In Cambridge, England near the bus station stands Emmanuel College. Stone walls surround the college, but inside is a courtyard manicured like a golf course. In 1705 William Law entered that college. The fourth of eight children, William grew up in a Christian home, experienced death because four of his siblings died, and learned about human nature from his father who worked as a grocer. I imagine him as a young man walking the streets of Cambridge one Sunday, on the way to church to hear the preaching of God's Word.

Law studied Latin, Greek, Hebrew, and the Scriptures. He became a preacher of the Gospel in the Anglican Church in 1711. He wrote books which influenced the lives and preaching of preachers like John Wesley, Charles Wesley, and George Whitefield. He wrote his most significant work in 1728: A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life.1 The book set forth the importance of God's call, the holiness of life in Christ, and the virtue of humility as basic to Christianity. Law's work contributes to the life of a preacher, too. His work overviews four elements to prepare the preacher's heart for preaching.

Prepare to preach in the spirit of devotion.

William Law calls for the servant of God to 'be everywhere in the spirit of devotion, with hearts always set towards heaven" (p. 41). Finding a text in preaching often proves the preacher's most daunting task. In the context of selecting a Biblical text, the preacher does two important things: possesses a spirit of devotion to Christ; sets the heart toward heaven. In the spirit of devotion the preacher seeks God's face.

The tendency might be to think of earth: financial troubles; family struggles; issues of grief; news of war; stock market ups and downs; and job lay offs. Law commends the preacher's preparation by focusing upon God's work and heaven in the Biblical text.

Purify the heart and mind before preaching.

Law preached and formed his theology in a day of moral collapse. He denounced sin as a destructive force in the heart, in the family, and in society. Forever the preacher's task calls for denouncing sin and declaring Christ as the liberator from sin. Where does such preaching begin?

William Law maintained that the first task of God's servants does not require lexicons, Greek studies, commentary work in textual analysis for preaching, or an understanding of human nature for application. The preacher's first task is to look within the preacher's own heart before preaching. He says the preacher must endeavor "to subdue, root out of his mind all those passions of pride, envy, and ambition which religion opposes. . ." (p. 105). Power in preaching comes long before the act of preaching takes place. It comes in preparation of the preacher's own heart through confession of sin and a cleansing of the mind. How often do you prepare your heart for cleansing in preaching's preparation?

Slow down to preach: Pray, Read

Any preacher knows that preaching requires speaking at a pace which hearers can understand. Preachers work for years to develop a good rate of speech to make it easier for the listeners to understand what is preached, say, approximately 150 words a minute. Do preachers, however, pace the soul in preparation for preaching? Do they slow down to listen to God?

William Law asserts "...how poorly must they perform their devotions, who are always in a hurry; who begin them in haste and hardly allow themselves time to repeat their very form with any gravity and attention!" (p. 155). Law's advice to the preacher is to slow down; listen to God; take preaching seriously and pay attention to God's voice in His Word!

Law advises two key elements in the listening phase of preparation: prayer and spiritual reading. Law sustains preaching through prayer: "The devout Christian must at this time look upon himself as called upon by God to renew his acts of prayer, and address himself again to the throne of grace" (p. 184). Prayer creates renewal in the preacher's soul and a nearness to God. Law observes, "Prayer is the nearest approach to God and the highest enjoyment of Him that we are capable of in this life" (p. 146). Prayer guides our interpretation of the Biblical text. It also tills the soil of the preacher's soul.

Spiritual reading, or lectio divina as the ancients called it, also speaks to the preacher's soul. William Law says the preacher "must continually be reading" and gleaning from all spiritual authors. He asks the question in the context of reading, "And is it not reasonable for him who desires to improve in the Divine life, that is, in the love of heavenly things, to search after every strain of devotion that may move, kindle, and inflame the holy ardor of his soul?" (p. 164).

Quality spiritual books open the preaching mind to new ideas. Novels open the preaching eye to human nature. Commentaries open the preacher's voice to a clearer understanding of Biblical passages. John Wesley once lamented, "Either read or get out of the ministry!" Reading speaks to the heart of preaching. It improves preaching. It serves as one way to listen to the Divine (divina) voice. Prayer and spiritual reading overflow from the sermon to hearers when the sermon is preached.

Preaching never removes its eyes from the cross.

When the preacher speaks eye contact with the hearers becomes essential to good communication. While the preacher makes eye contact with the congregation, the preacher never forgets the cross of Christ. A devotion to Christ precedes a devotion to preaching. William Law concurs, "The Christian's greatest conquest over the world is all contained the mystery of Christ upon the cross." Law notes the preacher's challenge: to unlearn many things in seeking Christ and to surrender to Christ in the spirit of humility (p. 194). A serious call to devout and holy preaching requires a serious cry for the cross.

In the words of one of Cambridge's most devoted preachers, "There is nothing that so powerfully governs the heart, that so strongly excites us to wise and reasonable actions, as a true sense of God's presence" (p. 290). Devotion to Christ electrifies the preacher's heart with God's presence. Devotion changes the preacher's heart. Devotion challenges the listener's heart. Devotion comforts the listener's heart with God's presence.

In a world of pain and war, of the NBA tip off for a new season and gambling addictions, of marital strains and economic uncertainties, the cross of Christ invites people into God's presence; in from the swirling storm and into a harbor of peace that passes all understanding (Philippians 4:7). Why not dedicate yourself to the serious call to a devout and holy life of serving and preaching the Christ of the cross?

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John D. Duncan is Pastor of Lakeside Baptist Church in Granbury, TX.

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1 William Law, A Serious Call to a Devout and Holy Life (New York: Vintage Books, 2002). The book is a reprint in the Vintage Spiritual Classics series. The page numbers in this article come from Law's work in the Vintage Spiritual Classics Edition.