University of Virginia Library


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[I, a humble servant of the Lord]

PREFACE.

I, a humble servant of the Lord,
Having been requested again and again,
By numbers of people young and old,
To publish my sermons for the good of their friends.
Do now consent to their wishes,
And give unto men such as I have,
That all may read both saint and sinner,
And be directed to the heavenly path.
Trusting that those who may chance here to read,
Will not search for the rhetorical phrase,
For such I have not to give,
But rather for truth and give God the praise.
If theologians should herein read,
Who can better than I make plain the way,
I trust they'll not read behind the dark skeptical veil
But take their vision in the clear noonday.

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If the humble soul in search of light
Would here be aided on the heavenly march,
And be better enabled to bear his cross,
He must seek the truth with a pure heart.
With earnest prayer to our Heavenly Father
To bless the truth herein contained,
I conclude my preface with this saying,
Lord, let not my labors be in vain.
Chas. B. W. Gordon. Parsonage, 141 Harrison St., Petersburg, Va. Nov. 14, 1887.