3. Having prayed and meditated on the subject or text, I desire to leave myself entirely in the hands of the Lord. I ask him to bring to my mind what I have seen in my closet concerning the subject I am going to speak on, which he generally most kindly does, and often teaches me much additionally whilst I am preaching. In connection with the above, I must, however, state that it appears to me there is a preparation for the public ministry of the word which is even more excellent than the one spoken of. It is this; to live in such _constant_ and _real_ communion with the Lord, and to be so _habitually_ and _frequently_ in meditation over the truth, that without the above _effort_, so to speak, we have obtained food for others, and know the mind of the Lord as to the subject or the portion of the word on which we should speak. That which I have found most beneficial in my experience for the last twenty-six years in the public ministry of the word, is _expounding_ the Scriptures, and especially the going now and then through a whole gospel or epistle. This may be done in a twofold way, either by entering minutely into the bearing of every point occurring in the portion, or by giving the general outlines, and thus leading the hearers to see the meaning and connection of the whole. The benefits which I have seen resulting from _expounding_ the Scriptures, are these: 1. The hearers are thus, with God's blessing, led to the Scriptures. They find, as it were, _a practical_ use of them in the public meetings. This induces them to bring their Bibles, and I have observed that those who at first did not bring them, have afterwards been induced to do so; so that, in a short time, few (of the believers at least) were in the habit of coming without them. This is no small matter; for everything which in our day will lead believers to value the Scriptures is of importance. 2. The expounding of the Scriptures is in general more beneficial to the hearers than if, on a single verse, or half a verse, or two or three words of a verse, some remarks are made, so that the portion of Scripture is scarcely anything but a motto for the subject; for few have grace to meditate much over the word, and thus exposition may not merely be the means of opening to them the Scriptures, but may also create in them a desire to meditate for themselves. 3. The expounding of the Scriptures leaves to the hearers a connecting link, so that the reading over again the portion of the word which has been expounded brings to their remembrance what has been said, and thus, with God's blessing, leaves a more lasting impression on their minds. This is particularly of importance as it regards the illiterate, who sometimes have neither much strength of memory nor capacity of comprehension. 4. The _expounding_ of large portions of the word as the whole of a gospel or an epistle, besides leading the _hearer_ to see the connection of the whole, has