glory and fulness of His
salvation, that it sounds like exaggeration to the unspiritual hearer,
though the words have been said in all reverent reality, that is not the
preacher's fault. But it _is_ his fault if he has repelled his hearers
from his message by what is not the message, but his own setting of it;
his spirit, manner, his delivery, his neglect of some plain precautions
against prejudice and weariness. Of a few such precautions I come now to
speak; and first, of what I may call the most external amongst them.

NEEDFUL AND NEEDLESS OFFENCES.

Beginning, then, with physical precautions against needless "offences,"
[Greek: skandala], in our preaching I say first, let us do our best to
be _audible_.

AUDIBILITY: MEANS TO IT.

The word sounds almost amusingly commonplace. But it must be said. Many
more of us Clergymen than know it, or think about it, are not audible.
The lack of training for the bodily work of the pulpit, in our Church,
is serious; far more is done in this way among our Nonconformist
brethren.[29] And accordingly there are numbers of young English
Clergymen who read and speak without a thought of methodical audibility.
They do not articulate distinctly. They do not remember that the _pace_
and _force_ of utterance, fit for a private room, are quite unfit for a
large building. They do not know, perhaps, how extremely important is
the articulation of consonants, and of final syllables of words, and of
closing words in a sentence. They do not know that a certain equability
(not monotony) of voice is necessary, if the utterance is to "carry" to
the end of a long church, or a church of many pillars.

[29] Let me cordially commend the Rev. J.P. Sandlands' book, _The Voice
and Public Speaking_. Mr Sandlands has done, and is doing, admirable
work as an oral teacher of clerical elocution, in the intervals of his
parochial labours.

PLEASANT AUDIBILITY.

Or again, they do not know, or do not remember, that audibility is not
secured by mere loudness and bigness of voice, nor again by raising the
voice to a high pitch. "People tell you to speak up," said that
excellent elocutionist, Mr Simeon; "but I say, speak down," down as
regards the musical scale. Again, the larger the building the more
accentuated must be the articulation, and the more limited the variation
of pitch; but too often this is not thought of by the preacher.

Further, it has to be remembered, but it is frequently forgotten, that
th