branches of a vigorous tree. Hence to preach virtue upon any other basis than that of regeneration, is to adorn the moral garden with branches instead of plants that have roots, and the end will be faded leaves and withering blossoms. Saving faith must produce works in the way of natural consequence; for while it embraces the atonement as the only ground of acceptance, it also has respect to the meetness for the inheritance which the Spirit of Christ communicates to the soul, the true evidence of which is a love of the divine commands. Instead therefore of the doctrines preached on this point by evangelical divines, being amongst "the greatest absurdities that ever entered the human brain," we may safely designate as such the inferences drawn from them by their opponents.

After having thus stated the nature of true faith, any further observation upon its connection with works will be, I am sure, deemed unnecessary; for if its essential character be holy, its fruits must be so, a conclusion which puts an end to all cavilling on the question, to all vain metaphysical distinctions, and to all the ratiocinations of the Edinburgh reviewer, or any other mystifications on the subject, which if rashly followed, will only lead like the lumi

6 Vid. Review p. 447, note.

nous vapours of a bog, into deeper and deeper mire.

The doctrines I have feebly endeavoured to maintain, in the foregoing observations, will be found to be stated with great force and unction in the specimens of Mr. Rowland Hill's sermons contained in this volume; and happily those sentiments, which he and other champions of the gospel helped to spread over our land, are rapidly manifesting the power of celestial light, to dissipate the cold and sickly mists of error and indifference, that had too long hid both the things of earth and heaven from the eyes of men. But the present influence and acceptableness of such doctrines are accompanied with dangers and difficulties, demanding proportional vigilance and skill in those who are attracting the public ear to their instructions. If the christian panoply be ill fitted or worn carelessly, the enemy will use every crevice as an opening to thrust in his dart, or infuse his poison; and it is possible even for the preacher, when indulging his fancy or exhibiting his powers, to pass the shadow of self between the truth and his people, and thus give a dimness and uncertainty to its brightest precepts. Mr Hill well said "human oratory often clouds divine truth;">

and not less truly did an old divine describe the effect of fine preaching, when he compared it to

66

putting the sword of the Spirit into a velvet scabbard, that it cannot prick and wound the heart." If moreover the mind is at all times duly impressed with the sublimity of the word of God, the minister will not commit the opposite fault of descending to a level unworthy of it, an error which has been detrimental to the usefulness of many a preacher. This I regret to say was occasionally, as is well known, the fault of the venerable minister from whose discourses I have made these selections; but I have carefully expunged from them all such indications of the power of a humorous fancy-which has still been much exaggerated-choosing only to be the instrument of bringing before the public, that which I hope is calculated to be really useful. If any thing could be a compensation for occasional forgetfulness of the solemnity of the pulpit, Mr. Hill undoubtedly made it in the faithfulness, power, originality, and close application of his best sermons; and such at times was their effect, that the attentive hearer might have said of him, in the words of King James applied to a reverend prelate, "methinks this man preaches of death, as if death were at my back."

The disposition to hear preaching in these days, does unquestionably, as I have before hinted, offer temptations which demand unceasing vigilance. I think therefore it will not be out of place to mention a few of the prevalent mistakes of zealous men, to which I have heard my venerable relative frequently allude. One of these was the adoption of a florid style for the purpose of captivating the ear. This is described by a quaint writer of former times as a "kind of fine, neat, dainty preaching, consisting in well sounding words and of strains of human wit and learning, to set out the skill and art of the speaker, and make the hearer applaud and commend him; which a man may well doubt whether God will ever bless to the winning of souls." I well remember Mr. Hill's mentioning some instructor of young preachers, who advised them not to introduce "too much scripture into their sermons, lest they should spoil their composition;" nor shall I forget the emphasis with which be exclaimed, "God grant my composition may be so spoiled for ever." No man less undervalued an expressive elevated style; but he saw and wisely condemned the hollow glittering steps by which too many ministers have ascended to the 8 Wheatley.

giddy heights of an ephemeral and dangerous popularity.

Another mistake of zealous preachers in our days has been the hasty introduction into their sermons of attractive but ill digested novelties, by which the minds of many serious persons have been most injuriously unsettled. It is almost impossible to say what would have been the consequences of such indiscretion, if the veterans of truth had not steadily maintained its fixed, unalterable doctrines. The congregation of the faithful must be fed, not with the sprouts of a vivid imagination, but with the ripened produce of the tree of life, which continues ever fragrant and nutritious, while the former like fruits gathered in their greenness, are at first suited only to a distempered taste, and quickly shrivel and decay. Such have been the character and end of many crude opinions. made topics of preaching in our times. Suddenly adopted and dogmatically taught, they made a transient impression upon minds open to excitement, engendering a bitter, intolerant spirit, while their influence remained, and left nothing but a useless insipidity when the first effervescence subsided. The word of God certainly opens an endless variety for the exercise of the