God: "I looked for someone to take a stand for me, and stand in the gap" (Ezekiel 22:30)
It is an obvious error for all to see in those ministers of the Church who make such a wide gulf between their preaching and their living. They will study hard, to preach exactly, and yet study little or not at all to live exactly. All the week long is little enough to study how to speak for two hours; and yet one hour seems too much time to study how to live all the week. They are loath to misplace a word in their sermons; yet they think nothing of misplacing affections, words, and actions in the course of their lives. Oh, how curiously I have heard some men preach, and how carelessly have I seen them live!
Now is the school time – then the eternal holiday. Now is the tossing on the waves of a troublesome world – then the quiet harbor. Now is the scattering – then is the gathering. Now is the time of sowing – then is the harvest period. Now is the working season – then the wages. Now is the cross – then the Crown.