Extempore Preaching

tten sermon may be put together of set design, by the hard labor of a few hours, an extempore one, to be successful, must be a kind of growth. It must arise with a certain spontaneity, and, as it were, develop itself in the mind. This requires time, and often a long time. The only way, therefore, to have a sufficient supply of material for sermons is to make special provision for it. It is a good plan to have a large blank book, or several of them of uniform size, and the pages numbered. Loose sheets can be used, and have been recommended by Dr. Dale in his Yale lectures, but they are apt to be lost. Our design contemplates the preservation for years of all the notes that may be made. If worth making, they will be worth preserving. There is no greater, or more foolish, waste than that of a speaker who allows his seed-thoughts to become scattered, andwho hunts vaguely around for a text or a subject as he may happen to want one. If prudent, he will preserve them as carefully as the farmer his seed- corn, or the nurseryman his young trees. They may be insignificant now, but will grow presently to something valuable. The blank book should always be at hand to receive any suggestions that may occur to the mind in study or reading. Especially if one has the habit of reading the Bible every morning when the mind is fresh, the sacred pages will sparkle with suggestions of every kind suitable for edification of the people. Views of the divine nature, of Imman need, of the ... --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.