says, God effectually worketh in us to will and to do; which means, that when he displays this grace, nothing can resist him. 6. When God converts us, whatever irresistibility there is in his grace, he displays it nevertheless in us, in a way which neither destroys our nature, nor offers any violence to our will; for St. Paul says, God worketh in us to will; that is to say, he converts us by inspiring us with love for his Gospel, in gentle ways suited to the faculties. of our souls*.

Above all, take care to arrange your propositions well, when you take this method. Place the most general first, and follow the order of your knowledge, so that the first propositions may serve as steps to the second, the second to the third, and so of the rest".

Sometimes, what you have to explain in a text will consist of one or more simple terms; sometimes in certain ways of speaking peculiar to Scripture, or at least of such great importance, that they will deserve to be particularly weighed and explained; sometimes in particles which they call syncategorematica; and sometimes in propositions. For example, simple terms are, the divine attributes, goodness, mercy, wisdom, &c. The virtues of men, faith, hope, love, &c. Their vices and passions, ambition, avarice, vengeance, wrath, &c. In short, simple terms are single words, and they are either proper or figurative. In order to explain figurative words, you must give the mean

ing

* The Editor takes the liberty of observing, that this mode of illustrating a subject appears to him too refined and complex. He would rather recommend a more simple method. The thing to be explained is, the operation of divine grace; and it is to be explained in an immediate reference to the text. It might be said then, that its operation is sovereign, rationul, efficacious. It is sovereign, the result of "God's good pleasure," since man has not so much as a disposition to good, till God has given it him; and therefore can have nothing in himself that can induce God to give it him. It is rational; for God influences us to action, not as mere machines, but by illuminating our understanding, and inclining our "will." It is efficacious; for, if he work in us to will," he will surely work in us 'to do;" nor, however separate, in idea, volition and action may be, shall they ever be separated in his people's experience.

This would include the principal observations of Mr. Claude, and render them both more intelligible, and more easy to be remembered.

h Arrange your propositions well. Nothing elucidates a subject more than a conformity to this rule. Cicero's three words are well known, apte, distincte, ornate.

ing of the figure in a few words; and without stopping long upon the figure, pass to the thing itself. And in general observe this rule, never insist long on a simple term, unless it be absolutely necessary; for to aim at exhausting (as it were), and saying all that can be said on a single word, is imprudent in a preacher, especially when there are many important matters in the text to be explained. Should any one (for example) in explaining these words of Isaiah, His name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, the Mighty God, the Everlasting Father, the Prince of Peace; should a preacher, I say, insist on each term, and endeavour to exhaust each word, he would handle the text in a common-place way, and quite tire the hearer. You ought then, in discussing such passages, to select the most obvious articles, and to enlarge principally on essential remarks1.

Sometimes there are simple terms, of which you must only take notice cursorily, and en passant, as it were, just as they relate to the intention of the sacred author. For example, in St. Paul's ordinary salutations, Grace be to you, and peace from God our Father, and from our Lord Jesus Christ, it must not be imagined that each of the terms or phrases is to be considered er professo, either grace, or peace, or God the Father, or Jesus Christ: but the whole text is to be considered as a salutation, a benediction, an introduction to the epistle, and in these views make necessary remarks on the terms. Observe the method of Mons. Daillé in his expositions of the Epistles to the Philippians and Colossians*. In one word, take care to explain simple

i Enlarge on the most obvious articles. The more pains (says the Archbishop of Cambray), the more pains an haranguer takes to dazzle me by the artifices of his discourse, the more I should despise his vanity. I love a serious preacher, who speaks for my sake, and not for his own; who seeks my salvation, and not his own vain-glory.-I would have him naturally a man of good sense, and to reduce all he says to good sense as the standard of his discourse. His studies should be solid: he should apply himself to reason justly; and industriously avoid all subtle and over-refined notions. He should distrust his imagination; and not let it influence his judgment. He should ground every discourse upon some evident principle; and from that draw the most obvious and natural consequences. Letter to the French Academy, sect. 4.

*`Observe the method of Mons. Daillé. This famous preacher expounds the Epistles to the Philippians and Colossians in a course of VOL. I.

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simple terms as much as possible, in relation to the present design of the sacred author, and to the circumstances of the text; for by these means you will avoid commonplaces, and say proper and agreeable things.

Sometimes you will meet with texts, the simple terms of which must be discussed professedly; and in order to give a clear and full view of the subject, you must give a clear and distinct idea of the terms.

For example. 1 Tim. i. 5. Now the end of the commandment is charity, out of a pure heart, and of a good conscience, and of faith unfeigned. Divide the text into three parts, the first of which may be the commandment, of which the apostle speaks the second, its end, charity-and the third, the principles, from which this charity or love proceeds, from a pure heart, a good conscience, and faith unfeigned. You must first, then, particularly enquire what this commandment. is, and remark three different senses of the term: it is put, 1. Particularly for the moral law. 2. For the preaching of the Gospel, (for the Greek word will bear this meaning)-and, 3. In general for the true religion. In explaining the word in the first sense, you may shew why the law is called the commandment, on account of the natural authority of the truths themselves; for the law contains nothing but what must needs be a creature's duty-on account also of the authority of the legislator, who is God our sovereign Master, &c. Taking the word in the second sense, something pertinent may be observed on the necessity of preaching the word: Remark the wisdom

of

sermons. He usually takes for his text that number of verses, more or less, which contains the whole subject, of which the apostle speaks. He does not trifle with terms: but he takes the subject, and, collecting it into two, three, or four propositions, discusses it in a sensible and edifying manner. One example follows. Phil. iii. 18, 19. Many walk, of whom I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping, that they are the enemies of the cross of Christ whose end is destruction, whose God is their belly, and whose glory is their shame, who mind earthly things. The exordium of this sermon is taken from Matt. xiii. 24, &c. and the subject is divided into two parts: 1. The manner of St. Paul's address. I have told you often, and now tell you even weeping. 2. The matter of it. It is a description of bad Chris tians and bad ministers in the Christian church. They are remarkable for five bad qualities, or conditions: 1. They are enemies of the cross of Christ. 2. Their end is destruction. 3. Their god is their belly. 4. They glory in their shame. 5. They mind earthly things.

of God, who, in order to discover the mysteries of the Gospel to men, not only sent the apostles to us at the beginning, not only commanded us to instruct each other by mutually communicating our knowledge, not only gave us the Holy Scriptures, that we might search them and increase our knowledge, but who, over and above all these, has established a gospel ministry in his church, in order that his word might be preached in common to all. Remark the great benefit and utility of this preaching. Observe also that Jesus Christ, whilst he was upon earth, was pleased to sanctify this admirable mean by his own practice and example, &c. In explaining the word in its third meaning, to which I think you should principally attend, you must shew why religión is called a commandment. 1. Because it is not an indifferent thing, which may be delayed as we please, but a necessary obligation imposed on all mankind. 2. Because religion, in all its parts, ought to proceed from God: for as he has not left it to the choice of man to have, or not to have a religion; so neither has he left it to his fancy to invent such a worship as he chooses: therefore St. Paul calls superstitions εελognσneas will-worship. Indeed religion consists in obedience of faith, obedience of discipline, and obedience of morality but whatever does not bear the divine impress can never be acceptable to God. In vain, says Jesus Christ, they honour me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men. May God, says St. Paul, make you perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus Christ. Hence it is, that not pastors only, but all believers are called the servants of God, to signify that they execute his commands, and are heartily devoted to his pleasure.

Passing now to the second point, two things must be examined: first, What is this charity or love? and, secondly, How is it the end of the commandment? Both these must be accurately discussed.

As to the first, you must remark, that the principal object of our love is God, to an union with whom the soul elevates itself, by emotions of love as to the supreme perfection; by emotions of desire as to the supreme good of a creature; by emotions of gratitude as to the only source of all the blessings which we enjoy; by emotions of tenderness

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derness and sympathy as with a father of whom we are the children; by emotions of acquiescence and joy for the possession of communion with him; and, in fine, by emotions of zeal in his service and for his glory, since God is our last end, to whom all that we are, and all that we can do, ought to refer.

You may remark, again, that, this love makes God reign over us in a manner the most noble, and the most worthy of himself. He reigns over all creatures, by his Influence, or by his Providence, or by his Justice. By his influence he reigns over the heavens, the elements, and all inanimate creatures, moving and directing them as he pleases. He reigns by his providence over the wicked, turning and bowing their wills as he chooses. He reigns in hell by his justice. None of these ways of exercising authority are comparable to that dominion which our love gives him; for as he fills our whole heart, he pervades all its principles; he is, in all its emotions, as cause, object, and end; so that there is a perfect harmony between him and our hearts. When he reigns by his power over inanimate things, properly speaking, he is neither their end nor their object; he is only the power which moves them. When he reigns over the wicked by his providence, the wicked have another end, and another object. When he reigns in hell by his justice, the miserable sufferers, far from acquiescing in his avenging strokes, murmur, rebel, and blaspheme against him. But when he reigns in the hearts of his saints by love, he not only displays his power, but he is himself the object on which the saints act, the end to which they move; and there reigns a perfect harmony between God and his creatures.

You may observe farther, that when we give our love to the creatures, withdrawing it from God, it is an act of injustice to ourselves, and an insult on God. It insults God; for we rob him of what belongs to him. It is injurious to ourselves; for we deprive ourselves of a glory for which we were created, and after which we might lawfully have aspired: thus we are doubly unjust, and a'oubly outrageous.

And, besides all this, as these sorts of unions are heterogeneous, without fitness and proportion, they are accompanied with an almost infinite number of inconvenien