to persuade them to serve God, and to become better men. Let this always dwell on bis mind when he is composing, and it will diffuse through his compositions that spirit which will render them at once esteemed and useful. The most useful preacher is always the best, and will not fail of being esteemed so. Embellish truth only, with a view to gain it the more full and free admission into your hearers' minds; and your ornaments will, in that case, be simple, masculine, natural. The best applause by far, which a preacher can receive, arises from the serious and deep impressions which his discourse leaves on those who hear it. The finest encomium, perhaps, ever bestowed on a preacher, was given by Louis XIV. to the eloquent Bishop of Clermont, Father Massillon, whom I before mentioned with so much praise. After hearing him preach at Versailles, he said to him, "Father, I have heard many great orators in this chapel; I have been highly pleased with them; but for you, whenever I hear you, I go away displeased with myself; for I see more of my own character."

LECTURE XXX.

CRITICAL EXAMINATION OF A SERMON OF BISHOP
ATTERBURY'S.

THE last lecture was employed in observations on the peculiar and distinguishing characters of the eloquence proper for the pulpit. But as rules and directions, when delivered in the abstract, are never so useful as when they are illustrated by particular instances, it may, perhaps, be of some benefit to those who are designed for the church, that I should analyze an English sermon, and consider the matter of it, together with the manner. For this purpose, I have chosen Bishop Atterbury as my example, who is deservedly accounted one of our most eloquent writers of sermons, and whom I mentioned as such in the last lecture. At the same time, he is more distinguished for elegance and purity of expression, than for profoundness of thought. His style, though sometimes careless, is, upon the whole, neat and chaste; and more beautiful than that of most writers of sermons. In his sentiments he is not only rational, but pious and devotional, which is a great excellency. The sermon which I have singled out, is that upon praise and thanksgiving, the first sermon of the first volume, which is reckoned one of his best. In examining it, it is necessary that I should use full liberty, and together with the beauties, point out any defects that occur to me in the matter as well as in the style.

PSALM 1. 14. Offer unto God Thanksgiving.

"Among the many excellencies of this pious collection of hymns, for which so particular a value hath been set upon it by the church of God in all ages, this is not the least, that the true price of duties is there justly stated; men are called off from resting in the outward show of religion, in ceremonies and ritual observances; and taught, rather to practise (that which was shadowed out by these rites, and to which they are designed to lead) sound inward piety and virtue.

"The several composers of these hymns were Prophets; persons, whose business it was not only to foretell events for the benefit of the church in succeeding times, but to correct and reform also what was amiss among that race of men with whom they lived and conversed; to preserve a foolish people from idolatry and false worship; to rescue the law from corrupt glosses, and superstitious abuses; and to put men in mind of (what they are so willing to forget) that eternal and invariable rule, which was before these positive duties, would continue after them, and was to be observed, even then, in preference to them.

"The discharge, I say, of this part of the prophetic office taking up so much room in the book of Psalms; this hath been one reason, among many others, why they have always been so highly esteemed; because we are from hence furnished with a proper reply to an argument commonly made use of by unbelievers, who look upon all revealed religions as pious frauds and impostures, on the account of the prejudices they have entertained in relation to that of the Jews; the whole of which they first suppose to lie in external performances, and then easily persuade themselves, that God could never be the author of such a mere piece of pageantry and empty formality; nor delight in a worship which consisted purely in a number of odd unaccountable ceremonies. Which objection of theirs, we should not be able thoroughly to answer, unless we could prove (chiefly out of the Psalms, and other parts of the prophetic writings) that the Jewish religion was somewhat more than bare outside show; and that inward purity, and the devotion of the heart, was a duty then, as well as now."

This appears to me an excellent introduction. The thought on which it rests is solid and judicious: that in the book of Psalms, the attention of men is called to the moral and spiritual part of religion; and the Jewish dispensation is thereby vindicated from the suspicion of requiring nothing more from its votaries, than the observance of the external rites and ceremonies of the law. Such views of religion are proper to be often displayed; and deserve to be insisted on, by all who wish to render preaching conducive to the great purpose of promoting righteousness and virtue. The style, as far as we have gone, is not only free from faults, but elegant and happy.

It is a great beauty in an introduction, when it can be made to turn on some one thought, fully brought out and illustrated; especially, if that thought has a close connexion with the following discourse, and, at the same time, does not anticipate any thing that is afterward to be introduced in a more proper place. This introduction of Atterbury's has all these advantages. The encomium which he makes on the strain of David's Psalms is not such as might as well have been prefixed to any other discourse, the text of which was taken from any of the Psalms. Had this been the case, the introduction would have lost much of its beauty. We shall see from what follows how naturally the introductory thought connects with his text, and how happily it ushers it in.

"One great instance of this proof, we have in the words now before us: which are taken from a Psalm of Asaph, written on purpose to set out the weakness and worthlessness of external performances, when compared with more substantial and vital duties. To enforce which doctrine, God himself is brought in as delivering it. Hear, O my people,

and I will speak; O Israel, and I will testify against thee: I am God, even thy God. The preface is very solemn, and therefore what it ushers in, we may be sure, is of no common importance; I will not reprove thee for thy sacrifices or thy burnt-offerings, to have been continually before me. That is, I will not so reprove thee for any failures in thy sacrifices and burnt-offerings, as if these were the only, or the chief things I required of thee. I will take no bullock out of thy house, nor he-goat out of thy folds; I prescribed not sacrifices to thee for my own sake, because I needed them; For every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. Mine they are, and were, before I commanded thee to offer them to me; so that, as it follows, If I were hungry, yet would I not tell thee; for the world is mine, and the fulness thereof. But can ye be so gross and senseless, as to think me liable to hunger and thirst? as to imagine that wants of that kind can touch me? Will I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats?-Thus doth he expostulate severely with them, after the most graceful manner of the eastern poetry. The issue of which is a plain and full resolution of the case, in those few words of the text-Offer unto God thanksgiving. Would you do your homage the most agreeable way? would you render the most acceptable of services? Offer unto God thanksgiving.

It is often a difficult matter to illustrate gracefully the text of a sermon from the context, and to point out the connexion between them. This is a part of the discourse which is apt to become dry and tedious, especially when pursued into a minute commentary. And therefore, • except as far as such illustration from the context is necessary for explaining the meaning, or in cases where it serves to give dignity and force to the text, I would advise that it be always treated with brevity. Sometimes it may even be wholly omitted, and the text assumed merely as an independent proposition, if the connexion with the context be obscure, and would require a laborious explanation. In the present case, the illustration from the context is singularly happy. The passage of the Psalm on which it is founded is noble and spirited, and connected in such a manner with the text, as to introduce it with a very striking emphasis. On the language I have little to observe, except that the phrase, one great instance of this proof, is a clumsy expression. It was sufficient to have said one great proof, or one great instance of this. In the same sentence, when he speaks of setting out the weakness and worthlessness of external performances, we may observe, that the word worthlessness, as it is now commonly used, signifies more than the deficiency of worth, which is all that the author means. It generally imports, a considerable degree of badness or blame. It would be more proper, therefore, to say, the imperfection, or the insignificancy, of external performances.

"The use I intend to make of these words, is from hence to raise some thoughts about that very excellent and important duty of praise and thanksgiving, a subject not unfit to be discoursed of at this time; whether we consider, either the more than ordinary coldness that appears of late in men's tempers towards the practice of this (or any other) part of a warm and affecting devotion; the great occasion of setting aside this particular day in the calendar, some years ago; or the new instances of mercy and goodness, which God hath lately been pleased to bestow upon us; answering at last the many prayers and fastings, by which we have besought him so long for the establishment of their Majesties' throne, and

for the success of their arms; and giving us in his good time, an opportunity of appearing before him in the more delightful part of our duty, with the voice of joy and praise, with a multitude that keep holydays."

In this paragraph there is nothing remarkable: no particular beauty or neatness of expression; and the sentence which it forms is long and tiresome. To raise some thoughts about that very excellent, &c. is rather loose and awkward;-better-to recommend that very excellent, &c. and when he mentions setting aside a particular day in the calendar, one would imagine that setting apart would have been more proper, 'as to set aside, seems rather to suggest a different idea.

"Offer unto God thanksgiving.--Which that we may do, let us inquire first, how we are to understand this command of offering praise and thanksgiving unto God; and then, how reasonable it is that we should comply with it."

This is the general division of the discourse. An excellent one it is, and corresponds to many subjects of this kind, where particular duties are to be treated of; first to explain, and then to recommend or enforce them. A divison should always be simple and natural; and much depends on the proper view which it gives of the subject.

"Our inquiry into what is meant here, will be very short; for who is there, that understands any thing of religion, but knows, that the offering praise and thanks to God, implies, our having a lively and devout sense of his excellencies, and of his benefits; our recollecting them with humility and thankfulness of heart; and our expressing these inward affections by suitable outward signs, by reverend and lowly postures of body, by songs and hymns, and spiritual ejaculations; either publicly or privately; either in the customary and daily service of the church, or in its more solemn assemblies, convened upon extraordinary occasions? This is the account which every Christian easily gives himself of it; and which, therefore, it would be needless to enlarge upon. I shall only take notice upon this head, that praise and thanksgiving do, in strictness of speech, signify things somewhat different. Our praise properly terminates in God, on account of his natural excellencies and perfections; and is that act of devotion, by which we confess and admire his several attributes: but thanksgiving is a narrower duty, and imports only a grateful sense and acknowledgment of past mercies. We praise God for all his glorious acts of every kind, that regard either us or other men; for his very vengeance, and those judgments which he sometimes sends abroad in the earth; but we thank him, properly speaking, for the instances of his goodness alone; and for such only of these, as we ourselves are some way concerned in. This, I say, is what the two words strictly imply; but since the language of Scripture is generally less exact, and useth either of them often to express the other by, I shall not think myself obliged, in what follows, thus nicely always to distinguish them."

There was room here for insisting more fully on the nature of the duty, than the author has done under this head; in particular, this was the place for correcting the mistake, to which men are always prone, of making thanksgiving to consist merely in outward expressions; and for showing them, that the essence of the duty lies in the inward feelings of the heart. In general, it is of much use to give full and distinct explications of religious duties. But as our author intended only one discourse on the subject, he could not enlarge with equal fulness on every part of it; and he has chosen to dwell on that part, on which indeed it is most

necessary to enlarge, the motives enforcing the duty. For, as it is an easier matter to know, than to practise duty, the persuasive part of the discourse is that to which the speaker should always bend his chief strength. The account given in this head, of the nature of praise and thanksgiving, though short, is yet comprehensive and distinct, and the language is smooth and elegant.

Now the great reasonableness of this duty of praise or thanksgiving and our several obligations to it, will appear if we either consider it absolutely in itself, as the debt of our natures; or compare it with other duties, and show the rank it bears among them; or set out, in the last place, some of its peculiar and proper advantages, with regard to the devout performer of it."

The author here enters upon the main part of his subject, the reasonableness of the duty, and mentions three arguments for proving it. These are well stated, and are in themselves proper and weighty considerations. How far he has handled each of them to advantage, will appear as we proceed. I cannot, however, but think that he has omitted one very material part of the argument, which was to have shown the obligations we are under to this duty, from the various subjects of thanksgiving afforded us by the Divine goodness. This would have led him to review the chief benefits of creation, providence, and redemption; and certainly, they are these which lay the foundation of the whole argument for thanksgiving. The heart must first be affected with a suitable sense of the Divine benefits, before one can be excited to praise God. If you would persuade me to be thankful to a benefactor, you must not employ such considerations merely as those upon which the author here rests, taken from gratitude's being the law of my nature, or bearing a high rank among moral duties, or being attended with peculiar advantages. These are considerations but of a secondary nature. You must begin with setting before me all that my friend has done for me, if you mean to touch my heart, and to call forth the emotions of gratitude. The case is perfectly similar, when we are exhorted to give thanks to God; and, therefore, in giving a full view of the subject, the blessings conferred on us by divine goodness should have been taken into the argument.

It may be said, however, in apology for our author, that this would have led him into too wide a field for one discourse, and into a field also, which is difficult, because so beaten, the enumeration of the Divine benefits. He, therefore, seems to take it for granted, that we have upon our minds a just sense of these benefits. He assumes them as known and acknowledged; and setting aside what may be called the pathetic part of the subject, or what was calculated to warm the heart, he goes on to the reasoning part. In this management, I cannot altogether blame him. I do not by any means say that it is necessary in every discourse to take in all that belongs to the doctrine of which we treat. Many a discourse is spoiled, by attempting to render it too copious and comprehensive. The preacher may, without reprehension, take up any part of a great subject to which his genius at the time leads him, and make that his theme. But when he omits any thing which may be thought essential, he ought to give notice, that this is a part, which for the time he lays aside. Something of this sort, would perhaps have been proper here. Our author might have begun, by saying, that the reasonableness of this duty must appear to every thinking being, who reflects upon the infinite obligations which are laid upon us, by creating, preserving, and redeeming love; and,