Professor W. G. Elmslie, D.D.: Memoir and Sermons

Name: Professor W. G. Elmslie, D.D.: Memoir and Sermons
Author: Elmslie, William Gray

Elmslie, William Gray

Elmslie, William Gray, 1848-1889; Sermons, English -- 19th century; Theologians -- Scotland -- Biography

world, and to do unique deeds of valour for the kingdom of God.

Now I have said that the one remarkable thing about Joseph's boyhood,
the one thing that might excite your expectation about his future, was
that he dreamt dreams; he was a great dreamer in his youth. I can
understand many a shrewd, practical man saying that that was not much to
his credit: "A lad that is always dreaming dreams will not do much."
Quite true, if the one, the only purpose of life is to eat and drink and
to gather all the dirt together with the muck-rake; but if man has a
Divine destiny in him, if man lives in two worlds—a world that you see
with your eyes, a world where money is current, and another world where
your sovereigns are worth nothing, a world of truth and honour,
generosity, love, goodness, self-denial, moral achievement and victory,
then it comes to a great deal; it means very much for a boy's future if
he has dreams that are not of earth, but of heaven. There are dreams and
dreams. There are dreams that come of laziness, idleness, selfishness,
and over-feeding, gross nightmares, fit for swine; dreams coming of
self-indulgence and worldliness, poor grovelling things; a man's mind is
not much better for _them_. There are dreams that are born of a
back-boneless sentimentality, of sweet mock chivalry, that loves to
represent itself in pretty pictures; not much good comes of them. But
there are other dreams, that come out of a man's wide-awake activity;
dreams that are the vapours rising from a fervent spirit, from the
cooling of the machinery. They work out the character that God is
weaving in that lad or in that young girl. These dreams are prophetic;
they have something of heaven in them; they are something higher than
the common: from God they come; they are the threads and fibres by which
He would lead us on to do great deeds on earth, and at last receive us
as faithful and good servants of our Master. I do believe in the dreams
of youth, that come in at that window which is open heavenward in every
young soul, until the dust and dirt of earth cloud it over; the dreams
of romance, that stupid old people try to crush and drive out, and that
the world puts its heel upon; those dreams of friendship and honour, of
truth and purity, to be chosen rather than worldly gain; those dreams of
love, generous and tender, that shall make two lives knit together into
one of exceptional tenderness and goodness. There is the breath of
heaven here; these are the golden glows in the mists of life's morning,
that come from God, and are the guarantees of a splendid sunset on
earth, and beyond, a brighter dawn in heaven. Would to God that all of
us, when we are old men and women, may be able to think without shame
and remorse about the dreams of our youth; that the woman has been true
to her dreams, and has fulfilled the sweet, unselfish ideals of her
girlhood, and been a noble, loving wife and mother; that the lad has

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Opening the text

Professor W. G. Elmslie, D.D.: Memoir and SermonsElmslie, William Gray

Religion

Professor W. G. Elmslie, D.D.: Memoir and Sermons

Elmslie, William Gray

Elmslie, William Gray, 1848-1889; Sermons, English -- 19th century; Theologians -- Scotland -- Biography

world, and to do unique deeds of valour for the kingdom of God.

Now I have said that the one remarkable thing about Joseph's boyhood,
the one thing that might excite your expectation about his future, was
that he dreamt dreams; he was a great dreamer in his youth. I can
understand many a shrewd, practical man saying that that was not much to
his credit: "A lad that is always dreaming dreams will not do much."
Quite true, if the one, the only purpose of life is to eat and drink and
to gather all the dirt together with the muck-rake; but if man has a
Divine destiny in him, if man lives in two worlds—a world that you see
with your eyes, a world where money is current, and another world where
your sovereigns are worth nothing, a world of truth and honour,
generosity, love, goodness, self-denial, moral achievement and victory,
then it comes to a great deal; it means very much for a boy's future if
he has dreams that are not of earth, but of heaven. There are dreams and
dreams. There are dreams that come of laziness, idleness, selfishness,
and over-feeding, gross nightmares, fit for swine; dreams coming of
self-indulgence and worldliness, poor grovelling things; a man's mind is
not much better for _them_. There are dreams that are born of a
back-boneless sentimentality, of sweet mock chivalry, that loves to
represent itself in pretty pictures; not much good comes of them. But
there are other dreams, that come out of a man's wide-awake activity;
dreams that are the vapours rising from a fervent spirit, from the
cooling of the machinery. They work out the character that God is
weaving in that lad or in that young girl. These dreams are prophetic;
they have something of heaven in them; they are something higher than
the common: from God they come; they are the threads and fibres by which
He would lead us on to do great deeds on earth, and at last receive us
as faithful and good servants of our Master. I do believe in the dreams
of youth, that come in at that window which is open heavenward in every
young soul, until the dust and dirt of earth cloud it over; the dreams
of romance, that stupid old people try to crush and drive out, and that
the world puts its heel upon; those dreams of friendship and honour, of
truth and purity, to be chosen rather than worldly gain; those dreams of
love, generous and tender, that shall make two lives knit together into
one of exceptional tenderness and goodness. There is the breath of
heaven here; these are the golden glows in the mists of life's morning,
that come from God, and are the guarantees of a splendid sunset on
earth, and beyond, a brighter dawn in heaven. Would to God that all of
us, when we are old men and women, may be able to think without shame
and remorse about the dreams of our youth; that the woman has been true
to her dreams, and has fulfilled the sweet, unselfish ideals of her
girlhood, and been a noble, loving wife and mother; that the lad has

Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.

Professor W. G. Elmslie, D.D.: Memoir and Sermons

Professor W. G. Elmslie, D.D.: Memoir and Sermons

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