Cowper on Paul on Preaching
Preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season. Convince, rebuke, exhort, with all longsuffering and teaching. 2 Timothy 4.2
William Cowper, in his day a much-loved poet and writer of hymns, believed in the importance of preaching. It was not to be trivialized or reduced. He considered most of the preaching of his day to be insipid, self-interested, and empty of truth. In a lengthy tour de force of late-18th-century English life, he lambasted preachers who failed to pursue the discipline of preaching after the example of Paul.
Preaching, Cowper insisted has the power to change the world, as he wrote these lines from “The Task”:
The pulpit therefore—and I name it, filled
With solemn awe, that bids me well beware
With what intent I touch that holy thing—
The pulpit, when the satirist has at last,
Strutting and vapouring in an empty school,
Spent all his force, and made no proselyte—
I say the pulpit, in the sober use
Of its legitimate peculiar powers,
Must stand acknowledged, while the world shall stand,
The most important and effectual guard,
Support, and ornament of virtue’s cause.
Cowper believed that we can hardly overemphasize the importance of preaching, and of preaching well, according to the Lord’s purposes for this work. When, like Paul, we are faithful in this most important task, we may have every expectation of blessing and fruit to honor God, bring grace to His people, and sow Kingdom seeds among the lost.
Cowper believed Paul to be the quintessential example of what a preacher should be and do. Which of us would not say with Cowper, “If I could choose a preacher to listen to here on earth, one whose every sermon I would approve and own, it would be Paul”? Paul, Cowper insisted, is the example for all preachers in all aspects of preaching, beginning, as we shall see in our next installment in this series, with his understanding of the context in which this work is done.
Resources for being and making disciples
Dr. Mike McQueen explains the keys to making disciples who propagate the Gospel in our Pastor to Pastor podcast. This week we’re discussing the importance of abiding in Christ. Listen in by clicking the link at the top of this page.
Other columns of interest: This week: In our ReVision column we are considering the question, “How to Church?” Our Read Moorepodcast is working through the book, The Kingdom Turn. In our Crosfigell teaching letter, we are looking into the state of pastors and churches during the period of the Celtic Revival, using contemporary witnesses. And in our daily Scriptorium column we are working through the gospel of Matthew. Click here to see all the other columns and writers available to you.
The Ailbe Bookstore: For a fuller development of William Cowper’s view of Paul on preaching, order a free copy of our book, An Essay on Preaching, by clicking here. And, while you’re at The Ailbe Bookstore, download a free copy of our book, Pray for Your Church.
Resources for Shepherds: How does life and work in your church compare with what we see in the New Testament and the early Church? Watch this brief video, then download the ReThinking Church Appraisal Tool to begin finding an answer to this question.
From the Celtic Revival
State of the Churches in the Time of the Celtic Revival: Gaul
For great harm has been done and is done to the church’s peace by difference of character and diversity of practice; but yet if, as I have said, we first hasten by the exercise of true humility to heal the poison of pride and envy and vain glory, through the teaching of our Savior, Who says for our example, Learn of Me for I am meek and lowly of heart, and so on, then let us all, made perfect with no further blemish, with hatred rooted out, as the disciples of our Lord Jesus Christ, love one another with our whole heart.
– Columbanus, Letter to Pope Gregory
Beloved, let us love one another, for love is of God; and everyone who loves is born of God and knows God. He who does not love does not know God, for God is love.
– 1 John 4.7, 8
When Columbanus and his troop began their ministry in Gaul, around the turn of the 7th century, there were already plenty of churches there, as well as people hungry to know more about Jesus. The problem was not so much with the churches as with their shepherds. Many—perhaps most—of them were sick with “the poison of pride and envy and vain glory”. That is, they had succumbed to self-love as if it was a plague.
These shepherds regarded themselves not as servants of the Lord’s flocks but as their masters. They expected deference, unquestioned loyalty, and a comfortable lifestyle. Their deportment was as far from “meek and lowly of heart” as one could get.
And they resented and hated the Irish missionaries, both because young people flocked to them and because they refused to kowtow to the Catholic bishops.
Read the entire article by clicking here.
Resources from the Celtic Revival (ca. 430-800 AD)
It’s March, and soon it will be St. Patrick’s Day. Get ready for it now by going to The Ailbe Bookstore to check out these free resources on the great 5th-century missionary to Ireland:
Patrick: A Devotional History
Let the saint speak to you in his own words for 30 days and discover what made him tick.
The Legacy of Patrick
See how the impact of Patrick’s ministry can inspire and direct us today.
T. M. Moore
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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
