Phineas F. Bresee - A Prince In Israel - Media Sabda Org

In this way, he accomplished two things. First, his preaching was always in line with his
intellectual and spiritual development, and the subjects chosen were evidently revealed to him by
the Holy Spirit, as best suited to his own needs, and those of his hearers Second, he never lacked a
supply of fresh, new sermons.
Let me say at this point that his sermons were thoroughly prepared. He did not trust his ability,
skill, or experience. He did not rely on the inspiration of the moment or the occasion to carry him
through. He always did his best, and gave his best in sustained, prayerful thought and study. Having
let the sermon saturate mind and heart, the next step in his process of preparation, was to take his
pen in hand and prayerfully write a sermon outline. These outlines were quite full, containing
perhaps one-quarter of the discourse, as afterward preached. One characteristic of his sermons was
their remarkable fulness of thought. Some of them could easily be expanded into books. They were
marvelously rich in ideas, illustrations, and imagery. He was gifted with historical imagination in
a high degree, and would begin with a vivid picture of the scene of the text.
The final stage of the process of preparation was what he called "soaking'? his sermon. For the
last twenty-five years of his life it was his custom to go to bed for this purpose. He would then close
his eyes and review over and over his sermon outline, until he had committed it to memory, not
exactly verbatim, but sufficiently to enable him to repeat it substantially from beginning to end. He
admitted that this was very slavish work, and that it would probably have been better if he had
adopted a less laborious method in his early ministry, but stated that he was too old to change.
His Eloquence
His eloquence was of a high type, and sometimes so fiery and impetuous that his hearers were
carried away, almost forgot where they were, and were seemingly transported into realms of glory.
His sermons abounded in lofty climaxes, and, as he rose in the scale of inspired and impassioned
utterance of the sublimities and infinitudes of the grace of God, he took on in his personal
appearance much of the glory and grandeur of the mighty gospel which he proclaimed. His eyes
seemed to burn, his face shine, and his whole being glow, as with all his physical, mental, and
spiritual power, he preached a salvation which destroyed sin, and lifted the pardoned culprit from
the lowest depths of degradation to the shining summits of the mountains of God.
His Unction
Few men had such unction as he. The fire of God seemed to burn through his being, as he
proclaimed with all his might the glorious message of full salvation. His flashing eyes, rich and
vibrant voice, and compelling presence, all heightened the effect of his fiery eloquence. As we
listened with rapt attention to the fervent appeals of this "regnant man," we felt that his great soul
was all ablaze with the love of God shed abroad in his heart by the Holy Ghost.
I heard him first in the summer of 1889, at Beulah Park campmeeting, in Oakland, California. He
preached on the divine Presence in the pulpit. I do not remember much of what he said, but all
around him there seemed to be an atmosphere aglow with heavenly radiance, and palpitating with
the very life of God. I was moved as I had never been before by the preaching of any man.