The daily morning journal and courier. [volume] (New Haven, Conn.) 1894-1907, 1896-09-30
"IAN MACLAREN'S" LECTURE
SECOND IN THE COURSE BY YALE'S
DISTING UISHED VISITOR.


Subject, Technique of sermon-some
Practical Points for Divinity Students
and Others as Well.
The Rev, DR. Watson (Ian Mac
laren') delivered the second lecture in
the Lyman Beecher course at the Col
lege street hall yesterday afternoon at
3 o'clock on the subject THE Tech
nique Of Sermon"
Among those present on the platform
with the speaker We're Prof George p.
Fisher, Rev. DR.. Munger, Prof. Way
land, Rev. DIR. Palmer, Rev. Dr. Phil
lips, Rev. Dr. Twitchell, Prof. Stevens,
Rev. Frank r. Luckey, Rev. j, Lee
Mitchell, Prof. S. e. Baldwin. Prof.
John r. Weir, Rev. DIR. BUSHNELL Mr.,
Bacon, the new instructor at Yale d.
vinity school, all of this city, and Rev.
DIR. Anderson of Waterbury.
Among those in the audience were
Rev. Mr.. Mossman, Rev. Mr. Schofield
Prof. Bailey, Principal Fox of Hopkins
grammar school, S. III. Barnum, the
manufacturer; George H. Newcomb,
Mr.. Moody of Fair Haven heights, and
many other we'll known citizens and
many ladies'.
Before the hour for the lecture ar
rived the hall was thronged with peo-
pie, townspeople as we'll as students,
all anxious to hear the distinguished
Clergyman and writer. The lecture, al
though primarily intended for the di-
vinity students, was scarcely less inter
actinO n tho nf M o1iHianoo 7
was an exceedingly strong and thought
full discussion of the subject and was
well spiced throughout with genuine
hearty Scotch wit and humor The
doctor was often applauded during the
course of the lecture, and his sallies
of wit never failed to do the work and
produce a hearty laugh.
The doctor commenced his lecture af-
ter the audience had sung 80 God,
our help in ages past" He said:
When we are young we are fallible,
and when we are old we grow more
fa1lible every year When was in the
divinity school all the students used to
listen to the sermon Of their fellow
students with great interest and the
next day criticise them. If student
preached very hard sermon to under
stand we called him profound. and we
concluded if he kept on being pro-
found he would some time be a pro-
fessor. IT, on the other hand, a student
preached a. sermon which interested
4 lis audience we concluded that at some
time he would be popular.
The first canon in the technique of a
sermon is unity. AS the minutes pass
THE sermon should be constantly grow
ing in force and fire so that a nearer
will say, My, that is just what I
think" 1t is a criticism of the second
order that man says you said this
and that 1t is criticism of the highest
order that you said what the man
thought himself.
The second canon is lucidity. We
would labor hard at lucidity if we knew
with what gratitude an audience hears
a lucid speaker. If man can under
stand every word the preacher says
from the time he first opens his mouth
till he closes, he will believe almost
anything the preacher may tell him
Lucidity should be distinguished from
simplicity. It is quality of style,
while simplicity is a quality of thought
- Alloll lllIiy NC CNllullhG III HIS SlIIlpll-
city and perfectly unintelligible. A
man is lucid just in proportion as he is
understood and profound in proportion
as he does not understand his sub
ject.
Perhaps the greatest enemy of luci-
dity is the reading of too much poetry
and one of its best friends, the reading
of mental philosophy. 1t may be very
wise for a man to express himself in a
poetic manner, but at the same time
his hearers have a burning desire tc
know what he is talking about
The next canon is beauty Beauty is
desired by all with an intense longing
and the place in which they most look
for 1T Is in a sermon.
Quotations should be used with much
reserve. If it coincide with your owr
thinking it is very well, but if it is
something you have tied on to your
little green stalk with a string 1t does
not serve any purpose. 1t would be 6
good plan for the head of each church
to issue collection of quotations suit
able for it's ministers to use and also as
to when anecdotes have gone out Of
date. i believe the laity would gladly
defray the expense OF Such COLLECTION
Another canon is humanity. The
more humanity there is in a sermon thu
more divinity it will have. There is {
place for railing and denunciation II
religion, but we can accomplish more
by charitable words.
Sarcasm is a medicine we should pu
out of our medicine chest as too dan
gerous for use to use.
Dr. Watson then spoke of delivery
and intensity as two other canons re
quisite in sermon, and said that there
was not as much intensity now as O.
old in the pulpit.
Dr. Watson will lecture at o'clocl
every day but Friday. His subject fol
to-day is problems of Preaching"
WITH, GEL EBR ATE