1846.] Rules for historical Discourses. 469 sometimes prevailed in the church, the conduct of fanatical sects, the influence of heterodox parties, etc. Nor is the preacher limited to biblical and ecclesiastical history for the themes of his discourses. He may sometimes, though less frequently, select as the theme of his sermon, a narrative from the general history of religions; an account, for example, of Mohammedanism, a comparison of the ecclesiastical policy of the early Christians with that of Mohammed, a contrast of the spirit of the New Testament with the spirit of the Koran. So too the history of the various forms of religious worship among heathen nations, and of the gradual development of Pagan theological systems, may impart much spiritual knowledge to a Christian audience. The minister may also devote a sermon, occasionally, to some fragment of general history; for as the history of religions, so the history of nations and of individuals who have distinguished themselves in secular life, has often an intimate connection with the truths of Christianity. In particular, the clergyman may discourse, at certain periods, upon some historical narratives relating to his own country, or to some of its more eminent benefactors. He may sometimes, although seldom, discourse upon political movements. Some of these movements may essentially affect the freedom or the spirituality of the church, and therefore demand the attention of the clergy. Sometimes the welfare of the nation requires an immediate and great sacrifice of individual good; and the preacher is then bound to stimulate the patriotism and the philanthropy of his hearers. Such sermons are often useful in a time of foreign or of civil war. The general rules for the selection of historical subjects are these. The subjects should have an obvious connection with Christian doctrine or duty. They should be spiritual, and not secular in their final impression on the mind. They should be in some degree familiar to the audience, or at least such as may be easily made familiar to them. The preacher should not allow the historical element to obscure the moral instruction, or diminish the moral impression of the discourse. He should, therefore, be careful not to fill up too large a part of his sermon with narrative, nor to be too minute in his historical or geographical delineations. He should never aim at a display of his own historical researches. He should never distort the truth of history, nor allow his imagination or his feelings to supply what the authentic narrative has not fairly implied. He should be modest in his interpretations of Divine Providence, and not pronounce dogmatically on the purposes of God in allowing those events to take place which are left unexplained by the Bible and by philosophy.1 He should not ascribe a legislative authority to the example of the men whose biography he rehearses; for the conduct of no man except our Saviour, can be held up as a faultless model to be imitated; and besides, the demeanor of an individual, however excellent, in one relation, is no inviolable rule for us who may be in a very different relation, and may therefore be obligated to conduct ourselves in a different manner. The law of God, and not the example of man is our rule of duty. The utility of historical discourses is obvious. They give vivid ideas of divine truth. By their particular details they interest the whole man, the imagination and sympathy as well as the intellect. The concrete form of instruction is more distinct than the abstract. When the sermons are founded on scriptural narratives, they explain the sacred word, illustrate its truths and develop its practical bearings. There are some principles which require the historical method for their full elucidation. The Bible is an historical book, and the Christian system has a positive and historical character. The doctrine of God's superintending providence, his righteous moral government can be more clearly taught by a delineation of the Jewish history, than by any abstract statements. The dignity to which man may be exalted, the debasement into which he may sink; the beauty and the profitableness of virtue, the adverseness and the misery of vice may be delineated with peculiar impressiveness by the recital of memorable instances of holy or sinful conduct. Our Saviour often adopted the historical method of illustrating religious truth. The early Christian fathers imitated his example. In the Roman Catholic church particular days are set apart for commemorating the virtues of departed saints, and many sermons of great value have been preached on the character of the personages to whom these days were consecrated. See, for example, the sermons of Flechier and Bourdaloue. Great evils have arisen from an abuse of the historical element in sermons; and the proper employment of it requires a lively sympathy with Christian doctrine, and a sound, well practised judgment. 6. Philosophical Subjects of Sermons. It is not allowable for the preacher to give an exclusively phil Schott would condemn, for example, all such decisive explanations of providential events, as are given by Dwight, in Vol. V. p. 41 of his System of Theology. 1846.] Discourses on natural and mental Science. 471 osophical character to his discourses; still he may occasionally select his themes from the two great departments of science, the natural and the mental. In his treatment of subjects derived from natural philosophy, he should avoid the style of a scientific treatise and also of a poetical description, and should present the Christian and the religiously practical views of the phenomena of nature. He is justified in discoursing on these phenomena, by such passages of the inspired word as are found in Ps. 19. 65. 92. 95. 104. 105. 106. 107. 111. 148. Matt. 6: 26-29. 10: 29. Acts 14: 17. 17: 27. Rom. 1: 19, 20. What a variety of religious instruction do the sacred writers derive from one small object in nature, a grain of seed-corn! In John 12: 24, this single seed is an image of the great truth, that death is a precursor of a new life. In 1 Cor. 15: 36 sq. it affords a symbol of the relation between our present bodies, and the spiritual bodies which we shall receive at the resurrection. In Matthew 13: 18 sq. it suggests the diversified influences of the divine word upon human character. In Gal. 6: 7 sq. and in 2 Cor. 9: 6, 7, it portrays to us the consequences, the rewards and punishments of our good or evil actions. Thus do the phenomena of nature serve as pictures of religious truth, and as means of increasing the vividness of our theological conceptions. They afford, moreover, notwithstanding the attempts of the critical philosophy to invalidate their force in this regard, a strictly logical argument in favor of certain doctrines relating to God, and in this way they authorize us to infer certain truths relating to man, particularly to his existence in a future state. The contemplation on these phenomena presented in connection with moral truth, exerts a subduing and calming influence on the mind, inspires us with noble feelings in regard to our relative place in the scale of creation, and gives us a pleas ing familiarity with certain laws and principles which regulate the material world and are analogous to the rules for our religious life. There is a correspondence between the material kingdom and the spiritual, which it is useful for Christians to notice. The order and obedience to law which prevail throughout the physical universe, the conduciveness of all events to a good end, the richness and variety, the beauty and grandeur of nature, all have a favorable influence upon our tastes, and lead to a harmony of our moral emotions with the principles of the divine government. If discourses on the material works of God be thus conducive to spiritual improvement, much more useful must be the preacher's exhibition of truths relating to the intellect, affections and will. The consideration of our mental structure may increase the Christian's faith in the divinity and the excellence of the Gospel, by showing him the nice adjustment of evangelical doctrine to the susceptibilities of man, its fitness to elevate his character and to satisfy all his wants. Psychological discourses, penetrated as they should be with the devotional spirit, may suggest the meaning of numerous biblical phrases, excite the mind to a just appreciation of its powers, of its duties to itself, of its facilities for perpetual advancement in knowledge and virtue, of its dangers also, and the means of averting them. The Old and New Testaments contain an exhaustless variety of narratives, parables and apothegms which may furnish texts for such discourses, and which form a system of biblical psychology, highly useful to the pastor, and not less so to the preacher. Rheinhard has given several good specimens of psychological discourses; as for instance, his sermon on the tendency of sorrowful virtue to produce a deeper impression on men than is produced by cheerful virtue, on the connection between the necessity of providing for our physical wants, and the promotion of our spiritual good; on the influence which piety gives a man over the mind and heart of his fellows. Dräseke and Ammon, [Bishop Butler and Dr. Chalmers,] have also furnished agreeable specimens of this species of discourse. 7. The Advantages of preaching from Texts. In the judicial, deliberative and demonstrative orations of the ancients, there was no necessity for a formal announcement of the theme. The occasions on which the orators spoke, were of themselves sufficient to indicate the subjects to be discussed. But the sacred orator cannot ordinarily apprise his hearers of the theme which he has selected, except by announcing it at the commencement of his sermon. It was the custom of the earliest preachers to discourse from passages of the inspired word. They thus announced the subjects of their discourses. In the times of Gregory the Great and of Charles the Great, collections of texts were published and the clergy were required to preach from the passages inserted in these selections. This use of prescribed texts is still continued in many churches. It was not the uniform practice of the Fathers, to deliver their sermons from passages of Scripture prefixed to them. They sometimes adopted a freer mode of address. We must not think that the use of the text is 1846.] . Use of Scriptural Texts. 473 It is possible essential to the Christian character of the sermon. for a man to preach in the spirit and according to the standard of the Gospel, and to explain many biblical passages in the progress of his discourse, without mentioning any text as the origin and foundation of his remarks. Still, it would not be right, as some contend that it would be, for a preacher, at the present day, to deviate from the now universal custom of prefacing the address from the pulpit with a passage from sacred writ. The advantages of conforming to this ancient usage are numerous. The use of the text constantly reminds the preacher of his duty to make the Bible the source of his instructions and appeals, to avoid all those themes of discourse which are not suggested by the spirit of the New Testament, to preserve throughout his sermon the tone of evangelical doctrine, and to introduce into his pulpit ministrations the variety and copiousness of biblical truth. The use of prescribed texts, or of the pericope, suggests to the preacher the richest and most diversified topics of discourse, and thus saves him from falling into a monotony of preaching, into a habit of confining himself to a narrow circle of favorite subjects, and from painful suspense with regard to the character of the themes which he ought to discuss in the pulpit, and with regard to the specific mode of discussing them. It also affords him a plausible reason for selecting such themes as will be disagreeable to those of his hearers who need to be reproved by them. When he preaches on texts which convey a reprimand to these individuals, it is evident that he has not gone out of his way to procure these condemnatory texts, and he cannot be accused of personality for following the order which is marked out in the pericope. Nor is the use of the text less important for the hearers than for the preacher. It constantly reminds an audience of the paramount authority of the Bible, and of the binding force of sermons founded upon that sacred volume. It is far more impressive to introduce the text at first, as the foundation of the discourse, than afterwards as a mere proof or confirmation of the doctrine previously advanced. The practice of preaching from texts leads to a frequent exposition of the Bible, and affords to the hearers suggestive and easily remembered passages with which they may indissolubly associate the contents of the sermon, and which, being often perused in private, will as often for a long time recall to memory the otherwise evanescent thoughts of the discourse, and thus re 1 See the treatises of Niemeyer and Haker in Schuderoff's Jahrb. for 1820, and 1821. |