Orleans independent standard. [volume] (Irasburgh, Vt.) 1856-1871, 1862-11-21
A. A. EARLE. EDITOR.
IRASBURGD, FRIDAY, NOVEMBER II, 1862.
Long Sermons.


TExT.--Provoke not your hearers with LEM
sermons Common Sense.
1t is positive sin, an act of seriou
wickedness to preach long sermon. IL
make the truth disagreeable is TO commi
high treason against virtue. BY wha
charter has preacher right to call u
to his meeting and then betray our conf
dence by discourse of diluted dullnesI
dragging its slow length through whole
half day. Men of intellect, energy anc
culture die early under the study and Ia
Dor necessary to write two very short
sermons each week. Distinguished cler.
gymen standing at the head of the pro-
fession, in genius and usefulness, seldom
preach sermons OF over twenty, rery sci.
Som over thirty minutes length. Conn'
try pastors of ordinary capacity think
their right to preach twice as long, and
thus drive good men from the house O.
God with a weapon worse than The whip
of thongs used by our Savior to drive out
the money changers. The great body OF
community stay at home because the SER
mons are so long and vapid; and they
are vapid because they are long. The
long winded sermonizer not only Injuries
bis Masters cause by inducing the large
body of community TO stay away from
church, bat also by failing to benefit those
who 20. If be kindles devotional feel.
ing at the outset it is exchanged for a
restless impotence or wicked despair
when the mono,onous Serenthy succeeds
the monotonous strthy. The clergyman
thus wears out the Sabbath, the cause,
the nearer and himself for long sermoni
GERS like many other sinners receive a
part of their punishment in this world.
Ia order 10 be fully understood we will
divide the remainder OF this into heads
as clergymen do, and state our principles
briefly as clergymen should do:
LIST. To understand and remember =
aermon, there must be undivided atten-
ton. Undivided attention requires effort
and even disciplined minds are not often
capable of continuous thought for more
than twenty or thirty minutes therefore
sermons should be short.
3D. If sermon is good and full oil
thought, It ought TO be remembered
All the time it continues after the mind
OF The nearer is exhausted, ii is destroy
ing the distinctness of the images made
upon the mind previous TO its exhaustion,
therefore good and thoughtful sermons
should be short.
50. Religion is too great and grave
subject to be uninjured by bad or in
different discourse, therefore sermons not
good and thoughtful should be short, SO
short as not to be audible.
A. 1t is too great subject to be use
fully or safely spoken upon without ma
ture and patient study, therefore good
sermons must be short.
9Th. Literary excellence, rhetorical
correctness, beauty Of expression, energy
and aptness of illustration are inconsis-
tent with any other than brief style OF
composition, and are to be sought SO fan
as they may be without sacrifice Of truth,
because they make the truth at once at
tive and impressive, therefore serSoss
should be short.
9th. Brevity makes the thought ap.
parent, aids the memory, saves the pa
.ience OF the bearer, and the Lungs Of the
speaker, pleases better, profits more and
is modelled by the Lords Prayer as pro.
lixity was by the worship of the Pharisee
in tue street corners.