HOMILETICS (Gr. oµi)Vrr oc6s, from O uXe1v, to assemble together)  , in theology the application of the general principles of rhetoric to the specific department of public preaching . It may be further defined as the science that treats of the analysis, classification, preparation, composition and delivery of sermons . The formation during recent years of such lectureships as the " Lyman Beecher " course at Yale University has resulted in increased attention being given to homiletics, and the published volumes of this series are the best contribution to the subject . The older literature is cited exhaustively in W . G . Blaikie, For the Work of the Ministry (1873); and D . P . Kidder, Treatise on Homiletics (1864) .