CHRISTIAN LEADERS OF THE 18 CENTURY - [ CHAPTER 4 ] - { PT. 9 }


 { PT.  9 } - It is not verbatim as I delivered it. In some places, it makes me speak false concord, and even nonsense. In other places,  the sense and connection are destroyed by injudicious, disjointed paragraphs, and the whole thing is entirely unfit for the public review. I will say, though, that with all their faults, Whitefield's printed sermons will still be of benefit to those who read them. The reader must remember that they were not carefully prepared for publication like the sermons of Melville or Bradley, but were poorly written down, punctuated, and paragraphed, and you must read them with this continually in mind. Moreover, you must remember that English composition for speaking to hearers and English composition for private reading are almost like two different languages, so that sermons that preach well read badly. Remember these two things, and judge accordingly, and I am sure that you will find much to appreciate in many of Whitefield's sermons. For my own part, I must plainly say that I think they are greatly underrated. The Distinctive Characteristics of Whitefield's Preaching                                                                        FOR ONE THING, WHITEFIELD PREACHED AN ESPECIALLY PURE GOSPEL.                                                           Few men, perhaps, ever gave their hearers so much wheat and so little chaff. He did not get up to talk about his denomination, his cause, his interests, or his duties. He was always telling you about your sins, your heart, Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit, and the absolute need of repentance, faith, and holiness--in the way that the Bible presents these great subject.   

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