LIBRARY OF PRIfsC: ON 
 
 JUL 1 8 2005 
 
 THEOLOGICAL SE^/!i ARY 
 
 BV4253 .D84 1837 
 Duff, Alexander, 1806-1878 
 Mutual duties and 
 responsibilities of pastor 
 and people : a sermon, 
 preached, on Sabbath, 
 
^" 
 
 THE MUTUAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OV 
 PASTOR AND PEOPLE: 
 
 A SERMON. 
 
 PREACHED, ON SABBATH, SEPTEMBER 4, 18;)6, 
 
 SOUTH PARISH CHURCH, ABERDEEN, 
 
 ON OCCASION OF THE INTRODUCTION OF THK 
 
 REV. W. K. TWEEDIE, 
 
 TO THE PASTORAL CHARGE OF THAT IHURCH AND VARISH. 
 
 REV. ALEXANDER DUFF, D. D. 
 
 SECOND EDITIOX. 
 
 EDINBURGH: 
 
 JOHN JOHNSTONE, 2, HUNTER SQUARE, 
 
 (SUCCESSOR TO WAUGH AND INNES;) 
 
 AND SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN ABERDEEN; OGLE AND SON, CLASOOW; 
 
 AKD .TAMES NISBET AND CO., LONDON. 
 
 MDCCCXXXVII. 
 
THE MUTUAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF 
 PASTOR AND PEOPLE: 
 
 A SERMON, 
 
 PREACHED, ON SABBATH, SEPTEMBER 4, 1836, 
 
 SOUTH PARISH CHURCH, ABERDEEN, 
 
 ON OCCASION OF THE INTEODUCTION OF THE 
 
 REV. W. K. TWEEDIE, 
 
 TO THE PASTORAL CHARGE OF THAT CHURCH AND PARISH. 
 
 SECOND EDI'MiM 
 
 UBi?ARY OF PRINCETO^ 
 
 REV. ALEXANDEl: DlTFFjyp. ip.^ 2005 
 
 THEOLOGICAL SEMINARV 
 
 ' I II III w 
 
 EDINBURGH: 
 
 JOHN JOHNSTONE, 2, HUNTER SQUARE, 
 
 (SUCCESSOR TO WAUGH AND INNES;) 
 
 AND SOLD BY ALL THE BOOKSELLERS IN ABERDEEN; OGLE AND SON, GLASGOW J 
 
 AND JAMES NISBET AND CO., LONDON. 
 
 MDCCCXXXVII. 
 
 -^►SrSTrei^^ 
 
 lAAl t% 1 tO0<> 
 
EDINBURGH: 
 JOHN JOHNSTONE, PRINTER, HIGH STREET. 
 
TO THE 
 
 KIRlt-SESSION AND CONGREGATION 
 
 OF 
 
 Souti^ ^arist) dEifturc!), ^litttreen, 
 
 THIS SERMON, 
 
 PUBLISHED AT THEIR UNITED EARNEST REQUEST, 
 
 IS DEDICATED, 
 
 WITH SENTIMENTS OF GRATEFUL REMEMBRANCE, 
 
 BY 
 
 THE AUTHOR. 
 
SERMON, 
 
 " So thou, O son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the 
 house of Israel ; therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and 
 warn them from me. When 1 say unto the wicked, O wicked man, 
 thou shalt surely die ; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from 
 his way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity ; but his blood will 
 I require at thine hand. Nevertheless, if thou warn the wicked of his 
 way to turn from it ; if he do not turn from his way, he shall die in his 
 iniquity; but thou hast delivered thy soul." — Ezek. xxxiii. 7-9. 
 
 When a country is invaded by some foreign foe : when 
 the armies of the aggressor have overspread the land : 
 when a bhghted surface marks the progress of their ra- 
 vages : when the chains of unoffending victims display the 
 relentless cruelty of their revenge : when the active move- 
 ments of hostile squadrons are discerned, and the voice of 
 the trumpet that hitherto has sounded the certain note of 
 battle and defeat, is heard from the watch-towers of the 
 fortress, that forms the last and lingering hope of a once 
 flourishing, but now greatly diminished power : — when it 
 is dreaded that within are many faithless men, whose 
 treacherous machinations are concealed under the mask of 
 friendship, and who only await the critical moment of dis- 
 aster or despair, to strengthen the hands of those who have 
 
6 
 
 laid bare many an altar, and left many a city smoking in 
 its ruins : — Shall he be hailed as a patriot citizen, who 
 whispers in softest accents that danger is far distant, — who 
 circulates and foments the ruinous suggestion to relax 
 those efforts that might yet render resistance successful, 
 and, turning the tide of conquest, lay prostrate the insult- 
 ing fofe, — who encourages the thousands around him to 
 banish idle cares and silence unfounded alarms, and speed- 
 ily betake themselves to gay and luxurious delights, and 
 loll in the lap of voluptuous ease, and run the round of 
 lawless revelry ? No. He is pronounced a traitor to his 
 country's cause ; to him is awarded a traitor's doom ; and 
 over his remains are raised the insignia of a traitor's grave. 
 
 Now, have ye not heard, at least by the hearing of the 
 ear, that the earth we dwell upon is a vanquished territory 
 of the prince of darkness ? Ever since the hour of that fell 
 catastrophe which " brought death into the world with all 
 our woe," down to the present, has the great adversary 
 of God and man, laboured with sleepless vigilance, to con- 
 summate the triumph which he then gained. The un- 
 quenchable longing of his soul has been to thwart the 
 plans, and subvert the purposes of the Almighty. And 
 all his vast energies have been intensely engaged in sub- 
 tile artifice to deceive, and murderous cruelty to drag the 
 miserable race of Adam headlong to " the lake that burn- 
 eth." 
 
 When, therefore, this earth, instead of being a garden 
 for refreshment and rest, is none other than the arena of 
 mortal combat : when the enemy is in possession of its ex- 
 tended territories, and no place of safety is left save the 
 
refuge provided by the Gospel : when the sudden vicissi- 
 tudes and strange convulsions ofnature herald the presence 
 of the conqueror ; and the voice of weeping, lamentation, 
 and woe, ever resounds in the train of his success : when 
 all possible advantages in the field of strife are in his 
 favour : when he can appeal, without ever appealing in 
 vain, to the eternal sanctions of God's righteous law, to the 
 frowns and allurements ot the world, and to the evil pro- 
 pensities of wicked and deceitful hearts, to aid him in the 
 attempt to carry by storm or stratagem the only remain- 
 ing citadel : — Shall he be hailed as the friend of man, and 
 a patriot citizen of Zion, who sits down in ignoble repose, 
 and softly whispers, " peace, peace," when all is the cheer- 
 less peace of the sepulchre? — who, by delusive prospects of 
 security, beguiles thousands into the snares of the foul 
 destroyer, or, by the application of active stimulants, hur- 
 ries them to the streams of false delight, and leaves them 
 without a sigh, gaily to dance around the brink of the bot- 
 tomless pit, and plunge beneath, the victims of perdition ? 
 He may be so hailed by the thoughtless and giddy throng, 
 who are the blinded instruments of Satan's malice, the 
 miserable drudges of his imperious will, the cowering sub- 
 jects of his dire dominion. But hailed he shall not be, by 
 the sons of Ught, who are loyal adherents of the cause of 
 Heaven. By saints, and by the King of Saints, he shall 
 be arraigned as a traitor ; to him shall be allotted a trai- 
 tor's award ; and in everlasting burnings he shall wear the 
 memorials of a traitor's crime. 
 
 And who is this traitor that shall be so recompensed ? 
 Every faithless, careless, inconsistent, hypocritical profes- 
 
8 
 
 sor ol" the religion of Jesus is such traitor. And every 
 minister who is a faithless, slothful, and slumbering 
 " watchman" on the walls of our Zion, is an arch-traitor 
 to his God. Hearken to the languaffe addressed to the 
 prophet of old, when appointed a watchman to the House 
 of Israel ; and as addressed to him, so in substance, to all, 
 in every age, who have undertaken to be watchmen to 
 immortal souls against surrounding enemies : — " When I 
 say unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely die ; 
 if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his way, 
 that wicked man shall die in his iniquity ; but his blood 
 will I require at thine hand." 
 
 In the face of such a charge as this, involving responsi- 
 bilities at which one may well pause and tremble, shall we 
 wilfully evoke the justice of Heaven to require at our hands 
 the blood of lost souls ? Shall we soothe the fears of those 
 who are smitten with the plague-spot of sin, by pronounc- 
 ing them " whole," when " from the crown of the head 
 to the sole of the foot, there is nought but wounds and 
 bruises and putrefying sores ?" Shall we assuage the rising 
 tumult of alarm by sounding the lullaby of " peace, peace," 
 when deadly war is raging through the vitals of the king- 
 dom ? This were not kindness, but cruelty — not love, but 
 hatred — not friendship, but enmity — not the savour of 
 life, but the savour of death unto death. 
 
 We may not, therefore, we must not, we dare not, with- 
 hold the warning addressed by God himself to the wicked ; 
 for, the terms of the Divine appointment are, " thou shalt 
 hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me" — 
 and the alternative presented to the watchman is, " If 
 
9 
 
 thou warn the wicked, thou hast dehvered thy soul ; but il 
 thou warn him not, his blood will 1 require at thine hand.'^ 
 
 Who, then, it may be asked, are to be warned ? Against 
 what is the warning directed ? How are those warned to 
 escape ? And by vvhat exhortations is the warning to be 
 enforced ? 
 
 Questions these, that are fraught with consequences 
 the most momentous — since on the right solution of them 
 hang the issues of life, the solemnities of judgment, and 
 the awards of eternity. 
 
 I. It is the Christian watchman's duty faithfully to de- 
 clare who are to be warned. 
 
 The reply in our text is, " the wicked." And who 
 are the wicked or unrighteous? The reply furnished 
 by inspiration is, "all;" for "all have sinned," and 
 " there is none righteous, no not one." This is the lan- 
 guage of unqualified totality, and admits not the possi- 
 bility of exception. Think not, therefore, ye who are 
 adorned with the natural graces, think not that ye are ex- 
 empted. There may cluster around you much that is 
 "lovely and of good report" among men. There may be 
 tenderness of affection, sweetness of disposition, modesty of 
 address, unaffected simplicity of manners, compassion at 
 the sight of misery, generosity towards the undeserving. 
 And the possession of these may render you amiable — 
 and amiableness seldom fails to excite sympathy and love. 
 But with all this, there may not be a jot or tittle of holi- 
 ness, or spiritual excellence, as viewed with complacency 
 by a God of sovereign power, and burning purity of na- 
 
10 
 
 ture. Let it only be borne in mind, that to the great 
 Creator, Preserver, and Proprietor of all, the undivided 
 homage of the heart and the affections is supremely due 
 throughout every period of time, and every change of 
 place. And who amongst you would undertake to pre- 
 sent yourselves before the divine tribunal, and expect to 
 abide the application of such a test of universal obedience ? 
 Ah ! if to the whole current of your daily thoughts and 
 actions the divine reckoning were to be rigidly applied, 
 which of these thoughts were concerning me, which of 
 these words were spoken, which of these actions were per- 
 formed with a sole and undivided reference to my glory ? — 
 would not the most amiable amongst you be struck 
 dumb, and for ever remain speechless ? Were it only 
 possible for you, through the convincing influence of 
 God's Spirit, to look inwardly, and review your secret 
 and undeveloped sins — your sins against natural know- 
 ledge, reason, and conscience — your sins in thought, and 
 feeling, and desire ; — or even those incipient motions and 
 tendencies towards sin — while fancy yet flutters, and in- 
 clination hovers on the brink of actual commission — mo- 
 tions and tendencies, that flit up and down the chambers 
 of imagery, swift as the velocity of time, and numberless 
 as the motes that play in the solar beams. — Ah ! were it 
 only possible to behold all of these, spread over a life- 
 time, collected into one vast aggregate, as they are seen 
 in the light of Jehovah's countenance, would not the 
 most amiable amongst you stand abashed, and, like the 
 patriarch of old, acknowledging that ye are vile, abhor 
 yourselves in dust and ashes ? 
 
11 
 
 I have now spoken of sins overspreading a lifetime, 
 but I am willing to reduce the time of reckoning within 
 a narrower compass. I shall suppose that an eternity of 
 bliss, or an eternity of woe, was to be suspended on the 
 absolute perfection of the homage of the heart and affec- 
 tions to the Father of Spirits — the absolute devotedness 
 of the thoughts and imagination to the glory and honour 
 of the sovereign Lord of all, since we this day assembled 
 in this house of prayer. How many amongst us would 
 be willing to abide by the issue of the scrutiny of the all- 
 searching eye, even during a period so very limited? 
 How many amongst us would be found whose thoughts 
 had not wandered for an instant in prayer ? How many, 
 whose affections were not for a moment cold and un- 
 interested in praise? How many, whose minds were 
 not, in any measurable degree, listless, or languid, or 
 indifferent, or distracted, when professedly listening to 
 the words of life ? How many such, think ye, would 
 be found amongst us ? Would the majority ? Would 
 the half? Would the tenth part ? Would even one ? — 
 Great God of heaven and of earth ! I tremble at the 
 thought — I shudder at the awful certainty of the issue ! 
 I for one, would sink at once into despair ! But, Lord, I 
 thank thee that thou hast so solemnly warned the wicked ! 
 Lord, then, save thou, or we perish ! 
 
 II. As all are to be warned, because all are wicked or 
 unrighteous, it is the Christian watchman's duty faith- 
 fully to proclaim against what the warning is directed. 
 
 Doubtless it is against all that is inimical to man's 
 present and everlasting welfare. And as sin is the great 
 
12 
 
 antagonist principle ul' the supreme good which constitutes 
 the beauty, the health, and stability of the moral uni- 
 verse, the warning must be specially directed against that 
 fertile source of a'l our woe — against its instruments, 
 whether belonging to the world of matter or of spirit — 
 against its agents, whether natural or supernatural, visible 
 or invisible — and against its consequences, whether tem- 
 poral or eternal. But, as the wages of sin in every shape 
 and form is death, and as all its instrumentalities and 
 agencies converge towards, and all its dread effects may, 
 by way of eminence, be said to concentrate in death, as 
 its final irreversible consummation ; the Almighty him- 
 self, engulphing, as it were, every minor interest and con- 
 sideration, in that one all-absorbing doom, has uttered 
 his voice, — the voice at which Sinai shook — saying, " Hear 
 the word at my mouth, and warn them from me : when 
 I say' unto the wicked, O wicked man, thou shalt surely 
 die ; if thou dost not speak to warn the wicked from his 
 way, that wicked man shall die in his iniquity ;" — shall 
 die the death, not death temporal or spiritual, merely, 
 but the second death, — death eternal ! 
 
 But who can tell what is included in death eternal ? 
 He who was endowed with omniscience, and whose love 
 to the sons of men many waters could not quench, nor 
 the floods of great waters drown, represented it under 
 awful but undefined images of horror. It is the worm 
 that never dies ; it is the fire that is never quenched ; it 
 is an outer darkness where there is weeping and gnashing 
 of teeth ; it is an everlasting destruction from the pre- 
 sence of God and his angels. But who, that has not 
 crossed those adamantine walls that encircle the lake 
 
13 
 
 which burneth with fire and brimstone for evermore, can 
 conceive the reaUties of anguish and torment which these 
 images pourtray ? Where the tongue of inspiration con- 
 fessedly faltered, and human language, moulded by divini- 
 ty, failed ; how much more must ours be expected to falter 
 and fail too ! Bereft, therefore, of every expedient, save 
 that of convicted ignorance, we can only sit down, and 
 exclaim, it is inconceivable — it ie unutterable ! 
 
 III. Having thus ascertained that all are warned, and 
 warned to flee from the wrath ■ to come, or death eternal, 
 it is the Christian watchman's duty clearly to point out 
 the way of escape. 
 
 The expression, " If thou warn the wicked of his way 
 to tumfrmn it, and if he do not turn from it" necessarily 
 implies the possibility of turning. For, if there were no 
 possibility of escape, vehemently to warn of danger, were 
 only to heap derision upon despair. What then is the 
 divinely appointed method of return ? 
 
 This at once introduces us to the most difficult of pro- 
 blems; "how God could be just, and yet the justifier 
 of the ungodly." For all men have sinned, and sin is 
 the transgression of the law, and the law is " the strength 
 of sin." In other words, that law which, when obeyed, 
 is the very sheet-anchor of a holy universe, becomes, 
 when disobeyed, the ever-active accuser and inexorable 
 judge of a sinning creation. Nor is there any mystery 
 in this. For what is the law of God ? It is the very 
 essence of what is pure, and reasonable, and right ; and, 
 as such, can make no allowances, and admit of no abate- 
 
14 
 
 ments on account of sin. This law, therefore, the due 
 observance of which promotes the glory of God, and the 
 supreme happiness of his intelligent creation, is altogether 
 unyielding in its demands. The fact of our being its 
 transgressors, and of our having lost the very inclination 
 to obey it, diminishes not the claims of the law, nor 
 makes it stoop to any accommodating compromise. It is 
 founded on the unchangeable nature of God. It is a fair 
 transcript of the divine perfections. How, then, could 
 the honour of God be vindicated, did he allow of any 
 addition, subtraction, or change ? What ! attempt to 
 add to what is infinitely perfect ! The very thought is 
 impious. Attempt to subtract from, or alter, what is 
 infinitely holy, just, and good ! The very thought is 
 derogatory to the honour and the majesty of the 
 Most High. 
 
 Here, then, is a law whose demands cannot be mitigat- 
 ed in consistency with God's holy character — a law, the 
 very slightest deviation from which, subjects the trans- 
 gressor to the penalty of eternal death — a law, which, 
 in requiring a perfect conformity to the will of God in 
 every thought and affection of the soul, stops every mouth, 
 and declares the whole human race, without one single 
 exception, to be guilty before God — a law, which, when 
 it comes home in all its light and uncompromising energy 
 to the conscience of the most morally upright man under 
 heaven, must lay prostrate all his self-righteousness, and 
 make him appear in the character of a self-condemned 
 criminal. What then must be done? The law is 
 unalterable. It still thunders in our ears that our obe- 
 
15 
 
 dience must be perfect, and if not, pronounces the fearful 
 denunciations of divine wrath. What then must be done ? 
 God's law is broken, his name dishonoured, his autho- 
 rity despised, and his everlasting truth and justice equally 
 demand that the sentence shall be put into execution. 
 What then is to be done ? Is there no way of escape ? 
 Is God's mercy clean gone for ever ? Are we left to 
 groan in everlasting despair ? And shall the king of ter- 
 rors for ever exult over the sad memorials of his redoubt- 
 ed victory ? Oh ! No. Hail blessed Emmanuel ! Hail 
 crucified Jesus ! Let heaven and earth sing their loud- 
 est hosannahs to thy glorious name ! In thy cross, we 
 behold the divine law magnified, and yet its avenging 
 power destroyed. In thy cross, we behold the divine law 
 demonstrated to be unchangeable as the fountain of 
 existence, and yet all its demands satisfied, and all its 
 threatened penalties for ever averted. In thy cross, we 
 behold the divine wrath poured forth in fiery indignation 
 against sin, we behold the divine justice inflicting the 
 merited condemnation ; and yet that anger turned away 
 from the sinner and converted into love, and that justice 
 satisfied and converted into mercy. Oh ! who can tell 
 what seas of difficulties were then dried up, what moun- 
 tains of apparent impossibilities were levelled in that hour 
 of darkness and of horror ? Away then with the whole 
 rubbish of human devices, and works of merit, and rags of 
 righteousness, and let the giant deed stand forth alone in 
 its transcendant greatness, its resplendent lustre. And 
 let the souls of the redeemed on earth respond to the song 
 of heaven, saying, " Worthy is the Lamb that was slain 
 
16 
 
 to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, 
 and honoui-, and glory, and blessing ; for thou hast re- 
 deemed us by thy blood, out of every kindred, and tongue, 
 and people, and nation." 
 
 IV. It is the Christian watchman's duty to enforce all 
 his warnings and instructions by the most urgent exhor- 
 tations. 
 
 But what need, it may be asked, after all that has now 
 been stated, what need of any additional exhortations ? 
 On the supposition that ye were uninterested hearers of 
 statements like the preceding, what would ye naturally 
 imagine ought to be the conduct of offenders so circum- 
 stanced, and made to listen to such glad tidings of great 
 joy ? Would ye not imagine that one and all of them 
 would rush forward almost with violence, and fall down 
 before the divine footstool, and confess, and pray, " Lord, 
 I am a worm of the dust, a sinful rebel. I lie before 
 thee self-condemned; justly hast thou doomed me to 
 death — death temporal, spiritual, and eternal. But now 
 thou hast assured the guilty that there is deliverance 
 through the cross of Christ. To it I flee. And, through 
 the grace and strength of the Spirit, striving to settle 
 there, and weather out the storm of thy righteous indig- 
 nation, I would ascribe unto thee, all the praise and the 
 glory, for ever and ever, amen." 
 
 Would ye not, if called on to judge as unconcerned 
 spectators, would ye not suppose that such would be the 
 ready confession, and such the earnest prayer of every of- 
 fending transgressor ? What then shall we say, when ye 
 
17 
 
 yourselves are the guilty transgressors? In judging 
 others, have ye not passed sentence of condemnation 
 upon yourselves, if your conduct does not comport with 
 the righteous judgment delivered? And what is your 
 conduct ? What does conscience say as in the presence 
 of the all-seeing God ? Does its peace point to the repose 
 of heaven, or its disquietude to the restless tossings of the 
 fiery lake ? Oh, we believe, we verily believe, that some 
 are present here, whose knowledge and experience accu- 
 rately correspond with every feature and lineament of the 
 above representation ! And such we regard, as they are 
 the most ready to acknowledge themselves to be, as 
 brands snatched from the burning. And such we pro- 
 nounce happy now, and happy, inconceivably happy, 
 for evermore. For these, however poor or despised their 
 condition, are, after all, the real nobles of the earth. They 
 are the sons of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. And 
 they shall one day sit on thrones, and live and reign with 
 him for ever and ever. But Oh, we are forced, however 
 unwillingly, to believe that such is not the condition 
 of many, aye, perhaps of the great majority in this, or 
 any other congregation of professing Christians ! Often 
 have ye been besought by faithful watchmen in this place, 
 as from the borders of the grave, and the frontiers of per- 
 dition, to return and be reconciled to a gracious God. 
 And yet it seems to us as if we must still take up the 
 burden of the prophet's complaint and cry out, " Who 
 hath believed our report ?" It seems to us as if we had 
 spent our strength in vain, and our labour for nought. 
 It seems to us as if the earth were of iron, and the hea- 
 
 B 
 
18 
 
 vens of brass, and no dew descending. It seems to us as 
 if, in the good-natured simplicity of idiocy, we had been 
 singing a song to awaken unto Ufe some mangled and 
 putrid carcasses, or waving a feather to arrest the career of 
 a raging hurricane, or sprinkling a few drops of water to 
 soften and liquify some rocks of solid adamant. For, 
 " Who hath beheved our report ? "' — " Hear, O heavens ; 
 and give ear, O earth : the Lord hath nourished and 
 brought up children, and they have rebelled against him. 
 They have become a sinful nation, a people laden with 
 iniquity, a seed of evil-doers, children that are corrupters. 
 They have forsaken the Lord, they have provoked the 
 Holy One of Israel to anger !" — And yet, when, instead 
 of consuming them as dross, and devouring them as 
 stubble, the Lord condescends to appoint watchmen, to 
 warn the wicked, — yea, pointing to the meritorious death 
 of the blessed Emmanuel, to enter into the language of 
 earnest encouraging entreaty, saying, " Come now, let us 
 reason together; though your sins be as scarlet, they 
 shall be as snow ; though they be red like crimson, they 
 shall be as wool," — Oh, how is all such expostulation and 
 entreaty, and forth-putting of the divine forbearance, and 
 goodness, and love, too often met with on our part? 
 " Wonder, O heavens, and be ye horribly amazed !" — 
 Men, apostate rebels, seized by justice and condemned 
 to die, seem to take a fiend-like advantage of the short 
 respite allowed them by a compassionate God. And we 
 hear of some idly engaged in speculating on the essence 
 and constitution of the Godhead ; and others, in framing 
 theories on the nature and origin of man : some, mightily 
 
19 
 
 offended at the humbling charges of guilt that are prefer- 
 red against them ; and others, roused into indignation at 
 the denouncement of eternal woe : some, quarrelling with 
 the divine rank and majesty of the Mediator ; and others, 
 afFectingr to disdain salvation throug^h a crucified Re- 
 deemer : some, scorning to receive pardon as the result 
 of free and sovereign grace ; and others, making light of 
 the whole matter, — insinuating that the message may not 
 be from God, and that those who propound it, may be in- 
 terested deceivers. 
 
 In these, and similar ways, do self-blinded men often re- 
 ject the counsels of a merciful God, to their own destruc- 
 tion and everlasting infamy. How, then, are we to deal 
 with such of this description as are now present? How 
 are we to bring home the arrows of conviction into your 
 consciences ? Or, shall we desist from the attempt alto- 
 gether ? Shall we leave you undisturbed ? Shall we, 
 out of a false and temporizing charity, allow you to pro- 
 ceed onwards without sounding an alarm? Shall we, 
 with a view to win your good opinion, dismiss the pecu- 
 liar doctrines of Christianity as dry, and harsh, and offen- 
 sive to ears polite ? Shall we rather descant on the beau- 
 ties of virtue, the decencies and moralities of social and 
 private life, or the speculations of a vain but fascinating 
 philosophy ? Shall we dwell on the dignity of human 
 nature, and extol its excellencies, and magnify its preten- 
 sions to glory and honour, and even to the praise and ap- 
 probation of the great God ? Ah, then, would we only 
 prove the murderers of your immortal souls, — cruelly exem- 
 plifying the conduct of the fiendish man, who could amuse 
 
20 
 
 thoughtless children with toys and sweetmeats, till he al- 
 lured them to the brink of the fatal precipice, down which 
 they tumbled and were dashed to pieces in the fall ! Great 
 God, forbid that we should thus be guilty of the blood of 
 souls ! 
 
 Regardless, therefore, alike of the censure or applause, 
 the opposition or the favour of men, as mere men, we 
 stand before you simply as watchmen bearing the com- 
 mission of Christ, to whom, and not to you, we have to 
 give an account. And as He came " to seek and to save 
 that which was lost," we have to declare to all of you who 
 have not yet fled to the Saviour, the unerring sentence of 
 Heaven, and pronounce you lost. And we would call on 
 you anew, to weigh the import of the awful word lost^ — and 
 to connect it with the equally awful word perish, — and 
 then, in solemn seriousness, to ask yourselves, how ye can 
 dwell with devouring fire, how ye can dwell with everlast- 
 ing burnings ? — how ye can endure the stinging worm of 
 a guilty conscience that will never die, and the fire of that 
 divine wrath which your own sins have enkindled, that 
 never will be quenched? — And we might harrow your 
 feelings, and awaken your horror, by an appeal that could 
 only be effectually re-echoed by the shrieks of tor- 
 mented outcasts, and the groans of agonized spirits. But 
 we know lull well, that, however necessary in arousing, the 
 terrors of the Lord can never soften into the obedience of 
 love ; and if dwelt upon exclusively, might drive weak- 
 minded men into despair. Praise, then, eternal praise to 
 Jehovah, Lord of Hosts, that, amid the threatenings of im- 
 pending judgment, and the storms of a coming vengeance, 
 
n 
 
 the heavens h;ive rent asunder, and the Sun of Righteous- 
 ness has burst, in effulgent glory, on a tempest-tossed and 
 shipwrecked world, — and a voice has been heard from the 
 peaceful regions beyond ; — it is the voice of a beseeching 
 God — the voice of kindness and love unspeakable. And 
 this voice, we are commanded, as faithful watchmen, again 
 and again to reiterate in your hearing, " As I live I have 
 no pleasure in the death of the wicked ; but rather that 
 the wicked would return and live : turn ye, turn ye, why 
 will ye die ?" 
 
 And, oh, that we could cause the awakening voice to 
 reach the consciences of every one of you ; yea, proclaim 
 it aloud, till the dwellers in the wilderness had heard the 
 sound, and the tenants of the rock had sent back the echo, 
 that God is waiting to be gracious to you all — that he 
 wills not the death of any, even the most unrighteous of 
 a fallen and rebellious race. Only return to the strong- 
 hold as prisoners of hope, and Christ, with all the blessings 
 of the new covenant, will be yours. Are ye ignorant and 
 foolish ? He is made of God unto you. Wisdom. Are 
 ye guilty and condemned ? He is made of God unto you, 
 Righteousness. Are ye vile and polluted ? He is made 
 of God unto you, Sanctification. Are ye captive and en- 
 thralled? He is made of God unto you. Redemption* 
 Are ye in darkness ? He is the brightness of the Father's 
 glory. Are ye in sorrow and sadness ? He is the Conso- 
 lation of Israel. Are ye labouring under spiritual mala- 
 dies ? He is the balm in Gilead, and the Almighty Phy- 
 sician there. Are ye cold and callous, dead in trespasses 
 and sins, without even the will to be saved ? He sends 
 
22 
 
 forth the Comforter to quicken, and subdue, and apply all 
 the enriching influences of his grace. To sinners of every 
 degree ; to sinners of every name and age ; to sinners of 
 every rank, and temper, and disposition; we "preach 
 Christcrucified, the power of God, and the wisdom of God," 
 for your salvation. We again testify and declare, that if 
 Heaven continue to frown upon you, it is because of your 
 hardened impenitence. If ye are miserable, and without 
 hope, the fault is your own. If ye die in your sins, your 
 blood will be on your^own heads. If ye perish, it is not 
 for want of a Saviour. If ye agonize for ever under the 
 load of unforgiven sin, it is not because you have not been 
 warned and entreated ; for how shall ye escape if ye ne- 
 glect so great salvation ? And to leave you finally with- 
 out excuse — we protest and appeal in the presence of 
 angels and of men ! If, — in the immediate view of those 
 affecting memorials of a once suffering but now exalted 
 Saviour, the piercing spear, and the crown of thorns, and 
 the bloody sweat, and the accursed tree, — ye still rush 
 on, with " frantic speed," to the gulph of perdition, will 
 ye not deservedly perish ? What ! deservedly perish ? 
 Oh, righteous Father ! shall thy children first raise the 
 standard of an impious rebellion against thee ? — and, in the 
 view of infinite mercies, with the flag of peace waving be- 
 fore their eyes, and the banner of free pardon streaming 
 from the walls of the New Jerusalem, shall they still set 
 at nought all thy counsel, and deliberately resolve to 
 perish ? — perish miserably and everlastingly, by plunging 
 the unhallowed weapons, that proved impotent against 
 thee, not into frail bodies that must crumble into dust, 
 
23 
 
 but into their own souls — those precious souls that will 
 never die ? Must thine unnatural children be left thus to 
 perish in their madness, as they deserve ? No, no. Once 
 more we hear the voice from heaven, breaking in accents 
 of tenderness on the stillness of this assembly : — " As I 
 live I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked." 
 Awake, arise, then, ye who still slumber and sleep, and 
 even at the eleventh hour, shall Christ give you light. 
 " Awake, arise, or be for ever fallen." 
 
 But I must now hasten to the more immediate business 
 of the day, to which the remarks already offered seem to 
 furnish a natural introduction. 
 
 Dearly beloved brethren, — A new relationship has now 
 been commenced and ratified between yourselves and the 
 pastor of your own free choice. It is a high and holy re- 
 lationship, that involves mutual duties and responsibilities 
 of the most solemn character. You are the occupants of 
 a stronghold, closely besieged by enemies at once numerous 
 and powerful ; your pastor is the watchman appointed to 
 walk round the walls, and sound the timely note of warn- 
 ing. Revolve then in your minds, all that has this day 
 been uttered respecting the imminence of the danger, and 
 the mode of escape, together with the office of the watch- 
 man in fearlessly arousing attention to both, and say 
 whether the respective duties of watchman and watched, 
 do not flash on your enlightened understandings with the 
 constraining power of demonstrated truths ? 
 
 I am aware, that on an occasion like the present, it is 
 
24 
 
 usual to descend from generals to particulars, as respects 
 the reciprocal duties of pastor and people, — usual also, 
 to unroll the catalogue of those peculiar talents and qua- 
 lifications that specially fit the former for undertaking the 
 oversight of the latter. 
 
 Your pastor's duties I leave in a great measure to be 
 inferred from the statements already adduced, and from 
 what may yet follow. 
 
 As to his talents and qualifications for the oversight of 
 this flock, 1 can truly say, that did I wish to descant on 
 the moral, intellectual, and experienced fitness of any 
 man, I could not desire a more appropriate subject, or a 
 more reasonable opportunity than the present. I might 
 tell you of his musings, and researches, and well earned 
 honours, when nursed in academic bowers. I might tell 
 of his chivalrous ardour in the cause of truth, when, on 
 the continent of Europe, he toiled in resuscitating ma- 
 terials from the tomb of oblivion, for the vindication of 
 that illustrious man, — than whom a brighter luminary 
 shone not among the morning stars of the Reformation, — 
 the splendours of whose sanctified genius enkindled a 
 corresponding flame in the bosom of our own great Na- 
 tional Reformer ; and, from him transmitted through con- 
 genial channels, have since been reflected in multiplied 
 rays, from the breasts of thousands and tens of thousands 
 of our Scottish population. I might tell of his unwearied 
 watchfulness in "blowing the trumpet" in the high 
 places of the land, and of his moral heroism in labour- 
 ing to stem the torrent of covetousness and degeneracy 
 that threatens to deluge the metropolis of these realms, — 
 
25 
 
 and not of these realms only, but in respect to political 
 and commercial influence, the metropolis of the globe itself. 
 
 On these, and similar topics, I might expatiate at large j 
 but having an instinctive aversion myself, almost border- 
 ing on abhorrence, of the ordinary but indelicate practice 
 of pronouncing eulogies, however well deserved, on living 
 men, more particularly in their own presence, I purposely 
 forbear. And in doing so, I cherish the assured confi- 
 dence that I have consulted my own judgment and feel- 
 ings, not less than the judgment and feelings of my 
 respected friend and brother, the newly installed shepherd 
 of this flock. 
 
 Our God is a jealous God; his glory will he not give 
 to another ; and he has declared that he alone shall be 
 exalted. We ought, therefore, to shudder at the very 
 idea of creature-exaltation. Did even a heathen king ex- 
 claim, " is not this great Babylon that I have built for 
 the house of the kingdom, by the might of my power 
 and the honour of my majesty ?" — and was not the in- 
 spired historian directed with emphasis to add, that " while 
 the word was in the kind's mouth, there fell a voice from 
 heaven, saying, O king, to thee it is spoken, the king- 
 dom is departed from thee ? " What a warning to all that 
 are actuated by the spirit of the Babylonian monarch I 
 And yet, is it not the very spirit that too often pervades 
 the sayings and doings, not of heathens but of Christians, 
 and too often inflates those high-sounding panegyrics that 
 ever and anon drop around us, from the prince to the 
 peasant, thick as the leaves of autumn ? 
 
 Did men only remember, that if their knowledge more 
 
26 
 
 tliaii equalled that ot the cherubim, or " knowing ones"— 
 knowino-, with a force of intuition that bears the nearest 
 approach to the divine omniscience ; and their holiness 
 and zeal outshone that of the seraphim or "burning 
 ones," — burning with a purity and clearness of which 
 the brightness of flaming fire presents no adequate em- 
 blem ; and the fervour of their devotion were more ecsta- 
 tic than that of the ten thousand times ten thousand that 
 chant their hallelujahs before the throne ; — they would, 
 after all, in the sight of Jehovah, be as nothing, yea 
 " less than nothing and vanity." Did they only remem- 
 ber, that if they spoke with the tongues of angels and 
 archangels, and their labours of love outrivalled the united 
 achievements of the noble army of prophets, apostles, and 
 martyrs, — they would still, as dependent creatures, be 
 nothing better than " unprofitable servants." Did they 
 only feel, at all times, duly impressed by such humiliat- 
 ing but severely true reflections, oh ! how would it cover 
 with confusion and dismay that idolatrous spirit with whose 
 laudatory prowess the world has for ages rung ? 
 
 In accordance with such sentiments I at once leave my 
 respected friend and brother to be the bearer of his own 
 credentials. I leave his gifts and his graces, whether in 
 the pulpit or in the closet, at the family altar, or at the 
 weary pilgrim's death-bed — in his walk and conversation, 
 in his outgoings and incomings — I leave all, to be their 
 own living testimonials. I desire to sink the man into 
 the watchman. And the highest and truest eulogium 
 that I can venture to pronounce upon him is, that as a 
 watchman on the towers of this your Zion, he will be 
 
27 
 
 sure to sound the trumpet so loud and so long, that if 
 sinners awake and rise not, and so die in their iniquity, 
 their blood will never, never be required at his hands. 
 ' Allow me, therefore, friends and brethren, sincerely to 
 congratulate you on the happy termination of all your 
 anxieties, by the harmonious introduction of such a watch- 
 man amongst you. 
 
 Not that a different result could from the first, have 
 been reasonably apprehended. Believing, as we do, that 
 there is a God in heaven that sits behind the veil of Pro- 
 vidence, directing the ten thousand concurrent trains of 
 causes and effects which constitute the moral not less 
 than the material universe, one absolute " infinity of 
 design," — knowing also, that the rulers and members of 
 this congregation were all along animated by the spirit 
 of love, moved by the spirit of prayer, and guided by 
 the spirit of peace, — how could we doubt that the Spirit 
 of Him who is the God of love, the Hearer of prayer 
 and the Father of peace, would ultimately guide them in 
 safety to the haven of their hearts' desire ? 
 
 There is however a calm enjoyment in fruition that 
 pertains not to hope, however well founded — a settled re- 
 pose in consummation that belongs not to the contempla- 
 tion of means, however wisely instituted. 
 
 But, brethren, if, actuated by motives the mostconscien- 
 tious, and overborne by circumstances the most providen- 
 tial, your adopted pastor has been led to resign the pre- 
 vious charge of a devoted and beloved people ; and if, by 
 so doing, the termination of your anxieties has proved 
 the commencement of theirs — and vour enrichment 
 
28 
 
 their tempoVary impoverishment, oh, forget not, that 
 they have imperative claims on your Christian sympathies, 
 and your prayers. 
 
 This leads us next, briefly, but specifically, to consider 
 some of the more important obligations due by you towards 
 your newly appointed pastor ; since, by necessary conse- 
 quence, onerous duties on his part, must involve corres- 
 ponding obligations on yours. 
 
 1 . It is your duty to receive him as " one set over you in 
 the Lord," and to honour him highly " for his work's sake." 
 
 Minds unbalanced by the spirit of holiness are ever apt 
 to run into extremes. Thus, has superstition invariably 
 clothed the priestly office with the functions of a divine 
 vicegerency on earth ; while infidelity has as invariably 
 refused the humble tribute due to a servant of the Most 
 High. Be it your part scrupulously to avoid either ex- 
 treme. Your pastor, you are bound to receive as one 
 who does sustain a sort of representative character,— not, 
 however, in the way of impiously personating divinity, 
 but as appointed, in the good providence of God, to watch 
 over your souls, as one that must give an account at the 
 judgment-seat of Christ. If he executes aright his com- 
 mission, his warnings may be blessed of God, to the saving 
 of your souls. If he is faithless to his trust, the blood of 
 your souls may be required at his hands. Surely, such 
 terrible responsibility, voluntarily undertaken on your be- 
 half, must ever rescue him from unmerited neglect, and 
 mark him out as the worthy object of honour and esteem. 
 
 But, to honour and respect him, as " set over you in 
 the Lord," is one thing; to " exalt him above measure," 
 
29 
 
 is another, — to esteem and love him "for his work's sake," 
 one thing; and quite another, to raise him to the dano-er- 
 ous pinnacle, where, amid showers of praise and adidation, 
 hundreds have become intoxicated, have staffofered, and 
 
 CO ' 
 
 have fallen. Bear ever in mind, that by no desert of his 
 own, but by the grace of God, he is what he is. And while 
 ye affectionately regard him as " the nursing father " of 
 your souls, constantly ascribe the praise and the glory to 
 Him who hath bestowed those gifts of nature and of grace, 
 by the exercise of which sinners are warned, and saints are 
 built up in their most holy faith. Thus shall ye succeed 
 in delivering him from the curse of being foolishly idolized 
 on the one hand, or wantonly contemned on the other. 
 
 2. It is your duty to be sparing in your demands on his 
 time and strength. 
 
 > People profess to be disappointed when there is a mani- 
 fest unpreparedness in the Sabbath ministrations of their 
 pastor. And yet, how often do these very people, during 
 the week, by means of idle calls, unprofitable invitations, 
 and redundant hospitalities — the recurrence of domestic 
 fetes and sundry religious festivals, under appropriate de- 
 signations — labour as much as in them lies, to cut off the 
 possibility of suitable preparations being made for the pul- 
 pit ? More than this, as if it were not enough to mono- 
 polize time, contributions must be unsparingly levied on 
 strength too. Wherever the favourite pastor is present, 
 the fondness of attachment must be shewn, by expecting 
 him to be the oracle in conversation, the expounder of 
 God's word, the intercessor in prayer, and the popular 
 haranguer in the public assembly. 
 
30 
 
 None but those who have borne " the burden and heat 
 of the day," in the active discharge of a pastor's jurisdic- 
 tion, can possibly comprehend the nature of that multitu- 
 dinous throng of miscellaneous duties, which necessarily 
 devolve upon him, and almost crush his enfeebled frame 
 into the dust. How unwise, then, how inconsiderate, and 
 how unkind, to aggravate the evil, by the addition of 
 aught that is unnecessary or superfluous ! If the age of 
 miracles had not gone by : if pastors had not been men 
 but angels : if, on ascending the pulpit, they could trust 
 to some inexplicable supernatural afflatus that would cause 
 their ideas spontaneously to flow in a full tide of reason, 
 and argument, and persuasive eloquence : and if, besides, 
 this earthly tabernacle had not been fragile clay, but brass 
 or adamant — then indeed, but not till tb'^n, could a 
 plausible apology be framed in defence of the countless, 
 and often nondescript exactions, with which, in our day, 
 ministerial time and ministerial strength are so unmerciful- 
 ly bc^leaguered. But, as facts are notoriously the reverse 
 of all this, suffer me, my dear hearers, in the spirit of 
 kindness, to caution you against the fatal inconsideration 
 now reprobated. Roused by some unusual stimulus or 
 pressing emergency, men may, at times, do wonders, both 
 in speech and action. But depend upon it, that, without 
 due time for study, meditation, and prayer, no man can well 
 prepare a continued series of effective discourses ; or, if pre- 
 pared, without a reasonable measure of health and strength, 
 they can never be effectively delivered. And if ye persist 
 in goading an already over-willing spirit, the brittle thread 
 of life may be prematurely snapped asunder, and ye may 
 
31 
 
 be unexpectedly called on to accompany the object of re- 
 verential regard, with sorrowing hearts, to the grave. 
 
 There are, alas, hireling watchmen, to whose case the 
 preceding remarks are wholly inapplicable. " Blind they 
 are and ignorant : dumb dogs that cannot bark ; sleeping, 
 lying down, loving to slumber," But praised be God, 
 yours is not of the unhappy number. 
 
 3. It is your duty to put the most candid and charitable 
 construction on his general conduct. 
 
 A Christian minister is bound by his profession to be 
 the depository of " sound doctrine ;" and, in practice, a 
 pattern to his flock. A Christian people are equally 
 bound, by their profession, to acknowledge no one su- 
 premely as master, save Christ, and no authoritative stan- 
 dard of appeal, save the Bible. And as no minister who 
 is a mere man, can pretend to be infallible in judgment, 
 or immaculate in conduct, the people can never renounce 
 their liberty of conscience, and freedom of thought in 
 bringing both his doctrine and practice to the unerring 
 touchstone of God's holy word. But, while such compari- 
 son is not only suggested, but demanded by the spirit of 
 faithfulness, it ought ever to be conducted in the spirit of 
 love and prayer. Remember that he who occupies the 
 post of leader in the fore-front of battle, is most exposed 
 to the' shafts of the enemy. If, then, errors and faults, 
 real or imaginary, should be discovered, let them be ten- 
 derly dealt with. Let them not be heedlessly blazoned 
 forth, to become sport for the spirit of malice, which de- 
 lights in magnifying the failings of others, in order to 
 screen one's own. Let them not be cruelly circulated 
 
32 
 
 about, as the staple article of that religious conversation 
 which too often degenerates into religious gossip, and that 
 again, into a wholesale retailer of irreligious scandal. On 
 the contrary, mourn over them in sorrow, or carry them to 
 a throne of grace, or go, in the spirit of love, to the pas- 
 tor himself, and " entreat him as a father." How know 
 you, but opinions and conduct that appeared, at first view, 
 inexplicable or inconsistent, may admit of the most valid 
 explanation, or the most triumphant defence ? 
 
 Take one example by way of illustration, on account of 
 its constant recurrence. Does the supposed fault consist 
 in the absence or diminution of personal attentions ? Are 
 the pastor's visits of mercy less frequent than before, or 
 less frequent to you than to others ? And must this be 
 construed as an indication that he is less interested than 
 formerly in your temporal and spiritual welfare ? Suffer 
 not, I beseech you, the injurious insinuation to grow into 
 suspicion, and suspicion into jealousy, with its attendant 
 brood of discomposing reflections. For, how know you, by 
 what causes he may have been influenced, and whetherthese, 
 if revealed, might not amply justify his apparent neglect? 
 How know you, what an unusual pressure of harassing en- 
 gagements may have devoured his time ; or what urgent 
 peculiarities of circumstance may have unavoidably divert- 
 ed a more than ordinary share of attention elsewhere ? In 
 this and every other similar case, let love " without dis- 
 simulation " predominate in your hearts, and preside over 
 your cogitations, — that love " which thinketh no evil, — 
 which rejoiceth not in iniquity, but rejoiceth in the truth ;" — 
 and if ye judge at all, ye cannot fail, in accordance with 
 
33 
 
 the precept of your divine Master, to "judge righteous 
 judgment." 
 
 4. It is your duty to pray for him frequently and fer- 
 vently. 
 
 The minister is so very commonly styled " the mouth- 
 piece" of the congregation, and the people are so much 
 accustomed to claim a peculiar interest in his prayers, that 
 the very idea of its being their duty, in return, to pray for 
 him, is often allowed to drop into practical non-existence. 
 Yet, it is very certain that there was a period in the 
 Christian Church, when the prayers of the people in behalf 
 of those who ministered among them in " word and doc- 
 trine," were highly prized, and earnestly solicited. And by 
 whom, think you, has the solicitation been most frequently 
 and importunately reiterated ? By one whose writings are 
 characterised by no expletives — no supernumerary expres- 
 sions; by one as highly endowed with gifts of nature, and 
 assuredly as enriched with those of grace, as any of the 
 most favoured of the sons of men ; by one, who, being 
 caught up into the third heavens, saw and heard things 
 unutterable, and who, while a sojourner on earth, seemed 
 fired with the holy energy of a celestial visitant. And if 
 Paul, the prince of apostles, and the brightest ornament 
 of mere humanity since the fall, set a value so pre-eminent 
 on the prayers of the members of the primitive Church, 
 how much more ought ordinarily gifted ambassadors to re- 
 quest and prize the supplications of the faithful ? 
 
 Prayer in the name of Christ, and through the all-pre- 
 vailing merit of his intercession, is the key that unlocks 
 the golden treasury above. And if it be true, that, when the 
 
 C 
 
34 
 
 pastor's prayers are wanting, the people are apt to famish, 
 is it less likely to be true, that the absence of prayer on 
 the part of the people may issue in sterility in the minis- 
 trations of the pastor ? If the prayers of the shepherd open 
 wide the windows of heaven, till the streams of grace come 
 down in an inundation of spiritual affluence among the 
 members of the flock, who can tell, when his instructions 
 are most unctuous, and his appeals most effective, but the 
 secret aspirations of some humble disciple may have pre- 
 viously ascended to the throne of the Eternal, and are then 
 found descending on his head, laden with heaven's richest 
 perfume ? 
 
 My dear hearers, when ye pray for yourselves, and all 
 your brethren of mankind, let not special petitions in be- 
 half of your pastor be found unregistered in the calendars 
 of eternity. 
 
 5. It is your duty to be prepared not only for variety, 
 both in the matter and manner of his public addresses, but 
 such variety as may not appear always instructive to all 
 who hear. 
 
 Remember that a minister has to deal with every gra^ 
 dation of intellect, from the most shallow to the most pro- 
 found, from the most illiterate to the most learned, — and 
 with every description of character, from the trembling 
 inquirer to the most confirmed believer ; from the most 
 abandoned profligate to the most advanced saint. Of ne- 
 cessity, if faithful to his trust, he must endeavour to ren- 
 der his instructions successively applicable to the state, 
 temper, and condition of all. In order to this, he must 
 bring out of his treasury " things new and old," in forms 
 
35 
 
 endlessly diversified. Otherwise, how can he, in the 
 highest and most legitimate sense of the expression, " be- 
 come all things to all men ? " How can he minister to 
 their different necessities ? How can he be wise to win 
 souls? Instead, therefore, of indulging in the tone of 
 ignorant, carping criticism, instead of rehearsing the com- 
 plaint of dislikings and disapprovals, learn to disengage 
 yourselves from the narrow exclusive spirit that would con- 
 centre all upon self. Learn to view each other as mem- 
 bers of one body — one common brotherhood, the head of 
 which is Christ — and, instead of launching forth sentences 
 of condemnation, seriously inquire whether any brother has 
 been revived by what may have proved unrefreshingto you. 
 And if the inquiry be met in the affirmative, rejoice on 
 account of that which has been blessed to a brother, 
 though it may have appeared to you unsavoury, inappli- 
 cable, or even unintelligible. 
 
 Has your minister a mind enriched with the stores of 
 human learning' and wisdom ? It is for the sake of some, 
 to silence the cavils of the unbeliever and the scoffer, — to 
 unravel the sophistries and confound the subtleties of the 
 ungodly and the profane, — to clear the meaning, esta- 
 blish the connection, and exhibit, in alluring colours, the 
 divine beauty and harmony of that revelation which ought 
 to form the anchor of your souls, sure and steadfast, and 
 unmoveable. 
 
 Does he possess clearness of thought, quickness of per- 
 ception, vigour of language, and irresistible cogency of 
 argument ? It is, for the sake of others, to pull down the 
 
36 
 
 strongholds of error, to establish the foundations of truth, 
 to fight the battles of the faith. 
 
 Can he, if not with the awfiil thunders, at least with 
 the awful terrors of Mount Sinai, sound in your ears the 
 dread .sentence, " Cursed art thou, because thou hast not 
 continued in all things written in the book of the law to 
 do them ? " It is to arouse all of you from the deep slum- 
 bers of a fatal security. 
 
 ' Does he display richness of fancy, and beauty of illus- 
 tration ? Does he searchingly explore the secrets of the 
 heart, and expose to the light of day its ingenious subter- 
 fuges ? Does he wield a master's influence over the pas- 
 sions, and meltingly impress the feelings with a pathos of 
 deepest tenderness ? It is all for the sake of arresting your 
 attention, subduing your hearts, and encouraging your 
 souls to rest upon Him who is the only " refuge from the 
 storm," the only " covert from the tempest." 
 
 Once more, can he discourse in the softest strains of 
 speech ? Can he dwell, in the most affecting manner, on 
 the unspeakable love of Christ ? Can he describe the bit- 
 terness of his sufferings, and the glories of his regal state? 
 Can he charm with his glowing descriptions of the joys of 
 heaven, and the triumphant songs of the redeemed ? It is 
 all with a view to strengthen your faith, to increase your 
 joy, and inflame the ardour of your love. 
 
 In a word, has God been pleased to endow him with a 
 rich variety of gifts ? It is in order that he may be en- 
 abled to distribute the bread of life in proper season, and 
 in due proportion, so as most effectually to meet the varied 
 wants of all. 
 
37 
 
 6. It is your duty to spare him the anguish of spirit that 
 must accrue from finding you hearers of the Word only, 
 and not doers also. 
 
 " Hear the word at my mouth and give them warning 
 from me," is the language of Jehovah. It is therefore at 
 your peril if ye resist its practical influence. 
 
 Some there are who regard the relation between pastor 
 and people as a matter of gross arithmetical calculation — 
 a mutual compact which acknowledges no seal, save that 
 of " filthy lucre." The latter furnish their pecuniary 
 quota, and the former supplies an equivalent in preaching, 
 and what more have they to do with each other ? True, 
 if the pastor has faithfully given the warning, he has 
 " saved his own soul," but if the people have rejected it 
 they must " die in their iniquity." But a wretched 
 hireling must he be who can thus deal out his warnings 
 like so many marketable commodities, and then sit down 
 in easy contentment with his mercenary reward. Think 
 you that the man who feels himself to be, in a certain 
 sense, the spiritual representative of his people, and an- 
 swerable at the bar of heaven for the blood of their souls, 
 think you, that such a man can be satisfied with a hire so 
 miserable and so perishable ? It cannot be. His must be 
 the glorious hire of ransomed souls. 
 
 When, therefore, time after time, and especially Sab- 
 bath after Sabbath, he lifts his voice in faithfulness as in 
 the presence of Jehovah, and the consciences of hearers 
 may be partially awakened, and their hearts partially 
 affected, and their understandings partially enlightened, 
 but still finds tliat, ere the next opportunity recurs, the 
 
38 
 
 world, with its ever-varying anodynes, in the shape of bu- 
 siness, or calculating carefulness, or festive amusement, 
 has uprooted the seeds of conviction, and effaced every 
 salutary impression ; think you, that this can be a pleasant 
 or comfortable discovery ? Oh ! it were comparatively easy 
 for those who place an undoubting reliance on their God, 
 to bear with the earthquake that swallowed up their dwell- 
 ings, or the pestilence that strewed their habitations with 
 the ghastly relics of beloved friends ; yea, it were a matter 
 of rejoicing to encounter perils of waters, perils of robbers, 
 perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the 
 sea, and perils among the heathen, in order to rescue pe- 
 rishing souls from the " horrible pit and the miry clay," 
 and restore them to the open fields and clear heavens of 
 pardon, reconciliation, peace, and joy. But, for the faith- 
 ful servants of Christ, to exhaust themselves into weak- 
 ness, to belabour themselves into the grave ; and all this 
 for the production of impressions transient as those made 
 by the fluttering wing on " the elastic air," or the cross- 
 ing ship on the " unfurrowed ocean ;" all this, therefore, 
 for the accomplishment of nothing, or less than nothing, 
 or worse than nothing, even the aggravation of the guilt 
 of those who turn a deaf ear to so many entreaties, — Oh ! 
 such a reflection as this, forced on the mind by dire ex- 
 perience, often produces a state of feeling that defies de- 
 scription — it is often an agony without a name. 
 
 God, in mercy, grant that those now present may spare 
 their pastor the infliction of such an agony. 
 
 If ye do, your own will be the rich reward. If, awak- 
 ened by your shepherd's warnings, ye arise, and flee for 
 
3f) 
 
 your lives to tlie hope set before you in the Gospel, ye 
 shall taste of purer joys than earth can afford. Ye shall, 
 in your own experience, confute the vile calumny that to 
 become believers in Christ, is to cease to be happy — is to 
 relinquish the springs of enjoyment, and assume the garb 
 of moroseness and melancholy. For who, friends and 
 brethren, have the best title to rejoice ? — the children of 
 this world, who toil more severely after some fleeting ima- 
 ginary good than the galley slave at the oar, or the 
 wretched captive in the Siberian mines, and toil in vain, 
 and die in despair ? — or the children of God, whom the 
 voice of pardon has called from the wintry region of sin 
 and wrath, to the radiant abodes of light and liberty — 
 called to be partakers of the exuberant bounties of God's 
 grace here, and the inheritors of glory, honour, and im- 
 mortality hereafter ? Need we hesitate as to the nature of 
 the reply ? You, who have been called, and justified, and 
 sanctified, tell me — tell me, ye hoary-headed saints — if 
 you have not really found all the ways of religion, ways 
 of pleasantness, and all her paths, paths of peace ? You, 
 whose souls were once troubled by many painful, many 
 restless anxieties, do you testify, for you alone can, how 
 incomparably sweet was the sense of that pardon which 
 opened unto you the gates of righteousness and peace. 
 You, who had long mourned in darkness, fearfully agitated 
 with thoughts of guilt, despair, and fiery indignation, do 
 you testify, for you alone can, how inexpressibly ravish- 
 ing was that joy which streamed through your souls with 
 overflowing fulness, when the day-star first arose in your 
 hearts, and the light of God's reconciled countenance shone 
 
40 
 
 full around you. Say, if this was not a " joy unspeakable, 
 and full of glory," — a gleam of that pure unalloyed 
 pleasure — a foretaste of that glowing, exquisite delight, 
 which " the spirits of just men made perfect" experience 
 in the sensible presence of Jehovah, and the Lamb. Aye, 
 and if dangers should still arise, and temptations assail, 
 and tempests lower, in your passage through time, tell 
 me if you are not enabled to withdraw and regale your- 
 selves in heavenly retreats. Happy, in poetic vision, the 
 possessors of those fabled islets reared on high in mid- 
 ocean, where, o'er-canopied by a sky that is ever clear and 
 embosomed in bowers that are ever green, they can look 
 down and calmly survey the abyss of tumultuous waters be- 
 neath : but happier far, in sober and felt reality, the people 
 who are raised aloft on the Rock of Ages, beyond the 
 reach of " windy storm and tempest." Upborne on the 
 wings of faith, hope, and charity, they can look down 
 serenely on the fitful changes of the world of busy men, 
 and view its commotions and strifes, its follies and fren- 
 zies, its horrors and deaths, undaunted and unmoved. 
 To them every tear is converted into gladness, and every 
 cloud is tinctured with a rainbow : every desert begins to 
 bloom, and every wilderness to blossom : nought is heard 
 in their tabernacles but the voice of melody, and the sha- 
 dows of the evening and morning rejoice over them for 
 good. 
 
 And if such be the stay and support of the righteous in 
 time — such their antepasts of eternal bliss — oh, what must 
 the boundless fruition be ! 
 
 The oftener we attempt, in thought, to cross the gulph 
 
41 
 
 that separates the visible from the invisible, in order to 
 bring back some report, however imperfect, of those bright 
 realms that shine afar, we must confess that we feel the 
 more constrained to sink down in wondering amazement 
 and exclaim, impossible, impossible ! And yet there are 
 times when the soul, as if buoyant with divine energy, 
 must wing its flight to the heaven of heavens ; even though 
 wearied and exhausted with the effort she should return 
 more baffled and confounded than ever. 
 
 We stand upon the ocean's shore : we look abroad on 
 the expanse of waters : we can discern neither bounds nor 
 bottom. We ascend some neighbouring and overhanging 
 cliff", around whose base the angry surges, lashed by the 
 storm, have often spent their fury : but still we can dis- 
 cern neither bounds nor bottom. We reach the summit 
 of some towering mountain that shoots upwards into the 
 sky ; we find the horizon widened till we are overawed by 
 a feelinof of the sublime in the view of what seems immea- 
 surable. 
 
 In the vision of faith, we take our stand on the shore of 
 eternity, and are soon overwhelmed at the dazzling pros- 
 pect. And the higher we ascend in the roll of unending 
 ages, the more it spreads and brightens before our view. 
 Entranced with rapture, we break forth into singing. 
 And our song is of the heavenly paradise, with its tree of 
 life, of which those who eat shall not hunger any more — 
 and its water of life, of which those who drink shall not 
 thirst any more — yea, and its fountains overflowing into 
 rivers, and rivers swelling into floods, and floods expand- 
 ing into oceans of pure, unmingled delights. But what 
 
4^2 
 
 are the choicest flowers and excellencies of earth but dim 
 corporeal resemblances ot" the unchangeable archetypes of 
 things in the heavens ? — Here, then, I must pause. I 
 have ventured to direct you to the threshold. I cannot 
 enter the temple. I feel lost under the blaze of glories 
 ineffable. I can only approach and admire, fall prostrate 
 and adore. And I beseech you to do so too. And, after 
 the toils, dangers and alarms of an earthly warfare, have 
 issued in final victory — and the forfeited shades of para- 
 dise lost, have been exchanged for the never-ending sun- 
 shine of paradise regained — you shall have an eternity 
 to expatiate amid the realities of the stupendous scene. 
 
 Finally, dearly beloved brethren, let me, in the touch- 
 ing simplicity of apostolic language say, while I say it 
 from the very bottom of my heart, "fare well." May 
 ■you fare well in time ; may you fare well in eternity. On 
 the subject of your kind intentions * towards myself, 1 dare 
 not enter, in this place ; but it is one to be had in grate- 
 ful and everlasting remembrance. I have this day endea- 
 voured to repay you, however inadequately, in the only 
 way in my power. And if ye suppose that ye owe aught 
 in return, the only way in which ye can cancel the debt, 
 is to remember more fervently in your prayers, and more 
 bountifully in your contributions, those millions of fellow- 
 subjects in the East thatare famishing for lack of knowledge. 
 For myself, I declare openly, because I do itin simplicity and 
 in truth, that I have long desired to be ready to be, and to 
 do, whatever my heavenly Father willed. However sense 
 may flout and scorn, by what faith must ever reckon a call 
 * See Appendix. 
 
43 
 
 from above, He hath been pleased to summon me, all feeble 
 and unworthy though I am, to undertake the office of 
 watchman in a far distant land — a land overshadowed with 
 idols — a land full of the habitations of cruelty — a land where, 
 above every other, Satan's dwellings may be said to be. 
 Thesummons I have already endeavoured cheerfully to obey. 
 And if I had thus early deserted my post, from any cause 
 less overpowering than an afflictive visitation of Providence 
 over which I had no control, methinks, the cry of the 
 blood of souls would have been still ringing in my ears — 
 haunting my path by day, and disturbing my repose by 
 night ! And where duty now plainly recalls me, I am 
 again prepared to go — " not knowing the things that shall 
 befal me there," — not knowing whether " ye shall see my 
 face in the flesh any more." But though oceans may 
 intervene in time, neither time nor space shall be able to 
 sever the union and communion of spirit with spirit, that 
 is redeemed through the blood of Jesus. The last mes- 
 senger may lay his iron grasp on this clayey tenement — 
 the cold grave may reduce it into ashes — and these may 
 be scattered to the four winds of heaven ; but, blessed be 
 God for the assured hope, that, on the hallowed morn, 
 which chases away the shadows of time, and ushers in the 
 "birth-day of eternity," soul and body, re-united and 
 glorified, shall mount on high, with ransomed myriads, 
 to possess the promised land : — 
 
 " Where death-divided friends at last 
 Shall meet to part no more." 
 
APPENDIX. 
 
 See Page 42. 
 Partly to explain this allusion, and partly to obviate certain prevalent 
 misconceptions on this subject, the following brief statement is sub- 
 mitted for the sake of readers at a distance from Aberdeen. 
 
 By the constitution of the South Parish Church, Aberdeen, the 
 magistrates are patrons of the church. The initiative, however, in 
 appointing a minister, is vested in a body of managers, along with 
 the kirk-session. And it is specially provided that, if the managers 
 and kirk-session are unanimous in nominating and recommending an 
 isdividual to undertake the pastoral superintendence over them, the 
 magistrates are bound to issue their presentation in favour of that 
 individual. 
 
 In February last a vacancy occurred in this church, which led to a 
 communication from A. Webster, Esq., Advocate, to the author, of 
 which the following is the commencement : — 
 
 Kimi Street, Aberdeen, 26th February 1836. 
 
 My Dear Sir, — I am about to address you on a subject most deeply 
 interesting and important, not to myself only, but to all connected 
 with the South Parish and congregation, and to which I entreat your 
 serious and prayerful consideration. 
 
 You are already aware that Mr Davidson is to leave that charge. 
 The magistrates presented him on Monday to the West Church, and 
 he has accepted of the presentation. Of this change I shall only say, 
 that the prospect of it has occasioned the gieatest anxiety to myself 
 and the other elders and managers, who, by the constitution, have 
 the initiative in appointing his successor. The circumstances of the 
 South Church congregation are so remarkable, distinguished as they 
 have always been for their entire harmony, (the best proof of which 
 was the unanimous election first of Mr Leith, and then of Mr David- 
 son,) as well as for their respectability and regularity, that the managers 
 and elders felt a most weighty responsibility devolved upon them in 
 the prospect of Mr Davidson's retirement. The most sanguine of us 
 scarcely ventured to hope for another unanimous settlement. You 
 will judge then of oirr feelirrgs, when it became evident that this 
 might be attained. 
 
 At a meeting of the managers and elders, held last night, Mr David- 
 son's resignation was laid before them. They then resolved, with one 
 voice, and most cordially, that you should be invited to undertake the 
 pastoral charge of the South Church, and as preses, I was directed to 
 communicate with you on the subject. You vaW therefore itnderstand 
 this letter as being not merely from myself, but as also conveying offi- 
 cially an expression of the wishes and sentiments of the whole body of 
 my colleagues. I believe, from what has reached me and them from 
 many quarters, that this resolution is only following up the wishes of 
 
45 
 
 the congregation in general ; and indeed the managers and elders would 
 not choose to act without a reference to their understood predilection. 
 
 The remainder of Mr Webster's letter is occupied with varied and 
 powerful statements, enforcing the peculiar claims of the South Parish 
 Church, expatiating at considerable length on its capabilities as a place 
 of ministerial usefulness, and illustrating the multiform advantages 
 connected with the spiritual oversight of it. 
 
 To this communication the following was the reply : — 
 
 My Dear Sir, — Seldom or never has any coumiunication more 
 deeply affected ine than yours of the 26th instant. A call so un- 
 prompted, so spontaneous, and so unanimous, to undertake the pastoral 
 charge of such an affectionate, united, and inrtuential congregation as 
 that of the South Parish Church of Aberdeen, might well fill with 
 emotion a heart more steeled than mine against the susceptibilities of 
 nature. It has led me most devoutly and solemnly, as in the sight of 
 the heart-searching God, to review the motives by which I have been 
 actuated to aspire to the high honour of " preaching among the Gen- 
 tiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." The considerations which 
 you adduce are confessedly grave and weighty ; but grave, and all but 
 overwhelming though they be, the result of my prayerful deliberation 
 has been a more matured conviction than ever, that duty to my God 
 and Saviour beckons me to forego all proffered advantages at home, 
 and persevere in devoting my feeble imperfect services to the advance- 
 ment of his glorious causae among the heathen. 
 
 Kno\ving as I do the enlarged spirit of Christian charity which you 
 breathe, I cannot doubt that you will patiently bear with me in pre- 
 senting the following cursory remarks: — 
 
 1st, There is no foundation whatever for the report that I have 
 been dissuaded from returning to India. Neither by word nor deed 
 have I ever given the least possible encouragement to it. True it is, 
 that many have attempted to dissuade ine, and more than once have the 
 most tempting offers of useful and honourable employment at home 
 been placed within my reach ; but I have uniformly resisted all such 
 solicitation, and peremptorily declined all such offers. Again and again 
 have the horrors of past affliction been cruelly resuscitated, in order to 
 scare me by the dread of future suffering. Still, though thrice brought 
 to the very brink of the grave by successive attacks of some of the 
 most virulent tropical diseases, and though not yet perfectly restored to 
 wonted health and strength, I greatly rejoice in spirit that God has 
 empowered me to feel, and thankfully to declare, that so long as he 
 appears to have any work in reserve for me in India, its pestiferous 
 atmosphere has no terror for me. 
 
 ■2d, As to the sphere of usefulness in Aberdeen, to which you so 
 forcibly and justly draw my attention, God forbid that I should under- 
 value it. Its equal in magnitude may elsewhere be found, but in all 
 Scotland I do not believe it can be surpassed. Pardon me, however, 
 for sincerely cherishing the belief, that the field of India is transcend- 
 antly greater. For your thousands we have our millions, endowed 
 with immortal souls, alike precious in the sight of Heaven. Your 
 thousands have been born and brought up in a Christian land of " glad- 
 
46 
 
 some light and liberty ;" our millions in a region of heathen bondage 
 and pagan darkness, that " may be felt." Your thousands have been 
 replenished with stores of the "bread of life," and the "water of 
 life ;" our millions are still famishing in a dry and parched wilder- 
 ness, " wherein no waters be." Your thousands have already professed 
 to throw aside the weapons of unnatural rebellion, and acknowledge 
 their allegiance to the King of Zion ; our millions are, up to this mo- 
 ment, in tierce battle array — raging against the Lord and his Anointed. 
 Your narrow subjugated domain, therefore, requires only a peace 
 establishment to retain it in quiet possession ; our almost boundless 
 hostile territory seems to demand equally boundless resources to level 
 its frowning citadels, and establish the kingdom of the Messiah on 
 the ruins of Satan's empire. 
 
 3d, The inducement to labour amongst an awakened, devoted 
 Christian people is a sufficiently potent one ; but it must be borne in 
 mind that my feelings and affections are, to a great extent, pre-occu- 
 pied by a small but attached band of Christian disciples in the East ; 
 for whom I have laboured and travailed in pain, that they might, 
 through the influence of God's Spirit, be born again, and so become 
 sons of God — heirs of God, and joint-heirs with Christ. Some of 
 them, I know, deeply mourn my temporary absence ; and numbers 
 more are looking with eager longing eyes for my return. Oh ! then, 
 how would their confidence be shaken — how would their reasonable 
 anticipations be blasted — were they to hear that I had been persuaded 
 to prefer the soft and downy repose of " a living " at home, to the 
 arduous struggle of joining with them in hastening the birth-day of 
 their country's emancipation from the long dark night of Satan's reign, 
 and sin's uncontrolled dominion ! 
 
 4th, Were I to remain in my native land, it would doubtless be 
 still in my power to do something by way of advocating the claims of 
 poor benighted India. In that case, however, methinks my tongue 
 would not only falter, but often " cleave to the roof of my mouth." 
 Fearlessly and unsparingly have I reprobated the indolence and coward- 
 ice of those who kept lingering, lounging, and loitering at home, in 
 lazy expectation of some snug peaceful settlement, instead of nobly 
 marching forward into the wide field of the world, to earn new trophies 
 for their Redeemer, by planting his standard in hitherto unconquered 
 realms. Neither have I suppressed my honest indignation at the no 
 less criminal supineness of others, who, having once obtained such 
 settlements, ingeniously devise a thousand petty frivolous pretexts for 
 continuing to wrap themselves up in the congenialities and luxurious 
 indulgences of home, instead of boldly daring, though at an immea- 
 surable distance, to tread in the footsteps of apostles, and prophets, 
 and martyrs. Not that I would have such loiterers to join our storm- 
 ing ranks. Far otherwise. I, for one, would wash my hands of the 
 guilt of appending such drags to the chariot wheels of the conquering 
 Messiah. The grand evil is that such persons should exist at all, 
 arrayed externally in the garb of the heralds of salvation. How often 
 have our ears been regaled with the music of eloquence, echoing the 
 songs of divine chivalry, and the battles of the faith ? But, all the 
 while have we not been left in sorrow to exclaim, — Where the rush- 
 ing crowd of champions, clad in armour of light ? Where the continued 
 toiling, and struggling, and fighting which form the certain prelude to 
 
47 
 
 decisive victory ? Alas ! alas ! if without an effort, without a struggle, 
 and without a sacrifice, iuiagination alone could conquer all difficulties, 
 then, with the ease of some potent spell, and tlie rapidity of some in- 
 explicable enchantment, might we behold every howling,' waste con- 
 verted into gardens of delight, and golden palaces starting from every 
 barren shore ! 
 
 Such sentiments and expressions may be deemed by many over- 
 severe and not a little uncharitable. If so, I cannot help it. Wliat I 
 feel strongly, I express strongly. How then could I in consistency, 
 after such decisive expression of my own feelings, reconcile myself to 
 the resolution of throwing asidft my weapons of aggressive warfare, 
 and timidly shrinking down into the shrivelled form of a comfort- 
 seeking time-server at home ? What a plausible corroboration might 
 thereby be given to the base calumny, that few or none go forth to 
 heathen climes, but such as have been unsuccessful and disappointed 
 candidates for office in their native land, — the only merit allowed them 
 being the ignoble one of making a virtue of necessity ? What a tri- 
 umph might be furnished to the thousands who stoutly call in question 
 the sincerity of those who profess their willingness to submit to sacri- 
 fices for the sake of Christ ? And with what shouts of derision might 
 any appeals of mine, on the subject of personally engaging in the toils 
 of Missionary labour, be responded to ? 
 
 No, no ; whatever else may be said of me, I am resolved, through 
 God's grace strengthening me, it shall never be said that I basely 
 flinched in the hour of temptation, or traitorously relinquished the post 
 of danger, — thereby throwing a stumbling-block in the way of my 
 brethren and fellow-labourers in the east and in the west. I am re- 
 solved, with the blessing of God, to prove that it is possible for his 
 grace to embolden even a poor, frail, worthless worm of the dust as I 
 am, to court the privilege of sacrificing ease, and comfort, and friends 
 at home, for the sake of advancing his glory, by endeavouring to ex- 
 tend the triumphs of the cross in foreign lands. And much as I have 
 already suffered in the attempt, I bless God that he has put it into my 
 heart to be cheerfully willing to suffer again, — to persevere in the di- 
 vine work of scattering the " indestructible seed " in the face of all 
 difficulties, — to water the seed so scattered with my tears, aye, and 
 with my blood too, if required in fulfilment of the purposes of an all- 
 gracious Providence. 
 
 5th, In writing in such a strain, I beseech you not to suppose for a 
 single moment that it arises from a desire to glory in any thing which 
 I may have been enabled to do, or may yet do, towards advancing 
 God's glory in the world. The Searcher of Hearts doth know that 
 such desire is most alien to the entire current of my thoughts. For 
 after we have done our best, — and our best we are in duty bound to 
 do, — wliat are we in His sight but unprofitable servants? My mean- 
 ing simply is, that, so far and so long as God, ni his great and unde- 
 served mercy, bestows upon me the least ability, I am prepared, in 
 this or distant lands, with heart and soul, and strength, and mind, to 
 spend and be spent in his blessed service. 
 
 Two causes only would induce me to relinquish my present posi- 
 tion. 1st, Such a degree of ill health and consequent debility, bodily 
 and mental, as would palpably unfit me for the arduous labour. Or, 
 2d, The offer of the personal services of any of my brethren in the 
 
48 
 
 ministry, many of whom are infinitely better qualified by endowments 
 of nature and of grace, to encounter the toils and the hazards of our 
 great missionary enterprize, — an enterprize where all former experi- 
 ence often fails, and an entirely new experience must be wrought out, 
 challenging a concentration of sagacity and tact, and holy persever- 
 ance, and prayerful wrestling with God, to which our " Masters in 
 Israel " alone can, without presumption, lay claim. Should my health 
 finally fail, or should any such competent labourers present them- 
 selves, — then, indeed, — but not till then, would I deem it my duty to 
 abandon-the position I now occupy, and, resigning it into abler hands, 
 gladly retire into the peaceful seclusion of some humble station in the 
 Redeemer's vineyard at home. 
 
 6th, Having thus calmly and deliberately made up my own mind as 
 to the path of duty, I may not, and must not swerve. All consider- 
 ations of personal or family advantages must evanish. Being a hus- 
 band and a parent, I trust I know something of the strength and 
 peculiarity of domestic ties ; I trust I am not blind to the claims which 
 a beloved partner and children have on my protection and support. 
 But the ties of grace — the claims of a bleeding Saviour — are higher, 
 holier, stronger still. And it is my rare and singular felicity, to feel 
 assured that every sentiment which I have now uttered finds a ready 
 echo in the breast of that bosom friend, who has heretofore rejoiced 
 with me in my joy, and sympathised with me in my sorrows. And 
 painful though the trial must prove to flesh and blood, we are both 
 prepared, when the hour of separation comes, to part with our dear 
 little ones — perhaps for ever — commending them, in the exercise of 
 faith, to the care and keeping of Him who is pre-eminently the friend 
 of the friendless, and the father of the fatherless. 
 
 And, now, my dear Sir, what shall I say, in conclusion, relative to 
 the expression of favourable regard which your letter so emphatically 
 conveys ? To say that it vastly exceeds any thing to which I feel 
 myself entitled is to say little. I could not speak of it, if I would, in 
 terms at all adequate. The theme I must therefore leave to the 
 musings of " expressive silence." 
 
 From the vivid interest taken by you and your friends and towns- 
 men, in that mission to whose interests my life has been devoted, 
 Aberdeen has long ere now been endeared to me ; but it has become 
 doubly so now. It is imprinted on the tablet of a grateful heart, as if 
 engraven Avith a pen of iron on the rock for ever. And should God 
 spare me to revisit once more the distant shores of India, even there 
 will it not cease to rise up before me in fondly cherished remembrance. 
 
 That God, in his infinite mercy, may pour upon yourself and col- 
 leagues, and all the members of the South Church congregation the 
 richest effusions of his grace, — and raise up unto you another pastor, 
 according to your heart's desire— is the earnest prayer of your affec- 
 tionate friend in the Lord, 
 
 ALEXANDER DUFF. 
 
Princeton Theological Seminary Libraries 
 
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