flaying of the witnelTes, Rev.
xi. 3. 7. II. and many more
of the fame kind.

All thefe fubjefts are un-
popular, and, in fome fenfe,
ne-



C 14 )

6. Obfervations fhoiild not be propofed In
fcholaflic flyle, nor in common-place guile. (2)
They fhould be feafoncd with a Tweet urbanity,
accommodated to the capacities of the people,
and adapted to the manners of good men. (3)

One



nece/Tary to the general edi-
fication, for on the truib of
the fads, and not on the
cxacl time of their accom-
plilhment, depends the peo-
ples faith.

(2) Ob/er'vations Jhould not
he propofed in common-p'ace
guife. Many fermonsofthe
iafl; century are mere com-
mon-place colledlions, and
thofe of the intriguing, time-
ferving part of the clergy
are the very woril of this bad
kind. They had not time
to ftudy their fubjects, to
form a ftyle, and to compofe
a good fermon. Full of fecut-
lar projecls, fired with am-
bition and refentment, and
obliged fometimes to preach
and print, they were driven
to the fad neceflity of retail-
ing the commoH- places of
the wholefale dealers, whom
they execrated. One exam-
ple fliall fufiice. Seth,
[Ward] lord bilhop of Sa-
rum preached the funeral
fermon of the duke of Alber-
marle exadly in this way.
«' 1 Cor. XV. n« "^^^^ g'^'^
pel tells us. That God hath
appointed a day wherein he
will judge the world. That
Chrjjl is ordained of God, to
to he judge both of quick and
dead.



That he Ihall come in the
clouds - - -

That he Ihall fend his
angels - - -

That he (hall ft upon the
throne of his glory.

That all nations fhall be
gathered - - -

Chriil hath ajfurcd the
world of the truth of this
theory.

Not by giving the world a
fet and Jlries of imaginary
principles of vain philofophy -

Not by bare ajjlrtions and
conjident rtpctiiicns - - -

Not by phantajlical oh/cure
ratiociyiations concerning num-
bers, 'vehicles."

In this naked manner, as
boys firing birds ^gg'^, did
this glorious divine conneft
the parts of his fermon, till,
toward the clofe, he preached
himfelf into what he calls
locum lubricum, where we fhall
at prefent leave him to get
out as he can.

(3) Qhferi'ations Jhould be
feafoned n.v!th a Jiveet urbanity.
Urbanity is oppofcd lo rufti-
city, and that, of which our
author fpcaks, regards both
t\ic/uhjrSt itfclf, and the lan-
guage, u\ which it isexprefied.
The Roman rhetorician in-
cludes gcilure. See. In qua
nihil abfoiaum, nihil agreile,
nihil



( 15 )

One of the beft expedients for this pnrpofe is a
redu6lion of obfcure matters to a natural, popular,
modern air. You can never attain this ability,
unlefs you acquire a habit of conceiving clearly of
fubjeds yourfelf, (4) and of exprefTing them in a
free, familiar, eafy manner, remote from every

All long trains
of



thing forced, and far-fetched. (5)



nihil inconditum, nihil pere-
grinum, neque fenfu, neque
'V. rbis, neque ore, gejiwve poffit
deprehcndi. ^int.InJi.Lib.'w,
Urbanity is not one fingle
qualification, it is the union
of all. There are vulgar no-
tions, vulgar exprcffions, vul-
gar geftures, vulgar pronun-
ciations : and there are on
the contrary finical airs, and
fine-fpun theories, which are
all oppolite to urbanity. This
difcourfe is too learned, that
is too common — this ftyle is
too ftiff, that is too flimfy —
this air is too haughty, and
that is too free — this fermon
is too orderly, and that is
too negligent — In fhort, if
urbanity be not in the
preacher, it will never be
in his fermons, and nothing
can give it him but a fami-
liar converfe with the politer
part of mankind. Well-
ored women are the bell tu-
tors of this fcience : but it
might be dangerous to the
morals of fome young men to
be put under their tuition. A
refined way of thinking, a
delicacy of exprcffion, in-
numerable graces of elocu-
tion and adiion, belong to



fome of the fair fex ; and,
without finking from manly-
dignity into fqueaking effe-
minacy, a grave wife man
may receive many a law from
their lips. Strength and ho-
nour are their clothing — they
open their mouths ^vith ivij"-
dom, and the la^iu of kind7icfi
is in thiir tongues. Prov. xxxi.
25, 26.

(4) Acquire a habit of con-
cei'vittg clearly offubjeSls. " i.
Conceive of things clearly and
difindj in their own natures.
2. Conceive of things cQm~
pletely in all their parts, 3.
Conceive of things compre-
henfively in all their properties
and relations. 4. Conceive
of- things cxten finely in all
their kinds. Conceive of
things ord.rly, or in a proper
method."

Dr. Watts' sLogick, Chap. vi.

(5) Exprefs your thoughts in
a F R E E manner. A minifter
of Jefus Chrirt fhould think
freely. Dr. Bentley fome-
where execrates thofe, who
brought free-thinking iiTto
difrepute by their abufe of
the term. A fober free-
thinker, uncompelled by
human authority, and un-

rellrained



( I6 )

of arguments, all embarraflmerfts of divifions and
fubdivilions, all nietaphyfical invelligations, which

are



reftrained by human formu-
laries, is the moft likely of
any man to attain that gene-
rous liberal expanfibility of
fentiment, which the re-
deemer of the fouls of man-
kind every where inculcates.
A miniller of Chrilt fhould
/peak freely. His language
ihould be frank, open, inge-
nuous, free from duplicity
and fufpicion of collurion.
St. Paul feems to include both
in 2 Cor. iv. 12. n^AA;; srap-
f»3-/Jt vptyv.£3-:<, multa liber-
tate utimur, fc. in evangelio
prsedicando. Vid. etiam

2 Cor. V. 2.

Expy/s your/elf in a fa m i -
LIAR manner. There is a
foft, domeilick ftyle, fuch as
a wife parent ufes to his fa-
mily : but this is nothing
like the filly cant of an old
nurfe. Dear fouls — precious
fouls — dearly beloved — and
an hundred more fuch
phrafes, however proper in
certain cnnnedions, have
been hackneyed out of their
fenfes in chrillian pulpits.
Minlfters, who a-m at this
excellence, fhould remember,
there is fuch a thing as being
too familiar.

Exprefs your/elf in an easy
manner. Here alfo are two
extremes. The formal JI;Jf-
nefs of a p.^dant, and the
carchjfnfs of a man, who
does not refpedl his com-
pany, are both at a dillance



from Mr, Claude's eafe. The
eafe of the manner of a chrif-
tian preacher in the pulpit is
not 'the eafe of a man alone,
who may loll — and hem—
and hawk — and cough — and
fpit — and blow his nofe — but
it is the eafe of a well-bred
man in company. The eafe
of the ' 'matter, of which a
chrillian fermon is compofed,
is a relative idea, and mufl
take its meaning from the
perfons addreffed ; for that
fubjcdl may be very eafy to
fome, which is extremely
difficult to others. Nothing
makes fpeaking on a fubjeft
fo eafy to the fpeaker as a
thorough underftandingof it.
With what perfedl eafe to
themfelves, and with what
unembarralTed facility to
others do people in all pub-
lick places of traffick com-
municate their ideas ! The
reafon is, they underftand
what they talk about.

Exprefs your thaughts in an
UNFORCED manntr. A fub-
jed; is forced, when it is
made to fpeak the dired:
contrary of the text, from
which it is pretended to be
drawn ; or when a diresflion
is any way given it contrary
to its genuinemeaning. Here
follows an example of each,
Hcb. V. 4. [as] No man takith
this honour [of high priert-
hood] to himlclf; but he that
is called of God, as ivas Aaron :



( i7 )

are moftly impertinent, and, like the fields, the

citiesj



fo alfa Chriji glorified not him-
/tlf to be made an High-priejl,
hut he thai /aid unto him, l^hou
art my /on, this day han:e I
begotten thee. St. Paul means
to inform the Hebrews — that
the chrifiian aconomy was of
divine inftitution, as well as
that of Mofes — that Jejus
Chriji had as clear evidence
oi hii appointment to abolijh
the Aaronical priefthood as
Aaron had to fet it up — the
general meaning, therefore,
of this text may be contained
in this propofxtion, J ejus
Qhriji's high-priejihood had
the honour of a divine infti-
tution ; yet this very text
comes from an univerfity
prefs forced into a proof of

the divine inftitution of

Engltjh Epifcopacy. Defence of
Epifcopacy, Serm. at Oxford,
1708. By Tho.Bife.

Ifai. liii. 7. He is brought
us a lamb to the fiaughter, and
as a fieep before his Jhearers is
dumb, fo he openeth not his
mouth. This text is a volun-
teer in the fervice of Jefus
Chrift : but a zealous divine
prefled it into the army of
his mafter, forced it into the
fervice^ of Charles I. and
made it blafpheme through
twenty-five quarto pages.

Dr. Langford's SerjK. be-
fore the Houfc of Com-
mons, fan. 30, 1697.

** Tit. ii. 15. Let no man
dffplfe thee. It is in fa<fl as
notorious, as it is unjult and

Vol. a.



ilnreafonable, that no fort of
minifters are generally more
defpifed by the laity of their
own communion, than we of
the ejl abhjhed c\i\xxch. of Eng-
land. A P.;ipijl almoit as
much adores the facrificer,
as he doth the facrilice of
the mafs - - - dijfenters ge-
nerally pay a very great de-
ference to their minifters - - -
but how common is it for
men, that call themfelvea
fons of our church, to fcofF at
her priefts - - - I Ihall con-
fider thefe words, i. As a
caution to the laity not to
defpife the clergy [that is, the
epijcopal clergy.] 2. As a
caution to the clergy to give
no occafion to defpife them.'*
Thus begins a good fermoa
on the above words. We
think the divlfion natural and
the inferences juft : but the
text is forced, while it is con-
fined to the ep/fcopalclcrgy,
for it is equally applicable tQ
all minifters of other coairau-
nities. Henry Nenjjcome's Serm.
preached at a ^ifitation at
Manchefr \^\z. Serious ad -
monitio7i to all defpifers ofrnz

C L E R G V .

Exprifs your meaning in 'a
ivay remote from e'uery thing
FAR-FETCHED. A fifbjedl

is farfetched, when, although
it may have feme connedtion
with the text, yet this con
neftion lies at a great diftancc
and obliges the preacher to
go a lon^-, long way to come



( i8 )

cities, and the houfes, which we imagine in the

clouds.



at it. Here follow two or
three examples. A preacher
in the latter end of the reign
of Charles II. propofed to
treat of peptic /ice and fubmijfion
to AVTHORiTY, and endea-
voured, in a fermon of fifty-
eight quarto pages, to preach
the Lord Mayor of London,
and the Court of Aldermen
into the doflrincs of paffive-
obedicnce and non-refiftance;
and to this purpofe took for
his text Heb. x. 36. Ye haw
need of patience, that, after ye
have done the will of
God ye might receime the
promife. From patient fub-
miilion to the will oi God to
paffive obedience to the will
of king Charles is a long
way ! What a herculean la-
bour to fetch the text about!
Dr. Moore at Guildhall Chapel
1684.

Bp. Bevcridge had the
courage to fet out at i Cor.
xiv. 26. Let all things be done
to edifying, and, in one fingle
Ot5tavo fermon of twenty-four
pages, the dexterity to arrive
at the excellency and ufcfulnefs
of the common-prayer'' book ifed
in the ejlablipui church of Eng-
land. What rapid reafoning !
'♦ The text is an apoftolical
canon — the common prayer is
exaftly conformable to it —
I, [Dr. Bcveridge, Rcdlor of
St. Peter's Cornhill.] afcribe
the compilation of it to the
fame extraordinary affiftance

from Gq<U which afterwards



enabled the compilers to
fuffer martyrdom — The denjil
hath h.ad a fpite againft the
book ever fince it was firft
made becaufe it is deftruflive
of his kingdom — he hath
employed the utmojl of his
power and policy to blaft its
reputation — the papijls threw
it out once in Q\_ Mary's
days, and xVt fanaticks outed
it again in the days of king
Charles — but the moft high
God was pleafed in a mira-
culous manner to reftore it—"
and fo 0.11 things are done to
edifying. What a knack have
feme men at reafoning ! And
did blfhop Beveridge really
think, St. Paul would have
taken this infpired book in
one hand, and the fvvord of
the civil magiftrate in the
other, and have done all the
edifying feats in the church
at Corinth, which his pre-
tended fucceflbrs have per-
formed elfewhere ! Edifying
articles — edifying creeds-^

edifying oaths edifying

gcfturcs — edifying habits — ■
edifying ccrerhonies — edify-
ing fpiritual courts — edifying
jails — edifying fines — edify-
ing banifhments — edifying
executions — Let all things,
which relate to the Engliflx
epifcopal liturgy, be done to
edifying. St. Paul fays fo.

Jer. vi. 16. 'Thus faith the

Lord, Stand ye in the nvays and

fee, and ajk for the old paths,

'Vihtre is thf good nvaj, and

•walk



( ^9 )
clouds, the mere creatures of fancy, all thefe fliould
be avoided. (6)

7. Care, however, mull be taken to avoid theop-
pofite extreme, which confifts in making only poor,
dry, fpiritlefs obfervations, frequently faid under
pretence of avoiding fchool-divinity, and of fpeak-
ing only popular things. Endeavour to think
clearly, and try alfo to think nobly. Let your
obfervations be replete with beauty as well as
propriety, the fruits of a fine fancy under the di-
rection ofafober judgment. If you be inatten-
tive to this article, you will pafs for a contemp-
tible declaimer of mean and fhallow capacity, ex-

haufting



ixjalk therein, and ye fi all find

refi for your fouls *' Old

paths, i. e. the venerable fim-
plicity of the church of Eng-
land, as it flood from the
firft days of queen Elizabeth
till about the death of
Charles the martyr — the
good nuay, \. e. that divine
doftrine of Chriftianity non-
refiftance — ^valk therein, i. e.
avoid a fet of odd, fingular,
feparating notions, rely on
the opinions of all the wife
and good men in the world,
and don't truft your own
fhallow, empty, bloated
reafon." Well might the
Oxonian, who preached thus
from the above text, con-
clude his fermon in thefe
words : All-feeing fpir it ! thou
knonueji nve have a name
that nve live, and yet are dead,
for our nvorks are not found
perfea before God. Wm. killfs
Serm. before the Univerfity of



Oxford 17 TO. Return to good
old principles.

I do not know whether this
laft example be more forced
or far-fetched ; for neither
the fouls, nor the bodies
of our anceflors found reft in
thefe old paths, and certainly
Jeremiah never fought after
them.

(6) A-void imaginary obfer-
vations. A very accurate
writer obferves — " tliat our
opinion and belief are often
influenced hy p^Jf on — hyprc-
penfity — and by affc^ion. The
noted ftory of a fine lady and
a curate viewing the moon
through a telefcope is a plea-
fan t iiluftration of the latter,
I perceive, fays the lady, two
fhadows inclining to each
other, they are certainly two
happy lovers : not at all, re-
plies the curate, they are
two ftecples of a cathedral."
Elem, of Criiicifm, t'j/. i. cbap^
z.p.S-



( 20 )

haufting yourfelf and not edifying your hearers;
a very ridiculous characfler! (7)

To open mare particularly Ibme fources of ob-
fervations, remark every thing, that may help you
to think, and facilitate invention. You rnay rife
from fpecies to genus, or defcend from genus to,
fpecies. You may remark the different charafters
of a virtue commanded, or of a vice prohibited.
You may enquire wnether the fubjed in queftion
be relative to any other, or whether it do not
fuppofe fomething not exprefPed. You may refle6l
on the perfon fpeaking or afting, or on the condi-
tion of the perfon fpeaking or acting. You may
oblerve time, place, perfons addreffed, and fee
whether there be any ufeful confiderations arifmg
from either. You may confider the principles of
a word or aftion, or the good or bad confequences,
that follow. You may attend to the end pro-
pofed in a fpeech or action, and fee if there be
any thing remarkable in the manner of fpeaking
or ading. You may compare words or anions

with



(7) Som dec! aimers make
them/d'ues ridiculous by their
ohfer^vations. Thus one,
*' Judges xiii. 22. Manoah
/aid unto his nvife. We Jhall
'die : hut his ivife /aid. If the
Lord 'were f leafed to kill us, he
iNould not have Jhitved its all
thefe things. Obf. I. The
gray mare is fometimes the
beft horfe."

" Prov. vi. 9. Go to the ant
thoufluggardy coajider her tvays
and he luife. Obf. I . So ra-
tional doth this little crea-
ture appear, that, were I not
a chriftian, I fhould in fome
rreafure believe tranfmigra-
tion. Obf. 2. Had it pleafed



the Almighty to have put In
thefe creatures an immortal
foul, how righteoufly might
they have gone to heaven,
and we have been fhut out.
Obf. 3. What a great baby
a worldling is, he is God's
fool, the devil's packhorfe,
and a drudge for hell.'*
Humfref s chrifiaji's great cGn~
cent, Serm. 2.

Multitudes of examples He.
at hand ; but it would be.
mifery to tranfcribe fuch
nonfenfe. It is not every
man's part to think nobly;
but furely all preachers
fhould think jufily.



( 21 )

with others fimilar, and remark the differences of
words and adlions on different occafions. You
may oppofe v/ords and adlions to contrary words
and a<5i:ions, either by contrafting fpeakers or
hearers. You may examine the foundations and
caufes of words or aftions, in order to develop the
truth or falfehood, equity or iniquity of them.
You may fometimes make fuppofitions, refute ob-
jeftions, and' diftinguiifh characters of grandeur,
majefty, meannefs, infirmity, neceffity, utiUty,
evidence, and fo on. You may advert to degrees
of more or lefs, and to different interefts. You
may diftinguifh, define, divide, and, in a word,
by turning your text on every fide, you may obtain
various methods of elucidating it, I will give
you examples of all. (8)

I. Rise



(8) Sources of ohfer'vations.
Dr. Watts fays, " Topicks,
and common-places inform
perfons of lower genius, and
refrefli the memories of others
of fuperior parts : but, adds
he, a man of moderate ge-
nius, who has made himfelf
mafter of his theme, has fel-
dom need to run knocking at
the doors of all the topicks,
that he may furnifh himfelf
with argument, or matter of
fpeaking: and, indeed, it is
only a man of fenfe and judg-
ment, that can ufe common-
places and topicks well ; for,
amongft the variety, he only
knows what is fit to be left
out, as well as what is fit to
be fpoken." Logic.

" Talle, fays JJr. Rollin
from the ancient orators,
ierves in compofition to



guide and diredl the under-
ftanding. It makes ufe of
the imagination without fub-
mitting to it, and keeps it
always in fubjeftion. Ft
confults nature univerfally,
follows it ftep by ftep, and is
a faithful image of it. Re-
ferved and fparing in the
midft of abundance and
riches, it difpenfes the beau-
ties and graces of difcourfe
with temper and wifdom. It
never fuffers itfelf to be daz-
zled with the falfe, how glit-
tering a figure foever it may
make. It is equally offended
with too much and too little,
it knows precifely where to
ftep, and cuts off without
regret or mercy whatever
exceeds the beautiful and
per fed." Belles Let ires ^ vol. i.



( 22 )

I.

Rise from Species to Genus.

Pfal. 1. 14. Sacrifice to God thank/giving^ and
pay thy vozvs unto the mojl High. In d:fcufling this
text, I would obferve firft the terms, facrifice thanks-
givings and would elucidate them by going from
the rpecies to the genus. The dignity of facrifice
in general would lead me to obferve — that it is the
immediate commerce of a creature with his God,
an adlion, in which it is difficult to judge whether
earth afcend to heaven, or heaven defcend to
earth — that in almoft all the other acts of religion
the creature receives of his creator : but in this
the creator receives of his creature — that the Lord
of the univerfe, who needs nothing, and who eter-
nally lives in a rich abundance, hath fuch a con-
defcenfion as to be willing to receive offerings at
our hands — that, of all dignities, that of the
prieilhood v/as the higheft, for which reafon the
ancient priefts dwelt in the tabernacle, or temple
of God — that, when God divided Canaan among
the children of Ifrael, each tribe had its portion
except that of Levi, to which God afUgned nothing.
Why } becaufe he loved them lefs .^ No, but be-
caufe he gave them the prieilhood, and becaufe
he, who had the prieilhood, the altar, and the
cenfer, had God for his portion, and confequently
could have no need of temporal things. This is,
you fee, to rife from Ipecies to genus -, for the
text does not fpeak of facrifice in general: but
of the facrifice of â– ^raife in particular j yet, when

thefe



( n )

thefe general confiderations are pertinent, they
cannot fail of being well received. (9 j

II. Descend



(9) Go from fpecies to genus.
That is to fay. If a text
mention a general idea, and
confine it to fome particular
fubjeft, do not raife your
obfervations on the particu-
lar fubjecl, at leaft do not
rdlrain them to that: but
take the general idea, and
make that the ground of your
difcourfe. For example,

Afts xxviii. 5, 6. He Jhook
^ff the beajl, and felt no harm.
Hoivbeit they looked, ivhen he
Jloould have fnuolleHy or falLn
doivn dead fuddenly ; but after
they had looked a great ^vhile,
and faiv no harm cofne to him,
they changed their minds, and
faid that he 'was a God. This
text fpeaks of an unjuft cen-
fure, and a foolifh applaufe,
which the barbarians of Me-
lita made of St. Paul; but
by the above rule a good
preacher took the general
ideas, and fhewed, " i.The
unreafonablenefs and danger
of judging o/^f/v, particular-
ly fuch perfons as are not at
all, or very little known to us,
upon account of any calami-
ty, or any other appearance
vvhatfoever. 2. How a - wife
and good man ought to be-
have himfelf, if he fhould
happen to fufFer under any
fuch judgment. "^i>/-. Jdams
Ssrm, at Windfor before the
^een, 1 705.

Pfal. cxxii. 6. Pray for the
peace of JerufaUmy they jhall



profper, that love thee. The
preacher does not confine
himfelf to the particular idea
of Jerufalem ; but takes tlie
general notion national peace,
and fhews, i.The rf'/i/j'-'pray
for it — 2. The ;';?o?/z/^j - prof-
perity of feveral kinds at-
tends it. The firft leads him
to treat of all the calamities
of war, and the bleffings of
peace — and the laft expands
into many juft and beautiful
concomitants of profperity.
AyerjTs Serm. before the Pleni~
potentiaries at Utrecht, I'jiz.

John vii. 27. We knovu this
man, nvhmce he is : but ivhen
Chriji Cometh, no man knoxveth
IV hence he is. The Evange-
lift here records the pretend-
ed doubts o(fome c/"the Jews
of yerufalem, verfeaj, con-
cerning the claim of fe/us of
Nazareth of the Meffiahlliip.
An excellent preacher takes
this text, and treats of inf-
delity in general. The text
fays nothing of diltelieving
the being of a God, or the
miffion of Mofes : but the
preacher goes from the par-
ticular ideas of the text to the
general fubje6t, and obferves
I. That a depraved heart of-
fers objedions againft reli-
gion without venturing to
believe them — z. That ig-
norance adopts them without
underftanding them — 3. That
the whole fyitem of infidelity
is a vain bravado devoid of
every



( 24 )



II.



Descend f*.om Genus to Species;

An example may be taken from Pfal. cxxiii. 3.

Behold ! as the eyes of fervants lock unto the hand
of their majlers, fo our eyes wait upon the Lord our
God. (i) Here, you may aptly obferve in mafters

in



every degree of confolation.
Thefe three obfervations are
the parts of the difcourfe.
MaJJillon Serm. Careme. torn.
iv.

Ezek. xxxvi. 32. Not for
your fakes do I this, faith the
Lord God, be it kno-vjn unto
you : be ajhamed and confound-
ed for your n.vays, O houfe of
Jfrael. The prophet ipci^ks
of the unmerited mercy of
God to Ifrael: but Bp. Be-
veridge very properly goes
from the particular applica-
tion in the text to the gene-
ral idea, and " Obferves i.
Though God never puniihes
a nation but when it deferves
it at his hands, yet he often
blefl'es a nation, when it does
not deferve it. Obf. 2. A
fenfe of thefe undeferved fa-
vours fhould work upon
metis hearts, and ftir them up
the rather to repentance."
^hankfgi-v. Serm. at St. Paul's
l)ef ^een Ann for ViSl. at
Audenard, 1 708,

Quintilian calls common-
places fedes argument orutn, in
quibus latent, et ex quibus
funt petenda. Examples
from Cicero. Genus, Virtu-



tes imperatoris in genere.
Pro lege Matiil. Laudat lludia
humanitatis. Pro Arch. De
gravitate parricidii. ProRofc.
De Graeeis teftibus. Pro Flac.