ts, at least _in posse_?

"PREACH IT EARNESTLY."

ii. "Preach the Gospel _earnestly_." This does not mean necessarily
with vehemence, or even with fervour, of manner. Some men's delivery is
fervent, or even vehement, in the most natural way possible; and let
such men preach so, if they will do it thoughtfully and to the purpose.
But the slightest artificial cultivation of such qualities, or of the
semblance of them, is a great practical mistake. And earnestness is at
once a wider and a simpler matter all the while. The man who preaches
earnestly is the man who is altogether in earnest, and speaks out his
conviction and his purpose.

*PREACH IT AS A WITNESS.

He is the man who has the Lord's message deep in his own soul, and is
conscious of its vast importance for the souls of others. He is the man
who does not merely discuss, or explain, or even expound, however
soundly and luminously, but whose words--well chosen, well weighed, well
ordered--are _also_ the living words of one who "testifieth that he hath
seen." [Joh. iii. 11.] Yes, the essence of the right sort of earnestness
is the witness-character of the preacher. What is a witness? One who has
personal knowledge of the matter of his words [2 Tim. i. 12.]--"_I know
whom I have believed._" Is there not a great need at this time, in our
dear Church, of more such witness-preaching? I do not mean preaching
that advertises the preacher as a remarkable Christian, certainly not
preaching that puts for one moment our "testimony" on a level with the
infallible Word once written. But I do mean the preaching which, by one
of the surest laws of our nature, attracts attention to that Word in a
living way by the preacher's manifest confession that its message is a
mighty reality and certainty to himself.

Some years ago I heard an account of the peculiarly impressive preaching
of a young Mission-clergyman. It was described to me as remarkable not
for energy of manner, or warmth of diction, but for the impression left
on all hearers that the truths handled by the man were for himself
absolute and present facts. He stated them with a directness and
quietness which was emphatically matter-_of-fact_. This sort of
preaching is earnest indeed.

"PREACH IT INTERESTINGLY."

iii. "Preach the Gospel _interestingly_." How shall we secure this? Some
recipes for interest are familiar. There is the method of illustration;
there is the method of anecdote: both excellent, and almost
ind