, and the way of the Lord be prepared for the spread of his name among all nations; that religion may be revived in all our churches; that wherever the gospel is preached, at home or abroad, it may take a saving effect on the hearts of men; and that all ends of the earth may see the salvation of God. These are among the great and precious objects of prayer which ought to fill the hearts, and dwell upon the lips of the assembled worshippers at every monthly concert. Here is, surely, matter enough for enlarged, rich, and ever varying petitions. Here are topics sufficient in number, and in immeasurable importance, to occupy the fixed attention and the absorbing desires and zeal of every Christian. Surely, wherever there is a spark of love to the Saviour, or to the souls of men, such objects as these cannot leave an indifferent heart.
Many seem to be under the impression that the principal, if not the exclusive object of the Monthly Concert is to pray for the spread of the gospel among the heathen: that the revival of religion among our churches at home, and the extension and success of domestic missions, though confessedly of the highest importance, are not intended to be made prominent objects in these monthly exercises. This is an unhappy mistake. Every thing pertaining to the spread of the gospel in its purity and power, both at home and abroad; the success of this precious message of mercy where it is already proclaimed, and its speedy and effectual diffusion where it is not; and, in one word, imploring the divine blessing, upon every effort for bringing our own land, and all other lands, into subjection to the Spirit of Christare all appropriate to this season of prayer, and all, evidently, entered into the plan of those who originally proposed it.
Not that all these topics are to be considered as essentially making a part of every prayer offered up at the monthly concert; but that the objects contemplated, and the topics of petition employed, on such occasions, are such as have been mentioned, and are, of course, various, grand and interesting in a high degree, and such as may well engage the whole hearts of all who love the Saviour and his cause. Who would not expect that an occasion when such objects as these are appointed to claim the attention and the prayers of an assembly of Christian men and women, would prove an occasion of peculiar solemnity, and draw to it every heart that had the smallest desire for the glory of God and the happiness of man?
What means, then, ought to be taken by every pastor to render this occasion in the highest degree interesting and profitable, both to himself and to the people of his charge? I answer, let him, first of all, by meditation and prayer, labour to keep his own mind in a state of lively interest in regard to this great subject. To this end, let him, through the whole of the preceding month, labour to keep awake and on the inquiry for every kind of missionary information adapted to engage, instruct, and edify the Christian people. Let him gather from every channel of public intelligence, every thing bearing on the state of the heathen world, and on the condition of all the dark and destitute places of the earth, whether in our land or elsewhere; every thing adapted to give the people of his charge a distinct and strong impression of the real situation of those who are without a knowledge of the gospeltheir blindness, their vices, their misery, and their prospects for eternity. Let him collect and exhibit, in the most clear and lively manner that he is able, the recent intelligence from the missionary fieldthe new plans and efforts of missionary associationsthe glad tidings of their success, or the mournful information of their failure. Let him be laying up in store, for the whole preceding month, for this solemn occasion. Thus beginning, the moment one such occasion is over, to prepare for another. Let him carefully make a written memorandum of every particular; and be prepared, when the time for the meeting arrives, to make as lively and affecting an exhibition of the whole as possible; not by reading long and tedious articles, as is sometimes injudiciously done, from missionary papers, but by presenting a rapid outlinea condensed synopsis of what has been doing for the whole month, in such a manner as to keep up and reward the attention of an audience for twenty-five minutes, or, at the utmost, half an hour at a time.
How can a minister and his people be expected to feel aright, or to pray aright, if they do not know the state of the missionary field, its wants and its difficulties, as well as the signal blessings, on the one hand, with which it has pleased the God of grace to favour it, and on the other, the adversities with which he has seen fit, in his sovereign wisdom, to visit it? A pious minister was once observed by a Christian friend, during a period of remarkable public anxiety and trouble, to be peculiarly intent on reading the public papers, secular as well as religious. Upon being asked why he was so much employed in this manner, he replied, "I do it that I may know how to pray." The answer was a wise one. Every line of important information that he read, was an additional guide in imploring those blessings which were needed by the church and by the world.
But while the pastor is careful, in every service of this kind, to give rich information to his audience respecting the state of the missionary field; while he considers and treats this as a primary object of the monthly exercise, let it not be forgotten that prayer forms a prominent and vital part of the whole service. Its name imports no less; and its object is equally decisive in calling for a predominance of that element. Let no plan, then, for its management, be suffered to shut out, or even to abridge the proper amount of prayer. Let there be generally three prayers,
and never less than two. And let there be an endeavour to have these strictly appropriate, from beginning to end. There is often a great lack of this character in the prayers in which we are called to join in the service before us. It is not uncommon to hear those who lead in it employing a large part of their time in commonplace topics, in general and extended confession of sin, and in a minute detail of thanksgiving for the common mercies of providence as well as of grace. The consequence is, either that those parts of their prayers which belong to the occasion are crowded into the latter part of the exercise, and hurried over in too hasty and superficial a manner; or that the successive prayers are so inordinately protracted as to become tedious, and to extend the whole service to an inconvenient length. The prayers on such occasions ought seldom, very seldom, to exceed seven or eight minutes each, especially when there are more than two. And I know of no better method of securing the proper brevity in our social prayers, than that of charging ourselves to be strictly appropriate to the occasion, from the first sentence. If this plan were adopted, we should be better able to judge of the length of our own prayers, and be much more seldom led away by those endless repetitions and wanderings of request, which, though good and edifying in themselves, do not properly belong to the occasion. How much more suitable and happy, when all the prayers are truly appropriate; and when, (as all that is appropriate cannot be comprised in any one prayer,) those who succeed each other are careful to take up and present what those who went before omitted, so as to exhibit something like a comprehensive view of all the subjects of petition that ought to be brought forward in the whole exercise.
And here it may not be improper to suggest what I have often thought worthy of more consideration than it has commonly received. No one can be more friendly to the practice of inviting the lay members of our churches to take the lead in social prayer than the writer of these lines. Such a practice is adapted to diffuse a spirit of prayer more widely in the church, and to cause a spirit of more active zeal in conducting the affairs of the Redeemer’s kingdom, to take a firmer hold of the professors of religion than they would be apt otherwise to possess. There is much in the principle of employing men in the service of Ziongiving them something to do, if we would engage them to take a deep and practical interest in her affairs. But there can be no doubt that this has been sometimes done prematurely and unwisely. In some congregations it is not unusual to call upon young and inexperienced converts to take the lead in prayer, in social meetings, in less than a week, sometimes even in forty-eight hours after they have been hopefully brought into the kingdom of grace. This is neither prudent nor safe. It is introducing into the place of a leader and guide in sacred things, one whose knowledge is small and crude, who has no suitable experience, and who may give utterance to that which is not "good to the use of edifying." [Eph 4:29] And if it be not productive of this painful effect, it may result in injury to the individual himself; it may become the means of "puffing up" a "novice" [1 Tim 3:6] so soon called into public view.
That the intelligent and warm-hearted converts to experimental religion among the laity ought, as before stated, to be trained gradually and discreetly to the work of leading in social prayer, there can be no doubt. But let a moderate and reasonable time elapse, after they are united to the church, before they are called upon to take a part in this service. Let them not be called so publicly into the view of the religious community, until their religious knowledge is more mature, and their new character, as professors of religion, better known and established. And even then, let them be first called upon for this service in the smaller and more private meetings for prayer, that they may, by little and little, gain the confidence and self-possession, and form the habit necessary to an edifying performance of such a duty.
It has appeared to the writer of these lines that frequently by far too little sound discretion is exercised in selecting persons to lead in prayer in the monthly exercises now under consideration. In an exercise so important to the interests of religion, on which so much depends, and in regard to which every effort ought to be made to conduct it in an impressive and edifying manner, surely those who are not qualified thus to appear, who have little either of the gift or the spirit of prayer, ought to be invited to take a leading part as seldom as possible. The object of inviting any to take such a part is, not to pay a compliment, not to minister to personal vanity, but to edify the church of God, to promote that great cause which the whole service is intended to subservethe diffusion of a spirit of love to the Redeemer, and of zeal for the extension of his kingdom throughout the world. Can it be necessary to employ argument to prove that every instrumentality employed on such an occasion, when a portion of the worldly as well as of the pious may be assembled, ought to be well adapted to answer its great end? It is true, indeed, that, with respect to all the means which we use, our sole reliance ought to be on the power of the Holy Spirit, vouchsafed to render them effectual; still, in spiritual, as in temporal things, "wisdom is profitable to direct," [Eccles 10:10] and our constant aim ought to be, as far as possible, to make use of those means only which are adapted to promote the great purpose in view.
From all that has been said, it is easy to see what a weight of responsibility rests on every pastor in conducting this monthly service in such a manner as shall tend most effectually to answer its great end. What a precious opportunity it affords for calling the attention of his flock, twelve times a year, to the great duty and the appointed means of converting the world to God; keeping them constantly and faithfully informed of the state and the wants of the missionary field; leading them to the throne of grace to implore a blessing on that field; and stirring them up, by all the means of argument, expostulation and entreaty in his power, to a faithful discharge of their duty in causing the gospel to be sent to every creature.
Perhaps it will be said, that if the monthly prayer meeting be a matter of so much consequence, if it bring with it so much duty, and ought to be prepared for with so much care; then, instead of being regarded, as it too often is, as a sort of bye-business, which may be dispatched without material preparation, it must in reality prove one of the most laborious services in the whole month. This consequence is not denied. It ought indeed to be so regarded, and every effort made to render it the most instructive, the most thrilling, the most solemn exercise during the month. And can any faithful pastor, any one who loves his Master in heaven and the souls of men, be unwilling to meet such an exercise, and to make all the preparation for it in his power? Can any service, during any ordinary month, be more precious, or more worthy of employing all the time, and all the labour which can be bestowed upon it?
The complaint, that the monthly prayer meeting is not well attended in most of our churches, is, as before observed, an old complaint, and I would that we could say it is not well founded. In many cases, not one half, nay, sometimes not one quarter part, even of the communicants are present; and, in general, very few indeed of those who are not church members, ever think of attending, unless it takes place in the afternoon of the Lord’s day. And, in truth, this was probably the main reason for the recommendation issued by our General Assembly a few years since, to transfer the observance from the evening of the first Monday of each month, to the afternoon of the first Sabbath. Until this transfer was adopted, only a small portion of our congregations were usually present at this service, and of course only a small part contributed to the pecuniary collection commonly made in connection with the service. But is it probable that, if the service itself were made what it ought to be, if indefatigable pains were taken to render it the most instructive, interesting and deeply exciting service in the whole month, that itwould be thus neglected? There would be no risk in answering this question with the most decisive negative. No, the moment it ceased to be the heavy, monotonous, commonplace exercise which we too commonly find it, it would draw the earnest attention, and the full assembly which generally follow ministrations of an elevated character. If every member of each congregation were taught by experience to expect to find this service rich in information, animating in Christian duty, and in every respect adapted to promote Christian edification, can any one doubt that it would be well attended? The writer of these lines would be very far from encouraging in any minister of the gospel the indulgence of a spirit of indolence for a moment, in any service; but he would say, with deliberate solemnity, if such a spirit be ever indulged, let it not be at the monthly concert in prayer, when his own soul, and the souls of all who hear him, ought to be led out of themselves to the largest concern for the kingdom of the Redeemer; when the desolations of fallen man rise in solemn array before his mind; when the wants and miseries of our lost world ought, with concentrated and unusual force, to move every heart; and when every feeling of love to the Master who died for us, and to the souls of perishing men, ought to fill the heart of every listening attendant with peculiar and unwonted sympathy, and the most fervent zeal for sending to them the only cure for their misery.
Nor is it difficult, in a variety of ways, to draw the special attention of a Christian flock to this monthly service. Let not only a specific notice of it be given on the preceding Sabbath, if it be observed on Monday evening, or in the morning of the day, if observed on Sabbath afternoon; but let the notice be couched in such language, accompanied with a sentence or two of such brief and comprehensive remarks, and preceded or followed by such pointed prayers as may be adapted to rouse the attention, and, in some measure, touch the feelings of every hearer.
Let the pastor encourage all who attend on this service to bring their children with them. Is it not desirable that our children, from their earliest years, should be habituated to the company and the language of prayer, and that they should be accustomed to the work of contributing something of their little savings for the benefit of those who are "perishing for lack of vision?" [Prov 29:18] If we ever expect them to feel right on this subject, we cannot begin too early to imbue their minds with benevolent sentiments, and to teach them to feel what it will be their duty to practice when they reach mature age. O how large a portion of Christian parents are deplorably delinquent in this, one of the primary elements of Christian educationleading their children to a throne of grace, and to the house of God, and leading them also early, by the united force of precept and example, to remember that, young as they are, they are debtors, deep debtors, to the kingdom of that Saviour in whose name they have been baptized.
When shall we have monthly concerts conducted in the spirit of these suggestions? When shall we see them bearing a character which shall warm the pastor’s own heart, draw around him the mass of his stated hearers, as well as of his church members, and constitute a little monthly era among his people? When that period shall arrive, it will mark a season of prosperity and joy in the church. It will be both the effect and the cause of better days, and will mark the purpose of our covenant God to have mercy on Zion. Come, Lord Jesus, O come quickly, thus to bless our half awake and struggling church!
