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haufting yourself and not edifying your hearers; a very ridiculous character! (7)

To open more particularly fome fources of obfervations, remark every thing, that may help you to think, and facilitate invention. You may rife from fpecies to genus, or defcend from genus to fpecies. You may remark the different characters of a virtue commanded, or of a vice prohibited. You may enquire whether the fubject in queftion be relative to any other, or whether it do not fuppofe fomething not expreffed. You may reflect on the person speaking or acting, or on the condition of the perfon fpeaking or acting. You may obferve time, place, perfons addreffed, and fee whether there be any useful confiderations arifing from either. You may confider the principles of a word or action, or the good or bad confequences, that follow. You may attend to the end propofed in a fpeech or action, and fee if there be any thing remarkable in the manner of speaking or acting. You may compare words or actions with

(7) Some declaimers make themselves ridiculous by their obfervations. Thus one, "Judges xiii. 22. Manoab faid unto his wife, We shall die: but his wife faid, If the Lord avere pleafed to kill us, be would not have shewed us all thefe things. Obf. 1. The gray mare is fometimes the beft horse."

"Prov. vi. 9. Go to the ant thou fluggard, confider her ways and be wife. Obf. 1. So rational doth this little creature appear, that, were I not a chriftian, I fhould in fome measure believe tranfmigration. Obf. 2. Had it pleafed

the Almighty to have put in thefe creatures an immortal foul, how righteously might they have gone to heaven, and we have been fhut out. Obf. 3. What a great baby a worldling is, he is God's fool, the devil's packhorfe, and a drudge for hell." Humfrey's chriftian's great concern, Serm. 2.

Multitudes of examples lie at hand; but it would be mifery to transcribe fuch nonsense. It is not every man's part to think nobly; but furely all preachers fhould think juftly.

with others fimilar, and remark the differences of words and actions on different occafions. You may oppose words and actions to contrary words and actions, either by contrafting speakers or hearers. You may examine the foundations and causes of words or actions, in order to develop the truth or falsehood, equity or iniquity of them. You may fometimes make fuppofitions, refute objections, and diftinguish characters of grandeur, majefty, meanness, infirmity, neceffity, utility, evidence, and fo on. You may advert to degrees of more or lefs, and to different interefts. You may distinguish, define, divide, and, in a word, by turning your text on every fide, you may obtain various methods of elucidating it. I will give you examples of all. (8)

(8) Sources of obfervations. Dr. Watts fays, "Topicks, and common-places inform perfons of lower genius, and refresh the memories of others of fuperior parts: but, adds he, a man of moderate genius, who has made himfelf mafter of his theme, has feldom need to run knocking at the doors of all the topicks, that he may furnish himself with argument, or matter of fpeaking: and, indeed, it is only a man of fenfe and judgment, that can use commonplaces and topicks well; for, amongst the variety, he only knows what is fit to be left out, as well as what is fit to be spoken." Logic.

Tafte, fays Mr. Rollin from the ancient orators, ferves in compofition to

I. RISE

It

guide and direct the underftanding. It makes use of the imagination without fubmitting to it, and keeps it always in fubjection. confults nature univerfally, follows it step by step, and is a faithful image of it. Referved and fparing in the midft of abundance and riches, it difpenfes the beauties and graces of discourse with temper and wisdom. It never fuffers itself to be dazzled with the false, how glittering a figure foever it may make. It is equally offended with too much and too little, it knows precisely where to ftop, and cuts off without regret or mercy whatever exceeds the beautiful and perfect." Belles Lettres, vol. i.

I.

RISE FROM SPECIES TO GENUS.

Pfal. 1. 14. Sacrifice to God thanksgiving, and pay thy vows unto the most High. In difcuffing this text, I would observe first the terms, facrifice thanksgiving, and would elucidate them by going from the fpecies to the genus. The dignity of facrifice in general would lead me to obferve-that it is the immediate commerce of a creature with his God, an action, in which it is difficult to judge whether earth afcend to heaven, or heaven defcend to earth-that in almost all the other acts of religion the creature receives of his creator: but in this the creator receives of his creature-that the Lord of the univerfe, who needs nothing, and who eternally lives in a rich abundance, hath fuch a condefcenfion as to be willing to receive offerings at our hands-that, of all dignities, that of the priesthood was the higheft, for which reafon the ancient priefts dwelt in the tabernacle, or temple of God that, when God divided Canaan among the children of Ifrael, each tribe had its portion except that of Levi, to which God affigned nothing. Why? because he loved them lefs? No, but becaufe he gave them the priesthood, and becaufe he, who had the priesthood, the altar, and the cenfer, had God for his portion, and confequently could have no need of temporal things. This is, you fee, to rife from fpecies to genus; for the text does not speak of facrifice in general: but of the facrifice of praife in particular; yet, when

thefe

thefe general confiderations are pertinent, they cannot fail of being well received. (9)

(9) Go from fpecies to genus. That is to fay, If a text mention a general idea, and confine it to fome particular fubject, do not raise your obfervations on the particular fubject, at least do not reftrain them to that: but take the general idea, and make that the ground of your difcourfe. For example.

Acts xxviii. 5, 6. He book off the beaft, and felt no harm. Howbeit they looked, when he fbould have fwollen, or failen down dead fuddenly; but after they had looked a great while, and faw no harm come to him, they changed their minds, and faid that he was a God. This text fpeaks of an unjust cenfure, and a foolish applaufe, which the barbarians of Melita made of St. Paul; but by the above rule a good preacher took the general ideas, and fhewed, "1. The unreasonableness and danger of judging others, particularly fuch perfons as are not at all, or very little known to us, upon account of any calamity, or any other appearance whatsoever. 2. How a wife and good man ought to behave himself, if he fhould happen to fuffer under any fuch judgment." Dr. Adams' Serm. at Windfor before the Queen, 1705.

Pfal. cxxii. 6. Pray for the peace of Jerufalem, they shall

II. DESCEND

profper, that love thee. The preacher does not confine himfelf to the particular idea of Jerusalem; but takes the general notion national peace, and fhews, 1. The duty--pray for it-2. The motives--profperity of feveral kinds attends it. The first leads him to treat of all the calamities of war, and the bleffings of peace and the laft expands into many just and beautiful concomitants of profperity. Ayerft's Serm. before the Plenipotentiaries at Utrecht, 1712.

John vii. 27. We know this

man,

whence he is: but when Chrift cometh, no man knoweth whence he is. The Evangelift here records the pretended doubts of fome of the Jews of Jerufalem, verfe 25, concerning the claim of Jefus of Nazareth of the Meffiahfhip. An excellent preacher takes this text, and treats of infidelity in general. The text fays nothing of difbelieving the being of a God, or the miffion of Mofes: but the preacher goes from the particular ideas of the text to the general fubject, and obferves 1. That a depraved heart offers objections against religion without venturing to believe them-2. That ignorance adopts them without understanding them-3. That the whole fyftem of infidelity is a vain bravado devoid of

every

II.

DESCEND FROM GENUS TO SPECIES:

An example may be taken from Pfal. cxxiii. 3. Behold! as the eyes of fervants look unto the band of their masters, fo our eyes wait upon the Lord our God. (1) Here, you may aptly observe in masters

every degree of confolation. These three obfervations are the parts of the difcourfe. Maillon Serm. Carême. tom. iv.

Ezek. xxxvi. 32. Not for your fakes do I this, faith the Lord God, be it known unto you: be ashamed and confounded for your ways, O house of Ifrael. The prophet fpeaks of the unmerited mercy of God to Ifrael: but Bp. Beveridge very properly goes from the particular application in the text to the general idea, and "Obferves 1. Though God never punishes a nation but when it deferves it at his hands, yet he often bleffes a nation, when it does not deserve it. Obf. 2. A fense of these undeferved fa

vours should work upon men's hearts, and ftir them up the rather to repentance." Thankfgiv. Serm. at St. Paul's bef. Queen Ann for Vict. at Audenard, 1708.

Quintilian calls commonplaces fedes argumentorum, in quibus latent, et ex quibus funt petenda. Examples from Cicero. Genus. Virtu

in

tes imperatoris in genere. Pro lege Manil. Laudat ftudia humanitatis. Pro Arch. De gravitate parricidii. Pro Rofc. De Græcis teftibus. Pro Flac. De ftoicis. Pro Mur. Vid. Quint. Inft. Lib. v. cap. 10. Edit. Roll.

(1) The eyes of fervants un to the hand of their mafters. The eyes of fervants look, or are directed to the hand of their masters; fo muft the ellipfis be fupplied. The phrafe is faid to fignify four ideas. Servants expect from their mafters orders, or inftructions, as well as favours, protection, and correction, ad manum, id eft, ad gestus, nutus, et fignificationes, ut eis promptiffime miniftrent. Hinc Plaut. in Aulul. Edico tibi ut hujus oculos in oculis habeas tuis. Et Ter. Adelph. A&. ii. f. 1. Caveto nunc jam oculos a meis oculis unquam dimoveas tuos.

Our eyes wait until the Lord have mercy on us. This is the language of a fervant under juft correction for his faults, and penitently waiting for forgivenefs. See Ifai.

ix.

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