i It 
 
 
 
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tihtary of ^he t:heolo0ical ^eminarjp 
 
 PRINCETON . NEW JERSEY 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 The Stuazi: Fund 
 
 BV 4211 .S56 1879 | 
 
 Simpson, Matthew, 1811-1884. 
 Lectures on preaching 
 
I^ECTURES ON f^ REACHING, 
 
 DELIVERED BEFORE THE THEOLOGICAL DEPARTMENT OF 
 YALE COLLEGE. 
 
 MATTHEW^SIMPSON, D.D., LL.D., 
 
 A Bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church. 
 
 NEW YORK: 
 NELSON & PHILLIPS. 
 
 CINCINNATI: 
 HITCHCOCK & ^^^ALDEN. 
 
 1879. 
 
Copj'right 1879, by 
 NELSON & PHILLIPS, 
 
 New York. 
 
PREFACE 
 
 '' I ^HESE Lectures have not been prepared as a 
 treatise on homiletics, or on the pastoral office. 
 The " Lyman-Beecher Lectureship " in Yale College 
 was founded to supplement the regular course of in- 
 struction in Theology with the suggestions of those 
 actively engaged in ministerial work ; and hence its 
 range is limited, and the work of the Lecturer par- 
 takes largely of personal experience and observations. 
 The writer has been, during their preparation and 
 delivery, so constantly pressed with ecclesiastical 
 duties, that he has had little time to seek authorities 
 or to cultivate elegance of style. He designed the 
 Lectures to be the simple expression of his experi- 
 ence and observations through a somewhat extended 
 ministry, and in their form suited rather to the ear 
 than to the library. As they have been extensively 
 circulated through the religious press, from phono- 
 graphic reports, as well as from his manuscript, he 
 has not judged it proper to alter the style, or to 
 
4 Preface. 
 
 change expressions which were intended for the 
 lecture-room rather than for the pubhshed volume. 
 
 The Lectures are now submitted not only to the 
 Classes which heard them, but to all Students for 
 the Ministry; and, also, to the laity of the Churches, 
 who are the friends of the Pulpit. If they shall 
 prove in some degree beneficial to young Ministers 
 in stimulating them to a more earnest devotion to 
 their holy work, and to the acquisition of greater 
 power and usefulness, the writer will feel that his 
 labor has not been in vain. 
 
 Philadelphia, January 2^, 1879. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 -♦•♦- 
 
 Lecture ^*°^ 
 
 I. Thk Nature and Work of the Christian Ministry. 7 
 
 II. The Call TO THE Ministry 38 
 
 III. The Preacher Personally 67 
 
 IV. Indirect Prepar.\tion FOR THE Pulpit 97 
 
 V. The Prepar.^tion of A Sermon 130 
 
 VI. The Delivery of a Sermon 166 
 
 VII. Ministerial Power 198 
 
 VIII. The Influence of the Pastorate on the Pulpit.. . 236 
 
 IX. Collateral and Miscellaneous Work 262 
 
 X. Is the Modern Pulpit A Failure? 297 
 
THSOLOCIC:LL 
 
 , - f 
 
 LECTURES ON PREACHING. 
 
 LECTURE I. 
 
 THE NATURE AND WORK OF THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY. 
 
 HOW natural is it for a speaker to wish to say 
 something before he begins ! Hence, young 
 gentlemen, I may be indulged in a few preliminary 
 words. 
 
 First of all, I desire to express my high estimate 
 of the practical wisdom and catholic spirit which in- 
 fluenced the founder of this Chair. It is, so far as I 
 know, the first endowment of a lectureship wholly 
 devoted to preaching. Homiletics and pastoral the- 
 ology, including preaching, have long been embraced 
 in the curriculum of the theological seminary ; but 
 this Chair singles out the one department of preach- 
 ing, and devotes special attention to it. This is an 
 index which shows the movement of Christian mind, 
 and which, also, points to the future exaltation of 
 preaching. Being the grand agency by which God 
 has determined to save them that believe, it is the 
 most important instrumentality ever committed to 
 man ; and if so, deserves more attention than would 
 belong to a mere department of sacred rhetoric. 
 
8 Lectures on Preaching, 
 
 I have no doubt that, while it may be imperfectly 
 filled — while some of us may add but little, if any 
 thing, to the accumulated stores of knowledge, or be 
 successful in presenting stronger motives to young 
 ministers — yet there will be thoughts and sugges- 
 tions uttered from time to time from this Chair, which 
 shall awaken increasing interest among candidates 
 for the ministry, and among Christians generally. 
 Then the catholicity of spirit which made the plat- 
 form so broad that " a minister of the Gospel of any 
 evangelical denomination " might stand upon it, will 
 command the approbation of the Christian world. 
 The corporation of Yale College and its theological 
 faculty have manifested the same enlarged and lib- 
 eral spirit in selecting ministers of various Churches, 
 and have drawn on the Old World as well as on the 
 New. The utterances which have been already made 
 from this desk by distinguished and talented speak- 
 ers have not only reached the hearts of those classes 
 which heard them, but have gone forth through the 
 press, and have influenced hundreds of candidates 
 to higher aspirations and to more thorough conse- 
 cration. 
 
 I desire, also, to acknowledge specially the courtesy 
 of the corporation and theological faculty in extend- 
 ing to me the invitation to occupy this Chair for the 
 present term. Yet I do not understand the compli- 
 ment to be so much personal, as an expression of 
 their continued purpose to invite ministers from va- 
 
Introdiictoiy. 9 
 
 rious denominations, and from different sections of 
 the country. Had this invitation been one of or- 
 dinary character, I should have pron)ptly declined. 
 My ecclesiastical duties are so constant and so press- 
 ing, as to leave me but little time for preparing lect- 
 ures; and the demands for labor are so numerous and 
 so varied, that my strength is taxed to the utmost. 
 I wished, however, to respond to this manifestation 
 of Christian courtesy, and to aid in showing to the 
 world that Protestant Christendom is essentially one 
 — that while we do not wholly agree, we know at the 
 same time how to differ and yet how to love. Besides, 
 I found my Methodism somewhat at stake. One of 
 your professors, whom I profoundly honor, suggested 
 that, though busily occupied, I could at least find time 
 to " tell my experience." So I, who am of Western 
 birth and education, and a minister in the Methodist 
 Episcopal Church, am here to address you, who are 
 chiefly sons of New England, and Congregationalists 
 m creed and Church polity. Verily the world moves ! 
 A hundred years ago this would have been an im- 
 possibility. 
 
 A few years since a distinguished journalist* pub- 
 lished a book entitled, " What I Know about Farm- 
 ing." I am not sure that his success in that line 
 would lead many to follow his footsteps, yet I have 
 thought that the lecturer in this Chair might not in- 
 aptly term his utterances, " What I Know about 
 
 * Horace Greeley. 
 
10 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 Preaching;" for he is not to lecture systematically on 
 homiletics, nor on the pastoral office — a work well 
 performed by your regular professors — but to supple- 
 ment their teachings by his own experience, and by 
 gleanings from the way-side. 
 
 Thus I meet you to-day in the hall of one of the 
 oldest and noblest institutions of the land, and in the 
 presence of men of mind and of might. Yet let us 
 forget the presence of these sages, and the smiles 
 of beauty around us, and address ourselves as fellow- 
 students to the lesson of the hour ; for such we are. 
 We differ in age, but are one in aim and in heart. You 
 have pursued your academic and collegiate training, 
 and are now interested in theological investigations. 
 Your earnest thought is turned toward the future ; 
 and the inquiry is, How can you most successfully 
 preach the Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ ? How 
 rapidly the years pass away! It seems to me scarce- 
 ly more than yesterday since, as a young man, I was 
 asking myself the same question. I remember how 
 the future opened before me, and what a responsi- 
 bility pressed upon my heart as I thought of stand- 
 ing in the sacred desk and preaching to my fellow- 
 men. Vast as the work seemed to me then, it has 
 grown upon me in magnitude. Each succeeding 
 year I behold in clearer light the importance and re- 
 sponsibility of the sacred office. I recognize to-day 
 the immense vastness of the work, and my inade- 
 quacy to treat it as its importance demands ; or even 
 
Importance of Preaching. 1 1 
 
 to picture before you that ideal which has for years 
 beckoned me forward, but which I have never been 
 able to attain. I am consoled, however, by the 
 thought that you have other instructors at whose 
 feet you reverently sit, and who will say to you in 
 fitting language that which I may leave unsaid. If 
 I may even chance to vary from their teachings, or, 
 Arminian as I am, to utter something heterodox, it 
 may but serve to stir your thoughts, and to afford 
 your professors an excellent opportunity to add va- 
 riety to their lectures by exposing my fallacies, or by 
 proving the unsoundness of my views. 
 
 Preaching is the chief work, but not the only 
 work, of a Christian minister. He organizes Churches, 
 leads the public devotions of the people, administers 
 the ordinances, and superintends important move- 
 ments both within and without his own congrega- 
 tion. Yet all these works bear a distinct relation to 
 his office as a preacher ; they either issue from it, or 
 are auxiliary to it. St. Paul magnified the office of 
 the preacher above all other departments of Church 
 work when he said to the Corinthians : " Christ sent 
 me not to baptize, but to preach the Gospel." 
 
 The first great requisite to the success of the 
 young minister is, as I think, a proper appreciation 
 of the character of the wonderful work upon which 
 be is entering, especially in its nature, duties, and 
 responsibility. Only to a few prominent points can 
 we now refer. 
 
12 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 First, /// its origin it is ordained of God. Other 
 professions arise out of human wants, or are essen- 
 tial to human comforts. They vary according to the 
 circumstances or the progress of humanity. The 
 teacher is required to educate childhood and youth. 
 The tailor, the shoemaker, and the hatter are essen- 
 tial to our convenience and health. The physician is 
 needed wherever sickness prevails, the surgeon where- 
 ever accidents occur. The profession of the attor- 
 ney, unknown in savage lands, is demanded where 
 laws become complicated, and where interests be- 
 come conflicting. Christian preaching arises, not so 
 much from a perceived necessity, as from God's 
 special ordination. So true is this, that where 
 preaching is unknown or neglected, the demand for 
 it is not so strong as where it is generally established 
 and regularly maintained. Yet in all ages, where 
 there has been worship there has been a ministry. 
 The religious idea of the race prompts to worship, 
 and in times of emergency or in seasons of distress 
 to make offerings to some superior power. These 
 offerings are made through persons in some way 
 selected and set apart for this purpose. Savages 
 have their incantations, their sacrifices, and their 
 priests. The Indians of our Western wilds have 
 their medicine-men, who not only heal the body, but 
 profess to hold communion with the Unseen. The 
 Chinese have their Joss-houses and their priests, 
 even though their prayers may be written on paper 
 
Pagan Worship. 1 3 
 
 or painted on wood, and whirled round by machinery. 
 Ancient history, in its earliest outlines, finds priests 
 among the Egyptians, and soothsayers among the 
 Bab}'lonians. Phoenicia, Greece, and Rome had their 
 deities, their temples, their oracles, and their offici- 
 ating priests. They slew sacrifices, inspected the 
 entrails, and divined the will of the gods. They 
 were so closely connected with all the movements of 
 the nation that assemblies were convened or broken 
 up, war was begun or terminated, great enterprises 
 set on foot or abandoned, as the augurs interpreted 
 the omens or signs which they had seen. In all 
 these cases the ceremonial was almost every thing, 
 the instruction next to nothing. Yet among the 
 ancients there were mysteries in various systems, 
 which included both ceremonies and doctrines. The 
 teachings were for the few who wished to learn, and 
 hence received the name of mystery — which St. Paul 
 transferred into the Christian writings — the word 
 not meaning, as I think, secrecy, or what is difficult 
 of understanding, but a system of religion, or a 
 doctrine in that system. The priests, to a certain 
 extent, instructed the people, and were also defenders 
 of the poor and oppressed. The altar was a place of 
 refuge, where the offender sought safety, and placed 
 himself under the protection of the deity. Those 
 who ministered at temples or altars were invested, in 
 the estimation of the people, with a peculiar sanctity, 
 and were supposed to hold communion with the 
 
14 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 gods. Both in the temples and at the oracles women 
 served as well as men. The vestal virgins were 
 esteemed sacred, and crimes on their part, or offenses 
 against them, were most severely punished ; yet the 
 sanctity with which they were regarded was something 
 wholly apart from a pure and high morality. In India 
 the priestly caste is highly esteemed ; they are the 
 students, the writers, and teachers. How the ideas 
 of sacrifices and priesthood arose we need not now 
 inquire. The fact stands out that always and every- 
 where there were officiating ministers, and that so- 
 ciety regarded them with veneration and awe. 
 
 From Scripture history we learn that the offering 
 of sacrifices was at least as old as the time of Abel, 
 his offering having been in some manner visibly ac- 
 cepted of God. Religious instruction was also given 
 by public teachers. We are informed by St. Jude 
 that " Enoch also, the seventh from Adam, prophe- 
 sied." This prophesying anciently embraced not 
 only visions of the future, but instruction in religious 
 duties. We are also informed that Noah was a 
 preacher of righteousness, and that, coming out of 
 the ark, he offered sacrifices. The various families 
 and nations of the earth, descending from him, may 
 thus have received both these ideas. 
 
 The direct and authoritative establishment of the 
 ministry is found in the Jewish system, A whole 
 tribe was set apart for the performance of its various 
 functions ; a specific family was selected for its ho- 
 
Jewish Priesthood. 1 5 
 
 lier duties. These priests read to the people, in their 
 large convocations, from the book of the law ; but 
 the principal part of their work was a ceremonial 
 connected with the tabernacle and the temple. The 
 Christian minister is not, however, a successor of the 
 Jewish priests, so far as their offering of sacrifices 
 is concerned. In that respect the law was " a 
 shadow of good things to come ;" and Christ has 
 come. He " is the end of " that " law for righteous- 
 ness to every one that believeth." The ceremonial law 
 must needs have been performed to make the Jew a 
 righteous man. Our Saviour said to John the Bap- 
 tist : " Thus it becometh us to fulfill all righteous- 
 ness." That righteousness which came by the cere- 
 monial law is now supplanted by faith in Christ. 
 You, young gentlemen, are not to be priests. The 
 one, eternal, all-sufficient sacrifice has been offered 
 by our " great High-priest that has passed into the 
 hea\'ens." Instead of priests, he has given to his 
 Church " apostles, evangelists, pastors, and teachers." 
 The Christian ministry of to-day more nearly resem- 
 bles the prophets, who were selected by the direct 
 will of God, without reference to tribe or family, to 
 warn, to admonish, and to instruct, as well as to tell 
 what should be in the coming years. To these proph- 
 ets Christ himself is likened. Moses said : " The 
 Lord thy God shall raise up unto thee a prophet from 
 the midst of thee, of thy brethren, like unto me." And 
 in the Epistle to the Hebrews it is said : " God, who 
 
i6 Lfxtures on Preaching. 
 
 at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time 
 past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these 
 last days spoken unto us by his Son." In this speak- 
 ing sense you are to be prophets rather than priests. 
 The divine appointment of the Christian ministry 
 is specifically set forth in the New Testament. Christ 
 selected his twelve apostles. He had called them in- 
 dividually to follow him ; he had gathered them 
 around him for instruction ; but their sending forth 
 was a public, solemn act. He had retired into a 
 mountain ; all night he had been in prayer ; and 
 when it was day he called his disciples around him, 
 and out of them he chose twelve, whom he sent 
 abroad to preach the Gospel and to heal all manner 
 of diseases. Christ represents himself as sent into 
 the world to preach. He says : " I must preach the 
 kingdom of God to other cities also ; for therefore am 
 I sent." And he quoted as applicable to himself the 
 well-known prophecy of Isaiah : " The Spirit of the 
 Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to 
 preach the Gospel to the poor." In his inimitable 
 prayer he says of his disciples : " As thou hast sent 
 me into the world, even so have I also sent them 
 into the world." Among his last words were those 
 of the great commission : " Go ye into all the world, 
 and preach the Gospel to every creature." In enter- 
 ing into the ministry, then, you ally yourselves with 
 God himself ; you take upon you an office which he 
 himself has specifically ordained. 
 
TJie Preacher, a Herald. 17 
 
 Secondly, T/ie greatness of the ministerial office is 
 also seen from the nature of its work. This is- illus- 
 trated by comparing it to various earthly offices and 
 duties. The word '• preach," in its primary significa- 
 tion, means to proclaim. Kernx, a herald, was an 
 ofificer carrying and announcing a message, and was 
 usually sent by a king, or by a commanding officer 
 in the army. His message was short, and was given 
 without explanations or reasons. So John the Bap- 
 tist simply proclaimed : "Repent ye, for the kingdoni 
 of heaven is at hand ! " In the same way Christ en- 
 tered on his own ministry ; and when the disciples 
 were first sent forth, the simple message he gave 
 them was, " Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at 
 hand." The man was a herald or preacher, no 
 matter what the character of the tidings which he 
 bore. Jonah was sent to the Ninevites, and his brief 
 message was : " Yet forty days, and Nineveh shall be 
 overthrown." So, also, Nehemiah was accused of 
 appointing preachers to proclaim himself king. 
 
 As the Gospel was unfolded, this idea of a herald 
 was enlarged by making it the bearer of good tidings ; 
 and, instead of heralding, we have evangelizing. In- 
 stead of Christ saying as he did to his disciples at 
 first, " Go heralding," we have in the great commis- 
 sion, " Go discipling." You are sent forth not only 
 to cry — not only to cry, " All flesh is grass ;" but to 
 erj also, " The word of the Lord endureth forever." 
 Your office is not to speak of yourselves, not to speak 
 
1 8 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 words which the wisest men have uttered, but to 
 speak the message which God has given. This mes- 
 sage of glad tidings he has put in writing. It has 
 been printed. We have it in our hands. It is made 
 " plain upon tables, that he may run that readeth it." 
 
 The office of an embassador is one of the highest 
 that can be filled by a citizen. He bears a message 
 from his Government — a message to which he may 
 not add, and from which he must not subtract. His 
 words are the words of the nation ; his person is se- 
 cured by the power of the nation ; he represents in 
 person the honor and dignity of the nation. The 
 grander and stronger the Government, the greater is 
 the embassador. What, then, must be an embassa- 
 dor for Christ .-* If you enter on this office, you are 
 embassadors sent by Christ to represent him, and to 
 utter his words to all the people. He is pledged to 
 care for you, and to protect you ; and you are not to 
 think of yourselves as your own, but as belonging to 
 Christ. You are to take his words and utter them 
 in the ears of the people, whether they will hear, or 
 whether they will forbear. 
 
 The preacher is represented as a watchman. " I 
 have set watchmen upon thy walls, O Jerusalem ! " 
 The Lord said to Ezekiel : " Son of man, I have made 
 thee a watchman unto the house of Israel : therefore 
 hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning 
 from me." The watchman guards the city ; the lives 
 of the people are in his hands ; his post is one of in- 
 
The P readier, a Watchman. 19 
 
 finite moment. Your office is to watch against ene- 
 mies, against clangers. It requires a firm purpose, a 
 sleepless eye. Often on the ocean I have gone to 
 the prow of the vessel and looked out into the dark- 
 ness of the night. I ever found a watchman there — 
 not one moment from his post — his eye gazing far 
 over the sea, where he might discern at the greatest 
 distance, and at the earliest moment, any cause of 
 possible danger. The lives of the crew and passen- 
 gers were in his hands. The mist might come down 
 heavily, the wind might blow furiously, the storm 
 rage incessantly, but still on and ever the watchman 
 looks out in the one direction. The whales may 
 spout in multitudes around the vessel, or the whole 
 sea behind may be in a phosphorescent glow, but he 
 heeds them not. His one great duty is to look 
 ahead. So you are watchmen ; you are on the ship ; 
 the vessel may be running toward shore ; there may 
 be breakers ahead, and you are to sound the alarm ! 
 False teachers may be around you ; the literature of 
 the day may be corrupting ; you may find infidel ideas 
 spread among your people ; the youth may be in dan- 
 ger of being ensnared and led astray. You are God's 
 commissioned watchmen, to guard them from danger. 
 This very naturally leads us to think of the minis- 
 try as a work. It is so in all its forms, from begin- 
 ning to end, from youth to age. " If a man desire the 
 office of a bishop, he desireth a good work." Jesus 
 said to his disciples : " Work while it is called to- 
 
20 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 clay." Paul and Barnabas were " separated for the 
 work " whereunto they were called. We are " work- 
 ers together with God." This work is compared 
 sometimes to a vineyard, in which the minister is to 
 bear the burden and heat of the day. St. Paul speaks 
 of him as a "husbandman that laboreth," and he 
 directed Timothy to be " a workman." He also 
 said : " Let the elders that rule well be counted 
 worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in 
 word and doctrine." And again : " The laborer is 
 worthy of his reward." Christ says : " Pray ye, there- 
 fore, the Lord of the harvest, that he would send 
 forth laborers into his harvest." No labor is heavier 
 than that of the harvest field, especially as performed 
 in ancient times. Some of us who are older remem- 
 ber well the severity of the labor, when we bent all 
 day over the leaning grain in the rays of the hot sun. 
 Tfie field was large, the grain was caught handful by 
 handful while the sickle reaped, and night came only 
 to give a short rest to gather strength for the next 
 day. Such is your work. "Say not ye, There are 
 yet four months, and then cometh harvest." The 
 field is already white. That field is the world : you 
 are the reapers ; the grain is ripe and ready to perish. 
 " He that reapeth receiveth wages." Some of the 
 grain is falling, and the plaintive voice is on the 
 breeze, " The harvest is past, the summer is ended, 
 and I am not saved." If you have ever looked at 
 the ministry as a life of ease, either abandon the 
 
The Minister, a Sei'vant. 21 
 
 thought, or at once abandon the ministry. It is a 
 busy hive, with no room for drones. There is work 
 in the pulpit, and work out of the pulpit ; work in 
 the study, and work out of the study ; work pub- 
 licly and work privately. Paul worked, preaching 
 and warning the people from house to house, by 
 night and by day. Of the disciples it is said : " Daily, 
 in the temple and in every house, they ceased not to 
 teach and preach Jesus." St. Augustine says : 
 " Nothing in this life is more difficult, laborious, and 
 dangerous than the life of a presbyter." Luther 
 says : " The labors of a minister exhaust the very 
 marrow from the bones, and hasten forward old age 
 and death." Of the man who hid his talent it is 
 said: "Thou wicked and slothful servant." Sloth- 
 fulness is represented as the height of wickedness. 
 Men may afford to take their ease in other callings ; 
 they may rest in the heat of the day, or take shelter 
 from the storm, but the minister must not, dare not, 
 rest. Nor will there ever be invented moral mow- 
 ing-machines to take the place of the old-fashioned 
 sickles of the pulpit. 
 
 The minister not only labors, but he serves. The 
 word viijiistcr signifies a servant. It once had not 
 the honor and dignity which to- day is attached to it. 
 St. Paul repeatedly calls himself "a serv-ant of Jesus 
 Christ," or, as you well know, young gentlemen, a 
 slave. When he alluded to his preaching he said : 
 " We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the 
 
22 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 Lord ; and ourselves your servants for C hrist's sake." 
 Christ set us an example by girding himself and 
 washing his disciples' feet. He arrayed himself in 
 the garb of a servant. " He riseth from supper, and 
 laid aside his garments ; and took a towel, and girded 
 himself After that he poureth water into a basin, 
 and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe 
 them with the towel wherewith he was girded." It 
 is added : " So after he had washed their feet, and 
 had taken his garments, and was set down again, he 
 said unto them, Know ye what I have done to you ? 
 Ye call me Master and Lord : and ye say well ; for 
 so I am. If I then, your Lord and Master, have 
 washed your feet ; ye also ought to wash one an- 
 other's feet. For I have given you an example, that 
 ye should do as I have done to you. Verily, verily, 
 I say unto you. The servant is not greater than his 
 Lord ; neither is he that is sent greater than he that 
 sent him. If ye know these things, happy are ye if 
 ye do them." We cannot mistake such a lesson as 
 this. Our work is a service ; the poorest and the 
 weakest have claims upon us. We are also informed 
 that the way to true greatness is through service — 
 " He that will be the greatest among you, let him be 
 the servant of all." 
 
 We have also the example of Christ in his general 
 service to humanity. He says : " The Son of man 
 came not to be ministered unto, but to minister." 
 We find him "always doing good." He comforted 
 
The Ministry, a Service. 23 
 
 the sorrowing, poured sight upon the blind, opened 
 the deaf ears, and raised the sick from beds of afflic- 
 tion. He passed by no form of degradation, no loath- 
 someness of disease. He touched the poor outcast 
 leper, and made him clean. What a busy life of serv- 
 ice did Jesus lead ! On foot he traveled over the 
 hills and valleys of Palestine. He preached in the 
 temple and in the synagogues ; on the mountain-side 
 and by the shore of the sea ; to vast congregations 
 and to single individuals. He taught the multitudes 
 all day, and spent parts of the night on the mount- 
 ain-side in prayer ; talked to his disciples while they 
 walked, until, hungry, they plucked the heads of 
 wheat to eat. Weary he sat down at the well of Ja- 
 cob, and yet, in his weariness, spoke those words of 
 life that still thrill the world. That sublime utter- 
 ance, " God is a Spirit, and they that worship him 
 must worship him in spirit and in truth," is still ring- 
 ing th]-ough the earth. He was never too weary to 
 do good. 
 
 The service we owe is the service, first, of body, 
 soul, and spirit to God, which the apostle declares a 
 reasonable service — consecrated to God, devoted per- 
 petually to him, as a sacrifice, slain, and yet living. 
 Then we owe a service to humanity. As Christ gave 
 himself to the service of the world, so he dedicates 
 all who are consecrated to him to a like service. 
 That service is, teaching the children, comforting the 
 sorrowing, relieving the poor and wretched, following 
 
24 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 the wanderer, reclaiming the prodigal, bringing home 
 the outcast, lifting up the downtrodden, removing^ 
 burdens from the oppressed, visiting the prisoner, 
 substituting smiles for frowns, and blessings for 
 curses. It is to purify, elevate, and ennoble society 
 every-where. There is not a human being within the 
 sphere of his influence to whom he is not a debtor. 
 St. Paul says : " I am debtor both to the Greeks, and 
 to the Barbarians ; both to the wise, and to the un- 
 wise." This obligation rests upon us, because we are 
 stewards of the manifold grace of God. He has given 
 us the knowledge of the truth, the experience of 
 grace ; not for ourselves alone, but for others. The 
 steward who embezzles for himself the money intrust- 
 ed to his care to be paid to others is no more guilty 
 than the minister who, receiving gifts of grace for all 
 around him, fails to bestow those gifts upon those for 
 whom they were designed. 
 
 The ground of your working for men is not their 
 deserts ; you teach them not because they deserve to 
 be taught, but because God has given you his truth, 
 and has sent you to save them. You are never to 
 turn away from any one because he neglects you, 
 misrepresents you, or maltreats you. The worse the 
 man is, the more imperative is the duty to try to save 
 him ; the nearer he is to ruin, the more intense should 
 be your effort to rescue him. Christ stooped from 
 heaven to save men ; and the minister must stoop to 
 rescue the lowest of the low. So, as a good house- 
 
TJie Minister, a Builder. 25 
 
 holder, you are to bring out of the treasury thhigs 
 both new and old, and to offer a wedding-garment to 
 every guest, that he may sit down to the table when 
 the Master shall appear. 
 
 The Church of God is represented under the figure 
 of a temple. VVe are builders. The foundation is 
 composed of the prophets and apostles, Jesus Christ 
 himself being the chief corner-stone. Slowly, yet 
 surely, the edifice rises ; member after member is 
 joined into its rising structure, as living stones. 
 Some of the materials we place in that building are 
 as gold and silver and precious stones — educated, 
 trained, polished. Christlike. But in our haste and 
 indolence we are liable to introduce others, which are 
 like wood, hay, and stubble. They will not stand the 
 day of God's examination. The great Architect casts 
 them away, and our labor is lost. We ourselves, if 
 so happy as to be in that grand edifice, shall be tried 
 as by fire. 
 
 You are shepherds set by the Lord Jesus to watch 
 over the flock which he has purchased with his own 
 blood. You are to rescue and bring back any wan- 
 dering sheep. You are soldiers in the army of Christ, 
 marshaled under the Captain of our salvation. The 
 enemies are around ; the contest thickens ; you are 
 commanded to go forward. Where the battle rages 
 hottest, there is the post of honor. How constantly 
 should the arms be ready, that the word of command 
 may be obeyed ! And yet, how prone are we to 
 
26 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 lag behind, and to wish for hours of safety and of 
 ease. 
 
 Thirdly, 77i:' transcendent greatness of the ministry 
 is seen in the results to be acJiievcd. As a teacher, the 
 minister takes the word of God to instruct the multi- 
 tude ; but his teaching far surpasses in its scope the 
 teachings of the schools. Their field is limited, this 
 is infinite. It reaches from eternity to eternity. Its 
 glance is over all matter, and it treats of angels and 
 of God. The professors in college, the lecturers in 
 universities, are well satisfied when they have impart- 
 ed the truth clearly, and when their students compre- 
 hend it ; but at that point the teaching of the minis- 
 ter is but begun. The raw recruit in the army 
 understands the word of command, and knows what 
 is to be done, but fails to perform correctly or grace- 
 fully. The young lady at her piano knows the notes, 
 understands the keys of her instrument, perceives 
 what keys ought to be touched ; but untrained fingers 
 fail to bring out the music. The minister may teach 
 his audience the doctrine of repentance, may explain 
 its nature and mode, and still his work is but begun. 
 He is not merely to teach his audience how to repent, 
 but to bring them to repentance ; not to teach merely 
 the nature of prayer, but to bring his congregation to 
 pray. He is not merely to present the cross of 
 Christ, but to lead the people to its foot. He is not 
 merely to tell of the forgiveness of sin, and of the 
 conscious joy of redeeming love, but to bring his 
 
RcsuliS of Prcacliing. 27 
 
 sympathizing hearers into the full enjoyment of those 
 glorious blessings. How transcendently glorious, 
 and yet how difficult, the work of the preacher! He 
 stands before an audience of hundreds of souls. 
 They are of every possible grade. Some are Chris- 
 tians of partial maturity ; some are babes in Christ ; 
 some are thoughtful inquirers ; some are unawakened 
 sinners ; some are hardened scoffers ; some are pro- 
 fessed infidels ; some are moral and honest in their 
 outward lives ; others are intemperate, profane, lust- 
 ful, or covetous. To that assembly he presents the 
 Lord Jesus Christ. He holds up before them, as 
 though he saw him, the blessed Saviour, as if present 
 before them. He exhibits him in his majesty and in 
 his condescension, in his purity and in his compas- 
 sion, in his omnipotence and in the boundlessness of 
 his love. He cries : " Behold the Lamb of God, that 
 taketh away the sin of the world ! " " Look unto me, 
 and be ye saved, all the ends of the earth !" As he 
 holds this divine Saviour before the eyes of his con- 
 gregation, and bears witness of his power, they see 
 and feel, repent and believe. The heart which at 
 first says, 
 
 " Depth of mercy ! can there be 
 Mercy still reserved for me ? " 
 
 looking at this holy vision, feels a glorious change, 
 and exultingly cries out, 
 
 " God is love ! I know, I feel : 
 Jesus weeps, and loves me still." 
 
28 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 His precious promise is fulfilled: ''And I, if I be 
 lifted up, will draw all men unto me." 
 
 Your work, young gentlemen, is to take that multi- 
 tudinous assemblage of variant characters, circum- 
 stances, and habits, and bring them into the image of 
 Christ. Those weak, imperfect, impure, and sinful 
 beings must be transformed into the likeness of the 
 glorious Saviour. Your work is expressed in the 
 language of the apostle : " Whom we preach, warning 
 every man, teaching every man in all wisdom ; that 
 we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." 
 And again: "Till we all come in the unity of the 
 faith, and of the knowledge of the Son of God, unto 
 a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the 
 fullness of Christ." What a sublime picture is here 
 presented ! The making every man to stand in the 
 stature of Christ — not faintly, not partially, but in the 
 fullness of Christ. This is the unity of Christianity. 
 His grand purpose is "to gather together in one all 
 things in Christ, both which are in heaven and which 
 are on earth, even in him." The transformation is a 
 glorious one, for " we all, with open face, beholding as 
 in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the 
 same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit 
 of the Lord." This exhibition of Christ before the 
 eyes and hearts of the multitude, that all may see and 
 repent, believe and enjoy, is Christian preaching. It 
 is the word of God presented by one divinely com- 
 missioned, and so accompanied by the power of the 
 
spiritual Tnnsformation. 29 
 
 Holy Spirit that men are transformed from sinners 
 to saints. Can this be done? It was done by the 
 apostles. We have the same word ; we are men of 
 like passions ; we have the same accompanying 
 Spirit ; men need the same transformation. Is the 
 congregation like j-ough blocks from the quarry, 
 from which the beautiful image is to be freed by the 
 tool of the sculptor .-' Are they like wild trees, whose 
 useless branches must be cut off, and whose supera- 
 bundant twigs must be pruned .-' God has given us 
 the instrument : " The word of God is quick and pow- 
 erful, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even 
 to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the 
 joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts 
 and intents of the heart. Neither is there any creat- 
 ure that is not manifest in his sight." Nor can that 
 word fail ; for " as the rain cometh down, and the 
 snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but wa- 
 tereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, 
 that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the 
 eater : so shall my word be that goeth forth out of my 
 mouth : it shall not return unto me void, but it shall 
 accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper 
 in the thing whereto I sent it." No marvel that the 
 evangelical prophet, in exultation at the glorious 
 thought, exclaims : " For ye shall go out with joy, 
 and be led forth with peace : the mountains and the 
 hills shall break forth before you ihto singing, and all 
 the trees of the fields shall clap their hands. Instead 
 
30 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 of the thorn shall come up the fir-tree, and instead of 
 the brier shall come up the myrtle-tree ; and it shall be 
 to the Lord for a name, for an everlasting sign which 
 shall not be cut off." What an exhibition of the re- 
 newing power of the Gospel ! Earth's curse was, 
 that it should bring forth thorns and thistles. But 
 when man is regenerated that curse seems to pass 
 away ; when the Gospel, under the preaching of true 
 Christian preachers, shall have filled the whole earth, 
 then, indeed, will there be a new heaven and a new 
 earth. Until that time we must preach on. Nor 
 must we be diverted from our work by any suggestion 
 that society cannot be reformed, or that the Lord 
 Jesus will come visibly to cut off the wicked and to 
 reign as a temporal king. I have respect for good 
 men who teach this doctrine, but none for the doc- 
 trine itself Analyzed, it shows a lack of faith in the 
 power of God's word ; a spirit of indolence, that is 
 unwilling to face calmly and patiently the thought of 
 long ages of toil and sacrifice ; a spirit of vengeance, 
 that calls for fire to come down from heaven. They 
 think it easier to kill men than to convert them. 
 
 Fourthly, TJiis preacJiing is to be a perpetual agency. 
 Other systems may change, other plans may fail ; 
 but this never. It is the sovereign decree of the 
 Almighty God, that by preaching the Gospel of his 
 Son men shall be saved. To the Jew this preaching 
 was a stumbling-block. It took from him all his 
 splendid ceremonials. His temple was no longer the 
 
 I 
 
Creek Philosophy. 31 
 
 exclusively holy place. Jerusalem was no longer to 
 be the central home of God's people ; the Jewish race 
 was no longer the peculiar people of God. The whole 
 earth was to be a worshiping temple. Walls of par- 
 tition were to be broken down, all races to be brought 
 on one platform, and all humanity to become kings and 
 priests to God. No wonder it was to him a stum- 
 bling-block. But to the Greek — the lover of wisdom 
 and philosophy — the man devoted to science — it was 
 foolishness. To such minds it is foolishness still. 
 The Greek remembered the glorious record of his 
 na'ion for centuries previous — a record of poet?, 
 painters, sculptors, historians, statesmen, and war- 
 riors. To him his nation was the center of knowl- 
 edge and civilization. Athens was the concentration 
 of the refinement, culture, and mental power of the 
 world. It had ruled in other days by its learning 
 more than by its arms. To him the highest attain- 
 ment of humanity was the knowledge of art, litera- 
 ture, and science. The pencil of Apelles, the chisel of 
 Praxiteles, the oratory of Demosthenes, the academic 
 teachings of Plato, the practical philosophy of Soc- 
 rates, the keen logic of Aristotle, the histories of 
 Herodotus and Thucydides, the poetry of Homer and 
 Euripides, the statesmanship of Pericles, and the 
 military deeds of Miltiades, were the glory of the 
 nation. Their books, academies, and temples were 
 the honor of the land. These were the marks of 
 their civilization, and the indices of their future glory. 
 
32 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 To be told that all this was insignificant ; that the only 
 way to triumph over the passions and impulses of the 
 heart, the only ascent to the favor of God, and to fu- 
 ture grandeur and glory, was to come from telling 
 the story of a crucified Saviour ; that by exhibiting 
 before the minds of the people one who was a Jew 
 by birth, but who said he was the Son of God — one of 
 pure, spotless life, and yet crucified between thieves — 
 buried in a tomb guarded by Roman soldiers, and yet 
 who rose the third day, lived on earth for a time, and 
 then ascended to heaven — earth's whole aspect would 
 be changed : to be told that belief in him was the only 
 way by which humanity could gain purity, happiness, 
 and a higher civilization, can we wonder that they 
 said, " It is foolishness ?" Men of science say so to- 
 day ; and yet by that preaching, which they call " fool- 
 ishness," it is God's eternal and immutable purpose to 
 save them that believe. It has so saved in the past ; it 
 is saving still. It has been the light of our civilization, 
 and its beams are scattering the darkness of the world. 
 Some tell us that society has changed ; that the 
 pulpit has lost its power ; that men will no longer be 
 attracted. But every now and then a preacher rises 
 who attracts the multitude, and rivets their attention 
 upon the truth. Such men are given to us to show 
 the possibilities of the pulpit, and to point to a time 
 when, instead of decreasing, it shall accomplish 
 grander results. Some tell us that the press has 
 superseded the pulpit ; that men need no longer be 
 
Pulpit Power. 33 
 
 hearers, because they are readers. The Bible is in 
 their hands ; and if they need expositions or explana- 
 tions, they have the works of great commentators. 
 Why should they hear sermons, or listen to preach- 
 ers of little experience, and of only average mental 
 strength and culture .'' But they forget the human 
 element : the power of man over his fellow-men ; the 
 force derived from experience ; the visible embodi- 
 ment of ideal truth. Preaching is not merely, as I 
 have said, the delivery of the message, but the de- 
 livery of the message by a man who professes to 
 have felt its power, and who testifies to its truth in 
 his own experience. The preacher not only pro- 
 claims the truth, but stands as a personal witness of 
 its saving power. In other matters men rely on the 
 same influences. What political party would go into 
 an excited canvass relying merely on articles from 
 the press .■' The press is, indeed, a valuable auxiliary. 
 It reports the strong thoughts of the clear thinkers ; 
 but every party must have its conventions, its evening 
 meetings, its stump speakers. Without these it fails. 
 What would the temperance reformation be without 
 these speakers, who themselves have been reformed .'' 
 What would Murphy's influence be through the 
 press alone .'* It is the man who was a drunkard re- 
 duced to wretchedness, and who was in jail when the 
 word of God found him, recovered him, and elevated 
 him, that they crowd to hear. When that man stands 
 before an audience, tells the story of his fall, his sor- 
 
34 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 row, his wretchedness, and then of his repentance, 
 liis reformation, his triuinph over appetite, and his 
 happiness, the hearts of men are stirred, and many 
 a captive spirit longs for Hberty. Who cares to 
 read the lectures of a Gough ? And yet, though he 
 tolls the same story over and over, the largest edifices 
 are crowded almost beyond endurance to hear him. 
 Wendell Phillips has been for more than thirty years 
 hunting for " the lost arts ; " the synopsis of his 
 lecture has been published over and over again ; and 
 yet those who have read and those who have heard 
 him hasten to hear him again. The words of Shak- 
 speare, which are in almost every library, yet, ut- 
 tered by men of dramatic power, draw to the theater 
 crowds for sometimes a hundred successive nights. 
 It is the mat), who embodies and impersonates the 
 ideas, which they wish to see and hear. Some things 
 never grow old. The songs our mothers sung to us 
 in childhood are still the sweetest music to our ears. 
 " Now I lay me down to sleep " was the evening 
 prayer of Quincy Adams, when in the presidential 
 chair. The very men who denounce the pulpit as a 
 failure, and declare it to be superseded, are them- 
 selves unwilling to trust the press alone. The no- 
 torious IngersoU, who denounces Christianity and 
 denies the being of a God, is unwilling to trust to his 
 writings, but eagerly mounts the platform to address 
 the people. Thus he "steals," not "the livery," but 
 the agency, " of heaveny to serve the devil in." Eras- 
 
P tracking Perpetital. 35 
 
 mus says : " The devil is a preacher ; he preached to 
 Eve, and seduced the human race." 
 
 Christian preaching shall never fail. The great 
 Commander uttered his orders of march centuries 
 ago. He never changes his plans, and will not be 
 defeated. His ascending orders were, " Go preach ! " 
 and these stand good until he come again. Into 
 what an illustrious company does the young minister 
 enter ! When Isaiah beheld them in vision he ex- 
 claimed : " How beautiful upon the mountains are 
 the feet of him that bringeth good tidings, that p.ib- 
 lisheth peace ; that bringeth good tidings of good, 
 that publisheth salvation ; that saith unto Zion, Thy 
 God reigneth ! Thy watchmen shall lift up the voice ; 
 with the voice together shall they sing : for they shall 
 see eye to eye, when the Lord shall bring again Zion." 
 
 The long line of preachers extends in unbroken 
 succession from Christ himself to the present hour. 
 A line, did I say.'' More than a line — a pyramid of 
 which he is the apex, which, each succeeding year, rises 
 in altitude and widens in its base, and will rise, and 
 will widen, until it covers all lands, and the living 
 preacher shall be seen and heard by every child of 
 Adam on the globe. It is an unbroken succession — 
 not by the ordinations of men, nor by the hands of 
 men, nor by the will of men, but by the power of the 
 Holy Spirit. It is a holy fellowship, a glorious asso- 
 ciation. It has had its spots. All have been men 
 of like passions with us. Some entered the ministry 
 
36 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 without a divine call ; others have been overborne by 
 passion. Some " concerning the faith have made 
 shipwreck, of whom is Hymeneus and Alexander ;" 
 " Demas hath forsaken me, having loved this present 
 world." Peter denied his Master, and Judas be- 
 trayed him. Men have disgraced themselves, and 
 brought reproach upon the office ; but it still lives 
 and strengthens, because Christ lives with it, and has 
 determined that it shall stand. He walks among the 
 candlesticks, and holds the stars in his right hand. 
 
 Lastly, Pause a moment to think of your responsibil- 
 ity. You enter this holy brotherhood ; you take 
 upon you holy vows ; you perform sacred functions. 
 If you faithfully proclaim the Saviour; if you skill- 
 fully handle the two-edged sword ; if you wisely pierce 
 b^ween the sinner and his sins ; if you earnestly 
 exhibit the Lord Jesus in all his beauty ; if you live 
 for this one work alone ; if you study, pray, preach, 
 and visit, to make all men like Christ, then your 
 reward will be glorious. The promise is : " They that 
 be wise shall shine as the brightness of the firma- 
 ment ; and they that turn many to righteousness, as 
 the stars for ever and ever." Star may differ from 
 star in glory, but all shall be radiant with the light 
 of Jehovah's face. But should you handle the word 
 of God deceitfully ; should you, as embassadors, for- 
 get God's message, and tell your own words ; should 
 you forget the Majesty which sent you, and court the 
 applause of the people to whom you are sent ; should 
 
Mhiistcrial Responsibility. 37 
 
 you woo their smiles or court their favor, neglecting 
 the message which God bids you preach ; should you, 
 as watchmen, see the sword coming, and give no 
 alarm ; should you, as stewards, embezzle the goods 
 which God gives you for others ; should you, as 
 builders, put in wood, hay, and stubble ; should you, 
 as pastors, devour the flocks you are sent to feed ; 
 should you, as soldiers, fly from the field in the day of 
 battle ; should your trumpet give an uncertain sound, 
 and souls go down to ruin through your negligence 
 and fault, who can measure the awful consequences ? 
 I shudder when I think of what is in the range of 
 possibilities, and of the terrible inquisition which God 
 shall make, when he shall ask. Where is your broth- 
 er ? and your ears are opened to hear the voice of his 
 blood crying from the ground. Better would it be 
 never to have been born ; better would it be were 
 millstones hanged around your necks, and you cast 
 into the depths of the sea ; better that rocks and 
 mountains might fall upon }'t)u, to hide you from 
 " the face of Him that sitteth on the throne, and from 
 the wrath of the Lamb." " But, beloved, we are per- 
 suaded better things of you, and things that accom- 
 pany salvation, though we thus speak," 
 
38 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 LECTURE IL 
 
 THE CALL TO THE MINISTRY. 
 
 'TT^HE subject which next demands our attention 
 ■*- is, T\i^ persojinel of the ministry, or who should 
 enter that sacred office. Two points are worthy of 
 special consideration: First, Do the Scriptures teach 
 that there is a special call to the work of the min- 
 istry ? Secondly, If so, by what evidence may a 
 young man be assured that he is so called ? 
 
 The reasonableness of a divine call may be inferred 
 from the structure of the Church, and the titles given 
 to it. It is the body of Christ, himself being the 
 glorious Head. As the brain directs the human 
 frame, so does Christ the Church. All the plans are 
 from him. * 
 
 The Church is represented as a kingdom over 
 which Christ reigns. Though invisible, he inspires 
 its movements, and has promised to be present with 
 his ministers. They are his agents, his embassadors ; 
 they stand in his stead. Every earthly government 
 selects the embassadors which it sends. It would be 
 an offense to its majesty for one not selected by it- 
 self to appear as its representative. So we may well 
 suppose that Christ selects his own ministers, whom 
 
Call to the Ministiy. 39 
 
 he sends forth to proclaim his message, and to pro- 
 mote the interests of his kingdom. 
 
 The Church is a vast army. The Captain of our 
 salvation directs its movements. It is his preroga- 
 tive to select the ofificers who are to marshal this 
 army, and to appoint them to their places, that the 
 great plans of his campaign may be carefully carried 
 out. He is the great Shepherd of the sheep. He 
 owns the flock for which he gave his life. It is his 
 right to appoint pastors after his own heart to feed 
 that flock. 
 
 Another indication is found in the Jewish dispen- 
 sation. God selected the tribe of Levi and the fam- 
 ily of Aaron to minister before him. From time to 
 time he raised up prophets as teachers, judges, and 
 leaders of the people, selected at his own pleasure. 
 So might we not expect that in the Christian dispen- 
 sation the teachers should be chosen by himself .-' 
 
 We are not left, however, to mere conjecture or 
 reason in a matter so important. The example of 
 Christ is authoritative. Early in his ministry he 
 selected a few disciples, and enjoined them to follow 
 him. After their number had increased, he chose 
 twelve by name for a special office. Subsequently 
 he selected seventy, whom he set apart, and whom he 
 sent forth — to go before him into every city, to preach 
 and to do wonderful works in his name. After his 
 resurrection he commissioned his disciples to go " into 
 all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creat- 
 
40 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 ure," enjoining upon them, at the same time, to tarry 
 in Jerusalem until they were "endued with power 
 from on high." After his ascension Matthias was 
 selected by lot to fill the place of Judas, after prayer 
 had been offered that God would show whom he had 
 chosen. St. Paul, also, was in a miraculous manner 
 directly called to the work of the ministry. It is re- 
 markable how frequently be refers to the fact of his 
 calling. Many of his epistles commence with the 
 declaration that he is " an apostle called of God," or 
 " by the commandment of God," or " by the will of 
 God." He indicates, also, the divine selection of 
 Timothy, when he says : " Stir up the gift of God, 
 which is in thee." 
 
 After the ascension of Christ we find a difference 
 in the mode of the call. When he selected his twelve 
 disciples, and when he set apart the seventy, he 
 spake to each one audibly. He made the selection 
 visibly and publicly, that all might know and recog- 
 nize their authority. So when Paul was added to the 
 apostles, though Christ had ascended to heaven, yet 
 he appeared to him near Damascus, took the perse- 
 cutor captive, and appointed him to the work of the 
 ministry. But the period of this direct, or audible, 
 call passed away. Neither by a voice from heaven, 
 nor by the light of divine glory, nor by any other ex- 
 ternal agency, was it directly given. It came, how- 
 ever, none the less from Christ. He ascended on 
 high, and received gifts for men. And it is added : 
 
Scriptural TeacJihig. 41 
 
 " He gave some, apostles ; and some, prophets ; and 
 some, evangelists ; and some, pastors and teachers ; 
 for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the 
 ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." 
 Thus the selection of those given to the Church was 
 in the hands of its great Head, who had " sat down 
 on the right hand of God ; . . . expecting till his ene- 
 mies be made his footstool." If any change were 
 made in the economy of the Church in this respect, 
 it is incumbent on those who allege this change to 
 produce their authority. But no such authority can 
 be found. The true minister, in the present as in the 
 apostolic age, is called of the Lord Jesus to his sacred 
 office. " No man taketh this honor unto himself, but 
 he that is called of God, as was Aaron." Such were 
 the teachings of the ancient Church. St. Chrysos- 
 tom says : " No man, nor angel, nor archangel, nor 
 created power, but the Paraclete himself, has insti- 
 tuted this office, and chosen beings yet living in the 
 flesh to fulfill the ministry of angels." Such, also, 
 has been the teaching of the Church, in its leading 
 branches, down to the present time. In several of 
 them every candidate for the ministry is required to 
 say that he believes he is " moved by the Holy Ghost 
 to take upon him the work of the ministry." 
 
 In what, then, does the divine call consist .'' or how 
 is a young man to be perfectly assured that he is 
 called of God .'' This question is of immense moment 
 to every young minister. \\'ithout this assurance, in 
 
42 Lectures ox Preaching, 
 
 moments of darkness, temptation, and despondency, 
 he will be assailed with doubts ; he will question 
 whether he was ever called to preach ; he will be led 
 to inquire whether it is not his duty to abandon the 
 ministry. The more strictly conscientious he is, the 
 deeper will be his questionings, and the greater his 
 perplexity. But if he doubts, he is shorn of much of 
 his power. The doubter never accomplishes much : 
 " A double-minded man is unstable in all his ways." 
 The man of deep conviction, even though he occa- 
 sionally errs, is the man of power. Thomas, who, I 
 suppose, seldom made a mistake, is never heard of 
 except in asking questions or expressing doubts ; 
 and, so far as New Testament history goes, he is not 
 mentioned in the early, triumphant spread of the 
 Gospel. While Peter, confident even to boldness and 
 recklessness, received the keys of the kingdom of 
 heaven, to open its doors to the Gentile world. 
 
 The first evidence of a divine call is in the con- 
 sciousness of the individual, and is a persuasion 
 which, slight as it may be at first, deepens into an 
 intense conviction that he is called of God to preach 
 the Gospel. There is not quite so much unanimity 
 among writers or Churches as to the mode of this 
 call, as to the fact of the call itself. Some writers of 
 distinguished talent and of high position distinguish 
 between what they term the ordinary and the extra- 
 ordinary call. In the ordinary call, they teach that 
 the young man arrives at the conviction that he 
 
Ordinary Call. 43 
 
 should preach, from the consideration of his quahfica- 
 tions, mental tendencies, and surrounding circum- 
 stances ; that the same influences lead him to enter 
 the ministry, which, with some changes, would have 
 led him to enter the profession of medicine or law, or 
 to engage in some special secular pursuit. He sim- 
 ply follows the indications of Providence manifested 
 in his own nature and in the world around him. 
 These are found in his physical power, intellectual 
 capacity, fondness for study, readiness of utterance, 
 benevolent tendency, and religious life. He beholds 
 around him a world lying in wickedness. Men are 
 going astray. He has felt in his own heart the love 
 of God, with an accompanying desire to do all the 
 good he can, and looks upon the work of the ministry 
 as a work of benevolence and love. He believes that 
 he could be useful in teaching the ignorant, and in 
 elevating the aspirations of the young ; in holding 
 the attention of congregations, and in persuading them 
 to believe the word of the Lord. He reasons within 
 himself, and says, that as a minister he thinks he 
 could do more good than as a physician ; that he feels 
 an aversion to attending the sick, almost a horror of 
 surgical operations, a doubt whether he could bear 
 the frequent loss of sleep or the intense strain of 
 anxiety connected with the profession, or whether he 
 could confront the dangers which terrible epidemics 
 might impose. He has some scruples in reference 
 to the law ; has a vague idea that possibly he could 
 
44 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 scarcely keep a good conscience amid the solicitation 
 of clients and the temptation of fees. He even 
 doubts whether he is quite fitted for the quick repar- 
 tee and for the acrimonious controversy which so 
 often occur; and whether he could bear the respon- 
 sibility of having the life of a man dependent upon 
 the success with which he might be able to plead his 
 cause before a jury. So he selects the ministry, 
 honestly and sincerely believing that thereby he can 
 best promote his own happiness and the welfare of 
 humanity. 
 
 This, I believe, is a fair statement of the views held 
 by those who regard the selection of the ministry as de- 
 termined merely by the questions of qualification and 
 adaptation. I have purposely omitted the influence 
 of unworthy motives, such as the consideration of the 
 ministry affording a comfortable livelihood, or of 
 seeking to be " put in the priest's office for a piece 
 of bi'ead ; " or motives arising from the pulpit being 
 a forum, where eloquence might be displayed, orator- 
 ical power exhibited, and applause gained ; or the 
 consideration of the association of the ministry being 
 with that class of the community which is most in- 
 telligent, tasteful, and enterprising. Even these last 
 motives may properly be considered in selecting a 
 mere secular employment or profession ; but those 
 first enumerated are essential to any proper choice 
 of business by a Christian man. For by providential 
 indications one may feel satisfied that it is best to 
 
Divine Call. 45 
 
 commence a certain employment, and that in it the 
 approbation of God will rest upon him. Yet this is 
 not what I think the Scriptures teach by a divine 
 call. Paul did not enter the ministry because he had 
 been schooled in Cilicia, or had been brought up at the 
 feet of Gamaliel, or had superior powers of logic or 
 oratory, or because he preferred it to some other oc- 
 cupation. He preached because he had received from 
 Christ authority and a command to preach the Gos- 
 pel. He was directly sent ; as Jesus had said, " As 
 the Father hath sent me, even so send I you." So 
 was it with all the apostles. I do not deny that the 
 motives named may be worthy of consideration in 
 their appropriate place. They may be regarded as 
 coincident with and confirmatory of a higher call. 
 But I believe the true call to the ministry contains a 
 supernatural element not embraced in this descrip- 
 tion of an ordinary call. 
 
 The extraordinary call of such writers, or what I 
 deem the true call to the ministry, does not consist 
 in any audible voice, in any vision or dream, or in 
 any extraordinary external circumstances. The mes- 
 sage which God sends is spiritual. Like a still, small 
 voice, it influences the inner nature, and is extraor- 
 dinary only in that it is a special divine communica- 
 tion. In its slightest form it is a persuasion that he 
 who receives it ought to preach the Gospel ; in its 
 strongest form, that God requires him to do this 
 work at the peril of his soul. Even in its faintest 
 
46 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 form there is this distinction between a call to the 
 ministry and a choice of other professions : a young: 
 man may ivish to be a physician ; he may dcsjj-e to 
 enter the army; he would like to be a farmer ; but . 
 he feels he ought to be a minister. It is this feeling 
 of OUGHT, or obligation, which, in its feeblest form, 
 indicates the divine call. It is not in the aptitude, 
 taste, or desire, but in the conscience, that its root is 
 found. It is God's voice to the human conscience, 
 saying, " You ought to preach." 
 
 In cases where children have been dedicated to the 
 ministry, where the heart has early submitted to di- 
 vine influence, and where associations and studies 
 have been directed to this one end, it may, for a time, 
 be difficult to distinguish between the purpose, or 
 expectation, and the feeling of duty. That feeling 
 becomes strongest when there is a conflict of motives ; 
 but in the depraved human heart that conflict will 
 surely arise. The holiness connected with the idea 
 of preaching is not in harmony with man's native 
 tendency ; and even in those who are religious from 
 childhood the strength of that native tendency will 
 sooner or later be manifest. 
 
 The conviction that one ought to preach may arise 
 prior to conversion. Especially is this the case 
 where the young man has been blessed with a relig- 
 ious education, and has been the subject of deep re- 
 ligious impressions, though he has not fully yielded 
 his heart to God. A few cases I have known, where 
 
Personal Conviction. 47 
 
 thoughtful, talented, and generally conscientious 
 young men have stumbled at this point. They have 
 feared to submit themselves wholly to the divine will, 
 lest it might be their duty to preach the Gospel. But 
 never are such persons converted until they are will- 
 ing to be and to do whatever God may require. Gen- 
 erally, however, the impression that one is called to 
 the ministry arises after conversion. Sometimes it 
 comes in the very moment of conversion ; and, with 
 the peace that calms the troubled spirit, there is a 
 yearning to bring the world to the foot 'bf the cross. 
 Usually this conviction arises in the early stages of 
 a religious life, and especially when the young Chris- 
 tian begins to speak and pray in the social meetings. 
 Then a greater work rises before him, and he feels 
 it to be his duty to persuade sinners to be reconciled 
 to God. In some cases this impression gradually 
 unfolds itself like the dawning of the morning before 
 the rising of the sun. In other cases it comes almost 
 with the suddenness and dazzling power of the 
 lightning's flash. 
 
 Admitting the existence of this conviction, how is 
 it known to be of divine origin .? Consciousness tells 
 us the persuasion is there ; but how can we know 
 whence it comes .'' I think there is nothing un- 
 philosophical in referring it to a pure spiritual source, 
 even to God himself In this respect it resembles 
 the work of conversion. Peace springs up in the 
 heart, but whence that peace comes consciousness 
 
48 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 alone cannot tell. Yet the true Christian at once, 
 and correctly, ascribes it to a divine source. 
 
 There is a school of philosophy, represented by 
 Coleridge, which admits the existence of religious im- 
 pressions on the human mind, and that they come 
 from a divine source ; but it denies that any man 
 can affirm that the impression he has is frcm God. 
 They say we can have no knowledge of the origin of 
 our impressions, because they are known to us only 
 through consciousness ; this consciousness, being only 
 a knowledge-of our own internal states, can give us no 
 information of their origin ; and hence, while admitting 
 that the Christian is born of God, it is denied that we 
 can have any knowledge of it except by way of infer- 
 ence from our mental states. The same reasoning is 
 applied to the doctrine of the ministerial call. That is, 
 a young man ma}^ be truly called of God, but it is 
 impossible for him to know it except by way of in- 
 ference from surrounding indications. This philos- 
 ophy I believe to be radically defective. 
 
 I have not time now to enter into a metaphysical 
 disquisition. This lectureship is not the place. Yet 
 I believe that the same mental constitution which 
 necessitates us to refer some internal impressions 
 to external, visible, and material objects, leads us, 
 with equal force and certainty, to refer other im- 
 pressions to external, invisible, and spiritual sources. 
 You well know, young gentlemen, that, strictly 
 speaking, we know nothing of the material world. 
 
Spiritual Impressions. 49 
 
 We have sensations, or impressions, within us ; 
 we know them only by consciousness ; but by a law 
 of our nature, antecedent to, quicker and stronger 
 than reasoning, we refer these impressions to an 
 external source ; and, in common life, no man doubts 
 that he sees, hears, and touches a material world. 
 It is only the philosopher who reasons and doubts. 
 But, amid the impressions within us, there are some 
 we cannot refer to visible matter. They either 
 spring up within us from some law of our being, or 
 they come to us from some invisible source. And 
 I repeat, there is nothing more unphilosophical in 
 referring an impression which is not of ourselves 
 to a spiritual, than to a material, origin. The fact 
 that men do refer certain mental impressions to an 
 invisible origin is the foundation of all religious 
 faith. It gives the conviction of the unseen, though 
 that unseen may be unknown. Fancy paints it in its 
 own colors, and wild have been the imaginings about 
 ghosts and demons in various forms. 
 
 The reference to external nature is verified by our 
 senses. The different senses give corroborative and 
 cumulative testimony until absolute certainty is 
 produced. The impressions as to the invisible are 
 corroborated and confirmed by revelation. In that 
 we find there is an invisible world of spirit and angel ; 
 there we find that in our creation God breathed upon 
 us, and we became living souls ; that in the new dis- 
 pensation Christ breathed upon his disciples, and 
 4 
 
50 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 they received the Holy Ghost, and became new creat- 
 ures. Hence we learn, first, the possibility of the 
 blessed Saviour breathing on our hearts, creating 
 impressions within us. We learn, further, that 
 he is the source of the pure and holy ; that every 
 thing good and perfect comes from above. By our 
 own consciousness we know that what arises within 
 us of ourselves is tainted, and oftentimes impure. 
 When, then, impressions of purity and holiness and 
 spiritual grandeur fill our hearts, we have the right 
 to believe that these come from God ; and the word 
 of God assures us that they do so come, for it tells 
 us that the fruit of the Spirit is peace, and love, and 
 joy, with other graces. But there is more than this. 
 He gives us his Spirit, that we may know the things 
 freely given us of God. It is said, in the story of 
 creation, that when the earth was without form, and 
 void, the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the 
 waters, and the first great act in that movement was 
 the creation of light ; so when the Spirit of God 
 moves upon the darkness and emptiness of the hu- 
 man soul, its creative fiat is, " Let there be light." 
 As the blind man, whose eyes Jesus opened, gazed 
 first on his heavenly countenance, so the light of 
 grace on the human soul leads it directly to God, and 
 the first utterance is, " Abba, Father." As the 
 young convert has the assurances drawn by his own 
 spirit from the peace and love within him, he has, also, 
 that heavenly influence which seems to radiate his 
 
Coiifirviatory Indications. 5 1 
 
 soul, and makes him feel that the Spirit of God bears 
 witness with his spirit that he is a child of God. So 
 in this call to the ministry, there is not only the im- 
 pression of duty to preach, but, as it is accompanied 
 by intense love to God, and intense yearning for the 
 salvation of men, and for the eradication of all evil 
 from the earth, it must come from a pure and spirit- 
 ual source. But, over and above all that, there is 
 such a sweet tenderness, so much of heavenly in- 
 fluence, so much of divine light, that one feels as- 
 sured that it is of God, I must add, however, 
 that no impression can be any rule of conduct be^ 
 yond what is directly authorized in the word of 
 God. To follow impressions beyond that is simply 
 fanaticism. 
 
 Admitting, however, that this knowledge is not 
 absolute, but merely strongly presumptive, there are 
 other indications which are confirmative. We are 
 commanded to "try the spirits, whether they be of 
 God ; " and we have tests by which that trial can be 
 made. The first is, that this call to the ministry 
 comes to one who has felt the breathing of the Spirit in 
 his regeneration. He recognizes the same Spirit now. 
 Its drawings have the same tenderness, its influ- 
 ences have the same love, its whisperings have the 
 same accent. The deeper the personal consecration, 
 the nearer the soul is drawn tov/ard God, the more 
 earnest the yearning to save the world, the persua- 
 sion grows stronger ; but when worldly influences 
 
52 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 and associations prevail, its whispers are more 
 faint. 
 
 Again, it cannot come from our own suggestions. 
 We are fond of mirthfulness, gayety, amusement, 
 wealth, honor, fame. We love the associations and ap- 
 probation of the world. The pulpit calls us away from 
 these. Serious duties, anxious cares, constant labor, 
 and comparative poverty, occupy their place. Many 
 of the wise men of the world, whose approval we love, 
 say preaching is "foolishness." Not one of the im- 
 mense throngs that rush into life's earthly joys cares 
 to turn his thoughts to the pulpit. Nor can the sug- 
 gestion come from the evil one, for its yearning is to 
 overthrow the kingdom of darkness. The Saviour 
 himself refers to this test when he says : " If Satan 
 cast out Satan, he is divided against himself; how, 
 then, shall his kingdom stand ? But if I cast out 
 devils by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God 
 is come unto you." 
 
 Another test, is the fact that this desire is usually 
 in direct antagonism to natural inclination and pre- 
 vious purpose. The young man not only does not 
 desire to preach, but he is unwilling. He had al- 
 ready formed plans for other professions or business, 
 his heart was set on a favorite pursuit, when he is in- 
 terfered with by this call. It seems to take from 
 him all his cherished plans, and all his bright visions 
 of fame and glory. It not only interferes with his 
 own plans, but oftentimes with those of his parents 
 
Difficulties. 53 
 
 and friends. They are so deeply grieved that even a 
 father threatens to disinherit or to disown him. Yet 
 in the midst of all these difficulties, the persuasion 
 grows stronger that he must preach the Gospel. It 
 sometimes becomes so intense ihat it is seldom from 
 his mind. In the hours of his solitude, and in his 
 lonely walks, he will even wring his hands, and say : 
 "Woe is me if I preach not the Gospel." He feels 
 that he vmst preach, or imperil his soul's salvation. 
 
 In addition to all this, difficulties will frequently 
 arise, almost in the form of angels of light. The 
 ministry is so holy, so exalted, and he is so imperfect 
 and has so many infirmities, he must not defile it. 
 He says with Isaiah : " I am a man of unclean lips, 
 and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips." 
 He thinks of his youthfulness and of his inexperience, 
 and says with Jeremiah : " Behold, I cannot speak, 
 for I am a child." He fears that he shall not be able 
 to speak acceptably, and says with Moses : " I am 
 slow of speech, and of a slow tongue." Such views 
 naturally deter him ; but the remedy, if he be called 
 to preach, lies in divine grace and power. If it be 
 needed, the seraph will fly with a live coal from the 
 altar to touch his lips, and to purge away his in- 
 iquity ; or the hand of the Lord shall be on his 
 mouth, so that no man shall despise his youth ; or 
 God will give him friends and assistants that shall 
 enable him to stand before Pharaoh. Sometimes, 
 however, the difficulty lies in his relation to others. 
 
54 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 His parents are old, and they need, as he fancies, 
 their son at home. He says: "Suffer me first to 
 bury my father." He has bought a yoke of oxen ; 
 he has entered a profession ; he wishes first to de- 
 vote himself to the acquisition of wealth ; or, he has 
 married a wife, and, therefore, he cannot come. Yet 
 whatever may be the difficulties, and whatever may 
 be the embarrassments, they are all known to him 
 that makes the call. Jesus says : " Let the dead bury 
 their dead. Follow thou me!" And if the heart be 
 obedient, the way will be opened, parental happiness 
 shall be secured, business may be disposed of, and the 
 opposing wife may be converted. 
 
 If I may make a slight digression, however, and 
 whisper a word confidentially, I would say ; A young 
 man who sees before him even the possibility of God's 
 calling him to the ministry would do well not to mar- 
 ry a wife until he has fully entered upon his ministe- 
 rial work. Above all, as a student, he should post- 
 pone the study of that department of natural science 
 for a ])Ost-graduate course. To Adam, sole occupant 
 of Eden as he was, God brought every animal to be 
 named — and names in early days were derived from 
 qualities — and thus as a bachelor Adam finished his 
 studies, before Eve, the beautiful and attractive, was 
 brought to his side. It is sad to say, and yet an ex- 
 tended observation warrants me in saying, that many 
 a young man has dwarfed himself, and limited his use- 
 fulness, by a too early and hasty marriage. 
 
Personal Labor. 5 5 
 
 If, then, a young man feels himself called to the 
 ministry by a divine persuasion, what shall he do ? 
 I answer, Let him read and prepare himself thorough- 
 ly for the work of the ministry. Let him work in 
 his sphere for his Master's cause. If he be a student, 
 let him seek to influence his unconverted associates. 
 If he beat home, let him lead his brothers and sisters, 
 or must intimate friends, to Christ. If he find a 
 Nathanael to whom his soul is joined, let him, like 
 Philip, tell him of Jesus, and say, " Come and see." 
 Let him not fancy that he will one day have great 
 power in addressing multitudes, but that it is not his 
 work to labor with individuals. This fancy of some 
 day doing great things is a fearful illusion. To do 
 great things, we must learn to do little things well. 
 No man is fit to be the commanding general of an 
 army who has not himself been drilled as a soldier. 
 No man can win great power as a minister, until he 
 has first met a brother's objections, solved a brother's 
 difficulties, learned a brother's temptations, and wit- 
 nessed how the word of God has delivered a brother's 
 soul. Congregations are made up of individuals. 
 Man by man, heart by heart, is the conquest won ; 
 and the young man is best preparing for the ministry 
 who learns how to deal with individual cases of sin 
 and sorrow, of guilt and despondence. 
 
 Shall he tell his friends that he is called to the 
 ministry ">. He need not. Shall he apply to the 
 Church to be permitted to preach } shall he seek to 
 
'56 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 get into some pulpit to preach on some public occa- 
 sion ? By no means. The man who is anxious to 
 go is never sent. If he has so little conception of 
 the responsibilities of the ministerial office, or so little 
 acquaintance with himself that he fancies himself 
 equal to the work, it is a sign of such mental or moral 
 disqualification as to unfit him for the ministry. The 
 man truly called has no need to publish it. So long 
 as God speaks to him privately, let him answer pri- 
 vately : " Here am I ; send me." 
 
 The second evidence of a ministerial call is the 
 voice of the Church. God has established corre- 
 spondences throughout nature. There is the eye for 
 sight, and the light and visible objects to correspond ; 
 there is the ear to hear, and the vibrating body and 
 the undulating air. So the great Head of the Church, 
 who calls the young man to preach, leads the Church 
 to recognize that call. The influence which he puts 
 in the heart thrills through the voice, sparkles from 
 the eye, radiates from the countenance, and signals 
 itself in the earnest wrestlings of the soul. The 
 young man may fancy the matter is a secret with 
 himself, and may hope that it shall never be known ; 
 yet as he walks the street some ministering brother, 
 or some aged servant of God, will lay an affectionate 
 hand on his shoulder, and say : " Has not God 
 given you a greater work to do .'' " Or scarcely has the 
 prayer-meeting ended, until some servant of God, pos- 
 sibly some elect old lady, will say to him : " Has not 
 
Call of the CJmrch. 57 
 
 God called you to preach?" Sometimes these ques- 
 tions come so suddenly, so unexpectedly, so unwel- 
 comely, that the soul cries out : " Hast thou found 
 me, O my enemy ? " That which is discovered by 
 one soon becomes manifest to all, and the Church, in 
 whatever manner it may operate, opens for him a 
 door-way leading into the ministry. 
 
 This call of the Church, added to the conscious 
 call, greatly strengthens the conviction of duty. 
 Many scriptural instances show us the beautiful cor- 
 respondence of these voices. God called Bezaleel 
 and Aholiab to work on his tabernacle, and filled 
 them with the spirit of wisdom ; but they were not 
 authorized to commence the work until God informed 
 Moses that he had called them. Joshua was called 
 and anointed with the Holy Spirit to lead Israel, but 
 the call was also revealed to Moses, and he laid his 
 hands upon him. When God's voice of prophecy 
 reached Samuel it was a new experience. He 
 thought Eli called him ; and the second and the third 
 time he arose and ran. Then Eli perceived it was 
 the Lord, and said to Samuel: "Answer, Speak, 
 Lord ; for thy servant heareth." Through Eli's voice 
 Samuel learned God's call, and he doubted never 
 after. God called Saul, and he sent Samuel to anoint 
 him when he would have hidden himself among the 
 people. He called David from the sheep-cot, but 
 Samuel poured the anointing oil upon his head. The 
 disciples generally were called audibly by Chris\ 
 
58 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 the Head of the Church ; but Paul received his mes- 
 sage not only from the lips of Jesus, but through 
 Ananias as well. Timothy received a gift from God, 
 but his call was partly through the laying on of the 
 hands of Paul and of the presbytery. There is not, I 
 believe, an instance in the Holy Writ where a true 
 man was at first ever anxious to bear a divine mes- 
 sage. He always shrunk, hesitated, plead off, and 
 trembled. Thus did Moses; so did the prophets. 
 Jonah fled, and would not go to Nineveh until after 
 he had been well whaled. So I have known young 
 men leave their neighborhoods, their local Churches, 
 their associations in the East, I have found them 
 wandering on the Pacific slope. But scarcely had 
 they reached their destination, and engaged in social 
 prayer, until some friendly voice said: "Are you not 
 a preacher V or " Has not God called you .? " 
 
 When the Church recognizes the young man he 
 should openly and publicly prepare himself for the 
 work, and, according to his opportunities, let him se- 
 cure the utmost qualifications which he can acquire. 
 Sometimes a strange intermingling of benevolence 
 and self-esteem urges the young man onward, and he 
 fancies the world will go down to ruin unless he 
 springs at once to the rescue. My advice to such 
 young men is, Get thoroughly ready. If you were 
 going into the forest to fell trees, you would need a 
 sharp instrument to do a good day's work. Be not 
 in such a hurry to begin as to think the time thrown 
 
Preparation. 59 
 
 away which is spent in grinding the ax. Is it not 
 somewhat remarkable that Jesus never preached a 
 sermon until he was thirty years of age ? and yet the 
 world was going to ruin ! You reply : " Yes, but 
 that was the age when the Jewish priest entered on 
 his office, and Christ conformed himself to Jewish 
 thought and practice." That is true ; yet it is no 
 Jess true that the great Head of the Church, for some 
 wise purpose, ordained that the priest should not 
 officiate until he was thirty years of age, I do not 
 say that all should wait so long. Early and superior 
 opportunities, unusual maturity of judgment, and the 
 pressing needs of the Church, may indicate the duty 
 of entering much earlier. No precise rule as to age, 
 or as to extent of qualifications, is laid down in 
 Scripture. The individual and the Church must de- 
 cide in every case. In different Churches, and in 
 different ages in the same Church, the standard has 
 varied. The early Scottish ministers had but a lim- 
 ited training. Dr. South satirizes severely the Puri- 
 tan preachers of his age, who, shut out of the univer- 
 sities, had few opportunities. The early Methodists 
 felt obliged, on account of the urgent needs of their 
 work, to thrust out young men with but little prepara- 
 tion. I believe the great West, with its rapid streams 
 of immigration, had it been compelled to wait for 
 trained ministers from the Eastern colleges and the- 
 ological schools, would have been a hot-bed of iniq- 
 uity, and a seething mass of corruption. But times 
 
6o Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 have changed. Congregations have been gathered ; 
 churches have been built ; more ministers are knock- 
 ing than can find room. God seems to say to the 
 candidate. "Prepare to the utmost;" and to the 
 Churches, " Put only picked men on guard." 
 
 There is a third evidence of a ministerial call. A 
 man's own consciousness may be deceived ; even 
 the Church, composed of fallible men, may err. An 
 infallible criterion is needed. When the Church has 
 opened the way let the young minister go forward. 
 As he speaks, exhorts, preaches, prays, visits the 
 sick, and follows the outcast, he will find that the 
 Spirit of God accompanies his labors. His heart 
 will be softened into tenderness and gratitude when 
 he finds that God speaks through his lips ; the tears 
 start from the eyes of his audience, their heads are 
 bowed, their hearts affected, and their natures are 
 changed. Under his preaching, as under the apostles 
 of old, God gives to the people repentance and re- 
 mission of sins. The souls thus saved are not only 
 the trophies of divine grace, but they are also the 
 seals of his ministry ; they are epistles, read and 
 known of all men ; they are God's own attestation of 
 a call to the work of the ministry, his own signa- 
 ture to his ministerial diploma. Where these three 
 proofs combine — the voice of consciousness, the voice 
 of the Church, and the attestation of God — no man 
 need doubt. In the mouth of two or three witnesses 
 shall every word be established. 
 
Personal Experience. ■ 6 1 
 
 Let me illustrate one form of this call by my own 
 experience, for occasional glimpses of that, I believe, 
 you desire. Trained religiously, I had come to a 
 young man's years before making a public pro- 
 fession of religion. Occasionally, prior to my con- 
 version, thoughts of the ministry sometimes flashed 
 across my mind ; but it was only a flash. After my 
 conversion I was earnest for the welfare of others, 
 and worked in various ways to promote the interests 
 of the Church and humanity. The conviction grew 
 upon me that I must preach. I tried to put the 
 thought away, because I feared I could never suc- 
 ceed. I saw the greatness of the work, and the re- 
 proach and poverty, the privation and suffering, con- 
 nected with the itinerant ."ninistry. Two especial 
 difficulties were in my way : First, I had no gift of 
 speech. All through my studies my fellow-students 
 told me I could learn, but I could never be a speaker. 
 In discussing professions they thought the law was 
 out of the question for me, because I could never 
 successfully plead a cause. My voice was poor. I 
 had always shunned declamation whenever it was 
 possible to avoid it. I had an unconquerable aver- 
 sion to reciting other men's words ; and whenever I 
 attempted to declaim it was pronounced a failure. 
 My associates believed, and I firmly believed, I could 
 never make a speaker. So when I felt the convic- 
 tion that I must preach the thought of the impossi- 
 bility of preaching successfully made me question the 
 
62 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 reality of the call. At my work and in my studies 
 — for I spent three years in preparing for the pro- 
 fession of medicine — I was frequently in mental 
 agony. I think I should have resolutely rejected the 
 idea, only that it seemed indissolubly connected with 
 my own salvation. I longed for some one who could 
 tell me my duty. I fasted and prayed for divine di- 
 rection, but I found no rest until reading in the 
 Bible a passage seemed written especially for me : 
 " Trust in the Lord with all thine heart ; and lean 
 not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways 
 acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." I 
 accepted it, and resolved to do whatever God by his 
 providence should indicate by opening the way. I 
 never lisped to a friend the slightest intimation of 
 my mental agony, but began to take a more earnest 
 part in Church services. One Sabbath I felt a strong 
 impression that I ought to speak to the people at 
 night in prayer-meeting, as we had no preaching. 
 But I said to myself: How shall 1? my friends will 
 think me fooHsh, for they know I cannot speak with 
 interest. Especially I dreaded the opinion of an 
 uncle, who had been to me as a father, and who had 
 superintended my education. While I was discuss- 
 ing this matter with myself my uncle cam.e into the 
 room, and, after a moment's hesitancy, said to me : 
 " Don't you think you could speak to the people to- 
 night .'* " I was surprised and startled, and asked 
 him if he thought I ought to. He said : " Yes ; I 
 
Personal Experience. 63 
 
 think you might do good." That night, by some 
 strange coincidence, the house was crowded, and I 
 made my first religious address to a pubhc congre- 
 gation. It was not written ; it was not very well 
 premeditated ; it was the simple and earnest out- 
 gushing of a sincere and honest heart. I was soon 
 pressed to preach, but evaded all conversation on 
 the subject as far as possible. 
 
 My second difficulty was that my mother was a 
 widow ; I was her only son, and the only child re- 
 maining at home. It seemed impossible to leave 
 her. I feared it might almost break her heart to 
 propose it. But as I saw the Church would proba- 
 bly call me, and as I had promised God to follow his 
 openings, I one day, with great embarrassment, in- 
 troduced the subject to my mother. After I had told 
 her my mental struggles, and what I believed God 
 required, I paused. I shall never forget how she 
 turned to me with a smile on her countenance, and 
 her eyes suffused with tears, as she said : '• My son, 
 I have been looking for this hour ever since you were 
 born." She then told me how she and my dying fa- 
 ther, who left me an infant, consecrated me to God, 
 and prayed that if it were his will I might become a 
 minister. And yet that- mother had never dropped a 
 word or intimation in my hearing that she ever de- 
 sired me to be a preacher. She believed so fully in 
 a divine call, that she thought it wrong to bias the 
 youthful mind with even a suggestion, so much as 
 
64 Lectures on Preaching, 
 
 uttered in vocal prayer. That conversation settled 
 my mind. What a blessing is a sainted mother ! I 
 can even now feel her hand upon my head, and I can 
 hear the intonations of her voice in prayer. I was 
 requested shortly after to preach a trial sermon, but 
 refused. The authorities of the Church said if I did 
 not preach a trial sermon they could not tell whether 
 I was qualified. I replied there was no order in the 
 Discipline of our Church directing, or even permit- 
 ting, such a sermon ; that I did not desire a license 
 to preach ; but had only promised God to obey the 
 order of the Church, should it license me ; and that 
 I never should try to preach until I was so authorized. 
 So I was licensed, not without grave deliberation and 
 discussion, both as to whether I would ever make a 
 preacher, or whether my health afforded any reason- 
 able indication that I would ever be of service to the 
 Church. I entered the pulpit immediately. Through 
 divine mercy some souls were awakened and convert- 
 ed ; and, by the grace of God, I have continued to 
 this day. 
 
 You perceive, young gentlemen, that I believe in 
 the divine election of ministers. So far, you may 
 count me a Calvinist. I believe, further, a man so 
 elected should never turn aside to other employments 
 while health continues, and while he has the appro- 
 bation of the Church. Should health and strength 
 give way, he may turn to other duties. Should he 
 find he was mistaken as to his call, should the Church 
 
Ministerial Perseverance. 65 
 
 find it was in error, and his services are not needed, 
 he may be released. Better dig coal in the mines, or 
 break stones on the road, than to stand in the pulpit 
 uncalled of God and unapproved by the Church. 
 But if approved, and if blessed in your labors, never 
 turn aside. Let no dangers deter ; let no tempta- 
 tions of wealth or honor, of office or fame, allure you 
 from the ministry. I have known men so called to 
 turn aside. But, in a long observation, I never knew 
 one who turned aside for wealth, but who either be- 
 came bankrupt, or made shipwreck of faith, before he 
 died ; or one who turned aside for office or ease, with- 
 out going down under a cloud. You may be pressed, 
 poverty may stare you in the face, but stand as " the 
 beaten anvil to the stroke." Do your duty, and, verily, 
 you shall be fed. God will care for you as long as a 
 raven has wings, or a widow in the land has a "hand- 
 ful of meal in a barrel." Think of the early Chris- 
 tians, of the noble line of martyrs, and your sufferings 
 will sink into insignificance. Look at the great 
 Apostle of the Gentiles. See him persecuted, ar- 
 rested, imprisoned. See his back bared to the lash. 
 Five times he received forty stripes, save one. I see 
 him gathering his garments around his lacerated 
 shoulders when he whispers, " None of these things 
 move me." He is taken to the edge of yonder city, 
 stoned, and left for dead. See him as friends gently 
 raise him up and say, " Better abandon the Gospel ; 
 
 they will kill you if you preach." Yet, as soon as 
 .5 
 
66 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 breath returns, he utters, " None of these things 
 move me." I see hun yonder, drawn out of the wa- 
 ter ; he has been a day and night struggling in the 
 deep ; nature is overcome ; he hes fainting on the 
 beach, the water dripping from his hair ; his friends 
 say, " Surely he will never preach again ;" but as the 
 pulse beats once more, and strength returns, again I 
 hear him say, " None of these things move me." He 
 is on his way to Jerusalem ; the prophets tell him he 
 is to be bound and imprisoned ; the people weep at 
 the thought of seeing him no more ; the elders of 
 Ephesus come down to Miletus to meet him ; he tells 
 them he is going to Jerusalem, that he knows not 
 what shall befall him there, save that the Spirit tells 
 him in every place that bonds and imprisonment await 
 him ; but he grandly declares : " None of these things 
 move me, neiiher count I my life dear unto myself, 
 so that I might finish my course with joy, and the 
 ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to 
 testify the Gospel of the grace of God." Bonds and 
 imprisonment did await him. He stood before Nero. 
 He was condemned to die ; and out of the dungeon 
 of his prison he sends, through Timothy, the herotc 
 ^ud joyous message : " I have fought a good fight, I 
 have finished my course, I have kept the faith." 
 Such a grand hero was the apostle, living and dying. 
 One work he did, unmoved and immovable. And 
 to us he speaks : " Follow me, as I have followed 
 Christ." 
 
Ministerial Teaching. 67 
 
 LECTURE III. 
 
 THE PREACHER PERSONALLY. 
 
 '^'TT^AKE heed unto thyself," was the injunction 
 -■- of St. Paul to his beloved disciple, Timothy. 
 If he needed such admonition, educated, trained, 
 and in the active ministry, so do we. The work 
 rises before us. in grandeur ; the voice of God calls 
 us ; but much depends on our devotion to the work. 
 The minister is unlike other teachers. They sim- 
 ply teach art or science, without reference to moral 
 character. The printer may be an excellent me- 
 chanic, may teach his art thoroughly, and yet be a 
 very bad man. The college professor may teach 
 clearly the highest problems in calculus, and yet may 
 be grossly immoral. But the minister is blended 
 with the truth which he teaches. He may explain 
 the doctrines of the Bible intellectually, but he can- 
 not preach properly without a personal realization of 
 the truth. I congratulate you, young gentlemen, on 
 your devotion to this high and holy calling. I have 
 spoken strongly and solemnly of the responsibility 
 of the office, and of the divine call, that you might 
 rest on secure foundations. Having done that, I 
 rejoice that God has counted you worthy, putting 
 
68 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 you into the ministry. Your work associates you 
 with the purest and best minds of earth ; with 
 the men who have done, and are now doing, the 
 greatest work in the purification and elevation of 
 society. 
 
 For your greatest usefidness in it you need decis- 
 ion of character. You should feel that the whole 
 course of your life is settled ; that you have been 
 taken out of the mass of men for one special duty. 
 All your powers of body and spirit, your head, hands, 
 and heart, should be consecrated to this one work. 
 Your language should be, "This one thing I do." 
 Where there is singleness of purpose there is usually 
 great success. " If thine eye be single, thy whole 
 body shall be full of light." Mr. Wesley once said 
 of a young minister of only average talents and cult- 
 ure : " Other men may do good ; this man must do 
 good, for he thinks of nothing else." You will make 
 but little progress if you look at the ministry as a 
 stepping-stone to any thing else, or as a work in 
 which you can spend part of your time and have a 
 large margin for other duties. In his early ministry, 
 before he had received the holy baptism, Dr. Chal- 
 mers wrote in reference to a chair of mathematics, 
 that a minister could discharge all his duties on his 
 charge, and have five days in the week for other pur- 
 suits. When he felt the greatness of the work, and 
 his soul had fully entered into it, he publicly retracted 
 his declaration, saying he had neglected to estimate 
 
Avoid Imitation. 69 
 
 two magnitudes, "the littleness of time" and "the 
 greatness of eternity." Do not think of being a 
 preacher and something else. The powers of an arch- 
 angel are too feeble for the conversion of the world. 
 You should have a holy ambition to produce for the' 
 Master the greatest possible results ; not merely for 
 to-day, but for the entire period of your ministerial 
 career. 
 
 The young minister is frequently perplexed to 
 know what model he shall set before him. He ad- 
 mires some of his professors, or some leading men in 
 the pulpit to whom he has listened, and in whose 
 footsteps he desires to tread. To him they are 
 heroes, and, unconsciously, he has an element of 
 hero worship. But the selection of any model is a 
 dangerous matter. No man is perfect, and we arc 
 much more likely to imitate defects than excellencies. 
 We do well to follow glorious examples of holy living 
 and of earnest devotion to the ministry ; but imita- 
 tion of manner, whether personal or professional, is 
 decidedly injurious. God has not made two spears of 
 grass precisely alike, much less two human beings. 
 He has impressed individuality on our minds, as 
 well as on our features. It is not his law to dupli- 
 cate copies. Illustrious as your models may be, God 
 does not desire exact copies. His wisdom is shown 
 in using a vast variety of instruments, and in blend- 
 ing a vast variety of persons into the image of the 
 one great Saviour. Avoid, then, all the desire for 
 
70 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 imitation. Be yourselves. Consecrate yourselves, 
 not imitations of others, to the service of Christ. 
 
 Your great aim should be to place before you the 
 only true model, the Lord Jesus Christ. I suppose 
 that you, as well as myself, have often wished for a 
 description of Christ's person and of his appearance. 
 Is it not remarkable that among the four evangelists 
 there is not a single allusion to his height, or size, or 
 temperament ; to the color of his eyes or hair, the 
 form of his features, or the intonation of his voice .'' 
 Had there been such a record, what feelings of ex- 
 ultation would those have enjoyed who most resem- 
 bled him ; and what fears would have perplexed 
 those unlike him as to their acceptance by him, and 
 their power of doing good .-• Nor have we any de- 
 scription of the apostles, with the exception possibly 
 of an allusion to St. Paul. We have their mental 
 characteristics and their moral features ; but not one 
 hint as to their differences of countenance, tempera- 
 ment, strength, or voice. All this, as I understand 
 it, is that we may copy no man. Our likeness to 
 Christ should be mental and moral, and our imitation 
 of him should be in always doing good. Is it not, also, 
 a little singular that not one word is said about the 
 particular dress of the disciples ; or that not a direc- 
 tion should be given as to what color they should 
 wear ; or what the shape of their coats or cloaks 
 should be .-* It is not even intimated that Peter's 
 dress was different from that of the other disciples. 
 
Imitate Christ. yi 
 
 And is it not still more remarkable that, when Jesus 
 sent out the disciples, he charged them not to pro- 
 vide " two coats," or, as Mark has it, they should " not 
 put on two coats ? " Is it not strange that they were 
 not allowed to have one coat for traveling and for 
 common wear, and another for the pulpit ? Does it 
 not seem as though they were to be perfectly like 
 other men — to preach in the same garb in which they 
 traveled, and to show themselves to be brothers of a 
 common humanity? How much like the present 
 successors of the apostles they must have been ! 
 Dismissing, then, from your thoughts all imitation of 
 human models, take as your spiritual exemplar only 
 the Lord Jesus Christ ; and the apostles only so far 
 as they were inspired, and as they perfectly followed 
 him. 
 
 Your first duty, then, is to get such a conception 
 of Christ, in all his glorious offices, as will enable you 
 to present him vividly before the people. You must 
 study the record of every utterance which he made, 
 and every act which he performed. You must enter 
 into the spirit of his compassion, his condescension, 
 his diligence, and his love. To do this fully you will 
 need the light of prophecy concentrated upon him, 
 and a view of the circumstances of the people among 
 whom he dwelt. You must study not only the his- 
 tory of Christ, the lessons taught, and the works per- 
 formed ; but you must study him personally, until you 
 have taken into yourselves the impress of his char- 
 
t 
 
 72 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 acter, the stamp of his own image. You must then 
 translate all these into the circumstances of to-day. 
 In your associations you will think, What would 
 Christ have said ? What would have been his spirit ? 
 Amid opposition you encounter, how would Christ 
 have borne it .'' Amid work to be done, how would 
 Christ have performed it .'* and so, in all your interming- 
 ling in society, you are to manifest the spirit of Christ. 
 To manifest it successfully, you must have it ; you 
 must realize the full meaning of those words, " Christ 
 in you, the hope of glory." With this image of 
 Christ in your mind and his Spirit in your heart, you 
 will survey the work to be accomplished, bearing in 
 mind that neither argument nor oratory of your own 
 can save the people ; and yet that the best powers of 
 these which you can possibly gain may be wielded by 
 the Holy Spirit for the salvation of men. Your one 
 woik must be to hold up Christ before the people, and 
 so present him as you see him and realize his power, 
 that the people shall see him through your life as 
 well as through your representation. People judge 
 not so much of truth in its abstract as in its embodied 
 form. J You may speak of the meekness and love of 
 Christ, but you stand in Christ's stead before their 
 eyes. They look for that meekness and love in you, 
 and you dishonor your Master when you exhibit a 
 spirit which differs from his. You must realize with 
 the apostle, " For me to live is Christ." Your life 
 must be hid in him, so that you shall, indeed^ be "as 
 
Daily Reading. 73 
 
 Christ" to the people. Thus "lifted up," he draws 
 •'all men unto him." 
 
 Paul said to Timothy, " Let no man despise thy 
 youth ; but be thou an example of the believers, in 
 word, in conversation, in charity, in spirit, in faith, 
 in purity." You stand before your congregations to 
 show them how a Christian should live, how he should 
 converse, how he should mingle in society, how 
 gentle, patient, and loving he should be. If the fu- 
 gleman, who stands before the undrilled soldiers to 
 show them by his example what the word of com- 
 mand means, commits an error, his example is copied 
 and the drill is imperfect. So are you to stand as 
 fuglemen before your Churches. If your spirit is 
 wrong, theirs will be, also. 
 
 I That you may gain this high condition, daily read- 
 ing of the holy Scriptures is essential. The soul 
 needs them more than the body needs food. Jesus 
 says: "The words that I speak unto you, they are 
 spirit and they are life." Your object in thus read- 
 ing should be not to gain matter for sermons, nor for 
 the proof of favorite doctrines, nor for purposes of 
 controversy, but to sustain your spiritual strength. 
 
 \ You should discipline yourselves to read personally, 
 not professionally. In his reading, the young minis- 
 ter is too liable to apply passages to those around 
 him, and thus he fails to realize spiritual profit to 
 himself. He is like the maiden lady, described by the 
 humorist, that always cast glances on those around 
 
M~ 
 
 74 Lfxtures on Preaching. 
 
 her when she joined in the response: "Have mercy 
 upon us miserable sinners." 
 
 So, also, it is essential to be a man of prayer. While 
 the minister prays for his people, he must pray espe- 
 cially for himself. He must, indeed, bear upon his 
 bosom, as did the old high-priest, the names or re- 
 membrance of his people. But, first of all, he must 
 bring his own sacrifice to the altar. Successful min- 
 isters have always been men of prayer. You have 
 read how Livingston and Calamy spent whole nights 
 in prayer before their wonderful sermons. So, also, 
 did Fletcher of Madeley. In this they copied the 
 great Master. See Luther wrestling on the floor all 
 night in agony of prayer at the Diet of Worms, and 
 you will not be surprised at his triumphant answer 
 next day, nor at his' subsequent declaration : "Bene 
 oi'asse est bene studiiisse!^ 
 
 Another element of success is faith, personal faith 
 in the atoning merits of Christ — our only sacrifice 
 and our only mediator. Through it we enjoy the 
 consciousness of the forgiveness of sins, and the 
 assurance of our acceptance with God. ■ We also 
 need that faith which accepts the Bible as God's 
 word ; that believes implicitly all his precepts and 
 all his promises ; that feels perfectly satisfied that 
 God's word will have its corresponding fruit, and 
 that Christ's presence every-where, and at all times, 
 accompanies his minister, so that in the pulpit, 
 at the bedside of the sick, and in all his duties, 
 
Care of Health. 75 
 
 he will have the assurance of an accompanying 
 Saviour. 
 
 In ministerial deportment the utmost care must 
 be used. Conversation should be genial and pleas- 
 ant, and at the same time pure and instructive. 
 Neatness should be cultivated without affectation, 
 and cheerfulness without levity. We must beware of 
 thinking ourselves better than others because we 
 have different work to do, or of in any way separating 
 ourselves from the society around us. We are God's 
 embassadors, and yet servants. Christ identified 
 himself with the common people. They " heard him 
 gladly," and felt that he sympathized with their sor- 
 rows. Even the poor outcasts approached him, trem- 
 blingly and yet with hope. In the pulpit and every- 
 where we must manifest' the spirit of the blessed 
 Master, and be ready to extend a helping hand to 
 the distressed. 
 
 ( To accomplish the most for humanity you must 
 carefully guard your health and strength. No defi- 
 nite rules can be given to suit all circumstances. 
 
 / You must carefully watch the effect of your food, and 
 eat chiefly what is plain and simple. You will have 
 kind friends who will invite you to their hospitable 
 homes and to their bountiful tables ; they will urge 
 you to partake freely, but let them not " kill you with 
 kindness." Remember that the wise man says : 
 " When thou sittest to eat with a ruler, consider dili- 
 gently what is before thee : and put a knife to thy 
 
76 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 throat, if thou be a man given to appetite. Be not de- 
 sirous of his dainties: for they are deceitful meat." In 
 addition to simple diet, let me caution you against 
 late suppers. Mr. Wesley believed they produced 
 nervous diseases, and earnestly cautioned his young 
 preachers against both meat suppers and late suppers. 
 My own observations have led me to the same opin- 
 ion. Early in my ministry it was the common prac- 
 tice for those who preached at night to eat very little 
 supper, frequently none at all, before preaching, and 
 to eat a regular supper, or partake of refreshments, 
 at nine or ten o'clock at night. I adopted a different 
 course ; ate at the regular hour, though sparingly, 
 before preaching, and resolutely refused all food, ex- 
 cept sometimes a cracker, after preaching. Nearly 
 all of those who indulged suffered in the end, while 
 my health improved. As there is no one law, how- 
 ever, which will suit all constitutions and all temper- 
 aments, each must be a law to himself. If his meals 
 make him heavy and unfit for study, let him guard 
 against a repetition ; if, on the other hand, he has 
 a feeling of buoyancy, and can study clearly and 
 profitably, he has partaken well. 
 
 As in food, so in sleep. The same law will not 
 suit all persons. As a rule, from six to eight hours 
 are sufficient. Some are able to do with much less. 
 John Owen, in his university life, slept but four hours, 
 and Lord Brougham about the same. Napoleon al- 
 lowed himself five hours ; Mr. Wesley, about six, or 
 
Hours cf Sleep. 77 
 
 from six to seven. Each must determine for himself, 
 guarding against unnecessary waste of time. When 
 a student, I required seven hours. My custom was 
 to retire at nine and rise at four. But every few days 
 I found myself oversleeping my time some five or ten 
 minutes, or more. I became fully satisfied that I re- 
 quired full seven hours, and that whatever moments 
 I lost before I dropped asleep, or if I chanced to 
 awake in the night, must in some way be made up. 
 I had a fellow-student older than myself preparing for 
 the ministry among the Covenanters, who scarcely 
 ever retired before eleven, and was at his studies again 
 between two and three in the morning. He was dili- 
 gent and faithful ; but it seemed to me that he never 
 got wide-awake all day. The hours of rising will also 
 vary. I was brought up in the old-fashioned way of 
 rising early ; but that, like many other old fashions, 
 is at present considered by many as a relic of antiq- 
 uity, if not of barbarism. I may be influenced by 
 early associations, but my conviction is that the morn- 
 ing is the favorable time for study. An old proverb 
 reads : " The morning hour has gold in its mouth." 
 Protracted study at night I believe to be unfavorable 
 to health. A slight fever or excitement rises in the 
 system from the labors and anxieties of the day. The 
 pulse becomes a little faster and fuller. Under 
 this excitement the brain may act more rapidly, 
 and one may compose for a time with more ease ; 
 but it makes a draft on the system, and, sooner or 
 
78 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 later, will produce nervous prostration and severe 
 disease. 
 
 Avoid all stimulants of every character, which may 
 be recommended to strengthen your voice or to as- 
 sist you in pulpit duties. I can scarcely suppose 
 that any one who believes himself called to the min- 
 istry will countenance their use. Yet kind friends 
 will sometimes suggest that you are weak, your 
 nerves are tremulous, you have been out in the cold, 
 you need a stimulant ; and they will urge the taking of a 
 little wine or brandy before preaching. These friends, 
 if from England or Ireland, will tell you that the 
 most distinguished ministers are in the habit of using 
 them ; and I regret to say that in many churches 
 there both wine and brandy are kept in the vestry 
 for the use of the minister both before and after 
 preaching. On my first visit to the old countries 
 the kind sextons seemed to be as much astonished 
 that I would not accept them as I was amazed at 
 their being offered. I have known some young min- 
 isters who used a few drops of paregoric, or a small 
 quantity of opium, to give them temporary strength 
 in the pulpit. I am glad to say that I have known but 
 few such cases, but I must add that these were led 
 in the end to either physical or moral ruin. Dr. Al- 
 exander says : "The instances of apostasy within our 
 knowledge stare at us like the skeletons of lost travel- 
 ers among the sands of our desert way." " The appari- 
 tion of clerical drunkards, and the like, forewarn us." 
 
Avoid Stimulants. 79 
 
 Others limit themselves to two or three cups of 
 strong coffee or tea. The effect of these stimulants 
 is unquestionably to give greater strength to the 
 system for the time ; but all such artificial strength 
 is a draft which must be repaid with interest. The 
 unnatural excitement will be followed by subsequent 
 depression. God does not require us to use artifi- 
 cial strength in the pulpit. We must give ourselves 
 in our best vigor and culture to his service, but we 
 should so give ourselves that the service of one hour 
 shall not destroy our power for subsequent useful- 
 ness. I believe one reason why so many ministers 
 complain of "blue Monday " is that they have keyed 
 up their system by extra efforts beyond its natural 
 tension, and the excitement passing away leaves 
 them depressed. 
 
 So with tobacco. In som2 places congregations 
 are unwilling to receive ministers who indulge in its 
 use. Many families almost dread the visits of such 
 ministers, lest their growing sons will be led to adopt 
 a practice which they so earnestly discountenance 
 and oppose. The least that can be said is, it is a 
 costly mode of needless self-indulgence, and, as such, 
 it stands in the way of a minister's usefulness. He 
 pleads the missionary cause, and urges his congrega- 
 tion to economize ; but his words fall powerless when 
 they see that he does not love the cause of missions 
 so much as to restrain his own self-indulgence. To 
 many the odor of the cigar or of tobacco is unpleas- 
 
8o Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 ant, and especially in the sick room. There may be 
 a few cases where persons are very phlegmatic and 
 inclined to corpulency, where a small amount of to- 
 bacco may be of service medicinally. So, too, in 
 certain stages of bronchial difficulty a temporary use 
 may be of some relief ; but for persons of nervous 
 organization, as ministers usually are, it is an un- 
 mixed evil. It gives temporary tension, to produce 
 ultimate relaxation. Not a few cases have I known 
 of most promising and talented young men who have 
 been by it hastened to an untimely grave. I suppose 
 there is sometimes a relish and enjoyment connected 
 with it, for I have seen men sit for an hour smoking, 
 with their feet upon a table, and professing to be 
 studying. I have no doubt they had visions of great- 
 ness and glory ; but a somewhat extensive and pro- 
 longed observation shows that their lives usually end 
 with their cigars — in smoke. 
 
 The young minister has but commenced his studies. 
 He may have, indeed, graduated with honor both 
 from the college and the theological school ; yet he 
 has only learned how to study ; he has been acquir- 
 ing habits ; his great work lies before him. Too 
 frequently, as the bent bow flies back, so, leaving the 
 institution, he feels free from restraint. The clock 
 does not call him ; the professors are not waiting ; 
 recitations are not pressing ; and he feels a luxury 
 in being his own. He is in danger of losing his 
 habits of study ; for what is not done systematically 
 
Hours of Study. 8 1 
 
 is oftentimes not done at all To be successful, he 
 must mark out a system for himself, must arrange 
 his hours of study, and adhere to them as strictly as 
 possible. With system adhered to, much can be 
 done. Hannah More says: "A good packer will 
 get in twice as much as a bungler." As far as prac- 
 ticable, the morning should be spent in study, and 
 kept as free from interruption or intrusion as possi- 
 ble. Dr. Alexander says : " Tell me how you spend 
 your forenoon in your early ministry, and I shall be 
 better able to predict how you will preach. If you 
 idle, stroll, or habitually visit before noon, your men- 
 tal progress may be divined." It is difficult to say 
 what number of hours should be thus devoted. I 
 should be inclined to place the inmiimim at three 
 hours, and the maxhninn at six. Mr. Wesley enjoined 
 his preachers, wherever practicable, to spend all the 
 morning in study, or at least five hours in the four 
 and twenty. Many German students spend from 
 twelve to sixteen hours in their study. Edward 
 Calamy spent sixteen hours a day ; and in preparing 
 his commentary Poole occupied himself for ten years, 
 rising at two or three in the morning, and studying 
 till late in the afternoon, taking only a slight recess 
 for a simple meal. A preacher, however, has such 
 a variety of duties when in charge of a congregation 
 as to render it improper for him to study more than 
 five or six consecutive hours. Besides, the preacher 
 
 has this advantage : he can be studying every-vvhere. 
 6 
 
82 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 Unlike men whose business is in the shop or count- 
 ing-room, and is laid aside when leaving the place, 
 the minister finds subjects of study wherever he 
 goes. The families in which he visits, the social 
 companies he attends, the men he encounters in 
 business, and the children on the streets, furnish 
 him matter for thought. He is God's messenger to 
 benefit every one of them. Hence he studies their 
 habits of life, their progress in knowledge, their apt- 
 itudes, besetments, and controlling influences. He 
 searches for a key that shall open the wards of their 
 hearts, for knowledge which shall instruct them, and 
 for consolation which shall alleviate their sorrow. 
 His business is more with men than with books. 
 
 If the poet could say, " The proper study of man- 
 kind is man," much more is it true as to the minis- 
 ter. Human nature spreads out before him. It is 
 the staple on which he works. He must study the 
 laws of mind, of the associations of thought, of the 
 origin of emotions, the manner in which they 
 strengthen or antagonize each other, and the influ- 
 ence which they exert upon the will. For this pur- 
 pose he needs not only to read the best authors, and 
 to study the best systems, but to study man for him- 
 self — especially to study his own congregation, that 
 he may know how to apply to them the word of 
 God. 
 
 To discharge his duties properly, he will nesd a 
 zeal approaching enthusiasm ; his whole being must 
 
Love for Humanity. 83 
 
 be absorbed in his work. The early apostles gave 
 themselves "continually to the word of God and 
 prayer." They labored night and day, publicly and 
 privately, in season, out of season, warning even with 
 tears those to whom they had access. Such must 
 be the minister of to-day — a man of one work, who 
 studies how to concentrate all possible power to pro- 
 duce one result. As the burning-glass concentrates 
 the rays of light until they acquire a consuming 
 power, so thoughts gathered from all sources, illus- 
 trations from all departments, motives of many kinds, 
 all pass through his mind, and are focalized on one 
 point — the destruction of sin and the substitution of 
 holiness. It was said of the great Master : " The 
 zeal of thine house hath eaten me up." The prophet 
 says : " His word was in my heart as a burning fire 
 shut up in my bones." 
 
 The strongest element of power is love for human- 
 ity. Christ loved men so much that he gave himself 
 to die for them. The true minister must also exhibit 
 an intensity of love. When the sick came to Jesus 
 he asked no questions as to race, parentage, or birth ; 
 no questions as to their conceptions of him, or whether 
 their parents or friends were his friends. He simply 
 healed them all ; he showed them his kindness by 
 his cleansing touch ; and sparks of grace, coming 
 from him, electrified their souls. So the minister 
 must be doing good to those around him. They may 
 dislike him and avoid him, but that does not diminish 
 
84 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 his obligation to do them good. They may fly from 
 him, but he is to follow them. Like the legend which 
 represents Saint John as pursuing his former disciple 
 into his haunts as a robber, and bringing him back 
 again to society and purity, so must we follow with 
 the spirit of love those who repel us, and would flee 
 away. 
 
 The apostle had so much of this spirit that we 
 hear him saying, " I will very gladly spend and be 
 spent for you ; though the more abundantly I love 
 you, the less I be loved." So intense was this affec- 
 tion that he exclaims, " For I could wish that myself 
 were accursed from Christ for my brethren, my kins- 
 men according to the flesh." The same intense agony 
 of spirit was manifested by Moses, when he prayed 
 for the Israelites, saying : " Yet now, if thou wilt — ■ 
 forgive their sin : and if not, blot me, I pray thee, 
 out of thy book which thou hast written." That 
 same spirit dwells in the bosom of earnest and suc- 
 cessful ministers. " Give me souls, or I die !" has 
 been the exclamation of many a devoted servant of 
 God. This longing earnestness will manifest itself 
 in the spirit of the minister, will be breathed into his 
 sermons, and will actuate him in all his duties. Men 
 will see that he is in the ministry, not simply as a 
 profession for a livelihood, but that his mission is to 
 save and bless humanity. 
 
 In his intercourse with society the preacher needs 
 to avoid the spirit of dogmatism. The influences 
 
Avoid Dogmatism. 85 
 
 connected with the pulpit naturally lead in this direc- 
 tion. The pulpit is " the throne of the preacher ; " he 
 utters his message authoritatively, and he is very li- 
 able to utter his own thoughts in the same manner. 
 The attorney has his antagonistic counsel watching 
 him every moment, replying to what he says, ques- 
 tioning his authorities, denying the correctness of his 
 statements, showing the fallacy of his arguments, and 
 the irrelevancy of his illustrations. He is compelled 
 to be perpetually on his guard, and to expect oppo- 
 sition and contradiction. Attorneys treat this as a 
 necessary incident in professional life ; and, while 
 highly excited this hour, they are genial and pleasant 
 the next. But the minister, unused to contradiction 
 or reply, thinks himself almost insulted if one calls in 
 question the correctness of his views, or the accuracy 
 of his statements. It would be a good thing for you if 
 you could have some true friend who would carefully 
 show you the weakness of your arguments, defects in 
 your statements, or any errors, either in matter or 
 manner, into which you may have fallen. Such a 
 man would be your greatest friend, and yet how few 
 are willing to receive kindly such admonition ! 
 
 Sometimes a morbid sensitiveness, almost amount- 
 ing to irritability and peevishness, impairs a minis- 
 ter's usefulness. This does not arise directly from 
 his work ; the spirit of the Gospel is one of patience 
 and love. But this liability springs out of constitu- 
 tional tendency. The minister is generally of an 
 
86 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 active temperament, and frequently of fine taste and 
 esthetic culture. His whole training develops nerv- 
 ous sensibility. Poets, sculptors, painters, and sing- 
 ers are proverbially irritable. Their cultivated- sensi- 
 bility, their accurate choice of colors, their perception 
 of symmetry of form, their nice discrimination of 
 musical tones and chords, all develop and stimulate 
 their nervous power. What is incongruous annoys ; 
 a discord shocks ; and musical connoisseurs are in ter- 
 rible agony when others are enjoying a plain evening 
 song. Every minister knows, or will know, the trouble 
 that arises among singers, and the difficulty of keep- 
 ing large choirs together. It is the result of their 
 peculiarly sensitive organism. Preachers are liable 
 to the same influences. They may not be either fine 
 singers or renowned poets or painters, but they live 
 in a realm of nervous excitement. They have a po- 
 etic outlook ; they see pictures of beauty, images of 
 grandeur, and conceptions of purity and glory. The 
 realities of practical life, the hard knocks of the 
 world, the discords of society, affect most uncomfort- 
 ably such constitutions. But the minister should re- 
 member that he is sent to exhibit the beauty of a 
 Christian life and the spirit of gentleness and pa- 
 tience in the midst of an agitated world. 
 
 One great source of a minister's annoyance is con- 
 nected with his pecuniary support. In nine cases 
 out of ten, this will be quite limited. He has been 
 well educated, associated with respectable society, 
 
Self -Conceit. 8y 
 
 has acquired a taste for neatness, admires tlie beau- 
 tiful in painting, and feels the absolute necessity of 
 books ; but he has no fortune at his command. His 
 salary, though oftentimes meager, is not promptly 
 paid, and many a sad heart-ache comes from inability 
 to meet pressing wants and demands. The true 
 remedy can only be found in economy. In college 
 life he studied political economy, but in ministerial 
 life his studies will be protracted and severe in per- 
 sonal and domestic economy. An inflexible resolu- 
 tion should be formed never to go in debt. " Owe 
 no man any thing," is an apostolic injunction. John 
 Randolph is reported to have said in Congress : " I 
 have found the philosopher's stone. It is, ' Pay as 
 you go.' " 
 
 The young minister will need to guard against self- 
 conceit. He may have been successful in preaching, 
 and fancy he has already overcome all difificuities, 
 and will take his place as one of the orators of the 
 land. He has scarcely descended from the pulpit 
 when some one is silly enough to tell him, and he is 
 foolish enough to believe, that he has preached a fine 
 sermon. He compares himself with some able and 
 aged minister, and fancies that he is already more 
 popular ; and he lays aside his sermon with the con- 
 viction that it is as nearly perfect as a human per- 
 formance can be, and that he has little more need for 
 study or care, because his fame is already secure 
 
 It cannot be denied that there is a tendency in 
 
88 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 Churches to seek for young men rather than for the 
 old ; and I believe this is one of the great errors of 
 Christian congregations. It is not so in other pro- 
 fessions. The older a physician is, and the more 
 cases he has successfully treated, the greater is the 
 confidence felt in his opinion ; and patients regard 
 with doubt the visits of young physicians who come 
 in the place of older ones. The attorney, as he 
 grows in years, is supposed to increase in skill ; and 
 while clients are willing that the younger members 
 of the firm shall collect testimony, and work up the 
 case, they desire the counsel and advice of the senior 
 member to guide them through its complications and 
 intricacy. The statesman never grows too old to be 
 appreciated and sought for. A Russell, a Brougham, 
 and a Palmers ton in England, and a Webster, Clay, 
 and Benton in America, were leaders as long as they 
 lived. To-day Gladstone, Disraeli, Bismarck, and 
 Gortschakofif are the men who control, in great 
 measure, the destinies of Europe. To an advanced 
 age Thiers was the skillful and acknowledged leader 
 in France. Why should it not be so in the ministry ? 
 And why is it that men turn, in the most important 
 interests of life affecting themselves and their fami- 
 lies, from the counsels of age and experience, to 
 those of the young and less skilled ? I may not be 
 able to answer this question satisfactorily, either to 
 you or myself. One reason, I believe, is the neglect 
 of study on the part of many aged ministers. They 
 
Need of Study. 89 
 
 miss that stimulus which belongs to the other pro- 
 fessions. To the physician every case is new ; new 
 investigations in pathology may change his views as 
 to the nature of the disease ; new remedies are dis- 
 covered and recommended ; he must keep abreast 
 of the times, or some competitor will take away his 
 practice. The attorney finds some new element in 
 almost every case ; new decisions are given by the 
 Supreme Court, and he must study them. In states- 
 manship new complications are constantly arising ; 
 the connections of nations are so numerous, their 
 interests are so wide, the matters involved are so 
 various, and sometimes so vast, as to require the ut- 
 most comprehensiveness in grasp, and attention to 
 the least mimitiee in detail. The statesman has no 
 old sermon he can pick up and apply ; he must think 
 and study and write, and this keeps the mind ever 
 active and fresh. Then he has around him a world 
 finding fault. An eagle-eyed Gladstone is watching 
 a Disraeli ; an argus-eyed press is watching the 
 movements of every administration. There is no 
 time to nod or sleep. But the old minister sits 
 down under his vine or fig-tree, and there is none to 
 molest him or make him afraid. He hurls thunder- 
 bolts at the heads of scientists, who are a thousand 
 miles away, and will never hear of his denunciations. 
 He descants upon the sins of the Egyptians, who have 
 been mummies for three thousand years ; or upon 
 the pride of Babylon or Nineveh, which have been 
 
90 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 swept away by the flood of ages. He is pressed 
 for time, and brings before his congregation of to-day 
 a discussion he had made twenty years ago, on an 
 issue then living, but now almost forgotten. His 
 thoughts are of the past, his sermons are of the past, 
 and the generation of to-day feels that he is scarcely 
 one of them. 
 
 But, independently of this, society loves to be 
 stirred or excited. Youth has greater power in 
 arousing ; it has more enthusiasm and zeal. Whether 
 it be more earnest in heart or not, it exhibits greater 
 earnestness. The eye sparkles more lively, the ut- 
 terance is more rapid, the gesticulation more excited, 
 and the whole frame more impassioned. There is no 
 need of age losing its keenness of thought or its in- 
 tense interest in the issues of to-day ; there is no 
 need that it should lose its earnestness of heart, 
 though it may of manner. The latter, I suppose, is 
 almost unavoidable. 
 
 I must not trench much on metaphysics ; yet I 
 may say, I suppose minds differ chiefly in two things : 
 First, in the rapidity with which thought succeeds 
 thought. I can fancy it quite possible that some men 
 may think two or three times as fast as I can. In 
 the images cast from the camera, you have sometimes 
 seen how slowly a shadow may pass along the cur- 
 tain, and then again how rapidly one chases another. 
 It may be so across the field of mind. Where 
 thoughts move most rapidly in succession, conclu- 
 
Mental Differences. g i 
 
 sions are more rapidly reached ; and if, as some philos- 
 ophers fancy, the origin of the idea of duration is from 
 the flow of thought, one man may seem to live longer 
 in a month than another in a year. Now, in the same 
 person, as the pulse beats more rapidly in youth and 
 more slowly in age, so it is probably in the succes- 
 sion of thoughts. The second element in which 
 minds differ, is in the number of thoughts which troop 
 abreast across the field. I have no faith in the opin- 
 ion sometimes advanced, that we can have only one 
 idea in the mind at the same time. If we had but 
 one idea, there would be no comparison and no rea- 
 soning ; there would be no fancy, no imagination. 
 Some minds may be exceedingly narrow. They are 
 your severely logical minds. Their whole strength 
 is spent in examining how one link of thought is fast- 
 ened into another, and how strong and unbroken is 
 the chain. The chief motion of their minds is in a 
 line ; and as the hound pursues the hare without 
 looking to the right or left, so such men pursue an 
 idea ; and sometimes, when they catch it, they al- 
 most kill it. Still, they have their use. They are 
 logical, severely logical, though the skeletons they 
 form are so dry that one may well ask, " Can these 
 dry bones live.''" 
 
 Other minds, however, see a whole platoon of 
 thoughts. Usually one advances sword in hand, like 
 a captain, and the others are mere privates. Such 
 men write floridly, or speak floridly ; they deck with 
 
92 Lfxtures on Preaching. 
 
 jewels their favorite idea, and cover it with a pro- 
 fusion of ornaments. They are rich in illustrations, 
 abundant in the metaphors ; and sometimes so luxu- 
 riant that the main idea is hidden under the foliage, 
 and escapes them utterly ; then their speech or essay 
 is point-nO'point ; you are bewildered, and cannot 
 tell what is meant. Habit largely influences and 
 controls us, but I think the ordinary law is that, with- 
 out careful study and constant culture, not only is the 
 succession of thoughts more sluggish in age, but the 
 width of their platoon also diminishes. Age may 
 think more correctly, but less ornamentally, and the 
 common mind is pleased with illustrations, figures, 
 and ornaments. Grander stores of knowledge and 
 broader views of life are needed to compensate for 
 the diminution of the power to charm and impress. 
 
 There is another reason why the young minister 
 is sometimes preferred. The human mind has a love 
 for noticing development or growth. We love the 
 beauty of the morning as the light so sweetly spreads, 
 deepening in intensity before the rising sun. From 
 the clear sky we anticipate a bright and beautiful 
 day. The noon hour brings with it the thought of 
 declension — an unpleasant thought to the mind. We 
 wander through the garden : the opening bud is more 
 beautiful than the full-blown rose. There is the 
 thought of beauty, with the added thought of increas- 
 ing beauty ; but with the full-blown rose comes the 
 idea of decay. So, too, in realms of business. A-Ten 
 
Promise in Youth. 93 
 
 prefer investing in growing towns rather than in older 
 ones. They purchase corner lots, not because of 
 their value to-day, but for what it is supposed they 
 will be worth ten years hence. So it is with the 
 ministry. Men love to hear the young minister, for 
 they say, He preaches a fine sermon, and he will 
 preach better by and by. They take stock in him, 
 not because of what he is, but of what he will be. 
 They admire his utterances, not merely because of 
 what they are, but for the promise they give of coming 
 oratory. So, because of this feeling, they prefer him 
 to the man who is fully developed, and whose real 
 value to-day may be much greater. But if that young 
 man rests on his laurels, if he fails to study, if he 
 preaches only the same sermons ten years afterward, 
 the Church will feel woefully disappointed, and will 
 regret its investment, because the anticipated rise is 
 not realized. It may be illustrated by what we find 
 in our own families. The little child just beginning 
 to speak is an object of admiration and delight. The 
 first time he says " Pa " or " Ma " distinctly the family 
 is enraptured. When he is able to put a sentence 
 together, though half the words may be misplaced, 
 and the other half wrongly pronounced, they pat him 
 on the head and clap their hands for joy. They call 
 him a coming genius. But if ten years pass awa3% 
 and he makes no improvement in his speech, it will 
 not be on the head \\\Q.y will pat him. 
 
 While the young minister should be guarded 
 
94 Lectures on- Preaching. 
 
 against self-conceit, he is also to be cautioned against 
 discouragements. Eminence is not gained at once. 
 The orators of to-day, like orators of old, straggle 
 with difficulties. The preacher who seems to speak 
 with ease and power has gained his position by long- 
 continued effort. The work he does to-day is not of 
 to-day. Sir Joshua Reynolds, it is said, was re- 
 quested by a nobleman to paint for him a special 
 picture. In a few weeks the order was filled, and a 
 bill presented for five hundred guineas. The noble- 
 man demurred at the price, and said it had cost the 
 artist only the labor of a few days. Sir Joshua re- 
 plied that he was mistaken ; it had taken him forty 
 years to paint it. So the sermon of to-day, or the 
 work of to-day, though just planned or painted, is 
 really the work of years of thorough culture. I pre- 
 sume there are but few young men who have not a 
 sense of discouragement when they listen to the 
 efforts of superior thinkers and orators. They should, 
 however, remember, first, that quite possibly they 
 may equal these orators at some future period, and 
 their example should be a stivudus ; secondly, that 
 God gives but few such men to his Church, and that 
 there is plenty of room for earnest workers, even if 
 not so highly talented. 
 
 Let me speak again of myself. The only severe 
 temptation I ever had to quit the active work of the 
 ministry was during my first year. A church was 
 finished on the circuit I traveled ; an eminent min- 
 
Discotirngcmcnts. 95 
 
 ister was called to the dedication ; he was a man of 
 great mental power, an acute and original thinker, 
 but of delicate health. For some years he had been 
 trammeled with doubts and perplexities, partly owing 
 to his state of health, and partly owing to Unitarian 
 works which he had read, and which, for a time, 
 weakened his power of asserting the divinity of Christ. 
 But his health had improved, he had emerged from 
 all these doubts into clear and strong faith, and he 
 was enjoying a sacred influence of the floly Spirit. 
 During the services he preached five sermons, full of 
 thought most forcibly expressed, and accompanied 
 with a divine unction. I thought then I had never 
 heard five such sermons. I still think I have heard 
 but few equal to them. The effect upon me was one 
 of humiliation and discouragement. I felt I had no 
 right to stand in the sacred desk, and to utter my 
 feeble thoughts like the lispings of childhood, when 
 the services of such men could be secured. I re- 
 solved firmly to close my connection with the Con- 
 ference at the end of the year. I did not dare to 
 think of ceasing to preach ; but I would be what 
 Methodists term a local preacher. I would support 
 myself by another profession, and preach whenever 
 and wherever I could find a place to do good. I 
 mentioned my purpose to but one friend, who had 
 heard those sermons as well as myself; and who yet 
 protested most emphatically, and even tearfully, 
 against my decision. Before the year closed I had a 
 
96 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 most interesting service. A minister, one year older 
 than myself in the Conference, came to visit me, 
 and I invited him to preach. My congregation was 
 unusually large and intelligent, and I knew nothing 
 of my brother's qualifications. Before he had pro- 
 ceeded far I discovered I had made a mistake. His 
 thoughts were crude and disjointed, and he murdered 
 the king's English. I was deeply mortified. I got 
 my head down behind the pulpit, and as he proceeded 
 it got lower and lower. I was chagrined and vexed, 
 and said to myself, As long as the Church has room 
 for such ministers, I will stay and preach on. It 
 was the last temptation I ever had. Since I have 
 been Bishop it has been my lot to give that minister 
 an appointment. He has never excelled as a preach- 
 er. Though I have kept his name strictly to myself, 
 I have never met him without feeling a glow of grati- 
 tude that, through his stumbling that evening, I was 
 cured of my discouragement. 
 
Careful Preparation. 97 
 
 LECTURE IV. 
 
 INDIRECT PREPARATION FOR THE PULPIT. 
 
 TTVERY work of importance demands proper 
 -* — ' preparation. As preaching is the most exalted 
 duty which God has devolved upon man, it requires 
 the most thorough qualification. Yet there are a few 
 persons who claim that the minister is to speak with- 
 out premeditation. They profess to obey the decla- 
 ration of our Saviour to his disciples, "Take no 
 thought how or what ye shall speak : for it shall be 
 given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. 
 For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Fa- 
 ther which speaketh in you." This direction, how- 
 ever, was given only to those who were delivered into 
 the hands of governors and kings, to be scourged and 
 punished for their faith. It was given, also, only to 
 those who were miraculously endowed, and to whom 
 Christ had given power against unclean spirits, to 
 cast them out, and to heal all manner of sickness and 
 all manner of disease. Hence, the direction is appli- 
 cable only, in the present day, to such as can show 
 similar power, or who are arrested and brought before 
 magistrates for Christ's sake. 
 
 Those who plead for unpremeditated speaking 
 7 
 
I 
 
 98 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 claim that they thus honor the Holy Spirit, and that 
 they rely not on their own knowledge, or arguments, 
 or eloquence, but on divine inspiration. I would not 
 for one moment depreciate the oflices and influences 
 of the Holy Spirit, nor the promised presence of 
 Christ with his disciples ; but the work of preaching 
 has an analogy to other works which God requires 
 man to perform. The farmer prepares the ground, 
 procures the desired seed, sows it properly, and care- 
 fully protects the growing crops, yet God alone gives 
 the harvest. He has put life into the seed, and wa- 
 ters and warms it with the showers and sunlight of 
 heaven. The physician, called to the bedside of suf- 
 fering, carefully examines the character of the disease 
 and its progress, and selects the best remedies within 
 his knowledge ; yet it is because God has so formed 
 the human frame, and so disposed the qualities of the 
 remedies, that health may be thus regained. God 
 has given to the minister his word, as the sword of 
 the Spirit ; has given to him judgment and skill for 
 its use, and sympathy for his congregation. The 
 Holy Spirit shines upon them all, illumining the sa- 
 cred page, guiding the judgment of the minister, and 
 inclining the hearts of the congregation to hear and 
 receive the truth. So that, though Paul may plant, 
 and Apollos may water, God gives the increase. 
 
 Strictly speaking, extemporaneous preaching is im- 
 possible. A minister may select a text without hav- 
 ing his thoughts specifically arranged, and may de- 
 
Matter of Sermons. 99 
 
 pend upon his memory and imagination for the utter- 
 ances he is about to make ; but his power of speech 
 he received in infancy ; the words he employs he has 
 used from childhood. If he quote Scripture, or re- 
 fer to any incident within his experience or observa- 
 tion, he is using his memory. The extemporaneous- 
 ness of the speech lies only in the order in which 
 his thoughts are presented, or in such suggestions as 
 at the moment may occur. The office of the Holy 
 Spirit is thus defined by our Saviour : " He shall 
 teach you all things, and bring all things to your re- 
 membrance, whatsoever I have said unto you." When 
 Christ sent forth his disciples to preach he gave them 
 their sermon, commanding them, "As ye go, preach, 
 saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand." It was 
 a short sermon, but it stirred the hearts of the Jewish 
 world. His further directions were, to repreach the 
 lessons they had heard from him : " What I tell you 
 in darkness, that speak ye in light : and what ye hear 
 in the ear, that preach ye upon the house-tops." And 
 in the great commission he directed them to " teach 
 all nations " " to observe all things whatsoever I have 
 commanded you." He thus gave to his disciples the 
 sum and substance of their preaching, which they 
 were carefully to remember and faithfully to proclaim 
 wherever they went. The apostle charges Timothy, 
 " Till I come, give attendance to reading, to exhorta- 
 tion, to doctrine." " Meditate upon these things ; 
 give thyself wholly to them ; that thy profiting may 
 
lOO Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 appear to all." And again : " If any man teach oth- 
 erwise, and consent not to wholesome words, even 
 the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doc- 
 trine which is according to godliness ; he is proud, 
 knowing nothing, but doting about questions and 
 strifes of words." 
 
 These preparations for the pulpit may be direct or 
 indirect. The direct preparation applies to the ar- 
 rangement of the sermon which may be immediately 
 on hand. The indirect, to the accumulation of ma- 
 terials which shall be held in reserve, and ready for 
 use whenever necessary. This indirect preparation 
 will now be considered. 
 
 " Preach the word !" was the emphatic injunction 
 uttered by St. Paul among his last words. And if 
 preaching be the declaration of a message sent 
 through us to our fellow-men, that word is the only 
 thing which we should preach. We are informed 
 that " all Scripture is given by inspiration of God, 
 and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correc- 
 tion, for instruction in righteousness : that the man 
 of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all 
 good works." Timothy is thus congratulated : •' From 
 a child thou hast known the holy Scriptures, which 
 are able to make thee wise unto salvation, through 
 faith which is in Christ Jesus." That sublime pas- 
 sage of the psalmist commencing with " The word of 
 the Lord is perfect, converting the soul," sets forth 
 the value of the word in most beautiful language. 
 
Study of Scriptures. lOI 
 
 Jesus says : " The words that I speak unto you, they 
 are spirit, and they are Hfe." 
 
 That the minister may successfully preach this 
 word he must study it diligently. He must not read 
 it merely for his personal profit, (to which reference 
 was made in a former lecture,) but that he may be 
 able to explain it clearly to others, and draw from it 
 such lessons as may be for their instruction and spir- 
 itual profit. For this purpose he must not only read 
 it consecutively and thoroughly, but must so examine 
 each separate book as to become fully imbued with 
 the spirit of the writer, the age in which and the 
 people for whom he more especially wrote, together 
 with the attendant circumstances which add signifi- 
 cance and force to the words. The relation of each 
 part to the whole, and as embraced in the whole, 
 should be so considered that the unity of the Script- 
 ures may more fully appear. It is a unity extending 
 through the ages. Made up of many parts, proceeding 
 from the pens of many writers, it is yet so beautifully 
 blended in its rays of various hues as to make one 
 brilliant light to shine upon man's pathway from 
 time to eternity. 
 
 For its clear elucidation, Scripture must be com- 
 pared with Scripture, and the helps of critical writers, 
 such as commentators, must also be used. Works 
 illustrating the manners and customs of the people 
 in the several ages, the historical connections between 
 the Israelites and surrounding nations, and the geog- 
 
I02 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 raphy and topography of the Holy Land, will also be 
 of immense service to the biblical student. I shall 
 not detain you by alluding to specific authors, or by 
 attempting a comparison of the relative value of 
 these several studies. These matters pertain to your 
 regular course, and are taught by your able and hon- 
 ored professors more fittingly than I could teach 
 them. I would earnestly recommend, however, that 
 your chief attention be given to the word itself, and 
 to the illustration of Scripture by Scripture. 
 
 The l^ible should be so studied that it shall be at 
 the command of the preacher at all times. What- 
 ever else he may know, or not know, he must, to be 
 successful, have a ready knowledge of scriptural lan- 
 guage. In it he will find the foundation for his best 
 arguments, as well as his finest illustrations. Its po- 
 etry is beautiful, its imagery is sublime. Its great 
 value is, that it is truth stated by the Lord himself in 
 such form and manner as will best reach the human 
 conscience. The preacher who quotes much of the 
 Bible has, not only in the estimation of his hearers 
 the authority of "Thus saith the Lord," but there is 
 also a divine unseen power so joined to those words 
 that they cannot be uttered without fruit. The words 
 of men, however forcible and however beautiful they 
 may be, are but words. But the words of the Lord 
 revealed to man and for man have connected with 
 them a divine power beyond the words themselves. 
 How this is I may not be able to tell ; but we have 
 
Pozver of Divine Words. 103 
 
 illustrations throughout the Holy Scriptures. When 
 the Israelites stood at the Red Sea there was no power 
 in the words of Moses more than in ordinary words, 
 yet because God directed him to utter them, the wa- 
 ters were parted and the dry land appeared. When 
 Elisha, with the mantle of Elijah, smote the Jordan, 
 the cloth was simply like other cloth ; Elisha's arm 
 was strong only as our arm, yet the smitten river 
 opened a pathway, and Elisha went over. When Je- 
 sus spoke to the winds and the waves, I suppose 
 there was nothing remarkable in his tone or manner, 
 and yet the elements obeyed, for they felt the voice 
 of God. You remember how the seventy came back 
 after Jesus had sent them forth to preach, and in- 
 formed him with joy that " even the devils are sub- 
 ject unto us through thy name." I suppose they 
 were amazed when they found the words which they 
 uttered accompanied, or followed, by such glorious 
 results. It was because the words they spake were 
 the words which Jesus gave them. So those words 
 from your lips will be the power of God unto salva- 
 tion. 
 
 You will find, also, that men the most eminent for 
 usefulness have been the closest students of the 
 divine word. Some of them knew but little else. 
 Out of the Bible and his own experience Bunyan 
 drew the wonderful story of the " Pilgrim's Progress," 
 which has probably a hundred readers where the 
 most eloquent sermon that the greatest uninspired 
 
I04 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 orator ever uttered has but one. We have South 
 and Barrows, Howe and Goodwin, Calvin and Lu- 
 ther, Wesley and Edwards, in our libraries, and 
 among our standard works, yet they are read and 
 studied only by the few ; but the words of the 
 humble tinker are in almost every cottage, and they 
 have brought comfort and peace to many a troubled 
 soul. The secret is, he used God's word more than 
 his own. One of the highest dignitaries in England 
 is reported to have said, " The Bible and Shakspeare 
 made me Archbishop of Yoik." It is only by an 
 intimate and ready knowledge of the Scriptures we 
 can be " thoroughly furnished for all good works." 
 
 Let me caution you against underrating any por- 
 tion of the Holy Scriptures. The Psalms are beau- 
 tiful, the Gospels and Epistles are rich and instruct- 
 ive, but they are only parts of the word of God. 
 Never allow yourself to speak or think disparagingly 
 of the Old Testament. It is as much the word of God 
 as the New. It would not have been revealed, but 
 that God saw it was necessary for our humanity. Its 
 necessity is not merely historical, prophetical, or ex- 
 planatory ; but there are rich veins of truth cropping 
 out amid its local histories, and even its darkest nar- 
 ratives, like the veins of gold and silver amid the 
 rugged quartz of the mountains, that will amply re- 
 pay and enrich the devoted searcher. May I illus- 
 trate by an incident from my own reading and ex- 
 perience .-* I was a Bible reader from my childhood, 
 
Dark Portraits. lOj 
 
 and I remember that very early I was surprised that 
 so many evil things were written about the best men ; 
 that the portraits of some of them, though command- 
 ing as a whole, were drawn with exceedingly dark 
 colors. There were even passages which, it seemed 
 to me, might as well have been omitted. It did not 
 seem to me that they added either to the glory of 
 God or to the real instruction or edification of hu- 
 manity. When I asked my teachers why they were 
 there, I was answered : It was to show the truth- 
 fulness and impartiality of the divine writers ; if 
 they had drawn these characters without shadows, 
 the portraits would not have been true ; and their 
 narratives would have been eulogies rather than his- 
 tories. I supposed the explanation was the best 
 which could be given, but it was not satisfactory, I 
 could not help saying to myself, that had I written 
 the life of Noah I would have omitted that so mi- 
 nutely described scene of his drunkenness and dis- 
 grace. Had I written the life of Judah, I should not 
 have dwelt on his association wxxh Tamar. Had I 
 been writing a sketch of David, I should have passed 
 more rapidly over the story of Bathsheba ; and I 
 would not have made so prominent the sins of Solo- 
 mon. Then I was told that these incidents were re- 
 lated that the wonderful mercy of God might be ex- 
 hibited, and that hope might be given to sinners in 
 every age, when it was seen that, notwithstanding 
 these vices and crimes, God pardoned and honored 
 
io6 Lectdres on Preaching. 
 
 his servants still. That view gave me more comfort, 
 but not perfect satisfaction. 
 
 I was reading one day, when it occurred to me 
 that nearly all these dreadful things were recorded of 
 the ancestors of Christ ; that Noah was not the only 
 man who had used strong drink ; nor Judah, nor 
 David, nor Solomon, the only men who had gone 
 astray. They were, after all, picked men ; while 
 around and beneath them was a mass of the degraded 
 and corrupt. Those were passed by, while the faults 
 of these men, ancestors of Christ, were carefully re- 
 corded. Then there opened before me what seemed 
 a new range of thought. The Romanists have been 
 trying to get the human nature of Christ as far away 
 from our humanity as possible, and hence have 
 taught the immaculate conception of Mary. Not so 
 with the Scriptures. They show that on his human 
 side Jesus was the descendant of ancestors no better 
 than other men ; that among these ancestors were 
 those who had been guilty of every vice and crime 
 possible to humanity ; that the blood which from the 
 human side coursed through his veins had come 
 down for centuries through the vilest of the vile. 
 Yet in that humanity he had dwelt ; his presence 
 made and kept it pure and holy. And that human- 
 ity, thus representing the whole race, he has exalted 
 to the highest heavens. Then came to my heart the 
 consoling thought, What if I have hereditary tend- 
 encies .-* what if my nature has been derived from 
 
Errors of Disciples. 107 
 
 sinning ancestors ? That Jesus who dwelt in a human 
 frame eighteen hundred years ago can dwell in my 
 humanity, and can make and keep it pure. Then I 
 thought of his wonderful condescension, and I read 
 with new light that passage : " For what the law 
 could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, 
 God, sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful 
 flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh." This 
 view has seemed to bring the Saviour nearer to me 
 than ever before. He is the Son of Man, and as 
 such he not only knows our weaknesses, but as our 
 great High-priest he is " touched with the feeling of 
 our infirmities," and " was in all points tempted like 
 as we are, yet without sin." How logically and how 
 beautifully the exhortation follows : " Let us there- 
 fore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we 
 may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of 
 need." 
 
 I must leave this for such limitations and cautions 
 as the subject naturally suggests. I have used it 
 merely as an illustration of how you may use the 
 Bible for yourselves, and what comfort you may draw 
 from even its apparently useless and darkest passages. 
 The same thought leads me to Peter and Judas. I 
 am not glad that any man ever did wrong ; but I am 
 glad that, since Peter cursed and swore and denied 
 his Master, it is recorded of him ; and that the awful 
 betrayal of his Master, and his terrible end, are re- 
 curded of Judas. I am glad because if Peter, not- 
 
io8 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 withstanding his error, was recalled to his Master's 
 favor, so may even I, if erring, be brought back and 
 employed in my Master's service. The fact that the 
 eleven apostles went forward boldly preaching, not- 
 withstanding the wickedness of Judas, encourages us 
 to go forward, notwithstanding a brother minister 
 may have fallen by our side. I remember, when a 
 young pastor, how some case of scandal distressed 
 me exceedingly, and I feared lest the standing and 
 influence of the Church might be destroyed. But 
 when I remembered that one in twelve of the disci- 
 ples whom Jesus had chosen committed such a ter- 
 rible crime, and yet the Church stood, and in fifty 
 days added three thousand converts, I felt there could 
 be no danger of the Church being now overthrown by 
 the folly or wickedness of one of its members. 
 
 I believe there is no part of the Scriptures which 
 may not be made profitable to the Christian mind ; 
 that every single part of it was given for our edifica- 
 tion. I have no sympathy whatever with that spirit 
 which finds myths and mixtures in the word of God. 
 I do not underrate true criticism. It is exceedingly 
 important to determine the genuineness and authen- 
 ticity of the text. I appreciate highly the labors of 
 such scholars as Griesbach and Alford ; but when 
 they have determined for me what the true text is, I 
 accept it in my heart of hearts as the word of God. 
 Adopt no theory of inspiration which diminishes 
 your reverence for the Bible as the expression of the 
 
Range of Bible Truth. 109 
 
 thoughts and will of the Almighty. ' By whomsoever 
 he speaks, howsoever he speaks, whosesoever lan- 
 guage, memory, and imagination he may have em- 
 ployed, the revelation is all his own. I heard Cardinal 
 Manning once in London claim a superiority in this 
 respect for Romanism over Protestantism. He said, 
 in substance, that the Protestant clergy dissected the 
 Bible, found a myth here and an interpolation there, 
 and accepted only what seemed to them in accord- 
 ance with their feeble reason. " But," said he, " show 
 me a Catholic priest in the kingdom who shall dare 
 to call in question the authority of a single text, and 
 he shall not be a priest for six hours." The way 
 some of the bibhcal critics discuss the Bible recalls 
 to my mind a reported saying of President Grant. 
 Some one mentioned to him that a certain Senator, 
 who was charged with being egotistic, had not much 
 faith in the Bible ; his laconic reply was, " Why should 
 he .'' he didn't write it." 
 
 The Bible has this great characteristic — no man is 
 able to comprehend and embrace all its truth. Minds 
 of different perception and structure see such parts 
 of it as are specially applicable to their temperaments 
 and their wants. It is studied to-day for chronology, 
 to-morrow for history ; now for its prophetic imagery, 
 and then for its precious promises. But while no 
 man can comprehend the whole, each can find what 
 is amply sufficient for himself It has something in 
 it for men of all classes and for men of all conditions. 
 
no Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 The preacher, like Ezra of old, reads in the book of 
 the law, and gives the sense ; he translates its orien- 
 talism into western phrase, its tense of the past into 
 the present, and reveals to the audience not merely 
 its words, but the influence it has exercised upon his 
 own nature. He searches its pages to find some- 
 thing for every form of Christian experience, and to 
 comfort some sorrowing heart with " Thus saith the 
 Lord." It is a perpetual fountain, from which issues 
 the water of life ; it is an armory, from which the 
 Christian soldier is equipped for combat. We are 
 under orders — marching orders ; we have received 
 our instructions from the General-in-chief. Shall we 
 not read every line, and study the meaning of every 
 word .'' They are orders for ourselves personally, and 
 orders for our congregations ; orders for to-day, and 
 orders for to-morrow. The more frequently they are 
 read, the better they are understood, the more easily 
 and perfectly they can be obeyed. 
 
 The New Testament is peculiarly rich in its pre- 
 cious promises, yet it is in great measure an expan- 
 sion of the Old. The titles of Christ were given him 
 in prophecy. His woik was typified and his vicari- 
 ous death foreshadowed in sacrifices, Every-where a 
 line of illustration runs through the Old Testament 
 which is more perfectly developed in the New, like 
 the plant which thrusts its roots deep into the soil, 
 but unfolds its blossoms in the sunshine and air. 
 There are threads of gold running through the 
 
TJic Divine Logos. ill 
 
 entire warp, from the beginning to the end ; there 
 are clasps which bind together Genesis and Revela- 
 tion. 
 
 Take the first verse in St. John's Gospel, " In the 
 beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, 
 and the Word was God," and to me it points directly to 
 the garden of Eden and the creation of the world. The 
 beginning is the same. On our parents in Eden there 
 came down a cloud of darkness, a pressing burden of 
 wretchedness and woe. Eden's gates were to be 
 closed, and cherubim were to guard the entrance. 
 Into this thick darkness one ray of light pierced 
 from the throne of God. In the dumb astonish- 
 ment of all nature one word, one promise of hope, 
 reached the human ear. That word was spoken to 
 the serpent, but Eve heard it : "I will put enmity 
 between thee and the woman, and between thy seed 
 and her seed : it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt 
 bruise his heel." Without that word, that promise 
 of a Redeemer, earth had been without comfort, life 
 without hope. That word Eve hid in her heart. 
 When she drew to her bosom her first-born son, I 
 fancy she thought that promised seed had come ; and 
 she called hira Cain, for she said, " I have gotten a 
 man from the Lord," or, as it is sometimes rendered, 
 "///<? man from the Lord" — the One who was to 
 bruise the serpent's head and re-open the gates of 
 paradise. How sad her heart, when her hopes were 
 disappointed, and his hands were stained with his 
 
112 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 brother's blood ! Child afier child was born, chil- 
 dren's children grew to maturity, generation after' 
 generation rose around her, but society grew worse, 
 and no Redeemer came. For nine hundred and thirty 
 years Adam looked and watched and waited, but no 
 conquering Messiah appeared. Yet that promise of 
 hope was handed down from generation to genera- 
 tion ; it was God's word that a Deliverer should come. 
 The ages rolled on. In the midst of prevailing dark- 
 ness there came a ray of light to Enoch, and he 
 prophesied, saying : " Behold, the Lord cometh." The 
 earth was swept with water, and the nations waited 
 century af'er century, the one great word of God 
 standing as the only light for human faith and hope. 
 The promise was repeated to Abraham and to the 
 patriarchs ; light shone on the mountain top of 
 prophecy, and the glimpses were seen of a coming 
 Saviour, whose voice whispered, "Lo, I come to do 
 thy will, O God." To me this is the one word of 
 life and hope that, while generations passed like grass, 
 endured forever. It filled the mind of the apostle as 
 he gazed on an incarnate Saviour, and exclaimed : 
 " The Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, 
 and we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only be- 
 gotten of the Father, full of grace and truth." This 
 was the Word, the Logos alike of the Old Testament 
 and of the New, promised in Eden, manifested in 
 Bethlehem, announced by the angel of the Lord to 
 the wondering shepherds as " good tidings of great 
 
The Dn'iiie Logos. 1 13 
 
 joy, which shall be to all people." Then follows that 
 beautiful declaration : " Suddenly there was with the 
 angel a multitude," not of angels, but " of the heav- 
 enly host, praising God, and saying. Glory to God in 
 the highest, and on earth peace, good-will toward 
 men." As Miriam led the songs of the daughters cf 
 Israel at the triumphant passage of the Red Sea — 
 more than eighty years old though she was — so it 
 has seemed to me that Eve, the mother of us all, led 
 the raptures of that heavenly host, as, after four 
 thousand years of waiting, she saw in Bethlehem the 
 appearance of the promised Redeemer. No marvel 
 the burst of the song was " Glory to God in the 
 highest ! " and then, as memory glanced to the death of 
 Abel, and all the wars and strifes of earth, it was 
 added — " On earth peace, good-will toward men." 
 
 In the Book of Revelation, when the predicted 
 victory has been accomplished, the Conqueror appears, 
 and is called " Faithful and True." He had bruised 
 the head of the serpent, and it was added^" He was 
 clothed with a vesture dipped in blood : and his name 
 was called The Word of God." 
 
 I cannot help turning away, with a sense of relief, 
 from the interpretation that makes the apostle that 
 leaned on Jesus' breast seek among the philosophy of 
 the Gnostics for that Logos or Word, the shadow of 
 which they had learned from tradition, while the sub- 
 stance itself shone from the holy Scriptures in the 
 promises made by the Father. 
 
114 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 In addition to the study of the holy Scriptures, 
 with all accompanying helps, we should have a clear 
 and decided conviction as to the great doctrines of 
 the Bible, and their relation each to the other. The 
 student should examine carefully the views held by 
 leading minds in reference to these doctrines ; should 
 compare them carefully and prayerfully with the 
 holy Scriptures ; and should adopt such views as he 
 believes are clearly derived from the word of God. 
 He should be so independent in thought as to ex- 
 amine for himself every creed, or confession, or sys- 
 tem, and not to receive it simply on the authoiity of 
 tradition, or of antiquity, or of leading minds. The 
 Bible, and the Bible alone, is the ultimate standard 
 of reference. " To the law and to the testimony : if 
 they speak not according to this word, it is because 
 there is no light in them." At the same time he 
 should give due regard to the opinions of wise men, 
 and weigh them carefully ; he should regard as 
 worthy of the most serious consideration the utter- 
 ances of the Church through the various ages, and 
 the systematized and formulated doctrines which 
 have guided the Church amid hours of danger and 
 darkness, and to which good men have clung with 
 the conviction that they were the truth from God. 
 The presumption is always in their favor, and they 
 should not be set aside without the fullest investiga- 
 tion and the clearest conviction. Some young min- 
 isters there are with whom it seems to be proof suf- 
 
Heresies Revived. 115 
 
 ficient that doctrines are wrong because they were 
 held by the Church in other ages. They are so filled 
 with the thought of the progress of to-day that they 
 fancy all that is old must be untrue. They feel them- 
 selves fitted for reformers ; they are to renovate so- 
 ciety and usher in a glorious age ; their business is to 
 reject all which society believes, and, under the claim 
 of independence, strike out into new and unexplored 
 paths. Such young men forget, or, rather, possibly 
 they never knew, that the heresies which they in- 
 trude upon the Church are but the rubbish and drift- 
 wood rejected by the master builders of old, and 
 which have remained for centuries so worthless as 
 to be forgotten. Under the boast of the new, they 
 are simply championing the exploded of the old. In 
 theology there can be no new doctrine, for the foun- 
 dation is in the Bible alone. There may be new 
 turns of thought, more fitting expressions, more per- 
 tinent illustrations, and even unperceived duties and 
 meanings may be found in the sacred page, but the 
 radical, fundamental doctrines are the same ; they 
 are like the. blessed Saviour himself, " The same yes- 
 terday, to-day, and forever." Even the varying 
 views in reference to doctrines have been so thor- 
 oughly discussed by the different schools of thought, 
 that no unexplored territory is very likely to be 
 found. Still, I would not repress investigation ; I 
 simply decline to leave the beaten turnpike, on which 
 men have trodden for a thousand years, for a new 
 
ii6 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 pathway which some explorer has marked out through 
 the woods, until I am assured it is more direct, or 
 better fitted for travel. 
 
 I have nothing to say as to the system of doctrines 
 which you accept or believe, but I urge you to be 
 men of conviction. Give yourselves no rest until 
 you find the truth as revealed to you ; then believe 
 it, and believe it with all your hearts. Around these 
 fundamental truths passages of Scripture will form, 
 until, under the law of mental crystallization, they 
 shall be as pure crystals, polished by no human hand, 
 and reflecting the light of God. Unless you have 
 firm convictions as to what the Scripture teaches, 
 you are not fitted for leaders. Your trumpet should 
 give no uncertain sound ; you should know of the 
 doctrines, whether they be of God. It is not your 
 office to stand in the pulpit and express doubts. If 
 you have any, let them be cleared away before you 
 speak ; for you come to bear, not a message of 
 doubts, but a message from the Lord. Christ, your 
 gieat model, spake as one having authority, and not 
 as the scribes. Christ never uttered a doubt in his 
 teaching : it was positive in its character. The dis- 
 ciples never uttered doubt, but spake the word of the 
 Lord with all boldness. You owe this to your con- 
 gregations, who look to you for instruction and guid- 
 ance. You owe it to yourselves, for without it your 
 power will be frittered away. Men of force say, 
 " We believe, and therefore speak." Whoever reads 
 
Divinity of CJirist. 11/ 
 
 the epistles with care will notice their strong, posi- 
 tive utterances. Where there is doubt there is dim- 
 ness and hesitation, sharp lines of definition are 
 lacking, and clear presentation is unknown. Men 
 talk around and around a subject without piercing 
 directly to its essence and marrow. 
 
 Among the doctrines which should be presented | V^V* 
 most clearly and strongly, and on which the young 
 minister should be thoroughly prepared, I name, first, 
 the divinity of Christ. I pass by any remarks on the 
 being or attributes of God. These are so clearly 
 stated, so fully believed by people generally, as to be 
 considered universally accepted. Here and there an 
 erratic being may arise who doubts or denies. [Oc- ' 
 casional sermons may be preached on such topics, 
 but I believe the head is seldom at fault so much as 
 the heart. If it be true that with the heart man 
 believeth unto righteousness, I believe it is also true 
 that out of the heart proceed all evil thoughts, among 
 which infidelity and atheism are occasionally found. 
 
 The divinity of Christ is, as I believe, the articulus 
 stantis vel cadentis ccclesics, rather than that of justifi- 
 cation. The latter has its foundation in the former ; 
 and in Luther's time the former was scarcely called in 
 question. The history of the Church in all ages 
 shows that the men who reformed the world drew 
 their power from the inspiration of this doctrine. No 
 Church has ever conquered the heathenism of the 
 world, or carried its light permanently into the dark 
 
iiS Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 places of the earth, or has been distinguished for 
 bringing back the prodigal, or saving the outcasts, 
 but by the exaltation of the cross of the divine Sav- 
 iour. It was on this confession of his divinity, that 
 lie promised that his Church should stand. When 
 he asked his disciples their opinion as to his charac- 
 ter, and when Peter said, "Thou art the Christ, the 
 Soti of the living God," the reply was made, " Upon 
 this rock I will build my Church ; and the gates of 
 hell shall not prevail against it." He had taught his 
 disciples to call no man master, yet he said to them, 
 " Ye call me Master and Lord ; and ye say well ; for 
 so I am." The true Church ever stands in the same 
 attitude, and looks up to Christ as its divine Lord 
 and Master. I do not say that you must preach this 
 controversially, but preach it prominently ; assume it 
 and declare it as it is taught in the holy Scripture. 
 I do not advise you to spend your time upon c|ues- 
 tions of subtilty. There are mysteries in the mode 
 of the divine existence beyond the reach of our con- 
 ceptions ; for the infinite cannot be measured or 
 fathomed by the finite. How it may be with others 
 I cannot say, but on this-^subject analogies, illustra- 
 tions, and reasoning have never afforded me full sat- 
 isfaction. I could meet objectors with them ; I could 
 silence cavilers ; but I rest solely on the word of God 
 as the foundation of my faith. 
 
 The depravity of the human heart, the inherited 
 tendency to go wrong, are so fully shown, by both 
 
Doctrinal Preaching. 1 19 
 
 observation and experience, that it would seem as 
 though there ought to be no difference of opinion as 
 to the fact. I think all men every- where have pretty- 
 fully believed that in otJier men the human heart is 
 " deceitful above all things, and desperately wicked." 
 There may be differences in speculation as to how 
 that depravity comes, to what extent it reaches, and 
 how it may be removed ; but unless man is so de- 
 praved he needs no Saviour. But if that depravity 
 inheres in his very nature he needs a divine Saviour 
 who can create him anew. To man thus sunk in 
 guilt, the doctrine is preached of an atoning Saviour 
 Vv'ho died in his stead, who magnified the law and 
 made it honorable, and who made it possible for God 
 to " be just, and yet the justifier of him which believ- 
 eth in Jesus." These are to me the cardinal doctrines 
 of the Gospel — a divine Saviour making an atone- 
 ment for sinful man, and thereby restoring him to 
 the divine favor. On these doctrines, and their col- 
 laterals, every young minister should gather such 
 Scripture proofs and arguments and illustrations as 
 shall make his Gospel glad tidings to the sons of 
 men. 
 
 I am aware that among many there is an aversion 
 to doctrinal preaching ; but the injunction of the 
 apostle to Timothy was : " Take heed unto thyself, and 
 unto the doctrine; for in doing this thou shalt bot"h 
 save thyself, and them that hear thee." Again : " Re- 
 prove, rebuke, exhort, with all long-suffering and doc- 
 
I20 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 trine. For the time will come when they will not 
 endure sound doctrine ; but after their own lusts 
 shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itch- 
 ing ears ; and they shall turn away their ears from 
 the truth, and shall be turned unto fables." The dis- 
 position to avoid the examination and the preaching 
 of doctrine almost inevitably leads to fables, and fool- 
 ish and unlearned questions. By studying doctrines 
 carefully, however, I do not mean that they should 
 be set forth in a controversial manner, but be taught 
 as the teacher would instruct his class in algebra or 
 geometry, giving them positive views, as though no 
 others had ever been taught. 
 
 Prominent, also, among these teachings must be 
 the influences of the Holy Spirit. Through its in- 
 fluence alone all good begins in man. It is the agent 
 of our awakening, justification, and sanctification ; 
 and without its precious influence there could be no 
 hope and no life for our world. The doctrines of the 
 immortality of the soul, of the resurrection of the 
 body, and of future rewards and punishment, should 
 also be distinctly set forth, and given such promi- 
 nence as we are taught in the Holy Scriptures. 
 
 The study of Church history should, also, claim a 
 minister's attention. I wish there was some work 
 on this subject which gave the true life of the Church, 
 and was not so much occupied with discussions as to 
 heresy and orthodoxy, and the lives of a few of the 
 leaders. Published sermons may, also, be highly scrv- 
 
Collecting Materials. I2I 
 
 iceable, that the young minister may gain a view 
 of the matter and manner which distinguished those 
 ministers who have been most successful and useful. 
 He should read them, not to copy or imitate, but to 
 find suggestions and inspiration, which may add to 
 the breadth of his views and to the facility with 
 which he may perform his work. I should recom- 
 mend, however, that the reading be confined to the 
 sermons of the great masters. 
 
 These materials thus collected should be thorough- 
 ly digested ; they should be transformed and trans- 
 muted into one's own current of thought. In this 
 way the individual's performance will be original in 
 its character and in its structure, and will be enriched 
 with thoughls and illustrations of beauty and grand- 
 eur which shall give to it a higher character and 
 greater force. This will not be plagiarism, for it is 
 not the simple use or quotation of another man's 
 work, but, like the stream whose volume is swollen 
 by every little rill, it will hurry onward in its own 
 channel, making its own music as it flows. We coin 
 few new words. The greatest inventors create no 
 materials ; they simply place in new relations what 
 have been already known. 
 
 Various plans are pursued in collecting and pre- 
 serving materials. The use of scrap-books and com- 
 monplace-books cannot be too earnestly commended 
 for preserving such items as may come under your 
 notice, and for which you may have need of ready 
 
122 Lectures on Preaching 
 
 reference. In reading, it is well to have a pencil in 
 hand and a note-book convenient, not only for the 
 sake of quotations or for marks of reference, but, 
 what is still more valuable, to preserve the thoughts 
 which are suggested to your own minds rather than 
 stated by the author. 
 
 As an element of preparation the pen should be 
 freely used. I speak not now of the question of 
 written or extemporaneous sermons, but of that facil- 
 ity in writing which a minister should possess. This 
 liabit is absolutely essential. You should write much, 
 and strive to write well ; yet, first, write much. All 
 nature is luxuriant in infancy. What an immense 
 number of leaves crowd each other and fall away ! 
 What a profusion of buds and flowers — ten times 
 more than any tree can develop in fruit ! So it is 
 with the young writer — write first, trim afterward ; 
 pour out your thoughts as they occur, even should 
 their order not be the most harmonious or the con- 
 nection the most perfect. The more rapidly you 
 write, the more naturally. The great difficulty with 
 many is that their ideal is so high, their standard so 
 perfect, that they fear to write at all. They com- 
 mence, and are discouraged. While correcting one 
 sentence they lose tlie glow which would have given 
 warmth and beauty to the next. Write much, if 
 you only write letters or articles for the daily or 
 weekly press. Write frequently on theological topics, 
 and occasionally write sermons — whether you deliver 
 
Range of Studies. 123 
 
 them or not — for the purpose of securing suitable 
 form and length, and the proper relation of the va- 
 rious parts. 
 
 The studies of a minister should not be confined 
 exclusively to theological reading. He should, as 
 opportunity serves, make himself master, as far as 
 may be, of the general principles of every valuable 
 science, especially of mental philosophy. He should 
 also love to roam throughout nature. Every-where 
 there are marks of his Father's hand. The rocks of 
 the earth, the plants and animals of its surface, the 
 currents of the sea and of the air, and the great 
 globes that move through space — all display the wis- 
 dom and power of the great Creator. The minute 
 as well as the vast may furnish lessons of value, and 
 illustrations which will both interest and profit. A 
 minister should, as far as practicable, intermeddle 
 with all wisdom, yet so as ever to keep Christ as the 
 great central figure. He should also keep in view 
 the work which he is performing — the erection of a 
 great spiritual edifice. All subsidiary knowledge is 
 but as the scafiblding. 
 
 The range of knowledge is so wide, the wants of 1 
 congregations so varied, and the current of public 
 opinion so changeable, that every department of lit- ; 
 erature and science may become tributary to the 
 preacher's influence. In my childhood and youth I 
 had a constant passion for study. To some extent I 
 examined the chief languages of western Europe. 
 
124 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 It was with me a simple curiosity ; but I have since 
 found that every branch of study has come to my aid. 
 It has been my lot to hold conferences or ministerial 
 meetings in all those countries whose languages I had 
 studied. I was not able to talk to any extent in those 
 languages, but I read them, and could soon under- 
 stand the deliberations of my brethren. 
 
 In keeping abreast of the day it is not best to spend 
 too much time on the daily press or the lighter class 
 of magazines. It is one of the triumphs of Christian 
 civilization that we can have news at our breakfast- 
 table from all parts of the globe ; but the daily press 
 is not of itself an unmixed benefit— it tempts the stu- 
 dent to dissipation of thought, and oftentimes his 
 morning hours wear rapidly away while he is reading 
 matters which interest him, but which are not essen- 
 tial to his important work. Like the bee, he should 
 know how in a few moments to extract the honey 
 from the flower, and then fly on, without stopping to 
 count the number of the petals, or to dwell on the 
 beauty of the coloring. He should be like the busi- 
 ness man who rapidly glances over the most impor- 
 tant items, and then confines himself to the duties of 
 his counting-room or office. In scientific and theo- 
 logical reviews there are frequently articles of great 
 value, which the preacher cannot too carefully read 
 and ponder ; but while he is interested in the lighter 
 reviews, and pleased with the style and structure of 
 articles, he is very liable thus to spend his moments, 
 
Subjects for Sermons. 125 
 
 which ought to be devoted to more solid reading or to 
 pastoral duties. 
 
 Still, it is difficult to fix any precise rule on this 
 subject. The times breathe a free spirit. A wide 
 range of topics is discussed in the daily press. Among 
 the masses there are minds stirred with thoughts of 
 great value. The preacher must not un frequently 
 grapple with specious forms of error which are prev- 
 alent among the people ; he must understand the 
 arguments which are employed to sustain them, and 
 which captivate so many. The more thoroughly peo- 
 ple find him posted in matters of interest to them, 
 the greater will be his influence over them ; yet that 
 influence will be of little value unless it helps him to 
 draw them to the Saviour. 
 
 The subjects for preaching cover an immense 
 realm, and only a glance can be cast over them. 
 Negatively, the object of the pulpit is not simply to 
 teach or enforce morality from any heathen or natu- 
 ral stand-point ; it will teach a high and pure moral- 
 ity, but it will present it as the issues from a heart 
 changed and purified, and filled with love to God 
 and man. Morality that springs not from the heart 
 is like a tree from which the limbs that bear bad 
 fruit are pruned and cast away. Christian morality 
 is the life of a young tree, permeating every limb and 
 twig, and producing beautiful flowers and healthy 
 fruit. The tree itself must be changed in its nature. 
 " A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can 
 
126 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit." Nor is the 
 object of preaching the correction of mind by the 
 explanation of its laws. No amount of knowledge 
 of metaphysics can change the human heart. The 
 knowledge of njachinery will not correct 'ts errors or 
 set it in motion. Nor is the great theme of the min- 
 istry to be natural religion. Motives of value and 
 power may be drawn from nature. Men may be 
 taught the influence and results of their actions ; but 
 neither these nor the voice of nature have power to 
 change the currents of the human soul. Much less 
 should the minister preach himself. The pulpit is 
 the place for the Master. The teacher utters divine 
 thoughts, and he who brings himself, in the form of 
 supposed argument, oratory, or rhetoric, for personal 
 exhibition, degrades and pollutes the sacred desk. 
 Luther said : " I myself know nothing of Luther, will 
 know nothing of him. I preach nothing of him, only 
 Christ. The devil may take Luther, (if he can.) If 
 he leave Christ in place, it will be well with us, 
 too." 
 
 The great question for the pulpit to ask is that 
 propounded by the Master himself, " What think ye of 
 Christ .-*" and the answer which it gives to the world, 
 which still echoes the question, must be a clear ex- 
 position, not only of his character, but of "that char- 
 acter as manifested in the salvation of men. When 
 John sent to ask questions concerning Christ, instead 
 of answering them directly, he appealed only to his 
 
Great Themes. 127 
 
 wonderful works, which proved him to be the Son of 
 God. 
 
 The minister should grapple with great themes, 
 and not occupy the time of the people with trivial 
 subjects. The interests of eternity may, to some in- 
 dividuals, rest on the issue of a single sermon ; and 
 in some form, directly or indirectly, every sermon 
 should lead to Christ. With what wonderful topics 
 is the pulpit permitted to deal ! The character of 
 God, in his omnipotence, omniscience, and omnipres- 
 ence ; the responsibilities of man as a creature of 
 God, formed by his divine hand, bearing the impress 
 of his glorious image, breathing of his own breath, 
 the object of a Saviour's death, the possible Son of 
 God and joint heir with Jesus Christ, who is the 
 Creator and Lord of all ; his responsibility, as shown 
 in his domestic and social relations, in the leadership 
 of thought, the investigation of science, and the gov- 
 ernment of the world ; — then, too, his glorious des- 
 tiny ; his conflict with and triumph over death and 
 the grave ; the resurrection of the body, strange and 
 incomprehensible as it may be, and an immortality 
 coeval with the duration of God himself; — then, too, 
 the thought, that his destiny is in his own hands ; that, 
 accepting Christ and obeying the divine law, he may 
 dwell beside the throne of God himself, but that, re- 
 jecting Christ and the offers of mercy, he " shall be 
 punished with everlasting destruction from the pres- 
 ence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power ;" — 
 
128 Lectures on Preaching, 
 
 these are topics of immense moment, and which in- 
 terest every hearer. How pitiable it is to hear lead- 
 ers of thought say that they cannot tell whence they 
 came nor whither they are going ; that life, in its 
 origin and its end, is wholly involved in mystery, and 
 that eternity has no voice which has reached the sons 
 of time. 
 
 Springing out of these great questions is the whole 
 circle of human duty. All men are our brothers, be- 
 cause we are the offspring of a common Father. We 
 cannot deny or ignore that common brotherhood, or 
 shrink from its duties, without grieving the Father 
 of us all. 
 
 Not only must the various topics of preaching be 
 carefully studied and selected, but the relation of 
 these parts each to the other is a matter of no small 
 moment. The law of God, in its great and solemn 
 injunctions, should be distinctly set forth. Our con- 
 gregations should be gathered as around the base of 
 Mount Sinai, while from its summit is heard the voice 
 of God in those commandments which are unalterable 
 and eternal in their character. The effect of these 
 utterances will be, that consciences will be avv'akened 
 and hearts will tremble. Some will say, with Moses, 
 " I do exceedingly fear and quake," when they behold 
 the majesty of the law, the purity of God, and their 
 own impurity. Others may be repelled, and will say, 
 " Let not God speak to us any more." Some will 
 object to the sternness of the law, and will say. 
 
Laiv and Gospel. 129 
 
 "Prophesy smooth things;" but still that law must 
 be preached. It brings the sinner to a recognition 
 of his sins in having transgressed God's holy law, 
 and shows him the fearfulness of the doom which is 
 impending over him. The law must be followed by 
 the Gospel ; the awakened sinner must be pointed to 
 the Saviour, that he may see and feel that, deep as 
 are the stains of his transgressions, the blood of 
 Christ can wash them all away. There are many 
 preachers who love to dwell on the Gospel alone. 
 They talk sweetly and beautifully of the fatherhood 
 of God. This is well. It is more than well, it is 
 essential. But sometimes they go beyond this, and 
 declaim against the preaching of the law — intimate 
 that it belongs to a past age, a less civilized society ; 
 that men can best be moved by love alone, and they 
 rely wholly on its attractive power. Such a Gospel 
 may rear a beautiful structure ; but its foundation 
 is on the sand. No true edifice can be raised with- 
 out its foundations being dug deep by repentance 
 toward God, and then shall the rock be reached, and 
 the building shall be through faith in Jesus Christ. 
 The law without Gospel is dark and hopeless ; the 
 Gospel without law is inefficient and powerless. 
 The one leads to servitude, the other to antinomian- 
 ism. The two combined produce " charity out of a 
 pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith 
 
 unfeigned." 
 9 
 
130 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 LECTURE V. 
 
 THE PREPARATION OF A SERMON. 
 
 T N the preparation of a sermon the preacher is 
 -■- brought face to face with his life-work. In a 
 few days the Sabbath will call him to the pulpit — • 
 but what shall he preach ? The question seems to 
 stare at him from every book which he reads, and to 
 meet him wherever he goes. If he has not yet formed 
 an acquaintance with bis congregation, it is not 
 strange that he should be at a loss what subject to 
 select. There are, however, general subjects which 
 can never be out of place. Repentance toward God, 
 and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ ; tlie duties of 
 prayer and holy living ; the rewards of the righteous 
 and the fearful forebodings of the impenitent, are 
 topics which maybe presented to any audience. But 
 if the minister has formed the acquaintance of his 
 congregation, out of its peculiar wants and circum- 
 stances topics will naturally be suggested. 
 
 If a man is in earnest in his work, if he fully per- 
 ceives the danger of many in his congregation — the 
 talents which are unemployed, the vices prevalent in 
 the community, the fascinations and allurements 
 which influence the young, the living issues which 
 
Borrowing Sermons. 131 
 
 press on the community around him — his head and 
 heart will be so full that the question will not be so 
 much, what can he have to say, as which, of the many 
 topics, shall be first presented. Just at this point is 
 found the clear distinction between the true minister, 
 whose heart is yearning for his people, and who longs 
 to preach to them the word of life, and the one who 
 simply fills the pulpit because the time has arrived, 
 and he must somehow address his congregation. I 
 would not apply the old adage, " When you have noth- 
 ing to say, say nothing," for it is important that the 
 regular services be held — that the people sing and 
 pray and worship before the Lord ; but I would ad- 
 vise that under such circumstances the service should 
 be both simple and brief. Yet it so happens that 
 ministers who have nothing to say usually take a 
 long time in saying it. 
 
 If your object be simply to preach a sermon be- 
 cause you have an appointment ; if God has not given 
 you any message, and you merely wish to read a 
 beautiful essay, so that men shall say, " What a fine 
 preacher ! " or if you have talents for oratory that you 
 wish to display, then the easiest way to get the ser- 
 mon is to borrow it from some kind brother. It will 
 save you a great deal of trouble, and accomplish just 
 as much good. If you cannot borrow one from a 
 neighbor, then you can buy one. They manufacture 
 them in England by the quantity, and sell them at 
 ninepence apiece. I do not know whether any 
 
132 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 Yankee house has yet had sufificient enterprise to 
 engage in this department of business. If you can 
 neither borrow nor buy, then Paley comes to your 
 help by suggesting — " If you have to preach every 
 Sunday, make one sermon and steal five." This 
 stealing business, however, is not always safe. Ser- 
 mon thieves, like other thieves, are sometimes caught, 
 and are obliged to stand in a pillory. I saw an inci- 
 dent lately reported of a young man who preached a 
 trial sermon. When the council was called, and his 
 effort was pronounced to be good, a minister rose, 
 evidently burdened, and informed the council that the 
 sermon was not the young man's own ; that he had 
 it in his library, in a rare book, and he did not know 
 that there was another copy in America. The young 
 man was called in to be questioned by this minister. 
 When asked if it was his own, he frankly said, " No ; " 
 that he had heard that minister preach it some time 
 before ; admiring it greatly, and not having time to 
 prepare, he had concluded to preach it over. Report 
 does not tell us what they did with the young 
 man, but the old one asked no more questions. Se- 
 riously, however, we have falsehood and fraud and 
 embezzlement enough in the world, without ministers 
 entering into it ; and the morality of the congrega- 
 tion can scarcely be expected to be very high, or the 
 people to observe the laws of inciiin et timni, where a 
 minister steals his Sunday sermons, and prays God's 
 blessing upon them. 
 
Choice of Subjects. 133 
 
 Is it, then, lawful ever to preach other men's ser- 
 mons ? I think it -is occasionally ; but the fact must 
 be stated. The minister may say, " I have found 
 among Calvin's sermons," or Wesley's, or Robertson's, 
 or Spurgeon's, "one so suitable to our circumstances, 
 and so directly applicable, that I wish to read it to- 
 day." His congregation will, very probably, admire 
 and approve his choice. Or, what possibly is better, 
 let him present his own views in part, and then adopt, 
 for the remainder of his sermon, the words of some 
 influential author, giving due credit and notice of 
 what he has done. In this way the occasional use 
 of other's sermons may be not only without injury, 
 but of much benefit. 
 
 It may be a little digression, but my advice is, 
 that a young minister should never talk to his friends 
 or his congregation about being at a loss for a sub- 
 ject, or not knowing what to preach. They will in- 
 stinctively feel that he has no divine message for 
 them ; that he is rather thinking of what kind of an 
 effort he can make, and how he can succeed. There 
 may be times when two subjects press upon him, 
 and he doubts which of them would best suit his con- 
 gregation in its peculiar circumstances. If he has a 
 brother minister or an intelligent friend acquainted 
 with the condition of the congregation, and in whose 
 judgment he can confide, it may be right and proper 
 to ask him. Especially may this be the case in vis- 
 iting a strange congregation. Otherwise, the less 
 
134 Lfxtures on Preaching. 
 
 conversation about the topic, or the sermon, before its 
 delivery, the better. If the message comes from God, 
 if he feels himself under divine guidance, let him find 
 in careful study of the circumstances, and in the light 
 which comes to him in earne.it prayer, the answer 
 which he needs. I once knew an aged minister, a 
 man of great faith and pulpit power, who would never 
 before preaching speak about his subject. He said, 
 if he never mentioned it Satan would not know it, 
 and would not be prepared to counteract its influ- 
 ence ; but if he spoke of it, Satan might hear of it 
 and destroy its power. This was over-sensitiveness ; 
 yet I admired his earnestness of spirit, and his sim- 
 ple desire to do the utmost possible good. 
 
 So, after your sermon, court no expressions re- 
 specting it. If you are naturally sensitive as to its 
 reception, conversation will increase that sensitive- 
 ness. Having delivered your message, leave it with 
 the people and with God. If you make it a subject 
 of conversation people will think you wish compli- 
 ments, and they will fancy you care more for your 
 reputation than for their souls. Apologies before- 
 hand, and suggestions of not enjoying the sermon 
 afterward, have usually their roots in supreme selfish- 
 ness. 
 
 Decide what end you propose to reach by the 
 sermon. Is it for the impenitent, for the inquirer, 
 or for the edification of believers ? Is it to en- 
 force some pressing duty, to guard against some 
 
Perverted Texts. 135 
 
 danger, or to afiord comfort and hope to the sufteruig 
 and sorrowing ? According to the object proposed, 
 let the text be selected. It may be, however, that in 
 your reading, or meditation, or pastoral work, some 
 text has occurred with such peculiar force that you 
 have no difficulty in a selection. In a few cases, 
 both in my personal experience and in the selection 
 for sermons, a passage of Scripture has occurred with 
 such force to my mind that it seemed to stand out 
 from the page in a clearer light and in bolder type, 
 so that I seemed to see nothing but it. At other 
 times a text has suddenly slipped into my mind while 
 walking on the street, or engaged in other duties, and 
 has come back to me with such frequency and with 
 such power that it supplanted all other trains of 
 thought. As a rule, in preaching from such texts I 
 have enjoyed most light, and have seen most imme- 
 diate results. 
 
 Let me guard you against the selection of words 
 of Scripture wrested from their true significance, 
 or such passages as, having a purely literal mean- 
 ing, are used for allegory, or as containing deep 
 spiritual signification. I knew a minister who select- 
 ed the word " One," and preached from it a sermon 
 on one God, one faith, one baptism, one heaven, and 
 one hell. He said many good things, but he did not 
 give the sense of the passage or the mind of the Spir- 
 it. Another preached on " Six steps to the throne ;" 
 another on " Th;re appeared a great wonder in heav^ 
 
136 Lectures on Preaching, 
 
 en ; a woman." I once heard of a man, very illiter- 
 ate, who fixed on the passage of bringing into the 
 Church "damnable heresies." Mispronouncing the 
 word, he announced for his text, "damnable hear- 
 says ;" and proceeded to give a very proper reproof 
 to the gossip and slanderous stories of the day, which 
 after examination turned out to be only " hearsays." 
 He got nearer the fact, in truth, than do many of 
 these fanciful speakers. 
 
 The true rule is, Consider as near as possible what 
 God intended in revealing that portion of his word, 
 and then you will be in a line with the thoughts of 
 God. Closely connected with this selection of texts 
 is the selection of topics. These ought always to be 
 of commanding interest, and such as apostles and 
 prophets, and especially our blessed Saviour, brought 
 to the attention of the Church. You should dis- 
 courage that sensational preaching which, while it 
 excites the curiosity and fancy, is of no permanent 
 value, There is a class of preachers who always 
 advertise their topics, and who very generally en- 
 deavor to draw some persons by the quaintness or 
 eccentricity of their titles. One announces his sub- 
 ject, "The value of backbone," another, "The girl 
 of the period." I knew one minister who occa- 
 sionally preached the " Devil's funeral." Another 
 announced " Words that were spoken by neither God, 
 man, nor devil ; " and when his wondering congrega- 
 tion came his words were the utterances of B.^l^^inVs 
 
Lists of Topics. 137 
 
 ass — and not very inappropriate either. Only the 
 other day I noticed an advertisement for a sermon 
 on " How Jonah lost his umbrella." It was on the 
 gourd vine that shaded him. At what an infinite 
 distance is such trifling from the examples of the 
 blessed Saviour and his apostles ! and how must it 
 weaken the confidence of congregations in the dec- 
 larations of a minister that he has a message for them 
 from God ! 
 
 If the young minister is apprehensive that he may 
 run out of subjects suitable to the pulpit, I would 
 recommend him to keep a note-book specially for 
 texts and subjects. First, let him write down in his 
 daily reading of the Bible such passages as occur to 
 him as suitable for sermons that would be profitable 
 to his congregation. He will find some of these al- 
 most ev'ery day. In hearing sermons, or in visiting 
 the sick, or in casual reading or conversation, such 
 texts will also occur which should be added to the 
 list. Secondly, let him enter in another list such 
 topics as present themselves, as specific duties, doc- 
 trines, or scriptural characters for imitation or warn- 
 ing. He will thus have two reserve lists to which 
 he can at any time refer. I found this plan to be 
 of much service to myself, though sometimes, for 
 months together, I did not need the references, as 
 many subjects of interest came to me in the midst 
 of my daily duties, which demanded immediate atten- 
 tion. But occasionally I referred to these lists, and 
 
138 Lrctures on Preaching. 
 
 selected from them such texts or topics as I believed 
 might be most profitable. 
 
 The question then arises : " How long should the 
 sermon be.''" No definite rule can be giv^en. The 
 old Scotch ministers and the Puritans on communion 
 occasions held services from early in the morning 
 until the going down of the sun, with but a slight in- 
 termission for the noon meal. The sermon was fre- 
 quently, at least, two hours long. St. Ambrose, it is 
 said, spoke about half an hour. The Saviour's Ser- 
 mon on the Mount, as we have it on record, is not 
 very long, and yet it has revolutionized the world. 
 How long St. Paul preached we do not know, but we 
 find at Troas he spake until midnight ; and then, 
 after an interval to bring back to life the young man 
 who had fallen from the window, and to break bread, 
 he continued his speech until daylight. I have 
 known the opening prayer and the explanation of 
 the psalm which was to be sung, occupy, among 
 the Covenanters of this country, a full hour and a 
 half before the sermon commenced. In ritualistic 
 churches the sermon is crowded into a small space, 
 as comparatively unimportant. The Abbe Mulois, 
 one of the most recent and able of the French writ- 
 ers on preaching, suggests seven minutes as being 
 the most approved length for sermons in that country. 
 I, however, listened to Cardinal Manning, in England, 
 for nearly an hour. 
 
 The average length of Protestant sermons may be 
 
Introdiictians. 1 39 
 
 stated at from thirty minutes to an hour, sometimes 
 being less than thirty minutes, and sometimes, on 
 special occasions, more than an hour. The length 
 of the sermon will vary properly with the grandeur 
 of the theme, the necessity for a thorough explana- 
 tion or illustration, and the circumstances of the con- 
 gregation. The tendency with writers of sermons, 
 especially if they must prepare two or three new ser- 
 mons a week, is to make them very short. The tend- 
 ency with extemporaneous speakers is to lengthen 
 them out almost indefinitely, especially when they 
 find themselves in a fog. The result will be what 
 the old Scotch parson said when he had preached a 
 sermon three hours long : " Were you not tired .'' " 
 said his friend. " Nae, nae," said the parson ; " but 
 it would hae done your soul gude to have seen how 
 tired the people were." The only safe rule is, to 
 quit before taxing the attention and patience of the 
 congregation so that they will be unwilling to return 
 again to the house of God. Long sermons, also, are 
 a strain upon the minister who delivers them, which, 
 if he possesses earnestness of manner, will very 
 likely unfit him for a protracted ministry. 
 
 The introduction should have a proper relation to 
 the length of the sermon. It stands as the portico 
 of a building, the arched entrance and public path- 
 way to a garden. Generally the introduction should 
 be very brief, and should contain a simple exegesis 
 of the text, the relation in which it stands, or some 
 
140 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 biblical or other incident which may prepare the mind 
 for the coming train of thought. But if the object 
 be to explain a doctrine stated or referred to in it, or 
 a topic introduced by it, the preacher should proceed 
 as directly as possible, with or without an explana- 
 tory introduction. If the discussion is likely to be a 
 long one, better hasten at once to the theme. It is 
 bad policy to waste the moments when the congre- 
 gation is all attention with unimportant or trivial re- 
 marks. Challenge the thoughtfulness of the audience 
 at once, and make them feel you have important work 
 on hand. 
 
 The structure of the sermon will vary according to 
 the taste and mental habits of the individual. A 
 man of systematic habits, of logical power, and of 
 little imagination, will need his divisions accurately 
 made to serve as steps of the stair-way on which he 
 ascends. Those of a more philosophical cast of mind, 
 especially if blended with imagination, will see their 
 subjects rather in the light of a growth. There will 
 be the seed-thought, the young blade, the stalk, the 
 leaves, the flower, the fruit, without j^-ecise divisions 
 technically marked. The form of division is best 
 for severe argumentation ; of growth, for illustration. 
 But whether regular divisions are made or not, it is 
 at the pleasure of the writer or speaker whether he 
 shall announce them at first, or simply present them 
 as they arise. If there be divisions announced, they 
 should be simple in their character and few in num- 
 
Original Plans. 141 
 
 ber. T remember once to have heard a preacher, on 
 the text, " Behold the Lamb of God," announce in 
 rapid succession twenty-four characteristics in which 
 men might behold him. When he reached the twelfth 
 there was a look of surprise, and at the sixteenth 
 of amazement ; when he announced the twentieth a 
 broad smile, and when he reached the twenty-fourth 
 a suppressed titter through the whole congregation. 
 
 Whatever may be the plan adopted, the minister 
 should evolve it out of his own thoughts, without 
 any reference, at first, to commentaries or helps. 
 The sermon will then be his own, fashioned in the 
 mold of his own mind, melted in the crucible of his 
 own brain. After his plan is arranged and the out- 
 lines of it framed, whether by division or by simple 
 growth, he can very properly use assistance in its 
 development. Let him then refer to commentaries ; 
 or if he has any sermon in his library on the same 
 topic, let him refer to that, though with great caution. 
 He may even possibly refer to sketches of sermons 
 in their outlines. But his own plan should be reso- 
 lutely fixed before he ventures on these references. 
 From these sources he may obtain suggestions which 
 will naturally join to his own train of thought, and 
 thus add increase of interest to his subject. If a 
 scientific illustration has occurred to his mind, let 
 him be well assured that it is clear and accurate ; if 
 he is not a master of the science, let him refer to 
 some standard work to verify his notions ; but, as a 
 
 i 
 
142 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 general rule, the more fully his illustrations are drawn 
 j from common life, or from subjects within the knovvl- 
 
 / edge of his congregation, the greater the power of 
 his sermons will be. But I repeat that, before plan- 
 ning his sermon, he should not read either plans or 
 sketches, as they may tempt him to plagiarize ; or, if 
 he depends on plans, his own power of origination will 
 be weakened, if not destroyed. Some men thus go on 
 crutches all their days. I have sometimes heard it 
 said, in reference to the sorrows and troubles of fam- 
 ilies, that in every house there is a skeleton. But if so, 
 every true family desires to conceal it. If a minister 
 has skeletons, let him keep them for his own use 
 alone — peeping only now and then into his anatom- 
 ical cupboard — and not expose himself by attempting 
 to exhibit them as his own construction. 
 
 The structure having been arranged, the law of in- 
 vention will come to his aid. This law you have stud- 
 ied in mental philosophy and in rhetoric. I may not 
 attempt its discussion here. Yet as it is, in my opin- 
 ion, the most important mental action to produce at- 
 tractive, living sermons, it is worthy of passing notice. 
 From the earliest period of our chilhood to which 
 memory reaches, we are conscious that an unbroken 
 stream of thought has, at least in our waking hours, 
 been passing through our minds. This is the origin 
 of all knowledge and progress. I have already al- 
 luded to this mental movement as varying in speed 
 and breadth in different persons. Into this warp we 
 
Theological Invention. 143 
 
 throw our shuttles, aud various are the patterns of our 
 life-work. The fundamental laws we cannot change ; 
 but, to a certain extent, our minds are like rivers 
 whose movements we can in part control. Intense 
 interest may hurry the flow, and indolence may re- 
 tard it. Reading and study add width to the platoon 
 of thoughts which come abreast on the stream. 
 Quickness of selection and intensity of recognition 
 retain a part, and the rest flow on forgotten. We 
 cannot drive an idea away, but we can look so in- 
 tently on another that it hurries out of sig'nt. 
 
 Theological invention is like other inventions : it 
 requires absorption of the soul. Edison is always 
 inventing. The telephone, the phonograph, the di- 
 vision of electric light, are but samples of his work. 
 Electricity, with its correlatives, occupies his whole 
 thought. He has no time to study Greek or Hebrew 
 roots, or mediaeval literature. He has wedded him- 
 self to natural science. So, the true minister, who 
 is a man of one book and of one work, is intently 
 studying how he can bring souls to Christ. He 
 wishes to teach honesty, truthfulness, kindness, and 
 generosity ; but he has learned that the true way 
 to them is by the cross ; that just as men come to 
 Christ, as they learn to be like him, they grow in 
 every true principle and noble quality. Hence he 
 lives to bring men to Christ. This is his one idea. 
 It controls him by his consciousness of a divine call 
 and the thought of eternal responsibility. It becomes 
 
144 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 his dominant idea by night and by day, in public and 
 in private. Around this great central thought 
 all other thoughts gather. Whether he reads or 
 converses, listens or looks, every incident and every 
 event is measured by its relation to this. Gradually 
 other thoughts drop out of view. Attraction of as- 
 sociation, just as real and as powerful as attraction 
 of gravitation, controls the movement of the current. 
 For great success, the preacher cannot afford to 
 divide his thoughts and energies. He cannot spend 
 part of his time on matters wholly foreign, and then 
 return to his pulpit with the power which he might 
 have exercised. This intense interest or absorption 
 of soul is the greatest power we can exercise over our 
 thoughts. 
 
 Holding, then, the one leading idea firmly and 
 vividly in bis mind, and having consulted such helps 
 as he deems best, the minister will watch the thoughts 
 that come to him under the laws of association, and 
 will select and retain such as he deems to be im- 
 portant to his subject. He sits, as I have seen a 
 spider, with his web before him, and waiting until 
 some fly has been caught and entrapped. So ideas 
 fly and alight, and he secures them. It will be well 
 for you, however, if, like myself, you do not some- 
 times think the proper flies are long in coming. 
 
 Some persons can best secure this continuity of 
 thought by keeping the pen in hand, and watching 
 the thoughts that gather around it. It holds them 
 
Met J 10 d of Composing. 145 
 
 at least closely to one point. Others invent best by 
 walking the floor, or in the forest. Schleiermacher 
 made his sermons leaning out of a window. I know 
 one man who thinks best while whittling a stick. 
 Others throw their heads back, and put their feet on a 
 table — a dangerous habit to those who have a tend- 
 ency of a flow of blood to the brain. Others I have 
 known, and especially of the early itinerants, who 
 thought best on horseback, and in whom the pure 
 air of heaven, with changing landscapes of light and 
 shade, and mountain and valley, gave a poetic tinge 
 to all their meditations. The old circuit system 
 among the Methodists, with all its difficulties and 
 disadvantages, had a wonderful power of inspiration, 
 which philosophical thinkers have sometimes over- 
 looked. 
 
 Each must select for himself the system or plan 
 which he deems best. The mode is not material, so 
 the end is gained. One feels he can do nothing 
 without the " soft afflatus of celestial fire." Another 
 obeys the direction of Dr. Johnson to an inquirer : 
 " Sit down doggedly, sir." The latter plan is the 
 safer. The afflatus may seldom come, though when 
 it comes more work and better work can be done ; 
 but the habit of sitting down "doggedly" will ulti- 
 mately bring the afflatus more easily and powerfully. 
 
 While engaged in this work the minister should 
 
 frequently refer to his Bible ; and all his meditation 
 
 should hold, as far as possible, a scriptural line. 
 10 
 
146 Lectures on Preaching, 
 
 Luther says of God's word, " It suggests more than 
 all our commentators united." He should also com- 
 pose in a spirit of prayer, feeling that, as his message 
 is from God, nothing can be accomplished without 
 the divine blessing. His study should have an at- 
 mosphere of prayer. It should be bathed in the 
 breath which comes from Gethsemane and Calvary. 
 
 Sermons should be composed with the congrega- 
 tion always in view They should be not simply dis- 
 cussions of subjects, strong arguments, elaborate in 
 language and illustration ; but the question should 
 ever be present, Will this be profitable to the con- 
 gregation ? Will it reach the consciences of the stu- 
 pefied and hardened ? Will it arouse the careless 
 and impenitent .'' Will it guard the young from dan- 
 ger .'' Will it attract them to the cross of Christ ? 
 Will it solve their perplexities .'' Will it dispel their 
 doubts .'' Will it impart comfort to the sorrowing 
 ones .'* Will it lead the Church to holy living and 
 Christian activity ? With questions like these, and 
 with a single eye to benefit his people, the minister 
 will compose a sermon not only excellent in itself, but 
 especially suited to the needs of his people. 
 
 The sermon should also be prepared in the light of 
 individual experience. The preacher who searches 
 the depths of his own heart will find a fathoming line 
 for the hearts of others. If he studies earnestly what 
 will probe and arouse his own conscience, he will be 
 instrumental in touching the consciences of others. 
 
Illustrations. 147 
 
 Let him notice in his own heart the character of 
 temptations, their insidious approach, their apparent 
 harmony with the laws of his being, their gaining 
 strength by indulgence, and the power which they 
 exercise, and his congregation will feel that he is 
 speaking directly to them. If he uses the language 
 of books, if he dwells on metaphysical speculations, 
 if he uses technical terms, they will listen confused 
 and bewildered ; but if he speaks from the workings 
 of his own heart, describes the struggles which actu- 
 ally pass within himself, not unfrequently will some 
 member of his congregation become angry, supposing 
 that some one has revealed to the minister his own 
 inner life, and that he is seeking to expose him pub- 
 licly before the congregation. The most effectual 
 sermons are those drawn from the inner conscious- 
 ness of the speaker. They have the freshness of life 
 to the audience ; for " as in water face answereth 
 to face, so the heart of man to man." 
 
 Every sermon should have illustrations. They are 
 like pictures to the eye which rivet attention, and 
 help to fasten the truth in the memory. Our Saviour 
 gave us most forcible examples of illustrations of va- 
 rious kinds. Part of these were from history ; but, 
 what is -remarkable, they were never outside of 
 scriptural or Jewish history. In scriptural history 
 we have his reference to the days of Noah, a type of 
 the days of the Son of man ; of Jonah preaching to 
 the Ninevites, and of their repentance ; of the de- 
 
148 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 struction of Sodom and Gomorrah, the visit of the 
 Queen 'of Sheba, and the glory of Solomon. In the 
 facts of Jewish history, we have Zacharias who died 
 between the horns of the altar, the falling of the tower 
 of Siloam, and the condition of the cities of Caper- 
 naum, Chorazin, and Bethsaida. We have allusions 
 to nature in the grain of corn falling into the earth 
 and dying, and a new life springing therefrom ; the 
 grass, which to-day is in beauty and to-morrow is cast 
 in the oven ; the lily of the field, and tlie growth from 
 the mustard-seed ; allusions to the sparrow in its lit- 
 tleness, the hairs of our head in their number, the 
 redness of the evening sky as betokening fair weath- 
 er, and that of the morning as foreboding storm ; al- 
 lusions to the sheep, which now follow the voice of 
 the shepherd and then wander into the mountains ; 
 to the fowls of the air which are fed out of God's 
 store-house, and the hen that gathers the chicken 
 under her wing ; to the fox in his cunningness, the 
 wolf in his cruelty, and the dog in his sympathy : al- 
 lusions to the employments of men in their rural oc- 
 cupations — the farmer in sowing his seed and gath- 
 ering his harvest, the vine-dresser in his vineyard, 
 and the builder in his temple ; the ruler bestowing 
 trusts on his subjects, the traveler going to a far land, 
 the good householder, the faithful and unfaithful 
 steward, the rich man in his sumptuous living, and 
 his abundant harvest that calls for new barns ; the 
 young man with his wealth and morality, and the 
 
Illustrations. 149 
 
 beggar in his poverty and friendless death. He turns 
 to the employments of women, and notices the leaven 
 hid in three measures of meal, the careful housewife 
 sweeping her floor and finding the piece of money, 
 the mite of the poor widow, and the docility of little 
 children. He also speaks of the waywardness of the 
 prodigal and spendthrift, and the yearnings of a fa- 
 ther's heart welcoming his return ; the fatted calf, the 
 ring, the wedding garment ; the very order of sitting 
 at feasts, the alabaster box of rich perfume, and the 
 love which issues from hearts, once sinful, now for- 
 given. It is astonishing how wide the range, and at 
 how many points the Saviour's teachings touch the 
 common life of man, and yet are contained in so small 
 a compass. How sweeping and yet how minute his 
 laws — the law of marriage and divorce ; the law of 
 filial obedience, and the reproof of ingratitude ; the 
 law of forgiveness, of fastings, of prayer, and of giving 
 alms ; the duty of man in reconciling difficulties and 
 offenses, and in obedience to the Government ! His 
 field of view sweeps time and eternity, embraces su- 
 preme love to God and the love of our fellow-men as 
 ourselves ; finds illustrations in the grave, the judg- 
 ment, and the resurrection ; in the fall of Jerusalem 
 and in the end of the world ; in heaven and in hell ; 
 in the raptures of angels and in the torments of the 
 lost. What a field for us to explore ! If the Saviour 
 thus illustrated his sermons, why should not we ? 
 Parable, allegory, metaphor, were sanctified by him 
 
1 50 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 for our use. All the apostles followed the example of 
 our Saviour — confining their illustrations to Jewish 
 life, history, and habits, or to the great facts of Bible 
 history — with the exception of Paul, who in Athens 
 used illustrations from Grecian poets and sculpture, 
 and in his Epistle to Titus an allusion to a Cretan 
 author. 
 
 This gives us the additional law, that we are not 
 confined to the Bible, or Jewish history or habits of 
 life, for our illustrations, but we may draw them from 
 the history and habits of the people to whom we min- 
 ister. Thus the very knowledge of the employments 
 of men in our congregations may give u? power over 
 them. The work of the assayer of metals, his refin- 
 ing-pot and fire and dross ; the very nets of the fish- 
 ermen, with their variety and needs of mending; the 
 cases of the attorney, and the diseases and remedies 
 familiar to the physician ; the digging of coal in tb.e 
 mines, and the carrying of mortar or bricks by the 
 day laborer ; the preparation of meals, the care of the 
 mother for her children, the economy and thrift of the 
 housewife, are so many store-houses filled with almost 
 exhaustless stores, which may be drawn upon at will. 
 
 These are plain to the understanding, life-like to 
 the thought, touching to the sympathy, and enduring 
 in the memory. Often have I inquired as to the 
 preaching of some man of God who has been famous 
 for pulpit power and success. His hearers spoke of 
 him with enthusiasm and rapture. When I inquired 
 
Pulpit Style. 1 5 1 
 
 for his sermons, all that they could remember was 
 his manner in the pulpit, or some illustration he had 
 employed. 
 
 The minister should never forget that preaching is 
 designed for immediate effect. So far as the mere 
 thought is concerned, a book is better for study than 
 a sermon simply uttered. The living preacher is 
 with the word, to give it immediate force. His mes- 
 sage is, '^ Nozu is the accepted time, and Jiozu is the 
 day of salvation." Whenever he preaches with the 
 fancy that his sermons will do good sometime next 
 year he widely misses the mark. They are forgotten 
 almost as soon as delivered. It is the present im- 
 pression for which sermons are preached. Ever re- 
 member, young gentlemen, that God sends people to 
 hear as well as you to preach ; that your sermon may 
 be the last one which some poor sinner may hear 
 before he is summoned to the bar of God. Be ear- 
 nest in your preparation. Say something which a 
 poor soldier on the battle-field, whose life-blood is 
 oozing away, or a culprit on the gallows, would wish 
 to hear before dropping into eternity. Do not try to 
 please so much as to do good. 
 
 As to style, I have no minute directions to give. 
 Its various qualities you have learned, and I dwell 
 only on one point. Use such language as the people 
 can understand ; though, while your language is 
 simple, there is no reason why the gold in your sen- 
 tences may not be burnished ; nor will your steel be 
 
152 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 less strong because it is polished. You are to read 
 in the book of the law to give the sense, and to cause 
 the people to understand. Bossuet says : " Sublime 
 speech only amuses a few, and benefits fewer still." 
 This plainness of speech must not, however, be con- 
 founded with that which is low or trivial, much less 
 with what is vulgar. The language of the Saviour is 
 a divine model. 
 
 Simple language stands in antagonism to high- 
 sounding phrases, strings of superlatives, and rare or 
 technical expressions. Very few persons in a con- 
 gregation are acquainted with technical terms. Even 
 theological terms are not comprehended by the mass- 
 es, and hence their interest in the preaching is lost. 
 1 remember once to have questioned a college class, 
 of eleven on history. The word transmigration was 
 used in connection with the old Egyptians. Only 
 one of the eleven understood the doctrine of transmi- 
 gration. They knew the meaning of the Latin word, 
 the signification of its parts ; but as applied to doc- 
 trine they had no accurate conception. Yet the 
 young theologian will talk of transmigration or me- 
 tempsychosis as if every child understood him. The 
 aim of a minister should be, as some one has said, to 
 use language that " the poorest old woman sitting in 
 a corner might understand." 
 
 Simplicity of language also stands opposed to ex- 
 aggeration. The pulpit should have a sacred regard 
 for truthfulness of expression as well as of fact. If 
 
Exaggeration. 153 
 
 the minister may exaggerate, why not tlie boy ? and 
 the preacher who labors after extravagance of speech 
 is really impairing his own moral sense, and sapping 
 the morals of his congregation. Men of intense ear- 
 nestness, and of exceedingly vivid imagination or 
 wildness of fancy, are exposed to this danger ; and 
 the habit grows upon them. A story is told of a 
 minister so prone to exaggeration, that after his breth- 
 ren had admonished him in vain they voted that he 
 should be called before the bar of the Conference, and 
 should be reproved by the presiding Bishop. The 
 reproof was kindly and affectionately given, and was 
 received by the erring brother with perfect submis- 
 sion and with tears. At the close he promised to re- 
 form, expressed deep sorrow for his error, said it had 
 cost him many a pang, and that over it he had shed 
 barrels of tears. 
 
 Nor is it necessary that all parts of the sermon 
 should be equally elaborate. Much of it maybe con- 
 versational in style, especially where the sermon is 
 expository in its character. The close of a sermon, 
 however, should be marked by earnestness and force. 
 It was said by the wise man, " The preacher sought 
 out acceptable words." And some one directs that 
 you close your sermons so that the hearer will say to 
 himself, " Were I to live a hundred years, I would 
 never forget it." 
 
 The language of sermons should always be kind. 
 During the preparation let the soul be filled with 
 
154 Lectures on Preaching, 
 
 love ; make no concealed or sharp thrusts, intending 
 to wound feelings or repay some fancied insult. It 
 ma}'' show the wisdom of the serpent, but not the 
 harmlessness of the dove. I think it is Francis de 
 Sales who says, " I would give one hundred serpents 
 for one dove." 
 
 From some cause literary men and able thinkers 
 do not always draw the masses. Their language is 
 too learned, or their sympathy not apparent. It not 
 unfrequently happens that some man of the people, 
 some mechanic or day-laborer, will gather around him 
 an audience which the man of culture cannot hold. 
 The reason is, they understand him ; his language is 
 the language of their lives ; he speaks in their hab- 
 its of thought ; he seems to sympathize with them, 
 and their very souls cleave to him. I call your atten- 
 tion to this, though I may refer to it again, because 
 the times require that true ministers should not only 
 be in sympathy with the masses, but that the masses 
 should feel that sympathy. We cannot shut our eyes 
 to the fact that a wall of partition is rising higher 
 and higher between the educated and the uneducated, 
 between the capitalist and the laborer, and there are 
 no men who can stand in the breach, none who can 
 serve as a bond of union, but the ministers of the 
 Gospel. On them, in this country, now and for years 
 to come, rests, and will rest, a fearful responsibility. 
 No other class, I repeat, can stand between the rich 
 and the poor, the learned and the ignorant, the vir- 
 
Sympathy. 155 
 
 tuous and the vicious, but men divinely sent and com- 
 missioned of the Lord Jesus to stoop to the lowest 
 depths of degradation, and yet to keep themselves 
 unspotted from the world. The minister must ever 
 give a helping hand to his brother. While he looks 
 with affection on the wretched outcast, struggling in 
 the mire of the pit of degradation, he also looks heav- 
 enward, whither he draws his erring brother, and 
 where he beholds a Saviour's face wreathed with a 
 smile of approbation. While he struggles to draw his 
 brother from destruction, the Saviour's hand holds 
 him and draws him nearer to himself. It is safe to 
 reach with one hand to rescue the falling sinner from 
 the very verge of hell, if with the other we can grasp 
 the hand of omnipotent and boundless love. The 
 office of the true minister is to stand between God 
 and sinful man, listening to the whispers of love, and 
 repeating them in the ears of the fallen ; touching the 
 electricity of the cross, and sending its thrill through 
 himself to his brother man ; holding the cords of love, 
 and letting them fall lower and lower and lower 
 to reach the vilest outcasts of earth, so long as he 
 himself is bound by the cords of adoption to a Fa- 
 ther's throne. How deep he may go, who can tell } 
 He may go so low that an astonished archangel shall 
 exclaim, " O the depth of the riches both of the 
 knowledge and wisdom of God ! how unsearchable 
 are his judgments, and his ways past finding out !" 
 I shall never forget an exhibition I once attended. 
 
156 Lfxtures on Preaching, 
 
 Shortly after schools for the imbecile were com- 
 menced in Europe, a young man, moved with be- 
 nevolence, crossed the ocean to examine their mode 
 of operation and success. Assured of their utility, 
 he returned and commenced a similar institution. 
 He advertised for the most idiotic and helpless child 
 that could be found. Among those brought to him 
 was a little boy of five years of age. He had never 
 spoken or walked, had never chewed any hard sub- 
 stance, or given a look of recognition to a friend. 
 He lay on the floor, a mass of flesh, without even 
 ability to turn himself over. Such was the stud^.-nt 
 brought to this school. The teacher fruitlessly m.\de 
 effort after effort to get the slightest recognition 
 from his eye, or to produce the slightest intentional 
 act. Unwilling, however, to yield, at the hour of 
 noon he had the little boy brought to his room, and 
 he lay down beside him every day for half an hour, 
 hoping that some favorable indication might occur. 
 To improve the time of his rest, he read aloud 
 from some author. One day, at the end of six 
 months, he was unusually weary, and did not read. 
 He soon discovered that the child was uneasy, and 
 was trying to move itself a little, as if to turn toward 
 him. The thought flashed upon his mind : " It misses 
 the sound of my voice." He turned himself closely 
 to it, brought his mouth near the child's hand, and 
 after repeated efforts the little fellow succeeded in 
 placing his finger on the teacher's lips, as if to say, 
 
Time of Prcj^aration. 1 5 7 
 
 " Make that sound again." The teacher said that mo- 
 ment he felt he had the control of that boy. He 
 gained his attention, and by careful manipulation of 
 his muscles succeeded in teaching him to walk, and 
 then to read ; and when' I saw him at the end of five 
 years he stood on a platform, read correctly, recited 
 the names of the Presidents of the United States, and 
 answered accurately a number of questions on our na- 
 tional history. I looked with astonishment, and said 
 to myself. Was there ever such patience and such 
 devotion .'' and how strong should be the love of that 
 little boy for his teacher ! I said. Was there ever an 
 instance of one stooping so low, and waiting so long .-• 
 Then I said, Yes, there was one instance — the Son 
 of God came down from heaven, laid himself down 
 beside me, his great heart by my heart, watched me 
 with perpetual care, infused into me of his own life, 
 and waited for nearly twenty years before I reached 
 my finger to his lips, and said, " Speak, Lord, for thy 
 servant heareth." What condescension, what love 
 to fallen man ! Christ stooped so low — it authorizes 
 us to stoop, and wait on, and wait ever. Some of 
 these wretched ones have been suffering for more 
 than eight and thirty years, and have been lying at 
 the edge of the pool waiting for us to come and help 
 them into the troubled waters 
 
 Ministers vary greatly as to the time of commencing 
 their preparation for the ensuing Sabbath. I presume 
 the majority commence early in the week, usually on 
 
T58 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 Tuesday, though I have heard of some who wrote 
 their sermons from three to six months in advance. 
 They are much more skillful marksmen, however, 
 than I ever was, to hit the mark at so long a range. 
 Others again, while their minds are full of subjects and 
 full of the essence of preaching, do not select their 
 topics until a day or two before, and sometimes only 
 an hour or two before, the time of service. It is re- 
 ported of St. Augustine and Chrysostom that they 
 sometimes selected their subjects on their way to 
 church. I have known ministers in various Churches 
 to spend a large part of Saturday night walking the 
 floor to compose their sermons. Of course, they did 
 not write ; and of course, too, their Mondays were 
 very blue. As a problem in mental philosophy I do 
 not pretend to solve it, but my own experience was, 
 that when hurried in preparation, if I could have my 
 text firmly fixed in my mind before sleeping on 
 Saturday night, the plan of the sermon came readily 
 to me on Sunday morning. The mode of preparation 
 is as various as the time. Some ministers write out 
 in full every word ; others write the principal points 
 and heads of arguments ; others prepare brief notes ; 
 some no notes at all. Robertson's sermons, it is 
 said, were sketched on a visiting card. Spurgeon 
 uses simple notes. Dr. Ed vizards frequently preached 
 without notes, while Dr. Chalmers wrote his ser- 
 mons in full. 
 
 It is very seldom, as I think, that a sermon can be 
 
Repeating Sermo?ts. 159 
 
 very ably wrought out by the first effort of either 
 speaker or writer. Though in a few cases it has 
 been done, even then previous materials have been 
 freely used. The life may be in it, but it is frequent- 
 ly like the tender blade as compared with the ripe 
 ear. To have perfect force, it needs oftentimes re- 
 casting ; always amending, pruning, or enlarging. 
 Fenelon advises, " Keep the pruning-knife in hand, to 
 cut away all that is useless." I think an excellent 
 plan in preparing a sermon, whether it be written or 
 delivered without writing, is first to make a simple 
 outline ; after preaching, look over and retouch that 
 outline. Then some weeks after, having kept the 
 subject in mind, and other ideas and illustrations 
 having occurred, recast or amend the outline as judg- 
 ment may dictate, and deliver the sermon if oppor- 
 tunity offers ; again retouch, again let it rest, and if 
 the same process be pursued half a dozen times dur- 
 ing the interval of a year or so, the sermon may ob- 
 tain that unity and beauty and force that will make 
 it worthy of being written in full and laid carefully 
 aside as the product of matured study and criticism. 
 
 A foolish impression exists in the minds of many 
 against the repetition of a sermon ; but what do we 
 see in ordinary life around us.'' The lecturer on the 
 platform delivers the same lectures for a dozen years. 
 I have alluded to Phillips repeating the same lecture 
 for thirty years. Gough has been mimicking " Pecul- 
 iar People," and Colfax has been " Across the Conti- 
 
i6o Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 nent," in almost every lecture-field, and people ad- 
 mire, applaud, and listen again. The politician goes 
 through an entire canvass, not unfrequently repeat- 
 ing the same speech every day, and many of the 
 same people listening to him. The songs of our 
 sanctuaries are none the less sweet because they have 
 been sung again and again. The ritualist offers the 
 same prayer Sabbath after Sabbath, year in and year 
 out, and his congregation is not weary ; and even 
 some non-ritualists acquire almost the same repeti- 
 tion in their devotional services. I remember to have 
 listened in New York to a prayer in the opening 
 service, which I greatly admired for its richness of 
 thought, its comprehensiveness, its aptness and 
 beauty of expression, and its fervency of spirit. After 
 service I walked with a friend who was rather hu- 
 morous. I spoke as I thought of the remarkable 
 beauty and grandeur of the prayer, when my friend 
 replied : " Yes, it is very beautiful ; I have always 
 admired it for twenty years." 
 
 If repetition is permitted to the medical lecturer 
 for each succeeding class, to the professor of law in 
 each different course, to the ordinary lecturer, and 
 to the politician, why may not the minister, with great 
 propriety, repeat a discourse which has commanded 
 his best efforts, and is on a subject of essential im- 
 portance to the congregation .-' Few men, however, 
 could do what Dr. Chalmers did. When crowds at- 
 tended his ministry he sometimes announced in the 
 
Repeating Sei'mons. l6l 
 
 morning that he would repeat the same sermon in the 
 afternoon. On one occasion, when he made that an- 
 nouncement, Dr. Wardlaw was present, and gives us 
 an account of the scene. The seats were occupied an 
 hour before the time, the doors were closed, but the 
 main entrance was kept vacant for better ventilation. 
 An immense crowd was without, and as soon as 
 Chalmers entered from the vestry, in spite of the 
 door-keepers the front door was torn open, even 
 from its hinges, and the pressing crowd filled every 
 available spot in the church. Chalmers was grieved, 
 and administered a sharp rebuke. Walking home 
 with him, Chalmers said to Wardlaw : " I preached 
 the same sermon in the morning, and for the very 
 purpose of preventing the oppressive annoyance of 
 such a densely crowded place I intimated that I 
 should preach it again in the evening," and added, 
 "Have yoii ever tried that plan.-*" Wardlaw says : 
 "I did not smile — I laughed outright. 'No, no,' I 
 replied, ' my good friend, there are but very few of 
 us that are under the necessity of having recourse to 
 the use of means for getting thin audiences.' " Like 
 Dr. Wardlaw, I have never tried the plan, but if 
 any of you should be overwhelmed with auditors 
 it might be worth your while to try the experiment. 
 Never, however, repeat a sermon through indolence, 
 or to avoid the labor of preparing a new one. 
 
 As to sermonizing, I feel my incompetency to ad- 
 vise. I have never been a systematic sermonizer. I 
 11 
 
i62 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 have already said to you that in my early ministry I 
 believed it impossible for me to become a successful 
 preacher in the sense of being an orator. In addition 
 to this, my health was very delicate, and I anticipated, 
 at the longest, only two or three years of service. 
 At that time, in the Church to which I belonged 
 there were no theological schools ; and in the West 
 no theological seminary, founded by any Church, 
 had gained much reputation ; hence I commenced 
 my ministry without any specific theological training. 
 I had read my Bible thoroughly from my earliest 
 childhood, for I cannot recollect when I could not 
 read ; and my study in the original languages, more 
 especially in the Greek, had been for years a delight- 
 ful occupation ; but no one had told me how to make 
 a sermon. I had listened to good preachers, but the 
 only sermons I had ever read were those of Mr. Wes- 
 ley. I did not know there was such a thing as a 
 skeleton, or a book of skeletons of sermons ; and in 
 my youthful innocence I would as soon have stolen 
 money from a bank as to have attempted to appro- 
 priate a sermon which I had either heard or read. I 
 remember well how, about the close of my first year, 
 an older minister put into my hand, and offered to 
 lend me, a book of sketches. I happened to have 
 common sense enough to decline the offer ; so, without 
 knowing how a sermon was made, save as mentioned, 
 I began to preach. I did not try to make sermons. 
 I felt I must, at the peril of my soul, persuade men 
 
Early Efforts. 163 
 
 to come to Christ ; I must labor to the utmost of my 
 ability to get sinners converted, and believers ad- 
 vanced in holiness. For this I thought and studied, 
 wept and fasted and prayed. My selection of words, 
 my plan of discourse, was only and all the time to 
 persuade men to be reconciled to God, I never 
 spoke without the deepest feeling, and unless I saw 
 a strong divine influence on the congregation I felt 
 sad, and sought retirement to humble myself before 
 God in prayer. My sermons were not well arranged ; 
 they sometimes had divisions, for I had heard ministers 
 say firstly, and secondly, and thirdly. Sometimes I 
 had a line v/ritten out here and there, and sometimes 
 a few catch-words on a scrap of paper, but which I 
 seldom, if ever carried into the pulpit, and very few 
 of which I ever preserved. My ministry was one of 
 exhortation rather than of sermonizing ; and I looked 
 for immediate results under every effort, or to me it 
 was a failure. So my early ministry was formed. 
 Whatever my method was, it was purely my own, 
 and was adopted, as I have said, not to make ser- 
 mons, but to bring men to God. No one could have 
 been more surprised than myself when I began to 
 find, not only that souls were awakened and con- 
 verted, but that friends began to speak kindly of 
 my simple talks as sermons. So I finished my 
 first year. My second year I was stationed in 
 Pittsburgh, where I was compelled to preach three 
 times on Sabbath, and once at least during the week, 
 
164 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 but not always to the same congregation. I was so 
 driven, it seemed as if I could not change my plans. 
 At the end of my first year there I had preached all 
 I knew, and expected to be relieved. But I was un- 
 expectedly returned, to preach three times on the 
 Sabbath and once a week to the same congregation. 
 I had a membership of four hundred, scattered 
 over the city. In addition to my preaching, I led the 
 public prayer-meeting, spent one evening with my 
 official members, led two classes, took a deep interest 
 in the Sunday-school, and formed a class of young 
 men, whom I encouraged in their reading, and helped 
 in some slight degree to prepare for the ministry. 
 And so, not expecting to be a preacher, I preached 
 on ; not expecting to live, I lived on. Many a time 
 I resolved I would prepare better, and yet I often 
 found myself brought up to Saturday evening or 
 Sunday morning with comparatively slight prepara- 
 tion for the Sabbath. But I studied intensely. I 
 arose early, and spent my forenoons faithfully — not in 
 sermon writing, but in mastering standard works on 
 theology, mental philosophy, and the natural sciences, 
 of which I was passionately fond. I studied on my 
 feet, and found my sermons among the sick and poor, 
 in garrets and in cellars. Not expecting ever to do 
 much in the pulpit, I spoke to men every-where of 
 Jesus and his love, and had the satisfaction of seeing 
 many scores brought to the foot of the cross. I ex- 
 pected by and by to find leisure to make better ser- 
 
Personal Experience. 165 
 
 mons, but I have never found it. My boat got on 
 the stream, and I have been borne down the rapid 
 current without the time to rest, until I can almost 
 see the mouth of the river, and the boundless ocean 
 beyond. I would not advise any young man to do 
 as I have done. I would breathe into you, if I could, 
 the earnestness and love of souls and the devotion of 
 my earlier ministry : but I would urge you to make a 
 better preparation, and to become workmen more ap- 
 proved both of God and man. 
 
i66 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 LECTURE VI. 
 
 THE DELIVERY OF A SERMON. 
 
 T N the composition of a sermon the collection of 
 -■- material evinces the diligent student ; broad and 
 comprehensive thoughts reveal the great thinker ; 
 clear, beautiful, and forcible language manifests the 
 cultured writer ; but only in the delivery of a sermon 
 does the true preacher appear. " His throne is the 
 pulpit ; " he stands in Christ's stead ; his message is 
 the word of God ; around him are immortal souls ; 
 the Saviour, unseen, is beside him ; the Holy Spirit 
 broods over the congregation ; angels gaze upon the 
 scene, and heaven and hell await the issue. What 
 associations, and what vast responsibility ! 
 
 The sermon, considered simply as matter, might be 
 contained in an essay or a book ; that which con- 
 stitutes its preaching is the appearance, utterance, 
 and action of the living preacher. It is differentiated 
 from the ordinary lecture, or oration, by the message 
 being divine, and the speaker having been sent of God ; 
 and from the theological essay, or the published ser- 
 mon, by the presence and influence of the speaker. 
 The word of God is the constant quantity, the 
 preacher the variable. If this be true, then that 
 
Personality of tJic P readier. i ^"j 
 
 preaching is best which, on the one hand, is most 
 full of the divine message, and which, on the other, 
 has the greatest personality of the preacher. The 
 Spirit of God employs not only the truth, but the ut- 
 most powers of utterance, intonation, countenance, 
 and gesticulation. I think Dr. Dick first suggested 
 that the time might come when the preacher could sit 
 in his study, and, by means of tubes properly ar- 
 ranged, could address a distant congregation. A 
 similar use has been suggested for the telephone. 
 While either of these processes would convey the 
 sound to the ear with the accent and intonation of 
 the speaker, who does not feel that by such a process 
 the chief power and influence of the pulpit would be 
 lost .'' Were not the presence of the preacher neces- 
 sary, God could have employed the ministry of angels, 
 or each person might have been addressed by a vision 
 or a voice. The ordination of God requires that 
 preaching shall be by a man of like passions and 
 sympathies with other men. He stands as a witness 
 and an illustration of the influence of divine power. 
 As he knows the truth of the Gospel, others may 
 know it ; as he has felt the power of the Gospel, 
 others may feel it, also. He tells them how he was 
 moved ; out of how deep a pit he was drawn ; how his 
 feet have been placed on the Rock of ages ; how he 
 repented and believed ; how he was delivered from 
 temptations, and how he is now filled with power to 
 resist allurements and fascinations which once took 
 
i68 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 him captive ; how that once he was influenced only 
 by the visible and earthly, but that now he is un- 
 der a sweet attraction of the unseen and heavenly. 
 If, then, the personality of the preacher be so nec- 
 essary and so potent a factor, what manner of 
 person should a minister be, in all holy conversation 
 and godliness ! He should resemble Stephen in 
 being a man full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. 
 He should be able to say with Paul : " Ye are wit- 
 nesses, and God also, how holily, and justly, and un- 
 blamably we behaved ourselves among them that 
 believed ! " If he causes in the minds of the people 
 even so much as a suspicion that he is a wicked man, 
 his power is at once impaired. Men may admire his 
 mental vigor, his faultless rhetoric, his irresistible 
 logic, and his overwhelming oratory ; but their hearts 
 will not be captivated by his utterances. People may 
 flock to his ministry as they would visit the theater, 
 the concert-room, or the opera, to satisfy their curi- 
 osity or gratify their taste. They hope to be charmed, 
 not profited. 
 
 There are four different methods of delivering a 
 sermon, each of which has in its favor the authority 
 pf eminent names and of conspicuous examples : 
 First, reading in the pulpit from a copy previously 
 prepared ; secondly, reciting from memory a sermon 
 which has been committed; thirdly, using notes more 
 or less copiously, which are read or referred to in the 
 pulpit, and to vyhich may be added such iHustrations 
 
Reading Sermons. 169 
 
 or amplifications as may occur to the mind at the 
 moment, or which may have been more or less pre- 
 meditated ; fourthly, speaking directly to the audi- 
 ence, without relying on any verbal preparation. 
 These various methods may be, and frequently are, 
 partially intermingled. The reader who becomes 
 interested may pass over pages of his manuscript, re- 
 citing from memory, or may be so permeated with his 
 subject that he ventures to vary from the language 
 before him. So the extemporaneous speaker fre- 
 quently quotes from memory Scripture texts or 
 phrases, stanzas of hymns or lines of poetry ; or he 
 may read a paragraph of statistics, or an excerpt 
 from some favorite author. Reading secures to the 
 preacher self-possession. He knows that he has his 
 sermon prepared, and, consequently, has no burden 
 upon his imagination or memory. Nor will the 
 presence or absence of any persons in his congrega- 
 tion either annoy or confuse him. He has nothing 
 to do but simply to read what he has written. He 
 has confidence in the accuracy of his language and 
 in the strength of his logic. He had time to revise 
 and change while the pen was in his hand. Some 
 ministers labor under the apprehension that, if they 
 speak extemporaneously, they may forget the in- 
 tended points of their sermon, or in the excitement 
 of speaking may omit some necessary link in an 
 argument. To others language comes slowly, and, 
 under the hesitancy, utterance becomes difficult. So 
 
i^o Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 some men of fine culture and of mental strength 
 think themselves inadequate to the task of preaching 
 without a manuscript. Others prefer the written 
 sermon, that definitions may be more precise and 
 argumentation more close and forcible. For pur- 
 poses of controversy, also, the preparation and aid of 
 the manuscript are considered valuable. 
 
 While admitting the full force of these statements, 
 yet it seems to me the advantages are not so great as 
 the disadvantages. In reading closely, little of the 
 preacher's personal power, except his voice, is added 
 to the written words. Even that is restrained, as the 
 reading voice is not so full as the speaking one. The 
 power of the eye, the play of the features, the light 
 of the countenance, and the freedom of movement, 
 are either lost to the audience or greatly restricted. 
 This personal power being a great factor in preach- 
 ing, what impairs it inevitably weakens the impres- 
 sion of the sermon. 
 
 It is alleged, however, that a minister ought not to 
 read closely ; that the eye need not follow the man- 
 uscript, except now and then ; that the preacher may 
 remember so much of his sermon that he can deliver 
 it without much restraint. This is true. But if so, 
 it indicates that a free delivery is better than reading. 
 If a man excels as a reader because he seldom looks 
 at his manuscript, would it not be excelsior not to look 
 at it all } Is it not the highest praise of a good reader, 
 that he reads as if he were speaking .' But is it ever 
 
Reading Sennotis. 1 71 
 
 considered a compliment to a speaker to say that he 
 speaks as if he were reading ? Those who recite 
 from memory do sometimes so appear, but it is ever 
 accounted a blemish. If we consider the advantages 
 carefully, we find that they inure to the preacher 
 rather than to his hearers. But is the comfort or 
 convenience of the speaker the chief end of preach- 
 ing .-* If after he has written an argument, and has 
 thus familiarized himself with it, and yet when in the 
 pulpit cannot remember its various links, is it prob- 
 able that his people can follow and remember it, who 
 hear it for the first time as he reads .-* If the points 
 of his sermon are so feebly connected that, after 
 studying and writing, he cannot recall them in proper 
 order, is the order very material .? If he has not in- 
 terest enough in his subject to remember the mes- 
 sage which God sends through him, is it likely to in- 
 terest the people .'' Nor is reading necessary for 
 accurate definition. Does not the professor in his 
 lecture-room state his definitions clearly, and does he 
 not make them plain to his students } It may be said 
 he is familiar with them ; so should the minister be 
 with definitions in theology. If, after having studied 
 a course of divinity, and having prepared his specific 
 sermon, he cannot trust to his memory for the neces- 
 sary definitions, will they be easily comprehended by 
 his people .-' As to controversial sermons, as a gen- 
 eral rule, tlie less of them the better. I do not object 
 to doctrinal preaching. Far from it. I strongly ad- 
 
172 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 vise it in the didactic and positive form ; but I think 
 it is seldom necessary in a controversial style. Mr. 
 Wesley, who lived in a period of great theological 
 controversy, said that out of eight hundred sermons 
 which he preached in a year there were not more 
 than eight of a controversial character. 
 
 The use of notes is less objectionable than reading 
 a sermon from manuscript. They may refresh the 
 memory in case of confusion of thought, and may im- 
 part confidence to the timid without withdrawing the 
 attention very greatly from the audience. Yet it 
 would be much better to have the notes thoroughly 
 written on the heart. If notes be used the heads of a 
 discourse may be read, and the amplification may be 
 greater or less, according to the occasion or to the 
 ability of the speaker. 
 
 Reciting from memory, if the sermon has been 
 well committed, is not unpleasant to the hearer, as 
 the preacher may have full play for all his powers. 
 Actors display their utmost skill, and sometimes pro- 
 duce great effects, though their parts are committed 
 and recited. This form of delivery, however, for 
 ministers of ordinary memory, who preach two or 
 three times a week, must impose a slavish service. 
 Time is thus spent which should be given to careful 
 study or to pastoral work. 
 
 It is objected to what is termed extemporaneous 
 delivery, that the language is oftentimes incorrect, 
 the thoughts are frequently incoherent, and the whole 
 
Exteniporaiicoiis Preaching. 173 
 
 performance is crude. This may be, and doubtless 
 is, sometimes the case. But, as one has aptly re- 
 marked, there may be extemporaneous writing as well 
 as extemporaneous speaking. Once for all, let me 
 say, that extemporaneous speaking, or direct address, 
 as I prefer to call it, does not exclude the most thor- 
 ough and perfect preparation. It may be abused by 
 ignorant and indolent men ; but it is not designed to 
 diminish the necessity for extensive reading and care- 
 ful thought. The order and the parts of the dis- 
 course should be clearly fixed in the mind ; illustra- 
 tions may be selected and arranged ; suitable lan- 
 guage for certain portions may be well studied, or 
 the whole sermon may be written ; yet at the time of 
 delivery, with the heart full of the subject, and with 
 the outlines clearly perceived, let the speaker rely on 
 his general knowledge of language and his habit of 
 speaking for the precise words he may need. If he 
 be deeply in earnest he will, as he proceeds, feel a 
 glow of enthusiasm which will give a warmth and 
 vigor to his expression. I do not deny that warmth 
 and vigor may be gained in the study, if the writer 
 fancies the congregation before him, and if he writes 
 as if he looked them in the face, and measured the 
 momentous results connected with the sermon ; yet 
 there is a greater power in the actual presence of a liv- 
 ing assembly waiting for the bread of life, and whose 
 countenances respond to the words of the speaker. 
 It is said that critical audiences greatly prefer the 
 
174 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 polished finish of a written discourse, and that they 
 are not satisfied with extemporaneous delivery. There 
 may be a few such congregations ; but are they not 
 found chiefly among those who reject evangelical doc- 
 trines, who attend service rather to be dehghted than 
 edified, and who say, " Prophesy unto us smooth 
 things ? " It may also be fairly admitted that where 
 sermons are delivered purely for instruction, reading 
 may not only be allowable, but may even be prefera- 
 ble ; yet persuasion, rather than instruction, is the 
 great end of preaching. Instruction is essential, but 
 without persuasion the sinner is never moved or 
 saved. In the lecture-room, in the study of science, 
 reading is highly proper. And yet who that ever 
 heard Agassiz did not admire the freedom and de- 
 lightful ease with which he imparted, in familiar style, 
 the highest truths and the most wonderful phenome- 
 na of natural science ? It may, also, be admitted that 
 an audience composed mainly of students, or of those 
 whose minds have been long disciplined by educa- 
 tional processes, may be both pleased and profited by 
 the reading of sermons. But there are few congre- 
 gations where men of thorough culture compose even 
 a large minority ; for those who receive a collegiate, 
 or even an academic, training bear a small per cent- 
 age to the entire population. The larger, though un- 
 cultured, class demands the greatest attention from 
 the minister. It is a law of nature that heated air 
 always ascends, but never descends. A fire may be 
 
Extemporaneous Preaching. 175 
 
 built upon the ice without having much effect upon 
 it ; so, in society, all extensive reformations begin 
 with the masses. In the time of our Saviour the 
 question was asked, " Have any of the rulers believed 
 in him ? " and under the labors of his disciples it is 
 said that " not many wise, not many noble, were 
 called ;" yet the common people heard them gladly. 
 In the Reformation during the sixteenth century the 
 masses rallied around the standard of Luther and his 
 coadjutors. It is proverbially said that capital is ever 
 timid and cautious, and history shows that few men 
 in prominent positions have become leaders in re- 
 forms. Erasmus, though detesting and satirizing the 
 monks, and though helping to prepare for the Refor- 
 mation by his Greek Testament, yet, fearing to break 
 with Rome, declined to unite with the reformers. If 
 ministers expect great success they must tread in the 
 footsteps of the great masters, and throw themselves 
 fearlessly upon the sympathies of the people. Yet I 
 incline to the opinion that men of the highest culture 
 enjoy an earnest extemporaneous form of delivery if 
 the matter is of a high and elevated character. Frank- 
 lin, cool and dispassionate as he was, said he would 
 go twenty miles to hear Whitefield. 
 
 We are sometimes told that many of the most dis- 
 tinguished and successful ministers have read their 
 sermons. This is readily admitted. There are oth- 
 ers equally talented who do so still. Yet the number 
 is comparatively small when contrasted with those 
 
1/6 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 who do not read. Perhaps no name is more frequent- 
 ly quoted than that of Dr. Chalmers, as an instance 
 of wonderful power and great success combined with 
 reading; yet his great power was most conspicuously 
 displayed when he left his manuscript, and uttered 
 his thoughts in the most impassioned style. Even 
 in his lecture-room he occasionally did so. " Dr. Han- 
 na says : " The interest was at once deepened and di- 
 versified at times by some extemporaneous addition 
 or illustration, in which the lecturer, springing from 
 his seat and bending over his desk, through thick and 
 difficult and stammering utterance, in which every 
 avenue to expression seemed to be choked up, found 
 his way to some picturesque conception and express- 
 ive phraseology, which shed a flood of light on the 
 topic in hand ; and, again, by some poetic quotation, 
 recited with most emphatic fervor, or by some hu- 
 morous allusion or anecdote told with archest glee. It 
 was almost impossible in such a singular class-room 
 to check the burst of applause or to restrain the mer- 
 riment." Of his pulpit efforts, a writer in the " Brit- 
 ish Quarterly Review " gives the following descrip- 
 tion : " Dr. Chalmers on great occasions was abso- 
 lutely terrible. His heavy frame was convulsed ; his 
 face flushed and grew pythic ; the veins on his fore- 
 head and neck stood out like cordage ; his voice 
 cracked or reached to a shriek : foam flew from his 
 mouth in flakes ; he hung over his audience, menac- 
 ing them with his shaking fist, or he stood erect, 
 
Direct Address. 1/7 
 
 maniacal and stamping." No marvel that the Scotch 
 lady, who admired him, and yet was greatly opposed 
 to reading, said, by way of apology, that it was read- 
 ing "with a pith in it." Such delivery comes prop- 
 erly under the form of direct address, having no ele- 
 ment in common with the mode in which a manuscript 
 is usually read. Probably in four cases out of five of 
 those who read sermons, their great power is just in 
 that part which they do not read. 
 
 The voice of antiquity is almost unanimous in favor 
 of the direct address. From the day that Miriam 
 raised her song of joy on the banks of the Red Sea 
 to the close of the prophecy of Malachi, the prophet 
 sent of God usually spoke directly to the people. In 
 the New Testament record there is not a single in- 
 stance given of an address being read. 
 
 The blessed Saviour, the only perfect model, spake 
 as never man spake. The apostles and their associ- 
 ates followed his example, preaching the Gospel with 
 all boldness. Nor have we any historical evidence 
 of sermons being read for the first four centuries. 
 We know that Ambrose, Basil, Jerome, Chrysostom. 
 and Augustine spoke even without notes, though, 
 very probably, they sometimes prepared them. The 
 Roman Catholic Church has pursued the same meth- 
 od almost without exception. The great French ora- 
 tors, Bourdaloue, Bossuet, Fcnelon, and Massillon 
 used the same style, though some of them wrote and 
 
 committed their sermons. 
 12 
 
178 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 Potter, in his work on sacred eloquence, which is 
 indorsed by Cardinal Cullen and Dr. Newman, and 
 the highest Roman Catholic dignitaries in Great 
 Britain and Ireland, says : " In no sense of the word 
 can reading be called preaching. A sermon is of its 
 very nature a persuasive oration. In real preaching 
 one man speaks to another. . . . The sermon which 
 is merely read from a paper never has been, and 
 never will be, any thing more than a piece of reading. 
 Such a performance never has been, and never will 
 be, made to possess those qualities of warmth or ear- 
 nestness, of spontaneity and of special and varying 
 application, which mark the persuasive oration, and 
 which are distinctive of, and indispensable to, a ser- 
 mon in the true sense of the word." The same view 
 is taken by the Greek Church, though in the midst of 
 its ceremonies the sermon is almost neglected. These 
 two Churches embrace nearly three fourths of Chris- 
 tendom. In the commencement of the Reformation 
 none of the great leaders on the Continent read their 
 sermons ; but in England the practice was early 
 adopted. Calvin, writing to Somerset, says : " There 
 is too little of living preaching in your kingdom, ser- 
 mons there being mostly read. . , . But all this must 
 yield to the command of Christ, which orders the 
 preaching of the Gospel. No possible danger must 
 be permitted to abridge the Spirit of God, or pre- 
 vent his free course among those whom he has adorned 
 with his grace for the edifying of the Church." 
 
General Practice. 179 
 
 Among the Protestants of Europe reading is seldom 
 practiced, except in England and Scotland. Even 
 there such ministers as Spurgeon, Newman Hall, 
 and Parker, who have gathered large congregations, 
 speak without manuscript. So, also, do the Wesley- 
 ans and Baptists generally. 
 
 In this country the practice is divided ; but reviv- 
 alists every-where use direct address. So, also, the 
 great majority of the ablest pulpit speakers in the 
 land. Some of these write and commit ; others, with 
 great labor, premeditate and hold in memory ; but 
 the majority of able speakers who use this direct ad- 
 dress, having the matter well prepared, rely on the 
 inspiration of the moment and their power of lan- 
 guage for their precise words. As services be- 
 come ritualistic, the sermon, being deemed of less 
 importance, is more frequently read. In other call- 
 ings men in earnest use direct address almost wholly. 
 The attorney never reads a plea for the life of his 
 client before a jury. The politician on the platform 
 — or, as it is termed throughout the West, on the 
 stump — never reads a speech. The general, who ad- 
 dresses his officers or army before going into battle, 
 never reads. And yet what powerful effect his few- 
 words sometimes have. I would, then, most earnestly 
 advise every young man to cultivate this habit of ex- 
 temporaneous, or direct, address. It will give him, 
 other things being equal, more influence and more 
 power over his audience ; it will make the address 
 
i8o Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 more life-like, as breathing his own impulses, and al- 
 lowing him to use attendant or surrounding circum- 
 stances. Under the excitement of direct address 
 some of the most beautiful imagery, as well as the 
 most forcible expressions, occur to the mind. The 
 reactive influence of the congregation is, also, se- 
 cured. The faces of his audience will oftentimes 
 make suggestions, and he can skillfully vary his 
 phrases or the length of the different parts of his 
 discourse. While I, however, greatly prefer the di- 
 rect address, each one must decide for himself, as no 
 absolute and universal rule can be enjoined. 
 
 As to directions for reading sermons properly, I 
 confess frankly my inability to give them In forty- 
 five years of ministry 1 have never attempted to read 
 a sermon. A few Sabbath afternoon lectures to col- 
 lege students and some general lectures comprise 
 the total of my experience in that direction. In the 
 earliest years of my ministry I wrote and committed 
 two sermons, which I delivered without difficulty. So 
 even in that I am a novice. Notes I have occasion- 
 ally, though seldom, used. While I bow at the feet 
 of many distinguished men v.'ho read successfully, 
 yet if I must give my advice as to the style of read- 
 ing sermons, I should follow the example of Punch, 
 who on a certain occasion offered a prize for the best 
 essay addressed to those contemplating matrimony, 
 and awarded it to one which read about as follows : 
 "Advice to those about to srct married — Don't!" 
 
Pulpit Maufier. i8i 
 
 To attain the highest power in direct address prac- 
 tice is absolutely essential. If I am asked, How and 
 when you shall begin ? I answer, The first time you 
 preach ; and, if practicable, before a small audience. 
 There is, certainly, some risk, but don't stand shiver- 
 ing on tlie bank; plunge in at once. Gilbert Stuart, 
 in answer to a question as to how young artists are 
 to commence their subjects, is reported to have said : 
 " Just as puppies are taught to swim — chuck them 
 in." 
 
 In the appearance and manner of the minister in 
 entering the pulpit every thing careless or offensive 
 should be avoided. He must have a due regard to 
 his congregation, and a proper sense of conventional 
 propriety. He must avoid all affectation of manner, 
 and all appearance of display. An air of indifference 
 shows his utter incompetency. The most able 
 speaker feels a vast responsibility in addressing an 
 audience ; much more the minister, upon whose words 
 the destiny of souls may depend. The most earnest 
 minister trembles at the responsibility of his task, 
 and yields only to his conviction of the divine call. 
 Saint Cyran said : " I would rather say a hundred 
 masses than preach one sermon." Luther said : " Al- 
 though I am old and experienced in speaking, I trem- 
 ble whenever I ascend the pulpit." Gregory of Na- 
 zianzen speaks of the "tempest of spirit" which a 
 minister experiences. I have known many a min- 
 ister who trembled so gieatly that vrith' difficul'y he 
 
1 82 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 ascended the pulpit steps ; while, in other cases, the 
 paleness of countenance and drops of cold perspira- 
 tion have shown the intensity of the mental struggle. 
 Nor is this mental pressure wholly unprofitable. It 
 leads the minister to a sense of his own weakness 
 and helplessness without divine aid. It brings him 
 near the throne in earnest supplication. This mental 
 intensity also gives a stimulus to thought ; and when 
 mastered by the preacher, he will speak in a loftier 
 strain and with more spiritual power. Leaning on 
 the divine arm for strength, he will have less regard 
 to the opinions of his congregation, and will more 
 earnestly desire to proclaim the divine message in all 
 its purity, and with all its sanctions. 
 
 The proper management of the voice is of great 
 importance. The preacher should aim to speak with 
 sufficient force to be distinctly heard by the audience. 
 To do this successfully, if the congregation be large, 
 let him select some person in the congregation about 
 two thirds of the extreme distance from the pulpit, 
 and let him speak so as to be by him distinctly heard, 
 and probably all the assembly will then hear, though 
 those the most remote may need to be very attentive. 
 But better they should have a slight inconvenience, 
 in his first few sentences, than that his voice should 
 break through overstraining. This precaution is nec- 
 essary only in large edifices or before vast audiences. 
 In ordinary churches the force employed should be 
 such as at once* to fill the entire room. Care should 
 
Tones of Voice. 183 
 
 be taken that the pitch should be as nearly as possi- 
 ble the ordinary tone of conversation, as this produces 
 less weariness, and allows a greater range of compass 
 both above and below. This variety is essential to 
 prevent injury to the vocal organs, and it relieves that 
 monotonous utterance which becomes very unpleas- 
 ant to the congregation. This ordinary pitch, with 
 variations above and below, gives the character of 
 naturalness. Distinctness of syllabic utterance im- 
 parts the quality termed penetration, or of carrying 
 the sound to the greatest possible distance without 
 intermingling with other sounds. The voice should 
 always be in harmony with the subject, and should 
 indicate the earnest love, the deep solemnity, and the 
 ardent zeal, of the preacher. It is sometimes called 
 the sympathetic voice, and seems to blend the speaker 
 both with his subject and with the feelings of his 
 audience. He stands as if forgetting himself, and 
 tries to bring about a perfect union of the subject 
 and the hearers. The degree of loudness will vary 
 with temperament and physical force. Whitefield's 
 voice had such penetrative power that it was said 
 that, standing on the steps of the then State-house of 
 Philadelphia, some of his words could be distinctly 
 heard across the Delaware River in Camden, and yet 
 so soft and musical were his tones that they were 
 not offensive to those who stood near him. 
 
 In varying the tones of the voice, a free use of the 
 muscles of the throat and neck is very important. 
 
1 84 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 For this purpose the proper movement of the whole 
 body will assist. It is a law of our system that one 
 set of muscles continuously employed become wea- 
 ried, and oftentimes painful, from the superabundance 
 of blood which flows to them. This is illustrated in 
 that weariness of the limbs which is often felt in 
 climbing a long succession of steps, as in towers or 
 steeples, or in the strain of the back in using the 
 sickle in the harvest-field. It applies, also, to the del- 
 icate and sensitive muscles of the throat. This is the 
 chief reason why the voice tires more readily in read- 
 ing than in speaking. The book held in one position, 
 with the eye fastened upon it, constrains, to some ex- 
 tent, the vocal organs. In my own experience I 
 have found that I cannot read aloud at night without 
 hoarseness as well as I can during the day. In the 
 day-time the posture is easily changed, the light be- 
 ing diffused all around ; but in reading by gas or can- 
 dle-light the book must be held in one position, and 
 consequently the posture is more constrained. In 
 the pulpit more force must be exercised than in or- 
 dinary reading. The tension of the muscles is great- 
 er, the flow of blood is more abundant, and, conse- 
 quently, the danger from constraint of posture is in- 
 creased. If you notice political speakers, attorneys, 
 or statesmen, they give to their bodies a free play, 
 and hence, though they make long speeches, their 
 throats seldom suffer. If you notice those men in the 
 ministry who gesticulate the most freely, who change 
 
Preaching not bijurions. 185 
 
 from place to place during the delivery of the dis- 
 course, you will find that they talk both long and loud 
 without much injury. On the other hand, those who 
 confine themselves strictly to one posture, who give 
 themselves little freedom of motion, are much more 
 liable to be affected with bronchitis. Indeed, I think 
 I can give you an excellent recipe for acquiring this 
 diseaLC. First, write all sermons in a close, fine hand, 
 which may be difficult to read. Secondly, place them 
 on a pulpit so that you will be obliged to incline the 
 face toward the manuscript, and to keep one finger 
 following the lines, lest you lose the place ; then with 
 the other hand attempt to gesticulate, keeping the 
 eye upon the page, and trying to glance now and 
 then on the congregation, and, my word for it, you 
 can have a first-rate case of clerical bronchitis in six 
 months. The philosophy in this case is that to which 
 I have already alluded. The difficulty arises, not 
 from reading, but from the constrained position of 
 the muscles of the throat. If, in spite of the man- 
 uscript, the subject is inwrought into your very 
 being, if you can so forget yourself that you can throw 
 yourself with your thoughts into the very face and 
 eyes of the congregation, or stand erect, or move 
 like the very spirit of a storm, you may read without 
 injury. 
 
 Preaching, if properly practiced, so far from being 
 injurious to the voice, is invigorating and strength- 
 ening. If the voice is used without straining, the 
 
1 86 Lfxtures on Preaching. 
 
 more frequently one preaches the better for the lungs, 
 especially if that preaching can be joined with exer- 
 cise in the open air. Calvin, who was unimpassioned, 
 delivered sermons, addresses, and lectures, speaking 
 daily. Luther, who was full of emotion, spoke about 
 as frequently. Wesley, who was calm and quiet, 
 though earnest, in the pulpit, as I have already stated, 
 preached about eight hundred sermons a year, and 
 in a protracted ministry of over fifty years probably 
 preached as many as forty thousand times, in addi- 
 tion to all his writings, publishing, and care of the 
 Churches. Whitefield, who was a perfect tempest in 
 the pulpit, is said to have preached about eighteen 
 thousand sermons. Nor were these instances, all of 
 them, of physical robustness. Mr. Wesley was slender 
 and rather delicate, and at one time suffered fronThem- 
 orrhage, and it was supposed would die of consump- 
 tion. It is unquestionably true, however, that some 
 men, by their unwise and unnecessary vehemence, 
 injure their vocal powers — generally, however, as I 
 think, more from errors in diet and habit, than from 
 the use of the throat and lungs. The vehemence of 
 some speakers, though to a certain extent impressive 
 on their audience, is really a barrier to their success. 
 Cicero, when a young orator, strained his voice, and 
 his friends advised him to abandon his profession. 
 Instead of this he traveled abroad, studied under the 
 best teachers, conversed with the best speakers, 
 learned to restrain his rapidity of utterance and his 
 
Power of the Eye. 187 
 
 impetuosity of manner, and returned to his country 
 ■to honor it with his oratory ; and yet, I fancy, there 
 was no Httle vehemence displayed in those orations 
 against Catahne. The same trait was illustrated in 
 the life of Dr. Durbin, who filled various high posi- 
 tions in the Methodist Episcopal Church. He com- 
 menced his ministry in Kentucky, a youth of seven- 
 teen ; and so earnest and vehement was he that in a 
 few months his voice gave way. His desire to do good, 
 however, was so intense, that, when scarcely able to 
 more than whisper, he visited the humblest cabins of 
 the primitive settlers and the quarters of the negroes, 
 and, sitting down by their firesides, talked to them 
 of Jesus, and explained to them the way of salvation. 
 In this quiet work his voice gradually recovered, and 
 it gave him that peculiar manner which served as a 
 background for those inimitable bursts of oratory 
 which, for long years, made him second in the pulpit 
 to no man in America. 
 
 The eye has an immense influence over a congre- 
 gation. It often speaks the feelings in advance of 
 words. People are anxious not only to hear, but to 
 see, the preacher, and this power of the eye is one of 
 the great elements of oratory ; yet other qualities 
 may lead to great excellence and power without this. 
 Blind men are sometimes very eloquent. Bourda- 
 loue, who was famous for oratory, kept his eyes almost 
 closed lest he might be diverted from thinking of the 
 matter of his sermons which he had carefully pre- 
 
i88 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 pared. I have known some eminent ministers who 
 looked above the heads of their congregations as if 
 they were examining the structure of the ceiling, and 
 others who kept their eyes closed, or nearly so, during 
 the greater part of the sermon. In every case, how- 
 ever, their power over the audience was diminished 
 by that fact. The true orator looks at his congrega- 
 tion, though in some of his pictures and in intense 
 mental feeling he is for the moment oblivious of any 
 thing which might occur. Still, his look is toward 
 his audience, his thoughts are directed toward them, 
 and, except in these periods of absorption^ a mental 
 and spiritual communion is maintained between the 
 speaker and his congregation. 
 
 The value of earnestness cannot be too strongly 
 stated. St. Augustine says : " It is more by the Chris- 
 tian fervor of his sermons than by any endowment of 
 his intellect that the minister must hope to inform 
 the understanding, catch the affections, and bend the 
 will of his hearers." In various ages men have ap- 
 peared who by their earnestness have roused whole 
 multitudes, and even nations, to activity. This ear- 
 nestness is not to be evinced merely in motion, but 
 in each and every step of the preparation and deliv- 
 ery of the sermon ; earnestness in reading ; earnest- 
 ness in writing ; earnestness in prayer ; earnestness 
 in clearness and distinctness and force of enuncia- 
 tion ; earnestness in managing the vocal organs, and 
 earnestness in addressing the congregation in view of 
 
Requisites for Speaking. 1 89 
 
 the immense issues constantly at stake. A mother 
 is in earnest when she pleads in tears with her way- 
 ward boy. A father is in earnest when, from a dying 
 bed, he gives his last messages to his weeping chil- 
 dren. Mr. Wesley was remarkable for his general 
 quietness of manner, and yet his congregations felt 
 and sympathized with the deep earnestness of his 
 spirit. What is usually termed unction comes from 
 a heart filled with love to God and man, and a voice 
 and manner brought into perfect harmony with that 
 mental and spiritual state. It is impossible to con- 
 vey in words what this harmony is. It is a percept- 
 ible, but indescribable, concord between the subject 
 and language employed, and the tone of voice and 
 sympathy of spirit manifested in the entire move- 
 ment of the speaker. As this mental state is kindled 
 very largely by prayer, so it harmonizes with a prayer- 
 ful utterance and a prayerful spirit. 
 
 The two great requisites for ready and correct ex» 
 temporaneous speaking are a command of language 
 and self-possession. This command of language may 
 be best gained in two ways : First, by the practice of 
 translating aloud, especially of reading in company a 
 work v/ritten in some foreign language. This was 
 recommended strongly by the elder Pitt, and has in 
 some form been practiced by many eminent writers 
 and speakers. Dr. Franklin was accustomed, when 
 a young man, to read one of Addison's essays, and, 
 holding the ideas in his mind, to write them out in 
 
190 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 his own language, and then compare them with those 
 of Addison : this was a species of translation. With- 
 out any thought of its influence on my future life, I 
 acquired the habit when a youth of reading aloud to 
 my friends from books in any language I studied, what- 
 ever I found to be either very beautiful or very inter- 
 esting. Especially was this the case with the writ- 
 ings of Xenophon, and the orations of Demosthenes, 
 Virgil's "^neid," and F(^nelon's "Telemachus." It 
 was, also, my practice for a number of years to read in 
 family worship from the original languages, thus ac- 
 customing myself to instantaneous choice of words to 
 express the ideas of the writers. This practice, how- 
 ever, while giving me greater command of language, 
 may not have made me quite so familiar with the 
 idiomatic structure of other languages ; at least, T 
 never advanced as far as the sophomore who, descant- 
 ing on the study of Latin, said that he could think bet- 
 ter in Latin. I confess that all my life my thinking 
 has been in English. Another method is to hold per- 
 sonal religious conversation with individuals. The 
 process of explaining to one attentive mind some 
 passage of Scripture, some doctrine of the Gospel, or 
 urging motives for immediate personal action, im- 
 parts a directness of address and a readiness of lan- 
 guage which will be of great service in the pulpit. 
 There is philosophy as well as piety in visiting those 
 who are sick and in prison, and in going out into the 
 highways and hedges and compelling men to come to 
 
Self -possess ion. 19 1 
 
 the feast of love. To acquire chasteness and beauty 
 of language some have recommended the reading of 
 Cowper or Milton, or some poet who has written on 
 religious topics, a half hour before entering the pul- 
 pit, that the mind may be carried in this elevated 
 strain to its pulpit work. I would greatly prefer, 
 however, spending that period in reading the words 
 of Jesus or of inspired penmen. 
 
 Self-possession can best be gained by having the 
 mind filled with the thoughts of the wonderful mes- 
 sage about to be delivered, and the responsibility 
 connected with it. If one feels that God is present, 
 and the words are spoken for him, the timidity aris- 
 ing from the presence of the audience will vanish. 
 It is well, also, not to keep in mind the distinguished 
 men who may chance to be present, but to speak for 
 the benefit of the masses. Luther said that he did 
 not think of the doctors or professors, of whom he 
 had some forty, but he addressed his sermons to the 
 masses of the working-people, of whom there were 
 some two thousand. Young men are prone to ask 
 themselves, what will this doctor, or that judge, or 
 this professor, say .'' and their preaching will then al- 
 most insensibly be framed to gain the approval of 
 their most distinguished hearers. 
 
 Now, let me whisper to you two things : First, as 
 a general rule, distinguished politicians are very poor 
 judges of preaching. They study almost every thing 
 else more than their Bibles, and hence make a sorry 
 
192 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 attempt at quoting Scripture — like a former Govern- 
 or of Texas, who said, in his message congratulating 
 the Legislature upon the hopeful aspect of the coun- 
 try : " To use the language of the Holy Scripture, 
 Now is the winter of our discontent made glorious 
 by the summer sun." The other thing I would 
 whisper to you is this : The most learned and 
 thoughtful men, especially in theology, are the most 
 lenient critics. It is true, if you discuss doctrines and 
 advance heretical ideas, or if you attempt classical al- 
 lusions and are not accurate, they will at once detect 
 you ; but if you keep within the range of ordinary 
 discussion, and aim to do good, you will have no 
 kindlier hearers. They know the difficulties of speak- 
 ing, and are ready to make every proper allowance. 
 They do not expect you to make sermons for them, 
 but for the common people. Indeed, the greatest 
 men are generally fond of the plainest diet at the 
 table and of the simplest thoughts in the pulpit. So 
 far as captious or unkind criticism is concerned, I 
 would much rather speak before your learned and 
 honored faculty than before a class of recently ini- 
 tiated freshmen. 
 
 You will never attain, however, to full self-posses- 
 sion in the pulpit without thorough self-abnegation. 
 You must be so intent on the message as to lose 
 sight of yourselves ; you must lose the desire to be 
 counted a great thinker or a popular speaker ; you 
 must become absorbed in your glorious work for 
 
Gesticulation. 193 
 
 Christ, and must feel that you are polishing gems 
 for him, that you are building a temple for his glory. 
 This intensity of feeling, this conception of the 
 grandeur of your work, will make your memory more 
 retentive, your mind more active, and yourself less 
 prominent. The question, probably, occurs to some 
 of you. Shall the mind not then be occupied with a 
 choice of words while speaking.'' I answer: Not 
 directly ; think nothing of the precise words you are 
 to use. They will come, born of the idea and of in- 
 tense feeling, but will be the result of your previous 
 discipline and culture. If you should chance to 
 stumble, do not stop to go back, but press on, fol- 
 lowing Whitefield's rule, never to correct any thing 
 unless it was wicked. The same rule that I apply to 
 words I would apply to gesticulation. Never try to 
 make a gesture. Those only are natural which come 
 of themselves. The man who is full of his subject, 
 whose heart is burning for utterance, if his feelings 
 are not restrained, will generally gesticulate ear- 
 nestly. See a crowd of school-boys excited, and how 
 earnestly they gesticulate. They speak all over. 
 See brokers in a stock exchange. How they are 
 wrought into a perfect frenzy, elevating their voice, 
 extending their hands and arms, and making the 
 wildest gestures ! If ministers were to be half as 
 much excited in the pulpit as these brokers are in 
 the exchange, the world would pronounce them mad. 
 
 In gesticulation, as in language, the discipline and 
 J3 
 
194 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 culture should be preparatory. Elocution, so far as 
 the proper use of the voice, and so far as avoiding 
 improper gestures, are concerned, should be studied 
 previously, but no thought should be bestowed upon 
 it at the moment. I know we are told that actors 
 study every word, and prepare every gesture before 
 a glass ; and why not ministers .■' Is not their work 
 much more important .'' The difference is, the min- 
 ister is original. He gives expression to his own 
 words and to his own feelings ; he has simply to be 
 true to himself. The actor is not thinking of him- 
 self; he has no thoughts, no feelings, of his own ; he 
 familiarizes himself with the thoughts of others 
 through their words, and strives to imitate the ex- 
 pression of their feelings through his actions. His 
 highest glory is to speak and act just as they are 
 supposed to have spoken and acted. All his study 
 and all his preparation bring him just to the point 
 whence the minister starts, if his heart be full of his 
 subject, and if he feels his deep responsibility. 
 
 While I earnestly recommend the study of elocu- 
 tion as a preparatory discipline, I once more caution 
 you against imitation. Improve your own voice, but 
 do not try to copy the voices of others. I have 
 knoiji^n some young ministers who have lost their 
 sprightliness and vigor of utterance in attempting 
 to acquire a deep and sonorous mode of utterance : 
 and students from different schools of theology 
 and different colleges or universities can frequently 
 
Personal Experience. 1 9 5 
 
 be distinguished from each other by the manner 
 and intonation acquired in their elocutionary exer- 
 cises. 
 
 For myself I never had any difficulty in finding 
 simple language to express my thoughts ; and, owing 
 to the manner in which I commenced, I sought for 
 little else. My great anxiety to reach some hearts 
 early led me to forget, in great measure, the presence 
 of men of superior intellect and commanding position. 
 My voice seemed in every way unfit for a public 
 speaker. It was weak, slender, and the pitch was 
 high, tending to falsetto, and hence easily cracked or 
 broken. By close applicatioii to study I had become 
 stooped ; my lungs were weak, I was troubled with a 
 cough, and many of my friends feared that I was 
 tending to consumption. I spoke because I must 
 speak. At the end of my first year physicians ad- 
 vised me to desist, or I would probably not live more 
 than a year. I was junior preacher on a six- weeks' 
 circuit, on which I preached twenty-eight times in 
 the round. Not satisfied with this amount of work, 
 I assisted in taking up six additional appointments, 
 making thirty-four. One of these appointments was 
 in a small village, in the house of a humble widow, 
 and the rooni would not accommodate more than 
 twenty people. On my second and last visit I was 
 informed that a physician, who was said to be an in- 
 fidel, but a man of talent, desired to see me, as he 
 thought he could be of some service by directions as 
 
196 Lectures on Preaching, 
 
 to health. I called upon hhn. He said he had heard 
 I was in feeble health, and as he had suffered greatly 
 for years, but had recovered, he thought possibly he 
 could give me some simple suggestions. I was 
 pleased with his general advice, and at the close of 
 the interview asked him what he thought of my con- 
 tinuing to preach .-' He answered, that as to the re- 
 ligious question he had nothing to say, but, simply 
 as a physician, his advice would be for me to ride 
 eight or ten miles and preach once every day. The 
 suggestion harmonized so perfectly with my own 
 feelings that I resolved to follow it ; and the only re- 
 quest I ever made for any appointment was, on ac- 
 count of my weak lungs and the necessity of exer- 
 cise, that I might have an appointment where I could 
 ride eight or ten miles and preach every day. My 
 presiding elder prom.ised me his full concurrence 
 and his heartiest efforts, and he had no doubt of suc- 
 cess ; but when the appointments were read out at 
 the close of Conference I was sent to the city of 
 Pittsburgh, with its thick coal smoke and dust, amid 
 the prevalence of the cholera. My friends were 
 fearful and disheartened, but I believe it to be of 
 God, and went. My health was preserved by careful 
 attention to diet and exercise and regular hours, and 
 by abundance of preaching and pastoral visiting. 
 My voice gradually strengthened, and, though never 
 musical, acquired power to address the largest con- 
 gregations. My conviction to-day is, that had I not 
 
Personal Experie7ice. 197 
 
 preached I should, in all probability, have fallen an 
 early victim to bronchial or pulmonary disease. Often 
 when called upon to face danger, that passage has 
 seemed to ring in my ears, " Whosoever will save his 
 life shall lose it : and whosoever will lose his life for 
 my sake shall find it." 
 
198 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 LECTURE VIL 
 
 MINISTERIAL POWER. 
 
 T)REACHERS greatly differ, not only in the mat- 
 -■- ter and manner of their sermons, but, also, in the 
 results which are achieved. This is especially true in 
 the reformation and conversion of souls, and in the 
 upbuilding of the Redeemer's kingdom. The ele- 
 ment which gives success is termed ministerial power. 
 It is so subtle and spiritual in its character as to 
 be beyond the reach of clear definition or explanation. 
 The term, however, is scriptural, and, though some- 
 what indefinite, we have nothing more expressive. It 
 is a quality without which sermonizing is useless, 
 and for which every young minister should, therefore, 
 most sincerely and earnestly strive. 
 
 St. Paul declares the Gospel to be " the power of 
 God unto salvation," evidently using the phrase as in 
 contrast with, and superior to, the power of Rome — 
 then the greatest nation in the world. It is a system 
 of power because of the influence which it exercises 
 not only on the hearts and lives of men, but, also, on 
 the growth and destiny of nations. The apostle 
 speaks of this power as being present in his ministry, 
 when he says, " Whcreunto I also labor, striving ac- 
 
AntJiority and Pozvcr. 199 
 
 cording to his working, which worketh in me might- 
 ily," or with power. It is, also, compared to the power 
 which raised the Lord Jesus from the dead ; and the 
 apostle says, " Most gladly, therefore, will I rather glo- 
 ry in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest 
 upon me." The word "power," as used in our En- 
 glish version, is represented in the Greek Testament 
 by several distinct words. One of these is kratos, or 
 its collateral forms, which signifies strength, or the 
 manifestation of physical force. The two chief forms, 
 however, are, exousia and dunamis. The first of these 
 indicates authority as exercised or conferred by a 
 ruler, and seems to intimate official privilege or pre- 
 rogative, thus: "All power is given unto me in 
 heaven and in earth ; " " To them gave he power to 
 become the sons of God;" and Christ gave to his 
 disciples " power over unclean spirits, and to heal .all 
 manner of sickness." Their official prerogatives and 
 their miraculous endowments are in all cases ex- 
 pressed by the word exousia, though in a few cases 
 dunamis is joined with it. Ministerial power is every- 
 where expressed by the word dunamis, as in St. Luke : 
 " Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye be en- 
 dued with power from on high." The same word is 
 - used in the pentecostal scene, and is employed by 
 the apostles to express the spiritual power of the 
 ministry, as : " God hath not given us the spirit of 
 fear, but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind ; " 
 and " My speech and my preaching was not with 
 
200 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 enticing words of man's wisdom, but in demonstra- 
 tion of the Spirit, and of power: that your faith 
 should not stand in the wisdom of men, but in the 
 power of God." As to preaching, he says : " For the 
 preaching of the cross is to them that perish, foolish- 
 ness : but unto us which are saved, it is the power of 
 God." The word thus employed indicates a power 
 bestowed upon the individual as a divine gift, not for 
 his own edification, merely or chiefly, but as a force 
 working through him on the hearts of others. If I 
 may use the phrase, this ministerial power is a 
 moral dynamite, intrusted with the minister, and, to 
 a certain extent, with every working Christian, which 
 is superadded to his personal religious experience. 
 This was emphatically true of the apostles. Three 
 years they had been with Christ ; they had seen his 
 spirit and heard his teachings. Some of them had 
 been with him on the Mount of Transfiguration, and 
 had beheld his glory. They had been placed in the 
 apostleship, and had received the gift of working 
 miracles, and yet they were to wait for " power from 
 on high." 
 
 This power, then, is not synonymous with conver- 
 sion. Jesus had recognized the disciples as not serv- 
 ants, but friends. He had chosen them out of 
 the world, and had comforted them with the assur- 
 ance of his richest blessings. After they had for- 
 saken him in the hour of terror, and had fled, they 
 were not forgotten of him. Pie came to them, in the. 
 
Not Religions yoy. 20I 
 
 upper room in the demonstration of love, showed 
 unto them his hands and his side, and said, " Peace 
 be unto you." Those words of peace had the accents 
 of forgiving love ; and who can doubt that, " being 
 justified by faith, they had peace with God ? " More 
 than this, he breathed on them, and said, " Receive 
 ye the Holy Ghost." Who could desire more for his 
 own experience than to feel the breath of a triumpli- 
 ant Saviour, and to receive the indwelling of the Holy 
 Ghost ! 
 
 Nor is it the same with the highest possible condi- 
 tion of religious joy. They were " glad when they saw 
 the Lord." Even the last doubts had been dispelled 
 from the heart of Thomas. For forty days they had 
 frequently seen him ; they had heard him "speaking 
 of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God." 
 They beheld him ascend from Mount Olivet to glory, 
 and angels standing " by them " spoke of his coming 
 again. Could they be happier } The cross, the 
 agony, the sepulcher, have all vanished ; an ascend- 
 ing Saviour, a cloud of glory, angelic promises, are in 
 their stead. Then " they worshiped him, and re- 
 turned to Jerusalem with great joy : and were con- 
 tinually in the temple, praising and blessing God." 
 What supreme bliss ! and yet it is not ministerial 
 power. 
 
 Nor is it a call or a commission to preach the 
 Gospel. That they had previously received. After 
 his resurrection, when he first spoke peace, he said : 
 
202 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 "As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.'" 
 And before his ascension he uttered the great com- 
 mission, " Go ye into all the world, and preach the 
 Gospel to every creature." Yet with this rich ex- 
 perience, and this grand commission, the direction 
 comes : " Tarry ye in the city of Jerusalem, until ye 
 be endued with power from on high." 
 
 If we endeavor to analyze the elements of this 
 power in itself, I think we shall fail. It is spiritual 
 and invisible. All we can do is to trace the circum- 
 stances under which this power is given, and the re- 
 sults which flow from it. Indeed, power is in its 
 nature indescribable. It is known simply by its re- 
 sults. Gravitation, that greatest of all material 
 powers, ceaselessly active, every-where potent, is 
 wholly beyond our research, or even our conception. 
 Where are those cords, stronger than steel, which 
 bind the planets to their centers ? Where are those 
 unseen ties that, like a universal net- work, envelop 
 every atom in the air, and make it fall to the earth, 
 and not merely to the earth, but in a direct line to- 
 ward the center of the earth, though it be thousands 
 of miles away, and can never be reached .-' It seems 
 an emblem of God, filling all space, operating through 
 all matter. If the dream of astronomers be true, that 
 not only secondaries surround their planets, and 
 planets their suns, but that suns revolve around the 
 center of immense systems, and all these centers 
 through the immensity of space move round one 
 
Power Invisible. 203 
 
 great center, who can even conceive the magnitude 
 of a force that can thus operate through infinite 
 space with precisely the same law of attraction for 
 vast worlds and for infinitesimal atoms ? It is a 
 force never seen, and yet it operates alike in the sun- 
 shine and in the dark. It is never heard, and yet it 
 sends its myriads of worlds singing and shining on 
 their way. He who made that power by the word 
 of his Spirit gives that Spirit to work in us and 
 through us. Nor is it the only exhibition of power. 
 Consider the chemical affinity that draws together 
 the acids and the alkalies. With what constant and 
 unseen power does it operate ! Think of that mag- 
 netic power which makes the steel filings, though in 
 a mass of dust and rubbish, and clippings of tin and 
 brass, leave them all and fiy up and kiss the magnet. 
 It touches that pivoted needle, and lives and treasure 
 are secure upon the stormy ocean in the darkest 
 night by its unerring guidance. The winds blow 
 ever so fiercely, the cold comes ever so freezingly, 
 the waves roll ever so furiously, and the vessel pitches 
 and sinks as though it would be submerged ; and yet 
 that strange influence, unseen, unheeded, unfelt even 
 by the most sensitive nerves, holds the needle in its 
 place. Who can tell what is power .-* We see it in 
 its effects, we measure it in its results. So with 
 spiritual power. We cannot tell " whence it cometh, 
 or whither it goeth ;" but it breathes upon the human 
 spirit — the stormy passions subside ; falsehood, fraud, 
 
204 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 lust, and avarice disappear ; and truth, purity, meek- 
 ness, and love reign supreme in tlie soul. It is a 
 transmutation beyond what the philosopher sought 
 in the fabled stone whose touch would transmute into 
 gold. It is a new creation from the breath of Him 
 who created all worlds and breathed into all spirits. 
 Spiritual power is not beauty of presence nor dignity 
 of form. It is not learning, nor rhetoric, nor logic, 
 nor oratory ; but it can use these for its one great 
 end. It can burn and shine in the highest periods 
 of the most eloquent speaker, and it can thrill in the 
 accents of the unlettered man. It can invest the 
 words that drop from the mother's lips, and it can 
 wing the lispings of the little child. It can use all 
 there is of a human being, and of his acquirements, 
 for the glory of God and for the advancement of his 
 Church. 
 
 This spiritual force, in its highest human mani- 
 festation, is ministerial power. It employs and util- 
 izes all other forms as its agents. It uses the power 
 of thought, which is immense in its character — the 
 thoughts not only of good men, but of angels and of 
 God — thoughts which were from eternity, and thoughts 
 which shall triumph when earth's history shall have 
 closed. It uses the power of language in all its mul- 
 tifarious forms. Its tongue of iire is to preach among 
 all nations, and to carry to every heart, through its 
 own peculiar idiomatic expressions, the knowledge of 
 the power and love of God. It employs oratory in 
 
Power' of Oratory. 205 
 
 its highest efficiency ; and how great is that influence 
 which man may exercise over liis fellow-man ! List- 
 en to the eloquence of Demosthenes, as he stirred 
 the people of Athens, as a sea is stirred by the storm, 
 with his wonderful Philippics. See how Cicero 
 moved the Roman people and the Roman Senate. 
 Look at the power of Peter the Hermit, arousing the 
 nations of Europe to that fearful Crusade ; the power 
 which such men as Burke and Fox and Pitt and 
 Sheridan displayed in the British Parliament ; the 
 power which Napoleon exercised over his soldiers by 
 his short, fiery speeches, as he pointed to the enemy 
 on the battle-fields of Europe, or called thetn to be- 
 hold how forty centuries looked down upon them from 
 the top of the pyramids of Egypt. If there be, as is 
 claimed by some, a magnetic power which kindles in 
 the eye and sparkles responsively from the speaker 
 to the hearer, and from the hearer to the speaker — if 
 there be some subtle current • established between 
 them which is manifested in the energy of the 
 speaker and the rapt attention of the hearer — an in- 
 describable force flowing in some way from the in- 
 tensity of a soul speaking to souls, all that power is 
 subservient to the true and faithful minister. 
 
 In examining this promised power from on high, 
 its first characteristic is that it proceeds from the 
 Father. Jesus said, " Behold, I send the promise of 
 my Father upon you ; " and again, " Wait for the 
 promise of the Father, which ye have heard of me." 
 
2o6 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 Why was it called the promise of the Father ? One 
 reason, doubtless, was that it had been foretold by 
 Joel and Isaiah before the coming of Christ. Another 
 reason, probably, was that when Christ promised the 
 Comforter, he said, " Whom the Father shall send 
 in my name," and again, " Which proceedeth from 
 the Father." Just at this point arises the great 
 ''filioq;ie'' question which has divided the Eastern 
 and Western Churches, but which I pause not to 
 notice. The expression, also, may indicate the won- 
 derful works to be wrought under the Gospel dispen- 
 sation. The "power from on high" was to be a 
 power like that occasionally seen in ancient times. 
 Indeed, the Old Testament is largely a revelation of 
 the power of God as working upon many classes of 
 people, and under a great variety of circumstances. 
 The call and preservation of Abraham, the deliver- 
 ance of the Israelites, their preservation in the wil- 
 derness, their entrance into Canaan, and their sub- 
 sequent history, abound with wonderful displays of 
 the power of God among the highest and the lowest, 
 among princes and subjects, prophets and priests, 
 men and women in every employment in life. Among 
 these wonderful displays those connected with wor- 
 ship have an intense interest. The word of the Lord 
 on Mount Sinai made the people to quake and fear. 
 When the tabernacle was set up the glory of the 
 Lord appeared unto all the people, " and there came 
 a fire out from before the Lord, and consumed upon 
 
Science and Art Preparatory. 207 
 
 the altar the burnt-offering and the fat : which when 
 all the people saw, they shouted, and fell upon their 
 faces." So when Solomon had finished the temple, 
 and the sacrifices were set in order, and he had of- 
 fered prayer, " the fire came down from heaven, and 
 consumed the burnt-offering and the sacrifice ; " " and 
 when all the children of Israel saw how the fire 
 came down, and the glory of the Lord upon the 
 house, they bowed themselves with their faces to the 
 ground upon the pavement, and worshiped, and praised 
 the Lord, saying, For he is good ; for his mercy en- 
 dureth forever." So when at Carmel, at the prayer 
 of Elijah, the fire of the Lord fell and consumed the 
 burnt sacrifice, the people " fell on their faces : and 
 they said, The Lord, he is the God ; the Lord, he is 
 the God." Under the influence of such a scene the 
 people took the four hundred and fifty prophets of 
 Baal and they were slain, notwithstanding Ahab, who 
 was their friend and patron, had all the power of 
 the sovereign. The revelation of the Father was one 
 of power. "Our God is a consuming fire." 
 
 Strangely, too, the movements of science, art, and ■, 
 commerce seem to wait on ministerial life. Printing 1 
 had just been invented in time to give the Bible to 
 the people in the era of the Reformation. The 
 magnetic needle was applied to navigation to send 
 that Bible and its ministers to all lands. The spirit 
 of exploration, which has sought for every island, 
 and is even now treading the pathways of central 
 
2o8 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 Africa, and of the steppes of Asia ; the study of all 
 languages, and the preparation of grammars and lexi- 
 cons ; the knowledge of the currents of the sea and 
 of the air, of the power of steam and of electricity ; 
 the very unbraiding of the sunbeams to read what is 
 written between the strands — all these, with many 
 others, are so many voices of nature crying, " Pre- 
 pare ye the way of the Lord." They are so many 
 indications, that when man will carry God's message, 
 all the power of omnipotence waits on his service. 
 Instead of the gift of tongues, there is the translation 
 of the Bible ; instead of Philip being caught away 
 by the Spirit of the Lord, and found at Azotus, he 
 steps on the steamship or on the cars, and is borne 
 to his mission. Thus the omnipotence of the Father 
 accompanies and works in harmony with the gift of 
 ministerial power in accomplishing its great results. 
 
 The second characteristic of this power is that it 
 is " from on high." It comes directly from the throne. 
 Jesus " ascended up on high ; he led captivity captive, 
 and gave gifts unto men." " Far above all princi- 
 pality, and power, and might, and dominion, and 
 every name that is named, not only in this world, 
 but also in that which is to come," hath he sat down 
 at the right hand of the Father, and hath " shed 
 forth " this power upon the sons of men. It is not 
 found in books, nor does it come from books. It is 
 not to be found in the teaching of professors, or in 
 the curriculum of the schools. It is a gift directly 
 
Poiver from on High. 209 
 
 from God, so inwrought among our own thoughts, 
 convictions, and impulses, that we cannot tell pre- 
 cisely what is from ourselves, and what is directly 
 from above. Have we not analogies of such inter- 
 mingling in nature ? Placed on the insulated stool,^ 
 and connected with the electrical machine, we are 
 filled with electricity — filled so full that every hair 
 upon our heads stands almost erect. Yet we have 
 no consciousness of it. But let any one come near 
 us, and the fire sparkles from every part. So we may 
 be filled unconsciously with divine influence, which 
 shall sparkle fiom our eyes and issue in words of 
 power from our tongues. How wonderfully is sci- 
 ence revealing to us divine possibilities ! The elec- 
 tric messages we send to our brothers, over mount- 
 ains, under oceans, across the globe, so quietly, un- 
 seen and unheard by those around — do they not 
 illustrate how God can reach our hearts, how he can 
 infuse his own power, without any outward manifes- 
 tation.'' This power is not only "from on high," it 
 is a connecting link between the throne and our 
 hearts. It is the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, not 
 for regeneration, not for sanctification, but to use the 
 whole of a purified nature, and especially the tongue, 
 for aggressive Christian work. 
 
 In other characteristics and conditions we have beair^X 
 tiful illustrations in the holy Scriptures. Let us consid- 
 er Ezekiel's vision of the valley of dry bones. He was 
 
 first required to pass through the valley to examine 
 14 
 
2IO Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 the bones round about, and to see that they were 
 scattered and very dry. I think this gives us the 
 first condition for the exercise of this power — a clear 
 conviction of the ruined state of humanity. This im- 
 presses the minister with the vastness of the work, 
 and makes him terribly in earnest to save lost hu- 
 manity. Any theological view which teaches that hu- 
 manity is not ruined, that the nature of man is not de- 
 praved, that the whole head is not sick, and the whole 
 heart is not faint — any theology which finds natural 
 soundness in man — tends to weaken the feeling for 
 the necessity for superhuman effort in his behalf. If 
 the disease be not a terribly fatal one, palliatives or 
 temporizing expedients may be employed. The 
 whole history of the Church shows that where de- 
 pravity has been doubted, efibrts for human salvation 
 have been relaxed. An aggressive Gospel has always 
 been founded on the idea of human ruin. 
 
 The prophet was then asked : " Can these bones 
 live .'' " Is there any way known to man, any reme- 
 dy of whatever character, that can possibly restore to 
 them life.'* The prophet answers: "O Lord God, 
 thou knowest." As much as to say, With man it is 
 impossible. Here we find the second condition of 
 ministerial power — a clear conviction that there is no 
 hope for man apart from divine interposition. There 
 is no philosophy of education or culture, no combina- 
 tion of associations, that can save the human soul. 
 There is no name given under heaven among men 
 
Ezekicl 's Vision. 2 1 1 
 
 'whereby we may be saved — no plan outside of repent- 
 ance toward God and faith in our Lord Jesus Clirist 
 which gives any hope among those who have heard the 
 Gospel of either present or future salvation. Any 
 indefinite fancyings as to some other scheme of mercy, 
 any notion that there may be some future plan not 
 revealed, hid away in the countless ages, only serves 
 to weaken the intensity of the minister's agony to 
 rescue souls from eternal death. The history of the 
 Church shows — and our own observation confirms 
 that history — that where men fancy that either here 
 or hereafter heaven may be gained otherwise than by 
 the cross of Christ, then the preaching of that cross 
 becomes less necessary for the salvation of men ; and, 
 practically, those who embrace such doctrines are 
 less earnest for the aid of the Holy Spirit. The true 
 minister of to-day, as the apostle of old, says, " Know- 
 ing, therefore, the terror of the Lord, we persuade 
 men." He believes, also, that there is a divine pow- 
 er which can save and rescue fallen man ; that this 
 power is in the Gospel, and that it is exercised 
 through the preaching of the word. This condition 
 involves the idea of expectancy on the part of the 
 minister. He believes that while he preaches, and 
 as he preaches, a divine power accompanies his word, 
 and is mysteriously working in the hearts of his con- 
 gregation. 
 
 A third condition is found in absolute and unqual- 
 ified obedience to God's command. Ezekiel stood in 
 
212 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 the midst of the valley where the bones were scat- 
 tered. All signs of even recent life were gone ; there 
 was no perfect skeleton even, but pieces here and 
 there ; yet he was commanded to say, " O ye dry 
 bones, hear the word of the Lord." No more dis- 
 couraging field could possibly be found, no place less 
 likely to yield results. How could the bones hear .'' 
 How could life be restored } Yet the prophet did as 
 he was commanded ; he did his duty, his whole duty. 
 So the minister goes to the most unpromising field — 
 to a place of outlawry and crime, to places of hea- 
 thenish darkness, to cannibals who have already killed 
 and eaten other missionaries. He obeys the com- 
 mand, " Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gos- 
 pel to every creature." That is his part, and history 
 proves that the bones do hear the word of the Lord. 
 The point at which supernatural power comes in, is 
 the completed work of the ministry. Not waiting 
 until the end of his mission, but on each completed 
 stage, divine power supplements human power. The 
 approbation of Christ on human efforts was given in 
 the words, " She hath done what she could ;" and 
 when a minister does all he can — when he brings 
 his all of strength, and study, and skill, and tact, and 
 prayer — ^when he has exhausted all the resources 
 which God hath put in him — then divine power ac- 
 complishes the rest. But if the preacher expects di- 
 vane power to supplement his indolence in the study, 
 his waste of time in frivolous conversation, his hours 
 
Gospd of Hope. 213 
 
 spent in amusements, his waste of opportunities and 
 energies, no wonder that he shall be disappointed. 
 To him the divine voice is : " Cursed is he that doeth 
 the work of the Lord deceitfully." He is Ananias 
 holding back part of the price. 
 
 Another condition is the promise of hope uttered 
 by the prophet: "Thus saith the Lord God unto 
 these bones : Behold, I will cause breath to enter in- 
 to you, and ye shall live ; and I will lay sinews upon 
 you, and will bring up flesh upon you, and cover you 
 with skin, and put breath in you, and ye shall live ; 
 and ye shall know that I am the Lord." This is the 
 Gospel of promise and of hope ; it is to be addressed 
 to the lowest and the most degraded. The thunders 
 of the law are not suited for such an audience ; 
 they come to the grand and self-opinionated ones of 
 earth. But to the poor and wretched and down-trod- 
 den among men there come the whispers of mercy in 
 the Gospel of hope : " Blessed are the poor in spirit : 
 for theirs is the kingdom of heaven." Under this 
 preaching of promise there was a wonderful shaking ; 
 bone came to bone, and sinews and flesh came upon 
 them. Then the message was given : " Prophesy 
 unto the wind, prophesy, son of man, and say to the 
 wind. Thus saith the Lord God: Come from the four 
 winds, O breath, and breathe upon these slain, that 
 they may live." The prophet adds : " So I prophesied 
 as he commanded me, and the breath came into them, 
 and they lived, and stood up upon their feet, an ex- 
 
214 Lfxtures on Preaching. 
 
 ceeding great army." Here we have the invocation 
 or call for the divine Spirit as the sole agent of life 
 and power ; and all preaching fails which is not ac- 
 companied with an earnest and public recognition of 
 the absolute need of the divine Spirit. The minister 
 is almost blasphemous if he takes to himself the glory 
 of the accomplished work. Long ago God said by 
 his prophet, " Not by might, nor by power, but by 
 my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." 
 
 It niay be said, this vision was applicable only to 
 the people of Israel, and that it pointed to their na- 
 tional restoration and rehabilitation. Admitting the 
 ])rimary application, the principle of the divine work 
 and of human recovery is in all ages the same, 
 and the spiritual is oftentimes mirrored in the 
 material. 
 
 Let us turn to the pentecostal scene, where the 
 promise of the Father was fulfilled, and this wonder- 
 ful endowment was bestowed. About eight hundred 
 years previously the Prophet Joel had described it 
 with wonderful minuteness. His prophecy was about 
 to be fulfilled. It was the promise of the Father, 
 which had been repeated by the Saviour himself. 
 The disciples were " with one accord in one place." 
 That place, I presume, was some part of the temple, 
 for it was the hour of prayer. They had met in it 
 time and again, for they had been daily in the temple, 
 praising and blessing God. I seem to see them 
 drav/n closely together — the one entire Christian 
 
Pentecostal Scene. 2 1 5 
 
 Church, apart fron:; the world — apart from other 
 Jewish worsliipers. 
 
 At the offering up of the evening sacrifire, some 
 fifty days before, the veil of the temple was rent 
 while Jesus hung upon the cross. It shadowed the 
 end of temple sacrifices, the close of the Jewish day. 
 Now, at the offering up of the morning sacrifice, in- 
 dicating the opening of a new service, with its day 
 of coming glory, there came over this assembly "a 
 sound from heaven, as of a rushing mighty wind, 
 and it filled all the house where they were sitting. 
 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like 
 as of fire, and it sat upon each of them. And they 
 were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to 
 speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them 
 utterance." As in the days of Elijah, there was, 
 first, the strong wind, then the fire, and then the 
 divine endowment. The fire was the emblem of 
 divine presence. It was so to Abraham when the 
 smoking furnace and the lamp of fire passed between 
 the parts of his sacrifice, denoting the season of af- 
 fliction followed by divine interposition. It was the 
 emblem in the burning bush, in the pillar of fire, in 
 the tabernacle and in the temple, and in the con- 
 suming fire which came down at Elijah's prayer. 
 Heretofore it had been a unity whenever, wherever 
 seen. Now, as I fancy, it came as a unity over the 
 heads of the disciples, overshadowing them all ; and 
 then out of that unity came divided or separated 
 
2i6 Lfxtures on Preaching. 
 
 tongue-like forms, one of which sat upon the head 
 of each of them — ^not, as I understand it, each tongue 
 cloven, but each tongue cloven from, or coming out 
 of, this unity. It was the symbol of one divine 
 power working in each individual, and speaking alike 
 in the tongue of every nation. It was the symbol of 
 God's presence passing from the outward and mate- 
 rial into the inner and spiritual. God in man be- 
 comes the tongue of fire, or a burning impulse to 
 proclaim a divine message to humanity. 
 
 This endowment was partly miraculous, and de- 
 signed for that age ; partly permanent, and intended 
 for all ages. It was not a gift of working miracles 
 in general, for the apostles had previously received 
 that, but was confined simply to speaking in other 
 languages. It was a prophecy of the coming ages. 
 As the people came running together from other 
 parts of the temple, and then from all the city, the 
 strangers and sojourners in Jerusalem were ad- 
 dressed by some one of the disciples in his own 
 language. The infant Church, which had just now 
 been in one place in prayer and supplication — the 
 happy, united rejoicing Church, separate from the 
 world and Jewish worshipers — is now scattered 
 among the worshipers, and through the city, telling 
 the wonderful works of God : a type of the Church, 
 as she throws herself into all lands, and among all 
 peoples, telling, in their own language, and not in the 
 old Hebrew or Greek, or even the Latin, the won- 
 
Abiding Power. 217 
 
 derfu] story of the cross. This was the baptism of 
 fire of which John the Baptist spake when he said, 
 " He shall baptize you with the Holy Ghost, and 
 with fire." It was the voice within saying, " Go, 
 speak unto the people all the words of this life." A 
 measure of it is, I think, put into the heart of every 
 truly convei"ted man, and he longs to tell what God 
 has done for him ; but in its highest form it comes 
 upon those whom he thrusts out as laborers into his 
 harvest. Perhaps in its very highest form it comes 
 on those who, in obedience to its mandates, take their 
 lives in their hands, and go to the uttermost parts of 
 the earth. 
 
 Separating, then, the abiding power from the tem- 
 porary and miraculous, there seems to be, first, a 
 strong impulse to speak for God ; like the youth- 
 ful Jesus, when he talked with the doctors in the 
 temple, and said, in answer to his wondenng mother, 
 " Wist ye not that I must be about my Father's 
 business .'' " Secondly, this baptism does not change 
 the natural characteristics of the minister, but works 
 through them. Peter, quoting from Joel, said : 
 " Your young men shall see visions, and your old 
 men shall dream dreams." In the young, imagination 
 is prominent. They are ever building castles, and 
 looking through prisons, and covering the future 
 with colors of gorgeous hues. God uses all that im- 
 agination, and all that hopefulness and fervency, and 
 all that energy and activity, which the young possess. 
 
2i8 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 The old men dream dreams. Memory predominates. 
 They bring out of its store-house incidents of the 
 past, and age ever should be rich in thought and in- 
 struction. The sons and daughters shall prophesy. 
 Even the little children join in songs, and earth's 
 sweetest music is heard when "out of the mouth of 
 babes and sucklings Thou hast perfected praise." 
 Nor is this divine endowment restricted to the 
 influential or the wealthy; it is given, also, to the 
 servants and to the handmaids. In the days of 
 servitude it glowed in the heart and spoke from the 
 tongne of the pious slave. It works through all 
 classes and conditions of humanity, using all pecul- 
 iarities of mind and all circumstances of humanity. 
 May I suggest, before passing from this pentecostal 
 scene, that the prophecy of " wonders in heaven 
 above, and signs in the earth beneath ; blood, and 
 fire, and vapor of smoke; the sun" "turned into 
 darkness, and the moon into blood " — all of which 
 were to be " before that great and notable day of the 
 Lord come" — may have been already accomplished. 
 Judah had been shaken ; its scepter had forever de- 
 parted ; the star of Bethlehem had gilded the heav- 
 ens ; the blood of innocent children had been shed ; 
 miracles, unnumbered, had been wrought by the 
 hands of Christ ; the sun had been veiled in dark- 
 ness for three hours while Christ hung upon the 
 cross, and the earth had quaked as with fear. 
 
 This baptism of fire wrought great changes in the 
 
Heroic Firmness. 2ig 
 
 character of the apostles, and manifests the same 
 elements in the hearts of true ministers every-where. 
 First, it imparted to the apostles a high degree of 
 moral courage. Their timidity was changed to brav- 
 ery. They no longer fled from persecutors or assail- 
 ants ; but, standing in the temple, proclaimed the 
 power and the glory of the Lord Jesus. They feared 
 neither prisons nor death, though their preaching nec- 
 essarily aroused the strong antagonism of the Jewish 
 authorities. They proclaimed him to be pure and 
 spotless whom they had crucified as a malefactor. 
 No marvel that the Jewish council said : " Ye intend 
 to. bring his blood upon our heads." Reproved, and 
 even scourged, they received the punishment with 
 joy that they were " counted worthy to suffer for the 
 Lord Jesus." Imprisoned for the night, they spake 
 as boldly the next morning, and men were astonished 
 when they saw their heroic firmness in giving their 
 testimony to the truth. It is supposed that all of 
 them but one suffered a violent death for their attach- 
 ment to Christ. The clear conviction of his divine 
 mission still gives the minister a foundation for his 
 heroism. He hears the voice which said to Abra- 
 ham : " I am the Almighty God ; walk before me, 
 and be thou perfect." The same conviction of duty 
 which sent the patriarch from Mesopotamia to Ca- 
 naan, which sent the prophets on a holy mission, and 
 inspired the heroes of Israel, works in the heart of 
 the minister. He has heard the voice saying, " Go, 
 
220 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 preach ; " and it has been as a fire in his bones. This 
 is usually strongest with the young minister, and es- 
 pecially with those who, under circumstances of great 
 distress and difficulty, go forward in the discharge of 
 duty. Too frequently, as we become accustomed to 
 the ministry, and are in comparatively comfortable 
 circumstances, this thought of the divine mission is 
 less prominent and abiding. Hence, says the apos- 
 tle, " Stir up the gift of God within thee ;" uncover 
 the coals which have become imbedded in ashes, that 
 the pure air of heaven may make them glow and 
 sparkle. All ministers, in every age and under all 
 circumstances, need this conviction. Every time they 
 ascend the pulpit they should feel that they are sent 
 of God, sent with a divine message, and sent to that 
 specific congregation. Among modern ministers Mr. 
 Spurgeon is one of the strongest illustrations of this 
 conviction. He is aCalvinist of the ultra school, but 
 his Calvinism seems to me to take one special form. 
 He feels he was predestinated from all eternity to 
 preach the Gospel in that Tabernacle ; that he was 
 sent by God to present a holy message to that people 
 at every appointment. He steps on the platform 
 with this air, enters upon his work as if he had some- 
 thing of importance to say, and challenges the atten- 
 tion of his congregation by his devout manner, and 
 by his own deep interest in the subject which he pre- 
 sents. Without this conviction of a divine mission, 
 why should people gather to hear^us .'' and how can 
 
Vi'eiu of the Unseen. 221 
 
 we hold their attention or reach their consciences ? 
 Another element was a clear conviction of the pres- 
 ence of the Unseen. The apostles had looked up to 
 heaven as Jesus ascended. Angels spoke with them, 
 and unlocked doors and gates. They had seen the 
 tongues of fire. They lived partly in the Invisible. 
 The Spirit which still dwells in the heart of the min- 
 ister allies him to the Invisible. Its home is in the 
 highest heavens; myriads of angels have been its un- 
 seen messengers ; its constant tendency is to attract 
 the human heart to the Unseen. The true minister 
 feels that he is compassed with a cloud of witnesses ; 
 that they look upon him from the heavens above ; 
 that they are with him in his ministrations, and thus 
 he lives as seeing Him who is invisible. This is faith 
 in one of its manifestations — the evidence of things 
 not seen. There is a beautiful legend of St. Chry- "^ 
 sostom. He had been educated carefully, was a man 
 of culture, and was devoted to his calling, yet in his 
 earlier ministry he was not remarkable for success. 
 At one time he had what seemed to be a vision. He 
 thought he was in the pulpit. In the chancel and 
 round about him were holy angels. In the midst of 
 them, and directly before him, was the Lord Jesus ; 
 and he was to preach to the congregation assembled 
 beyond. The vision or reverie deeply affected his 
 spirit. The next day he ascended the pulpit ; he felt 
 the impression of the scene ; he thought of the holy 
 angels as if gathered around him ; of the blessed 
 
222 LfXTURES on PrEACHING. 
 
 Saviour as directly before him, as listening to his 
 words and beholding his spirit ; he became intensely 
 earnest, and from that time forward a wonderful 
 power attended his ministration. Multitudes gath- 
 ered round him wherever he preached. Though he 
 had the simple name of John while he lived, the ages 
 have called him Chrysostom, or the Golden Mouth. 
 
 Could we, as ministers, have ever with us this con- 
 viction — that close beside us in the pulpit and around 
 us were holy angels, and that the blessed Saviour was 
 ever before us looking upon us with those eyes of 
 love that broke a Peter's heart, and listening for our 
 words, and longing to have us say something that his 
 own Spirit and power might bear with wings of fire 
 to the hearts of the people — what an immense effect 
 would it have on our ministrations .'' This blessed in- 
 fluence the Holy Spirit is ever exercising — taking the 
 things of the Father and showing them to us, bring- 
 ing to our remembrance the words of Christ, opening 
 our eyes to behold wondrous things out his law, and 
 revealing to us the personal presence of the blessed 
 Saviour in all the omnipotence of his nature. It is 
 this Spirit which, in moments of weakness, of dark- 
 ness, and of loneliness, whispers to the soul, " Lo, I 
 am with you alway." 
 
 Another element was the consciousness of divine 
 assistance. The presence of the Invisible might 
 overawe and overwhelm ; but when that presence is 
 revealed and manifested in the form of assistance, 
 
Divine Assistance. 223 
 
 what an immense power does it become ! The he- 
 roes of old not unfrequently claimed to have the pres- 
 ence and assistance of their gods. Jupiter and Mars 
 changed the destinies of battles, ^neas claimed to 
 be the son of Venus, Alexander the son of Jnpiter 
 Ammon, and Caesar claimed a divine mission and in- 
 fluence. His exclamation, " Cesarcni vehis" to the 
 trembling boatman inspired him with courage. The 
 very thought of friends looking on becomes an assist- 
 ance. The hero in the day of battle is nerved by the 
 thought of home and friends and country. With 
 what death-conquering energy will the husband and 
 father meet the savage foe, seeking to destroy his 
 home and to murder his wife and children ! Alex- 
 ander, when a young man entering on his career of 
 conquest, said to his associates, " I seem to be stand- 
 ing where the eyes of the whole world are upon me." 
 How feeble are these influences compared to the 
 thought of the presence of God ; and of the further 
 thought, that his power not only protects and strength- 
 ens us, but may pass, through our instrumentality, to 
 the hearts of the congregation. How inspiring that 
 other thought, that we are not looking for God to as- 
 sist us, so much as God is longing to use us for his 
 own glory. He says, " Herein is my Father glorified, 
 that ye bear much fruit." It is the glory of the vine 
 that its little twigs are laden with grapes. Christ is 
 that vine, we are the branches and twigs ; and how 
 anxious he is that we may bring forth much fruit ! 
 
224 Lfx'tures on Preaching. 
 
 What limit can we set to the results to be accom- 
 plished, if so be the power of God works through us ? 
 The power that nerved the arm of a Samson to bear 
 the gates of Gaza, and then to shake down the pillars of 
 the edifice — the power that through the simple blow- 
 ing of the rams' horns caused the walls of Jericho 
 to fall ; that opened a path through the Red Sea, and 
 fed millions upon manna — that power, in all its maj- 
 esty and might, is waiting to work through our words, 
 our tongues, our eyes, and our very gestures, to rec- 
 oncile the world unto God. How sad it is that some 
 weak spot in the conductor limits the intensity and 
 quantity of the divine electric stream ! 
 
 This endowment of the Spirit, this holy baptism, 
 has remained with the Church in all ages. With 
 what power did the apostles give witness to the resur- 
 rection of Christ ! How society was revolutionized, 
 and the very customs of earth changed ! Men in 
 high places, as well as in low places, trembled at the 
 preaching of Paul. Ephesus was in an uproar, and 
 Athens was moved. They said at Thessalonica, 
 "These that have turned the world upside down are 
 come hither also." I hear the apostle saying : " Thanks 
 be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in 
 Christ, and maketh manifest the savor of his knowl- 
 edge by us in every place." Piow successful was the 
 loving John in winning souls for his Master ! and 
 with what power did Peter preach while the Holy 
 Ghost fell on them which heard ! We know but little 
 
Earnest Christians. 225 
 
 about the earlier centuries, and yet the names of an 
 ilkistrious few have been handed down to us, who 
 shined Uke stars upon the darkness of the world. 
 What power was given to Saint Ambrose ! See the 
 multitudes that gathered around Saint Chrysostom ! 
 How they hung on his lips ! How eagerly did they 
 wait on his ministration ! Erasmus said of him : " I 
 know not whether more to admire the indefatigable- 
 ness of the man or of his hearers." 
 
 Under the preaching of Luther immense multi- 
 tudes were swayed, and all northern Europe was agi- " 
 tared. Under the preaching of Wiclif, or, rather, the 
 missionaries whom he sent out, England was, also, 
 stirred to its depths. Knox, with his burning words, 
 inflamed the mind of Scotland, as well as made its 
 queen to tremble. It was said of him, that it seemed as 
 if he would " ding the pulpit into blads, and fly oot 
 o't." In the days following the Reformation multi- 
 tudes gathered in the suburbs of Paris and of Ant- 
 werp to sing Christian songs and engage in religious 
 services when no churches were open to them. They 
 were dispersed and scattered only by such rivers of 
 blood as flowed at the massacre of St. Bartholomew's 
 day, or by such heaps of victims as were slaughtered 
 by the Duke of Alva. The mountains of Piedmont, 
 the city of Prague, the countries of Bohemia, Spain, 
 France, and Belgium, were all scenes of intense re- 
 ligious power until the Inquisition, the fagot, and the 
 
 sword put hundreds of thousands cruelly to death. 
 15 
 
226 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 John Howe relates from Dr. Goodwin how he had 
 heard Mr. Rogers preach on his lecture-day when his 
 house was crowded, and such was the influence that 
 " he put all the congregation in so strange a posture 
 as he never saw any congregation in his life. The 
 place was a mere Bochim, the people generally, as it 
 were, deluged with their own tears ; and he told me 
 that he himself, when he got out, and was to take 
 horse again to be gone, was fain to hang a quarter 
 of an hour upon the neck of his horse, weeping, be- 
 fore he had power to mount, so strange was there an 
 impression made upon him, and, generally, upon the 
 people." 
 
 Livingstone in Scotland, when only twenty-seven 
 years of age, was selected by his brethren to preach 
 a Monday morning sermon after the communion at 
 Sliotts. He made every effort to be released, but, 
 failing, spent the whole night in prayer and religious 
 conversation, and then preached a sermon, under 
 which, it is said, at least five hundred were awakened. 
 He says : " I never preached ane sermon which I 
 would be earnest to see wryte, but two : the one was 
 on ane Monday after the communion at Shotts, and the 
 other on ane Monday after the communion at Holy- 
 wood ; and both these times I had spent the whole 
 night before in conference and prayer with some 
 Christians without any more than ordinary prepara- 
 tion ; otherwayes my gift was rather suited to simple, 
 common people than to learned and judicious audi- 
 
Powerful Preaching. 227 
 
 tors." But if Livingstone had, according to his wish, 
 his sermons written, the power would not have ap- 
 peared. Whitefield's sermons on paper are not re- 
 markable. Nor is this strange, for the anatomist 
 has never been able to find the life in a single animal 
 or even in a single seed. Baxter was exceedingly 
 successful in the ministry, and Ryle says of him : 
 " He always spoke as one who saw God, and felt 
 death at his back." Fletcher of Madeley frequently 
 so electrified his audiences that some minutes passed 
 before he could resume his sermons. 
 
 Look at the vast multitudes that attended the 
 preaching of a Whitefield, and the longer continued 
 ministrations of a Wesley. See how thoroughly so- 
 ciety was stirred to its very foundation — how the col- 
 liers from their sooty pits listened with uplifted faces 
 and streaming eyes to the words of life, and how the 
 rabble on the common, though like wild beasts in 
 their lawlessness, were tamed and sobered under 
 their preaching. I heard Cardinal Manning say in a 
 sermon in London, that had it not been for the 
 preaching of John Wesley, no man could tell into 
 how deep a degradation England would have sunk. 
 Listen to the prayers and preaching of Calamy, and 
 how the multitude was stirred. In our own country 
 New England heard the voice of an Edwards, and 
 was stirred to its center. What wonderful power, 
 when the minister sitting behind him could no longer 
 contain himself, but sprang to his feet, and, catching 
 
228 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 him by the coat, said : " But O ! Mr. Edwards, is not 
 God a God of mercy .'' " and one of his auditors 
 said that he fully expected to see the heavens open 
 and the Judge descend. What wonderful revivals 
 followed ! Think of the ministry of Chalmers. It is 
 said that Professor Young, who occupied the chair 
 of Greek in the university, was on one occasion so elec- 
 trified that he leaped up from his seat upon the bench 
 near the pulpit, and stood breathless and motionless, 
 gazing at the preacher till the burst was over, the 
 tears all the while rolling down his cheeks." Dr. 
 Wardlaw describes one scene he witnessed as follows : 
 "It was a transcendently grand — a glorious burst. 
 The energy of the doctor's action corresponded. In- 
 tense emotion beamed from his countenance. I 
 cannot describe the appearance of his face better 
 than by saying, as Foster said of Hall's, it was 
 'lighted up almost into a glare.' The congregation, 
 in so far as the spell under which I was allowed me 
 •to observe them, were intensely excited, leaning for- 
 ward in the pews like a forest bending under the power 
 of the hurricane, looking steadfastly at the preacher, 
 and listening in breathless wonderment. One young 
 man, apparently, by his dress, a sailor, who sat in a 
 pew before me, started to his feet, and stood till it 
 was over. So soon as it was concluded there was, as 
 invariably was the case at the close of the doctor's 
 bursts, a deep sigh." 
 
 Look at Kentucky and Tennessee at the begin- 
 
Attainment of Power. 229 
 
 ning of this century ; and what wonderful phenom- 
 ena occurred among Presbyterians, Methodists, and 
 Baptists ! People gathered from ten to fifty miles 
 to attend the meetings ; thousands were converted ; 
 the most strange phenomena accompanied them ; 
 and out of those assemblies camp-meetings have 
 continued, and the Cumberland Presbyterian Church 
 was organized. See how Bishop Asbury and his 
 coadjutors in Methodism passed over the mountains 
 and valleys, and what extensive revivals prevailed. 
 Look at Moody and Sankey in our own days, and 
 see what thousands attended their ministrations, and 
 how many hearts have been touched. 
 
 The attainment of this ministerial power should be 
 the object of the most intense desire. I do not sup- 
 pose that all may be equally robed with it. It is an at- 
 tribute of divine sovereignty to give it to whomsoever 
 he will, and in what measure he will. But when I re- 
 member that through this Spirit alone good can be 
 accomplished, that God calls men to the ministry for 
 the purpose of saving souls, that he is glorified by 
 their success, that he has promised to be with them 
 and in them, that he has promised that if they would 
 ask they should receive, and has promised to fill 
 them with his Spirit, I cannot but think there is a 
 rich manifestation of the Spirit ready for every min- 
 ister, that he may be thoroughly prepared for his 
 glorious office. 
 
 What, then, shall he do that he may be the most 
 
230 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 eminently successful ? First, There should be an en- 
 tire consecration of every moment of time and of 
 every power of body and soul to the service of God. 
 If we expect the divine Spirit to dwell in us, the 
 heart should be made ready for his reception. Like 
 the sacrifice of old, we, as living sacrifices, should be 
 without spot and blemish. " Know ye not," saith 
 the apostle, "that your bodies are temples of the 
 Holy Ghost ? If any man have not the Spirit of 
 Christ, he is none of his." That Spirit is to dwell 
 with us and abide in us. Every faculty, every pow- 
 er, belongs wholly to God ; and we, set apart for his 
 service, have a grand and holy mission among men. 
 Yet, as Jesus took upon him the form of a servant, 
 and cared for the sorrows and miseries of the 
 wretched, so, while our mission elevates, it does not 
 separate us from the masses of men about us. We 
 are to mingle with them, to love them, to enlighten 
 and to save them. 
 
 Secondly, There must not only be consecration, but 
 earnest prayer. It is God's pleasure to be entreated. 
 Prayer is necessary, not only that we may receive, 
 but that we may be in a condition to receive. We 
 must first feel deeply the need of the Holy Spirit, 
 that we may ask it. Seeing the responsibility laid 
 upon us, the magnitude of the work, and our own in- 
 sufficiency, and that there is no power adequate but 
 that of the Holy Spirit, we pray for it ; we wait, in 
 earnest supplication. As the disciples waited the ten 
 
Religions Fasting. 23 1 
 
 days from the ascension to pentecost, so must we 
 wait until the Spirit be poured upon us from on 
 high ; but we must wait as they waited, in the fulfill- 
 ment of duty among the people of God, in the temple, 
 worshiping, praising, and blessing God. We must 
 wait expectantly, we must wait assuredly, not for any 
 miraculous power, nor for conscious endowment, but 
 with a full conviction that God will so take posses- 
 sion of our memory, reason, and imagination, of our 
 strength and of our learning, that each and all of 
 them, vitalized by his own power, shall be made to 
 glow with such heat that they shall burn their way 
 by the truth to the hearts and consciences of those 
 who hear us. 
 
 Thirdly, To intense prayer must be added fasting. 
 If I am asked how fasting can bring spiritual power, 
 I cannot answer satisfactorily. I simply know that 
 Jesus hath said : " This sort cometh not out but by 
 prayer and fasting." He had given his disciples 
 power over unclean spirits, yet there was one 
 brought to them which they could not cast out. It 
 reigned only in the more fury because of their efforts, 
 and when Jesus came the sorrowing father applied 
 to him. One word was sufficient, and the unclean 
 spirit fled. The bewildered disciples asked the 
 Master why they could not cast him out, and received 
 the answer I have quoted. This implies different 
 degrees of spiritual power — power sufficient to reach 
 some hearts, but not all. But who that loves his 
 
232 LErTURF:s on Preaching. 
 
 Master does not covet a power sufficient to rescue 
 the vilest of the vile, and to bring the strongest of- 
 fender to the foot of the cross. While I cannot tell 
 how the fasting operates, I can see that it is both a 
 sign of deep feeling, and that it adds to its intensity. 
 Who has not felt a sorrow that made him for the 
 time regardless of food ? Who has not been so ab- 
 sorbed that he has forgotten the hours, and passed 
 beyond the time of his meals ? With a dear one on 
 the bed of death, how tasteless and valueless is food ! 
 So, if there be an intensity of prayer that absorbs the 
 soul, we become like Him who said, " I have meat to 
 eat ye know not of;" and again, " My meat is to do 
 the will of Him that sent me." 
 
 Again, it adds to the intensity of purpose. The 
 men who sought the life of Paul bound themselves 
 with an oath that they would neither eat nor drink 
 till they had slain him. This marks the intensity of 
 their purpose. When David prayed for the life of 
 his child he took no meat until they brought him 
 news that the child was dead. He would have but 
 one desire. He would do but one thing. So the 
 minister is so anxious to receive spiritual power, so 
 anxious to rescue souls from ruin, so anxious to build 
 the Church of Christ, that sometimes he has little 
 relish for his food ; and at other times, such is the 
 cry of his soul, that he resolves to take no meat until 
 his prayer prevails with God. This intense desire 
 thus marked fits the soiil for holy action, for sublime 
 
Results of Fasting, 233 
 
 purposes. Its whole power has become concentrated 
 on one thing. Then as the ball, when the rifle has 
 been pointed steadily at the mark, strikes to its 
 center, so the minister, having but one aim, his whole 
 soul absorbed on one point, finds his words going di- 
 rectly to the hearts of his hearers. How wonderful 
 the example of Christ ! Pure and spotless, he needed 
 no prayer for himself. He prayed for others, for us, 
 for the world. He continued whole nights in prayer 
 while loving disciples yielded to sleep ; he prayed 
 for others, as they would not pray for themselves. 
 He needed no fasting for himself, yet see him fasting 
 forty days and forty nights in the wilderness. After 
 it the angels came and ministered unto him, and he 
 came out of the wilderness to heal the sick and to 
 raise the dead. All night in prayer he was trans- 
 figured, and Moses and Elias came down to earth to 
 talk with him in the presence of his disciples of the 
 decease he should accomplish in Jerusalem. Moses, 
 with God on the mountain, came down with a shin- 
 ing face — shining so brightly with unconscious power 
 that the people could not gaze upon him until he was 
 veiled. So the minister, coming out of his closet, 
 through his seasons of fasting and prayer, is gifted 
 with words which pierce to the hearts of the people; 
 and sometimes it seems as if his countenance shone 
 like the face of Stephen, who, gazing up into heaven 
 was illumined by a ray from the throne. 
 
 This Spirit, also, brings before us the most solemn 
 
234 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 thoughts in reference to our congregations. Immor- 
 tal souls come to listen for tidings of the Saviour. 
 God has stirred them by his Holy Spirit, and sent 
 them to hear. If they are saved it must be through 
 our words, and upon the issue of the sermon the 
 destiny of immortal souls may be sealed. Who 
 could preach carelessly could he thus feel .'* Besides, 
 it may be the last sermon which some one shall hear. 
 Almost every sermon is the last that some one does 
 hear. More persons die every week than there are 
 pulpits in the land. Could we single out some per- 
 son in the assembly who would never hear another 
 sermon, how would we try to preach Jesus .'' Our 
 eyes are sealed as to destiny, but that person is in 
 the congregation, and we must draw the bow at a 
 venture, trusting that the divine arm and eye will 
 give to the bow sufficient tension, and to the arrow 
 the right direction. When I have heard, as I fre- 
 quently have, of persons present in assemblies where 
 I have preached, who have been called suddenly 
 away by accidents or disease, I have never felt to 
 regret that my sermon was not more beautiful or 
 more polished, but I have regretted that it was not 
 preached with more demonstration of the Spirit and 
 of power. I cannot conceal my conviction, that but 
 for the negligence and indolence of those of us who 
 occupy the sacred desk, this demonstration would be 
 more universal and more powerful. It seems to me 
 that the possibilities connected with preaching have 
 
The Baptism of Fire. 235 
 
 been only partially realized, and that a brighter and 
 more glorious day will dawn upon the Church. If 
 there is one thing above all others that I have de- 
 sired for myself, and that above all other things I 
 covet for you, it is this ministerial power, this bap- 
 tism of fire. Seek for this more than for learning, 
 for wisdom, for oratory ; and, above all, more than 
 for any thought of your acceptability or popularity. 
 To preach one sermon like Livingstone's would be 
 worth a life of service. I believe you all may have 
 such power that thousands shall be converted under 
 your preaching. If the Bible be true, and if you 
 are divinely called to the ministry, you are lifted out 
 of the common circles of business and of the con- 
 flicts of life. God comes to dwell in you, and to use 
 all your powers for himself; your highest glory 
 will be to appear as living, walking Christs among 
 men, and you will feel with the apostle, " For me 
 to live is Christ." 
 
236 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 LECTURE VIIL 
 
 THE INFLUENCE OF THE PASTORATE ON THE PULPIT. 
 
 *' I ^HE pulpit is not tlie only sphere of the preach- 
 -'- er's power. There are other spheres which are 
 intimately associated with it^ The minister is a pas- 
 tor as well as a .preacher. He both feeds and cares 
 for his flock. He not only leads them to pastures 
 green and nourishing, but guards them against prowl- 
 ing beasts of prey that thirst for their blood, as well 
 as against precipices and morasses, where they might 
 receive fatal injury. As a preacher, he speaks to 
 the people collectively ; but as a pastor he watches 
 over them individually. By careful observation he 
 learns their religious condition, their past advance- 
 ment, the difficulties which they encounter, the hopes 
 and fears which influence their lives, and is prepared 
 to furnish them the truth which they need. Thus, 
 too, the sermons which he delivers to the whole con- 
 gregation become a source of spiritual power to each 
 individual. 
 
 These two classes of work are so intimately asso- 
 ciated that it is impossible perfectly to separate them. 
 The preacher cannot reap the full harvest of his 
 labors without being the diligent pastor, and the pas- 
 
Extra-CJiurdi Preaching. 237 
 
 tor can accomplish but little without the truth and 
 power of the pulpit. Pastoral duties are enjoined by 
 the direct command of Christ, and are illustrated in 
 his own glorious example. Their character is, also, 
 exemplified in the labors of the apostles, as they 
 taught the people from house to house, or warned 
 them day and night with tears. I do not propose to 
 discuss the duties of the pastorate, though the field 
 is a very wide and fruitful one. I purpose only to no- 
 tice the influence which pastoral duties exercise upon 
 the pulpit, in giving to the preacher the knowledge 
 essential to his work, and enabling him to trace the 
 progress of that work, as it may appear from time to 
 time under his labors ; and, also, in preparing the 
 congregation to be more profited by bringing them 
 into friendship and sympathy with the minister. 
 
 One form of this work is preaching outside of the 
 regular pulpit. The parable of the supper was de- 
 signed to instruct the disciples to go out into the high- 
 ways and hedges and to compel the people to come in. 
 We are not only to preach to those who are so anx- 
 ious to hear us that they will crowd to the churches 
 and aid in supporting the Gospel, but we are to go 
 forth to seek for those who will not attend the 
 churches. The Saviour preached the Gospel on the 
 mountain-side, or from a boat on the sea of Galilee. 
 Pie addressed his disciples as they journeyed to and 
 fro, or rested by the way-side. He preached one of 
 his sublimest sermons to a single hearer, the woman 
 
238 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 of Samaria, as he sat by Jacob's well ; and his rich 
 promise was given to the dying thief who was cru- 
 cified at his side. He gave his benediction at the 
 marriage in Cana of Galilee, spoke words of life at 
 the death-bed of the damsel to comfort sorrowing 
 parents, touched the bier and restored the son to his 
 widowed mother, called a brother back from the tomb 
 to wipe away the tears of weeping sisters, and in his 
 tenderness, in the midst of his sermon, he took little 
 children in his arms and blessed them. He was the 
 preacher and the Saviour every-where. The great 
 apostle of the Gentiles, in his work, imitated his Mas- 
 ter, tie preached in the Jewish synagogue, disputed 
 in the school of Tyrannus, proclaimed the Gospel on 
 Mars' Hill, delivered sermons by the sea-side, spake 
 in an upper room through the late hours of the night, 
 and warned the people not only publicly, but from 
 house to house. These examples point out the path 
 of duty, and teach us not to confine our ministrations to 
 the sacred edifice. The ultimate design of preaching 
 is not merely the utterance of the truth so as to reach 
 the understanding and to stir the emotions and affec- 
 tions, but " to present every man perfect in Christ 
 Jesus." This work is so vast, it cannot be accom- 
 plished merely by sermons in the pulpit ; they must 
 be supplemented by personal visiting, conversation, 
 and effort with each individual. 
 
 This pastoral visiting is essential to the preacher, 
 in order that he may learn the condition and wants 
 
Degrees of Kiioivledgc. 239 
 
 of his congregation. Without this knowledge there 
 will be little directness in his sermons, and they will 
 be comparatively profitless to his people. In his 
 office of teacher, before he can instruct wisely and 
 well, he must learn what his hearers already know. 
 That he is a teacher and messenger of divine things 
 not only does not release him from his duty, but 
 rather intensifies his responsibility in it. The pro- 
 fessor in college may understand the higher functions 
 in algebra, but it would be simple folly to lecture uj)on 
 them to those who had not learned the first principles 
 of arithmetic, or to discuss the peculiar properties of 
 the sections of the cone to those who had not studied 
 the elements of geometry. The professors in every 
 college, the teachers of every science, examine their 
 students before they admit them to recitation in the 
 various departments, that instruction may be given ac- 
 cording to their individual advancement. If this be 
 necessary in acquiring elements of knowledge, which, 
 though important, are not vital, and without which a 
 man may live and be both useful and happy, how much 
 more important is it in acquiring that knowledge 
 which is essential to his happiness here and hereafter .'' 
 To one unacquainted with Christian congregations 
 and with Christian instruction it must be a perfect 
 marvel how one discourse can suit a congregation 
 composed of all grades of ages, talents, acquirements, 
 and accomplishments, and by one who knows the 
 condition of scercely a person in the audience. The 
 
240 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 possibility of such teaching is found only in the uni- 
 versal application of the elementary truths of the 
 Gospel to every human heart. 
 
 The settled pastor who has served his congrega- 
 tion for many years, who has baptized and married a 
 generation, who has buried friends and parents, may 
 be supposed to have a general knowledge of the con- 
 dition of his audience ; yet this acquaintance extends 
 chiefly to external circumstances. Without personal 
 visiting and frequent conversation with individuals 
 he cannot know the workings of their minds, the 
 presence and pressure of disturbing doubts, the 
 strength of severe temptations, the rapid currents 
 which they are trying to stem, and the help of which 
 they are constantly in need. Besides this, additions 
 are made to every congregation by immigration, by 
 marriages, or by changes in business ; young hearts 
 are expanding, which have longings for the invisible 
 and eternal, which are not yet made known even to 
 the pastor who baptized them. These changes, 
 together with the influence of pernicious publications 
 and strange ideas, which enter every dwelling and 
 may find way to every heart, require constant vig- 
 ilance on the part of the oldest and most careful 
 pastor. The young pastor, though he may expect to 
 remain settled, is a stranger to the religious condi- 
 tion of his audience. How can he become acquainted 
 with it, so as to form his sermons properly, except 
 by personal visiting and conversation ? . In an itiner- 
 
Personal Conversation. 241 
 
 ant ministry, such as that connected with the Church 
 of which I am a member, the difficulty of knowing 
 the congregations is increased. The preacher pass- 
 ing from year to year, or every few years, to different 
 locahties, must necessarily be unacquainted with his 
 people, and must at first be at a loss for topics. I 
 doubt whether an itinerant ministry could be highly 
 successful without the aid of assistants who are ac- 
 quainted with the congregation. To secure this help 
 class-meetings have proved of immense value. A 
 small number meet together each week for prayer 
 and religious conversation. The leader, who con- 
 ducts these services, becomes thoroughly acquainted 
 with every member. Under the order of the Church 
 these leaders are expected to meet the minister every 
 week, and it is the minister's duty to visit the various 
 classes as frequently as practicable. This arrange- 
 ment serves to promote personal acquaintance among 
 the various members, and to furnish a mode by which 
 the ministers can quickly meet with all their mem- 
 bers. By it pastoral assistance can, also, be fur- 
 nished to the preacher. Valuable as these meetings 
 are to an itinerant ministry, they do not prevent the 
 necessity of direct personal visits from house to 
 house. It is only in such a way, whether the pastor- 
 ate be temporary or prolonged, that the member can 
 enjoy a full and earnest conversation with his pastor, 
 can tell him of the doubts which trouble him, and of 
 
 the peculiar trials and difficulties that meet and sur- 
 16 
 
242 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 round him. If the pastor becomes thoroughly ac- 
 quainted with the religious condition of his people, 
 their pursuits and employments, their afflictions and 
 temptations, he will be able, for their edification, to 
 " bring forth out of his treasury things both new and 
 old." Nor should pastoral visiting, in this view, be 
 confined merely to the members of the Church. The 
 preacher should mingle freely with the members of 
 his congregation, and should, also, visit those who oc- 
 casionally attend his ministry. He may thus learn 
 their views or their objections. He can ascertain 
 what stumbling-blocks lie in their way, and what it is 
 that keeps them from embracing the Saviour and 
 from fellowship with his Church. He will sometimes 
 find phases of skepticism that seem to envelop the 
 whole community, as the atmosphere encircles the 
 earth. At other times he will find, running through 
 families and business associations, tracks of local 
 storms that have prostrated every thing in their way, 
 and left ruined branches and trunks scattered around. 
 To labor successfully, to remove skepticism, to heal 
 difficulties, to bring communities into unity and love, 
 he must mingle with the people, and they must feel 
 that he takes a deep interest in them. Then will he 
 be able skillfully to select his topics, and break to his 
 people the bread of life. 
 
 Again, the minister needs to visit his people to 
 gain their sympathy and good-will. Quintilian says 
 that the first requisite for an orator is to gain the 
 
Good-zuill, 243 
 
 good-will of his audience. We all know how much 
 more readily children learn when they love their 
 teachers, and how little benefit they receive when 
 they dislike them. The minister beloved by his 
 congregation has a key to their affections. They 
 listen with delight, and find pleasure and instruc- 
 tion in all his ministrations. But if the minister be 
 an object of aversion, his words are without power to 
 the hearts of his hearers. To gain the good-will of 
 his audience there is no method more effectual than 
 to manifest an interest in them and their families. 
 The preacher who has a cheerful word for the man of 
 business when he meets him — who calls to visit the 
 family, especially in times of affliction — who has a 
 kind word for every child — soon acquires such an in- 
 fluence over those families as to make them attent- 
 ive and interested hearers. This visiting should be 
 so thorough that the names of all the congregation, 
 and, as far as practicable, the names of the chijdren, 
 should be carefully learned. The good Shepherd 
 " calleth his sheep by name," is the language of the 
 blessed Saviour. It gratifies children especially to 
 be addressed by their names ; they feel that the 
 man who does so takes an interest in them ; and 
 the older ones among us would prefer to be called 
 by our own names, rather than to be addressed as 
 Mr. Jones or Mr. Smith. 
 
 Again, pastoral visiting furnishes the preacher an 
 opportunity to learn the influence of his sermons, 
 
244 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 and to ascertain accurately the effects which they 
 have produced. Thus he will receive suggestions 
 which may be of future service. If, in visiting the 
 man of business, he finds that the influence of his 
 last Sabbath's sermon lingers in his office, counting- 
 room, shop, or on his farm, as a hallowed influence 
 to cheer him in his work and to raise his heart heav- 
 enward, he should thank God that he was enabled to 
 deliver such a message, and should study how he 
 may secure other trains of thought equally profit- 
 able. If, in visiting the sick, he finds that his words 
 of comfort have been treasured in their memory, and 
 have been a benediction in their seasons of darkness 
 and sorrow, he will rejoice in his ministry of conso- 
 lation, and will apply himself to find fresh lessons of 
 encouragement in the word of God. But should he 
 find that his sermons have not been treasured, that 
 the j)eople refer to no thoughts of comfort or conso- 
 lation ; if the old are without cheer, and the young 
 are disposed to wander away, he has serious cause to 
 inquire whether he should not change his style of 
 preaching. He should consider whether he has care- 
 fully selected important truths in view of their con- 
 dition, whether his address has been direct and ear- 
 nest, whether he has endeavored to make his congre- 
 gation feel that he spoke to them because God had 
 given him a message. Should he find that some of 
 his sermons have been misunderstood, it will furnish 
 him an occasion to explain, and he will either correct 
 
Profitable Topics. 245 
 
 the misapprehension in a familiar conversation, or it 
 will furnish him an occasion for a more full discus- 
 sion in the pulpit. He may possibly find that in 
 presenting certain doctrines, or in urging to certain 
 duties, he has so stated them that to some of his 
 people they seem to conflict with other doctrines or 
 with other duties. From these cases he will learn 
 how to be more guarded in definition, and to discrim- 
 inate more carefully in all his utterances. Another 
 advantage will be afforded by ascertaining what class 
 of topics has been most successful in reaching pecul- 
 iar minds. They will tell him of sermons which 
 they heard in former years, and of the deep impres- 
 sions they received ; they will speak of the precious- 
 ness of certain texts of Scripture, and of how much 
 comfort they have derived from tliem. Oftentimes a 
 ray of light is thrown upon some passage of Script- 
 ure to which his attention had never been given, or 
 the connection of which with religious experience he 
 had never fully perceived. Sometimes these turns 
 of thought, learned in the cottage or the cabin, will 
 open up a wonderful vista of scriptural truth, looking 
 through which he finds much that is beneficial to his 
 own heart and to the hearts of his hearers. Some- 
 times in my own experience a passage was so quoted 
 that it seemed altogether new. For a moment I 
 doubted whether it was in the Bible. But, on reflec- 
 tion, I found that I had connected it with some other 
 train of thought, seeing only one side of the crystal, 
 
246 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 when others equally beautiful had been concealed 
 from view. Many a text have I thus found for my 
 Sabbath sermons as I visited the garrets and cellars 
 of cities, or the abodes of the poor scattered through 
 the country. I remember, in my early ministry, ac- 
 companying a Christian lady to a poor dwelling, 
 where we found an old negro woman lying on a little 
 straw upon the floor, and death was evidently ap- 
 proaching ; yet she talked so sweetly of the love of 
 Jesus, so patiently as to her su£ferin;^'^s, with such 
 resignation to her condition, and with hopes almost 
 of ecstasy of her future, that my heart was deeply 
 touched. It was not only a lesson to me personally, 
 but I think the influence of it was felt in my sermons 
 for several weeks. 
 
 Again, the work of the true preacher is to warn 
 every man, to teach every man in all wisdom, and to 
 present every man perfect before God. To accom- 
 plish this he must watch the progress of his work ; 
 he must add line upon line, and precept upon pre- 
 cept. The farmer does not sow the seed, and then 
 pay no further attention to the field. If the crop is 
 growing, he will love to look at it — to see it is prop- 
 erly inclosed and protected ; to give additional culture 
 where necessary, or to remove weeds ; and he will 
 look forward with interest and with earnest expec- 
 tation to the harvest, when the ripened fruit may be 
 gathered and preserved. So the preacher who is 
 sent of God will love to trace the growth of the 
 
Personal WatcJifnhicss. 247 
 
 spiritual work under his care. He saw last Sabbath 
 the tear starting in the eye, or the bowed head, and 
 he knew the Spirit of God was writing lessons upon 
 a receptive heart. He longs to see that hearer, and 
 to converse with him personally and closely on relig- 
 ious topics, to remove his difficulties, and to lead him 
 nearer to the Saviour. So he will follow up every 
 indication of spiritual influence which he notices in 
 his congregation ; and if he perceives that some are 
 hardened and careless, he will be anxious to converse 
 with them, to learn their governing motives, and how 
 their hearts and consciences can be reached, for there 
 is some avenue to every human heart. There is 
 grace which enlightens every man that cometh into 
 the world, and a measure of the Spirit is given to 
 lead every one to the Saviour. The faithful pastor 
 will find that avenue, however guarded ; will co-oper- 
 ate with those movings of the Spirit, and will find 
 some truth which will touch the conscience. Some- 
 times he will find that some of his congregation are 
 wandering into sin, that evil influences are alluring 
 young men to evil habits. He will anxiously seek 
 some plan by which these wanderers may be brought 
 nearer to the Church, and be saved from ruin. As 
 the shepherd who spends with his flock the long 
 days of summer, and who guards them by night from 
 the attacks of wild animals, learns to know and love 
 each member of his flock — and if he misses one, hies 
 him away to the mountains to recover it ; so the 
 
248 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 true minister yearns over and watches every member 
 of his congregation. God has made him a shepherd, 
 to care for his flock ; a watchman, to guard them 
 against danger. Last summer I spent several months 
 on the vast mountains and plains that lie between us 
 and the Pacific Ocean. I frequently watched the 
 shepherds with their immense flocks, and marked 
 their constant diligence and care. I saw the herd- 
 ers, who guarded thousands of cattle on the vast 
 ranches, or the almost interminable plains, and was 
 surprised to observe the constant vigilance which 
 they exercised. The herder was always in the sad- 
 dle ; his eyes were on the cattle. If one wandered 
 toward a precipice, or was becoming separated from 
 the herd, so that it was liable to be destroyed, it 
 was immediately followed with earnestness and 
 brought back to safety. How much more responsible 
 is the office of the Christian pastor ! If he expects 
 to gain the affections of all the members of his con- 
 gregation, if he desires to realize the full fruit of his 
 sermons, his eye must be upon them, and he must 
 exercise over them a sleepless vigilance. 
 
 By this care he will, also, become informed of the 
 relative ability and fitness of the members of the con- 
 gregation for such work as he may need in carrying 
 out his various plans of Church activity. He will, 
 also, thus gain increasing influence over the hearts of 
 the children. Much of the sermon is necessarily be- 
 yond their comprehension. Not being interested, 
 
Interest hi CJiildreu. 24c) 
 
 Church services are wearisome ; and if they attend, 
 it is rather a matter of form. The preacher is too 
 frequently a stranger to them — seems to overlook 
 them — has no word addressed directly to them. Be- 
 ing without interest in the services, they sometimes 
 imbibe toward the sanctuary, and even toward the 
 Sabbath, an aversion which tinges and influences 
 their whole lives. But if children feel that the preach- 
 er is their friend, if he has a kind word for them when 
 he visits in the family, if he speaks to them by name 
 when he meets them on the street, if he takes an in- 
 terest in their studies, inquires as to their progress, 
 and drops a word of encouragement now and then, 
 they will love to attend the services. Delighted to 
 meet him, they will listen to his voice, and his pulpit 
 ministrations will become to them a blessing. Their 
 presence will, also, be an inspiration to him. As he 
 looks into their bright eyes and expectant counte- 
 nances, as he beholds their opening spirits yearn- 
 ing for truth and looking out into the invisible and 
 eternal, he will be anxious to speak some word that 
 shall draw them early to a loving Saviour. He will 
 think of them in his study when he is preparing his 
 sermons ; he will think of them when he bows his 
 knees in secret and implores a blessing on his con- 
 gregation. While he prepares to feed the sheep, he 
 will think, also, of the little lambs. His sermons will 
 be more simple in their style, more brief and pointed 
 in their sentences, and some incident will be skillful- 
 
250 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 ly interwoven which will touch the heart of a child. 
 That simplicity, that illustration, will, also, touch the 
 hearts of those who are older. Indeed, there is no 
 way by which the good- will of mothers can be so 
 readily gained as by kindness to their children, and 
 especially that form of kindness which manifests a 
 deep anxiety for their mental and moral excellence. 
 Fathers, also, will share in this good-will, and as the 
 shepherd makes the older members of the flock to 
 follow when he takes up a little lamb and walks away, 
 so the preacher who wins the heart of childhood finds 
 the parents drawn to his church, and listening with 
 profit to his ministry. The story of Themistocles is\ 
 well known. He said of his little boy : " This child 
 is greater than any man in Greece : for the Athen- 
 ians command the Greeks, I command the Athenians, 
 his mother commands me, and he commands his 
 mother."* 
 
 Notwithstanding the manifest benefits resulting 
 from pastoral work, there are preachers who have a 
 great distaste for its duties. They think they need 
 the time for their studies. They are timid about 
 visiting families, and they think that the association, 
 in many instances, would be both unpleasant and un- 
 profitable. Such preachers are greatly mistaken as 
 to the elements which they specially need. Pa*storal 
 visiting furnishes just that supplement to the library 
 which the successful preacher absolutely requires, 
 
 * Plutarch's Lives. 
 
Study of Men. 25 1 
 
 In his books he gauis a knowledge of subjects, he 
 acquires abstract thought, he dwells in an intellectual 
 realm of enchanting beauty, he has around him the 
 best products of the grandest minds which have 
 graced our earth. No wonder it is that he desires 
 to spend the largest portion of his time in such fel- 
 lowship and communion. Yet he needs not only 
 great thoughts, but to learn how to apply them to hu- 
 manity in all the walks of life. He lives in an intel- 
 lectual world ; his thoughts are of the past, his visions 
 of the future ; he does not come into contact with the 
 harassing cares and thoughts which agitate the bos- 
 om of working men. As Christ came down from 
 heaven and walked among men that he might do them 
 good, so must the minister come out of his study, 
 away from the communion with minds almost angelic, 
 and walk in the common paths of life. This is not 
 only a duty, but it is an essential requisite to the 
 highest ministerial success. He must be a man 
 among men to gain their affections, to share in their 
 sympathies. He must walk with them side by side ; 
 he must let them feel the throbbings of a brother's 
 heart ; he must take their hands in his ; he must 
 take, to some extent, on his heart their burdens and 
 sorrows and cares ; his humanity will be improved 
 and enlarged ; he will speak with a sympathy, tender- 
 ness, and love unknown before ; the deep feeling 
 which he acquires in contact with the people will 
 touch the very tones of his voice and make them 
 
252 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 sympathetic, and the poorest in his congregation will 
 feel that his words of sympathy and encouragement 
 are meant for them. 
 
 Nor should the minister hesitate to visit because 
 he is timid. That very timidity gives a crowning 
 grace to his work. His people will feel that he comes 
 to them, not because he delights in the mere work 
 of visiting, but because he feels that he is sent from 
 God to do them good. He comes to them as an an- 
 gel who descends from the spirit world having a mes- 
 sage to communicate, who breathes a heavenly at- 
 mosphere, and is ready to wing his way back to the 
 heavenly courts. His spirit will be one of tenderness 
 and love ; his conversation pure and instructive ; his 
 movements in the family kind and elevated. Alike 
 free from low familiarity and haughty reserve, his 
 conversation will tend toward the point for which he 
 came. He will, indeed, speak kindly, inquire for 
 their health, sympathize with their afflictions, share 
 in their cares ; but he comes to represent his Sa- 
 viour, and to drop some word which shall stimulate 
 to duty, and which shall inspire a higher spirituality. 
 In the spirit of his Master he will be in an atmos- 
 phere of prayer. He has visited because it was his 
 duty, and he had the promise that his Master would 
 be with him ; and, ere he leaves, the supplications 
 which he utters, the words which he drops, the spirit 
 which he manifests, are a benediction to the family. 
 Yes, a benediction to himself, for he leaves such a 
 
Care for- tJie Least. 253 
 
 place more like Christ than when he entered. Nor 
 must these visits be confined to the wealthy and the 
 educated. The poor and the ignorant need more 
 help than those who are educated and prosperous. 
 If there be prisons, poor-houses, and hospitals within 
 your sphere, neglect not them. The great Head of 
 the Church puts himself in the place of the weakest 
 of his followers, and says : " I was sick, and in pris- 
 on, and ye visited me not ; " and when the wonder- 
 ing heart asks how and when, the answer comes, 
 " Inasmuch as ye did it not to one of the least of 
 these, ye did it not to me." Or if the visit is paid, 
 if the hunger or thirst is assuaged, if the naked are 
 clothed, and the strangers cared for, how sweet the 
 accent, " Inasmuch as ye did it to one of the least 
 of these, ye did it unto me." I shall never forget 
 how vividly this passage came to my mind as an il- 
 lustration of human feeling, when, years since, I was 
 traveling in Eastern lands. I was in feeble health, 
 and thought it doubtful whether I ever should see 
 my family again. I received a letter narrating an act 
 of kindness which had been performed by a friend 
 for my youngest child, a little girl : in a moment 
 my heart leaped across the sea and over the mount- 
 ains, and in grateful recognition I said in my 
 thoughts to my loving friend, " Inasmuch as you did 
 it to the least of these, you did it unto me." It was 
 to me more precious, when done in my absence to 
 my little child, than had it been done when present 
 
254 Lectures Ox\ Preaching, 
 
 for myself. A sweet charm has rested in my mind 
 on those words ever since. It seems to me that 
 Jesus is better pleased with a cup of cold water 
 given to a disciple in the name of a disciple, than he 
 was when the woman of Samaria gave to his weary 
 lips the draught from Jacob's well. 
 
 If any 6f you, young gentlemen, are troubled with 
 timidity, and think you cannot visit because you are 
 timid, let me say, for your encouragement, that I 
 think I was as timid as you can possibly be. When 
 coming to the years of a young man it was a pos- 
 itive pain for me to visit the houses even of friends. 
 Many a time I walked by the door of a neighbor's 
 house when I went on an errand, waiting five or ten 
 minutes for some one to come to the door, rather 
 than to knock and enter in. So bashful was I that 
 many a time I walked around a square rather than 
 to meet a young lady whom I saw coming on the 
 street. I had much of this timidity when I entered 
 the ministry ; and with nervous influence the 
 palms of my hands seemed to burn at the very 
 thought of going out to visit. But I felt I must go ; 
 the Church bade me go ; I had promised God I 
 would go, and as the soldier in the army walks for- 
 ward timidly, yet determinedly, into the thickest of 
 the fight, so I went in my Master's name. If I 
 could, I took with me some experienced Christian, 
 especially into strange houses, and into poor and 
 vicious localities. I spake to the poor kindly, drew 
 
Visiting, a Rc:rcation. 255 
 
 out of them their religious education and experi- 
 ence, found many a wandering one, and tried to com- 
 fort many a sorrowing heart. Such visits made me 
 better, taught me to feel for the people, and to break 
 with more tenderness to them the bread of life. In 
 a revival which followed, out of nearly three hundred 
 who came to the altar of prayer, there were very 
 few with whom I had not previously conversed, 
 and I knew how to enter into their sympathies and 
 to point them to the Lamb of God. 
 
 Nor will this visiting, if systematically performed, 
 interfere with a proper amount of study. After the 
 morning has been devoted to close thought the min- 
 ister needs recreation. His walking to and fro, his 
 climbing stairs into garrets and descending into cel- 
 lars, his walking into the suburbs of villages or rid- 
 ing into country places, to talk of Jesus and to in- 
 struct the young, will furnish recreation as invigora- 
 tion to health, and as little interfering with his stud- 
 ies, as the amusements in which so many spend 
 their leisure hours. Indeed, so far from being a loss 
 intellectually, the opportunity to apply a portion of 
 Scripture we have been studying, to unfold some 
 promise on which we have dwelt, makes us see more 
 clearly the truth we wish to portray, and enables us 
 the better to prepare for the sermon of the following 
 Sabbath. The true teacher is frequently benefited 
 by the lesson which he imparts, even more than the 
 learner. 
 
256 Lectures on Preaching, 
 
 It does not fall within my purpose to enumerate 
 the various modes in which this work may be per- 
 formed, or to dwell on the specific lessons which should 
 be given ; but I may say that all coarseness, vulgar- 
 ii}', and low expressions should be strictly avoided. 
 There should be cheerfulness and social feeling, but 
 no undue familiarity. We enter the houses of friends 
 because we are indorsed by the Church ; the office 
 of minister gains us invitations where we are person- 
 ally but little known. We go in the character of 
 Christian gentlemen, and of holy men of God. If 
 we do not so conduct ourselves we violate propriety, 
 disappoint our friends, and bring reproach upon the 
 ministry and the Church. Every family should feel 
 when we leave that a servant of the Lord Jesus has 
 been among them, and some influence should re- 
 main which will make religion appear more beauti- 
 ful and heavenly. 
 
 It is particularly, however, in its reflex influence 
 o\ the pulpit, that we consider this subject. With- 
 out such visiting the sermons are likely to become 
 essays or orations — full of thought and of learning, 
 but not specially directed to the benefit of the audi- 
 ence. To give his sermon directness of aim and to 
 strike the heart, the minister must be a student of 
 human nature. He needs to mingle with society in 
 all its forms, and to understand its various necessi- 
 ties. He must learn the sources of sorrow and joy, 
 of hope and fear, that arise in the daily walks of life. 
 
Liability to Excess. 257 
 
 It is true, he may get glimpses of human nature from 
 distinguished writers — characters beautifully por- 
 trayed by the pen of Shakspeare ; he may note the 
 workings of the human mind as developed in mental 
 philosophy ; but his allusions to these will be like 
 sparkling gems which here and there adorn his exer- 
 cises. What the congregation needs is the pouring 
 forth of a heart which is filled with sympathy for their 
 peculiar necessities, and in their peculiar circum- 
 stances. ■-• 
 
 There are, however, some ministers to whom pas- 
 toral visiting is not of great service. They have 
 been accustomed to mingle with the people ; they 
 enjoy society, shake hands with every one they meet, 
 and are at home every-where. Such men need their 
 books more than they need society. They are loving, 
 earnest, pleasant preachers, but are seldom profound 
 and solid thinkers. Their congregations love to meet 
 them, but they think more of their conversations at 
 the fireside than they do of. their work in the pulpit. 
 Such ministers may be met at almost every funeral, 
 and have time to go to the cemetery, even if it be 
 three or four miles distant. They attend every festi- 
 val in the different churches, mingle in all gather- 
 ings, know every body, and learn every thing except 
 how to honor their Master and his cause in their 
 public sermons. Sometimes young men who aspire 
 for nobler things, who behold a radiant glory in gos- 
 pel truth, and have a longing desire to unfold it, are 
 17 
 
258 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 repelled from visiting by the superficial character of 
 the pulpit exercises of this class of men. Yet they 
 should remember that these men do but little of true 
 pastoral work. They call familiarly in various families, 
 and join in jokes and laughter, sit down in a circle 
 to smoke cigars, are ready to join in any recreation 
 or amusement, and leave without a word sp'^ken for 
 Jesus, or a prayer offered in behalf of the family. 
 Seldom is such a man found in the cabins of the poor, 
 by the bedside of the sick, or in close sympathetic 
 conference with the prodigal young man who is 
 breaking the heart of his father and mother, and is 
 wandering into the depths of sin. Seldom is he 
 found pleading with such a one to reform his life and 
 to turn to his Saviour. Seldom is he found in ear- 
 nest conversation, endeavoring to bring heavenly 
 consolation to the heart of the suffering widow, or to 
 drop a word of instruction and comfort to the orphan 
 child. Seldom is he found visiting the man of busi- 
 ness who is in deep embarrassment and distress> 
 and whose heart is wrung with agony under 
 the pressure of difficulties and responsibilities. As 
 the result of long observation, I am satisfied that 
 those who are the closest students, and are by nature 
 the most tiniid, become the best pastors when they 
 conquer themselves and instruct the people from 
 house to house : for they go, not to spend the mo- 
 ments in trivial conversation, but they go under the 
 conviction that Christ has sent them as his servants, 
 
Life of yesus. 259 
 
 and in his stead ta bear his benediction to the house- 
 hold. Their words are not words of mere compli- 
 ment, but of light and joy drawn from the Holy 
 Scriptures. They tell of the wonderful love of 
 Christ, and the exhaustless store of spiritual riches 
 in reserve for those who love him. Their touch is as 
 the helping hands of brothers who lift up the lowly, 
 the discouraged, and the sorrowing. 
 
 What had the life of Jesus been to us, if we had 
 only the record (^i his sermons, without the record of 
 his going about doing good .-* We listen to his words 
 as voices from above, but our hearts dravv closer to 
 him when we see him opening the eyes of the blind, 
 and stooping to touch the leper, who, in his degrada- 
 tion, is loathed by society. It is the heavens kissing 
 the earth ; it is God in contact with the human soul. 
 In such a record Jesus becomes Emmanuel, God 
 with us. I think the every-day life of Jesus touches 
 the human heart more than the great truths which 
 he uttered. Both were necessary. Without truth, 
 the human soul would not have been elevated ; with- 
 out the corresponding life, that truth would not have 
 borne such rich fruitage. If the young preacher de- 
 sires to be a true successor of the apostles, let him 
 imitate the plans and the work of Jesus, and let him 
 follow the apostles as they followed their glorious 
 Master. 
 
 You will not fancy, I know, that I underrate the 
 value of close study and the acquisition of all possi- 
 
26o Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 ble knowledge that may assist the minister. But" 
 when I take the New Testament in my hands, I find 
 the Saviour and his apostles teaching the people, 
 visiting the sick, healing the wretched, comforting 
 the sorrowing, and being much in prayer; but I find 
 not a single direction how to write a sermon or to 
 read it, or how to manage the voice and the gestures 
 so as to be accounted an eloquent orator. They had 
 the truth by direct inspiration ; we must study to at- 
 tain it. But, with that truth given, they seem to 
 have thought of nothing but going forth, burning, 
 shining, blazing, in all the glory of a Gospel, of glad 
 tidings, and without one thought of appearance or 
 manner, simply presenting the truth so as to touch 
 the hearts and consciences of the people. As Christ 
 and his apostles did not dwell at all upon what occu- 
 pies the minds of so many young ministers, so I fear 
 that many think but little of what burned in the 
 liearts of Christ and his apostles. 
 
 There are a few large Churches where the congrega- 
 tions are so immense and the membership is so nu- 
 merous that it seems impossible for the pastor to 
 know his people. Such is Spurgeon's, with his five 
 thousand membership, and such are a few large con- 
 gregations in our principal cities. The pastoral 
 work in such cases is performed by assistants em- 
 ployed by the pastor or the congregations. There 
 are some young men who feel so conscious of their 
 superior power, who have such a premonition of 
 
Begin Lozu. 261 
 
 coming greatness, that, imitating the example of 
 these distinguished ministers, they resolve to devote 
 themselves to their study and to preaching, and to 
 spend their life in something more noble than visit- 
 ing the people. Such young men should remember 
 that these eminent ministers began either in country 
 places or with small congregations. So far as I am 
 acquainted with men who have built these mammoth 
 institutions, they began at the bottom of the ladder ; 
 they mingled with the common people, studied the 
 common people, preached to the common people, 
 and in this way gained that knowledge of human 
 nature which enabled them to draw immense con- 
 gregations around them. As well might the young 
 merchant, without experience or capital, expect at 
 once to have the marble palace of A. T. Stewart, as 
 the young minister the congregation of a Spurgeon 
 or a Beecher. They began at the bottom of the 
 ladder in a country place, and climbed up. The 
 young man who begins at the top of the ladder inva- 
 riably climbs down. 
 
262 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 LECTURE IX. 
 
 COLLATERAL AND MISCELLANEOUS WORK. 
 
 "^ I ^HE range of a preacher's work is widely ex- 
 -^ tended. His chief labor is in the pulpit, and 
 in pastoral visiting among the members. There 
 are, however, many collateral fields which he must 
 cultivate, some of which are essential to the stabil- 
 ity and growth of his congregation. Closely con- 
 nected with preaching is the offering of public 
 prayer. This service should be conducted with that 
 reverence which indicates the deep piety of the 
 minister, and which may inspire the people with 
 solemnity and devotion. Prayer should issue from 
 a heart which feels its own wants, and which is in 
 sympathy with the wants of the congregation. In 
 this service thanksgiving should ever occupy a prom- 
 inent place, because of the multitude of mercies 
 received, both personally and as a congregation, and 
 because the spirit of thanksgiving is always appro- 
 priate. People should frequently be reminded of the 
 blessings which they so constantly enjoy, because 
 there is such a tendency to murmur and complain at 
 the lot which they occupy. Among the Jews sac- 
 rifices of thanksgiving were required under the law ; 
 
Solcuiiiity in Prayer. 263 
 
 and the psalmist frequently exhorts to come before 
 God with thanksgiving. In the New Testament we 
 are taught, " with thanksgiving, let your requests be 
 made known unto God." There should, also, be the 
 confession of sins, personal, social, and national ; 
 the deprecation of God's wrath ; the prayer for par- 
 don through the atoning merits of Christ, and the 
 expression of trust in the willingness and power of 
 the great Father to bless and save. 
 
 Prayer should be offered in such a devotional 
 spirit that the people shall feel that the minister is 
 conscious of the presence of the great Jehovah, 
 and that the Holy Spirit is already communicating 
 with his heart. No words indicating lack of rever- 
 ence, no expressions of familiarity, no real address 
 to the people under the garb of prayer, should be 
 employed; and even the name of the Deity should be 
 so uttered as to indicate the solemn awe with which 
 even a redeemed spirit should approach the throne. 
 The p.'eacher's evident access to the mercy-seat in- 
 spires the hearts of the people, tie utters petitions 
 for what his own heart needs ; and while he prays 
 for himself many an aching heart is comforted under 
 the power of his pathetic, fervent prayer. He also 
 enters into the sympathies of the people, and in 
 their name, and as in their places, pours out earnest 
 supplications for needed mercy. This spirit of 
 prayer prepares the hearts of the people for the 
 reception of the word. As the minister prays in 
 
264 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 the consciousness of his own weakness for divine 
 help ; as he pleads for the presence and power of 
 the great Head of the Church ; as he prays that the 
 people may receive the truth which he is about to 
 utter, and that the Holy Spirit by his sacred in- 
 fluences may rest upon every one, this spirit of 
 prayer descends, also, upon the congregation. Thus 
 brought as into the immediate presence of God, they, 
 too, look for the purifying influences of the blessed 
 Spirit, and their hearts are brought into sympathy 
 with the speaker. To some extent they feel the 
 pressure of his great thoughts ; the burden which 
 lies on his heart is in part transferred to them ; they 
 spend the hour in worship, in the beauty of holiness ; 
 and much of the profit of the service comes from the 
 hallowing influence of the prayer which has been 
 offered. 
 
 That the minister may have the true spirit of 
 prayer in the pulpit he will need to cultivate secret 
 prayer, also. It is in his closet the divine power is 
 gained which manifests itself in the midst of public 
 duties. Our Saviour says: "When thou prayest, 
 enter into thy closet, and when thou hast shut thy 
 door, pray to thy Father which is in secret ; and thy 
 Father which seeth in secret shall reward thee open- 
 ly." In harmony with this is the beautiful language 
 of the psalmist: "He that dwelleth in the secret 
 place of the Most High, shall abide under the shadow 
 of the Almighty." The closet of the Christia:i be- 
 
Prayer-viectiugs. 265 
 
 comes thus a'lied to the holy of holies in the tem- 
 ple. Thither the high-priest passed once a year, 
 and was for a moment as under the wings of the 
 cherubim, and face to face with ihe divine Shekinah. 
 But the Christian in the holy service of secret prayer 
 abides under that shadow, while the divine Shekinah 
 ever illumines and warms his heart. Then are real- 
 ized the promises which are made to him who makes 
 the Most High " his habitation." The length of the 
 prayer may, very properly, vary with the spirit of the 
 preacher and the circumstances of the congregation. 
 But, as a general rule, I doubt whether extempora- 
 neous prayer should exceed ten, or, at the utmost, 
 fifteen, minutes, as the people are liable to become 
 wearied, and then the spirit of devotion is weak- 
 ened. 
 
 In conducting meetings for social prayer the tact 
 and skill of the preacher find a wide field. This 
 service, as in distinction from the Sabbath service, 
 is designed for the whole Church, and the minister 
 should not occupy an undue proportion. Some min- 
 isters kill their prayer-meetings by their long prayers, 
 reading long chapters, and giving long exhortations. 
 They should remember that the people are benefited 
 by taking part, and that as many as possible should 
 be induced to join in these social services. The 
 more who speak or pray, the better is it for the 
 growth of the Church and for the development of 
 the moral power of the congregation. In this way, 
 
266 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 also, the minister may best learn the relio^ious con- 
 dition of his people. Especially should the young 
 convert be encouraged to speak and pray. In New 
 Testament times the Holy Spirit fell upon the peo- 
 ple, and the gift of tongues was for the young con- 
 vert as well as for the old. If children did not learn 
 to speak in early childhood, the- tongue would be 
 clumsy all through life. So should the young Chris- 
 tian be encouraged to join at once in the social serv- 
 ices of the congregation ; as in the family the old and 
 middle-aged and children freely mingle together, so 
 should it be in the Church of God. Nor should the 
 minister go to his prayer-meeting without prepara- 
 tion. Let him have some topic on which his thoughts 
 will be arranged and condensed. Let him select 
 something which will call forth the sympathy, in- 
 spire the prayers, or increase the activities of his 
 people. Commencing promptly at the moment, let 
 his own services be spirited and brief, and then let 
 him guide the current of the congregation. Brief 
 prayers, interspersed with a few verses of Christian 
 song, and such utterances as the members may wish 
 to make, under the teaching and example of the 
 pastor, may profitably occupy the evening hour. Un- 
 der some ministers the prayer-meeting is the glory 
 of the Church, and a large part of the congregation 
 attends. Under others interest diminishes, and 
 scarcely as many attend as are necessary to conduct 
 the services. 
 
The Sunday-school. 267 
 
 The Sunday-scbocl should always receive the care- 
 ful attention of the minister. He should teach the 
 Church that the school is a part of its legitimate 
 work, and under its careful control — not a some- 
 thing outside of the Church, but a regular part of its 
 Sabbath services. Wherever Churches are regu- 
 larly established, I have no sympathy with what are 
 termed union schools, or institutions without specific 
 religious management and government. In sparsely 
 settled sections of country, where no denomination 
 is strong enough to maintain a school, or in neigh- 
 borhoods where no Church is organized, such schools 
 may be of great profit, and should be encouraged ; 
 but wherever a Church is organized the children of 
 the Church should be taught by the Church, and 
 should thus be identified with its spirit and with its 
 movements. In many places a positive injury has 
 arisen in the separation of the school from the 
 Church. The children are placed under the con- 
 trol of irresponsible parties, and the Sunday-school 
 superintendent, not unfrequently, places himself in 
 a kind of antagonism to the minister. Such a course 
 is ever disastrous. The lambs of the flock should 
 be the special care of the minister, and he fails in 
 his duty if he does not, in harmony with Church 
 order, carefully supervise the interests of the school. 
 He should not seek to supersede the superintendent, 
 nor to interfere with his government of the school ; 
 but the superintendent and the teachers should 
 
268 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 ever be in harmony with the preacher, and should 
 consider themselves as but a part of his official 
 staff. 
 
 The supervision of the minister should extend 
 particularly to the selection of books for the library 
 that is to be placed in the hands of the teachers 
 and of the children of the school. It is but seldom 
 that superintendents and teachers, engrossed with 
 the busy cares of life, have full time to examine the 
 multitudinous issues of the press which are sought 
 to be placed in these libraries. Each publisher has 
 a list of his own books, and wishes to sell them. 
 He exchanges with other publishers, and thus may 
 have a very large variety. He is so occupied with 
 the financial affairs of his establishment that he 
 may not know the precise character of the teach- 
 ings of the books which he publishes. Without in- 
 tending to do wrong, he recommends works which 
 ought not to find their way into Sunday-schools. A 
 committee is oftentimes appointed by the teachers to 
 purchase a library. It is frequently composed of 
 men who are good and earnest and true ; but they 
 are not extensively acquainted with religious litera- 
 ture, and they purchase such works as have pretty 
 titles, are well printed, are recommended by pub- 
 lishers, and, above all, which are of a low price. 
 In this way books of doubtful or erroneous doctrinal 
 teachings, or which sanction unchristian conduct, or 
 works of fiction without either hish imasrination 
 
Church Organization. 269 
 
 or beautiful style to recommend them, are placed in 
 the library, and they vitiate rather than improve the 
 taste. The books introduced into the Sunday- 
 school should contain such doctrinal or practical 
 teaching as may be in harmony with the Church ; 
 otherwise, the influence of the Sabbath-school may 
 not only be of little service, but may even become of 
 positive injury to the interests of the congregation. 
 In this day of light and loose and skeptical publica- 
 tions, no duty is more imperative on the minister 
 than to exercise a watchful supervision over the lit- 
 erature which is purchased by the Church, and is 
 placed by the Church in the Sunday-school library 
 for the use of its children. For the young have a 
 right to regard the teachings of such works as sanc- 
 tioned by the Church. 
 
 No matter how great maybe the intellectual power 
 and personal influence of the preacher, he cannot ac- 
 complish his work unaided and alone. He is the 
 general of an army, but he cannot conquer without 
 soldiers. He must have others to assist him. The 
 duty of a preacher, then, is to study carefully the ge- 
 nius and organization of his Church, and to secure 
 all the assistance which that organization can furnish. 
 Whatever officers, whether elders or deacons, trustees 
 or stewards or leaders, may constitute the officiary of 
 his Church, he is to place himself in intimate rela- 
 tions with each and all of them. His study should 
 be how to employ, to the utmost degree, their talents 
 
270 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 in Church activities, so as to assist in Church devel- 
 opment and in aggressive work. He should further 
 study how to enlist the entire talent of his Church 
 members, old and young, men and women, in spheres 
 of active usefulness. This he should do, not only for 
 the assistance which they give him, but for the ben- 
 efit which results first to the Church, and then to 
 themselves. The true teacher is ever a learner. 
 There is no process by which our learning becomes 
 accurate and methodical so soon as by attempting to 
 communicate it to others ; hence every one who is 
 engaged in doing good is also engaged in self-devel- 
 opment and culture. In different denominations 
 Church organizations vary, but, be the organization 
 what it may, the great object is to develop into per- 
 fect Christians the entire membership, and to act upon 
 the world as an attractive and aggregating power 
 which constantly adds to its own magnitude. There 
 are some lines of Church work, however, which are 
 common to all. First, there are social meetings in 
 the Church, which all should be invited to attend. It 
 should be the study of the preacher, on the one hand, 
 to make these meetings interesting as well as profit- 
 able, and, on the other hand, to induce every member 
 of his congregation to feel identified with them. 
 Some he can skillfully draw into a religious conversa- 
 tion, others into prayer. In every assembly there are 
 musical voices which should be cultured in and for 
 divine worship. The minister should draw to the 
 
Poor VcJililation. 271 
 
 prayer room the best singers of his congregation, 
 who are willing to join in the simple songs of worship, 
 and who may either lead or give volume to the voice 
 of grateful song. For want of a little thoughtful at- 
 tention no person may be present who can lead the 
 singing, and the pleasure and profit of the evening 
 is not only impaired, but many who are present will 
 not return again. Upon others he can lay the duty 
 of seeing that the room has been well aired, and that 
 the sexton has made it comfortable. The pleasant 
 conjuncture of external circumstances furnishes op- 
 portunity for pleasant and profitable meetings ; but 
 an illy ventilated room, one that is too cold or too 
 warm, a broken pane of glass that admits a current 
 of air, or a door which creaks on its hinges every 
 time it is opened or shut, or, in country places, 
 lamps that are untrimmed and smoking, destroy the 
 pleasure of the congregation, and mar the profit of 
 the meeting. All these external matters may be ar- 
 ranged by the foresight of the pastor, and his mem- 
 bers will be blessed by being door-keepers or doing 
 other service for the house of God. 
 
 The principles of ventilation are generally but 
 poorly understood by sexcons. They usually con- 
 found warm air with pure air, and keep the rooms 
 closed to have them warm. The interest of many a 
 service is destroyed by this means. People wonder 
 what is the matter with their preacher and with them- 
 selves. They have no life, no enthusiasm. They 
 
2/2 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 cannot have any when their lungs are loaded with 
 impure exhalations, and the brain is oppressed with 
 imperfectly oxygenated blood. I believe that the 
 health of many a minister suffers severely, and his 
 life is not unfrequently shortened, in consequence of 
 the poor ventilation of crowded houses. I wish we 
 could have an art school for sextons, if it were only 
 possible to get them together ; or a course of lect- 
 ures ; or, in default thereof, even a good manual to 
 guide them in their duties. Some of them are intel- 
 ligent and skillful, and worthy of praise ; but too 
 many, especially in small churches, are grossly igno- 
 rant. A minister with whom I was well acquainted 
 related to me a scene he had witnessed. A church 
 in a country place had been enlarged and repaired, 
 and an opening service was to be held, at which he 
 was invited to officiate. The trustees had bought a 
 thermometer, and had charged the sexton he must 
 keep the temperature from 60° to 70°, but must in 
 no case permit it to be higher than 70^. The day 
 was a little cool, and the minister noticed the sexton 
 examining the thermometer, which hung against one 
 of the columns. Then he put wood in the stove. 
 In a few minutes afterward he examined the ther- 
 mometer, and put more wood in the stove. After 
 awhile he examined the thermometer again, and 
 seemed in trouble. He opened the stove door ; 
 looked again, scratched his head, and, finally, as if a 
 sudden thought struck him, he seized the thermom- 
 
Form Associations. 273 
 
 eter in both hands and rushed with it out of doors, 
 determined to bring it down to 70°. 
 
 The minister will, also, need to study the tempera- 
 ments and qualifications of his members for the spir- 
 itual work of the Church. He should aid the super- 
 intendent of the Sabbath-school in selecting teachers, 
 and in urging those who are qualified to engage in 
 that work. The love for Bible studies, and the zeal 
 for their pursuit, will depend greatly on the spirit 
 which the pastor may infuse among the teachers, 
 and which shall through them pervade the Sabbath- 
 school. The pastor will, also, need assistance in vis- 
 iting the sick, and in calling upon strangers, and in 
 inviting them to the house of God. This can be 
 done most effectively by the co-operation of pious 
 men and women, who can assist him in visiting and 
 relieving cases of suffering, and in reporting their 
 condition to him. Committees, properly appointed, 
 may call upon strangers, and may gather many wan- 
 derers under the care of the Church. Such work, 
 however, is seldom performed, systematically or prop- 
 erly, without the constant supervision of the pastor. 
 Active associations should, also, be formed to employ 
 the time and talents of the members of the congrega- 
 tion ; such as lyceums or literary organizations for 
 the young ; societies for teaching the poof chil- 
 dren to sew and to make plain clothing ; Dorcas 
 societies, for aiding the poor in procuring clothing 
 
 and absolute necessaries in winter. The aim of the 
 
 18 
 
2/4 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 minister should be to find some work to employ all 
 the members of his congregation ; for in proportion 
 as they work for the Master's cause they will be 
 drawn most powerfully to a spiritual life. This be- 
 nevolent movement of the congregation will, also, 
 impress the public mind with admiration for the 
 liberal and generous character of the Chuich. It 
 was said of Christ, that he v/as full of grace and 
 truth. This fullness of grace, or manifestation of fa- 
 vor and kindness to the people, distinguished his 
 whole life. He healed the bodies first, the souls aft- 
 erward ; and the ministers and Churches which 
 show a deep sympathy for sorrow and wretchedness 
 always powerfully impress the communities around 
 them. Whoever has read the life of Pastor Oberlin, 
 of Switzerland, will have a striking example of this. 
 In this activity the Roman Catholic Churches gen- 
 erally excel the Protestants. Their various orders 
 of women, such as Sisters of Charity and Sisters of 
 Mercy, give them great facilities in organizing and 
 sustaining hospitals and orphanages. These wom- 
 t en, by their plain garb, by their apparent renuncia- 
 tion of the world, and by their devotion to benevo 
 lent work, impress the public mind beyond the pale 
 of their own Church much more powerfully than do 
 all their ministers combined. Protestantism has the 
 ability to perform a similar work just as efficiently, 
 and without the evils connected with those orders ; 
 1 ut it requires constant activity and associated effort 
 
Surplus Energy. 275 
 
 to produce the result. Active work is, also, neces- 
 sary to give to each congregation unity and harmony. 
 An inefficient congregation is generally a trouble- 
 some one. Among unemployed people discord and 
 strife are sure to enter. The lines of Dr. Watts — 
 
 "Satan finds some mischief still 
 For idle hands to do," 
 
 are illustrated every-where. There are men in every 
 congregation who are exceedingly troublesome. They 
 annoy the minister, and they annoy the people. They 
 have an immense surplus energy, which is seeking 
 for employment, and which, like surplus steam, 
 makes a great deal of noise and interruption, while 
 the steam which drives the factory is scarcely heard. 
 Such persons need extra work, and must have it to 
 be kept quiet. In one of Dr. Chaliners' ragged night- 
 schools in Glasgow there was a boy who could not be 
 controlled, and who was a constant interruption to 
 the school. After bearing long with him, and mak- 
 ing many fruitless efforts, it was resolved to expel 
 him. The superintendent of the school, however, 
 seeing elements of power in the boy, pleaded for one 
 more trial. It was before the days of gas, or even 
 kerosene lamps, and the school-room was lighted 
 with common candles. These were placed on plain 
 movable stands, such as were formerly used by shoe- 
 makers, and which consisted of an upright stick fast- 
 ened into a square board, with an opening at the 
 top of the stick through which a leather was drawn, 
 
-f- 
 
 276 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 by which the candle was held. .The candles needed 
 frequent snuffing, and the superintendent appointed 
 this uncontrollable boy general candle-snuffer. From 
 the moment of his appointment he entered on his 
 work with spirit, and became one of the best boys in 
 the school. He simply needed to be employed. Lu- 
 ther, when a boy, was so restless at school that his 
 master sometimes flogged him half a dozen times a 
 day. God had put into his body a soul of power, 
 which quivered all through him, so that he could not 
 keep still. God had made him to shake all Europe. 
 As he himself saw in a dream, the end of his quill 
 as he wrote disturbed the pontiff on his throne ; how 
 could he keep still ? Mothers often pride themselves 
 on having nice little boys, that sit still in a nursery, 
 and make no noise. Such boys will sit still all their 
 lives, and will accomplish but little for their friends 
 or the world. Give me the boy that cannot keep 
 still ; that upsets chairs, and throws every thing into 
 confusion in the nursery ; that at school can scarcely 
 keep his elbows out of the sides of his associates ; 
 that is always an annoyance because of his readiness 
 for adventure ; and I will show you one who has in 
 him the elements of great good if this can be properly 
 employed. No matter how much steam there is in 
 the locomotive, if it is kept on the track and has a 
 heavy enough load to draw ; but let it have no load, 
 and get off the track, and the ruin will be terrible. 
 So it is in our congregations. These men with sur- 
 
Organizatioji of Society. 277 
 
 plus energy will do mischief unless they are loaded 
 down with work. 
 
 The successful minister must, also, study the organ- 
 ization of society. In rural districts there is compar- 
 atively little organism. The freedom and independ 
 ence of an agricultural life produces a spirit of indi- 
 viduality. Each family relies upon its own efforts ; 
 draws from the earth its own support ; and asks but 
 few favors from its neighbors. But as soon as man- 
 ufactories are established — as soon as towns and 
 cities appear — organized society largely controls in- 
 dividual effort ; the employer exercises a constant 
 influence over the employe ; and the tendency of 
 civilization is to increase associated, and to diminish 
 individual, power : the few control, the many obey. 
 Such is society in Oriental lands that are densely 
 populated. Such was society early in southern Eu- 
 rope, while the Germanic nations cultivated individuul 
 freedom. The line of the Reformation marks the 
 boundaries between society which receives its opin- 
 ions from others and that which claims and exercises 
 the right of private judgment. The increase of civil- 
 ization always tends in this direction. The counter- 
 balancing power is to be found in the education of 
 the masses, and in their clear conceptions of their 
 just rights. Vast corporations are established, where 
 men are bound together, not only by ties of friend- 
 ship, but, also, by ties of employment and interest. 
 These form a kind of private society approaching 
 
2/8 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 toward caste. Thus a kindred spirit exists among 
 railroad men ; their interests are mutual, ahnost 
 identical ; and large brotherhoods are formed, as 
 among engineers, where the right of the individual, 
 as to work or wages, is limited by the will of the so- 
 ciety. Similar associations spring up among every 
 ciass of mechanics ; and latterly the men who live by 
 the day's work in the simplest and most laborious oc- 
 cupations are, also, organized ; and strikes in the mines, 
 in manufactories, on railroads, and on the wharves of 
 cities, illustrate the strength and closeness of these 
 ties. The pulpit deals with individuals, not with 
 organizations. Its truth comes to every individ- 
 ual heart, and every man acts on his personal re- 
 sponsibility before God. Yet the individual thus 
 addressed is influenced by these associations, which 
 may either help or retard the power of the pulpit. If 
 the tone and influence of the association is hostile to 
 the Church, the individual is either influenced to ab- 
 sent himself from the services, or to receive them 
 with a prejudiced heart. But if the feeling of the asso- 
 ciation is friendly to the Church, then the individual 
 is influenced to attend the services, and to lor^k with 
 favor on its ministrations. In this view an almo&t 
 boundless field opens before the preacher. He must 
 study the various interests and ramifications of these 
 organizations, and must so manage his own conduct 
 and so plan his services as to be most effective in 
 gaining control over the different parts of the com- 
 
Study Organizatio7is. 279 
 
 munity. Societies, in this respect, are like a stick of 
 timber, which must be spHt according to the grain ; 
 and the skillful woodsman will separate his timbers in 
 a few moments, while the unskilled will expend much 
 strength in vain. Who does not know the power of 
 the president of a bank over all its subordinates ? I 
 have not unfrequently entered a bank and asked 
 some question of one of the clerks without being 
 able to obtain a civil answer. But if I asked for the 
 president, and he received me cordially, walked 
 with me to the door, and invited me to call again, 
 the next time I entered every employe was not only 
 civil, but polite. If I enter a factory, and the owner 
 shows me with friendship through the building, 
 the foreman of every department is ready to give 
 me all information ; but if I enter without such in- 
 dorsement I am regarded as an intruder and unwor- 
 thy of notice. These are but illustrations of the 
 power of organization. 
 
 I ask your attention to these particular features, 
 because, at this day, the masses of the people, as 
 never before, are arranged in various organizations. 
 They meet in their separate club-rooms ; they are ad- 
 dressed by designing men ; and too frequently an 
 effort is made to array them against the Churches and 
 against the ministry, that they may be better pre- 
 pared for acts of lawlessness or violence. The com- 
 munism and internationalism of Europe are arrayed 
 against the Churches, because there the Church is 
 
28o Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 identified with the civil power. They regard the 
 Church and the State as one, and the ministers as 
 inseparably joined with those whom they regard as 
 their oppressors. This feeling is one of the evils 
 which arise from the union of Church and State, 
 and I am not sure that God may not use it to destroy 
 that unhallowed connection. In this country there is 
 no such union, and there ought not to be any such as- 
 sociation of thought or feeling. Yet the foreigners — 
 and among us the communists are nearly all foreign- 
 ers — bring their feelings with them. It must, also, 
 be considered that, as the minister ever inculcates 
 the principles of peace and submission to lawful au- 
 thority, those who contemplate ultimate violence, or 
 attacks upon the order of society, desire to destroy 
 the influence of the ministry over society. Hence, 
 the atheistic orator on the platform, and the proposer 
 of violence on the sand-lots in San Francisco, work in 
 perfect harmony. Their aim is one and the same, 
 and that is to destroy the strongest influence which 
 supports peace and order in the State, in the family, 
 and among individuals. Christian people must seek 
 some method by which they can better reach the 
 hearts of these people, and antagonize the machina- 
 tions of those who are plotting evil. 
 
 The limits of a lecture will not permit me to dis- 
 cuss the method by which these organizations, or 
 sections of society, may be reached. Their structure 
 must be studied ; their influential men considered ; 
 
Personal Efforts. 281 
 
 the influence of society which may counterpoise such 
 men must, also, be considered ; and then the minister 
 will be prepared to throw his influence in such a way 
 as may give him power over the hearts of the masses. 
 I must allude, however, to what I think is the 
 greatest barrier. Thus far, in this country, the diffi- 
 culty does not exist in great opposition to the 
 Church, but in a growing negligence of its ministra- 
 tion, arising from increased interest in and attention 
 to these separate organizations. These associations 
 controlling work and wages become of absorbing in- 
 terest to the workmen. They contribute to the 
 general funds a large part of their surplus earnings, 
 and attend so many private meetings that they have 
 little time or means to give the Churches, and are 
 thus, almost unconsciously to themselves, led farther 
 and farther away, and are in danger of being in- 
 fluenced by infidel or communistic ideas. I know no 
 remedy but in the power of the Gospel most ear- 
 nestly preached, with such zeal and moral power as 
 shall tend to draw the people to the services, and 
 then the more perfect identification of the minister 
 with the people among whom he resides. Especially 
 let him endeavor, both personally and by the aid of 
 his people, to draw the children to the Sabbath-school, 
 and to instill into their youthful hearts such thoughts 
 and principles as lead them into harmony with the 
 Church, and shall bring them early to the Saviour. 
 Let him interest himself in the education of the 
 
282 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 children, and in procuring proper situations for the 
 neglected and destitute of these youth. 
 
 Let him, also, inquire into their wants and necessi- 
 ties ; let them feel that he sympathizes with them in 
 their labor and sorrow ; let him approve their efforts, 
 so far as is proper, to gain a better livelihood ; then 
 shall he have influence and power to caution them 
 against prevailing errors, and against being governed 
 by associations which lead to strife and violence. 
 His membership, thus instructed, may become salt to 
 save the mass in which they mingle, and may prevent 
 the associations from doing the mischief which de- 
 signing men intend. 
 
 Among collateral methods of usefulness the plat- 
 form is one of the most efficient. The minister will 
 frequently be called upon to join in efforts in behalf 
 of benevolent movements. He will be requested to 
 address audiences as to great social interests affect- 
 ing the community in which he resides. These asso- 
 ciations extend beyond the limits of any one Church 
 or of any one denomination ; yet they perform a 
 work which is beneficial to all ; and to them the 
 minister should be ready to contribute his influence. 
 Such, for instance, is the Bible Societ)^ in which 
 every Christian should have a deep and abiding in- 
 terest. Whatever may be his theological views, he 
 sincerely believes they are found in the word of God, 
 and that the diffusion of that word — its being in every 
 family and in every hand -would promote the gen- 
 
Tcnjperauce Societies. 283 
 
 eral benefit. The Bible Society, in its benevolent 
 purpose to give the word of God vvithout note or 
 comment, to every individual, presents the purest be- 
 nevolence and the highest catholicity of spirit. As- 
 sociations for the promotion of temperance, also, 
 claim the minister's attention. These associations, 
 always good in their aim, are sometimes so conducted 
 as to be productive of evil. If the ministry and re- 
 ligious people stand aloof, they will fall iato the 
 hands of men who will abuse the pulpit, and really 
 prevent the permanent reform of those they are try- 
 ing to save. These temperance movements are like 
 John the Baptist, the forerunner of the Christian 
 Church. Experience proves that unless the re- 
 formed men are converted, and brought into the fel- 
 lowship and under the influence of the Church, the 
 temperance excitement soon passes away, and they 
 become worse than before. The only safety for the 
 intemperate man is in the divine power which is 
 promised in the Gospel. So, also, especially in cities, 
 associations are organized to save the fallen and the 
 outcasts, to guard against cruelty to little children, 
 and even to dumb animals, to found orphanages, to 
 provide homes for the aged who are friendless and 
 destitute, and to furnish education to the deaf and 
 dumb, the blind and the imbecile, to aid the poor, 
 and to support hospitals. All these plans afford a 
 common ground of Christian work ; they are the 
 glory of Christianity, in that they stoop to save the 
 
284 Lfxtures on Preaching. 
 
 lowest of the low and the vilest of the vile, as well as 
 to lend a helping hand to the wretched and forlorn 
 of every class. To aid in " labors of this nature 
 is fitting for the minister, for he is not merely the 
 pastor of the Church, but a preacher sent from God 
 to save and bless mankind. By these efforts, also, he 
 will extend his influence beyond the sphere of his 
 own congregations. The friends of these various 
 reforms will love the minister who has plead their 
 cause earnestly and successfully before the people, 
 and not unfrequently they will be led to attend his 
 ministrations. 
 
 He will be invited, however, to take part in serv- 
 ices where he may not wisely go. Meetings may be 
 held under some specious form, really designed to ad- 
 vance the political interests of some individual, or to 
 denounce the political conduct of some rival. While 
 the minister should feel a deep interest in every thing 
 which affects the interests of his country, and while 
 as a free man he has the unquestionable right to ex- 
 ercise the privileges of a citizen at the ballot, he 
 should be careful, as a minister, not to take part in 
 political meetings called for the purpose merely of 
 promoting the interests of a party or of advocating 
 the election of particular men. He should discrimi- 
 nate clearly between his privileges as a citizen, and 
 the exercise of that influence which comes to him 
 from the fact that he is ministering to the people in 
 holy things. 
 
Ministerial ExcJiangcs. 285 
 
 The preacher will occasionally exchange pulpits 
 with his brethren of his own denomination, and in 
 these da)'s of Christian courtesy he will, also, exchange 
 with those of different denominations. The exclu- 
 siveness of spirit which once prevailed has, in great 
 measure, happily passed away. While there may be 
 a few Protestant congregations which fancy them- 
 selves to be the true Church of Christ, which arrogate 
 for themselves the special favor of heaven, and close 
 the doors of their pulpits against ministers of other 
 Churches, handing us all over to the uncovenanted 
 mercies of God, yet the great active branches 
 of the Church are moving steadily forward to a 
 broader platform and to a closer unity. The exclu- 
 sive Churches, though strong and powerful in some 
 localities, and striving, as they naturally do, to control 
 the socialinfluences of the country, yet, as compared 
 with the liberal branches, do not relatively advance 
 with much rapidity. In the pulpit exchanges which 
 are thus made preachers should be exceedingly 
 careful not to violate the rules of Christian courtesy 
 in their selection of subjects ; they should strictly 
 avoid controversial topics, and especially those points 
 on which they may personally differ from the creed 
 of the congregation which they address. The broad 
 fundamental truths of Christianity are common to all 
 evangelical Christians. The points upon which we 
 differ are comparatively few. As the salvation of the 
 soul does not depend upon the philosophical views 
 
286 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 which may be entertained, or upon the logical results 
 which may seem to flow from them, the true preacher 
 can find abundance of matter which is held in com- 
 mon, and on which he can address the congregation. 
 Whoever teaches a living trust in the atonement of a 
 divine Christ as the only hope for sinful man, and 
 strict obedience to all that Christ commands, should 
 be treated as one of the great brotherhood of Chris- 
 tianity. In this social intercourse of ministers and 
 Churches true courtesy requires a conformity to the 
 order of worship established in the different Churches 
 or congregations. Any effort at proselytism from 
 one branch of evangelical Churches to another should 
 be most strictly avoided. Proselytism is a species 
 of freebooting or piracy which ought to be as 
 strictly condemned among Churches as among na- 
 tions. I do not object to a change of Church rela- 
 tions where there is a change of doctrinal views, or 
 where there is a firm conviction that under another 
 form of Church polity the individual may receive 
 greater spiritual profit to himself and his family, 
 or may be able to do more good to a larger number 
 of his fellow beings. Such instances not unfrequently 
 occur ; and individuals so changing should be kindly 
 dismissed from their several Churches, with the 
 prayer that the blessing of God may go with them. 
 But when a Christian minister endeavors to draw 
 away members from another communion, for the sake 
 of enlarging and strengthening his own, he is not only 
 
Proselytism. 287 
 
 violating the laws of Christian courtesy, but the prin- 
 ciples of common honesty. " Thou shalt not covet " 
 is a law as applicable to men as to property. No 
 minister should seek to enfeeble one Church to build 
 up another. Nor is it honorable to intimate that his 
 Church is so much more genteel, has so much better 
 society, has men of business who can patronize and 
 help young men, and that it holds the key to the 
 door of select society, and, therefore, families should 
 leave their own communion and enter his. If, under 
 such influences, people are led from one Church to 
 another, they are induced to make merchandise of 
 the Gospel, and the spirit of a pure and earnest Chris- 
 tianity is defiled. Such an effort must prevent full 
 co-operation between Christian Churches ; for that 
 co-operation can only be maintained where each 
 Church is faithful to common courtesy. Nor is there 
 need for such effort, for there are vast masses lying 
 beyond the influence of any Churches; there is much 
 ground yet to be occupied, and many families are 
 going to ruin. You are builders, young gentlemen ;U^ 
 let it be your aim to go out into the forest and cut 
 down tall trees, hew them, square them, put them into 
 your building, and raise a beautiful edifice to the 
 glory of the great Head of the Church ; but never 
 descend so low as to steal squared timber from oth- 
 ers to build your own. 
 
 Closely connected with this subject is the change 
 of ministers from one denomination to another. 
 
288 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 Where these denominations do not differ in doctrine, 
 but are simply separated on questions of Church 
 economy, which are of little moment, there can be 
 no impropriety in a minister passing from one de- 
 nomination to another, when circumstances seem to 
 justify it. He preaches the same doctrine, and is 
 identified with the same general usages. But where 
 the Churches differ in doctrine such changes less 
 frequently occur. They are, nevertheless, highly 
 proper, when the minister is led to change his doc- 
 trinal views. If he becomes satisfied that he has 
 been in error, and can no longer conscientiously 
 preach the doctrines of the Church which has or- 
 dained him, and which supports him for the purpose 
 of preaching doctrines which they believe are in ac- 
 cordance with the teachings of Christ, then his duty, 
 not only as a Christian, but as a man of honor, is to 
 resign his pulpit and to retire from the ministry of 
 the Church whose doctrines he does not believe. I 
 have never been able to understand how an honest 
 man can wish to remain in the pulpit of a Church 
 whose doctrines he cannot preach. 
 
 Such a man, so far as I can see, has either great 
 obtuseness of intellect, or great lack of moral prin- 
 ciple. There are denominations around him with 
 some of whom he could affiliate, and into whose pul- 
 pits he would be readily welcomed. All the world is 
 before him for his selection, or, as a Mohammedan 
 once acU'ised a dissatisfied teacher, he can set up a 
 
Selfish Clianges. 289 
 
 ladder and climb to heaven alone. But there are 
 changes occasionally made, as I believe, beyond the 
 bounds of propriety. A minister sometimes leaves 
 the communion in which he was converted and or- 
 dained, and joins another whose doctrines are 
 greatly different, at the same time averring that he 
 has not changed his doctrinal opinions, and that he 
 believes and expects to preach the doctrines which 
 he has heretofore held, and that his reasons for the 
 change are simply those of personal convenience and 
 comfort. Such changes I believe to be wrong in 
 principle and disastrous in results. The minister 
 occupies a false position both to himself and to his 
 hearers. He is supposed by the public to represent 
 doctrines which he does not believe. He cannot 
 preach freely, on points of doctrinal difference, his 
 own particular views without doing violence to the 
 views of the Church which he enters. He suffers 
 restaint, he compromises truth for comfort, the mes- 
 sage of God for personal convenience, and diminishes 
 his own self-respect and his spiritual power. He in- 
 jures the congregation which he addresses, for he 
 unsettles them in their views, brings among them a 
 diversity of feeling, and sooner or later strife and 
 discord will arise, and the Church will not be a united, 
 homogeneous and vigorous body in its aggressive 
 movements. The church may be for the time crowd- 
 ed to hear a man of talent and energy ; its external 
 
 circumstances may seem to flourish ; but the heart 
 19 
 
290 Lf.ctur?:s on Preaching. 
 
 grows feeble, the vital power deeays, and, at the end, 
 discord, strife, and disintegration inevitably follow. 
 The only exception is where, after his change of 
 Church fellowship, the minister actually, from his 
 judgment and heart, changes his doctrinal views, 
 and can conscientiously preach in harmony with the 
 views of the Church wherein he ministers. But the 
 worst impression is made upon the world, which calls 
 in question the honesty of ministers, and from such 
 examples believes that they all hold their principles in 
 the market, and are ready to sell to such as will give 
 them the best pay and the most comfort. The in- 
 jury thus done to the character of the ministry, in 
 the loss of public respect for their conscientious con- 
 victions, outbalances, as I believe, all the good which 
 such men can perform. The Churches and the minis- 
 ters participating in such transactions, though they 
 mean it not, are weakening the power of the Church 
 over the public conscience more than the efforts of 
 its strongest enemies. 
 
 The employment of evangelists to assist the regu- 
 lar preacher in his labors requires great caution. 
 Evangelists are frequently of service, going, as they 
 do, with fresh thoughts, and sometimes with strong 
 faith acquired in scenes of conquest. They are able 
 to say with boldness what the minister would utter 
 with more delicacy. But the pastor should never 
 give the control of the meeting to any evangelist or 
 to any assisting preacher. If he does not hold the 
 
Evangelistic Efforts. 291 
 
 control over his own meetings and keep his congre- 
 gation in hand, the interest of the meeting will cease 
 when the evangeUst passes away. The persons who 
 are drilled and exercised under a foreign influence 
 will not be fused into the mass of the congregation ; 
 the)' will be comparing the methods of the evangelist 
 with the methods of the pastor, and will complain of 
 him because the interest or excitement does not con- 
 tinue. I have known a number of places where the 
 visits of evangelists have resulted in the apparent 
 awakening and conversion of great numbers ; and 
 yet in three or six months the Church has been 
 in a worse condition than it was before the visit. 
 Contention and strife have been substituted for har- 
 mony, and the benefits of the revival have been lost 
 amid the discords and disturbances which have 
 arisen. Better have no evangelist, however exciting, 
 no brother pastor, however talented, who will not 
 kindly co-operate with you, and move in consultation 
 and in harmony with you. 
 
 Usually, however, the minister will need help in 
 his protracted or special evangelistic efforts. His 
 chief aim should be to make all his services so in- 
 structive, so spirited, and so earnest, that the Loid 
 shall add daily to his congregation such as shall be 
 saved. Yet, under special circumstances, he will 
 find that such a general seriousness pervades his au- 
 diences, and such deep impressions are made, as will 
 not only justify, but imperiously demand, the estab- 
 
292 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 lishment of special services. At such seasons hearts 
 bow more easily, as other hearts are bowed, and mul- 
 titudes crowd to the services to see and to hear, be- 
 cause their friends or acquaintances are deeply inter- 
 ested. The minister should avail himself of all the 
 laws of mind which bind men together, and which 
 should lead to virtue and holiness, as they too fre- 
 quently do to vice and degradation. Let him, then, 
 get the utmost help he possibly can from his own 
 membership, for the work will do them good, and 
 they will be an abiding power ; but let him, also, pro- 
 cure additional aid, either from his neighboring pas- 
 tors, or from evangelists, as he may deem best, ever, 
 however, retaining the management and control of 
 the services. 
 
 There are matters which are not strictly ministe- 
 rial, and which yet devolve in many places upon the 
 preacher. A new church edifice is needed, but it 
 will not be erected unless the minister procures sub- 
 scriptions ; and in many places it will not be properly 
 planned or built without his supervision. He will 
 sometimes find a congregation severely embarrassed 
 with debt, vvhich disheartens his people and prevents 
 benevolent and aggressive movement. He finds it 
 necessary to devote much of his time to securing 
 means to liquidate the debt, that he may thereafter be 
 unembarrassed in the pulpit. These things ought not 
 so to be. After the apostolic example, the Churches 
 should select men to attend to all financial matters, 
 
ChinxJi Officers. 293 
 
 that the minister may give himself wholly to the 
 word of God and prayer. Yet, in many sectiqps of 
 the country, especially in new organizations, very 
 little can be done without the active exertions of the 
 minister. In these enterprises he needs great dis- 
 cretion and great energy. As a leader, he must 
 inspire those with whom he comes in contact with 
 courage and hopefulness, and by his personal in- 
 fluence must excite his congregation to a proper 
 emulation in raising the necessary means. At the 
 same time he must remember that these matters are 
 secondary; that though he may find it necessary to 
 work on the scaffolding, it is only that he may more 
 successfully build materials into the grand spiritual 
 temple. 
 
 He will need great wisdom and tact in his inter- 
 course and councils with his Church officers, whether 
 they be called elders, deacons, trustees, vestrymen, 
 class-leaders, or stewards. They are the assistants 
 of the pastors in the various departments of Church 
 enterprise. They are generally devout and thought- 
 ful men ; yet, not unfrequently, they have marked 
 peculiarities or eccentricities. They had the control 
 of the Church before the present minister came ; 
 they expect to hold it should he retire. There are a 
 few ministers who have such power over their con- 
 gregations that they rule and control their Church 
 officers with a rod of iron ; but there are few such 
 men. Men who have built large congregations, and 
 
294 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 who are essential to the success of the enterprise, 
 can ^thus govern. But the ordinary minister can 
 only succeed by kind and careful co-operation with 
 his various officers. Occasionally some of these are 
 so peculiar and obstinate that it is dangerous to an- 
 tagonize them. I heard Mr. Spurgeon once say that 
 there was one difference between deacons and the 
 devil. The Scriptui'e says : " Resist the devil, and 
 he will flee from you." But, said he, " Resist the 
 deacons, and they will fly at you." 
 
 The Church has laid upon it, by its great Head, 
 the duty of evangelizing the world. Each congrega- 
 tion should do something for this cause, and the 
 minister should be deeply interested in this work. A 
 part of this work may be performed near his own lo- 
 cality, by establishing cottage prayer-meetings, mis- 
 sion Sabbath-schools, and occasional preaching. But 
 the work of the Church requires not only preaching, 
 but sending out others to preach. The Church is to 
 plead with its Lord and Master to thrust out laborers 
 into the harvest, and the Church should endeavor to 
 aid those who are so raised up and thrust out. The 
 minister should so preach to himself and to his con- 
 gregation that both he and they, according to their 
 means, should be liberal contributors to this great 
 work. For this purpose he should be well acquaint- 
 ed, first, with the missionary movements of his own 
 denomination, the fields which they occupy, and the 
 special objects to which the funds collected will be 
 
Missionary Work. 295 
 
 in great measure applied. But for the sake of in- 
 spiring his congregation with broader views and with 
 greater confidence in the approaching triumph of the 
 Gospel, he should also be acquainted with the move- 
 ments of all the Churches, and be able to present 
 such a connected view of the whole missionary field, 
 and of the movements makmg toward the occupancy 
 of the whole world, as shall give confidence in ulti- 
 mate success, and as shall inspire his people to be- 
 come active co-workers with Christ. I believe the 
 missionary cause, properly presented, moi'e than any 
 other, meets and subjugates the selfishness and local 
 feelings of men. I believe, further, that to its influ- 
 ence we owe, in great measure, the large contribu- 
 tions which are made to-day to the erection of church- 
 es and to the endowment of literary institutions. It 
 is true, these are not missionary in their character ; 
 but the missionary idea, in its immense grandeur, so 
 fills the heart and enlarges its sympathy, and so 
 counteiacts the selfishness of every bosom, that it 
 leads to grand and noble giving. In almost every in- 
 stance the liberal benefactors of institutions have had 
 their hearts touched and opened by this missionary 
 spirit. 
 
 Other benevolent efforts will frequently demand 
 his attention under the general recommendation of 
 the Church or denomination to which he belongs. 
 To these let him ever give due consideration, without 
 fearing lest they shall endanger his support. 
 
296 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 The minister who most fully identifies himself with 
 every good cause, and who most fully performs all 
 the work properly devolving upon him, will not only 
 maintain a conscience void of offense, and enjoy the 
 favor of God, but will, also, best secure the favor of 
 his congregation and the approbation of the public. 
 Such a man magnifies his ministry, blesses his age, 
 and honors God. 
 
The Pulpit and the Press. 297 
 
 LECTURE X. 
 
 IS THE MODERN PULPIT A FAILURE? 
 
 T T has become fashionable in certain circles to 
 -*- speak of the failure of the pulpit. It is repre- 
 sented as belonging chiefly to a past age, and it is 
 declared that its power over men is passing away. 
 Some of the writers for the daily press and some of 
 the contributors to the literary reviews claim for 
 themselves the distinguished honor of controlling 
 the public mind. They speak of the power of the 
 press, the number of readers whom they reach by 
 their pen, and the immense influence which they ex- 
 ert in public affairs. In their glorification of the 
 press they look upon the pulpit as a diminishing 
 quantity — as an agency once potent, but which is 
 now almost superseded. A few scientists, also — men 
 of intellectual power and extensive learning, but of 
 skeptical views — have wrought themselves into the 
 belief that their discoveries in science have invali- 
 dated the authority of the holy Scriptures. They 
 assail the pulpit, not so much on account of the char- 
 acter of its agency, as because they fancy the matter 
 of preaching is becoming obsolete. They extol the 
 triumphs of science, and call in question the possi- 
 
29<S Lectures ox Preaching. 
 
 bility of a revelation from God, and occasionally 
 the very existence of a divine being. I do not desire 
 to underrate the value of the press ; it is one of the 
 most powerful agencies, as it is, also, the offspring, 
 of a Christian civilization. It has its place — a con- 
 spicuous place — in diffusing intelligence and in guid- 
 ing the movements of society. 
 
 There should be no rivalry, much less should there 
 be enmity, between the press and the pulpit. Each 
 has its appropriate sphere, and the exaltation of the 
 one does not diminish the glory of the other. Nor 
 should there be any conflict between the pulpit and 
 men of true science. Their spheres are widely dif- 
 ferent : the scientist is engaged in tracing the laws 
 of matter and ascertaining the properties with which 
 God has invested it ; the preacher is engaged in pro- 
 claitiiing God's mercy and love as revealed tc fallen 
 man, and the precious promises which he has given 
 of pardon for sin, of purification of heart, and of a 
 gloricus immortality. A few of those who occupy 
 the pulpit very injudiciously assail the scientists, un- 
 dervaluing their studies, and reproaching them for 
 their attachment to science. Sometimes, also, a few 
 who are uncultured, or who have failed to keep pace 
 with scientific inquiries, announce propositions al- 
 X most as absurd as those of the colored preacher of 
 Richmond, who has recently been lecturing on 
 " The sun, he do move." On the other hand, there 
 are a few scientists who are as ignorant of the 
 
opposition to the Pulpit. 299 
 
 Bible as the colored lecturer was of astronomy, 
 and who make mistakes if not so palpable yet quite 
 as ridiculous. Between such extremists in the pul- 
 pit and in the schools of science there is a con- 
 flict. But between the true mmister and the true 
 scientist there should be none whatever. They are 
 engaged in studying different phases of truth. They 
 occupy different stand-points, and if the pictures 
 they present do not seem fully to harmonize, it arises 
 from the limits of human vision and from tlie im- 
 perfections of human knowledge. The eye above 
 and at the center can alone perceive and compre- 
 hend the harmony of the whole. There is another 
 class of thinkers who are opposed to the pulpit be- 
 cause it proclaims the truths of the Bible ; and the 
 Bible is opposed to them. It denounces the judg- 
 ments of God upon their sinful practices, and they 
 hate the Bible and all who believe it. Such men 
 talk of the failure of the pulpit, and with them " the 
 wish is father to the thought." There are still oth- 
 ers so absorbed in business and in various pursuits 
 that they seldom attend a Church or hear a sermon. 
 Possibly when they chanced to attend they were not 
 pleased with the discourse, and their dissatisfaction 
 with one sermon is extended to all ; fancying because 
 they care nothing for the pulpit that others sympa- 
 thize with them, they also glibly talk of its failure. 
 
 I do not know precisely what these various classes 
 mean when they use this phrase. Nor am I sure 
 
300 Lectures o\ Preacuixg. 
 
 that they perfectly understand themselves. A ma- 
 chine is a failure when it cannot perform the work for 
 which it was designed. But the ignorance, or inca- 
 pacity, or negligence of a workman, though causing 
 failure on his part, is not properly charged as a fail- 
 ure of the mechanism. So the pulpit is a failure if 
 it is not suited to perform the work for which it was 
 instituted ; but it is not a failure simply because 
 some of its preachers may be unskillful or unwor- 
 thy. There is a clear distinction between failures 
 in the pulpit and the failure of the pulpit itself The 
 superintendent of a railroad may be a failure, while 
 the railroad itself may be a great public benefit. A 
 cook may be a failure, but the kitchen remains an 
 imperative necessity. 
 
 Were I, then, to admit, as I readily do, that some 
 preachers are failures — were I to go further, and ad- 
 mit that many are failures — nay, were we to suppose 
 that nine out of every ten were failures — that would 
 not constitute the pulpit a failure, while even one in 
 ten makes it a grand and glorious success. 
 
 Is, then, the institution of the pulpit a failure, in 
 view of its design ? It was ordained to proclaim a 
 divine message. That message is the word of God. 
 Has it not spread this message far and wide ? No 
 one pretends that it has changed or mutilated the 
 divine record. For eighteen hundred years that rec- 
 ord, in its completed form, has been handed down 
 from age to age. How many careful critics have 
 
Errors of Preachers. 301 
 
 weighed every word, and considered every doubtful 
 reading ! There have been recensions of other works, 
 but there is no book that has ever received a tithe of 
 the attention which has been given to the Bible. Not 
 only has it been carefully preserved in all its fullness 
 and divine beauty, but it has been given to every 
 leading language on the face of the globe — and parts 
 of it have been translated into over two hundred 
 dialects. 
 
 While by its agency that message has been pre- 
 served and translated, I frankly admit that the pulpit 
 has not accomplished all that could be desired. It 
 was designed to reach all nations and to influence 
 all people. That work has not yet been fully done, 
 and to this extent the Christian pulpit has, as yet, 
 failed to perform its whole duty. 
 
 Nor do I claim for the pulpit that it has reached 
 its highest perfection. Preachers have all the frailties 
 and imperfections of their race. Too often they fail 
 to accomplish properly their great work, and there is 
 abundant cause for careful inquiry why the pulpit is 
 not more efficient and successful. There may be a 
 few men who make merchandise of the Gospel, seek- 
 ing only positions of honor or emolument, who have 
 no set-tied convictions, and who labor only where 
 they can find the most comfortable homes and the 
 largest salaries — whose only principles are concen- 
 trated in the question, "Will it pay.''" Theie may 
 even be a few who use the pulpit as a cloak for sin- 
 
302 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 ister purposes and for vicious practices ; but of all 
 these the percentage is exceedingly small. It is 
 deeply to be regretted that there are any such, for 
 they not only discredit the cause, but bring suspicion 
 on their brethren who have lofty and noble motives, 
 and are of pure and holy conversation. 
 
 One cause of the failure of the pulpit is the lack 
 of appreciation which is shown by ritualists. In the 
 " Eighty-ninth Tract for the Times " the writer says : 
 "We would not be thought entirely to depreciate 
 preaching as the means of doing good. It may be 
 necessary in a weak and languishing state ; but it is 
 an instrument which Scripture, to say the least, has 
 never recommended." Views like these, if enter- 
 tained, impair the estimation in which preaching 
 should be held. As the natural result, the sermon is 
 very short, and but little interest is attached to it. 
 The chief attention is absorbed in the administration 
 of the sacraments and in the proper performance of 
 the ritual service. 
 
 Another reason why the pulpit is considered a fail- 
 ure is the lack of sympathy between the preacher 
 and his congregation. I have heretofore alluded to 
 the fact that a wall of partition is rising between the 
 capitalist and the laborer, between the higher classes 
 and the lower ; and tlie masses generally identify 
 the minister with the higher class of society. They 
 contribute chiefly to his support, and have much in- 
 fluence in procuring his appointment. His dress, 
 
Causes of Fat hi re. 303 
 
 deportment, and general habits, fit him for associa- 
 tion with good society, and the masses are hable to 
 feel that he is not one of them. 
 
 A few disobey the apostolic injunction, and do not 
 give "attention to reading, to meditation and prayer." 
 They are both ignorant and indolent, and sometimes 
 cloak their disinclination to study under an assumed 
 zeal for deep personal piety. Others are not men of 
 one work. With them the ministry is made a con- 
 venience, while their minds and hearts are intent on 
 other things. They neglect both their books and 
 their flocks in their devotion to personal matters. 
 This causes the ministry to be regarded simply as a 
 profession, and veneration and respect for the pulpit 
 are diminished. The divine element disappears, and 
 they regard the preacher's teachings and advice sim- 
 ply as those of a physician or attorney. He is a 
 minister simply to earn a livelihood. 
 
 In some cases that preparation of heart and that 
 culture of spirit which should mark those who are 
 truly sent of God are not apparent. The minister 
 appears as a guest in the social circle — a " hail-fellow 
 well met." He is engrossed w^th the movements of 
 the day ; outside of his pulpit he manifests but little 
 concern for the salvation of the people. He meets 
 them on the streets, joins them in social compan\', 
 attends public gatherings, and goes v.nth them on ex- 
 cursions. He is absorbed in the general movements 
 of society, keeps a close eye on the stocks, ven- 
 
304 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 tures into speculation, and shows little concern for a 
 perishing world. ■ He visits families, but makes little 
 effort to lead the young to the Saviour. He is pleas- 
 ant with the profligate and the gay, without seeming 
 to be concerned at their danger or interested in their 
 future welfare. Such ministers, though they may 
 preach like angels in the pulpit, are of but little serv- 
 ice to society. 
 
 In some instances the minister is shorn of his 
 power by adopting an essay-like style of preaching ; 
 he selects a topic, and discusses it well ; he skillfully 
 explains the subject, but in an abstract form, which 
 is not addressed to the hearts and consciences of his 
 hearers. The pulpit is not the place for essays, how- 
 ever brilliant or sublime. The minister should pour 
 forth truth from a warm and sympathetic heart, for 
 the personal benefit and edification of his congrega- 
 tion, and to touch and elevate the aspirations of ev- 
 ery individual. If the preacher is not expecting any 
 present or immediate results, his message is in great 
 measure powerless. In some instances, also, the min- 
 ister enters the pulpit rather as a task. He preaches 
 because the Sabbath has come and he must find 
 something to say. He has nothing burning in his 
 heart which he longs to utter — no message burden- 
 ing his own spirit until he has delivered it to his 
 congregation. He simply desires to preach a sermon 
 that shall be acceptable to his people, and that shall 
 maintain his popularity. In some cases he is more 
 
Scientific Sermons. 305 
 
 concerned to learn how he is regarded than whether 
 sinners have been awakened and brought to Christ, 
 or whether some pure spirit has been receiving more 
 and more of the likeness of the Saviour. All such 
 preaching tends to lower the standard of the pulpit, 
 and to diminish its power in public estimation. 
 
 Others illustrate chiefly the wisdom and benevo- 
 lence of God, as displayed in creation and providence. 
 They try to imitate Dr. Chalmers in his celebrated 
 sermons on astronomy. Those discourses were re- 
 markable for mental ability and wealth of illustration, 
 but were not delivered at his Sabbath services. They 
 were noon-day lectures in the week, as those of Mr. 
 Cook at Boston ; and multitudes of business men 
 turned aside from their offices and stores to listen to 
 his eloquent and powerful ministrations. They were 
 sermons in every way worthy of their author, yet he 
 preferred to occupy his pulpit on the Sabbath with 
 topics more essential to human salvation. Endeav- 
 oring to imitate his example only in part, some young 
 ministers devote their efforts to scientific discussions, 
 give but little other food on the Sabbath — and the 
 hungry sheep look up and are not fed. These topics 
 are highly appropriate for lectures. They instruct and 
 elevate the public mind. Allusions to such subjects, 
 also, are oftentimes valuable in the illustration of 
 scriptural truth ; but Sabbath sermons on astronomy, 
 geology, botany, or mineralogy, ought never to turn 
 
 away the attention of the people from the cross of 
 20 
 
3o6 Lfxtures on Preaching. 
 
 Christ. That is the one topic of supreme importance 
 and of enduring power. Besides, too frequently those 
 who attempt these scientific discussions are not per- 
 fect masters of their subjects. Others seize some 
 topic of the day, and occupy the hour in discussing 
 chiefly the faults or excellences of public men or of 
 public measures. The embezzlement and fall of a 
 Tweed, or the awkwardness of a public executioner, 
 give such men great relief, as they can then find 
 something to preach about. 
 
 The minister should ever announce great princi- 
 ples which lie at the foundation of societ}^ — principles 
 affecting the rights of man and the duties of the Gov 
 ernment. But, valuable as are these topics, they should 
 be but occasional and incidental. Sometimes, pass- 
 ing from these broad principles, the minister suffers 
 himself to use the pulpit to promote the interests of 
 a favorite political measure, which inures to the ben- 
 efit of a party or to the aspiration of some individual. 
 Such a course ever lowers the tone of the pulpit, and 
 offends some of the congregation. It requires skill 
 and tact and heroism to utter the high moral require- 
 ments of the law of God, and yet to avoid such dec- 
 larations as in times of high party excitement may 
 foster mere p^rty or personal interests. 
 
 Still worse is it when the minister allows himself 
 to be personally drawn into a political canvass. Par- 
 ties are nearly equally balanced, and those in the 
 minority fancy that the personal influence of the 
 
Political Candidates. 307 
 
 preacher may turn a sufficient number of votes lo 
 make them triumphant. Hence they urge him to be 
 a candidate. They dwell upon the great issues at 
 stake. They tell him how greatly good men are need- 
 ed in office, show him what a vast work he may per- 
 form, and endeavor to show him that it is really his 
 duty to accept the nomination. Sometimes, alas ! he 
 is persuaded to do so ; he leaves his pulpit, engages 
 in the canvass, mingles in political scenes, if not in 
 intrigues, and is absorbed for the time being in the 
 pending issues. These instances are comparatively 
 rare, and the minister conscientiously believes he is 
 doing right ; yet my conviction is that the result is 
 always disastrous, both to himself and to the Church, 
 It is disastrous to himself, in that his status is low- 
 ered even in the estimation of his political friends. 
 They selected him not because they cared for him, 
 or really desired his services, but because he was an 
 available candidate. They flattered him to use him, 
 and they henceforth regard him as a man that may 
 be flattered and used. Had he declined the j^roffered 
 nomination ; had he said, " I have but one work to 
 do ; I must preach Christ and him crucified," he 
 would have occupied a position of higher moral emi- 
 nence. But by those outside of his own party he is 
 simply regarded as one who is ready to use his min- 
 isterial influence for the promotion of his personal 
 ambition. If unsuccessful, years will pass away be- 
 fore he can regain the high moral influence which he 
 
308 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 once exerted. If successful, his thoughts are turned 
 from the pulpit. The questions which he considers, 
 the associations in which he mingles, and the appli- 
 cations for office and assistance constantly pressed 
 upon him, divert his attention from that course of 
 reading and that character of mental study which 
 gave him efficiency and power in the pulpit. As the 
 result, he either returns to his ministry at the close 
 of his official period a weaker and less efficient min- 
 ister than before ; or, what is more likely, having em- 
 barked on the political stream, he is borne onward 
 by the current, never to return again. Thus one 
 whom God has called to the ministry is, to that ex- 
 tent, lost to the cause of Christ. Rut the most dis- 
 astrous result is, that the public understand that those 
 who profess to be called of God have no such convic- 
 tions as bind them to their work ; that they are ready 
 to exchange it for any position which they may con- 
 sider more lucrative or more honorable. As one min- 
 ister accepts such a nomination, the public infer that 
 all would do so, if they were equally pressed ; and 
 hence that the ministry is regarded by the ministers 
 themselves, not as a divine calling, but as an inferior 
 position which they use as a stepping-stone to some- 
 thing higher. In this way the character of the min- 
 istry, in general, suffers immensely, while the indi- 
 vidual, at the best, can be but slightly benefited, 
 
 I have stated this case in its least exceptionable 
 form : much worse is it when a minister seeks a 
 
Lack of Earnestness. 309 
 
 nomination ; when he voluntarily abandons the pul- 
 pit to mingle in party strife ; or when he accepts of a 
 clerkship, becomes an agent for insurance societies, 
 or for selling pianos, or sewing machines, or patent 
 medicines. Such men, I beUeve, do immense injury 
 to the cause of Christ. It is proper, however, to say 
 that these remaiks apply only to those who have 
 health and strength for the pulpit, and who are ap- 
 proved and desired by the Churches. When a min- 
 ister's health becomes so impaired that he is unable to 
 take a regular pastoral charge, it is right for him to 
 engage in any honest calling for a livelihood ; and 
 when the Churches, for any cause, do not desire his 
 ministerial services, he should be at perfect liberty 
 to engage in other callings and duties, and to retire 
 altogether from the active ministry. 
 
 Quite possibly all these cases have their root in 
 the lack of a clear conviction of a divine call to the 
 ministry, or of deep earnestness of spirit ; for with- 
 out earnestness a man accomplishes but little good. 
 The earnest man, the man of convictions, who sees a 
 perishing world, and believes God has sent him to 
 help in rescuing it, will not turn aside from his high 
 and holy calling. He will bear privation, face diffi- 
 culties, endure hardships, and meet even death it- 
 self, rather than to turn to the right hand or to the 
 left from the path which God has marked out. All 
 the causes to which I have alluded contribute to 
 the inefficiency of the pulpit, and give some color of 
 
310 Lectures on Preach ixg. 
 
 reason to those who proclaim the pulpit to be a 
 failure. Yet all these instances, though to be deeply 
 rei;;retted, fcrm but a small percentage when com- 
 pared with the great body of efficient and devoted 
 ministers who are toiling in the Master's vineyard. 
 Hut why should the pulpit be singled out as a fail- 
 ure ? When we speak of other professions, we do not 
 say the bar is a failure because some attorney is in- 
 competent or grossly immoral, or that education is a 
 failure because some professed teachers are ignorant 
 and vicious, or that medicine is a failure because 
 some physicians are unworthy and wicked. Are 
 bankers to be reproached because in almost every 
 city some one has been guilty of embezzlement .-• are 
 officers of government to be assailed because some 
 have been guilty of fraud .-' If we look at the vast 
 corporations where men have been selected for their 
 skill and integrity, what a record do we find ! 
 
 Not only does the pulpit bear a high and favorable 
 comparison with other professions, but the modern 
 pulpit is no less pure than in former ages. One in 
 twelve of those whom Christ selected proved a trai- 
 tor ; another denied his Master, and all forsook him 
 and fled. In the times of the apostles, Demas loved 
 the present world, and others made shipwreck of 
 faith. The address to the angels of the Churches in 
 Asia Minor shows lukewarmness and error exist- 
 ing then. So, too, all along the current of the ages, 
 men have had this treasure in earthen vessels, and 
 
Compared zvith Last Centiuy. 311 
 
 have been liable to infirmity and mistake. The 
 preachers in the Middle Ages were scarcely worthy 
 of the name, and the survival of the Church in the 
 hands of such agents was a miracle of grace. How 
 dark was the condition of the Church when the 
 trumpet voices of Luther, Melanchthon, Calvin, and 
 Zvvingle rang out in the ears of Europe in the six- 
 teenth century ! How terrible the satires of Eras- 
 mus upon the monks of his day ! Read the pages 
 of Bishop Burnet and of Macaulay, and how sad the 
 picture of the English clergy ! Listen to the Arch- 
 deacon of Carlisle, when, as late as 1785, he exhort- 
 ed his clergy not to frequent ale-houses, or to mingle 
 with men of the lowest classes on terms of equality. 
 Making every alk)w^ance for cases of error and failure, 
 the ministry of to-day is, I believe, as a whole, in 
 mental culture, in purity of life, in self-devotion, 
 and in deep piety, superior to the ministry of any 
 period since the apostolic age. In all these respects 
 the modern pulpit is not a failure as compared with 
 the past. 
 
 It may sometimes be alleged that we have no such 
 displays of power under the ministry of the word as 
 were realized one hundred years ago under the min- 
 istry of Dr. Edwards in New England, of Asbury and 
 Davies in Maryland and Virginia, and of Wesley 
 and Whitefield in England. But it should be re- 
 membered that these cases were almost solitary. 
 Now the spirit of revival is abroad ; scarcely a year 
 
312 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 passes without remarkable divine power being mani- 
 fested in some of our city Churches, or in some of 
 the rural districts. Many of the pastors are exceed- 
 ingly successful. Many sermons are preached with 
 divine unction, and multiplied thousands are annually 
 brought to the knowledge of the truth. Great im- 
 pressions, also, are sometimes made. I have been 
 present more than once when whole congregations 
 have risen to their feet, and have not unfrequently 
 been freely bathed in tears. I have been present 
 where in a single church hundreds have in a lew 
 weeks professed to experience the renewing power 
 of divine grace. While there are no circumstances 
 so singularly remarkable as may have been in the 
 past, or which attract such extensive notice, I be- 
 lieve there are more conversions in the recent years 
 than in any previous period in the history of Chris- 
 tianity. 
 
 But what shall supplant the pulpit if it be a failure ? 
 Some of the writers to which I have alluded extol 
 the press, while they depreciate the pulpit, fancy- 
 ing that the pen is not only mightier than the sword, 
 but is more potent than the tongue of fire. Such 
 writers, however, might well consider that the press 
 is an outgrowth of Christianity, and should assist and 
 not impair its pulpit power. It is true t"hat block 
 printing was known in China before it was practiced 
 in Europe. But it was the invention of movable 
 types that gave to printing its great impulse and its 
 
Limits of tJie Press. 313 
 
 almost unlimited power. This invention was made in 
 Christian lands, and was applied almost immediately 
 to the printing and spread of the Bible. To-day, what 
 is the power of the press beyond the limit of Chris- 
 tian countries .'' Such papers as the leading journals 
 of England and America are unknov/n in lands out- 
 side of Christendom. The men who control the 
 press, and give it its power, are the children of Chris- 
 tian mothers, the students of Christian scliools, and 
 are girt round and sustained by a Christian public 
 opinion. While the press may assist the pulpit, it is 
 the pulpit which indirectly gives life and power to 
 the press. It forms the public mind, incites to read- 
 ing and study, and prepares a host of readers to re- 
 ceive and enjoy its daily issues. Will any of these 
 men who boast the power of the press establish a 
 printing-office among the pagan Indians .'' Did any 
 of them carry the daily press to the Fiji Islands .'' or to 
 the New Hebrides or New Guinea ? Christian mission- 
 aries went there ; Christ crucified was preached ; the 
 people were evangelized ; a religious press was es- 
 tablished, and a secular press has slowly followed. 
 These gentlemen of the press, with all their excel- 
 lences and with all their enlightening powers, never 
 undertook to civilize a savage nation by means of the 
 press. They have no aspiration for martyrdom, or 
 to be eaten by cannibals. Even a Stanley, who has 
 been the boldest of the explorers connected with the 
 press, started to find a Livingstone, who had gone 
 
314 Lectures o\ Preaching. 
 
 with a message from his divine Master, and the dis- 
 coveries of Stanley have not led to the establishment 
 of a daily paper in Central Africa ; but they have 
 led to the founding of missions, and they will soon 
 witness the establishment of a religious press. To- 
 day, every-where, grand as is the press, it is the re- 
 ligious press that throws its first rays of light across 
 the gloom of heathen darkness, and that religious 
 press is chiefly in the hands of men of the pulpit. 
 
 What do skeptical men of science propose to give 
 us in lieu of the pulpit.'' Their objection against the 
 pulpit is, as I have stated, not so much as to its 
 agency, as to the message which it proclaims. With 
 them the failure of the pulpit means the failure of 
 Christianity, or, as they sometimes put it, the failure 
 of Protestantism. These forms are essentially the 
 same. The pulpit is the great agency of Christianity ; 
 where it flourishes or fails, so does the other. Prot- 
 estantism is the most active form of Christianity, and 
 in its services the pulpit occupies a leading position. 
 Such writers often speak disparagingly of ministers 
 and their work because they dislike the character of 
 the work. They descend from their assumed lofty 
 si^here, however, when they resort to personalities, 
 and represent ministers as men of narrow intellect 
 and of limited culture, of contracted views and of 
 illiberal feeling ; when they speak of them as teaching 
 simply a creed, as having no eyes to the beauties of 
 nature, or no broad conceptions of the universe in 
 
Lofty Pretensions. 315 
 
 which they dwell, and as not being identified with 
 the great movements of society, or as taking but 
 little interest in the humanitarian questions of the 
 age. Such writers, also, assume for themselves great 
 liberality and comprehensiveness of view. They see 
 in every system of religion simply an accommo- 
 dation to the weakness of men — something which 
 acts upon their fears or excites their hopes ; in 
 short, a fiction that is serviceable to society in its 
 primitive condition, for the preservation of order, and 
 for the obedience of citizens. To them the system 
 of Confucius, or of Mohammed, is about equal to 
 Christianity, each being best suited to its own country 
 and its own form of civilization. They fancy that all 
 these systems are designed rather for the childhood 
 of humanity, and that with its development and 
 growth they shall give place to higher scientific 
 teachings, and thus man shall be governed only by 
 his native impulses under the control of his reason. 
 Might we not ask upon what meat" these Caesars feed," 
 that they assume such lofty superiority .-* Have they 
 books to read which are not in our hands .'' Have 
 we not listened to the teachings of the same profess- 
 ors .-* Are not the laboratories open to us, also } Has 
 nature revealed new secrets only to them ? or has the 
 Almighty endowed them alonewith intellectual power .-' 
 Nay, are they not, also, the children of Christian moth- 
 ers .'' Were they not trained in Christian schools .-* 
 These men, with all their lofty pretensions, have been 
 
3i6 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 educated in institutions founded and endowed by 
 Cliristian men, which have gained their prominence 
 under the influence and patronage of the pulpit. They 
 hve in tlie midst of a generation of readers trained 
 in the same schools, and molded and fashioned by 
 the teachings of the pulpit, and their readers receive 
 and enjoy their speculations. Where to-day is one 
 distinguished scientist born beyond the pale ot Chris- 
 tendom ? Where is the scientist who is willing to 
 take up his abode in heathen lands or among barba- 
 rous tribes, to civilize and enlighten them ? Hostile 
 to Christianity though they may be, they are willing 
 to live only under the shadow of its institutions, 
 and enjoy the benefits which a Christian civilization 
 has prepared. These infidel scientists act madly 
 when they assail the superstructure of Christianity. 
 Were they able to grasp its pillars and to overthrow 
 its structure, they would, like a blind Samson, bury 
 themselves in its ruins. Their sphere does not nec- 
 essarily bring them in contact with Christianity. 
 Their assaults are voluntary and of malice prepense. 
 To give them all they desire, they find a world pro- 
 duced they know not how, governed they know 
 not by whom, and elements with certain appetencies 
 they know not how constituted. They study the 
 changes of a world which they tell us has long ex- 
 isted, of a universe with such unity of law that it 
 must have been evolved, at least so far as each system 
 is concerned, from a central magnitude. They tell 
 
UViaf will Tluy give us? 31/ 
 
 us that all classes of animated being have such ru- 
 dimentary similarity and such affinities as point to 
 one common origin, be it cellular tissue, protoplasm, 
 or what not. They nnd a material universe, but they 
 find no God. They find matter in multitudinous forms, 
 but they find no spirit. If this be so, their researches 
 keep them wholly out of the field of Christian thought 
 and discovery, and they leave their proper pursuits 
 when they seek to make a tilt at Christianity. 
 
 What do they propose to give us in its stead } 
 Will they take us back to paganism, and make us to 
 bow down to stocks and stones, and to offer human 
 sacrifices.'' Will they extol Mohammedanism .<* What 
 is it doing for humanity } Poor Turkey is fatally sick 
 under its teachings, and would have died long ago 
 had it not been kept galvanized by England's power. 
 Will they give us the system of Confucius } Alas, 
 the very dregs of Christian society are raising their 
 hands in California, as if in holy horror, lest they 
 may be contaminated by the influence of the race 
 educated under its teachings ! Will they take from 
 suffering humanity all hope of a better life .'' from 
 parting friends all hope of a reunion .-* from the lone- 
 liness of the grave the hope of a resurrection ? from 
 the human bosom all the aspirations of a glorious 
 immortality which now ennoble and elevate Chris- 
 tian society .-* Must we die as brutes, without hope 
 of future life .'' Has not the human heart already 
 enough of beastly power, without the efibrt to quench 
 
3i8 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 the light of a spiritual life which can govern and 
 control ? 
 
 But neither Christians nor Christian ministers are 
 the enemies of science. Why should they be ? All 
 science is simply a perception of the thoughts of 
 God — a discovery of what he designed when he 
 spread out the heavens, and gemmed the infinitude 
 of space with its m3'riad of worlds. The laws of 
 light are simply the power with which the Creator 
 invested it. AH we can do is to find what he has 
 written on its wings. The law of magnetism is the 
 subtle power and the mode of action with which God 
 has touched the loadstone. The laws of astronomy, 
 what are they but the thoughts of God, as he pro- 
 jected worlds into space, and gave to them their 
 orbits and their periods .'' Why should not Chris- 
 tians and Christian ministers love such studies .-* 
 They reveal the wisdom, the power, and the benev- 
 olence of their great Father. Of nature, in all its 
 expanse, of all created powers, visible and invisible, 
 hath not God said, " All are yours .'' " Are we not 
 " heirs of God, and joint heirs with Jesus Christ .'' " 
 
 History tells us that the leading schools of Europe 
 were founded either by the clergy or under their 
 advice and influence. The Protestant clergy, espe- 
 cially, have been patrons of science. The colleges 
 and universities of America, with but here and there 
 an exception, were either founded by Christian de- 
 nominations, or by the State under the suggestions 
 
Claims of Scientists. 319 
 
 of Christian nnnisters. They have filled the chairs 
 of presidents and professors ; they have taught the 
 principles of science, both theoretically and prac- 
 tically, and hav^e given even to these advanced sci- 
 entists the greater part of that knowledge of which 
 they boast. How comes it that these men are such 
 a failure, if their students have become such giants ? 
 I can accord to the scientist nearly all he can 
 claim, without in the slightest degree affecting the 
 foundations of my faith. Does he tell me this uni- 
 verse was created millions of ages ago .-' I do not 
 deny it, for my Bible tells me it was " in the begin- 
 ning," which may have been long before the millions 
 of ages which he claims. Does he tell me that the 
 laws which are in operation to-day hav^e been in op- 
 eration for millions of years .'' I admit it ; and only 
 add, that the great Lawgiver existed before these 
 laws. Does he tell me of the boundlessness of space, 
 of the infinitude of worlds 1 I rejoice the more, for all 
 are the work of my Father's hands. Does he tell me 
 that the laws of evolution show a development from 
 the less to the greater } I accept all that , for, under 
 the Gospel, from a sinner I become a saint, and from 
 a saint I shall be exalted above the angels, and shall 
 sit down Vv'ith the Saviour on his throne. I believe 
 in the survival of the fittest, for the Christian shall 
 survive " the wreck of matter and the cru.-;h of 
 worlds." Does he tell me that this evolution dis- 
 penses with the Creator .'' I say not so. There are 
 
320 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 many things which are claimed in evolution, to 
 which I must give the verdict of the Scotch jur}-, 
 " Not proven." Yet, were I to admit them all, they 
 would not affect my faith in the wisdom and skill 
 and power of the great Father. I admire the skill 
 of the watch-maker who produces an accurate time- 
 piece ; but how much more would I admire his skill 
 if he so made one watch that it was capable not only 
 of keeping time, but also of evolving a series of 
 watches, each keeping better time than that which 
 produced it, so that from the plainest, simplest form 
 of a watch there should be eventually evolved a mag- 
 nificent chronometer, with jeweled holes, whose time 
 would not vary from the true time a second in a mill- 
 ion of years ! If the great Creator created but a germ, 
 but in that germ were all possibilities of form and 
 motion and magnitude, of atoms and of worlds, with 
 their laws of motion so impressed on each that it 
 should take its place in due time, my admiration for 
 his wonderful skill would only he enhanced. Yet all 
 that refers only to my dwelling-place, to my earthly 
 surrounding, to the tabernacle in which I dwell. The 
 revelation of God's mercy and love comes to me in a 
 difterent line. They are not evolutions, but emana- 
 tions. They come upon me from above, like the 
 sunlight and rain of heaven. These men who talk 
 of evolution claim an infinity of time. I ask, How 
 long since this protoplasm developed into a turtle, 
 the turtle into a monkey, or the monkey into a man .-• 
 
Hoiv has it Failed f 321 
 
 They admit there is no positive record anywhere. 
 Since human history began there is no instance of 
 any animal ascending to the scale of man. If at all, 
 it must have been far back in the distant ages. 
 Then, I ask, why not give Christianity similar time ? 
 She is changing the face of creation ; she is trans- 
 forming sinners into saints, savages into enlightened 
 men. She took them naked, rude, and uncultured, 
 and has clothed, taught, and refined them. She has 
 taken man, that bowed down to stocks and stones, 
 and has elevated him until he uses the world as a 
 work-shop and all elements as his instruments, until 
 he feels that he is a son of God and his vicegerent 
 upon earth. Why shall Christianity be called a fail- 
 ure, because it has not yet reached all the sons of 
 men or transformed them into sons of science .<* 
 Give her at least as much time to change millions 
 of savages into enlightened humanity, millions of 
 sinners into saints, as, according to their own ask- 
 ing, it takes to change one species into another. 
 We promise that the whole world shall be brought 
 to the foot of the cross before the evolutionist shall 
 find even a single monkey transformed into a man. 
 
 If the Christian pulpit has failed, may we ask in 
 what respect .'' Is the area of the earth's surface which 
 it occupies diminishing .-* The writers who caricature 
 Christianity particularly object to our sending mis- 
 sionaries to heathen lands. But in despite of ridicule 
 
 they go. Sydney Smith, bidding farewell to one who 
 21 
 
322 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 was going among cannibals, said, " I hope you will 
 not disagree with the man who eats you." But, without 
 regarding danger, they went. The world is their par- 
 ish. They go every-where, and by their agency the 
 Gospel is triumphing. Large portions of India and of 
 southern x^f rica in the last half century have received 
 Christian missionaries and Christian schools. The 
 large island of Madagascar, previously intensely hea- 
 then, is now under Christian sway, and its prime min- 
 ister recently attended an association of ministers. 
 China has opened her doors ; and presbyteries, asso- 
 ciations, and conferences are organized and actively 
 at work. Japan, that trampled on the cross, now list- 
 ens to the Gospel, and sends her youth to Christian 
 schools. Over a great part of western and central 
 Asia, of northern and north-western America, and of 
 western and central Africa, the Gospel has been 
 preached by the missionaries of the cross. In no 
 previous age of the world has the area of pulpit teach- 
 ing been so rapidly and so widely extended. Nor has 
 there been any failure in spreading it among people of 
 different languages. The Bible has been translated 
 during that period into the dialects of China and Ja- 
 pan, into dialects of Asia and Africa, as well as of the 
 Indian tribes of America. There is no instance of 
 Christian teaching or the power of the pulpit disap- 
 pearing during the present century from any nation, 
 or from any language into which it had entered. The 
 languages of the Bible have, indeed, become the strong 
 
Increase of CJiurches. 323 
 
 languages of earth. Christian missionaries have 
 done more than all other men of science combined 
 for the introduction of truth into the languages of 
 the world. 
 
 No one will pretend to say that the number of 
 Christian pulpits has in any country during the last 
 half century diminished. Every-where in Europe 
 and America, in Asia and Africa, and in the islands 
 of the sea, new church edifices have been erected in 
 increasing numbers. In the United States, where we 
 especially hear this cry of the failure of the pulpit, the 
 statistics show a most wonderful increase. Professor 
 Denian, of Brown University, states that the number 
 of organized Churches in 1777 was less than 2,oco. 
 In 1870 there were over 72,000; while the increase 
 of population had been from 3,000,000 to 38,000,000, 
 showing an immense//^ rata increase of the Churches 
 over the population. We had no census tables prior 
 to 1850, giving the value of church property. But ^^J — 
 in 1850 the returns show the estimated value to be 
 ^87,328,891. In 1870 the report exhibits $354,483,- 
 581, or an increase of more than fourfold, while the 
 increase of population was only about sixty-five per 
 cent. It is true, in this period the increase of sit- 
 tings did not quite equal the comparative increase of 
 population, but the large foreign immigration must 
 be taken into account. The population had been 
 transferred, but not their churches ; yet even for this 
 increase the sittings were nearly equal. 
 
324 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 The increase of the number of communicants in 
 the various Churches has considerably exceeded in its 
 ratio the increase of population, thus showing the in- 
 fluence and power of the pulpit. As I have not these 
 tables in full as to all the denominations, I need not 
 give them as to any. The fact is well known that all 
 the leading denominations are increasing in the num- 
 ber of their ministers, communicants, and church 
 edifices. 
 
 If it be true that " where the treasure is, there will 
 the heart be also," the wonderful increase of church 
 property shows the influence of the pulpit over the 
 popular mind, since such vast sums have been con- 
 tributed to aid its cause. 
 
 The attachment of the masses to their churches 
 has, also, been manifested in the recent panic through 
 which our country has passed. For more than five 
 years business has been depressed, banks have sus- 
 pended, factories have closed, railroads have passed 
 into the hands of receivers, merchants have gone into 
 bankruptcy, and cai)italists have failed ; but during all 
 that period church edifices have been erected and 
 improved, Sunday-schools have been gathered, and 
 the number of Church communicants has largely in- 
 creased. During all that period how few churches 
 have been closed, how few have been sold by the 
 sheriff, or how few have been diverted from their 
 proper use ! If it be true that in times of financial 
 embarrassment and distress men will give their money 
 
Sn 1 1 day- Schools. 325 
 
 only to what they deem matters of vast importance, 
 have we not positive proof that the influence of the 
 pulpit and the Church has in no wise been impaired 
 or diminished. In this connection consider, also, the 
 vast sums which have been given for the endowment 
 of Christian colleges and seminaries. While I have 
 not the exact figures, I believe the amount given in 
 these years of national distress will compare most 
 favorably with the contributions for similar periods in 
 the most prosperous times. 
 
 Where, then, is the tendency to diminution seen .' 
 Is the pulpit losing the control of youth } This 
 question needs only to be asked to be answered. 
 Look at the Sunday-schools throughout the world. 
 In the last fifty years what an immense advance has 
 been made ; almost the entire children of the land are 
 now receiving instruction in the Churches on the 
 Lord's day. That instruction, also, is of a higher 
 character than formerly. The number of intelligent 
 teachers has greatly increased. The books and pa- 
 pers to assist such teachers constitute a library in 
 themselves. The increased interest is seen in the es- 
 tablishing of institutes, in the associations of teach- 
 ers, in the publication of books, and in the establish- 
 ment of libraries. The International Lessons are one 
 indication of the coming unity of the world. The 
 era of strife will be substituted by the era of peace, 
 "and a little child shall lead them." No previous 
 acre of the world ever beheld one half the attention 
 
3^6 Lkctures ox Preaching.' 
 
 paid to the youth of the land by the Church and by 
 the pulpit as that which is seen to-day. If we pass 
 outside of strictly Church work, and inquire for the 
 colleges and training schools of the land, we find them, 
 in large measure, under the patronage and control of 
 some one of the Christian denominations. These 
 men who boast of the failure of the pulpit found no 
 schools, endow no colleges, establish no professional 
 schools. The number of schools for training minis- 
 ters has vastly increased in the last fifty years. But 
 not a single school has been founded for the pro- 
 fessed purpose of training infidels or infidel teachers. 
 Even the schools of science to-day are chiefly under 
 the control of the Christian denominations; and the 
 vast majority of scientific professors are to-day at- 
 tendants at Christian churches and devoted to Chris- 
 tian principles. But as the agitator makes himself 
 heard while hundreds of conservatives remain quiet, 
 so a few men of science, a small minority compared 
 with the whole, have fancied themselves to be the 
 representatives of science, and have arrogated to 
 themselves the right to speak in her name. 
 
 Nor is the press by any means so generally in the 
 hands of rationalistic thinkers as they would have us 
 believe. The religious press is an element which 
 these men have never estimated. Every denomina- 
 tion has its organs and its associated papers, which 
 circulate by thousands in their various communities ; 
 and there are Sunday school papers and periodicals 
 
SevDiuns in the Press. 327 
 
 which issue hundreds of thousands of copies weekly. 
 Besides these papers there are magazines and reviews 
 of a higher character which are published in the in- 
 terest of the various Churches. These, in point of 
 numbers, have a circulation immensely surpassing 
 the issue of those critical papers which assume to be 
 the leaders of thought. The strictly secular press of 
 to-day gives a prominence to religious matters almost 
 unknown thirty years ago ; the proceedings of almost 
 every Church meeting are published, while not un- 
 frequently sermons appear in their columns. How 
 is the pulpit a failure, when the secular press gives 
 currency to sermons to an extent unknown in pre- 
 vious years. It is a recognition that their patrons 
 desire these sermons, and an illustration of the in- 
 creasing power, and not the failure, of the pulpit. 
 More people attend church services this year than 
 did ever before, more children are enrolled in the 
 Sabbath-schools, more Bibles are published, more ser- 
 mons are preached ; there are more Christian scien- 
 tists, professors, and writers, and there are more 
 ministers intelligent and cultured, than were ever 
 found in any other era of earth's history. It will not 
 be denied that the pulpit was the chief agent in the 
 overthrowof the idolatry of the world, of its infanticide, 
 and of its gladiatorial exhibitions. As a fact in histo- 
 ry, no nations ever abandoned their idols or cast away 
 their imaginary gods but through the preaching of 
 the Gospel, with the exception of a few instances 
 
328 Lf.ctures on Preaching. 
 
 where Mohammedanism has supplanted among some 
 Asiatic and African tribes heathen worship and cus- 
 toms. By the preaching of Christ heathen temples, 
 shrines, and oracles were deserted. There is not 
 on earth to-day a knee that bows to Jupiter or Mars 
 or Venus ; this same influence is exerted still. And 
 if, in the last half century, we take the era of the 
 modern pulpit, how wide has been the extension of 
 its range, how remarkable its trophies ! In that 
 period it has spread through the islands of the seas, 
 and nations grossly idolatrous, and some of them 
 even cannibals, have become Christianized and en- 
 lightened. The inhabitants of Fiji, among the lowest 
 of this class, have not only received the Gospel, but 
 (have sent native missionaries to other islands. How 
 I proud the record of Geddes, of whom it was said in 
 the New Hebrides : "When he came, in 1846, there 
 \was not a Christian ; when he left, in 1872, there was 
 not a heathen." 
 
 Have not the wheels of Juggernaut been stopped 
 in India .'' Wives no longer burn on the funeral piles 
 of their husbands, and mothers do not throw their 
 children into the Ganges to appease an imaginary 
 deity. In our own country, as well as in Russia, 
 human slavery has disappeared. With us it ended 
 in civil convulsions ; but its death knell had been al- 
 ready sounded from the pulpits of the land. To-day 
 the pulpit is the great antagonist of intemperance, 
 and the host of vices which follow in its train. 
 
Vitality ^f Pulpit. 329 
 
 Consider, also, how much of its work has been 
 preparatory. Years have been spent in acquiring 
 languages, in translating the Bible, and preparing a 
 Christian literature. Schools have been founded, 
 and native missionaries have been trained. The 
 Christian army has been drilled and equipped, and, 1 
 believe, is about to make an advance such as the 
 world has never seen. Roman roads, and the pro- 
 tection of her Government, preceded Christianity's 
 first great march. Printing and the compass her- 
 alded the Reformation. The steamship ; the railroad 
 tunneling mountains and spanning continents ; the 
 telegraph, with its multitudinous wires encircling the 
 earth in its network ; the mastery of all languages ; 
 the triumph of science and art, to me portend the 
 coming of an era of universal light and glory. In 
 that era the pulpit shall be, as it ever has been, a 
 trumpet of glad tidings to the sons of men. 
 
 Every assault upon the pulpit in the past ages has 
 left it stronger than ever before. It possesses a won- 
 derful vitality, and where a true pulpit sends forth its 
 utterances other pulpits will catch the inspiration. 
 The preaching of reformers aroused the Roman 
 Catholic Church, and a Loyola and a Xavier enlisted 
 and trained their followers. In England the revival- 
 ists of the last century by their constant preaching 
 stimulated the pulpits of the Established Church ; 
 and in America the different denominations provoke 
 one another to love and good works. 
 
33'^ Lfxtures on Pkeaciiixg. 
 
 The pulpit of to-day should be more powerful than 
 that of any previous age. The preacher has more 
 facilities for an accurate and extensive education, 
 more helps to a thorough understanding of God's 
 word. Investigation and research have brought into 
 clearer light the meaning of various illustrations, and 
 as the ages advance there is a brighter and more 
 beautiful harmony between the volume of revelation 
 and the v^^orks of God scattered throughout his uni- 
 verse. In despite of the votaries of a philosophy 
 falsely so called, vi^ho seek to invalidate the Bible 
 and to overthrow Christianity, each effort recoils 
 upon its authors, and the claims of the Bible to a 
 divine authorship become more and more apparent. 
 There are glimpes of light long concealed which 
 break forth every now and then, showing that He who 
 inspired the Scriptures, thousands of years ago, was 
 not unacquainted with those secrets of the universe 
 which are being unfolded in these later times. As 
 some inscription discovered on the bricks of Nin- 
 eveh, or among the monuments of Egypt, throws light 
 upon the customs of buried nations in the distant 
 centuries ; so these occasional glimpses connect the 
 record of the past with the discoveries of the present. 
 With all these helps, imparting both light and confi- 
 dence, the preacher of to-day should be able to handle 
 the word of the Lord more skillfully. As the Moly 
 Spirit loves truth, and accompanies the truth to the 
 hearts of the hearers, so we may expect a larger spir- 
 
Bond of Union. 331 
 
 itual influence to attend the ministrations of the 
 coming day. 
 
 The pulpit is still greatly needed. It is the great 
 bond of union between the rich and the poor. Few 
 understand the afflictions through which the lower 
 classes pass, or the trials which they endure. Little 
 do the upper classes of society know uf their suffer- 
 ings and their sorrows ; their loss of employment 
 and consequent loss of means of support ; their nar- 
 row lodgings, scanty fare, and almost untold anguish. 
 They instinctively shrink from the presence of those 
 who live more comfortably and are unwilling to come 
 into association with them. This unwillingness to 
 associate strengthens sometimes into aversion, and 
 then "to positive hatred. Not until the minister by 
 some act of kindness, by some manifestation of sym- 
 pathy, by some effort in their behalf gains their con- 
 fidence, do they open their hearts even to him. 
 
 It is the office of the minister to draw them to 
 himself, that he may draw them to Christ. What a 
 lesson do we find in the example of the blessed Sa- 
 viour ! Wise beyond all human wisdom, pure beyond 
 all human holiness, he stooped to touch the most 
 loathsome and vile. The crowds followed him be- 
 cause he did them good. He healed the sick, he fed 
 the hungry, and then the common people heard him 
 gladly. So, also, did the apostles. They were gifted 
 with miraculous power to do the people good, and 
 wherever they went society was stirred to its found- 
 
332 Lfxturks on Prkaching. 
 
 ations. They were miraculously endowed because 
 they had no power of themselves. They had neither 
 money, position, or influence. They could command 
 no resources, could confer no benefits. Times have 
 changed. The Church has become strong, wealthy, 
 and influential. The riches of the world are in the 
 hands of Christian nations and Christian communi- 
 ties. While the minister may be able to do but lit- 
 tle of himself, he has the public ear and public con- 
 fidence. He is a bond of union, and the only bond 
 of union, between the various classes of society. Ed- 
 ucated and refined, he can associate with the wealth- 
 iest and the highest ; at the same time, with limited 
 means, and visiting among the masses, his heart is 
 drawn toward them. If he be truly a man of God, 
 he becomes a nucleus around which all the elements 
 gather, attracted by his purity, benevolence, and love. 
 Without this sympathy of heavenly origin which un- 
 locks the hearts we may fear the Communism of 
 Europe. The remedy for this fearful state of society 
 lies in great measure in the faithfulness and sympa- 
 thy of a ministry laboring for the poor as well as 
 for the rich. Next to this is the provision which is 
 made in Christian countries, and especially in Amer- 
 ica, for the education of their children. In this the 
 United States are to-day in advance of all nations. 
 Thus, according to Hubner's statistical tables, Rus- 
 sia has in a population of 10,000 150 children in its 
 elementary schools ; Italy has 708 ; Great Britain 
 
Public Schools. 333 
 
 and Ireland, 800 ; Austria and Hungary, 890 ; 
 France, 99c; the German Empire, 1,500; and the 
 United States, 2,180. The Commissioner of Edu- 
 cation in this country reports a higher number than 
 these statistics show. Another counteracting influ- 
 ence lies in the free and intimate association of the 
 children of all classes in our public schools ; here the 
 rich and the poor meet together, and a spirit of ac- 
 quaintanceship and friendship binds the extreme 
 classes together. The platform is one of intelligence 
 and knowledge, and the son of the pauper and of 
 the millionaire stand side by side. Under such cir- 
 cumstances deep-rooted enmity becomes almost im- 
 possible. I am frank to say that I view with no fa- 
 vor any efforts to establish parish schools by any 
 denomination for elementary instruction. They sep- 
 arate classes ; and if such a policy should become 
 general, the same alienation prevailing in Europe 
 would be realized here. Of pubhc schools ministers 
 generally have been the true and faithful friends, 
 
 I have now finished, young gentlemen, the present 
 course of lectures. I have invited your attention to 
 the various departments of your great work. T have 
 presented you glimpses of my own experience, and 
 I have set before you the duties of the sacred office 
 in some measure as they rise before my mind. Be- 
 fore I bid you farewell, may I add a word personal to 
 yourselves. Your exit from this institution, and your 
 entrance practically into the ministry, will mark a 
 
334 Lectures ox Preaching. 
 
 great era in the period of your lives. You pass from 
 the retreat of the school into the activity of a busy 
 world ; from communion with kindred and cultured 
 minds to become servants of a lost and ruined hu- 
 manity. You go to lift out of the pit of degrada- 
 tion the most depraved and vicious ; to draw the 
 drunkard from his cups, and the young man from 
 saloons of revelry and crime. You need moral cour- 
 age ; you need Christian heroism. Above all, you 
 need power from on high. We are told that the Ro- 
 man youth of noble family approaching years of ma- 
 turity entered alone into a private apartment, amid 
 the statues of the gods and of eminent men. In that 
 august and solemn presence he divested himself of 
 the raiment of his boyhood, and put on the manly 
 toga. Then and there he made his vow to imitate 
 the virtues of the great, to rival them in deeds of 
 power, and to make for himself a name worthy of his 
 kindred and ancestry. So as you go forth to enter 
 on your life's duties, make a fresh consecration of all 
 your powers to the service of God. Call around ycu 
 the unseen ; summon to your thoughts the great men 
 of the pulpit who have shaken and moved the world ; 
 and there, with a cloud of holy angels above you, and 
 in the immediate presence of the Son of God, whose 
 eyes are like a flame of fire, pray to be clothed with 
 divine power, to be encased in Christian armor, to 
 have " your loins girt about with truth, and having 
 on the breast-plate of righteousness ; and your feet 
 
Forclookings. 335 
 
 shod with a preparation of the Gospel of peace ; above 
 all, taking- the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be 
 able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked. And 
 take the helmet of salvation, and the sword of the 
 Spirit, which is the word of God : praying always 
 with all prayer and supplication in the Spirit." 
 Here resolve that all you are and all you have shall 
 be devoted to this one work : that with all your en- 
 ergies and all your power you will strive against the 
 powers of darkness, and to advance the kingdom of 
 heaven, the Church of the living God ; resolve, God 
 helping you, that the Gospel spoken from your lips 
 shall never be spoken in vain, and that you will real- 
 ize the utmost possibilities of divine power and grace 
 in your ministry among men. 
 
 ]\Iy thoughts glance beyond this assembly', and 
 would peer far into the future. I know not what is 
 before you ; God only knows whether you shall have 
 years of labor and toil and danger and triumph, or 
 whether you shall early be called into his own pres- 
 ence. As I look upon you, I seem to behold a halo 
 above your heads ; rays of glory to come down from 
 on high ; a tongue of fire that prophesies your mis- 
 sion. Who among you shall shine with the greatest 
 radiance, shall wear the brightest crown, who shall 
 be nearest the throne, I know not ; it will be he who, 
 according to his talents and opportunity, does most 
 for his blessed Master. There are degrees in glory, 
 " One star differeth from another star in glory ; so, 
 
336 Lectures on Preaching. 
 
 also, is the resurrection." " The wise shall shine as the 
 brightness of the firmament, and they that turn many 
 to righteousness as the stars for ever and ever." In that 
 great day how insignificant shall appear the offices, 
 or honors, wealth and comforts, of an earthly life com- 
 pared with the crown which shall be given to those 
 who have conquered souls for Christ ! Could I live 
 a thousand years, I would proclaim the great divine 
 message. But almost as soon as we learn to work we 
 must die. Had I a thousand lives, they should all be 
 spent in the ministry of the word. If I could, I 
 would inspire you with a noble ambition ; I would 
 give you strength to bear away the gates of the 
 enemy, and to overcome my Masters foe. I would 
 commission you to win triumph after triumph. I 
 would strengthen you so that one of you should chase 
 a thousand, and two of you should put ten thousand 
 to flight. I have not the power, but there is One 
 who has ; he has all power in heaven and in earth, 
 and he has promised to be with you wherever you 
 may go. Into his hands and to his guiding providence 
 I commit you every one, praying that the " God of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of glory, may give 
 unto you the spirit of wisdom and revelation in the 
 knowledge of him ; the eyes of your understanding 
 being enlightened ; that ye may know what is the 
 hope of his calling, and what the riches of the glory 
 of his inheritance in the saints." 
 
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