A26804:348
Sermons preached on several occasionsSermons preach'd on several occasions
Sermons preached on several occasions by William Bates.Sermons preach'd on several occasions by William Bates.
London: printed by J.D. for Jonathan Robinson, 1693
Modern spelling is a reading aid: the words are the author’s, only the spelling is modernized. Original shows the page as printed, with the transcription marks.
An understanding Minister instructs his People in their Duty and Happiness: he will not offer them Stone for Bread; intricate controversial Matters that astonish and ⟨p. 356⟩cannot edify, but plain Evangelical Truths, the proper Food for the Soul.
The Manner and Language in Preaching must be answerable to the Majesty of Divine Truths. There is nothing more odious than a sacred Subject triflingly handled. The Affectation of Wit and flaunting Eloquence frustrates the End of Preaching, that is, to convince Sinners of their Guilt and Misery, and by the Conviction of Conscience to make them fly to the Sanctuary, our blessed Saviour, for Protection: partly because those things that flatter the Fancy, are not proper to affect the Conscience: light trimmings of Language, gaudy Expressions, glittering Points of Wit please the Imagination; but Conscience is excited and inflamed by representing eternal Things with powerful Plainness, and in a solemn manner: and partly because ⟨p. 357⟩the Human Spirit being limited, while one Faculty is attentive, another suspends its Activity and Operations; so that the Exercise of the Fancy hinders the Mind from serious reflecting on Divine Truths, and applying them to the Soul. Vain Ornaments in a Sermon are like a painted Complexion; the more 'tis advanced to the Eye, the more 'tis abased to the Judgment.
The Manner and Language in Preaching must be answerable to the Majesty of Divine Truths. There is nothing more odious than a sacred Subject triflingly handled. The Affectation of Wit and flanting Eloquence frustrates the End of Preaching, that is, to convince Sinners of their Guilt and Misery, and by the Conviction of Conscience to make them fly to the Sanctuary, our blessed Saviour, for Protection: partly because those things that flatter the Fancy, are not proper to affect the Conscience: light trimmings of Language, gaudy Expressions, glittering Points of Wit please the Imagination; but Conscience is excited and inflam'd by representing eternal Things with powerful Plainness, and in a solemn manner: and partly because