“The Christian Soldier; or, the Duties of a Religious Life recommended to the Army, from the Example of Cornelius.” Text, Acts x. 1, 2.
In 1748, a second edition of this discourse was printed, with a Dedication to The Right Honourable Lord Viscount Ossulstone, in which, in reference to his style, Broughton says,—
“If your Lordship should think the Discourse, to the soldiers,[262] penned with too much emotion of heart, and warmth of expression,—if, as a spiritual watchman, the preacher has lifted up his voice as a trumpet, sounded an alarm, and uttered his words in thunder,—he would meekly desire to be understood with candour, as accommodating himself to the military genius and character, which disdain a cold, lifeless, and unpersuasive harangue. He has indeed used great plainness of speech; and the rather, because no one has a more sincere regard for the profession, or a higher esteem for those excellent persons, who worthily fill the chief and most conspicuous posts in the army, than myself.”
The following brief extracts from Broughton’s sermon will furnish an idea of his fidelity, and honest-speaking zeal. Having described the character and conduct of Cornelius, he addressed his military audience as follows:—
“Cornelius was a devout man, and one that feared God. But are there many of you, my brethren, of this religious disposition? Not to enumerate all the instances of piety and devotion, in which you are grossly and wholly defective, I will mention but a few.
“And, first, in point of sobriety. Alas! my friends, what strangers, nay, what enemies, are most of you to a sober, temperate way of life. How frequently do you, the meaner sort especially, through excess of liquor, reel to and fro, and stagger, and lie in the streets like dead men! How insatiable is your thirst after drink, as if the gratification of that appetite was a joy unspeakable and full of comfort! To this purpose, you assemble by troops in tippling-houses, where you destroy your health, and waste your money and time, in tumults, revellings, and drunkenness. In these houses, you often sit till midnight, and prevent the morning watch, not with hymns and psalms, as David did, but, with blasphemous rant and obscene songs.
“Again, your offences, in point of chastity, are very scandalous, and too notorious to be denied; insomuch, that, the bare sight of you is suspicious and painful to the modest part of the daughters of our land. Having eyes full of uncleanness and adultery, you wander after pernicious deceivers, and give yourselves loose to vile lusts and brutish affections. That I do not charge you wrongfully, in this respect, is too manifest, from the numerous and melancholy instances among you of putrefied bodies and rotten bones.
“Cornelius prayed to God always. But where, alas! shall we find this practice among you? Prayer seems to have been banished from the army, and cursing and swearing brought in, in its room. Most of you, I fear, live without prayer, and pass away days, months, and years, without bending your knees to the God who made you, to the Saviour that redeemed you, or to the Holy Ghost who alone can sanctify your souls, and fit you for heaven. Let me not seem uncharitable in this assertion: I speak truth, when I pass this censure on the most of you: for, if you did accustom yourselves to pray, the ears of good Christians would not be so often stunned with that horrible din of blasphemy, nor shocked with those dreadful oaths, curses, and ungodly speeches, which daily and hourly proceed out of your mouth. It is an unpleasant office, my friends, to reprove you in this public manner; but many of you can bear me witness, that, I have not spared private reproof, when, in my hearing, the name of God has been by you blasphemed. Oh! that the horrid practice of profane cursing and swearing was less frequent in the army! Is it, my friends, a military accomplishment to curse and swear? Do you imagine, that, it adds grace to your speech, or manliness to your looks? Or do you fancy, that, it resembles the roaring of a lion, and renders your presence terrible? Alas! vain men! no wise and good man looks upon a swearer to be a hero, or accounts him a courageous person, because he is a profane and wicked one.”
The preacher uttering such reproofs as these was, to say the least, a courageous man,—a worthy brother of Wesley himself, who, four years afterwards, preached his withering sermon, on “The Almost Christian” before the Oxford University. Perhaps both were more pointed than pleasant; but in the time-serving age in which we live, the pulpit would be improved by a dash of that stern fidelity which was used by Wesley, Broughton, and the first Methodists. It is far easier to condemn sins, than to reprove sinners. It required greater heroism for Nathan to say to David, “Thou art the man,” than to deliver Nathan’s parable concerning the heinousness of David’s sin; and for Elijah to say to Ahab, “Thou and thy father’s house have troubled Israel,” than to dwell on the general evils of idolatry. John the Baptist was, not rude, but, courageous, when, face to face, he told king Herod, “it was not lawful” for him to have his brother Philip’s wife; and when, in a crowd of Pharisees and Sadducees, he exclaimed, “O generation of vipers, who hath warned you to flee from the wrath to come?” Who will accuse the Divine Redeemer of want of manners, in His fearful utterance, “Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within full of dead men’s bones, and of all uncleanness. Ye outwardly appear righteous unto men, but within are full of hypocrisy and iniquity. Ye serpents, ye generation of vipers, how can ye escape the damnation of hell?” Is such fidelity now common in the pulpits of England? Is it less necessary now than it used to be in the days of old? Are the congregations of the present day more educated and refined than David, Ahab, Herod, and the scribes and Pharisees? Have preachers improved upon the spirit and the courage of Nathan, Elijah, the Baptist, and Jesus Christ? And have they discovered a more effectual mode of addressing sinners? Is it not a fact, that, “Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning”? Is it better and safer to listen to those who “say to the seers, See not, and to the prophets, Prophesy not unto us right things, speak unto us smooth things, prophesy deceits”; or to listen to the voice of God Himself, “O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel; therefore, thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me. When I say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die: if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity; but his blood will I require at thine hand”?
This string of questions may be thought to indicate, that, the writer approves of the rough fidelity of the Oxford Methodists, and is far from satisfied with much of the preaching of the present day. Be it so. He has no wish to avoid the odium, if odium it be. Fine preaching has never effected great reformations. Preaching is often too polite to be powerful. The pulpits of the age would be more successful if filled by men like Wesley, Whitefield, and their friend Broughton. A luxurious, self-indulgent generation needs, not obsequiousness, but, unflinching honesty. Costly clothing, and refined tastes do not turn sinners into saints; but is it not a truth, that, in many instances, they frighten preachers from a faithful, uncompromising discharge of duty?