This method of preaching has of late years gone into disuse, partly
because success in it is really difficult to attain, and partly
because, the Bible having ceased to be the chief reading of the
churches, the popular interest in exposition has decreased; but when
rightly followed it has advantages, both to minister and people, beyond
those of any other form of preaching.
ADVANTAGES TO THE PREACHER.--It promotes exegetical study and
acquaintance with the original Scriptures, the neglect of which is
fostered by an exclusively topical method. The process is an
ever-enriching one, constantly widening the range of biblical and
theological knowledge. It ensures against sameness. Instead of growing
stale, the preacher becomes more rich and varied in his range of
thought and illustration with every added year. It gives, moreover,
familiarity with the forms of Scripture thought and expression, and
thus adds simplicity and force in addressing the Christian heart. Above
all, it brings the preacher's soul into constant, living communion with
the spirit of the Bible, and the study becomes in this way a fountain
of religious life ever flowing into his heart, and out of it into the
hearts of the people.
ADVANTAGES TO THE CONGREGATION.--It is obvious that such a method of
preaching would serve to remove many of the popular doubts and
difficulties with the Bible which are at this day so greatly weakening
its hold on the masses. It would enable the preacher to put before the
people the results of modern historic, archæological, and geographical
investigation which have thrown so great light on the Bible and so
greatly confirm its truth. Such treatment of the Scriptures in the
pulpit would also lead to a discriminating use of them, as well as
familiarity with them, among the people It would necessarily develop
the principles of interpretation, and thus educate the people in right
methods of using the Bible, making it of far higher value to them. And,
more than all, it would accustom Christians to rest their faith, not on
the mere dogmas of the pulpit and the creed, but on the very words of
God, and would furnish a basis of religious confidence which can never
be shaken. The modern pulpit, from its neglect of the Bible, is
singularly narrow, exhibiting little of the vast wealth and variety of
Divine truth. It leaves by far the larger part of the Bible a sealed
book. Its types, its poetry, its prophecies, its parables, its
presentations, as in the Epistle to the Romans, of the truths of the
Gospel in their connection as one grand, comprehensive system of
salvation--how little of all this wealth of Scripture is presented in
the pulpit! The result is, and must necessarily be, the absence of
depth and fulness of Christian life in the church and the complaint of
a loss of power in the pulpit.
HINTS ON METHOD.--1. The pastor should select for exposition such parts
of Scripture as are susceptible of intelligent explanation to a
promiscuous congregation. The symbolic visions of Ezekiel and of
Revelation might awaken curiosity, but except under extraordinary
circumstances could hardly be profitable for such an exercise.
2. Divide the selected portion into sections, each sufficient for a
sermon, and as far as possible let each have a single general topic.
This secures unity in the discourse. For example, the first chapter of
the Sermon on the Mount might be divided thus:
I. Vs. 1-12. _The beatitudes:_ Happiness, its source not external, but
internal; not material, but spiritual.
II. Vs. 13-16. _Relation of the disciples to the world:_ Christians
God's medium of saving influence and spiritual knowledge among men.
III. Vs. 17-20. _Relation of Christ to the Old Testament:_ Christ not
the destroyer, but the fulfiller, of the ancient law.
IV. Vs. 21-48. _The law as interpreted by Christ:_ Sin, not in the
overt act only, but also in the secret thought.
1st example (vs. 21-26): The law of murder.
2d example (vs. 27-32): The law of adultery.
3d example (vs. 33-37): The law respecting oaths.
4th example (vs. 38-48): The law of retaliation.
The first three of the above divisions and the four examples under the
fourth would each furnish a fitting passage for a sermon with a single
and well-defined general theme. Much of Scripture is susceptible of
equally distinct division, so that the preacher will rarely fail of
unity in his discourse. 3. Develop the general theme by explaining the
several parts of the passage, so as to unfold the special phase of the
truth which the Holy Spirit there presents. Take, for example, Rom.
v. 1-11. Here, in the progress of the apostle's argument, the general
theme is: _The effects of justification by faith in the believer._
These effects are four: (1.) vs. 1, 2, the perfect adjustment of his
relation to God. (2.) vs. 3-5, the transmuting of earthly trial into
blessing. (3.) vs. 6-10, the absolute certainty of his eternal
salvation. (4.) v. 11, a delight in the Divine character as God is
revealed through Christ in the atonement. The several points made in
the passage itself thus constitute the inspired development and
illustration of the main theme and indicate the direction and method of
the exposition. 4. Having thus developed the theme by an analysis and
exposition of the passage, deduce the inferences as to doctrine and
duty, and make a practical application to the heart and conscience. The
inferential development is often very important, as affording manifold
and vital applications of truth to character, to Christian experience
and life, and to the various forms of error and sin. Nowhere is the
value of expository preaching more manifest than in the wide range and
the special power of its practical application. 5. Avoid in exposition
verbal criticism, parade of learning, allusion to commentators, or
reference to different views of the passage; it impairs the interest
and weakens the moral effect. The critical apparatus should be
carefully used in the study, but it has no place in the pulpit. It is
mere scaffolding, which should disappear when the structure is
finished. In the sermon the work of the study should appear, not in its
processes, but only in its results. The citing of conflicting opinions
on a passage will, as a general fact, only perplex the people. Ground
your interpretation on thorough and conscientious study, and then
present clearly and strongly the results. A doubting manner awakens
doubt; and the pulpit, therefore, while avoiding an offensive
dogmatism, should be positive in its presentations of God's Word. A
good expository sermon costs far more labor than any other, but it is
also of far higher value to preacher and hearer. Without thorough
preparation no one should undertake exposition; for, superficially
done, it is sure to fail. But success in this highest form of preaching
is an achievement worthy of the preacher's highest effort and is of
unspeakable importance. The mightiest pulpit power of Chrysostom and
Augustine, of Luther and Calvin, was in their expository sermons.
Chalmers and Andrew Fuller were powerful in exposition; and this form
of the sermon is still a chief characteristic of the British pulpit, as
illustrated in many of its most illustrious preachers. Dr. William M.
Taylor, of the Broadway Tabernacle, New York, gives one sermon each
Lord's Day to exposition, and makes it a blessing and power.
+FOOTNOTES:+
[1] _Task,_ b. ii.
+SECTION IV.+