Advice to Preachers by Editor

Publishing Committee · Battle Creek, Mich. · Oct 14, 1858

Advice to Preachers.

By Editor

Old John Owen says somewhere: "To preach the Word, and not to follow it with prayer constantly and frequently, is to believe its use, neglect its end and cast away all the seed of the Gospel at random." (1 Cor. i. 21.)

[As a pendant to the above waif, which we find floating among our exchanges, we give the following rules, set down, we believe, by some preacher from his own experience.—Ed. Int.]

Resolve to be brief, as this is an age of telegraphs and stenography.
Be pointed; never preach all around your text without hitting it.
State your proposition plainly, but do not stop long to particularize.
Avoid long introductions; but plunge into your sermon like a swimmer into cold water.
Condense; make sure that you have an idea, and then speak it right out, in the plainest, shortest possible terms.
Avoid all high-flown language; quote no Hebrew or Greek; aim to be simply a preacher.
Expect the Father's blessings; you are his servant, and can do nothing without it.
Stop when you are done.