This volume preserves seven sermons preached at the opening services of the Wesleyan Methodist Chapel in Malvern in 1866, taken down nearly word for word as they were delivered extempore. The preface, written by Knowles King—a self-described member of the Church of England—remarks that one sermon, by Mr. Arthur, was never committed to writing by its author either before or after delivery. King offers the collection as a fair specimen of Wesleyan teaching in the country, noting that the subjects are not treated with scientific exactness but in a manner intended to suggest useful thoughts to serious audiences.

Extempore Delivery and Editorial Framing

The preface establishes a distinctive editorial frame. Knowles King, an Anglican, vouches for the sermons as representative of Wesleyan preaching, yet he also acknowledges their lack of “scientific exactness.” The claim that the sermons appear “nearly word for word, as they were delivered, extempore, from the pulpit” shapes how readers encounter the text. One sermon, by Mr. Arthur, is said to have had “not a word” written before or after. This oral origin explains the loose, hortatory style visible in the excerpts, where sentences build through repetition and rhetorical questions rather than tight argument. The preface thus invites readers to judge the sermons as spoken performances, not polished essays.

Divine Governance in National Affairs

A recurring pattern in the excerpted sermon is the insistence that God governs nations directly, through physical manifestations in biblical times, but that modern events are denied their true character. The preacher contrasts “miraculous interpositions” such as the plagues of Egypt with contemporary reluctance to see divine action in political or natural calamities. He criticizes “exceedingly foolish attempts” to apply prophecy arbitrarily to current events, yet he also warns against ignoring God’s hand altogether. The tension is between a providential worldview and the rise of secular explanations—political economy, physical causes—that the preacher sees as a departure from the faith of earlier generations.

Rhetorical Structure and Audience Address

The sermon excerpt employs a direct, exhortatory style. The preacher uses second-person address (“you find,” “remember this”) and builds catalogues of biblical examples—Israel in Egypt, the Assyrian siege, the Red Sea crossing—to reinforce his point. He also anticipates objections, acknowledging that “men say” events are traceable to political economy or physical causes, and he counters by asserting that the principles of God’s government remain unchanged. The rhythm of assertion and rebuttal, combined with the repeated phrase “I know very well,” gives the discourse a conversational, almost dialogic quality, suited to oral delivery before a congregation familiar with the scriptural references.

A Specific Reading Orientation

Readers approaching this collection should attend to the interplay between the preface’s claims and the sermons’ actual texture. King’s assertion that the sermons are “a fair specimen” invites comparison with other published Victorian sermons. The oral origin means that punctuation and paragraph breaks are editorial additions; the text may read more like a transcript than a composed essay. Noticing where the preacher repeats phrases, shifts tone, or leaves a point unresolved can reveal the dynamics of live preaching. The volume also documents a specific moment in Methodist history—the chapel-building campaign of the 1860s—and the preface’s ecumenical note (an Anglican commending Wesleyan preaching) adds another layer.

Because the sermons were taken down during delivery, the printed text retains the rhythms and repetitions of spoken discourse. Readers may find it useful to read aloud, or to compare the styles of the seven preachers. The preface’s remark that the subjects are treated “in a manner intended to suggest useful thoughts” rather than as systematic theology offers a clue to the collection’s purpose: these are sermons meant to move hearers, not to satisfy scholars. The volume thus stands as a record of mid-Victorian Wesleyan pulpit oratory, shaped by the circumstances of its production.