Litchfield enquirer., 1843-12-28
EXpOTToRY PREACHING.

The preference so extensively given at this day,
by both ministers and churches, to teXtual and
topica! preaching, is indicative of perverted taste
and degenerated piety. Valuable as such preach
ing may be, on occasions, as giving variety and
impressiveness to pulpit efforts, it is not the
preaching most needed or most apostolic. In the
primitive church, the sxpository was, without
question, the prevailing mode of preaching
The preacher stood before his audience, !" not as
an orator, priding himself on the originality and
briliancy Of his own conceptions, but as an humble
and fervid interpreter of the will Of God" His
object was to communicate to those that heard, the
grace of God scich brngeth salvation. The ablest,
most evangelical and most useful preachers of mod
ern times, have practised, to considerable extent
preaching from entire portions Of Scripture-ex-
planning whatever might be obscure, and, following
in the track of the sacred writer, enforcing the
sentiment by earnest appeals to the conscience and
the affections. More than two thirds of the dis
courses of Luther and of Calvin will be found, on
examination, to be d:sectly expostoFy. This style
Of preaching was employed by many of the fathers
Of the English church, and especially by those most
distinguished by their piety and learning. The
same is true of men In other denominations in la
ter periods. Andrew Fuller was accustomed to
appropriate one part of every Lords day to the eX-
position of chapter, or part of chapter, in the
sacred writings. In this way, he says, during the
last eighteen years, have gone over the greater
part of the Old Testament, and some books in the
New" 1t is advantageous" he continues, to a
minister to feel himself necesstated it were, to
understand every part of Scripture in order to ex-
plain it to the people," We may justly infer that
this habit of expounding contributed greatly to the
formation of those clear, comprehensive and judi
cious views Of Christian doctrine, which distin-
guished Fuller as a theological writer. And we
believe that every minister who has made the ex-
pertinent for one or two years, has found it source
of great benefit to HIMSELF not only contributing to
his general stock of Scriptural knowledge, but in
creasng his faith in, and his understanding of, the
doctrines and prccepts which he 10 appointed to
unfold and enforce. .. ..
EXpounding the Scriptures was morning Gus
tom with most dissenting ministers of the last, as
well as of a former age, and appears to have been
the method of instruction employed in apostolic
and primitive times in the Jewish synagogue, and
also by our Lord himself; who "opened their un-
Outstanding, that they might understand the Scrip
lures" Who, indeed, has ever read with atten-
ton and seriousness the interesting journey of the
two disciples, going to the village of Emmaus,
with bighted hopes and feelings of disappointment,
and has not regretted that divine exposition, from
such an expositor, has not been preserved; when
he says, Ought not Christ TO have suffered these
things, and to enter his glory. And beginning at
Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto
them. in all the Scriptures, the things concerning
himself" Well might they say one to another,
when he was parted from them, "Did not our
hearts burn within US, while he talked with US by
the way and while he opened to us the Scriptures"
Christian Reflector.