The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1879-12-03
THE SERMON.

days, and from the pews we hear good
many theories and ideas about sermons.
In the ministry of the Christian religion,
the sermon seems to be Of growing I'M
portance, among all sects. The forms
Of worship vary very little. Each sect
has its prescribed, or voluntary and yet
habitual, formula of prayer and praise,
TO which it adheres, generation after
generation. 1t makes more or less
Of singing at different times, and has
It's hturgical spasms; but, on the
whole each sect adheres to It's form Of
worship with great tenacity and steadi-
ness. The sermon, however, Is subject to
great changes, and Is the result partly of
the general culture of its time, and partly
Of theories Of preaching entertained by
the church.
The Episcopal Church in this country,
ike its mother in England, is inclined
more than anyot denomination, except
the Catholic, to make much of the service
and little of the sermon. The average
sermon that one hears in the established
church in England, as in the English con
tinental chapels, Is only brief and I'M
impressive homily, written with great
propriety, and delivered not only without
passion, but without the slightest attempt
at oratory. To a man thirsting for rehg
ious impression, OF for intellectual stimu-
lus, nothing drearier, or more Unreward-
ing, can be imagined than this kind Of
performance. Much more is made Of the
sermon in this country than in England,
however, and the Episcopal Church
could not hold its own, and grow IN i'm
portance and influence as it does among
the American people without a better
sermon than prevails in the English
Church. The Brookses and Tyngs are
among the most impressive preachers we
have, and the Epi 'copal sermon is now
generally like the sermons Of the other
sects-ful of intellect, vitality and elo-
quence. Still the leaning Is toward the
service, as the thing Of paramount i'm
portance.
In all the other denominations, how
ever, the sermon is the supreme thing.
The prayers and the music are simply
prehminaries and supplementaries to
the sermons. The point Of first
interest is the topic, in its an
nouncement; and the question as to
whether the attendance at church has
paid is determined, almost entirely, by
the character Of the discourse which fol
lows. Whether this partaity to the SER
mon is right or not, we do not care to
Judge. We take the fact as it stands, for
the purpose Of saying word on the kind
Of sermon demanded in these days
Among preachers who are not "sensa-
tional as the word goes, we hear good
deal now about the against " sensational
preaching. We confess that we like
sensational preaching if by the phrase Is
indicated that which producesa sensation.
If by this phrase, however, it is intended
to indicate the kind which is accompanied
by theatrical tricks, and startling phras-
eology, and rough pulpit manners, we
dislike it as much as any one can. A
clown Is never more out Of place than
when he Is in a pulpit; and we may
p add that the true orator Is never more in
his proper place than there. A man who
has the power to wake up his audience
intellectually, to rouse their sympathies,
to address them by motives so powerful as
to exalt them to determination or to ac-
ton, is the true sensational preacher
This is the man who attracts a crowd !;
and the man who can be relied upon to
do this every Sunday, is the man who
holds the crowd
A great deal of fault is found with
intellectual preaching, but it is pretty
well understood now that nothing else
Will be attractive The world knows its
duty well enough now. The sermon that
IS simply good, that is charged only with
the commonplaces. Of religion and moral
ity, and never rises into eloquence or
high range Of thought OF feeling, might al
most as well gounpreached Itaccomplish-
es little beyond disgustngits hearers with
going to church. The obvious, common
things that may be said about any given
text of Scripture, are exactly the things
that ought never to be said in the pulpit,
for in these things the pulpit is no wiser
than the pew. One of the great reasons
for the lack of popular attraction to the
pulpit lies in the fact that brains enough
are not put into the sermons. The think
ing in a sermon must be superior to the
average thinking of an audience, to pro-
duce any effect upon it, and if, in these
DAYS. any man-no matter how gifted he
may be-imagines that he may halt in
his enterprise of earnest and profound
preparation for his preaching, without
damage to himself or his work, heis sadly
mistaken. His slipshod stuff will be
detected every time, and pass to his dis
credit.
We know of no profession or calling so