edifying, can doubt whether he is in the way of his duty. If we might be allowed to mention names, we would speak of one, whose brief labor, as a minister, was crowned with the most abundant success; we would tell how he never doubted his call to the work, and how, so far as we know, he never left any one acquainted with him ground to doubt; and in regard to him, we would say, that during the time of his connection with one of our theological institutions, he endeavored, we believe, as anxiously and as effectually to bring sinners to repentance, and to promote his own spirituality and that of his brethren, as at any period of his ministerial labors; and such was the operation of this unceasing anxiety for souls, upon his own mind, that he would as soon have been convinced that he was not a Christian, as that God did not call him to preach the gospel. What he did and what he could not do without the Spirit's agency, was positive proof that he was approved of God in his work.

If those, who think that they are called to preach the gospel, did preach more every day, love the truth of God better, feed upon it more, and make it more constantly the theme of their conversation and prayer, they would be able oftener to say, "God has counted me worthy, and he has put me into this ministry, whom I serve in the gospel of his Son."

E. B. S.

ARTICLE III.

EDWARDS AS A SERMONIZER.

WORKS OF PRESIDENT EDWARDS. In four volumes. New York. Leavitt, Trow & Co. 1844.

EVERY serious minded man must have been deeply impressed with the love of God, as manifested to the church, in raising up, from time to time, able defenders of the faith. They have not appeared in the midst of the people of God and before the world, when there was no apparent demand for the talents with which they were endowed. There has usually been something peculiar in the circumstances of the church, and in the state of public sentiment on the subject of

religion, something like a crisis, which has made their appearance seem providential. The very thing which they were eminently qualified to do, must apparently have been done, and done precisely at that time, or the whole work of redemption would have been greatly embarrassed. Perhaps the period when further progress and enlargement seemed possible, had gone by, and a rapid decline had already commenced; and unless some one had been raised up and brought into the field, possessing precisely the gifts with which they were endowed, it is difficult to see, how, in a little time, even a remnant would have been left. The labors of Moses, Elijah, Mordecai, Paul, Augustine, Luther and others, who have performed eminent service for Zion, are so many tokens of God's love for his people. And if "history is philosophy teaching by example," then facts like these, scattered over the whole of the past, illustrate a great principle in the moral government of God; a principle full of encouragement to those who, by every means in their power, are laboring for the advancement of the cause of Christ in the world; and of alarm to all, who, from any motive, would gladly arrest the progress of that cause, and bring his kingdom to an end.

The introduction of Jonathan Edwards into the church militant was a great event. The state of public sentiment on the subject of religion, and the rapid progress of error in doctrine and error in practice, rendered his conversion and call to the Christian ministry events of no ordinary interest. The tide of heresy was setting in with vast strength, and threatened to bring the work of salvation in our land, and through the world, to an end. And there was no one able, if inclined, to raise barriers against it. Edwards commenced his resistance. in the pulpit; and then, expanding his message, he gave it, through the press, to the world. By his unremitted exertions, soon the prospects of the church were changed. The daughters of Zion took their long neglected harps, and began again a song of praise.

One, who is such a mighty instrument of good in the hand of God, becomes a universal friend to his race. No land, nor age, is permitted to appropriate him to itself. All wish for an intimate acquaintance with his life. The influence exerted by his parents in the formation of his character, his own domestic and social habits, his literary advantages and attainments, his Christian experience, and the means by which he

rose to such eminence in piety,-his character as a pastor, and his manner and merits as a preacher, every influence, which either made him what he was, or enabled him to do what he did, in the cause of God, becomes the subject of critical investigation. Neither is the gratification of this curiosity an idle or a useless work. Thousands of young men enter upon the work of the gospel ministry with fearfulness and trembling. They soon learn that it is not enough to be orthodox in their creed, and correct in their general deportment. To ensure success, they must know where and when to preach the great doctrines of the Bible; and, when they have done this in the most judicious manner, they often feel dissatisfied with the result. A growing and attentive congregation will never satisfy a faithful minister. If none are pricked in the heart, if none come to him in private, to inquire after the way of life, if there are no spiritual births under his ministrations, all other indications of prosperity pass for nothing. In hours of retirement, he reviews, with painful solicitude, his life and his doctrine," Have I been uniformly serious in my deportment? Have I taken heed unto myself, as I have gone out and come in before my people? Have I taught them the truth as it is in Jesus? Have I taught the particular truths which they, in their present circumstances, require?" But he does not stop here. He asks himself further," Have my sermons been prepared in the best manner possible? Has the spirit, which has pervaded them, been a right spirit?" At such times, the minister of Christ turns, almost instinctively, to the memoirs and published sermons of those who have been eminently successful in winning souls to Christ, and training them up for heaven, that, if possible, he may find in them some hints, or discover some principles, which will make himself an abler minister of the New Testament.

We write from experience. The traits in Edwards's character as a sermonizer were, under these circumstances, eagerly sought out, and carefully laid up, as a rich treasure. And the hints which they have furnished, have been of lasting benefit to us, in the discharge of the duties of the pulpit.

President Edwards pursued his studies, preparatory to his entering the ministry, mostly at Yale College. The facilities for acquiring a literary and theological education, then, were inferior to what they now are. While the collegiate course was the same in length as it now is, the number of sciences

taught was less, and those which were studied, were not pursued so far or so thoroughly. Then there were no theological seminaries in the country. Whoever looked forward to the ministry, and desired "the way of God to be expounded more perfectly unto him," usually resided for a longer or shorter term, with some pastor, eminent among his brethren for the soundness of his doctrinal views, and the depth of his piety. The theological student had access to his library, listened to his discourses on the Sabbath, and during the week occasionally received from him a familiar lecture. This last was intended either to elucidate some difficult point in theology, or to suggest some hints, which would be of service to the student in the discharge of his duties as pastor. There was nothing systematic in the instruction, neither did it embrace a wide range of topics. On many points, upon which a rigid course of study and discipline is now required, the student was then left entirely to himself in the formation of his views and habits. President Edwards was more highly favored, in the pursuit of his theological studies, than most candidates of his time. Before entering the ministry, he spent two years at the College where he graduated, under the tuition of the President. Yet the advantages which he there received were far from what young men at the present time enjoy.

This will account, in part, for the manner in which he constructs his sermons. After reading his sermons, one would not need to be told that there were no professorships of sacred rhetoric, in his day. His mode of sermonizing is purely his own. His most general plan is to occupy the introduction in explaining, or, as he calls it, in "opening" his text. His introduction usually contains, what now would be thought, a very full skeleton or outline of a textual discourse. When, however, he has finished this part of his sermon, he has but just reached his main proposition. Onward, from this point, his sermon is topical in its character. He calls it doctrinal. The general proposition, he calls, "the doctrine of the text." After sustaining this with great force of argument, he comes to the application. This is invariably founded upon the truths which he has been laboring to unfold and establish. In this part of his address, he becomes more animated and pointed in his appeals. All along up to the application, he labors to convince his hearers of the truth of his main proposition, and, of course, addresses himself, almost exclusively, to the under

standing. Onward to the close, he labors to influence the will.

There is no uniformity in the length of the different parts of his discourses. Sometimes the introduction is short, the discussion of the doctrine long, and the application short. Then the introduction is extended to a great length, the discussion of the doctrine brief, and the application the same. In another, the first two will be brief, and the larger portion is occupied in the application. The sermons themselves have no uniform length. Some might, without speaking rapidly, be delivered in thirty minutes; while others must have occupied the attention of his hearers two full hours.

The plan upon which he constructed his discourses, is not the best adapted to produce the deepest and most permanent impressions. As a model, therefore, for others to imitate, it is defective. Few could succeed, in their pulpit efforts, who should attempt to imitate him, in all respects. His plan is too cumbersome and unwieldy for common minds. They would feel like the stripling, going forth to a fearful combat, clad in the armor of the veteran warrior. They would be unable to sustain its vast weight. We know of no one who has attempted to imitate him, or who, in this particular, has taken him as a master. Most have preferred a simpler plan. They have either made their text suggest the divisions of their subject, or have selected some single topic, drawn directly from the text, or else have expounded the passages in the order in which they stand in the Scriptures. They have not often attempted to combine all these in the same discourse. Even Davies, who, if he was not Edwards's equal in strength of intellect, was his superior in all the arts of oratory, preferred a simpler plan. And the effect which his discourses produced, and the reputation which he acquired as a pulpit orator, fully justifies his preference. We presume that no one has read the discourses of these two eminent divines, without awarding superior merit to President Davies as a sermonizer. His propositions are distinctly stated, and then conclusively proved; and, from the first sentence of his introduction to the last of his application, the minds of his hearers are kept steadily fixed upon the single point which he wishes to establish. The interest they feel rises as he advances; and when he closes, one clear, distinct, and permanent impression is made upon every mind. Edwards, too, has only one object