---
title: 'The Voice in the Pulpit: Francis J. Grimké''s Meditations on Preaching'
type: video
hasMedia: true
requiresPurchase: false
authors:
- 'Jonathan Master'
date: 2026-05-12
collection: 'Dead Presbyterians Society'
subcollection: 'Season 3'
topics:
- 'Pastoral Theology'
- 'Preaching'
- 'Sermons'
url: https://confessional.org/dead-presbyterians-society/season-3/the-voice-in-the-pulpit-francis-j-grimkes-meditations-on-preaching
---

# The Voice in the Pulpit: Francis J. Grimké's Meditations on Preaching

Francis J. Grimké believed the preacher's task was simple: faithfully proclaim the Word of God in dependence upon the Spirit of God. In this episode of the Dead Presbyterians Society, we explore Grimké's remarkable life and enduring reflections on preaching, pastoral faithfulness, and the power of the Holy Spirit at work through the ministry of the Word.

[Watch](https://player.vimeo.com/progressive_redirect/playback/1191569338/rendition/2160p/file.mp4%20%282160p%29.mp4?loc=external&signature=4e946addbf7062c3fda5e70e9ce86ee4be5ff0ab28f03c66f3e558e51e8817aa)

## Transcript

What voice do you hear when you sit under the preaching of the word of God? Are you listening to the voice of man, perhaps someone who's

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eloquent or clever or creative? Or do you understand that the faithful proclamation of God's word is God speaking to his

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people, lifting up his Son? The gospel of Jesus Christ is not simply a

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form of speech. It's not simply moral instruction. No, the Bible says, "It is the power of God unto salvation." That is why the Apostle Paul says, "I am not ashamed of the gospel.

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It is the power of God unto salvation for all who believe." It transforms hearts, renews minds, and shapes entire communities according to the will of God.

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And therefore, the calling of the minister of the gospel, the gospel minister, is among the most sacred callings on earth, to proclaim this good news faithfully

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in the strength of the Holy Spirit, to the glory of Christ. And when we consider that, we have to ask the question that Paul asks, "Who is

sufficient for these things?" And the answer, of course, is only the one whom God himself enables. The faithful minister stands

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not in his own eloquence or wisdom or gifts or charisma, but in the power of divine truth and grace.

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Throughout the ages, the church of Jesus Christ has been blessed by men who have borne this high calling with humility

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and steadfastness. Today, we're going to look at one preacher of the gospel from the 19th century, whose ministry extended into

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the 20th century, Francis Grimké, and his reflections on preaching. These reflections give a powerful testimony to the seriousness and sanctity of

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the pulpit, and therefore to the seriousness and the high calling of the minister of the gospel. When a minister of the gospel devotes a half-century to the

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proclamation of God's word, his reflections on this sacred task should command our attention. Francis James Grimké was such a man.

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He was born into slavery, and he was raised in adversity. There was much change. There were many challenges in his life.

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But by God's grace, he became a distinguished pastor, and his ministry, which spanned the latter half of the 19th

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century and the opening decades of the 20th century, was marked by an intellectual depth, and a courage, and a fidelity to the Lord Jesus Christ.

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This little booklet, "Meditations on Preaching," which is taken from his collected works, offers not merely a course on homiletics.

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It's not really a book on writing a sermon. It's really a theology of preaching. It's rooted in scripture, it's certainly shaped by his own experience,

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and is continually looking to the grace of God in the task of preaching. Before we turn to his insights in

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"Meditations on Preaching," we should consider a little bit of the life of this remarkable man. His character and convictions really give weight to the words that he writes

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in this booklet. Francis James Grimké was born on November 4th, 1850 in Charleston, South Carolina. He was the son of Henry Grimké, who was a white

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planter of Huguenot descent, and Nancy Weston, who was a woman of African descent who was a slave. After his father Henry died, Francis and his siblings were

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sent to live with their half-brother, Montague Grimké, and originally, they were told that they would be treated as members of the family.

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But by 1860, Montague had claimed them all as his slaves. After the Civil War and the emancipation of the enslaved people, Francis and his

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brother Archibald attended freedmen's schools, and they really excelled immediately in all their academic pursuits. Their education was later supported by their aunts,

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and both of them went on to further study. Now, Francis himself went on to graduate from Lincoln University in Pennsylvania. He was the valedictorian of his class in 1870,

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and then he, after that, entered Princeton Theological Seminary, and he studied under Charles Hodge. It's very interesting to follow his

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correspondence with Dr. Hodge. He had a very close relationship with him, and while they had some disagreements, by and large, Hodge

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spoke very highly of Francis Grimké. He also studied under William Henry Green, the renowned Princeton Old Testament professor, who had a profound influence on his life.

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Interestingly enough as well, for listeners of Dead Presbyterian Society, among his contemporaries at Princeton Seminary was B. B. Warfield, who would, of course, later become one of the leading Reformed

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theologians of his day. After graduation in July of 1878, Grimké was ordained to the gospel ministry, and he began what was a long ministry at the

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15th Street Presbyterian Church in Washington, D.C. He served there nearly 50 years. He briefly ministered in Jacksonville, Florida from 1886 to 1889, but then he returned

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to Washington to continue the work that would really define his legacy. In December of 1878, he married Charlotte Forten, and the couple had one child, Theodora

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Cornelia, who was born in 1880, but sadly died as an infant. After the death of his wife in 1914, he continued to serve his congregation until his

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retirement in 1928. He died on October 11th, 1937 and had written many things on a variety of subjects. These writings were collected in four

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volumes, "The Works of Francis J. Grimké," published in 1942, and this "Meditations on Preaching" is drawn from his works in volume three,

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"Stray Thoughts and Meditations." And these are Grimké's, essentially, thoughts on the task of preaching, the task of being a gospel

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minister.Christ has given a clear command to his church. The Church of Jesus Christ is called to go and disciple

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all nations. This is a command that requires resolve and theological depth and wise leadership. Each year, Greenville Seminary has been privileged to hold a

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missions midweeker for those who are engaged in the work of ministry. This is an intensive midweek workshop designed to help pastors and church leaders think carefully about the

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work of global missions. There's a lot of confusion out there about global missions today, and this is designed to help you discuss and

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carefully consider how you might engage in that work more wisely. It's intentionally limited to a small cohort. It fosters meaningful discussion and unhurried fellowship

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and mutual encouragement in the task of making Christ known among the nations. You'll be served by experienced pastor theologians, including this summer, Ian Hamilton, Brooks

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Buser, Michael Morales, Chad Vegas. These are men who are committed to advancing the gospel worldwide. Room options begin at $200 for single

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occupancy, $100 for double, with a local registration rate also available. We'd love for you to join us this summer for our

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missions midweeker, and you can learn more at gpts.edu/missionsmidweeker. "Meditations on Preaching" is 111 pages, and it gathers together these, not in a systematic way, but in a way that I

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think conveys what Grimke believed about the task of proclaiming the gospel of Jesus Christ. Now, Grimke's own words reveal the spirit that

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animated his pastoral labors. What was it that drove him? Here's what he writes. "I have never had any desire to preach what are called

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great sermons, sermons which display learning or ability and which are relished particularly by the highly educated members of the

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congregation. But I have desired and have sought to preach helpful sermons, sermons that meet the real needs of the human heart in the midst of

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life's trials, struggles, temptations, sorrows. The only real value of a sermon is to be found in the extent to which it ministers

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to the actual pressing needs of the soul. The function of the pulpit is to instruct, to inspire, to fire the heart and

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mind, to implant within us noble desires and ambitions, and above all, to keep ever before men the one supreme figure in history, the Lord Jesus

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Christ, and to beget within them a passion for him and for the Christian life." Grimke's reflections reveal a vision for gospel ministry, and we could put it this way.

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If we were to compile and organize what he writes in "Meditations," there are three major themes that emerge, the purpose of

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preaching, which we've touched on already, the manner of preaching, and then the power of preaching. We'll start with the purpose of preaching, this first major theme that

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emerges. Grimke viewed the ministry of the gospel and being a minister of the gospel as, quote, "a most serious

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business." It's the business of calling men to repentance and faith, warning them against a life of sin, showing them the way

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through faith in Jesus Christ. To him, preaching is not a casual enterprise. It is a serious matter, and it is a divine commission

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that dealt with matters of greatest importance, touching on the eternal destiny of the soul. He believed that the preacher's duty was to

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declare God's truth faithfully and then to leave the results to the Holy Spirit. Here's what he writes. "We need not trouble ourselves about the survival of Christianity." That was

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something that was very much discussed in the early 20th century. "God will take care of that," Grimke says. "What we need to be concerned about is that we faithfully preach it

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line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little. The seed thus sown is bound to bear fruit.

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The promise is we shall reap if we faint not." Grimke believed that at the center of public worship was the

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proclamation of the word of God. Here's what he writes. "Everything should be made subservient to it, that nothing should be allowed to

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lessen its effect." The Church had, as a great mission, to call men to repentance, which would only be accomplished, Grimke

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said, by feeding the people on the word of God. And so therefore, for the Christian minister, he must have great

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faithfulness and great focus. His mission is to expound the word of God line upon line, precept upon precept, and proclaim the

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message of salvation, conditioned upon repentance toward God and faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, to show himself approved unto God, a workman that

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needeth not to be ashamed. And he was uncompromising on his commitment to God's word in preaching. "It is God's word," Grimke said, "that the people need to hear, whether they wish

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to hear it or not, and it is the special mission of the minister to see that they hear it. It is not what he thinks, but what God has to say that is

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important. And the man who doesn't realize this has no right to the ministry." Ministers are commanded to proclaim God's word, and it is

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God's word, not their own opinions, not their own judgments upon the circumstances of life. No, it must be a proclamation of God's word.

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And then he said, "Every sermon must set Christ to the front and the word of God line upon line, precept

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upon precept." And so then therefore, the minister stands in the pulpit, helping his hearers God-ward and heaven-ward, turning them from their evil ways, perfecting them in holiness.

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Now, if that's the purpose of preaching, what about the mannerof preaching. His meditations on preaching deal with the manner of preaching quite extensively.

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And Grimke really was persuaded that how the word of God is preached matters. It matters almost as much as what is preached,

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because a sermon, in his view, is not simply an exercise in rhetoric, but the overflow of a life shaped by prayer, study, and

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communion with God. Here's what he writes, "The minister must be a man of brains, of sense, of high character, of piety.

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The ministry is no place for a fool, for a rogue, for a hypocrite, for a wolf in sheep's clothing. He must be a man of sense, of intelligence, an

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upright, God-fearing man." And this extends not just to his work in the pulpit, but his work in preparation for the

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pulpit. That too has to be an act of reverence. Here's what he writes, "And one of the rewards that come to a preacher who

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carefully prepares himself, who faithfully expounds the word of God, is that no one wants to miss hearing him. When people feel they cannot afford to stay

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away, and when they do, always with regret, you may know that you are feeding their souls, that you are rightly dividing unto them the word of life.

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It pays a minister always to come to his pulpit fully prepared. A man who is not willing to make proper preparation has no

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business in the pulpit, and the sooner he gets out of it, the better." In other words, we have to be prepared.

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Ministers of the gospel have to walk into the pulpit having spent time preparing their messages, having spent time deeply reflecting on the word of God, communing with the Lord in

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prayer. He also extends this not just to preparation, but to the tone and temperament of the preacher. Grimke cautions against a scolding

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ministry, what he calls a scolding ministry. He writes, "The truth should be spoken and spoken plainly, but not in a

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censorious, fault-finding spirit. There is a time," he writes, "for reproof, for rebuke, for calling people sharply to account, but that doesn't mean that it must be kept up

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continually. It is a mistake to do so." So he's reminding preachers that while they do have to give themselves to rebuke and

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reproof, to neglect this would be to neglect portions of the word of God and the application of the word of God.

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And yet, at the same time, this should not be the constant note that is struck by the minister. He also reminds us that the preacher's

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heart must be right with God. The minister must be a man of prayer. He must be a close student of the word of God.

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Without these things, Grimke says, he may be eloquent, he may be in some way appealing to his hearers, but his

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sermons will carry no saving weight with them. And really, if we were to boil it down, we could say that simplicity and sincerity

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were, for Grimke, the two marks of effective preaching. "It is a mistake," he says, "to crowd too many things into a sermon.

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Let it be simple in its structure and development. The thing particularly that you wish to have the hearers remember, stress.

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Let everything else go. To overburden the memory is to defeat the purpose which you have in mind. Little or nothing will be remembered, and what is remembered, if

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anything, will be the least important." And it is striking when you read the sermons of the men whom God has used very

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effectively in the last several centuries of the church. Very often, what you will see is that they do hold to this maxim. They have simplicity in the structure of their

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sermons, and it's clear what their main points are. But then he also stresses that sermons must be helpful. That is to say, "A sermon," he writes, "that awakens us to a sense of our

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condition, our failings, shortcomings, imperfections, and at the same time, sets before us the higher, purer, nobler things that are open to

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us as to create within us a desire for them and to start us in the direction of them. The simple fact is, every sermon should be in some way

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helpful to the hearers." And he delineates the ways in which it can be helpful. It can be helpful as a warning against sin.

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It can be helpful as a warning against unbelief. But it can also be helpful in terms of showing a better way and

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revealing the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ. "Every sermon," Grimke writes, "should be delivered with the awareness that both preacher and hearer may be facing

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eternity before another opportunity for a sermon arises. When we speak," he writes, "we should remember that the message which we bring is a message of life and death, and that those who are listening

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to us may be listening for the last time, and that we who bring the message may be speaking for the last time. Before we speak again, we may be in eternity.

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Before they hear again the message, they may be in eternity. Into every effort, therefore, we should put our best.

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We should enter with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength." Grimke recognized that preaching was nothing less than speaking the voice of God through the frail instrument of

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a human servant, God speaking through his servants. "In preaching," he says, "God is speaking through me." And that leads us to the third theme that we can discern from these

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meditations, the power of preaching. The writer of Hebrews writes this, "For the word of God is quick and powerful, sharper than any

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two-edged sword, piercing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents

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of the heart." We've already seen that Grimke believed that the true power of preaching is not in eloquence or

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intellect or innovation, but it is the spirit of God working through the word of God. And he reiterates this over and over again.

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Here's a quote, "From beginning to end, all effective work is due to the presence and power of the Spirit in the preacher and in the people to whom he

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speaks. 'Not by might, nor by power, but by my Spirit,' sayeth the Lord, is a truth which every minister should lay to heart and carry ever with

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him in all that he undertakes for the Lord. There is no other guarantee of success. There is no other power that can bring results, that can open blind eyes,

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unstop deaf ears, and bring men to repentance and faith." Because of this conviction, Grimke regarded the pulpit as the most powerful instrument for good in

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the life of the church if it is rightly filled. "The greatest source of power for good in a church is the pulpit if it is

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properly filled," Grimke says, "if it is occupied by a God-fearing man who makes it his business to feed the flock on the sincere milk of the

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Word, instead of on the husks of current happenings in newspapers and magazines. A pulpit well-manned is always a source of

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power," Grimke writes. This kind of power is not manufactured by novelty or entertainmentHe writes, "The one thing that never fails to draw is the careful,

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prayerful, faithful preaching of the gospel. It is mightier, far more effective than all the claptrap that some ministers are using to catch the popular attention." He understood

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that the word of God was sufficient for any questions of his age. "There are no difficulties," he writes, "in this modern

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scientific age, which cannot be met and fully met in this way. The plain, simple, faithful preaching of the gospel with power

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from on high is adequate to the needs of this age and of every age." I wonder how many pastors

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today believe that to be the case. This plain, simple, faithful preaching of the gospel with power from on high

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is adequate to the needs of our age. Now, he knew that no minister of the gospel could possibly, in his own strength,

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measure up to what is required. Only the minister who has a close, abiding fellowship with Christ can, he says, "measure up to his

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great responsibilities as the ambassador for Christ." And that's why he urged ministers to pray continually. "It is his quickening

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power," Grimke writes, "that is needed to keep us alive and abreast of every duty and responsibility. The difference between a dead and living

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ministry is to be found just here. The one is Spirit-filled, the other is not." Because, of course, preaching, proclaiming the gospel,

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is not a human achievement, it's a divine operation. The Spirit alone can make the word of God effectual and living, awakening the dead, comforting the sorrowful, and transforming the

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hearts of men for the glory of Christ. Grimke wrote near the end of these meditations, "I

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am fully aware of the fact that I am not now, and never have been, all that I ought to be. All that I ought to be, however, I most earnestly

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desire to be. Fortunately, it is not in our own righteousness that we are to stand at last, but in the perfect righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ,

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imputed to us and received by faith alone." And that kind of gospel humility was not weakness in Grimke, but strength. He understood that all

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true faithfulness in preaching flows from dependence upon Christ. He believed that preaching, rightly understood, is both an act of worship

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and an act of warfare. Worship, in that it lifts high the glory of God. Warfare, in that it confronts the powers of sin and

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unbelief in the human heart. I wonder, as you consider Grimke's meditations and what the word of God has to say about preaching, if you're

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a pastor, do you preach with confidence in your methods or in dependence on the Spirit of God and the power of the word of God?

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Are your sermons marked by cleverness or by conviction? Are you intent to merely inform minds, or is your great burden that the Spirit would use his word to transform hearts?

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And as a minister, do you live in light of the truths that you proclaim? And if you're not a pastor, is this the kind of preaching you seek out?

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Is this the kind of preaching you support? Is this the kind of preaching that you pray for? Preaching that trusts in the power and sufficiency of the word of

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God and knows that it's the Spirit of God alone who can transform the sinful hearts of men. Grimke reminds us that it's not popularity or

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polish, but power. The power of the Holy Spirit working through the word of God in the hearts of men. And this power is

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given, in God's providence, to ambassadors of Jesus Christ, men who labor in humility, who preach with courage, and whose lives and ministries are dependent on

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the grace of Jesus Christ.

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