“And there sat in the window a certain young man named Eutychus,
being fallen into a deep sleep; and while Paul was long preaching, he
sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was
taken up dead.”—_Acts_ xx. 9.
I HAVE chosen these words with design, if possible, to disturb some part
in this audience of half an hour’s sleep, for the convenience and
exercise whereof this place, at this season of the day, is very much
celebrated.
There is indeed one mortal disadvantage to which all preaching is
subject, that those who, by the wickedness of their lives, stand in
greatest need, have usually the smallest share; for either they are
absent upon the account of idleness, or spleen, or hatred to religion, or
in order to doze away the intemperance of the week; or, if they do come,
they are sure to employ their minds rather any other way than regarding
or attending to the business of the place.
The accident which happened to this young man in the text hath not been
sufficient to discourage his successors; but because the preachers now in
the world, however they may exceed St. Paul in the art of setting men to
sleep, do extremely fall short of him in the working of miracles,
therefore men are become so cautious as, to choose more safe and
convenient stations and postures for taking their repose without hazard
of their persons, and upon the whole matter choose rather to trust their
destruction to a miracle than their safety. However, this being not the
only way by which the lukewarm Christians and scorners of the age
discover their neglect and contempt of preaching, I shall enter expressly
into consideration of this matter, and order my discourse in the
following method:—
_First_, I shall produce several instances to show the great neglect of
preaching now among us.
_Secondly_, I shall reckon up some of the usual quarrels men have
against preaching.
_Thirdly_, I shall get forth the great evil of this neglect and
contempt of preaching, and discover the real causes whence it
proceedeth.
_Lastly_, I shall offer some remedies against this great and spreading
evil.
_First_, I shall produce certain instances to show the great neglect of
preaching now among us.
These may be reduced under two heads. First, men’s absence from the
service of the church; and secondly, their misbehaviour when they are
here.
The first instance of men’s neglect is in their frequent absence from the
church.
There is no excuse so trivial that will not pass upon some men’s
consciences to excuse their attendance at the public worship of God.
Some are so unfortunate as to be always indisposed on the Lord’s day, and
think nothing so unwholesome as the air of a church. Others have their
affairs so oddly contrived as to be always unluckily prevented by
business. With some it is a great mark of wit and deep understanding to
stay at home on Sundays. Others again discover strange fits of laziness,
that seize them particularly on that day, and confine them to their beds.
Others are absent out of mere contempt of religion. And lastly, there
are not a few who look upon it as a day of rest, and therefore claim the
privilege of their cattle, to keep the Sabbath by eating, drinking, and
sleeping, after the toil and labour of the week. Now in all this, the
worst circumstance is that these persons are such whose company is most
required, and who stand most in need of a physician.
Secondly, Men’s great neglect and contempt of preaching appear by their
misbehaviour when at church.
If the audience were to be ranked under several heads, according to their
behaviour when the Word of God is delivered, how small a number would
appear of those who receive it as they ought! How much of the seed then
sown would be found to fall by the wayside, upon stony ground, or among
thorns! and how little good ground would there be to take it! A preacher
cannot look round from the pulpit without observing that some are in a
perpetual whisper, and by their air and gesture give occasion to suspect
that they are in those very minutes defaming their neighbour. Others
have their eyes and imagination constantly engaged in such a circle of
objects, perhaps to gratify the most unwarrantable desires, that they
never once attend to the business of the place; the sound of the
preacher’s words do not so much as once interrupt them. Some have their
minds wandering among idle, worldly, or vicious thoughts; some lie at
catch to ridicule whatever they hear, and with much wit and humour,
provide a stock of laughter by furnishing themselves from the pulpit.
But of all misbehaviour, none is comparable to that of those who come
here to sleep. Opium is not so stupefying to many persons as an
afternoon sermon. Perpetual custom hath so brought it about that the
words of whatever preacher become only a sort of uniform sound at a
distance, than which nothing is more effectual to lull the senses. For
that it is the very sound of the sermon which bindeth up their faculties
is manifest from hence, because they all awake so very regularly as soon
as it ceaseth, and with much devotion receive the blessing, dozed and
besotted with indecencies I am ashamed to repeat.
* * * * *
I proceed, _secondly_, to reckon up some of the usual quarrels men have
against preaching, and to show the unreasonableness of them.
Such unwarrantable behaviour as I have described among Christians in the
house of God in a solemn assembly, while their faith and duty are
explained and delivered, have put those who are guilty upon inventing
some excuses to extenuate their fault; this they do by turning the blame
either upon the particular preacher or upon preaching in general. First,
they object against the particular preacher: his manner, his delivery,
his voice, are disagreeable; his style and expression are flat and slow,
sometimes improper and absurd; the matter is heavy, trivial, and insipid,
sometimes despicable and perfectly ridiculous; or else, on the other
side, he runs up into unintelligible speculation, empty notions, and
abstracted flights, all clad in words above usual understandings.
Secondly, They object against preaching in general. It is a perfect road
of talk; they know already whatever can be said; they have heard the same
a hundred times over. They quarrel that preachers do not relieve an old
beaten subject with wit and invention, and that now the art is lost of
moving men’s passions, so common among the ancient orators of Greece and
Rome. These and the like objections are frequently in the mouths of men
who despise the foolishness of preaching. But let us examine the
reasonableness of them.
The doctrine delivered by all preachers is the same: “So we preach, and
so ye believe.” But the manner of delivering is suited to the skill and
abilities of each, which differ in preachers just as in the rest of
mankind. However, in personal dislikes of a particular preacher, are
these men sure they are always in the right? Do they consider how mixed
a thing is every audience, whose taste and judgment differ, perhaps,
every day, not only from each other, but themselves? And how to
calculate a discourse that shall exactly suit them all, is beyond the
force and reach of human reason, knowledge, or invention. Wit and
eloquence are shining qualities that God hath imparted in great degrees
to very few, nor any more to be expected in the generality of any rank
among men than riches and honour. But further, if preaching in general
be all old and beaten, and that they are already so well acquainted with
it, more shame and guilt to them who so little edify by it! But these
men, whose ears are so delicate as not to endure a plain discourse of
religion, who expect a constant supply of wit and eloquence on a subject
handled so many thousand times, what will they say when we turn the
objection upon themselves, who, with all the rude and profane liberty of
discourse they take upon so many thousand subjects, are so dull as to
furnish nothing but tedious repetitions, and little paltry, nauseous
commonplaces, so vulgar, so worn, or so obvious, as, upon any other
occasion but that of advancing vice, would be hooted off the stage? Nor,
lastly, are preachers justly blamed for neglecting human oratory to move
the passions, which is not the business of a Christian orator, whose
office it is only to work upon faith and reason. All other eloquence
hath been a perfect cheat, to stir up men’s passions against truth and
justice for the service of a faction, to put false colours upon things,
and, by an amusement of agreeable words, make the worst reason appear to
be the better. This is certainly not to be allowed in Christian
eloquence, and therefore St. Paul took quite the other course. He “came
not with the excellency of words, or enticing speech of men’s wisdom, but
in plain evidence of the Spirit and power.” And perhaps it was for that
reason the young man Eutychus, used to the Grecian eloquence, grew tired
and fell so fast asleep.
* * * * *
I go on, thirdly, to set forth the great evil of this neglect and scorn
of preaching, and to discover the real causes whence it proceedeth.
I think it is obvious that this neglect of preaching hath very much
occasioned the great decay of religion among us. To this may be imputed
no small part of that contempt some men bestow on the clergy, for whoever
talketh without being regarded is sure to be despised. To this we owe in
a great measure the spreading of atheism and infidelity among us, for
religion, like all other things, is soonest put out of countenance by
being ridiculed. The scorn of preaching might perhaps have been at first
introduced by men of nice ears and refined taste, but it is now become a
spreading evil through all degrees and both sexes; for, since sleeping,
talking, and laughing are qualities sufficient to furnish out a critic,
the meanest and most ignorant have set up a title, and succeeded in it as
well as their betters. Thus are the last efforts of reforming mankind
rendered wholly useless. “How shall they hear,” saith the Apostle,
“without a preacher?” But if they have a preacher, and make it a point
of wit or breeding not to hear him, what remedy is left? To this neglect
of preaching we may also entirely impute that gross ignorance among us in
the very principles of religion, which it is amazing to find in persons
who very much value their own knowledge and understanding in other
things; yet it is a visible, inexcusable ignorance, even in the meanest
among us, considering the many advantages they have of learning their
duty. And it hath been the great encouragement to all manner of vice;
for in vain we preach down sin to a people “whose hearts are waxed gross,
whose ears are dull of hearing and whose eyes are closed.” Therefore
Christ Himself in His discourses frequently rouseth up the attention of
the multitude, and of His disciples themselves, with this expression, “He
that hath ears to hear let him hear.” But among all neglects of
preaching, none is so fatal as that of sleeping in the house of God. A
scorner may listen to truth and reason, and in time grow serious; an
unbeliever may feel the pangs of a guilty conscience; one whose thoughts
or eyes wander among other objects may, by a lucky word, be called back
to attention; but the sleeper shuts up all avenues to his soul; he is
“like the deaf adder, that hearkeneth not to the voice of the charmer,
charm he never so wisely;” and we may preach with as good success to the
grave that is under his feet.
But the great evil of this neglect will further yet appear from
considering the real causes whence it proceedeth, whereof the first I
take to be an evil conscience. Many men come to church to save or gain a
reputation, or because they will not be singular, but comply with an
established custom, yet all the while they are loaded with the guilt of
old rooted sins. These men can expect to hear of nothing but terrors and
threatenings, their sins laid open in true colours, and eternal misery
the reward of them; therefore, no wonder they stop their care and divert
their thoughts, and seek any amusement rather than stir the hell within
them.
Another cause of this neglect is a heart set upon worldly things. Men
whose minds are much enslaved to earthly affairs all the week cannot
disengage or break the chain of their thoughts so suddenly as to apply to
a discourse that is wholly foreign to what they have most at heart. Tell
a usurer of charity, and mercy, and restitution—you talk to the deaf; his
heart and soul, with all his senses, are got among his bags, or he is
gravely asleep and dreaming of a mortgage. Tell a man of business, that
the cares of the world choke the good seed; that we must not encumber
ourselves with much serving; that the salvation of his soul is the one
thing necessary; you see, indeed, the shape of a man before you, but his
faculties are all gone off among clients and papers, thinking how to
defend a bad cause or find flaws in a good one; or he weareth out the
time in drowsy nods.
A third cause of the great neglect and scorn of preaching ariseth from
the practice of men who set up to decry and disparage religion; these,
being zealous to promote infidelity and vice, learn a rote of buffoonery
that serveth all occasions, and refutes the strongest arguments for piety
and good manners. These have a set of ridicule calculated for all
sermons and all preachers, and can be extremely witty as often as they
please upon the same fund.
Let me now, in the last place, offer some remedies against this great
evil.
It will be one remedy against the contempt of preaching rightly to
consider the end for which it was designed. There are many who place
abundance of merit in going to church, although it be with no other
prospect but that of being well entertained, wherein if they happen to
fail, they return wholly disappointed. Hence it is become an impertinent
vein among people of all sorts to hunt after what they call a good
sermon, as if it were a matter of pastime and diversion. Our business,
alas! is quite another thing; either to learn, or at least be reminded
of, our duty; to apply the doctrines delivered, compare the rules we hear
with our lives and actions, and find wherein we have transgressed. These
are the dispositions men should bring into the house of God, and then
they will be little concerned about the preacher’s wit or eloquence, nor
be curious to inquire out his faults and infirmities, but consider how to
correct their own.
Another remedy against the contempt of preaching is that men would
consider whether it be not reasonable to give more allowance for the
different abilities of preachers than they usually do. Refinements of
style and flights of wit, as they are not properly the business of any
preacher, so they cannot possibly be the talents of all. In most other
discourses, men are satisfied with sober sense and plain reason; and, as
understandings usually go, even that is not over-frequent. Then why they
should be so over-nice in expectation of eloquence, where it is neither
necessary nor convenient, is hard to imagine.
Lastly, The scorners of preaching would do well to consider that this
talent of ridicule they value so much is a perfection very easily
acquired, and applied to all things whatsoever; neither is anything at
all the worse because it is capable of being perverted to burlesque;
perhaps it may be the more perfect upon that score, since we know the
most celebrated pieces have been thus treated with greatest success. It
is in any man’s power to suppose a fool’s-cap on the wisest head, and
then laugh at his own supposition. I think there are not many things
cheaper than supposing and laughing; and if the uniting these two talents
can bring a thing into contempt, it is hard to know where it may end.
To conclude: These considerations may perhaps have some effect while men
are awake; but what arguments shall we use to the sleeper? What methods
shall we take to hold open his eyes? Will he be moved by considerations
of common civility? We know it is reckoned a point of very bad manners
to sleep in private company, when, perhaps, the tedious impertinence of
many talkers would render it at least as excusable as the dullest sermon.
Do they think it a small thing to watch four hours at a play, where all
virtue and religion are openly reviled; and can they not watch one half
hour to hear them defended? Is this to deal like a judge (I mean like a
good judge), to listen on one side of the cause and sleep on the other?
I shall add but one word more. That this indecent sloth is very much
owing to that luxury and excess men usually practise upon this day, by
which half the service thereof is turned to sin; men dividing their time
between God and their bellies, when, after a gluttonous meal, their
senses dozed and stupefied, they retire to God’s house to sleep out the
afternoon. Surely, brethren, these things ought not so to be.
“He that hath ears to hear let him hear.” And God give us all, grace to
hear and receive His Holy Word to the salvation of our own souls.