The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1869-05-12
PULpITs IN OLD TIMES.

congregation is far more common 1ault'
and much less excusable, than firing point
blank into their consciences, even if at some
slight risk of falling into the coarse and
grotesque Rowland Hill (who certainly
did not himself sin on the side of over re-
fnement) was right enough when he said,
81 don't like those mighty fine preachers,
who so beautifully round off all their periods
that they roll off the sinners conscience.
"When I preach" said Luther, 81 sink
myself deeply down; 1 regard neither doc
tors nor masters, of whom there are in the
church above forty; but I have an eye to
the multitude of young people, children, and
servants, of whom there are more than two
thousand" 1t is hardly too much to say
that two.thirds of every sermon that IS
preached is practically unintelligible to an
audience of working men. Neither the
words, nor the ideas, nor the formation OF
the sentences, are what they are accustomed
to. 1t is quite true that such audiences by
no means object to the fine language, if it
be generously delivered; and there are
plenty of stories current as to the imposing
effect of sounding polysyllable, or even a
scrap of Latin upon ignorant hearers. But
if the pulpit trumpet is to call to the real
battle of life, it must at least utter an intel
ligible sound. Sermons, even more than
prayers and catechisms, must be in the
"vulgar tongue, if they are to have any
practical effect on the masses. 1t has been
one of the laments over the Church of Eng
land that she is "dying of gentility;" but
those, who have listened to preachers outside
her pale, know that the Dissenting pulpit is
not whit more free from the faults of an
inflated style and "genteeP' vocabulary
The fine language of such orators is of a
different type; the ornament is coarser, the
metaphors less chaste; but the fastidious
polish of the university graduate is not re-
placed, as one might be led to hope, by the
homely simplicity of an uneducated apostle.
There is more defamation, but hardly so
much common sense; and often the only
difference in the matter of hard words is,
that the preacher of the conventicle is not
quite so nice as Mrs. Malaprop in his ode
rangement of epitaphs." Hard words are
often worse than unintelligible to an igno-
rant hearer; he makes guess at their mean
ing from the context, and the guess is not
always happy one A country clergyman
can hardly be too careful in this respect
Mr.. Hood has story of one who was sent
for suddenly to a cottage, where he found a
man in bed. "Well, my friend" said the
pastor, "what induced you to send for me?"
The patient, who was rather deaf, appealed
to his wife. "What do he say?' "He
says" shouted the woman" what the
deuce did you send for him for?"
Plain-speaking is desirable, as a matter
of good taste as well as of education, in the
pulpit. There, of all places, affectation, or
the SAVIOR of affectation, raises sheer Of
angry disgust; whereas an honest homeli-
ness will at the worst but call forth harm.
less smile. A Welsh Calvinistic minister,
well known in his day as Sammy Breeze"
was called upon to preach amongst others
at one of those periodical gatherings popu-
lar amongst the Welsh, which are, as it were,
feasts of sermons-two, three, or even four
preachers succeeding each other in the pull
pit-perhaps in Welsh and English alter.
nately. The young man who Immediately
preceded Sammy had taken as his text,
"He that believeth not shall be damned"
but "begged pardon" of his audience for
the strong language he was using. Sammy
got up after him, and read the same text.
Brethren" said he in his honest Welsh
English, "our young friend has been ferry
foine tonight, and very polite. I am not
ferry foine, and ! am not polite; but I will
preach a little bit of gospel to you He
that believeth not shall be tanned, and /
begs no pardons.
The length of a sermon is very fertile
subject, in the present day of discomfort and
remonstrance. Tastes and opinions have
always differed, and the preachers own
views upon this point may not always be in
exact correspondence with those of his con-
gregation. Sermons in early times seem to
have been mparatively short. Some Of
those extant by the Latin fathers would not
occupy, as they stand, more than ten min
utes or quarter of an hour; many of
Bede's consist of only very few lines
Therefore we are not safe in resting upon
such data for their actual duration when
delivered, since it is plain that in many
cases what has come down to US are merely
outlines or notes upon which the preacher
worked, or shorthand memoranda flor these
were short hand writer's even in those early
tines taken down on the spot, and dressed
and corrected afterwards. Long sermons,
as rule, were the product of the post-Re-
formation, and especially of the Puritan
times, when preaching usurped a sovereignty
over all devotional exercises. Yet some of
the earlier divines were lengthy enough, es-
pecially university preachers. Bishop AL
cock preached ga good and pleasant sermon"
at St. Mary's, Cambridge, which lasted from