illustrations of a most unsuitable nature are brought to bear upon them.
It will be seen from this abstract, how thoroughly unprofitable the sermons of Jean Raulin prove to be; they bear the character of playing and trifling with Scripture and with the most sacred subjects, and it is sad to think that a good and blameless man, such as he was, should have degraded the ministry of God’s Word to a mere tissue of Sunday puzzles.
Raulin delighted in far-fetched similes, and in tracing out types beyond all limits of endurance. That of the dove was sufficiently extravagant, but what can we say to his working out the details of the parable of the Miraculous Draught of Fishes, in such a manner as to make the little fishes resemble the faithful in the Church, because,
(1) Fish have their eyes at their sides, and so can always see about them; and faithful Christians are ever watchful.
(2) Fish advance in the water by wagging their tails; and good Christians have to advance by remembering the end of all things!!
(3) Little fish are eaten by big fish, and so of the faithful it is said, “Men shall devour you.”
Occasionally Jean Raulin tells a story to enliven his discourse—stories in the pulpit were in vogue then—and these anecdotes and fables are often exceedingly good and pointed, but they are most unsuited to a sermon.
On one occasion, when preaching on the corruptions in the Church, and declaiming against the way
