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IN THE
A
SERMON
PREACHED IN MURRAY-STREET CHURCH,
DECEMBER 2, 1821,
ON THE
OCCASION OF RESIGNING HIS CHARGE OF HIS
CONGREGATION;
BY JOHN M. MASON, D. D.
—
WITH AN APPENDIX.
FUBLISHED BY REQUEST.
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PUBLISHED AT THE LITERARY ROOMS,
CORNER OF BROADWAY AND PINE-STREET.
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ABRAHAM PAUL, PRINTER.
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OCCASION OF RESIGNING HIS CHARGE OF HIS
CONGREGATION
BY JOHN Bf, MASON, IX !>♦
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PUBLISHED BY REQUEST.
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PUBLISHED At THE LITERARY ROOMS,
CORNER OF BROADWAY AND PINE-STREET.
ABRAHAM PAUL, PRINTER
1822.
...-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------SERMON.
ACTS XX. 17—27.
And from Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the
church. And zvhen they were come to him, he said unto them,
Ye knozo, from the first day that I came into Asia, after what
manner I have been with you at all seasons, Serving the Lord
with all humility of mind, and with many tears and temptations,
which befell me by the lying in wait of the Jezvs; And how I kept
back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you,
and have taught you publicly, and from house to house, Tes-
tifying to the Jezvs, and also to the Greeks, repentance
tozvard God, and jfaifA toward our Lord Jesus Christ. .dnd
nozu, behold, /go bound in the spirit unto Jerusalem, noJ know-
ing the things that shall befall me there : Save that the Holy
Ghost witnesseth in every city, saying, that bonds and afflictions
abide me. But none of these things move me, neither count I
my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with
joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus,
to testify the gospel of the grace of God. And now, behold, 1
know that ye all, among zvhom I have gone preaching the king-
dom of God, shall see my face no more. Wherefore I take you
to record this day, that I am pure from the blood of all men.
. For 1 have not shunned to declare unto you all the counsel of
God.
NeXT to our Lord Jesus Christ, the name which
figures most gloriously in the early stages of the
Christian story, is that of the apostle Paul. The
grandeur of his mind, his intellectual and moral mag-
nanimity, his heroic devotion, his patience in suffer-4
ing; his powerful genius, his decision, his eloquence,
his zeal, shine in every page of his writings, raise the
admiration and awe the spirits of his readers, and
make them feel that they enter into communion with
a being of a superior order. But it is not that pecu-
liar greatness which was inseparable from every act
of the man, and excites our veneration while it
forbids our rivalship, that creates our deepest inte-
rest in his character. Our understandings may be
penetrated with light which has no power of warm-
ing our hearts. The most profound respect does not
necessarily call forth our love. Our affections must
be won ; they cannot be stormed. To this principle of
our nature, God has been pleased to pay particular
regard, in the first heralds of the cross. However
diversified their qualities and attainments—whatever
be the zeal of one, the potency of argument in ano-
ther, the intrepid courage of a third, that which
bears the sway in all, is their loveliness. Our hearts
are captivated by the same3process which subdues
our understandings. Nothing, for example, can be
more fair and unanswerable, than when Paul closes
in his argument with the subtle philosopher; nothing
more terrible than when he deals out the thun-
ders of God among the gainsayers: and nothing more
exquisitely tender, than his carriage toward the timid
and scrupulous disciple. If ever a man knew how to
wind his way into the human soul—how to coil around
him its most sacred affections—how to explore the
secret place of tears, and to put in motion all its
kindest sympathies, the apostle Paul was certainly
that man. You know that this has always been withme a favourite theme; that my heart has enlarged, my
imagination brightened; and my steps have trodden
upon almost fairy ground, when they have been roused
and quickened by the name of Paul. But on no oc-
casion does he loom so high, and shine so gloriously,
as in the context. All his powers are concentrated;
his feelings are condensed into a point; the covering
is shoved aside from his breast, and you see, without
disguise, the workings of his ingenuous, his upright,
his mighty mind. This parting address to the elders
of Ephesus well deserved a place in the holy volume;
and deserves it in our best regards, in our most reve-
rential remembrance.
I propose to give you, on this occasion, an analysis
of part of the apostle’s discourse. You will find it to
contain, an account of the manner in which he dis-
charged his ministry among the Ephesians, ver. 18—21;
his extreme devotedness to the cause in which he was
embarked, ver. 22—24, and his presentiment of its be-
ing the closing of his ministry, with an affectionate
appeal to their Consciences, and the ground of that
appeal, 25—27.
I. An account of the manner in which he dis-
charged his ministry among the Ephesians, ver.
18—21.
1. He served the Lord with all humility of mind.
The apostles, unlike many of their pretended suc-
cessours, aimed at no worldly honours, distinctions,
nor titles. “ Rabbi,” is not to be met with in their6
whole vocabulary. The name of Lords bishops was ut-
terly unknown to them, nor would they have thought
it a meet appellation for the followers of a crucified
master. Whatever be its origin or use, the spirit of the
apostles disclaims it, and holds no fellowship with the
temper which it is calculated to cherish. Servants
of the Lord Jesus Christ, was their highest earthly
designation, and rank, and glory. Paul had talents,
and powers, and proficiency, which might fairly entitle
him to a pre-eminence among his brethren; but the on-
ly pre-eminence which he courted Was a pre-eminence
in dangerous service to the glory of his Master. Let
little men sigh after their rattles; it suits their capa-
cities, it is fit for their ambition; but neither an apos-
tle, nor an apostolic man, wishes for any more digni-
fied style, or holy occupation, than to be known in
the church as “ serving the Lord.”
There is a consideration which weighs much with
every gracious heart, and is not, cannot be easily for-
gotten—the immense distance between the Lord Je-
sus, and his most faithful servants. He, the living
God; they, creatures low in the scale of being, when
compared with other creatures which “excel in
strength, yet obey his commandments, hearkening to
the voice of his word.” “ The treasure is in earthen
vessels, that the excellency of the power might be of
God.” The angels who look, with studious anxiety,
into the mysteries of redemption by Jesus Christ,
would thankfully have accepted the appointment of
“ ambassadours” of the cross. But God has seen fit
to confer that honour upon men of like passions with7
others; and commanded the angels to be ministering
spirits. When we add, that these heralds of his
truth were sinners like other men, called by divine
grace out of the common condemnation, and sent to
tell their fellow-sinners that “ there is forgiveness with
God,” how august the message! how humbling to the
messenger! He cannot, or ought not, to forget one
single moment, that “ by grace he is saved and the
more profound and lively his sense of this truth, the
more completely will he enter into the feelings of
Paul, who served the Lord with all humility of mind.
Could Paul need a monitor to remind him that he
was once a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and inju-
rious, that he obtained mercy because the “ grace
of our Lord Jesus Christ was exceeding abundant,”
and obtained it for this end, that in him, first, the Sa-
viour “ might show forth all long-suffering to them
who should believe on him to life everlasting ?” He
could not open his lips to proclaim the riches of re-
deeming love, without at the same time exhibiting
himself as a monument of that love. No wonder
that his service was so strongly tinged with humility.
There is nothing, my brethren, which can so humble
and elevate a man’s soul as a powerful experience of
the love of Christ. Nor is any thing more unbecom-
ing, more desolating to the holy character—more in-
dicative of communion with the devil, than clerical
superciliousness.
Unassuming as were the apostle’s manners—inno-
cent as was his conversation—useful as was his8
whole life, his course was nevertheless a course of
trouble. For
2. His ministry was marked by “ many tears" and
many “ temptations, which befell him by the lying in wait
of the Jews."
The “ tears” of an apostle have upon our minds a
most melting influence. Our own are disposed to
mingle with them upon the bare mention of his. But,
after all, what called them forth ? You do not hear
of his weeping before the Sanhedrim of Jerusalem—
before the Roman governour, into whose presence
he was brought in chains. No ! there was a proper
scene for a spirit which neither the Sanhedrim, nor
the Roman governour, in all his authority, could sub-
due or bow. He appeared before them less as the
criminal than as the judge. His mind rose, his spirit
towered, till all before him seemed to be, what indeed
they were, comparatively very little men. What
then could bring tears, and many tears, from the eyes
of a man who could make governours tremble on
their bench of justice ? The overflowings of his own
benevolent heart! When he saw how men slighted
their own mercies—how they rejected, some with
civil, some with contumelious air, as they do at this
hour, the salvation of God, and “ put away from them
the words of eternal life;” having before him the
perils which they encountered, and a full view of the
ruin which they could not escape, his whole soul was
dissolved in tenderness, and he wept his tears of bit-9
terness over their infatuation. The terror of the
Roman government could not extort from his firmness
a single drop—the sight of an immortal soul, perish-
ing in its iniquity, and pleased with its delusions, alto-
gether unmanned him, and suffused his cheeks with
tears, which in other cases, would have been the sign
of weakness.
Objections and oppositions were not the only im-
pediments of the apostle’s career. Many trials befell
him by the lying in wait of the Jews. That Paul was
their countryman, in whom they had prided them-
selves—that he was among the Pharisees, whom the
nation almost idolized—that he had been their ring-
leader in persecuting the new religion, all passed for
nothing. He was now a follower of the crucified
Nazarene, and nothing but his blood would assuage
their wrath. All the world over, the disciples of the
Lord Jesus have been singled out as objects of ulti-
mate violence. It is not to be wondered at in a world
under the influence of him who “ was a murderer
from the beginning.” And if their condition is better
now, it is because the Gospel has triumphed over hu-
man madness, and hath put the devil to shame. No
thanks to the progress of philosophy, nor to the thing,
cantly styled rational Christianity, of which the abet-
tors have, even now, just as much, and a little more,
of the persecuting devil, than it is for their interest to
avow.
Paul trod continually, not amidst vipers and scor-
pions, but, what is infinitely worse, the snares of hell-
o10
ish men. Every sermon furnished materials for a
a new conspiracy; every step a track for the blood-
hounds. The cowards who shrunk from his eye,
would yet venture to stab him from behind. It was
only by lying in wait, that the Jews hoped for success.
But all this was not to shake the resolution, nor alter
the conduct, of Paul. Such as the grace of the Lord
Jesus made him, both the church and her adversaries
always found him.
In the midst of these discouragements, nothing
could arrest his zeal, nor silence his testimony : 44 he
kept back nothing that was profitable to his Ephesian
hearers.” Neither the love of fame, nor the hope of
gaining a party, ever called forth Paul’s exertions.
His anxiety was to be useful; popularity, at the ex-
pense of duty, had no charms for him. Wo to that
preacher who makes his office subservient to the ap-
plause of his fellow-men. Whether his hearers ap-
proved or disapproved—whether his doctrines coinci-
ded with the popular prejudice, or were directly hos-
tile to it, it was the same thing to this wise and gal-
lant apostle. He had to do with 44 God, who searcheth
the heartshuman opinions dwindled away into
their native insignificance before him 44 whose judg-
ment is according to truthand therefore he kept
back nothing that was profitable to those who fre-
quented his ministry. He showed them that truth
which admits of no compromise; he had but one
doctrine, which he 44 taught publicly, and from house
to house.” Be he where he might, in the solemn
assembly, or in the domestic circle, his instructions11
were the same. It is of the very nature of truth that
it should be so. And it equally belongs to imposture
to utter things unpleasant in public, and fritter
them away in private; or to utter them in private,
and suppress them in public. His discourses in the
church he followed up with his explanations and ap-
plications at home.	“ From house to house,” the
apostle might be tracked upon his line of life.
This passage has been used as furnishing a divine
warrant, and proving a divine obligation, to what is
termed parochial visitation. Highly important it is
no doubt; but men must be careful that they do not
convert the sound of words into a divine warrant, and
not to require bricks without straw. To prove that
apostolic example establishes a precedent for imita-
tation, we must be sure that the circumstances to
which it is applied are similar. But this is far from
being the case in the present instance. There are
two things in which the state of the churches now
differs materially from their state in primitive times.
In the first place, they had inspired teachers; who
could, therefore, spend the whole week in exhorting,
confirming, consoling, their converts, without infrin-
ging on their preparations for the Lord’s day. Our
situation is quite different: close and habitual study
are necessary for us. And if we cannot get time to
attend to it, our ministrations grow uninteresting, and
our congregations lean. As for those men who boast12
of working at the loom all the w eek, and then ac-
quitting themselves well on the Lord’s day, I shall
say nothing but that their performances are such as
might be expected from the loom; but as far as can
well be conceived from the labours of a “ workman
who rightly divides the word of truth.”
In the next place, the primitive churches never
permitted themselves to suffer for want of labourers.
Their spiritual advancement was, in their eyes, infi-
nitely more valuable than all the pelf which the main-
tenance of their ministers required. Look over the
Acts of the Apostles, and be astonished at the abun-
dance of help which the churches then enjoyed. Our
economical plan is to make one pastor do the work
which was anciently done by three or four, and the
very natural consequence follows, the work is badly
done, or the workman is sacrificed. In our own city,
from the accumulation of inhabitants, and their very
dispersed residences, if we were to visit as much, or
any thing like it, as our people are good enough to
wish, and unreasonable enough to expect, we should
not have an hour left for our proper business; we
could make no progress in the knowledge of the
Scriptures; and not one would be able to preach a
sermon worthy of a sensible man’s hearing. The
conclusion is almost self-evident, if congregations will
stint themselves in workmen, they must have their
work spoiled ; and if the work be done at all, they
must kill the mind or body of the workman; and13
sometimes both. Let them not deceive themselves.
If they impose hardships which God never command-
ed, they must expect to go without his blessing.
The burden of Paul’s preaching, whether to the
Jew or Gentile, was “ repentance toward God, and
faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ.”
That their conceptions and feelings toward God
were radically wrong; that these must be altered
and purified; and that all their views must centre in
our Lord Jesus Christ, as “the way, the truth, and
the life,” in order to human happiness, his word con-
stantly declares, and the experience of men as con-
stantly confirms. This great truth, “ Christ, the wis-
dom of God and the power of God,” flowed alike
from the tongue and from the pen of Paul, and was,
in fact, “ the head and front of his offending,” with
both Jews and Gentiles. This, however, must be
the substance of his testimony. And so it must be still.
All who hope to win sinners unto God, and to have
them as “ crowns of rejoicing” in that day, must, like
Paul, “ determine to know nothing save J esus Christ,
and him crucified.” And cursed with all the curses
which are written in this book, be that ministry of
which Christ is not the all and all.
Such is a very feeble outline of the nature of Paul’s
ministry. Oh happy, thrice happy, the man who
nearly imitates it! We have much reason to blush
and be ashamed, when we compare ourselves with14
this prince of preachers; and have infinite need to
address to you, my Christian friends, the request of
this glorious man of God, “ Brethren, pray for us.”
II. We are next called to witness Paul’s extreme de-
votedness to the cause in which he was engaged. He
was bound in the spirit to go to Jerusalem. The Holy
Ghost put forth a constraining influence upon him to
go to that city. He had often heard, and well knew,
the voice—had often felt, and well understood, the
impression which signified his duty to go to the me-
tropolis of persecution. Of the general nature of the
impulse he was well assured. He knew that it came
from God, and could not lead him astray. This was
sufficient to mark out the course of his obedience.
What was to befall him at Jerusalem he could not
tell; he only knew that no rest awaited him there.
“ The Holy Ghost witnessed, that in every city, bonds
and afflictions abode him.” Go where he would, he
was sure that his fidelity would be put to the severest
test—sure that whoever found the Christian cause
a cause of ease and comfort, it was to be no ease nor
comfort to him. Well, how does the prospect affect
him ? He was not such a fanatic as to court pain
when he might have avoided it. The school of Bec-
caria and Voltaire, which teach that the severity of
punishment multiplies the offence, was not then
known ; or, had it been known, would hardly have
caught the ear of Paul. He did not dream of fitting
himself for the duties of an apostle, by proclaiming
war upon the principle of common sense, and the15
common feelings of human nature. He knew, and
never shrinked from the original condition of his
Master’s service. “ Whosoever denieth not himself,
and taketh not up his cross, and followeth not after
me, cannot be my disciple.” Show me the cross, ex-
claimed this magnanimous man; spread out before
me all the self-denials I may be called to endure: be
they what they may, I must be a disciple ! He did
not doubt that his Lord would make all up to him in
due season; “ for he had respect unto the recom-
pense of the reward.” “ None of these things move
me; neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that
I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry
which I have received of the Lord Jesus, to testily
the gospel of the grace of God.”
One of the idlest of human efforts is, the at-
tempt to frighten a man who has deliberately resol-
ved to sacrifice his life, or to succeed in his under-
taking. You have lost your hold of him. When you
have threatened him with death, you have done your
worst, and have no terrours left. It is then that the
great commander steps on the scene, and says, “ Fear
not them that kill the body, and after that have no
more that they can do: but I will forewarn you whom
you shall fear; fear him who, after he hath killed,
hath power to destroy both soul and body in hell:
yea, I say unto you, fear him.” Paul entered tho-
roughly into this feeling : and therefore all appeals
to human power and human pains,—to the axe, the
gibbet, or the stake, were without effect upon him;
for “ he endured as seeing him who is invisible.”16
And so, my friends, will it be with us, in proportion
as our converse is with eternal realities. Reckon not,
when the great trial comes, upon the strength, and
courage, and nerves, which have commanded human
applause, and secured human expectation. “ I cannot
argue for Christ,” said a female martyr, “ but 1 can
burn for him.” Her faith was of the same sort with
the apostle’s: and therefore she did not even count
her life dear unto herself, that she might finish her
course with joy.” My brethren, how could you, the
best, the most resolute of you all, abide this test of
the apostolic or female martyr ? I do not say, that in
a life of ease and comfort, which God has vouchsafed
to you, you are called to exercise the grace of mar-
tyrdom : but I do say, that if upon your deliberate
choice, your preference lean to any thing else than
our Lord Jesus Christ, you have nothing to expect
but that he will cast you out <?f his kingdom. The
apostle was always practical; i. e. he never preached
Christian duties, or painted Christian trials, without
a reference to the possibility of his being called to
the performance of the one, or to the endurance of
the other. He now felt all the considerations from
both press hard upon him. One of his sweet enjoy-
ments arose from the presence and sympathy of his
fellow-christians. He found that this was to be in-
terrupted—to be closed: and that drew from him, in
the
III. Place, his presentiment of the present being
the last opportunity of converse with his Ephesian
friends. “And now, behold, I know that ye all, among17
among whom I have gone preaching the kingdom of
God, shall see my face no more!”
There is a relation, and a tenderness of relation,
produced between a people and the instrument of
their spiritual blessings, which nothing on earth can
equal. Something which identifies him with all their
affections, and which they cannot easily transfer:
something which creates a soothing pillow for him in
every bosom; and for which every exchange is little
better than a pillow of thorns. On this subject it is
impossible for me to enlarge: could I summon up
apathy enough, your own feelings would not endure
it. Let me, therefore, rather invite you away from
this touching theme to Paul’s appeal to the con-
sciences of his hearers. Thus runs its terrible, but
affectionate language: “ Wherefore I take you to re-
cord this day, that I am pure from the blood of all
men: for I have not shunned to declare unto you the
whole counsel of God.” There is a most awful trust
committed by the Lord Jesus to his ministering ser-
vants. It is nothing less than the blood of inert. Oh
that they felt this trust more than they sometimes do!
You would not see the pulpit converted into a stage
for the display of human ingenuity, or perverted to
the display of human vanity. These things are lighter
than a feather, and lose all their importance in the
eyes of a man who remembers that he has an account
to settle with God for blood; and that he knows not
the moment when his account may be demanded. It
is observable, and ought to sink deep into your hearts,
3IS
and especially into the heart of every preacher of
the Gospel, that Paul accounted himself pure from
the blood of men, because he had not concealed
from them any part of God’s truth. He knew not
that policy by which some pulpits have been disgra-
ced, of deferring the declaration of the whole truth to
a more convenient season. As if the native enmity of
the heart were to be softened by delay—as if it could
be reduced by any thing but by the truth itself—as
if men ever found their audiences more tractable by
this kind of forbearance; or were themselves more
instrumental in bringing sinners to God; or had the
answer of a good conscience more complete in their
own bosoms. God, my friends, knows infinitely bet-
ter than we, what truths are suited to our circum-
stances, and has revealed them in his book; and ac-
cursed be that prudence which suggests the propriety
of suppressing any one of them. If there is one trait
of a faithful minister more obvious than another, it is
this, that he is not afraid nor ashamed to say what
God has said before him in his word.
Here, my beloved friends, is a breathing place for
every honest messenger of God’s truth: may 1 be per-
mitted to say, that I feel it to be so to myself? When
the ministry of Paul is the subject, blushes and tears
become the sense which I cannot but perceive of the
immense disparity. But in this particular, 1 can stand
even in the presence of God, and can say, that in so
far as he has been pleased to enlighten me, I have
never shunned to declare his whole counsel. You19
know that, in this matter, I have not “ sought glory
of men”—have not made their applause, not even
your applause, how respectable soever, my object—
have never baulked a truth, however unpopular; nor
ever asked if it were acceptable or not. It has al-
ways been enough for me to have the word of God on
my side. And when that has been clear, you cannot
forget how frequently, nay, how habitually, you have
been turned over to his tribunal. On this ground do
1 stand in this awful day of my life. Bear witness
against me, if I have not told you the truth. Very
feebly, I own; very imperfectly, I do confess; but
corruptly never. And, O my friends, remember that
you have a heavy account to render, an account for
blood, for your own blood. I call heaven and earth,
and your own consciences, to witness against you this
day, that if you perish, “your blood will be upon
your own heads, I am clean.” With this cheering,
but melancholy assurance, I close my ministry among
you. Yet let me say, are there any of you, to whom
that ministry has been sanctified ? Bless the Father
of mercies; and do not waste your anxieties upon
the worthless instrument. “ Look unto Jesus, the
author and finisher of your faith, to complete in
you all the good pleasure of his goodness,” till he
bring you to his kingdom, shouting “ grace, grace!”
Are there none here, and those whom we respect
and love for their amiable and social qualities, yet
who never knew what it is to love the Lord Jesus
Christ? To whom his truth, proclaimed day after20
day, has been like water poured into a sieve; all
“ spilled on the ground, and not gathered up.” Let
me say to you, my friends, perhaps it is the last time,
the day of your reckoning cometh; and you will find
that the things so lightly esteemed by you are not for-
gotten by your God. Who of you would escape go-
ing down to the pit ? Who would not ? Then hear,
and hear it again, and hear it as for eternity—“ There
is forgiveness with God!” The doors of his mercy
are not closed! The very chief of sinners may yet
find acceptance with him through his dear Son.
“ Whosoever will, let him take of the water of life
freely yes, freely ; with all the welcome of God’s
authority, and all the riches of God’s bounty, freely,
“ so iniquity shall not be his ruin.”
It may be expected that on this occasion I should
deliver my thoughts concerning the person who is to
take my place, and concerning your own part in the
selection. How unfit I am for the discharge of these
duties, I abundantly feel; and particularly how much
easier it is to tell you what you should not do, than
what you should. Yet, such as I have, give I unto
you; and in that name which you should never hear
quoted with lightness or irreverence—the name of
Jesus.
I trust you will not choose a vain man, who occupies
the pulpit more to display himself, than to profit you.
Of all the melancholy things seen among men, this is
perhaps the most melancholy; a poor sinful being21
complimenting himself upon the discharge of his of-
fice, while the ministering angels look upon him with
a mixture of dislike, of shame, and of horrour: and
while his Judge, before whom he is shortly to appear,
regards him with a frown, of which the interpretation
is, “ ill done! thou bad and faithless servant; enter
thou not into the joy of thy Lord!”
2.	Do not choose a showy man. Many of these
men there are who have only outside. You will be as
sick of him at last, as you were enamoured of him
at first. You will speedily find that he cannot instruct
nor edify you; and will be heartily tired of seeing
him show himself.
3.	Do not choose a man who always preaches upon
insulated texts. I care not how powerful or eloquent
he may be in handling them. The effect of his power
and eloquence will be, to banish a taste for the word
of God, and to substitute the preacher in its place.
You have been accustomed to hear that word
preached to you in its connexion. Never permit that
practice to drop. Foreign churches call it lecturing ;
and when done with discretion, I can assure you,
that, while it is of all exercises the most difficult for
the preacher, it is, in the same proportion, the most
profitable for you. It has this peculiar advantage,
that in going regularly through a book of Scripture,
it spreads out before you all sorts of character, and
all forms of opinion; and gives the preacher an oppor-
tunity of striking every kind of evil and of errour,without subjecting him to the invidious suspicion of
aiming his discourses at individuals.
4.	Do not choose a man of dubious principles. The
truth of God was given to be proclaimed, not suppress-
ed. It is a “ city set on a hill”—a light which must
shine, not be smothered under a bushel. When I
hear of a man’s preaching for years together in such
a manner that his most attentive and intelligent hear-
ers are unable to conjecture what his sentiments are
upon the cardinal truths of revelation, I cannot avoid
pronouncing him a traitor. His business is to preach
Christ; and not to treat the Gospel as if it were a
bundle of mere negations: and see his hearers sink
down, one after another, in death, uninstructed, un-
warned, unprepared, through his negligence : and
himself following them with all the “ deep damnation”
of their blood upon his soul! Oh! it is inconceiva-
bly fearful!
5.	Above all things it is devoutly to be hoped, that
you will never invite to the “ care of your souls,” a
man who cares nothing about them. I mean, more
particularly, for I would not be misunderstood, a man
who belongs to that rank of traitors who miscal them-
selves “rational Christians.” Against these men I
have ever warned you, as the enemies of our Lord
Jesus Christ, !„nd all that is valuable in his religion,
and peculiar in his salvation. I know well that this
congregation is considered by them as the very focus
of what they term bigotry; and I do rejoice that thus23
far I and you have been counted worthy to suffer
shame for his name. Long may it continue so! Long
may it be thought a hopeless case to attempt to bring
you over to the fellowship of devils. Though I would
not slander the devil: he promotes his work, as the
destroyer, not by tempting men to his belief, but by
persuading them to embrace what he does not be-
lieve—what is too coarse and abominable for hell it-
self; and what the philosophical Christians shall find
to be so, when they get to their own place. The pre-
tences of these men to kindness, and candour, and
love, are all hollow. They mean to make proselytes
of you, and two-fold more the children of hell than
themselves. O keep at a distance from them! Fur-
thest from them, and their charity, is best. Come not
near their ice, never to be melted but in that fire
which shall not be quenched. This pulpit, this church,
were destined to the glory of the Lord Jesus. Let
them never be polluted by a foot, nor profaned by a
tongue, which are not moved by his honour.
1 cannot better describe the character of a profita-
ble ministry than it is done to my hand in a work too
little known, the Directory for Public Worship, under
the head Of the Preaching of the Word.
“Ordinarily, the subject of his sermon is to be
some text of Scripture, holding forth some principle
or head of religion, or suitable to some special occa-
sion ; or he may go on in some chapter, psalm, or
book of the Holy Scripture, as he shall see fit.24
“ Let the introduction to his text be brief and per-
spicuous, drawn from the text itself, or context, or
some parallel place, or general sentence of Scripture.
“ If the text be long (as in histories or parables it
sometimes must be,) let him give a brief sum of it; if
short, a paraphrase thereof, if need be: in both, look-
ing diligently to the scope of the text, and pointing at
the chief heads and grounds of doctrine which he is
to raise from it.
“ In analyzing and dividing his text, he is to regard
more the order of matter than of words: and neither
to burden the memory of the hearers in the beginning
with too many members of division, nor to trouble
their minds with obscure terms of art.
“ In raising doctrines from the text, his care ought
to be, First, That the matter be the truth of God. Se-
condly, That it be a truth contained in or grounded on
that text, that the hearers may discern how God
teacheth it from thence. Thirdly, That he chiefly
insist upon those doctrines which are principally in-
tended, and make most for the edification of the
hearers.
“ The doctrine is to be expressed in plain terms;
or, if any thing in it need explication, it is to be open-
ed, and the consequence also from the text cleared.
The parallel places of Scripture confirming the doc-
trine are rather to be plain and pertinent than many,25
and (if need be) somewhat insisted upon, and applied
to the purpose in hand.
“ The arguments or reasons are to be solid, and as
much as may be, convincing. The illustrations, of
what kind soever, ought to be full of light, and such
as may convey the truth into the hearer’s heart with
spiritual delight.
“ If any doubt, obvious from Scripture, reason, or
prejudice of the hearers, seem to arise, it is very re-
quisite to remove it, by reconciling the seeming differ-
ences, answering the reasons, and discovering and
taking away the causes of prejudice and mistake.
Otherwise it is not fit to detain the hearers with pro-
pounding or answering vain or wicked cavils, which,
as they are endless, so the propounding and answer-
ing of them doth more hinder than promote edifica-
tion.
“ He is not to rest in general doctrine, although
ever so much cleared and confirmed, but to bring it
home to special use, by application to his hearers:
which, although it prove a work of great difficulty to
himself, requiring much prudence, zeal, and medita-
tion, and to the natural and corrupt man will be very
unpleasant; yet he is to endeavour to perform it in
such a manner that his auditors may feel the word of
God to be quick and powerful, and a discerner of the
thoughts and intents of the heart; and that, if any
unbeliever or ignorant person be present, he may have
426
the secrets of his heart made manifest, and give glory
to God.
“ In the use of instruction or information in the
knowledge of some truth, which is a consequence
from his doctrine, he may (when convenient) confirm
it by a few firm arguments from the text in hand, and
other places of Scripture, or from the nature of that
common-place in divinity, whereof that truth is a
branch.
“ In confutation of false doctrines, he is neither to
raise an old heresy from the grave, nor to mention a
blasphemous opinion unnecessarily: but, if the peo-
ple be in danger of an error, he is to confute it sound-
ly, and endeavour to satisfy their judgments and con-
sciences against all objections.
“ In exhorting to duties, he is, as he seeth cause, to
teach also the means that help to the performance of
them.
“ In dehortation, reprehension, and public admoni-
tion (which require special wisdom,) let him, as there
shall be cause, not only discover the nature and great-
ness of the sin, with the misery attending it, but also
show the danger his hearers are in to be overtaken
and surprised by it, together with the remedies and
best way to avoid it.
“ In applying comfort, whether general against all
temptations, or particular against some special trou-27
bles or terrors, he is carefully to answer such objec-
tions as a troubled heart and afflicted spirit may sug-
gest to the contrary.
“ But the servant of Christ, whatever his method
be, is to perform his whole ministry.
“ Painfully, not doing the work of the Lord negli-
gently.
“ Plainly, that the weakest may understand; de-
livering the truth not in the enticing words of man’s
wisdom, but in demonstration of the Spirit and of
power, lest the cross of Christ should be made of
none effect; abstaining also from an unprofitable use
of unknown tongues, strange phrases, and cadences
of sounds and words; sparingly citing sentences of
ecclesiastical, or other human writers, ancient or mo-
dern, be they ever so elegant.
“ Faithfully, looking at the honour of Christ, the
conversion, edification, and salvation of the people,
not at his own gain or glory; keeping nothing back
which may promote those holy ends; giving to every
one his own portion, and bearing indifferent respect
unto all, without neglecting the meanest, or sparing
the greatest, in their sins.
“ Wisely, framing all his doctrines, exhortations,
and especially his reproofs, in such a manner as may
be most likely to prevail; showing all due respect to28
each man’s person and place, and not mixing his own
passion or bitterness.
“ Gravely, as becometh the word of God ; shun-
ning all such gesture, voice, and expressions, as may
occasion the corruptions of men to despise him and
his ministry.
“With loving affection, that the people may see all
coming from his godly zeal, and hearty desire to do
them good. And,
“ As taught of God, and persuaded in his own heart,
that all that he teacheth is the truth of Christ; and
walking before his flock as an example to them in it;
earnestly, both in private and public, recommending
his labours to the blessing of God, and watchfully
looking to himself, and the flock whereof the Lord
hath made him overseer: so shall the doctrine of
truth be preserved uncorrupt, many souls be convert-
ed and built up, and himself receive manifold com-
forts of his labours even in this life, and afterward the
crown of glory laid up for him in the world to come.”
After all, be it never forgotten, that it is the Lord
Jesus himself who must send you a pastor after his
own heart. The ministry of the word is his ascen-
sion-gift ; and if there is one thing more than another
for which he will be inquired of by his church, this
is the important thing. Then look up to him for the
Holy Spirit, as the “ spirit of grace and of supplica-29
tion.” Pray for the effusion of his heavenly grace.
Pray in secret, in private, and in public—in your clo-
sets, in your families, in your social meetings, after
such form as you may find most suitable to your cir-
cumstances; be instant in your entreaties to the throne
of grace, and give the Hearer of prayer no rest, till
he hear you from his holy heaven, and grant you the
hallowed desires of your hearts.
And now, my dear friends, the moment of so much
trembling anxiety, of which you and I have turned
away from the sight—the moment of severance is
come. Yet in the midst of those agitations which it
excites, there are two considerations which comfort
and sooth my spirit—
1. I leave you in peace.
. During the whole course of my ministration among
you, it is my happiness to be conscious that there has
been no strife between us. Never has there been
any misunderstanding between my people and my-
self. Harmony unbroken has marked my intercourse
with them all. Between officers, and private Chris-
tians, and myself, not a shadow of collision has ever
occurred. I part with you without one unkind feel-
ing. Many infirmities have you borne with: and for
the affectionate regards of so many years continuance,
I return this day, all that is in my power, the thanks
of a grateful heart, which assuredly do not proceed
from feigned lips. Now, my beloved friends, for a30
recompense of the same, go on cultivating the unity
of the Spirit in the bond of peace. Take care that
the election of a new pastor do not become a source
of contention and heart-burnings. “ Pray for the peace
of your Jerusalem. They shall prosper that love
her. Peace be within thy walls, and prosperity with-
in thy palaces. For my brethren and companions’
sakes, I will now say, Peace be within thee. Because
of the house of the Lord our God, I will seek thy
good. And may the God of peace, that brought again
from the dead the Lord J esus Christ, that great shep-
herd of the sheep, through the blood of the everlast-
ing covenant, make you perfect to do his will, stablish,
strengthen, settle you.”
2. The second consolatory thought is, that the
Lord Jesus is the living head, the centre of union, to
all his people.
Their souls are bound up with him in the same
bundle of life. Nothing, my Christian friends, can
ever part us from him. “ What shall separate us from
the love of Christ ? shall tribulation, or distress, or
persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or
sword ? (As it is written, For thy sake we are killed
all the day long; we are accounted as sheep for the
slaughter.) Nay, in all these things we are more than
conquerors, through him that loved us. For I am per-
suaded, that neither death, nor life, nor angels, nor
principalities, nor powers, nor things present, nor
things to come ; nor height, nor depth, nor any othercreature, shall be able to separate us from the love
of God, which is in Christ Jesus our Lord.”
Well, then, though far asunder, we shall be still
united: we remove not one hair’s-breadth from the
mercy-seat. There 1 shall meet you, and remember
you. There do you also remember me. We may be
abundantly happy in the light of his countenance.
Ever bear in mind that the Disposer of our lot is the
•Saviour of our souls.
A word to the young people of my charge shall
finish my discourse. My dear young friends, you are
the hope of the church; “ your fathers, where are
they? and the prophets, do they live for ever ?” Older
Christians must be gathered to their rest, and you
must occupy their places. That terrible deposit,
the truth of God, must come into your hands. Ask
your souls, how will you receive it ? The Lord Jesus
has powerful claims on you. You were early dedi-
cated to his name, and cast upon his provi-
dence. This hand has poured out upon most of you
the symbol of consecration to the fear, the love, and
the service of God. The oath of his covenant is on
your souls. Have your consciences felt the power of
its obligation? My ministry, which for more than
eleven years I have discharged among you, is at an
end; hut not so the consequences. The good Lord
knows with what fidelity and what success my labours
have been attended. The hour is not far distant
when I must deliver up my account, and you must de-
liver up yours. O, to deliver them up with joy!32
Thou blessed and heavenly Judge, shall I stand before
thy seat, charged with any of their blood? Shall
they stand before it charged with their own ? Shall
all the offers of thy mercy, all the pathos of thy suf-
ferings, all thine inimitable patience, and all thy
marvellous love, have been preached to them in vain ?
Shall there be any here who does not more certainly
turn his back upon the closed doors of this house of
prayer, than he does upon the last, lingering offer of
thy salvation? The thought is too overwhelming.
Pardon me, my friends.—I can no more.APPENDIX.
The following documents are published at the request of the Session and Trus-
tees of the Congregation.
At a meeting of the male members of the third congregation of
the Associate Reformed Church in the city of New-York, held
at the church in Murray-street, on the 25th September, 1821,
John Forsyth was chosen Chairman, and George Galla-
gher, Clerk. The following communication zcas receivedfrom
the Rev. Dr. Mason, zohich was read.
“to the members of the congregatoin of the
THIRD ASSOCIATE REFORMED CHURCH IN THE CITY OF
NEW YORK.
“My Christian Friends,
“ My thoughts have been turned, for a considerable time past,
with deep solicitude toward your situation. I see and feel that
your interests are suffering, and suffering through myself. The
cause, indeed, is in my infirmity, not in my fault. The holy
hand of God has lain, and still lies upon me; and, through me,
upon you. His dispensations are wise, and just, and good ; nor
is it for us to repine at them. But the use of proper means to
mitigate or remove our afflictions, is not repining. So far as
depends upon me, I cannot consent that your’s should be any
longer protracted. I know well your tolerance, your patience,
your kindness. I have had many expressions of them all; and
latterly, your sympathizing endurance of my mutilated servi-
ces on the Lord’s day 5 your willingness, and even eagerness,rather to shut up your sanctuary than run any hazard of op«
pressing me, comes home to my heart with an appeal which is
sensibly felt, and will, I hope, be long gratefully remembered*
But, my dear friends, this very forbearance of yours, while it
draws closer all the cords of affection, stimulates me to attempt
your relief. The fact is evident—my feeble and imperfect
ministrations cannot but tend to your detriment. Time enough
has been spent upon an experiment, to render any further ex-
pectations of benefit from its issue, either comfortable or rea-
sonable. Under these circumstances, I think it my duty, in cor-
respondence with the best medical opinion I have been able
to consult, to retire from the pulpit.
“ In thus retiring, I must retire also from the city and from the
sea-coast. The mixed atmosphere of our climate affects me
unfavourably. You are all witnesses of the manner in which
the easterly damps from the ocean control my utterance. A
removal into the interior, I believe to be simply necessary to my
future well-being. The calculation may be erroneous; the hope
founded upon it may be disappointed; but still, it is the best
calculation and hope which I am able to form, and must govern
me accordingly.
“ Your goodness to me would lead you to anticipate merely
the suspension of my labours among you, my pastoral relation
continuing the same. Such, however, it is but candid to say,
is not my intention. I cannot submit to be a heavy burden
upon you, when I no longer render the services for which your
support of me was stipulated. The anxieties of such a state
would defeat the effect of my retreat: as it is essential that my
mind should be free from those distressing cares which for the
last twelve months have not ceased to prey upon me, and
have materially retarded my recovery. Besides, I cannot dis-
semble to myself, that I stand in the way of another, and, pro-
bably, a less expensive settlement.35
“ My design, therefore, my dear friends, is to demit my charge
into the hands of the Presbytery of New-York, at their meet-
ing in the city of New-York, on Thursday the 25th day of Octo-
ber next, with a request that my pastoral relation may cease,
from and after the first of December next. The measure is,
indeed, like tearing the flesh from my bones; but it is all that
is left for me to do.
“ I am fully sensible of the secular consequences which this
step may draw after it. My private resources, whatever wealth
the world, when drafts were to be made upon my purse, was
pleased to give me credit for possessing, are very scanty, and
have been, hitherto, expended in the service of the churches.
Yet such as they are, they will, I hope, with frugal management,
furnish me with food and raiment, and therewith I desire to be
content.
66 The present notice of an application to the Presbytery for
permission to demit my charge, was prepared in the end of
June last, but was laid by for mature consideration, that it
might not bear any marks of precipitancy. Since that time, viz.
about the 13th of August, without my seeking or knowledge, I
received an invitation from the Trustees of Dickenson College,
at Carlisle, in Pennsylvania, to take the superintendency of
their institution, which they are about reviving. To this invi-
tation I am favourably inclined. It will employ me usefully in
work to which 1 feel myself adequate, but which will not op-
press me. I have not committed myself on the question of ac-
ceptance, which various contingencies may prevent. And it is
very possible, should I even make the experiment, I may be
obliged, by the state of my health, to abandon it. The propo-
sition was not, however, as you will perceive by the dates, an
original reason of my demission ; nor would it have been suffi-
cient to draw me from the bosom of a people whom I tenderly
love. I should not have mentioned the circumstance at all,36
had it not been pretty generally known, and the suppression of
it might have led to a suspicion that I have not acted fairly and
frankly toward you.
“ Indulge me in asking one favour; which is, that if you shall
consent to my demission, you will be so good as to direct an of-
ficial acknowledgment thereof to be given to me, for the satis-
faction of the Presbytery: if otherwise, that you would be
pleased officially to acknowledge the receipt of my reasons, a
copy of which shall be laid before the Presbytery, and, also
would appoint commissioners to express your sense to that judi-
catory, at their next meeting, so as to save them the time, trou-
ble, and expense, of an extra-meeting.
“ With great respect and affection, I am, dear friends, your
obliged friend and pastor,
“J. M. MASON.”
“ Love-Lane, 22d Sept. 1821.”
On motion of S. Boyd, Esq. the above communication was
referred to a committee of nine, to take the same into conside-
ration, and report thereon, at a future meeting of the congre-
gation.
The chairman named Messrs. Boyd, Wilson, Radcliff, East-
burn, Cahoone, Johnston, and Barrow. On motion, the chair-
man and Mr. Nevins were added, to compose the committee.
The meeting then adjourned, to meet on Tuesday evening,
the 2d October, 1821, at 7 o’clock.
(Signed) JOHN FORSYTH, Chairman.
(Attest) GEORGE GALLAGHER, Clerk.
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