subjecting himself to hardship, suffering, and contempt. "Being in the form of God, he thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men; and being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross. "Greater love," says our Saviour, “hath no man than this, that a man lay down his life for his friends." "Scarcely," says the Apostle," for a righteous man will one die; yet, peradventure for a good (or benevolent) man, some would even dare to die; but God commendeth his love towards us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. O unsearchable riches of the love of Christ! The more we try to estimate its value, the more it appears to pass man's wisdom. It is indeed our duty and our privilege to study to comprehend with all saints what is "the breadth and length, and depth and height, and to know the love of Christ; " but we shall find, after all, that "it passeth knowledge." May our contemplations of it` be more and more profitable to our souls, and be rendered subservient to the increase of our love to him, who thus loved us even unto death!

The unsearchable riches of Christ may be considered also with reference to the efficacy of his atonement, and the invaluable blessings which he hath purchased, and now confers upon his people. He became a propitiation for the sins, not of a few, but of a multitude whom no man can number; not for a separate people, but for every nation under heaven; not for a limited period, but for every age, past, present, and to come. He is the

propitiation for the sins of the whole world. His blood cleanseth from all sin; and “whosoever cometh unto him he will in no wise cast out." What he purchased by his death, he is now ever living to bestow upon the contrite supplicant. He is exalted at the right hand of God, to bea Prince and a Saviour, to give repentance unto Israel, and the forgiveness of sins." He "ascended up on high and received gifts for men, yea, even for the rebellious, that the Lord God might dwell among us." And what are those gifts? Are they not unsearchable ? Who can tell, for instance, the value of pardon? Surely no one, till he first compute the value of a soul, and the duration of eternity. Or who can estimate aright the blessedness of heaven? 66 Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor hath it entered into the heart of man to conceive, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him."

Such are the unsearchable riches of Christ, which St. Paul in common with his Apostolic brethren, thought it so great a favour to be allowed to promulgate. And such assuredly are the doctrines which every enlightened minister will study to adopt for himself, and rejoice to preach unto others. For, as it has been well expressed by an enlightened and distinguished prelate, If the Christian minister boasts of deriving his commission to preach the Gospel by an uninterrupted succession from the hands of the Apostles, consistency requires that he should apply to the same Apostles for the doctrine which he is to deliver. '1

1 Bishop Sumner's Apostolic Preaching.

But supposing that a correct and comprehensive view of the doctrines of Christianity has been attained, and that their momentous importance is justly felt and appreciated, the Christian minister may still feel considerable perplexity as to the best mode of communicating them from the pulpit. The young and inexperienced minister, who is anxious to approve himself unto God as "a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth," cannot fail to feel his want of much instruction on this point, and will turn with the deepest interest to every source of information within his reach. It is impossible indeed to contemplate calmly the situation of a young man, who is first called to appear in this most important, most responsible post, and who ascends the pulpit with little advantage from previous instruction, and with none from previous exercise. "It is impossible indeed to see him, preparing to teach others, and to see hundreds hanging on his lips, for that word which is to feed their souls; without mourning over the circumstances under which this part of the ministry is generally commenced. He may have knowledge, he may have zeal, he may have affection, he may have qualities which hereafter may render him eminently useful, but his first efforts in preaching are generally nothing better than experiments which only lead to conviction of error. He naturally begins by imitating the manner of some one whom he has been accustomed to admire, or by attempting some mode which he has been imagining to himself; but his first efforts are attempts in an art which he has never studied, and where he has no adviser to direct him. Even the theory of the

system is unknown, and it is probable that years must elapse, before experience and reflection will lead him to discover that mode of preaching which is suited to his powers, and best calculated to edify his hearers.” 1

Hence the importance of furnishing the youthful minister with specific instruction on the subject of preaching. It is to be regretted however that whilst there is no lack of valuable treatises on the pastoral duties generally, the want of a separate, complete and satisfactory work on this particular department of them has long been felt. How far the following attempt of Dr. Porter, in his character of Professor of Sacred Rhetoric, may be justly regarded as supplying this want, the Editor will not presume to determine. He feels assured however that it will be found, to say the least, to contain much valuable instruction, and to suggest many useful hints. The object which the Author had in view, and the reasons which induced him to compose the work are thus briefly explained by himself. In entering on my labours as Bartlet Professor of Sacred Rhetoric in this Seminary, I found the office to be in some respects a new one in the business of theological instruction. After an examination of the many books which have been written on Sacred Rhetoric, it became manifest, that I must be called to traverse a field, to a considerable extent untrodden by any of my predecessors. One of the first dithculties which met me as an Instructor of our Senior Class, was the want of any single work that I was satisfied to put into their hands, as a text-book on Homiletics. The

1 Mr. Raikes' Remarks on Clerical Education.

best thing of the kind, as far as it went, was Fenelon's Dialogues but this little work is too limited in its range of subjects, and too desultory as to classification of the matter which it does contain, to occupy any considerable time of students so advanced in knowledge as our Senior Class are expected to be. This deficiency is not supplied, in any adequate manner, by Claude's Essay; nor by the few judicious Lectures of Blair on preaching; nor by those of Campbell on Pulpit Eloquence.

This state of the case left me no option as to the course to be pursued. It was plainly necessary for me to adapt my instructions to the immediate necessities of my pupils, and to give them aid on those principles which they were at once to apply in practice. Hence my precepts took a systematic form as designed to exhibit a connected view of the points which are requisite to a theological student, just beginning to compose sermons.

Next to a warm and sanctified heart, and a sound understanding, knowledge respecting his own sacred employment is necessary to make the preacher a workman that needeth not to be ashamed. No man can learn to preach by study merely. He must be taught of God, or he will never understand the Gospel. He must love Christ, or he will never feel the motives of the Gospel, nor exhibit its truths in demonstration of the Spirit and with power. But neither will piety alone render him skilful and powerful in the pulpit. Besides respectable native endowments, he must have others that can result only from study. The preaching of the gospel is a science, which has elementary principles. Other things