III.-CLOSE WITH PRACTICAL REFLECTIONS.
I.-CONSIDER WHAT IS MEANT BY PREACHING THE

GOSPEL IN WORD ONLY.

The word gospel (εvayyéλov) signifies good news, news or tidings of salvation to sinful man. The preaching of this gospel is the publicly and audibly proclaiming it in the manner of a public crier or herald. Consequently if preached at all, it must be preached in word. God could save men from their inward and outward sins without the audible instrumentality of preaching if he so pleased: and where sickness or infirmity, or absolute impossibility of hearing exists, salvation may be enjoyed by the communications of divine truth in some other way. But it is not our duty to enquire into the possible ways in which the Almighty could save men without preaching; nor is it reasonable to imagine that because He is pleased in some peculiar way to save such as cannot attend the gospel ministry, this ministry might be altogether dispensed with. We see plainly enough in the New Testament, and in the history of the world and the church that it has pleased God, by what sneering philosophers call "the foolishness of preaching" to save them that believe. The main work of the primitive Apostles was to preach the gospel. They did other work: they baptized believers, and wrought wonderful miracles; but their great commission was to preach the gospel, and they regarded this as of pre-eminent importance. They were not always and in every place equally successful. Sometimes through want of faith in their hearers their word did not profit them, and to such persons the gospel was preached in word only. And since their times, preachers and people in all countries and ages, have had to mourn over limited success in public preaching. But all effects have causes: and when we see an instrumentality so adapted to effect

moral reformation and spiritual renovation as preaching is, not effecting such important results, we ought to enquire, how is this? Some special and formidable obstruction must be in the way. How can it be that gospel preaching so wonderfully efficient in many cases, is not successful in all? Why is not every understanding hearer a thorough Christian? Why should there be in this world of ours, in spite of such a mighty apparatus of moral means and agencies, such an enormous amount of wickedness? Every thinking man and every philosopher is ready with his reasons. The bigot and the sectarian,—the self-sufficient and obtrusive innovator;-the deviser of new schemes of reformation, and the half-infidel believer would doubtless all come in with their reasonings and demonstrations, why Christianity prospers so little. But leaving out all particular reasons, both real and imaginary, we come to the assertion that the grand reason of unsuccessfulness is the absence of the Holy Spirit. When this Divine Spirit does not through the medium of preaching, accomplish the end of preaching; preaching is in "word only," and when this is the case, the fault is in the preacher, or in the hearers, or in both parties, and1.—I assert that preaching in word only is sometimes the defect or fault of the preacher.

We will suppose him to preach the true gospel; and to be free from all essential errors. We will suppose more than this. He shall be a man of education, and possess great learning. He shall be a perfect master of the original Scriptures, and a profound biblical critic. He shall be an able expositor and paraphrast: and so expert a logician that no man shall be able to gainsay him. He shall rightly divide the word of truth; and the different parts of his sermon shall be arranged in the most exact order, and remarkable for perfect symmetry. He shall moreover be a fluent speaker, and in the ordinary sense of the

word eloquent. But with all these qualifications, his hearers feel nothing that is morally or religiously important to them. They may admire his tact as a sermonizer. They may wonder at the strength of his memory, or his power of extemporaneous discussion; still their hearts are not made better, and they do not repent of their sins. He may have shewn them the truth. He may have pointed out the way to heaven; but they remain just where they did before they heard him. If they feel at all, the feeling is simply that of admiration. They feel no earnest desire and determination to become holy, just, and good. In public speaking we all know how the spirit of one man may influence for the better or the worse a whole multitude. Spirits can act upon spirits, as bodies act on bodies. and so let a man preach merely as a scholar, or an orator, or simply as a professional divine, and the people will feel just what he wishes them to feel, namely, that he is a scholar, and orator, and divine; but they feel nothing more. The deficiency or fault of such a preacher is want of sincere love to God, and zealous concern to make immediately that kind of impression which shall result in the conversion of his hearers, or the very decided spiritual improvement of such as are converted. A man of this sort may be in the most alarming sense of the word an unbeliever-not seriously and feelingly believing what he himself preaches. Not believing divine truths with his affections as well as understanding, and not believing them practically, so as to obey the truth. Such a man is not a fruitful branch in Christ the living vine. Hence then his comparative uselessness in preaching is accounted for. We say comparative uselessness,-for after all, it is doing some good to give men light-only mere light will not save them. Light shews me the way to heaven; but still something is wanting, while I am yet in my sins

and estranged from God, and going on just as I did before I heard the sermon which possessed in my own opinion such superior recommendations. What can it be? Our answer is ready :—the influence of God upon my mind. The preacher has not accomplished the proper object of preaching, because his preaching was in word only. He could not infuse into the congregation a spirit which was not in himself. A spirit of holiness hating all sin and supremely loving God. A spirit of unbounded benevolence for his hearers, and most anxiously desirous to save them. A spirit of humility, meekness, heavenly-mindedness, and a combination of all the glorious qualities which constitute the mind which was in Christ. That his preaching then is in word only, is his own fault, and though God might bless his hearers independently of his coldness and want of piety, he has no reason to expect this. And as to his congregation being moved by the Holy Ghost; may even question whether there be any Holy Ghost by whose influences they can be moved, concluding that all emotion is fanaticism. We are no advocates for selfinspired excitement, and sparks of man's own kindling. This is mischievous, producing disgust, anger, and opposition, and hindering rather than helping revivals of religion. But there is a genuine warmth, and energy, and holy vehemence which God approves, and wise men love and profit by. This warmth is from the love of Christ and immortal souls overflowing the heart of the preacher-and this being wanted in a sermon, the preaching is in word only.

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2.-Sometimes preaching is in word only, on account of some fault in the hearer. He does not believe what he hears, or though believing, he determines not to become a doer of the word, but to be a hearer only. The word preached did not profit some in old time, not being mixed with faith in them that heard it. No matter then for a

man's preaching, however excellent. It may be instructive, affecting, arousing, and convincing to some, but to such a hearer it is in word only. He seems to regard sermons as the sceptical disciples regarded the story of the women who had been at the sepulchre on the morning of the resurrection,— 66 as idle tales." Some hearers go to public worship simply in the way of instinctive habit. They entertain no expectations; and feel no particular wish for any decided religious improvement. Should the officiating preacher be popular, they feel a little agreeable anticipation, chiefly on the score of mental gratification. If a dull and monotonous man, they intend simply to endure him, and, if possible, go to sleep. Nothing then in the way of spiritual advantage being either expected or desired,—nothing desired, nothing of this sort occurs. Some of these lazy people betray their gross unconcern and want of devotion by sitting to sing, and sitting to pray, as well as to hear. A comfortable seat and dosing away the time is all they care about. Some of these hearers had bad tempers before the service, and have bad tempers afterwards. Other faults in hearers rendering preaching to them ineffective might easily be enumerated, but

3.-Sometimes there are faults on both sides, neither preacher nor hearer taking any particular interest in the subject of discourse. Both going to the house of God(in the clerical phrase) to "do duty," and when the time allotted to the service is over, duty is done, and neither party, in any important and really valuable sense of the word, the better for it.

II. WHAT IS PECULIAR IN THAT PREACHING WHICH IS ACCOMPANIED WITH POWER, AND THE HOLY GHOST,

AND MUCH ASSURANCE.

"Our gospel" says St. Paul, came not unto you in word only, but also "in power," so as to make very deep