es the good man, "and Dr South
in the afternoon."[28] That is, he was about to read, openly and
honestly, a sermon of Beveridge's, and then a sermon of South's;
neither, certainly, in lithograph. I do not say he did the best for his
people in so doing; most certainly he could not "speak home" to the
details of their village life, and its temptations, if he spoke only in
the phrase of the two classical pulpit-masters. That _rapport_ of parish
and pulpit of which I have spoken could not have been much felt, at
least on that coming Sunday. But the good Parson was honest, however.
The practice of which I speak is not honest.

[28] "He then shewed us his list of preachers for the whole year, where
I saw with a great deal of pleasure Archbishop Tillotson, Bishop
Sanderson, Dr Barrow, Dr Calamy, with several living authors."
(_Spectator_, No. 106, July 2nd, 1711.) Calamy by the way was a
Presbyterian, made one of the King's chaplains at the Restoration.

WE MUST PREACH ATTRACTIVELY.

Let me come now to a closer view of the preacher's work, and I will be
as practical as possible. I have besought my Brother to let nothing
tempt him to push his preaching into a neglectful corner. Let me now
beseech him to remember that he must not only be a diligent preacher,
but do his very best to commend his preaching to his people,--to be, in
a right sense, _attractive_.

I deliberately say, attractive. That word, of course, suggests some very
undesirable applications. It is only too possible to aim at
attractiveness by bad methods. We may tone down the Gospel-message,
leaving out unpopular and man-humbling truths, and try to "attract"
people so. We may strive to "attract" them to hear us by doubtful
external accessories (of very different kinds), which, after all, will
rather attract attention--for a season--to themselves, than to the
message, and the Lord. But none the less it is every Clergyman's plain
duty to make his preaching, so far as he can, lawfully attractive. It is
his duty to see that he preaches Christ Crucified; and "the offence of
the Cross" [Gal. v. 11.] will always occur, sooner or later, in such
preaching; but it is his duty to see that there is no other "offence" in
it, so far as he can help it. If he so speaks of sin, and righteousness,
and judgment, that the unregenerate heart does not like it, though the
preacher has spoken wisely and in love, that is not the preacher's
fault. If he has so magnified Christ, and the