Epistles to Titus and Timothy; and, above all, “be

But I must forbear to enlarge on these topics. Our present business is only with the rhetorical part of the subject; our object is to show how, from the discourse itself, you may give your hearers a favourable impression, and incline them to receive with confidence what you lay before them.

And, first, bear this in mind,-it is of the first importance,—namely, that the complexion and effect of your sermon will depend very much on the feelings and motive with which you prepare and deliver it. Let us stop, and inquire a moment into this matter. Preachers are, of course, of a thousand shades of character, but may be ranked under three classes. First, there are those who make and preach sermons because they are obliged to do so. It is with them an hebdomadal labour. They have a church to serve, and it is necessary for them to hold forth for a given time every Sunday, on some text of Scripture. Now those who make sermons with this feeling, might just as well save themselves the trouble. Written in this spirit, their discourses cannot but be dull and lifeless compositions; they might as well transcribe some good printed sermon; or why should they do even this? They have only to go to a bookseller, and they may have lithographed sermons, at so much per dozen, which shall be "warranted original, orthodox, and twenty minutes ;" and these are got up so

naturally, with erasures and interlineations, that even from the side gallery, within a yard of the preacher, they could not be distinguished from a manuscript. By the help of conning them over in the vestry, and then when you get into the pulpit, keeping your eyes well fixed on the book, and your finger opposite the line, you may, perhaps, get through them without making many blunders; but as to winning one soul to Christ, or comforting one righteous man, "that is not in the bond," that never entered the printer's head. But only let such careless hirelings, when they look down upon their congregation, call to mind the line from Milton

"The hungry sheep look up, and are not fed:"

let them think that souls longing for the bread of life, (or if not longing for it, yet on that very account in greater need of it,) are through their negligence perishing from hunger; and if they have a grain of feeling or common honesty, they will surely take pains to provide such food as may nourish them.

The second class of sermon-writers are those who have a great notion of their own ability, and take mighty pains to write their sermons with a view to display their talent. But these for the most part lose their labour. "The more pains," says the Archbishop of Cambray, "an haranguer takes to dazzle me by the artifices of his discourse, the more I despise his vanity. I love a serious preacher, who

speaks for my sake, not his own; who seeks my salvation, not his own vain glory." Carefully avoid, therefore, whatever indicates a wish to make the service of Almighty God a vehicle for the display of your talent, or the gratification of your self-love. "To be despised for vanity is, perhaps, the greatest evil which can befal a preacher." Whatever good he may say will be of none effect. No talent, no eloquence, no pains, will avail him any thing, if he is evidently preaching not Christ, but himself. Above all things, therefore, aim at singleness of heart. Do not think "What shall I say, and how shall I say it, so that I may be thought an excellent preacher, and draw crowds to my church, and fix their attention, and move their feelings; but, how shall I most edify my flock?" Think of this alone. Many, indeed, preach with a sincere desire to do good, but still there is a degree of self-complacency, a desire of effect, mortification at failure, a wish not to be common-place, but to be original and powerful, an anxiety to obtain the approval of their Christian friends. Even genuine Christians cannot always escape these

errors.

"O popular applause, what heart of man

1

Is proof against thy sweet seducing charms 1?"

All these secondary and equivocal motives should be put away altogether; and you should strive and

1 Cowper.

pray that you may be enabled to preach with a single eye to the salvation of the souls committed to your charge.

Let us trust that, in spite of the infirmity of our nature, there are thirdly, many, very many, Christian preachers, who, through the aid of the Holy Ghost, are influenced by this motive; who "believe and therefore speak;" who are like "the good shepherd; and the sheep know their voice, and follow them." To such preachers the Holy Spirit will sanctify and bless the pains which they take for the fulfilment of their arduous office.

My first advice then to you, with a view to gaining the confidence of your hearers, is,-let me again repeat it,―that you compose and preach your sermon, with a single eye to their salvation.

LETTER V.

HOW TO GAIN THE CONFIDENCE OF THE HEARERS. FIRST, BY SHOWING GOODNESS OF CHARACTER.

SUPPOSING, then, that you sit down in your study to compose your discourse with a true and single heart, the next point is to know how to give your hearers this impression. It is scarcely necessary that I should here protest against the supposition, that I would recommend any unworthy or unjustifiable artifice. I shall speak of nothing but what is the preacher's bounden duty. It is his business to persuade his hearers, and this he cannot do without gaining their confidence: to gain their confidence then by all justifiable means is his bounden duty. I shall recommend nothing for which I cannot bring forward the authority of an Apostle. Nay, I will stop short of St. Paul. St. Paul scruples not, on many occasions, openly to commend himself. His station, and office, and the circumstances, and the manners of the times