LI liU^VKY Theological Semi nary PRINCETON. N.J. H ervev, -1908. Ge iij.^ IS .[ r- 32 orge Winf A s red yst 18 O. ;"-> ^tem of rhr- • r 1 c an A SYSTEM OP CHRISTIAF RHETORIC, FOR THE USE OP PREACHERS AND OTHER SPEAKERS. BY tnTFRVl GEORGE WmFRED^HERVEY, M.A., AUTUOK OF "eIIETOKIO OF 00NVEK8ATI0N," ETC. "The light of nature, which is a sparke of the will of God, hath taught many usefull rules even to the Pagans, anent the right way of makeing solemne speeches before others. * * * But the best rules are taken from the preachings of Christ, of the Apostles, and Prophets." John Livingstone {b. 1603; d. 1672). NEW YORK: HARPER & BROTHERS, PUBLISHERS, FRANKLIN SQUARE. 1873. I \ Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1873, by George Wisfred Hervet, M.A., In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at "Washington. TO m)t iici). BusscU SxnninsSj or DEEP EITEB, CONN., U. S., THIS WORK |s ^£buat^!tj TESTIMONY THE HEART-FELT OBLIGATION HIGH REGARD THE AUTHOR. ¥ PREFACE. This work may be distinguished from others of its class by a number of noticeable jDoints. It is not an essay or collection of lectures on selected parts of the subject, nor is it a record of indi- vidual experience and advice ; neither is it a special treatise com- posed in the interest of a church, or sect, or seminary, although as the foot-notes bear witness, it is largely indebted to sterling works of all these kinds. It is rather a system, treating of all the prominent branches of Christian Rhetoric and of their relations no less to one another than to things that are radical and even founda- tional. Yet this system is not theoretical only, but practical as well. Of the service it can render to the secular speaker, a few words ought, jDerHaps, to be premised. In reconstructing general rhetoric, a task the writer judged unavoidable, he has corrected some eiTors that have been misleading authors and readers ever since the days of Cicero, while he has placed in new lights and aspects many a precept and maxim of the old classical rhetors. Here, also, rhetori- cal Method, Arguments and Figures of every descpiption, and the qualities of the Oratorical style are, he fancies, set forth in forms not much less condensated, practical, and working than in any other existing book. Even his analysis of the eloquence of the Hebrew prophets, the results of which are traceable throughout these pages, PREFACE. •\voiiltl, likely enough, prove of considerable utility to secular ora- tors in addressing Christian men and in handling ethical and ecclesi- astical subjects. The question whether the writer's innovations are really errors is discussed in the Introduction. The work has, indeed, been composed according to a new method and on a new basis : albeit the writer does not jirofess himself a new oracle; so far from it, he may be more properly regarded as a consulter and reporter of ancient oracles, attempting to teach himself and others by rhetori- cally testing and formulating things that are generic in the individ- ual, things that are world-wide m the local, and things that are of the future in tlic past. From the Christendom of to-day he has purposely brought fewer authorities and examples than he could have done justifiably ; because, the frank truth to tell, he deems it a disputed border-land where it is dangerous for him to pilgrimize. Some of the other characteristics of this volume the hasty in- fjuirer will find prenoted in the table of contents. PREFACE, . INTRODUCTION, . CONTENTS. CHAPTER I. CHAPTER II CHAPTER III CHAPTER IV CHAPTER V. Section Section Section Section BOOK I. INSPIKATION m PREACHmG. Partial Inspiration : Its Effects on tlie Will, . . 31 Sub-Inspiration in its Action on the Intellect, . . 62 . Inspiration as Affecting Invention, Style, and Delivery, 70 , Cautions as to the Help of the Spirit in Preaching, . 86 The Means and Conditions of Inspiration, . . 101 I. Trial, Humility, and Self-Denial as Prejiaring for Spiritual Aid, ..... 102 II. The Study of Scripture and Meditation as Fitting us for this Gift, ..... 108 III. Prayer as Asking the Help of the Spirit, . . Ill IV. Praise as waiting for Inspiration, . . . 119 BOOK II. OF INVENTION. GENERAL VIEWS. Section I. The Necessity of Invention, Section II. The Scripture Element in Sermons, Section III. The Matter of Sermons as Found in Scripture, Section IV. Of Polit cal Subjects, Section V. Of Demmostrative Subjects, Section VI. Rules for the Choice of Texts, Section VII. Topics, or Loci Communes, Section VIII. Adaptation, .... 129 137 142 1.54 182 185 188 191 CONTENTS. PART I. The Matter of Sermons as Determined by their Objects, CHAI'TEU I. PLxplication, CllAl'TEll II. Coiifirniation, Section I. The Prophetic Logic, Section II. The DifTereiit Kinds of Arguments, CHAPTER III. Of Application, . Section I. Use of Instruction, . Section II. Use of Confutation, . Section III. Use of Excitation, . Subsection I. Of the Imagination, Subsection II. Of the Feelings, Section IV. Use of Reproof, Section V. Use of Exhortation, Section VI. Use of Consolation, . Section VII. Hints on Continual Application, Section VIII. General Rejnarks on Uses, PART II. TiiE Forms of Sermons as Determined by Method, CHAPTER I. The Members of Sermons, Section I. Of the Introduction, Subsection I. The Introitus, Subsection II. The Nexus, Subsection III. The Transitus, Section II. The Proposition, Section III. The Partition, Section IV. The Invocation, Section V. The Development, Section VI. The Conclusion, CHAPTER II. Of Arrangement, . Section I. The Princii)les of Rlictorical McHiod Section II. Of Digressions, Section III. Of Regressions, Section IV. Disposition in Expository Sermons Section V. Method in Historical Discourses, Section VI. Order in Demonstrative Addresses, Section VII. Arraii^ement of Arguments, Section VIII. The Framework of Sermons, CONTENTS BOOK III. STYLE. CHAPTER I. Of Figures in General, Section I. The Utility of Figures, Section II. Of the Simile, Section III. The Parable, . Section IV. The Fable, Section V. The Metaphor, CHAPTER II. The High, the Low, and the Middle Styles, CHAPTER III. The Three Requisites of the Oratorical Style, Section I. Perspicuity, .... Section II. Energj', .... Section III. Gracefulness, • Subsection I. Movement, Subsection II. Transitions, Subsection III. Beauty, Subsection IV. Gentleness, Subsection V. Arithmus in Hebrew Eloquence, Subsection VI. Arithmus in Hellenistic Oratory, Subsection VII. Number as Applied to English Sentences, Subsection VIII. Cadence as Affected by Verbal Forms, Subsection IX. Euphony, .... Subsection X. Onomatopoeia, Subsection XI. Dignity of Style, Subsection XII. The Natural and the Individual in Style, 381 383 388 391 409 417 425 430 430 438 446 447 45-5 459 465 470 483 489 498 501 507 509 511 BOOK IV. ELOCUTION. CHAPTER I. The Relative Importance of a good Delivery, CHAPTER II. Elocution in its Subjective Relations, . CHAPTER III. Prophetic Expression as Modified by Feeling, CHAPTER IV. The Various Modern Kinds of Deliver}-, CHAPTER V. Extemporising Historically Considered, CHAPTER VI. Of Symbolical Actions, . CHAPTER VII. Attitude and Gesture, . I. Index of Figures, with Definitions and Examples, II. Index of Some of the Principal Things, 524 528 533 538 543 560 571 577 629 INTEODUCTION. The present work is a well-meant attempt to build a system of Sacred Rhetoric on what the writer has been led to regard its only proper foundation. From the time of the Christian fathers, until a very recent day, the best precepts on preaching were based j^artly on the classic rhetorics and partly on the experience and observa- tion of preachers. Some, indeed, as Clement of Alexandria, Origen, and Cyril, believed that Christian eloquence does not need to borrow the false ornaments of the old pagan rhetoricians ; while Chi-ysostom and Augustine held these ethnic rhetoricians to be ultimate authorities on pulpit oratory, but not to the entire exclusion of the inspired preachers, and especially the Apostle Paul, whose epistles the former recommends for their dialectics, and the latter for their union of wisdom and eloquence. Of late, two or three writers have endeavored to construct a more Scriptural theory of the art of preaching. Among 4hese, the foremost is Rudolf Stier, who in his KeryJxW:, maintains that the preacher is a herald sent of God to proclaim his word to men. He insists much on the necessity of Christian piety in the j^reacher, and on the importance of a large amount of Biblical matter in the sermon. He attejiipts to pull down the classical rhetoric, but he does not undertake to build a sacred rhetoric in its stead. He is satisfied with general views of preaching and an earnest defence of them. His theory, as reduced to practice and exemplified by himself, teaches that the sermon should be chiefly composed of parallel passages of Scripture dove- tailed by means of practical thoughts expressed in plain and popular language. Stier does not, however, as many have supposed, limit his notion of the duty of the preacher to that of the mere herald — a notion which one of his disciples illustrates from Homer's descrip- tion of the ceryx — a notion which, as has been justly observed, if logically carried out, would make preaching consist in the simple repetition of Scripture. He admits that pastoral ministrations 2 INTRODUCTION. should, in large measure, be clidactic.^ His little book made a deep impression on the minds of a Ljreat number of Lutheran ministers ; even Xitzsch- is so liir his disciple as to define tlie sermon a mes- sage and an annunciation. Sikel, again, in his Jlalleutik, is less the- oretical and takes broader ground by considering the preacher in the use of his various means of persuasion as ajisher of men.^ These are the princii»nl (Tornian autliors wlio have sought their respective theories of llomiletics in the oracles of God. Others, as Claus Harms, discuss the subject from its human side, maintaining the necessity of guarding Christian freedom and the riglits of a living personality; Schleiermacher, on the other hand, finds the origin and end of the sermon in church life and the rites of Christian worship, demanding that it shall be the expression of the spiritual consciousness of the Christian audience. But of all the (icrman -writers on Homiletics, Christian Palmer is one of the ablest. Adopting some of the best ideas of Stier, and originating many others equally excellent, he has, it is generally conceded, pro- duced a very readable and practical essay — we say essay, because his Avork, like almost all of its class, is too immethodical, too incom- plete in such matter as belongs to its proper field, while it contains many things that are irrelevant and of too general a drift. Like Stier, he finds but little to admire outside of Lutheranism, and Avritcs under the manacles of ecclesiastical usage. The fifth edition (ISGT) e.vhibits many additions and improvements; but it does not, as we expected it would, teach its readers more clearly and more correctly the relations of the jn-eacher to the Holy Ghost.-* This edition is em'iched Avith many illustrations from some of the most distinguished German clergymen. Some of the more recent Ger- man writers, as Nitzsch and Otto, have belittled and degraded Homiletics by giving it scanty space in large treatises on Practical Theology. The Italian and Spanish writers on the subject, have iollowed too closely and too far the footprints of Cicero, Quintilian, the Christian Fathers, and the Schoolmen. The same must be said respecting French Avriters ; making exceptions, however, in tavour of Gaussen (De Arte Concionandi) and the more recent, familiar, and excellent Vinet. Of the early English Writers the best are Per kins, Wilkins, Edwards and Blackmore ; these and the rest are in- 1 Gruiidriss cincr BiMischcn Keryktik. Hallo, 1844, p. 248. 2 Prac. Thcol. II., ^101 and ^123. 3 Tho.s. Boston composed a shf>rt treaties on llio same subject. 4 Evansclisclie Iloniilotik (pp. fiTS, 8vo.) Stuttgart, 1867 ; see also his article on llie same subject in Hcrzog's Ileal Encyclop. INTRODUCTION. 3 tensely practical, but too superficial, and of very limited range. Two or tiiree recent authors, actuated by a sacerdotal spirit, appear to concur with Ostervald irj regarding the sermon as a kind of im- poi'tant, if not necessary, " interruption " of divine worship. Some of the Oxford Tractarians and Ritualists complain that too many churchmen set so high a value on preaching as to break the spirit of reserve, and to disparage prayer and the sacraments. These too often wrap the sword of the Spirit in a cloth and hang it up behind the ephod. The homiletical literature of America is rich in courses of lectures and in admirable essays on preaching and the Gospel ministry. Our admiration of these writers is heightened when we consider that many of them were required to lecture in one or more of the other dej^artments of theological instruction, to preach two or three times every Sunday, and in some cases to serve as financial agents of their seminaries. To praise some of these productions would be presumptuous, to blame others, invidious : the j^resent writer is beholden to almost all. of them, but will be thankful to any one who will have the goodness to call his attention to an American author who has taken any broad fundamental site and built upon it methodically. The writer has endeavored to find the true ground-works of Homiletics and to reduce the science to something like a clear and sufficient system. Some of the principles upon Vhich, in his judg- ment, the science is properly founded, may here be mentioned. One of these is that all true preachers of the Gosj)el are successors of the prophets, including the " Light of the World " in his prophet- ical character ; accepting the term prophet, however, not in the sense of mere predictor,^ but of one who speaks in behalf of God and with his commission and assistance, whether the commission be special, and the mspiration plenary, or otherwise. Be it also obseiwed that we say propliet and speaks ; for we do not think that all parts of the sacred writings furnish models for the preacher. The Lord Jesus Christ as a Priest, had no literal successor ; and the apostles as to rank and mode, were the last of their line, while as prophets they were of their Divine Master the last successors that were fully, but not the last that were partially, inspired. Another of these principles is, that it must be the duty and priv- ilege of all preachers, to heed the precepts and to follow the exam- ple of the best of their predecessors ; that the holy prophets are best, in this sense ; that they spoke as they were moved by the Holy 1 Rev. John Davison held that prophets were not only foretellers but pastors. Discourses on Prophecy, p. 49. 4 INTRODUCTION. Ghost, and, therefore, neither sinned nor erred either as to the mat- ter or to the manner of their utterances; and best in this other sense, that they sjjoke and were predestined to speak not only to their o^vn respective generations, but to all generations, and were therefore moved to adapt their communications to man, as a creature endowed with certain natural powers of mind, and to man- kind as a race betraying a common origin and possessing a common fund and average amount of knowledge. One other principle is tliat, while the true preacher .is, in the main, identical Avith the Scripture prophet, he is in some important ])()ints, and yet not cssenfial/i/, ditterent from him ; for in order to supl>ly in the post-apostolic preachers the lack of the peculiar and incommunicable gifts of their predecessors, they are mdued with other similar and correspondent gifts, while they also enjoy all the benefits that flowed from the exertion of the intransmissible gifts of their great prototypes.^ On such a foundation as this, congruity teaches us what materials we should build. The public addresses of Moses and the other Hebrew prophets, the sermons of our Divine Master, the sacred speeches of Peter, Stephen, and Paul, and the inspired biographies of these, together with the Scripture precepts on preaching, are the quarries to which we are beholden for the most solid, as well as the most polished, parts of our work. Here we have found materials of a quality exceedingly rich, and at the same tune diversified with a va- riety so moderate as to preserve their unity and homogeneousness. They embrace the peculiar excellences of the Hebrew eloquence, its simi)licity and imagery, its sanctitude and sjiontaneity, its energy and keenness, modified and supplemented by the coj^iousness, the didactic ])recision and the logical pliancy of the Hellenistic oratory. And tliese liave naturally attracted to themselves whatever in j)ost- apostolic sermons possesses kindred and congenial qualities. Chrys- ostom, Augustine, Luther, Vicyra, Banyan, BrydajTie, Wesley, "NVhitefield, and otlier such men have aftbrded us valuable materials wherewith to buttress and 1o window this liojniletical structure.- AVe have all along considered it of no small imjjortance to find out also what the Scriptures do not teach and maintain, concerning the work of preaching. We have not, therefore, thought ourselves 1 IIpfo we do not, 1)p it observed, discuss questions of cluirch polity ; nnd yet we tliink that our homiletical theory is not adverse to any Protestant views of the iniiiisteral ollice and work. 2Bv glancin? at onr illustrations of flsuros in tho Glossary, the reader will get a clue to our method of investigation in all parts of the work. INTRODUCTION. 5 authorized to make much use of the apostolical epistles. As they Avere written in the epistolary style, it is, we think, an error to hold them up as models of pulpit eloquence — an error that is found in writers on preaching as eminent as Chrysostom and Augustine Vinet and Stier. As models for ecclesiastical letters, they deserve the foremost place ; but to regard them as examples of sacred ora- tory is to confound plain and important distinctions. We have however, ventured to admit among our materials what is commonly entitled " The Epistle of Paul, the Apostle, to the Hebrews," be- cause, with the exception of the short letter appended, viz., xiii. 22- 25, the style is oratorical and not epistolary. For the same reason we have likewise admitted the " General Epistle of James." "Whether they were first delivered orally to primitive churches, or not, in the form of " the word of exhorfation,"i we cannot now determine. And could we decide the question in the affirmative, we would not, after all, be able by such decision to disturb in anywise the common and well grounded conviction that, in their ultimate form and destination, they are apostolical epistles. And it is but fair to add, that almost all of these letters were intended by the Divine Spirit to be read aloud to the primitive churches ; and accordingly their style bears a closer resemblance to that of oratory, than would that of any strictly private correspondence. To the Greek and Roman orators and rhetoricians we are all largely indebted for not a few instructive examples, terms, and pre- cepts. But we ought not to forget that these classic authorities are pervaded with a thoroughly ethnic spirit. Against.their acrimony, contentiousness, insincerity, ambition, flattery and general selfish- ness, the habitual study of the holy prophets, is the best safeguard. " I have raised up thy sons, O, Zion, against thy sons, O, Greece." " My former disciple ! do you then attempt to dissuade ingenuous young men from studying the masterpieces of classical eloquence ? " Pardon us, dearly beloved professor, Ave are so much indebted to you that we would fain say to your young friends and mine. Know assuredly that the prophets ware the earliest of public speakers. Do not therefore study the orations of the ethnic Greeks and Romans less, but study the sermons of the old Hebrew and Hel- lenistic prophets more ; otherwise you will find the classic elo- quence to be what Father Augustine found it, a stream of Babylon- Such are our materials ; and if they have been wisely chosen, they are of the nature of authorities upon which we may base principles precepts and apologies — principles which will legitimate our theory 1 Cf. Acts xiii. 15, and Ileb. xiii. 22. 6 INTRODUCTION. — precepts which may be enforced l)y a recurrence to those princi- ples— apologies by the aid of wliich tlie young preacher who keeps these precepts may defend himself against all imfricndly criticism. The homiletical rules we already possess are numerous, and many of them are excellent, but they are, if we mistake not, wanting in that unity and weight, which they would possess, did they rest on authorities that are imiversal and final. Almost every professor of sacred rhetoric has inculcated principles of his own, Avhich his more learned successor has either ignored or exploded. Not a few pas- tors have peculiar views upon the subject — views, which however discordant among themselves, are somewhat harmonious in their mireasonable opposition to those of the learned professors. As for the good Christian people, the diversity of their creeds respecting this matter is almost endless : while here and there we find a cau- tious student who, the more deeply he reads on this subject, the more is he entangled in doubt and confusion as to the best way of preaching in general, or as to the best way that is within reach of his individuality, or the way that would be the most useful in his peculiar field of labour. Or he has, it may be, read some essay Avhich professes to set forth the scriptural manner of preaching, and has thus found a little temporary repose in a narrow onesidedness. One author would fain demonstrate that a sermon is nothing but a procla- mation ; another has made it appear very probable that the true ser- mon is a solemn talk, while a third has shown with equal probability that the primitive sermon was very much of a didactic lecture. Each of these can quote a Greek verb in support of his theory, but has overlooked the fact that the three original words in question, together with others, contribute to clear, varied, harmonious, and comprehensive views of the art of preaching. Other writers, not less earnest, turning away from these philological aspects of the subject, fix their attention on some biographical example, or histori- cal event, and consequently find in the apostle Paul the most admir- able exemplar for all preachers, or else discover in the tongue of fire, and the Pentecost sermon of l^eter, the origin and the model of all true pulpit power. Now, if we are not much mistaken, such authors are right in believing that the Bible contains su])reme and ultimate authorities on this subject ; but they are wrong in trusting that it has yielded them to those who have read it thus narrowly and superficially. A little more depth and breadth of inquiry would have brought them and their readers a richer reward. And yet we may well believe that they have done much good. A justification will perhaps be demanded of us for adding to the number of j)arts into which the science has always been divided, by INTRODUCTION. 7 Introducing the subject of inspiration, and by giving it the place Avhich has hitherto been thought to belong to invention. We must, however, leave this part of our work to make its own apology : a few words of explanation will here suffice. We employ the term to denote the co-oj^eration of the Divine Spirit in preaching, or his effects on the will and intellect of the man of God. This lower insj^iration is the same in its origin as, but in its effects different from that which moved the sacred speakers and writers, and which, so far as their divine communications were concerned, secured them against sin and error. Then as to invention, by removing it to the second place, we do not disparage it ; on the contrary, w^e exalt it, for if we have disturbed its ancient order, it was because we re- spected the conditions on which the Creator Spirit can breathe into it the breath of his own life. And ^practically it will ever be found that the mind demands the right mood and impulse before it can exercise itself profitably in finding and arranging matter for dis- course. Our method is psychological — the only method that can promise to restore to sacred rhetoric its failing vitality and strength. The present treatise, so different in groundwork and superstruc- ture from any that has hitherto appeared, will naturally provoke some very plausible objections. It may be said that as the mind refuses to class the utterances of the holy prophets among mere human communications, it can never regard them as proper examples for our imitation. Any attempt to copy them w'ould be little short of an irreverent travesty of things the most sacred, or else lead to a depreciation of the copy- ist who would provoke his hearers to contrast his work with his models. Besides, such copying would be unfriendly to the forma- tion of habits of original and independent thinking, composing, and speaking. We answer that it is one thing to copy servilely and superficially, but quite another to imitate freely and profoundly. The copyist mistakes defects for excellences, allows little or nothing for differ- ences of time and place, follows one admired examjjle to the ex- clusion of all others, and assumes the form without being animated by the soul of his master. The imitator, on the other hand, fol- lows not so much the production of his favorite master as his method of composition, or the principles on which he works. He does not imitate in all respects those whom he thinks the most worthy of following in many respects.^ Agreeble to this sound rhetorical maxim is Sir Joshua Reynolds' advice to students of art. "If," says 1 Cicero, Da 0 atore, B. ii. cli. xxii.; Quint., B. x., ch. ii. 8 INTRODUCTION. he, ''your ambition be to equal RafFaelle, you must do as RafFaelle did, take many models, and not even liiia for your guide alone, to the exclusion of others." . . . '' He that imitates the Iliad," says Dr. Young, "is not imitating Homer." It is not by laying up in the memory the particular details of any of the great works of art that any man becomes a great artist, if he stops Avithout making himself master of the general principles on which these works are con- ducted. If he ever hopes to rival those whom he admires, he must consider their Avorks as the means of teacliing him the true art of seeing nature. When this is acquired, he may be said to have ap- propriated their powers, or at least the foundation of their powers to himself"^ In respect of dramatic writing, the same rule holds good : for, as Guizot has observed, modem tragedy has a ground of its o\\m and peculiar to itself: and yet he thinks that Shakespeare's system of composition should furnish the plan according to which genius ought still to work.^ It is in such manner and measure that we recommend the student of sacred rhetoric to imi- tate the inspired sj^eakers of the old dispensation and the new. As to treating these sacred oracles with irreverence, a man may to some appear to travesty or burlesque them without a disposition or intention to do so. But no preacher is in duty bound to accommo- date himself to every hearer s notions of what is solemn, or to take the least notice of bilious critics, and the haunting " ghosts of a linen decency." And so far as our fear of sufiering in reputation by con- trast is concerned, if we took counsel of that we would never preach at all ; for who ever thought he could equal the Sermon on the Mount ? It may, indeed, be said, that when any one manifestly at- tempts to imitate another, he provokes damaging comparisons, and that this is the principal danger in question. To this we reply, that as the models Ave here recommend are perfect, it is but small dis- grace to come short of their matchless excellences. "Were they very imperfect, then avc Avould run the hazard of l)eing despised both for attempting to imitate them and for tailing in the en- deavour. Besides, it is a matter of fact that these inspired preachers have some of them, for more than a thousand years, had a very marked rhetorical influence on post-apostolic speakers. Thus Origen found that the reading of them communicated to his enthusiasm a spark of their oAvn inspiration ; and Avhencver Bossuet wished to compose a sermon ho Avas in the habit of reading a chapter in Isaiah for the purpose of attuning his powers; and Avhen Lord Chatham Avas going 1 Sixth and Eleventh Discourses. 2 Cf. Christian Palmer's Homiletik, p. 715. INTRODUCTION. 9 to speak on any very important subject, and wished to make a deep impression, he would, we are told, read some of the boldest flights of the same prophet. Instances of a similar kind are numerous. Now the omniscient God must have foreknown that not only his ministers but his people in many ages and nations would gradually and unwittingly, if not purposely, learn to conceive and express re- ligious ideas according to the example of the holy prophets, with whose writings they would be familiar. And he alone could com- prehend the vast importance of making his communications to man- kind in such a style as would assist them to form right habits of conception and expression. But who can for a moment entertain the idea that the only wise God and perfect committed a blimder in makuig this style the vehicle of his revelations, or that he intend- ed this style as a judgment, but the revelations it conveys ' as an imspeakable mercy to us ? Yet, if the above objection holds good, one or the other of these ideas must be entertained. If, again, we maintain that an exposure to the influence of this style be unfriendly to a just mdependence of mind and a beneficial originality of thought, how can we escape from the same dilemma ? The old classical writers on rhetoric teach that an intelligent imitation gives a right direction to our natural faculties and improves even genius itself Did the late James Hamilton, by yielding himself so heartily to the attractions of this sacred style, impair his own style or en- slave and impoverish his mind? "We think not. But be this as it may, certain it is that he who labours to be " mighty in the Scrip- tures " must, wittingly or unwittingly, receive some tincture from their style.^ And if there are any qualities of this style wliich it is enfeebling or otherwise injurious to imbibe, then the most devoted admirers and profoundest students of those qualities are the most exposed to tliis harm, while the despisers and neglecters of the Scriptures are the only persons that may hope to escaj^e such cor- , ruption of their style and such debility of their minds. It is sometimes averred that the Bible was not designed to teach us rhetoric any more than it was designed to teach us metaphysics or astronomy. But this is a backstroke of our enemy's sword which threatens to behead his royal friend : in assei'ting this of rhetoric as a science, does he not unawares assert as much of theology as a science? Undoubtedly; and the same may be asserted of the orations of Domesthenes and Cicero ; yet the classical rhetoricians 1 Thus Dr. Pusey Las, from long communion with the Hebrew Scriptures, formed a style which for the public speaker is preferable to that of Dr. Newman, which, however classically correct, is lacking in the Hebrew enthusiasm. 10 INTRODUCTION. have Bought and found in them many of the materials wherewith they have constructed their imperishable works. Who, then, can forbid us to resort to the utterances of the Scripture prophets for analogous but higher objects ? It would be singular enough if He, who has made it the duty of thousands of young dnd unpractised men to serve as stewards of His mysteries, had not given them any precepts or examples as to the manner of preparing, distributing, and presenting His truth, and so left them in this extraordinary work without that guidance which He has denied neither to them, nor to their brethren in the discharge of their ordinary religious duties. Ambrose of Milan, writing on another subject, has disposed of this question sententiously : " Scriptoreg Divinorum Librorum quamvis non secundum artem scripserunt, sed secundum gratiam, qua! supra artem est ; ii tamen qui de arte scrijiserunt, in eorum scriptis artem iuvenerunt." Another objector may say, " Rhetoric should be based upon ma- terials which are generally acknowledged to be eloquent ; but the inspired oratory, though it may really be eloquent, has never been acknowledged by men of taste in general, to be any. standard by which to test the qualities of sacred eloquence. To make it there- fore the standard of taste and the foundation of rhetorical rules, wpre as absurd as the pretension of the Mahometans who maintain that the great miracle wrought in the composition of the Koran, consisted in the inimitable style and acme of elegance to which ]\Iahomet attained — a miracle sufficient to establish his claim to the inspirati()n of God." The error of the Mahometans, we reply, con- sists inmamtaining that an incomparable elegance of style is a mark of divine inspiration. We may, indeed, reasonably expect to find a revelation from heaven conveyed with perspicuity, or energy, or such other property as is the most serviceable to the divine ideas and their recipients. But elegance, so far from being a peculiar quality of the sacred style, is conspicuous in some very abject and, atheistical productions. Nor is elegance or beauty indispensable to that style which now exclusively concerns us. In oratory, it may be on the contrary, and frecjuently is, a positive blemish and injury, because it detracts from simplicity and force. The divine Inspirer chose, in general, not that style which is the most beautiful in the esteem of the few, but that wliich is the most useful to the greatest number of souls. There is a dialogue in riutarch's ^Morals on the question, '" Why has the l*ythian priestess ceased to deliver her oracles in verse?" Diogenianus wonders at the meanness and lameness of the verses which conveyed the ancient oracles mto the Morld. And, indeed, INTRODUCTION. 11 he had a right to expect good poetry from Apollo, who was, as he says, called the president of the Muses. So might we demand elegance of style from the Holy Spirit, were he professedly the author and patron of such elegance. Diogenianus and Bcethus go on to disparage the oracles by contrasting them with the poems of Homer and Hesiod until they encounter the better mind of the poet Serapio, who tells them that they ought to correct their judg- ment which is forestalled by bad taste. Their sight and hearing are diseased. They ought not to find fault with the Pythia because she does not warble as charmingly as the fair songstress Glauca, nor tickle the ears and fancy with the graceful measures of Sappho. " The priestess," says he, " utters sentences altogether thoughtful and serious . . . Cadmus heard from heaven a sort of music that Avas neither lofty nor soft, nor shattered into trills and divisions ; for severe holmess will not admit the allurements of pleasure." Far as Plutarch is from the true notion of the sacred style, he is nearer correctness than the Mahometans are; and let his Serapio be the judge of all those who still deny that the inspired oratory de- serves to be generally recognised as the standard of sacred elo- quence. But still the objector is imdoubtedly right in asserting that the inspired sermons have never been generally adopted as the standard of pulpit style. The fact remains, we grieve to thmk, but whether to the disparagement of the eloquence of the ancient pro- phets, or of that of their modern successors, no competent judge will be slow to decide. It may, moreover, be objected that to compose a work of sacred rhetoric for preachers of this century upon the foundation of the Hebrew and Hellenistic eloquence of the sacred Scriptures, is to be guilty of a stupendous anachronism. Every age, it is said, demands and obtains that kind of preaching which is best for it. The preach- ers of the fourth century could not have met the exigencies of the sixteenth, nor w^ould the preachers that were so acceptable in the sixteenth be tolerated in the nineteenth. How preposterous, therefore, to recommend Isaiah and Paul as proper models for the preacher of to-day ! This objection, we may reply, takes for granted that the preaching of every age and comitry has a type or charac- ter which is essentially peculiar. Some ages have undoubtedly had their homiletical fashions, exhibiting certain novelties respecting the division of sermons, their length, or other such minor matters, but aside from these and similar things (differences of doctrine beino- out of the question), the history of preaching shows that the sermons of almost every Christian age have differed as widely among themselves as any one of them differs from any sermon that 12 INTRODUCTION. was preached last Sunday. Besides, who can study the standard pul])it literature of a given age or land, and after ascertainuig its rhetorical peculiarities (as for exanii)le, those of the time of James I., wlien it was fasliionable to quote Greek and Latin), can affirm that it was, in general, the best for that land or that age ? i "What minister of the gosi)el would have the hardihood to say as much of his own sermons 'i But if any preacher does hazard this assertion, we would respectfully ask him to inform us what he means by the word best. The best as to aim or spirit, or subject matter, or form, or style ? By what standard found to be best in any or some or all of these respects ? The best because the most useful ? Or best because the most popular? Now we do not wish to provoke contradiction, but we are con- strained to hold that m as far as any imperfect age demands and obftvins tlie i)reachers it likes best, in so far is that age growing degenerate.- Yes, we must advance a step further, and maintain that the age or nation or church that determines the chief rhetorical qualities of its preaching is (miwittingly, of course) corrupting the men that ought to be its spiritual guides ;3 for the right rhetorical qualities of the pulpit are determined by the oracles and grace of God, while, on the contrary, Avrong ones are determined by the more or less debased and debasing taste of the peoi:)le who perhaps " after their own lusts have heaped to themselves teachers having itching ears." All true preachers are called of God to do his work, receive their commission and their message from him, and have the guidance of the Holy S]>irit in their studies and mhiistrations. They consider themselves sent as Jeremiah was to pull down and to root out and to build and to plant. They do not think it strange that the modern rake, Rochester, Avas converted by hearing a chapter of the ancient Isaiah. AVere the elements and the ends of tlieir oratory essentially the same as tliose of the secular, then would they be manipulated and moulded by the formative age, which they aimed to manipulate and mould. True men of God aim not, by appealing to selfish motives, to rouse dormant passions, but aim by the help of holy teachings, arguments, and persuasions, co-operating with the Divme Spirit and word, to transform men into new crea- tures, or to assist new creatures to walk in righteousness of life. To persuaile men to evil, it is enough that you be on a level with them, 1 See Arclib. Abbot's Letter in Documentary Annals, II., 204. 2 The drama's laws, the drama's patrons give, For we tliat live to please, must please to live. — Samuel Johnson. 3 Hosea iv, 4-9. INTRODUCTION. 13 although eventually you will be in subjection to them ; — but to per- suade them to good, you must be morally above them, and prove that in your character and thoughts, you are more in harmony with the will of God than with the will of man. As are your thoughts, so will be your language ; as is your spiritual character, so will be the spiritual properties of your sermons. But if, O, pastor, you dis- charo-e your duty to your Hock as under the eye of the Chief Shep- herd, be not alarmed if some of your flock either forsake you or request you to forsake them. A permanent pastor of a permanent flock, and faithful both— how seldom do these heavenly conditions meet; and yet we rejoice to beUeve that they do sometimes meet, and that hereafter they will go on meeting more frequently as the divine Son of Mary, still stamping on the head of the old serpent, shall announce each brightenmg hour that is to herald the millen- nial day. But our postulate is that the present age is imperfect — I beg your pardon, says the objector ; let me state my difficulty in another form : Must you not admit, after all, that -a living and efficient ministry will, in many respects, adapt itself to its age and the sphere of its activity. Had Paul, or Isaiah, or our Lord him- self, preached to a congregation in this age and land, would he not often have expressed himself very differently from what he did ; m brief, would not the peculiarities of his style have been very differ- ent from what they were, and as wisely adjusted to us as they were to his contemporaries ? This we concede, but we must, at the same tune, deny that this adaptation to their respective times and places is any evidence that they were as preachers created by their age, or that in any of the higher qualities of their style, they were con- formed thereto. We are also compelled to deny that the adapta- tion in question makes them unfit to be examples for all modern preachers. Ezekiel is, in the opmion of Hengstenberg, exactly the prophet for our times. Cicero did, indeed, find the style of Demos- thenes, m some respects, ill adapted to a Roman, as Lord Brough- am also found it ill adapted to an English audience, and yet both of these orators thought it practicable and very advantageous to follow him as an example, and warmly recommended his orations to the study and admiration of all who would excel in eloquence. Demosthenes and Cicero would, in other ages and countries, have delivered speeches very diff'erent from those which they have be- queathed to us ; but shall we therefore forbid preachers to do what they have done from the days of Father Basil until now, namely, to study and imitate their respective styles, or to teach homiletics, by deducing principles and precepts, and quoting illustrations from 14 INTRODUCTION. these ethnic orations ?^ This objection is then levelled against all the best standard works on general rhetoric. Are ^ve to fall before it ? Then so must they. Against all rlietorical instruction, both secular and sacred, another and similar difficulty has been raised. It may be stated as follows : Of the twenty or more inspii"ed speakers whom you commend to our imitation, each is characterized by a bold individuality. To the student who exammes them critically they reveal Avide diversities of capacity, temperament and culture. Elijah was constitutionally different from Elisha ; Ezekiel could not have proi)hesied like Isaiah ; nor could Peter have preached like Paul. A Luther is not a Wes- ley ; a Count Zinzendorf is not a Jonathan Edwards. These ex- amples, and others such as these, one and all, concur in giving this counsel : Be yourself and not another. You are in some respects siii (jeneris. Respect your peculiarities and maintain your independ- ence ; then M'ill invention and style and delivery take care of them- selves. In answering this objection we must premise that the majority of those who have attempted to characterise the resjicctive styles of the prophets and apostles, have sometimes been compelled to infer the distinctive qualities of an inspired man's style from the study of only one or tAvo of his addresses. Here some German authors evince a self-destructive dogmatism that is only equalled by their immense erudition. We can, indeed, jw'onounce with some con- fidence as to certain peculiarities of the style of Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or of Ezekiel ; for we possess a considerable number and variety of their sermons, but to attempt to characterise the general style of a minor prophet after an examination of a single surviving sermon of his, would be uncritical and illogical. The Scripture sermons, be it remembered, touch upon a great variety of subjects and Avere de- livered on very different occasions, and for quite dissimilar objects. They are therefore not to be studied with the view of ascertammg the peculiar qualities of each sacred orator's style, but for the pur- pose of leaiTiing from the example of eacli, how to adjust our style to our subject, and aim, and occasion, and audience. This difficulty is raised by those Avho think that a rhetorical training is destructive of individuality ; whereas a right rhetorical ICf. chapter on Adapt atiox. The gioat orators of Greece, were tliemselves the .stniidards of taste for the people, and not the reverse (Diodorus Siculus, Lib. xii.), and Antonio Vieyra, the most eloquent of the Portufruese preachers, had the courago, both by word and example, to ojiposo the affected elegance of style which the fashionable i)reachors of his day cultivated. INTRODUCTION. 15 training forms a desirable individuality. Any student may, after short practice, learn whether reason or imagination, or feeling or memory or voice, or what combination of these (as yet, perhaps, existing only in their germ and potentiality) distinguishes him from others, but it is only by a methodical and thorough training that he can demonstrate to himself what are the highest actualities of his gifts. Besides, if a man have a just individuality he will desire and choose to develop it; for every real natural talent he possesses holds within itself a principle of life and growth. True genius works much because it works easily; it works Avell because it works wisely. If, on the other hand, a man have an individuahty wholly or partly wrong, either in itself or in its tendencies, or in its rela- tions, the study of Christian rhetoric will teach him where and how far he ought to amend. Jeremy Taylor sometimes reminds you of Isaiah, but you never forget that it is Jeremy Taylor still. But let us not be understood as wishing to polish away whatever is peculiar to an individual to such a degree as to render it almost invisible and imperceptible. We protest beforehand against such a misconstruction of our design. We wish not to destroy individu- ality, but to develop it where it is right, and to correct it where it is wrong. Natural peculiarities are oftenest crippled by narrowly copying those of some one fallible preacher, and not by an mtel- ligent imitation of twenty infallible ones, as we herein recommend. A servile imitativeness hampers that freedom which a just individ- uality demands, while a strict conformity to God's revealed will tends to secure that plenitude of the Spirit's gracious presence whence the best liberty proceeds.i The holy prophet said, I will walk at liberty, for I seek thy precepts.2 Every man's individuality, Uke its mainspring, the will, is in bondage, and the Holy Spirit alone can release it from thraldom ; but when once free it regards divine revelation as the perfect law by which to regulate its liberty. 3 Free is that preacher who has not merely power to speak as he chooses, but power at one and the same time to speak as he chooses, and to speak as he ought. 4 Another objector may say : For my part, I ought to avoid all artificiality of style and delivery, and to cultivate an easy and natural manner. The prophets spoke under great bodily and mental ex- 1 2 Cor. iii. 17. 2 Psa. cxix. 45. 3 James i. 25. 4 Robert Hall in after life mentioned Gibbon's Rhetoric, which he had eagerly read in youth, as increasing his sense of the utility as well as the beauty of flne wnting, and creating an intense desire to acquire a style at once elegant and per- spicuous. 16 INTRODUCTION. citement. Their inspiration was an extraordinary gift, which ex- pressed itself in highly impassioned language and wild gestures. Now it seems to me that the imitation of these ecstatic and enthu- siastic s})eakers would be very unfriendly to the practice of a natural way of speaking. This objection owes much of its apparent force, to the current but erroneous notion that ecstacy was the invariable effect of inspi- ration ; whereas this was its effect only on rare occasions, as when the prophet had a vision of Jehovah or of an angel,i or a divine dis- closure of great sins and their i^enalties,^ or when perpleiced as to the sense of a divine communication.^ None but the false projihets habitually worked themselves up to seeming ecstacies and parox- ysms. The true prophets, like Jesus, the great Alpha and Omega of their line, commonly spoke with a composure that is natural to minds obedient to God's will, at peace with him. and filled with the all-subduing Spirit. As their words spoke their hearts, so they were calm or animated accordmg to the occasion. To the sensibil- ities, feelings and emotions they, of all men, have given the most natural utterance. It has not, perhaps, occurred to this objector that the habit of composing sermons is one of the sources of the unnatural in preach- ing. During the interval that usually takes place between the con- ception of the thoughts and their delivery, the preacher's mind has, perhaps, lost its first enthusiasm; and possibly events have brought about some change in the moral or intellectual mood of his ex- pected hearers, if not a revolution in his own views of the text, or of the relative importance of the discussion, or the lawful and ex- pedient a])j)Hcation of his subject. But even in cases where inven- tion has been fiiithful to truth, the pen faithful to the thoughts, and the elocution faithful to the thoughts, to the words, and to a heart deej)ly affected by the theme, yet it must be admitted that, at the l)cst, such a sermon is more or less formal and artificial. How then shall we effectually counteract this tendency to artifi- ciality and all manner of formality and affectation ? Not by ceas- ing to ponder or write our preparations for the ])ulpit, nor yet by confining ourselves to the practice of preaching extemporaneously, but Ijy studying and imitating those who write and speak m the most ndtio-fil manner, that is to say, the most natural for the jtreacli- er. ]5ut what, it will be demanded, is the most natural manner ? We could answer this question if we knew a preacher that spoke 1 Isn. vi. ; Jer. i. ; Ezek. i. and xxiii. ; Dan. viii. 17. 2 Jer. xxiii. 9; Ilab. iii. 8, 16. 8 Dan. vii. 15, 28 ; x., 8. INTRODUCTION. 17 spontaneously without any culpable fear, and only from good mo- tives, who had a perfect confidence in his own wisdom as to the choice of all his words and, what is far better, in the truth, impor- tance and timeliness of his declarations, who had none of the faults of those who speak either from memory or from extemporaneous suggestion, who, in short, had no error of the understanding, and no sin of the heart to prevent him from speaking in a holy, sincere, characteristic, warm, easy, vigorous, and lifesome manner ; him could we confidently pronounce master of a natural rhetoric and a com- mendable example of natural preaching. But where can Ave find any written specimens of such a natural eloquence ? The anticipated reply is the true one : in the sermons of our divine Master and his fel- low proj^hets. Here the divine, speaking through the human, and for the time setting aside premeditation and all formal art, realized the perfection of the natural manner. Here inspiration, by moving erring and sinful men to speak infallibly and impeccably, like the second Adam himself, caused them to speak accordmg to nature in the best sense of the word. It is by studying these, therefore, that the preacher is to form that ideal of eloquence Avhich Cicero, in his de Onitore, has, for the benefit of other speakers, attempted to describe — an ideal, which, if kept clearly and steadily in view, will perfect and transfigure nature. "And so then," continues the same objector, "you would advise the preacher who must speak Ln prose to acquire or preserve a natu- ral manner by imitating poerty ! Were not the prophets poets, and is not the principal share of their declarations poetry of the most elevated and excellent kind ? " We hope the objector will not accuse us of evasion, if we respect- fully ask him what is his idea or definition of poerty. He is j^roba- bly aware that there is a variety of opinions as to the nature of poetry in general. " Poetry," says James Montgomery,^ " is verse in contradistinction to prose. . . . Poetiy, to be complete, must be verse ; and all the wit of man cannot supply a more convenient definition. Every thing else which may be insisted on as essential to good poetry, is not 'peculiar to it, but may with due discretion and happy effect, be incorporated in prose." This is the best defi- nition of poetry with which we are acquainted. Most scholars have concluded that parallelism distinguishes Hebrew poetry from He- brew i^rose. This being a kind of distich, is entitled to the appella- tion of verse. But authorities differ as to the proper definition of 1 Lectures on General Literature and Poetry. Cf. Wbately's Rhetoric, Pt. ii., cliap. iii., ^3. 18 INTRODUCTION. parallelism. Lowth and Gesenius make it consist in the correspon- dence of one line with another. Ewald, however, prefers to make what he terms '* thouglit-rhythm " its chief peculiarity, " because," he says, " the rhythm consists in such a division of the sentiments as cannot be fully expressed in less than a distich."' Dr. David- son defines it a symmetrical proportion between the larger sec- tions, or members of a period, the smaller being neglected. ^ But it has seemingly escaped these writers that parallelism is not peculiar to Hebrew poetry, since it is found in parts of the New Testament that are confessedly prosaic, and in many secular orations, ancient and modern,2 and especially in the prose of some modern Oriental writers. The parallelisms of Arabic prose are even terminated by rhymes. Now admitting the above definitions to be tolerably correct, we are not to take it as an established fact that the style of the proph- ets is poetic. Lowth^ was of opinion that parts of Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and Zechariah are prose, that Jonah and Daniel are " plain prose," that Ilaggai is '• altogether prosaic," while " Malachi is writ- ten in a kind of middle style which seems to indicate that the Hebrew poetry, from the time of the Babylonish captivit}', was in a declinmg state, and being past its prime and vigour, was then fast verging towards the debility of age !" He also confesses that some- times the nature of the parallelism is very subtle and obscure. Havernick^ thought that the Hebrew knew only a rhythmical prose, and that the poetical form is more carefully preserved in the Psalms than in the Prophets, which as to rhythmus stand in some sort l)ctwcen poetry and prose. Bleeck^ pronounces Joel, Amos, Hosea, ]Micah, Isaiah, and Xahum poetic, but the language of the later prof)hets entirely prosaic, as partly in Jeremiah and still more in Ezekiel, Zechariah, Ilaggai, and Malachi. The attempt to prove from such authorities that the prevailing style of the projihets is l)oetic, would be as futile as was that of Thcopomitus Avho though he sharply reprehends those who believed that the Pythian oracles were not delivered altogether in verse, yet when he labours to make good his assertion, is able to produce but very few instances 1 Home's Introduction, 10th ed., vol. ii. 2 R-v. .Tolin Jobb's Sacred Literature ; Boys' Tactica Sacra; Dr. Forbi's' Sym- metrical Structure of Scripture. 3 Lect. xix. and xxi. 4 Introduction to 0. T., ^.29, 33. Keil (Elnl. \. B.) excludes the prophets from liis list of the poetical books. 5 Introduction to 0. T., vol. ii. INTRODUCTION. 19 in comparison of those that were uttered in prose.i Let us, more- over, mark the following particulars : 1. The words and phrases which are thought to be peculiar to the poetic diction are less numerous in the Proi^hets than in the Psalms.2 This is admitted even by those who decide what words and phrases are f)oetic with an uncritical degree of positiveness. In our own language there are some words that have been too dog- matically claimed as sacred to poetry, e. g., the adverb ere. The remains of the Hebrew literature are so scanty, and the nature of He- brew poetry is so vaguely defined, that the critic who declares that the prophets habitually employed poetic words and phrases ad- vances, as it would seem, an unscholarly assumption. 1. The strophes, so called, which are foimd in the prophets, are very uncritically so denominated. Except in original or borrowed poetry quoted by the prophets, we do not find any stanzas that de- serve the name ; for something more than a refrain or burden is essential to a strophe. This, as we find it in the prophetic speeches, is a mere rhetorical repetition, such as is nearly as natural to the impassioned orator as it is to the poet. 3. Once more ; the prophetic style admits of the quotation of poetic lines either borrowed or original, as already hinted, and the interspersion of plain historic statements ; neither of which is allowable in Hebrew poetry. Though Ewald does not rank the projDhets among the Hebrew poets, yet he would lift the prophetic style above the level of that of oratory ; but is, after all, compelled to acknowledge that this style has certain distinctive qualities. " It is," he says, " on the one hand, too elevated in its subject and its rano-e to sink down mto common prose " (although it does so sink, as he concedes, in Ezekiel from the 40th chap, to 48th, and elsewhere), " but, on the other hand, its object is too directly and completely that of practical life for it to retire into anything so remote as the strictly poetical form. Consequently it fluctuates between the two in such a way that as to its inclination and endeavour, it everywhere strug- gles upward to the height of poetry, while for its expression, it makes use of freer and more usual terms, both that it may be more directly practical, and also not lose the proper fulness and flexibility of oratory. From the fusion of these two elements is produced that peculiar form which prophecy has appropriated to itself Wherein it differs from strict poetry may be felt more distinctly 1 Plutarch's Morals ; Dialogue on the question, Why the Pytbia has ceased to deliver her oracles in verse 1 2 Die Propheten des Alten Bundes, von Heinrich Ewald, vol. i., p. 46. 20 INTRODUCTION. when the two come into immediate contact, as they do in the second and third chapters of Ilahakkuk." The same author, even wliile lie is subjecting tlie free prophetic eloquence to his arbitrary prosody, is candid enough to allow that the prophetic poetry " is distinguished by the fluctuating of the rhythm, by its alternations between great strength and great beauty of sentiment, and es- pecially by a verse rhythm that admits of longer lines and more extended and more multiform stanzas."^ De Wette,^ an earlier authority, is uncommonly correct when he says that " as the prophets are rather orators than poets, so their rhythm is usually distinguish- ed from that of lyric poetry by the use of longer periods/' On such a question the learned Jews also certainly deserve a hearing ; the Rabbms have given poetical accents to only three of the sacred books, namely, the Psalms, the Proverbs, and Job.^ In the proph- etic books the poetic matter is always in the form of the lyric or ode ; and mdeed all primitive verse apj^ears to have been composed solely with a view to its easy and eiFective utterance in song. "Granting," it is further insisted, "that the projihets were not poetic in diction and in structure, were they not, after all, very poetic in their ideas, modes of conception, and the use they made of the imagination ?" This is a question which men of taste are inces- santly answering, and will perhaps go on answering forever, at least to their own satisfaction. Thus much, however, is tolerably clear, that, subjectively speaking, the poet is a creator working m a region above that of the knowable, and that, therefore, the only philosoph- ical antithesis is between poetry and science.'* According to this criterion Hebrew prophecy is not poetry ; for it reveals the primary elements of true theology ; the prophets are promulgers of matters of fact concerning God and man, and having furnished the daia of theis- tic speculations, are to be regarded as " our masters in the school of highest reason."^ "But," it will be demanded, " is there not, as in all poetry ,'' so in Hebrew prophecy, a peculiar richness and arbitrari- ness m the imagery?" Ti-ue, the genius of the .Occident is taught to pronounce the imaginative combinations of the old Hebrews 1 Die Propheten des Alten Bundes, vol. i , pp. 49-50. 2 Die Ileilifre Scrift. des Alten und Neuen Tcstament.s. 3 Kcil (Eiiil. A. T.) includes also Canticles, Lamentations, and Ecclesiastes among the poetical books. 4 Wordsworth's Note to Observations, prefixed to bis Lyrical Ballaids ; Prof. David ALnsson's Essaj's, biographical and critical, p. i'J.0. 5 Isaac Taylor's Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, chap. xii. 6Ma8Son, ut supra, p. 464. INTRODUCTION. 21 almost excessive and lawless ; yet, let us give good heed to this one peculiarity of the prophetic imagmation, that, unlike the merely poetic, it is never intent on our pleasure, but always eager for our ethical and spiritual improvement. Isaac Taylor,^ speaking of this entire subordination of the ideal to the practical in Isaiah, and in opposition to those who aver that his predictive faculty was a mere poetic mspiration, says with force and exactitude : " This hypoth- esis does not consist with the facts in view. As often as he touches themes that are the most awakenmg to poetic feeling, Isaiah (and the same is true of his brethren) is brief, and seems in haste to quit the ground on which he has set foot for a moment." . . . . " How much more than a poet is this prophet !" How much more than a poem is a sermon ! Should the objector, unwilling to part with his favourite opmions as to the distmctive qualities of poetry and oratory, still mauitam that, in his judgment, the greater part of the Hebrew prophecies is poetry, we may nevertheless be permitted to add that these are not the only mspired models that we ask him to contemplate ; and that if the prophets are poets, he ought m justice to himself, as a student of sacred rhetoric, to imbue his mmd with their varied and matchless songs. Cicero, Quintilian,^ and other classic authorities recommend the orator to cultivate a familiar acquaintance with the j)oets. But when, asks the impatient reader, will you have done refuting objections ? Is it not ^j>/-w«a facie evidence against your theory that it raises so many difficulties? By his favour we answer, that several of these difficulties have already been raised by learned men with whom the writer has talked on this subject, or whose writings he has read, and that these objections proceed, he is convinced, from the strength of other men's prepossessions more than from the weakness of his own positions. This assertion may strike some as too bold, and others as totally unwarranted by facts — but we are not now up for hostile examination ; we only challenge the reader to that free and well-willed discussion without which no new and unconsidered theory, however sound and important, ought to be received. Gladly, however, would we here lay aside the weapons of refutation. But another objector is stalking out against us, saying : " The in- spired preachers were predictors. Their survey of the future and 1 Ut supra. 2Quintilian, B. x , chap, i, sec. 27-30; B. v, chap, xi,, sec. 39; Cicero cle Oratore, B. i., chap, xvi., xxsiv. 22 INTRODUCTION. tlie successive visions -which were pictured on the broad eye of tlieir imau'ination necessitated a corresponding elevation, even an oracular so high by Luther.'' So, too, every Christian preacher that has studied the whole body of Hebrew pr()i)hecy has jirobably broculer views of the future than any one of those prct|)hets was vouchsafed, not even excepting the last 1 Rev. J. Davison on Prophecy, pp. 34-67. INTRODUCTION. 23 of them, unless the last was versed in all the i^ermanent pro- phetic writmgs that existed in his time. Our divme Master, by fully revealing the immortaUty of the soul, and eternal rewards and pen- alties, has lifted us up and set us upon the shoulders of the pro- l^hets, and has thus given us the largest possible views of the future. Not only are our visions of the future broader and longer, but they are more affectmg also. The Hebrew preacher could only set before his hearers rewards and penalties that were either wholly or mostly temporal; and whenever he foretold temporal blessings and judgments that were not to descend upon his auditors individually, but on the nation in general, or upon their posterity, the success of such appeals to their hopes or their fears depended in the degree of their love for their country or their posterity. But the Christian prophet exhibits before his congregation heaven and hell, and draws thence motives of ^the utmost momentum. Can he not, therefore, safely imitate the prophetic style ? Whenever the Christian pro- phet declares the future, not of time only, but of eternity as well, and presses home upon each heart an endless hereafter as a matter of personal immediate and supreme concern, the elevation, the fer- vour, the energy, and the pathos which became the Hebrew predic- tor, he ought certamly to equal and if possible to surpass. An error very common and influential is that we have m holy Scripture the principal utterances of all the prophets, that Samuel created the prophetic " order," and that though Moses had in the law provided for that "order," yet it was not developed because there was then no demand for it. But Enoch, Noah, and Abraham, it should be remembered, were prophets, and that in the days of Ahab, a hundred of them were hid in two caves by Obadiah, to say nothing of those who were martyred by Jezebel, and of those who, like Elijah escaped, and ran for refuge to distant mountains. Let any German scholar prove, if he can, that all these did not speak from mspiration, and did not occasionally predict. If they differed a,t all from those whose writings have come down to us, was it not in this that their predictions concerned none but theu- hearers or contemporaries ? Presumption favours this view. There is no good reason to suppose that the extant writings of Jeremiah, or Ezekiel or those of any other prophet of the Old Testament com- prised all of their prophesymgs. Why then did these prophets write ? It seems probable that the Holy Spirit moved them to commit to writing such of their utterances, and only such, as are of universal application and in their ultimate sense concerned subse- quent ages, and as would by their fulfillment be striking evidences of the reality of the perfections and revelations of God. But in 24 INTRODUCTION. whatever way we account for these things, we may take it as an un- deniable fact that those proplietic writintrs which are not predictive, have a great rhetorical value, Ijecause they enahle us to form just conceptions of the nature of the more usual and ordinary sermons of the unwriting prophets from the time of P^noch to the day of the death of John the Baptist "We conclude, therefore, that it is inexact to term the prophets mere predictors, but that even when they spoke as such they may properly be imitated by Christian ministers in their virtual fore- showings. " But were not the prophets frequently called to utter reproofs and denunciations, even to imprecate curses? Would not the at- tempt to adopt these comminations and uj^braidmgs have a tendency to overcloud the spirit, to embitter the temper, in short, to make ministers gloomy misanthropes ? " This objection is very specious when, as is often the case, it pre- supposes that Elijah is to be regarded as a fair sample of all the j)rophets in this respect. But it should be recollected that he prophesied in the worst times, and was sent of Jehovah to attack the idolatry which Jezebel and Ahab supported in apostate Israel. His first prediction of a judgment, severe as it was, harmonized with the threatening of the Law.^ It ought likewise to be kept in mind that neither Elijah, nor John the Baptist, nor any other of the true prophets launched these denunciations in their own name, or from the impulses of malice and uncharitableness. Moses, Jere- miah, and Ezekiel certainly did not desire to behold the miseries which they predicted. All the prophets, in so far as they were her- alds of God's judgment, felt the weight of approaching woe as a " burden." Of all these holy men Jonah alone entertahied any com- placency in view of what seemed to him the inevitable execution of a divine penalty; and even he appears to have believed that the veracity of God demanded that the Ninevites should be uncon- ditionally destroyed. Besides, little as we may think of it, this objection, if valid against the Hebrew prophets, is equally valid against the Hellenistic prophets. " Can any one," says George Gilfillan, " wonder at EzekieVs burdens, who has read the 23d chapter of Matthew ? The spirit of Jude and 'Id Peter is essentially the same with the lOOlh and 137th Psalms; and never be it forgotten that the most fearful denunciations of sin and pictures of future punishment in 8crii)ture came from the lips of Jesus and of the disciple whom Jesus loved. 1 1 Kings xvii. 1 ; Deut. xi. 16, 17 ; xxviii. 23, 24 ; Levit. xxvi. 19. INTRODUCTION. 25 It is in the New Testament, not the Old, that that sentence of direst and deepest import occurs : " It is a fearful thing to fall into the hands of the living God." The Bible is one, and the unity of the Divine Spirit may be proved from that oneness. The triumph- ant defence of all the sacred writers is their plenary inspiration : and it is just because post-apostolic ministers do not speak directly from Grod that they have no warrant to utter any other denuncia- tions than those they find in the Holy Scriptures, and those that are either impUed in, or deducible from them, for the correction of modern nations and classes of men that commit the oldest sins in the newest forms. But if we look into this matter a little more closely, we find that the difiiculty in question would be easily obviated, if students would only examine these minatory texts in the light of their connections. The prophet speaks just as the Psalmist sings, " of mercy and judg- ment," always beholding both sitting together on one equal throne in the heart of God, uniting or disjoinmg their respective messages to men according to the demands of the divine government and of human character and conduct, the one chastising disobedience, and the other shielding against despair, but, after all, rejoicing against judgment in -behalf of God's adopted and beloved children, and ofiering pardon to rebels, while judgment visits final retribution on all such as despise the proffers and terms of mercy. These are, in- deed, the merest outlines of the seer's jjicture ; as to the details of light, and shade, and shadow, of colours and tints, from the most cheerful to the most sombre, the more they are studied the more ought they to be admired. Nothing, accordingly, can be more worthy of following than the way the prophets mingle tender and pathetic passages with their reproofs and imprecations. Jere- miah, for example, was compelled through forty eventful years to stand as a fenced brazen wall against his people, and yet how tear- fully compassionate are many of his expressions.^ Our Lord, like- wise, after denouncing eight woes against the Jews, concludes with that most affecting lamentation, " O, Jerusalem, Jerusalem," etc.2 This is neither the manner of the classic orators nor of modern public accusers. To this should be subjoined the fact that the prophets inspire us with confidence in the future, and in the ultimate triumphs of all good begmnings, however feeble and assailed. It has been justly and 1 Jer. ix. 1 ; x. 23-25 ; xv. 10, 17 ; xvii. 16. 2 Matt, xxiii ; cf. Dr. Fairbaira's Revelation of Law in Scripture, pp. 356-364, 26 INTRODUCTION. happily remarkotl by Isaac Taylor,i tliat the prophets, as men of hope are the masters of moden thouglit ; for it is they who have suggested, and have supplied the text for those forcastings of the destiny of nations which, m these times especially, have been i)rcva- lent in the writings, not of divines merely, but of philosophers. We all, in these days of great movements, have learned to think hopefully of every philanthropic enterprise ; and our teachers in this lino have been " the goodly fellowship of the prophets." . . . " Certain luminous passages of theirs have been made use of to jezcel the machinery of modern society. . . . This catholic mood of hope- fulness has been derived much more from the Hebrew than from the Christian Scriptures." Thus Isaiah generally mixes his denuncia- tions with promises, while the last twenty-seven chapters of his book are aglow with almost imshadowed hopefulness.- So, too, Jeremiah is never so sad as to abandon himself to total despair ; even the destruction of Jerusalem and dismal captivity of its inhabitants do not prevent him from speaking words of encouragement to his brethren.^ Ezekiel is not less hopeful, and, like Isaiah, vrinds up his prophecies with glimpses of Messianic times and visions of the Xew Jerusalem. Not with any fairness can they be called mere heralds of evil and haters of their kind, who can thus fling golden (fUn-glances of hoj)e through the heaviest clouds of despair, and close many a temi^estuous day of dolor with the gorgeous sunset of re- turning blessedness. Only one objector remains — one Avho protests against the use of the Hebrew oracles on the ground of their obscurity and vague- ness. But it is only the predictive portions of them that can be regarded as objectionably dark, and these are reducible to obscuri- ty either of matter, or of style, or of both. As for the matter, it was, perhaps, the divine intention that each prediction should be rudimental, or, at any rate, incomplete, yet a part of a series of progressive revelations in suchwise that man's vision might not be dazzled by a light too concentrated and intensified. "Wrongly, therefore, do we blame the silver dawnings of prophecy because they are not the golden noontides of history. And to refuse to study these prophecies because we do not know when, where, and how they are fulfilled, is much as if avc refrained from hearing a sermon for the reason that the preacher did not choose to tell us the nimiber, the names, and the addresses of those for whom the application was intended. Another thing, if this objection is allowed 1 The Spirit of Hebrew Poetrj', chap. xi. 2 Isa. i. 18-20; ii. 2-6 ; vi. 1.3; vii. 14-16 ; ix. 1, 2; vi. 7; x. 20-22, etc. ; chaps. 40-66. 3 Jer. xxvi. 27, 28. INTRODUCTION. 27 to prevail, it will advance to fight up against that tower of Chris- tion prediction which looks towards eternity ; to say nothino- of every work of genius the mystery of which is the excellency of its power.i And if it comes to that, we must seal the scrolls of Creation by reason of such of their meanings as are ascertainably hid ; and stop our ears to all the questions of Providence, on the plea that for many of them we have no answer. Or, agam, is it said that their style, particularly their figures, are of the region of the mist ? Eemember, we rejoin, that both Jesus and his prophets con- fessedly used that kind and measure of perspicuity which at the same time shows to believers new journeys along the highway of holiness, and to unbelievers some untrodden turn in the criss-cross and devious paths of sin. These figures are, therefore, tests of the heart's grace rather than trials of the intellect's cunning such as the riddle of the sj^hinx was to CEdipus. Does any one say that none of these answers overcomes his difficulties ? Then let him return to the outset and survey those interspaces of prophecy Avhich are not predictive. There will he find many an address that is lucid enough for rhetorical instruction, and that is, beyond question, contributory to real eloquence. But as it is high time this refutation were ended, the writer will only add a few sentences concerning the source and beginning of this system. Its chief peculiarities are the fruit of endeavours to answer the question which he had often and thoughtfully asked himself: What manner of preaching has the most direct tendency to Chris- tianise any poor, ignorant, common man ? This question ignored all thoughts respecting popularity and congregations, whether large or small, that are made up of kindred minds attracted together out of many thousands. It regarded these as extraneous considerations. To learn how the writer answered this question, how the light gradually dawned upon his mind, after what nights, and through what clouds, would be of small interest to most readers. Thus much, however, he should divulge, that some three years after he had conceived, and in part executed this work, he met Avith those golden words of John Livingstone, which so happily sum up his own that he has adopted them as his motto. This great Scottish preacher of the seventeenth century Avas the first, so far as the writer knows, to catch a true glimpse of the theory of sacred oratory. He did not, indeed, vrrite many sentences, and never, it would seem, con- templated any treatise on the subject. Only one of his addresses has come down to us; but that is very precious, as it aifords 1 E.g. Uhland's Verlorene Kirche and our own Spencer's and million's best poems. 28 INTRODUCTION. somcthincj liko a frac^mentary example of liis idea. It contains sev- eral similitudes of his own, from wliich and other peculiarities we may infer that be considered the sermons of the Divine Teacher as proper oljjects of intelligent imitation. But what is far Letter, he evidently felt that he must imitate the piety if he would success- fully imitate the preaching of the Master of the prophets ; for we have accounts of his praying all night more than once, and of a sin- gle sermon which after one of those nights of prayer awakened five hundred souls at the kirk of Shotts.^ To find the footprints of such a man on the pathless island was very encouraging. The writer must, in justice to himself, add that he has sought truth and utility rather than a reputation for uncommon originality From Looks without nuniLer, and many of them most unpromising, he has derived valuaLle suggestions and maxims.^ The materials for a system of sacred rhetoric have Leen slowly accumulating from the day that Moses first opened his mouth and j)roj)hesied amidst the wilds of AraLia ; and they are the most trustworthy writers on this suLject, who, having Leen guided Ly the Lest con- sidered plans, have ransacked those materials most deeply on all sides, and selected therefrom the most judiciously. Other (jualifica- tions Leing equal, they are the safest teachers of the present who are the most largely indeLted to the Lest instructors of the past. "As one country," says George IlerLert, " doth not Lear all things, that there may Le commerce ; so neither hath God opened, or will open, all to one, that there may Le a traffic in knowh'dge Lctv.eeu the servants of God, for the pljuiting Loth of love and humility."' 5L 1 Select Biographies, edited by the Wotliow Society, vol. i., pp. 138, 144, 104- 212, 287. 2 Bibliographers will not scorn to learn that the method and bulk of the matter of this work, and the composition of the first book were produced as early as the end of 18C2. BOOK I. INSPIRATION OE, THE ASSISTANCE OF THE DIVINE SPIRIT IN PREACHING. This system of Christian Rhetoric begins with the principle that Invention, Style and Delivery owe their proj^er life and efficacy to such aid of the Holy Spirit as quickens, directs and enlightens the heart and intellect of the preacher. This pi-incij^le, in all its prac- tical bearings, it is the object of the First Book to elucidate and dis- cuss= It is here taken for granted that the jDreacher is regenerated and advancing in grace and in the knowledge of Christ, It is like- wise presupposed that he will look elsewhere for answers to his questions concerning plenary inspiration, a subject which — as he has to bear in mind — is here investigated only so far as it is related to that of partial inspiration. To the reader who passes by the First Book the remainder will probably prove injurious. The habit of regarding sermons as mere works of art, is hardening both to preacher and hearer ; making the former an iron automaton that speaks mechanically; the latter a leviathan to which "sling-stones become stubble." The question of questions is: Dost thou O, Spirit of Life, deny, or dost thou vouchsafe thy gracious presence ? For without Thee the greatest of our sermons will be but little better than the Fisherman's sword, or the Son of Thunder's prayer for lightning ; but with Thee, the smallest of our preachments will be an authentic successor of the apostle Peter's Pentecost sermon, and thus mightily serve to fulfill the Patmos visions of St. John the Divine. Enable us then, first of all, to answer this life-and-death question. 29 CHAPTER I. SOME ACCOUn OF PARTIAL INSPmATIOJs\ AND ITS EFFECTS OX THE WILL. Partial or homiletical inspiration is that assistance of the Divine Spirit wliich our Lord promised to his mmisters in the apostolical commission.! Different it widely and obviously is from that rhet- orical afflatus2 of some god or demon, under which many ancient orators were, it was believed, moved to speak with superhuman eloquence; but it is less easily distinguished from that plenary inspiration which was given to the prophets and apostles ; partly because homiletical inspiration has not yet finished its work, and consequently cannot furnish us with full evidence as to its distinc- tive qualities and sphere. The knowledge of the Divine Spirit is progressive, as the knowledge of Immanuel was. The Son of God revealed his divine nature to his disciples but dimly at first, because their eyes were not yet attempered to the blaze of his full divinity. It was not mitil after his glorious ascension that they were all brought to com- prehend the great truth that he who sojourned among them as son of man, was God, manifest in the flesh. And quite as unworthy of the dignity of the Holy Spirit are the views held by not a few at this day respecting him, as the notions entertained by some of the primitive disciples concerning their Divine Master were unworthy of his dignity. Taking, as the Holy Ghost condescends to do, the last place in the apostolic benediction and in the work of redemption, many of us, it is to be feared, give him the last place also in our studies and adorations. The Divine Spirit may, however, adopt the lan- STuaace of Immanuel : " The works that I do bear witness of me." And let us hope that as the years of redemption apj^roach their close, His character, attributes and offices will be better understood and more genei-ally known and acknowledged. The day, we be- 1 Matt, xxviii. 19, 20 ; cf. Acts xxvi. 18. 2 Plato's Menon ; Aristides, contra Platonem ; Longinus, Da Sublim., C. 16 ; Plu- tarch, Life of Coriolanus ; Cicero De Orat., L. 2, C. 46 ; Infra, chap. iv. 31 32 PARTIAL IXSPIRATION; lieve, is coming; when his victories and trophies and triumphs will greatly confirm the Scripture testimony as to Ilim, and cause multi- tudes in all nations to esteem Him deserving of no subordinate dignity and honour. The operations of the Holy Spirit may be termed general and special ; general as in creating and preserving the universe ;^ special, as in regeneration and sanctification, in raising from the dead the bodies of the saints, in working miracles, in the bestowment of " spiritual gifts," and in inspiration. 2 The special may, again, be di- vided into two kinds : those called Charis, Charisma, Charismata, and those termed, more specifically, Charismata. The former in- cluding the Grace of regeneration, and sanctification, and glorifica- tion; the latter, the Gifts of miracle working, speaking with tongues, and plenary and partial inspiration' — gifts which enable all true prophets and preachers to discharge the duties of their office — gifts differing indeed, according to the nature and end of their duties,'* and yet distinct from those of men that bear other offices. To true prophets or preachers in all ages the Divine Spirit has been promised and granted. Thus the Lord promised to be with the mouth of ^Moses and Aaron,^ and his Spirit is said to have rested upon Eldad and Medad.c One of the seraphim took from the altar a live coal, the emblem of the Spirit's power, and touched therewith the lips of Isaiah.'' The Lord put forth his hand and touched the mouth of Jeremiah, and said to him, " I am with thee."^ The spirit of the Lord is said to have entered into Ezekiel.'-^ The hand of the Lord was upon Ezra.^"^ The prophet Micah,^! said *' Truly, I am full of power by the Spirit of the Lord, and of judg- ment, and of might, to declare unto Jacob his transgression, and to Israel his sin.'' Zechariah,i- about the same time, had a vision of two olive trees, whose oil fed the seven lamps on the golden can- dclabi'um of the temj)le. When the prophet asked, " What are these ? " the angel answered, " This is the Avord of the Lord unto Zerubbabel, saying, Not by might nor by power, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord of hosts." This was intended to show among other things, that as the oil was necessary for the lamps, in order to light- IQen. i.2, 26, 27 ; Tsa. civ. 30; Job. xxvi. 18. 2 John iii. 5, 6, 8; Rom. xv. 16; 1 Cor. vi. 11 ; 1 Peter iii. 18; Ri>m. viii. 11 ; Matt. xii. 28 ; Rom. xv. 19 ; 1 Cor. xii. 4-11 ; 2 Tim. iii. 16 ; 2 Peter i. 21. 31 Cor. viii. 1, and chaps. 12, 18, 14 ; Matt. vii. 22. 4 Matt. XXV. 14-30 ; Rom. xii. 4-8. 5 Exoil. iv. 1.5. 6 Num. xl. 26-29. 1 1sa,. vi. 6, 7. 8 Jer. i. 5-9. 9 Ezek. ii. 2. 10 Ezra vii. 6, 9. llMicah iii. 8. l^Zecli. iv. 1-7, 11-14; vii. 7; compare Rev. ix. 3-12. ITS EFFECTS ON THE WILL. 33 ing the temple, so the Divine Spirit was necessary for the prophets, in order to the moral illumination of the people. And accordingly when our Lord began his jDrophetic work at Nazareth, he quoted, as fulfilled in himself, the words of Isaiah, " The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor," etc.i The apostles also, when they received their com- mission from him, were encouraged by the assurance of the con- tinual aid of the Holy Ghost in these words, " Lo ! I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." 2 Agreeably to this view, Peter informs us that he and the other apostles "j^reached the Gosj)el with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven." ^ All these were by the Divine Spirit supplied with such gifts as they needed in doing the duties of their prophetic office. And as all true preaching is essentially prophetic work, all such men as are called of God to preach the Gospel, may expect that peculiar assist- ance from the Holy Ghost which their work requires. From the days of Enoch until now there have been prophets.4 The prophet was before the priest and the apostle, was contemperaneous with both, and is to continue until the close of time. ^ The jDrojDhet is not, however, superior in rank to the 2">riest or to the apostle. There is a parity in these three offices, as is apparent from the fact that more than one of them has been borne by the same person at the same time. The prophet could bear the office of the priest, as Samuel and Elijah did, or he could be of the priestly order as Jere- miah and Ezekiel were, or like Immanuel he could be at once pro- phet and priest and king. All the apostles were prophets,G and so have been all the Christian preachers that have come after them, be- cause all alike have been the successors of Jesus as to his prophetic of- fice.^ The prophetic office is one of service and not of dignity. The Christian prophet is a servant of God, a servant of the word, and a servant of all his brethren. His greatness consists in his humble and faithful ministrations, and not in any rank man has power to confer upon him or his office. But while the office is essentially the same in all ages, its duties, not being always equally imi:)ortant, do not 1 Luke iv. 16-20 ; Isa. Ixi. 1-3 ; xi. 2. 2 Matt, xxviii. 16-20 ; John xiv. 16-27 ; xvl. 7-16. 3 1 Peter i. 12. 4 Jude 14; Hos. xii. 13 ; 1 Kings xviii. 4 ; 1 Cor. xiv. 3 ; Rev. x. 11 : xi. 3. 5 Isa. lix. 20, 21 ; Lxiii. 10-14 ; Haggai ii. 5. 6 Eph. ii. 20; iii. 5; Matt, xxiii. 34; Luke xi. 49; Rev. x. 7, 11; xvi. 6; xviii. 20 ; xxii. 9. • 7 John XX. 21 ; Matt. x. 40; 2 Cor. ii. 20 ; 1 Cor. xi. 1 ; 1 Thes. i. 6 ; Rev. xiv. 4. 34 PARTIAL INSPIRATION; always need the same measure or degree of the Spirit's assistance. The spiritual power of all is from the same origin, although every one possesses it not in an equal degree. The loadstone, to borrow an illustration from Plato, communicates its virtue first to one ring and then to another, and so to many iron rings ; but with grad- ual abatement : and yet Avhenever there is any attraction it has pro- ceeded from the same source. But coeval, and often in company with the true prophet, appears the false ]»rophet, sj)eaking either from a poetic or rhetorical, or even a demoniac, if not a diahoVic a flatus. Thus always does the counterfeit circulate along with sterling coin, and the slight differ- ence in the weight and the ring cannot always be detected by the expert himself Does the prophet Elisha follow the armies of the allied kings of Judah, Israel and Edom ? So must Alexander in his great expedition have his inspired Aristander. Does Paul in his journeys meet with the true prophet Agabus ? Even thus must Tclemachus in his voyages encounter the fiilse prophet Theo- clymenus. And even in true inspiration, the plenary and the partial differ from and resemble each other as to several important points. Par- tial inspiration (riiflrs from plenary in the following particulars : It does not make any new revalation to us.i It is not accompanied with the power of working miracles, or any extraordinary gitt, such as that of speaking with tongues, etc.^ Though it guards against many errors and sins, yet it secures not against all errors of the intellect or sins of the heart, in so far as they effect the act of writ- ing or of preaching or of praying.3 Another point of difference is this: it docs not commonly (although it does sometimes) art on the mind independently, so as to make needless all premeditation on the matter and manner of communication.* It is usually a guid- ing, teaching, and co-operative power.^ Besides, though it does not move men to reveal and apj)ly divine verities for the first time and on certain occasions alone ; yet what is better for them, it is ready at all times to lead them to the further knowledge and fresh appli- cation of the truth that is already revealed.'^ Holy men of old, when not under plenary inspiration, were as dependent as we upon 1 Deut. iv. 2; xii. 32; 1 John ii. 20, 27 ; R(>v. xxii. 18, 19. 2 I.«a. viii. I'J, 20 ; Matt. vii. 15-20 ; xxiv. 23-28 ; 2 Tlies. ii. 9; Rev. xiii. 13, 14 ; Luke xvi. 28-31. 3 1 Tim. i. 3, 4 ; iv. fi-lG. 4 2 Tim. i. 6 ; ii. 15; 1 Tim. iv. 13, 15. 6 Isa. Ixiii. 10-14; John xiv. 26; xvi. 13; Rom. viii. 14 ; Gal. v. 18. 6 JoliM xvi. 13; 1 .lohn ii. 20, 27. ITS EFFECTS ON THE WILL. 35 jji-ayer and study as means of acquiring a clear and full knowledge of the Scriptures then existing. In the 119th Psalm the prophet jsrays for divine illumination in studying the word of God ; and it was by books of prophecy and by prayer that Daniel understood the duration of the captivity and the time and object of the Mes- siah's advent.^ In us, then, the lack of j^lenary inspiration is com- pensated by the following advantages : We of to-day have the en- tire volume of the inspired oracles — a treasure which none of the sacred writers except St. John could have possessed. And hence we have means they did not enjoy of deriving from the Old and New Testaments that comprehensive knowledge which is only to be obtained by a comparative study of all parts of them, and by the assaults of error which have made certain doctrines announce themselves with new distinctness and emphasis. We can again study, as they could not, many of the Scripture predictions in the lio-ht of their fulfillments in our own or earlier times. Each subse- quent generation is also permitted, as they were not, to make and to witness the ever new and ever clear applications of all revealed truth to human duties, dangers, experiences, and privileges. But to return : this partial aid is not given merely to men of one nation, or one order of ministers, but is accessible to all true preach- ers of all nations and ranks.2 Herein is fulfilled the responsive cry of the seraphim -.^ " The whole earth full of his glory ! " And yet it carries not with it that distinct and unmistakable evidence of its own presence which plenary inspiration bore to holy men of old, in whom the Divine Spirit was his own independent witness. They received from God such signals and signs of his presence, and ideas in such harmony w^th the divine attributes, and had such experi- ences of the heavenly verity, holiness and goodness of the thmgs revealed to and by them, as that they were absolutely certain that the Divine Spirit was movmg them, and that the communications they received were given to them by his holy inspiration. We do not say that partial inspiration bears no testimony of its presence. Only it is often less distinct and trustworthy than the plenary was, which appears to have sometimes carried in itself its own evidence, not only to the speakers but to the hearers as well.^ One more point of difference is this : It is not waited for in such a way that we are always to refuse to study or preach or pray, imless we re- 1 Dan. ix. 2, 25, 26 ; cf. x. 21 ; 1 Peter i. 10, 12. 2 Joel ii. 28, 29 ; Acts ii. 17, 18. 3 Tsa. vi. 3. 4 2 Chron. sx. 18 ; Isa. xlv. 14, 15 ; Zech. viii. 23 ; John vii. 46 ; Acts xiv. 12; 1 Cor. xiv. 25. 36 PARTIAL INSPIRATION ; ceive indubitable dictates and impulses of the Holy Ghost. In par- tial insi)iration -we are less guided as to times of speaking and of ceasing to speak than as to the matter, feeling, object and manner of our communications. Plenary and i)artial inspiration have certain points of rese?nbkmce, among Avhich are the following : Both are from tlie same source, or auctor j^i^iinariufi, though they are given for different purposes and produce different effects. They are the same ex jyat'te princij)ii, but diverse ex jKirte terrahii. And yet no doubt they are theoretically separahlc, though not often practically separated, from the Spirit's " inspiration of grace. "^ Ac- cording to the Schoolmen, we receive from the Divine Spirit gifts, expedite cujere, in order that we may act easily and skillfully ; and grace, hene agere, in order that we may act holily and beneficently. And yet gifts are bestowed by the Holy Ghost in order to be help- ful to grace. '' When," says Owen,2 " spiritual affections and due preparation of heart unto the duty do excite and animate the gift of prayer, and not the gift make impressions on the affections, then we are spiritually minded therein. Gifts are servants, not rulers in the mind ; are bestowed on us to be serviceable unto grace, not to lead, but to follow it, and to be ready with their assistance in its exercise. For the most part, where they lead all, they are all alorie." Again, gifts are said to be opus ad extra, or artificial as distinguished from c>pi(s ad intra, or the proper and natural effects of the Holy Ghost, as in regeneration, sanctification, and consolation. These are the fruits or off'sjiriiKj, and not the artificial operations of the Spirit. Both usually work through our natural faculties and in o^)edience to their laws. As the Holy Ghost has a more thorough acquaint- ance with our minds than we have, he can influence them con- naturally in ways unknown to us. But as while under plenary inspiration, the human mind is, for the time, rendered impeccable and infallible in conveying to men thoughts that are wholly from the Divine Spirit, bo the individual peculiarities of the man inspired are less active and manifest than they are in a man who is under partial inspiration, and who consequently is liable to mingle Mith 1 Though plenary inspiration acted for the most part through holy men, and the New Testament sliows that it was accompanied by faith, charity, boldness, and such like virtues, we are not thence to conclude, that either full or partial inspiration is ahcaijit and ncccssarilij associated with eminent piety, much less with a consciousness of the lively exercise of the graces. 2 Works, vol. xiii , p. 250. ITS EFFECTS ON THE WILL. 37 inspii-ed thoughts both the sins and errors to which he is most in- clined. The operation of the inspiring Spirit aj^jjears to be circular ; beginning with the will or heart, it thereby inclines and fixes the attention, and so prepares the intellect to receive ideas ; it thus describes the first semicircle ; the second is described by the inspired reaction of the intellect on the heart or will. The common theory would be more correct and practical, were it not for its halfiiess. While, therefore, the Divine Spirit works in harmony with the laws of the mind, yet we are not at liberty thence to conclude either that his operations can never be distmguished from those of our mental faculties, or that these operations of his go forward in the same way that an accepted Gospel does, namely : first gaining access to the intellect, and next infl.uencing the will by a regular and common process of the understanding. Some may safely exercise caution here ; " for," says Turretin,i " if the whole work of God consists in a clear and timely proclamation of the Gospel, why is omnipotence required in its behalf? What is there in this to exceed the ordinary powers of man ? If God does not work differ- ently from man's mortal and outward working, why is the almighti- ness which God exerts in us, described by Paul in these splendid words : " The eyes of your understanding being enlightened . . . that ye may know what is the exceeding greatness of his power toward us w^ho believe according to the working of his mighty power w^hich he wrought in Christ w^hen he raised him from the dead" (Eph. i. 18-20). Once more : Each may, in some sense, be called " an inspiration of elevation," as distinguished from that of " revelation," and that of "suggestion" and that of "superintendence." In each the mental faculties, though acting according to psychological laws, may sometimes be invigorated and raised to such an extraordinary degree, that they make communications which surpass in sublimity or beauty, splendor or force, the best productions of natural genius. But while partial inspiration sometimes outdoes the native powers of the most exalted genius, it cannot, for obvious reasons, equal in this respect, the utterances of plenary insj)iration. So partial inspiration also bears some, though remote, resemblance to that of " superintendance." These are some of the more important points of difference and likeness as to these two kinds of inspiration ; the recollection of which will assist the reader to imderstand more clearly the contents of the following pages. 1 Institutio Theolog. Elenct , Pt. ii. ; Quass. 4, §33, Da Vocatione Efficaci. 38 PARTIAL INSPIRATION; We now proceed to examine the co-operation of the Divine Spirit in preaching as it is related to the laws and phenomena of the human mmd. It has been said of secular rhetoric that it reposes on psychology. Though we must add that sacred rhetoric reposes on l)neumatology, yet we cannot deny that psychology is its pillow. Partial inspiration seems usually to ©iterate on the mind accord- ing to much the same method as the inspiration of grace operates in regeneration and sanctification. Be it remembered, hoAvever, that it is not here our purpose to raise the question, In the act of hearing or studying the Gospel, which is primordial, intellect or feeling ? We go behind this to consider the question which now more nearly concerns us : Is the heart (or Avill) before the intellect in bending and fixing the attention in such Avise as. to render the hearing or studying of divine truth profitable to the preacher. In this mental act the heart it is that receives the first divine impulse, and the intellect the second ; but the one is not greatly moved without the other being also moved, though in a less degree ; for both Scripture and philosophy regard all the principal mental phe- nomena as complex. I. But to avoid taking another step on disputed ground, let us try to illustrate the operations of j^artial inspiration by examining the first important jirocess in that gracious change termed regeneration. What do the best authorities understand by it ? Such a vivifica- tion of the will as enables it to exercise f.iith in God ; meaning by the phrase falih in God, a consent to and acquiescence of the will or heart in all light coming from God, either through creation or providence or grace, or through all of these at once. But in the exercise of faith does not desire precede the perception of the ground whereon it rests ? That we cannot deny ; for Pascal has said that we must love in order that we may know, and Thomas Carlyle has asserted, with equal truth, that love is the beginning of all thought that is worth the name. If, therefore, we search faith psychologic- ally, we shall find love hid within it, as Anacreon discovered Cupid lurking in tlie petals of a rose ; while practically we may with St. Paul consider " faith as working by love.'' The Scriptures teach us that faith dejiends much on that function of the will which is termed volition or choice;^ and that if we regard words of wisdom more 1 Rom. vi. 11; Eph. v. 5; Rom. x. 10; Mark ix. 23; John v. 44 ; xi. 30. '■ Only be williiifi," says Basil, " and God is in advance." " God draws tlie in- firm will," says Clirysostom ; and Augustine demands, " AVho is he that runs to the Lord for grace, but he whose steps are directed thereto by the Lord ? And, therefore, to seek the assistance of grace is the very begiiming of grace." Cf ITS EFFECTS ON THE WILL. 39 than the wisdom of words, in speaking to the people, and in persuadino- them to duty, we shall speak of faith as the foremost of the graces of the new heart.i Faith is, by Augustme, called the first-born of the regenerate heart,2 and the root of all the virtues.s We do not thmk it worth while here to speculate about that which the philoso- phers term niotus 2:>rimo-2)rimus, the first agitation or primordial bias of the will ; it is enough for our present purpose to affirm that the gracious act of the Divine Spirit is, in the order of nature, antecedent to the act of the will, and that the first act of the will in regeneration is faith. Some theologians teach that the first effect of the regenerating Spirit is a gracious illumination of the intellect ; but such an opinion does not appear to be well supported by Scripture authority, and is contrary to the views of Augustine, who says, " It is faith which first bows down the soul to God, then come precepts concerning life, by observing which that begins to beam on the sight which before was only believed Therefore, before our mind be cleansed, we ought to believe what we are not yet able to understand ; since most truly is it said by the prophet, ' Unless ye shall believe, ye shall not understand.' "'^ Calvin also has said that " Faith is the only medium by which the Divine Spirit leads us into the light of the Gospel."^ Were we here discussing the means and antecedents of regeneration we could not deny an important place to the illumina- tion of the intellect, as a common preparation for regeneration. But it will be remembered that we have been dwelling upon the question whether faith be the first-boi'n of the family of the Chris- tian graces. It cannot be questioned that one of the most important requisites for preachmg is a deep conviction of the reality of divine things, and particularly of the absolute certainty of every word that the Spirit of truth has spoken to us. A proj)het says, " I have believed, therefore have I spoken." Paul, speaking for himself and the other apostolic prophets, quotes these words as follows : " We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and there- St. Bernard passim; Melancthon Loci TaEOhOGici, a.rt. de libera Arbitris ; De- litzscli's Biblical Psychology, Tr., pp. 242-244. 1 John i. 12, 13 ; iii. 26 ; Heb. xi. 6 ; 1 Peter i. 5. • 2 Sermo 8, De Decern Plagis et Decern Pr£eceptis. Opera, tome v. 3 Id., Epistola, 194. 4 De Agone Christiano, ()14i, 15 ; Isa. vii 9, according to the Septuagint. 5 Institutes, B. iii. C. i., sec. 4. 4 40 PARTIAL INSPIRATION ; fore have I spoken ; we also believe ami therefore speak." ' Wo are here tauglit, lirst, that the true prophets of all ages have the same spirit of faith ; secondly, that this faith is the compeller and defender of boldness of sj)eech. ^Ve are not to be understood that the pro- phetic fliith is always firm and unstaggering, for Jeremiah, who prob- ably wrote the psalm above quoted, always had a confidence in God that made him very bold and pathetic in his preaching, and yet in times of suffering he was, like the prophet John the Baptist, tempted to unbelief^ This Pistls, it would seem, is sometimes nearly synonymous with Parrhesia, as in Eph. iii. 12 ; 1 Tim. iii. 13; Heb, iii. 6; x. 35; 1 John iii. 21. Faith greatly contributes to moral courage, and is indispensable to its exercise, especially that confidence or assurance which I\arheskf, in one of its senses, imports. It was not self-confidence, but self-conviction that made the apostles and other prophets bold. Let us not, however, as some do, make this self-conviction the soul of all eloquence. A free- spokenness, flowing from a settled conviction of truth, contributes much, but not all that constitutes the soul of eloquence. It should here be remarked that this faith is something different from that conviction of certainty wliich results from logical demon- stration. When the apostles Peter and John declared to their ad- versaries, " We cannot but speak the things we have seen and heard," they did not thereby profess that it was their faith that compelled them to preach. They avoAved that they spoke as witnesses who were forced to bear testimony as to Avhat they had demonstrated, and not what they merely believed to be true. Hence those minis- ters who cannot i)reach on any subjects with confidence and feeling ex- cept such as have been matters of actu:d experience in their own souls* have no just cause to suppose themselves to be men of very strong faith. Far from censuring those who preach from experience (would to God we all preached more from our own experience and had more experience to preach from), we cannot ajiprove the course 1 Psa. cxvi. 10; 2 Cor. iv. 13. The "miraculous faith" of Matt. xvii. 20; 1 Cor. xii. 'J; xiii. 2, dilFers from " .saving faith " in nioasure, not in kind. It was not always associated witli the gift of iiropiiecy, nor could it be especially help- ful to those who, after all, ediflod the churches by the slower process of public address. Some gather from Rom. xii. 6, that the apostolic prophets received degrees of inspiration varying according to the measure of their faith. They who are worthy can alone receive Ilim, nor is ho moroly received in one " meas- ure," but according to the " proportion of faith," he disttibutes his operations. {Jiasil, de Spirit, Sanct. c. 9.) With this view, as we show elsewhere, we cannot concur. 2 Jer. XX. 7-!i; :\Intt. xi. 2, 3. ITS EFFECTS ON THE WILL. 4j of those who, misled by the example of John Owen and Brown of Haddington, jireach from experience almost exclusively ; who do not recollect that Owen did not exclusively preach from his own experience, and that the second thing which he prescribed to him- self for regulatmg his ministry powerfully counteracted the ten- dency of the first, namely, "to press those duties which present oc- casions, temptations, and other circumstances rendered necessary to be attended to." Many a man is in danger here of preachino- him- self and not Christ the Lord. No preacher has so deep and varied an experience as to make it safe and good for him to keep within the limits of God's dealings with his own soul. Happily for him and his congregation, they are not limited to the study of their own spiritual exercises, but are permitted to range freely over the inspired records of the experiences of Jehovah and of a multi- tude of people for thousands of years, to say nothing of post-apos- tohc history, throughout Avhose pages the inner life of martyrs, con- fessors, and other holy men is so often betrayed and revealed. ' The true doctrine as to this point is summed np in the words of our Divine Master: "Thomas, because thou hast seen me, thou hast beheved : blessed are they that have not seen, and yet have be- lieved." n. The grace born next after the eldest is " virtue " or personal holiness,! or, better still, perhaps, a love of holiness. The next step from acquiescing in the truth, is the complexus fidei, or that em- bracing and acknowledging of the truth which is the begmnmo- of holy living. This would appear to be included in the notion of faith working by love.2 It is remarkable that this quality, in th- lower ethnic sense of jorohlty, is the second thing which Aristotle in his rhetoric recommends to the orator in order to inspire the confidence of the hearer.s But unhappily, this great pagan philos- opher IS satisfied if the orator for selfish ends keeps up the appear- ance of probity. Christian virtue, on the contrary, is sincere be- fore God and man. As it. has its source in that Christian love which is satisfied and delighted with every moral excellence and a hatred and loathing of every moral evil,4 it must entertain a dis- placency towards all dishonesty and hypocrisy. This love of holi- ness is one of the regenerate heart's inmost fountams. Christian charity begins at home in the profoimdest sense of the phrase. It owes and pays its first complacency to its own kindred moral ex- cellences, and first cherishes, guides, and disciplines them, not by 1 2 Peter i 5. 2 Gal. v. 6, 7. 3 Riiof., Lib. ii, cap. 1, sec 5 4 Phil. ii. 13; 1 Cor. ii. 12: 1 John v. 21 42 PARTIAL INSPIRATION ; giving attention exclusively to them, but by being chiefly concerned to keep the divine precepts and to do good to all in all lawful ways. This love of all the Christian virtues appears to be tlie heart of Paul's idea of charity. ^ Of these virtues the perfections of the Lord are the patterns, and the Divine Spirit the parent and the teacher by whom we are changed into the image of Jesus which we behold reflected in the mirror of the Gospel.^ And as this transformation goes forward, we are prompted, not to single acts only, but to a series of actions and a habitual and har- monious exercise of all tlie Christian virtues. The Divine Spirit does not form a holy character as a sculptor works upon a statue, sometimes upon its feet, sometimes on its hands, sometimes on its face, but he proceeds as the Creator does, says Bolingbroke, " in forming a flower, an animal or any other of his productions. He throws out altogether and at once, the whole system of every being and the rudiments of all its jiarts." This we say is the method on which the Spirit proceeds. And yet we must not fail to observe that by reason of our depravity this method and harmony are dis- turbed and checked so that the Christian graces do not practically grow in perfect proportion. The first principle of holiness is, ac- cording to Baxter,^ the Divine Spirit. In the imity of this ])rinciple tJtiere are three radical graces, a Spirit of power (or life) and love, and of a soimd mind ■* (or light), which are the immediate effects of the divine influx. As the simshine on the earth and planets is all one in itself as emitted from the sun, light, heat, and moving force concurring, and yet is not ecjually effective because of the difference of recipients, so that by reason of their incapacity one may have less of heat, another less of motion, and another less of light ; even thus the potentiality of these radical graces may be equal while practi- cally their acts and liabits are often very unecpial. But still the consideration that they are not only coetaneous but mterdependent should move us to their simultaneous and proportional exercise. If the preacher has the love of holiness it will appear hi his life, and particularly in liis ])reaching. It will show itself in the choice of his texts which will be devo- tional rather than controversial, as George Herbert advises. We cannot, indeed, and ought not always to select such texts. "We are U Cor. xiii. 2 2 Cor. iii. 17, 18. 3 Baxter's Works, vol. xii. ; Life of Faitli, PL iii., cliap. xi., pp. 357-363 ; Ed- wards on tlie Affections, Pt. iii., sec. 10; On the Beautiful Symmetry and Pro- perties of Gracious Affections. •1 2 Tim. i. 7. ITS EFFECTS ON THE WILL. 43 required to teach the doctrines and duties of our religion in the pro- portion wherein the Bible exhibits them. To dwell, therefore, on the Psalms or other devotional Scriptures exclusively would lead to sad and dangerous omissions. But in cases where we are free to choose our texts without regard to the foregoing considerations, as in occasional sermons, our santification will often be indicated by the choice of our texts and subjects. This love of holiness will also aj^pear in his proofs and illustra- tions, These should not be drawn from pagan^ or other doubtful sources, if they are liable, as they sometimes are, to be associated in the minds of the hearers with subjects foreign to things sacred. But to refuse to employ all analogies and evidences from creation, his- tory, and common life, were to refuse to follow the best inspired ex- amples. Nor is heathen mythology without some pure and safe materials with which to illustrate and enforce. This love is Uke- wise manifest in the gravity of his spirit and manner, " Of all the preaching in the world (that speaks not stark hes), I hate," says Baxter, " that preachmg most which tendeth to make the hearers laugh, or to move their mind with talking levity, and affect them as stage players use to do instead of affectmg them with a holy rever- ence of the name of God," And yet we may well believe that there is a divine laughter which is very remote from levity.2 Laughter is good or bad in the house of the Lord according to the known char- acter of the preacher, and to the nature of the thoughts and emotions which provoke it. Habitual laughter, however, is a bad sign, for it evinces the absence of every deep Christian affection, " Salt," says Jean Paul, " is a very good condiment, but very bad food," This love of the holy sometimes throws the mind of the mmister into the attitude of an angel on whom the breath of the Almighty has suddenly descended, and turned one wing and one eye towards heaven ; and so moving it to make apostrophies to God, We may mdeed, if we watch not, thus form a habit of even taking the name of the Lord in vain ; but, as George Herbert says, " some such irradiations scatteringly in sermons carry great holiness in them. The proi^hets are admirable in this. So Isa, 64th, " Oh, that thou wouldst rend the heavens, that thou wouldst come down," etc. And Jeremiah 10th, after he had complained of the desolation of Israel, turns to God suddenly, " O, Lord, I know that the way of 1 Herein Jeremy Taylor sometimes offends : Paul indeed quotes from Menander, Aratus, and Epimenides, but as Bengel fon Titus i. 12) observes, he does not mention their names. 2 Psa. cxxvi. 2. 44 PARTIAL INSPIRATION; man is not in himself/' etc. Of .Siimmerfiekl, Dr. Bethune says, " As the thought of souls i)crishlng in sui pressed upon his heart, lie would break his order with an earnest ejaculation. * Would to God! ' ' O, that God !' ' God grant ! ' were frequently upon his lips, not carelessly, but with an emi)hasis of devotion that none could doubt. Indeed he not only prayed before he preached and after he preached — for he went to the jiulpit from his knees and back to his knees from the pulpit — but he seemed to be praymg while he preached. Prayer was so much his breath, that as Gregory Nazianzen says of the true Christian, the breathmg went on what- ever he was doing, not hindering him but necessary to him." Hence the holy preacher opportunely reminds the peo})le that he speaks in the name of God, or on behalf of his people, truth or cause. He solemnly declares to them that if he held his peace, his conscience would condemn him, or that however painful to him his duty is, yet he is too deeply concerned for their eternal welfare to withhold the divine message from them.i Then according to '" the Country Parson," in the reading of which Baxter took such delight, "the man of God will often ui-ge the presence and majesty of Jehovah by these and like speeches, ' Oh, let us take heed what we do ! God sees us ; he sees whether I speak as I ought or you hear as you ought ; he sees hearts as we see faces. He is among us ; for if we be here, he mnst be here ; since we are here by him, and without him could not be here.' Then turnmg the discourse to his majesty, ' and he is a great God and terrible ; as great in mercy, so great in judgment. " Sometimes applause has been reproved by quoting the words of Habakkuk, " But the Lord is in his holy temple ; let all the earth keep silence before him." But t^jacula- tions should be made 2)rincipally with a view to olttain spiritual aid for the preacher himself. It Avas not for others that Angelico painted in the attitude of prayer. Finally, this holiness Avill i)ronipt the preacher to teach and apply the truths of the Scriptures in the beautiful j^roportion in which they are there revealed to us. If the Spirit is a principle of new life within the preacher, he is impelled by it to an even-paced motion along the path of duty towards the adorable Jesus, amidst the broad and unclouded light of divine revelation. As he lives in the Spirit, so he walks in the Spirit. He exercises all the graces in their })roper places, on their proper occasions, and objects, without setting one to fight another, or allowing one to sleep while he is exercising the other beyond moderation. Hence something of tlio 1 Ezek. xxxiii. 1-16 ; Amos iil. 8; 2 Cor. v. 20. ITS EFFECTS ON THE WILL. 45 symmetry of holiness will appear in liis mode of preaching. He preaches the law but only in conjunction with the Gospel. He preaches doctrines experimentally and practically, and preaches experience and practice doctrinally. A like proportion will be visible m the spirit of liis preaching. Has he fervency ? It is tempered with wisdom and tenderness. Has he boldness ? It is prompted by love ; and his smcerity is void of pride and severity. Is he positive and uncompromising ? It is not from bigotry, or austerity, or obstinacy, but from that holmess which would either escape or master all error and sin, and defend and advance all truth and goodness. When he was regeherated he received that princi- ple of holmess which leads him to obey from the heart that mould of doctrine mto which he was then cast.^ III. The inspiration of the Divine Spirit in its operation on the heart or will imparts to it a love of revealed truth,2 especially the truth as it is in Jesus. It was the promise of our Divine Master that the Spirit of truth should " testify " of Christ, and guide his disciples into the whole truth respecting him. "He shall not speak of him- self ... He shall glorify me ; for he shall receive of mine and shall show it unto you."3 As the Son came into the world to honor the Father, so the Holy Ghost came into the world to honor the Son. And accordingly we are told that no man can say that Jesus Christ is Lord but by the Holy Ghost.* The Spirit alone can enable us to entertain a sincere conviction of the divinity of Christ, and this the Spirit does by illuminating our hearts.^ He also helps us to com- prehend the love of Christ.^ This guidance of the Holy Ghost to the nature and character of Jesus is not the sole privilege of Christian preachers. The Hebrew preachers were in their studies and ministrations frequently led up into the watch-tower to look hopefully for the distant coming of the Messiah.' And it is worthy of attention, as showing the spiritual intimacy that was maintamed between Jesus and the prophets, that ui one place the testimony of the prophets is called the spirit of Christ, while in another, the testimony of Jesus is called the spirit of prophecy.8 When John, as a prophet, communicated to us the mward history of the Church, he had a yet more frequent refer- ence to our Lord. The angel who revealed to him the contents of the Apocalypse, told him that he was himself a prophet and had the testimony of Jesus.° 1 Rom. vi. 17. 2 1 Cor. xiii. 6 ; 2 Thes. ii. 10. 3 John xv. 26 ; xvL 13, U. 4 1 Cor. xii. 3. » 2 Cor. iv. 6. 6 Eph. iii- 17-19. 7 John v. 39. 8 1 Peter i. 10, 11 ; Rev. xix. 10. 9 Rev. xxii. 9. 46 PARTIAL INSPIRATION; The preacher, therefore, whose heart is filled by the Spirit with the love of divine verity will dwell copiously and earnestly on whatever is peculiar to the religion of Christ. He will take the facts, the doctrines, the precepts, and promises of the New Testa- ment and carry their light through the Old Testament and into all the paths of private, social, and political life. The Christian system will be the great central light of all his studies and preaching. The doctrine of salvation by the death of Christ will oi\cn be either the direct or the indirect topic of his sermons — direct when he makes the cross, as our atonement, the topic — indirect when he shows the relations of all divine teachings to that cross. " I may," says Andrew Fuller, " establish the moral character and government of God; the holiness, justice, goodness, and perpetual obligation of the law; the evil of sin; and the exposedness of the sinner to eter- nal punishment ; but if I have any other end in view than, by con- vincing him of his lost condition, to make him feel the need of a Saviour, I cannot be said to have preached the Gospel.'''' Fuller is here wu'iting about the preaching of the Gospel solely with a view to the conversion of smners. But if the preacher aim, as he often must, to advance the sanctification of believers, he will be equally careful to keep ever before himself and his hearers the relation between the cross and all doctrines, duties, experiences, and j^rivi- leges. If we preach imder a true inspiration, our teachings in general will be in harmony with Scripture. The Holy Spirit does not con- tradict himself He brings our will into unison with his, as we find it in Holy Writ ; " I will," says the Lord, " write my law in their hearts." ^ His inward work is a transcript of his outward work. And hence, as we before remarked, the inspired Scriptures are the standard by which to test the quality of our inspiration. But we have need of caution here. The knowlege of most divine things is progressive. From the force of early prejudices, or lack of faithful instruction, or want of regeneration, or slow progress in sanctification, the young preacher may at first have failed to gain a full apprehension and complacent love of the divinity and atone- ment of the Lord Jesus Christ. But if he have the gracious assist- ance of the Spirit, he will be always searching for the whole truth respecting the Messiah, and he will give himself no rest before he discover it. The kingdom of heaven within him will, according to the i>arable of the merchantman,^ assiduously go on seeking what is good until it find the best^ even Jesus " the pearl of price," and for 1 Jer. xxxi. 33. 2 Matt. xiii. 45, 46. ITS EFFECTS ON THE WILL. 47 his sake, if need be, it will ignore or neglect all other teachings, all other ransoms, and all other examj^les of moral excellence. It will, in short, account the Lamb of God as the only and all-sufficient sacrifice for sin, and the soul's supreme good. IV. This inspiration fills the heart of the preacher with a devoted love to his people. It is often overlooked that the apostle Paul's description of charity^ was written for the express purj^ose of en- forcing a proper and edifying use of spiritual gifts. He begins by saying, " Though I speak with the tongue of men and of angels, and have not charity, I am become as soimding brass, or a tinkling cym- bal." The whole chapter has a more direct application to Christian ministers than to any other class of men, and shows the total nullity of all inspired gifts, when they are not exercised with love to the souls of such as are committed to our care.2 What an outburst of ethical feeling is Paul's exclamation before Agrippa in Acts xxvi. 29. Hence all malice and ill-will, all hatred that is not consentaneous with God's hatred, quench the holy fire. The Rabbinss believed that anger did, for the time being, deprive the wise man of his wis- dom, and the prophet of the spirit of prophecy. V. The Holy Ghost also inspires fervency. This seems to be implied in the vision of the live coal which the angel took from the altar and touched therewith the lips of Isaiah.^ The Spirit caused the word of the Lord to be in the heart of Jeremiah as a burning fire shut up in his bones.^ John the Baptist " was a burning and shining light." As some one has said respecting this passage, " The burning comes before the shining ; ardor of mind is the light of instruction." The same idea appears to be conveyed by the cloven tongues of fire which descended upon the disciples, other- wise they might have been termed cloven tongues of ligltt. The Holy Ghost imparts both light and heat. There is no one thing that is more characteristic of the prophets than this. Fervor is sometimes another name for prophecy, and the most diligent student who has it not, is incapable of interpret- mg its utterances. (See example of this quality in Isa. Iviii ; Joel 1 1 Cor. xiii. 2 This love will promote invention. " A desire to gain souls will be fruitful in matter. A man who feels unable to quit till he has gained you, will surprise you with new specimens of his invention. When you think he has exhausted his subject, he will bring forward new matter, not forced in. but so necessary that you wonder that you should have thought the subject ended without it." {Br. E. D. Griffin, Ser. on Jer. iii. 15.) 3 John Smith of Cambridge, Complete Works, pp. 9, 10. 4 Isa. vi. 6. 5 Jer. xx. 9. 48 PARTIAL INSPIRATION ; iii. ; Amos i. ; Acts xx. 24-38.) Ephraem Syrus, speaking of the Trinity, compares the Father to the smi, Jesus to his radiance, and the Divine .Spirit to his heat. "By the heat," says he, " all things are ripened ; Ijy the Spirit all things are hallowed. By heat things which the frost hath hound are loosened, as souls which the wicked one hath bound are loosened hy the Holy Ghost. The warmth awakeneth the heart of the still earth as the Divine Spirit doth awaken that of the holy Church." This sacred fire manifests itself in a tender sensibility and lively sympathy. It M'as this that ena- bled St. Paul to practise a great but honest flexibility in the varied application of gospel truth : " This," says he, " I do for the Gospel's sake, tJiat 1 ini(i]d he partaker thereof vnth youP ^ It is never sepa- rated from that aifectionateness or true benevolence which is deeply moved by the joys and sorrows of others ; and which speaks and acts Avith such a ready and timeful fellow-feeling as a malevolent zeal counterfeits unskillfully and in vain. VI. But this ardor is always tempered with peace of mind and manner. That peace which is one of the fruits of the Spirit may be defined with Cicero, " liberty in tranquillity." It is like the stars as characterised by Goethe, " imliasting yet unresting," or better still, in the langauge of Isaiah,.like a river, not stagnant but flowing with an equable and unrufiled motion. The preacher who is wildly and painfully agitated, may have the Spirit, but he is not Avholly under his control : his own passions and affections are trying to assert the sujircmacy which rightfully belongs to the Holy Ghost. He Avho prays deliberately as he ought, according to IMacarius, is Uke a man Avho, in climl)ing a mountain, puts forward his arms to make a i)ath among thick shrubbery. '' God has taught us," ob- serves Tertullian,^ " that the Divine Spirit, as being of a sensitive and delicate nature, operates Avith tranquillity, quietude, and peace; but does not agitate Avith fury, sullenness, and grief" This Chris- tian father, Avhilc he Avas a ]\Iontanist, granted that the prophetesses Maximilla and Priscilla spoke in ccstacy, but denied that they fell into any rage, which, he maintained, Avas the character of every false prophet.'' Chryostom Avas of the same ojiinion ; " for," says he, " this is i»eculiar to the soothsayer, to be beside himself, dragged as a madman. But the prophet is not so, but Avith sober mind and com- posed temper, and knowing Avhat he is saying, he uttereth all 1 1 Cor. X., 10-23. 2 De Spectaculis, chap. xv. He refers to Eph. iv. 30-32. 3 Jolm Smith of Cambridge, Discourse on Prophecy in Watson's Tracts, vol. iv., 310-321. The Holy Spirit of the Rabbinical writers is synonymous with the Sliekinah. Sec Complete Works of John Smith of Cambridge, p. 9. ITS EFFECTS ON THE WILL. 49 things." He accordingly maintained that prophecy was volimtary, while soothsaymg was compulsory. -' The prophecy," says he, " was exercised among the prophets as was proper for their condition, with understanding and with entire freedom. Wherefore you perceive they had power either to speak or to refrain from speaking. For they were not bound by necessity, but were honoured withli privi- lege. For this cause Jonah fled (Jonah i. 3) ; for this cause Ezekiel delayed (Ezekiel iii. 15) ; for this cause Jeremiah excused himself (Jer. i. 6). And God thrusts them not on by compulsion, but advis- ing, exhorting, threatening, not darkening their mind ; for to cause distraction and madness and great darkness, is the proper work of a demon : but it is God's work to illummate, and with considera- tion to teach things needful. "i ^ This serenity and repose of mind pervade the prophetic commu- nications. The prevailing style of these holy men is easy and peaceful. The rhythm, though free and varied, appears but the audible breathing of Peace herself, and it never degenerates into the impetuous and dissonant ravings of the Bacchic dithyramb. What Ewald 2 says of Isaiah's style is not 2'>ecuUar to him but common to all the prophets. " His only fundamental peculiarity is the lofty, majestic calmness of his style, proceeding out of the perfect com- mand which he feels he possesses over his subject matter. This calmness, however, no way demands that the strain shall not, when occasion requires, be more vehemently excited and assail the hearer with mightier blo.ws ; but even the extremest excitement, which does here and there mtervene, is in the main bridled still by the same spirit of calmness, and, not overstepping the limits which that spirit assigns, it soon with lofty self-control returns to its wonted tone of equability." And it is remarkable that not only Isaiah but Jeremiah, Ezekiel and Zechariah speak in strains of matchless elo- quence of that same peace Avhich Jesus left as his legacy to his people. John Wesley and Jonathan Edwards are good examples of the union of inspiration and peacefulness. The effects of this grace of the Spirit on the style and delivery of the preacher are too manifest to need an extended enumeration. They promote clearness, brevity, continuity, number, gravity and force of style ; and distinctness, variety, calmness, melody, and man- liness of delivery. On this last quality its effect is very marked. An easy and expressive utterance depends much on beginning with and always returning to the middle tones of the voice. Nothing is more helpful to this than a gracious tranquillity of mind. But more con- 1 Homily xxix. on 1 Cor. 2 Propheten des Alten Bundes, vol. i., p, 177. 50 PARTIAL INSPIRATION; cerning the influence of the Spirit on style and delivery will be said in a subsequent chapter. VII. The inspiration of the Divine Spirit acts on the will or heart by restoring and maintaining the supremacy of the con- science.i By conscience we here mean that moral sense which approves the right and disapproves the wrong, which is attended with a conviction of the good desert of virtue, and the ill desert of vice, and which results sulyectively in the hope of reward or the fear of puiiishment.2 The sense of obligation and responsibility furnishes a prevailing motive to faithfulness in preaching. It may operate powerfully when the love of holiness and truth and good- ness, has become lukewarm or inconstant, so that the m.an of God is actuated by the deep conviction of the apostle when he said, " Wo is me if I preach not the Gospel of Christ." By sedulously cultivating it and habitually obeying its promptings, especially in his studies, he will learn how to deal Avith the consciences of his hearers. lie will thereby be enabled to preach from his oa\ti experience on subjects that are far more important than is com- monly supposed. Yes, for the experiences of the conscience are the most painful, and at the same time the most safe and profitable of all experiences. The Christian love, before considered, along with the hope and feai' which an inspired conscience produces, greatly contribute to the animation and tenderness of the preacher. It is a comfortable thought that if a conscience full of grace is more troublesome than any other, it is also more convincing and persuasive than any other. VIII. The Divine Spirit acts on the heart or will by inspiring in it right aims. If love and hojjc and fear are graciously exercised, they will fix .our intentions on right ends. We will then act unwaveringly in view of the supreme good. It is partly through the will that we ol)tain that wisdom which is profitable to direct.^ The words holiness, truth, benevolence, right, wrong, heaven, hell, will in our vocabulary come to be fi-aught with a wealth of meaning which no human mind can calculate. The Spirit causes the preacher to intend right words, not only as a moral being but also particularly as a herald of the Gospel — as a prophet sjieaking in behalf of God, as an ambassador for Cin-ist, as an under-shepherd of the flock of God, as a teacher of divine knowledge, and the servant of the Church for Christ's sake. Gain, applause, power, ])lace, honour, ease — these and other such earthly objects cannot habitually 1 Rom. vii., viii.; ix. 1 ; 1 Tim. i. 8 ; Heb. x. 2. 2 Heb. x. 27 ; 2 Cor. i. 12. 3 Eccles. X. 10. ITS EFFECTS ON THE WILL. 51 direct the studies and utterances of any man whom the Holy Ghost has put into the ministry. IX. This inspiration affects the will or moral nature of man, by producing fixed and steadfast resolutions.^ It removes all disposi- tion to waver or delay in discharging the obligations of conscience or acting from the promptings of Christian love. It also supplies the inward vitality and strength which impel to ready and perse- vering action. " Our Saviour," says John Owen,2 " calls grace ' the good treasure of the heart ' of a good man, whence that which is good doth proceed. It is a principle constantly and abundantly inciting and stirring up unto, and consequently bringing forth, actions conformable and like unto it ; and it is also called a treasure from its abundance. It will never be exhausted, it is not wasted by men's spending it. . . . The Scripture speaking of the heart as the principle of men's good or evil actions, doth usually insinuate two things belonging unto the manner of their performance. " Firsts Suitableness and pleasingness unto the soul in the things that are done. When men take delight, and are pleased in and with what they do, they are said to do it heartily, with their whole hearts. Thus when God himself blesseth his people in love and delight, he says, he doth it with his whole heart and his whole soul (Jer. xxxii. 41). " Secondly^ Resolution and constancy in such actions. And this also is denoted as the metaphorical expression before used of a treasure, from whence men do constantly take out the things which they either stand in need of, or do intend to use." The Holy Ghost inspires not only wishing, but choosing, and is not pleased with half-pur- poses and double-mindedness.^ Resolute action and decision of character distinguish ancient men of God, and are demanded by them of all who profess to engage in his service. Elijah, Paul, James, and, above all, our Divine Master, exemplify this remark.* The Divme Spirit thus impels the man of God to practise his own teachings. Through love and conscience he moves the minister to follow wherever truth leads the way. Old prejudices, the ties of kindred, the precious memory of the dead, temporal interests, a shortsighted expediency, fond fancies, strong passions, the desire 1 Psa. Ixxviii. 37 ; Jer. xxx. 21 ; Acts xi. 23 ; Col. i. 23. 2 Works, vol. xiii., pp. 20-22. 3 We would not here ignore the fact, that the intellect has an important share in reaching 2jr«rf«cz«?2 dictamen, the ultimate resolution of the judgment. 41 Kings xviii. 21; 1 Cor. ii. 2; 2 Cor. i. 17; James i. 6-8; Matt. vi. 24; Luke xii. 50. 52 PARTIAL INSPIRATION; of originality, the vanity of genius, a love of logical or rhetorical victories, these and other such terrene forces will he overruled hy a deep, abiding and practical love of revealed truth. And this obedience helps to interj)ret and teach the Scriptures. Ezra, we arc told, prepared his heart to understand and to do the law of the Lord before he taught it to Israel.i The moral blindness of those degenerate prophets, the Scribes, appears to have been partly occasioned by their recommending to others what they did not do themselves. As the sacred oracles everywhere relate to ex- perimental and practical life, they cannot be thoroughly understood by the disobedient, however gifted and learned they may be. Xor will prayer and study and preacliing of themselves Suffice to make us accurate Biblical scholars, or profound theologians, or powerful preachers. If we would comprehend the first principles of the Christian religion we must daily endeavour to do all Christian du- ties.- The teachings of Holy Scripture on this subject are com- prehended in the saying of Justin Martyr, "There is no true knowledge Avithout life," and that other of Gregory Nazianzen, " Practice is the Avay to knowledge." X. Xearly allied to resoluteness is that boldness which charac- terised the sermons and prayers of the apostles. The Church at Jerusalem prayed saying, " Grant unto thy servants, that with all boldness they may speak thy word."' This i)raycr "vvas answered; for we are told that " they Avere all filled with the Holy Ghost, and they spake the word of God with boldness."^ It is clear from this and other Scriptures that this freedom of speech was imparted to the primitive disciples by the Divine Spirit. The apostle Paul expected that this freespokenness would be imparted to him by the Holy Ghost in answer to the intercessions of his converts.'* Not only Paul but Barnabas, ApoUos, Peter, John and others, were endowed with this freedom of speech. In what did this ministerial virtue consist ? It did not consist merely in an unembarrassed fluency in extemporaneous preaching and prayer. One text (2 Cor. iii. 17) is often misquoted so as to encourage the conviction that the Divine Spirit gives '• liberty," or readiness of utterance. Th3 word liberty here signifies freedom from the mental blindness of an unregencrate Hebrew. But there is no passage of Scripture which justifies the belief that the Holy Ghost inspires liberty of 1 Ezra vii. 10. 2Psa. 1. 23; Prov. iv. 18; Isa. Iviii. 8; Hos. vi. 3; Matt xxv. 14-30; Joliii vii. 17., viii. 12; Acts v. 32. 3 Acts iv. 29-31. 4 Phil. i. 19, 20 ; Epb. vi. 18, 20. ITS EFFECTS ON THE WILL. 53 utterance or delivery altogether apart from the notion of boldness and frankness. This quality did not consist in a fierce, lion-like delivery. It was more intimately related to the confidence of the mind than to any audacity of manner, as is manifest from the texts which mention it as a qualification for acceptable prayer to God.^ Paul was one of the boldest of the apostles, and yet his voice appears to have been feeble.2 This boldness did not partake of the nature of personality or any thing needlessly ofiensive. Paul employs the word in his speech before Agrippa, where he introduces his subject in the most courtly manner.^ From this we may infer that the apostle did not regard this strain of compliment as inconsistent Avith his notion of a bold speech. The Eev. Daniel Moore* playfully remarks that the Greek word should not be rendered " baldness." It did not manifest itself in heterodoxical or irreverent thoughts and expressions. The prayer of the Church was that with all bold- ness the servants of God might speak his word, not man's word. As this freespokenness was prompted by the Holy Ghost, so of necessity it communicated nothing but the word of God. Neither is humour any evidence of the possession of this quality. Not a few facetious preachers have the reputation of much bold- ness ; but true boldness has its source in Christian love : and this, like every other deep passion, little as we may think of it, is grave and rather inclined to sadness than to levity. Says St. Bernard, commenting on the words, " The voice of the turtle is heard in our land," " I hear the voice of that teacher with the greatest pleasure who moves me not to clap my hands in applause, but to beat my bosom with sorrow. Verily thou dost exhibit the turtle-dove if thou teachest how to groan, and if thou wouldst persuade thou oughtest to study the art of groaning rather than the art of de- clamation." Passing f.-om a negative to a positive view of the term Parrhesia, it will be found to signify either fearlessness of speech or publicity of utterance, or else frankness as opposed to all concealment or in- tended obscurity of language. Holy Scripture teaches us to expect that the Divine Spirit alone will deliver us from timidity in the hour when we are summoned to de- clare unwelcome but salutary truths. That which removed all fear from the hearts of the prophets was the assured presence of the in- 1 Heb. lii. 6, iv. 16, x. 35 ; 1 John ii. 28, v. 14. 2 2 Cor. ?. 10. 3 Acts sxvi. 2, 3, 26 ; Gal. iv. 16. 4 Thoughts on Preaching (2d ed.), p. 121. 54 PARTIAL INSPIRATION ; vincible Spirit which was variously called '• the hand of God," and " the finger of God."^ Nor was it otherwise when the Lord Jesus ap- peared in his heavenly mystery before John who fell at his feet as dead ; his glorified Master laid his hand upon him, saying, '' Fear not.'' This act of gracious condescension — tliis stooping of the Di- vine to the human reassured the apostle's faith and restored his shuddering frame to something more than its former composure. "Without this inspired courage, the greater your sj^iritual ihvunina- tion, the smaller is your freedom in utterance ; " For tlie echo in you breaks upon the words which you are speaking, And the chariot-wheels jar in the gate through which you drive them forth." This boldness is increased by pastoral labours among the poor.^ XI. Distinct from Parrheski, yet working in tmison with it, is that power or Dynamis which is so often mentioned in the New Testa- ment. Now what are the significations of this word which pertain to the present subject ? To answer this question may not be as pleasant as to read supinely the dialogue of Fenelon or some other brilliant essay on sacred eloquence, and so glance at one-sided and dissolving views of this subject ; but if we read only such books as stimulate rather than nourish, we may idtimately have to take up the lamentation of the prophet, " My leanness, my leaimess, woe unto me ! the treacherous dealers have dealt treacherously ; yea, the treacherous dealers have dealt very treacherously." Among other things, then, we find that the word means an energy inspired in holy men by the Divine Spirit (Luke i. 17; iv. 14; xxiv.49; Actsi.8; vi.8; 2 Tim. ii. 1 ). This was wanting in the pagan philosophers, in order to make their teachings widely and permanently useful to others, but in Daniel, for exam})le, it brought his wisdom into full exercise (Dan. ii. 23, Septuagint version). Again it signifies the original and essential efficacy of inspired thought as contrasted with words (1 Cor. iv. 19, 20; 1 Thes. i. 5). Plutarch (de Defectu Orac.) em])loys the word in the sense of nature or essence. Li one instance it imports that forti- tude which the Spirit begets and sustains (Eph. iii. 13-16; vi. 10). Let it not, however, be confounded with Exonsla^ " authority," a word applied to the preaching of Christ, and to his dominion. None of his ministers may ])retend to or assume any such authority in speaking as He, the one Divine Master, exercised. Even his apostles did not profess to exert it. Power they did indeed claim as coming from the Holy Ghost, but nothing beyond tliis ; r- pas- toral authority they had, but it was something very different from 1 Dan. X. 10-10 ; Rav. i. 17. 2 1 Tim. iii. 18. ITS EFFECTS ON THE WILL. 55 this, and expressed by a different word ; namely, Epitages (Titus ii. 15). All things considered, this power must be regarded as a divme influence imparting and sustaining the strength and energy which were required for doing and suffering the will of God. In some instances the Divine Spirit inspired even physical strength and activity, as in Samson ; and in Elijah also, who after the prophetic labours of a day without food or rest, ran before the chariot of Ahab, five miles from Mount Carmel to the gates of Jezreel.^ That the Holy Ghost can and does give, restore and support physical energy, seems to be implied in the laudatory words of David and Habakkuk, and in one of the predictions of Isaiah.2 Our Divine Master, after his fast of forty days in the desert, was inspired with such physical vitality and might that, according to the evangelist, he "returned in the power of the Spirit unto Galilee."'^ And on that morning after Paul had preached and talked all night, what was it but the same Spirit that impelled him to walk from Troas to Assos, when he would naturally have reposed, m the ship while she was doublmg the cape ? XII. This power is often attended with what has been termed self-difiidence as opposed to self-sufficiency. The Apostle Paul con- fesses the sense of this, generally accompanied with an assurance of gracious aid.^ His experience in this regard is full of encour- agement to the lowly, and of reproof to the proud. It is also simi- lar to that of many other prophets. " I am now an old man," said Luthei', " and have been a long time used to preaching, but I never ascend the pulpit without a tremour." John Welch, the Scotch wor- thy, would sometimes send for his elders before preaching, and tell them he was afraid to go mto the pulpit because he found himself sadly deserted, and then ask one or more of them to pray for him. It was observed that these humiliations were commonly followed by extraordinary assistance. John Livingstone, his great cotemporary^ was subject to similar humiliations.5 John Newton used to say he never spoke well till he felt that he could not speak at all. A ser- mon thus begun with dejection has not unconmaonly ended with Joy. The same thing is observable of our secret prayers for the Spirit's assistance. Begun, perhaps, like some of the Psalms, with 1 Judges xiv. 6 ; xv. 14 ; 1 Kings xviii. 46. 2 Psa. xviii. 33 ; Hab. iii. 9 ; Isa. xL 29-31. 3 Lulie iv. 14. 4 1 Cor. ii. 3-5.; xv. 9, 10.; iv. 7-10.; xii. 9, 10.; xiii. 4. 5 Life and Remains, by the Wodrow Society, pp. 138, 139, 194, 283, 285, 50 PARTIAL INSPIRATION; dou])ts, fears, confessions, lamentations, and deprecations, they have concluded with peace, jubilation, praise, and triumph. "Why should this be bo ? Some of the operations of the Holy Ghost are mysterious ; but this part of the preacher's experience may be exi)lained thus : The Sjjirit first reveals to us our omti natural weakness and unworthiness, with a view to lead us to repose entire confidence in his all-sufficient aid. When he has thus brought us to put our whole trust in him, then and not till then has he prepared us to receive the plentitude of his i)Ower. The Holy Breath, by beating down the sacrificial flame, lengthens it, and thus causes it ultimately to rise all the more high. Going forth, per- haps, through midnight darkness to importime of a sleeping neigh- bour three loaves of bread for a friend, his joy on receiving them is all the greater for his having begged and sliivered so long in the cold. By this we do not mean that self-diffidence is noAv exchanged for self confidence. No, it is as deeply felt as ever ; only it now allies itself with the strongest confidence in the grace of the Spirit, in the true sayings of God, and the strength of his cause. A serene con- sciousness of mental or moral strength is no mark of the Spirit's gracious aid, but quite the reverse. In a company of ministers the following question was once discussed : " To what causes in minis- ters may much of their want of success be imputed ?" The answers, as Andrew Fuller reports them, resolved themselves uito a want of personal religion as the principal cause. One reason assipied for this want of success was " our not being emptied of self sufficiency. In proportion as we lean upon our own gifts, or parts, or prepara- tions, we slight the Holy Sjjirit ; and no wonder that bemg grieved, he should leave us to do our work alone. Besides, when this is the case, it is, humanly speaking, imsafc for God to prosper us, especially those ministers who possess considerable abilities." Agreeable to this view is the fact that in all works of grace the Divine Spirit dis- a])p()iiits all expectations that are merely reasonable, human and earthly. He aims to convince men of the reality, peculiarity, and supreme excellence of his own work. This he often does either by giving to the ignorant and basliful an illumination and courage they naturally lack, or by giving to the bold and knowing, timidity, im- readiness of mind, and feebleness of speech, such as the i)ossessor is a.shamed of, but such as the Divine Spirit nevertheless uses to advance the glory of his grace.^ 1 This accords with the song of Ilannnh ami Alary, with the drift of the proph- etic teachings, and with the providential dealings of God in nations, churches and families (1 Sam. ii. 1-lU; Luko i. 46-65). ITS EFFECTS ON THE WILL. 57 In other cases the preacher is appalled by that which is revealed by the success of the Gospel, or rather by the spectacle of the blind- ing and hardening effect of the Gospel in some, as it is seen in the light of the neighbouring triumphs of grace over the blindness and obduracy of others ; so that like the apostles his rejoicing because of the victories of the Gospel is succeeded by trembling in view of his awful responsibility and utter unworthiness. " Now thanks be unto God, which always causeth us to triumph in Christ, and maketh manifest the savour of his knowledge in every place. "1 During a triumph, or on the approach of a triumphal procession, sweet spices and fragrant flowers were thrown about the streets, and aromatic incense was burnt on the altars of the gods ; thus diffusing their blended joerfumes far and wide through the homes of the city. The apostle felt that he was like such torn and scat- tered flowers, trodden as he was under foot of persecutors. Or as incense was consumed by fire, so was he by his arduous labours, and yet all was as acceptable to God as the smoke of a sacrifice that was typical of Christ as the Lamb of God, and as perv^asive as the fragrance of that incense which was typical of his grace. But alas ! the Gos- pel has a doitble working. " For we are unto God a sweet savour of Christ, in them that are saved, and in them that perish ; to the one we are the savour of death imto death ; and to the other, the savour of life unto life." " Vultures," says Theodoret, " fly from sweet odours of myrrh ; yet myrrh is myrrh though the vultures avoid it." " And who," asks Paul, " is sufficient for these things ? " His answer is, " Not that we are sufficient of ourselves, to think any thing as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God.^ One-half of the kingdom of Christ, like the terraqueous globe, perpetually rolls forward in darkness, and the self-diffidence of his ministers would soon degenerate into despair, did it not at a certain stage of despondency feel a firmer and warmer grasp of tte hand of God. It is through self-diffidence, patience, and other passive graces that the Spirit, like the indwelling deity of Socrates, tells us what we should not do and say.s XIII. Inspiration sometimes or in some persons, operates on the will or heart to such a degree as to cause a plentitude of the Spirit. The phrase " filled with the Spirit," occurs in several places in the New Testament. The Greek Pleres, and its derivatives, like the Latin Plenus is, by euphemy, sometimes employed in the sense of ex- hilarated and even of drunken. One passage (Eph. v. 18) suggests 1 2 Cor. ii. 14-16. 2 2 Cor. ii. 16.; iii. 5. 3 Acts xvi. 7; Zech. ii. 13; Habak. ii. 20; Amos viii. 11 ; Ezelv. xx. -3. 58 PARTIAL INSPIRATION ; tlie idea that between inebriety by wine and a plentitude of the Holy Ghost there is some resemblance in the immediate and appa- rent effects, but a great difference in the causes and consequences of the two ; the former venting itself in .wild and profane shouts; the latter " speaking in psalms, hymns, and spiritual songs, making melody in the heart unto the Lord." The Primitive Christians are described as enjoying this plenitude of the Spirit, either habitually or occasionally. Who, let ns ask, enjoyed it always or habitually ? The seven deacons (Acts vi. 3) ; Paul (Acts ix. 17) ; Barnabas, (Id., xi. 24). Cases like these show that the mind is not disordered by this constant fulness. And Avho occasionally ? Elizabeth and Zacharias (Luke i. 41-67) ; Christ (Luke iv. 1) ; the Pentecostal assembly (Acts ii. 4) ; Peter (Id., iv. 8) ; the apostles (Id., iv. 31) ;, the Church (Id., xiii. 52). Paul, though mentioned above as habitually full of ihe Holy Ghost is, in Acts xiii. 9, described as if occasionally so favoured. This and other simi lar apparent inconsistencies and discrepancies may be reconciled by supposing that the occasional plenitude imports nothing more than this, that the effects of the Jiahitual plenitude w^ere only manifest as occasions demanded, in exhibitions of miraculous power, or displays of convicting or converting grace that followed the declarations of Gosj^el truth. This plentitude sometimes designates the fruits and manifestations of the Divine Spirit. Stephen is said to have been full of faith and power (Acts vi. 8). In the church at Antioch this plenitude foimd utterance in joy (Acts xiii. 52). Once the phrase, " the fulness of God," is lased to convey the idea of the possession of all the gifts and graces of the Spirit (Eph. iii. 16-19). Nearly related to this subject is the question : What are we to understand by the phrase, " a doxible portion of thy Spirit," in Elisha's request to Elijah ? The words " double portion," when traced to the Hebrew originals, mean a ration of two, derived from the custom of setting before the person whom it is intended to honour, a twofold or even manifold ])ortion ; also from a provision of the Levitical laAv, accordhig to which the first-born received a double portion in the inheritance of his father.^ Elisha did not therefore desire a double measure of the spirit of his prophetic father. He that is departing cannot bequeath to his heir more than he himself has ; and the heir, in this case, could not reverently ask a greater spiritual endowment than Elijah, his father, possessed. Elisha asks for himself as the first-born spiritual son, a favourite's 1 2 Kings ii. 8-10 ; Deut. xxi. 17 ; Gen. xliii. 34 ; Keil and Bertheau, in loc. i ITS EFFECTS ON THE WILL. 59 portion of Elijah's spirit, such as would be needful and fitting to the successor of so great a prophet. But let us not wander too far from the subject of the plenitude of the Spirit, as described in the New Testament. The examples of the effects of this plenitude in causing a kind of spiritual inebriety are many and striking. The instance of the Pentecostal assembly is too familiar to need a repetition here. Many of the martyrs and Flavel, Edwards, Payson, Madam Guyon, and numbers more, appear to have enjoyed either occasionally or habitually this exhilaration or inebriety. It has often served to lift believers above the power of pain, feebleness, despondency, fear and sorrow,^ to transport the soul with unutterable joy, and to inspire the tongue with an over- powering eloquence. It is reported of a certain English martyr that when he was bound to the stake, and the fagots were collect- ing around him, a skylark moimted on high and sung over his head ; at which he clasped his hands together and exclaimed, " Thank God there is still one free creature which can pour forth its gratitude to the Giver of all good, according to the dictates of its own heart." A dangerous man that ! And one whom the votaries of Antichrist could ill-afford to allow the liberty of speaking to the common jieo- ple in such a manner. Happy in their work are those preachers who seek and trust the fulness of the Holy Ghost. However infii-m their health, or perse- cuted, or otherwise afflicted, they have a sure remedy for all evils, and an all-sufficient stimulant and cordial to invigorate and animate them in their arduous labors. Mr. Arthur, in his " Tongue of Fire," writing about the analogy between the condition of being drunk with wine and that of being filled with the Spirit, concludes his remarks with these words of warning : " Nor do we need to look far for the grounds of that analogy. To men of the world wine is a resort when they want something above their natural strength of mind and body, and in it they seek three things, strength., cheering, and mental elevation. Under its influence they will do more work than they could otherwise. They will cast off their cares, and their mental j^owers will reach a state which they themselves call ' inspi- ration.' That worldly orators, even of the highest reputation, often seek in wine such animation of their powers as is necessary to great success is only too well known. The physical tendency to seek elevation in such a source cannot be even slightly yielded to without fatally affecting ' the tongue of fire.' " The last sentence of Dr. Arthur conveys a momentous truth — a truth which he might 12Cor. vii. 4; Col. i. 11. 60 PARTIAL INSPIRATION ; have established by the declaration of the prophet Isaiah who con- fesses that the prophets not only of Israel but of Judah even, had erred in vision and wavered in judgment through the eftect of wine and strong drink. i How small is the fliith of such preachers in the sufficiency and love of the Infinite Spirit. Very much better is it to say in times of temptation : '' I am like a green olive-tree in the house oi God ; I trust in the mercy of God for ever and ever." We have met witli a passage in the works of Augustine which from the deep experi- ence of this father, and his thorough knowledge of Biblical pneu- matology is worthy of special examination. " Let us," says he, " taste how gracious the Lord is who has given us as a pledge tlie Spirit, so that in him we have a foretaste of his sweetness, and long for the fountain of life itself, where with a sober inebriation (sobria ebrietate) we may be overflowed and watered like a tree which is planted by the water courses. . . . For the Divine Spirit says, ' But the sons of men shall hope under the cover of thy wings ; they shall be made drunken with the fatness of thine house, and of the river of thy pleasure shalt thou cause them to drink. For with thee is the fountain of life ' (Psa. xxxvi. 8). Such drunkenness does not overthrow the mind but lifts it powerfully upward, and gives it an. oblivion of all earthly things." (De Agone Christiano, ^10, Opera, Benedict, ed., tome vi., 245-2G2.) Augustine here quotes from the 3Gth Psa. of the Septuagint, which agrees, in the main, with the Vulgate, Psa. xxxv. 0. By a bold but beautiful figure the Psalmist represents the saint as drunk with holy oil. The word translated " fatness," is in the Hebrew employed for the oil of tlie olive (Judges ix. 0), an oil which, when consecrated to the Lord, became the symbol of the power of the Holy Ghost. See also Jer. xxxi. 10-14. But on the whole, we must here caution the preacher against receiving the impression that tlie foregoing concomitants of inspira- tion are either its constant attendants or are confined to the minis- ters of the Gospel. Our especial aim has been, by exhibiting tlie method according to whic-h the Spirit operates on the heart and the graces it there creates and nourishes, to illustrate our idea of the secret process and manifest results of homiletical inspiration. In examining a subject so mysterious, we have gained much when we have acquired a knowledge of those things wliich are collaU'rally related to it; just as astronomers by discoverint; an abborratiou oi" a planet, or a slight reflection of light i\\um it. find out that part of 1 Isa. xxviii. 7. ITS EFFECTS ON THE WILL. 61 celestial fields in which to watch for the approach of a new star. And this is the more important since partial inspiration is more nearly allied than plenary to the ordinary exercises of grace or " walking in the Spirit." Here also it is pre-eminently true, that " the secret of tho Lord is with them that fear him." It has, indeed, heen often and well said, that these graces are not the Spirit, and that it is only the Holy Ghost, and not our faith, our love, and other such Christian virtues, that can of themselves enable us to preach aright. And yet, be it remembered, that these graces of the Christian heart are so many strings of that ^olian lyre whose melodious vibrations teach us the direction, the pressure, and the continuance of the Holy Spirit's motions. 62 RELATIONS OF SEMI INSPIRATION AND THE INTELLECT. CHAPTER II. THE RELATIONS OF SEMI-INSPIRATION AND THE LNTELLECT. Inspiration seems to aflfect the intellect through the heart or will. But it should ever be kept in mind that all the actual phe- nomena of mind are complex. " In our philosophical system," says Sir William Hamilton, " these phenomena may stand separated from each other in books and chapters ; — in nature they are ever in- terwoven. These elements are found, indeed, in quite various pro- portions in different states — sometimes one preponderates, some- times another ; but there is no state in which they are not all co- existent."^ And, accordingly, we find that all exercises of faith and conscience, though originating in the heart, are more or less intellectual acts also. The same holds good of all other operations of the will. Were it our purpose to write a philosophical disqisi- tion on the relations of the Divine Spirit and the intellect, it would be necessary, as here, to reverse the general order which psycholo- gists adopt by treating of the heart or " active powers " in the first place, and so passing to the intellect, discuss the intuitive or regula- tive faculty in the next place, and consciousness in the last place. But as our aim is more humble, specii^ and practical, avc choose first to consider the mental phenomenon termed Attention. I. This mental state is entitled to our first consideration here, by reason of its relation to the problem of the influence of the will on the intellect. " Attention," says Prof Spalding,'- " is the concen- tration of consciousness on certain objects. It is plain that atten- tion is often the result of volition ; the knotty question is, whether it is always so ? ' It may be that those are right, who hold that an 1 From our thus quoting Sir William Hamilton, let not not the reader infer that we accept his division of the phenomena of mind. We prefer for all theological uses, the scholastic division into powers of the understanding and powers of the will ; or, as it is less clearly expressed, into intellectual and active powers. Here- in we follow Augustine, Calvin, Owen, and Edwards. 2 Art. Rhetoric, Encyclop. Britan., vol. xix., p. 118. 3 Here Hamilton and his disciples have lost themselves in a Scottish mist, by confounding the Arrainian volition with the Angustinian will- Spalding's con- clusion is just and important. Cf. Acts xvi. 14 ; Jer. vi. 10, 17 ; Isa. vi. 10; Deut. xxix. 4. RELATIONS OF SEMI-INSPIRATION AND THE INTELLECT. 63 instinctive concentration of thought, an attention not determined by will, is a necessary condition of all consciousness ; but it is not easy to see one's way through the difficulties which stand between us and that conclusion. At present it is enough to make this assertion : — that attention, strictly so called, a concentration of thought, determined by will, is an indisjDensable condition of the rise of consciousness above that confused state, of which feeling is the norm. A fact of attention, in this sense of the word, is a men- tal process, consequent on volition and its antecedents. It must either be constituted exclusively by cognitive facts, or have cogni- tion as its first and determining step ; and lastly, it must involve what is usually called abstraction, or the throwing certain objects out of consciousness, and retaining others. Attention, then, and attention which is voluntary and abstractive, is an antecedent and peremptory condition of all cognition that is " clear " (in Leibnitz's sense of the word);i " and such cognition must precede all further progress of thought that is available for any practical purpose what- ever. . . . For our use here, this doctrine of attention supplies invaluable corollaries. If the doctrine is accej^ted (and it does ap- pear to be almost a truisum), the process by which volition may be excited, is perceived to have a field infinitely wider than that which at first it might seem to cover. The theory bears directly, not on persuasion only, but on the attempt to generate pure belief; and its applications, not confined to eloquence, range far and sink deep in the realm of poetry." It is then of the first importance to secure such an ascendency of the Divine Spirit over the will that it may arrest and fix our atten- tion on the most edifying and timely themes, and hold and concen- trate our minds upon the principal and subordinate facts of these themes, until they enlighten and move us and our hearers, according to the will of , God. II. The next eflfect of the inspiration of the Spirit is visible on perception, and the result of such inspiration is termed si^iritual discernment.2 This power is imparted to the intellect through the heart. The method of the Spirit in inspiring this faculty is by creating in the heart or will, a bias or inclination towards divine truth, holmess, and goodness. " Spiritual understanding," says Ed- 1 "Clear cognition is such a notion of anything that I may know it when it is represented." (Opera, tome ii., p. 15, Genevse, 1765.) 2 Isa. hii. 2 ; Rom. i. 17-32 ; 1 Cor. ii. 12-14 ; 2 Cor. iii. 18 ; iv. 3-6 ; Eph. iv. 17, 18 ; Acts ssvi. 17, 18 ; Phil. i. 9, 10 ; 1 John ii. 20-27 ; Deut. xxix. 4 ; Jer. xxiv. 7. 64 RELATIONS OF SEMI-INSPIRATIOX AND THE INTELLECT. wards, " consists primarily in a sense of heart of the supreme beauty and sweetness of moral perfection, and includes, secondarily, all that discerning and knowledge of religious thhigs that depends upon and flows from such a sense."^ Here and elsewhere, Edwards teaches that a holy relish of the heart goes before the spiritual per- ceptions of the intellect, and this original relish conveys to us more knowledge than a mere intellectual perception does : " as he that has perceived the SAveet taste of honey knows much more about it than he who has only looked upon it and felt it." To this we may add that as the revelations of God in the Scriptures contain that knowledge which is necessary to our santification. Faith also, by receiving this knowledge (which cannot be obtamed from any other source, and cannot be acquired through any other faculty), co-works with this holy taste to put us in heartfelt and happy possession of the thoughts and feelings of the Infinite Mind, and of all that it is crood for us to know concerning the eternal Past and the eternal Future. It ought also to be observed that the Scriptures make this spir- itual discernment to depend on the cultivation of the Christian graces. The apostle Peter (2 Epis. i. 8, 9) assures us that if we diligently exercise them, we shall be productive and fruitful in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ, while he who lacks these graces shows that he is, in great measure, unable to exercise his intellectual powers on matters of supreme concern. He " is blind and cannot see afar oif, and hath forgotten that he was purged fi-om his old sins." Thus he evinces an intellectual incapacity as to the presentative faculty, or perception ; as to the conservative faculty, or memory ; as to the rejiresentative faculty, or imagination, and the elaborative faculty, including the powers of abstraction, judgment, and reasoning.- For, as Bengel remarks, such a man is dim-sighted as to 2^>'cse)it privileges (verse 12); he forgets that he was cleansed from his sins which are lyast, and he cannot see those privileges which are far oflF in the future (verse 11). III. The third result of inspiration as to the intellect may be termed, according to Scripture, Wisdom — a term which in its more general signification means the right moral direction and use of all the intellectual faculties. It is coupled with sjViritual discernment {sijnesis, Col. i. 9) ; with theoretical knowledge {[//losis, Col. ii. 3 ; 1 Cor. xii. 8) and Avith prudence {plin»irsii^, Eph. i. 8), or that good sense which, as Aristotle says, is the first requisite of the orator, in 1 Treatise on Rolisious Affections, Pt. iii., sec. 4; cf. Discourse on tlie True Way of Atiaiuing Divine Knowledge, by John Smith of Cambridge, Works, pp. 1-22. RELATIONS OF SEMI-INSPIRATION AND THE INTELLECT. 65 order to gain the confidence of his' hearers which, he confesses, is the most important jDoint.i It is also associated with spiritual judo-. ment {anacrino, 1 Cor. ii. 13-15). Wisdom, in a profomider sense, denotes taste and, in the Scriptures, that relish for spiritual things which the Divine Spirit imparts to all the powers of the intellect ; so that in most cases the signification of the word covers that of all those metaphysical terms with which it is conjoined. For as much as it is a gift of the Holy Ghost, and was anciently represented by the symbol of a holy ointment, it is sometimes called an unction. Far back in antiquity, wisdom was considered the first requisite of kmgs and priests. Solomon, the prophet Jeremiah, and the Messiah received fi-om the Divme Spirit that spiritual wisdom of which anointing was the sign.2 So closely were the Divine Spu-it and wisdom identified in the minds of some of the early Greek fathers that the Holy Ghost was by them called Wisdom.' Theophilus, Bishop of Antioch, gives the Trinity the following titles "The Father, His Word, and His Wisdom." This Wisdom was a divine magnet which indicated to the primi- tive converts the direction wherein truth was to be found. As the Holy Spirit inspired in them a love of divine teachings and, at the same time, therefore, an aversion to the mere inventions of men in matters of religion, they were not easily deceived by false teachers. This anointing remained in them as a constant guide to divine truth amidst the manifold and changeful heresies that surrounded them.3 For as he who was once anointed king or priest was always king or priest, so in this sense, as well as in some others, believers may be said to be kings and priests imto God.'* This wisdom was, it seems, exercised by the sanctified minds of the apostles in writing and speaking under jDlenary inspiration.5 This state or lAenomenon of the intellect, as above defined, was perfected by the inbreathmgs of the Holy Ghost. This was, how- ever, something different from " the word of wisdom," or wise speech, which was one of the " gifts of the Spirit " bestowed on some of the members of the primitive churches. Some modern German writers have dogmatised in making nice distinctions between th?s gift and the charlsm of " the word of knowledge." These Teutonic • Gnostics teach us many things which the Author of divine revela- 1 Aristot. Rhet., Lib. ii., cap. i., sec. 5, and Lib. i., cap. ii., sec. 4. Aristotle elsewhere distinguishes this from sophia which he refers to things divine and un- changeable. {Greater Ethics, Lib. i., cap. xxxv.) 2 1 Kings iii. 5-15 ; Jer. xviii. 18; Isa. xi. 23. 3 1 John ii. 20-27. 4 Rev. i. 6 ; v. 10. 5 2 Peter iii. 15. 06 RELATIONS OF SEMI-INSPIRATION AND THE INTELLECT. tion has withheld from us. Tlius much we may reasonably infer from Scripture, that neither of these gifts assured the possession of the gift of jirophesying, while the latter always contained and dis- played the former.^ The apostles are called sophoi, wise men; compare Matt, xxiii. 34 ; Luke xi. 49. They were also teachers of this higher wisdom.^ Its attributes are mentioned by the apostle James.^ It is " first pure.'' It is holy, and the opposite of the wisdom which descends not from above, which is " earthly, sensual, and devilish." It is else- where (Prov. XXX. 3) called " the knowledge of the holy." The grand defect of all human philosophy, ancient and modern, is the absence of this holiness. Unsanctified itself, it does not really aim to promote sanctification Even most of our systems of moral philosophy ignore the Gospel doctrine of regeneration. " Then peaceable." How different from the wisdom of the pagan sophists, which was very disputatious. The apostles in meekness instructed opposers ; the sophists in pride contradicted them.'* " Gentle." It is not harsh but moderate and lenient in all cases where the question is respecting the duties which others owe to us.^ " And easy to be entreated." It is tractable, patient, and forgiving. It yields to sound argument and Scriptural persuasion. " Full of mercy and good fruits." Unlike the pagan philosophy, which was essentially malev- olent, it is replete with compassion towards the miserable, and abounds in good works. It is not a passive and feeble virtue, but active and yoked with energy, as it was in Solomone and Daniel.'' " Without partiality " (or, as it is rendered in the margin, " without wrangling ") ; " without hypocrisy." This last consists either in con- cealing what we are, or in assimiing to be what we are not, or both. And the righteous fruit of wisdom " is sown in peace of them that make peace." Here is a regression Avhich, going back to the idea of peace first expressed, amplifies and applies it. The ultimate consequences of the heavenly Avisdora may not. soon appear; but God's times and seasons will cause the seeds of truth that are peace- alely sown to spring up and bear good and abundant fruit : for the 1 1 Cor. xii. and xiv. 2 1 Cor. i. 24 ; ii. 4-7, 13. 3 Jas. iii. 17, 18. See Abp. Leishton's Sermon on the Nature and Properties of Heavenly Wisdom. Cicero, De Otf. L. 1,, C. 43, calls Hapienlta the leader of all the virtues. • 4 2 Tim. ii. 24-26. 5 Epicikeia, Leniency or Equity, is a virtue which the ethnic rhetorician Hermo- genes (Peri. Ideon., chap, ii.) recommends to youns orators. 6Eccle3, X. 10. 7 Dan. ii. 20-23. RELATIONS OF SEMI-INSPIRATION AND THE INTELLECT. 67 seed is not sown on a battle-field where the marchings and counter- marchings of armies crush and destroy much of it, but it is scattered over gromids well furrowed by the gentle and weaponless hand of the farmer in a time of general tranquillity. " Light is sown for the righteous, and gladness for the upright m heart." It not only pro- duces its harvest in peace, but it likewise produces peace as one of the fruits of its harvest ; for the promise is : " Wisdom and knowl- edge shall be the stability of thy times." Om- metaphysicians would here and elsewhere in Scriptures have given knowledge the prece- dence, but He who weighs our thoughts is not ignorant of the powers by which wisdom establishes jDeace as j)rereqiiisite to knowledge. Hence wisdom gives right aims and ends to all the preacher's exer- tions (Eccles. X. 10), more especially in teaching and admonishing (Col. i. 28; iii. 16). IV. This wisdom regulates the imagination, and this it does by promoting its purity, its humility, and its general usefulness. ^ Sec- ular poetry sprmg.s from and excites emotions that are beautiful or sublime, ludicrous or pathetic. " It must," says Mr. Spalding,^ " be maintained firmly as the central doctrine of all the fine arts, that while their mode of operation is the excitement of the imagination, their end, the result, for the sake of which the operation is per- formed, is the excitement of emotion, or state of mind which is feel- ing. If it is admitted that their end is pleasure, this is accepting the doctrine, only specificating it (and correctly) by saying that the emotion is pleasing. If the mental process which it excites shall travel onward even by one step further, in that normal develop- ment of consciousness which issues in action, the art has, in its results, trespassed on groxmd which it cannot continue to occupy ■v^dthout becoming an alien to its native domain. But if it has taken the one step only, its position is easily recoverable ; the wish, the desire, the longing, may generate only a new emotion, purely con- templative ; and, such llowings and ebbings being successively prompted through successive images, whether suggested by the poem or by the imagination of the reader, wish and emotion may float through the soul on a series of delightful alternations, each impelled and guided by some new image in the train of airy fanta- cies. None of the emotions can be more than momentary ; no emo- tion can be more. But it is for the sake of the emotion that the images and wishes are cherished ; and so long as the poetical mood endures, it is back into that emotion that wish and image will inces- 1 Rom. i. 21-29 ; Judge viii. ; 2 Cor. x. 5. • 2 Art. Rhet. in Encyclop. Britan., vol. xix., p. 137. 68 RELATIONS OF SEMI-INSPIRATIOX AND THE INTELLECT. santly fall. That which would most effectually annihilate the poetical mood, would be the development of the wi.sh into a con- sequent volition. The calm lake which has been darkened by a passinoc cloud, becomes again the mirror of its woody bank as soon as the sunshine again breaks out ; but when the mountain blast has swept over it, its surface, lashed into agitation, can no longer reflect the brilliant shadow. This, then, is what must not happen as the eftect of poetry, the transformation of desire into will. If such a transformation should take place incidentally, the mind which is the subject of it has been thrown do^vn into a mood which is anti-poet- ical, and from which it cannot easily be elevated by the i)urest poetry which may be i^rescnted to it.'' Now while it is not the effect of true inspiration to destroy poetic contemplation, its direct tendency is to utilise poetry and every other product of a holy imagination, — to chain together image and desire and volition in such a way that the first inevitably prompts to action. '' Religion," says Abraham Tucker, " is the art of dis- ciplining the imagination;" and a greater than he has said that spiritual weapons cast doAvn imaginations and every high thing that exalteth itself against the knowledge of God, and bring into cap- tivity every thought to the obedience of Christ. The imagination is thus made at once the captive and the servant of the Great Teacher. And, accordingly, in each of the prophets, we observe the complete subjection of the poetic genius to the practical aims of the man of God. " Isaiah, we are told, was a man who should rank among the men of genius of all ages ; and, as to his prescience, it was that only which is a characteristic of the poetic inspiration : he was a 'prophet just so far as he was a poet. This hypothesis does not consist with the facts in view. As oflen as he toucl^'s themes that are the most awakening to poetic feeling, Isaiah — and the same is true of his brethren — is brief and seems in haste to quit the ground on which he has set foot for a moment." ^ The true expla- nation of this prophet's moderate use of poetical representation is found : First, in the laws of oratorical persuasion which forbid every thing beyond short and occasional soarings into the regions of poetic contemplation. The progress of true semi-poetic eloquence has been compared by Macaulay to that of the ostrich, in which the wings assist, but do not supersede the activity of the feet. Or as Spalding has happily illustrated it by another figure : " It is when the poetic voice is but imperfectly modulated that oratory may » — — 1 Isaac Taylor's Spirit of Hebrew Poetry, chap. xii. 1 RELATIONS OF SEMI-INSPIRATION AND THE INTELLECT. 69 most freely emulate its tones. Eloquence of all kinds, indeed, speedily grows languid in the rarefied atmosphere which fans the serenely sensitive existence of the highest poetic art ; if its breathing is to be free and its action energetic, it must not climb above those sub- Alpine heights, on which the dense air of real life has been re- lieved but in a slight degree from the superincumbent pressure." The young preacher who ia puzzled to decide how far he may in- dulge his imagination, can resolve his doubts and hit the path be- tween too much and too little by a study of the inspired oratory of Holy Scripture. The Divine Spirit has here exemplified perfectly and abundantly, the method by which the imagination is made in the highest degree helpful to oratorical persuasion. This explanation is further found in the fact that though the prophetic oratory does not often mount into the region of pure poetry, it keeps the imagination always at work, and that health- fully, because never beyond its strength. Anticipating the caution contained in the German proverb, " Let no one attempt to fly higher than his plumage will carry him," it never fatigues itself, and, what is better, never forsakes that practical benevolence towards which its vitality and energy are ever stooping. The Divine Spirit, therefore, strengthens and develops the imagination by keeping it in moderate but continual exercise. And this accounts for the fact that those imaginations are the largest and most vigorous which are ever intent upon doing all faithful service to God and to hu- manity. We cannot dismiss this part of the subject without remarking that there is no amount of culture that can supersede the necessity of a true inspiration. Without this the best disciplined intellect is left a very long distance behind any inspired mind, however igno- rant and uncultivated. " When a man speaks," says some one, " as in the sight of God, with an open heaven, with Christ and his angels before him, he catches the true prophetic fire ; he preaches a present salvation from a present Saviour ; the Spirit of glory and grace descends, and the flame communicates to his audience, and accom- panies them to their houses. This is the celestial science of the sanctuary, not to be taught in schools nor learned in books." Ac- cording to Professor Leechman something more than merely ijitel- lectual conceptions are demanded. " This divine eloquence cannot be acquired by human learning and skill m the choice and arrangement of words, but by a ^owevM fed wf/ of what is great and good, pro- duced in us by the Holy Spirit of God." 70 PARTIAL INSPIRATION AS AFFECTING CHAPTER III. PARTIAL LNSPffiATION AS AFFFX'TING LWEXTIOX, STYLE, AXD DELIVERY. OxE important difference between plenaiy and partial inspiration is this : the former communicated to men of old the divine ideas and thoughts as we find them in Scripture; the latter enables us rightly to understand, illustrate, reason upon, and apply the sacred oracles. And yet the two kinds have tliis in common : that both assist and superintend study — the former sometimes, the latter almost always. Many things in, the Psalms, the Proverbs, and other parts in Holy Scripture evidently owe their present form to divinely superintended study and meditation. DanieU understood by books the number of years whereof the word of the Lord came to Jeremiah, the prophet, that he would accomplish seventy years in the desolations of Jerusalem ; so also respecting Clirist and the woi'k of Christian salvation, we are told 2 that the prophets " in- quired and searched diligently." But plenary inspection, be it re- membered, never superintended study and research Avithout secur- ing the writer or sjjcaker against eiTor and sin, whilst on the other hand, the matter and form of the divine communication oftentimes were such as obviated the necessity, and even possibility, of mental labor. Here again, by sonielhnes superseding study or sujtplying its defects, partial inspiration shows its resemblance to plenary.^ Legitimably, therefore, may study accompany every kind of divine communication and effusion. The Jews, though they were brought into direct intercourse with God the Son, were, nevertheless, ex- horted by him to search the Scriptures in order to find testimony to confirm his own teachings.^ The strongest motives for the ac- quisition of religious knowledge are urged by Solomon, who was endowed by the Holy Spirit with sui>ernatural wisdom. In this respect he followed the divine advice he gave, so that, though he enjoyed at times plenary inspiration, yet he was an example of 1 Dan. ix. 2. 2 1 Pet. i. 10, 11. 3 Thus do inspiration and study conspire to tlie cowiration, or the truth and timeliness of our teachings. Though a preacher might on good groimds arrive at the conclusion that he was, on a particular occasion, under the power of semi-inspiration, he could not warrant- ably say that a certain i)art of his i>rayer, or his sermon, was certainly inspired in any such sense as to be without any admixture of sin or error. The Divine Spirit, in such cases, leaves us in some salutary do|ibts in order, it would seem, that we may still be kept studying our own hearts in the light of Holy Scripture. And here we may be cautioned against setting more value on the strength of immediate impressions, such as high transports and ecstatic delights, than on the fruits of the Spirit, Avhich under a true semi-inspiration must needs grow and strengthen. If, for instance, the ajfiatas leave us proud and vain rather than humble and self-forgetful, we may well question whether it came from the Holy Ghost. Herein feelings are to be tested by their qual'tfi/, not their quantlti/. We are not to be too ready to conclude that semi-inspiration is an infallible proof that its subject is a regenerate person. It is clear that those who were anciently moved by plenary mspiration were ahnost exclusively regenerate men, and yet lialaam. a soothsayer and an enchanter,^ was on one occasion under a full divine inspira- tion. He hated not sin as sin, but only as it was dangerous to him- self, and therefore at first he refused Balak's gold and silver while he yet loved the sin of cursing Israel and the rewards of divination which the messengers of Balak carried in their hands. This false prophet sought gain, and yet he could not then bring himself to utter falsehood in order to gratify \\\^ covetousness. His veracity 1 Josh. xiij. 22 ; Num. xxii. 7 ; xxiii. 12; xxiv. 1 ; 2 Peter ii. 14-17. CAUTIONS AS TO THE ASSISTANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 93 was well calculated to deceive both himself and the Moabites. Caiaphas was, if possible, a worse man than Balaam, but the Holy Ghost was pleased to move himto utter even a Messianic prediction. These facts do not, however, lessen the value of our Lord's maxim, " By their fruits ye shall know them." It is not Christ's, but Virgil's millennium wherein, "Each common bush shall Syrian roses wear." On the other hand, a preacher who is really regenerate, may be so imperfectly sanctified as to be betrayed into a departure from verity, as the old prophet of BetheP was, and while speaking m the name of God, find some plea with which to justify himself before his conscience in leading his hearers away from the truth of God. He may be inspired ninety-nine times, and yet wittmgly or unwittingly speak without inspiration the hundredth time.- As truth and error sometimes go abreast and often follow each other in quick succession, we are m danger of allowing error to run ahead of truth and take its place. We may even copy the acts of ancient men of God without bemg moved by the Divine Spirit who inspired those men, and so deceive ourselves and others as to the motives and passions that actuate us. James and John would call down fire from heaven upon their ene- mies in outward imitation of Elijah,^ and many others have uttered imprecations against their personal enemies in the language of the prophet-kmg of Israel, without any evidence that the Holy Ghost was speaking by their mouth as he was by the mouths of those holy men. We ought to know what spirit we are of before we presume to copy a just God wliile he is executmg his judgments through his inspired servants. We may exercise the imaginative faculty in an intense and exalted degree, as the holy prophets did, and yet lack even a partial inspira- tion. Some are naturally gifted with more of this power than others, and abundant facts prove that Satan and his angels can and do represent in the mind images and appearances in the most mys- terious and supernatural manner. Turretin, Burgess, and others are of the opinion that the wicked one cannot gain immediate access to the soul except through the imagination. Agreeably to this \dew, Edwards remarks that when strong afi"ections arise from lively im- 1 1 Kings xiii. 2 Even Nathan, the prophet, in one instance took a human impulse for an in- spiration of God. (2 Sam. vii. 1-17.) 3 Luke is. 55. 9-4 CAUTIONS AS TO THE ASSISTANCE OF THE SPIRIT. ages and visions, they are worthless and vain as marks of a state of grace, but that lively images or visions arising from strong affec- tions may come from the Holy Ghost. Hence the father of lies frequently apes ''the inspiration of elevation," because in that lofty mood of the imagination which it produces, the mind is most ])lausibly tempted to despise the plain narratives of Scripture and all exa(;t statements of Christian doctrine. But notwithstandin<4 the weight of these authorities, we incline to receive this notion of theirs with a counterpoising doubt whether Satan gains admittance to the mind through the imagination alone. Why should he not, like the Holy Spirit, whom he studies to pass for, sometimes act as the prhnmn mobile of the human will? While there is much that is mysterious in the mode of Satan's working, sobriety and vigilance Avill give us some knowledge of his devices. Again, we may fall into the habit of thinking that a punctual, formal, and self denying use of what are called '' the means of grace," " divine services," and such like, somehow entitles us to a semi- inspiration. We thus persuade ourselves that the Christian graces wliicli such worship) exercises are thereby prejiared to mvite the assistance of the Holy Ghost. But we may at the same time forget that the best means of grace by being perverted sometimes produce the worst feelings, as presumption, for example, and so actually resist rather than welcome the Holy Spirit.^ x\nd this temptation to presumption is much strengthened when we reflect that to the diligent use • of the means of grace we have added extraordinary exertions of the intellect. Let us keep perpetually in mind the sovereignty of God, and then we shall never forget that — " The coarsest reed that trembles on tho marsh, If Heaven select it for its instrument, May shed celestial music on the breeze As clearly as tho pipe whose virgin gold Beflls the lips of Phoebus !"— /. A'. Talfourd. A coarse reed that nevertheless felt how empty it was .and was will- ing to go forth at midnight and beg, saying : " A friend of mine is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him." Every truly regenerate ])erson has a certain spiritual discernment, " an unction from the Holy One," by which he perceives the difference between the works of grace and all their counterfeits. We must be regen- erate before we have the first qtialiticatioii for examining the marks of any operation* of the Sj)irit. The natural man caimot know the things of the Spirit, because they are spiritually discerned. The 1 Jer. xl. 11 ; xv. 1 ; Hos. v. 6 ; Isa. Iviii. 4 j Acts vii. 51. CAUTIONS AS TO THE ASSISTANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 95 spiritual man is judged by no natural man. The sjDirits of the pro- phets are subject only to such as are themselves prophets. Nay, more than this ; a regenerate soul may have such experiences of grace as are themselves incommunicable evidences of their divine origin. " For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him ? Even so the things of God knoweth no man but the Spirit of God.''^ And yet the rectitude of our judgments in these matters is, as far as possible, to be tested by Holy Scri2:)ture. "We ought, as far as we can, to resort to the inspired word with the aid of the inspiring Spirit, in order to determine the quality of our very inspiration. Herein we may proceed much in the same way that we do in ascer- taining our adoption. " The oj^eration of the witness of the Spirit," says the acute William Guthrie,^ " is best imderstood if we produce any syllogism by which our spirit doth witness our sonship ; as for example : whosoever loveth the brethren is passed from death to life, and consequently is in Christ ; but I love the brethren ; there- fore I am passed from death to life. Hence there are three opera- tions of the Spirit. The first is a beam of divine light upon the first proposition convincing of the divine authority of it as the word of God. The second operation is a glorious beam of light from the Spirit, shining ujDon the second proposition, and so upon his own graces in the soul, discovering them to be the true graces, and- such as the ScrijDtnre calls so. Thus we are said to know by the Spirit the things that are freely given us of God. The third operation is connect- ed with the third proposition or conclusion, and this I conceive to be nothing else but an influence upon faith, strengthening it to draw a conclusion of full assurance upon the foresaid premises." Guthrie thinks that the second operation of the Spirit upon the second proposition to be in the witness of the Spirit. Now, forasmuch as we need, in some cases, the Divine Spirit r.s an interpreter of the texts we employ as tests of our sjDiritual state, we must j^erhaps add a fourth operation of the Spirit, showing us what we are to imdei-- stand by the phrase, loving the brethren. This wull come in the order of time next after Guthrie's first operation. It will, of course, be objected by some, that we move in an illogical circle when we judge whether Ave are inspired by the Paraclete or not, by con- sulting the Scriptures, and yet say that we cannot without his inter- j)retations imderstand those Scriptures. We reply that we have just now to do with revealed precepts and promises, and not merely with logical processes. There is here only one instance out of sev- 1 1 Cor. ii. 11. 2 The Christian's Great Interest, Pt. i., chap. vi. 96 CAUTIONS AS TO THE ASSISTANCE OF THE SPIRIT. eral in which is manifested the circular motion of grace from God to man and then from man back to God. Except in tlie way of ilhistration, logic has nothing more to do with the matter than it had Avith the circular marchings of Joshua and his army, when they compassed the walls of Jericho. In faith they obeyed the divine directions ; in faith Ave do likewise. Next to our oAvn gracious experiences, as compared Avith and tested by the Scriptures, comes Providential guidance as another evidence of the co-operation of the Comforter. All three must indeed often be taken into consideration, in order to determine, Avith any degree of accuracy, the question of the Spirit's assistance. No wise preacher Avill close his eyes on the concurrence of circumstances which may on any occasion seem to demand a change of themes, or an alteration of his method, or the addition or omission of thoughts. He Avill observe the mutation of the public mind, the impressions made by catastrophes, accidents, defeats, victories and revolutions ; nor will he despise the effects produced by the seasons and the weather, or the number and character of his congregation. All the Avheels of Providence move in unison with the Divine Spirit ; and occurrences which seem to us A-ery trivial are often emj Joyed by him for the furtherance of his regenerating and sanctifying Avork, But while we are to watch narrowly every instance of particular providence, Ave are never to lose sight of general providence which is, according to Edwards, " a mighty Avheel whose circumference is so high that it is dreadful with the glory of the God of Israel upon it. In the revolutions of this wheel, events come from God and return to God. They are guided by the Spirit of God ; where the Spirit goes they go."^ Judgment folloAvs mercy and mercy judg- ment. In the harvest of the world Christ first reaps the golden Avheat, or his saints, and then his angel goes forth out of the temple to gather the grapes, or sinners.2 Great Avorks of grace have ever gone before national judgments. If Ave are truly Avise therefore we Avill study all the operations of the Spirit in connection with the CA'ents of Providence. It is indeed one evidence that Ave have not the Divine Spirit Avhen Ave are imablc to discern the signs of the times in Avhich Ave live.^ We are not, on the other hand, to spend the season which calls for out-door Avork in the observation of the lesser current events of Providence."* The relation of Providence to temptation Ave have elscAvhcre sug- gested.^ 1 Ezek. i , iii., x., xi. 2 Rev. xiv 14-20. 3 Matt. xvi. 1-3. 4 Eccl. xi. 4. 5 Chap, v., sec. 1. CAUTIONS AS TO THE ASSISTANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 97 There are, as we have already hinted, some thmgs relating to the assistance of the Spirit in preaching which must be referred to the Divine Sovereignty. But in respect of this matter we should never forget that the Lord Jesus is head over all thmgs to the Church, and that as he sends to every true believer the Spirit from the Father to abide with him, to be the bond of union between him and Christ, so the Divine Sj)irit is always present in his heart as a principle of sancatifiction ; and hence the preacher, in common with all the faith- ful, may expect that the Lord will evince his sovereignty in contin- ually bestowing upon him renewing and transforming grace, what- ever else he may be pleased to withhold or withdraw from him.^ Even when the arm cannot perform its office, it is an unspeakable comfort for it to reflect that it is still vitally united to and sustained by the head, and is in fellowship with all the other members of the body. The preacher may, moreover, remember that it is as the " Spirit of Truth," and not as a spirit of utterance, that the inhabita- tion of the Holy Ghost is promised to Christian prophets. ^ Con- tinually ought he to be learning of Christ, but it is nowhere made his duly to be preaching him continually. John Tauler was not without the inhabitation of the Spii*it during that year in which he observed an unbroken silence. But may not the true preacher so " grieve " the Spirit that he will depart ? No, for, as Witsius acutely observes, the Spirit is sometimes grieved by the sins of Christians, but then he also grieves them in turn, that having brought them to a salutary repentance he may continue to seal them. Do you then affirm that there is an indwelling of the Spirit which is independent of the use of " the means of grace ? " It appears very probable ; for do we not need this inhabitation in order to a right choice and use of such means ? Before we draw this water, must we not first have drank. (P)^ Nor is there anything irreconcilable between the ideas of the Spirit's sovereignty and his inhabitation."* The latter does not in- deed necessarily include a state of uninterrujjted comfort and joy ; for our Lord in his discourse to the Eleven at the close of the last supper, assures them that the Helper or the Spirit of Truth already dwells in them,^ although they are to wait until after his ascension for his joy-giving presence. Neither does it pledge constant ability to preach or immediate and continual success in the work of preach- 1 John iv. 14 ; vii. 38 ; viii. 12 ; 1 Cor. xii. 12-27. 2 John xiv. 17 ; xv. 26 ; xvi. 13. 3 2 Tim. ii. 6. 4 Psa. li. 12 ; Isa. xl. 13 ; liv. 10 ; 1 Cor. xii. 11. 5 John xiv. 17. 98 CAUTIONS AS TO THE ASSISTANCE OF THE SPIRIT. ing.i For different persons who have nearly equal abilities and laitli, and have used the same diligence, are nevertheless found not to have been blessed "svith the same measure of success. And the same persons have observed that the faithful use of means is ap- parently not so effectual on some occasions as on others. As in these matters the Free and Sovereign Spirit has not laid himself under any obligations to i;s, so he has made us accountable neither for inward comfort nor visible success, but for faithfulness only. The sovereignty of God is no where more manifest than in the applications of sermons, where the Spirit sometimes, all uncon- sciously to us, may cross our hands so that we bless the hearers we intended to curse, and the contrary. What we meant for refutation the Spirit will perhaps apply as exhortation while he transforms our reproofs into consolations. The sovereignty of the Spirit is further shown in the choice and treatment of themes. Those preachers who are led by the Spirit fear to discourse on subjects which the worldly-wise suggest to them. We say the worldly-wise, not the spiritually-wise ; from the latter they receive gratefully both texts and subjects ; for they count such the ministrants of the Holy Ghost. Their dependence on the Divine Spirit is so nearly exclusive that they are forced to will and think and speak in almost entire independence of their imbelieving fellow men. They would receive from God that which they address to man, and not from man that which they communi- cate to man. Herein the true prophet has ever differed from the false ; the former rising superior to mundane motives, was moved in conscience by the Spirit of Truth to declare what was often equally painful to himself and to his hearers ; but what was never- theless of supreme concern to both and to all; the latter like a soothsayer waited to be consulted and bribed by some individual in order to pour forth, as from God, what related chieriy to private and temporal interests. The true " prophecy came not in old time by the will of man,''^ neither has emperor or pope or bishop any authority to dictate to any man of (4od the theme of his discourse, nor has any human power a right to com])lain if the theme he has recommended be quite neglected or ignored. As tliere are certain extraordinary effects of the Spirit's influence which are experienced in connection witli semi-insj)iration. strictly so-called, — effects which sometimes make it difficult to distinguish between them — we ought to refer these also to the sovereignty ol 1 Isa. xlix. 5; Ezck. xx.wii. 3; 1 Cor. iii. 7. 2 2 Tetcr i. 21 ; Gal. i. 0-12. CAUTIONS AS TO THE ASSISTANCE OF THE SPIRIT. 99 the Holy Ghost. ^ In times of revival the preacher may have a flow of sacred eloquence to which he was before a stranger ; he may have such a divine illumination as enables him to reach men's hearts, to discover the true nature of their various experiences, and to undei*- stand and apply the Scriptures as no mere study could enable him to imderstand and apply them ; may so prevail m intercession in behalf of individuals or in importunity for particular blessings that he may receive more than he asked of the Lord ; may experience that special influence of the Spirit, which imparts a happy assurance of the divine favor, and the seal whose motto is Adoption, and all attendant peace, joy and triumph — the preacher may occasionally be blessed with these and other gracious efiects of the Spirit's presence, and yet in his ordmary ministrations from year to year be without such evidence as is satisfactory to himself, that he has the constant assistance of the Holy Ghost which is promised to all true preachers of the Gospel. And it is not a little remarkable that many preachers are more desirous of experiencing those rare and extraordinary effects of the Spirit than to obtain indubitable proofs of that continual semi-inspiration on which the genuineness and efiiciency of their preaching so much depend ; and of that regular and principled growth in sanctification which prepares for all duties here and all felicities hereafter ; not considering that these transports of divine love, these precious seasons of peace, and these gracious impulses of the Spirit are bestowed on us in a sovereign way and according to the secret counsels of the all- wise God, and that while we may lawfully seek them, and the Spirit is free to give or deny them, the promises are not conditioned upon them but upon that faith which mcites to daily obedience. To behold the high tide rolling up the long beach from the outer ocean may be more sublime, but it is not of such general interest as to see it filling the little inlets and creeks. Let us not, however, in the endeavour to fix the true relative value of these higher experiences, allow ourselves to depreciate them below their just worth. If these visits of the Spirit are rare and seemingly arbitrary, they are undoubtedly quite indispensable to some sorts of Christians, and even to many Christians in times of great doubt, temptation, persecution, or other affliction. " We may say," holds Guthrie,^ " that the special operations of God's Spirit 1 John Wesley (see his Journal, May 31st, 1771) mentioned that at peculiar seasons he spoke with a " closeness and pungency which are the gift of God and not to b^ attained by all the efforts of nature and art united." 2 The Christian's Great Interest, Pt. i., chap. vi. 100 CAUTIONS AS TO THE ASSISTANCE OF THE SPIRIT. in any high degree, are usually communicated to people, after much brokenncss of spirit, after singular pains in religious duty, or a time of much suffering for righteousness. Or, if they break in as the rain that waiteth not for man, tlien they do humble and abase a person, and there are found so many evidences of grace in the man. Or, these things do provoke unto holiness and to have everything answerable and conformalde to these manifestations of God. The l^erson under them doth loathe all things besides God's friendship and fellowship ; and these things carry in them so much authority and divine sui:»erscription whilst they are in the soul, that afterwards they do appear sufficiently to be sijecial communications of God and singular gracious operations of his Spirit."' Semi-inspiration, even more than the plenary, perhaps, works connatural ly, or in subjec- tion to the constitution and laws of the human mind ; so that we cannot usually distinguish its operations from those of our own mental fliculties. Hence were not these higher experiences occa- sionally given to us, we might not always bear in mind as we ought, the awful fact that we are co-working with God, and that however wisely or energetically we preach, or however absorbed in the human and outward aspects of our utterances, still we more or less " strive according to the Spirit's working, which works in us mightily." Ajid it is well for us and our congregations that these more ele- vated and ecstatic experiences do not often possess us while we are in the act of preaching ; if they did, they would seriously interrupt and mar our public services. The most remarkable instances on record, as those of Howe, Flavel, Edwards, Tennant, and Payson, did not occur during public prayer or preachhig, though, in some of these cases, the raptures and ecstacies served afterwards to impart new confidence and solemnity to their souls and their sermons. Preachers, therefore, of long and varied experience have too pro- found a reverence for the sovereignty of the Divme Spirit to advise a young man very confidently to expect invariable and immediate success. They know that an archer may, in calm weather, or while a breeze is blowing steadily from one point, almost always hit his mark, but that when the gusts aiid whirls of a tempest are at large, although he point and plume his shaft with all skill, and draw his bow with the utmost force and precision, yet it depends entirely on the will of the wind whether his arrow shall transfix the mark or be tossed high in the air, only to descend and be broken upon ragged rocks. This sovereignty of the Sj)irit it is that now humbles the pride of the preacher, or else enables him bdievingly and grate- fully to say, " Yet not I, but the grace of God which was wi^h me." THE MEANS AND CONDITIONS OF INSPIRATION. IQ^ CHAPTER V. THE MEA.\S km CONDITIOiXS OF mSPIRATIOiN. Most writers on homiletics have thought it sufficient to take for granted hat the young preacher is regenerated ; and yet if Ave may believe (and who can doubt?) the testimon^ of some EnS bishops, the bhnd fondness and ambition of paints are contu y crowdmg mto the ranks of the clergy, young men who give very dubious proofs of their conversion ; many of whom, on the contrary afterwards gn-e the clearest evidence that they are content to dweK m the city of Destruction while they are avowedly teaching others how to escape from t men, consequently, whose preaching^luring a long mmistry is of less moral value than the escaping Pil™'! one plain, honest, earnest cry, "Life, life, eternal lif^ . " 1 i which, while It IS pre-emmently the work of the Spirit is at the same t.n.e, the best of all possible qualifications for'the'mlni tfy Neithe, genius, nor earnmg, nor labor, nor wealth, nor rank, no^: all of these combmed, can purchase any substitute for it • nor ve excellence, it is like the legendary aureola that shone around the tliZT/'"': "^n' t^^' ''''' ^" '^^^' -^-- - ' ffsTk^ess 1 '^,f "'^""^^ f , ' '^^'-Seon, and the curtained chamber could tt be ^"^^^%™--fl^ brightness of the lambent diadem Tplces the d'" f" -allest degree by the gorgeousness cathedral ^ '^ ^^-^^ersities, or the manifold splendours of Many parts of Holy Scripture show us how near and influential :s the i-dation of the assistance of the Spirit to the experiencera;::! tiuits of regeneration. Thus in regeneration the Divine Spirit creates a thirst which he alone can slake, and a hunger which he alone can appease.i They that are unregenerate do not mind the things of the Spirit, nor walk in the Spirit,2 but his grace in the new birth causes us to mmd spiritual things, and makes us willino- & 1 Matt. V. 6; John iv. 13-15; Rev. xxi. 6; xxii. 17; Isa. \v. 1. 2 Rom, viii. 4, 5. 302 THE MEANS AND CONDITIONS OF INSPIRATION. to be led by the Spirit. He must inspire in us true faith, and yet it is only through faith in Christ Jesus that -we can receive the blessinn- of Abraham, the promise of the Spirit. ^ This circular motion of divine grace is equally manifest in respect of humility and teachableness. Pride lifts itself up like a fortress agamst the knowledge of God,2 while humility is a breach in the wall through which grace enters the soul and brings eveiy thouglit captive into the kingdom of Christ. This humility is ever attended with that felt poverty of spirit, which according to the Great Prophet secures the kingdom of heaven — a kingdom which is righteousness and peace and joy Ln the Holy Ghost. ^ The Divine Spirit may visit the proud, but he dicells with none but the lowly.'* There again regenerating grace must inspire that Christian virtue whose exer- cise is necessary to the inhabitation of the Spirit. The means and conditions of obtaining and keeping inspiration will now be considered.^ Section I. — Temptation, Humility axd Self-Dexial, as Prepahatioxs fob the Spirit. Luther mentions Temptation among the three things that make a good })reacher. By this he probably intended the successful trial to which the man of God may be subjected alike by adversity and prosperity ; we say, successful, for the ordeal through which Balaam passed in the court of Balak, did not leave him as laitliful to Jeho- vah as did that to which Amos was exposed at the chapel of Jero- boam. INIoses after forty days of direct communion with the God of Israel on the top of Sinai, descends to break the two tables of the law indignantly against the rocks, while Jonali after three days in the whale, with weeds Avrappcd about his head and going down to the bottoms of the mountains, is cast forth to walk in the path of imquestioning duty. Peter could fish all night on the lake of Gcnnesaret, but Avhen he was called to observe a vigil on the ]\Iount of Transfiguration he soon became heavy with sleep. Nor should it be forgotten that, among good men, those who are the most deeply afflicted are not necessarily the most inspired. Job stands forth in Scrijiture history as a typical example of suflfering; and yet 1 Gal. iii. 14. 2 2 Cor. x. 5. 8 Matt. v. 3 ; Rom. xlv. 17. 4 Isa. Ivii. 14 6 Christian Palmer appears to set a small value on these means ; he character- ises the assi.stance of the Spirit as a sign of God which cannot be obtained bv a honiiletical prescription. (Homilet., 5th ed., p. 13.) THE MEANS AND CONDITIONS OF INSPIRATION. 103 his young prophet Elihu, who is perhaps a stranger to grief speaks under an inspiration as complete as his. » , 1 a^t. But still, admit we must, that almost all the inspired men of the Hebrew economy were great sufferers, and appear to have been prepared by sorrow for the performance of their divine work as messengers of the Most High. Our space forbids us to say much on this large subject, but less we cannot consent to do than mention the case of Jeremiah, because we may reasonably conjecture that his afflictions moved hun to study and obey the word of God with such good success that his prophetic addresses are perfumed with tlie Pentateuch and especially with Deuteronomy. If the 119th Psalm was composed by him, as we are convinced it was, it serves by his afflictions did not prepare him for inspiration, it did at anv rate, provide most precious materials for the Spirit's burden- it covered the moimtam with ripe spice plants, so that when the sum- mer breeze swept over them, it wafted into the valleys 'the smeU of a field which the Lord had blessed.' Of nearly all the great Christian leaders it may likewise be said that affliction helped to discipline them to be the JZyLZt ments of the Spirit they eventually became. John Knox Irthat" rouble and fear are the very spurs of prayer." When Ezekiel toss eel perhaps on the Mediterranean in some staunch sh^ of Ty " watched the mast as it leaned stiffly away from the T ev/.f.? I might have felt certain that it could L be's^abedfit 1 L; when he remembered that it was on the sides of Lebanon that winter had taught its gnarled roots stoutly to grasp the era es it branches to struggle triumphantly with the whirrwind,^nd ts 1;^ to lean permanently away, much as he saw it now, fiw h S whence the wmter annually returned. God has some imes g v L to the churches men toughened and hardened by a similar disc7phne and particularly whenever their cry to him^has been "Let^t^^^^ hand be upon the man of thy right hand, upon the son of man whon^ thou madest strong for thyself." But inviting to the Divine Spirit as adversities often are, we are not theuce.to conclude that they always are so; when freqrnt or grace make a man proud, contentious, jealous, and morose. mI ancholy ,s not attractive to the Holy Spirit. Luther, who knew too well whereof he affirmed, stigmatized it as the '• ba h of SaW' Prosperity, too, has its temptations; but these arc not°L kthe 1 Psalm cxis., 67, 71. 8 104 THE MEANS AND CONDITIONS OF INSPIRATION. case of adversity, counterpoised by many advantages. That com- petence and honour arc apt to grieve the Spirit and foster material- ism might be shown from tbe history of Divinity schools; begin- ning with the school of the prophets wliich having, it would seem, reached a state of peace and plenty during the closing years of Elijah's rectorship, no sooner had he ascended to heaven than they must needs send a committee of muscular men to search through valley and mountain for his body lying somewhere here below, scathed, sunk together, perhaps dead; his charioteering, like that of Phicthon, necessarily ending in a down-hill road ! The trials incident to prosperity may be met by the preacher, -who diligently uses the means and conditions of inspiration we here consider. We have, just two pages back, mentioned humility as a condition favourable to the presence of the Spirit. If therefore we would ])e inspired we have to Avage continual war against pride. We speak advisedly when we say continual war ; for when pride is driven from one fortress, it retires to another, and as a last resort it some- times entrenches itself in the assurance of the co-oj^eration of the Divine Spirit. How soon will the Paraclete leave us if we make his gracious presence an occasion of nourishing pride. For what can be more hurtful to us than the grace which we exercise only foi: the puffing up of this Satanic enemy of grace. It is thjs vice that, more than any other, grieves the Spirit; for as by pride Cometh contention,^ so the irascible passions which pride begets and fosters are a grief to the living Spirit of all grace. The injunction not to grieve the Spirit is immediately followed by another, to put away these malignant and vindictive passions. 2 To the humble, on the contrary, the Holy Spirit gives more and more grace because they alone can use it without abusing it. 3 Even the pagan Greeks had some notion of this matter; for they believed that it was on account of his boasting that their prophet Tiresias was smitten with blindness. The inspiration of the Spirit is also invited by the exercise of self-denial and self-mortification.'* By this we do not mean self- inflicted pain, but the exercise of moderation in matters of lawful indulgence. " It is surprising," says John Owen, " how a little necessary diversion will unfit the mind for the work of the ministry.'' For this reason preachers and students for the ministry have to defend themselves against levity and frivolousness.^ These are among the things tljat grieve the Holy Spirit.^ ^ I Prov. xiii. 10. 2 Eph. iv. 30, 31. 3 Jas. iv. 5-10. 4 Rom. V. 13; viii. 5-13; Col. iii. 6; Gal. v. '2i; Titus ii. 11-14. 6 Eph. iv. 29, 30 ; v. 4. THE MEANS AND CONDITIONS OF INSPIRATION. 105 We may indeed observe days of secret fasting as a matter of high moral expediency;^ but the most difficult and necessary work is to practise habitual self-control and to abstain daily from what- ever tends to provoke the j^assions, darken the mind, or subject the soul to the body. This duty includes not only the subjugation of the appetites and abstinence from luxurious self-indulgence and excess, but a putting away of pride, vanity, discontent, fretfulness, avarice, rancour, uneharitableness, and all other sinful habits and passions. That such was the notion of fasting entertained by the early churches appears from the following extract of a letter from Paulinus of Nola to Celantia, a Roman lady of rank and piety. " Beware," writes he, " lest when you have begun to j^ractise fasting or abstinence, you imagine you are already holy ; for this observ- ance is but the instrument, not the completion of holiness. But, above all things, take care that in learning to despise things that are allowed, you do not foster a presumptuous security as to things which are positively forbidden. Whatever we may offer to God beyond what duty requires, should not hinder but further the doing of the duties God has enjoined. What can it avail us to attenuate the body by abstinence, if at the same time we suffer the soul to be puffed up with pride ? What praise shall we deserve by making ourselves pale with fasting, if at the same time we become livid through envy ? What virtue is there in abstaining from wine, if we suffer ourselves to be intoxicated with anger or hatred ? Then and then only is abstinence excellent, then only is the chas- tisement of the body beautiful and admirable, when the soul is made to keep the fast by renouncing all its sins." But let us never forget that sin is best vanquished not by the attack up the hill from our mere human forces, but down the hill, from our divine allies ; and that far better than occasional seasons of fasting (though these are useful when strictly and wisely ob- served) is the cultivation of a habit of promptly and regularly obey- ing the impulses of the Spirit in all things. It is not enough for us now and then to kneel or stand and speak in the Spiint. The apos- tle says : " Walk in the Spirit and ye shall not fulfil the lust of the flesh."2 Partial or ministerial insi^iration is likewise invited by a timely excitation and constant exercise of our gifts. The inspirations of the Spirit, like the dictates of conscience, must be obeyed, otherwise they will at length cease to move us. David encouraged himself in 1 Dan. ix. 3 ; x. 2, 3, 12, 21 ; Ezra viii. 21 ; Neh. i. 4 ; Luke ii. 37. 2 Gal. V. 16-25. lOG THE MEANS AND CONDITIONS OF INSPIRATION. the Lord.i He said to his son Solomon, " Arise and be doing, and the Lord shall be with thee."^ And Solomon himself was moved by the Divine Spirit to say : " The soul of the sluggard flesireth and hath not, but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat."^ At a time when Judah had apostatised the prophet Isaiah said to the Lord : " Thou meetcst him that rejoieeth and worketh righteous- ness," but at the same time he had to lament, " There is none that stireth up himself to take hold on thee."* God commanded Ezekiel to exert his natural powers when he said to him : " Son of man stand ujion thy feet," yet the prophet adds, " the Spirit entered into me when he spake unto me, and set me upon my feet."^ Timothy was set apart for his work by clear prophetic indications ; but this did not prevent Paul from exhorting him to give attendance to reading, to exhortation, and to teaching, and so " not neglect the gift that was in him."^ On another occasion, when the young man was tempted to take counsel of his fears and refrain from preaching, the ajiostle again wrote to him, saying : " Stir up the gift of God which is in thee, . . . for God hath not given us the spirit of fear, but of jjower, and of love, and of a sound mind."^ The word, stir icj), in the original, sometimes signifies bloio into a flame. Once more does the apostle exhort him in the words following : '* Thou, there- fore, my son, be strong in the grace that is in Christ Jesus."* To advise one to be strong is, among other things, to advise him to take such exercise as is necessary to an increase of vigour. And accordingly we read that a contempt and consequent neglect of pro])hesyings is called a quenching (or extinguishing the flame) of the Spirit : " Quench not the Spirit. Despise not pf-ophesyings."^ It .was through the preaching of Enoch, Noah, and other prophets, that the Spirit of the Lord strove with mankind before the flood.^'^ As, therefore, in case we refuse to preach or to hear preaching when we ought, we quench the sacred flame of zeal which the Spirit kin- dles in the preacher, so when with tlie aid of the Spirit we exhort men to repentance, the Paraclete within us may properly be said to strive with them, while we instrumentally strive with them, and by striving grow active, stout, and skilful preachers. Jesus won- derfully assists those who preach salvation through his atoning blood. Bunyan testifies that it was while he was preaching justifi- 1 1 Sam. XXX. C ; Psa. xlii. 5.; Ivii. 8. 2 1 Chror>. xxii 16. 3 Prov. xiii. 4. 4 isa. Ixiv. 5-7. 5 Ezek. ii. 1, 2. 6 1 Tim. iv. 13, 14. 7 2 Tim. i. 7. 8 2 Tim. ii. 1. 9 1 Thes. V. 19, 20. 10 Geu. iv. 20 ; vi. 3 ; Psa. xcix. 6. THE MEANS AND CONDITIONS OF INSPIRATION. 107 cation by faith tliat it was as if an angel of God stood at his back to encourage him.^ The relations of intellectual discipline and the assistance of the Spirit it is somewhat difficult to define ; for while it is clear that divine grace is friendly to the cultivation of the intellect, it is not so manifest that intellectual cultivation, when carried beyond cer- tain limits, and pursued for certain ends, is promotive of true piety. The student may indeed be told that by enlarging his intellectual capacities he is spreading wider sails before the breath of Heaven. But he should rather be told that infinitely more important than the question of the extent of sail, is that of the haven he has de- termined to make, and that of the chart he has chosen wherewith to regulate his voyage. Here, as everywhere else, we ought to seek first the kingdom ol heaven. " The natural man," though he be thoroughly disciplined and profoundly learned as to mere intel- lect, " receiveth not the things of the Spirit of God : for they are foolishness unto him : neither can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned." There is a spiritual perception which no intellectual training can either plant or cultivate. We do not say that it cannot be cultivated. No, we do not say this. Only it must be cultivated directly, and not indirectly. The education of the astronomer by which he is enabled to discover the golden treasures that are hid in the fields of immensity, is not more differ- ent fi'om that of the poet or painter, by which he is enabled to dis- cover the beauties and sublimities of the terraqueous globe, than the education of either of these is different from that of the Christ- ian as such. The sources, rules and means of spiritual culture are, for the most part, quite distinct from, though not antagonistic to, those of intellectual culture. Hence it is only when the intellect is disciplined and stored, as a matter of secondary importance, and for benevolent and other Christian uses, that it can be said to be pro- motive of piety or friendly to the inspirations of the Holy Ghost. None are less frequently visited by the Spirit of all grace than those who neglect great intellectual gifts and attainments. The man that has but one talent is the most liable to bury it ; but if the man that has ten buries them all, his guilt is greater because his temptation is less. There is a deep and lurid meaning in the orien- tal belief that vij^ers brood over buried treasures. 1 Grace Abounding, ^282. 108 THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE AND MEDITATION Section II. — The Study of Scripture and Meditation" as Aids to Inspiration. Another means of obtaining this assistance of the Spirit is the study of the Scrijitures with a vie^v to our own improvement as C/iristicois, and not as preachers. They err who say that the Para- clete operates o?ifi/ through the inspired Word of God, and yet it is safe to say that tlie diligent study of Holy Writ for our own edi- fication is likely to keep the Spirit with us as an interpreter of his own compositions. As it Avas, perhaps, tlirough the sacred word that he first came to us, so we may hope that through the same word he will continue to visit us. And with what consistency or confidence can they, who neglect the study of the Spu-it's composi- tions i)ray for his illumhiations ; if they despise the light he has already granted them, how can they have the presumption to im- portune him for additional light ! The souls to whom the Comfor- ter has given a new buth, naturally turn to the breast of their mother : ' as new-born babes, they desire the pure milk of the word, that they may grow thereby.' Kor can there be any ministerial growth and enduring usefulness without such study and self-applica- tion. Truly blessed is that preacher whose delight is in the law of the Lord ; and in his law doth meditate day and night. " He shall be like a tree planted by rivers of water, that brhigeth forth his fruit in his season; his leaf also shall not wither; and whatso- ever he doeth shall prosper." His mind shall be supplied with truth from a perennial source. A prevailing spiritual drought shall not cause his sermons to lose their freshness. And though they be not immediately and always, yet they shall be seasonably and ulti- mately, fruitful and prosperous. II. To the experimental study of the Scriptures we ought to add deep meditation according to the exami)le of David in the Psalm last quoted, and of Jeremiah in the 119th Psalm. Ezekiel was commanded to eat the prophetic roll before he went to speak to the house of Israel. 1 Tlie busy j>reachcr is continually exposed to the temptation of allowing the most momentous and affectmg truths to pass directly from his intellect to his tongue without first baptizing them in the heart. He needs a certain amomit of Scrijiture matter to convey to his hearers every week, or perhaps eveiy day for a season, and he therefore has hardly finished the composition of one sermon before he has commenced another. Ilis reading and study have crowded his mind with a multitude of striking ideas, from 1 Ezek. iii. 1-3. AS AIDS TO INSPIRATION. 109 which he is anxious to make a judicious selection and to arrange in due order. Thus fully occupied in receiving and forwarding new ideas, he is forming habits which are hostile to those of meditation. He is ready, fluent, various and exhaustless, but not weighty, not in sober earnest, not profoundly stirred by his theme. Nor is this all; after studying and preaching in this hasty and superficial way for a considerable period, the style and delivery become incapable of conveying in a tender, solemn, and moving manner, the more important thoughts which God has communicated to us in the sacred books. But by the opposite practice, that of deeply iDonder- ing the Scriptures, digesting their truths, nourishing our own hearts with them, and so making them, in some sense, our own, we pre- serve that honesty of style and delivery which will do something like common justice to divine thoughts. The inspired advice of Solomon is, " Hear the words of the wise and apply thine heart unto my knowledge. For it is a pleasant thing, if thou keep them within thee ; they shall withal be fitted in thy lips."i Yes, " they shall withal be fitted in thy lips." These divine thoughts shall be fitted to thy words, as apples of gold are fitted to their net works of silver which are next to them in place and in value, and so sldl- fully inlaid as to apj^ear to have grown out of them. Luther was more a man of meditation than of action. Medltatio was one leaf in that trefoil which, as he believed, constituted the character of the true preacher, and " suggests more, much more, than all our com- mentators united." It was this meditation which by gradually filling the mind of the great Reformer with a holy electricity, gave occasion for Melancthon to write, " O, Luther, all thy words are thunderbolts ! " Of Jonathan Edwards, another man given to habits of meditation, it is said that when he preached " his words were full of ideas and betrayed a great degree of inward fervor." William Bridge,^ one of the greatest of the Puritan preachers, and whose sermons, lately rei^ublished, are still models of Scriptural richness, vivacity, and popular illustration, says of meditation that it is the fruit of Christ's grace, a great help to knowledge, a great friend to the memory, holy conference, and growth in grace, the sister of reading, and the mother of prayer, keeping the heart from sinful thoughts and tuning it for every duty. But, after all, what avails meditation unless it warms our hearts, and we can say with the Psalmist, " While I was musing, the fire burned." Thomas Aquinas^ distinguishes meditation from contem- 1 Prov, xxii. 18, 19. 2 Works in 5 vols. 8vo., Tegg, London, 1845. 3 Summa ii. 2, qu. 180, Art. 1 and 4. 110 THE STUDY OF SCRIPTURE AND MEDITATION. plation ; tlie former according to the " Angelical Doctor," is such an attentive consideration of a truth, and such an examination of its various parts and reasonings uj»on tliem as to excite wonder ; the latter adds to the act of the intellect required in meditation an act of the "will, that is to say, an act of love or affection. Let us not fall short of contemplation in the old scholastic sense of the word. Let us hold up before our minds the beauties, the glories, and all the divine excellences of Scrijjture personages and doctrines, imtil we admire and love them, imtil we desire to declare their praises, and to bring all men to share our complacency and reverence. Especially will such contemplation, if directed to the Holy Spirit, enable us to set that high value on his inspirations which, as Robert Hall thought, is the very first means of obtaining them. He admits, mdeed, tbat the first inspiration of grace must procede this sense of its value; " for," he adds, " it can only be possessed in any adequate degree by those Avho have tasted that the Lord is gracious. ' I am found of them that sought me not ;' but in subsequent donations, the Lord seems very much to regulate his conduct by a rule of bestowing his richest favours Avhere he knows they are most cov- eted and will be most prized." But then comes the thought that this is but the divine side of contemplation. From thus basking in the eternal sunshine, we do well if we timefully arise and go down into the valleys where rests the darkness, or at best the broken daylight, of guilt or sickness, poverty or sorrow, or death. We dd not say that such objects of thought are absolutely best for us; no, to learn of the Master is a better and more enduring part than to serve him and his; but no- tably that humanity which is most considerate and exertional is ever coming from the presence of the great Teacher, and going back to him again. He Avho loves the Son of God most, Avill most love man, and "the love of the Spirit" will most frequently and largely inspire those who serve as internuncioes between the two. It is another good preparative to regard admiringly the works of Creation. " Earth's cramniod with heaven, And every common bush afire with God ; But only he who sees, takes olT his slioes; Tlio rest sit round it and i)luck blackberries.'' — Jfrs. Brmcning. And therefore we may profitably follow Closes and Elijah when driven to Mount Iloreb, or Amos dwelling among the herdmen of Tekoa, and John the Baptist among the rocks and trees of Judea, or even David and Jeremiah while they could only sigh aloud for re- fuse in the wilderness. For the rest, we shall liml that musings on the I'rovidence of • PRAYER AS ASKING THE HELP OF THE SPIRIT. HI God will be of foremost service in piling together and kindling that incense of prayer which we are now to consider. SECTioisr III. — Prayer as Asking the Help of the Spirit. Over and over again are we told in Scripture that the Holy Spirit dwells in believers ; and yet, truth to tell, he may abide in some believers, much as the Greenland missionary lives when driven into winter quarters, where the windows of his hut are darkened by frost-work and icicles, and his door blocked up by snow. Though we cannot pray aright without the assistance of the Paraclete while praying, yet hiay we warrantably ask that assist- ance both in praying and in preaching. For when we have his gracious presence we may, at the same time, be deeply sensible that we have not that presence as intimately, as effectually, and as abidingly, as it is our duty and our privilege to possess it. Hence prayer for these objects is always timely and reasonable. Of the advantages of such prayer the examples are abundant. As our Lord was always full of the Holy Ghost, he needed not to pray for his inspirations, and yet his teachings prove that our Heavenly Father has ever an affectionate readiness to grant the Comforter to our filial requests, and that in this one gift is enfolded all other bene- fits ;i agreeably to the words of the apocryphal tradition ascribed to our Divine Master, " Ask the great things and the small things shall be added unto you ; ask heavenly things and earthly things shall be added unto you." We have not an example of a j^rophet asking the Divine Spirit for himself It is, however, well deserving of note that it was during or after prayer that certain revelations were made to Isaiah and Jeremiah, Daniel and Micah, Zechariah, Peter and Paul.^ As true prophecy " came not by the will of man," so it was not jDroper for ancient men of God to desire plenary inspiration for its own sake, nor invoke it at their own pleasure. But some Scriptures express and many imply that these men jjrayed often and fervently for the fruits of the sanctifying Spirit to prepare them to act, to suffer, and to preach. The greatest of the Christian fathers were in the habit of pray- ing for the Holy Spirit to enable them to preach. Chrysostom,^ in the introduction of one of his homilies, says that prayer should come before preaching, and quotes the example of Paul invoking 1 Cf. Matt. vii. 7-11 ; Luke xi. 9-13. 2Isa. xxxvii. 4, 14; Jer. xxxii. 16-25, 26-35; Dan. ix.; Mich. vii. 14-17; Zecb. iv. 4; vi. 4, etc.; 2 Cor. xii. 8,9; Acts x. 9-16; xxvii. 21-26; xxii. 17, 18. 3 Horn. De Incomprehensibile Dei Natura. 112 PRAYER AS ASKING THE HELP OF THE SPIRIT. ■ God in the beginning of liis epistles. Gregory Nazlanzen prayed, saying, " Lord, I am an instrument for thee to play upon." And Augustine advises the minister before moving his tongue to raise his thirsty soul to God, that havhig himself drank, he may possess a supply for others, and be able to pour forth to them from the ful- ness he has himself received.^ The same father often invokes the Spirit in his homilies. In one of them he says : " Being thus em- barrassed, whither can I go but to the footstool of divine grace. There I now offer my prayer that the Holy Ghost wouhl give me something to speak worthy of himself — something by which I may both do my duty and supply your wants."^ It was a very common thing for the fathers, at the beginning of their sermons, to offer short prayers, or " invocations," for the assistance of the Holy Spirit in behalf of preacher and hearer. The Keformers were not ignorant of this great secret of success in preaching. Almost too familiar to quote are those words of Luther, " Bene orasse est bene studuissey He exhorted Spalatin to begin his studies with earnest prayer : " for," added he, " there is no interpreter of the divine word but its own author." " Very ii-e- quently," said he, " in venturing upon something, by beginning the matter with fervent prayer, I have advanced beyond the usual limits ; by using them as a bridge, and by the special help of God I have prospered and obtained a happy issue." "While he was shut up in the castle at Coburg, having more time for devotion than his public duties had usually allowed him, he daily spent in prayer the three hours that were the most convenient for study.' " If," said he, " I should neglect prayer for a single day, I should lose a great deal of the fire of faith." John Knox was as frequent as he was mighty in prayer. John "Welch, his son-in-law, considered no day well improved in which he did not spend seven or eight hours in prayer. He Avould at times retire to the church of Ayr, which was some distance from the town, and there pass Avhole nights m com- mmiion with God — a custom that made his enemies call him a wizard. He would sometimes express wonder that any Christian could lie abed all night and not rise to pray. While pastor of a cliureh in a French village, where he was living in exile, a friar, who lodged two nights at his house, Avas converted to the Protestant faith by overhearing him as he whispered his midnight prayers. And this holy man's ministerial success was proportional to his prayerfulness. Many years after his death, the famous David 1 De Doct. Cliiist , L. iv., c. 15. 2 Horn. De Tempore. 3 Melcb. Adam, iu vita Lutheris, pp. 138-112. PRAYER AS ASKING THE HELP OF THE SPIRLT. II3 Dickson, who was enabled to convert great numbers at Irvine, and in adjacent towns, was often heard to say : " The grape gleanings at Ayr, in Mr. Welch's time, were far above the vintage at Irvine in my own day." Rev. Robert Boyd,i who knew him well, says, " He was a man filled with the Holy Ghost." Another celebrated Scottish minister, Robert Bruce, was in the habit of praying most earnestly before preaching. We are told that his chief preparation was lifting up his mind into a holy and reverential mood, and pouring out his heart before God in wrestling prayer. The renowned John Livingstone says that of all the ser- mons he ever heard and read he was the most profited by those of the three preachers last mentioned. Of his own preaching Livingstone says : " I never preached a ser- mon which I would be earnest to see again in print but two ; the one was on Monday after the commimion of Shotts, and the other on Monday after the communion at Holywood, and both these times I had spent the whole night before in conference and prayer with some Christians, without any more than ordinary preparation. About five hundred were awakened by the sermon preached at the kirk of Shotts." Among the other illustrious names that united much prayer with study, we may mention John Bradford, the martyr, and the most eloquent perhaps of all the preachers of his day ; Joseph Alleine, whose prophetic fire enlightens and sanctifies his imperishable writings ; Whitefield, who studied his Bible on his knees, praying as he read and pondered the sacred page ; Charles Simeon, who not unfrequently spent whole nights in importunity and intercession, and Edward Payson, who, eminent as he had been as a man of prayer, yet in his last days was heard to declare that if he had to live his life over again, he should choose to spend half of it in prayer. Prayer brings, among other gifts, the needed illumination. 2 On some mysterious themes the preacher should refuse to speak imtil he has made them subjects of prayer for many days. He may have to pray the seventh time before the cloud rise out of the sea like a man's hand, and seventy times seven before the sky be black with clouds and a great rain set in. "Is there," says John Wesley, " a doubt concerning the meaning of what I read ? Does any thing appear dark or intricate ? I lift up my heart to the Father of Lights. Lord, is it not thy word, ' If any man lack wisdom, let him ask of God?' 'Thou givest liberally and upbraidest not.' Thou hast said, ' If any man be wilhng to do thy will, he shall know.' 1 Life of Boyd, by Wodrow, p. 263. 2 Prov. xxviii. 6. 114 PRAYER AS ASKING THE HELP OF THE SPIRIT. I am willing to do, let me know thy will.' " " Study yourself dead and pray yourself alive again," was Adam Clarke's reply to a student who asked, " How shall I prepare my sermons ? " In examining such examples as these (and they might be greatly multiplied), some cautions will not be useless. It is not impossible that hundreds of obscure but very useful preachers have surpassed any of those mentioned, in the fervency, the length, the frequency, and the timeliness of their secret jirayers ; but they were so for- tunate as to keejD them strictly secret, and so prudent as not to tell their friends how much time they spent in such pious exercises. Nor from the fact that a preacher is distinguished for his [/Ifts in public prayer, should we too confidently infer that he necessarily exercises his graces in frequent and long-continued secret j^rayer. Some of the Pharisees must have possessed very popular gifts in public prayer, otherwise they would not have been so ready and anxious to display them in j^laces of concourse. Another thing : in his anxiety to secure divine assistance for Jibn- self the preacher should not forget that little success, beyond the applause of the people, is to be achieved unless the Divine Spirit is not only in his heart but in the hearts of the auditors as well. Preaching wins its greatest victories when the Holy Spirit broods equally over the speaker and the congregation. As the Divine Spirit is very God, he is essentialhj present alike in all, while he is graciously present in those only whom he enlightens, or regene- rates, or sanctifies, or in some manner blesses. It is with the latter that we here have to do. He may sometimes vouchsafe his gracious assistance to the preacher, while he may justly withdraw it from his hearers. Enoch, Noah, and perhaps other faithful prophets, preached righteousness to the antediluvians, who strove with, and successfully resisted the Paraclete, to their destruction. And some of the later prophets preached in vain, because the people would not hear, or if they heard, would not obey the truth. EzekieU had admiring auditors who listened to his sermons as they would to very lovely songs " of one that hath a pleasant voice and can ])lay avcU on an instrunient." They heard his words but did not heed and apply them. Their hearts went after their covetousness. And according to the vision of the Dry Bones,- it was one thing for Jehovah to move Ezekiel to prophesy to the dry bones, so that they shook, and came together, and took upon them flesh; and another thmg, while as yet there was no breath in them, for the prophet to say to the wind, " Thus saith the 1 Chap, xxxiii. 31, 32. 2 Chap, xxxvii. 1-14. PRAYER AS ASKING THE HELP OF THE SPIRIT. 115 Lord God : Come from the fom- winds, O breath," etc. And the prophet Micah, being called to rebuke the people for covetousness, injustice, oppression, and idolatry, appeals to them thus : " O thou that art named the house of Jacob, is the Spirit of the Lord strait- ened ? Are these his doings ? Do not my words do good to him that -walketh uprightly ?^ The only rational cause we can assign for the comparatively small immediate success of our Divine Mas- ter's preaching was, that while he was full of the Holy Ghost him- self, the people in general were devoid of grace. His warning at the close of his Sermon on the Mount proves that it was possible for some of his hearers to find in his sayings nothing but founda- tions of sand upon which to build false hopes. Stephen was cer- tainly filled with the Divine Spirit while his murderers were in- spired with hatred. The apostle Paul contrasts his spiritual state with that of the Church at Corinth.2 Then again some, but not all, may be willing to receive the grace of the Spirit, as on the occa- sions when Lydia, Dionysius, and Damaris were converted. In other cases, on the contrary, the congregation, but not the preacher, has the gracious presence of the Spirit. When the pastor is graceless, we may reasonably infer that the generality of his flock are in the same state of spiritual destitution ; otherwise how are Ave to account for the fact of their having called, or for their con- tinuing to hear such a preacher ?^ This is the more probable, be- cause in choosing such a pastor they have virtually, if not actually, rejected the ministrations of some true man of God. But this is not (the Lord be praised for it) always the case ; and we may well believe that some pastors have been converted in answer to the prayers of one or two of their believing people, while others were indebted to the secret intercessions of such for all their efiiciency and success. A third moral condition has already been intimated, namely, that w^herem the Comforter assists neither preacher nor people. The Holy Spirit, in ancient days, spoke through more than one of the false projAets, and in all ages there may have been mcUviduals who re- ceived occasionally what might be termed ministerial grace, and notliing better. Howbeit, in general must it be affirmed that the Spirit is promised to such assemblies only as meet in the name of Jesus ; nor can his gracious presence be granted to other meetmgs except in the way of uncovenanted mercy — meetings that, from in- difference to the name of Jesus, may be denied all the blessings, 1 Micah ii. 7 ; 2 2 Cor. vi. 12, 13 ; xii. 15. 3 Hosea iv. 6-9; Micah, ii. 11 ; 2 Tim. iv. 3, 4. IIG PRAYER AS ASKING THE HELP OF THE SPIRIT. of which their minister, however godly, might otherwise have been the channel. Some of the holy proj)hets were left without divine communications on accoimt of the sins of the people.^ Every true preacher is more inchned to attribute the want of the insf)iring presence of the Spirit to his o^\ti faults than to the faults of his congregation ; and yet to the latter must sometimes be referred the discouragements arising from a want of liberty while conducting divine services. Let not the preacher, then, imagine that he alone needs the Para- clete, or that, though he may cxj^ect ministerial grace, he can mon- opolise divine assistance. And while the ministry have the i^romise of that peculiar aid which their holy service demands, yet they can- not claim even this assistance as a permanent helji, secured to them by virtue of their office, and independently of the faithful discharge of their duties. The preacher who entertains the delusion that the Spirit resides chiefly with himself, to the exclusion of the greater l^art of his lay brethren, puiFs himself up with a guilty and danger- ous self-conceit. How ineffectual will be his best labours unless the Divine Spirit direct not only his preaching, but the people's hearing. Let the preacher, therefore, pray for his hearers.^ The apostle Paul prayed not only for himself, but for his converts and brethren as well, and begs them to pray that he may have gracious aid in his ministrations. For a pastor not to abound in prayer for the Divine Spu-it's co-operation in the hearts of his flock were a great omission and delmquency. If he is a man of faith he will sooner resign his charge than cease to intercede for it ; because he knows that the feeblest intercessions are frequently of as much benefit as the most eloquent preaching. He remembers that when a just God visited Judah with various judgments for her sins, one of these judgments was the withdrawal of the intercessions of Jere- miah.^ J'ather Augustine counsels the preacher to pray not only for himself, but for those whom he is about to address, and says that if he is heard understandingly, willingly, and obediently, he is indebted for this more to his pious ])rnyers than his oratorical powers.'* He begins one of his homilies with this invocation : " May the Lord assist me by your prayers to speak what I ought to speak and what you ought to hear." In another homily he requests the 1 1 Sam. xxviii. C; P.sa. l.\xiv. 9; Lain. ii. 0; Kzok. vii. '26. 2 " The minister's immediate worlc may be divided into two jiarfs : first, dealin!? Willi tlie people on God's belialf ; secondly, with God on behalf of the people." (William Ames, Medulla Theologica, L. !., c. xxxv., sec. 10.) 3 Jer. vii. 16 ; ix. 14; xiv. 11. 4De Doct. Christ , Lib. iv.. chap. xv. PRAYER AS ASKING THE KELP OF THE SPIRIT. 117 people to assist him with their prayers, not only for his sake, but for their own. And Melancthon, in his sermon on the death of Lvither, testifies concerning the great Reformer : " I have ofteij happened to drop in when he ofiered his prayers for the whole Church with tears." And well may every man of God make intercession for his flock with tears when he considers how many good sermons have been seemingly lost because they were not mixed with faith in them that heard them; how few honest and good hearts there are in the largest and best of congregations, and '■' With what cracked pitchers go we to deep wells In this world." A prayerless Church must, in spite of our preaching to the con- trary, gradually learn to entertain low views of Christ ; but a pray- ing Church will exalt him more and more : while Jacob was wrest- ling in the night, he thought it was a mere man he was trying to master, but when the sun rose on th6 supplicant, he said, " I have seen God face to face." As to the advantages of such prayers we will advance only a few thoughts and those principally in an indirect way. As prayer brings inspiration, so the neglect of prayer leaves the preacher without inspiration, and consequently a jirey to unprofitableness. Mind, culture, genius, study, eloquence, all go for nothing, or some- thmg worse, without a gracious inspiration. A legend,^ often repeat- ed, teaches much the same lesson respecting unction. "A cele- brated preacher was expected to hold forth at a certain priory church, but fell sick. The prior being unprepared, was in great distress ; but at the moment the time of service arrived, there came to the door of the priory a stranger in the garb of the order, and said to him, ' I hope that God by me will supply your want. Let me go into your library a few minutes.' Walking in, he turned over the Summa of St. Thoniasiics and the works of Alhcrtus 3Iar/nus ; and in a few minutes he was ready. He came out, and ascending the pulpit, he talked marvellously well on the joys of paradise, the pains of hell, etc. ; insomuch that he melted all to tears by his eloquence. But there was present a holy man who recognized him, and while he wondered at his audacity, he waited to mark the result. After the sermon he went forward and spoke to Frater Dlabolus, saying, ' O, thou accursed one, thou vile dreamer, how couldst thou take this upon thee?' He replied, ' Think you that my discourse woidd prevent a single soul from seekmg eternal damnation. No, never. The most finished elo- 1 Found in the Magnum Speculum, but borrowed from St. Antonius of Florence. 118 PRAYER AS ASKINC THE HELP OF THE SPIRIT. quence and the most profound learning are wortlilcss in eomi:)arison of a single drop of unction. In my sermon unction tliere Avas none.'" AVe suspect that for once the "lioly man" Avas much mistaken • for so modest an estimate of the sermon and so lumi- nous an opinion were less suitable to the prince of darkness than to some good preacher and justly distinguished. At any rate, the moral of this legend deserves to be frequently brought to mind. One or two things more : prayer serves to counteract the ten- dency of the studious preacher to form notions of revealed truth that are merely intellectual, theoretical, and lifeless. A busy thinker may fill many of his sermons with apprehensions of Scripture that are beautiful, grand, wonderfid, and glorious ; but, if at the same time, he expresses little or no relish for the moral perfections, graces, and virtues which Holy Writ exhibits, what is he better than a skele- ton holding forth a sword curiously damaskeened, sharp, and won- derfully efastic ; but cold, simulated, misplaced, and useless. He says, perhaps, <' I must provide beaten oil for the lamps of the sanc- tuary," and says only this, forgettmg the incense demanded by the Levitical law, and that prayer is an incense, and as such is not only acceptable to the Lord Jesus but diffusive of a holy redolence over all the preparations and public services of the minister. He forgets that the high priest was commanded to burn incense on the altar in the morning when he dressed the sacred lamps, and at evenmg when he lighted them.i Why was he required to do this at these hours, unless it was for the purpose of deodorizing the oil, the wicks and the smoke. Be this as it may, certain it is that the mcense of prayer removes all fetor from the intellectual lamp, both when it is trimmed in the study and when it is lighted in the pulpit. And this suggests our final thought that not a few preachers are tempted to neglect the duty of timeliness in their secret prayers; in other and more explicit words, to go on shortening their time for prayer and lengthening their time for study as the hour for preaching draws nigh. And yet prayer is really more needful then than at any other season, as the incense was more agreeable at evening than in the morning ; at the morning service, the perfume rising from opening flowers would many a time have somewhat compen- sated for the want of it, but after the evening sacrifice, while flowers were closing, the dew descending, and smoke mounting in clouds from the wicks, the lioly incense was indispensable to the sweetness of the worship. Go therefore into the pulpit not from study but from ])rnyer. 1 Exod. XXX. 7, 8 ; Psa. cxli. 2 ; Luke i. 10 ; Rev. viii. 3, 4. PRAISE AS WATTING FOR THE AID OF THE SPIRIT. 119 Section IV. — Praise as Waitij^g for the Aid of the Spirit. The j5rst office of the preacher is, according to Luther, to show forth the praises of God. This is one of the weapons which in his controversy with the Papists about their pretensions to an external priesthood, the great Reformer drew forth and wielded with his usual power. But unhappily the passage (1 Peter ii. 9) whence he drew this weapon, does not warrant the inference he educed from it, that all believers are priests in such a sense that all are thereby authorized publicly to teach the Scriptures ;i much less the infer- ence of some of his disciples that a congregation is thereby guar- anteed the right, as si:)iritual priests, to call men to the work of the ministry. The spiritual priesthood of the Gospel preacher also in- cludes the act of presenting his converts as a living sacrifice to God. (Rom. XV. 16.) The true doctrine concerning the spiritual and universal priest- hood is, as it appears to us, that all men ought to perform the sacerdotal duty of oiFering themselves as living sacrifices to God, and have a right to join in the public praises of God. They are permitted, as the Levitical choirs were, to ofier spiritual sacrifices, that is to say, sacrifices of holy joy, adoration, and thanksgiving.^ In this spiritual sense all believers are prophets also ; for praise was one of the duties of the prophet no less than of the priest. So fully was this recognized that singing divine praise was sometimes called prophesying, and female singers were called prophetesses.^ In this sense was fulfilled, on the day of Pentecost, when holy women joined in praising the wonderful works of God, the prophecy of Joel, " Your sons and your daughters shall prophesy." Teaching was a work commc*i to priest and prophet with this difierence, that the priest taught the Law of Moses didactically and theoretically,^ 1 Opera, "Walch ed., vol. xvi., p. 2791. concerning Councils and Churches ; also letter to the Burgomaster Council and Church of Prague. Id., vol. x. p. 1858, and his Commentary on 1 Peter ii. 9 ; 0pp., vol. li., p. 400. 2 Psa. cvii. 22 ; Hos. xiv. 2 ; Rev. i. 5, 6 ; v. 9, 10 ; xx. 6. 3 Exod. XV. 20 ; Judges iv. 4 ; Luke ii. 36. 4 Lev. X. 10 ; Malachi ii. 7. 8. It has been overlooked that the Hebrew priests had to instruct their younger fellows in the observance of the Levitcal rites. As many a time, in a formative state of society, the prophet would likewise serve as priest, it is likely enough that sacredotal duties engaged some attention in the " Schools of the Prophets." The Vestal virgins of Rome had their lives divided into three parts : in the first, they learned the ceremonies of religion ; in the second, they performed them ; in the third, they taught the younger Vestals {Plutarch, An Seni Gerenda Repub., p. 795, ed. Reiskii). Were a like method now pursued by clergyman it would promote Christian knowledge very considerably. 9 120 PRAISE AS WAITING FOR THE AID OF THE SPIRIT. ■while the in-ophet taught that Law not only didactically and theo- retically, hut experimentally and practically. That the public teaching of Scripture is not the duty of all who belong to the spiritual and universal priesthood and prophetry, may be fairly con- cluded from the fact that holy women are expressly forbidden to serve the primitive churches as public teachers of religion. i Indeed Luther himself/ in his later years, came round to much the same position that we here maintain. These being the spiritual sacrifices which the royal priesthood, as such, have the privilege of offering to God, let us not hold in low esteem this part of divine service. Dr. G. Eberle,^ in Avriting on this declaration of Luther, says : " However grating this may sound to many ears, it is nevertheless unquestionably true.. It is in har- mony with the first petition of the Lord's prayer, and with the seventeenth chapter of John's Gospel : for as God is infinitely exalt- ed above all creatures, so, also, must his honour and praise stand high above even the salvation of the individual man." These words of Eberle are in the main just and important ; only he has no war- rant to bring the preaching of the Gospel into competition with the proclamation of God's praise. Each is equally important in its time and place. The blessed John Livingstone^ is nearer th.e truth when he says, " Alas ! for the capital crime of the Lord's people — barrenness of praises. O, how fully am I persuaded that a line of j)raises is worth a leaf of prayer, and an hour of praises is worth a day of fasting and mourning! Yet there is room enough for both. But O ! what a massy piece of glory on earth is it to have praises looking, as it were, out at the eyes, praises written upon the fore-brow ; to have the very breath smelling of praises, to have praises engraven on the palms of the hands, and the impression of praises on every footstep of the walk." Of the saintly and very influential Josei)h Allcine we are told that the greater part of his public devotions consisted of thanksgiving. It is therefore as a spiritual priest and as a member of a universal priesthood, that the iiroachor is to make it his first duty to proclaim the praises of the Lord. And though it is not his exclusive ofticial 1 1 Tim. ii. 12. 2 Rev. Dr. A. W. Dieklioff has recently proved tliis from liis later writings, Evangelical Quarterly, Gettysburg, 1870, vol. xxi., i)p. 182-190. Palmer (Homi- letik, 5th ed., p. 2) still adheres to young Luther. 3 In Leonhardi and Zimmerman's Law and Testimony. 4 In a Letter to a Friend, Select Biographies, printed for the Wodrow Society, vol. 1., p. 267. PRAISE AS WAITING FOR THE AID OF THE SPIRIT. 121 work, yet it is all the more demanded on this accoimt ; for it is less blamable to fail in the attempt to perform some of those official duties for which no mortal is fully equal, than to neglect those com- mon duties and privileges to which all the saints are summoned. But the work of praise can, for other and more weighty reasons, be proved to be the first duty of the preacher. It would seem that from a very early time the inspiration of the Spirit was believed to be intimately connected with holy praise. Saul was told by Samuel that when he should come to the hill of God at Bethel, he would, as a sign, meet a comj^any of prophets coming down from the high place with a psaltery, and a tabret, and a pipe, and a harp before them ; and said Samuel, " They shall prophesy, and the Spirit of the Lord will come uj^on thee, and thou shalt prophesy with them, and shall be turned into another man."^ In this and another instance in the history of Saul,^ the praise of God, accomjoanied by sacred music, seems to have preceded and attended the bestowal of prophet- ic inspiration. That the gracious presence of the Lord dwelt among, or sat enthroned upon the united songs of his worshippers, is taught by these words of the 22d Psalm: "But thou art holy, O, thou that inhabitest the praises of Israel." Jehovah thus abode in this volume of praise as in an invisible Shekinah. So, on the occasion of the dedication of Solomon's temj)le, the Shekinah, the symbol of Jehovah's gracious presence, descended and filled the house of the Lord during the very time that the Levitical choir were engaged in the service of praise,^ and before Solomon offered his prayer of dedication. Here Jehovah signified his especial approbation of the adoration of his goodness and mercy by making the vocal and in- strumental service the occasion, if not the channel, of the descent of his glory. Such a manifestation of his power would not fail to to be remembered, particularly by the prophets, who were alike the preachers, the psalmists, and the chroniclers of their people. Thence- forth, if not before, psalmody, accompanied by the harp or other instruments of music, would be associated with the legitimate means of obtaining the imj)ulses of divine inspiration. And accordingly, when Jehoram consulted Elisha respecting a supply of water and an impending battle with the army of Moab, the proj^het desired a mmistrel, more pro2:)erly a harper, to be brought to him, " and it came to pass when the ministrel played, that the hand of the Lord came 1 1 Sam. X. 5, 6, 10, 12. 2 Id. xix. 20-24 ; cf. 1 Chron. xxv. 1 ; Judges iv. 4 and chap, v ; Exod. xv. 20, 21 ; Luke ii. 36-38 ; Acts xxi. 9 ; 1 Cor. xi. 5 ; xiv. 26. 3 2 Chron. v. 13. 122 PRAISE AS WAITING FOR THE AID OF THE SPIRIT. upon him.'' 1 This harper accompanied Elisha Avhile he pang a psalm in praise of that God before whom the allied kings of Judah, Israel, and Edom, and tlieir armies, were as the small dust of the balance ; at least so it would appear, if we remember that the prophets sang psalms, either before or after their prose prophesyings, as in the first and second chapters of Amos, and the last chapter of Habak- kuk; also in the beginning of Nahum, and the end of Malachi. Much of the Psalter appears to have been composed by prophets to be sung with the accompaniment of mstruraental music before the utterance of their communications from God to men. Thus was psalmody an acknowledged part of prophecy, while the sacred musician, more strictly so-called, might at the same time be a pro- phet, as David was, or only a member of the Levitical choir. These Levites assisted the prophets in theh* ministrations as early as the time of Samuel,- and it is not improbable that the young David was in like manner employed by Saul to accompany him on the harp while " he prophesied in the midst of the house " under the inspiration of an evil spirit from God.^ In this case, however, the harpings did not perhaps prelude, but rather interrupted the phrenzied utterances of Saul, with a view to silence them and exorcise the maddening dajmon. Analagous is Rabbi Solomon's interpretation of 1 Chron. XXV. 1-3. " When," says he, " they played on their musical instru- ments, they prophesied after the manner of Elisha, w^ho said, ' bring me a minstrel.' ... As they sounded upon the harj) the psalms of praise and hallelujahs, Jeduthim, their father, prophesied."^ We agree, therefore, with Procopius of Gaza^ in the opinion that the minstrel, or rather harper, whom Elisha called for Avas one of the Levites. The conjecture that he was a mere secular musician, or a semi-religious minstrel, like those of the mediajval Church, would not be in keeping either with the character of Elisha or the purpose for which he summoned him, namely, to assist in the praises of God. Equally inconsistent Avith the simplicity of the prophet's piety, and the object of true worsliip in all ages is the psychological theory advanced by some of the liabbins, by Josephus, iNIichaelis, Herder, Hengstenberg, Keil, and others,*' who think that the object 1 2 Kings iii. 15. 2 1 Sam. x. 6-12. 3 id. xviii. 10. "1 Valuable as this passage is, as showing this ancient rabbi's opinion concerning Elisha's minstrel, it does not give us the import of the text in which, and in some other texts, the word prophesy signifies to praise God. Cf. Joel ii. 28 ; Acts ii. 11, 17, 47 ; xxi. 9, and Num. xi. 29 ; 1 Sam. xix. 20 ; cf. Exod. xv. 20 ; Judges iv. 4. 5 Comment, on Sam., Kings, and Chron., Greek and Latin, Lugd., Balav., 1620, 4to. 6 Cornelius a Lapidc hastily concludes from the fact that Ezekiel was in- i PRAISE AS WAITING FOR THE AID OF THE SPIRIT. 123 of the music was either to soothe the grief of Elisha for the death of Elijah, or to apj^ease his anger against the Israelites, or to raise his sensibilities to a pitch that would invite sacred ecstacy, and so prepare his mind for prophetic inspiration ; or, according to Keil, to gather in his thoughts by the soft tones of music from the impres- sion of the outer world, and by repressing the life of self and of the world, to be transferred into the state of internal vision by which his spirit would be prepared to receive the Divine revelation. These theories of music, like some psychological theories as to prayer, ignore the Divine Spirit, whose inspiration is at once the cause and the effect of true praise — an inspiration whose holy tributes to God and wondrous gifts to man ought not for a moment to be confounded with the comparatively weak and evanescent in- fluence of musical sounds. Nor ought we ever to confound these sounds with the revealed truths and divine sentiments which they expressed. The history of music demonstrates the fact that the early music of the Hebrews and the Greeks was never divorced from psalms, "liymns and songs. Melody and harmony were then more thoroughly subordmated than now to the distinct and suitable expression of the ideas of the prophet or lyrist ; the soul shared more largely and the senses far less in divine worship. The plain and honest purpose of the Hebrew saints was by voice and instru- ment to pour out their hearts before God. It was reserved for a rationalising Ivnobel to hazard the opinion that the object of the prophet in calling for the harper, was that he might " deliver his admonitory address in a proper strain." It will be remembered that the Hebrew worship was in its pro- phetic parts quite of a piece with the foregoing instances. While the holy people were coming from afar to attend the great festivals, they sang psalms accompanied with sounds of cymbals, trumj)ets, and pipes. There is an allusion to this in the following words of Isaiah, " Ye shall have a song as in the night when a holy solemnity is kept ; and gladness of heart, as when one goeth with a pipe to come mto the mountain of the Lord, to the mighty One of Israel."! At the festivals, the Hallels (113-118 Psalms inclusive) were sung in the morning during the slaying and offering of the sacrifices. The first thing Ezra did after opening the book of the law in the sight spired while he was on the banks of the Chebar (i. 3) that " the prophets took their station by the side of a river, that in tlie stillness and delightful scenery around them they might, through the soft pleasing murmur of the waters, be refreshed, enlivened and prepared for the divine ecstacies! " 1 Isa. XXX. 29 ; Ezek. xxx. 38. 124 PRAISE AS WAITING FOR THE AID OF THE SPIRIT. of all the people, was to " bless the Lord the great God," while all the people stood up and answered, Amen, Amen.^ Such was the relation of divine inspiration and the praises of God in the Hebrew dispensation. Turning now to the Christian dispen- sation, we find that the descent of the Comforter on the day of Pentecost was preceded by and attended with holy and jubilant adorations. We are told that immediately after our Lord's ascension the disciples returned to Jerusalem with great joy ; and were con tinually in the temple, praising and blessing God.^ And whatever may have been the use of the gift of tongues subsequently to the day of Pentecost, certain it is that it was first and often exercised in the prophetic work of praise and thanksgiving.^ These joyful expressions of reverence and gratitude began before the multitude assembled and before Peter preached to them.-* And we learn from the correspondence between Pliny and Trajan, that in their time (beginnmg of the second century) the Christians. had a custom of meeting together before daylight and singing a hymn to Christ as a god. In consonance with these first impulses of the Paraclete in the primitive disciples are the benedictions and thanksgivings which introduce the apostolic epistles with scarcely an excejjtion ; for the epistle to the Hebrews omits the usual ascription, only to substitute an exultant argument Avhich is designed to prove the superangelic dignity of the Son of God. It is also wanting in the epistle of James, which like that to the Hebrews, reveals internal evidences of its having been originally delivered orally as a sermon to a Christian assembly. We may add that the apostle in the epistle to the Hebrews^ S2)eaks of praise as a sacrifice. Now as the Levitical sacrifices were means of securing the riches of divine grace when they were offered in sincerity and faith, so the praises of God, when they are ottered in like sincerity and faith, are means of preparing us for and of obtaining for us the inspiration of the Holy Ghost. In some respects praise is to be preferred to precatory devotion. True adoration and thanksgiving are the highest parts of worship, because they are not and ha\e not tlie ai)pcarance of being the lan- guage of selfishness.^ Almost all men, even the most abject, will play the beggar before God when they are pinched Avitli extreme want or are tortured with severe pain. But Job, while he was yet 1 Nell. viii. 4-C 2 Luke xxiv. 50-53. 3 Acts ii. 11-17 ; x. 46 ; xix. 6 ; 1 Cor. xiv. U-18 ; cf. vers. C, 26; Psa. Ixxi. 19; Lukei. 49. 4 Acts ii. 4-6. 5 Reb. xiii. 15. 6 Thomas Cobbett.'s Discourse of Prayer, Pt. ii., cbap. vi., ^7. PRAISE AS AVAITING FOR THE AID OF THE SPIRIT. 125 ignorant of the divine purpose in permitting him to be overwhelmed with calamities, wanted not the grace to fall down and gratefully exclaim, " Blessed be the name of the Lord ! " The men of this world, on the other hand, though they can cry to God amidst their bodily j^erils and agonies in order that they may win from his mercy speedy and effectual help, have no heart to acknowledge such instances of divine compassion. When David heard men crying to the Lord, and that successfully, from their various scenes of trouble ; in the pathless and unwatered wilderness, in the folds, pastures, vineyards, and olive orchards which drought had desolated ; in the tabernacle of sickness and the j)ass of the valley of the shadow of death ; in the uplifted hands of staggering and shouting seas — w^hat time the Psalmist heard all these cryings of the miserable, he too was moved to cry to the Lord. And for what ? For this, that these highly favored but ungrateful creatures might learn to crown their importunities with the sacrifices cf thanksgiving. Four times in one psalm does his sounding soul repeat the refrain, " O that men would praise the Lord for his goodness and for his wonderful works to the children of men." And such sacrifices of praise must be all the more acceptable to the God of all grace because they declare his glory in the world ; and exhibit the power of his Spirit to raise the human heart above all self-love and even superior to the most dreaded of all mortal woes. The thoughtless and the unbelieving- can hardly deny the divine origin of an inspiration whose first still small breathings can make those sing who are expected to do noth- ing but sigh and groan. They think it not strange when they hear a group of the prosperous regaling themselves with music in a cool and peaceful summer evening ; but they are compelled to own to themselves that there is something heavenly and God-given in melodies which float to their ears from the lips of lonely, unbe- friended and forgotten ones through a mid-winter's night that is moonless and starless and roaring with the storm. And though we are not to allow the consideration of the psy- chological effects of sacred praise to occupy the foremost place in the discussion of this subject, yet we may not ignore them alto- gether; for an apostle has appointed the singing of psalms as a remedy'against the temptation to levity.^ Luther spent much time in singing hymns not only as a simple act of worship, but as an incitement to prayer and preaching. He believed that Satan is a great enemy to sacred music because it is an antidote against evil thoughts, charms away that melancholy which he called Satan's 1 James v. 13. 126 PRAISE AS WAITING FOR THE AID OF THE SPIRIT. bath, and quickens and refreshes the lieart. On one occasion when the l*assion was sung he listened attentively, and said : '' Music is a delightful and lovely gift of God ; it has often excited and moved me to such a degree that it has stirred me up to preach." .... " Music,'' said he, " is a fair gift of God. Next to theology, I give the highest place and honour to music. We should not ordain young men to the office of preaching unless they have previously been well exercised and practised in the school of music.^ The two exercises and diversions I like l)est are music and gymnastics ; the former dispels all mental care and melancholy thoughts ; while the latter produces elasticity of body and preserves health." He sometimes recommended good music l)y contrasting it Avith bad. " Your wretched fiddlers," said he, " and gut-scrapers serve the purpose of showing us what a fine and noble art music is • for white is more brilliant when set over against black." For the same reason he censured the heartless intonations of the papal singers who, said he, " stand turning over the leaves and howling in the choir like wolves."^ " The Psalms," he adds, " are appointed to be sung and read daily among Christians in order that the words heard or repeated may raise our devotional feelings to speak or sigh in prayer. Besides we have not a few examples of these outward incitements in Scripture; as that of the prophet Elisha whose cus- tom it was, Avhen he found that he was not sufficiently devout, ready and animated, to call for a minstrel, at the sound of whose harp he was revived and roused to prophesy. And King David for this cause commanded that the Levites should daily sing and play in the temple in order that the people might be moved and cheered onward to the service of pr.ayer." Milton was also an enthusiastic psalmist. To trace with adequate detail the influence of his practice of sacred music in the mspiration under which he wrote, both his verse and his prose, would carry us far beyond our measured space. His father being a distinguished composer of devotional tunes, taught him in early youth to sing and play the solemn songs with which so many Puritan homes were every morning vocal. He grew up in a psalm-singing age and ])assed the most of his days in a jtsahn-siuging city; for a contem- porary writer has borne witness that in walking the streets of London during the early hours of the day, he would licar family 1 Colloquia Mensalia. 2 Snmmtlichc fl'crhc in G7 vols., by J. G. Plochmann, and J. K. Iniiisclier. Frankfort on the Main and Erlaiigen, 1826-18j7 ; Excgetische Schri/len, vol. xviii., p IGl ; Hum. on John xvii. PRAISE AS WAITING FOR THE AID OF THE SPIRIT. 127 l^raise warbling all around. His earliest verses are a paraphrase of the 114th and a translation of the 13Cth Psalms, both composed when he was only in his sixteenth year. In many of his productions we find allusions to the enlivening power of music ; but no where does he describe it better than in one of his early odes, which con- tains these lines : " Sphere-born harmonious sisters, Voice and Verse, Dead tilings with inibreath'd sense able to pierce." His daily custom was to play on the organ and sing. In his trea- tise on Reformation there is a prayer which, in intimating his purpose to write a political poem, hints at his love of sacred song, as well as to the rite of congregational singing which was so commonly observed in his day : " Then amidst the hymns and hallelujahs of saints, some one may perhaps be heard offering at high strains, in new and lofty measures, to sing and celebrate thy divine mercies and marvellous judgments in this land throughout all ages." But the reader can continue this inquiry for himself George Her- bert is another instance of the influence of psalmody on the heart and intellect. Of his practice of church music his biographer, Wal- ton, more than once makes mention. During his university course in Cambridge it was his favourite diversion from study ; and while he was settled at Bemerton he was accustomed to Vv^alk a mile to Salisbury cathedral twice a week to sing there and in private music meetings. He composed many hymns which he set and sang to his lute or viol. He used to say of music that it relieved his droop- ing spirits, composed his distracted thoughts, and raised his weary soul so far above the earth that it gave him an earnest of the joys of heaven. Nor must we forget the example of Joseph Alleine, whose short ministry of seven years wrought so great a change at Taunton. His " Alarm to the Unconverted " has been instrumental in the conversion of a multitude of souls. " Towards the close of the last century," says Dr. Hamilton,^ " a minister who was en- gaged in translating this work for some society, repeated the sub- stance of its pages to his Highland congregation, and the result was a widespread awakening which long prevailed in the district of Nether Lorn." Alleine's custom was, as his widow informs us, to spend the morning from four till eight o'clock in prayer and medi- tation and in singing psalms. In this last sacred exercise he took much delight. 1 Christian Classics, vol. ii., pp. 219-222. 128 PRAISE AS WAITING FOR THE AID OF THE SPIRIT. Another advantage which the man of God derives from the service of holy praise is this : it ever keeps near his heart, and fresh in his memory, the most sacred and the most popular notions respecting the divine altril)utes — notions to which he will need con- stantly to recur in order to nourish his own iiiith and that of his connre^-ation. These attributes are, as some good man has said, " the preachers thunder,'' and none, we may add, have hurled these bolts with such force as those who have forged them in furnaces of hearts that glowed with the sacred fires of daily praise. It is there- fore in the service of 2)raise that we can most patiently u"«<7 ybr answers to ^:)ra?/er.^ Let the preacher therefore begin his daily private devotions with either singing or saying the praises of the Lord. Let him sing or read some psalm or hymn. If he can sing, it will be well for him, in imitation of some of the best composers, to sing such extempo- raneous tunes as are better adapted to the inspired words of David than most of our popular tunes are — we say extemporaneous ; for no student who has studied the Psalms critically and has, at the same time, correct opinions about the province of devotional music, will be quite satisfied with singing many of these divine lyrics to our juvenile and skipping tunes. If he simjily and honestly desires to praise God, as an individaal and not as a member of a congrega- tion, he will best please God and his own heart and conscience by o-iving voice to his sincere feelings in a free chaunt or recitative; — in such unpremeditated musical tones as most naturally express the grief, joy, hope, fear, and other affections, which the Psalmist sent up as swinging incense before Jehovah. 1 Psa. Ixv. 1 ; xxxiii. 20-22 ; Ixii. 1-6 ; cxlix. 5. BOOK 11. OF INVENTION. SECTION I -THE NECESSITY OF INVENTION. By invention we here understand the finding, pondering, and arranging of such thoughts as belong to the subject to be handled. But is the study involved in such process necessary ? The New Treatment clearly indicates the point where plenary inspiration ends and partial inspiration begins. It is obvious that Timothy obtained his knowledge of the Gospel and of the way to preach it, not directly from plenary inspiration, but from those who were moved by that inspiration. And accordingly he was directed to " give attendance to reading," and to '' meditate " on religious subjects (1 Tim. iv. 13-15). Though reading here may possibly relate to the lections of the sacred writings before congregations, yet it will not be denied that the meditation here required of him was a private and not a public duty. In preparing to teach and exhort, the young preacher was to depend chiefly on the sacred writings, the apostolic teachings, study, and the gracious illumina- tions of the Divine Spirit. And yet we ought not to infer from this passage that study was unfriendly to plenary inspiration, and that consequently unlettered ignorance is the condition most favor- able to the direct conveyance of divine communications. The true view of the matter is, that plenary inspiration superseded the ne- cessity of all study as to the matter of the revelations made, but did not always in fixing the form of the oracle refuse to avail itself of the intelligence and culture which it found already prepared for it at the time of its illapse. That the prophets and apostles ever preached without a full inspiration we do not know. We do know, however, that Solomon studied (Eccles. xii. 9), that Daniel understood by books the duration of the captivity (ix. 2), that of the Gospel 130 THE NECESSITY OF INVENTION. salvation the prophets inquired and searched diligently, " searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow " (1 Pet. i. 10-12), and that Paul deliberated on the kind of Gospel truth he would preach at Corinth (1 Cor. 2; 2 Cor. ii. 1). But we have no evidence that this especial search was either introductory or supplementary to any particular communications from the Holy Spirit. The primitive disciples enjoyed irvdeed for three years the instruction of the Great Teacher. But while his personal teachings were invaluable aids to their own subsequent labours, we have no Gospel warrant for either affirming or denying that such instruction served directly to fix either the matter or the form of those inspired writings which some of them were commissioned to transmit to after times. Our Lord gave them some rules and directions about preaching. The following maxim is pertinent to our subject, and is remai'kable for the happy correspondence between the language and the idea which it conveys : " Therefore every scribe which is instructed unto the kingdom of heaven is like unto a man that is an house- holder which bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old " (Matt. xiii. 52). The word " scribe " belongs to the " old " and the phraSe " kingdom of heaven " belongs to the " new." This maxim teaches us that in our preaching we should explain and apply both the Old Testament and the Xew, and by implication that we should make new applications of old truths. That teaching of the Spirit which was formerly called " inspi- ration of suggestion," did not shut out all study on the part of the apostolic disciples. In one place (1 Cor. ii. 13) the words taught by man's wisdom are contrasted with the words taught by the Holy Ghost. Now if we admit that teaching here means suggest- ing, yet we must consider that neither words or thoughts can be promjDted to those who had not previously acquired a knowledge of them. As philosophical terms would not readily come to the lips of those Greeks Mho were not before familiar with them, so the religious words which the apostles employed in preacliing and writing would not have been suggested to them by the Spirit directly, unless the same Spirit had before taught them indirectly through Christ's personal "ministry and the inspired teachings of the Old Testament. So now we cannot hope that the Paraclete will suggest texts to us which we never committed to memory, or enable us to illustrate our thoughts from Scripture examples which were not before familiar to us. One of the counsels of the apostle Paul to Timothy is, " Be dili- THE NECESSITY OF INVENTION. 131 gent to show thyself unto God as one tested by trial, A labourer NOT ASHAMED, CUTTING STRAIGHT THE WORD OF TRUTH" (2 Tim. ii. 15). Here the metaphor seems to be drawn from road-making; and Timothy is exhorted to endeavour as a labourer to cut straightly^ i. e., either broadly, or iri the right direction, the way of truth; so that his disciples as travellers might walk in the main road of Christian instruction. (Cf. Gal. ii. 14; 2 John iv; Heb. xii. 13.) This general advice may include one or more of the things follow- ing : First, Try to make a highway ; in other words, preach the great doctrines of " the common salvation," and so avoid the nar- row ways and passes and violent collisions of those who contend about words. As the first roads wind about from one habitation or hamlet to another in accommodation to hills, ravines, and rocks, while the common or royal roads of a higher civilization stretch straightly across the country and afford a wide, level, raj)id, and safe communication between distant j)oints of the empire. If this be the import, then we are required to devote ourselves to such Chris- tian instruction as vitally and immediately concerns all men every where. Or, secondly , endeavour to cut the highway in the right direction : keep the place of destination, the eternal city, continu- ally in view. Preach practically with a reference to holy living and to the four last things. Then will you safely pass and lead by and above the devious paths of false teachers and their followers ; whereas, if you give heed to foolish and ignorant questions, verbal disputes and oppositions of the falsely-called knowledge, you will be like one who follows the windings of a brook and hearkens to its empty babblings. You will go and lead on to more and more ungodliness, and your faith and that of your hearers will be over- turned. " Among the smooth stones of the stream is thy jDortion ; they are thy lot." If, on the contrary, you lay out and make the highway in the direction of the city of God, you will follow right- eousness, faith, love, and peace, with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart ; and thereby prepare the way for the victorious and triumphal progress of the King of Glory. From this counsel to Timothy, as well as from our Lord's teach- ings as to the matter of preaching, we may conclude that all post- apostolic preachers are to employ Invention {Inventio, svpsdti) either in the ancient, limited sense, or in the modern comprehensive sense ; either as the art of discovering such matter as is proper to persuade,^ or the art of finding out that subject, matter, and method 1 Cicero De Inventione, L. i., C. 7 ; Partitiones oratorio, C. 2 ; Auctor al Ilerennium, L. i., C. 2, 3; Vossius, Orat., L. i, C. 2, §1. 132 THE NECESSITF OF INVENTION. which are most suitable to the oLject of a discourse. Now, while the first uninsi)ire(l preachers were necessarily required to exercise their minds in a way that more or less resembled the process of rhetorical invention, we may reasonably suppose that, as the Chris- tian sermon diftVred as to its subject, its matter, its spirit, and its end from the classical oration, such of the first post-apostolic preachers as were acquainted with the art of rhetorical invention, would modify that art so as to adapt it to the new kind of address. And it is evident that these, as Avell as those who were totally ignorant of classical rhetoric, allowed their views of the nature and duties of their vocation as revealed in the Sacred Scriptures, and exemplified by their predecessors, to determine their theory and practice of invention. Nor will it be denied that a modern preacher's notions of invention are likely to be shaped by what he believes to be the nature and duties of his vocation, and that of his inspired prede- cessors. Does he believe that Jesus was only a religious teacher, and that he is a successor of our Lord in his teaching office ? Then he will naturally apply invention to the discovery of matter for instruction. Or does he believe that the apostles were mere pro- claimcrs or heralds of the Gospel, and that he is a successor of the apostles in their proclaiming office ':' Then his invention will con- sistently occupy itself with the Gospel, as an announcement of a new and perfect way of salvation, and his matter and method will be such as befits the declaration or exi)lanation of good news from the throne of the Most High to condemned offenders who never l>efore heard or understood the terms of the message. He may likewise deem himself authorised by this notion of his vocation to use arguments and persuasives to move sinners to accept the ofier of pardon and redemption. Let us then endeavour to obtain clear and comprehensive ideas of what the Scriptures teach respecting the work of preaching. And let us not confine ourselves to the examination of two or three words, nor allow ourselves to be misled by their etymology ; for as some passengers may be going out of one end of a boat or car while others may be coming in at the other end, so the same word may convey at the same time a new idea, and an obsolescent one. Ivegarding the vocation as religious, indeed, but not depending for its name or existence on the branch of divine truth with which it ni.Tv at any time more especially have lo do, lot us first turn to the llcl)rc\v Scri^Jturesfor information respecting it. The most ancient ])reacher was called a " seer " or " prophet," yet he did not merely see visions nor predict future events, but also taught. And accord- THE NECESSITY OP INVENTION. 133 ingly the apostle Peter speaks of some teachers m the new economy as acting the part of some prophets m the okl.^ He also reasoned, pleaded, rebuked, warned and comforted. Nor was his function inconsistent with the duties of convincing, exhorting, and dissuading. Turning to the New Testament, we find the preacher " bringing glad tidings," " heralding,'' " teaching," and " talking;" " reasoning," " admonishing," " persuading," and " comforting." The priests and Levites of Judah appear to have considered it one part of their work to teach the people.^ But in Israel the prophets acted as priests, and taught not only the people but their own successors ; there is, also, a lai'ge amount of didactic matter in the prophetic sermons which were addressed to Judah. Moses, the greatest of the proph- ets of the Hebrews, was likewise their greatest teacher. We teach, therefore, as prophets, and not as priests. " We are not," says Dean Stanley, " like the Jewish priests, we are not like the Jewish Levites, but we have, God be praised, some faint resemblance to the Jewish prophets." John the Baj)tist was a prophet and herald, yet he taught his disciples ; and as all preachers ought, he convinced of sin before he said, " Behold the Lamb of God that taketh away the sin of the world." The sermons which were preached in the synagogues were by the Jews sometimes designated by the term Xoyoi IJapaxXiidEcos, " Avord of exhortation " (Acts xiii. 15, Heb. xiii. 22). The Septu- agint, as well as our version, represents the Hebrew jirophets as preaching {5 on2i\im. 2; Psa. xl. 9; Isa. xL 9; lii. 7; Ixi. 1; Neh. vi. 7). The reading of the Old Testament in the synagogues is by James called preaching (Acts xv. 21). Noah is styled "a preacher of righteousness " (2 Pet. ii. 5). That the vocation of the Hebrew prophet was essentially identical with that of the Christian preacher is also confirmed by the fact that the appellation, " man of God," is equally applied to both (Deut. xxxiii. 1 ; 1 Sam. ii. 27 ; 1 Kings xii. 22 ; 2 Kings i. 9; 2 Chron. viii. 14, etc., etc. ; 1 Tim. vi. 11 ; 2 Tim. ili. 17). The name is also given to the angel who came to Manoah and his wife in the character of a prophet and uttered a prediction. Many have been misled by a habit of adopting the derivative senses of words. The Greek for herald is an example of this remark. 1 2 Pet. ii. 1. 2 Lev. X. 11 ; 2 Chron. xv. 3. "Though in respect of mode and degree, the prophets and apostles have no successors, yet in respect of the essentials of their administration, ordinary ministers now perform those functions in the Churcli which the extraordinary once discharged." (WiUiam Ames, Medulla Theologica, L. i., C. 30, sec. 4.) 134 THE NECESSITY OF INVENTION. The Homeric lieralds were not merely proclaimers, but the chief executive officers of kings. AVe have thought it well worth our while to show that, according to the Bible, the prophet is not a mere predictor, nor the preacher a mere proclaimer, or herald, but both substantially followed the same vocation of proclaiming, teaching, exhorting, rebuking, comfort mg, etc., and that, consequently, William Perkins, Jeremy Taylor, and many other of the early English preachers, were right when they called preaching "prophesying," and comprehended in the term every kind of pubUcly explaining and applying the word of God. And it is the more necessary that we should examine the import of the words which serve to explain what acts were included in the voca- tion of prophesying and preaching, because some scholarly and dis- tinguished men, misled by etjTnologies, or too intent upon justify- ing their preconceptions, have framed theories of preaching out of mismterpretations of single Greek terms — theories that have had a wide influence, not only among students, but other intelligent and learned persons. And these theories have, in part, been constructed out of a mis- use of primitive examples. We are oi\en told that we are right and safe so long as we copy the pattern set us by Jesus and his apostles ; not considering that we ought not to adopt those peculiarities in their ministry which were incidental to the novelty of their message. John the Baptist was a herald, but only ui a figurative sense, and yet he, as a herald, realized the literal sense of the word far more nearly than our Lord and the apostles did ; and these latter more nearly than any modern preachers can, if we except such missionaries as preach the Gospel to those who were before utterly ignorant of it. If, therefore, we are to confine the term 2^>'cavh to a narrow, primary, literal sense, the pastor is not preachmg who is teaching the doctrines of the Christian religion^ to a flock that has for the most part been long familiar with the Gospel plan of salvation. If, on the contrary, we form our notion of preaching from a com- prehensive and thorough study of the Scriptures, both Hebrew and Greek, relating to the man of God, and, at the same time, exercise a sound judgment as to our changed relations to the Di\ine Spirit, to the Scriptures, and to our hearers, then will the example of the mspired prophets of the Old and New Testaments, and the Scrip- ture precepts on preaching, be found of inestunable service to us in 1 We should remember that it is the Christian tencher to whom the taught is directed to '' minister in all good things." (Gal. vi. 6.) A THE NECESSITY OF INVENTION. 135 every part of our ministry ; and their radical and inimitable jDecu- iiarities will, after long experience, prove to be sm-prisingly few. " But," it will be asked, " how are we to reconcile this more com- prehensive idea of the word prophet, with that more restricted one which we find in the 1st Ejiistle to the Corinthians, where the pro- phetic gift is described as one of the Charismata imparted by the Divine Spirit to the primitive churches. Did not this kind of pro- phesying pass away along with the gift of tongues and the power of working mh'acles ? " To this we answer, that, for several good reasons, prophesying, as here described, is not to be placed on a level with the gift of tongues and of the working of miracles. In order to a clear conception of the word prophet as here em- ployed by the apostle, we should remember (as we must think he did not forget) the signification which the Corinthians had custom- arily attached to the term ; of one who not merely foretold events but interpreted and reported the oracles of the gods ; of one who from a sudden inspiration explained and applied the mind and will of the gods to the comprehension and feelings of mortals.^ The Corinthians considered the addresses of trusted prophets as of such great and practical value that the speculations of their philosophers about divine things were, in comparison, held exceedingly cheap. Hence they regarded the prophetic communications only on their human side and in their direct and intimate relation to life, its successes and failures, its joys and sorrows, and all its near and absorbing mterests. They were therefore prej^ared to understand the apostle when he taught them that Christian prophecy was dis- tinct from and superior to other ch'arisms (1 Cor. xii. 7-30.; xiv. 4, 6, 39) ; and that its express and exclusive end was edification or the building up of church members in Christian grace and know- Isdge, and adding to their number genuine converts (1 Cor. xiv. 8, 4, 24, 25). This was accomplished by the Spirit of Life through information (1 Cor. xiv. 19, 30, 31 ; cf Rev. ii. 20), conviction (Id. V. 24-26), exhortation and consolation (ver. 3, 31), psalmody, per- 1 The Greeks of the time of Plato (Phjedrus, ()48) sometimes regarded the pro- phet as an interpreter of the raving Pj-thia. In another place (Politia, L. iv., 427 C), Plato styles Apollo himself the interpreter, because, perhaps, the god was held to be the inspirer of the true expounder. Elsewhere (De Legibus, L. ix., 871 D.) he conjoins the god, the inspired diviner (or Pythia), and the inter- preter, in the work of counselling as to certain legal proceedings. Plutarch (Vita Numse, cap. ix.) says that the Pontifix was both interpreter and prophet. The interpreter, therefore, was not an office or work necessarily apart from pro- phecy, although it was often incompatible with the ravings of the diviner or Pythia. 10 136 THE NECESSITY OF INVENTION. haps, including prayer (ver. 14-17 ; cf. ver. 6, 26), where, in the latter enumeration of the charisms, " a psalm " takes the place of pro- phesying in the former ; while from Col. iii. 16, we learn that psalmody was employed to teach and admonish the disciples. Now these prophets are assigned a rank next to the apostles ; (1 Cor. xii. 28, 29; Eph. ii. 20; Ej^h. iv. 11); but who were next to the apostles in degree according to the nature of their work and the measure of their usefulness V Their inspired successors in the order of time, as Timothy, Titus, Barnabas, and Apollos. The latter perpetuated that prophetic vocation which the apostles had exercised and which was still as much demanded as at first, for the edification of the churches. As the churches would in all ages need the means of edification, prophesying, in its essential character, ^ was to be continued through all mundane ages. Nor was it to be degraded to the level of lay exhortation and teaching, however necessary these are ; not every one was to think himself called and qualified to prophesy (Cor. xii. 29, 30.; xiv. 26 ; cf Jas. iii. 1). The apostle admonishes his converts not to despise the exercise of this gift (1 Thes. V. 20), and Titus as a minister of the Avord not to let any man despise him (Titus ii. 15). If this gift, whereby a man might " excel to the edifying of a church," was withdrawn along with that of miracles and speaking with tongues, what other gifts essentially diiferent was constituted in order that the edification of the churches might still go forward ? That these prophets were not very far removed from post-apostolic preachers is further evinced by the twofold supermtendence to which they were subjected. Certain persons endowed with the gift of discernmg spirits criticised them (1 Cor. xii. 10; xiv. 29 ; 1 Thes. V. 19-21 ; 1 John iv. 1, 6). And they moreover needed the regulations which the apostle gave them and which they were to receive as coming from God (1 Cor. xiv. 29, 30, 37). Consonant with the conclusion that they were but partially inspired are the cautions given them by him and Peter to " prophesy according to the proportion of faith," to " speak as the oracles of God," and to " prove all things." Origen, in his comment on Rom. xii. 0, 7, avers that in prophesying the Spirit co-operates with human study. We have hitherto attempted to show that it is our duty to invent by a reference to the precepts of our Lord and his apostles, and by demonstrating what are the essential qualities of prophecy in all 1 The order of the several divine vocations which are mentioneil in t)ie epistles of St. Paul is. perhaps, best interpreted ieUncopicalli/, tliat is, the apostle includes the prophet, the prophet the teacher, but not the reverse. THE SCRIPTURE ELEMENT IN SERMONS. 137 post-apostolic ministers of Christ. Had we space the necessity of exercising invention might be further established by an appeal to admitted facts and principles. It might be proved that by studying the Scriptures, and so doing an acknowledged duty, we are inevit- ably supplying our minds with materials for invention — that the materials thus furnished cannot be compared, illustrated, confirmed, and applied without some study — that the withholding of plenary inspiration ought to be a hint to us that our profiting is henceforth to appear not through new communications from God, but from the diligent study of those we already possess ; that partial inspiration cannot suggest to us external knowledge that was not before in the memory ; that the Divine Spirit, who loves all kinds of perfec- tion, has encouraged the exercise of our inventive faculties by set- ting before us such examples of his own invention as we can always safely imitate, but can never render useless to us ; that the Father of Light has not only given us the results of his deliberations in the eternity past, and of the deep thinking to which he moved such wise men as David, Solomon, and Daniel, but wrought the miracle of plenary inspiration in its highest form, in order that the apostles might produce the best effects of homiletical invention in cases where they were not able to avail themselves of the advantages of its exercise ; — had we space, we say, we might make good these positions, but we are limited to this brief and condensed statement thereof. Section" II. — The Sckiptuee Element in" Sermon's. Concerning few things do preachers differ more than respecting the nature and amount of the Bibical element that may i:»roperly be admitted into a sermon. Rudolf Stier,i limiting the idea of a ser- mon to that of a proclamation, fairly inferred from this false premiss that true preaching is a repetition of such passages of Scrijjture as belong to the matter in hand ; while the individuality of the preacher chiefly appears in such comments as serve to connect those passages together, and occasionally and slightly suggest their ap23lication.2 Others would advise the preacher not only to derive liis doctrines from the Bible, but to express his j^ropositions and partitions in iKeryktik, passim (Halle, 1844). 2 This is examplifled in his Epistle Precligten, 4vo. (Halle, 1837). From his Life, written by his two sons, we learn that when charged by his critics with preach- ing altogether from Scripture, and not at all from life, he admitted, but recom- mended his practice. 138 THE SCRIPTURE ELEMENT L\ SERMONS. Scripture language, to abound in exposition, and to quote freely for illustration, proof, enforcement, and ornamentation. But others, going not so flir as these, after selecting their subject, are in the habit of collecting all tliose parts of Holy Writ which either nearly or remotely pertain to that subject, and then employing them here and there, both for matter, form, diction, and style, as the judgment may choose or the memory provide. A more numerous class are content to draw their texts and proofs from Scripture ; while a few, either not habitually studying the Bible, or fearing lest they may lose the favor of their philosophical friends, are very seldom guilty of misquoting Scripture, except as texts or " pretexts." But what do his call and commission herein demand of the Chris- tian preacher ? They demand that he should make the Bible his only standard of doctrine, experience, and practice. The Bible, and the Bible alone, is to be at once the source and the test of all the matter of his preaching. Now " Rationalism," " Spiritualism," " Mysticism," " Lib- eralism," "Traditionalism," "Ritualism," and " yEsthetics," are so many crooked and devious paths. If our modern Timothys would be ' workmen that need not be ashamed,' they must, according to the example and precept^ of the apostle, make straight the road of truth. Even more plainly is this requirement expressed in such passages as these, " Whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith ;"2 '' If any man speak, let him speak as the oracles of God."^ In the former text we are enjoined to teach and exhort that which, on a comparison of all the various passages relat- mg to the same subject, we find revealed, either directly, or by im])li- cation, or by inference. We say all ; for we have the example of our Lord and the apostles for such thorough collation. By the latter we are directed to preach the matter thus furnished, to the exclusion of all oracles and philosophies that are merely human. Some,* indeed, maintain that the apostle here admonishes Christian prophets to speak Scripture truths in Scripture language. But this would have been to require of them more than their Divine ]Master or any of the apostles performed. Nor should it be forgotten, as we have elsewhere shown, that the pagan idea of prophet, as related to the pagan oracles, was often not that of one who merely repeated the words of the pythoness, but of one who rendered the incanhiff and siihstance of the su])])osed revelation into the language which the consulter could either speak or read. Rev. J. M. Neale (Medi:eval 1 2 Tim. ii. 15. 16. 2 Rom. xii. G. 3 1 Pet. iv. 11. 4 Gerhard's Conimeiit. iw loc, aud Arrowsmilli's Annilla Cattchctica, p. 63. THE SCRIPTURE ELEMENT IN SERMONS. 139 Preaching, p. 26) lias shown that Guavric, of the twelfth century, usually quoted nearly three times as many Scripture tenets as John Newton, and yet who of us would venture to say that Guarric was the more Scriptural preacher of the two. Most of these mediaeval Bible preachers borrowed much of their matter from the fathers. The occidental nations are fond of inductive and deductive reas- oning: they love to arrange and appreciate testimony; to argue from definitions and hypotheses. They abound in questions, and even their answers they transform into new questions. Such minds are not to be put off with repetitions and comments. It is only where, as in Scotland, their disposition to distinguish, to define, to prove, and to generalise, is carried to excess, that the people often seek a diversion from dogmatic and catechetical teachings by listening to expositions. Let no one infer, however, from these statements that we are averse to expository sermons, to a due interspersion of Scripture quotations through a religious discourse, or a free and fre- quent use of the facts of Bible history. Our simple endeavour is to show the kind and measure of Biblical preaching which the divine authority exacts, and an enlightened congregation can receive and improve.^ As this volume is chiefly devoted to the consideration of the matter, style, and delivery of sermons, according to the i^atterns we have received from the holy prophets, it is, surely, unnecessary to examine here the question : How far ought we to imitate the man- ner of our Lord and the apostles and prophets, and w^hat are those qualities of their respective styles which we may interfuse with our own ? Nor will the student expect from us any glowing descrip- tion of the eloquence of the Bible preachers; he is to be here occujDied with a more serious, complicated, and gainful business. The diligent study of every jDart of this work will, it is to be hoped, enable the young preacher to bend the germs of his peculiar gifts in a Scriptural direction. One way to secure Biblical sermons is so far to honour the Sci'ii3- tiu*es as to consult them Jint and fully on our subject before resort- ing to any human authority. A due reverence for the God of truth demands that we pursue our sacred studies in this order ; nor is our profitmg to be otherwise assured. Says the Rev. John Cooke, who w'as for forty-three years pastor at Maidenhead, England, and who, we are told, never preached a funeral sermon that was not blessed to the conversion of one or more souls : " On one occa- 1 Read John Foster's Essay on tlie Prejudices of Men of Taste against Evan- gelical Religion, and Robert Hall's review of it. 140 THE SCRIPTURE ELEMENT IN SERMONS. sion I was called to preach a funeral sermon — read Dr. Bates on Death, ;ind was charmed, but did not meet the assistance I expected. I immediately read the book of Job and Ecclesiastes, and found myself presently furnished. This incident has influenced me more than twenty years — always to read, at least, those parts of Scripture in which the subject is mentioned before I read any human author." But we should not, in our enthusiasm to be Scrip- tural preachers, imitate Stier's sermons, and othei's of that class which embody all the texts which, either by implication, inference, or allusion, are related to our subject. Tliis process has been humourously but fitly likened to the course of hound-puppies while hunting hares on old fields ; the whelps follow one trail imtil they meet another scent a little fresher which crosses it, and so another and another ; thus they zigzag and yelp about all day long, but run doAvn no game. While it is very serviceable to have before our eyes or in om- memory all the texts which prove, illustrate, or apply our subject, yet to quote and explain them all in our sermon is a most unprofitable piece of business. An abimdant use of Scripture quotations, therefore, is not neces- sarily an evidence of true Scripturalness. The mediteval preachers must take the palm as quoters of texts ; many of then- sermons were a dark inorganic deep of quotations which they had borrowed from the fathers ; they literally stole God's word from their neigh- bours (Jer. xxiii. 30). If we give an audience the elixir Jind quint- essence of all that the Bible teaches as to our subject we may pro- ceed with the animated assurance that we are preaching Scriptur- ally. And yet some of our hearers will think contrariwise ; these are they who count the bee that enters the hive covered with pollen more profitable than the bee that lands full of digested flowers. Nevertheless, let it suflSce us to be like the good Pan- ticus of the second century, who because of his way of extracting- sweetness from all the mountain flowers of revelation received the name of " the Sicilian Bee." Did space permit Ave might here give many examples of those who have adopted the Biblical style of preaching with various meas- ures of success. But as Ave must not extend this chapter much beyond its present limits, we shall mention only two or three. Among those who have imbibed some of the best qualities of the Scripture style was Antonio Vieyra, a Portuguese preacher of the seventeenth century. He passed the most of his life at Bahia in Brazil, where for many years he poured forth an eloquence which in some points bears a close resemblance to that of the TTobrew prophets. His countrymen have called him the Lusitanian Cicero; THE SCRIPTURE ELEMENT IN SERMONS. 141 but he was more imaginative and vehement than the great Eoman orator. Though his mmd was rather of the .Oriental than the Latin type, yet he was so unequal and at times, so ironical and rhapsodi- cal, that it is not an easy thing to determine the class to which he belongs. His Clavis Prophetarum^ on which he occasionally worked for fifty years, and which at his death he left still unfin- ished, proves him to have been an enthusiastic student of the He- brew eloquence, and reveals to us the source of many of the better elements of his sermons. He was more mighty in the Scriptures than any other of the famous Catholic preachers, not exceptino- Segneri, and consequently he would be for the student the safest model among them all, were it not for the occasional excesses of his enthusiasm which in a cooler climate would be counted mad- ness. But more purely and uatensely Scriptural than his was the style of John Bunyan. The student and minister of but one book, he interfused its spu-it and manner with his own. To the Bible and to the Bible alone was his style indebted for its freedom and noble- ness, its animated yet holy gravity, its universally human and living interest and currency ; all of which is bathed in a clearness that may be likened to a warm and golden sunshine. Bunyan is the only example in history of a first-rate genius which was moulded and finished by no other than the sacred volume. And yet at the hazard of being misunderstood, we must venture to suggest whether to audiences that are very ignorant of Scripture it is wise to adopt the language of obscure texts, or derive figures from the less familiar incidents of Bible history. Though Nahum in- tended his prophecy against Nineveh partly, for the hearing of Judah, yet, as was to be expected, it abounds in ideas which are level to the apprehension of Gentile theists ; and Paul in preaching to the citizens of Lystra and Athens, would have departed from one of his settled maxims (to become as without law to them that are without law) had he alluded to and quoted the sacred books of the .Tews as freely as he did in discoursing in the synagogues of his countrymen. Socrates complained of, the orators of his time be- cause they did aim to make men wiser than they were \ but both he and we are too apt to forget that all mere persuasion must find its fulcrum in the common stock of wisdom and knowledge already in possession. And why, therefore, should we judge severely those preachers to ignorant audiences who while substantially holding forth Christ, compose their sermons after the model of the classic orators, and press much secular matter into their service ? If the sermons of such men as Abbe Lacordau*e and Frederick W. Rob- 142 THE SUBJECT-MATTER OF SERMONS ortson led more elearly and directly to salvation tlironsli the Lamb of God, we should be yiore inclined to think that their adaptation to the mental and moral habits of young i)hilosophers compensated for the want of Biblical matter. But to Bible-readers nothing is more acceptable and impressive than figurative language and arguments founded on some event in Scripture history Thus Chrysostom : " If the patriarch Jacob, when set over cattle, feeding irrational sheep, and about to render an ac- comit to men, passed sleepless nights and endured heat, frost, and every extreme of weather, that none of his flock might perish, how much more it behooveth us," &c. Massillon, inculcating on minis- ters the duty of retiring from the world as often as their vocation of leading men to Christ will permit, employs this beautiful simile : " Like that star which conducted the Magi to Christ, and which was a type of pastors ; it showed itself as far as Bethlehem, whither it was to conduct those sages of the East ; but the moment they found, acknowledged, and adored the infant Saviour, it disappeared, became eclipsed, and entered again into the clouds of the firmament." Again, Matthias Claudius: "Whether the prayer of a moved soul can accomplish or effect anything, or whether the JVexns Beriim, the fixed connection of things, does not allow of that, as some learned gentlemen think, — on that point I shall enter into no con- troversy. I liave great respect for the N'e.nis Jiennn, but I cannot help thinking of Samson who left the JVcxiis of the gate-leaves uninjured and carried the whole gate, as every one knows, to the top of the hill." See also the sermons of Thomas Watson, of St. Stephens, Walbrook, London. And, after all, whoso examines this matter fixedly and sharply, will find that there is a false scripturalness, no less than a true ; and that it is only as we are led by the Holy Spirit into the wilderness of trial that we can vanquish Satan with oracular weapons. Section III. — The Subject-matter of Sermons as found in Scripture. "The matter of preaching," says Kosencranz,^ " is in the abstract the whole Faith, in the concrete the whole Life." !More specifically the substance of each sermon is to be determined first by the rela- tive im])ortance of subjects as measured by the way they are em])]iasiscd, repeated and amplified in the sacred Scriptures; sec- ondly, by their various aspects when studied in their organic and 1 Theol. Encykl., p. 866. AS FOUND IN SCRIPTURE. 143 inspired relations to other subjects ; thirdly, by their adaptation to the capacities and necessities of the hearers. As the result of aj^ply- ing the first two tests we arrive at the following conclusions, the discussion of the last test being reserved for a subsequent section.^ Here we wish to be understood as never ignoring or forgetting the fact that Christ is the water-mark in every page of the Holy Book, and visible to every believer whenever he holds it up to the light. 1. Those subjects take the first place which relate to God^ his works, his attributes and his nature. 2. Next come truths respecting the origin, nature, works, state and relations of 3 fan. 3. The Zaio of God in its relations to Man. 4. Christ as the Ifediator. Very many evangelical preachers would have chosen to give this subject the first place, on the ground that it is practically superior to all others. But it ought to be con- sidered that the Scriptures have raised it to its deserved pre- eminence in our minds and hearts by first dwelling more largely and more emphatically on the subjects which serve either directly or indirectly to prove that a Saviour is necessary and every way desirable. Those, who like the apostle Paul, are called to " evan- gelical," or missionary, rather than pastoral work, may deem it their sole duty to " preach Christ crucified." But even they should not forget that this apostle likewise preached both to Jews and Greeks repentance towards God.^ But of the permanent pastor the danger is that, by preaching almost exclusively on the doctrine of salvation by the death of Christ, he leave his flock without any distinct, comprehensive, and practical views concerning the nature, attributes, and acts of God the Father ; and consequently exposed either to the seductive and, so far as it goes, more full and sound preaching of deistical theologians, or to the allurements of such heretical but eloquent declaimers as delight to travesty and ridicule that grand system of Biblical theology of which they and their hearers are alike profoundly ignorant. Space forbids us to enlarge on the injury done to the consciences of our hearers and to the churches we serve, by neglecting to instruct them in the knowledge of God and his law with a view to their exercising an intelligent faith in Jesus, and then adorning the teaching of God our Saviour by all holy and obedient living. Let the pastor, therefore, remember that the " man of God " is the foundation on which he is to build the true minister of Christ; in other words, that the theistic ideas with which the Hebrew prophets had so much to do, underHe and sup- 1 Sec viii. 2 Acts. xx. 21 ; cf. xxiv. 25 ; Rom. viii. 13 ; Matt. vii. 13, 14. 144 THE SUBJECT-MATTER OF SERMONS port the grand central pchemc of mediation which is so often and 80 justly the theme of all Christian i)reachers. (1.) In preaching Christ we should give the preference to the doc- trine of palvation through the death of Christ. (2.) Next in importance is the doctrine of the wmj of salvation throuo-h Christ, and the grounds of vital union with him. (:3.) Of less consequence is the biography of Jesus as it is given to us by the evangelists, vinless we view his wonderful life upon earth in the light of the teachings of the apostles and prophets. Modern deists, rationalists and pantheists love to write and discourse about the man Christ Jesus as they find him in the Gospel narra- tive alone. Unregenerate readers of secular poetry and demoraliz- ing- romance are never wearied and, alas ! are never converted by these word-pictures. (4.) As the object of love, hope, and devotion, Jesus Christ our Lord cannot be preached with much advantage except to true be- lievers and sincere inquirers. The apostolic epistles which were almost wholly addressed to real Christians exhibit to us the rela- tive proportions wherein we should dwell on such themes. (.J.) Nor should we forget to treat all Scripture subjects in their relation to Christ, or, in the words of Andrew Fuller, " Tliere are varioois important truths supposed by this great doctrine, and these require to be illustrated and established. There are 7;arious brcoich- cs pertaining to it, which require to be distinctly considered ; vari- ous consequences arising from it, which require to be pointed out; various duties corresponding with it, which require to be inculca- ted ; and various evils inimical to it, which may require to be ex- posed. All I mean to pay is, that as there is a relation between these subjects and the doctrine of the cross, we must introduce them in that relation if we would introduce them in a truly evan- gelical manner." Yes, when we examine the heart of any one of these subjects we shall find there a crimson cord binding it to the cross. (6.) "We should make Christ the end of all our preaching. The subordinate end is the extension of his kingdom by seeking the convcrssion and edification and sanctificatlon of men. The ultimate end is the personal glory of Christ. i According hereto is the ob- servation of Mr. Davison,'- that in proportion as the pi-oj)hots en- larged their predictions concerning the ^Messiah, did they at the same time the more unfold the duty of repentance and other prac- tical doctrines, and open more widely the prospects of eternal life. 1 Road Rpv. John Jcniiinss' " Of Preaching Christ." 2 D.SLOurscd on Piopliecy, pp. 61, 503. AS FOUND IN SCRIPTURE. 145 5. The person^ offices, and tcorJcs of the Holy Ghost. "Repre- sent," says Dr. Doddridge, " our need of him ; describe his work in enlightening the mmd, convincing the judgment, renewing and sanctifying the soul ; quickening to duty, fortifying against tempta- tion, assisting in prayer, and comforting true Christians, witnessing to their adoption, etc. This is an exceedingly popular subject, and, what is of still higher importance, it is a useful and Scriptural one. When you enlarge upon it, however, it is necessary to add cautions against gi-ieving the Spirit, and directions for walking in the Spirit, and being filled with the Spirit." We have only to add that we must consider not merely the Scripture account of the Sj)irit, but also his later and present miracles, if we would clearly and fully understand his character ; and that we should avoid expatiating upon such subjects to the eclipsing of Christ ; ever remembering that he came not to speak of himself but to glorify Christ, and that hence it is our duty to keep our hearers in remembrance of his present subserviency and loving devotion to the Lord Jesus. This and the preceding subjects are of supreme importance, and appear to have been included by Paul under the term " kingdom of God," or " all the counsel of God." (Acts xx. 24.) 6. Devotional subjects or such as are intended to call forth adora- tion, confession, petition, and thanksgiving. We should not be satis- fied with confining these exercises to prayer and praise. The large space which matter of this kind occupies in Scripture, and the ten- dency of congregations towards an irreverent and indevout hearing of the word, ought to admonish us to treat devotional subjects oftener than we are naturally disposed to do, and to sufiuse all our sermons with prayerful sentiments. Hereto belong lectm-es on the postukmda, or expositions of the prayers contained in Scripture ; it is an error to confine such expositions to the "Lord's Prayer." 7. Experimental subjects, or such as relate to the truth and grace of God in the heart of man. Holy Writ furnishes us with numerous texts which illustrate the eflfects of divine grace on the religious affections. When Christian experience is made a subject of meditation apart from its relations to doctrines and duties, and especially to conscience, it is apt to foster indolence, self-conc*eit, and presumption. In order to preach experimentally with profit, we have, first of all, to study the experimental parts of Scripture devotionally and for our private edification. If we would gain broad and trust- worthy views of this subject, it will be necessary for us to compare all the passages that relate to it, otherwise we will be liable to dwell exclusively on such texts as we have experienced the truth and 146 THE SUBJECT-MATTER OF SERMONS precioupness of. W«e are to preach from the heart of God and of his inspired servants, rather than from our peculiar experience and, it may be, egotistic inwardness. But still as to these matters we are not to confine ourselves to Scripture, for the very good reason that the Divine Spirit has for these eighteen hundred years been carrying forward his work in the hearts of Christians, and so accumulathig vast evidences of his power. As temptation is an important qualification for this kind of preach- mg, mature Christians are, for the most part, the best prepared for it ; but if the young preacher will frequently examine his own heart and preach his sermons to himself, as M'as the practice of Mather and Doddridge, if he will talk freely with those whose experience is very different from his own, and whose temperament, education, and religious opinions are unlike his — if he will learn to classify the various kinds of real, false, and equivocal experience which come under his observation — if he will read Christian biogi'aphy with a view to a profounder and more methodical knowledge of spiritual phenomena and, at the same time, discriminate between such as are extraordinary and unprofitable, like those of the Quietists of France, and such as are more ordinary and tend towards practical life, like those of the common people ; yet never forgetting to bring them all to the sure test of Scripture (for the Spirit never contradicts himself) and that as we live in the dispensation which is distinc- tively his, and are therefore to expect some phenomena which have not lieen recorded in Holy Scripture — if, we say, the preacher who is still young, will do these things, he will prepare himself to preach from experimental texts with an intelligence and persuasiveness not to be surpassed by the aged preacher who has contented him- self with that measure of heart knowledge which he has found in his own experience, or in that of his pious acquaintance. 8. Doctrinal subjects — by this we mean, credcnJa, or things that are to be believed, as distinguished from 2>ostuIaiula and ar/cnda, or the things that are to be prayed for and to be practised. Doctrinal sermons are authorized by the large amount of Scripture matter which is obviously intended by the Divine Spirit to support and confirm a genume faith. It is remarkable that the doctrines of Holy Scripture are never Inculcated philosophically or systematic- ally or symbolically, but always either didactically or controver- sially or experimentally or j)ractically. And yet wc may not hence conclude tha* systems of theology, or creeds, or philosophical dis- cussions of Christian truth are in themselves unnecessary and use- less. All we need to remember, in this connection, is that doctrinal AS FOUND IN SCRIPTURE. 147 truths are to be treated by the preacher after the manner of Scrip- ture and not after the manner of the dogmatic and polemical theo- logians, much less confined to the range of symbolical books whose articles were mainly designed, as Whately says, to serve as so many breast-works for the defence of Christian churches at those points, where they were besieged or attacked. New invaders, advancing on other and perhaps more exposed points, are to be met by new munitions ; but the preacher who should limit his doctrinal preach- ing to his "Thirty-nine Ai'ticles," would resemble any defender of a city who should devote all his resources to the restoration of old forts which successfully resisted the attacks of ancient enemies, while he gave no heed to the movements of a hostile army that was daily hovering about the unfortified approaches to the town. Some there are who mamtain that the true theory and central idea of all preaching consist in the argumentative discussion of theology. But while we are by no means to neglect the distinct- ive and fimdamental doctrines of Christian Theology, we are not, on the other hand, to suppose that doctrinal sermons must be mainly argumentative. " Some of them," says Schott, " may be chiefly such; others may be principally devoted to unfolding the nature of the truth discussed, and others to the exhibition of its aj)propriate in- fluence on the feelings and conduct. Sometimes these three charac- teristics may be united in one and the same discourse." Beware, however, of the puerile habit of attempting to explain all doctrinal mysteries and commending them all to common sense. Rehihard says that the illuminating theologians of his day had succeeded in rendering the doctrines of Christianity so clear and intelligible that nothing was left but pure rationalism. Some of the mysteries of divine revelation, when received by an intelligent faith, serve as so many keys to imlock all other mysteries. We should likewise eschew the tendency or hahit of dwelling on the evidences, apologetics, and polemics of Christianity. These sub- jects, like all others, are profitable in their time and place, and more especially as handled by meek, candid, and truth-loving men. Very young preachers and very old ones (the former by tilting against the dayflies of heresy, the latter by caning the bleached skeletons of misbelief) are too apt to " smell the battle afar off," while the man of knowing zeal and self-recollection goes not forth to the strife until dangerous errors appear on the field. But let us turn to a few positive canons. (1.) To anxious inquirers and new converts the cardinal doctrines of Holy Scripture are to be preached experimentally, that is to say, with a view to ascertain the nature and depth of their religious ex- 148 THE SUBJECT-MATTER OF SERMONS perience. For, if after a professed convert has once come to a clear apprehension of any fundamental truth of the Gospel, he cannot believe it, and has a decided aversion to it, his regeneration is, to say the least, a matter of reasonable question. (3.) But in order to obtain the believing assent of the new-born soul to a doctrine which it understands, it is important that the doctrine should be taught in the connections in which it is exhibited in the Scriptures ; e. g., when preaching on Election, we should ob- serve how the apostle makes it include the means as well as the end ; how he " connects prayer with predestination, precept with I^romise, principle with example, justification with penitence, faith with works, and redemption with renewal."^ This process is easier and more profitable than that of showing what relation any doctrine has to a complete system of Christian Theology. (3.) And yet it would be very instructive to advanced Christians to study, e. g., the doctrine of the Atonement in its relation to the other necessary doctrines of Biblical Theology. " It is," says An- drew Fuller,2 " to the doctrines and precepts of the Bible as the life-blood to the animal system. . . I wish to beghi with the centre of Christianity — the doctrine of the cross — and w^ork round it ; or with what may be called the heart of Christianity, and trace it through its principal veins and relations, both in doctrine and practice. . . The whole of the Christian system appears to be 2'>resiqyposed by it, included in it, or to arise from it.^^^ The cross stands between Jerusalerh and the Sepulchre — between the sin that crucified Christ and the newness of life which he sj-mbolizcd in his resurrection ; between the Sepulchre and Mount Olivet ; between our risen life, with all its conflicts and defeats, an;! our ascended life, with all its triumphs and its eternal joys. 9. Pathetic and I^ersuas ice suhjocta: The amount of excitatory matter in Holy Scripture is very large, but less in the sermons than in the psalms of inspired men. The hortatory matter is in greater quantity, and yet the prophets very seldom devote entire addresses tQ such matter, and then exhort ions are directed more frequently to the peojjle of God than tlie children of this world. Very many professors, for obvious reasons, will like their pastor exceedingly so long as his chief endeavours are used to exhort sinners to re- pentance. On the other hand, be Avarned by the eflects of the 1 Rev. Dr. A. Reed on Human Systems, and Bridges on the Ministry, PL iv., c. 4, sec. 1. 2 Essay on Truth, and Letter iii. on Systematic Divinity. 8 Dr. John Edward's Preacher, Pt. ii., London ed., 1706. AS FOUND IN SCRIPTURE. 149 earlier ministry of Berridge and Chalmers, who found that the j)reaching of mere morality was very demoralizing ; be also warned by the elfects of such preaching in the Roman and French Catholic churches. It was recommended by the mediaeval fathers, Guibert of Nogent, St. Francis, and Alanus de Insulis, to make preaching consist very much in dissuasives from the vices and persuasives to the virtues. Compare, too, the preaching and morals of France and those of England during the reign of Louis XIV. and the pro- tectorate of Cromwell. 10. The principles and precepts of Christian Ethics stand next in rank as themes for the preacher. We do not here mainly intend the great primary duties and obligations of men, such as are enjoined in the Ten Commandments, and other moral precej^ts of the old Law. These demand an earlier regard in our inculcations, and yet they should always be viewed in the light of our Divme Master's fuller and dee23er teachings. Neither do we we chiefly intend the principles of moral science or moral philosophy. Systems of ethics ought, certamly, to be studied, but they are principally use- ful as teaching us how to think, not as furnishmg us with matter. We mean those ethical principles and precepts which have their basis in Christian doctrine, and teach and enforce such virtues and duties as are the fruit of faith inj and love to, Christ, as derive their motives from the doctrine of Christ, their life and activity from the grace of Christ, and their acceptableness from the merits of Christ.^ It is, perhaps, worth while to repeat here certain important maxims, the substance of which is found scattered passim in many works. The originators of not a few of these maxims it would be difficult, if not impossible, to ascertain. (1.) Doctrinal themes may often be treated ethically, and ethical themes doctrinally. It was the neglect of the first part of this suggestion by the Calvinists of Switzerland that prepared the people for the moral sermons of Francis de Sales. Analogous facts are not far to seek. (2.) Never consider a grace or virtue abstractly. The subject of Robert Hall's last sermon was the sin and absurdity of covetousness. It was observed at the time that probably not one of his hearers would take the discourse as at all applicable to himself, because he employed his whole force on the love of money as a pure and ab- solute princijjle. John Foster adds as to this incident, that a sermon on the love of money, to be useful, should seize and expose it in those modes of its operation imder which it hides and palliates its 1 See again Rev. John Jennings' " Of Preaching Christ. 150 THE SUBJECT-MATTER OF SERMONS true quality ; otherwise it might even do mischief, for every hearer who could say he did not so love money, would confidently infer that, therefore, he was not guilty of covetousness. (3.) And yet, in individualising characters and discriminating among the practical forms of sins and vices, we must be on our guard against an exclusive tendency towards eloquent descriptions, both because they may be construed as jiersonal, and because they may inflame the very passions we are endeavouring to quell. (4.) Some ethical subjects are too unimportant to furnish matter for entire sermons, and should, therefore, be touched upon inciden- tally. Such are the minor virtues of courtesy, magnaminity, etc. It is not easy to say m every instance where virtue ends and mere expediency begins. Christianity, as Vinet says, has a hand which is as delicate as it is powerful. (j.) Other ethical matters are too special and individual for any mention in public addresses. Such are the duties of lawyers, phy-- sicians, and teachers, and many cases of conscience. These are best discussed in private interviews. (0.) In cases where congregations have come to be hardened under bold and ill-tempered rejiroofs, it might be advisable to stop preaching arjalnst sins and vices, and more gently and compassion- ately to recommend the opposite graces and virtues. Dwell less on those things which Christian morality forbids, than on those things which it teaches. (7.) Let not any hearers be indulged in such spiritual aspirations as tempt them to overlook and neglect those moral and worldly virtues which the natural conscience approves, as temperance, chastity, honesty, veracity, fidelity, kindness, etc. " If," says Pro- fessor Atwater,! " they may and often do exist without piety, piety cannot exist without them." (8.) '"It is useful," says Scliott, " to exhibit the virtues of the Christian as forming a complete system ; as intimately combined one with another, so that no one may feel himself justified in select- ing a portion of these duties for practice, and neglecting the re- mainder." See " Religious Progress; Discourses on the Develop- ment of the Christian Character," by Rev. Dr. Wm. R. Williams. Here we might mention i^ol'dical subjects ; but we reserve them for another section. 11. .Historical and biof/raphical subjects. The Old Testament and the New furnish a multitude of events and characters to 1 In his valuable article on " Tlic Matter of Preachins,'' in Princeton Review, vol. xxvili , aud inadverteutly repriuted in Alexander's " Thoughts on Preaching." AS FOUND IN SCRIPTURE. 15J illustrate and confirm the doctrinal and devotional parts of Scrip- ture. And however tempting may be themes from ecclesiastical history, from the general history of religions, and from the lives of good and holy persons as written by uninspired men, it is never- theless safe to limit ourselves to the sacred narratives and parables. For the selection and treatment of such subjects, Knibbe,' Rein- hard, and Schott lay down the following rules : The subjects should have an obvious connection with Christian doctrine or duty. They should be spiritual and not secular in their final impression on the mind. They should be in some degree familiar to the audience, or at least such as may be easily made familiar to them. We should be careful not to fill up too large a part of the sermon with narrations, and not to be too minute in our historical or geographical delinea- tions. We should never distort the truth of history, nor allow the imagmation or feelmgs to supply what the authentic narrative has not fairly implied. And yet we ought to know how to find our posi- tion in two difierent worlds, namely, that which the test describes and that to which it is to be applied. We should be modest in our interpretations of those events which the Bible leaves unexplained. We ought not to ascribe legislative authority to the examj^les of imperfect men. The law of God and not the example of man is our rule of duty. 12. Addresses to tJie young ; partly ethical, partly expedient, partly persuasive. The Scriptures contain much matter of this descrip- tion. 13. Types. " In these," says Dr. Doddrige, " there is so much room for fancy, that it is difficult to speak judiciously upon them ; and more difficult to please if they be not drawn to excess. But for a pastor, especially on a sacrament day, those things thaf are allego- rised2 in Scripture, maybe very profitably enlarged upon, provid'ed the similitude and difference be shown." Most preachers appear to admit these differences with great reluctance; as if an antitype were not really exalted by showing its dissimihtude to its type. 14. Nature, material and mental. These subjects occupy a wider space in the Scriptures than the superfioial reader is apt to suppose, and therefore deserve a higher rank than Ave have assigned to them, and would have assigned them had we not recollected the proneness of young preachers to dwell on some of them too fre- quently and too copiously, as well as to treat some of them either 1 Knibbe's Manuductio, p. 150 ; Reinhard's Confess;ons. Letter s.; D:-. Park s Trans, of Schott. 2 Erasmus, Ecclesiastes, L. iii. ; Opera, vol. v, pp. 1010-1051 11 152 THE SUBJECT-MATTER OF SERMONS poetically or scientifically. It is nevertheless true, as Luther has said, that " all the works of creation are marks and symhols, under which Jehovah conceals himself, and through which he communi- cates with us," and after some allowance it is also true, as Mrs. Browning has sung, that . . . . " Nature comes sometimes And says, ' I am ambassador for God.' " These subjects have been called j^^i^i^osophical, and such of them as relate to the passions, intellect, and will, 2->sijcholor/ical. Vinet would also include Sociology under" the head of Psychology. Paul assailed the philosophy which was taught in his day, while he inti- mated that there is a true philosophy. All these subjects furnish less of principal than of subsidiary materials for sermons. AVe should all join Lord Bacon in praying " Thy creatures have been my books but Thy Scriptures much more. . . We beg that human thino-s may not prejudice such as are divine ; that there may ha given vinto faith the things that are foith's." The speculations and language of Philosophy when habitually carried into the pulpit make the cross of Christ of none effect (1 Cor. v. 1, 2). 15. The Privileges of the Children of God ;— the pardon of their sins, the renovation of their nature, adoption, perseverance through divine grace, God's providential care over them,— all thmgs work- ing together for their good, — access to God through Christ, — com- munion with him, believing views of glory, etc. " These subjects," says Doddridge, " will impress the hearts of sinners (as a lancet concealed in a sponge), — as well as raise the devout affections of true Christians." IG. Subjects of Consolation. The provisions of Gospel redemp- tion supply many themes of this description. A volume might l)e profitably devoted to the New Testament modes of administering comfort. 17. The Four Last Things must be treated opportunely yet, for the most parf, in a subsidiary way ; courageously yet compas- sionately, but abave all, in an evangelical spirit and manner; e.g., we should not forget that Christ has the keys of hell and of death, that he will judge the world, that his glorified presence is the be- liever's heaven, etc. The New Testament always contrasts these subjects as light and shade, reward and punishment being set over against each other. They afford profitable matter for parts of ser- mons on many very different subjects. But nowhere is it more im- portant to ol)scrve and follow the movements of the Divine Spirit in us and in our hearers, lest our stated congregations become at AS FOUND IN SCRIPTURE. 153 length hardened to such considerations, just as the blacksmith's dog, according to Kichard Baxter, learns to sleep soundly under the sharp sounds and burning cinders which hammer and sledge are continually flinging at him and around him. Upon this entire subject it is necessary to repeat an imj)ortant caveat. The missionary, and every other preacher who has to ad- dress those who have never heard the true Gospel of Christ pro- claimed, should begin and continue to explain and apply to them the doctrines of grace exclusively, until they are either all converted or are in danger of coming to be " Gospel hardened.'' We are too unmindful of the fact that such men of God, and such only, are in a vocation and field similar to those of the apostles, and are, there- fore, to make salvation through Jesus their one and all-absorbing theme in obedience to his great commission, and to the words and example of the ajDOstles. Dr. Burgon^ advises the young pastor to keep a journal of his themes, and from time to time to notice his omissions. As every man is liable to be influenced by his partialities and aversions in dispensing the Gospel, he ought, at least, to take himself to task betimes, and solemnly inquire whether he be jireaching all parts of divine revelation in their due prof)ortion and intimate correlation, on the one hand ; and, on the other, whether the kind, combination, and amount of Scripture matter preached be adapted to the average capacities and wants of his congregation. It is necessary, therefore, that he should not only keep a record of his texts and subjects, but closely and constantly watch the moral and spiritual state of his flock. In order to invent proportionately, he should, according to Aristotle's advice, consider not only who speaks and what is spoken, but the people spoken to. Nor is the first requisite of small im- portance. The speaker may be ever so careful to gain and convey a proportional knowledge of sacred Scripture to the mere intellects of his congregation ; and yet, if he does not view all his subjects experimentally and 'practically, a sad disproportion will eventually appear in his and their life and character. It is a great thing (we do not say the only thing), as Keckerman suggests, to make our whole invention contribute to devotion. If we lead our hearers to the throne of grace, we put them in the way of understanding, be- lieving, applying, and obeying the word preached. But may we not for the sake of variety occasionally compose a sermon out of materials that are not to be found in the Scriptures, or suggested by them ? In other words, are there not many mod- 1 Pastoral Office, p. 182. 154 OF POLITICAL SUBJECTS. ern dmrchly political and social questions, whereof, indeed, divine revelation is totally silent, which do nevertheless enable preachers to gratify in a profitable "way the i:)op)ular love of change and diver- sity ? To forget or ignore our commission is dangerous ; and he who secularises in order to popularise, is the father of him who will profane in order to destroy. But every reasonable demand for variety can be answered without making secular appendices to our Bibles. Each truth of Scripture may be presented to the mind in ' as many aspects (we do not say all equally important) as a copy of the sacred volume may be exhibited to the eye. Those who are in the habit of neglecting Christian theology and of speaking contemptuously of creeds and dogmas, are, for the most part, either novices, men-pleasers, or are dangerously ignorant of church history. Does any man think that Christian doctrines are of small value ? Let him read the history of the martyrs, and so learn what sufferings those doctrines have cost. Does any man think that Christian doctrines have no relation to holy living? Let him read the history of heresies and there behold their demor- alising fruits. Section I\'. — Of Political Subjects. Many distinguished ministers of God have discussed important questions in politics. Gregory Xazianzen preached political ser- mons against the Emperor Julian. Augustine, in his '" City of God,'' illustrates the jtrinciples of human government ; Thomas Aijuinas, in his commentaries on Aristotle, and in his other writmgs, lays down political maxims of considerable value. Bossuet, in his Discourse on Universal History, denies the pope's claim of infallibility and his assumed right to depose kings ; and in a large work on Scrii)ture Politics,^ he attempts to establish monarcliical governments on divine authority. The gentle Fenelon, however, is said to have written his Telemachus as a satire on the character and reign of Louis XIV. — a monarch whom Saurin preached against, both while he lived and after his heath. C£\Jvm d..votes the last chapter of his Institutes to the discussion of the nature of civil government. Owen and Baxter have left us some political tracts; Jeremy Taylor wrote on Toleration ; Roger Williams on Religious Liberty ; and Jonathan Mayhew's great political sermon, preached in Boston, has been styled the " Morning Gun of the Revolution." In times of high political excitement, no sane preacher will advo- l Politique Tirce de Ecriture Saintc, tome sxsvi. (ed. Versailles, 1818). OF rOLITICAL SUBJECTS. I55 cate the principles and measures of a party, vinless he has an un- eqiaivocal call, either from Scriptixre.or conscience, benevolence or humanity ; for he knows that if he do he must suffer as a confessor or die as a martyr. The adverse party will, for the sake of defend- ing themselves or attacking " the partisan preacher," lay down the broad i>rinciple that the man of God should never meddle with politics in the pulpit. It was on this plausible ground that Burke assailed Dr. Price, and Milton censured Dr. Griffeth ; while the professed loyalists of Latimer's time brought to bear against him and his followers the assertion that all reformatory preachmg caused sedition and rebellion. However, let the young preacher hearken neither to the calumnies of enemies nor the flatteries of friends ; but 2>roceed according to the Scriptiu-e guidance and light which A'/e desire now to offer him. The Hebrew prophets often spoke about the political affairs of their nation ; but they did not limit their teachings to the theocracy, nor were any of them the court preachers of Hebrew monarchs. So far from it, they taught that Jehovah is the moral and jirovi- dential Governor of all men. When Jonah, in his zeal for God's veracity, let this truth escape his memory, it was brought back to him in the vehicle of a most strikmg symbol. ^ Is not our God, God over all ? was the cutting appeal of Isaiah and Amos2 to their imfaithful countrymen : Is not Samaria as Damascus ? Are ye not as the children of the Ethiopians unto me ? Is not our God, God over all '? Hence the prophets taught that all nations, whenever they either kept or forsook the moral part of the laws of Moses, would, with due allowance for the proportion of light, be either rewarded or punished accordingly. When, therefore, they predict the overthrow of Gentile kings or nations, they attribute their downfall to moral causes, and the justice of Jehovah. They likewise believed that God made his providential govern- ment of all nations siibservient to his moral government, and the spiritual welfare of his people, wheresoever their lot was cast. Hence, neither their themes nor sphere were shut up within the landmarks of Judah and Israel. Elijah^ adventured as far as Zerep- hath in Zidon, and went to Syria to anoint Hazael king of that idolatrous people. Elisha's"^ inspiration and miraculous jiowers were not unknown at Damascus before he visited that city. Jonah, and probably Naham, went on prophetic missions to Nineveh. As their messages would seem to imply, so we are at liberty to sup- 1 Jonah iv. 10, 11. 2 Isa. x. 9 ; Amos ix. 7. 3 1 Kings xvii. 9-24. 4 2 Kings V. 10 ; vi. 12 ; viii. 7. 156 OF POLITICAL SUBJECTS. pose that the mass of the Ninevites, like the Persians,^ believed in one sui)reme God, and tliat Xahiim who compares the ehy to a pool of water on account of the confluence of its inhabitants from adja- cent lands, fomid many of his own coimtrymen in that city to whom part, if not all, of his discourse may have been personally delivered. And it may fairly be inferred from Jehovah's commission to Ezek- iel,2 that such missions were neither uncommon nor comparatively unsuccessful. Witness Daniel in Babylon, and Mordecai in Shushan. Apart from captivity and divine command, several causes con- spired to attract Hebrew prophets to Gentile cities. The principal foreign nations being familiar with the vocation of the prophet, and accustomed to resort to him on occasions of doubt and perplexity, were always prejiared to welcome him from Avhatever land he might be sent to them. Besides, the travellers, merchants, and mariners of Greece and other western nations, could hardly fail- to hear the prophets of Jehovah at Sidon, Tyre, and Joppa, while the caravans of Egypt, Nineveh, and Babylon must have listened to them while resting on the oases of eastern Palestine. Xot a few of the pagan j>rophets were evidently but the degenerate sons of the Hebrew prophets. Tlieir great ancestor Noah was a preacher of righteous- ness. And the fame of the Jews as a holy nation and a kingdom of priests^ must have jiavedthe way for the coming of their projjhets into Gentile lands long ere philosophers and sojihists partly usurped their power in pagan nations. More than six hundred years before Lycurgus, the prophet Mose^ gave his laws. Three hundred years before the fabulous heroes, Orpheus, Hercules, and Theseus sailed for Colchis, Moses led his people through the Red Sea and the desert of Arabia, demonstrating the divine wisdom to be superior to that of the Egypt he had k'lt behind, and tlie divine insj)iration that was in him to be triumphant over the diabolical afflatus Avhicli was in the false prophets of the tribes tliat retired before his ap- proach. Six hunnred years before Pindar, the king of tlie Hebrews composed liis 2)salms. All the minor prophets liad delivered their messages before ]*ythagoras of Samoa arose, and Esdras flourished before Socrates and his disciple Plato taught at Athens.-* Even philosophically speaking, the scattering of these holy tribes proved to be " the riches of the Gentiles." 1 Sir Henry RawUnson's Memoir on the Persian Cuniforra Inscriptions, vol. i., pnssim. 2 Ezpk. iii. 0, 0. 3 Exod. xix. G; Dent. iv. 6-8; Isa. xliii. 2; cf. 1 Peter ii. 9. < Augustine, Civ. Dri, L. xviii. C. .38. Tlioluck's Hints on tlio Importance of tho Study of the 0. T., c. i., iu Bib. Cubiuet, vol. ii. OF POLITICAL SUBJECTS. 157 Add to this the purpose of God and the teachings of his prophets concerning other nations. Whoever among the Gentiles would forsake his idols and " cleave unto the God of Israel," was counted a brother and fellow citizen.^ In the reign of Solomon the Hebrews became morally, what the Greeks afterwards became intellectually, the teachers of all mankind. The diffusion of the pure faith among all men was the promise of the prophets and the song of the con- gregations.2 And often did those men of God make the destiny of foreign nations a theme of warning or encouragement to all men. For many ages did the light of the holy nation thus pour its steady effulgence into the darkness of the adjacent nations, imtil the suc- cessive caj^tivities of Israel and Judah, as it were, broke the Sheki- nah into many stars, and fixed them in the great centres of pagan- ism, there to shine uneclipsed and unequalled by the tapers of sooth- saying and false j^rophecy. Daniel, Ezra, Nehemiah, and Mordecai were perhaps only representatives of a large class of similar men who through divine insijiration and grace were enabled in foreign lands to convert kings, to rise superior to prejudices and persecu- tion, and advance to posts of wide moral and political influence.^ "We should, on the other hand, as already suggested, guard against the error of supposing that the Hebrew prophets were the court preachers and counseilers of state in the palaces of the Hebrew and other monarchs. If we consider the relation Samuel sustained to Saul, Gad and Nathan to David, Elijah to Ahab, and Elisha to the king of Israel and of Syria, Isaiah to Hezekiah, and of Jeremiah to Zedekiah, we must conclude that they acted before kings as im- partially and exclusively as before their subjects in the character of ambassadors of God."* They sometimes rebuked in kings sins that had not any direct bearing on their policy, and interfered with the administration of affairs only so far as the law, honour, and inspiration of Jehovah compelled them to do. " With what propriety," asks Tholuck, " can those be denominated demagogues who manifested their zeal towards the kmgdom, because the worship of God was sinking or rising ; who threatened wars only as the punishment of ungodliness, who promised peace only as the reward of piety, who never sought their own interest, who foretold the future, and still 1 Lev. xix. 33, 84; 2 Chon. vi. 82 ; Isa. Ivi. 3, 6, 7. 2 Isa. ii. 2-4 ; Micah. iv. 1-4 ; Psa. Ixvii. ; Ixsxvi. 9 ; xcvi. 97. 3 The prophets of Homer in some respects strongl)' resemble those of the He- brew Scriptures; cf. Mr. Gladstone's Homer and Jloma-ic Age, vol. jii. 178; Juveti- tus Muncli, 200, 288. 4 Rev. John Davison on Prophecy, pp. 232, 203. 158 OF rOLITICAL SUBJECTS. continued herdsmen (as in the case of Amos), and Avho on account of their severe correction of apostasy must have been in continual danger of being slain Avitli the sword, or of being sawn asunder y"' The law was given by a prophet, and all other communications from Jehovah were made through projjhets (Deut. xviii. IS; Zech. vii. 12 ; Heb. i. 2). " The prophetical ministry," says Dr. Manton, " is a kmd of chancery to the law." It is erroneous, therefore, to suppose that the prophets were the reformers of the law of Moses. So far from this, they expounded and applied that law as God saw the state and condition of the kings, the priests, and the people demanded.^ They likewise taught men the relative value of the various duties which the law exacted.^ Their utterances are in perfect consonance with the Pentateuch ; their teachings flowed from the law, says Calvin, like streams from a fountain. And yet like the Great Teacher, they were moved to oppose the false inter- pretations and misapplications of that law.^ Thus Ezekiel (xviii. 20, 23), in exploding the common proverb as to hereditary retribu- tion, shows that the law (Exod. xx. 5) comtemplated such retribu- tion only in the case of those who did not repent. Jeremiah (xxxi. 27-40) had before predicted that in the new disijensation, men would respect that proverb no more ; and Moses himself, speaking as a'prophetic teacher (Deut. xxiv. IG), cautioned the people against the notion that this retribution was legal, such as they might them- selves inflict, and not providential, such as Jehovah alone would admuiister. The prophets, like their great Master and ours, also showed that some laws were rather permitted than approved of God (Ezek. xx. 25 ; Matt. xix. 8). " God may," says Dr. Smith, of Campelton,* " sometimes deal out measures to his people that seem to be wliat he himself terms his laws, ' not good,' but this is to be understood of either, as spoken in a relative sense, imi)lying that they are, however, the best which their situation and circumstances can bear. And 'this is the sponge' (says Montesquieu, citing the text), ' that wipes out all the difliculties that are to be found in the law of Moses ' — and with equal propriety we may add — in many of the ways of Providence." As to distinctive mattev, Hebrew prophecy is the day-star, twinkling between the departing niglit of the law and the advanc- ing day of the Gospel.* It heralded progress. The prophets were 1 Matt, iv 3. 5 1 Sam. xv. 22. 3 Dr. Fairbaim's Law in Scripture, pp. 105-207. 4 Siupmary View of tlie Writings of tlie Prophets, in Ezek. xx. 25. f Rev John Davison'.s Warburton Lectures on Prophecy, pp. 8-')-6?. OF POLITICAL SUBJECTS. 159 reformers not of the law but of the people. Theirs was a progress which drew constant supplies from conservatism. The law was typical of the future kingdom of God and the observance of its rites, and the keeping of its precepts were needful preparations for advancing the people from a material to a spiriiual economy. The prophets saw that in the law were wrapped up the germs of great truths regarding the Messiah, and that whatever of prosperity or adversity befell the chosen peojDle was but preliminary to the un- folding and development of the scheme of redemption. And hence these prophets were hopeful for their nation and for all the world, and the most hopeful in times of general despair, and the most con- fident amidst the greatest discontent and alarm. They never see "the star of Bethlehem" except when the night of some great judg- ment returns to their people, and it is only when the eye is fixed on its march through the midnight sky that they step forward most firmly, and their countenances glow most angelically with the pre- science of the birth and death and victory and benign dominion of their Immanuel. They were, therefore, pre-eminently sons of con- solation and not mere awakeners and revivalists. They were rather, indeed, each of these by turns according to their various avocations as pastors.^ The foregoing principles must be borne in mind by all who would comprehend the relations of the prophets to j^olitics, and determine how far their example may justly and safely be followed by the Christian preacher. Let us now examine their political relations and example historically. Under the Theocracy^ strictly so called, which contmued from the time of Moses until the coronation of Saul, we first find a prophet acting as law-giver and civil magistrate as well as religious teacher. Then we find Deborah at once a prophetess and judge- moved of God to command the Israelites to go to war against Jabin, the king of Canaan, to accompany the Hebrew army in the field, and to celebrate their victory in a song of triumph. Samuel was, at first, prophet, j)riest, and civil magistrate. Among his first projihetic acts was an exhortation to the peojjle to return to the Lord as a means of deliverance from the Philistines.^ Jehovah was their King, and it was by returning loyally to him, and not by imitating the monarchical governments of their pagan neigbours, that th'ey were to become mighty and victorious. 1 Isa. Ivi. 10, 11 ; cf. Ezek. xxxiii. 7; Jer. ii. 8.; iii. 15.; xvii. 16.; xxiii. 1-4, 9-40. 2 Judges iv. 4, 5. 3 1 Sara. vii. 3. IGO OF POLITICAL SUBJECTS. Under the Monarchy we hear Samuel remonstrating in the name of the Lord against the political act of choosing a king, but when Israel had fully resolved on modifying their form of government, Samuel was commanded of God to yield to the popular voice and anoint Saul their captain and king. Though he had warned them of the consequences, yet he proceeded to secure, so far as possible, the obedience of the king to the law which Moses had provided for a monarchy.^ One of his earliest acts midor the new power, was to forbid the execution of certain recusants.^ Still serving the people in the character of prophet and priest, Samu>:l reminded them that their national prosperity dej^ended on their obedience to the divine law,3 repeatedly rebuked Saul for disregarding the com- mands of Jehovah, executed Agag with his own hands before the Lord, and anointed David king in the place of the apostate and re- jected Saul. We have no space to mention the several politcal acts of succeeding prophets. Nathan, Ahijah, Shemaiah, Elijah, Elisha, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Zechariah, Azariah, Oded, and others, were inspired to counsel, reprove, or encourage kings — inspired, we say, for it is demonstrable that these propliets sj^oke to monarchs, not as mere sagacious statesmen, but almost exclusively as men of God. In one instance Nathan* did, we concede, mistakenly suppose that David was f(C)llowing the divine guidance, and so he hastily approved his project of building a temple — a project that seemed reasonalde, benevolent, and in accordance with the divine will and puri:)ose ; but before another day dawned upon the prophet, a revelation from God corrected tlie error. This should teach us that we ought not to advise kings concerning even spiritual matters without authority from the word of God. Nathan was afterwards called to interpose in order to secure the anointing of Solomon, in pursuance of David's oath that the son of Bathsheba should succeed him: upon which Matthew Henry observes, " When crowns were disposed of by im- mediate direction of Heaven, no marvel that prophets were much interested and employed in that matter ; but now, that common Providence rules the affairs of the kingdom of men (Dan. iv. 32), the subordinate agency must be left to common persons; and let not prophets intermeddle in them, but keej) to the affairs of the kingdom of God among men." The pro])hets Elijah and Elisha afford aibnirable cxamjiles of moral courage. The instances of their firmness and boldness in withstanding the idolatries of the court and people of Israel, and in 1 1 Sam. X 25 ; D?iif. xvii. 14-20. 2 Id. xi. 12, 13. 3 Id. xii. 12-14, 20-25. 4 2 Sam. vii. 3, 5-17. OF POLITICAL SUBJECTS, 161 rebuking monarcbs, and of their success in defeating the enemies of the ten- tribes, are so familiar to all that they need not be repeated here. We have already alluded to the relations of these two prophets to the kings of Syria. We have likewise a remarkable instance of Elijah's concern for the spiritual jirosperity of the rival kingdom of Judah in the letter^ written by him to Jehoram, and which was not to be employed for the reproof of the king of Judah until after the death of the prophet. It is a proof of the divine legation of these prophets of Israel that they did not share the antipathy of their nation towards Judah, and it is, therefore, probable that Jehovah moved Elijah to communicate this prophecy in a posthu mous writing, in order, perhaps, to put it beyond the power of Judah to suspect that it was dictated by party spirit, and composed in the interest of the king of Israel. The advice a i5roj)het2 gave to Amaziah, that he should not employ the mercenaries of Israel whom he had hired to fight his battles, was not prejudicial to the honour of all the ten tribes, but only to that of the children of Ejjhraim, who had already, on several occasions, shown themselves signally wanting in faith and obedience towards Jehovah, and the ravages these hirelings afterwards committed on the cities of Judah must have convinced every candid man in Israel that this jDroi^het of Judah spoke the truth of God. And when Jehoshaphat became a partner with the wicked Ahaziah in a commercial speculation,3 the prophet Eliezer predicted that the Lord would wreck liis ships. As, however, the storm in the harbour of Ezion-geber proved alike disastrous to the two kings, and the calamity affected but remotely and, perhaps, not unfavourably the popular interests of the tribes of Israel, none could reasonably say that, the prophecy was dictated by a clannish spirit. Equally superior to the conduct of an ecclesi- astical factionary was the humane counsel of the prophet Oded^ in behalf of the Judaic captives, whom the men of Israel had purposed to reduce to bondage. He reminds the victors that the prisoners are their brethren, and that it is because the common Lord God of their fathers was angry with Judah, that he has delivered these families into their hands. Amos was sent to prophesy against Israel, and, though he was a native of Judah, he nevertheless does not spare his own nation, but tells them that they, in common with Moab and Samaria, are to expect the judgments of the Lord.^ No less liberal was the charity of Isaiah, when in the days of 12 Chion. xxi. 12. 2 Id. xxv. 7-13. aid. xx. 35-37. 4Id. xxviii. 9-15. 5 Amos ii. 1-5 ; vi. 1-6 ; see also the prophecy of Hosea, his contemporary. 162 OF POLITICAL SUBJECTS. Ilezekiah, as the spiritual guide of that king, ho officiated at the Passover which was kept in the second month at Jerusalem.' F'or who can doubt that he was inspired of Jehovah to counsel Hezekiah to invite to this Passover the remaining inhahitants of the land of Israel, and that it was during the fourteen days when for the fir.st time after many years, the men of Judah and the men of Israel stood side by side in the courts of the temple that Isaiah preached to them the sermons which are contained in the last twenty-seven chapters of his projihecy? Some German scholars have denied these chaptera a place among the genuine prophecies of Isaiah, principally on the ground that they do not find in the life of this man of God any occasion that befitted such themes and called for such applica- tions of them. But let them not overlook, as they all have done, this occasion. Let them study well the true conditions and pros- pects of Judah and Israel, and study again from this new stand- point these chapters which they have learned to ascribe to " the Great Unnamed." This is not the place to discuss this question ; nor is it necessary that we should settle it here ; for whichever side we take it must be evident to any one, after a careful examination of these chapters as to this point, that the prophet has by turns, with admiral)lo imjiartiality and timeliness, reproved and comforted both Israel and Judah. Noti<-.e here by the way, that when Judah is in danger of being too highly elated by the fruition or prospect of prosperity, Jehovah in- spires this prophet to foretell some calamity that is calculated to teach them their dependence on Jehovah. Thus after allaying the fears of Ahaz with the predictions against Syria and Ephraim, allied enemies of whom he had stood in fear, the prophet proceeds to tell him that his doom is to be executed by Assyria : thus again while Eliakim is told of his future exaltation, he is likewise warned of his downfall because of his nepotism,^ and when Ilezekiah had sung his song of tlianksgiving for recovering from a doa) The in- spired preachers sometimes quoted ad lifcrinn, sometimes ad sen- snin. (r) They not unfrequently added to their quotations such explanations as showed their meaning or their application to the argument used, {d) They evince no small vivacity in their manner of quoting. They introduce texts in a great variety of ways; som^imes in the form of animated interrogation. Instances under these several heads will readily occur to every student of the Bible. In Dr. J. M. Mason's sermon (Messiah's Throne, Pt. i.), there is a very successful imitation of the interrogatory way of quoting Scrip- ture. See paragraph beginning, " I cannot find in the lively oracles," etc. 2. The argument from i 'oncarrcnce of Testluuvij/ seems entitled to a separate head ; for here, as Campbell says, the probability arises from the concurrence itself, it being morally impossible that the fact of many coinciding in their testimony should spring from chance. This has been called a "galaxy of evidence" (Acts iii. 2-4; X. 43 ; Ileb. xi., xii. 1, 2). See Bishop Home's Eighth Discourse, The Case of the Jews, Pt. iv., text John i. 11.; Davison's Dis- courses on Prophecy, pp. 23, 266, 375, 396. 3. In some degree resembling the last is the argument from Pro- gressive Approach. Here the combined force of a series of proofs results from the order in which they are considered, and from their jyrot/rcfisive tendency to establish a certain conclusion ; <.//., if we project a ball along a rough surface, its motion is soon stopped; if along a smoother surface, its motion is not so soon retarded ; hence we infer that if all the resistance could be taken away, the motion would be perpetual. Dr. Whately, the inventor of the name of this argument, remarks that great use may be made of it in arguing for the existence and moral attributes of the Deity from the autho- rity of men's opinions, so far forth as they are wise and well in- structed. (See Butler's argument from the necessary tendency of virtue, Analogy, Pt. i., chap. iii. ; John Wesley s sermon on the General Spread of the Gospel, text Isa. xix. 11 ; also Vinet's sermon, A Characteristic of the Gospel, in which he proves that of all reli- gions the religion of Jesus alone has a necessary tendency towards universality and per])etuity.) IV. Arguments i'vom Jicscmblance. Under this general term we THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF ARGUMENTS. 229 include all those j^roofs and reasons which are derived from a conv parison or contrast of the properties or relations of diiferent ob- jects. By Isocrates and his disciples arguments of this class are termed prohable}- 1. The argument from Example is one in which we " consider a known object or instance, of a certam class, as a fair sample in re- spect of some point or other of that class, and consequently draw an mference from it respecting either the whole class, or other less known individuals of it." The preacher finds this kind of argu- ments to be very popular and eifective ; but he should never over- look the difference between examples used for proofs and those which are merely employed for illustration — a difference as great as that between a column and a window of a cathedral (Isa. vii. 21,22; xhx. 20; Amos vi. 13). Chrysostom often employs this kind of reasoning. 2. The argument from Induction is one in which from several in- dividual cases we argue to the whole class, or to a general conclu- sion. Paley's Hora3 Paulinae is an argument of this kind, and so is a part of Dr. Tulloch's Theisim. Of this nature likewise are all ar- guments from Litidtion ; e. g., if from the natural elements of our spiritual constitution we infer the nature and perfections of God. Thus Dr. Tulloch proves that the Divme Being has personality from man's intuitive sense of his own personality ; from a self with- in we are carried to a self without and above us. From the human conscience he demonstrates the divine righteousness; and from our intuitive apprehension of things beyond the region of the vis- ible he argues the divine infinitude. (Cf Dr. M'Cosh on Intui- tions.) Of like description are arguments from Experience. As proof from mtuition so proof from expei'ience can never amount to moral evidence except when it is an induction from such a number of cases as proves that the experience is essentially that of the whole class, and not of one or two individuals. In arguing from Christian experience, the major proposition is that Scripture as- cribes certain virtues and graces to the Holy Spirit. To this class belongs the argument fi-om analysis, or that process of reasoning whereby we establish a proposition by proving it by one of the several assertions that are either expressed or implied in its terms. (See example m Plans and Divisions, by Dean Young.) 3. The argument from Deduction is the proving by marks, condi- tions, or criteria the character of a person, the claims of a system, the truth of a doctrine, or the qualities of a thing. Here the pro- 1 Rhet. ad Alex., chap, vii., ^4-7. 230 THE DIFFERENT KINDS ARGUMENTS. eess is the reverse of that of mduction; e. g.^ Rev. Charles Les- lie, in his Short and Easy Method with Deists, begins his demon- stration of the truth of the Christian religion by laymg down such marks as to the truth of matters of fact in general^ that where they all meet, such matters of fact cannot be false. He then shows that all these marks do meet in the raattei'S of fact recorded as to Moses and Christ. Many popular "searching" sermons and treatises are composed on the same general method. (See Bourdaloue's sermon on the Christian Character, text Matt. xxii. 42, and John Wesley's sermon, Marks of the IN ew Birth, text John iii. 8.) Vinet, in his sermon on Imaginary Perfection (text Col. ii. 20-28) shows that a false perfection is characterised by the appearance of a voluntary worshii?, the apjjearance of humility, the appearance of a holy con- tempt for the wants of the body, while the reality of each of these things is essential to true Christian j)iety. (See Matt. xi. 8, 9; 2 Cor. xi. 22-28.) This process of determining a question by a few test principles may be as decisive as it is summary; e. r/., Charles de la Rue, in his sermon, The Dying Sinner, proves that his deferred conversion is liable to be false, firsts from the disposition of God towards the sinner ; secondly, from the disposition of the sinner towards God. The argument from Induction is really a subordinate process of deduction, since it always begins with the tacit assumption of some principle. 4. The argument from Analogy is reasoning from that kind of resemblance which involves a similarity or identity of relation. Resemblances in appearance, according to Drs. Copleston, Whately, and others, in incidental circumstances, or even in properties, form no sufficient basis for analogy. But Locke, Butler,^ and Mill give a wider meaning to the phrase "argument from analogy," and employ it to designate an argument founded on resemblance of any kind. Dr. James Buchanan^ takes the term in a stricter sense, " not as denoting any kind of resemblance, but such a resemblance as may be applied in argument or made a ground of inference. It may be described as consisting in a real and radical likeness between two or more objects of thought, which is made manifest to us by their being observed to possess the same characteristic properties, or to exhibit similar relations, or to produce the same or similar effects." He prefers this description of analogy, because it " serves to guard equally against two distinct errors — the error of those, on 1 Dr. Angus's ed. of But!er"s Analogy^ p. xvii. 2 Analogy as a Guide to Truth and an Aid to Faith, p. 6^ THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF ARGUMENTS. 031 the one hand, who hold that it consists merely in a resemblance of relations, and implies no resemblance between the objects them- selves ; and the error of those, on the other hand, who imagine that any aj^parent resemblance, however superficial or miimportant, may be applied equally v,ith every other to the purposes of argument or proof" The same authori shows what are the different uses of analogical reasoning: (1) Where it affords little or no proof it is often suffi- cient to neutralise objections and remove adverse presumptions ; (2) It has the power of imparting an aspect of verisimilitude or likelihood and congrulty to truths which might otherwise seem strange and even incredible ; (3) Analogy yields in many cases a 2^resum2jtlon or a probability in favour of certain conclusions such as admits of every variety of degrees ; (4) It affords in some cases a valid ground of inference, and produces the highest certainty of which the human mind is capable, except in the case of demonstra- tive or necessary truth.^ The yoimg preacher would do well to read, in connection with this work, Albert Barnes's Introductory Essay to Butler's Analogy, in which he very ably defends the doctrines of the evangelical sys- tem against those who assert that these doctrines are in opposition to the established principles by which God governs the world. Thus, in neutralismg objections against the doctrmes of total de- pravity, of a Mediator and atonement, of regeneration, of the Trin- ity, etc., he appeals to facts and prmciples already learned from the constitution and course of nature. One kind of analogical proof is that of Congrulty? Though a very effective method of reasoning, it is now much less frequently used than it was formerly. When employed negatively it is some- times termed argumentum ad inconvenlentl. Thomas Aquinas,^ ui his homihes, employs it; e.g., in his homily on Luke vi. 36, he gives three reasons to move us to show mercy : (1) Necessity; (2) Utility; (3) Congruity. Again, in his homily on Matt. vi. 24, he shows " that we ought to serve God on the ground of congruity ; for all things serve him, whence it is sufficiently congruous that man also should serve him" (Ps. cxix. 91). Davies,in his sermon on the Dan- 1 Analogy as a Guide to Truth and an Aid to Faith, pp. 162-178. 2 Prof. H. L. Mansel defines ueasoning an act of comparison between two concepts (Art. Metaphysics in Encycl. Britan.}. 3 Dr. Buchanan's Analogy, p. 170. 4 Aquinas does not here emi)loy the term in the restricted sense given it in the scholastic theology. Since the above was written, Professor Potter (Pastor and People, pp. 36, 37) has published some excellent hints on congruity. 16 232 THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF ARGUMENTS. ger of Liikewarmness (text Rev. iii. 15, 16), considers lukewarainess in resj^ect of several d ejects, particularly towards God, towards Christ Jesus, towards a future state, and towards the duties of re- lif^ion, showing how unsuitable a temper it is towards all these objects. On the general subject see, e.g., Isa. i. 3; v. 1-7; xxviii. 2.3-29; liv. 9- Jer. iv. 3; vii. 12-15; xiii. 23; xviii. 6; Zech. 1. 2; Malachi i, G ; Matt, xviii. 21-35 ; Heb. chaps, iii. and vii. ; James iii. 3-6, etc. ; Howe's sermon on Sleep, 1 Thes. v. 6, and his sermon on the Vanity of Man as a Mortal ; Hall's sermon on Substitution ; Jortin's ser- mon on Luke xvi. 8 ; Davison on Prophecy, passim ; Yinet's ser- mon on the Necessity of Becoming Little Children; the Force of Congruity, etc., in Isaac Taylor's Restoration of Belief. 5. The argument from Supposition or Construction is that in which dn invented case or a conceivable hyj^othesis is employed as proof. " We create," says Vinet, " with the hearer's consent, a fact apart from real and known facts; we make what is called in geom- etry a construction; we are assisted by this dotted line, which we instantly erase, in testing the regularity of the figure Avhich we first traced." Or, to use the language of Dr. Whately, " this mode of reasoning corresponds to a geometrical demonstration by means of a diagram, in which the figure placed before the learner is an indi- vidual, employed, as he soon comes to perceive, as a sign, though not an arbitrary sign, representing the Avhole class." Some of the parables of our Lord are of the nature of supposed cases employed either for impression, conviction, or illustration. (See Bourdaloue's sermon on the Birth of Christ, near the close of Ft. ii. ; also his sermon on an Erroneous Conscience, Pt. i., first subdivision ; Saurin's sermon on the Worth of the Soul, near the end ; Wolfe's Remains, 10th and 11th sermons — Wolfe in these instances appears to have followed his own rule : " Throw your congregation upon arguing against themselves." Dr. Chalmers and Dr. Buchanan have effec- tually neutralised objections by "hypothetical solutions;'' — John Foster's lecture on Access to God.) 6. Arguments from Contraries are founded on resemblance. To arguments of this class the term enthymeme was applied by Isocratcs and his disciples.^ They are of the following kinds : (1) The argument « fortiori, or a niajore ad minus, or (.r minus probabili ad magis, proves that .some? other less probable proposi- tion is true, and thence concludes that the original proposition is true because it is more probable than the former. No oratorical 1 Mr. Cope's lutro. to Aristl. Rhet., 104-425. THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF ARGUMENTS. 233 argument is more poiDiilar. The prophets, our Lord, and the apos- tles often reasoned in this manner (Isa. vii. 13 ; Jer. xii. 5 ; Ezek. XV. 5; xxxiii. 24; MaL i. 8; Matt. vi. 25-34; vii. 11, l2; x. 25; xxvi. 30; Luke xxiii. 31 ; John x. 35; Heb. ii. 2, 3; ix. 13, 14; xii. 25). This argument was a favorite one with Chrysostom. (See his 3d homily on the Statues, §18, 19; 3d sermon on Lazarus, §2; 5th on Lazarus, §1, 2; Edward Payson's sermon on Job xxii. 5; Augustus Wm. Hare's sermons, ^:)«s5/»i.) (2) The argument ex adoerso opposes one fact to another fact which occurred in parallel circumstances. Thus Pascal in his 14th Provincial Letter contrasts the maxims of the Jesuits on homicide with the rules which legal justice follows in such cases. Under this head Vinet places arguments founded on Contrast and Differ- ence, particularly on j)roofs of essential differences which are gener- ally overlooked, and of essential resemblances where we are wont to perceive only differences (Deut. xxxii. 18; Jer. xiv. 22, and chap. XXXV. ; Matt. v. 46-48 ; Saurin's sermon on the Advantages of Revealed Religion, text 1 Cor. i. 21, Pt. i.). (3) The argument from Ablation shows the nature of one thing by the nature of another thing which is opposed to it, or by the effects of its absence. It is by Schott termed the apagogic argu- ment or demonstration, which proves a thing by showing the impos- sibility of the contrary. It is in such cases a sort of redact io ad ahsiirdum. We may in this way prove that a knowledge of the Scriptures is very beneficial by showing the effects of our being ignorant of them. Thus Massillon, while preaching to ecclesiastics on the necessity of setting a good example, dwells chiefly on the results of their being bad examples. So we might show that if man can save himself, the death of Christ is not to be justified or accounted for. This negative way of reasoning is very popular but it is better occasionally to pursue the opposite course; e. g., to show the advantages and blessings of a proper observance of the Christian Sabbath, rather than to show the evils of Sabbath break- ing ; and so it is better to preach upon Christian beneficence rather than upon covetousness. Thus Bourdaloue, in his sermon on the Last Judgment, instead of dwelling on the wrath of the Judge and the terror of sinners (as he might Scripturally have done), adopted the equally Scriptural and, to "a gospel hardened " audience, the equally effective course, of proving that in the Last Day, God will do justice to himself and to his chosen. Saurin reasons from Abla- tion in his sermon on the Judgment (text Heb. ix. 27), where his first argument for a general and final trial is drawn from the pre- sent disorders of human society. (See Walker's sermon en the 234 THE DIFFERENT KINDS OF ARGUMENTS. Desire of Pleasing God, Pt. ii., 1 Thes. ii. 4; Richard "Watson's sermon, Promises obtained through Faith, Heb. xi. 33.) V. The* argument liednctlo ad absurdum or jycrhniyossihile is one by which the truth of a proposition is proved by showing the absurdity or impossibility of the contrary, or the proposition of an ad- versary is in like manner shown to be absurd or impossible. "When the argument provokes laughter it is sometimes termed argument a cachinnatione. Vinet has classified the various methods of re- ducing a proposition to an absurdity. This may be done (1) by stripping it of verbal disguises ; (2) by showing the principle it in- volves ; (3) by exhibiting its consequences (Isa. x. 15 ; xxix. IG ; xl. 12-26; xliv. 6-20; xlvi. 1-7; Iv. 2; Jer. x. 3-5; xxii. 15; Malachi i. 8. See Bourdaloue's sermon on the Resurrection of our Lord, Pt. i., 3d subdivision; also two examples in the sermons of Tillotson, " "Will chance fit means to ends, and that in ten thousand in- stances and not fail in one," etc., 1st sermon, a'oI. i. ; " Suppose I came a Stranger into England," etc., 21st sermon ; Bishop Sherlock, sermon on Acts ii. 22; South's sermon on Covetousness, Pt. ii., text Luke xii. 15; Saurin on the Vanity of attempting to oppose God, Prov. xxi. 30). " If .prayer did not actually operate as means of procuring divine favours, then it would be as proper to pray for divine blessings after as before^'' etc. (Dr. Emmons's sermon on the Design and In- fluence of Prayer, text Gen. xxxii. 28 ; Daniel Baker, sermon on "Vain Excuses, third excuse, text Luke xiv. 18.) "VI. The argument ex consequent ibiis is that by which we prove a principle or conclusion to be erroneous, absurd, or injurious, by showing its logical or moral consequences. It not unfrequently takes the form of a rronounc- ing aesthetical judgments. Nor will it here be amiss to add that modern speakers and hear- ers possess imaginations of a more contemplative kind than were known among the ancient Greeks and IJomans. And this remark holds good not only as to oratory but as to poetry also ; for, as some critic or other says, it is a marked " distinction between the very early jjoetry and that of modern days, that in the former the creative faculty appears generally pure and naked, and absolutely unconnected with the reflective. In all modern poets, and most, perhaps, in the greatest of all — Dante, Shakespeare, and Milton — thought seems to struggle with imagination for the mastery, and the one and the other produce their ettects in such rapid succession and so interchangeably that nothing can be nioi'e difficult than to assign their resijective provinces." The cause of this modern sub- ordination of the imagination to reason may, we think, be trared to the influence of the imaginative parts of the sacred Scrijitures, where, more than anywhere else, we behold this subordiuation in OF THE IMAGINATION. 253 its i^roper degree and its legitimate fruits. Examples of this are also found in some of the sermons of Jeremy Taylor and Thomas Chalmers. Here the imagination, like the carrier pigeon, only soars that she may catch a far-off glimpse of that truth which is the point of her destination. The imagination has, however, not unfrequently been perverted even by the most intellectual preachers, and still oftener misinter- preted and disparaged by the most intelligent of their hearers. These things have served to create strong popular prejudices against what are termed " fanciful," or " imaginative," or " poetical " preach- ers— prejudices which are industriously fortified by the sneers of those preachers who are themselves both destitute of the faculty and blissfully ignorant of its nature and j^rovince. Let us then briefly review some of the real and more common abuses of this faculty : The pursuit of the ideal for the pleasure it affords is one of the first errors into which the young preacher is liable to be allured. Hence the frequent quotation of such poetry as either has but a re- mote connection with the matter in hand, or is wanting in that clear- ness or energy or practical aim which is proper to Christian ora- tory.i Hence a tendency to describe heaven, hell. Christian expe- rience, and sin poetically, i. e., after the manner of the pastoral, epic, and dramatic poets. Not that the spirit and letter of these are always to be excluded from sermons ; it is against the habit and not the single act that we are now levelling our censures. But lyric poetry, both inspired and uninspired, sacred and secular, may be safely and largely employed. This distinction is justified by the example of the prophetic orators and is one of the most important that they furnish us. It may, by the way, deserve mention, that it is wrong to say that the end of poetry is to please. This is indeed the end of some kinds of ancient poetry. But the plurality of poets, ancient and modern, cither professedly, or by implication, made this subordi- nate to higher and more important ends. The old epic, the dramatic, the amatory, and convivial kinds were for the most part content to be the ministrants and attendants of j^leasure. But the ancient lyric, satire, pastoral, and elegy had more elevated purposes. And to the praise of Christianity be it said, that wherever it has had any influence, it has availed to make poets of every description more earnest and practical than were those of ethnic antiquity. We may 1 Aristotle (Rhet., L. iii., chap, iii.) forbids the orator to employ epithets po- etically, as tendinjT to frigidity and uont-eiise. 254 OF THE IMAGINATION. go further, and maintain ^vith De Quincey,^ that the term poicer rather than jylcasure best designates the aim of the epic and tragic poets — a term which this writer thus explains : " Now, if it be asked what is meant l)y communicating power, I, in my turn, would ask, by what name man would designate the case in which I should be made to feel vividly, and Avith a vital consciousness, emotions which ordinary life rarely or never supplies occasions for exciting, and which had previously lain imawakened, and hardly within the dawn of consciousness (as myriads of modes of feeling are at this moment in every human mind for want of a poet to organize them) — I say when these inert and sleeping forms are organized, when these possibilities are actualised, is this con- scious and living possession of mine 2'>0icer, or what is it ? " But to return to the consideration of the abuse of poetic pleasure, so-called ; we should not hide from ourselves the fact that this is not merely a question of rhetoric or taste, but also one of vital con- sequence, even of salvation sometimes. For it is appalling to reflect how many hearers of highly imaginative sermons take the visions of the imagination for divine manifestations, and its higher transports for Christian affections. " There are such things in our Christian religion," says John Smith,^ of Cambridge, '' when a carnal and unhollowed mind takes the chair and gets the expounding of them, as may seem, very delicious to the appetites of men ; some doctrines and notions of free grace and justification, the magnificent titles of sons of God and heirs of heaven, ever-flowing sti'eams of joy and pleasure that blessed souls shall swim in to all eternity, a glorious paradise in the world to come, always springing up with sweet-scented and fragrant beauties, a new Jerusalem paved with gold, and bespangled with stars, comprehending in its vast circuit such numberless varieties that a busy curiosity may spend itself about to all eternity. . . True religion is no boiling up of our imag- inative powers, nor the glorious heats of j^assion." It was the opinion of Turretin^ and Jonathan Edwards that it is only by the imagination that Satan has access to the soul. The latter accord- ingly remarks : " There is a great difterence between these two things, viz., lively imaginations arisinr/ from strong ajfcctions^and strong affections arising from Uccly imaginations.^'^ This second phase of experience he suspects, ^. e., when the affection is built on the imagination as its foundation, instead of a spiritual illumination I Letters to a Young Man, Letter iii. 2 Select Discourses^, pp. 370, 371. 3 Tlicolog. Elench. Loc. vii. 27. 4 On The Religious Affectious, Tt. iii., sec. 4 ; also bis Memoirs of Brainerd, chap, ix., sec. 4. OF THE IMAGINATION. 255 or discovery. Edwards's son-in-law, Brainerd, in liis narrative of the work of grace among the Indians, says : " When this work became so universal and prevalent, and gained such general credit and es- teem among the Indians, as Satan seemed to have little advantage of working against it in his own proper garb, he then transformed himself ' into an angel of light,' and made some vigorous attempts to introduce turbulent commotions of the passions in the room of genu- ine convictions of sin, imaginary and fanceful notions of Christ, as appearing to the mental eye in a human shajDC, and in some particular postures, etc., in the room of spiritual and supernatural discoveries of his divine glory and excellency. I have reason to think that if these things had met with countenance and encouragement, there would have been a very considerable l\arvest of this kind of converts here." It may not be improper here to make a difference between these important cautions of Edwards and the doubtful theory of Turretin which is interwoven among them. A more Scriptural and more psychologial view of the matter would, we presume, be something like the following : Satan generally operates on the human mind, first, through the medium of the heart or active powers, and there- by obsesses and manages the ideal forms and combinations of the imagination. This distinction is the more important as there is an imagination of induction or of abstraction which is utterly devoid of passion and feeling, and as the Scriptures represent Satan as put- ing an evil purpose into the heart, and filling it with such jDurpose."- Another abuse of the imagination in preaching is suggested by the last remark. It is the excessive employment of this faculty upon abstract subjects and subtle resemblances. The imagination as exercised by the schoolmen of the middle ages, by the mathe- maticians of atheistical France, and by not a few metaphysicians and naturalists of our day, is unfriendly and hostile to all feeling except animal feeling. The same must, we fear, be said of the ha- bitual exercise of this faculty on the mere metaphysical parts of Christian theology, and on questions that naturally arise in the preparation of psychological, experimental, and ethical sermons. The propensity which some men still indulge of allegorising the historic and parabolic Scriptures, is likewise antagonistic to passion and emotion. We must beware, again, of dwelling too long or too frequently on ideals of moral excellence apart from every-day life, and partic- ularly the life of Immanuel. The consequence will be that we 1 John xiii. 2 ; Acts v. 3 ; Zech. viii. 17. 256 OF THE IMAGINATION. shall be in danger of acquiring a malevolent and misanthropic re- finement, of all things the most discordant Avith the patience and composure proper to the preacher. One antidote to this is the ex- ercise of tlie imagination on material anil human rather than on mere abstract and romantic objects. Nor should we allow ourselves to exercise the fanci/ to any con- siderable degree in our preaching. Hence wit and humour, which are often suggested by it, are very seldom admissible in sermons. Do not dwell on gloomy images beyond what the sacred Scrip- tures warrant and require. Let it not be thought, however, that Ave may dwell on such images less than the Bible does. " The im- agination stands most in need of restraint," says James Beattie,^ " when it runs into one or the other of the oj^posite extremes of levity and melancholy." Carefully discriminate between the true and the false grotesque ; the true, as Ruskin says,^ arises from the healthful play of the im- agination in times of rest, and from the confusion of this faculty by the prosence of truths which it cannot wholly grasp. The false arises from the irregular and accidental contemi)lation of terrible things, or evil in general. But except Avhere the true grotesque determines otherwise, our imagination should compose its ideals out of things as they appear to common observation, avoiding for the most part whatever is mi- nute or novel, or is the result of jirofound scientific inquiry. Be- attie makes an important difference between liveliness and correct- ness of imagination, and remarks that both are equally conspicuous in Homer, but that Spencer and Ariosto are not inferior iu the first quality but extremely defective in the second.^ The author quoted last also warns us against the danger of an indistinct apprehension, observing that " sometimes, when one's im- agination is lively, and regulated, too, by an acquaintance with na- ture, one may, notwithstanding, contract habits ot indolence and irregularity in one's studies, which produce a superficial medley of knowledge." But good sense will stand the young preacher instead of many cautions on this head. Only let him not too readily adopt this two- fold error : that he will act according to it naturally without con- sulting it, and that it is not capable of growing in strength and activity by regular exercise. 1 Dissertation on the Imagination, chap. v. 2 Modern Painters, vols. iii. and iv., cl)ap. viii.; SloncS of Venice, vol. iii , on Uie Grotesque Renaissance. 3 See also Raskin's Mod. Painters, vol. iii., chap, vii., on the Naturalistic Ideal. OF THE IMAGINATION. 257 Richter, borrowing a metaphor from Plato, says of Herder's imagination, that its guiding or steering feathers were not of a power proportional to the mighty feathers of its pinions. It should nevertheless be borne in mind that the imaginations of the most of hearers are not powerful enough to sail far away or soar very sublimely for many minutes together. Let any one who is not naturally of an imaginative turn of mind read through with- out intermission some one of the most grand books of Homer or of Milton, and he will feel that the faculty has been overtaxed. Agreeably to this view, Ruskin^ has said of the imagination that "it is eminently a loeariable faculty, eminently delicateand incapa- ble of bearing fatigue ; so that if we give it too many objects at a time to employ itself upon, or very grand ones for a long time to- gether, it fails under the effort, becomes jaded, exactly as the limbs do by bodily fatigue, and incapable of answering any farther appeal till it has had rest." It would therefore be advisable for some very imaginative j)reacher3 to invent all the matter of each sermon at one sitting, otherwise they will enshrine too many images within the space allotted to a single discourse. Those preachers, on the other hand, v/hose natural turn of mind is didactic or logical will have to guard against the delusion that they can oj^erate on the imagination by concise propositions and general statements. Images are some- times produced by circumstantiality which frequently demands a copious amplificatio'i. We may subjoin the observation that in general those sermons of the prophets are the shortest which are the most imaginative. Of the abuses of the imagination in preaching we cannot here treat with any fulness. The good sense of the preacher, along with what we here throw out incidentally, will suffice. The history of the French Protestant pulpit affords one or two warnings for us. It was the practice of the eal'lier preachers to exercise their imagi- nations in delineating characters, in order to represent more viv- idly and profitably the vices of the world and the opposite evan- gelical virtues; but their successors, very imhappily, indulged in delineations for the purpose of displaying a sparkling and biting style. They sought aj^plause for ingenious fancies, a delicate wit, and keen satire. ^ Something of this is visible in Taylor and Donne. In exposition and discussion, again, we are liable to the danger of soaring too high, or at least of attempting loftier flights than the matter in hand will warrant. Beattie^ has pointed out some facts 1 Modern Painters, Pt. iv., chap, x , vol. iii. 2 P. Roques, in his Pasteur Evangelique, pp. 355-479. 3 In a letter to Hon. Charles Boyd, 258 OF THE IMAGINATION. which go to show the incompatibility of the philosophical and po- etical genius. lie thinks, if we remember rightly, tliat even good Milton nods when he allows liis characters to debate in blank verse. But still we should remember that herein the imagination which Tlies not Jdgh may nevertheless fly fa;-, just as the empty down Avill Goar much higher than that Avhicli is ballasted with a precious seed which it is commissioned to plant in a very distant field. The uses of the imagination are, perhaps, not to be numbered ; at least by any man of this generation. The future will undoubt- edly reveal some fimctions of this faculty that are as yet hidden ii-ora metajihysicians, and many of the most excellent of its uses will, we presume, remain to be studied and admired through ages everlasting. "We may nevertheless glance at a few of such as are obviously related to sacred oratory. For one thing, it brings the distant near, and summons the reali- ties of the past and of the future into the living and visible pres- ent. Apostrophe, vision, personification, and all the forms of hyp- otyphosis are deeply indebted for their efiiciency to the imagina- tion of speaker and hearer. Dugald Stuart has remarked that in dreaming and madness we ascribe to the objects of the imagination a real existence, and that we feel and act as if we believed that the objects of our attention were real. Almost as much Tuay be al- leged of the imagination Avhen it is jjossessed with the images of true eloquence. The services of imagination, as an ally of reason in actualising the distant in time and space, have been justlv and forcibly described by Lord Bacon •} " If the affections in them- selves were pliant and obedient to reason, it were true there would be no great use of persuasions and insinuations to the will, more than of naked proposition and proof-5. But in regard of the con- tinual mutinies and seditions of the affections, reason would become captive and servile if eloquence of persuasions did not practise .and win the imagination from the affection's part, and contract a confed- eracy between reason and the imagination against the affections. For the affections themselves carry ever an ajipetite to good, as reason doth ; the diff'erence is that the affection beholdeth merely the present — reason beholdeth the future and sum of time. And therefore the jiresent, filling the imagination more, reason is com- monly v.anquished ; but after that the force of eloquence and per- suasion hath made things future and remote appear as j^rescnt, then upon revolt of the imagination reason prevaileth." Accordant with this view is his excellent definition of the office of rhetoric : '"It is," 1 Tho Advancement of Leaniinji. OF THE IMAGINATION. 259 he says, " to apply reason to imagination for the better moving of the will." For another thing, the shapings of the imagination being always more complete and attractive than those of art and literature, it is by the assistance given them by the preacher that they are enabled to allure the hearer forward in the way to moral excellence and per- fection. The imagination is ever beckoning on the heart from what is to what shall be, and ought to be, and what must be. It com- j)rehends the absolute beauty and the universal good. It is, therefore, not only the beginner and the finisher of philosophy, but in some sense, also, of theology itself; for it is at once the guide of the discoverer and the perfecter of the thing discovered. And hence, as Aristotle^ says, "Poetry is more philosophical and deserving of attention than history ; for poetry speaks more of imiversals, but history of par- ticulars." Of the same opinion was Sir Philip Sidney,^ who declares that it is a commendation peculiar to poetry, and not to history, to exalt virtue and punish vice, to set the mind forward to that which deserves to be called good. . . " As if your journey should lie through a fair vineyard, at the very outset the j)oet doth give you a cluster of grapes, that, full of that taste, you may long to pass far- ther." Lord Bacon^ gave to the world, ten years later, an amplifica- tion of Sidney's idea, in the words following : " There is agreeable to the spirit of man, a more ample greatness, a more exact goodness, and a more absolute variety than can be found in the nature of things. Therefore, because the acts or events of true history have not that magnitude which satisfieth the mind of man, poesy feigneth acts and events greater and more heroical ; because true history propoundeth the successes and issues of actions not so agreeable to the merits of virtue and vice, therefore poesy feigns them more just in retribution, and more according to revealed providence ; because truG^ history representeth actions and events more ordinary and less interchanged, therefore poesy endueth them with more rareness, and more unexpected and alternative variations ; so as it appeareth that poesy serveth and conferreth to magnanimity, morality, and delectation. And therefore it was' ever thought to have some par- ticipation of divineness, because it doth raise and erect the mind by submitting the shews of things to the desires of the mind ; whereas reason doth buckle and boAV the mind to the nature of things." The relation of these admirable words to oratory, and particularly to sacred oratory, is so direct that it does not need to be indicated. 1 Poetic, chap. ix. 2 The Defence of Poesj-. 3 The Advancement of Learning. k. 260 OF THE IMAGINATION. A further use of the imagination is in making comprehensible the mysterious si)iritual and eternal things of divine revelation. The themes and tlioughts with -which the preacher has to deal often lie beyond the confines of the material and the temporal. They can only be conveyed from his imagination to that of the hearer in such words and figures as the imagination teaches. Here abstrac- tions only make the darkness more visible, and at the same time are liable to inculcate much practical heresy. By depriving of its concrete life many a passage of holy Scripture, it renders them powerless, if not positively death-dealing. Creeds, or confessions of faith, are necessary for fortifying the truths of Scripture over against the assaults of their correlate errors, and catechisms are im- portant aids in Christian instruction. Still we should in our preach- ing most vigilantly guard ourselves against the habit of reducing all the undisputed parts of holy Scripture to theological principles and the dry and compressed statements of abstract science — a habit we are almost certain to contract unless we keep the imagination not only in daily exercise but in continual sympathy with those of the inspired speakers and writers. A strain of preaching that is dryly didactic, like that of Paley and Whately, or coldly logical, like that of Isaac Barrow and Joseph Butler, may in some sense indeed convey religious knowledge and defend sound doctrines, but it ought to be seriously considered whether it does not imprint and engrave on the minds of common and habitual hearers the most erro- neous and the most dangerous ideas and views of divine things. A purely imaginative strain of preaching, on the other hand, Avould un- doubteilly do great injustice to the teachings of divine revelation, ani mislead the hearers into harmful opinions. But the la*ter could not in any case be of so evil a tendency as the former. The com- j)arative]y bad influence of these two classes of preachers may be illustrated by that of the old pagan poets and philosophers : the po- ets inculcated a great deal of superstition, but, as Sir Philip Sid- ney maintains, " they did much better than the philosophers, wlio, shaking off superstition, brought in atheism." For the rest, we may say that our enumeration of these ad\an- tages would be incomplete were we to omit to add that this faculty acts the principal part in rhetorical invention. The foregoing hints render this very evident. James Beattie, the poet and philosoj)her whom we have already quoted more than once, regarded this fac- ulty as discharging an important office in arrangement. " By im- agination," says he, "we invent ; that is, produce arrangements of ideas and objects that were never so arranged before." He might have Pai- 1 Biblical Repository, vol. ii. p. 423 (second series^ 2 Do Duct. Christ., L. iv., c. xxiv, 3 Nicocles, seD Suasoria Oratia, in Oi>era. OF THE FEELINGS. 269 peals to the feelings of his hearers. But the reputation for acts of charity is not sufficient ; he must be really and deeply good : " A good man out of the good treasure of his heart bringeth good things." Nor is it enough for us to have a quick and tender sensi- bility, such as will weep with them that weep ; we must have a genuine Christian love pervading our character and hfe. This last is of priceless value, and lends to sensibility all its persuasiveness. Augustine tells us in a letter to Alypius^ that w^hile yet a priest he was appointed by his aged bishop to preach against riotous feasting on solemn days. He earnestly besought his hearers by the igno- minies and sorrows, by the blood and death of Christ, not to de- stroy themselves — to pity him who sj)oke to them with so much affection, and to show some regard for their venerable old bishop, who, out of tenderness to them, had commanded him. to instruct then\ in the truth. " I did not," says he, " make them weep by first weeping over them ; but while I preached, their tears antici- pated mine. I own that then I could not restrain myself After we had wept together I began to entertain great hopes of their amendment." But in order to move the most powerfully, it is not enough to have and exhibit feeling ; we must likewise know how to restrain it. Oftener quoted than understood are these words of Horace : Si vis me flere dolendum est Prjiuum ipsi tibi. It has been acutely remarked by Vinet,^ that " Horace does not sajjlendauij but dolendian est — " Reserve has great force." In one of his essays he amplifies^ this thought as follows : " This devout and holy sobriety of expression is not merely a disciplme worthy of being reverenced for its motive ; it is a wise and Avholesome economy. Feeling is exhausted by the expression of feeling. Never without an evident and impracticable miracle can the words of the poet resijecting a magic cup be spoken of the soul : ' And still the more the vase pour'd forth The more it seem'd to hold. '4. . . . Reserved men, when that reserve is not the mark of sterility, preserve the strength of their soul just as temj^erate men preserve their bodily vigour. Nay, their very reserve is usually a pledge and a foundation of mental strength. . . Nothing moves us so deeply as a single word from the heart of one Avhose words are, from a 1 Epist. xxix., sec 7. 2 Homiletics, p. 219. 3 Etudes sur Blaise Pascal, p. 349. 4 Ovid's Metamov., L. v., v. 681, 682. 270 OF THE FEELINGS. sense of duty, few." With tliis agrees the remark of PUny (vre have not his letter at hand), that it is our duty to be affected by sorrow, and yet to ojiposc its excess. This reserve is particularly demanded in reproof and commenda- tion. In praising men we are apt to exaggerate what is true and good ; in l)laming them, to magnify what is false and evil. Now if we look through a microscojje at a stain of oil on a piece of jew- elry we may fail to discover any blemish ; but if we hold it under the naked eye and in a proper light it is clearly seen. The prov- ince of rhetoric is not to magnify, but, as the schoolmen defined it, to color speech : " Rhetorica verba colorat." Of this reserved force Luther was a distinguished example. Richter^ attributes it to spiritual peace : " Luther, thou art like the Rhine falls! How mightily thou stormest and thunderest ajong! But as iipon its foaming waters the rainbow hovers unmoved, so in thy breast reposes imdisturbed the gracious bow of peace with God and man. Thou shakest vehemently the earth, but not tbe heaven within thee." This quality is valuable even in delivery; here the player may for once teach the preacher : " He uses all gently, for in the very torrent, tempest, and (as I may say) whirl- wind of his passion, he must acquire and beget a temperance that may give it smoothness." But we must add Shakespeare's caution : " Be not too tame neither." When we have roused such feelings or passions as naturally im- pel to practice, we should not rest content until we have secured prompt and efficient action. To be satisfied with anything short of this is to do our hearers a positive injury. As Butler^ has j)roved, most of our active principles are strengthened by habitual exer- cise in real life, and weakened by every excitement that results in nothing beyond wishes and resolutions. This point, though very frequently alluded to and variously ajiplied by subsequent writers, is of vast importance to the preacher. It has been observed of Southey's poetry, as may indeed be said of all good poetry, except lyrical, that it evinces power but not force. And such, alas ! is the character of all pathetic sermons that are destitute of an effectual ajqtlication in whicli we desire, expect, and obtain some good re- sults. Xow one of the natural enemies of such an application is a tendency to coiobasis, or the modern ch'ma.r, especially when it is continually mounting towards the sublime. And vet, if this gen- 1 Gcsarainelte, p. 172. 2 Aiial«tt>y, Pt. 1., c. v., and Stewart's Jloral Pliilosopliy.' Smith, in his SkcMches (if Moral Pliilosophy (p. 401), sliows that "some i)assi()ns are increased by habit, others decreased, and others aijain increased to a certain point, then decreased." OF THE FEELINGS. 271 erally is so, it need never be so ; for when the holy prophets as- cended in a sublime Anabasis, they were not ashamed immediately to descend in a practical Catabasis. Run with the proj^het up to Ramah : " A voice is heard — in Ramah— lamentation and bitter w^eeping — Rachel weeping for her children — refuses to be comforted for her children — because they are not." Had an orator of the mod- ern kind called your attention to that distant crying, then pointed to the city, and next hurried you away with him thither, and finally brought you into the presence of that wailing mother, bowed down beneath sackcloth, he would have said to you, " This acme of the sublime demands my instant silence." But hear rather, O son of the prophets, and imitate Ezekiel as he stoops to speak these words of balm : " Refrain thy voice from weeping, and thine eyes from tears ; for thy work shall be rewarded, saith the Lord ; and they shall come again from the land of the enemy. And there is hope in thine end, saith the Lord, that thy children shall come again to their own border." Much more of the same kmd might be adduced from holy Scrip- ture ; but the following example from one of Vieyra's sermons^ will serve to show that the Catabasis of the sacred writers and speakers may be successfully imitated by post-apostolic preachers : " Let us remember that in this church are galleries loftier than those which we see ; ' we are made a spectacle to God ' — so St. Bernard would render the passage — ' and to angels and to men.' Above the tribunes of kings and the tribunes of the angels is the tribune and tribunal of God himself, who hears us and who will judge us. What reckoning can a preacher give to God in the Day of Judgment ? The hearer will say. They never told me ; but thy preacher ? Vo3 mihi, quia tacui. Let it be so no more, for the love of God and of ourselves. . . Let heaven see that even on earth it has those who stand on its side. Let hell know that even on earth there are those who make war against it with the Word of God. And let earth itself know that it is still capable of once more growing green and of bearing much fruit." Thus should the preacher, in his most elevated moments, be like the cherubs of Ezekiel's vision, who, when they sailed above the world, still had eyes in their wings to look down on the wants of its inhabitants, and however high they soared, never left behind them those wheels on which they could timefully descend, and, as ministers of a kind providence, ride along the highways of needy and afflicted mortals. But still, as we said hi the outset of this 1 Close of ser., The Seed by the Way-Side. 272 USE OF REPROOF OR CORRECTION. section, preaching lias otlicr important ends tlian that of persuad- ing to action. It remains only, or rather we have space only to add, that the most active and enterprising Christians are the very ones, of all others, who sutler most from hunger of heart, and hence oftenest pray, with Augustine: '' O love, who ever burnest and never consumest ! O charity, my God ! kindle me. Give me what thou cnjoinest and enjoin what thou wilt. . . O that thou wouldst enter into my heart and inebriate it, that I may for- get my ills."' Then again there is a class in almost every audience who have long been reforming their lives, but who need such ap- peals to their hearts as may, with the assistance of grace, lead to godly sorrow — such appeals as this of De Barzia : " Why ! "' says Jesus to thee, " who filled thee with such rage against me ? IV/tat iniquity liave your fatliers found in nic? (Jer. ii. 5). Of what sin canst thou charge me, that thou ragest so furiously against me ? Many good things have I showed you ; I have displayed abundant charity ; I have poured forth many benefits ; for trliicJi of these worJis do ye stone me ? (John x. 32). Art thou enraged against me because I brought thee uito existence out of nothing? Art thou vexed because I liave watchfully preserved thee ? because I have brought thee to a saving faith ^ Dost thou count it for an injury that I. gave up life and honour, blood and all, upon the cross for thee? . . Come now, answer me wheuefore art enraged against me? O Jesus, best beloved, cease to inquire. I own that there is no cause ; I acknowledge my audacity, and I bewail it. Flow, my tears, flow, and streaming over my cheeks, testify to my sor- row. Break, heart, break, through excess of love. I acknowledge, I own, I see clearly my conilition. What have I done ! I have re- turneitieri, Quaresimale, Prpd. xxis , ^5. USE OF REPROOF OR CORRECTION. 277 weeping prophet " betrays the fact that he ' desires not the woeful day.' Then how often does the Proi)het of prophets remind us of Jeremiah, or rather of a shower which, though it is often checked for a moment by flashes of hghtning, still ceases not to descend until it has bestowed its entire self upon the thirsty earth. In transitions to this and other pahiful subjects, it has a good effect sometimes to say, " I would gladly conclude here," or " would that I could pass over what I am now compelled to add," or other such words. TV. In v:hat spirit and manner and by what oneans are we to re- prove ? We cannot be too frequently told that our admonitions should be prompted by Christian affection (Prov. xxvii. 6 ; 2 Cor. ii. 4; xii. 14-21; 1 Thes. ii. 7-12; 1 Tim. v. 1; 2 Tim. ii. 24-26). The divine love will enable us at once to hate the sinner and to compassionate the man (Dan. iv. 19-22). " In all reprehensions," says Bishop Wilkins, " we must express rather our love than our anger, and strive rather to convince than to exasperate ; though, if the matter do require any special indignation, it must be the zeal of a displeased friend rather than the bitterness of a provoked en- emy." (See what we elsewhere say of the compassion of the Great Teacher and the other prophets^ who sometimes quenched the fire caused by their lightning words with the showers of their tears. See how Segneri reproves the ingratitude of sinners (Quaresimale, Pred. xxviii., ^11). But still we should consider that Christian love is not, uj^on just occasion, without a holy indignation,2 and that irony, though very seldom demanded, is not always out of place in a sermon, as the ex- ample of the holy prophets demonstrates. Nevertheless we should religiously avoid an habitual irony or sarcasm in reprehending all sorts of sins and faults ; for, as says Bishop Wilkhis, " 'tis too much levity to check men in an ironical, jeering way." And yet Jeremy Collier^ employed ridicule very seasonably and effectually in cen- suring the stage writers of the Restoration. In reproving great offences honest indignation is better than bantering, lest we should be suspected of regarding them as mere venial and trifling follies. This habit is akin to, that unvarying fondness Avith which some pas- tors treat all persons and actions " Always to address one's disciples 1 Read Abp. Newcome's Our Lord as a Divine Instructor, Pt. ii., c. i., sees. 2, 3, 6, 13, and Bp. Sumner's Ministerial Cliaracter of Clirist, c. viii., ix., x., xiii. 2 Chrysostom, ITtli Horn on Acts. 3 Short View of the Sta^e ; cf. Macaulay's Essay on the Comic Dramatists. 278 USE OF REPROOF OR CORRECTION with mildness," says Chrysostom/ " even when they needed sever- ity, would be to play the corrupter and enemy, not the teacher. "Wherefore our Lord too, who generally spoke gently to his disci- ples, here and there uses sterner language, and at one time pro- nounces a blessing, and another a curse." Preachers are often accused of 2)crso7iali(i/, and from the nature of their labours these accusations must needs be as frequent as they are unjust and malicious. What pastor in his sober senses does not choose to preach a sermon to the profiting of hundreds alike ratlier than to the possible advantage of one. And if he wishes to amend the life of one does he not wisely prefer to do it in such wise as to warn all of the danger Avhich has overtaken one individ- ual, dwelling on such general truths concerning the sin in question as all may understand and apply for themselves, and not for their neighbours '?- For, after all, it is the self-righteous hearer that is the largest dealer in personalities, and he can only be induced to sus- pend business during sermon-time by being compelled to hearken to a charitable but searching discussion of the general subject whicli is applicable to all the various sms, whether germinating or ripening, which belong to one ethical class. Thus shall we preach to the intellects of all, and to the consciences of some, perhaps, whose guilt we did not suspect. It is not every direct and, specific sermon that is the most serviceable for convincing of sin. Our Di- vine Master Avas but speaking a parable when the chief priests and Pharisees perceived that he spake of them ; and it was St. PauFs reasonings on the general subjects of righteousness, temperance, and the judgment to come, that made Felix tremble. And even in cases of private censure it were almost always better to begin with some general truth or illustration thereof, and especially with such passages of Scripture as are levelled against the sin to be re- proved. There are some authorities who forbid us to convey a reproof iu the form of an oblique allusion, as being unmanly, timid, and disin- genuous. But such a prohibition would, we fear, be too sweeping. To say nothing of our Divine Master and the old Hebrew pro- phets, we will only cite the example of Paul, who, as Chrysostom thinks,' showed bis great wisdom in his indirect admonition re- 1 Enarr. on Gal. i. 1. 2 Ideal examples pourtrayed in vajjue outline will be self-applied the most ex- tensively ; wliereas cases depicted from real life are almost certain to be self- api)lied by no one. 3 Ilom. on 1 Thes. iv. 9, 10 (exordium of Horn. vi. on Thes.). USE OF REPROOF OR CORRECTION. 279 si^ecting brotherly love : " Now, by saying there is no need, he has done a greater thing than if he had spoken expressly." The apos- tles Peter and Paul sometimes admonished hywwj ofrevicmhrance. Hence dehortation should sometimes be substituted for, and often follow reproof. The figure commimicatio will assist us to reprove with considerate and insinuating kindness. "Let the minister," says Perkins, " include himself, if he may, in his reprehension, that it may be more mild and gentle" (Rom. vi. 1, 2; 1 Cor. 4, 6; Gal. ii. 15 ; Segneri — Quaresimale, Pred. xiv., §10 — Quantunque che sto, etc. See a meek exposUdation in Wesley's ser. Ixxxi., Heb. ix. 1.) We have already suggested that some persons and oifences are best reproved in private. Nathan afibrds a safe example for all similar cases (2 Sam. xii.), and so do Isaiah (ch. xxxix.), Jeremiah (ch. xxxviii.), and the Lord Jesus (Mark viii. 32-34). On many oc- casions we may be assisted in preparing uses of reproof by imagin- ing what we w^ould be likely to say to the offenders in a confiden- tial interview. We may in this way likewise test the quality of our zeal. "• If," says Ostervald, '' you wish not to deceive yourself on this point, examine whether you have the courage to say to sin- ners in private what you say to them in public." Bishop Sumner,i who is for the most part very correct and discriminating, fails to exhibit a full view of the case when he says that at the time our Lord reproved the Scribes and Pharisees for hypocrisy .,'h.Q did it in private, while he corrected their corrupt doctrines before the multi- tude (Mark vii. 14). It should be remembered that their offence, which was the occasion of his rebuke, was a private one (they had found fault with his disciples for eating with unwashen hands), and that at other times he denounced their hypocrisy in the most public manner (Matt, xxiii. 1-39 ; Luke vi. 42 ; xiii. 15). The old writers on sacred oratory mention commination, or threatening, as one part of this use. It consists in the exaggera- tion, upbraiding, and condemnation of sin. We exaggerate a sin when we show that it was premeditated, committed eagerly, ha- bitually, with delight, or under the pretext of friendship, of law, of justice, or religion, etc. (Psa. xxviii. 3 ; xxxvi. 4 ; lii. 1 ; xciv. 20 ; Micah vii. 3 ; Matt. xv. 5). We uj^braid or reproach sins when v/e dwell on the failure of former means of amendment, on circum- stances of time and place, on blessings, privileges, and means of grace neglected and despised, on the long-suffering of God, etc. (Isa. i 5; v. 1-4; Jer. vii. 25-28; 1.7; Hos. xi. 1-4; Micah vii. 1-5 ; Pom. ii. 5 ; Matt. xi. 20-24). We speak in condemnation of 1 Ministerial Character of Christ, ch. ix. '19 280 USE OF REPROOF OR CORRECTION. sins wlien we represent the evil of sin from its very nature, or from its violation of the law of God or conscience, or the sense of shame, etc. ; and when we alarm the sinner by representing to him his danger, the wrath of a just^God in this world and in the world to come. The common reservation here made is that we should not describe the sins Ave rei)rehend in too graphic and lively language, for fear we may either give lessons in vice or show that we are but too well acquainted with it. " Certain phrases and ideas," says Stier in his ICeri/Jdik, p. 243, " are not to be represented in all their profjmity and nudity, lest we scandalise the innocent people who go to church to hear the Word of God, not to witness the sins of the world, because they see and hear enough of them during the week (Eph. v. 12-14). Therefore dip not too deep in the sand of sin in order to polish it, but rather present that with Avhich every man may Avash himself. Do not paint the devil on the church Avail, nor mention his name too boldly. BcAvare of the aisthetical devil in your Avarrings against tlie Scripture Satan, and particularly of terrene and infernal descriptions of him.-' Yet Ave should not be afraid, as some aj)pear to be, to call him by name and to speak the word Jiell. It may not be amiss here to add Avhat the same Avritcr says con- certiing the use of too strong language and objurgations in preach- ing : " Some preachers scold in the pulpit. Those Avhom they would scold do not feel that they are intended, because tliey think that the language is altogether too strong lo apply to them, and so they Avill be rather irritated than improved. If you tlunk to jus- tify such preaching Ijy an appeal to the tcocs pronounced by the Messiah, forget not also that saying of Luther : * First be like Sam- son and then you can act like Samson.' Be more ])olemical against the heart than against the Avords or the Avorks of sinners. AVhen you have engaged the heart you Avill soon convince the mtellect and change the Avill." And yet it is a suggestive sign of these times that almost all preaching, hoAvever tender and compassionate, that aims at conviction of sin and self-examination is stigmatised as scoldinfj. ]\Iany examples of Avarning and threatening are found in the prophetic sermons. The ends of reproof may not seldom be attained Avithout re- proof Erasmus, conunenting on James i. 4, 5, savs that Ave should set Ijcfore a magistrate the image of a good ruler, so that, seeing himself in a glass, he may be led to imitate the same. Keproof may also be indirectly administered by proposing and resolving cases of conscience. We may likewise mingle such tiicourM'j-cinciits wllli our rebukes USE OF REPROOF OR CORRECTION. 281 as we can with truth and safety, insph'hig confidence in the assist- ing grace of God and an humble liope of his j^ardoning mercy. We may in some cases mitigate the severity of censure by deserved praise, as the apostle Paul does sometimes (1 Thes. iv. 9, 10 ; Phil, ii. 12-16). The Master himself commends some (Matt. viii. 10 ; ix. 22; xi. 11; xv. 28; xxvi. 10; Mark xu. 34, 43; John i. 47). Nor should we neglect by directions to show what hindei's and what helps repentance. " 'Tis not enough for the physician," says Bishop Wilkins, "to inveigh against the malignity or danger of the disease, but his chief care must be to direct unto the remedy and cure of it." We should strike at the roots of evils. The doctrine of the atonement and the regenerating and sanctifying work of the Divine Spirit should be now clearly and forcibly exhibited. We should seal all our reproofs with prayer for the offender, nor should we cease to follow him with our prayers until he give proof of genuine repentance (1 Thes. v. 23 ; 2 Thes. ii. 16, 17 ; iii. 16). We may sometimes even ask him to pray for us (1 Thes. v. 25). Preachers who habitually speak loud should consider that if they reprove in a sharp and high tone, they must expect to be misjudged and misunderstood. V. When tee are to reprove. It is to be feared that all the fore- going hints will be useless to those who, after having learned in what manner they ought to discharge the duty, have also learned either to postpone the same indefinitely or to perform it prema- turely. In instances not a few it is best to prepare the way for admoni- stion by preaching one or more expository or doctrinal sermons such as will enlighten the understanding and improve the tone of the conscience and other moral sentiments. Indeed, a course of sermons aiming indirectly and remotely, but perseveringly, at a vice or sin, will in many cases supersede the necessity of direct re- proof, just as in medicine a course of tonics or alteratives will some- times prevent or cure sores wliich would otherwise demand the severe treatment of the surgeon's knife. A woe was pronounced against the unfaithful shepherds of Israel, for the reason that they did not strcngtJicn the diseased (Ezek. xxxiv. 4). Or perhaps the people have a strong prejudice against reproof of any kind and however administered. They may have been led by the example of some respected or* revered person to think that it is proper or manly, or even noble, to protest against all admonition, to resent it indignantly, and to persecute the reprover. Now, in such cases (and they are of very frequent occurrence), it may be advisable to pave the way for this duty by a sermon or two on meekness, or 282 USE OF REPROOF OR CORRECTION. candor, or nobility, or magnanimity in hearing, ami illustrating the subject from the examiiles of ancient monarchs, nobles, and other honourable men who were meek and even grateful mider ecclsiasti- cal rebuke. In rare cases of great criminality it may be necessary to allude to the crime, or derive lessons from it. For obvious reasons this will be most profitably done after the sentence has been pronounced or the penalty inflicted. The young preacher, soon after his settlement, may deem it wis- dom to preach many very plain truths on the supposition that it is better to do so then than at a later period, because no one can justly charge him with personalities, seeing he is as yet acquainted Avith none of his hearers. But he should consider that as his con- gregation are Avell acquainted Avith one another, they will hear these bold and severe sermons with all the mutual suspicion and uncharitableness of those who are persuaded that personalities are intended, while some will be apt to conclude that he has hearken- ed to and been deceived by informers and busybodies. All things considered, therefore, the counsel of Vinet is good : " Let the preacher before he reprehends be well acquainted Avith his parish, and let them also be Avell acquainted Avith him."' And yet delays here as elsewhere are not unfrequently danger- ous, and we should without loss of time reprove vices that are coming to be both epidemic and chronic. " Were I able," says Chrysostom,! '• by my silence concerning things done, to remove them, it would behoove me to be silent ; but if the contrary comes to pass, and these things are not removed by our silence, but ra- ther made worse, avc are compelled to speak." We can easily in- vent plausible excuses for postponing a duty so painful and so haz- ardous ; and when all other ones fail us, Ave may unhappily be able to say with unquestionable truth that the evil is past all remedies. Principiis obsta. Sero nicdicina paratur, Cum mala per longas invalucrc moras.2 And accordingly avc should beware of the habit of deferring all such matters until Lent, or the annual fast, just as too many preachers do the subject of gratitude until thanksgiving-day. We may add that it Avere greatly to be Avi.slwd that fcAver farewell sermons Avere pervaded Avith a censorious spirit. The apostles 1 Horn, on Phil. i. 30. 2 Resist beginnings. Medicine may be prepared loo late when the disease has grown strong bv Ions delay. USE 0^ REPROOF OR CORRECTION. 283 were, it must be confessed, to shake off the dust under their feet against all such as would not receive them (Mark vi. 1 1 ; Luke vii. 5), and there are, alas ! occasions of a jmstor's leaving his charge which may in justice and mercy demand a bold and detailed ex- planation ; but the occasions are not so frequent as some preachers imagine which compel them to fill their farewell sermons with in- vective and denunciation. Such reproofs are sure to be received as personalities. The Parthian bowmen Avere neither the most brave nor the most victorious fighters. They bore little resem- blance to that crowned archer of the Apocalypse w^ho, facing the enemy, rode forth conquering and to conquer. Times of national alarms and judgments give opportunities of reproof Dr. Doddridge's sermon on the guilt and doom of Ca- pernaum has a close yet considerate application to the Londoners. Observe how skilfully he makes a shield out of his own ignorance of the vices of the metropolis. On the general subject of reproof there is one very important caution which young preachers are apt to disregard. "While you are reprehending one vice or sin you are in danger of hardening the hearts of those who are addicted to the opposite vice or sin- This caution has been often repeated and as often illustrated. We cannot perhaps do better than to elucidate this in the words of Os- tervald : " If you are declaiming against avarice the prodigal will join with you and outdo the utmost you can say upon this subject ; but he will flatter himself that you have nothing to say to his dis- advantage. If you are preaching against the profane and impious the hypocrites who have only the outside of piety will applaud themselves on this point ; as, on the other hand, if you preach against hypocrites, the profane will embrace your sentiments. ' He is right,' they will say ; ' these devourers of sermons and prayers are worse than we ; ' and thus they will establish themselves in their ungodliness. Just so when you are preaching from texts in the imprecatory Psalms, revengeful people will not fail to imagine that their behaviour has no evil in it. And thus you see how sin- ners will pervert almost everything." But how shall we prevent these abuses ? Best, by praying and working for a revival, when both wheat and tares alike feel the edge of the sickle, and when they are most safely separated. Next best, by rambling in expo- positions or in textual discourses where we may not be tempted to omit contrasted views of a subject for the sake of preserving a topical unity — a unity which we must in such cases be willing to sacrifice in order to secure a higher excellence, that of perfect adap- tation to the diflferent spiritual maladies of the whole audience. At 2g4 USE OF exhortation: any mte, these abuses must Le prevented, or else our reproofs will be not merely unavailing yet simply innocuous — they Avill he posi- tively and very injuribus. Our sermons may indeed lose something not only of unity but also of impetuous fire or popular movement by these necessary antitheses and opposite aspects, but they will gain what is of incalculably greater worth, the sterling ring and Gtamji of candour, fairness, and broad good sense. In the midst of a strain of the most hopeful prediction Isaiah interjects a de- nunciation which has the startling effect of lightning out of a cloud- less sky in spring time (Isa. Ix. 12). Above all things, defend yourself against vindictiveness ; for while this passion shadows your intellect you are almost certain to mistake and misjudge the faults you would remove. It was to his generous candor that Jeremy Collier owed much of his triumph in the controversy about the morality of the English stage. " He that saith he is in the light, and hateth his brother, is in darkness even until now." Thus benighted the admonisher remains ignorant of the real evil not only, l)ut of the true remedy no less. Like the blind horseman of the fabalist Pilpay, while searching for his whip in the gray of the morning, he takes up a frozen serpent instead, and discovers not his blunder until his soft and nice Avhip warms into life and inflicts on hi.s haml a mortal wound. Thus it of\en hap- pens that on occasions when our hearers will not perceive the force of an argument or refuse to understand a mystery which we think Ave have illustrated very clearly, we are tempted to apply reproof; but let us remember the example of the archangel who, while con- tending, durst not bring a railing accusation even against Satan him- self; and of the old philosopher who once said, " Were I not angry, I would reprove thee." Section V. — Use of Exhortatiox. By this kind of application we persuade the auditors to believe some truth or to practice some duty, or else dissuade them from the belief of some error or from the practice of some sin or vice. It embraces not only exhortation (which commonly includes dc- hortation), but also that part of instruction which consists ui giving directions as t^ the manner in which we should exercise feelings or discharge duties, and concerning the tncitns by which we aceom- pli.sh the object which exhortation sets before us. The Scripture examples of exhortation are far superior to those of 4;he best sccu- USE OF EXHORTATION. 285 lar eloquence.! Use of invitation may also be comprehended under this term (Acts xiii. 26, 38). The use of reproof is gener- ally followed by the use of dehortation or dissuasion, and some- times it may be very properly succeeded by persuasives to such virtues and graces as will drive and keep out of the heart the faults reproved. Exhortation may sometimes properly come before in- struction (1 Tim. iv. 13). The instruments of persuasion are motives or the considerations which occasion or induce volition. To distinguish a reason from a motive is more easy in theory than in practice : thus much may be said in general, that the former serves chiefly to produce rational com-iction, the latter to mfluence the will either persuasively or dissuasively, or even both at the same time. Motives may be derived from ideas of excellence, right, honour, propriety, necessity, utility, happiness, etc. Those considerations which are addressed to our sense of moral excellence, or, in other words, to our love of spiritual perfection, are the first in dignity, although not always the most generally power- ful in the w^ork of application, for the simple reason that compara- tively few of the regenerate have reached that stage in sanctification where such considerations are more influential than any other. The divine beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ is the highest object of Christian affection and the highest motive to obedience.2 The example of Christ furnishes many, and, to Christians, very power- ful motives. And hence, in addressing Christians we may appeal to their grat- itude toicards the Lord Jesus Christ. The apostles very often address our sense of obligation to our Redeemer. Segneri (Quare- simale, Pred. xxviii., §14) appeals to the gratitude of sinners. The Conscience is addressed by motives of another clasa — those which appeal to our sense of duty. Considerations of this kind were employed under what was often termed •' Use of Conviction." The moral sense is either directive or reflective ; it takes cognizance of either what ought to be done or what ought to have been done. The wise preacher w^ill chiefly endeavour after the cultivation of the directive or prospective function of this faculty ; for, though its reflective or retrospective function is by no means to be neglected, it cannot be too deeply impressed on our minds that this is not the 1 Lav. xxvi. ; Deut. iv., vi., viii ,xi., xxxi. ; Isa. i. 16-20; ii. 10-19 ; Iv. ; Matt. V 13-16 j vii. ; Heb. vi. ; x. 7-34 ; xii. ; xiii. 1-19; Jas. i , ii., v. 9-20. 3 Edwards on the Religious Affections, Pt. iii., sees. 2 and 3 ; Whately's Essays on the Peculiarities of the Christian Rehgion, essay iii. 286 USE OF EXHORTATION. guide to action, but the messenger of sorrow. "Wliy is it that the consciences of most people arrive too late to be of much service in discharging their duty ? Principally, vre fear, because their con- sciences have formed a habit of retrospection and not at the same time a habit of i)rospection. "While, therefore, we do well to heed the advice of the philosoi:)hers, both pagan and Christian, and at nif/ht cause all the actions of the day to pass in review before the conscience, we would obviously do better if we also formed the habit of considering every morning what we oiifjld to do or omit during the day. On the same jirinciple young persons should be particularly assisted in the formation of these two habits. In his six days' work the Great Creator not only reviewed what he had done, but also predetermined what he would do. But while keeping our duties in view, we should frequently look at the privileges that lie beyond them. A rejoicing conscience is more persuasive than a trembling one. Remember the Avise mo- ther in the Gi'eek epigram, who, when she sees her little boy creep- ing on the edge of a cliff, instead of raismg the cry of alarm, " Far better lauaht, she lays her bosom bare, And the fond boy springs back to nestle there." , — Itcgcrs. And so, in advocating the cause of a benevolent institution, we should not only appeal to conscience, but to Chi*ist's love to us, his example, and such-like motives. Sh((me was many times appealed to by the prophets. Segneri addresses it in the 5th and 12th sermons of his Qnarcsimale ; so does Chrysostom in many of his applications. Our Christ id )i love toirards our felloic-rncn should likewise be addressed. This affection has two kinds of exercise : the one is complacency towards the holy, and the other is compassion tov/ards the unholy. This passion is persuaded, not by demonstrating that it oiuiht to admire or i)ity, but by holding up before it the object of admiration or pity. To this head belong addresses to Christian benevolence and humanity. We are instructed by the example of Paul to encourage systematic giving, but not to favour confining beneficence to tlie limits of any system, however good ; wc are sometimes to defend even acts of Christian extravagance (Matt. xxvi. G-13 ; 2 Cor. viii. 1-3). Another motive is interest or fore of /inppiness. Yinet teaches us that tliis motive may be presented for three reasons : 1. T(i some souls access is easy only on this side, and it is the side on which access to all is the easiest. 2. It is essential to human nature. 8. USE OF EXHORTATION. 287 It abounds in that revelation in behalf of which we speak (Deuto XXX. 19; Ezek. xxx. 19; Matt. v. 3). The same writer, together with Schott and others, lays down the following rules in appealing to self-interest We should never excite the selfish feelings of an audience to such a degree or in such a manner as to disturb the fit proportions be- tween the desires of a man for his own good and his interest in the welfare of others. We. should never inflame any selfish feeling of our audience so far or in such a manner as to repress the activity of the conscience. We should not attempt to excite any merely animal feeling which we do not intend to make subsidiary to spiritual improvement. Emotions which are born blind and are not the legitimate offspring of truth and grace are ever prone to grope towards destruction, and either to lead or drive 'even intelligent emotions thither. True elo- quence fills the whole soul with light, and not only reveals but pro- motes its order and concord. We should give the first and largest place to motives derived from our spiritual and eternal interests. When we urge motives drawn from our material and temporal interests w^e may sometimes wisely urge them indirectly and from an eternal point of view, as Bourdaloue does in his sermon on Im- purity, where in the first part he considers impurity as a sign of reprobation, and in the second place as a principle of reprobation. We ought to w^rn our audiences against the danger of allowing our lower temporal interests to make or determine our beliefs. " Parson Patten," the notorious curate of Whitstable, was so averse to the Athanasian creed that he never would read it. Archbishop Seeker having been informed of his recusancy, sent the archdeacon to ask him his reason for the omission. " I do not believe it," said the curate. " But your metropolitan Joes," replied the archdeacon. " It may be so," rejoined Mr. Patten, " and he can w^ell afford it. He believes at the rate of seven thousand a year, and I only at the rate of fifty y Nor should we neglect to teach our audience to discriminate be- tween their real and their supposed temporal interests — their tem- poral interests as regarded by the lover ot gain, or of pleasure, or honour, or power, and as regarded by the lover of truth, or of holi- ness, or benevolence, or humanity, or justice, or Christian peace and joyfulness. Neither ought we to endeavour to be more unselfish, more mor- al, and more noble than the Great Teacher was in rousing fear and terror. He warned men to fear Him who is able to destroy both 288 USE OF EXHORTATION. soul and hoJi/ in liell (Matt. x. 29). It is not enough to dwoll on the torments of conscience and the misery of an eternal separation from God; for as the majority of our unbelieving hearers contrive to live very comfortably with their consciences here, we shall find it difficult to convince them that it will be otherwise hereafter. And as to the idea of a separation Irom God, there is nothing that an impenitent sinner more desires and seeks after. These consid- erations have weight and power when aihlressed to real Christians, and yet even they sometimes, and the impenitent always, are- more influenced by the fear of the sufferings which the risen bodies of the damned are to undergo through ages unnumbered. Some 2)reach- ers may, if they please, stigmatise such sufferings as '; vulgar ; " but the Scriptures nowhere intimate that a just God regards any sin as refined and elegant in itself, nor that the hell of the vulgar is not the hell of all final impenitents, of all classes and conditions whatsoever. We shall best secure the rejoicings of our own con- sciences and best commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God by appealing to fear and terror just as oflen and just as vulgarly as holy Scrijjture appeals to them. Xeverthe- less, let the preacher remember that though he is an ambassador from God in Christ's stead, yet he is himself a man an;l a sinner. Let' him therefore employ these motives as one not totally devoid of fear for his own eternal safety, and above all with the compas- sion which ever attends a godly sorrow for his own sins. '' I nev- er," says Payson, " seemed fit to say a word to a ^nner except when I had a l)roken heart myself and subdued and melted into peni- tence, and felt as though I had just received a pardon to my own soul, and when my heart was full of tenderness and pity.'' A con- trite heart such as this will not be liable to present untimely or ex- aggerated or disproportional views of the revealed doctrine of the future punishment of the wicked. Were any other thought or feeling necessary to j^revent us from speaking on this subject in the tone of vehement invective, it might be that Avhieh is produced, as Dr. Dwight says, by the remembrance that we may at the very time be pronouncing the final doom of our own parents, or broth- ers, or sisters, or wives, or children. We should also Avhen necessary dwell on the prncturth/'/lfi/ of the duty to Avhieh wo exhort our liearers (Isa. xxx. 21 ; Ezek. xxxvi. 27; Matt. vii. 9-11; xix. 2G; Mark ix. 23; John xv. 5, Heb. x. 4; xiii. 10, 11; James iii. 12; v. 17, 18; Demosthenes' first IMiil- ippic). Furthermoi-e, let the young preacher remember that the best of men almost always determine their choice and i)roceed to action USE OF EXHORTATION. 289 from mixed motives. By mixed we do not mean a blending of both good and bad (though immature Christians are sometimes^ ac- tuated by such a mixture), but a blending of different kinds of good motives. The inspired orators furnish numerous examples of ap- peals to motives of this description, particularly in their perora- tions. In rousing fear or terror, therefore, we should take advan- tage of the liberty which both inspiration and the laws of the hu- man mind proffer and secure. We should diversify this application with threatenings and promises, with considerations drawn from justice and mercy, from our exposure to eternal misery, and the offer of salvation through the blood of the Lamb, from our addi- tion to our guilt and obduracy by each refusal of the Gospel offer, and from the certainty and necessity of damnation to all who reject the only Saviour. Nor should he forget that, as the Divine Spirit is frequently in the hearts of the hearers assisting the speaker, he should follow his method rather than that of the secular rhetoricians who tell us that none but appeals to love, hope, joy, and other active passions are persuasive ; whereas we know that the Divine Spirit usually begins the work of persuasion by inspiring sorrow, shame, fear, and hopelessness. Often, again, we have to address the irresolute and undecided, who say, " when I would do good evil is present with me." Slgiis or Maries. These are Scripture tests by which we may prove the quality and state of gracious affections, and the accept- ableness of duties and afflictions. These were chiefly employed by the old divines in uses of self-examination. These signs ought to be applied with caution and judgment. The best authorities teach us that they should m all cases be necessanj, 2)ersptcuo>fS, infaUlble, and few. '' Cases of conscience " are also of this class of applications, al- though they are less frequently discussed and enforced in sermons than they ought to be. It may not be here amiss to observe that signs or marks, though properly belonging to the department of Ttcxidsicx, yet, as is some- times the case, they are employed less for persuasion than for infor- mation, or refutation, or reproof, or consolation. As to its classifi- cation, therefore, the use of examination is a movable use. Nor must it be overlooked that signs and marks are serviceable not only in application to professed behevers, but to worldlings as well. A man may, as George Herbert says, be both covetous and intemper- ate, and yet hear sermons against both the covetous and the intem- perate, and condemn both m good earnest. The reason is this : he 290 USE OF EXHORTATION. may never have learned -what is the nature of these vices, as it is ascertained by holy Scripture ; or he may never have been taught where thrift and economy end, and avarice and parsimony begin, and so may have passed slowly and unawares from what is lawful and commendable, to Avhat is unlawful and detestable. Caution is likewise called for in teaching moralists and the self- righteous to discriminate between apparent and real virtues, as be- tween conviction and confession and evangelical repentance ; be- tween wishing and choosing; between emotions and affections; between moral duties and those that are Christian and evangelical ; between gospel charity and almsgiving, or a cheerful tolerance and indulgence of faults and errors, etc. One of the most successful artifices of Satan is to induce us to fix a false standard of piety, and then through our repeated failures to live up to the same, to drive us back to a total neglect of the real and acceptable service of God. Thus deeply impressed by some distinguished example, perhaps we imagine that true religion con- sists in fluency, in unaccountable ecstacies, in large and i)ublic gifts of money, in a proselyting spirit, or the punctual observance of rites and self-denials which are of human invention, and all that. Coming short of the eminent and the splendid, we are tempted to despise the (iommon and the obscure : like the goose in the old Sanscrit fable, that mistook for fish the reflection of the new moon in the water, and afler vainly attempting to lay hold of it, at length aban- doned all search for food, because whenever it saw a real fish, it fancied it was but the glitter of the moon Avhich had so often dis- appointed it. The fruit of its experience was that it passed its time fasting and foodless T/ie ina/i)icr and spirit in which (hides are to be done. Under the head of use of exhortation some writers^ place Modi or Ojficia, i. -^ of the sermon • we. may properly say that a text is a part of Scripture, or the sub- ject or foundation of a sermon ; but in thus refusing to make the divine a part of the human, we do not (of all things !) intend to dis- parage the divine, nor to deny it a place in our ministrations. Section I. — Of the Introduction. " God plays the skilful orator," as Arthur Lake^ observes of his exordium to the Law. The inspired speakers, too, evince an ad- mirable propriety in their introductions or exordia. IIow befitting 1 Comment on Exod. xix. ; he finds lieie Aristotle's three requisites of a good exordium. 302 OF THE INTRODUCTION. 303 it was that Moses should begm his discourses in Deuteronomy with a recapitulation of such striking events of the Exodus as served his purpose, and not with a journal of all that had transpired during forty years, nor with that compendious repetition of the Law to which he afterwards so naturally passes. And when we examine the beginnings of the several distinct sermons of Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel, we find them as varied, pertinent, and elo- quent as are the other parts of those sermons. It is worthy of re- mark, however, that some of their discourses, as well as some of those of the minor prophets, have nothing that classical rhetoric denominates an exordium, while others, as Joel and Micah, com- mence with a brief prosphonema or allocution. The prophecy of Nahum opens with an introduction which may be readily separated from the rest of the discourse (i. 2-8). His grand description of the power and patience, the severity and goodness of Jehovah is a most becoming prelude to his succeeding utterances respecting the Hebrew emancipation and the fall of Nineveh. The earlier dis- courses of Isaiah begin with reproofs, the later with encourage- ments. Jeremiah sets out in one of his sermons (vii. 1) with a call to repentance with a conditional promise ; another (xi. 1-17) begins by proclaiming the tenor of God's covenant and reproving the Jews for disobedience ; and another (xxii. 1-10) exhorts to repen- tance, with promises and threatenings. Ezekiel (xiv. 1-11) de- nounces God's wrath against hypocrites; again (xx. 1-44) he recounts the many rebellions of the Jews, and announces God's purpose to gather them into the bond of the Gospel covenant. In xxiv. 18-27, the people having asked why the prophet does not mourn for his deceased wife, are told that he is a sign that they shall not mourn for the destruction of Jerusalem. The introduc- tion of another sermon (xxxiii. 24 — ) rebukes the sophistry of the self-secure occupants of the Holy Land. Herein he resembles Haggai, who repeats and assails an opinion current among the re- turned captives (i. 2-11) ; Zechariah (i. 2-6) begins with an enthy- meme that conveys a mild warning; Habakkuk with a prayer (i. 1-3) ; while Malachi in the very first verse gives the key-note of his entire dialogistic discourse. In general the very first words of the prophets were, " Thus saith the Lord." Our Divine Master has left us a variety of exordia. On one oc- casion he begins with a declaration that a certain prophecy is ful- filled by himself; on another with a denunciation of the Pharisees (Luke xi. 29) ; on another with the parable of the Sower (Matt, xiii. 3; see also Luke xv. 3). Now he foretells his death (Matt, xvi. 21-28) ; now he gives his disciples the acted parable of settmg 304 OF THE INTRODUCTION. a child clown before them (Matt. xvii. 2). Then again he an- nounces in a metaphor a startling truth (John viii. 12) ; and again he utters a warning against the Scribes and Pharisees (]Matt. xxiii. 1). Sometimes his sermons commence with answers to questions (Matt. xxiv. 3). But of all his exordia that of the Sermon on the Mount (Matt. v. 3-16) is the most remarkable. Si:)oken as it was to the uninstructed disciples, most of whom entertained Hebrew notions respecting the kingdom of God, nothing could have been so ojDportune as to give them at the outset correct ideas of the character, condition^ i^osition, and wfluence of those who possess this kingdom. Tholuck calls our attention to the fact that, as when He announced Himself at Nazai'eth he read Isa. Ixi, 1, and declared that it was fulfilled in Him, so here ver. 3 relates to the first and ver. 4 to the second of the sixty-first chapter. The thoughts of this introduction are not only linked to each other, but also to the body of the sermon.^ Here, likewise, he indirectly at- tacks Pharisaical jiiety by showing that in all actions God chiefly regards the dispositions of the heart. We have said that» the Sermon on the Mount was addressed ex- clusively to the disciples. It was possibly heard by some of the multitude (ch. vii. 28-29) ; but it was more propably after the sub- sequent repetition of much of this sermon that the people showed astonishment ; for parts of the same sermon were, as we may infer from comparing this narrative of Matthew W'ith Luke vi. 17, 49, repeated to the multitude while standing on the plain at the foot of the mountain. This accounts for the ellipses in some of the beatitudes, and the omission of others ( it was to be presumed that the memory of the disciples would supply all that was verbally wanting) ; also for the addition of four Avoes which could have been intended only for " the audience of the people," and particularly for the rich, luxurious, and vain pleasure-seekers and visitors from Jerusalem, Tyre, and Sidon. Admirable as these two exordia are, the student should beware of considering them as standards by which to test the excellence of all others. They are j^erfect in their kind. Let him remember that each exordium is adapted to the hearers and the subject. It will be erjually ])rofital)le for him to study the introduction of Peter's sermon (Acts ii. 15), of Stephen's apology (Acts vii. 2), of Paul's sermon at Antioch (xiii. 15-41), and at Athens (xvii. 22-31), of his defence at Jerusalem (ch. xxii.), and before Felix (ch. xxiv.), and before Agripi:)a (ch. xxvi.). Nor should I Compare v. 3. vii. 3-5; v. 5, vi. 19, 34; v. 6, v. 20, vi. \-lZ] v. 7, v. 38-19; V. 8, v. 27-32 ; v. 9, v. 21-26, eic. OF THE INTRODUCTION. 305 he set a small value on the exordium of Hebrews (ch. i. 1-4), and that of James (i. 2-27). In the time of Chrysostom it was the custom for the preacher to begin his sermons with a salutation after the manner of Paul in his epistles. This was afterwards abbreviated into the mere Pax vohis. But the Christian fathers seem not to have reflected that what had always been considered proper at the beginning of letters was not necessarily so proper in the introductions of sermoiis. Yet to the honor of their manly and Christian freedom be it added that they did not bind themselves to any formality in this matter. They sometimes prefaced their discourses with short prayers, sometimes with the apostolic benediction. Chrysostom's first homily after his return from banishment is introduced with these words : " What shall I say — Blessed be God ! The word which I spoke on leaving you I now repeat at my return, or rather it has not been absent from my lips. You recollect, perhaps, that I said to you in the language of Job, ' the name of the Lord be praised forever.'^ The circumstances are difierent, but the jd raise is the same. When driven away I praised Him, returning home I praise Him." This custom of the Greek fathers was afterwards cited in support of the Intro- itus, of which more vv^ill be said jDresently. From these and other examples we may learn in the first place to study variety in our exordia. If antiquity has not misinform- ed us, both Demosthenes and Cicero were m the habit of pre2:)aring at their leisure different introductions to be prefixed to their ex- temporaneous orations. They thus secured variety but at the ex- pense of pertinence. That kind of exordium which might be adapted to several causes was in Quintilian's2 time regarded with little favor, and was called vulgar (vulgare), although he admits that it was not always avoided by the greatest orators. Some old rhetorician or other has compared such exordia to the sword used at the temple of Delphi which served the double purpose of immola- ting the sacred victims and executing malefactors. In order to secure a variety, introductions may, as Claude has hinted, be taken from the same " topics " as those he has mentioned for suggesting fit propositions. Indeed, Mr. Sturtevant,3 profiting by this hint of Claude, has furnished his readers with twenty-seven " topical exordiums," besides four or five " extra-topical," to say nothing of his narrative, expository, argumentative, observational, applicatory exordia, and his seven different methods of introducing 1 Septnagint. , 2 L. iv., c. 1, sec. 71. 3 Preachers' Manual (Sd ed., London, 1838), pp. 573-641. 306 OF THE INTRODUCTION. topical introductions. But let the student hear m-c11 in mind that the greatest possible diversity requires him occasionally to proceed at once to the matter in hand, as the inspired preachers frequently did, and as Cicero sometimes did {e. //., Pro Cluait'w), and Clirys- ostom. and Gregory Nazianzen. And yet some brief premonition is almost always necessary lest the people imagine, as Claude says, that the preacher is aiming to do with them what the angel did with the i)rophet, when he took him by the hair of the head and carried him in an instant from Judea to Babylon (Bel and the Dragon, 3G). The next in importance is the rule : To adapt the exordium to the spirit, matter, and form of the sermon. The inspired examples of discourse at once suggest and illustrate this rule. 1. "If," says Claude, "the subject be sad and affecting, and your aim is to excite the compassion, grief and tears of your audience, you must commence accordingly. If you treat of a profound and difficult mystery^ aim to diffuse elevation and wonder among your hearers. If some terrible example of God's justice be the subject, endeavour to stir up fear." 2. The same authority counsels us to take care to put nothing here that is foreign to our subject, and to connect the irJi<>le of the exordium with all the matter of the text. Claude lays down this rule on the supposition that every sermon is naturally to grow out of all the text. It cannot, of course, apply to the composition of all topical sermons. A more general rule is that of Cicero, that every exordium ought to convey an intimation of the whole matter in hand. 3. But do not here display a knowledge of rhetoric as Segneri docs ((^uaresimale, ser. iii.). Hence introductions should not antici- pate matter that belongs to the other parts of sermons, but rather, by general and admitted statements, prepare the way for the pro- position ; e. g., in a sermon on family prayer avc may begin by saying that true piety honors God in everything. 4. The exordium should in length and style be proportioned to the length and style of the sermon. Cicero thinks it often advisable in small and unimportant causes to begin with the subject-matter itself without any preliioe. Dr. Blair has bor- rowed ami elaborated this fruitful illustration of Pindar and the great Roman orator :i " Nothing can be more absurd than to erect a very great portico before a small building ; and it is no lessal)surd to overcharge with superb ornaments the portico of a plain dwell- ing-house, or to make the entrance of a monument as gay r-^ that of an arbour." But still Pindar is not to be disputed when he 2 De Oraiore L. ii., c. Ixxix. ; compare Pindar's Olympiads, Ode vi. OF THE INTRODUCTION. 307 says that a stately inanslon should have a well-built portal sup- ported by golden pillars. Another rule, often repeated, is that the exordium should be ac- commodated to the mental state in which the audience are found to be at the beginning of the sermon. This rule is less important than the last ; for the preacher is always expected to consult the demands of his subject before giving heed to any other considera- tion. As, however, he may on many occasions safely and advanta- geously adapt his exodium both to his subject and to the first thoughts and feelings of his hearers, he will find the following re- marks not unworthy of his attention. (1.) It may in general be presupposed that the congregation are at the beginning of sermon-time calm and dispassionate. We are accordingly told that here we should avoid apostrophies, exclama- tions, bold interrogations and surprising paradoxes. And yet the simile, the parable, and the supposition are here allowable. Nor should the student think that his introduction should be devoid of all feeling. So far from this, more feeling may often be expressed here than in the explication and confirmation of the subject. The exodium and the peroration are, according to Cicero,^ the two parts which are to be devoted to excitation. But Quintiliana has made an important distinction as to the degrees of excitation which these two parts of a speech allows : " In the introduction the kind feel- ings of the judge should be touched but cautiously and modestly ; while in the peroration we may give full scope to the pathetic." Hence Segmeri is wrong when he begins one of his sermons (Quar- esimale, ser. xiv.) with the words : " Either hell or penance." There are many occasions, however, when Cicero's rule is to be received without Quintilian's distinction and the cautions of later writers. The exordia of some of the prophets and apostles are, to the full, as animated as any other parts of their sj)eeches. See also Cicero's first and second orations against Catiline, that against Va- tinius, against L. C. Piso, against T. A. Milo and the Eleventh Philippic. One of Chrysostom's sermons is reported^ to have begun with these words : " Again Ilerodias raves ; again she is troubled ; she dances again; and again desires to receive John's head m a charger." This is said to have been spoken in allusion to the hostil- ity of Eudosia towards the bishoj^.^ Fenelon preached a sermon 1 De Partitiones, sees. 1 and 8. 2 Inst. Ora., L. iv., c. i., sec. 28. 3 Socrates, Eccl. Hist , L. vi., c. xviii. 4 See also Chrysostom's Homily Contra Circenses et TheaU'a, beginning Tavra dvEHTCc, vol. vi., 314, Paris ed. See again the exhortations and objurgations in the exordia of his Homilies on Genesis. 308 OF THE INTRODUCTION. for Epiphany on Isa Ix. 1, " Rise shine," etc., in which he commences thus ; " Blessed be God who has this day put his word mto my mouth to praise the work which he accomplishes in this house. I have, I must confess, long desired to pour out my heart before these altars and to speak to the praise of divine grace, all that he wrought in the apostolic men who have enlightened the East. It is then in a transport of joy that I speak to-day of the call of the Gentiles in this house whence went forth the men by whom the rest of the Gentiles have been made to hear the glad tidings."' For funeral sermons pathetic exordia are natural. In these, as in the Lamentations ol Jeremiah, the anti-climax is not only allow- able but often unavoidable. After these abatements it may still be said, in general, that the milder feelings, Td ijfJrj, belong to the ex- ordium, and the more vehement feelings, Td TtdOrj, belong to the peroration. Even Chrysostom {c. //., 6th Hom. on Philippians) raises expectations in the introduction Avhich he afterwards disap- points. (2.) The young preacher should consider that what seems a little abrupt to himself will appear still more abrupt to the congrega- tion. " His own interest in the subject," says Schott, " was not sudden and mstantaneous, but arose by degrees; therefore he should not expect that his hearers will enter into the subject with the same zeal which he has acquired by having passed through a prolonged study of it. They must observe the same law of grada- tion which he followed." The rule Charles Wolfe adopted for his own guidance was : " Begin naturally and easily, but so as to ex- cite curiosity. Begin in an original and striking but sedate manner." One principal object in an exordium is to gain and secure atten- tion. Among the things that draw attention are reverence and modesty. Simeon advised his students to adopt such a tone of voice as they Avould naturally choose if they were speaking to per- sons older than themselves and to whom they owed reverence. Vinet would have the preacher even timid, but with this distinc- tion of Marmontcl, that he should be timid for himself, but bold for his cause. Another way to make people give ear is to set out with a popular saying, objection, ditticidty, apparent contradiction, excuse, or question, which is to be afterwards disposed of (See Chalmers's sermon on the Golden Rule, Matt. vii. 12.) A fict or short narrative is sometimes sufficient to seize and enchain the min0:at., L. ii.,c. xix. 2 lust, o at., L. iv., c, v." sec. 4. OF THE PARTITION. 319 Fenelon has frequently been cited as an opponent to partitions in general ; whereas it is evident from a comparison of all that he says on the subject that he is only opposed to the antithetic and other- wise exceedingly artificial partitions which characterized the ser- mons of the most popular preachers of his time. He obviously has in mind this ingenious {heureuse) division which B. repeats near the beginning of the dialogue : " I. Though the dust be a sign of repentance, it is a principle of happiness. II. Though it seems to degrade us, it i-s really a source of honor. III. Though it represents death, it is a medicine which makes us immortal." Fenelon is condemning partitions of this kind — partitions such as La Bruyere^ has quoted and ridiculeil. It is unfair to quote a sin- gle passages of this great writer, as Blair, Vinet, and others have done, regardless of what he says elsewhere in the same dialogue. He does certainly express himself too roundly when he says that Isocrates did not follow the rules of division ; for we elsewhere show that he taught his disciples that division was the very first step in the process of invention, and that in his celebrated Panegy- ric he employs a partition. It might likewise be proved from Cicero and other ancient orators that divisions of all kinds are not " a modern invention, which we owe to the scholastic divines."3 It is nevertheless true that the extremely ai-tificial partitions of the French preachers of the best class are not authorized by the ex- ample of any of the ancient orators. Indeed, he acknowledges that such is the dullness [grosslh-ete) of these last times that they do not perceive the order of a discourse, unless the speaker ex- plain it in the introduction, and come to a stand-still at each suc- cessive point. But Fenelon's opinion concerning divisions is best expressed in his comment on the partition above quoted. " When," says he, " we choose to divide a subject we should do it plainly, and naturally. We should make such a division as is all con- tained in the subject itself— a division which elucidates and method- izes the matter, Avhich may be easily remembered, and at the same time help to recall all the rest ; in brief, a division which exhibits the extent of the subject and of its parts. Exactly the opposite is the course of this man here who endeavours to dazzle you at the 1 Caracters, chap. xv. ; De La Chaire. 2 Dialogues sur L'Eloquence, second Dial., beginning •' B. Vous nous avez deja parle." 3 In Cicero's oration for Murena the partition is as follows : "The whole ac- cusation, 0 .Judges, as it appears to me, may he reduced to three heads : one consists in objections to his former life ; another refers to his contest for the dig- nity of the consulship, the third to charges of bribery." 320 OF THE INVOCATION. outset, to put you off -wi'Ji three epigrams or three enigmas, which he turns and turns again so dexterously that you fancy you are wit- nessing some tricks of legerdemain." Nor is this all : we have Fenelon's own example in favor of partitions. Each of his six pub- lished sermons has two points, and each of his " entretiens " three points, which he announces in the proper place, according to the custom of the French preachers of his day, but with less formality and fewer antitheses than Bourdaloue and Massillon are accustomed to do. We may add that the most eloquent of Italian preachers, Paul Segneri, A\'as in the habit of omitting his partitions, and of only mentioning the successive points when he came to discuss them. When a pastor succeeds to another who wore out the j)atience of some and deepened the spiritual sleep of others by too great uni- formity in his partitions, it might not be imprudent to study some variety in them. This would certainly prove more useful to his flock than any attempt to dispense with them. Besides the expe- dient of apprising the hearers of the partition at the close of the first general division, there are two others Avhich Avould answer a good purpose in certain kinds of discourses, particularly the con- troversial and hortatory, and such others as exhibit the subject by comparison, or supposition, or contrast. First. The partition may be formally made and announced, but not afterwards employed to mark the divisions of the discourse, but only borne in mind by speaker and hearer for the sake of the distinctions it contains ; e. rj.^ a hortatory sermon on j\Iatt. xi. 12 might sometimes begin with the partition that a city may be taken either by siege or by storm, and then proceed to contrast the two methods as illustrating two common Avays of seeking a saving interest in Christ, and point each contrast with a " continuous a])plication." Secondh/. The par- tition maybe deferred until the close of the sermon, and then given the form of a recapitulation. In cases where it is the principal thing to impress the parts of a subject on the memory of the hearer, and at the .same time to avoid all checks upon an extemj)o- raneous freedom of address, nothing can be more effectual than a partition thus placed. Section IV. — Of the Invocation. By invocation we here designate those short jn-aycrs for divine aid in ])reaching and liearing which are offered sometimes at the close of exordia, sometimes immediately after partitions. We find no examples in Scripture eloquence to justify making an invo- OF THE INVOCATION. 321 cation in one part of a sermon in preference to another. The holy- prophets break forth into prayers in a most informal manner in all parts of their discourses. Jeremiah often betrays his devotional feelings by passing from animated assertions to petition and praise (ii. 13; vi. 14; viii. 11, 22; xvii. 13). The Greek and Latin fathers are as free and irregular in their invocations as in the gen- eral arrangement of their homilies and sermons. Augustine some- times begins his exordia with short prayers for ability to expound the Scriptures, and occasionally coupled with a request to the peo- ple to assist him with their prayers for the same object. Origen makes short prayers not only in the beginning of his homilies, but sometimes also when in the course of hi^ interpretations he meets with an obscure passage of Scripture. The custom of the French preachers is to offer an invocation im- mediately after the partition. The nature of their invocations is too well known to need exemplification. The German preachers, who often deliver their exordia before they take their texts, not un- frequently offer their invocations either at the close of their ex- ordia, or immediately after taking their texts. Sometimes the invocation is silent. Reinhard, at the end of the exordium of his sermon on the Unity of the Lutheran Church, has the following invocation : " May the Spirit of God be with us, and cause us with glad amazement to contemplate his holy work in our Church with his blessed, ever-durlng rule in it ! Let us in silent devotion im- plore his grace." He then announces his text — Eph. iv. 3. Van Der Palm^ always takes his text first, and then delivers his exor- dium, while his invocation (which i^ commonly rather long) is sometimes placed before and sometimes after his partition. For the composition of this part of a sermon two short rules will suf- fice. 1. Let it flow sincerely and freely from the heart. 2. Let it be suited to the subject of discourse. Romaine has left us many examples of skilful transition from the invocation to the par- tition. He always places the former before the latter. We cannot approve the course of those w^ho always omit the in- vocation, nor of those who never in any part of their discourses make ejaculations. How are such preachers shamed by the exam- ple of Demosthenes, through all of whose orations, and particularly through his greatest, the oration on the Crown, there breathes a spirit of deep reverence towards the gods of his people. Of Peri- cles, who always spoke with equal thought and feeling, and who was called the Olympian, because his eloquence was like thunder 1 Life and Sermons, translated by the Rev. J. P. AVestervelt, and published by Messrs. Hurd & Houghton, New York. 322 OF THE DEVELOPMENT. and lightning, Plutarch^ says that the secret of his superiority to others Avas that " he was very careful what and how he M'as to speak, insomuch that whenever he went up to the platform he prayed the gods that no one word might unawares slip from him unsuitable to the matter and the occasion." And the younger Pliny introduces his Panegyric of Trajan with these very remark- al)le words : " Conscript fathers : Well and wisely Avas it ordained by our ancestors that, as in our actions, so in our speeches we should begin with prayer ; since mortals cannot undertake any- thing rightly and prudently without the power, the counsel, and the approbation of the immortal gods." Cicero,- in his oration for Cornelius, makes an invocation, and in his oration for Roscius ('^ll) the invocation is in the form of an interrogation. The Scripture speeches are distinguishable from all others, whether religious or secular, by this among other things, that they contain no prayers for inspiration. The reason for this will be very evident to any one who considers that all these communica- tions from God must begin with inspired words. And hence the sacred speakers never express any sense of the Avorth of a divine afflatus while they are preaching. On one occasion^ we find the primitive Church praying for Peter and John that they may speak the word with all boldness — a prayer which is immediately an- swered; but this was something very different from the post- apostolic invocation which naturally and reasonably came into the sermon as soon as plenary inspiration had passed out of it, and was itself an acknowledgment that the latter was no longer needed or expected. A free and unpremeditated invocation often obtains of the Father of Lights grace that would have been denied to one that was for- mal and premeditated; but when Ave do premeditate an invocation Ave should avoid raising too high an expectation as to im. Thus Segneri (Quaresimale, ser. xiv.) prays the great God to lend him tlie keys of hell, so that he may shoAV to his audience the prison of the damned. Section Y. — Of the Development. In general this term denotes the I'hetorical amplification of every part of a skeleton, but here it signifies that ])art of the sermon which is commonly devoted to explication and conviction. It is 1 Lives, vol. i. 2 See cbap. vii., Pt. i. of Prayer as a Means of Inspiration. » Acts iv. 29-31. OF THE DEVELOPMENT. 323 also not unfrequently termed '' The Discussion " or " the Body of the Discourse." The discussion naturally follows the invocation, and may in general be said to occupy in sermons that place which in judicial orations and argumentative compositions is given to nar- ration and proof This part commonly occupies too much space in modern sermons. The discourses of the best of the ancient j)reachers were pretty equally divided between exposition and application. Three very distinguished and successful preachers, Francis V. Reinhard and Jonathan Edwards and Andrew Fuller, first explain, secondly prove, thirdly apply. This is not, however, their uniform practice. Thus much may be said in general, that doctrinal and controversial sermons will admit of discussions the most extended, and commen- datory and hortatory sermons the least extended. But whether the discussion be long or short, let it by all means be Biblical. Many a preacher falls into the habit of devoting this part of his sermon to a free and full expression of his own peculiar views of his subject, including its relations to his favourite system of theology, his darling theory of psychology, or his approved code of Christian ethics. Or if he would be very popular, he now enter- tains his large congregation with echoes of their one-sided senti- ments concerning the social, commercial, or political questions of the day. In either case the divine authority is apt to be crowded out of the minds of the audience to make room for the more wel- come authority of man. " The prophets of the Old Testament," says the Rev. John Davison,^ " lay the practice of religion and vir- tue where the teachers of the New Testament have laid it — upon faith in the revelation of the Divine Will. . . An operose deduc- tion may convince the understanding without disposing to prac- tice ; nay, it often happens that the greater is the success of the intellect in eliciting a principle or rule of duty, the less is its im- pression on the springs of conduct ; the reason of which may be, that the mind is wearied before it is satisfied, and the spirit of ac- tion is gone before the theory is settled. Let the same truth be dictated by the word of God, it puts on a new meaning; and if the maxim be true that ' all knowledge is power,' the knowledge which is to give the impulse to duty takes its greatest sway and momentum as derived immediately from His paramount wisdom and will." On the contrary, we may add, philosophical preacliing alFords matter for doubt and contradiction, which multitudes j^refer to faith and obedience. 1 Vfarburton Lectures on Prophecy, p. 66. 324 OF THE CONCLUSION. Section VI.— Of tue Conclusion. The term Conclusion, as applied to a sermon, designates the last part of it, without defining the extent of that part. Among the modem Italian preachers the last half o^ the discourse is called the peroration or conclusion, because it is chiefly occupied with appli- cations. The usage of English writers authorises us to employ the term either in the comprehensive sense of the " improvement," or in the restricted sense of the last paragraph or sentence. As that part of our discourses to which the application is assigned is ex- ceedingly varied as to length (too frequently little short of nothing), the word has received a corresponding elasticity of import. The conclusions of the Scripture preachers, like their introduc- tions; are marked by an admirable variety and fitness. As an appropriate conclusion grows out of the body of the discourse, its excellences cannot be duly estimated without a study of all that goes before. And hence a full and sufficient discussion of the in- spired perorations would involve a rhetorical examination of the entire sermons to which they belong. Our limits deny us so pleas- ant.and instructive a task; but the student sliould make such an examination for himself if he would acquire the highest ideas of their indescribable pertinence, gracefulness, and force. As these conclusions have not, in a single instance, any announced beginnings, we cannot quote them without exposing ourselves to the charge of misjudgment from some and of dogmatism from oth- ers. We may, then, be jDcrmitted to say beforehand, and once for all, that we do not here presume to mark in every case t'le transi- tion from the body of the discourse to the peroration. Nor is it a work of less difficulty to classify under a few heads so great a di- versity of conclusions ; and yet it seems desirable and profitable to give some general views of the diffi.M-ent kinds, although it were a labour of months to regard them in all their rhetorical aspects. The preacher who would be led and taught by the Spirit rather than by the ethnic rhetoricians, will be glad to study the Scripture perorations. Though the limits of these inspired sermons must in some cases be conjectural, yet the following classification of con- clusions, however imperfect, will, we trust, be thought instructive. Among these we find those which are either composed of or contain promises : Lev, xxvi. 40-45 ; Deut. iv. 29-40 ; Isa. Ix. ; Jer. xxxi. 31-40; Ezek. xxviii. 24, 20; xxix. 13-10; Obadiali 17-21; Warnings, Deut. viii. 7-20; Blessings and Cursing, Deut. xxviii. 1-08; XXX. 15-20; Denunciation, followed by Supi)licati()n, Jer. x. OF THE CONCLUSION. 325 17,18; 19-25; Songs of Praise foretold, Isa, xii. xxvi. 1-19; the Prosperity of Christ's Kmgdom foretold, Isa. xxxv., Ix; Prayer, Isa. Ixiv. ; John xvii. ; Acts xxvi. 29; Heb. xiii. 20-21; Expressions of Regret, Isa. xlviii. 18; Lamentations, Ezek. xix. ; Matt, xxiii. 37; Contrasts, Deut. xxviii. 1-68; xxx. 15-20; Isa. xviii. 18-22; li. 17; xlu. 1, 13; Ivii. 19-21; Ixvi. 23, 24; Jer.'xvii. 25-27; Joel iii. 9-21; Nahum iii. 17-19; Habak ii. 19,20; Mal- achi iv. ; Matt. vii. 24-27 ; xxv. 31-46 ; Luke xvi. 19-31 ; Objec- tions answered and Explanations made, Jer. xiii. 22-27 ; John vi. 61-65; Keproofs, Ezek. xiii.; Exhortations to Repentance, fol- lowed by Promises, Amos ix. 11-15; Acts iii. 19-26; An exult- ing appeal to the gracious character of Jehovah, and an assurance of his faithfulness, Micah vii. 18-20 ; A call to Israel to exult in their deliverance from captivity, and in the gracious presence of Je- hovah their King, Zeph. iii. 14-20 ; Brief and weighty sentences. Lev. xxvi., 45 Isa. xlviii. 22; Ivii. 21; Ix. 22; Jer. vi. 30; li. 58; Ezek. vii. 27; xiii. 23; xix. 14; xxiii. 49; xxviii. 26; Figures, Anthropopatheia, Isa. v. 26 ; Oath, Isa. xiv. 24 ; Metaphor, Jer. vi. 27-30 ; Interrogation, Isa. Ixiv. 12 ; Jer. xiii. 27 ; Parable, Jer. xxiu. ; Matt. vii. 24-27; Luke xi. 24-26; xvi. 19-31; Apo- dioxis, James v. 19, 20 ; Synchronism, or expressing the first or the last things by the first or last words, Isa. Ixvi. 24 ; Jer. li. 58 ; Ezek. vii. 2-27; Matt. vii. 27; xvi. 28; Luke xii. 58-59; Matt, xxv. 46. " Thus life is spent in framing apologies, in making and breaking resolutions, and deferring amendment, till death places his cold hand, on the mouth open to make its last excuse, and one more is added to the crowded congregation of the dead."^ — Alison. Doxology, Heb. xiii. 21. See Dr. Bethune's peroration ending, " Then burst from countless armies of souls, floods of praise loud as many waters ; ' Thanks ! thanks ! thanks ! thanks be to God who giveth us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.' " The violence of persecution has deprived us of some of the pe- rorations of the sacred speakers. Much as we may regret their loss, we ought to consider that it is compensated by the illustrations of inspired force and boldness which are thereby furnished us. Our Divine Instructor's synagogue discourse at Nazareth -svas thus in- terrupted : He was, perhaps, preaching topically on the words, '•He hath sent me," etc. (Luke iv. 18; compare verse 26, " But unto none of them was Elias sen^," etc.), when he was silenced by the outburst of the wrath of the whole synagogue. Stephen and Paul were thus interruj^ted (Acts vii. 54-58 ; xvii. 31-33 • xxii. 21,22; xxvi. 28-30). The Conclusion, Peroration, or Epilogue is treated of by the 32G OF THE CONCLUSION. classic rhetoricians chiefly in its relation to the judicial oration. Aristotle' says that the peroration has four objects : first, to make the hearer favourable to the speaker and ill-disposed towards his adversary; secondly, to amplify and extenuate; thirdly, to place the hearer under the influence of the passions; fourthly, to awaken his recollection. Cicero, in his earliest work, De Inventione Rhc- torlca (L. i. c. lii.-lv.), has reduced these objects to three : the enu- meration or a summary of the subject-matter for the sake of recol- lection ; the indigiiatio, which seeks to excite hatred against a man or dislike of some proceeding; the conqaestio, or an appeal to the pity of the hearers. In a later work {De Partitioned c. xv.), he di- vides it into two parts — amplification and enumeration. Quintil- ian,2 again, says that there are two kinds of perorations — the one, recapitulation, and the other whatever is adapted to excite the feel- ings. His notion respecting it is substantially that at which Cicero finally arri^■ed. The Christian sermon is of so many kinds, and has such a variety of applications, that the precepts of the classical rhetoricians as to the conclusion are not sufticicntly comprehen- sive and specific. It is chiefly to argumentative and pathetic ser- mons that they have reference. TJie recapitulation (Gr. aiiaccphalceosls), or the summing up of heads, or eiiinncratlo, as the Latin rhetoricians term it, is the most appropriate and useful in argumentative discourses. Of this we have to say something under the head of Arrangement of Argu- ments. It is a w^eighty remark of Cicero^ that " it will be nec- essary to avoid letting it have the air of a childish display of memory; and he will best keep clear of that fault who docs not recapitulate every trifle, but touches on each particular briefly and dwells on the more weighty and important points." (See this ora- tor's condensed and emphatic recapitulations in his speeches for Archias, C. Balbus, and A. Caccinias.) Quintilian advises us to vary and enliven our enumerations with diflferent figures, and cites as an excellent example Cicei'o's oration against Verres : " If your father himself were your judge what would he say when these things are proved against you ? '' and then adds the recapitulation. JNIauryt is unsparing in his censure of enumerations such as were made in his day. He quotes in his favour the language of Cicero, Avho com- pares the orator that dryly and formally recapitulates to a serpent crawling round in a circle and biting his own tail. But it is obvi- ous that what Cicero and this French "w^riter condemn is not so 1 Rhet., L. iii.. c. xix. and c. xiii. 2 L. vi., c. i. 8 De Pdrtitione, xvii. -l Essai sur L" Eloquence, tome ii., p. 250. OF THE CONCLUSION. 327 much llie enumeration as the abuse of it. The ancients employed it much more frequently than the moderns, Cicero thought that it was sometimes necessary even to the panegyrist. But they often omitted it. (See Demosthenes again, t Midias, and Cicero for Liga- rius and for the Manilian Law.) We must guard against confounding the enumeration with what the French term the resume^ which aims to reduce the leading ideas of a discourse to their essential principles, or to condense them into a sentiment or terse observation.^ The Greek term anacephalceosis is sometimes employed in this sense. The resinne need not always be deferred until the close of the sermon. Some of the sacred examples of this kind of rhetorical focus are the fol- lowing: Deut. xi. 26, 27; Eccles. xii. 13, li; Matt. xxii. 40; John xvi. 28 ; Heb. viii. 1, 2. Sometimes, as we have already remarked, the recapitulation may be in substance a partition. The " silver-tongued " Henry Smith, at the end of a sermon on the Lord's Supper, from the text 1 Cor. xi. 23, 2-i, gives this partition, which is worthy of being imitated, es- pecially in ex^Dository sermons : " Thus ye have heard the Author of this sacrament, the Lord Jesus ; the time when it was instituted, the night that he teas betrayed; how it was instituted, after thanks- giving ; why it was instituted, /br a i-eniembrance of his death; and the discovery of transubstantiation, one of the last heresies which Babylon hatched." §. The student is apt to be misled by strikmg remarks on this as on all other rhetorical subjects. He should remember that general advice is not always comprehensive advice ; e. g., Bishop Burnet's oft-quoted observation^ is : " The sermon that makes every one go away silent and grave and hastening to be alone to meditate and pray the matter over in secret, has had a true effect." ISTow this is excellent as opposed to sermons that awake applause, self-com- placency, and talkativeness, and as descriptive of the proper effects of many kinds of sermons. But this test ought not to be applied to sermons whose object is to move the people to holy praise» thanksgiving, and joy, nor to those which are intended to secure immediate contributions for the relief of the suffering. §. Matters for reproof, or alarm, or horror should not in general be assigned to the concluding sentence or words of a sermon. Let them come, when come they must, before the conclusion and in the 1 Vinet's Homiletics, Pt. ii., c. v. 2 This may have been Sliggested by Jerome's advice to Nepotian : " When yoii teach in the church, do not draw plaudits but sighs from the people. Let their tears praise you" (Epist. 52, sec. 8). 22 328 OF THE CONCLUSION. first part of the application. " But did not our Lord and some of the other sacred speakers sometimes utter bold and inflammatoiy thinf^s in their perorations?" Very seldom. In most cases their sermons end mildly and hopefully (Ilosea ii. 14-23; v. 15; vi. 1-3; xiv. 2-9). The inspired speeches which excited indignation and violence were, as we before said, interrupted ; so that it were just to consider these conclusions as made not by the holy prophets, but by human madness and folly. Wliat they would have gone on to communicate had they been heard with respectful attention we may fairly infer from the conclusions they made on other occasions when they were not interrupted. See our G-reat Teacher'^ lamentation at the close of his heavy denunciations of the Scribes and Pharisees (Matt, xxiii.) ; also his tender invitation to all such as feel the burden of their sins, after having denounced woes against Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Cai)ernaum (Matt. xi.). Observe, also, hoAv mildly Baxter concludes his sermon on the Judgment, Edwards his sennon on the Eternity of Hell Torments, and that of Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God,i and James Hervey his third sermon on the National Fast. L " Very properly,"' says Vinet, " the peroration will often be in a less elevated and less vehement tone than the precedmg parts. Here again the rhetoric of the ancients cannot be taken absolutely as our guide and model. . . The perorations of the great masters of the pulpit are generally moderate and gentle. We may com- pare them to a river the waves of which, very near ano5) as, ' I have spoken — you have heard — the case is in your hands — pronounce your decision.' " (See example from the sermons of Antonio Vieyra, appended to this chapter.) §. The extemporaneous speaker ought to give good heed to Whately's warning as to "more last words." " Let the speaker de- cide beforehand what shall be his concluding topic ; and let him resolve . . . that whenever he shall see fit to arrive at tJiCtt, noth- ing shall tempt him either to expand it beyond what he had deter- mined on, or to add anything else beyond it." 'Soy should he for- get this maxim of Bengel :- " A preacher Avho can come to a close when and how he pleases is able to preach the whole sermon with greater ease and freedom." Then he has likewise to consider the weakness or infirmity of many a hearer. When the Greeks set up statues of Nemesis holding a measuring-rod in one hand and a bridle in the other, it was to forewarn us, as Parmenion in his epigram sings, to do nothing beyond our limits, nor speak with un- bridled tongue. If the old classic orator needed thus to be ad- monished, how much more does the Christian speaker who can but seldom have audiences as attentive as theirs so frequently were. 1 Rhet , at the end. 2 Life by Burk, p. 78. 330 OF THE CONCLUSION. As to the closing Avords of perorations, fitness and variety should decide our choice of them. Among the Scripture forms are prov- erbs, promises, prayers, and doxologies. The Roman and French Catholics sometimes conclude with the paraphrase of some psalm. (See Bourdaloue on Riches, Massillon on the Resurrection of Lazarus, and Abbe PouUe on Heaven.) Or else they sometimes paraphrase parts of hymns ; e. g.^ see at the end of Massillon s ser- mon on the small number of the Elect, a paraphrase of Te oportet ndorarl ; and the peroration of Torielli's sermon on the General Judgment for a paraphrase of the Dies Ine. Schott recommends one or more stanzas of a hymn, but gives the preference to a pas- sage of holy Scrijiture. Many append to their sermons a written or extemporaneous prayer. This is frequently a part of the con- clusion of French and German sermons. " Reinhard," says Schott,^ " sometimes inserts in his exordiimi a j)rayer whicli contains the division of his discourse, and sometimes the prayer in his epilogue is a virtual recapitulation of the leading views which he has ad- vanced. The same may be said of other eminent preachers, and it cannot be indiscriminately condemned." Nevertheless, the Jiahit of preaching in prayer is, in our judgment, every way pernicious. A direct and formal prayer (the same may be said of a benediction), made out of its customary time or plaqe, is apt to throw some hearers into a doubt as to whether they ought to assume the pos- ture of prayer or not. "We may, as Mr. Grcsley2 suggests, avoid this inconvenience by continuing to address the people in the form of benediction. " May God grant us," etc., instead of " Grant us, O God," etc. If, however, both the congregation and the preacher are strongly moved, then a direct address to God is impressive and affecting; and in order to remedy the inconvenience before ad- verted to, you may commence your prayer with the words, " Let us pray." EXAMPLE BEFORE REFERRED TO. AxTOXiO Vieyra's jjeroration on the emanc'qmtion of the en- slaved Indians at JMaranJuim, Brazil, in the year 1G53 :...'' Let the world know that there is still truth, that there is still the fear of God, that there is still a soul, that there is still a conscience, and that self interest is not the absolute and universal lord of all. Let the world know that there are those who, for the love of God and of their own salvation, still trample self-interest under foot. Lord 1 Prof. Park's condensed translation in Bib. Sac, vol. v., p. 750. 2 Treatise on Preaching, Letter xxix. OF THE CONCLUSION. 331 Jesus, this is the mind, and this is the resolution of these thy faith- ful Catholics from this day forth. There is no one here who has any other interest but that of serving thee ; there is no one here who desires any other advantage but that of loving thee ; there is no one hpre who has any other ambition but that of being eternally obedient to thee and prostrate at thy feet. Their property is at thy feet, their interest is at thy feet, their slaves are at thy feet, their children are at thy feet, their blood is at thy feet, their life is at thy feet, that thou mayest do with it, and with all, w^hatever is most conformable to thy holy law. Is it not thus, Christians ? It is thus ; I say thus and promise thus to God in the name of all. Vic- tory then on the part of Christ ; victory, victory, over the strong- est temptations of the devil. Woe be to Satan, woe to his temp- tations, woe be to sin, woe be to hell, woe to ambition, woe to self-interest. But blessed be the service of God ; blessed be faith, blessed be Christianity, blessed be the soul, blessed be conscience, blessed be the law of God, and whatever it shall command ; blessed be God, blessed and only blessed be us all. In this world may a rich abundance of good things be ours, but chiefly those of grace ; and in the other world, glory everlasting." Paolo Segneri closes his Lenten sermon [Perdono agll inimici Quareshnale, Predica iii.) with a similar, promise on behalf of the people. It is, perhaps, the most grand and pathetic passage in his sermons. The first part of the same sermon (§8) contains a long apostrophe or lamentation before the Author of his text. 332 OF DISPOSITION. CHAPTER II. OF DISPOSITION. We have liere presumed to make Disposition a part of Inven- tion ; first, because the proper exercise of invention either proceeds from or results in thinking according to some method, good or bad ; secondly, because in searching for the best method the most perti- nent and useful thoughts are not imfrequently suggested to us. '' The penmen of Holy Writ," says Diodati, '' ot\en designedly fol- low the method of prudence, whereby they apply themselves to the present subject, time, place, or persons." Isocrates, the disciple of Socrates and the master of some of the greatest of the Greek orators, appears to have assigned disposition the very first place in invention; for in one of his lettersi he says: "I have been accus- tomed to tell my hearers that they ought first to consider how the subject and each part of it is to be treated, and when tliat has been dul}' weighed and examined, then to think of arguments and a proper style to support and recommend it, tliat it may answer the end we propose." And this great rhetorician evidently practised the lessons he gave. His Panegyric has a free yet admirable order. Ilis partition is as follows: "For my part there are two reasons which engage me to undertake this task ; the first and principal, that you may be thoroughly reconciled to one another, and per- suaded to tui-n all your resentment against the barbarians; the second, that, if unsuccessful in this principal design, I may at least have an opportunity of pointing out the obstacles to your happi- ness, and of proving in the presence of this assembly the ancient superiority of Athens on the sea, and its present title to assr-rt the first rank among the Greeks." It is worthy of observation that Isocrates takes up the second proposition in his partition first, and jMirsuing this reverse order, makes the several clauses of the two 1 Epist. vi.. ad Jasonis Libros. OF DISPOSITION. 333 propositions so many concealed subdivisions of his oration.i The younger Plmy,- a disciple of Quintilian, considered a methodical arrangement and propriety in the use of figures as distinguishing the educated from the mieducated orator. Cicero is never hampered by excess of method, and yet several of his orations are obviously composed according to a previous analysis and arrangement of the matter. His oration against Pub- lius Quintius has three divisions, that against Quintius Ctccilius two, and that for the Manilian law three ; while his oration for Murena, and his seventh Philippic, have each three divisions, of which the hearers are apprised m brief partitions, Chrysostom, Ambrose, and Augustine, preaching, for the most part, expository sermons, neglected divisions; and even their toj^ical discourses are often very far from methodical. In the ser- mons of Isidore and other preachers in the seventh and eighth cen- turies, we sometimes find the heads and partitions carefully set forth. Antony of Padua, a very popular preacher in his time, fre- quently divides his subject in an orderly manner. Herein he is followed by Albertus Magnus and his pupil, Thomas Aquinas, re- commended by Borromeo, and freely imitated by the princes of the French pulpit. Of Method several writers have treated. Descartes^ has dis- cussed the subject of philosophical method, which he defines a pro- ceeding according to certain rules with a view to realize a certain end. Keckerman,"^ Watts,^ Coleridge,6 and Beck,^ have left us dissertations on method, while Mr. F. E. Ziegler^ has elaborately applied the principles of methodical division to homiletics. Logical method is, according to Dr. Beck, a union of cognitions, determined by the internal relations of things; in other words, by the necessary interdependence of being or substance, and attribute and accident, of cause and operation or effect, of condition and conditional, of end and means. This is distinguished by him from the geographical and chronological method, which is based on ex- ternal relations of objects in space and time. Definition, in pure 1 Reinhaid also sometimes compresses his subdivisions into a single sentence, and afterwards recurs to the successive clauses which form ihem. (See Dr. Parli's two excellent articles on his sermons, Bib. Sac, vol. yi.) 2 Epist. xiii., L. iii. 3 Discourse on Method. 4 Systema Logicse a Minus, pp. 576-595. 5 Logic, Ft iv., chaps, i. and ii. 6 Gen. Intro, to Encyclop Metropol. 7 An Outline Treatise on Logic, trans, from the German by Dr. E. V. Ger- havt, p. 308-339. 8 Fundameiitura Dividendi, pp. 500, 8vo (Dresden, 1851). 334 OF DISPOSITION. logic, relates to the contents of a conception ; division to its ex- tent. To divide logically is to represent the objects which a con- C2ption comprehends, both in their relation to each other and in their relation to the conception itself. The office of logical division is to regard a conception as a genus, and to resolve it into its sev- eral species, or to subordinate the particular to the general, a case to its rule, and an inference to a universal proposition ; conse- quently this kind of division involves the following elements: (1) A' given concejjtion, or the divisible ichole; (2) a princijjle of division (fundamentum divisionis) ; that is, some general at- tribute of the divisible whole, which determines the character of the division. As we reflect upon a given conception from various points of view, we discover in it different principles of division- Thus we get collateral divisions. Man, for axample, may be va- riously divided. "We may- take as the principle of division either his nationality or religion, or morality or mental qualities, or occu- pations. In each division the given conception, JTcm, is the same, but for every new prmciple we adopt we get a difierent set of 7?ie)n- bers of division, or specific differences, or various particulars. Each member of a division may itself be regarded as a divisible whole from which a subordinate division may be derived. Thus we get subdivisions which may be subjected to the same dividing process to almost any extent. That division to which a subdivision is im- mediately subordinate is called a superior division. The division wliich comprehends all the different series of subdivisions is called the fundaniented or primary division (divisio fmidamentalis, or primaria). As to the order of division. Dr. Beck's precept is : In the first place elucidate the given conception l^y a complete definition ; secondly, settle the principle of division, which must be an essential attribute of the given conception ; next determine by this principle the several species of the divisible whole ; then take each species in turn as a divisible whole; again settle a principle of division, and determine its several subordinate species ; and thus advance till the process is complete. Hence, as Ziegler teaches, it is an offence against logical method when a preacher, e. g., upon the proposi- tion, " Why is it necessary to bridle the tongue ? " builds this as a subdivision " What is it to bridle the tongue ? " These laws of logical method arc worth remembering, as they constitute the groundworks of rhetorical method. " It is the fun- damental tendency of the mind,'' as Dr. Beck observes, " to refer its manifold conceptions or cognitions each to its own category, and thus reduce them to unity in order In comprehend tiiem. Hence THE PRINCIPLES OF RHETORICAL METHOD. 335 it is the logical method only which can satisfy the deej^est wants of the human understanding." The preacher finds it a constant help in invention, although in comjjosition an occasional hindrance to a free and popular diction. i Section I. — The Phinciples of Khetoeical Method. Rhetorical method may, in general, be defined such a disposition of the subject-matter of a popular discourse as best serves to ex- plain, establish, and apply it. It may be divided into two kinds, natural, and arbitrary or heroic. The natui-al is that which is founded on the laws of the creation, as the method of genesis, or the order in which beings come to exist, the modes of existence, the parts, properties, kinds, relations, sequence, and ends of things. The method of deduction is the natural one, and every valid pro- cess of induction is, in reality, a species of deductive reasoning. The arbitrary or heroic disregards deduction, whether absolute or subordinate, the external or internal relation of things, and logi- cal unity. It follows or forsakes any arrangement according to the purpose of the speaker, and the variable circumstances and neces- sities of his hearers ; e. g., when a panegyric neglects the order of time in delineating the deeds of its hero, and speaks first of his private and Christian life, secondly of his public and political life. The arbitrary may be divided into the mixed or eccentric, and cryptical. The former may either employ in turn several methods, or occasionally forsaking one or more, may abound in regressions, digressions, and rhaposdies. The cryptic has, in some cases, per- haps, only the c/ppearance of arbitrariness ; for its method, though concealed, may really be natural. There are some ancient rules still observed in the process of division and arrangement ; the most important of which are the following : Let your method, for one thing, be founded on a distinct concep- tion of the nature and verge of your subject, so that you can sepa- rate that which belongs to it from all that is foreign thereto. Never preach a topical sermon without first reducing to writing and fixing in your memory, if not always announcing its subject, or, what is still better, its proposition. Now we should remember that argumentative propositions are of two kinds, analytic and synthet- ic ; in the former are expressed or implied all the positions which are to be established by proof; so that an analysis of the terms of the proposition suggests the arguments by which it is supported ; r.y.^ Dean Young shows that judgment is for the Lord by first analysing the term "judgment" into the conceptions of power, matter, issue 336 THE PRINCIPLES OF RHETORICAL METHOD. and form, and then analysing the phrase "for the Lord" into the ideas of God's right, God's cause, God's end, and God's sentence. These ideas are coupled in four subordinate propositions. (See plans and divisions.) Such a method is recommended by Quintiliani ■when the separate arguments are powerful. In su<;h cases ojihj should M'e observe the rule that the partition should exclude all matter not embraced in the chief proposition. Synthetic proposi- tions are such as are establi.shed bv arguments that are not suo-- gested by an analysis of their terms, but founded on matter outside of themselves. Of this kind are many deductive arguments, and all propositions established by historic proofs. And let your method be founded on a proposition that is not only distinct but true. This hint, though second in order, is first in importance ; hence, the necessity for employing only such propo- sitions, terms, definitions, descriptions, consequences, and inferences as you can defend if attacked. Express, therefore, and arrange so cautiously your proposition, partition, subdivisions, and matter generally, as to preclude or anticipate common objections. Xext in order after the question, What is my subject ? is the question, Is it founded in truth or based on the text ? Lqt your method, for another thing, be as plain and simple as the subject will admit of, beginning with what is Avell known and ad- vancing to that which is less known, and thence to the obscure and profound. Do not attempt to gorge one long sentence with a great number of ideas, nor, like Hooker, ' drive before you a multitude of clauses like a flock of sheep, and so become perplexed and tedious.' And accordingly you have to avoid too long a partition, and too many subdivisions; otherwise not a few of your hearers will be in danger of confounding generals with particulars, and things forego- ing with things followhig, or the reverse. This excess' of method has the practical effect of confusion. The dbservance of logical sequence in the arrangement and connection of sentences often has the effect of method without exhibiting it. Kobert Hall and Sydney Smith seldom connect their thoughts; hence their sen- tences move not forward in single file but irregularly along parallel lines. Again, let not the various i)arts of the sermon interfere with one another, as the partition with the proposition, or the division with the subdivisions. Do not regard as co-ordinate that which is .iibonlinate, nor the reverse. Thus, of the two ideas of rluiriti/ and iiithihiciicc the second is subordinate to the first; but tlic two 1 Inst. Rhet., L. v., c. zii. THE PRNCiPLES OF RHETORICAL METHOD. 337 ideas of kbidness and indulgence are co-ordinate. Do not there- fore distribute into two distinct heads two aspects of the same idea or thought, or two ideas which from their relation to each other are liable to be confounded; e. g., do not attempt to prove that a vice is contrary, first, to good sense, secondly, to our interest ; nor to treat under two heads the scripture phrase, "gentle, easy to be entreated." Herein we shall be greatly assisted by the habit of conceiving and distinguishing things according to their natures, parts, properties, kmds, relations, and ends. Besides, we shall thus avoid a leaj) (Saltus in dividendo) as when a preacher divides the divine nature into the attributes, immutability, spirituality, justice, love, etc., instead of first dividing them into absolute and relative. And let your transitions and connections be made with a reference not only to an orderly disposition of all the parts, but also to a methodical tendency of all the parts to attain a particular end. A discourse may be so arranged that each part may prepare the w^ay for what follows, and at the same time preserve the force of what went before, but it may still fail to keep in view the main object, or make it evident that all the parts thus connected lean and move towards it. Hence the necessity of observing the diflerence be- tween a side-path and an obscure and, it may be, devious path. Let your method moreover be without deficiency, and yet with- out superfluity. " There is," as Dt. Watts says, " a happy medium to be observed in our method, so that brevity may not render the sense obscure, nor the argument feeble, nor our knowledge merely superficial ; and, on the other hand, that the fiilness and copious- ness of our method may not waste the time, tire the learner, nor fill the mind wdth trifles and impertinences." The proposition should be as brief as possible, and should contain few or no terms that call for explanation ; and accordingly all definitions, where necessary, should go before the proposition. The divisions, as stated in the partition, should be as concise and elliptical as clearness will admit ; but the subdivisions must in general be so fully expressed that no words are wanting either to convey the sense or to make all ti'ansi- tions. Uniform and artificial partitions, like every other kind of sameness, are tedious. Bishop Burnet almost always has but one division, and Christmas Evans and F. W. Robertson usually two. Never dwell at great length on introductory, transitional occasion- al, and incidental matter, nor make a subdivision merely for the sake of obtaining a symmetrical and complete skeleton. Make your plan bend, and, if necessary, give way to the most important and useful matter and its amplifications. In the distribution of matter two errors are often committed : digressions and parenthe- 338 THE PRINCIPLES OF RHETOPJCAL METHOD. ses, filled with unimportant and irrelevant thoughts, are allowed to occupy space which is needed for thoughts that contribute to the principal design ; and again, such a prolixity is mdulged in the ex- ordium and body of the discourse that little or no space is left for a full application. So inveterate is this habit in some that it is ad- visable for them, after meditating deeply on all parts of their plan, to compose their application first. Be it observed, however, that we suggest tliis only as a reuiedi/. For the rest, conform the method to the laws of rhetorical adap- tation ; in other words, let it be suitable for the speaker, for his matter, for his purpose, and for his audience. Thereby you will cultivate that " method of prudence," which characterises the in- spired writers and preachers. " Discretion of speech," says Bacon, " is more than eloquence." The sermons of the prophets deserve the most careful study in this respect. The example of the apostle Paul in his epistles to the Cormthians is also worthy of imitation, although none but an apostle could safely announce the purpose of addressing a church as a congregation of spiritual child ren.i A good rhetorical method, being much inlluenced by ailaptation, ad- mits of great liberty and variety, as will be seen from a study of our examples of plans and divisions. Exposition, conviction, and application demand their own respective and peculiar arrangements ; and these again may be advantageously modified by the exigencies of time, place, and audience. Tlie most argumentative sermons cannot afford to lose sight of a jiractical scope and design. The sermons of Bourdaloue and Massillon are noted for tlieir formal and elaborate partitions, and yet their partitions very seldom fail to trace the connection between the discussions and their various and consequent uses. These preachers were anxious even to excess, lest their hearers should not from llie outset keep in full view the prac- tical end for which each division Avas introduced and discussed. So jirone are many modern preachers to throw their uses into the back- ground, if not quite out of sight, that they might, for a time at least, finil it judicious as a means of self-reform to base tiie parts of their partitions, if not their propositions, upon the preconceived and previously adjusted matter of their applications. To know how to analyse our hearers is more important than to know how to analyse our propositions. Adaptation does not demand that in the process of invention we 1 Heb. V. 12-14; 1 Cor. iii. 1, 2; cf. sect, on Partitions. BonGiel lias re- marked that the inspired teachers in tlie N. T. always set what is good in the foreground ; first touching on betterments, and then adducing what they had to blame. (Life by Burk, p. 79.) THE PRINCIPLES OF RHETORICAL METHOD. 339 should neglect exactitude and fulness of method. It is only in the act of composition, and occasionally in the course of delivery that an arbitrary, mixed, or cryptic arrangement will often be wisely adopted.! In few thmgs is the novice more readily detected than in his rigid adherence to a scientific method. Of one of the Czars of Russia, Dr. Watts writes, that when he first learned the art of war he practised all the rules of circumvallation and contravalla- tion at the siege of a certain city in Lavonia ; and he passed so much of his time in his mathematical approaches that he wasted the sea- son for taking the toAvn. Some never acquire a free method, because in their minds the subject is bound up with rigid notions of rhetorical unity. Think- ing thus, they adjust almost all the parts of their sermons in such an order that the principal subject or proposition shall be continually kept before the hearer. Their plans are apt to resemble the pine or fir, the main body of which grows up straight to the very top of the tree, while branches shoot out on its sides at regular intervals ; and there are, it must be allowed, certain subjects, e. g., those of the ar- gumentative and demonstrative kind, which sometimes derive con- siderable energy and gracefulness from the constant visibilty of the stem proposition. But still it is to be remembered that there is also a unity of amplification and of various applications. Almost all fruit trees divide the trunk among the first branches, and sacri- fice height and symmetry of stem, limb, and twig to that rotundity which exposes the greatest amount of fruit to the ripening weather and the admiring eye. It is therefore by keeping the utility of our sermon ever before us that we acquire the truest unity and, at the same time, that Ars ut artem falleret, that art of deceiving art, of which Venantius Fortunatus writes. Let no preacher esteem skill in practical method a cheap, super- ficial, and enfeebling accomplishment. No man can methodise thoroughly well whose mind has' not been disciplined to habits of sound thinking; for "method," as Coleridge'^ observes, "is a power or spirit of the intellect pervading all that it does, rather than its tangible product." Nor is he likely to reduce any subject to a just niethod who has not a distmct, particular, and comprehensive knowledge thereof But to learn to arrange a subject practically and popularly, we should add to all this much intercourse with men3 and considerable experience in pubUc speaking. That mas- 1 See the sections on Digressions and Regressions. 2 Friend, vol. iii. 3 The following partition by Kiummacher on 2 Cor. xiii. 5 must have been de- rived from a knowledge of common doubts and delusions. I. The characteristic 340 OF DIGRESSIONS. ter analyst, Charles Simeon, told Bishop Wilson that he had recom- posed the plan of one of his discourses nearly thirty times. But is not an analytic mind necessarily wanting in force ? Be- lieve it not. The tendency of method is exactly the opposite : by contributing to perspicuity and by reducing the whole subject to one view, it stimulates energy, sometimes to an extravagant degree. Massillon and Baxter were both analytic thinkers, and yet both Avrote and spoke with a force that is Demosthenian. The latteri studied the schoolmen, chietly, it w^ould seem, because of their acuteness and skill in methodology. " And though,"' says he, " I know no man whose genius more abhorreth confusion instead of necessary distinction and method, yet I loathe impertinent, use- less art and pretended precepts, and distinctions which have no foundation in the matter." He somewhere says he never thought he understood anything until he could anatomise it. Method ther-efore, as it belongs in germ and potentiality to the mind itself, so it is the most perfectly evolved by the most capacious and cultivated minds. When nourished by great vital forces the osseous frame of the ser- mon will be sound, well-proportioned, and capable of supporting the strength and gracefulness of the entire composition. Method wil'l, moreover, serve so fully to possess the mind with the beautiful symmetry of a subject as to compel utterance. It was this, perhaps, that gave to the hearers of Masi?illon the impression when he be- gan to speak, that he could not help setting his pent thoughts at liberty. The relations of method and eloquence may be rendered more clear and vivid by the speculations of the schoolmen as to the name Cherubim. It signifies, as they said, fulness of knowledge, which consists, first, in a perfect vision of God; secondly, full recep- tion of divine light ; thirdly, the contemplation in God himself of the beauty of the order of things emanting from him; finally, that fulness of this knowledge which enables them to pour it out upon others copiously. Of the assistance method affords to the memory of the speaker and hearer many rhetors have said many excellent things. Section II. — Of Digressions. The Digression {digrcssio, cf/rcssio, ^^are^-Jac;/*) abounds in the graces that are not necessary. IT. Those marks of a state of grace whicli are in- sutBcient. III. Those whichare satisfactory, and at the same time indispensable. 1 Knowledge and Love Comitar^d, Pt. i., c. i. ; Wiinle Worlts, vol. xv. p. 15. Bax- ter wrotea very elaborate work in Lnt'm entll]ed Mi t/wJits Theol>gi