New Orleans Republican., 1873-05-04
FEW WORDS lBoUT PREACHING.

The world is over preached to-we mean
the Protestant Christian world, especially
in this country. II needs more praying
and less sermonizing. Sermons are too
frequent and too long. The spirit is
gorged, not nourished, by such an over
plus Of food, which makes religion consist
in a passive reception Of doctrine or pre-
cept instead OF an active exercise IL we'll
doing. Not only are the frequency
and length o. tie sermons which i'll most
Of Christian denominations 9orm the
chief part Of the service, cause OF com
plant, but very often the matter tends
more, as some OLD writer has said, to tedi-
tication than to eQificatio1o 6t does not
always follow that mar. N some respects
fitted for the ministerial functions, as IN
piety and zeal fol the PRONUNCIATION OF
Christianity, is therefore endowed with
the necessary qualifications for q preacher.
He may even possess in addition to his
piety and zeal, great learning and good
senseo and Yet be wanting in the ability to
arrange and express his thoughts well,
either in written discourse Or extempo-
raneously.o o He may lag the power to
fix the attention or reach the hearts Of
his hearerso q which case all his Ore
tues are Unavailing as Tar as those hearers
are concerned. They Will find their
minds wandering on mundane matterS0
while his discourse is expatiating through
the heavens and earth. Such men, no
matter how strong their inclirations to
the clerical profession, arc ont Of place in
it. Those who are most in need OF the
help to be derived from sermons viii not
be helped by theos, but rather injured;
and onlpthose lottyoye humble, souls,
who are beyond their assistance, will PICK
some grains Go spii0tual food from their
unsavory DISCOURSE souls like the sanity
Herbert, who says:
Judge not lie preacher; FOR heis thy Judge
Il thor. inislike him. I'll hou corfceic st him moo
cod calleth preaching folly. Do not gludge
To pick out treasures from an eartleu pot.
The worst speak something good. If al. y anI
God takes tex. anto,rs eth patience.
But there are very few persons II so
Christian a frame Of mind as to be willing
to go to church Sunday after Sunday in
order to take lessons in patience-a virtue
for which most persons find sufficient oc-
casions OF exercise ~ their ordinary
weekly avocations.
There was once time il England never
in this country, that We know Of when
custom permitted a pastor consciously ir-
capable OF preparing good sermon to enter
the pulpit, book il hand, and read there
from an able discourse. That custom has
fallen into desuetude, and now, there as
here, the minister, whether competent or
not, must deliver a sermon compiled at
least, if not composed by himself. # he
be incompetent, his preaching is mora
apt TO be a hindrance Of salvation than
help toward it: for in his struggles after.
originality he !. more likely to enta,lg-e
plain texts than to 1lNravei Rnotty ones.
Rash positions are sometimes taken by
such preachers, and unsound arguments
advanced on momentous questions. These
things, though tneS Sess eaobseSved 5S
S$.e sgHoSant Ssss2 ssat:s:lsl Siss Sn$ Sa sos
really ia'sss s!sa segi ssi3,:aei sn8 0gesss IL.
gormsdo asss Ysies)aSSls go @ 5isea>oS esS.
and Gtte2 INSPIRE Gye1 chose weI Yn GiGeS 7
but unsettled Gn the9r religious principles
with incurable disgust. Even wren they
contain nothing positively erroneous, buJ
are merely unilupro 9ns to the ordinary
mind, they are not altogether harmless.
lhey are nos harmless if thy are felt to
b. tedious; il they torpify the understand
ing. Aehiil that begin there may extend
to the vital regions
The remedy ee one O. the.e evils, too
much preaching, 50 iuJulio1siy prevalent,
seems TO be TO make tie other services.
now regarded IS merely supplementary
more importGnt and more soulsatisfying.
IS it is, al observer has but to notice the
peculiar settling OF themselves by the
congregations in evangelical and liberal
churches, inst before the sermon begins,
to see that good or bad, il is the principal
feature of the service the piece 1s sesis:- |
"hc', if the comparison be permissible, Of
the spiritual banquet serving. AS for an
efectual cure for poor or indifferent |
2reachin2 that, We presume, remains with !
PSovidencee sinH@ people must t8He Wat !
g ofese@: aG% tie sesS talent, eveG shes
an:ses witG qSess:. a5si,S1 seeks ts.e 2uSpis g?
as sfeleOf sxeisisas SShesl d does so, It :
neNsS fasGRs oengnitSonSss mayS,e Seen 2n |
Sae enthusiastic devotion displayed toward
:heiS 9sstolsS and what is quite as ilpSo;s
cane. tie Barge salaries awarded them, by
that are blessed with such |
as zee u. the same time good preachers
THOU SHALT VS.. THOU SHALT NoEss
TSe Pjcaype, critiasing an article 70
she AajS5p on the Democratic party, ad
m1ts est 3 80 and sSvays has been Q
party eli SlereSegatioIsa and pronoUnces
ehis doSe a @serSS "l'ree government
saSs this saSient ezpounder of con.titrs
tional lac. 'fs nothing but ae4atites On {
poweo 20 sreaerve these eegatiss Is :
proclaims 'tbe gone ession of the D,s.s
cratic party o government estabH-he,s
to maintain oegatiyes @liget undoubtedly
stand we'll, Int how souls seos Sbose ;
like a ship withor& steans ss ss.sfs :
nothing but Sal.asss g,allass J a gooe