Thus, we are told of Luther that at first he dared not enter the pulpit. ![]() If they became so afterwards, it was grace that made them. The greatest preachers of the Gospel, with Paul at their head, have not been men naturally eloquent. His gift would probably have grown with the necessity. Moses' original awkwardness was no index to what, assisted by God's grace, he might ultimately have become, even as a speaker. Then there is the other fact, that gifts of speech are often latent till grace comes to evoke them. Lips touched by Divine grace possess a simple, natural eloquence of their own, far excelling the attempts of studied oratory. ![]() So Christ promises his disciples to give them in their hour of need what they shall speak ( Matthew 10:19). The Maker of speech, he might be trusted to aid its powers, when these were needed in his service. God would be with his mouth, and teach him what to say (ver. Paul was a man "rude in speech" ( 2 Corinthians 11:6), and came not with eloq The infirmity is often of advantage to the servant himself - keeping him humbled giving him to prayer, teaching him to rely on Divine grace, rousing him to effort, etc. His power is glorified in man's weakness.ģ. The work is more conspicuously his own.Ģ. Did not this carry with it the promise that whatever help he needed would be graciously vouchsafed? God has a purpose in sometimes calling to his service men who seem destitute of the gifts - the outward gifts - needful for his work.ġ. God knew all about his slowness of speech, and yet had sent him on this mission. In forgetting that God knew of this infirmity when he called him to the work. The smooth persuasive tongue, though pleasant to listen to, is not the weightiest in counsel.Ģ. What is chiefly wanted is not power of speech, but power of action and when it is felt that a man can act, a very limited amount of speech will serve his purpose (Cromwell, William the Silent, Bismarck, etc.). He forgot that the man of deep silent nature has a power of his own, which expresses itself through the very ruggedness and concentration of his speech and that oratory, while valuable for some purposes, is not the most essential gift in carrying through movements which are to leave a permanent impress on history. He did not possess it - though Stephen calls him "mighty in words" ( Acts 7:22) - and he was apt to overrate its influence. In exaggerating the value of a gift of mere eloquence. Moses was doubtless right in what he said of his natural difficulty of speech. Overwhelmed with the sense of unfitness, he again appeals to God, and asks to be relieved from duty. ![]() There was needed for such a work a man of persuasive tongue, of fluent, forcible, and impressive speech and his own utterance was hesitating and heavy. It seemed to him that in this respect he was the least qualified person God could have chosen. The difficulty which now oppressed him was his want of eloquence. Orr The longer Moses pondered the mission on which he was sent, the more he shrank from it. God's Wrath Will Fall Where His Service is Declined The Art of the Orator Undesirable in a Preacher Natural Infirmities in Relation to Moral Service Gifts Other than Eloquence an Element in Leadership The Fourth Difficulty: Moses Alleges Defect of Utterance
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