Whether in the direct form of propositions or otherwise, argument or reasoning is indispensable in a sermon. Doctrines must, by all preachers, be stated, proved, and defended. There is always, and everywhere, something to be proved. We cannot state or affirm a thing, but we must proceed to show that the thing is true, or right, or desirable.

For even all that part of a discourse called the persuasive must be grounded upon the truth, or equity, or eligibility, of the premises themselves, which afford a basis for argumentation. In such familiar instances, the formalities of reasoning may and ought to be dispensed with; but the essence of the argument must remain, and be diffused throughout the lecture or sermon.

And, though the principles of reasoning are less apparent in some discourses, they are always existent or supposed, or implied, or couched in some of the infinite varieties of language. Arguments suited to each kind will be supplied by the fertility of the mind in study, and those are especially to be preferred which arise from Scripture fairly and justly interpreted.