Thoughts on Preaching by JW Alexander

540 Pages·2008·29.39 MB·English

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THOUGHTS ON
CONTKIBUTIONS TO HOMILETICS.
JAMES W. ALEXANDER, D.D,
NEW YORK:
CHARLES SCRIBNER, 124 GRAND STREET.
1862.
Entered,accordingtoActofCongress,intheyear1360,by
CHAELES SCEIB^^EE,
,
IntheClerk's Office oftheDistrict Court oftheUnited Statesfor the Southern
DistrictofNewYork.
JohnF.Trow,
Printer,Stcreotyper,nndElectrotypcr,
50GreeneStreet,
nelvveenGrand&Broome,NewYoik.
PEEFACE
It liad long been tlie clierislied wish of Dr. Alex-
ander to prepare a volume on Homiletics, for the use
ofyoungmmisters and students andwiththis object
;
in view, he was in the habit of jotting down in his
private journals, in the form of paragraphs, such
thoughts as occurred to him on the subject. In one
of his laterjournals I find the following entry "If
:
the Lord should spare me below, it will be well for
me some day to look over all my dailies, and collect
what I have written from time to time on Ministerial
Work. It is already enough for a volume. It might
do good when I am gone." But death defeated his
plans.
To carry out his purjDose as far as it is now possi-
ble, I have collected theseparagraphs, and print them
just as they occur in his journals, without any at-
tempt to arrange them in the order of subjects. I
IV PBEFACE.
have also added to tliem several articles on the same
subject, contributed byhim to the Princeton Eeview,
and a series of letters to vonng ministers, published
in the Presbyterian, thus giving to the public in a
permanent form all that he has written upon these
important topics. In addition to these I have intro-
duced someparagraphs onmiscellaneous subjectsfrom
the samejournals, most of them bearing upon minis-
terial life and experience. Although deeply sensible
ofthe inadequacyofthiswork to conveyfullythema-
tured experience of the author, I am not prepared to
withhold its publication ; believing that incomplete
as it is, it may yet be of advantage to all who are
looking forward to the sacred office.
In such a collection there must necessarily be
some repetition of thoughts, and some opinions which
were afterwards modified by the author but I have
;
concludedtogivethewholeasit stands,ratherthan at-
tempt an eliminationwhichmight weaken ratherthan
give strength to the subject.
S. D. A.
NewYork, November, 1860.