So great and constant is the demand for the HOMILIST, that, notwithstanding the immense sale the work has met with from the beginning, the FIRST and SECOND volumes of the present series are sold out, whilst the stock of the THIRD, FOURTH, and FIFTH volumes is running very low. Either of the last eight volumes— complete in themselves will be sent POST FREE DIRECT to any address in England for 6s. 6d. per volume. Address-A. Thomas, 123, Loughboro' Park, Brixton, London. American Subscribers can be supplied by SMITH & ENGLISH, Philadelphia. IMPORTANT TO PREACHERS. In answer to the urgent and repeated requests of numerous Preachers of all Churches, in all parts of the world, the Editor has consented to issue a New Edition of the 1st and 2nd Series of the "HOMILIST," which now include ELEVEN volumes. About 50,000 of these volumes have been sold; they have been out of print for some years, and can only now and then be obtained of second-hand booksellers, and that at a very high charge. It is proposed to publish the whole in a form similar to the EDITOR'S SERIES, only on better paper, in EIGHT volumes, substituting new matter for certain portions which will have to be excluded in consequence of their having been published in another form, such as "The Genius of the Gospel," "Progress of Being," etc. The cost will be £2 2s. for the set, or 5s. 6d. per volume, to Subscribers. Post free, 6d. extra, each volume. Half the money to be paid in advance, and the other half at the commencement of the second year. To Non-subscribers the price will be 7s. 6d. per volume. One volume to be issued every quarter, and the whole to be completed in two years. The Publishers require 1000 Subscribers before they venture on the great responsibility of the undertaking. It is therefore hoped that those who desire this re-issue will send their names in the first instance to the Editor. It is proposed to present the set of EIGHT volumes GRATUITOUSLY to any who will procure SEVEN Subscribers. The volumes will be supplemented by a copious Index, systematically classified, containing not only all the leading subjects of the various discourses, but the subordinate divisions. Such an Index has long been felt to be an urgent necessity. PREFACE. THIS Volume, the THIRTY-FIFTH of the entire Work, is the tenth of the New Series-THE EDITOR'S SERIES. Although considerably upwards of ONE HUNDRED THOUSAND VOLUMES have been sold, it will be gratifying for our friends to know that the demand is as great as ever. As the old key-note will still rule the melodies of the HOMILIST, and no new specific description is requisite, the former Preface may be again transcribed. First: This book has no finish. The Editor had not only not the time to give an artistic finish to his productions, but not even the design. Their incompleteness is intentional. He has drawn some marble slabs together, and hewn them roughly; but has left other hands to delineate minute features, and so polish them into beauty. He has dug up from the Biblical mine some precious ore, smelted a little, but left all the smithing to others. He has presented germs" which, if sown in good soil, under free air and an open sky, will produce fruit that may draw many famishing spirits into the vineyard of the Church. Secondly: The book has no denominationalism. It has no special reference to "our body" or to our Church." As denominational strength is not necessarily soul strength, nor denominational religion necessarily the religion of humanity, it is the aim of the HOMILIST to minister that which universal man requires. It is for man as a citizen of the universe, and not for him as a limb of the sect. Thirdly: The book has no polemical Theology. The Editor-holding, as he does, with a tenacious grasp, the cardinal doctrines which constitute what is called the "orthodox creed"-has, nevertheless, the deep and ever-deepening conviction, first, that such creed is but a very small portion of the truth that God has revealed, or that man requires; and that no theological system can fully represent all the contents and suggestions of the great Book of God: and, secondly, that systematic theology is but means to an end. Spiritual morality is that end. Consequently, to the heart and life every Biblical thought and idea should be directed. Your systems of divinity the author will not disparage; but his impression is, that they can no more answer the purpose of the Gospel, than pneumatics can answer the purpose of the atmosphere. In the case of Christianity, as well as the air, the world can live without its scientific truths; but it must have the free flowings of their vital elements. Coleridge has well said, "Too soon did the doctors of the Church forget that the heart-the moral nature-was the beginning and the end, and that truth, knowledge, and insight, were comprehended in its expansion." The Editor would record his grateful acknowledgments to those free spirits of all Churches, who have so earnestly rallied round him; to the many who have encouraged him by their letters, and to those especially, who have aided him by their valuable contributions. May the "last day" prove that the help rendered has been worthily bestowed; and that the HOMILIST did something towards the spiritual education of humanity, in its endeavour to bring the Bible, through the instrumentality of the pulpit, into a more immediate and practical contact with the everyday life of man! Holly Bush, Loughborough Park, DAVID THOMAS. A Synopsis of the previous volumes of the Editor's Series of the "HOMILIST." THE FIRST AND SECOND VOLUMES ARE OUT OF PRINT, BUT AS EACH VOLUME IS COMPLETE IN ITSELF, THE REPUBLICATION OF NO VOLUME IS NECESSARY TO THE CONSUMMATION OF THE work. The THIRD VOLUME contains EIGHTY-FOUR Sermons more or less elaborate. Besides these Sermons there are various Articles on other General Subjects :(1) VARIATIONS ON THEMES FROM SCRIPTURE, by Rev. Francis Jacox, B.A.-(3) THE PREACHER'S DISSECTING ROOM, by Episcopus : in which are examined the Tragic Preacher, the Comic Preacher, the Rhapsodic Preacher, the Technical Preacher, and the Grand Preacher.-(3) BIBLICAL CRITICISMS: containing Articles from the pen of Dr. Clarke, F.R.A.S., and Dr. Ginsburg.-(4) TALMUDIC STUDY WITH ST. PAUL, by John Gill.-(5) PULPIT AND ITS HANDMAIDS: containing selections from Romaine, Selden, Henry Smith, John Howe, Dr. Goulbourn, Ruskin, Disraeli, &c. — (6) LITE RARY NOTICES: which contain Reviews of a large number of important Theological, Homiletical, and other Works. The FOURTH VOLUME contains NINETY-ONE Sermons, more or less elaborate. Besides these Sermons there are various Articles on other General Subjects: (1) VARIATIONS ON THEMES FROM SCRIPTURE, by Rev. Francis Jacox, B.A.—(2) THE PREACHER'S DISSECTING ROOм, by Episcopus: in which are examined the Grand Preacher, the Philosophic Preacher, the Mystical Preacher, and the Intuitional Preacher.-(3) BIBLICAL CRITICISMS: containing Articles from the pen of Dr. Clarke, F.R.A.S., Dr. Ginsburg, and Dr. Lange.-(4) TALMUDIC STUDY WITH ST. PAUL, by John Gill.-(5) PULPIT AND ITS HANDMAIDS: containing selections from W. R. Perceval, F. W. Farrar, M.A., Dr. Bushnell, Dr. Forbes Winslow, Dr. J. Hamilton, &c.-(6) LITERARY NOTICES: Which contain Reviews of a large number of important Theological, Homiletical, and other Works. The FIFTH VOLUME contains EIGHTY-EIGHT Sermons, more or less elaborate. Besides these Sermons there are various Articles on other General Subjects, such as:- (1) THE PREACHER'S DISSECTING ROOM, by Episcopus: in which are examined the Intuitional Preacher, the Miscellaneous Preacher, Dr. Creedman, Suavity Sentiment, M.A., Rev. W. Heartworn, B.A., and Dr. Winslower.-(2) BIBLICAL CRITICISMS: including Articles on Sacred Symbolism, by E. P. Barrows, B.D.; the Brethren of Jesus, by A. C. Swainson, M.A.; the Purification of the Temple, by Ebrard; and the Twelve Apostles, by J. Robertson, D.D.-(3) Pulpit and ITS HANDMAIDS: contain ing a variety of Original Similitudes.-(4) LITERARY NOTICES: Containing a large number of Reviews of modern important Works. The SIXTH VOLUME contains ONE HUNDRED and EIGHTEEN Sermons, more or less elaborate. Besides these Sermons there are various Articles on other General Subjects: (1) THE PREACHER'S DISSECTING ROOM, by Episcopus: containing a short sketch of the late Dr. Norman Macleod: and in which are examined Revs. Dr. Winslower, Dr. Goody, and William Runabout, M.A.-(2) BIBLICAL CRITICISM: With Articles from the pen of Dr. James Morrison, and Rev. A. Barfield.-(3) PULPIT AND ITS HANDMAIDS, with a variety of Original Similitudes.—(4) LITERARY NOTICES: containing Reviews of important new Works. The SEVENTH VOLUME Contains ONE HUNDRED and FOURTEEN Sermons, more or less elaborate. Besides these Sermons there are various Articles on various Subjects such as: CHIEF FOUNDERS OF CHIEF FAITHS, etc. Also Articles from the pens of Horace Bushnell, D.D., J. Van Oosterzee, D.D., Schleiermacher, and other distinguished writers. The EIGHTH VOLUME contains ONE HUNDRED and TEN Sermons. Also Articles on THEOLOGY OF SHAKSPEARE, CHIEF FOUNDERS OF CHIEF FAITHS, BIBLICAL CRITICISM, etc. The NINTH VOLUME Contains over a HUNDRED Sermons. Also Articles on THEOLOGY OF SHAKSPEARE, a large number of ORIGINAL SIMILITUDES, and a new department entitled PREACHERS' CONFIDENTIAL COUNCIL ROOM. CONTENTS. All the Articles in this volume are written by the Editor, with the exception of those which have a signature attached. HOMILIES. Theology of Shakspeare, II. His ideas of Man. PAGE . 1, 65, 193 129 257 321 HOMILETIC SKETCHES ON THE BOOK OF PSALMS. Moral Moods in the Experience of a Religious but Imperfect Man. 11 71 HOMILETIC SKETCHES ON THE BOOK OF JOB. Job's Second Reply to Eliphaz (continued) The Second Discourse of Bildad Job's Reply to his Friends Zophar's Second Speech. Job's Third Answer. 17 138 SERMONIC GLANCES AT THE GOSPEL OF ST. JOHN. BIBLICAL CRITICISM. The Tree of Life (continued) (Canon Plumptre) PAGE 91 A Discourse on the First Eleven Chapters of Genesis (J. Pratt, M.A.) 159 Immortality and the Old Testament (S. L. Mocatta) 285 GERMS OF THOUGHT. Recounting the Past (J. Parker, D.D.) Christ's Moral Elevation. How to treat Persecutors (E. Solomon) Sermonic Notes on the Visions of Ezekiel (Urijah R. Thomas) :— XVI. The Vision of a True Revival XVII. The Blended Rods. Trouble on the Highway (T. Kelly) . The Latest Arrival (Anon) THE PREACHER'S FINGER POST. |