human Wit, was never able to furnish out a Subject fo vaft and profound, as those adorable Mysteries of Grace and Predestination, contain'd in St. Paul's Epiftles. But indeed, what Elogies can defcribe the Excellence and Dignity of the New Teftament, which is, moft emphatically, the Book of our Religion, and to which all the prophetick Writings were but a kind of Preface, or Introduction: What can be conceiv'd fo great and expreffive, as that short Character of our Lord's Difcourfes, given by himself? The Words that I speak unto you, they are Spirit, and they are Life: Other Books are compos'd only of Words; this only of Things: And as 'tis the Character of Man's Spirit, to speak Much and fay Little; fo 'tis the Character of the Spirit of God, to fpeak Little, and fay Much. For the holy Scriptures, having a peculiar Greatness of Senfe, couch'd under a plain and familiar Phrafe, lead us commonly to conceive more than they exprefs. Can there be fo much Simplicity, or Succinctness, in any other Expreffion, as in those two, The Word was made Flesh:

And they crucified him? How many Volumes have been written to explain the full Import of fo few Syllables? How many more may ftill be written on the fame Theme? And what Penetration of Spirit can ever be fufficient to fathom the utmoft Depths of those myfterious Truths? And yet Men are too much difpos'd to reft in the bare Words, and not to fearch into their hidden Stores by diligent Meditation. What Example have we of a Preacher able to pierce thro' the awful Darkness and facred Obfcurity of the Scriptural Text, and to difcover all the Treasures of Knowledge that it conceals? How few are worthy

non erat

pro

Parauli worthy to break this holy Bread of the Word petierunt of God, which ought to be the common Food panem, & of Chriftians? That is, how few are so qui fran- foundly knowing and skilful, as to unfold to geret eis. the People, the full Senfe and Compafs of the Lam. 4. Scripture, and to apply it properly in their Difcourfes, as the fureft Means of Perfuafion and Succefs? Men preach their own Imaginations, and not the Conceptions of the Spirit of God. And is not this to fail in the very first Principles? For there can be no Chriftian Eloquence, but fuch as is founded upon the genuine Idea drawn from the holy Writings, which are its proper Fountain and Original.

XIII.

There is a particular Style for the Pulpit, which feems not to have fufficiently exercis'd the Care and Study of Preachers. This Style is the fame that the Apostles, after they had receiv'd the Holy Ghoft, made use of in their Difcourfes to the People, recorded in the Book of Acts; where we find them explaining their Subject, by Expreffions taken out of the Old and New Teftament. 'Tis from this facred Spring, that they derive their Terms, their Phrase, their Figures, their Examples, their Arguments, and all the Amplifications of their Oratory: or rather, the Holy Spirit, fpeaking by their Mouth, delivers himself in the fame Manner, as by the Voice of the Prophets, because he is the fame Spirit. 'Tis this Manner which the Pulpit ought to exprefs and imitate, and which a Preacher fhould labour to acquire, by that inward Light, refulting from his Meditation, and by his frequent reading of the Holy Scriptures, in which he ought to be fa

miliarly

miliarly vers'd, as they are the richest Treafure our Saviour has left to his Church. Whofoever would be a Teacher of Men, and would expound to them the Truths of Religion, must first be a Difciple of the Holy Spirit: He must by an humble and obedient Faith, enter into the Knowledge of thofe Heavenly Inftructions, which are the fpiritual Manna, that God has been pleas'd to hide under the Veil of the Scriptures. And when a Preacher has hence fill'd his own Capacity, he pours this divine Unction, which is the true Character of the Word of God, on all that he delivers; his Words pierce, as fo many Rays, to enlighten the Minds of his Hearers, and as fo many Flames, to enliven and kindle their Hearts.

XIV.

But befides this Fund of Senfe, drawn, as I have obferv'd, from the Reading of the Fathers, and from a long Courfe of Theological Studies; and befides this peculiar Art of Eloquence form'd upon the Model of the Prophets, a Preacher ought to frame to himself a particular Morality, built wholly on the Principles of the Gofpel. For all other Systems of Morals can reach no higher than to bare Philofophy and Pagan Probity. This facred and refin❜d Morality is to be fought for, not only in the four Evangelifts, but likewife in St. Paul's Epiftles, and in the Homilies of St. Chryfoftom, where it is fo admirably explain'd. Thefe Homilies ought to be a Preacher's daily Study. He will alfo receive great Inftructions in the fame way from St. Auftin, St. Jerom, St. Gregory the Great, St. Bernard,

and

Attende

and the other Fathers. These he must perufe with the exacteft Care and Judgment, not to cull out the fine Thoughts and bright Periods, with which the younger Sort are fo defirous to adorn their Compofitions, and which, to fpeak the Truth, are utterly unferviceable to Edification, and true Compunction of Spirit.

XV.

True Chriftian Morality can only be deritibi, ved from thofe pure and holy Fountains, but Dorina, now defcribed; efpecially in this our Age, 1 Tim. 4. when every Man is for framing bis Morals

according to his Fancy, and when there are not wanting fuch extravagant Preachers, as vent from the Pulpit their own Chagrin and Complexion for the great Laws of Duty, with certain ridiculous and vifionary Schemes, which they have before-hand entertain'd, and which are purely owing to a Spirit of Noyelty. Have we not fome time fince beheld a Preacher in Paris, who though profoundly ignorant of what belong'd to his Character and Profeffion, undertook to decide every Thing in the most rigorous Manner; and who, beProphetæ caufe he utter'd the greatest Abfurdities with ejus vefa the affurance of a Prophet, or rather with the Confidence of a Sophift, and in practical Points ventured at any Extravagance whatfoever, when once the Fumes of his Zeal were got into his Brain, was follow'd more than all his reverend Brethren? For 'tis the Mode of our Nation, and of Paris efpecially, to run after every Thing that is new, and that has an Air of Singularity. But when we come to fift thefe Orators to the bottom, who thus attempt to fanctify their Difcourfes with an affected

ni, viri infideles, Zeph. 4.

Rigour,

Rigour, we find that they are not altogether fo hard-hearted to themfelves as to others. Thus it was with that Doctor, who begin ning his Course of Lent-Sermons, in a famous Church of Paris, declared to his Audience with the Air and Tone of a great Reformer, that they were to expect nothing from him but the feverest Morality, and the height of Chriftian Discipline, in oppofition to the licentious Rules of the modern Cafuifts. But, as the Town is wont not to be over-charitable, Men took the fame freedom with this Gentleman's Morals, as he had done with theirs; his Story was the common Theme of Difcourfe, and Entertainment of Company. He that would preach up Severity, muft imitate our bleffed Saviour, and preach it by his own Example. 'Tis the Character of Chriftian Strictnefs, to be gentle to others, and fevere to our felves. To appear otherwife, is to act the Impoftor, or the Comedian, not the Preacher. The laft Age was disturb'd by certain falfe Zealots, who, at the fame time pretended to preach a greater degreee of Purity and Perfection, while they were lifting up unholy Hands. to Heaven, and promoting Error and Faction upon Earth. In a word, all Preachers, whofe Ignorance leads them to this Extreme, who make Enormities and Abominations of mere Trifles, who by their plenitude of Power condemn a Woman for wearing colour'd Ribons, or for walking out upon a Feftival; all fuch Preachers, I fay, difhonour their Ministry by fo violent an Excefs; they difcourage the Good and Pious by their falfe Pictures of Vices, and authorize the Libertines and Impious by their frightful Reprefentations of Virwhich they draw with an Air of Cruelty

tue,.

and