To me, when preparing my Sabbath messages, God’s Holy Word was the sum of all knowledge, and a “Thus saith the Lord” was my invariable guide.  I found that in theology the true things were not new, and most of the new things were not true.  I remember how a visitor in New Haven was looking for a certain house, and found himself in front of the residence of Professor Olmstead, the eminent astronomer, whose stoves were then very popular.  The visitor inquired of an Irishman, who was working in front of the house, “Who lives here?” The very Hibernian answer was, “Shure, sur, ’tis Profissor Olmstead, a very great man; he invents comets, and has discovered a new stove.”  In searching the Scriptures I used the very best spiritual telescopes in my possession, and gladly availed myself of all discoveries of divine truths made by profounder intellects and keener visions than my own; but I leave this self-styled “advanced age” to invent its own comets, and follow its own meteors.

In one respect I have not followed the practice of many of my brethren, for I never have wasted a single moment in defending God’s Word in my pulpit.  I have always held that the Bible is a self-evidencing book; God will take care of His Word if we ministers only take care to preach it.  We are no more called upon to defend the Bible than we are to defend the law of gravitation.  My beloved friend, Dr. McLaren, of Manchester, has well said that if ministers, “instead of trying to prop the Cross of Christ, would simply point men to that Cross, more souls would be saved.”  The vast proportion of volumes of “Apologetics” are a waste of ink and paper.  If they could all be kindled into a huge bonfire, they would shed more light than they ever did before.  It is not our business to answer every sceptic who shies a stone at the solid fortress of truth in which God places His ambassadors.  If Tobiah and Sanballat are challenging us to come down into the plain, and meet them on their level, our answer must ever be:  “I am God’s messenger, preaching God’s word and doing God’s work.  I cannot stop to go down and prove that your swords are made of lath.”

To my younger brethren I would say:  “Preach the Word, preach it with all your soul, preach it in the strength of Jehovah’s Spirit, and He will give it the victory.”

I found the effectiveness of my sermons increased by the use of every good illustration I could get hold of, but I tried to be careful that they illustrated something.  Where such are lugged into the sermon merely for the sake of ornament, they are as much out of place as a bouquet would be tied fast to a plough-handle.  The Divine Teacher set us the example of making vital truths intelligible by illustrations, when he spoke so often in parables, and sometimes recalled historical incidents.  All congregations relish incidents and stories, when they are “pat” to the purpose, and serious enough for God’s house, and help to drive the truth into the hearts