Preaching
Section 1. THE IMPORTANCE OF PREACHING.?
ee. is a decided tendency to-day to neglect preaching. The multiplicity of church organizations demands
time, thought and strength. ‘To organize clubs, guilds, entertainments, is easier than to study for sermons. ‘The work of the Church has become extended and secularized, with the inevitable effect of weakness in the pulpit. Added to this, there is IN some quarters the consciousness that great preaching is not necessary for leadership, and as a consequence, administration is regarded as the prime essential for the minister.
There are also tendencies at work which lead to the depreciation of preaching. Other channels of instruction are thought to be of greater importance, and the platform and the press are accordingly emphasized to such an extent that, in the mind of many, preaching is no longer regarded as essential. It must be confessed, too, that in certain Episcopal quarters Ritual and Sacraments have been over-emphasized to the disparagement of preaching. With the New Testament in our hands, it is perplexing to read that ‘the altar is a more sacred place than the pulpit; the function of the priest is greater than that of the preacher.? Considering that the ‘altar’ finds no place in the New Testament, and the Holy Communion is only mentioned twice in all the Epistles, it is certainly difficult to account for the perspective suggested by the above remarks.
There are still other tendencies which are positively hostile to preaching. ‘The critical spirit of to-day is largely impatient
1 1 thankfully acknowledge my indebtedness here and elsewhere to that most valuable book The Work of the Preacher, by A, S. Hoyt. (MacMillan & Co,), of teaching, and considers that it knows sufficient of itself, and has powers of its own which are adequate to all needs. Social problems, too, lead men to denounce what they regard as ‘mere talking,’ while the growing materialism and wealth occupy the undue attention of many people.
And yet it is simple truth to say that there can be no strong ministry, and no effective Church to-day without preaching. The Census of Church Attendance, some years ago, showed with convincing proof that churches are well attended in proportion to the vigour of the preaching. People will forgive weakness anywhere in clerical life and organization sooner than in the pulpit. If preaching should ever be regarded as ‘out of date’ it is pretty certain that Christianity will soon be considered in the same light, for the preached Word and the living Christ have always been closely associated. We may go so far as to say that the spiritual prosperity of any Church is mainly determined by the preaching gift of its ministry, and we make bold to affirm our conviction that the spiritual condition of the Church to-day is largely related to the neglect of preaching. When we observe the lack of interest in Church attendance, and, still more, the absence of spiritual power in Church life, we do not think it is inaccurate to describe the situation as due to the neglected gift of preaching.
Preaching is always prominently set forth in Holy Scripture. ‘The prophets of the Old Testament were great preachers. ‘Che ministry of our Lord was very largely one of preaching and teaching, and His earthly ministry closed by a fivefold emphasis on the great commission to His disciples to go into all the world. “The Apostles were pre-eminently preachers, and the preaching of St. Paul in such passages as 1 Corinthians 1, clearly emphasizes the truth of his own contention, ‘Woe is me, if I preach not the Gospel.’
Church History tells the same story. Is it not the case that. for the first four centuries, when preaching and teaching were emphasized, the Church was kept largely pure and strong, while with the decline of preaching came the: loss of spiritual power? Preaching in the Middle Ages was a comparatively insignificayy feature of Church life, but its revival in the sixteenth century by Luther and other Reformers tells its own story. The Evangelical Movement of the eighteenth century in connexion with Wesley and Whitefield, and many others, bears the same witness, while in missionary work to-day preaching and teaching occupy a prominent place. Where the spiritual life has been greatest there the preaching has been strongest, and it is not in the slightest degree inaccurate to say that wherever the priest goes up the prophet goes down, and contrariwise, where the prophet is exalted the priest is seen to be unnecessary. It has often been pointed out that Augustine was prayed for by Monica for thirty years, but the Churches did not attract him. Faustus, the philosopher, was the great magnet, till at last Augustine reached Milan and came in contact with Ambrose, the great man, the Christian, the great preacher.
Experience to-day all points in the same direction. Where preaching is emphasized and valued by the minister the people come and will come. Nothing, however able and effective in writing, will ever make up for the living voice. Not even the great cause of politics or any other element in life, will ever supplant preaching. “Truth through personality’ is the classical definition of preaching, and carries with it clear testimony to the essential need of the person as the channel of the truth. If people are ever impatient with preaching to-day, it is not with the fact, but with the sort.
The call of the present time on theological students, and on the younger clergy in particular, is to give special attention to preaching. Both in theological schools and in Church work we must make preparation for preaching a prominent feature and factor of our clerical life. We must give the best we can in matter and manner. We must work as hard as we can in order to produce the best results. No time, no strength, no thought, no effort, can be too much to devote to this duty. Even if this means the surrender of organizations, the result in the long run will not be harmful, but advantageous. It may be that we need to do less in order to do more. By transferring purely secular administration to laymen, or if we cannot obtain them, by omitting such secular methods and concentrating our attention on the spiritual element of the ministry of the Word, we shall obtain the best and most permanent results of the ministry.
There is perhaps nothing in life to compare with the joy of true preaching. What an exquisite satisfaction it gives to witness for Christ, in proclaiming His Gospel, in teaching His truth, in cheering the lonely, the sorrowing, the desolate and the afflicted, by some message from on high! Above all, is there anything in the world to compare with the profound and inspiring satisfaction of winning men and women to Christ through preaching, and of ministering to their education as we endeavour to build them up in their most holy faith? Let us be firmly convinced of, and deeply impressed with the absolute necessity, the supreme importance, the profound influence, and the great joy of preaching the Gospel. Well said the great Thomas Goodwin, ‘God had only one Son, and He made Him a Minister.’
SECTION 2. THE NATURE OF PREACHING
Homiletics is the science of which preaching is the art, and the sermon is the product. But what is a sermon? Many years ago the following definition was given in the course of a lecture on this subject: —
‘An oral discourse, or address to the public mind on a religious subject, carefully prepared, with a definite object.’
This definition consists of five parts, each of which needs careful study.
1. ‘A sermon is an oral discourse or address.” ‘This means that a sermon is a speech, not a book, nor a treatise, nor an essay. No one can doubt that the extemporaneous idea is the true one. ‘The Latin orator was not a reader, but a speaker, and the true idea of preaching is to combine the weight of matter in reading and writing with the ease, fluency, versatality, and animation of speech. “To quote Bacon’s familiar words, ‘Reading makes the full man, writing the exact man, conversation the ready man.’
2. ‘An oral address, to the public mind.’ A sermon is not a lecture. It is an address to a mixed class, and therefore ought not as a rule to deal with any specialty, still less with any technicality.
3. ‘An oral address, to the public mind, on a religious subject.’ It is not concerned with politics, or literature, or science. The sermon is essentially Christian, and is to be drawn from the Bible. A definite message should be extracted from the Scriptures. As a matter of history, the sermon is a definitely Christian institution.
4. ‘An oral address, to the public mind, on a religious subject, carefully prepared.’ It is a serious and dangerous fallacy that preaching is a gift rather than an art. It does not come as a chance effort. According to some people, it would seem as though sermons are made very much according to the description of Aaron’s work with the people’s gold. “There came out this calf.’ But we know that unless a sermon obeys the laws of art, and is the result of genuine work, it will be of no value whatever. It was the great Henry Melville who, in reply to the inquiry how many sermons a man could prepare every week, said, ‘A clever man, one; an ordinary man, two; a fool as many as you like.’ If our sermons are not the result of downright work, they will not be sermons at all.
5. ‘An oral address to the public mind, on a religious subject, carefully prepared, with a definite object.? An essay simply presents truth for consideration, but a sermon adds to presentation the two essential elements of persuasion and action, and unless this definite object is steadily kept in view, the preacher will not provide a sermon. Preaching is God’s Word to man through man, and the motto of every preacher should be, ‘I have a message from God to thee.’ A story is told of a tradesman who was convicted by a sermon of giving short measure to his customers, and as a result of what he heard he went home and ‘burned his bushel.’ ‘This indicates the true ideal and aim of the Christian sermon.
SECTION 3. THE PREPARATION FOR THE SERMON.
‘Some men prepare their sermons; other men prepare themselves.” Lyman Beecher (or his son, Henry Ward Beecher y ) )
for the story is told of both) was once asked, ‘How long did it take you to prepare that sermon of this morning?’ ‘Forty years,’ was the reply. ‘The sermon is only properly made in proportion as the life is being enriched. A well-known American preacher has suggestively and strikingly said that it takes three men to preach a sermon; the physical man, the mental man, the spiritual man. And each of these three elements of preparation must be included and given proper attention.
The physical preparation is by no means unimportant. Eating is to the body what fuel is to the fire, and just as a fire must not be choked up with too much fuel if it is to burn brightly in a short time, so, if the physical powers are surfeited with eating just before a sermon, the preaching must necessarily suffer. Fresh air, a well-ventilated study, and regular exercise will be found invaluable in preparation for preaching. Not least, the clergyman ought to have one day’s rest in seven, and as, in the very nature of his vocation, Sunday is his most strenuous and exacting day, he should make a point of setting aside, as far as possible, some other day of the week as his sabbath.
Intellectual preparation necessarily occupies a very prominet place, and by this is to be understood the exercise and training of memory, reason, and imagination. Let no preacher think that ‘anything will do’ for a sermon. If he is not prepared to undertake genuinely hard mental work, he has failed to realize one of the prime necessities of all preaching.
Intellectual preparation will start with a general study of the Bible; this indeed will be the paramount necessity. ‘The preacher must be in the true sense, a ‘man of one book.’ This study, in so far as it is intended to minister to preaching, will include a careful consideration of the various periods, close attention to the biographies, and a constant study of the books of the Bible. Side by side with this, the preacher will make a point of studying both preaching and preachers in order to become acquainted with the best methods and at the same time to keep up his own ideals. We must not only read the best sermons and the best books on preaching, but take every opportunity of hearing the greatest preachers.
A general study of books will also form an essential feature of intellectual preparation for preaching. ‘This will preserve the mind from falling into ruts, increase our general information and material for sermons, help in the interpretation and application of the Bible, and enable us to enter into sympathy with the men of our time and the tendencies of our age. ‘This general study of books will include as far as possible some acquaintance with History, Science, Philosophy, Fic-~ tion, and Poetry, though of course, as temperaments vary, emphasis will be laid on one or the other of these departments of life. ‘The value of History is that it reveals God in human affairs; the value of Science is that it will bring God before us in nature; the value of Philosophy is that it will manifest God in the process and progress of human thought; Fiction will have its great value as an expression of human character. No one can read such masterpieces of literature as those of Shakespeare, Bunyan, George Eliot, Hawthorne, ‘Thackeray, and Dickens, without obtaining an added knowledge of that human nature with which we have to deal in sermons. Poetry will help us in particular with the expression of our thought, and a preacher who draws from such ‘wells of English undefiled’ as Milton, Wordsworth, and Ane will never lack lucidity and grace.
A study of men must also be included in our intellectual work. ‘Truth must ever be related to life, and a knowledge of men as well as of books will be the sure preventive against mere theorizing. Some one has aptly and wisely said that ‘a sermon must have heaven for its father and earth for its mother.’ Once again, let it be emphasized in the strongest possible way that we need the keen and most strenuous intellectual preparation if we are to do effective service in preaching. ‘There are far too many preachers who have been described as ‘men of thoughts rather than of thought.’
Spiritual preparation might be regarded as so essential as not to require notice, and yet it 1s necessary to emphasize it as one of the methods of true discipline for preaching. Nothing can make up for the training of the spiritual man.
142 MInNIstTERIAL LIFE AND WorK
This will come about pre-eminently by the daily devotional study of the Bible, which will give freshness, force, and fragrance to our message. The man who plunges his soul in the pure stream of Bible meditation day by day will find his preaching marked by vividness and purity which will bring joy and blessing to his hearers. Indeed, it may be fearlessly said that such a devotional study of the Bible will do much to settle critical questions for the preacher himself, for when a man has fellowship with God through His Word it gives him a criterion by which to test everything in the Bible. If a man meets God in the book of Genesis, that meeting will affect every subsequent consideration of that wonderful book. Devotional reading will also form part of our spiritual preparation, and so long as it is kept really secondary to the Bible, it can do nothing but good for us to see what God is teaching other souls, and to learn every possible lesson of His grace and love. Richard Cecil once said, ‘I have a shelf in my study for tried authors; one in my mind for tried principles; and one in my heart for tried friends.’ But of course this devotional study of the Bible and of other books will always be associated, and, if it may be so said, saturated with prayer. As we honour the Holy Spirit of God, Who is the real Author of the Bible, as we trust Him, as we seek Him, and as we pour out our hearts before Him, our spirits will become strong as the Word of God abides in them and we shall become ‘thoroughly furnished’ for the work of the ministry.
SECTION 4. THE PREPARATION OF THE SERMON
In all suggestions for sermon work it must never be forgotten that individual experience is only valuable for comparison. Every man must be himself and follow the lines of his own temperament. At the same time it may often prove of service to compare notes with others in order to see what general lines of preparation for the sermon are followed.
1. First, we must get our text. This will best be obtained while we are alone with our Bible. “The true-hearted minister will desire to seek to know God’s will for His people, and lifting up his heart in prayer and trust he will wait upon
God for the message. Nor will he ever be really disappointed in his quest. At one time he will be led to preach from an Old ‘Testament topic, at another time from a New Testament subject, whether in the Gospels or Epistles, while yet again, the Psalms will yield their fruit to every earnest seeker. From time to time, however, nothing from the Scriptures read and pondered in the daily portion will impress itself upon his mind, but in answer to continued prayer and trust something else will be shown, and the mind directed in the right channel. There is a profound and genuine sense of spiritual satisfaction in the consciousness that our text has come in answer to faith and prayer; it tends to make us confident that our message is
from God.
2. With our text ready, we have to bear in mind and apply the simple and yet great principles of all sermon preparation. These principles are usually stated as three in number,’ but perhaps it may be permissible to add one more as the final and culminating requirement.
(2) We must ‘think ourselves empty.’ By this is meant that we must take our text and proceed to ponder its meaning. Our thoughts should be jotted down as they come, on a sheet of paper, without any attempt at arrangement, but only with an endeavour to elicit for ourselves every aspect of the meaning and message of the text. ‘This effort to think for ourselves will prove of the greatest possible value, and whether it takes a long or short time to ‘think ourselves empty,’ we ought not to approach any outside help to sermon preparation until we are conscious that to the best of our ability we have exhausted for the time our own mental possibilities.
(6) We must ‘read ourselves full.? After thinking out for ourselves the bearings of the text, the mind is in the proper state to approach the views of others who may have commented, or otherwise written on the passage. The mind that is ‘empty’ becomes thoroughly hungry, and the consciousness of first-hand thought of our own enables us to assimilate in a true sense all that is within our reach in the books of others. Let us read as widely as possible in the books and
1 Bishop Boyd Carpenter’s Lectures on Preaching.
magazines at our disposal, and incorporate in the work everything that is appropriate to our subject.
(c) Then we must ‘write ourselves clear.’ After thinking and reading it is essential to put your thoughts into proper order, and this can only be done by writing. Since ‘writing makes the exact man,’ the use of our pen in sermon preparation will be an indispensable requirement. When we have arranged our outline and method of treatment we should write out our sermon in full, for the very exercise of writing will give clearness and precision to our thought. ‘The eye is a great help to the mind, and the very sight of what we have written will enable us to correct our material in a way that would be quite impossible apart from writing. ‘These are the three principles which are usually emphasized in all books on sermon preparation, and it will be seen that they refer exclusively to the purely intellectual aspects of the sermon. For this reason we venture to add a fourth principle to the foregoing.
(d) We must ‘pray ourselves keen.? When the intellectual work has been done, or rather, all through the process of intellectual acquisition, our work should be steeped in prayer, and then when the preparation is over we must commit ourselves and our work to God in order that our delivery, when the time comes, may be ‘in demonstration of the Spirit and of power.’ If a man will only observe these four principles in his preparation, he will find that they cover the entire field of need.
3. Some words about methods seem to be required at this point. Sermon preparation should begin early in the week. It is injurious to ourselves, as well as wrong to our people, to allow our week to be crowded with engagements which compel us to postpone our sermon work till almost the very end of a busy, and, it may be, tiring week. If we begin on Monday morning for the next Sunday we shall soon find the advantage in a variety of ways. Then something, however little, should be done each day. We must never forget the great intellectual law known as ‘unconscious cerebration.?” ‘The subject once started, is certain to germinate, and in ways of which we know nothing, material will be gradually collected, and mind and heart will be preparing themselves all through the week as We give attention to our work day by day. “Then we must endeavour to discipline our mind to think distinctly and connectedly. ‘This is easier said than done, and yet unless some effort is made we shall find our thoughts only desultory and of no practical value. Further, as we are thinking and reading, we should take every opportunity of using our pen. It it probably true to say that no great speaker has ever lived who did not make full use of his pen. Writing has a remarkable effect upon our powers of thought and reading, and no clergyman can afford to dispense with the discipline that comes thereby. As Lord Brougham himself said: —
‘I should lay it down as a rule admitting of no exception, that a man will speak well in proportion as he has written much and that with equal talents he will be the finest extempore speaker, when no time for preparing is allowed, who has prepared himself most sedulously when he had an opportunity of delivering a premeditated speech,?
At the same time, our writing is not for the purpose of committing our sermon to memory. ‘There are very few preachers who can memorize their sermons and deliver them memoriter with reality and directness. “There is a sense in which the words are absolutely true. “Take care of the thoughts and the words will take care of themselves.’ If only we ponder and read, and read and ponder, when the time comes for us to deliver what we have prepared, mind and memory will not be found wanting.
4. It now remains for us to consider with care the essential requirements of every sermon. ‘They seem to be four in number.
(a) There must be definiteness of aim. It is said of one preacher that ‘he aimed at nothing and hit it every time.’ A man should know with clearness and directness what he wishes to elicit from his text and deliver to his people. At every point of his preparation he should rigidly inquire of himself, What do I mean by this? What does the text teach? What do I intend to give to my people?
(4) There must be simplicity and precision of language. All high-flown language should be carefully avoided. Simplicity, lucidity, and preciseness are all that are required of the sermon. A man’s wife should not be termed ‘the partner of his joys and sorrows,’ and we must carefully avoid the temptation to be original in the desire to keep clear of the hackneyed and trite. “The man who wished to dispense with the familiar ‘From the cradle to the grave’ did not improve matters by describing life as ‘from the basinette to the sepulchre.? We must do our utmost to weigh words, to seek their etymological meaning, and to cultivate familiarity with their true force. For this purpose a good etymological dictionary will prove of constant service. We must do our best to cultivate style. Perhaps for pulpit work there are no authors to compare with George Eliot and Froude, because of their simplicity, force and directness; and one i; the finest models for the young clergyman is to be found in the well-known books and tracts by the late Bishop Ryle of Liverpool. It is known that he commenced his ministry in a country parish in the West of England, and determined to model himself on the great Canon Henry Melville of St. Paul’s, but he soon found that the country folk were utterly unable to appreciate the rounded periods and florid language employed after the example of the eminent and eloquent Canon. And so Mr. Ryle, to use his own expression, determined to ‘crucify his style.” He did so to some purpose, in view of the almost unique terseness, clearness, and force of his inimitable writings. In the course of an article in The British Weekly some years ago by the late Ian Maclaren, reviewing his ministry, he gave expression to the following words: —
‘Had I another thirty years, I should give more earnest heed to style, and especially I would enrich my mind by daily study of its great masters, so that as a farmer quickens his soil by nitrates, one might enrich his mind by the assimilation of noble language. Nothing has degraded preaching more than tawdry appeals, in which the pathos has no passion, and the argument no force. Evangelistic preaching has seemed to us to be, as a rule, careless to a scandal and almost squalid in style, with vain repetitions of hackneyed words by way of exhortation and with incredible anecdotes by way of illustration. But I am moved at present to judge this difficult and delicate form of preaching with the utmost charity, when I review the glaring deficiency of my own style and the repeated evidence of unfinished work. Let me record my solemn conviction that in the day when he gives in his account the preacher of the Evangel will be held responsible, not only for the truth which he declares, but for the dress with which he clothed it.’
(c) There must be clearness of arrangement. ‘The old-fashioned ‘Heads’ to Sermons are by no means unworthy of consideration by preachers of to-day. “They help the preacher in his preparation, and they certainly help the hearer to follow point by point the various divisions of the sermon. It is quite unnecessary, as we shall see later, to announce these “Heads’ beforehand, but if they are mentioned one by one as they come, it will conduce to clearness of statement which will be undoubtedly effective. But whether we have ‘Heads,’ or not, there should be something like a logical arrangement of the sermon from commencement to conclusion.
(qd) ‘There must be forcefulness of application. A sermon without an application is not a sermon at all, but only an essay. Application is like the bait on the hook. We must be ‘fishers of men.’ A clergyman once told a friend of mine that he had laboured for eleven years in one parish without knowing of a single conversion. My friend and I knew very well that the man who made this confession was one of the ablest and most acceptable of teachers, honoured and loved by his people, and all who knew him. But, as my friend explained it, “Che fact of the matter is, he provided a splendid meal, but he did not show his people how to eat it.? In other words he was a teacher, but he did not apply his teaching and lead to immediate acceptance and obedience.. Let us never fail to drive home our message and make it as personal, direct, and definite as possible.
Along these lines it may be confidently said that a general preparation of the sermon will proceed. Once again, let us fix it in our minds that no work can be too great, no labour too severe, no trouble too much, no toil too exacting, if the Christian preacher is to do his duty to his God, himself, and his people.
SECTION 5. THE STRUCTURE OF THE SERMON.?
Every sermon should have a plan. It is true that sermon outlines, or plans, are not very fashionable in the present day; they are either ignored or else very carefully disguised; and yet they possess a twofold advantage: they are good for the preacher, and certainly good for the hearers. The preacher will be enabled to study much more intelligently if he proceeds along the lines of a carefullly worked out plan. He will be helped to keep a proper proportion between the parts of his sermon. His edifice will not be all porch, or otherwise out of proportion. For extemporaneous preaching a sermon plan will be of extreme value. Not least in importance, an outline will provide a constant exercise for the mind in construction. For these reasons a clergyman should certainly practise the making of sermon plans and outlines. As to hearers, no one can doubt that an outline makes a sermon intelligible and attractive. People are able to carry away the main ideas of the preacher if they are put before them in something like outline form. ‘This outline should conform to the regular threefold division of every true sermon; the Introduction, the Substance, the Conclusion.
A. The Introduction is very important. Some one has remarked that ‘the first five minutes of a battle are decisive.’ But whether this be the case, or not, the first few seconds of a sermon are undoubtedly of the greatest importance.
1. What should be the substance of a good Introduction? It should possess four qualities.
(a) It should be arresting, in order to gain attention. An introduction should never be too obvious, and for this reason it should be made as interesting as possible. When a preacher commences with the hackneyed words, “The chapter from which my text is taken,’ one feels inevitably inclined to settle down to slumber. All the best preachers make their introduction attractive and arresting.
1 In this section it has only been possible to summarize (mainly from Hoyt, The Work of Preaching, chaps. 8 and 9) what all authorities on sermons require.
(b) It should be sympathetic, in order to win the goodwill of the congregation. One of the finest books for work among children is called The Point of Contact, showing the need of a teacher becoming at once en rapport with his juvenile hearers. “The same thing is really true in connexion with sermons, and it is of the greatest importance to win the goodwill of our audience by some point at the outset with which they will agree.
(c) It should be appropriate. ‘The introduction must have a close connexion with what follows. If there is no vital relation between the introduction and the substance of the sermon, what is said will not only be futile but harmful.
(Zd) It should be short. Sermons are sometimes weighted with too long an introduction. ‘The house is all portico, and people are tired before the substance of the sermon is reached. Some of us have very vivid recollections of an able and scholarly preacher whose introductions as a rule used to take at least twenty minutes.
2. What should be the form of a good introduction? The only answer to this is that the form must be varied if it is to be good. Sometimes it will take the form of an explanation; at other times an observation; and yet again an illustration. So long as there is variety and appropriateness to what follows we can adopt whatever form we wish.
3. What should be the spirit of a good Introduction? It should be at once modest and simple. Anything approaching egotism or conscious authority in the preacher will be at once futile and fatal.
B. The Substance of the sermon naturally occupies our attention after the Introduction, and this involves a due and appropriate use of the methods of analysis and synthesis. The former will be for instruction; the latter persuasion. Both are needed and should be constantly kept in view.
1. What is the character of a thoroughly good sermon?
(a) It should possess unity. Every part of the sermon should be connected with the rest, and our treatment should proceed step by step from the opening to the close.
(4) It should be marked by progress. We should prepare so carefully that we may be able to avoid putting into division 1 what ought to be in division 2.
(c) It should possess clearness. Whether this is done by means of divisions is a matter of opinion and choice. If we have divisions for our sermons it will usually be found wise not to announce them beforehand, for the element of surprise is of great importance in all preaching. If our subject happens to be specially abstract, or theological, it may well be thought necessary to announce our general treatment beforehand, but, as a rule, in our ordinary sermons each point should be announced at its proper place.
(2) It should be characterized by vitality. All the unity, progress, and clearness that our sermons reveal will count for nothing unless they are also possessed with life. ‘The dry bones must be clothed with flesh, the flesh must be vitalized, and the sermon made living for its purposes.
2. What are the elements of the form of a thoroughly good sermon? ‘The following four elements will probably be found essential to every satisfactory sermon.
(a) There will be propositions. We must state our case, and show our people what we intend to do with our subject.
(£) There will be explanations. We must interpret, elucidate, and justify our propositions.
(c) There will be observations. We shall comment on, and apply our text in all suitable ways.
(7) ‘There will be illustrations. “There are very few sermons that will not be greatly benefited by some illustrations to let in the light and impress the subject on mind and heart.
C. The Conclusion of the sermon is not the least important section of it. Indeed, it is absolutely essential, for, as we have said, it distinguishes the sermon from the essay or the lecture.
1. What is the character of a good Conclusion? (a) It should be short. Let us beware of saying, ‘Finally’ until we are really at the close of our sermon. When a clergyman uses this often welcome sound about twenty times before he actually closes, and when it is followed by similar remarks, like ‘Lastly’; ‘One word more’; ‘In conclusion’; hearers are
PREACHING io
apt to get impatient and resent such an inaccurate use of language. An American clergyman entertained a number of eminent men at dinner. ‘The guests were speaking in praise of a sermon the host had preached. ‘The preacher’s young son was at the table, and one of the guests said: ‘My boy, what did you think of your father’s sermon?’ ‘I guess it was very good,’ said the lad, ‘but there were three mighty fine places where he could have stopped.’
(4) It should be simple. No oratorical flights are in place at the conclusion of a Christian sermon. Young preachers are often tempted to indulge in a ‘peroration,’ but it should be avoided, because it will inevitably fail of the effect essential to a Christian discourse.
(c) It should be pungent. ‘That is to say, there must be a direct, personal appeal. Each hearer must feel the force of the words, as though the preacher were saying to him, “Thou art the man.’
(2) It should be definite. This means that the preacher should not fail to tell his people how to do what is required by the message. Whether it is an evangelistic, or an instructive sermon, this definite presentation of the method of realization must form part of our conclusion.
2. What is the form of a good Conclusion? Here again, the answer is that it may be, and ought to be varied. Sometimes it will take the form of a recapitulation, but it is not often that a preacher can invest his recapitulation with that freshness which the subject requires. Every review should be a mew view, and this is not an easy task. It is probable, therefore, that the more familiar form of application will be the prominent feature in our conclusions. But whatever may be our methods, we must take care that there is a real, forceful, pertinent, and practical ending to our message.
As we contemplate these three parts: Introduction, Substance, Conclusion, we naturally inquire what proportion of our time and material should be given to each. It is difficult to say, but the suggestion has been made that the Introduction should take one-fifth, the Substance three-fifths, and the Conclusion one-fifth of our time. But we must not be slaves to any such rigidity, for from time to time we shall probably find that one-tenth for Introduction, four-fifths for Substance, and one-tenth for Conclusion will be more appropriate to our needs. ‘The one thing essential is that there should be a fair and due proportion between these three parts, and we can test the matter by the manuscript pages of our sermons when written. If only we keep before our minds the absolute necessity of these three parts and do our utmost to make them the very best we can, our sermons will never lack appreciation on the part of our people.
SECTION 6. SCRIPTURE IN RELATION TO THE SERMON.’
As sermons are essentially a Christian institution, the Word of God is naturally prominent and important in connexion with them. ‘The Bible often speaks of ‘the Ministry of the Word,’ and the Church of England Prayer Book title is ‘Ministers of the Word and Sacraments,’ never of the Sacraments alone. ‘The use of the Bible is essential to the minister merely for style, illustration, and interest; but far more than this, it is essential for his message. All the great preachers have been truly Biblical preachers. No one can read a sermon of Spurgeon’s without becoming aware of his intimate acquaintance with the Bible. Holy Scripture was the atmosphere in which he lived and preached. ‘The same is true of all other pulpit giants, like Maclaren, Parker, and Liddon; they were ‘mighty in the Scriptures.” No one can exaggerate the value of a prolonged study of the Bible alone for the work of Christian preaching. If the mind is saturated with such portions as the Fourth Gospel, or the Epistles to the Romans and Ephesians, or the last great section of Isaiah, the result will be nothing short of wonderful in providing thought and experience for the ministry. If our preaching is not Biblical it is certain to be thin, poor, and hesitating, but if it is made up of the Bible it is sure to be rich, strong, penetrating, and satisfying both to preacher and hearers. Preaching that is not Scriptural cannot be regarded as Christian preaching. But at once the question arises, What do we mean by Scriptural preaching? Various aspects of the subject call for attention.
1 See Hoyt, The Work of Preaching, chaps. 5 and 6.
In The Use of a Text.
It is the invariable custom to employ a text as the introduction to sermons. It is a little difficult to discover the origin of the use of the term. “Text? means ‘something woven,’ and we may at least apply it to suggest the importance of the message being woven with the Word of God. Shall we continue to observe this old custom of giving out our text? Almost every preacher would answer this question with a hearty affirmative. A text will give a sermon the authority of a Divine message, and this is the most important part of our work. The hearers will also thereby be helped to study the Scripture for themselves and will be enabled to recall the sermon as they give attention to the text. But perhaps the greatest value of the text lies in its effects on the minister himself. It will give definiteness to the entire sermon, keep the preacher strictly to his subject, enable him to concentrate attention on the aim of the moment, and in the course of his ministry the use of texts will afford him opportunities for providing the necessary variety in his subjects as he endeavours to bring out of his treasure things new and old. For these and other reasons it is not too much to say that the employment of a text should be continued as in every way of the greatest possible advantage to preachers and hearers.
I]. The Choice of a Text.
Several considerations should weigh with us in the actual selection of a passage of Scripture for our message.
1. It should be a genuine message. “The text should be based on the true meaning of the passage, so far as we can derive it under the guidance of the best available scholarship. Any other use than the true exegetical meaning will need the greatest possible care. Preachers must not fail to distinguish between interpretation and application, and if our sermon adoes not deal with the original meaning of the passage, but is used in some secondary way, the fact should be stated and the people told what the passage really does mean in its original idea, Serious injury is likely to be done if we misuse Scripture by not giving the proper interpretation. A clergyman once delivered a series of sermons on Popular Sins, and when he had to discuss the subject of Smoking he took as his text, ‘Do thyself no harm.’ It is probable that he did himself untold harm by such a deplorable misuse of the Word of God. Care should also be taken about any human words that are found recorded in the Bible, and we should ask ourselves before using such words as our text whether they are true. If the clergyman takes his text from the speeches of one of Job’s friends, it is essential to discover whether the words are themselves true apart from any particular use made of them by the friends, for we remember how they were rebuked by God for giving Job a wrong impression. Of course there are words spoken by man which are true in themselves, as, for example, the words of the guards sent to apprehend our Lord: ‘Never man spake like this man;’ or the enemies of Christ: ‘Who can forgive sins, but God only?’ In such cases we are quite safe in taking the words as our text, even though Divine inspiration only concerns the accuracy of the record. On one occasion a minister took as his text the words of Satan: ‘Skin for skin; yea, all that a man hath will a man give for his life’; and after announcing his text he commenced in a sensational way by saying, “That’s a lie.” It was a striking way of calling attention to the fact that not every word found in Scripture is a word of and from God.
2. It should contain a complete message. ‘There is a real danger of using the text as a ‘peg’ on which to hang certain thoughts which may be used in themselves but have no real relation to the Scripture passage. A text ought not to be employed as a mere motto, or even as a point of departure. Our duty is the elucidation of the text, and we ought not to select our subject first and then ransack the Bible for a text to fit it. It is only very rarely that any clergyman need go outside the Bible for the subject of his preaching. A young minister once preached from the words, ‘Nevertheless afterward,’ and although he had much to say that was helpful about the discipline of life, it certainly seemed incongruous for so young a man to take so pretentious a subject and with so unsatisfactory a text. As it has been well put, we must be particularly careful not to use our text as a ‘pretext.’
3. It should never be in any way incongruous. There must be no eccentricity, no humour, and of course nothing approaching buffoonery. Some authorities go as far as to say that there is no humour in the Bible, that the prophets and apostles were too deeply concerned with the realities of life to indulge in pleasantries. Whether this is so or not, the preacher must be particularly careful in his use of passages of Scripture for his text. Even a passage like ‘Ephraim is a cake not turned (Hos. 7: 8) will need all possible care and reverence.
4, It should be as suggestive and striking as possible. How wonderful is the freshness of Bushnell’s sermon titles! They are sermons in themselves. Who but a genius like Bushnell would have entitled a sermon on Cyrus from Isaiah 45: 5, ‘Every man’s life a plan of God?’ Another suggestive illustration of the same value of freshness is found in the use of the text ‘See thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount’ (Heb. 8: 5).* No one can read Matheson’s Devotional Meditations, Moments in the Mount, without being aware of the great helpfulness of the themes. If our text should happen to be familiar we must do our utmost to invest it with some novelty and freshness. “The glorification of the obvious is one of the greatest needs of the ministry, and every man should strive to excel along this line. Perhaps the finest illustration, of investing with freshness a familiar text is found in Dr. Maclaren’s great sermon on John 3: 16. (a) The Lake: God so loved the world.’ (4) The River: ‘He gave His only begotten Son.’ (c) The Cup: ‘that whosoever believeth.” (d) The Draught: ‘have everlasting life.’ We cannot all be Maclarens, but we ought to give our very best attention to the need of investing with newness the most familiar texts.
5. It should be guided by three things.
(a) By our past sermons. There should be as much variety as possible and the avoidance of repetition. Dr. R. W. Dale tells us that he kept lists of sermon subjects pinned up in his study, so that he might be able to see at a glance what subjects he had been taking for weeks and months past.
1 Hoyt, ué sup., p. 135.
(4) By the present needs of our people. We must consider what we believe to be their requirements, and our texts should as far as possible be such as can be divided and treated intelligently and suitably for our flocks by our own personal predilections. What grips our own spiritual life is pretty certain to impress our people, and if the Word of God is vital in our own experience it will inevitably become powerful as we proclaim its message week by week.
III. The Interpretation of a Text.
It is our bounden duty to find and give the proper interpretation of the text as preachers of the Word of God. ‘This will mean study, and unless we are prepared for hard, strenuous, intellectual work we have not yet conceived the true idea of preaching. The interpretation of the text demands a knowledge of the language, whether in Hebrew or English; some acquaintance with Eastern customs so far as they are employed in the passage; and certainly an accurate knowledge of the context on both sides of the passage from which we propose to preach. For example, no one should preach on ‘Lord, increase our faith’ (Luke 17: 5) without careful reference to the thought of forgiveness in the context. No sermon should be preached on Nicodemus (John 3: 1) without observing the connexion in the Greek and the R.V. with chapter 2 and the special point illustrative of Nicodemus’ character in the usual emphasis on the word ‘man.’ No preacher should dream of using “Touch not; taste not; handle not’ (Col. 2: 21) without a thorough knowledge of the situation which led to those words. ‘To separate them from the context and use them on behalf of temperance is to do plain violence to Holy Writ. The use of the Greek will often save us from error, even though it may occasionally spoil some useful sermons. Thus, no one could possibly exalt the ordinance of preaching from 1 Cor. 1: 21, if he looked at the verse in the original.
We must also beware of spiritualizing Scripture. Teaching by types is of course legitimate and necessary, but it needs a good deal of intellectual care and not a little spiritual common sense. A preacher once had to preach on the subject of temperance, and emphasized quite rightly the importance of Christian people opposing and fighting the drink traffic in every possible way, but it did not seem quite a happy use to make of the text, ‘Samuel hewed Agag in pieces before the Lord.’
Not least of all, we must insist on verbal accuracy in our interpretation of texts. “There must be no twisting to obtain our point, however important that point may be. Unless there is intellectual honesty on the part of the preacher, there will soon be intellectual disgust on the part of hearers who are just as capable to consider the bearings of Scripture as he himself is. “There is scarcely any more clamant call in the present day in connexion with preaching than for a thorough, intellectual, genuine interpretation of the Scripture we use.
IV. The Adherence to a Text.
The subject should grow out of the text, and usually there will be no difficulty in accomplishing this. To choose and work out a subject and then prefix a text to it, is likely to lead to the production of an essay, not a sermon. ‘The text should be the germ and the sermon the product. If only we carefully expound the text, discovering its meaning, and pronouncing it in its natural divisions we shall be thereby enabled to keep closely to the text all through the sermon. It was a sad and sorry testimony of the hearer who sarcastically remarked of his preacher that there was so little connexion between the text and the sermon that if the text had been infected with fever the sermon would not have caught it. The application as well as the subject and substance of the sermon should be strictly based on the text. Our message is presumably the Word of God, and it must be applied to our hearers. ‘This will prevent us from giving them any mere personal exhortation, still less any oratorical declamation. When subject, substance, and application are thus kept in close adherence to the text, we shall accomplish our purpose as ‘ministers of the Word.’
SECTION 7. VARIETIES OF SERMONS.
When a man is called to minister to the same people week after week for several years, it goes without saying that his messages should have all possible variety. Unless this is so, intellectual and even spiritual ruts and grooves are inevitable, and both preacher and people will feel monotony. The following are some varieties of sermons that should be kept in view.
I. Textual.
By this is meant a sermon that arises definitely and directly out of a single text, and if we cannot find a text to fit the topic it is probable that we shall be well advised to change the topic itself. ‘The fulness of Scripture is such that even the longest ministry may be maintained by sermons that come from Scripture. Before using a text out of its ordinary meaning we must pay attention to the context. “Thus if we should be taking Isaiah 61: 3, ‘Beauty for ashes,’ as a text on the sermon of the transformation of sorrow, we ought first of all to look at it and expound it in the light of Eastern customs and the circumstances of the return of the Jews from exile. And in all textual sermons we ought to endeavour to divide our texts so as to give unity and definiteness to our message. “Che following may be suggested as examples of textual preaching : —
Genesis 42: 21. The three elements of repentance: Conscience, ‘we are verily guilty’; Memory, ‘in that we saw the anguish’; Reason, ‘therefore is this distress come upon us.’ I remember Dr. A. T. Pierson calling my attention to this when we were travelling together from Dublin to London, and comparing notes on Bible study and sermons.
Matthew 6: 22. The Kingdom of God: What? How?
Why?
Luke 19: 42. Opportunity: Given; Limited; Lost.
Acts 10: 43. The Great Offer: The One Way; The
Strong Confirmation; The Simple Means.
1 Corinthians 13: 13. Faith, Hope, Love. Why all three are permanent; Why Love is supreme.
Colossians 1: 21-23. Alienation; Reconciliation; Presentation; Continuation.
Colossians 1: 27, 28. Our Message; our Methods; our Motive. Many other instances of this method will be found in those invaluable volumes of Expositions by Dr. Alexander Maclaren. ‘The only trouble is that when we have looked at one of Maclaren’s felicitous and inimitable treatments, we not only wonder why we did not see it ourselves, but we find it difficult to avoid a similar treatment when we are called upon to preach from the passage. Who that has read his sermon on Luke 22: 28 can ever forget his natural and suggestive divisions? The Lonely Christ; the Tempted Christ; the Grateful Christ.
From a different point of view Dr. Joseph Parker was equally felicitous in textual preaching, and in his People’s Bible will be found many of his fertile suggestions. It is not everybody who would be able to avoid the incongruous in taking such a text as ‘Now Sheshan had no sons, but daughters’ (1 Chron. 2: 34), and deduce therefrom the great principle of compensations in life. In Dr. Parker’s 4d Clerum there are many illustrations of his striking treatment. Thus on Job 14: 10, ‘Man giveth up the ghost, and where is he?’ The treatment is: (1) If he is a good man, he is where he desired to be, where he is prepared to be, and where he will remain. (2) If he is a bad man, he is where he did not desire to be, but where he is prepared to be, and where he will remain. On 1 Peter 5: 7, we are reminded of a traveller with three bundles or burdens: (1) Past Memories; (2) Present Difficulties; (3) Future Fears. All these we are to ‘cast upon’ the Lord. On one occasion I heard Dr. Orr give a brief address on the subject of the rich fool (Luke 12: 16-21) who, it was said, made three mistakes. (1) He mistook his body for his soul, (2) He mistook himself for God. (3) He mistook time for eternity. It is difficult to think of any more satisfactory, suggestive, and complete treatment of this passage.
Courses of Textual Sermons are also very useful from time to time. The following may be suggested as illustrations of what is meant:
Matthew 2: 1-10. The Light. (1) Sought by the Wise Men; (2) Ignored by the Jewish Authorities; (3) Opposed by Herod; (4) Welcomed by Joseph, Mary, and the Magi.
Luke 9: 57-62. The Three Temperaments. (1) Impulsive; (2) Cautious; (3) Vacillating. Or, Bunyanlike, following the suggestions of the late G. H. C. Macgregor: (1) Mr. ‘Too-Quick; (2) Mr. Too-Slow; (3) Mr. Too-Soft.
Il. Expository.
On almost every hand to-day we are urged to make our sermons more expository because our people need instruction in the Word of God, but those who proffer this advice are by no means clear as to what is meant by expository preaching. Dr. Maclaren’s textual preaching is essentially expository, even though it deals with one verse only, because it is thoroughly Biblical and arises immediately out of the text. But usually by expository preaching we are intended to mean the use of some passage of Scripture to be explained verse by verse and applied to our hearers. There are serious dangers for most men in attempting anything of this kind at a time of worship, as distinct from a Bible Class, because the treatment is liable to lack unity as well as to be protracted to too great a length. If inquiry be made, it will be found that there have been very few really expository preachers in the Christian Church; expository, that is, as distinct from Biblical preachers. Spurgeon was a Biblical preacher, so was Moody, but neither of them could be called an expository preacher. Maclaren is the nearest approach to a preacher who is at once Biblical and expository, and his expositions will be found to be the finest models of all expository preaching.
Three requirements should be emphasized in every endeavour to present to our people an exposition of any passage. (1) It should only concern the salient features. “There are many details that must be resolutely omitted, lest we are too long, and lest we blur the definite impression. (2) It should mainly concern the spiritual meaning. Anything historical, or geographical, or oriental, must be kept resolutely subordinated to the supreme issue; it is a sermon, not a lecture. (3) It should always have a searching message. The application in an exposition should be emphasized and never omitted. If these three essentials are observed; only salient; mainly spiritual; always searching; there is no reason why many of us should not develop into capable and acceptable expository preachers.
Some examples of this kind of sermon may perhaps be offered.
Psalm 16: The Life of the Believer. (1) Its Commencement (vs. 1-4). (2) Its Course ( us. 4-8). (3) Its Culmination (vs. 9-11).
Psalm 23. The Divine Shepherd, and Seven Reasons why ‘I shall not want.’ The rest of the Psalm provides the justification for the statement of v. 1.
Luke 7: 36-50. Simon and the Woman. (1) Simon the Sinner. (2) The Woman a Sinner. (3) Christ’s Attitude to Both.
Luke 15: 11-32. The Prodigal Son. (1) The seven steps down. (2) The seven steps up.
The Prayers of St. Paul.
The Thanksgivings of St. Paul. “Thanks be to God.’
The Doxologies of St. Paul.
Ill. Biographical.
As there is so much of human life recorded in the Bible, more than half of Holy Scripture being given to us in the form of history, the biographical element of preaching should not be overlooked. Its value is evident because of the living interest in other lives, and because human character is so vividly and faithfully depicted in Scripture that there are few lives recorded which do not provide counsels and warnings for the spiritual life. ‘The larger biographies found in both ‘Testaments are a perennial source of helpfulness, and no one can take such subjects as those of Abraham, or Jacob, or Elijah, or John the Baptist, without discovering a mine of wealth for intellect and heart. Not the least valuable point of these biographical sermons will be that we shall be enabled to introduce the experience and make direct personal applications to the lives of our people when they least expect them, and when they cannot charge us with introducing anything merely personal. No one who has tried this method with the suggestive help and guidance of such biographies as those by the Rev. F. B. Meyer, Dr. Alexander Whyte, or Dr. George Matheson, will ever fail to give biography a prominent place in his ministerial preaching and teaching.
The shorter biographies are equally valuable for this purpose. Even though very little is told us of many of the characters recorded, sufficient is very often found in a short space to indicate lines of thought and reveal developments of character. ‘Thus the three chapters in which Nicodemus is mentioned lend themselves admirably to a sermon on the spiritual development of the ‘ruler in Israel,’ as (1) the Secret Inquirer, (2) the Timid Advocate, and (3) the Open Confessor. “The passages connected with Barnabas can be easily and naturally grouped under five headings, giving to us so many aspects of his character and service. “The same is true of the Mother of our Lord, whose spiritual life may be comprised in five definite periods.* Such a book as Dean Howson’s Companions of St. Paul, will provide ample material for several truly helpful sermons. ‘The one great need in all this biographical teaching is to make the men and women live over again, to show the reality of their experiences, and to bring them out of the framework of old days into living contact with modern experiences. When this is done biography will prove one of the most attractive features of the Christian ministry.
TV. Topical.
By topical preaching is not meant preaching that deals with “Topics of the Day,’ but subjects found in Scripture associated with various texts rather than with one only. The subjects of Scripture are almost endless, but the following may be adduced as examples of this method.
St. Paul’s three Ambitions. 2 Cor. 5:9; 1 Thess. 4: 11; Rom. 15: 20 (see Greek).
1 Perhaps the author may venture to refer to his own little book, Methods of Bible Study, for further illustrations of these statements.
The Three Burdens. Sin (Psa. 55: 22); Service (Gal. 6: 5); Sympathy (Gal. 6: 2).
Christ’s Visits to Bethany. (1) As Teacher. (2) As Sympathizer. (3) As Redeemer. (4) As Lord.
“Whatsoever ye do... do all.’ (1) ‘To the glory of God’ (1 Cor. 10: 31); (2) ‘In the Name of the Lord Jesus’ (Col. 3: 17). (3) From the soul (Col. 3: 23; see Greek).
“Be of good cheer.’ Five occasions on which this word (see Greek) was used by our Lord.
‘All things are possible.’ (1) With God. (2) To the believer.
‘I have sinned.’ Eight confessions of sin in these words; four real, four unreal.
So.’ (1) ‘Loved’ (John 3: 16); (2) ‘Great Salvation’ Oreb..2: 3).
‘Wist not.’ (1) Moses. (2) Samson,
‘Thorns.’ (1) Ruin (Gen. 3:); (2) Redemption (Gen. 19:); (3) Restoration (Isa. 55).
Peter’s Three Sleeps. (1) Unripe Experience (Transfiguration); (2) Unfaithful Life (Gethsemane); (3) Unquestioning Trust (Prison).
The Beatitudes. (1) Of the Psalms; (2) of the Gospels; (3) of the Apocalypse.
The Four Suppers. (1) Redemption (Luke 14: 16-20); (2) Communion (1 Cor. 11: 23-29); (3) Joy (Rev. 19: 9); (4) Judgment (Rev. 19: 17).
Justification in its seven aspects.
V. The Secret of True Scriptural Preaching.
For all phases of preaching two requirements are absolutely essential.
1. There must be daily Bible Study. First, the Bible alone without any outside helps. ‘Then, and then only, with all available assistance.
2. There must be daily Bible Meditation. ‘This means that we shall read primarily for our own life. What grips us will assuredly grip our people. These two, Study and Meditation, are the secret of perennial freshness and force.
SECTION 8. ESSENTIAL QUALITIES IN A SERMON. Although we have discussed some of the vital requirements necessary for the preparation of the sermon, it seems imperative to consider still more fully some of those essential features of substance and form which go to make up the true sermon.
I. Every Preacher should have a Dominant Theme.
Our theme is a Person rather than ideas or truth in the abstract. It is a weakness of many a ministry that it concentrates attention on ideas. Dr. Dale once confessed that for years he had been thinking only of the truth he preached, and not of the people to whom he was preaching. ‘Christianity is Christ’, and we must never forget this in our preaching. It was the Person of Christ Who constituted the theme of Apostolic preaching (‘Whom we preach,’ Col. 1: 28). And it was the Person of Christ as crucified (1 Cor. 2: 2), not the Cross, but Christ crucified. And it was also Christ as Lord (2 Cor. 4: 5). This great truth is found exemplified in all the earliest preaching. While there are various relationships between Christ and the soul, it is always the Person of Christ, whatever may be the relationship. Philip preached Christ (Acts 8: 5) and Jesus (Acts 8: 35). The disciples ceased not to teach and preach Christ (Acts 5: 42), and Paul preached Jesus as the Messiah (Acts 17: 3). All doctrines and duties are to be linked to Him. It is only thus that a sermon becomes living, personal, and not merely intellectual and abstract. ‘Truth is always to be associated with Christ; “Truth as in Jesus.” And our ethics must always be associated with His love, His grace, His spirit. It is only in the presence and power of Christ that our sermons and addresses, however orthodox, will kindle spiritual fire in the soul. In the fine articles in the Britsh Weekly, in which Ian Maclaren reviewed his ministry shortly after his resignation of his Liverpool church, we read the following: —
‘I now clearly see every sentence should suggest Christ, and every sermon, even though His Name had not been mentioned nor His words quoted, should leave the hearer at the feet of Christ. In Christ there is an irresistible charm; without Him the sermon may have beauty, it will not have fragrance. With Christ every one is satisfied, although men may differ widely about Christian creeds and Christian customs. After Him every human soul is feeling, and in Him alone all human souls meet. As it now appears to me, the chief effort of every sermon should be to unveil Christ, and the chief art of the preacher to conceal himself,’
II. Lvery Preacher should have a Clear Message.
By this is meant a portion of Divine truth, selected, prepared, and delivered under the guidance and in the power of the Holy Spirit, and adapted to present needs. Unless there is some definite truth from God for those to whom we speak, the sermon will fail of its-distinctive purpose. A story is related of a Scottish minister who was given to weeping during the delivery of his sermons. A visitor had been a worshipper in his church on one occasion, and observing the minister crying, inquired of a member of the congregation the cause of the tears. The whispered reply was, ‘If ye was standin’ up there, and had as little to say as he has, ye wid greet yersel’.’ The message must be clear first of all in the preacher’s mind, and then clearly expressed on the preacher’s lips. Otherwise it will never be clear to the hearers.
III. very Preacher should have a Defimte Aim.
Knowledge is not an end but only a means in preaching. Herein lies the difference between the essay and the sermon. We have to convince the intellct, to stir the heart, to quicken the conscience, and to move the will. Matthew Arnold’s well known phrase, ‘Light and leading,’ aptly expresses what sermons ought to be. Sermons are intended to lead as well as to illuminate. Cicero said that the be-all and end-all of eloquence is actie.
What then is our aim in sermon work? It has always one or more of these three ends. (1) Salvation; personal and present; (2) Sanctification; full and constant; (3) Service; hearty and devoted. Under these three aspects of Christian teaching, perhaps the aim of every sermon can be put. They should be ever in view, and we must never rest content in ideas, however interesting, true, or important. It is recorded of a French doctor that he performed a certain surgical operation a great many times, while an English doctor had only performed it on eight occasions. “The Frenchman was asked how many lives he had saved. He replied, ‘None, but then the operation was so brilliant.” The Englishman saved seven out of the eight. All the brilliance of our sermons will count for nothing unless we are enabled to ‘save some.’ A Briton and a Boer went out shooting deer for food. ‘The Briton took a case of cartridges with him, the Boer only took one. ‘Why,’ asked the Briton, ‘do you only take one cartridge?’ ‘Because,’ was the reply, ‘I only want one deer.’
It is this definiteness of aim which gives point to such phrases as ‘a word in season’ (Isa. 50: 4); ‘food in due season’ (Luke 12: 42); “present truth’ (2 Peter 1: 12). In an article which appeared in the Sunday School Chronicle some time ago, the following words seemed to go to the heart of the problem: —
‘An ignorant man may draw great draughts of spiritual strength from the higher life, when a more mentally alert man may be spiritually meagre and barren. Why? Because the mind, wholly absorbed in its ideas, is not tuned to the Infinite. The freer and humbler soul expects to meet the Saviour, is conscious of His nearness, speaks as in His presence. It is not that the full mind is any hindrance; far from that. It is the mind averted from Christ, or the mind wholly occupied in its own processes, that fails to bless.’
One point in particular may perhaps receive special notice. It has been said that there are few lives into which some shadows or sorrows have not come, and that for this reason the message of comfort, which means in the true sense of that old word, an inspiration to strength, courage, and consolation, should not be often away from our messages. To quote Ian Maclaren again: —
‘The review of the past has convinced me that while preaching. has various ends, the chief ought to be comfort. It is useful in its way to explain the construction of the Book of Isaiah, and to give the history of Hebrew literature, but it is better to minister the consolation of Isaiah’s fifty-third chapter to the weary heart. The critical movement has not only affected students in their studies, but also preachers in their pulpits; and while I have ever pled for full liberty in criticism, and have used that liberty myself, I am free to acknowledge that I would have done more good if I had been less critical and more evangelical. And by evangelical I mean more heartening and more comforting. People are interested in an expository discourse; they are lifted by a consolatory discourse. Life we may take for granted is hard enough for every hearer, and every man is carrying his own burden. My conclusions on this point are (and I offer them with confidence to younger men) that the people appreciate literature in your style but do not desire literature for your subject, and that while they do not undervalue information on the Bible, they are ten thousand times more grateful for the inspiration of the Book, and that our preaching should be more according to the words of Isaiah, “Comfort ye, comfort ye, my people, speak ye comfortably to Jerusalem.””
IV. Every Preacher should occupy a Right Attitude.
It is very helpful to observe the various names given to the preacher in the New Testament. He is a ‘herald’ (1 Tim. 2: 7); an ‘ambassador’ (2 Cor. 5: 20); an ‘evangelist’ (2 Tim. 4:5); a ‘witness’ (Acts 1: 8); a ‘teacher’ (1 Tim. 2h) a. prophet? ){ Eph. ..4: 11);land) an “encourager: (mapaxadéu, 2 Cor. 6: 1). When the Apostle uses the words, ‘we beseech you,’ we readily enter into his spirit as he endeavoured to present his Master to others. He also uses three words in 1 Corinthians 14: 3 which need careful study by all preachers: Consolation, Edification, Exhortation, thereby appealing respectively to the feeling, the intellect, and the will. When we gather together the aspects of truth underlying all these titles of the preacher, we realize that he should be a man of convinction, a man of sincerity, 2 man of sympathy, and a man of authority.
V. Every Preacher should employ True Methods.
Here again the New Testament will be our best and safest guide. When we study “the preaching of the blessed Apostle Paul,’ we cannot fail to notice the various words that he uses in connexion with his message. “Thus we read of him as follows: ‘Opening and alleging that it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer, and to be raised from the dead, and that this Jesus is the Messiah, Whom I proclaim to you.’ ‘Opening, ‘alleging,’ ‘proclaiming.’ He expounded the Scriptures, he placed the truth carefully before them, and proclaimed the Person of his Master as the fulfillment of the Old Testament prophecies. In his work at Corinth another word is used. ‘He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded Jews and Greeks (Acts 18: 4). ‘Reasoning, ‘persuading.’ ‘Thus he appealed to mind, heart, and will. In Rome, we are told that he preached the kingdom of God, and taught the things concerning the Lord Jesus Christ with all boldness (Acts 28: 31). ‘Heralding,’ ‘teaching.? Here are the two aspects of the preacher’s work; announcing his Master ‘to them that are without,’ and instructing believers in Christ. At Colosse we learn yet another method of the Apostle, for we read of him ‘admonishing and teaching every man in all wisdom’ (Col. 1: 28). The admonition was for warning and the teaching was for instruction; the two sides of Christian teaching. The minister must be Salt and Light.
But the finest method of all is that of the Perfect Teacher, as illustrated for us in His dealings with the Woman of Samaria. “That chapter should be pondered again and again by every Christian preacher who desires to know the deepest secrets of winning the soul for Christ. We observe that our Lord took four steps towards the possession of that life. (1) He first attracted her heart by asking for a draught of water, and thereby predisposing her to listen without prejudice to anything else He might have to say. (2) He then arrested her mind by giving her food for thought as to the living water and the difference between that and the water in the well. (3) When the woman’s interest was aroused, and her desire stirred to ask for the living water, our Lord made his
searching appeal to her conscience by telling her to go and.
call her husband. When the woman fenced with this awkward and unwelcome inquiry, and endeavoured to divert attention to a religious custom on the merits of Jerusalem and Samaria, our Lord kept her to the point and insisted on the necessity of spiritual reality and no mere locality in worship. (4) Then at length when the poor soul was broken down, unable to make any further resistance, our Lord assured her soul by the present and personal revelation of Himself as the Messiah. ‘The very truth that was hidden from the Jews and refused by our Lord to them. was given gladly to this weary, convicted sinner, who so badly needed Him and His grace. Heart, mind, conscience, soul; to these four elements of human nature every sermon should make an appeal. Probably the subject will from time to time lead to more stress being laid on one or other of the elements, but not one of them must be out of sight in any sermon that can be called really Christian.
It is not to be supposed that these five qualities — a dominant theme, a clear message, a definite aim, a right attitude, a true method — — exhaust all the essential features of a sermon, but at any rate it may be fairly said that, given these requirements, God’s blessing cannot fail to follow the word preached.
SECTION 9. DELIVERY.
The intellectual and spiritual preparation of the sermon, though very important, is not everything, for the finest material will fail unless it is properly delivered. Public speech is intended to be effective, which means that it must effect something as a means to an end. What then are the elements necessary for the effective delivery of a well-prepared sermon?
1. The Spirit of the delivery needs attention, first of all. It goes without saying that the speaker should be in earnest, for without this all else counts for nothing. He should also be fearless. Nothing mars a sermon so much as a hesitating or nervous delivery, as though the preacher was not at all sure of the truth of his own words. All the great prophets of the ages have been men of courage, and they never feared the face of man as they declared the message of God,
‘Oh! a glorious gift is prudence,
And they are useful friends
Who never make beginnings
But where they see the ends,
But give us now and then a man,
That we may crown him king,
Who just will scorn the consequence,
And just will do the thing.’
But the fearlesslessness must be blended with tenderness. However courageous a man may be. his fearlessness alone may suggest severity and a disregard of the feelings of his audience. He must blend tenderness with his courage if he is to be an effective speaker. “Then with earnestness, clearness, fearlessness, and tenderness, happily harmonized and blended, he must pour over it all a spirit of trustfulness. His message is not his own but his Master’s, and he must so deliver it as to feel and let other people feel that he looks to God for the blessing and the power.
2. The Manner of the delivery comes next, and it will be in the manner that the spirit is very largely expressed. The following elements seem essential to all true speaking - — —
(a) The preacher must be humble and not self-assertive. (6) He must be bright and yet not light.
(c) He must be winsome without undue expression of feeling, or overflow of emotion. Any such excess of feeling is apt to be attributed to what, for want of better words, may be described as ‘gush’ or ‘oiliness.’
(d) He must be reverent, as befitting his theme.
(¢) He must be natural in gesture. Everything about his movements should be seen to be spontaneous and free, not studied and artificial.
3. The Voice calls for special attention.
(a) The utterance should of course be distinct; enunciation good, with vowels and consonants properly pronounced. The old rule cannot be too often emphasized: ‘Use your lips and spare your throat.’
(4) The expression should be correct. While it may be inevitable that the preacher should have certain indications of the locality from which he comes in the accent that he puts upon words, yet his speech should be free from all vulgarisms.
(c) The pitch of the preacher’s voice should be varied, and he should take special care not to be too loud to be heard. If Milton can speak of that which is ‘dark with excess of light,’ it is only too possible for a man to speak so loudly that he cannot possibly be heard by his audience.
(d) The tone should of course be sympathetic, possessing and expressing a personal quality without which all the orthodox doctrine and all the literary grace will count for very little.
4, The Method of delivery is one that admits of more difference of opinion. Shall we read, or shall we speak? If the sermon is read, the manuscript ought to be thoroughly known, so that the preacher may be as free from it as possible. ‘To this end it should be clearly written, so that there may be no hesitation in the course of reading. If the sermon is spoken rather than read, the manuscript should first of all be analyzed into notes which can be placed in the preacher’s Bible, or else he should dispense with notes altogether, which he will find far the better plan. The one thing to be avoided is memoriter preaching, unless it be felt necessary to memorize the beginning and the ending. ‘This method of preaching will prove burdensome to those who adopt it, and will almost certainly tend to artificiality and lifelessness, for the man will be constantly thinking of what is coming next, and be attending to his memory rather than to his message and his people. Great preachers, like Chalmers, have read their sermons, but most of the outstanding preachers favour the spoken utterance. “The value of the written sermon lies in the clearness of thought, the precision of language, the balance of treatment thus afforded, together with the permanent use that can be made of the manuscript. And yet, however well a man may read his sermon, he cannot be so sensitive to the needs of the congregation, and his delivery will be hindered to some extent. Canon Liddon’s method in St. Paul’s was the perfection of reading, and yet hearers could not help being conscious that the sermon was being read. The advantage of the spoken sermon is that it gives ease and vigour of style, affords an opportunity of the expression of the personal element, and leaves the whole man free to bring himself and his message to bear upon the people. And the disadvantages are that it tends to diffuseness, to occasional superficiality, to inaccuracy of speech and to disproportion of treatment. For those who think that preaching without notes is an utter impossibility, the careful study of Dr. R. S. Storr’s Preaching without Notes may be warmly commended, while a similar work dealing almost entirely with extemporaneous preaching is The Use of the Eyes in Preaching, by Neville.
5. The Aim of the sermon should be kept in view all through the delivery. ‘The preacher has a definite object and it should never be overlooked. As we have seen when considering the preparation, he is concerned not only for the presentation of truth, but for its acceptance and practical use. In the course of delivery this aim should be constantly before us.
6. The Rules of delivery are few but important. ‘They may be summed up by saying that all speech should be in the key of ‘B natural.’ The speaker should be himself and his best self. ‘There is much to be said for the old familiar advice; “Begin low, go slow, rise higher, take fire, wax warm, sit down in a storm.’ At any rate there is sufficient truth in the suggestions to enable us to see what is required. Some years ago the Dean of Canterbury, in presiding at a meeting where the speakers were limited to ten minutes each, gave them three pieces of advice which he had read in a German periodical. He first read the German and then gave his audience the terse, colloquial English rendering: ‘Stand up; speak up; shut up.’ Mr. W. T. Stead offered some practical counsel to public speakers which is well worth passing oni —
1, Never speak without having something to say. 2. Always sit down when you have said it. 3. Remember speech is dumb show when it is not audible. 4. Think definitely, pronounce clearly, stand naturally, and do not speak too fast. 5. Welcome articulate interruption, no matter how hostile. 6. Two things should never be lost — your temper and the thread of your discourse. 7. Remember that the eyes are as eloquent as the tongue. 8. Never hesitate to let yourself go, at the right time. 9. Never read your speech, but always have heads of discourse handy. And never forget Cardinal Manning’s words of wisdom to myself: “Be full of your subject and forget yourself.” °
A layman once asked the pertinent question why most of the sermons to which he had listened had been forgotten? He attributed it to the bad delivery, because while the theology and erudition were all that was desirable, the men who spoke were so devoid of the art of public speaking as to leave their words wasted and worthless. ‘The first duty of a preacher, he urged, is to make himself heard, and the second to be impressive and convincing. And he actually advocated the rule that every minister should pass an examination before being allowed to mount a pulpit, because ‘a bad preacher will empty a Church more quickly than a good preacher will fill
one.’
SECTION 10. SERMONS TO DIFFERENT SECTIONS.
While the main principles of preaching apply to all sermons, it is useful, if not essential, that a preacher should study as carefully as possible the art of ‘putting things’ before particular classes and sections of his congregation. A few illustrations may indicate what is meant,
I. Sermons to Children.
This is a kind of work which is well worth cultivating, however great the trouble. What should be the characteristics of a sermon to children?
1. It should be short. Fifteen minutes will be quite long enough.
2. It should be straight. The lessons should be definite and not too numerous. Perhaps two points will be ample, though one carefully stated and elaborated might be found better.
3. It should be simple. By this is to be understood that it is child-like, not childish. Language for children must necessarily be simple, or else it will fail of its purpose. We once heard a speaker warning children of from one to twelve against “compromising their position.’ A preacher once asked a number of children to tell him the meaning of the word ‘analysis.’ Silence reigned supreme after the question was asked, and the preacher was compelled to give the answer himself. He said that analysis was ‘synonymous with synopsis.” On another occasion, at a large Children’s Service, the preacher beamed upon his young flock and said benignly that the scene before him was ‘one of unparalleled sublimity.’ It was soon one of unparalleled restlessness. And at yet another children’s gathering the clergyman, in appealing for gifts to send Bibles to children in India, told the boys and girls that of course the Bibles would be in the ‘vernacular.’ It was a pity he did not himself use the ‘vernacular’ on that occasion.
4. It should be illustrated. The illustrations or anecdotes used for children need the greatest possible care.
(a) They should be true, or else parabolic. Preachers must beware of using any anecdote about which they are at all uncertain. Moral honesty is absolutely required on this point.
(4) The illustrations should be ad rem, or else they will fail of their purpose.
(c) They should not be overloaded with detail or else their object will be lost.
(¢) The moral should not always be kept to the end, but either introduced elsewhere, or perhaps left to the application of the children. It is a well-known fact that children are only too quick to see the application of what is being told them. Some years a well-known Scottish preacher was addressing a large gathering of boys in Glasgow, and after telling them an interesting story, he said, ‘Now boys, the moral of this is,’ when a young ragamuffin cried out, ‘Never mind the moral, sir, gi’e us another story.’
Object Lessons are a source of perennial interest to children. A lead pencil, a house, a penny, are but a few out of many such objects that can be utilizated to convey spiritual truths. At the same time it will need a fair amount of masculine common sense to avoid a misuse of objects for moralizing purposes.
Preachers to children cannot do better than study the sermons and addresses of those who have been specially used of God in this work. Perhaps to this day there are no volumes to compare with those books of sermons well known thirty years ago, by Dr. Richard Newton of Philadelphia. Some of us were almost brought up on such admirable books as Rills from the Fountain of Life, Bible Jewels, and many others which are full of fine illustrations and admirable methods,
II. Sermons to Men.
This is a day of special services and classes for men, and there are few clergymen who do not desire to be of service to the men of their flock. A clerical friend, in arguing for the fundamental importance of work among men rather than among children had a great deal to say for himself and his position, for most assuredly if we can lay hold of the men we go far to lay hold of their children at the same time. It is only possible in our space to make a few simple suggestions on this subject, and we must refer our readers to books that deal specially with the subject. Preachers should not think that Men’s Meetings always need to be addressed on the subjects of Gambling, Intemperance, and Purity. While these three subjects are important and essential there are many other topics of equal importance and definite bearing for the manhood of our land. For a long time it was my happy privilege to conduct a weekly men’s service in a London parish, and there were very few Biblical subjects which could not be adapted and applied to men. We should not shrink from teaching as well as preaching, and personal appeal. Men need instruction as well as inspiration and invitation, and if the same men are in the habit of coming to a meeting week by week the need of teaching is all the more imperative. They will value it and will rejoice in the opportunity of hearing modern topics and Biblical truths put in such a way as to appeal to their intelligence. to men (1) Thought; we must give the men something to think about. (2) Sympathy; we must express our thought
‘Three characteristics seem to be required in all addresses in terms of brotherly sympathy. (3) Directness; and we must make a definite appeal to the men to accept our thought and to live it day by day. Above all, our addresses to men should invariably be concerned with the Lord Jesus Christ as a Saviour and a Master as well as a Teacher and an Example. It is all very interesting and useful to speak of the ‘Ideal Man,’ and to preach the Christian ethic, but men also need the Christian dynamic, and this is only possible as they receive into their heart and life a personal Saviour, a personal Friend, and a personal Lord. Once again, let it be said that work for men only will be found among the most fruitful methods of genuine service in any parish,
Ill. Sermons to Boys.
In some respects this is perhaps the hardest of all preaching, because it is so difficult to define and express what precise religious experience ought to be expected from boys. We are so apt to read back into our boyhood the spiritual experiences of maturer age, that we find it almost impossible to set due limits on what is to be regarded as the religion of boyhood. One thing is perfectly certain in all preaching to boys: we must be manly. While we are good, we must not be ‘goody-goody.’ Here again, it is essential to make a personal and present Christ a reality to boys, and in particular to emphasize Divine grace as a present power. We are apt to preach an ideal which they are to realize in the future when they become men, and the result of this is that we may lose them during that terribly difficult period from thirteen to seventeen, when boys as well as girls are ‘where the brook and river meet.” The only way to overcome this difficulty is to lay the greatest possible stress upon the Lord Jesus Christ as the present Saviour of boyhood, and the gift of the Holy Spirit as the present and momentary secret of victory over sin, and holiness of heart and life. Mr. Arthur C. Benson has some fine suggestions in his Ufton Letters on Preaching to Boys. He pleads for homeliness, simplicity, directness, shrewdness, and incisiveness. He thinks that holiness, saintliness, and piety are virtues which are foreign to the character of boys and the ideas often imply sanctimoniousness and hypocrisy. ‘There is sufficient truth in this to make us very careful about our ideal and our actual holiness which we present to boys. Mr. Benson is only too correct when he deprecates for boys what he calls ‘feminine religion; a religion of sainted choir boys and exemplary death-beds.’ All these dangers can be avoided if Christ is a living reality to the preacher, and if the preacher is able to recommend his Master by that godliness and manliness which finds expression in that highest of all Bible descriptions, ‘a man of God.’
IV. E£vidential Sermons.
This class of sermon will of necessity be only occasionally preached. It appeals to very few, and many of the congregation will probably prefer not to have doubts and difficulties brought before them. Christian evidence work is usually best done in connexion with Bible and other similar classes, but from time to time evidential sermons in Church will be of use, if only to show that the preacher is in touch with the times and is not afraid of difficulties. “The supreme need in every evidential sermon is to link on the subject to personal contact with the living Christ. Discussions of Christian evidences are only too apt to be merely intellectual and abstract, and while the preacher may obtain an intellectual and logical victory and convince the minds of his hearers, he may fail to lead them on to the acceptance of Christ as their Saviour,
V. Pastoral Sermons.
This aspect of preaching will necessarily form a prominent part of the work of the settled pastorate. ‘The ministry to believers occupies an important place in the New Testament, because of the purpose of God for the life of every Christian. The ascended Lord is said to have bestowed the gifts of ministry for a very specific purpose, and when we read that purpose in the Greek we see the first importance of a pastoral ministry, ‘for the perfecting of the saints, unto the work of ministering, unto the edifying of the body of Christ. (R. V.)’? That is to say, ministerial gifts are intended to ‘perfect’ or ‘adjust’ the saints, that they in turn may do the work of ministering, and thereby help forward the upbuilding of the Church, the Body of Christ. It will therefore always be an essential part of ministerial preaching, so to teach and train Christians that they may become evangelists and workers for Christ. ‘The New Testament lays the greatest possible stress on ‘edification.’ Everything in the Christian Church, Scripture, worship, sacraments, and work, is intended in some way or other to promote ‘edification.’
VI. Lvangelistic Sermons.
Although these have been kept to the last for fuller consideration, they are by no means least in importance, and it is probably true to say that evangelistic sermons are never more required than in the settled ministry of an ordinary pastorate. During the last few years it would seem as though God has been teaching His people to depend less and less upon special Mission Services, and to make more and more of the ordinary ministry for the purpose of evangelization. While it is possibly too much to say that every minister should be his own evangelist, since spiritual gifts are diverse and distinct in the New ‘Testament, there is sufficient truth in the statement to lead every clergyman to ask himself how far he has endeavoured not only to build up the Body of Christ, but to ‘do the work of an evangelist.’ Some time ago a friend told me that he had been for nearly a year in regular attendance at an Evangelical Church where the preaching to Christians was everything that could be desired, spiritual, strong, fresh, and Biblical; and yet during the whole of that period he had never once heard a sermon to the unconverted, or any appeal to the hearers to accept Christ. And yet there must be in every congregation a large number of people who have never yet really accepted Christ for themselves. They have been brought up as regular Church-goers, they are interested in Christian truth, and all the while they may be without a personal share in spiritual blessings. It is for such as these that evangelistic sermons should from time to time be attempted. What are some of the elements of ordinary evangelistic work?
1. A clergyman should not fail to teach what our forefathers called the three R’s: Ruin by the Fall; Redemption by the Blood; Regeneration by the Spirit. If these notes are Jacking in our preaching we shall never be evangelists.
2. We must not hesitate to divide our people into two classes: the Saved and the Unsaved. It is not for us to go beyond this and differentiate, but we must insist upon the fact that in every congregation these two classes are represented, and, as such, are known to God.
3. We must take care to offer Christ for present acceptance. It is unwise, and may even be dangerous, to advise people to ‘go home and think about it.’ Moody once did this in Chicago, and that very night the great fire burst out. “The people never had the opportunity of coming back to hear him the next Sunday, and he himself said that from that time forward he never advised people to go home and think about it. We must press Christ upon our hearers for present acceptance.
4. Whenever we feel led to have after-meetings we must beware of any stereotyped plan. Let us trust the Holy Spirit more than we do sometimes, and let us believe more firmly in the power of the Spirit to bless and use the Word preached. Variety of method in the conduct of after-meetings is essential.
(a) Sometimes while people are on their knees we may give them the opportunity for silently surrendering to Christ, and then after a moment or two of silence close the meeting.
(4) We may lead them verbally and audibly in prayer, as appropriate to our theme; and then after a moment’s pause bring the gathering to a conclusion.
(c) Sometimes, though perhaps very occasionally, we may give an invitation to people to stand, or to raise the right arm as an indication of their wish and willingness to accept Christ. But this method, as it is the most common, is perhaps the least trustworthy, because the people who ought to stand often do not do so.
(d) I have personally found one method of great value as a change. It is the suggestion that the people should take with the preacher the following steps, on each of which a few words of comment and appeal, as they are kneeling, should be made. (1) I must; (2) Ican; (3) I may; (4) I will; (5) do.
These are but bare suggestions, such as can alone be included in our present space. But they may serve to show the supreme importance of these phases of ministerial work. Dr. A. T. Pierson’s admirable book, Evangelistic Work, should be pondered by all who wish to ‘do the work of an evangelist.’ And some words which were uttered not long ago deserve to be written in letters of gold over every preacher’s desk: ‘Preaching which is not evangelistic will soon cease to be evangelical,’
SeEcTION 11. MATERIALS FOR SERMONS.
It has become proverbial that we cannot make bricks without straw, and all the foregoing references to preparation and delivery have necessarily presupposed the provision, possession and use of adequate materials for the work of the pulpit. It is to the acquisition and preservation of these materials that we must now address ourselves,
Il. Materials Gathered.
What are the main channels through which a clergyman may fairly expect to obtain the necessary materials for us¢ in sermons?
1. First, and most important of all must come his own study of the Bible. Nothing can make up for this, whether we think of intellectual consistency or spiritual force. Dr. Maclaren once told a gathering that he owed everything to his study day by day of a chapter in the Hebrew and a chapter in the Greek. No ministerial life can ever be satisfactory, and no ministerial work will ever be properly performed unless there is this constant, definite, first-hand, thorough study — of the Bible. Our methods of study will vary from time to time, but it will prove useful to have some system and order year by year. If, for instance, on our return from our summer holiday we determine to take up some book of the Bible, whether Old or New Testament, and give it all the attention in our power, we shall soon find how it will enrich our mind, widen our outlook, and stimulate our spiritual life. The greatest and most acceptable preachers of all ages have been men who through personal study have become ‘mighty in the Scriptures.’
2. A study of the best Commentaries will prove fruitful in connexion with sermons. One of these should always be on hand. Emphasis is laid on the ‘best,’ which means those that help us to understand most thoroughly the text of our Bible. Who that has worked through a volume of Lightfoot, or Westcott, or Plummer, or Swete, or Armitage Robinson, or Vaughan, or Ellicott, will ever feel other than profoundly thankful for the ripe scholarship and deep experience which enable the student to see the force of word, and tense, and phrase, and to get at the very heart of the Divine meaning? Any one of these Commentaries, with their minute, accurate exegesis, is an education to a clergyman.
3. The best books of theology should also receive attention. As a rule, dogmatic theology is thought to be uncommonly dry, uninteresting, and abstract, but this cannot be said of some of our modern works on the subject. It is impossible to do more than mention a few by way of illustration, but it would be possible to feel deeply sorry for the man who found no interest in Denney’s Death of Christ, and Studies in Theology; Dale’s Christian Doctrine; Liddon’s Divinity of Our Lord; W. N. Clarke’s Outlines of Christian Theology; W. A. Brown’s Christian Theology in Outline; and not least, Litton’s two great works, Introduction to Dogmatic Theology, and The Church of Christ. Such books as these will put iron into our convictions as well as give freshness to our theological outlook. We are not to be supposed to endorse everything that may be found in these books. ‘They are only mentioned as illustrations of what can be read and should be read by every clergyman.
4. The best books of devotion will occupy an important part in our ministerial life. Sermons, as we have seen, can never be wholly intellectual. ‘It is the heart that makes the theologian,’ and it is the heart that will make the preacher.
By ‘best? in relation to devotion, we mean books that will suggest thought as well as stimulate to meditation. It is a great mistake to think there is any incompatibility between earnest thought and earnest devotion. Books like those of the late Dr. George Matheson will show what is meant. We shall probably find ourselves disagreeing with Matheson’s interpretations again and again, but they compel us to think, and this is a great virtue in any book. An author of an equally helpful kind, and always true to the cardinal points of New Testament teaching, is the Rev. W. M. Clow, whose The Cross in Christian Experience, The Secret of the Lord and, The Day of the Cross, will rejoice and inspire the heart of every one who reads them.
5. The best volumes of sermons must not be overlooked. Of course there is danger here, especially if a man has an assimilative mind and a retentive memory, but he must resist the temptation to incorporate unduly, because of the absolute necessity of studying the finest possible models of sermon work. For this, I put Alexander Maclaren high above every one else, past and present. For a combination of gifts; exegetical insight, homiletical power, spiritual insight, illustrative fertility, and literary grace, I do not know of any preacher to equal him. Not far short of Maclaren is Dr. J. H. Jowett, any of whose volumes will be found abundantly helpful to preachers. From another point of view, the volumes by Dr. W. L. Watkinson will be found truly helpful for their suggestive thought, their acute analysis, and above all for their wealth of apt illustration. I took the trouble once to make an index of all the illustrations in one of Dr. Watkinson’s books, and was astonished to find how much space was needed for it. Dr. Joseph Parker and Bishop Phillips Brooks will also prove a mine of wealth to the preacher, nor will it be time wasted to give attention to some of the more important of the Puritans, like Howe, Owen, and Goodwin.
Even though their style may be regarded as heavy, their insight into Divine truth and their marvellous facility for homiletic analysis cannot help being of value to a preacher. Dr. Alexander Whyte is never tired of speaking of Thomas Goodwin as still our greatest commentator on St. Paul. Volumes of sermons, though helpful to read, are not as a rule so useful in providing materials of expository and homiletic suggestion. But of course every man will naturally favour this or that preacher, according to his own mental and spiritual temperament. ‘The names now mentioned are simply offered as the testimony of one who has found their work abundantly helpful to mind and heart.
6. Books of sermon outlines will, if studied, have to be used with the greatest possible care. It is always valuable to see how another man treats his subject, but intellectual honesty must be kept constantly in view, or else we shall have to preface some of our sermons, or some of our sermon outlines with: ‘Alas! Master, for it was borrowed.’
It is believed that by means of these channels every preacher will be able to provide himself with ample material for all the sermons of the longest ministry. Once again let it be said that the first of these channels, the personal study of the Bible, must be kept paramount, and every other method made strictly subservient to it.
Il. Materials Stored.
It is one thing to amass materials, it is quite another to keep them in so convenient a form that we may be able to avail ourselves of their help even after some period of time. Many a man has read, and noted what he has read, and yet has not been able at the ‘psychological moment’ to find ,the material through a lack of method or system for storing the results of his reading. What then are we to do? ‘The following suggestions are made as the result of a good deal of personal experience and not a little outlay of money in order to arrive at some practical results. If only beginners are warned against the mistakes and failures of the writer, the suggestions will not have been in vain.
1. A minister should index his books. ‘This at first may seem somewhat remote from the present subject, but in reality it has a definite and practical bearing on it. The card-index system is in every way the best, and even though a man may only have a few books there is no reason why he should not commence the work of indexing at once. A few cards with a small tray to hold them will suffice for a start. “The books should be indexed under three heads, Author, ‘Title, and Subject; and there is no reason why all three should not be kept together in one tray in alphabetical order. ‘The use of the guide cards will help to find readily what is required. “The young clergyman who is only just commencing his library should not think this work of indexing unnecessary until he obtain a larger number of books. If he commences the work at once, and then adds to it as his books increase, it will be no labour, and the results will prove their value all through his ministry.
2. ‘Then he should commence a series of cards on which he enters under the appropriate texts anything that he may read from time to time. ‘This series of cards should be kept in Bible order, and as anything is read it should be placed on the cards. In process of time it will be found that everything a man has in his study will be available for reference by means of this index. ‘Thus, if he feels led, say, to preach on the subject of Genesis 28, or any verse in that chapter, he turns to his card under Genesis, and the whole available material will be found ready for reference. It is impossible to exaggerate the importance of this method of recording the results of our reading and study.
3. A notebook for extracts is also very necessary. There are books and magazines belonging to other people which we read from time to time, and from these we are often desirous of making extracts. In the old days this was done by means of a familiar book known as the Index Rerum, which was a manuscript book divided up according to the letters of the alphabet, with so many pages assigned to each letter, but this does not prove convenient, for the simple yet adequate reason that it is impossible to say beforehand precisely how many pages will be required for a particular letter. “The result is that in many cases we have too many pages for one letter and too few for another. The only possible note-book for these extracts is one which has an alphabetical index in front, and then pages which are, or can be, numbered. ‘The result is that if we read anything on Temperance, we can put it on page 1, and then index it under T, and if afterwards we read anything on the Atonement we can put it on page 2, so long as we index it under A.
4. ‘The question of newspaper cuttings is one of the greatest problems of a clergyman’s life. After putting several methods to the test and rejecting them for one or other reasons, the conclusion has been forced upon me that the only real way to preserve these helps in a conveniently available form is by means of what is known as the Envelope system. <A number of large-sized manilla envelopes should be obtained, and the subject of the cutting put outside. If these envelopes are kept in alphabetical order, and from time to time a fuller and more detailed index is made of subjects which allow of various departments, or aspects, it will be found that the cuttings are ready for use, as they are in no other system.
5. The preservation of sermons which are reported in newspapers is also of value. From time to time our weekly papers and monthly magazines contain sermons by leading preachers which are not always available afterwards in book form, and many a suggestion for study and preaching will be found in this way. The best method of preserving is again the envelope system, or else by means of cardboard boxes with springs for holding the papers as in a file. ‘These envelopes, or boxes, should be arranged in the order of the books of the Bible, for this will be found in every way the easiest and most convenient plan for reference.
6. The preservation of pamphlets is also not to be disregarded. ‘There is much material available to-day in booklet and pamphlet form which will be of true service to a clergyman.
7. It is difficult to describe the method of storing which we have purposely left to the last. From time to time in our reading and study we have suggestions both of texts and subjects for sermons. What are we to do with them? By some preachers these hints are recorded in commonplace books which are looked over from time to time, added to, and then in due course used. But the trouble is that there is no system in the paging of such a book, and an important topic may easily be overlooked and lost. We have therefore found again by definite experience that the best way of preserving this material is by using a filing cabinet containing pieces of glossy manilla paper, 9 inches by 5, indexed in the order of the books of the Bible. When ever an idea or a subject presents itself, one of these pieces of paper is taken, the notes jotted down, and the paper inserted in the proper place under the text which it is proposed to treat. These papers can be looked over from time to time, and as the result of that process known as ‘unconscious cerebration,’ the materials can be added to and developed. ‘Then when the time comes for a sermon to be prepared on any of the topics, the rough paper is naturally torn up, because there is no further use for it. This provides against the trouble and inconvenience of having a note-book in which the pages still remain, even after the material is used. Sometimes this method of storing sermon-material is called the ‘stock pot.’ In certain housekeeping arrangements we believe that such a receptacle is of the greatest importance, and the additions to it go to provide the foundation of the soups that are served from day to day. A clergyman will find these notes a veritable ‘stock-pot,’ for they will hold him in good stead on many an occasion when he finds his mental powers tending to droop, and in need of some fillip from other days and other men.
SECTION 12. OPEN-AIR PREACHING.
No one can question the splendid possibilities of open-air preaching. It affords an occasion of testimony for Christ to many who never enter a place of worship. Every Church should make the most of this opportunity by suspending indoor week-evening meetings during the summer months. There might easily be at least three open-air meetings each week; one on Sunday, and two on the week-day evenings. To those who are responsible for the management of open-air work the following considerations may be commended,
I. Carefulness.
All the arrangements should be thought out and planned with care. The music should if possible be a special feature, though it should never be forgotten that many open-air gatherings are held without much, if any, singing. Still, when singing is available there is no doubt as to the value of the help; and while the music is never elaborate it should always be good. ‘The accompanist should know his tune-book thoroughly, and the choir, even though small, should be as efficient as it can be made. A platform (not a chair) for the speaker should be used if practicable; it gives a vantage ground that will prove distinctly helpful. An arrangement can be made for utilizing the platform as a box for the harmonium and hymn books,
II. Thoroughness.
It is fatal to think that anything will do for open-air speaking. On the contrary the very best is absolutely essential. ‘Those who are called upon to speak at these meetings should be urged to prepare thoroughly, and to give the people that which is really worth hearing. A definite message of God’s truth well steeped with the elements of reason and persuasion should characterize every open-air address. Of course a simple personal testimony to the grace of God is quite different. If any workers should be found to have rambled on without any special point in their address, they should not be asked to speak again unless they are willing to put some preparation into their messages.
Ill. Shortness.
All prayers should be short. Passages of Scripture read should be short, addresses should be brief, and hymns should not be too prolonged. ‘Twelve or fifteen minutes will be found enough for an address as a rule, because it is not so easy to hold an audience in the open air as indoors. ‘The best speakers are always the shortest, and those who have the least to say generally take the longest time to say it.
IV. Naturalness.
As a rule, it will be found helpful not to announce the text as though it were a sermon, but instead to plunge in at once by some illustration or incident. Indeed, it will be wise to make the address as unlike an ordinary sermon as possible. The speaker should not shout, but allow his voice to sound at the usual pitch. Penetration, not volume, is what is really required. Of course the speaker will have to dispense with all notes and deliver his message purely extemporary. Anything else would be fatal, for the attention of the audience would not be held.
V. Definiteness.
The one aim of open-air work is to win men for Christ, and everything must be strictly subordinated to this purpose. Speakers should not range from North to South, still less endeavour to give the Christian system of doctrine complete in one address. One point driven home, or at most two points, will usually be found enough. The arrow must be sent home, pointed, barbed, and ready for use by the Holy Spirit.
VI. Earnestness.
A speaker in the open air should be cheerful and yet serious, with no attempt at cheap wit, or unworthy humour. If a man feels led to preach on the dark side of God’s truth, and refer to the future consequences of sin, he must pray to be faithful without being stern, to appeal rather than to denounce, to be loving and not hard. ‘The issues at stake are so serious that a man needs much grace and wisdom from on high to say the right thing in the right way,
VIL. Tactfulness.
There is scarcely any form of Christian work in which the leader needs ‘sanctified common sense’ so much and so often as in open-air preaching. When the crowd has gathered it is not wise to continue the singing of a hymn, but to stop at once and go on with the preaching. If the crowd should show any indication of moving the speaker should be ready to close at once, ready with his application to drive home the message immediately. If any opposition should arise it will
—
( need to be dealt with wisely and firmly. Ordinarily, however, it will be found in every way wise to ask the objecter to speak privately after the meeting in order that the point raised may be discussed. Workers should not be allowed to do anything in the way of tract distribution or personal appeal during an address. All this should be done either during the singing of a hymn, if opportunity affords, or, still better, at the close of a meeting, after the benediction has been pronounced. ‘The choice of tracts and books demands a good deal of wisdom lest inappropriate, and therefore ineffective, literature should be given.
These hints will probably be endorsed by all who have had experience of open-air work. and it only remains to be said that together with these suggestions the open-air preacher should seek to be filled with the spirit of trustfulness, believing that his Master’s Word shall not return void.
SECTION 13. SOME GENERAL COUNSELS.
It is of course quite impossible to cover in our present space the whole field of sermon work, and the reader must necessarily be referred to authorities on preaching for a complete treatment of this pre-eminently important subject. But there are a few considerations that still remain to be noticed by way of conclusion.
I. The Use of Illustrations.
No one doubts for an instant the supreme value of ‘letting in the light,’ illustrating our sermons. Sometimes the illustrations may be in the form of similes to adorn our style, but for the most part they will be incidents or other forms ot illustration for the purpose of explanation and persuasion. The value of an illustration will lie in the following fourfold characteristic: (a) It must be clear; (4) it must be telling; (c) it must be attractive; (d@) it must be brief. The illustration must be to the point, or else it will do harm rather than good. If we favour the use of anecdotes we must take care that our stories are true, and speaking of anecdotes, it would be worth while avoiding that which is hackneyed, and keeping as closely as possible to that which is fresh and suggestive. An interesting article appeared some time ago in a religious paper entitled ‘S.D.W.S.P.I.,? with a sub-title, ‘A Sorely Needed Society? The meaning of the initials was ‘A Society for Doing Without Some Pulpit Illustrations.’ The article recorded a conversation held between a number of preachers, and one after another gave his opinion as to the illustrations that might be allowed a rest from use. Among them was the story of a gentleman who was engaging a coachman, and asked all the applicants how near they could drive to a precipice close to his house; the story of Havelock on London Bridge; the Dutch boy who stuffed his hand into a hole in the dyke; the incident of Napoleon and the English drummer boy; of George Washington and his axe; of Michael Angelo and the marble block, were cited as examples of illustrations to be avoided. Hackneyed quotations were also referred to. Longfellow’s ‘Psalm of Life’; Browning’s ‘God’s in His heaven’; Tennyson’s ‘Flower in the crannied wall’; Bailey’s “We live in days, not years’; Lowell’s “Truth for ever on the scaffold.’ Ministers who have been in the Holy Land were to be warned that there are some advantages in not having visited Palestine, and allusions to pictures like ‘Diana or Christ? or “The Doctor’ were thought to be somewhat too familiar for use at present. No one can question the value of these suggestions, and it is to be hoped that every clergyman will constitute himself a member of this very valuable Society. Literature will of course provide many illustrations for sermons, so also will fiction, history, and science. One of the most striking features in the sermons of Dr. W. L. Watkinson is the marvellous fertility and felicity of his scientific illustrations. Dr. Jowett and Dr. Maclaren are scarcely inferior in this respect. Illustrations must always be kept strictly subsidiary to their purpose. Some one has well said, ‘Don’t construct your ornament, but ornament your construction.’ Illustrations are best gathered by reading and by cultivating our powers of observation. We may occasionally find it
dangers in such a plan, and by far the best way is to keep our eyes and ears open and make our own compilation. One thing necessary to buy books of illustrations, but there are obvious is certain, that our people will often remember our sermons by some illustration which we have been enabled to include in it.
Il. Preaching old Sermons.
This is a question that comes up in ministerial life from time to time. ‘There is no reason why old sermons should not be blessed quite frequently. George Whitefield used to say that he never felt satisfied with a sermon until he had preached it about twenty times. But we must be particularly careful to prepare them over again and let them pass through the alembic of our present experience. It may be advisable to burn our old sermons every ten years for fear we should be tempted to preach the man and his experience of ten years ago. Bishop Whittaker of Philadelphia once told of a young clergyman whose pastoral charge had fallen to him out in the thinly populated end of a Western State : —
‘Riding the circuit of his tiny churches, he never imagined that the auditors of one town ever sat under him in another, and so he had been delivering everywhere the same sermon, and it seemed to take well; just how well that preacher never guessed until one Sunday he was stopped at the church door by an old negro. “Pardon me, suh, fer a moment,” he said, with a respectful bow. “I jus’ wan’ to say that I suttinly have enjoyed dat sermon. De fust time I heard it, suh, I liked it, and de secon? time I liked it better, an’? as I been follerin? you around’ hit jus’ keep grow in’ on me like. Now, suh, I’se sorter in de preach in’? business my own se’f an’ it jus’ occurred to me dat you gwine to wear out dat sermon some fine day, an’ den I wants to buy it. When you get ready to sell it, suh, I stan’ to give you fifty cents.””
Ill. Plagiarism.
This is one of the perennial problems of the pulpit, and it must be confessed that the position is one of genuine difficulty. We must preach, and we ought to read, and yet we are warned of plagiarism, and so we fear to read. Our work presses upon us, our body is weary, our mind is dull, we call spirits from the vasty deep, but they do not come. What then are we to do? If we use other men’s materials improperly we are despised and thenceforward always suspected,
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and yet if we fail to use the work of others we and our people will be all the poorer. How are we to define plagiarism? It has been defined as the adaptation of cther material without any attempt at mental assimilation. Originality is thought that has not been conceived by any one else, and this is of course quite out of the question and impossible for ordinary preachers. ‘True originality in preaching is really a new presentation of old thoughts so as to show our own work. There is nothing finer in a preacher than his ability to ‘glorify the obvious,’ and to give at least some freshness to familiar truths. How, then, is a man to use the material of other men properly so as to avoid plagiarism and at the same time to provide himself and his people with all possible intellectual nutriment?
1. We must think hard and long before reading. It is only by and after the exercise of our mind that we are enabled properly to approach the minds of others. ‘There is probably far too much reading to-day and far too little thinking.
2. We must think out fully all that we read. There is not enough zzdependent thinking at the present time. But if we read, pencil in hand, ready to criticise and discuss at every point, we shall make the most out of the books at our disposal.
3. Above everything else, we must keep mind and heart close to the Bible for devotional purposes. ‘This is the secret of perennial freshness, for a man who puts the Bible first, and steadily maintains his quiet time day by day for personal, direct meditation will not only possess in himself a fount of real interest for his people but will thereby be enabled to make the best and truest use of all that he reads. Whenever there is any phrase or sentence that comes direct from another mind we must of course acknowledge it, and we must also take care not to allow our sermons to be a mere cento of quotations from other authors, strung together by our own effort.
IV. The Power of Interesting through Preaching.
Some one has given a brief description of the three types of
i a preachers. “There are some whom you cannot listen to; there are some whom you cam listen to; there are some whom you must listen to.” Sermons should ‘grip’ their audiences, and in order to do this they must be characterized by the three essential features of all acceptable speech: flacere, docere, movere. A young preacher once asked an older man how he could interest his people. ‘The reply was ‘Give them something to interest them.’ But in order to do this the preacher must himself be interested in his subject. The very word ‘interest’ seems to suggest the secret: “inter-esse, that is, there must be something ‘between’ the preacher and his hearers. He must get in touch with them. The famous John Gregg, Bishop of Cork, said, ‘First, throw the subject into yourself, next throw yourself into the subject, and then throw yourself and the subject into your hearers.’
But the question still remains as to how this is to be done, and the answer is that it is probably more personal and moral than anything else. ‘The better the man the better the preacher, and no personal development, whether intellectual, social,or moral, will come amiss. (1) There must be more labor in thinking out our subject. No work ought to be regarded as too great, no trouble too severe for the pulpit. (2). ‘There must be more courage in speaking out our subject. The man must be faithful whether people hear, or whether they forbear. (3) There must be more earnestness in living out the subject. ‘The life as well as the lips must speak, and lest any one should feel that this is impossible it should never be forgotten that what is known as personal magnetism is not a gift, but a grace.
V. The Deepest Secret of All.
As we draw these considerations to a close it is impossible to avoid repeating and emphasizing the truth that the most important factor of everything is the man behind the sermon. “Thou must thyself be true, if thou the truth wouldst teach.’ St. Paul told Timothy to take heed to himself before he spoke of taking heed to the doctrine. Some one has truly said that ‘a sermon gets to be a sermon, and not an essay or lecture, by being made and delivered in the power of the Holy Ghost.’ Sir William Robertson Nicoll was preaching some time ago on this subject, and urged his hearers who had the work of preaching and teaching not to go forth until they were clothed with the power of the Holy Ghost, saying, that ‘we cannot deliver the saving message with converting power unless we are clothed. Some shining robe must cover our poor, weak, frail personalities’ : —
‘Study is needed, preparation is needed, but when all is said and done it is this clothing, this robe of light that we must seek first, and without which we can do nothing. Have you not known it to be so again and again? You have listened to famous men, and to what are called great sermons, and they have not touched you. You have heard broken words from those whose natural gifts were small, and you will never forget them even in the new country. Why? Because they were spoken in the power of the Holy Ghost.’
To the same end are the words of a well-known Professor who, in addressing the students of the Bible Teachers’ Training School in New York some time ago, spoke as follows: —
‘The future sphere of the pulpit is along the line of devotional inspiration, to elevate the spiritual part of man to a dominant position in his life, to make his religion not occasional but constant. This can be done only by men in the pulpit who have so entered into the spirit of the Gospel that it clothes them with ambassadorial rank and makes them able to speak with regal authority. Such men can be found only among those who stand close to the Bible and whose allegiance to that Book is based upon a knowledge of its contents more profound than anything which intellectual astuteness can discover.’
For all this we must have our times of retirement and solitude. If we are to come forth with power we must have what the old Puritans used to call the spirit of ‘recollectedness, the habit of communion with God. In spite of its familiarity we will dare to call renewed attention to the story of Christmas Evans, the great Welsh preacher, whose absence in the vestry after the time for commencing the service was a great perplexity, until some one went to the door, and heard him pleading with God, ‘I will not let Thee go, except Thou bless me.’ In a few moments he came forth clothed with power, and preached in demonstration of the Holy Spirit of God. A seer is one who sees, and it is the man of spiritual vision who will do the true work of preaching. ‘Solitude is the mother-country of the strong,’ and we shall never be strong preachers unless we take time to wait upon God. Then we shall go to the pulpit, and our heart’s desire and earnest prayer will be: —
‘When telling of Thy salvation free,
Let all absorbing thoughts of Thee
My mind and soul engross.
And when all hearts are bowed and stirred
Beneath the influence of Thy Word,
Hide me behind Thy Cross.’