t us adore and give Him His right,
All glory and power, all wisdom and might,
All honour and blessing with angels above,
And thanks never ceasing, and infinite love._"

C. WESLEY.

CHAPTER XII.

_PREACHING_ (iii.).

_Eternal Fulness, overflow to me
Till I, Thy vessel, overflow for Thee;
For sure the streams that make Thy garden grow
Are never fed but by an overflow:
Not till Thy prophets with Thyself run o'er
Are Israel's watercourses full once more._

Again I treat of the sermon. We have looked, my younger Brother and I,
at some main secrets and prescriptions for attractive preaching. What
shall I more say on the subject of the pulpit? In the first place I will
offer a few miscellaneous suggestions, and then come in closing to the
deepest theme of the whole matter--Spiritual Power in Preaching.

NOTES FOR A SERMON-LECTURE.

I address myself to write, soon after delivering to my students, in the
library adjoining my study, a lecture on Preaching. Let me call it
rather, a talk on Sermons, which is a term less grandiose and much more
true; for in fact the discourse has been a most informal series of
remarks and suggestions on topics suggested by a collection of sermons
written for me, and which I now came to give back, annotated, to their
writers. It occurs to me to offer my kind reader a written version of
some of these remarks just made _viva voce_ to my friends. They happen
to touch on a variety of points which are not unimportant in themselves
and also typical of very many more.

For the purposes of the lecture, they have been divided between matters
of form and matters of substance; and I report them, or rather some of
them, in that order.

I. _Remarks on Diction, Style, etc._

(_a_) Take care to "pull the sentences together," to avoid loose and
redundant phrases and words. Why write "_grief and sorrow_," "_fatigued
and tired out_," "_attacks and assaults_"? A subtle intellect may see
distinctions here, but it is too much for me, and, I am sure, for most
plain people in church.

(_b_) Respect the Queen's English. "_The one_ who lives a Christian
life" is scarcely English; say "the man," not "the one." "_Like_ Adam
and Eve walked in Paradise"! This is a serious, though common, piece of
bad grammar. Say, "_Like Adam_, when he walked," but "_As_ Adam
_walked_."

(_c_) Remember that the genius of English eschews a large use of
_connecting words_, particularly in spoken dis