[64] Richard Baxter confesses that he deliberately preached over the heads of his people once a year, for the purpose of keeping them humble and showing them what their minister could do every Sunday of the year, if he chose!
[65] "A sentence of Pascal would sometimes shoot more light and life through a sermon than all the commentators upon the text since the days of Noah."--PRINCIPAL RAINY.
[66] Rev. Dr. Henderson, of Crieff, told me a story which illustrates in an amusing yet significant way the change which passed over the religious mind of Scotland in the beginning of the present century. His father, the late Rev. Dr. Henderson, of Glasgow, when newly licensed, was preaching, on the Saturday before a communion, for an extremely Moderate minister of the dignified and pompous school. "I do not know, Mr. Henderson," said the latter, "what is the difference between you evangelicals and us; but I suppose it is that you preach doctrines, while we preach duties." "I do not know about that," said Mr. Henderson; "we preach duties too." "Well," said the old man, "for example, my action sermon to-morrow is to be on lying; and my divisions are--first, the nature of lying; secondly, the sin of lying; and thirdly, the consequences of lying: now what could you add to that?" "Well," replied Mr. Henderson, "I would add two things--first, 'Lie not one to another, seeing ye have put off the old man with his deeds,' and secondly, 'Putting away lying, speak every man truth with his neighbour; for we are members one of another.'" "Mr. Henderson, these suggestions are admirable: I shall add them to my discourse!"
I should like to connect what I have to say with a text of Scripture, which you may remember as a motto for this occasion. Take, then, that pastoral exhortation to a young minister in 1 Tim. iv. 16: "Take heed unto thyself, and to the doctrine; continue in them; for in doing this thou shalt both save thyself and them that hear thee."
There are three subjects recommended in this text to one in your position--_first_, yourself; _second_, your doctrine; _third_, those that hear you.
I. _Take heed unto thyself._--Perhaps there is no profession which so thoroughly as ours tests and reveals what is in a man--the stature of his manhood, the mass and quality of his character, the poverty or richness of his mind, the coldness or warmth of his spirituality. These all come out in our work, and become known to our congregation and the community in which we labour.