vinced the world of his powers, to have much looked for in his performance.

But we would fain, if we may attempt it without presumption, do a little towards steadying and improving those notions of perfection in pulpit eloquence, according to which many may be inclined to judge of him: notions in themselves often vague and indefinite, ever at variance with each other, and- for the most part little reasoned on or accounted for by those who maintain them some picked up at random among the prejudices of infancy, some poured into itching ears by favourite preachers, and all depending on some misconception, either of the sole object of preaching, which is the salvation of souls, or of its only subject, which is the Christian Religion. These are large topics, and we must at present content ourselves with the first, and endeavour shortly to explain what we consider as prevailing errors with respect to the object of preaching.

Ever since the age of inspiration, the pulpit hath been more or less intruded on by the literary vanities, prejudices, and fashions of the time; and it requires indeed the severest watchfulness over our corrupt nature, for the ministers and the people to keep themselves single-hearted and pure in the desire of edifying and being edified. In this age and country it is especially to be feared, that the pride of authorship may mix itself with the preacher's zeal. It is an evil (balanced, we allow, by far greater good, but still an evil) incidental to a system of education, classical as well as clerical: and the more tempting to Englishmen, because the divines of their land have ever been found among the surest upholders of its literary fame. Wherefore it is most desirable that all, as well writers as hearers, of sermons, should remember that they are something more than mere oratorical effusions; that they are among the means of grace appointed in Scripture and aided by the Holy Ghost: that preaching consequently is an exercise of one of the highest earthly privileges of a Christian man, inasmuch as it is the power of being an instrument toward the salvation of his brethren: the aptitude to which end is therefore the true measure of excellence in it, enough to excuse many defects, but in no case to be superseded by any charms of eloquence, method, or argumentation.

Now, as the condition of our salvation, it is required of us that we present ourselves "a living sacrifice, holy, acceptable to God, which is our reasonable service;" or as our church hath paraphrased it, that" our sacrifice of ourselves, our souls and bodies, be reasonable, holy, and lively:" reasonable, in that the understanding lay hold with full assurance of the evidence of things not seen: holy, in that the will be directed with entire and undivided preference toward the prize of our high calling lively,

in that the affections be thoroughly and practically such, as result from a due sense of the inestimable love of God towards us. By these three things, even by faith, hope, and charity, is the service of man made perfect and acceptable; nothing less than the concurrence of these three can sanctify our profession of doctrine, or our obedience to precept: every doctrine, therefore, and every precept is imperfectly inculcated, if any one of these be neglected. Whence we may collect an important distinction between the eloquence of the pulpit and other branches of oratory. Where the object is some external advantage, it is enough that the judgment be influenced; if the will and the affections are at all brought into action, it is only as instruments toward persuasion but here, where the good sought is an inward and lasting improvement of the whole rational man, the impression produced on the affections and will is an end co-ordinate with the demonstration, and not subservient to it.

Let us now apply these observations to some of the large divisions in which Sermons are commonly classed, and see whether they will in any degree afford a clue to guide us through the mazes of high-bred and low-bred prejudice, on this most important but much abused topic, which, in the present day, is taken out of the hands of philosophers and divines, to be discussed by coblers in their Sunday walks, and sentimental milliners in circulating libraries.

In the first place, it would appear that those Sermons are imperfect which are addressed to the understanding merely, whether they profess to clear up what is doubtful, or to enforce, methodize, and arrange what is acknowledged. In this class would be included many of the subtle and profound discourses of the last century, employed for the most part on the abstract truths of Natural Religion, and the metaphysical principles of morals: the writers whereof seem to have considered eloquence as a clog on argument; and the indulgence of imagination, or of the affections, as an unfair way of winning the assent of their audience: incautiously imitating, and that often in addressing themselves to undisciplined minds, the strict, severe, and continuous reasoning of Butler and Clarke: God forbid that we should attempt to deface the monuments which the Church militant hath raised to the memory of those great men, and others their contemporaries. They have shewn how the corner stones of Christianity are fixed deep in the natural relations of things; and on the foundation which they have explored, we abide for ever, secure against all the infernal enginery of the pretended champions of right Yet we must protest against the general adoption of their manner in preaching; and for this reason, we are thoroughly persuaded that they would themselves have objected to it. Most

reason.

of

of their printed sermons were addressed to people of leisure and cultivated minds, who had opportunities of weighing arguments, and consulting authorities far beyond what fall to the lot of ordinary congregations. Now we know that some are to be fed with milk, some with strong meat: it appears injudicious then to select these, the rare and choice nutriment of an academical or legal audience, for the sustainment of those, whose habits and education will enable them to comprehend and digest little else, except the grand and leading doctrines of Jesus Christ crucified, and the plain duties which he taught.

But we have yet a further reason, besides the dread of not being understood, which would hinder us from choosing this sort of preaching for our general model. In the hands of such men as Butler, and Sherlock, and Clarke, bare argument becomes eloquence; and if enforced by a serious and devout manner, may well be depended on to do the whole work of preaching, and to bow the whole man in obedience to the understanding, thus awfully and mightily convinced. Yet would it be a hasty and unwise thing for any man to follow their example, who feels not within himself the consciousness of their power. They wielded a single weapon with irresistible strength: we that are weaker must be content to use variety of means, and by number and repetition and adaptation make up our deficiency in force and solidity. It is often dangerous to quote Sacred History, or even to appeal to the highest examples there found, except we be quite certain that we apply them rightly. Yet it seems hard to conceive that there should be any such entire and radical diversity of circumstances between the hearers of these days, and those of our Saviour and his Apostles, as to make the rule of preaching now essentially different from what they have exemplified. Now it is certain, that the general scope and design of most of their exhortations, as recorded in the Gospels and Acts, (we except the Epistles, which were written and not spoken) is impression and illustration, far more than logical deduction.

But here an objection occurs: we have no signs and wonders, as the first preachers had, to cut short the business of conviction and how can we establish our doctrines except by a more extended portion of argument? It ought to be remembered, however, that the main object of the Pastors of the English Church is not conversion, since most of their hearers are Christians already; therefore the establishment of doctrines is not their principal point, The Apostles indeed commanded the evidence of the senses, which is instantaneous and overwhelming; whereas now, to convince men in the first instance of religious truth is a matter of education, study, and private in

struction,

struction, and requires too much reflection and accuracy to be with safety trusted to those uncertain and rambling reporters, the ears of a promiscuous assembly. Taking, therefore, the fundamentals for granted, and avoiding to embarrass his congregation with the refutation of cavils never heard of by them, and better never heard of at all, let the Christian reasoner strive to lead the people on unto perfection, in every thing building them up on the foundation of the Scripture of God: that he never seem ashamed to bring the Gospel into the pulpit, but rather make it the beginning and end of all his reasonings, the sole enlightener of his fancy and inflamer of his zeal : so may he be confident, by God's grace, that his labour will endure the trial, in the day when every man's work shall be made manifest.

In addition to its radical imperfection, collateral evils of no inconsiderable magnitude are found to result from a mode of preaching merely argumentative. The worldly are frightened from looking into their religion, and use themselves to think of it as a dry abstract study, the business of theologians merely, but little concerning men of the world, who may be content to take its precepts on trust from the crowd about them, and as for its doctrines," pavävla GuveToTon" is the cry; "they may be very well for those who are paid to understand them." Enthusiasts on the other hand, confounding the manner with the substance of what they hear, fancy the truths of the Gospel neglected, because they are delivered in a dry, argumentative way; and the cry of formality, lukewarmness, “ Socrates, reason, and moderation," is raised against the Church.

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Of the opposite and more mischievous extreme, that of addressing the passions merely, we shall not say much here, for we do not know that it hath ever intruded at all alarmingly on the Church of England; nor is it ever likely, we trust, to prevail within her walls, as long as the present system of academical education lasts. Only if these pages meet the eye of any hearer, who measures the excellence of a sermon by his own tears and trembling limbs, or of any teacher who is disposed to indulge too far the fervency of youth and zeal, and to think emotion a sure test of edification; of any such we would fain ask two short questions. Is it commonly found that men judge best on important matters when under the influence of any violent passion?, And where among those discourses, in which we are sure the spirit of error had no part, do we find any attempt to excite such ? Do we not rather observe, in the sacred orators, ani espe cial care never to allow the impressions of their audience to vanish in momentary raptures, or dreams of horror? An anxiety always to ground some distinct, sober enforcement of something.

to

to be believed or done, on whatsoever emotion of hope, or awe, or thankfulness, or astonishment they have called up? That is the true enthusiasm, the enthusiasm of Christians and Apostles, which never, in its sublimest aspirations, forgets the realities of duty; which imitates the scholar of Jesus Christ, not in his triumphant cry alone, "Oh Death! where is thy sting!" but also in his authoritative practical inference: "Be ye stedfast, immoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord."

Besides the merely speculative, and the merely pathetic, there is another class of sermons, equally defective as to the true object of preaching, to which we shall venture to apply the term imaginative; whereof the test is, their affecting the fancy only, and that with conceptions of genius instead of holiness, of oratorical instead of religious perfection, and consequently their sending away the audience with the feelings rather of satisfied critics, than of Christians enlightened, humbled, or made thankful. Be it remembered, that we are not attributing this to vanity in the writers, but stating it as an evil incidental to their manner of preaching, and often, doubtless, unsuspected by themselves. But in the working up of literature and conversation to that high polish, which they acquired in England during the last century, it was to be expected that public speaking in all its branches might receive too artificial a cast; and that those who in the parlour and the library were daily witnessing and sharing the fastidiousness of their hearers, might feel it hard to divest themselves of the dread of criticism in the pulpit. The growth of this feeling has produced, among other changes, two of no slight disadvantage, in one view of the subject, to the public instruction of the higher orders.

It

The first is, the general disuse, before congregations called fashionable, of the good old custom of dividing a sermon. would be a curious phoenomenon, we guess, to any one acquainted with the Church of England by her public formularies only, and the writings of her fathers and elders of the 16th and 17th centuries, were he to be introduced without warning to one of the weekly banquets, provided by many of our modern whitehanded lecturers, for those dainty epicures in theology, the frequenters of bathing-places and fashionable chapels. We will venture to say, the text would be the only part of what he heard,' which would not be to him novel and astonishing. He would most probably spend his time in listening vainly for those exceltent and useful words, first, second, and third, till, all of a sudden, he would find that the preacher, he knows not how, has got to the end of his sermon; and fortunate may he reckon himself, if on going away he know the beginning from the end, the premises from the conclusions, or the doctrines from the illustra

tions.