SECTION III.

It

THE peculiarities of some popular men however have been such as to lead us fairly to enquire. Do these promote christianity or not? Does the popularity resulting from these peculiarities give an impetus to the pure and wholesome truths of the new testament, or disseminate a mixture of truth and error, and an unhappy amalgamation of moral evil with moral good? Does not this popularity while alluring some to christianity repel others from it? is absolutely impossible to hinder intelligent and discerning christians from putting these questions to themselves and to others. They are deeply concerned in the progress of our rational and holy and heavenly religion; and watch with godly jealousy every strange movement of preachers, and all eccentricities of opinion and practice in people. To be clearly understood, let me mention, in the first place, the pityful circumstance of the popularity of some being mainly attributable to a fine person, and graceful attitudes or gesticulation. The beautiful symmetry of the arm, so elegantly

extended, with the lady's hand, diamond ring, and snow-white wristband. I am neither satirical nor censorious. I blame no man for a genteel appearance, and becoming action in the pulpit. I prefer these when they do not extend to foppery. But it does a people no good to fix their admiration so very much on mere externals. It may excite a smile (but a smile that will do you no harm) when I say that some ministers were exceedingly popular when considered as "fine tall handsome young men, and unmarried," though their sermons were then meager and superficial to an almost extreme degree: but after being married and settled with a family, though their discourses were solidly instructive and enriched with every thing that ought to be interesting and esteemed, their popularity dwindled away. This popularity then, occasioned by prepossessing appearance, began and ended in admiration of person; and, as might have been expected, declined just as increasing years and an altered condition of life,rendered the preacher less attractive to his admirers. The thing to be lamented, in cases like this, is not the fineness of a man's person, nor the comparative littleness of his sermons, (for we cannot generally expect from young men the maturity of

age) but the poor taste and deficient piety of the hearers. The sad reversing the order of

things.

It is no sin to admire young and superficial preachers; but it is a sin to neglect and despise mature and aged divines, whose learning and piety and abilities entitle them to be esteemed "very highly in love for their work's sake." A judicious christian believer would have liked the preaching of those young ministers Timothy and Titus; but I am much mistaken if he would not have preferred the ministrations of those elder and more competent apostles, saint Peter and saint Paul.

Let me, secondly, notice those preachers who have attracted crowds by being supposed to excel in the pathos;-making people cry by their touching facts and and anecdotes. Graphically describing sorrowful events and circumstances. Now it is certainly better to weep than to laugh under a sermon. But it should be well understood that we may weep under a sermon without being made better christians. Some peculiarly sensitive natures will weep at any thing that is pathetic, though it be somewhat that is comparatively trifling. And others though weeping at that which seems really to demand tears, can with singular rapidity dry

up their tears to laugh or to scold in their own habitations. The pathetic in preaching, when genuine and pregnant with noble thoughts, is a real excellency, and will sometimes draw tears even from the coldness of scholastic criticism. But when it is affected, though it may make a few weak persons cry, (and even this it very seldom does) it never fails in discerning minds to excite contempt and disgust. That eminent baptist minister the late Rev. Robert Hall used to relate a strange story of a preacher who was resolved to be pathetic. He inserted in the margin of his manuscript sermon in certain places the words " cry here." And while preaching the sermon, when he came to these passages, he began to do something like crying; but the people seeing nothing to cry about, did not sympathize with him, and he had the pathos all to himself.

I myself witnessed a peculiarity in a very popular preacher which I hope never to witness again. In talking about himself, which he did nearly through the whole of an address intended to be a sermon, he suddenly broke out into an odd strain of exclamation, blessing God that he felt this and had done that; and while using a boisterous doxology of his own, commenced a whine in imitation of crying.-Just

a few entered into this-many were so deeply disgusted, as after the service, to censure his conduct in terms of unmeasured severity. By some he was unequivocally denounced as a hypocrite. I myself did not think him a hypocrite, but I did think, and think now that that trick of pretending to cry, while revolting to his serious and discerning hearers, was a great offence to Almighty God. Every thought, every emotion, every word, every tone, in the pulpit, should be identified with the deepest sincerity.

But the true pathos, as before hinted, is an excellency in preaching, and promotes the end we have in view. The sorrow or feeling which it occasions is comparatively silent, and altogether unostentatious. It corrects the asperities of our nature, and disposes us for the reception and cultivation of every great and virtuous principle. And thus our Saviour's lamentation over Jerusalem, and saint Paul's farewell address to the elders of Ephesus, being truly pathetic, were not only very affecting at the time in which they were spoken, but they sometimes affect us now, even to tears and weeping. § A preacher then who makes people cry about things really affecting, and especially about § See note A, at the end.