THE 
 
 SERMON, 
 
 | DELIVERED AT 
 
 THE INAUGURATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 REV. ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER, D. D. 
 
 AS PROFESSOR OF DIDACTIC AND POLEMIC THEOLOGY, 
 
 ^ IN THE 
 
 THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH, 
 
 IN 
 
 THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
 TO WHICH ARE ADDED, THE 
 
 * PROFESSOR’S INAUGURAL ADDRESS, 
 
 AND 
 
 THE CHARGE 
 
 TO 
 
 THE PROFESSOR AND STUDENTS. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY ORDER OF THE ROARD OF DIRECTORS. 
 
 NEW-YORK: 
 
 PUBLISHED BY WHITING AND W ATSON, THEOLOGICAL A ND 
 
 CLASSICAL BOOKSELLERS, NO. 96 , BROADWAY. 
 
 J. Seymour, printer. 
 
 — 040 — 
 
 1812. 
 
Extract from the minutes of the Board of Directors of 
 the Theological Seminary of the Presbyterian Church, at 
 Princeton, August 12th, 1812. 
 
 THE Directors of the Theological Seminary , 
 desirous of making known to the Christian public 
 the views and designs with which the Institution un¬ 
 der their care has been founded, and is now openfoi 
 the reception of pupils; and believing that these 
 views and designs cannot be better explained, than 
 by the publication of the Discourses this day de¬ 
 livered, at the Inauguration of the first Professor : 
 
 Resolved, that the thanks of this board be given 
 to the Directors and Professor who delivered those 
 Discourses, and that they be requested to furnish co¬ 
 pies for the press. 
 
 Dr. Romeyn and Mr. Zachariah Lewis were ap¬ 
 pointed a committee to superintend the printing, dis¬ 
 tribution, and sale of the impression. 
 
 A true extract, 
 
 JOHN Me DOWELL, Seen/. 
 
THE 
 
 DUTY OF THE CHURCH 
 
 TO TAKE MEASURES FOR PROVIDING 
 
 * 
 
 
 AN ABLE AND FAITHFUL MINISTRY: 
 
 SERMON, 
 
 DELIVERED AT PRINCETON, AUGUST 12, lsi 2, 
 
 AT THE 
 
 INAUGURATION 
 
 OF THE 
 
 REV. ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER, D.D. 
 
 AS PROFESSOR OF DIDACTIC AND POLEMIC THEOLOGY, 
 
 IN THE 
 
 THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY OF THE PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH. 
 
 » 
 
 BY 
 
 SAMUEL MILLER, j>. d. 
 
 PASTOR OE THE CHURCH IN WALL-STREET, NEW-YORK. 
 
THE 
 
 DUTY OF THE CHURCH, 
 
 8$c. 
 
 2 Tim. ii. 2. 
 
 And the things which thou hast heard of me, among many 
 witnesses, the same commit thou to faithful men, who stmll 
 be able to teach others also. 
 
 The apostle Paul received both his knowledge 
 , of the Gospel, and his commission to preach it, im¬ 
 mediately from the great Head of the church. Yet, 
 notwithstanding the extraordinary circumstances 
 which attended his theological instruction, and his 
 official investiture, that all things might he done de¬ 
 cently and in order, he submitted to the laying on 
 of the hands of the Presbytery, before he went 
 forth on his great mission to the gentiles. In like 
 manner, Timothy, his own son in the faith, to whom 
 the exhortation before us is addressed, was set 
 apart to the work of the holy ministry, by the 
 Presbytery, in which body, on that occasion, the 
 Apostle himself seems to have presided*. Timothy 
 was now at Ephesus ; and being the most active 
 
 * Compare 1 Tim. iv. 14. with 2 Tim. i. 6. 
 
( 8 ) 
 
 and Influential member of the Presbytery which was 
 constituted in that part of the church, his spiritual 
 father directed to him, as such, and in him to the 
 church in all succeeding* times, the rules and in¬ 
 structions contained in the Epistles which bear his 
 name. Among these we find the passage which 
 has just been read : And the things which thou hast 
 heard of me , among many witnesses, the same com¬ 
 mit thou to faithful men, who shall be able to teach 
 others also . 
 
 It is impossible, within the limits of a single dis¬ 
 course, to do justice to a portion of scripture 
 replete with such various and important matter, 
 as the slightest attention will discover in this 
 text. Of course, much of what properly belongs 
 to its illustration, must be either wholly omitted, 
 or very briefly noticed, on the present occasion. 
 That the Christian Ministry is an institution of 
 Jesus Christ; that this institution is essential, not 
 only to the well-being, but also to the very exis¬ 
 tence of the church, as an organized body; that 
 Christ has promised that there shall always be a 
 succession of ministers in his church, to the end ot 
 the world; and that none have a right to enter on 
 the appropriate functions of this sacred office, with¬ 
 out having that right formally and officially “ com¬ 
 mitted” to them, by men who are themselves al¬ 
 ready in the same office; are great, elementary 
 principles of ecclesiastical order, which are all fair- 
 
( 9 ) 
 
 ly implied in the passage before us; but which, I 
 trust, it is not necessary for me to attempt either 
 to establish or to illustrate before this audience. 
 They are so plainly laid down in scripture, and 
 so evidently reasonable in themselves, that I shall, 
 at present, take them for granted. 
 
 Neither will it be deemed necessary, at present, 
 to dwell on the numerous and important benefits of 
 an able and faithful ministry. It may be said, with¬ 
 out exaggeration, that every interest of man is in¬ 
 volved in this blessing. The order, comfort, and 
 edification of the church; the progress in know¬ 
 ledge, the growth in grace, and the consolation of in¬ 
 dividual believers; the regularity, peace, polish, 
 and strength of civil society; the extension of in¬ 
 tellectual and moral cultivation; the glory of God; 
 and the eternal welfare of men; are among the 
 great benefits which an able and faithful ministry is, 
 ordinarily, the means of promoting; and which, 
 without such a ministry, we cannot hope to 
 attain, at least in any considerable degree. If it 
 be acknowledged that the sanctions of religion 
 exert a mighty, and most benign influence on the 
 order and happiness of society; if the observ¬ 
 ance of the Christian sabbath be as really a blessing 
 to the world as it is to the church; if the solemni¬ 
 ties of public worship, be a source of moral and 
 temporal benefit to millions, who give no evidence 
 of a saving acquaintance with the power of the 
 
 o 
 
( 10 ) 
 
 CJospel ; if, the weekly instructions of the sanctua¬ 
 ry have a native tendency to enlighten, refine, and 
 restrain, those whom they are not the means of con¬ 
 verting 3 and if it please God by the foolishness of 
 preaching to save them that believe; then, it is 
 evident, that an able and faithful ministry, next to 
 the sanctifying operations of the Holy Spirit, is the 
 greatest benefit that can be conferred upon a people. 
 And if these great institutions of heaven, are iikely, 
 other things being equal, to be beneficial, in pro¬ 
 portion to. the clearness, the force, the wisdom, and 
 the fidelity with which they are exhibited, as both 
 common sense and the word of God evidently dic¬ 
 tate ; then it is plain, that the more able and the 
 more faithful that ministry, with which any people 
 is blessed, the more extensive and important are 
 likely to be the benefits resulting from it, both to the 
 church and the world* The father of a family, as 
 well as the professor of religion, has reason to de¬ 
 sire the attainment of such a ministry. The patriot., 
 as well as the Christian, ought earnestly to wish, 
 and be ready to contribute his aid, that the church 
 may obey the precept of her head and Lord : the 
 same commit thou to faithful men , who shall be 
 able to teach others also. 
 
 I say, that the Church may obey this divine pre¬ 
 cept ; for it is, undoubtedly, a mistake, and a very 
 grievous mistake, to imagine, as many seem to 
 imagine, that precepts of the kind before us, are 
 
( 11 ) 
 
 addressed to ministers alone. It is freely granted, 
 that ministers are the appointed agents for training 
 up those who are to succeed them in this holy vo¬ 
 cation; and for imparting to them the official 
 powers, which they have themselves received. Yet 
 it is, unquestionably, in the name, and as the con¬ 
 stituted executive and organ of that part of the 
 church which they represent, that they perform this 
 service. If, therefore, as I take for granted all will 
 allow, the design of the precept before us did not 
 cease with Timothy: if both its reason and its ob¬ 
 ligation be permanent; then the church of Christ, 
 at this hour, is to consider it as directed to her. It 
 is the Church that is bound to take order, that what 
 she has reeeived be committed to faithful men , who 
 shall be able to teach others also, 
 
 The doctrine of our text, then, is, that it is 
 
 THE INDISPENSABLE DUTY OF THE CHURCH OF 
 
 Christ, in all ages, to take measures for 
 
 PROVIDING AN ABLE AND FAITHFUL MINISTRY. 
 
 The great fact, that this is the duty of the 
 Church, I shall consider as sufficiently established 
 by the plain and unequivocal precept before us; 
 and shall employ the time that remains for the pre¬ 
 sent discourse, in inquiring. 
 
 What we are to understand by an able and faith¬ 
 ful Ministry ? And, 
 
( 12 ) 
 
 What are the means ivhich the Church is bound 
 to employ for providing such a Ministry P 
 
 I. What are we to understand by an 
 
 ABLE AND FAITHFUL MINISTRY ? 
 
 It is a ministry, at once qualified and disposed to 
 perform, with enlightened and unwearied assiduity, 
 all the duties, whether of instruction, of defence, or 
 of discipline, which belong to ambassadors of 
 Christ, to pastors and rulers in his church. 
 
 This general character implies Piety, Ta¬ 
 lents, Learning, and Diligence, 
 
 1. The first requisite to form a faithful and 
 able minister, is Piety. By this I mean, that he 
 be a regenerated man; that he have a living faith 
 in that Saviour whom he preaches to others; that 
 the love of Christ habitually constrain him; that 
 he have himself walked in those paths of humility, 
 self-denial, and holy communion with God, through 
 our Lord Jesus Christ, in which it is the business of 
 his life to endeavour to lead his fellow-men. 
 
 I shall not now speak of the necessity of piety, 
 to a minister’s personal salvation; nor of its ines¬ 
 timable importance to his personal comfort. I shall 
 not dwell on the irksomeness, nay, the intolerable 
 
( 13 ) 
 
 drudgery, of labouring in a vocation in which the 
 heart does not go along; nor on the painful mis¬ 
 givings which must ever attend preaching an un¬ 
 known Saviour, and recommending untasted hopes 
 and joys. Neither shall I attempt to describe, tre¬ 
 mendous and overwhelming as it is, the aggravat¬ 
 ed doom of that man, who, from the heights of thi^ 
 sacred office, shall sink into the abyss of the damn¬ 
 ed ; who, after having preached to others , shall him - 
 self become a cast-away*. But my object is, to 
 show the importance, and the necessity, of this best 
 of all attainments, in order to qualify any man for 
 discharging the duties of the ministerial office. It 
 is to show, that, without piety, he cannot be an able 
 minister. He cannot be a workman , that needeth 
 not to be ashamed , rightly dividing the word of 
 truth , and giving to each his portion in due sea¬ 
 son f 
 
 How can a man who knows only the theory 
 of religion, undertake to be a practical guide 
 in spiritual things? How can he adapt his in¬ 
 structions to all the varieties of Christian ex¬ 
 perience ? How can he direct the awakened, the 
 inquiring, the tempted, and the doubting ? How 
 can he feed the sheep and the lambs of Christ? 
 How can he sympathize with mourners in Zion ? 
 How can he comfort others with those consolations 
 
 * i Cor. ix, 2 7. 
 
 f 2 Tim . ii. 15. 
 
( 14 ) 
 
 wherewith he himself has never been comforted of 
 God? He cannot possibly perform, as he ought, 
 any of these duties, and yet they are the most pre¬ 
 cious and interesting parts of the ministerial work. 
 However gigantic his intellectual powers; how¬ 
 ever deep, and various, and accurate his learning, he 
 is not able , in relation to any of these points, to teach 
 others , seeing he is not taught himself. If he make 
 the attempt, it will be the blind leading the blind; 
 and of this, unerring wisdom has told us the con¬ 
 sequence*. It were rash, indeed, and unwarrant¬ 
 ed, to say, that a man who knows nothing of the 
 power of godliness, may not be employed, by a 
 sovereign God, as the means of saving benefit to 
 others. God undoubtedly may, and probably some¬ 
 times does, “ by way of miracle, raise a man to 
 life by the bones of a dead prophetf.” He may, 
 and, there is reason to believe sometimes does, 
 
 “ honour his own word so far as to make it effectu¬ 
 al to salvation, even when it falls from unhallowed 
 lips.” The ministry even of Judas Iscariot was, 
 probably, not without its benefit to the church of 
 Christ. But such a result is not, in ordinary cases, 
 and certainly not in any considerable degree, to be 
 expected. When unsanctified ministers are intro¬ 
 duced into the church, we may generally expect 
 them to prove, not only an offence to God, but also 
 a curse to his people. Piety, orthodoxy, practical 
 
 
 * Matt. xi. 15. 
 
 t 2 Kings xiii. 21 . 
 
( IS ) 
 
 holiness, and all the spiritual glories of the house¬ 
 hold of faith, will commonly be found to decline 
 in proportion to the number and influence ot these 
 enemies in disguise. 
 
 And here I cannot help bearing testimony 
 against what appears to me a dangerous mistake; 
 which, though it may not be common, yet some¬ 
 times occurs among parents and guardians of the 
 more serious class. I mean the mistake of destin¬ 
 ing young persons to the Gospel Ministry, from a 
 very early period of life, before they can be suppos¬ 
 ed, from any enlightened view of the subject, to 
 concur in the choice themselves; and before they 
 give any satisfactory evidence ot vital piety. 
 Brethren, I venerate the parent who desires, and 
 daily prays, that it may please God to prepare and 
 dispose his child, to serve him in the ministry of re¬ 
 conciliation , Nay, I think that parent worthy of the 
 thanks of every friend to religion, who solemnly 
 devotes his child, even from the earliest period of 
 life, to the service of the church, and avowedly 
 conducts every part of his education with a view to 
 this great object; provided the original consecra¬ 
 tion, and every subsequent arrangement, be made 
 on the condition, carefully and frequently expressed, 
 as well as implied, that God shall be pleased to 
 sanction and accept the offering, by imparting his 
 grace, and giving a heart to love, and desire the 
 Tacred work. But there is a wide difference be- 
 
( 16 ) 
 
 tween this, and resolving that a particular son shall 
 be a minister, in the same manner, and on the 
 same principles, as another is devoted to the medi¬ 
 cal profession, or to the bar, as a respectable em¬ 
 ployment in life; without recognizing vital piety, 
 -and the deliberate choice of the ministry, from re¬ 
 ligious motives, as indispensable qualifications. 
 This kind of destination to the sacred office, is as 
 dangerous as it is unwarranted. Let the Christian 
 parent, however solemnly he may have devoted his 
 child to the work of the ministry, and however 
 fondly he may have anticipated his entrance on that 
 blessed work; if he find, at the proper age for de¬ 
 ciding the question, no comfortable evidence of a 
 heart regenerated, and governed by the spirit of 
 grace ; let him deliberately advise;—though his 
 heart be wrung with anguish by the sacrifice;—let 
 him deliberately advise the choice of another pro¬ 
 fession. When young men begin to enter the 
 gospel ministry, because they were early destined to 
 the office; because it is a respectable profession; 
 or because they wish to gratify parents and friends ; 
 rather than because they love the office, and its 
 work, and have reason to hope that God has been 
 pleased to call them by his grace , and repeal his Son 
 in them * ; we may consider the ministry as in a 
 fair way to be made, in fact, a secular employment, 
 
 * Gal. i. 15, 16- 
 
( 17 ) 
 
 and the church a prostituted theatre for the schemes 
 and ambition of worldly men. 
 
 So deeply and vitally important is piety in 
 forming 1 a faithful and able ministry; and so 
 often has it appeared to be forgotten, or, at least, 
 undervalued, amidst the brilliancy of more splen¬ 
 did accomplishments; that there cannot be too 
 strict a guard placed on this point, both by public 
 sentiment, and by ministerial fidelity. Many very 
 excellent men, indeed, have felt a jealousy of Theo¬ 
 logical Seminaries, as such, as if they were calcu¬ 
 lated for training up learned and eloquent, rather 
 than pious ministers. Though I believe that this 
 jealousy has been sometimes indulged unjustly, 
 and often carried to an unwise and mischievous 
 extreme; and though there appears to me no other 
 ' ground for it, than the melancholy fact, that the 
 
 best human institutions are liable to perversion arid 
 degeneracy; yet I cannot find in my heart to con¬ 
 demn it altogether. Nay, I trust that a portion 
 of it will always be kept alive, as a guard, 
 under God, against the evil which it deprecates. 
 For I persuade myself that every minister of the 
 Presbyterian Church, in the United States, is ready 
 to adopt the language, with a little variation, of 
 that great and excellent man, who, for near thirty 
 years, adorned the American Church, and the pre¬ 
 sidential chair of this College. “ Accursed be all 
 “ that learning which sets itself in opposition to 
 
 3 
 
( 18 ) 
 
 <* vital piety ! Accursed be all that learning which 
 “ disguises, or is ashamed of vital piety ! Accurs- 
 “ ed be all that learning, which attempts to fill the 
 “ place, or to supersede the honours, of vital piety! 
 
 “ Nay, accursed be all thatdearning, which is not 
 “ made subservient to the promotion and the glory 
 a of vital piety l*” 
 
 But piety, though it hold the first place among 
 essential qualifications here, is not all that is neces¬ 
 sary. It is not every pious man, nay, not every fer¬ 
 vently pious man, that is qualified to be a minister, 
 and far less an able minister. ■Another essential 
 requisite to form the character of such a minister,, 
 is, 
 
 2. Talents. By which I mean, not that 
 every able minister must, of necessity, be a man of 
 genius ; but that he must be a man of good sense ; 
 of native discernment and discretion; in other 
 words, of a sound respectable natural understand¬ 
 ing. 
 
 When our blessed Lord was about to send forth 
 his first ministers, he said unto them ; Be ye wise as 
 serpents , as well as harmless as doves]. And, truly, 
 there is no employment under heaven, in which 
 
 * See Witherspoon's Sermon on glorying: in the cross of 
 Christ. X Matt. x. 16. 
 
( » ) 
 
 wisdom, practical wisdom, is so important, or ra- 
 ther, so imperiously and indispensably demand¬ 
 ed, as in the ministry of reconciliation. A man 
 of a weak and childish mind, though he weie 
 pious as Gabriel ,, can never make an able minister, 
 and he ought never to be invested with the office at 
 all: for with respect to a large portion of its duties, 
 he is utterly unqualified to perform them ; and he 
 is in constant danger of rendering both himself and 
 his office contemptible* 
 
 No reasonable man would require proof to con¬ 
 vince him, that good sense is essential to form an 
 able physician, an affie advocate at the bar, oi an 
 able ambassador at a foreign court. Nor would 
 any prudent man entrust his property, his life, or 
 the interests of his country, to one who did not 
 bear this character. And can it be necessary to 
 employ argument, to show that interests, in com¬ 
 parison with which, worldly property, the health of 
 the body, and even the temporal prosperity of na¬ 
 tions, are all little things, ought not to be commit¬ 
 ted to any other than a man of sound and respecta¬ 
 ble understanding? Alas! if ecclesiastical judi¬ 
 catories had not frequently acted, as if this were far 
 from being a settled point, it were almost an insult 
 to my audience to speak of it as a subject admitting 
 of a question. 
 
 Though a minister concentrated in himself all 
 
( 20 ) 
 
 the piety, and all the learning, of the Christian 
 church; yet if he had not at least a decent stock of 
 good sense , for directing and applying his other 
 qualifications, he would be worse than useless. 
 Upon good sense depends all that is dignified, pru¬ 
 dent, conciliatory, and respectable in private de¬ 
 portment; and all that is judicious, seasonable, and 
 calculated to edify, in public ministration. The 
 methods to be employed for winning souls, are so 
 many and various, according* to the taste, prejudi¬ 
 ces, habits, and stations of men: a constant re¬ 
 gard to time, place, circumstances, and character, 
 is so essential, if we desire to profit those whom we 
 address : and some tolerable medium of deport¬ 
 ment, between moroseness and levity, reserve and 
 tattling, bigotry and latitudinarianism, lukewarm¬ 
 ness and enthusiasm, is so indispensable to public 
 usefulness, that the man who lacks a respectable 
 share of discernment and prudence, had better, far 
 better, be in any other profession than that of a mi¬ 
 nister*. An able minister he cannot possibly be. 
 Neither will any thing short of a sound judgment, 
 a native perception of what is fit and proper, or 
 otherwise, preserve any man who is set to teach and 
 to rule in the church, without a miracle, from those 
 
 * Though a Christian would have expressed himself in 
 different language, there is much weight in the maxim, of 
 
 the heathen satyrist, Nullum numen abest si sit / irudentia t 
 Juv„ 
 
( 21 ) 
 
 perversions of scripture; those ludicrous absurdi¬ 
 ties ; and those effusions of drivelling’ childishness, 
 which are calculated to bring the ministry and the 
 bible into contempt. 
 
 3. A third requisite to an able and faithful mi¬ 
 nistry, is competent KNOWLEDGE. Without this, 
 both piety and talents united are inadequate to the 
 official work. JVav, without cultivation and dis- 
 cipline; without a competent store of facts and 
 principles, to regulate the mind, the stronger the 
 talents, the more likely are they to lead their pos¬ 
 sessor astray, and to become the instruments of 
 mischief, both to himself and the church. 
 
 The first ministers of the gospel were divinely 
 inspired ; and, of course, had no need of acquiring 
 knowledge by the ordinary methods. They were 
 put in possession by miracle, and perhaps in a single 
 hour, of that information, which, now, can only be 
 gained by years of laborious study*. It were well 
 if this fact were remembered and weighed by those 
 who plead, that, as the gospel was first preached by 
 fishermen and tax-gatherers , so it may be as well 
 
 * There is no intention here to exclude daily, or frequent 
 conversations with our Lord, as one important means of in¬ 
 struction which the apostles enjoyed. This, however, though 
 not, strictly speaking, a miraculous mode of acquiring know¬ 
 ledge, was yet wholly extraordinary. 
 
( 22 ) 
 
 preached, at the present day, by persons of fervent 
 piety, and plain sense, who have never enjoyed any 
 greater advantages of scholastic learning, than the 
 apostles did. The supposed fact, which these vain 
 and ignorant pleaders assume, is utterly unfound¬ 
 ed. The apostles were not an illiterate ministry. 
 They were the soundest, and best informed divines 
 that ever adorned the Christian church. So indis¬ 
 pensable did it appear to infinite wisdom, that they 
 should be such, that they were thus accomplished 
 by the immediate inspiration of the Holy Ghost. 
 And we have reason to believe, that men, before un¬ 
 learned, were chosen to be the subjects of this in¬ 
 spiration, in preference to others, that the miracle 
 might be the more apparent; that it might be the 
 more clearly seen that the excellency of the power 
 was of God , and not of man*. Let this inspiration, 
 confirmed as it then was by miracle, be now pro¬ 
 duced, and we will acknowledge it as more than an 
 adequate substitute for the ordinary method of ac¬ 
 quiring knowledge, by books and study. 
 
 But if, as we all allow, the age of inspiration 
 and of miracle be long since past; and if it be 
 still necessary, notwithstanding, that the preachers 
 of the gospel possess, substantially, the same know¬ 
 ledge that the apostles had; then, undoubtedly, it 
 is to be acquired in a different way from theirs, that 
 
 * 2 Cor. iv. 7. 
 
( 23 ) 
 
 is, by the diligent use of ordinary means. It mi¬ 
 nisters must be apt to teach , as the Spirit of God has 
 declared*, they ought to be capable of teaching. 
 If the priest's lips ought to keep knowledge f, he cer¬ 
 tainly ought to possess knowledge. And if Timo¬ 
 thy, though he lived in the days of inspiration, and 
 was the immediate and favourite disciple of an in¬ 
 spired man, was yet enjoined, by that very inspired 
 man, to give himself to reading , as well as to ex¬ 
 hortation ,* to meditate upon these things , and to 
 give himself wholly to them , that his profiting might 
 appear to all J j how much more necessary are si¬ 
 milar means of acquiring knowledge, to those who 
 are called to labours of the same nature, and quite 
 as arduous, without possessing the same advanta- 
 ges! 
 
 But what kind, and what degree of intellectual 
 cultivation, and of acquired knowledge, may be 
 considered as necessary to form an able minister ol 
 Jesus Christ? That we may give a more enlight¬ 
 ened answer to this question, let us inquire, what 
 such a minister is called, and must be qualified, to 
 perform ? He is, then, to be ready, on all occasions, 
 to explain the scriptures. This is his first and chief 
 work. That is, not merely to state and support the 
 more simple and elementary doctrine of the gospel; 
 
 * 1 Tim. iii. 2. and 2 Tim . ii, 24. t Malachi ii. 7. 
 
 i 1 Tim. iv. 13. 15. 
 
( 24 ) 
 
 but also to elucidate with clearness the various parts 
 of the sacred volume, whether doctrinal, historical, 
 typical, prophetic, or practical. He is to be ready 
 to rectify erroneous translations of sacred scrip-, 
 ture; to reconcile seeming' contradictions; to clear 
 up real obscurities; to illustrate the force and beau¬ 
 ty of allusions to ancient customs and manners; 
 and, in general, to explain the word of God, as 
 i one who has made it the object of his deep and 
 successful study. He is set for the defence of the 
 gospel*; and, therefore, must be qualified to an¬ 
 swer the objections of infidels; to repel the in¬ 
 sinuations and cavils of sceptics; to detect, ex¬ 
 pose, and refute the ever varying forms of heresy ; 
 and to give notice, and stand in the breach , when 
 men, ever so covertly or artfully, depart from the 
 faith once delivered to the saintsf He is to be rea¬ 
 dy to solve the doubts, and satisfy the scruples of 
 conscientious believers ; to give instruction to the 
 numerous classes of respectful and serious inquirers; 
 to reprove, rebuke, and exhort , with all long suffer¬ 
 ing and doctrine J. He is to preach the gospel with 
 
 plainness, dignity, clearness, force, and solemnity. 
 
 %/ 
 
 And, finally, he is to perform his part in the judica¬ 
 tories of the church, where candidates for the ho¬ 
 ly ministry are examined and their qualifications 
 ascertained; where a constant inspection is main- 
 
 * P/iili/u i. 17. 
 
 f Jude 3. 
 
 | 2 Ti?n. iy. 2. 
 
( 25 ) 
 
 tained over the faith and order of the church j 
 where the general interests of Zion are discussed 
 and decided ; and in conducting t:ie affairs of 
 which, legislative, judicial, and executive proceed- 
 bigs are all combined. 
 
 This is but a very brief and imperfect sketch of 
 what a minister is called to perform. Now, it is 
 evident that, in order to accomplish all this, with 
 even tolerable ability, a man must be furnished 
 with a large amount of knowledge. “ He must,” 
 (and on this subject I am happy in being able to 
 fortify myself with the judgment* and to employ, 
 for the most part, the language, of the General As¬ 
 sembly of our church,) “ he must be well skilled 
 
 in the original languages of the holy Scriptures. 
 “ He must be versed in Jewish and Christian anti - 
 “ quities. He must have a competent acquaint* 
 “ ance with Ancient Geography , and Oriental Cits- 
 “ toms. He must have read and digested the 
 “ principal arguments and writings, relative to 
 “ what has been called the Deisticdl controversy . 
 “ He must have studied, carefully and correctly, 
 “ Natural Theology , together with Didactic , Po~ 
 “ lemicy and Casuistic Divinity; and be able to 
 “ support the doctrines of the Gospel, by a ready, 
 “ pertinent, and abundant quotation of Scripture 
 “ texts for that purpose. He must have a consi- 
 “ derable acquaintance with general History and 
 “ Chronology ; and a particular acquaintance with 
 
 4 
 
( 26 ) 
 
 4 ‘ tlie history of the Christian Church. He must 
 “ have studied attentively the duties of the Pasto- 
 “ ra l Office ; the form of Church government au- 
 “ thorized by the scriptures; and the administra- 
 “ tion of it as practised in the protestant churches*.’* 
 He must have become well versed in Moral Philo¬ 
 sophy , as an important auxiliary in studying man, 
 his constitution, the powers and exercises of his 
 depraved and sanctified nature, and his duties 
 thence arising. To all these, he must add, a re¬ 
 spectable share of knowledge, in general Grammar , 
 in Logic, Metaphysics, Natural Philosophy, Ma¬ 
 thematical Science, Geography, Natural History, 
 and polite Literature. 
 
 Several of these branches of learning 1 are, in- 
 deed, only auxiliary to the main body, if I may so 
 express it, of ministerial erudition. But they are 
 important auxiliaries. No man, it is true, can be 
 a complete master of them all; and it were crimi¬ 
 nal in a minister to attempt so much. The time 
 requisite for this, must be taken from more impor¬ 
 tant employments. Of some of these departments 
 of knowledge, general views are sufficient; and of 
 others, perhaps, an acquaintance with nomencla¬ 
 tures and first principles ought to satisfy the theolo¬ 
 gical pupil. But so much of them ought to be ac~ 
 
 * Constitution of the Theological Seminary of the Presb\ r 
 t'erian Church, Article 411>. 
 
( 27 ) 
 
 quired, as may enable their possessor the better to 
 understand the scriptures, and the better to defend 
 the gospel. 1 repeat it, every branch of knowledge 
 is helpful and desirable to the Christian minister.— 
 Not to enable him to shine, as a man of learn¬ 
 ing : this were infinitely beneath the aim of an 
 ambassador of Christ: but to make him a more 
 accomplished and useful teacher of others. For 
 it is certain that the more he attains of real, 
 solid science, provided it be sanctified science, the 
 more clearly will he be able to explain the sacred 
 volume, and the more wisely and forcibly to preach 
 that Gospel which is the power of God unto salva¬ 
 tion to every one that helieveth*. 
 
 4. Once more, it enters into the character of a 
 faithful minister, that he is active, diligent and 
 persevering in the discharge of his multiplied 
 and arduous duties. However fervent his piety; 
 however vigorous his native talents ; and however 
 ample his acquired knowledge ; yet, if he be timid, 
 indolent, wavering, easily driven from the path of 
 duty, or speedily discouraged in his evangelical la¬ 
 bours, he does, not answer the apostle’s description 
 of a faithful man. The minister who is, in any 
 good measure, entitled to this character, is one who 
 carefully studies to know, and to the best of his 
 knowledge, declares the whole counsel of God, with- 
 
 * Rom. 5. 15. 
 
( a8 ) 
 
 N Out fearing’ the frowns, or courting the smiles, of 
 men; who shrinks not from any self-denial, labour, 
 or danger to which the will of his Master, and the 
 interests of religion, evidently call him; who ab¬ 
 hors the thought of sitting down in inglorious ease, 
 while thousands are perishing around him; who 
 does not allow himself to be diverted by secular or 
 minor objects from his grand work; who is instant 
 in season, and out of season , in all the diversified 
 and momentous labours of his holy vocation; and 
 the object of whose steady exertion, as well as su¬ 
 preme desire, it is, that the church may be built 
 Up; that souls may be saved; and that Christ in 
 < 3 til things may be glorified *. 
 
 Such is a faithful and able minister. A minister 
 fervently pious; eminently wise, discerning, and 
 prudent; extensively learned, especially mighty 
 in the Scriptures; abounding and prevalent in pray¬ 
 er ; a bold, energetic, instructive, experimental 
 preacher; a zealous, affectionate, condescending, 
 laborious pastor; a friend to revivals of religion; 
 a firm and persevering contender for the truth ; one, 
 in short, who devotes all his talents, all his learn¬ 
 ing, all his influence, and all his exertions, to the one 
 grand object, fulfilling the ministry which he has 
 received of the Lord Jesus. 
 
 * 1 rctc.r iv. 1 h. 
 
( 29 ) 
 
 Such a minister, to select an example, was the 
 apostle Paul. With a heart warmed with the love 
 of Christ; with an understanding vigorous, sound, 
 and comprehensive; and with a store ot various 
 and profound knowledge, he went forth to meet 
 and to conciliate the enemies of his divine Master: 
 and in the course of his ministry, he manifested the 
 importance of every qualification with which that 
 Master had furnished him. Let us follow a id ob¬ 
 serve him a little in the discharge of his ministe¬ 
 rial labours. “ Now we see him reasoning with 
 “ Pagans, and then remonstrating with Jews : now 
 “ arguing from the law of nature, and then from 
 “ the Old Testament scriptures : now appealing to 
 “ the writings of heathen poets and philosophers, 
 “ and then referring to the traditions of the fathers , 
 “ of which he had been exceedingly zealous: now 
 “ stating his arguments with all logical exactness, 
 “ and then exposing the sophistry and false learn* 
 “ ing of his adversaries*now pleading with all 
 the majesty and pathos of unrivalled eloquence, 
 upon Mars-hilly aud before Felix a id iigrippa, and 
 then instructing, from house to house, the young 
 and the aged, with all the tenderness of a father, aud 
 all the simplicity and condescension of a babe.—■ 
 And what was the consequence ? With these 
 qualifications, he laboured not only more abundant¬ 
 ly , but more successfully , than all the apostles ; and 
 
 * Stennfitt’s Sermon before the Education Society , p, 12. 
 
( 30 ) 
 
 has probably been the means of richer blessings 
 to the church and the world, than any other mere 
 man that ever lived. 
 
 But you will, perhaps, ask, “ Ought all these 
 Ci qualifications to be considered as indispensable 
 u for every minister ? For example, ought no one 
 ** to have the ministry * committed’ to him, unless 
 56 he have acquired, or be in a fair way to attain, 
 u the whole of those literary and scientific accom- 
 £< plishments which have been recounted as desire- 
 “ able ?” It is not necessary, perhaps it is not 
 proper, at present, to give a particular answer to 
 this question. My object has been to describe 
 able and faithful ministry. To my description I 
 am not conscious of having added any thing super¬ 
 fluous or unimportant. Such a ministry it ought to 
 be the aim and the endeavour of the church to train 
 tip. Yet, it is certain that under the best adminis¬ 
 tration of ecclesiastical affairs that ever existed, 
 since the days of the apostles, or that is ever likely 
 to exist, all ministers have not been aiike able and 
 faithful: and it is equally certain that cases have 
 occurred in which individuals with furniture for the 
 sacred office inferior to that which is desirable, have 
 been in a considerable degree, both respectable and 
 useful. But still a character something resembling 
 that which has been drawn, ought to be considered 
 as the proper standard, and exertions made to at¬ 
 tain as near an approximation to it, in all cases, as 
 
< 31 ) 
 
 possible. And after all that can be done, excep t 
 tions to a rigid conformity with this standard, will 
 be found in sufficient number, without undertaking 
 to lower the standard itself, in such a manner as' 
 to provide for their multiplication. But, 
 
 II. What are the means which the 
 Church is bound to employ, for providings 
 SUCH A MINISTRY ? This question was assigned 
 as the second subject of inquiry. 
 
 And here, it is perfectly manifest, that the 
 church can neither impart grace , nor create talents . 
 She can neither make men pious, nor give them in¬ 
 tellectual powers. But is there, therefore, nothing 
 that can be done, or that ought to be done by her ? 
 Yes, brethren, there is much to be done. Though 
 Jehovah the Saviour has the government upon his 
 shoulder, his kingdom is a kingdom of means; and 
 He is not to be expected to work miracles to supply 
 ©ur lack of exertion. If, therefore, the church 
 omit to employ the means which her iCing and Head 
 has put within her power, for the attainment ot a 
 given object, both the sin and the disgrace of fail¬ 
 ing to attain that object, will lie at her own door. 
 
 What, then, are the means which the church is 
 bound to employ for providing an aide and faithful 
 ministry ? They are such as these: looking for* 
 and carefully selecting young men of piety and 
 
( 32 ) 
 
 talents, for the work of the ministry; providing 
 Eunds, for the temporary support of those who 
 may stand in need of such aid ; furnishing a SE¬ 
 MINARY, in which the most ample means of in, 
 struction may be found; and, having done all this, 
 to guard, by her judicatories, the entrance into 
 the sacred office, with incessant vigilance, 
 
 1. The Church is bound, with a vigilant eye, to 
 search for, and carefully to select, from among the 
 young men within her bosom, those who are endow¬ 
 ed with piety and talents, whenever she can find 
 these qualifications united. Piety is humble and re¬ 
 tiring ; and talents, especially of the kind best adapt¬ 
 ed to the great work of the ministry, are modest 
 and unobtrusive. They require, at least in many 
 instances, to be sought out, encouraged, and brought 
 forward. And how, and by whom, is this to be 
 done ? The children of the church are, if I may 
 so express it, the church's properly. She has a 
 ri<rht to the services of the best of them. And as 
 it is the part, both of wisdom and affection, in pa¬ 
 rents according to the flesh, to attend with vigi¬ 
 lance to the different capacities and acquirements 
 of their children, and to select for them, as far as 
 possible, corresponding employments; so it is ob¬ 
 viously incumbent on the Church, the moral parent 
 of all the youth within her jurisdiction, to direct 
 especial attention to such of them as may be fitted 
 to serve her in the holy ministry. And it may be 
 
( 33 ) 
 
 asserted, without fear of contradiction, that when¬ 
 ever young men are found, who unite fervent piety , 
 with talents adapted to the office, it is the duty of 
 such to seek the gospel ministry; and it is the du¬ 
 ty of the church to single them out, to bring them 
 forward, and to endeavour to give them all that 
 preparation, which depends on human means, for 
 the service of the sanctuary. 
 
 2. The church is bound to provide funds for the 
 partial or entire support of those who need this kind 
 of aid , while they are preparing for the work of the 
 ministry. Some of the most promising candidates 
 for this holy work have not the means of support¬ 
 ing themselves, while they withdraw from the 
 world, and give up its emoluments, for the purpose 
 of becoming qualified to serve God in the Gospel 
 of his Son. These persons must either abandon 
 their sacred enterprise altogether, or receive, from 
 some other source, adequate aid. And from what 
 source can they so properly receive it, as from their 
 moral parent, the Church ? Nature, reason, equity, 
 parental affection,—all conspire in pointing to this 
 parent, as the most suitable provider. The aid 
 which flows only from the hand of individual 
 and occasional bounty, may be withdrawn, or 
 grudgingly continued: but the church can never 
 be weary, as long as ability is given her, 
 of providing for her beloved children. The aid 
 which individuals, as such, furnish, may excite, in 
 
 5 
 
( -84 ) 
 
 delicate minds, a painful sense of dependence : but 
 children ought to feel, can feel, no pain in receiving 
 from the hand of parental affection. 
 
 Nor is it any valid objection to the furnishing of 
 this aid, that the objects of it may not always be 
 found, when their character shall be completely de¬ 
 veloped, either ornaments to the church, or worthy 
 of so much exertion and expenditure. As well 
 might parents according to the flesh decline to pio- 
 vide for the support and education of their children, 
 in early life, lest peradventure they might after¬ 
 wards prove neither a comfort nor an honour to 
 them. In this respect every faithful parent consi¬ 
 ders himself as bound, in duty and affection, to 
 take all possible pains for promoting the welfare of 
 his offspring, and having done so, to leave the 
 
 event with God. 
 
 Neither ought the church to consider this provi¬ 
 sion as a burden, or imagine that, in making it, she 
 confers a favour. It is as clearly her duty—a duty 
 which she as really owes both to her Master and her¬ 
 self, as the ordinary provision which she makes for 
 the support of the word and ordinances. Oi la¬ 
 ther, it is to be lamented that she has not been ac¬ 
 customed always to consider it, as an essential part 
 of her ordinary provision for the maintenance of 
 the means of grace. 
 
( 35 ) 
 
 3. A further, and the last mean which I shall 
 mention, which the church is bound to employ for 
 providing an able and faithful ministry, is, furnish¬ 
 ing a Seminary in which the candidatesfor this office 
 may receive the most appropriate and complete in¬ 
 struction, which she has it in her power to give. In 
 vain are young men of fervent piety, and the best 
 talents, sought after and discovered; and in vain 
 are funds provided for their support, while prepar¬ 
 ing for the ministry, unless pure and ample foun¬ 
 tains of knowledge are opened to them, and unless 
 competent guides are assigned, to direct them in 
 drinking at those fountains. This, however, is so 
 plain, so self-evident, that I need not enlarge upon 
 its proof. 
 
 But perhaps it may be supposed by some, that 
 there is no good reason why these means of educa¬ 
 tion should be provided by the Church, as such. It 
 may be imagined, that they will be as likely to be 
 provided, and as well provided, by private instruct¬ 
 ors, as by public Seminaries. But all reason, and 
 all experience, pronounce a different judgment, and 
 
 assign, as the ground of their decision, such con¬ 
 siderations as these. 
 
 First, when the Church herself provides a Semi¬ 
 nary for the instruction of her own candidates for 
 the ministry, she can at all times inspect and regu¬ 
 late the course of their education; can see that it 
 
/ 
 
 ( 36 ) 
 
 be sound, thorough, and faithful; can direct and 
 control the instructors ; can correct such errors, 
 and make such improvements in her plans of in¬ 
 struction, as the counsels of the whole body may 
 discover. Whereas, if all be left to individual dis¬ 
 cretion, the preparation for the service of the 
 church may be in the highest degree defective, or 
 ill-judged, not to say unsound, without the church 
 being able effectually to interpose her correcting 
 hand. 
 
 Again; when the Church herself takes the in¬ 
 struction of her candidates into her own hands, 
 she can furnish a more extensive, accurate, and com¬ 
 plete course of instruction than can be supposed to 
 be, ordinarily, within the reach of detached indi¬ 
 viduals. In erecting and endowing a Seminary, 
 she can select the best instructors out of her whole 
 body. She can give her pupils the benefit of the 
 whole time , and the undivided exertions , of these 
 instructors. Instead of having all the branches of 
 knowledge, to which the theological student ap¬ 
 plies himself, taught by a single master, she can 
 divide the task of instruction, among several com¬ 
 petent teachers, in such a manner as to admit of 
 each doing full justice both to his pupils and him¬ 
 self. She can form one ample Library, by which a 
 given number of students may be much better ac¬ 
 commodated, when collected together, and having 
 access to it in common, than if the same amount of 
 
( 37 ) 
 
 books were divided into a corresponding number of 
 smaller libraries. And she can digest, and gradu¬ 
 ally improve a system of instruction, which shall 
 be the result of combined wisdom, learning, and 
 experience. Whereas those candidates for the sa¬ 
 cred office, who commit themselves to the care of 
 individual ministers, selected according to the con¬ 
 venience or the caprice of each pupil, must, in ma¬ 
 ny cases, at least, be under the guidance of in¬ 
 structors who have neither the talents, the learning, 
 nor the leisure to do them justice; and who have 
 not even a tolerable collection of books, to supply 
 the lack of their own furniture as teachers. 
 
 Further; when the Church herself provides the 
 means of instruction for her own ministry, at a 
 public seminary, she will, of course, be furnished 
 with ministers who have enjoyed, in some measure, 
 a uniform course of education ; who have derived 
 their knowledge from the same masters, and the 
 same approved fountains, and who may, therefore, 
 be expected to agree in their views of evangelical 
 truth and order. There will thus be the most ef¬ 
 fectual provision made, speaking after the manner 
 of men, for promoting the unity and peace of the 
 church. Whereas, if every candidate for the holy 
 ministry, be instructed by a different master, each 
 of whom may be supposed to have his peculiarities 
 of expression and opinion, especially about minor 
 points of doctrine and discipline, the harmony of our 
 
( 38 ) 
 
 ecclesiastical judicatories will gradually be impair¬ 
 ed ; and strife, and perhaps eventually, schism, 
 may be expected to arise in our growing and happy 
 church. 
 
 It is important to add, that when the Church pro¬ 
 vides for educating a number of candidates for the 
 ministry at the same seminary, these candidates 
 themselves may be expected to be of essential ser¬ 
 vice to each other. Numbers being engaged to¬ 
 gether in the same studies, will naturally excite the 
 principle of emulation. As iron sharpenetli iron, 
 so the amicable competition, and daily intercourse 
 of pious students, can scarcely fail of leading to 
 closer and more persevering application ; to deeper 
 research; to richer acquirements; and to a more 
 indelible impression of that which is learned, upon 
 their minds, than can be expected to take place in 
 solitary study. 
 
 Nor is it by any means unworthy of notice, that, 
 when the ministers of a church are generally train¬ 
 ed up at the same seminary, they are naturally led 
 to form early friendships, which bind them together 
 
 to the end of life, and which are productive of that 
 
 ... • 
 
 mutual confidence and assistance, which can scarce¬ 
 ly fail of shedding a benign influence on their per¬ 
 sonal enjoyment, and their official comfort and use¬ 
 fulness. These early friendships may also be ex¬ 
 pected to add another impulse to a sense of duty, 
 
( 39 ) 
 
 in annually drawing ministers from a distance to 
 meet each other in the higher judicatories of the 
 church; and, which is scarcely less important, to 
 facilitate and promote that mutual consultation, res¬ 
 pecting plans of research, and new and interesting 
 publications, which is, at once, among the safe¬ 
 guards, as well as pleasures, of theological author¬ 
 ship. 
 
 These, brethren, are some of the considerations 
 which call upon every church, to erect, and to sup¬ 
 port with vigour and efficiency, a Theological Semi¬ 
 nary for the training of her ministry. If she de¬ 
 sires to augment the number of her ministers ; if 
 she wishes their preparation for the sacred office to 
 be the best in her power to give, and at the least 
 possible expense ; if she desires that they may be 
 a holy phalanx, united in the same great views of 
 doctrine and discipline, and adhering with uni¬ 
 formity and with cordial affection to her public 
 standards ; if she deprecates the melancholy spec¬ 
 tacle of a heterogeneous, divided, and distracted 
 ministry : and finally, if she wishes her ministers 
 to be educated under circumstances most favoura¬ 
 ble to their acting in after life, as a band of breth¬ 
 ren, united in friendship as well as in sentiment; 
 then let her take measures for training them up un¬ 
 der her* own eye, and control; under the same 
 teachers ; in the same course of study ; and under 
 all those advantages of early intercourse, and af- 
 
( 40 ) 
 
 fectionate competition, which attend a public semi¬ 
 nary. 
 
 In favour of all this reasoning, the best experi¬ 
 ence, and the general practice of the church, in 
 different ages, may be confidently urged. “ It has 
 “ been the way of God,” says the pious and learn¬ 
 ed Dr. Light foot, “ to instruct his people by a 
 u studious and learned ministry, ever since he 
 “ s ave a written word to instruct them in.” “ Who,” 
 he asks, “ were the standing ministry of Israel , all 
 “ the time from the giving of the law, till the cap- 
 “ tivity in Babylon ? Not prophets, or inspired 
 “ men; for they were but occasional teachers ; but 
 “ the Priests and Levites, who became learned in 
 “ the law by study. Deuteronomy xxxiii. 10. 
 “ Ilosea iv. 6. Malachi ii. 7. And for this end, 
 “ they were disposed into forty eight cities, as so 
 “ many universities, where they studied the law to- 
 “ gether ; and from thence were sent out into the 
 « several synagogues, to teach the people.” They 
 had also, the same writer informs us, “ contributions 
 “ made for the support of these students , while they 
 “ studied in the universities , as well as afterwards 
 “ when they preached in the synagogues." He tells 
 us further, in another place, “ that there were 
 u anionsr the Jews, authorized individual teachers, 
 “ of great eminence, who had their 3Iidrashoth , or 
 “ Divinity Schools, in which they expounded the 
 
 law to their scholars or disciples.” 44 Of these 
 
( 41 ) 
 
 “ Divinity Schools,” he adds, “ there is very frfe- 
 t( quent mention made among the Jewish writers, 
 
 “ more especially of the schools of Hillel and 
 ** Sfiammai. Such a Divinity Professor was Gama - 
 “ liel, at whose feet, the great Apostle of the gen- 
 “ tiles received his education*.” 
 
 Under the Christian dispensation, the same sys¬ 
 tem, in substance, was adopted and continued. At 
 a very early period, there was a seminary of high 
 reputation established in the city of Alexandria , in 
 which candidates for the holy ministry were train¬ 
 ed up together, and under the ablest instructors, 
 both in divine and human learning ; a seminary in 
 which Pantcenus , Clemens Alexandrinus, Origen, and 
 others, taught with high reputation. Eusebius and 
 Jerome both declare, that this seminary had exist¬ 
 ed, as a nursery of the church, and had enjoyed a 
 succession of able teachers, from the time of Mark 
 the evangelistf. Writers on Christian antiquities 
 also assure us that there were seminaries of a simi¬ 
 lar kind very early established at Rome, Ceesarea, 
 Antioch, and other places^; and that they were 
 considered as essential to the honour and prosperi¬ 
 ty of the church. 
 
 * Lightfoot’s Works, vol. I. 357. 574. 
 
 | Euseb : Lib. v. c. 10. Hieron. Oper. i. 105. 
 
 t S eo Eivg/ia?n’$ Origines Ecclesiasticx. Book hi. Chaf)/ "*v. x 
 
 f> 
 
( 42 ) ' 
 
 At tlie period of the reformation, religion and 
 learning revived together. The Reformers were 
 not less eminent for their erudition, than for their 
 piety and zeal. They contended earnestly for an 
 enlightened, as well as a faithful ministry; and, ac¬ 
 cordingly, almost all the protestant churches, when 
 they found themselves in a situation to admit of the 
 exertion, founded Theological Seminaries, as nur¬ 
 series for their ministry. This was the case in Ge¬ 
 neva, in Scotland , in Holland , in Germany , and, 
 with very little exception, throughout reformed 
 Christendom. And the history of those seminaries, 
 while it certainly demonstrates, that such establish¬ 
 ments are capable of being perverted; demon¬ 
 strates, with equal evidence, that they have been 
 made, and might always, with the divine blessing 
 on a faithful administration, be rendered exten¬ 
 sively useful. 
 
 And what have the most eminently pious and 
 learned ministers, that ever adorned the American 
 church, thought on this subject? Let yonder ve¬ 
 nerable walls tell! Yes, brethren, it was because 
 Tennent and Dickinson, and Burr , and Edwards , 
 and Davies , and Finley , and Blair , and other 
 champions of the cross, were deeply impressed 
 with the truth, that learning and talents, united with 
 piety, are of the highest importance to the Christian 
 ministry, that they laboured and prayed so much 
 for the establishment and support of Nassau-Half 
 
( 43 ) 
 
 May their spirit and their opinions revive; anti 
 more and more pervade our church, until the dawn- 
 ing of the Millennial Sabbath! 
 
 In establishments of this kind, in more recent 
 times, our congregational brethren, in New-Eng- 
 land, and our brethren of the Dutch and Associate 
 Reformed churches, have gone before us, and set us 
 noble examples. We have, at length, awoke from 
 our sleep; and with tardy, but, as we hope, with 
 firm, with well-advised, and with heaven-directed 
 steps, have begun to follow them. In the name of 
 Jehovah Jesus, the king of Zion , we lift up our 
 banner! May his blessing descend, and rest upon 
 the transaction of this day, as a pledge that he is 
 about to visit our church in his abundant mercy! 
 
 4. The last means of providing an able and 
 faithful ministry, on which I shall insist, is fidelity 
 on the part of the Judicatories of the church in 
 guarding the entrance into the sacred office. It is 
 our happiness, that, according to the truly apostolic 
 and primitive constitution of our church, the power 
 of licensing candidates, and of setting apart to the 
 work of the holy ministry, is not given to any in¬ 
 dividual, by whatever name he may be called. Nay, 
 while the church provides a seminary for the in¬ 
 struction of her candidates for the sacred office, she 
 does not give even to the conductors of that semi- 
 nary, however pious, learned, or venerable, the 
 
( 44 ) 
 
 right ultimately to judge of the qualifications of 
 those candidates, and to admit or reject them at 
 their pleasure. This is the prerogative of her ap¬ 
 propriate judicatories; and the manner in which 
 it is exercised, is all-important. However vigi¬ 
 lantly and perseveringly other means for at¬ 
 taining the object proposed, may be employed, 
 if there be a failure here, the most calamitous con¬ 
 sequences may be expected. If presbyteries be 
 superficial in their examinations of candidates; if 
 they be too ready to lay hands on the weak , the igno¬ 
 rant, the erroneous , or those of doubtful piety ; or 
 if, for the sake of attaining an occasional purpose, 
 or meeting a temporary difficulty, they at any time 
 suffer the barriers which have been erected for ex¬ 
 cluding the incompetent or the unworthy, to be 
 removed or trampled down, they are taking the di¬ 
 rect course to bring the ministry and religion into 
 contempt. 
 
 I know that, on this subject, pleas are often urg¬ 
 ed which it is extremely difficult to resist. Some 
 good qualities in the candidates; private friend¬ 
 ships ; an unwillingness to give pain ; the scarcity 
 of ministers ; and the necessities of the church, are 
 all alternately employed as arguments for the ad¬ 
 mission of unsuitable characters into the ministry. 
 But it is a most important part of fidelity in the 
 work of the Lord, to oppose and reject every plea 
 of this kind. Private friendships ought not to in*- 
 
( 46 ) 
 
 terfere with a supreme regard to the Redeemer’s 
 kingdom. It is better, much better, to inflict pain 
 for a time, on an individual, than to wound the 
 church of Christ, And by introducing into the 
 ministry those who are neither faithful, nor able to 
 teach , judicatories are so far from supplying the 
 wants of the church, that they rather add to her 
 difficulties, and call her to struggle with new evils. 
 To be in haste to multiply and send out unqualified 
 labourers, is to take the most direct method to send 
 a destructive blast on the garden of God, instead of 
 gathering a rich and smiling harvest. 
 
 On the other hand, when judicatories, with 
 enlightened vigilance, and fidelity, guard the en¬ 
 trance into the sacred office; when they exert the 
 authority committed to them, to keep out of the 
 ministry, incompetence, heresy, levity, and worldly 
 mindedness; they obey a divine precept; they support 
 the real honour of the gospel ministry; they con¬ 
 strain those who are looking toward that blessed 
 work, to take a higher aim, and to seek for higher 
 attainments; they give the churches bread instead 
 of a stone , and fish instead of a serpent ; and 
 though they may appear, to those who make haste , 
 to be tardy in supplying the public demand for mi¬ 
 nisters, they are taking one of the most effectual 
 methods, under God, for raising up a numerous , as 
 well as an able and faithful ministry . 
 
( 46 ) 
 
 Let us now turn our attention to some practical 
 inferences from the foregoing discussion. And, 
 
 1. If the representation which has been given 
 be just, then our church has been, for a lony time f 
 almost entirely , and very criminally , neyliyent of a 
 yreat and important duty. While she has directed 
 much laudable attention to other objects, she has, in 
 a great measure, suffered the most promising means 
 of providing an able and faithful ministry, to take 
 care of themselves. Other churches have also 
 been guilty, in a considerable degree, of similar 
 negligence; a negligence for which, alas! our 
 country mourns; and would mourn much more, if 
 the importance of the subject were understood and 
 appreciated as it ought to be; but our church 
 HAS BEEN PRE-EMINENTLY GUILTY ! Though 
 among the largest Christian denominations in the 
 United States; though possessing, in its individual 
 members, perhaps more wealth than any other; 
 though favoured, in many respects, with ample 
 means for every kind of generous ecclesiastical 
 enterprise; and though often and solemnly warned 
 on the subject; she has yet been among the very 
 last of all the evangelical denominations among us, 
 to commence a course of efficient exertion for rais¬ 
 ing up a qualified ministry. We have slumbered, 
 and slumbered, until the scarcity of labourers in 
 our harvest , has become truly alarming! God 
 grant that we may testify by our future conduct, 
 
that we remember, with unfeigned humiliation, our 
 former negligence \ and that we are resolved, as 
 his orace shall enable us, to make amends for it, 
 by redoubled zeal and diligence in time to come! 
 
 2. From what has been said, it appears, that 
 the solemnity to attend on which we are this day 
 assembled , is a matter of cordial and animating con - 
 gratulation to each other , and to the church of 
 Christ in the United States . We are convened, 
 under the authority of the General Assembly of our 
 church, to organize a theological seminary, 
 and to inaugurate the first professor in that 
 seminary. Though later, much later, in commenc¬ 
 ing this establishment than we ought to have been; 
 we trust it is about to commence under the smiles 
 of the great Head of the Church ; and that we may 
 confidently regard it as a token for good to the Re¬ 
 deemer’s kingdom, Yes, brethren, we have more 
 reason to rejoice, and to felicitate one another, on 
 the establishment of this seminary, than on the 
 achievement of a great national victory, or on mak¬ 
 ing a splendid addition to our national territory. 
 It is the beginning, as we trust, of an extensive and 
 permanent system, from which blessings may flow 
 to millions while we are sleeping in the dust. Let 
 us, then, rejoice and be exceeding glad; and in 
 the midst of our joy, let us look up to the Source 
 of blessing, who can cause the walls of our Zion 
 
( 48 ) 
 
 to rise even in troublous times*. While we con¬ 
 gratulate each other, let our petitions ascend, with 
 our praises, to the throne of grace, that the semina¬ 
 ry this day established, and, as we verily believe, 
 founded in faith and prayer, may be a fountain, the 
 
 streams of which shall make (jlad the city oj our 
 God; flowing in every direction, and abundantly 
 watering the abodes of /Aon s king, until all flesh 
 shall taste his love, and see his glory! 
 
 3. If what has been said be correct, then those 
 who are more immediately charged with conducting 
 this seminary , whether as Directors or 1 jofcssois, 
 ought to consider themselves as honoured with a very 
 solemn and weighty trust. The design ot the su¬ 
 preme Judicatory of our church, in founding this 
 seminary, is nothing less than to tram ap an able 
 and FAITHFUL ministry ; a ministry on whose 
 piety, talents, and learning, the temporal and etern¬ 
 al welfare of thousands, now living, may, speaking 
 after the manner of men, depend; a ministry, 
 whose character may have a commanding influ¬ 
 ence, in forming the character of others, and they 
 again of those who may successively fill the same 
 office, until the end of time ! The design is inter¬ 
 esting beyond expression ; and the task ol those 
 
 * War had been declared, by the United States, against 
 Great-Britain, a few weeks before this discourse was deli¬ 
 vered. 
 
< 49 ) 
 
 who are appointed to carry it into execution, is se¬ 
 rious and important to a decree which mortals can¬ 
 not estimate. When I cast an eye down the ages 
 v of eternity, and think how important is the salvation 
 of a single soul; when I recollect how important, 
 of course, the office of a minister of the gospel, 
 who may be the happy instrument of saving many 
 hundreds, or thousands of souls; and when I remem¬ 
 ber how many and how momentous are the relations, 
 which a Seminary intended solely for training up 
 ministers, bears to all the interests of men, in the 
 life that now is, and especially in that which is to 
 come; I feel as if the task of conducting such a 
 Seminary, had an awfulness of responsibility con¬ 
 nected with it, which is enough to make us tremble ! 
 O my fathers and brethren! let it never be said of 
 us, on whom this task has fallen, that we take more 
 < pains to make polite scholars, eloquent orators, or 
 men of mere learning, than to form able and faith - 
 fid ministers of the New Testament. Let it never 
 be said, that we are more anxious to maintain the 
 literary and scientific honours of the ministry, than 
 we are to promote that honour which consists in 
 being full of faith and of the Holy Ghost, and the 
 instruments of adding much people to the Lord, 
 The eyes of the church are upon us. The eyes of 
 angels, and, above all, the eyes of the King of 
 Zion, are upon us. May we have grace given us 
 to be faithful! 
 
 7 
 
( so ) 
 
 4, This subject suggests matter for very serious 
 reflection to the Youth, who are about to enter as 
 students in this seminary, with a view to the gospel 
 ministry. Behold, my young friends, the high cha¬ 
 racter at which you are called to aim! You have 
 come hither, not that you may prepare to shine; 
 not that you may prepare to amuse men by philoso¬ 
 phic discussion, or to astonish them by flights ot 
 artificial eloquence: but that, by the blessing of 
 God, upon the use of means, you may become 
 faithful men, who shall be able to teach others also ; 
 that you may become wise in winning souls to 
 Christ; that you may prepare to go forth, defend¬ 
 ing and proclaiming the messages of grace to 
 guilty men, and persuading them to be reconciled to 
 God. Seek to excel. It is noble to excel. But 
 let it be always for the edifying of the church. 
 This, my young friends, this is the object which 
 is recommended to your sacred emulation. We 
 charge you, in the presence of God, to let all your 
 studies and aims be directed to this grand object. 
 Seek with humble, persevering, prayerful diligence, 
 to be such ministers as you have heard described ; 
 and you will neither disappoint yourselves, nor the 
 Church of Christ. Seek to be any thing else ; and 
 you will be a grief and a curse to both. May God 
 the Saviour bless you, and prepare you to be work¬ 
 men that need not be ashamed ! 
 
 5. From this subject we may derive powerful 
 
( 51 ) 
 
 excitements to young men of piety and talents, to 
 come forward and devote themselves to the Gospel 
 Ministry. We trust no young man will ever think 
 of that holy vocation, until he has iirst given him¬ 
 self up a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable to 
 God, by Jesus Christ. We would not, for any 
 consideration, bo accessory to the sin of alluring 
 into the sacred office, those who know nothing of 
 the power of godliness, and who, on the most fa¬ 
 vourable supposition, can be nothing better than 
 miserable retailers of cold and unproductive specu¬ 
 lations. But while we say this, and repeat it, with 
 all the emphasis of which we are capable, we asseit, 
 with equal confidence, on the other hand, that whei- 
 ever fervent piety appears, in any young man, united 
 with those talents which are adapted to the office 
 of an ambassador of Christ, it is incumbent on their 
 possessor, without delay, to devote himself to the 
 work of the ministry. There are only two ques¬ 
 tions which need be asked concerning any youth 
 on this subject. “ Has he a heart for the work ? 
 « And has he those native faculties, which are sus- 
 “ ceptible of the requisite cultivation?” If these 
 questions can be answered in the affirmative, I 
 hesitate not to say, that in the present state of 
 the church, it is his duty to seek the ministry. 
 Young men of this College! have none of you any 
 desire to serve your fellow men, and to serve Christ, 
 in this exalted office ? Y ou have but one short life 
 to live in this world \ and you must, in a very little 
 
( 52 ) 
 
 time, decide how you will spend that life. “ We 
 confidently pronounce, that it can be spent in no 
 manner so desirable, so noble, so godlike, as in the 
 gospel ministry. If then, you love the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, come we affectionately invite you to come, 
 and take part with us in the ministry of the grace 
 of God. The example of Christ invites you to 
 come; the tears of bereaved Churches, who can 
 find none to break unto them the bread of life, en¬ 
 treat you to come; the miseries of wandering souls 
 who find none to lead them to heaven, plead with 
 yon to come. Come, then, and take part with us 
 in the labours and rewards of the ministry of re¬ 
 conciliation ! *’* 
 
 0. Finally, if the representation which has been 
 given be correct, then the Church at large ought to 
 consider it as equally their privilege and their duty 
 to support this Seminary. If one may judge by 
 the language and the conduct of the generality of 
 our church-members, they seem to consider all re¬ 
 gard to institutions of this kind, as the province of 
 ministers only. They readily grant, that ministers 
 ought to be prompt and willing, to give their time, 
 their labours, and, where they have any, their sub¬ 
 stance, for this end; but for themselves, they pray 
 to be excused. They either contribute nothing to- 
 
 * See Address of the Presbytery of JYeiv-York, on educat¬ 
 es poor and pious youth for the gospel ministry. 14. 
 
( 53 ) 
 
 ward the object; or contribute in the most reluctant 
 and sparing manner, as if they were bestowing a 
 Javour, which they have a perfect right to withhold. 
 IVTy deai brethren, it is difficult to express in ade¬ 
 quate terms either the sin or the folly of such 
 conduct. Seminaries of this kind are to be found¬ 
 ed and supported by the church, as such. It 
 is THE church that is bound to take order on the 
 subject. It is THE CHURCH that is responsible 
 tor their establishment and maintenance. And if 
 any of her members, or adherents, when called 
 upon, will not contribute their just portion of aid 
 for this purpose, the Head of the church will 
 require it at their hands. Professing Christians! 
 look upon the alarming necessities of the church; 
 upon destitute frontier settlements; upon several 
 hundred vacant congregations, earnestly desiring 
 spiritual teachers, but unable to obtain thenT, 
 Look upon the growing difficulty, with which the 
 most eligible and attractive situations in the church 
 are supplied ; and then say whether those who still 
 remain idle can be innocent? Innocent! Their 
 guilt will be greater and more dreadful than can be 
 described. Come, then, brethren, humbled by the 
 past, and animated by the future, rouse from your 
 lethargy, and begin to act in earnest! Your mas¬ 
 ter requires it of you! The aspect of the times re¬ 
 quires it of you ! The cries of the neglected and 
 (heperishing require it of you! Your own privi- 
 
( 54 ) 
 
 leges and blessings require it of you! \ es, ye who 
 call yourselves Christians ! If you love the church 
 to which you profess to belong: if you possess a 
 single spark of the spirit of allegiance to her Di¬ 
 vine Head and Lord : nay, if you desire not a fa¬ 
 mine of the word of life; if you desire not the 
 heaviest spiritual judgments to rest upon you, then 
 come forward, and act, as well as speak, like tiiends 
 of the Redeemer’s kingdom. Come forward, and 
 give your influence, your substance, and youi plac¬ 
 ers, for the help of the Lord against the mighty. 
 
 Amen ! 
 
 * Judges v. 23. 
 
AN 
 
 INAUGURAL, DISCOURSE, 
 
 DELIVERED IN THE 
 
 CHURCH AT PRINCETON, NEW-JERSEY, 
 
 IN THE PRESENCE OE THE 
 
 DIRECTORS OF THE THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY, 
 
 ON 
 
 THE I2tli OF AUGUST, 1810. 
 
 BY 
 
 ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER, D. D. 
 

AN 
 
 INAUGURAL DISCOURSE, 
 
 8$c. 
 
 Highly respected and venerable Directors op Th% 
 Theological School; and other learned and res¬ 
 pectable Auditors , convened on the present so* 
 
 LEMN OCCASION ! 
 
 The institution and commencement of a Theo¬ 
 logical Seminary, under the patronage and direction 
 of the General Assembly of our church, ought to be 
 a subject ot mutual congratulation to all its mem¬ 
 bers. But it cannot be CO' cealed, that the same 
 causes which have operated to render such an in¬ 
 stitution urgently necessary, have also opposed seri¬ 
 ous obstacles in the way of carrying it into effect. 
 The deficiency, among us, of that kind and extent 
 of learning requisite to confer dignity and respect, 
 as well as usefulness, on the professor’s chair, is too 
 obvious to require remark. But every important 
 institution must have its infancy and growth, before 
 it can arrive at maturity; and however long we 
 might have deferred this undertaking, the same 
 difficulties would probably have met us at its com¬ 
 mencement, which we are now obliged to encoum 
 ter. The sentiments and emotions by which my 
 
 8 
 
( 58 ) 
 
 own mind is agitated, in consequence of the new 
 and important station in which I find myself pla¬ 
 ced by the choice of my brethren, and especially, 
 the deep sense which I entertain of my insufficien¬ 
 cy for the work, I shall not attempt to express. If 
 the design be of God, he will prosper the undertak¬ 
 ing, notwithstanding the weakness of the instru¬ 
 ments employed in carrying it on ; and will crown 
 our feeble efforts with success. On Him therefore 
 may our hope and confidence be firmly fixed ; and 
 
 mav ‘ his will be done on earth as in heaven! 
 
 •/ 
 
 I have selected, as the subject of the discourse 
 now required ot me, the words ot our Lord, re¬ 
 corded in the 5th Chap, and 39th ver. of the Gos¬ 
 pel according to John: 
 
 w y^a^as. Search the Scriptures. 
 
 The verb here used, signifies, to search with dili¬ 
 gence and attention. Its literal meaning appears 
 
 • /» 
 
 to be, to pursue any one, by tracing his lootsteps. 
 Thus it is employed by Homer to express the li¬ 
 on’s* pursuit of the man who had robbed him of 
 his whelps, by his footsteps; and the dog’sf pursuit 
 of his game, by his track. The precise meaning 
 of the word, therefore, both in its literal and figu¬ 
 rative application, is expressed by the English 
 
 . * IU xviii. line 321. 
 
 t Odys. xix. 1. 436. 
 
f 59 ) 
 
 word, investigate. It may be read, either in the 
 indicative, or in the imperative mood. Doctor 
 Campbell , in his new translation of the Gospels, 
 prefers the former, and renders the passage, “ Ye 
 do search the Scriptures but Wetsteiu and Park- 
 hurst consider it to be in the imperative, agreeably 
 to our version: and certainly this rendering gives 
 more point and force to the sentence, “ search the 
 scriptures, for in them ye think ye have life, but they 
 are they which testify of me.” 
 
 Although the word, scriptures, is of such 
 
 general import, as to include writings of any kind; 
 yet there can be no doubt but what the Scrip¬ 
 tures of the Old Testament were here intended. 
 This phrase is used in the New Testament, as we 
 use the word Bible, which, though literally signi¬ 
 fying any book, yet is now appropriated to desig¬ 
 nate the volume of inspiration. 
 
 The history of the origin of alphabetical writing 
 is involved in considerable obscurity. The first 
 notice whi cli we find of the existence of such an 
 art, is contained in the command given to Moses 
 in the xvii. of Exodus, to write a certain transac¬ 
 tion in a book * : and soon afterwards, we read 
 that the law was written by the finger of Jeho¬ 
 vah, on the two tables of testimony)*. To me, it 
 
 * Exodus xvii, !4.1SD3 fVttl fWl DfD f Exodus xxxiv. 
 
( 60 ) 
 
 appears very probable, therefore, that it was about 
 this time a subject of revelation to Moses. As a 
 precise pattern of the tabernacle was shown to him 
 in the mount, and as certain persons were inspired 
 with wisdom to fit them for the execution of that 
 work, why may we not suppose that this wonderful 
 art, so necessary for recording the revelations re¬ 
 ceived from God, for the use of posterity, was al¬ 
 so made known to Moses P One thing is certain 
 that all the alphabets of the western portion ot the 
 globe, and probably those of the eastern also, have 
 had a common origin: and we have no authentic 
 account of the invention of an alphabet by any 
 people ; so that whenever this art of writing may 
 have had its origin, I am persuaded it was no in¬ 
 vention of man, but a revelation from God. 
 
 With respect to the antiquity of these writings, I 
 know of none which can bear any competition 
 with the Pentateuch. Some, indeed, have suppos¬ 
 ed, that some part of the Vedas of the Brahmins, 
 was written before the books of Moses ; but there 
 is no historical evidence on which we can depend 
 in support of this opinion. And we are too well 
 acquainted with the fraudulent pretensions of the 
 Hindoos to antiquity, to place any confidence in 
 their assertions. The ultimate opinion of that 
 incomparable scholar, Sir 11 illiam Jones , on this 
 subject, was, that the writings of Moses were the 
 
( 61 ) 
 
 oldest of any in the world*: and a more compe¬ 
 tent and impartial judge could not easily be found. 
 
 As the words of the text are indefinite, they 
 should be considered as imposing an obligation on 
 all sorts of persons, according to their ability and 
 opportunity, to search the scriptures. We cannot 
 1 h lp therefore being struck with the impiety, as well 
 as absurdity, of the practice of the Papists, in with¬ 
 holding the scriptures from the people. 
 
 Will it be said, that when they misinterpret and 
 peivert them, they should be taken away? But 
 such was the conduct of the persons here address¬ 
 ed by Christ. They were so blinded by prejudice, 
 that they could not perceive in the scriptures, that 
 person, who was the principal subject of them. 
 But does the divine Saviour forbid them the use of 
 the scriptures, on this account? No; he enjoins it 
 on them, to search them. To study them with 
 
 moie caie, and with minds more free from preju¬ 
 dice. 
 
 Though the duty of searching the scriptures is 
 common to all Christians, yet there are some on 
 whom it is more peculiarly incumbent. Teachers 
 of leligion, and candidates for the sacred office, 
 ate bound by an obligation of uncommon force to 
 attend to this duty. In particular relation to such, 
 
 See Asiatic Researches , vol. 1 and 2. 
 
• ( 62 ) 
 
 I propose to consider the subject, in the sequel of 
 this discourse. But before I proceed further, I 
 would observe, that although the words of our 
 Lord, in the text, refer to the Old Testament, (for at 
 the time of their being spoken there were no other 
 scriptures extant,) yet the reason of the command 
 will apply with full force, to other inspired writings, 
 as soon as they are promulgated. We shall there¬ 
 fore consider the scriptures of the New Testament? 
 as well as the Old, embraced within the scope of 
 our Saviour’s command. 
 
 It will be important to bear in mind, that there 
 are two distinct things comprehended in the object 
 of this investigation. First, to ascertain that the 
 scriptures contain the truths of God : and, second¬ 
 ly, to ascertain what these truths are. 
 
 Let us now suppose the two volumes containing 
 the Old and New Testaments, the one in the origi¬ 
 nal Hebrew, the other in the Greek, to be put into 
 the hands of the theological student, accompanied 
 with the command of Christ, search the scriptures. 
 Investigate these volumes with diligence. What 
 should be the first step in this investigation ? Ought 
 he not to be well satisfied of the identity of these 
 books, with those which formerly existed ? Here 
 is a Hebrew volume; but does it contain the same 
 writings to which our Saviour referred? And 
 does this Greek volume comprehend the very 
 
( 68 ) 
 
 books which were received as inspired in the Apos¬ 
 tolic age? In this inquiry, the biblical student 
 may obtain complete satisfaction. With respect to 
 the canon of the Old Testament, one fact will be 
 sufficient to remove all doubt. These books have 
 been in the possession of both Jews and Christians, 
 ever since the commencement of the gospel dispen¬ 
 sation ; and they now agree in acknowledging the 
 same books to be canonical ; which, considering 
 the inveterate opposition subsisting between them, 
 is a convincing evidence, that the canon of the 
 Old Testament has undergone no change, since the 
 introduction of Christianity. And that it had un¬ 
 dergone none before that period, may be proved 
 from this circumstance, that although, our Lord of¬ 
 ten upbraids the Jews with having perverted the 
 scriptures, he never insinuates that they had altered 
 or corrupted them. 
 
 In confirmation of what has been said respecting 
 the canon of the Old Testament, we might adduce 
 the testimony of Josephus, and of the Christian 
 Fathers; who not only agree with one another in 
 their catalogue of the books of the Old Testament 
 but with the canonical list which we now hold! 
 The books called Apocrypha , were never received 
 into the canon by the Jews, nor by the earlier 
 Christian Fathers and councils, and have therefore 
 no just claim to be considered as belongino’ to the 
 Old Testament. 
 
( 64 ) 
 
 With regard to the New Testament, the evidence 
 is equally convincing. The Christian Church 
 was, in a short time, so widely extended, and em¬ 
 braced so many different languages and nations, 
 that a universal agreement, in tins whole body, 
 through all the successive periods of the church, in 
 acknowledging the same books to be canonical, 
 must satisfy every impartial mind that our New 
 Testament is the very same which was received and 
 held sacred by the primitive church. To strength¬ 
 en this conclusion, it may be added, that at a very 
 early period, these books were translated into many 
 different languages ; several of which early trans¬ 
 lations, either in whole or in part, have come down 
 to our times; and some of them have been preserv¬ 
 ed among Christians unknown to their brethren of 
 other countries, for many centuries. 
 
 In addition to this, it may be observed, that ac¬ 
 curate lists of the books of the New Testament 
 were made by early ecclesiastical writers, and also 
 by general councils, which are still extant, and 
 agree with our catalogue of canonical books. It 
 deserves to be mentioned also, that the churches 
 in every part of the world held copies of these 
 scriptures, which they preserved with the utmost 
 vigilance; and quotations were made from them, 
 by all the fathers; so that a large portion of the 
 New Testament might be collected .from the 
 works of the early ecclesiastical writers. Besides 
 
( 65 ) 
 
 there are still extant manuscript copies of the 
 whole, or a part of the New Testament, from 
 twelve to fifteen hundred years old, which contain 
 * the same books that are comprehended in our print¬ 
 ed volumes. 
 
 What has now been asserted, respecting’ the 
 universal consent with which the books of the New 
 Testament were received by the ancient church, in 
 all its parts, must be admitted, with the exception 
 of those few books, which have been termed. Anti - 
 legomena , because their divine authority was denied 
 or disputed by some. Impartiality requires us 
 also to state, that these books are not found in some 
 of the oldest versions, as the Syriac, for instance ; 
 and therefore it must be admitted that the evidence 
 for their canonical authority is not so complete, as 
 of the rest, which were ever undisputed. At the 
 same time, it ought to be observed, that the chief 
 reason of doubting, was, because these books, for 
 a while, were not so generally known to the church¬ 
 es : but as soon as they w r ere accurately examined, 
 and their evidence weighed, opposition to them 
 ceased; and at no late period, they obtained an 
 undisturbed place in the sacred canon. 
 
 The theological student, having obtained satis¬ 
 faction respecting the perfection of the canon of 
 scripture, the next step in his investigation should 
 relate to the integrity of the sacred text. For it h 
 
 9 
 
:< 66 > 
 
 possible that the canon might be complete, and yet 
 the text might be so corrupted and mutilated as to 
 leave it uncertain what the original of these books 
 might have been. It is of importance, therefore, to 
 be able to prove, that the scriptures have suffered no 
 material injury, from the fraud of designing* men, 
 or from the carelessness of transcribers. In the 
 former part of the last century, this was a subject 
 of warm altercation in the church. For whilst 
 some maintained that the sacred text had not re¬ 
 ceived the slightest injury from the ravages of time, 
 others boldly asserted that it was greatly corrupted. 
 The agitation of this question led to a more ex¬ 
 tensive and accurate examination and collation of 
 manuscript codices than had been before made, and 
 , gave rise to that species of Biblical criticism, 
 which has, within the last half century, assumed so 
 conspicuous a place in Theological science. Dis¬ 
 tant countries were visited, the dark cells of clois¬ 
 ters and monasteries explored, and all important li¬ 
 braries ransacked, in search of copies of the scrip¬ 
 tures. Learned men, with unparalleled diligence, 
 employed their whole lives in the collation of 
 manuscripts, and in noting every, even the smallest 
 variation, in their readings. Their indefatigable 
 labour and invincible perseverance in prosecuting 
 this work, are truly astonishing. It has indeed, 
 much the appearance of laborious trifling; but upon 
 the whole, though not always so designed, has 
 proved serviceable to the cause of truth. For 
 
( 67 ) 
 
 though the serious mind is at first astonished and 
 confounded, upon being* informed of the multitude 
 of various readings, noted by Mills , Wetstein , and 
 Griesbac/i, in the codices of the New Testament; 
 and by Kennicot and De Rossi , in those of the 
 Old ; yet it is relieved, when on careful examination 
 it appears that not more than one of a hundred of 
 these, makes the slightest variation in the sense, 
 and that the whole of them do not materially affect 
 one important fact or doctrine. It is true, a few 
 important texts, in our received copies, have by 
 this critical process, been rendered suspicious; but 
 this lias been more than compensated by the certain¬ 
 ty which has been stamped on the great body of 
 scripture, by having been subjected to this severe 
 scrutiny. For the text of our Bibles having* passed 
 this ordeal, may henceforth bid defiance to suspi¬ 
 cion of its integrity. And with respect to the dis¬ 
 puted texts referred to above, one thing should ever 
 be kept in mind; that, granting that the evidence 
 from the present view of ancient manuscripts, is 
 against their genuineness, yet this may not be de¬ 
 cisive. The learned Cave lays it down as a rule 
 to direct us, in judging of the comparative excel¬ 
 lence of the editions of the Fathers, “ That the 
 older the editions are, by so much the more faithful 
 are they*.” And assigns this reason for the rule, 
 that the first editions were made from the best 
 
 * Historia Literaria Proleg. See. v. R. 1. 
 
( 68 ) 
 
 manuscripts, which were commonly lost or destroy¬ 
 ed, when the edition was completed. And I see 
 not why the same reason will not equally apply to 
 the early editions of the scriptures. In fact, there 
 is historical evidence, that the manuscripts used by 
 cardinal Ximenes, in his Polyglott, have been des¬ 
 troyed, and they appear, from several circumstan¬ 
 ces, to have been both numerous and ancient: and 
 I am persuaded also, notwithstanding what Wets - 
 tein and Michaelis have said to the contrary, that 
 some of those used by Stephanas , in his editions of 
 the New Testament, have also been lost. We can- . 
 not tell, therefore, what the evidence for these texts • 
 might have been to these learned editors. Cer¬ 
 tainly very strong, or they would not have inserted 
 them. 
 
 The next step in this investigation, w ould be, to 
 ascertain, that these books are genuine; or were 
 written by the persons whose names they bear; but 
 as this appears to me to be substantially answered, 
 by what has been already said, and by what will 
 be added under the next article, I will not now 
 make it a subject of particular discussion ; but will 
 proceed to inquire into the authenticity and inspira¬ 
 tion of the scriptures. I join these two things to¬ 
 gether, because, although a book may be authentic 
 without being inspired ; yet if the Bible be authen¬ 
 tic, it must have been given by inspiration, for the 
 writers profess that they were inspired. 
 
( 69 ) 
 
 The truth of this point may be established by 
 several species of evidence, quite distinct from each 
 other. 
 
 It may, in the first place, be demonstrated by 
 proving the truth of the facts recorded in the scrip¬ 
 tures. These facts, many of them, being obviously 
 of a miraculous nature, if admitted to have exist¬ 
 ed, will indubitably prove, that those persons by 
 whom they were performed, must have been sent 
 and assisted of God: for, as the Jewish ruler right¬ 
 ly reasoned, “ no man could do these things unless 
 God were with him.” Now the truth of these mi¬ 
 racles may be established by testimony, like other 
 ancient facts; and also by the history of them be¬ 
 ing so interwoven with other authentic history, that 
 we cannot separate them: and especially, by that 
 chain of events, depending on them, and reaching 
 down to our own time, which has no other assigna¬ 
 ble origin but the existence of these miracles. For, 
 to believe in the events which the history of the 
 church presents to ns, and yet deny the miracles of 
 the gospel, would be as absurd, as believing that a 
 chain which hung suspended before our eyes, had 
 nothing to support it, because that support was out 
 of sight. As to the witnesses of these facts, they 
 are such, and deliver their testimony under such 
 circumstances, and in such a manner, as to demand 
 our assent. The impossibility of successfully im¬ 
 pugning this testimony, obliged the most insidious 
 
( 70 ) 
 
 enemy of Christianity to resort to the principle, 
 ‘ that no testimony is sufficient to confirm a mira¬ 
 cle but the absurdity of this position, has been 
 fully demonstrated by Campbell , Vince , and others, 
 and it lias also been shown by an ingenious writer*, 
 that the gospel was true, even upon this author’s 
 own principles, because its falsehood would involve 
 a greater miracle than any recorded in it. 
 
 The next species of evidence in support of the 
 proposition under consideration, is derived from 
 prophecy. If the Scriptures contain predictions of 
 events which no human sagacity could have fore¬ 
 seen ; it they have foretold events the most im¬ 
 probable, which have occurred in exact conformity 
 with the prediction; and if they have described a 
 person combining in his character and life, traits 
 and events apparently incompatible and inconsist¬ 
 ent,* and yet a person has appeared answering lite¬ 
 rally to this description, then certainly the writers 
 of these predictions were inspired. But such is 
 the fact. ‘ This sure word of prophecy’ is, indeed, 
 like ‘ a light that shineth in a dark place ;’ but it is 
 also like the light of the dawn which ‘ shineth more 
 and more unto the perfect day.’ Other evidence 
 may lose something of its force by the lapse of time, 
 but this grows brighter and stronger with every re¬ 
 volving year 3 for the scope of prophecy compre- 
 
 * Vide Brit, Encyclofi, vol. 14. 
 
( 71 ) 
 
 liends all ages; and new events are continually oc¬ 
 curring which had been long foretold by the ora¬ 
 cles of God. The third species of evidence for 
 the authenticity and inspiration of the scriptures, 
 arises out of their contents. The extraordinary, 
 and superlatively excellent nature of the Christian 
 religion, proves that it could not have been the pro¬ 
 duction of impostors, nor of unassisted fishermen; 
 nor indeed, of any description of uninspired men. 
 its doctimes exhibit that very information, which is 
 necessary to satisfy the anxious inquiries of man, 
 conscious of his guilt and desirous of salvation, 
 its piecepts are so sublimely excellent, so marked 
 with sanctity and benevolence; and at the same 
 time so perfectly adapted to human nature and hu¬ 
 man circumstances, that the brightest wit can de¬ 
 tect no flaw, nor suggest any improvement. “ The 
 heavens declare the glory of God and so does the 
 holy page of Scripture. It bears the stamp of 
 divinity in its face; and breathes a spirit which 
 could originate no where else but in heaven. An¬ 
 other evidence, but connected with the last, is the 
 blessed tendency and holy efficacy of the gospel to 
 reform the hearts and lives of men, and to produce 
 peace and joy in the mind and conscience; which 
 effects never could result from any false religion. 
 
 1 he success of the gospel, in its commencement, 
 is also an important consideration. When we con¬ 
 template the resistance which was to be overcome. 
 
( 72 ) 
 
 both external, from religious and civil establish¬ 
 ments, and internal, from the inveterate prejudices 
 and vices of men; and then take into view the 
 means by which all these obstacles were surmount¬ 
 ed, we cannot refuse to admit that the power of the 
 Almighty accompanied them. 
 
 The beneficial effects of Christianity on those na¬ 
 tions which have received it, is a striking fact, and 
 furnishes a strong' argument in favour of the au¬ 
 thenticity and inspiration of the Scriptures. len¬ 
 der their benign influence, war has become less 
 sanguinary and ferocious ; justice has been more 
 equally distributed; the poor have been more gene¬ 
 rally instructed, and their wants supplied; asylums 
 have been provided for the unfortunate and distress¬ 
 ed ; the female character has been appreciated and 
 exalted to its proper standard in society; the matri¬ 
 monial bond has been held more sacred ; and poly¬ 
 gamy, the bane of domestic happiness, discounte¬ 
 nanced. In short, the whole fabric of society has 
 been meliorated; and real civilization promoted 
 by Christianity, wherever it has been received : 
 and the above mentioned effects have borne an ex¬ 
 act proportion to the purity in which this holy re¬ 
 ligion was preserved, and the degree of conformi¬ 
 ty to its precepts which has existed among any peo¬ 
 ple. 
 
 The next question which should engage the at- 
 
( 78 ) 
 
 fcention of the theological student, is, for what pur¬ 
 pose were the Scriptures given? In answer to 
 this, all are ready to ag ee, that they were intended 
 to be a guide to man in matters of religion; a rule 
 of faith and practice. But here several important 
 questions occur. Are the scriptures the only rule ? 
 Are they a sufficient rule ? Are they an authorita¬ 
 tive rule ? and were they only designed to guide 
 us in matters of religion ? 
 
 Our first controversy is with the Romanists, who 
 maintain that tradition is also a rule of faith ; and 
 that the Scriptures without tradition are neither a 
 sufficient nor intelligible rule. But this opinion 
 takes away all that fixedness and certainty, which a 
 written revelation was intended and calculated to 
 give to religion. Wherein consists the advantage 
 of having a part of the will of God committed to 
 writing, if the interpretation of this depends on 
 the uncertain and varying light of oral tradition? 
 We might as well have nothing but tradition, as 
 be under the necessity of resorting to this uncertain 
 guide to lead us to the true meaning of the written 
 word. But had it been intended to make this the 
 channel of communicating the divine will to pos¬ 
 terity, some method would have been devised, to 
 preserve the stream of tradition pure. No such me¬ 
 thod has been made known. On the contrary, the 
 Scriptures predict a general and awful apostacy ii\ 
 the church. It could not be otherwise, but that 
 
 10 
 
( 74 ) 
 
 during* tins period, tradition would become a cor¬ 
 rupt channel of information. This apostacy has 
 taken place; and the stream of tradition has, in 
 fact, become so muddy, and so swelled with fo¬ 
 reign accessions, from every quarter, that Christiani¬ 
 ty, viewed through this medium, exhibits the appear¬ 
 ance of a deformed and monstrous mass of super¬ 
 stition. But, if we should admit the principle, that 
 the constant tradition of the church should be our 
 guide, where shall we go to look for it ? To the 
 Greek, to the Latin, or to the Syriac church P To 
 the 4th, 9th, or 14th, century ? For there is no uni¬ 
 formity ; not even in the infallible Catholic Church. 
 Every one in the least acquainted with ecclesiasti¬ 
 cal history, must know, that not only has the prac¬ 
 tice varied, at different times, in very important 
 matters ; but also the Bulls of Popes, and Decrees 
 and Canons of Councils, have often been in perfect 
 collision with one another: and, what is worst 
 of all, have often been in direct hostility with the 
 word of Gob. For the same thing has happened 
 to tradition in the Christian, as formerly in the Jew¬ 
 ish church. ‘ It hath made the word of God of 
 none effect ,’ ‘ teaching for doctrines the command¬ 
 ments of meru 
 
 But whilst we reject tradition as a rule of truth, 
 we do not deny the utility of having recourse to 
 the early practice of the church, for the illustration 
 
( 75 ) 
 
 ot Scripture, where there is any doubt respecting 
 apostolic practice or institution. 
 
 There are two other opinions, by which the suffi¬ 
 ciency and authority of the Scriptures, as a rule 
 of faith and practice, are invalidated. These, 
 though held by persons erring on opposite extremes, 
 agree in derogating from the respect due to the 
 Scriptures. 
 
 The first is, the opinion of those who will not 
 believe any thing, though contained in Scripture, 
 which does not correspond with their own reason.* 
 If, for instance, a thousand passages of Scripture 
 could be adduced, explicitly teaching the doctrine 
 of the Trinity , of original sin , of efficacious grace f 
 of vicarious sufferings , or eternal punishments , they 
 w ould not admit them, because they have determin¬ 
 ed all these to be contrary to reason; and therefore 
 the scriptures must he so interpreted, as to exclude 
 all such doctrines; and the texts which support 
 them, must be tortured by the critical art, or per¬ 
 verted by the wiles of sophistry, until they are si¬ 
 lent, or speak a different language. Now, the only 
 mystery in the religion of these sons of reason, is 
 that they should want a revelation at all. Certainly 
 it would be more consistent to reject Christianity 
 wholly, than whilst professing to receive it in the 
 general, to deny almost all the particular doctrines 
 of which the general system is composed. For 
 
{ 76 ) 
 
 my own part, I cannot consider Socinianism in any 
 other light than Deism masked. At any rate, they 
 are nearly related. If that has a little stronger 
 
 faith, this has the advantage on the score of con¬ 
 sistency. 
 
 The other opinion referred to, is that of fanatics 
 m general, who, whilst they confess that the scrip¬ 
 tures are divinely inspired, imagine that they are 
 possessed of the same inspiration. And some, in 
 our own times, have proceeded so far, as to boast of 
 revelations, by which the Scriptures are entirely 
 superseded as a rule of faith and practice*. Now, 
 the difference between these persons, and the holy 
 men of God who wrote the Scriptures, consists in 
 two things. First, the inspired writers could give 
 some external evidence, by miracle or prophecy, to 
 prove their pretensions; but enthusiasts can furnish 
 no such evidence: and secondly, the productions of 
 the prophets and apostles, were worthy of God, and 
 bore his impress ; but the discourses of these men, 
 except what they repeat from Scripture, are wholly 
 unworthy their boasted origin, and more resemble 
 the dreams of the sick, or the ravings of the insane, 
 than the 4 words of truth and soberness.’ 
 
 But, on the other hand, there have been some 
 
 Vide * The testimony of Christ's second (ipfiecering? 
 By the people called Suakers. 
 
11 
 
 ( 77 ) 
 
 who believed, that the scriptures not only furnish 
 l’ule to guide us in our religion, but a complete sys¬ 
 tem of philosophy ; that the true theory of the uni¬ 
 verse is revealed in the first chapters of Genesis; 
 and that there is an intimate connexion betwixt the 
 natural and spiritual world. The one containing a 
 sort of emblematical representation of the other; 
 so that even the high mystery of the Trinity is sup¬ 
 posed to be exhibited by the material fluid, which 
 pervades the universe, in its different conditions, of 
 fire, light, and air. John Hutchinson, Esq. of Eng¬ 
 land, took the lead in propagating this system, and 
 has been followed by some men of great name and 
 gieat worth. Jones , Horne, Parkhurst, Spearman, 
 and Bates, would be no discredit to any cause. 
 But, although, we acknowledge, that there is some¬ 
 thing in this theory which is calculated to prepos¬ 
 sess the pious mind in its favour ; yet it is too deep¬ 
 ly enveloped in clouds and darkness to admit of 
 its becoming generally prevalent. And if what 
 these learned men suppose, had been the object of 
 revelation, no doubt, some more certain clue would 
 have been given to assist us to ascertain the mind 
 of the Spmt, than the obscure, though learned, criti¬ 
 cisms of Hutchinson . 
 
 The next question which occurs, in the course of 
 this investigation, is very important. How should 
 the Scriptures be interpreted, in order that we may 
 arrive at their true and full meaning ? The obvi- 
 
( 78 ) 
 
 ous answer would be, by attending to the grammati¬ 
 cal and literal sense of the words employed, to the 
 force aud significance of the figures and allusions 
 used, and to the idiom of the languages in which 
 they are written. But here we are met by a very 
 important and embarrassing question. Is the lite¬ 
 ral meaning of Scripture, always, or generally, the 
 principal and ultimate sense ; or, are we to suppose 
 that under this, there is a recondite, spiritual mean¬ 
 ing contained? Most of the Fathers considered 
 the Scriptures to contain a double sense; the one 
 literal, the other mystical or allegorical; and they 
 regarded the first very little except in relation to 
 the second. The Romanists maintain an opinion 
 very similar ; but the mystical sense they divide in¬ 
 to several parts. And among Protestants, there are 
 many who discover a strong predilection for this 
 mode of interpretation. 
 
 But this principle, admitted without limitation or 
 qualification, has a direct tendency to overthrow all 
 certainty in divine revelation. For, as there is no 
 certain key to this mystical or spiritual meaning, 
 every man makes it out according to the liveliness 
 of his own imagination : and weak men by their 
 fanciful expositions greatly degrade the dignity 
 and mar the beauty of revealed truth. 
 
 The followers of Baron Swedenborg, not con¬ 
 tented with two, maintain that the Scriptures con- 
 
( 70 ) 
 
 tain three senses, the celestial, spiritual, and natural, 
 which are connected by correspondences. This 
 doctrine of correspondences, is, according to them, 
 the only key to open the true meaning* of Scrip¬ 
 ture ; which was, for many ages, lost, but recently 
 was made known to this extraordinary nobleman. 
 Notwithstanding the extravagance of this system, 
 it has charms for some persons, and these not of 
 the illiterate vulgar. It is a sort of refined mysti¬ 
 cism, which corresponds with the peculiar turn of 
 some minds, that are fond of novelty, and disdain 
 to walk in the old beaten track. Reasoning* or 
 argument, with those who profess to hold familiar 
 intercourse with angels, would, I presume, be su¬ 
 perfluous. We shall leave them therefore to enjoy 
 their visions of a terrestrial heaven, without inter¬ 
 ruption, whilst we proceed to observe, 
 
 That among the orthodox themselves, there is 
 no small difference of opinion respecting the ex¬ 
 tent which may be given to the meaning of scrip¬ 
 ture. The celebrated Cocceius laid it down as a 
 rule, that scripture should he considered as signify - 
 ing all that it could he made to signify. The whole 
 of the Old Testament, in his opinion, was either 
 typicai 01 prophetical of Messiah and his kingdom. 
 Heie, as in a glass, he supposed the future desti¬ 
 nies of the church might be viewed. The learned 
 Grotius verged to the very opposite extreme, in his 
 Meas of the interpretation of scripture. This gave 
 
( 80 ) 
 
 rise to a saying which became proverbial, respect* 
 mg these two great men; and which is highly cre¬ 
 ditable to the piety ot the former; 11 Grotium nus - 
 quant in sacris lilei'is invenire Christum , Cocceium 
 ubujue. * That Grotius could find Christ no where 
 in the Bible, Cocceius every where.’ 
 
 This rule of Cocceius , however, is liable to great 
 abuse; and as Limborch justly observes, ‘ is calcu¬ 
 lated to make of the Scriptures a mere Lesbian 
 rule, or nose of wax, which may be bent into any 
 shape; and seems to be no other than the old alle¬ 
 gorical method of interpretation, introduced under 
 a new name.’ 
 
 But, on the other hand, it is certain, that many of 
 the persons , occurrences, and ceremonies , of the Old 
 T. estament, are typical; and some things are thus 
 interpreted in the JN T ew Testament, which we never 
 should have conjectured to possess any meaning 
 beyond the literal, unless we had been otherwise 
 taught by inspiration. Besides, all judicious com¬ 
 mentators are forced to admit, that many of the 
 prophecies have a primary and secondary reference, 
 even the most important of those which relate to 
 Messiah, are of this description. Those who in¬ 
 sist that one meaning and no more belongs to eve¬ 
 ry text, are greatly at a loss how to reconcile with 
 their opinion, the quotations made from the Old 
 Testament in the New, where they are expressly 
 
( 81 ) 
 
 said to be fulfilled, though certainly, many of them, 
 not in their primary and literal sense. Under the 
 guidance of sound sense and just criticism, we 
 should pursue a middle course between these two 
 extremes. But although we cannot admit the rule 
 of Cocceius in all its latitude, nor go the whole 
 way with his followers; yet it is but justice to ac¬ 
 knowledge, that some of them deserve to be rank¬ 
 ed with the first expositors and theologians who 
 have appeared in the church. As long as truth, 
 piety, and solid learning, shall be held in esteem, 
 the names, of Witsius, Vitringa , Butman , Van Til, 
 and Braunius , will be dear to the theological stu¬ 
 dent. 
 
 Upon the whole, our conclusion respecting this 
 matter, is, that every particular passage of scrip¬ 
 ture should be interpreted according to the pecu¬ 
 liar circumstances of the case: the literal should be 
 considered as the true and only meaning, unless 
 some remoter sense be indicated by some peculiar 
 aptitude, correspondence, or fitness, in the words 
 and ideas of the text; or unless it be referred to 
 something else in the Scriptures themselves. Good 
 sense and the analogy of faith, are the guides which 
 we should follow in interpreting the Bible. 
 
 We come now to consider the helps which the 
 biblical student needs, to enable him to search the 
 scriptures with success. The volumes which we 
 
 11 
 
( 82 ) 
 
 have already supposed to be put into his hands, are 
 not written in our vernacular tongue. We have, it 
 is true, an excellent translation of the scriptures; 
 but this was not made by inspiration, and cannot 
 therefore possess the same authority and infallibili¬ 
 ty, with the originals. We admit the lawfulness 
 and utility of translations for the use of the people; 
 but nothing can be more evident, than that the ex¬ 
 pounder of scripture should be well acquainted 
 with the very 1 words by which the Holy Ghost 
 teacheth’ us the will of God. The knowledge of 
 the Hebrew and Greek languages, therefore, is a 
 necessary pre-requisite to the successful study of 
 the scriptures. I think I may venture to assert, 
 that this single acquisition will be of more import¬ 
 ance to the theological student, than all the com¬ 
 mentaries which have ever been written. By this 
 means, he will be able to see with his own eyes; 
 and will be qualified to judge for himself. 
 
 Every person who has had experience, will ac¬ 
 knowledge, that even in reading the plainest texts, 
 there is a satisfaction and advantage to be derived 
 from the original, which cannot easily be explained. 
 It becomes therefore a duty incumbent on all who 
 are candidates for the sacred office, or invested with 
 it, to endeavour to become acquainted with the ori¬ 
 ginal Scriptures. 
 
 But in all writings, and especially such as con- 
 
( 83 ) . 
 
 tain historical facts, there are frequent allusions to 
 the existing- customs of the country, and to the pre¬ 
 vailing opinions of the people, where the book was 
 written. The same is found to be the case with 
 the scriptures. Many passages would be quite un¬ 
 intelligible, without some acquaintance with Jewish 
 antiquities. The customs and manners of that 
 
 people should, therefore, be studied with particular 
 attention. 
 
 And as scriptural history frequently refers to 
 the condition, character, and transactions of co- 
 temporaneous nations, it is of importance to be well 
 acquainted with their history, as delivered to us by 
 profane authors. I here is, however, a more im¬ 
 portant reason why the Biblical student should 
 be well versed in history, ancient and modern j 
 and that is, because there he must look tor the 
 accomplishment of many important prophecies. 
 Even the fulfilment of the remarkable prediction 
 of Christ, respecting the destruction of Jerusalem , 
 is not recorded in scripture, but must be sought in 
 the Jewish and Roman historians. 
 
 Chronology and geography are also requisite 
 helps, to enable us to understand many parts of 
 scripture. T. hese have been called the eyes of 
 history; and they are not more so of civil, than sa¬ 
 cred history. 
 
( 84 ) 
 
 Even modern travels have been turned, by some 
 learned men, to a very important account, in ex¬ 
 plaining 1 the scriptures. For oriental customs and 
 modes of living, have not been subject to the same 
 capricious changes, which have prevailed in the 
 western nations. And therefore, by observing 
 carelully what oriental customs are, at this day, a 
 very probable opinion may be formed, of what 
 they were two thousand years ago. This observa¬ 
 tion holds good, particularly, in relation to such 
 Eastern nations as have never been conquered, 
 nor incorporated with any other people; as the 
 Arabs, for instance. 
 
 Indeed, to speak the truth, there is scarcely any 
 science or branch of knowledge, which may not 
 be made subservient to theology. Natural history, 
 chemistry, and geology, have sometimes been of 
 important service, in assisting the Biblical student 
 to solve difficulties contained in scripture; or in 
 enabling him to repel the assaults of adversaries, 
 which were made under cover of these sciences. 
 A general acquaintance with the whole circle of 
 science is of more consequence to the Theologian, 
 than at first sight appears. Not to mention the in¬ 
 timate connexion which subsists between all the 
 parts of truth, in consequence of which important 
 light may often be collected from the remotest 
 quarters; it may be observed, that the state of 
 learning in the world requires the advocate of the 
 
( 85 ') 
 
 Bible, to attend to many things which may not in 
 themselves be absolutely necessary. He must 
 maintain his standing as a man of learning. He 
 * must be able to converse on the various topics of 
 
 learning with other literary men ; otherwise the due 
 respect will not be paid to him; and his sacred of¬ 
 fice may suffer contempt, in consequence of his ap¬ 
 pearing to be ignorant of what it is expected all 
 learned men should be acquainted with. 
 
 But next to the knowledge of the original lan¬ 
 guages, an acquaintance with early translations is 
 most important. The Septuagint, the Chaldaic 
 paraphrase, the Syriac, and the Vulgate, deserve 
 to be particularly mentioned. 
 
 The Septuagint is an invaluable treasure to the 
 student of sacred literature. Most of the Fathers, 
 and several learned moderns, believed it to have 
 been made by inspiration; and others, as well as 
 these, have preferred it to the Hebrew original. 
 But this is certainly attributing too much to it. 
 The fabulous account of the miraculous manner 
 in which it was executed, given by Aristeas, which 
 misled the fathers, is now generally exploded; and 
 this was the principal ground on which the opinion 
 of its inspiration rested. It has been pleaded also, 
 that this version was constantly quoted by Christ 
 and his Apostles; but our Lord himself could not 
 have used it, as he spoke and conversed not in the 
 
( 86 ) 
 
 Greek, but the Syriac language. And although it 
 is true, that the Apostles and Evangelists common¬ 
 ly quote from it, yet not uniformly . Sometimes they 
 differ from it, and give a better translation of the 
 original. It has also been plausibly stated, that 
 the manuscripts from which this version was made, 
 must have been much more perfect than any now 
 extant, after the lapse of two thousand years. But 
 it ought to be remembered, that the copies of the 
 translation have been as liable to the injuries of 
 time, as those of the original: and indeed much 
 more so; for providence raised up a set of men, 
 who watched over the Hebrew text with unceasing 
 and incomparable vigilance. The Masorites de¬ 
 voted their lives to this object; and to prevent all 
 possibility of corruption or alteration, they number¬ 
 ed not only the words, but the letters, of every book 
 in the Bible. No such means were employed for 
 the preservation of the text of the lxx 3 and accord¬ 
 ingly the various readings in the copies of this ver¬ 
 sion, are far more numerous and important than 
 those of the Hebrew original. But whilst we re¬ 
 ject the high claims for this version, which go to 
 place it on a level with, or give it the preference to, 
 the original; we willingly acknowledge its im¬ 
 portance ; and what is remarkable, is, its utility is 
 greater in relation to the New Testament, than the 
 Old; for it is written in that very dialect of the 
 Greek language, in which the books of the New 
 Testament are written; that is, the words are 
 
( 87 ) 
 
 Greek, but the idiom Hebrew. It is therefore of 
 more importance in assisting us to understand the 
 language of the New Testament, than all other 
 Greek authors beside. 
 
 This version has, by the consent of all, been con¬ 
 sidered the oldest extant; but a recent writer in 
 The Christian Observer *, asserts that the Syri¬ 
 ac translation of the Old Testament, contains in - 
 ternal marks of an antiquity superior to that of the 
 Septuagint. The evidence of the fact, if it be so, 
 must be internal; for I believe it is certain, that 
 there is no external testimony which will support 
 this assertion. 
 
 The Chaldaic paraphrase has commonly been re¬ 
 ferred to the time of Christ’s advent, or to a period 
 a little earlier; but the above-mentioned writer as¬ 
 serts that it is nearly as old as the time of Ezra. 
 Without stopping to inquire into the validity of 
 this opinion, I would observe, that these paraphras¬ 
 es are of no small importance to the interpreter of 
 scripture, as they serve to show how the Jewish 
 doctors understood certain passages prior to the 
 birth of Christ; and clearly prove, that they refer¬ 
 red to the expected Messiah, all or most of those 
 prophecies, which we apply to Christ. 
 
 * N°. for July, 1811 . 
 
( 88 ) 
 
 The Syriac version of the New Testament is 
 very valuable, on account of its antiquity; and has 
 some shadow of claim to the authority of an ori¬ 
 ginal ; for it is written in the same, or very nearly 
 the same language, which our Lord used when he 
 delivered his sermons and instructions to the peo¬ 
 ple ; and may therefore be supposed to contain, in 
 many instances, the identical words which he utter¬ 
 ed. In the opinion of some, it was made at the 
 close of the Apostolic age, or at furthest some time 
 in the second century: but others refer it to the 
 third, fourth, or even the fifth, century. However 
 these things may be, it cannot be doubted, but 
 that much advantage may be derived from this 
 version in searching the scriptures; and accord¬ 
 ingly much use has been made of it by the learned, 
 of late, in solving difficulties and elucidating ob¬ 
 scure passages, which occur in the New Testa- , 
 ment: and being written in a language possessing 
 a near affinity with the Hebrew, it is easily accessi- 
 
 O 
 
 ble to the Hebrew scholar. 
 
 The Vulgate, is commonly supposed to have 
 been made by Jerome, and to have succeeded to 
 older latin versions. It was, for many ages, the only 
 medium through which the revelation contained in 
 holy Scripture, was viewed in the western part of 
 the church. The Romanists, considering that this 
 version could be made to favour their pretensions 
 and corruptions, more than the original, bent all 
 
( 89 ) 
 
 their force to the support of its authority; whilst 
 at the same time, they let slip no opportunity of 
 disparaging 1 the Hebrew text. At length they 
 proceeded so far as to decree, in the Council of 
 Trent, ‘ that it should be reckoned as the authentic 
 standard by which all disputations f preachings , and 
 expositions , should be judged ; and that no person 
 should dare to reject its authority on any pretext 
 whatever .’ Tiie more liberal Catholics themselves, 
 are ashamed 01 the unblushing effrontery of this 
 decree ; and what slender foundation there was for 
 so high a claim, may be conjectured from this cir¬ 
 cumstance, that a learned man* of their own com¬ 
 munion declares, that lie had himself noted eighty 
 thousand errors in this version. But, nevertheless, 
 it may be useful in many ways to the Biblical stu¬ 
 dent, and being written in Latin, is accessible to 
 every scholar. And here I will take occasion to 
 remark, the great importance of a familiar ac¬ 
 quaintance with the Latin language, to the Theolo¬ 
 gian. Although no part of scripture is written in 
 that language, yet it is almost essentially necessary 
 to pass through this vestibule, in order to arrive at 
 the knowledge ot any other ancient language; 
 most valuable grammars and dictionaries being 
 written in Latin: and almost all Theological 
 works, not designed for the immediate use of the 
 people, were composed in this language, prior to 
 
 * Isidore Clarius, 
 
 12 
 
( 90 ) 
 
 the middle of the last century, a very small portion 
 of which have been translated into English. The 
 couise of theological study would indeed be very 
 much circumscribed, if we were destitute of this 
 key to unlock its rich treasures. It would lead 
 me into a discussion too long, to consider, what 
 assistance may be derived from the writings of the 
 Fathers; what from the Schoolmen; what from 
 the Reformers; and what from more modern 
 commentators and critics, in the interpretation of 
 the scriptures. The time allotted for this dis¬ 
 course, would be entirely insufficient to do justice 
 to this subject. I shall therefore leave it untouched, 
 and proceed to mention, 
 
 A help, which, though put in the last place, in 
 this discourse, is of more real importance than all 
 the rest; and that is, the illumination and assistance 
 oj the Holy Spirit. Illumination differs from in¬ 
 spiration in this respect; that whereas by the lat¬ 
 ter we are made acquainted with truths before un¬ 
 revealed, or unknown, by the former we are ena¬ 
 bled to discern the beauty and real nature of the 
 truths contained in a revelation already made. It. 
 is obvious, that in the study of divine truth, much 
 depends on the temper and condition of the stu¬ 
 dent’s mind. A proud and self-sufficient person, 
 however endowed with acuteness of intellect, and 
 furnished with stores of literature, is continually 
 prone to fall into pernicious error; whilst the hum- 
 
( 91 ) 
 
 ble man occupies a station from which truth may be 
 viewed to advantage. Prejudice, proceeding from 
 education or passion, blinds the mind, and warps 
 the judgment; but the sincere and ardent love of 
 truth disposes us to view the whole evidence, and. 
 impartially to weigh the arguments on both sides 
 of any question. As much therefore depends upon 
 preserving our own minds in a proper state, as upon 
 the diligent use of external means of information. 
 The conclusion from these premises is, that the 
 student of sacred literature should be possessed of 
 sincere and ardent piety. He should be a man 
 ‘ taught of God,’ conscious of his own insufficien¬ 
 cy, but confident of the help of the Almighty. In¬ 
 deed, when we consider the weakness of the human 
 intellect, and the various prejudices and false im¬ 
 pressions to which it is constantly liable, we must 
 be convinced, that without divine assistance, there 
 is little hope of arriving at the knowledge of truth, 
 or preserving it when acquired. He, who would 
 understand the Scriptures, therefore, ought not to 
 ‘ lean to his own understanding,’ but by continual 
 and earnest prayer, should look unto the ‘ Father of 
 lights,’ from whom proceedeth every good and eve¬ 
 ry perfect gift; and who hath promised to give 
 wisdom to those who lack it, and ask for it. 
 
 There is no person who needs more to be in the 
 constant exercise of prayer, than the Theological 
 student: not only at stated periods, but continually, 
 
( 92 ) 
 
 iu the midst of his studies, his heart should be rais¬ 
 ed to heaven for help and direction. A defect 
 here, it is to be feared, is one principal reason why 
 so much time and labour are often employed in 
 theological studies with so little profit to the 
 church. That knowledge which puffeth up is ac¬ 
 quired; but charity, which edifieth, is neglected. 
 
 When the serious mind falls into doubt respect¬ 
 ing divine truths, the remedy is not always reason¬ 
 ing and argument, but divine illumination. The 
 mind may be in such a state, that it is rather per¬ 
 plexed, than relieved, by mere human reasoning; 
 but at such times a lively impression made by the 
 Spirit of truth, banishes all doubt and hesitation ; 
 and then, the same texts or arguments which were 
 before unavailing to our conviction and satisfaction, 
 exhibit the truth in a light as clear as demonstra¬ 
 tion. This may appear to some to savour of en¬ 
 thusiasm. Be it so. It is, however, an enthusi¬ 
 asm essential to the very nature of our holy 
 religion, without which it would be a mere dry 
 system of speculation, of ethics and ceremonies. 
 But this divine illumination is its life , its soul> its 
 essence. It is true, this influence is not peculiar to 
 the theologian. Every sincere Christian, in his mea¬ 
 sure, partakes of this ‘ anointing,’ by which he is 
 taught to know all things; but the teacher of reli¬ 
 gion needs a double portion of this spirit. How of¬ 
 ten does the minister of the gospel labour and toil 
 
( 03 ) 
 
 with all his might, without producing any thing of 
 importance, for edification! But it he receive the 
 aid of the Spirit, his text is opened and illustrated, 
 without any painful exertion of his own. He is 
 conscious, indeed, that he is a mere recipient. The 
 train of thought which occupies his mind, appears 
 to originate in some occult cause, which he cannot 
 trace. And happy would it be for preachers, 
 happy for their hearers, if there were more depend¬ 
 ence on divine assistance, not only in the composi¬ 
 tion, but in the delivery of sermons! When God 
 shall appear in his glory, to build up Jerusalem, he 
 will i aise up, I have no doubt, a race of preachers, 
 who shall partake of this heavenly gift, in a much 
 highei degree than has heretofore been common. 
 He will bring forward to the sacred office, men pos¬ 
 sessing boldness , founded on their reliance upon di¬ 
 vine assistance; clearness, proceeding from divine 
 illumination; and that unction which flows from 
 the sweet and lively experience of the truth deliver¬ 
 ed, in the heart of the preacher. The solicitous, and 
 often unsuccessful, effort to rise to some artificial 
 standard of oratory, shall then yield to nobler mo¬ 
 tives; and the preacher, like Paul, shall be willing 
 to make a sacrifice of his own reputation for learning, 
 and refinement, at the foot of the cross: and to 
 count all things but loss for the excellency of 
 
 the knowledge of Jesus Christ his Lord. Gospel 
 
 simplicity and sincerity, shall then be preferred by 
 the Man of God, to all the soaring flights of eloquence, 
 
( 94 ) 
 
 and to all the splendid trappings and tinsel of hu¬ 
 man science. May it please the Lord of the 
 vineyard speedily to send forth many such labour¬ 
 ers into his harvest; for the harvest is great, and the 
 labourers are few! 
 
 I will now bring this discourse to a conclusion, 
 by offering some motives to excite the Theological 
 student to diligence in the perusal of the sacred 
 scriptures. 
 
 A book has a claim upon our time and study, on 
 account of the authority by which it comes recom¬ 
 mended, the excellency of the matter comprehend¬ 
 ed in it, and the interest which we have involved in 
 the knowledge of its contents. On all these ac¬ 
 counts the Bible has the highest possible claim on 
 our attention. It comes to us, as we have proved, 
 authenticated as the word of God; stamped as it 
 were with the signature of heaven ; and reccom- 
 mended to our diligent perusal by the Lord Je¬ 
 sus Christ. The matter which it contains, is, like 
 its origin,divine: truth , pure, glorious and all impor¬ 
 tant truth, constitutes the subject of this Book. The 
 saying ascribed to Mr. Locke , when he took leave 
 of a beloved relation, shortly before his end, was 
 worthy of that profound genius; “ Study,” said he, 
 « the Sacred Scriptures; they have God for their 
 author, truth without mixture of error for their 
 matter, and eternal life for their end.” If we should 
 
( 95 ) 
 
 take the lowest view of the subject, and form our 
 opinion of the scriptures by the same rules by 
 which we judge of human compositions, they will 
 be found to transcend the highest efforts of human 
 genius, as far as the heavens are above the earth. 
 Hear on this subject, the decision of a scholar, in 
 whom learning and taste in their highest perfection 
 were combined ; “ I have regularly and attentively 
 read these holy scriptures, and am of opinion that 
 this volume, independently of its divine origin, con¬ 
 tains more sublimity and beauty, purer morality, 
 and finer strains of poetry and eloquence, than can 
 be collected from all other books, in whatever acre 
 or language they may have been composed.*” But 
 the excellency of the Scriptures cannot be appreci¬ 
 ated by the rules of human criticism. As well 
 might we think of judging of the proportions of the 
 celestial arch, or the location of the stars in the vast 
 expanse, by the rules of architecture. The word of 
 God, like his works, is on a plan too vast, too sub¬ 
 lime, too profound, to be measured by the feeble in¬ 
 tellect of man. 
 
 Fully to explain how worthy the scriptures are 
 of our attention, on account of the matter compre¬ 
 hended in them, would require us to exhibit ad the 
 truths which they contain; but as this cannot be 
 
 * Found written in his own hand, on a blank leaf of Sir 
 William Jones’s Bible, after his death. 
 
( 96 ) 
 
 done in one, or a few discourses, I will now con* 
 tent myself with mentioning a few leading points, 
 on which the scriptures furnish us with information 
 of the most important kind. 
 
 In the first place, then, it is here, and here alone, 
 that we can learn the true character of God. The 
 indistinct outline, which may be traced in the works 
 of creation, is here tilled up. The knowledge of 
 God, which could be derived from a view of his 
 works, would not be sufficient for man, even in a 
 state of innocence; and much less so when he is 
 fallen into sin. None have ever been able to form 
 just conceptions of the Deity from the light ot na¬ 
 ture alone. A revelation was absolutely necessary 
 to teach man what God is; and the Bible con¬ 
 tains all the information which we need on this 
 subject. Here the divine glory is revealed. The 
 moral attributes of Deity, especially, are represent¬ 
 ed in the clearest, strongest light. Truths respect¬ 
 ing the divine nature, are here revealed, concerning 
 which, reason and philosophy could never have 
 formed a conjecture. The glorious and mysterious 
 doctrine of a Trinity in unity, is taught from the 
 beginning to the end of the Bible; a doctrine of¬ 
 fensive to the pride of man, but one which will af¬ 
 ford subject for profound contemplation through 
 eternity. From the scriptures we learn, not only 
 that < od is holy, just, merciful, and faithful; but we 
 behold these attributes harmonizing in a work which, 
 
( 97 ) 
 
 according io all the views that finite wisdom could 
 have taken of it, must have placed them in a state 
 of complete variance; that is, in the justification 
 and salvation of a sinner. Ia the redemption of 
 Christ these divine perfections not only appear har¬ 
 monious ; ‘ mercy and truth having met together , 
 and righteousness and peace having kissed each 
 other; but in the cross, are exhibited with a lus¬ 
 tre and glory, which, according to our conceptions, 
 could not have been given to them, in any other 
 circumstances. It we would know the only true 
 God , then, we must ‘ search the Scriptures.’ 
 
 In the next place, we obtain from the Bible a sa¬ 
 tisfactory account of the origin of evil, natural and 
 moral. Not, indeed, an explanation of the reason 
 why it was permitted; but such an account of its in¬ 
 troduction, as is perfectly consistent with the honour 
 and purity of the divine government. We here learn 
 that God created man ‘ in a state of innocency, 
 with freedom and power to will and do that which 
 was well pleasing to himself, but yet mutable, so 
 that he might fall from it.’ This liberty was abus¬ 
 ed by man : sin therefore owes its origin to the 
 creature, who is wholly chargeable with its blame; 
 although it did not take place without the know¬ 
 ledge, nor contrary to the purpose, of the infinite God. 
 The first man being the root of all his posterity, 
 and being appointed to act for them as well as for 
 himself, they are involved with him in all the con¬ 
 sequences of his fall; for ‘ they sinned in hint 
 and fell with him in his first transgression All 
 
 13 
 
c y** ) 
 
 the streams of sin and misery in the world, flow 
 from this original fountain. And so deep and 
 dreadful is this fall of man, that he is utterly una¬ 
 ble to recover himself from the guilt and depravi¬ 
 ty into which he is by nature sunk. 
 
 1 he last mentioned article of information would 
 be only calculated to plunge us into the depths of 
 misery and despair, were it not, that the scriptures 
 teach us the consoling doctrine of redemption . In¬ 
 deed, the whole Bible may be considered as a his¬ 
 tory of Redemption, Here we can trace the won¬ 
 drous plan up to its origin, in the eternal counsels 
 of peace. Here we read of the early develope- 
 ment of this plan, after the fall, in paradise. The 
 incarnation and victory of the glorious Redeemer 
 was clearly intimated in the promise, 4 that the seed 
 of the woman should bruise the serpent's head' To 
 this object, the faith of the pious was directed, by > 
 every new revelation and institution. Prophets, in 
 long succession, with lips touched with hallowed 
 fire, described and predicted Immanuel Although 
 their prophecies are often expressed in dark symbo¬ 
 lical language, yet sometimes, from the midst of 
 this darkness, there are vivid coruscations of light, 
 which exhibit the promised Messiah as visibly, as if 
 he had already come. At length the fulness of 
 time arrived, and “ God sent forth his Son made of 
 a woman , made under the law , to redeem them that 
 were under the law." “ God was now manifest in 
 Ike flesh" And He “ who being in the form of 
 
( 99 ) 
 
 God, thought it no robbery to be equal with God, 
 made himself of no reputation , and took upon him 
 the form of a servant , and was made in the likeness 
 of men ; and being found in fashion as a man , he 
 humbled himself and became obedient unto deaths 
 even the death of the cross ; wherefore God also hath 
 highly exalted him , and given him a name which is 
 above every name." The redemption of the church 
 by the blood of the Son of God, is a subject on 
 which angels look with wonder; and it is a subject, 
 which, through eternity, will furnish a theme for 
 the songs of the redeemed of the Lord. 
 
 But the scriptures give us information, not only 
 of the work of the Redeemer in procuring for us 
 an “ everlasting righteousnessbut also of the 
 work of the Spirit, in uniting the redeemed soul to 
 Jesus Christ; in regenerating, sanctifying, support¬ 
 ing, guiding, and comforting it; until it is ‘ made 
 meet for the inheritance of the saints in light.’ 
 
 Another important article of information which 
 We find in the Scriptures of truth, is a clear expres¬ 
 sion of the will of God, in relation to the duty of 
 man. There are, it is true, traces of the law of 
 God still remaining on the heart of every man; but 
 these are far from being sufficient to show him the 
 full extent, and the spiritual nature, of the duties 
 required of him. And what might be known from 
 honestly inquiring of our own consciences, respect¬ 
 ing our duty, is often missed through the influence 
 of false principles, instilled into the mind by a de- 
 
( 100 ) 
 
 fective education, and by customs become universally 
 prevalent, through the corruption of human nature. 
 But we need be no longer at a loss about the law 
 of God. He condescended to publish it, with his 
 own voice, in the hearing of all Israel; and to 
 write it with his own finger, on tables of stone. 
 To explain this law, we have many comments from 
 inspired men; but especially we have the lucid ex¬ 
 position of the Law-giver himself; and, what is 
 more important, we behold it fully illustrated and 
 exemplified, in the obedience which he, in our na¬ 
 ture, and for our sakes, rendered to it; so that, if 
 we now wish to know our duty, we have only to 
 contemplate the character of Jesus Christ. If we 
 wish to do it, we have only to walk in his foot-steps. 
 
 Finally, the scriptures contain a distinct and full 
 revelation of futurity, as far as it is necessary for 
 us to know what is to be hereafter. In them, 
 “ life and immortality are brought to light.” Full 
 assurance is given, by the testimony of one who 
 cannot lie, that * an exceeding great and eternal 
 weight of glory’ is reserved for the people of God 
 in another w orld. In the New Testament, we are 
 made familiar with heaven, by the frequency with 
 which it is mentioned and described. The existence 
 of a future world is no longer left to be collected 
 by uncertain reasoning, and probable conjecture. 
 It is now a matter of testimony. Faith has a firm 
 ground on which to rest; for this truth is linked 
 with every fact and doctrine of the gospel; is seen in 
 every promise and threatening under the new dis- 
 
( 101 ) 
 
 pensation. But the scriptures reveal uot only a 
 heaven of glory, but a hell of horror; a dark and 
 " bottomless pit,” where ‘ the worm dieth not , and 
 where the fire is not quenched ,’ and where “ there is 
 weeping , and wailing, and gnashing of teeth' They 
 give us the certain assurance, also, of a day being 
 appointed in which God will judge the world in 
 righteousness by that man whom he hath ordain¬ 
 ed; and in which they that are in their graves 
 shall rise, some to everlasting life and glory, and 
 others to everlasting shame and contempt. 
 
 From this brief survey of what the scriptures 
 teach us, we must be convinced of the great im¬ 
 portance of being well acquainted with them. 
 Our own salvation is involved in the right know- 
 ledge of this book; and if we are teachers of 
 others, how important is it, that we ‘ as good stew¬ 
 ards of the mysteries of God,’ be * able rightly to 
 divide the word of truth, giving to every one his 
 portion in due season.’ We should, therefore, 
 “ meditate on these things, and give ourselves wholly 
 to them, that our profitting may appear unto all.” 
 We must “ take heed unto ourselves, and to our doc¬ 
 trine, and continue in thqm; for by so doing we 
 shall both save ourselves and them that hear us.” 
 
 But we shall not only find the scriptures to be a 
 source of profitable instruction; a rich mine of 
 truth which has never yet been fully explored ; but 
 also a source of pure tmd permanent delight. 
 
( 102 ) 
 
 As the natural light is pleasant to the eyes, so is 
 truth to the understanding, unless some moral dis¬ 
 ease render its approach unacceptable. ‘ They whose 
 deeds are evil, love darkness rather than lightbut 
 the regenerate soul * rejoices in the truth.’ Food 
 to the hungry is not more pleasant, nor cold water 
 more refreshing to the thirsty, than evangelical 
 truth to the pious mind. It is, indeed, the bread of 
 life which cometh down from heaven ; the hidden 
 manna, with which the spiritual Israel are fed y 
 whilst they sojourn in this wilderness. The per¬ 
 son who has been taught of God, prefers the truths 
 of his word to all earthly treasures, and to all the 
 sw eets of nature. * More are they to be desired, than 
 gold, yea, than much fine gold : sweeter also than 
 honey and the honey comb.’ ‘ The law of thy 
 mouth is better unto me than thousands of gold and 
 silver.’ * Thy statutes have been my song in the 
 house of my pilgrimage.’ How delightful must 
 it be to sit as a disciple at the feet of Jesus, and 
 with a child-like docility, imbibe precious instruc¬ 
 tion, from his word and Spirit! When we fall under 
 the power of some overwhelming temptation, or 
 when dark clouds of adversity thicken around us, 
 in the truths and promise^ of our God, we find our 
 only refuge. In the sanctuary, when the oracles of 
 God are delivered, doubt and unbelief, sorrow and 
 despair, are driven away. Here divine beauty 
 beams with mild effulgence on the soul, and the 
 troubled spirit is charmed to rest. “ One day in 
 thy courts is better than a thousand .” “ One thiny 
 
 have I desired of the Lord , that will I seek after , 
 
( 103 ) 
 
 that I may dwell in the house of the Lord , all the 
 days of my life , to behold the beauty of the Lord.” 
 
 When Jesus joins himself to his disconsolate dis¬ 
 ciples, how soon is their sorrow turned into joy! 
 And whilst he 4 opens their understandings to un¬ 
 derstand the scriptures,’ how do their hearts burn 
 within them! lhat which above all thing's makes 
 the scriptures precious, and the study of them de¬ 
 lightful, is, that there we can find Jesus Christ. 
 We have no need to say, 4 who shall ascend into 
 heaven, that is, to bring Christ down from above; or 
 who shall descend into the deep, that is, to bring up 
 Christ again from the dead ?” For, 44 the word is 
 nigh us, even in our mouth, and in our heart; that 
 is, the word of faith which we preach.” 44 Christ 
 and him crucified,” is the centre of the Christian’s 
 religion, the foundation of his faith and hope, and 
 the perennial spring of all his pleasures and his 
 joys. When, at any time, it pleasfes God to shine 
 upon his word, whilst the believer reads its sacred 
 contents, what a divine glory illuminates the holv 
 page! What attractive beauty diaws forth the 
 best affections of his heart! Wliat vonders do his 
 opened eyes behold in the cross ! He seems to be 
 translated into a new world, and is ready to ex¬ 
 claim, 44 I have heard of thee by the hearirg of the 
 ear; but now mine eye seetli thee.” 44 OH things 
 are passed away, and behold, all things arebecome 
 new.” O ! could the pious reader of the sriptures 
 constantly retain these spiritual views, and iiese ho- 
 
( 104 ) 
 
 ly impressions, heaven would be begun. This wil¬ 
 derness would ‘ bud and blossom as the rose,’ and 
 paradise be renewed on earth. But ‘ this is not our 
 rest, it is polluted;’ that remaineth for the people of 
 God j even “ an inheritance incorruptible, undefiled , 
 and that fadeth not away, reserved in the heavens for 
 us, who are kept by the power of God through faith 
 unto salvation, ready to be revealed in the last time.” 
 
 But whilst we are on our pilgrimage to this pro¬ 
 mised land, the scriptures will be u a light to our 
 feet and a lamp to our paths.” They will answer 
 the same purpose to us, which the pillar of cloud 
 and of lire, did to the Israelites. They will guide 
 us in the right way, through all our journey. Let 
 us, then, be persiiaded diligently ‘ to search the 
 Scriptures.’ 
 
 I beg leave to conclude this discourse in the 
 words of the pious Weller, the friend and disciple 
 of Luther : 
 
 “ I admonish you again and again, that you 
 “ read the sacred scriptures in afar different man- 
 * ner from tfat in which you read any other book : 
 “ that you approach them with the highest rever¬ 
 ence, and most intense application of your mind ; 
 the words of a man, nor an angel, but as 
 ords of the Divine Majesty, the least of 
 should have more weight with us, than 
 “ the witings of the wisest and most learned men 
 “ in theworld / 
 
 * Consilium De Studio Thcologiac, 
 
 u 
 
 “ not a 
 “ the -v 
 “ whicl 
 
CHARGE, 
 
 TO 
 
 the professor, 
 
 AND 
 
 STUDENTS OP DIVINITY. 
 
 BY 
 
 PHILIP MILLEDOLER. I) D. 
 
 11 
 

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 A W 
 
 
 
 
 
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 <*.»! ri i Mr 
 
 ■ 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
CHARGE, <§c. 
 
 # » 
 
 tteverend and dear Brother, 
 
 4 The engagements you have formed this day, 
 
 are peculiarly solemn and affecting. The chai ge 
 devolving on the Pastor of a congregation, inentei- 
 ing upon the duties of his office, is deeply interest¬ 
 ing, but not so interesting as yours. You are not 
 called by a particular branch of our church to mi¬ 
 nister in holy things, but by her highest ecclesiasti¬ 
 cal judicatory, to superintend the education of her 
 sons. Under the direction, we trust, of the great 
 Head of the Church, you have been invited to train 
 up for her service, bands of intelligent, intrepid, and 
 faithful champions of the cross. The characters 
 you are to form for active service, are the flower of 
 our youth; young men from whose lips, at some 
 y future, and not far distant period, multitudes of souls 
 
 may receive instruction; who may be destined to 
 fill the chairs of teachers and professors in our 
 schools, and on whose fidelity, under God, may de¬ 
 pend the future peace and prosperity of the church, 
 and the salvation of thousands, perhaps millions, yet 
 unborn* 
 
 Suffer me, under these circumstances, to give a 
 brief exhibition of the views of the general as¬ 
 sembly in founding this institution, and to point out 
 some duties incumbent on you, in the accomplish¬ 
 ment of those views. The assembly, in founding 
 
( 108 ) 
 
 this school, are desirous of securing* and perpetu¬ 
 ating to the church, a learned, orthodox, pious, 
 and evangelical Ministry. 
 
 We want a learned Ministry. 
 
 W hatever mischief has been done to the world 
 by phdosophy, falsely so called, we are persuaded 
 that true learning has never injured the church, and 
 never will. Such is the harmony subsisting be¬ 
 tween the works and word of God, that & dis¬ 
 coveries in the former will never cease to promote 
 our regard for the latter. It has been said, that ig¬ 
 norance is the mother of devotion ; that aphorism 
 we utterly and indignantly reject. To instruct others, 
 and especially in divine things, men must first be in¬ 
 structed themselves. On this principle God himself 
 has acted from the beginning of the world to the 
 present day. In former ages, he himself spake di¬ 
 rectly to the prophets. The messages they deliver¬ 
 ed were formed under the immediate influence of 
 his grace, and the inspiration of his Spirit. “ For 
 the prophecy came not in old time by the will of 
 man; but holy men of God spake as they were 
 moved by the Holy Ghost*.” 
 
 At the entrance of our Saviour upon his Minis¬ 
 try, he chose twelve disciples. These were prepared 
 by himself for their work, and that too especially 
 
 * 2 Pet . 1. 21. 
 
( 100 ) 
 
 ,n ^ ie ^ rst instance by a regular course of instruc¬ 
 tion and discipline. It was after that course of in- 
 fctiuction, and not before, that they were sent out to 
 evangelize the world. Of completing the designs of 
 God toward our race, in their day, these servants of 
 Christ had no expectation. Their number was 
 small, their lives precarious, the opposition they 
 met with, powerful and constant; and their influ¬ 
 ence confined to regions which, however extensive 
 m themselves, were yet small when compared to the 
 whole world. They were therefore solicitous to 
 provide for the future wants of the church, and 
 took immediate steps for transmitting their power 
 and authority to others. Hence that charge of 
 Pcmt to Timothy*: “ And the things that thou 
 
 hast heard of me among many witnesses, the 
 same commit thou to faithful men, who shall be 
 able to teach others also.” Thus early provision 
 was made for the supply of the church with an 
 able and faithful ministry. Beside the instruc¬ 
 tion they had received from their Lord, the Apos¬ 
 tles and their immediate successors were quali¬ 
 fied in a miraculous manner for their work._They 
 
 were endowed with the gift of tongues. De¬ 
 vils lied at their rebuke; diseases, the most inve¬ 
 terate, were healed by a word or by a touch. They 
 had also the power of discerning spirits f; a power 
 which gave them no small advantage over ordina¬ 
 ry teachers. All these gifts, from their cxtraordi- 
 
 * 2 Tim. 2 . 2 . 
 
 •T 1 Cor. 12. 10. 
 
( no > 
 
 nary nature, and the well known disposition of 
 mankind, were calculated to excite curiosity, to 
 attract attention, to draw men within the sphere of 
 the Gospel, and to carry home, by divine grace, ir¬ 
 resistible conviction to their understandings and 
 hearts. They enjoyed another advantage; they 
 were under the influence of the Spirit of God, 
 to a degree, of which now, alas! owing to our most 
 awful supineness, we can hardly form a conception. 
 This influence of the Spirit gave dignity to their 
 manners, intrepidity to their zeal, and a general 
 character to their ministry, which commanded the 
 admiration of both friends and foes. With such 
 advantages, it is not to be wondered at, that they 
 towered with eagles’ flight above the philosophers of 
 their day, and outstripped in their progress all the 
 wisdom of the sages, and all the eloquence of the 
 schools. But the gift of tongues, with other mira¬ 
 culous endowments of the Holy Spirit, began gra¬ 
 dually to disappear with the extension of the Gos¬ 
 pel. This circumstance had a considerable in¬ 
 fluence in changing the face of the church, and 
 especially in regard to the education of her minis¬ 
 ters. That the scriptures might be read in the lan- 
 o-uao-es in which they were originally penned, or 
 translated into the tongues of foreign nations ; that 
 young Gentile converts might become mighty in the 
 scriptures; and that the sons of the church might 
 be qualified to contend for the faith once delivered 
 to the saints, against learned and subtle adversaries 
 
( ni ) 
 
 without, as well as against sectaries in her 
 own bosom, it was soon perceived that a learn¬ 
 ed, as well as pious, ministry, was indispensa¬ 
 bly necessary. The most distinguished of the pri¬ 
 mitive fathers were advocates for a learned ministry. 
 They well knew that learning without piety might 
 be abused to the worst of purposes; but they were 
 unwilling to allow that the abuse of what is good 
 in itself, can ever detract from its intrinsic value. 
 In this view of the subject, they were followed by 
 the Reformers ; and it is a principle which has been 
 acted upon, and contended for, from that day 
 to the present, by the best and purest churches in 
 Christendom. In the careful instruction, then, of 
 our Youth, dear Sir, for the work of the Gospel 
 Ministry, you will neither stand upon new or un¬ 
 tenable ground. And, assured as you may be, that 
 you are doing the will of Christ, you may safely em¬ 
 ploy in it all the stores of your learning; all the re¬ 
 sources of your genius, and all the powers of your 
 soul. But whilst there can be no doubt, either of the 
 lawfulness or expediency of such a work, it is not 
 to be concealed, that it is a task of great labour and 
 difficulty. To say nothing of that diversity of dis¬ 
 position, taste, and intellect, in students themselves, 
 which renders the art of teaching, as well as govern¬ 
 ment, so exceedingly intricate; waving also at pre¬ 
 sent all observations on methods of instruction, I will 
 venture to say, that the work itself is one of the 
 most arduous in the world. The scriptures are a 
 mine of inexhaustible wealth, but to be enriched 
 
( 112 ) 
 
 with their treasures will require close and constant 
 application. To exhibit divine truth in a lucid 
 and systematic manner; to show the unity of Scrip¬ 
 ture in the connexion and dependence of its 
 parts; to make of our young 1 men sound Bi¬ 
 blical critics, and able casuists; to furnish them 
 with gospel armour of proof, offensive and defen¬ 
 sive ; to give them an extensive acquaintance with 
 Church history and government; but especially so 
 to indoctrinate, and, if I may use the expression, 
 leaven them with heavenly truth, that they may 
 ever after hold, and defend it for themselves, as 
 well as communicate it to others; is a work indeed 
 of no small magnitude. In this work you will 
 soon, we hope, be aided by faithful colleagues; but 
 a large and important part of it will still rest, under 
 God, upon yourself. To cultivate such a field as this, 
 dear sir, will be sufficient to call forth the exertions 
 of the most active and enterprising mind; it will 
 therefore behoove you, notwithstanding all your 
 present acquirements, not only to cherish the attain¬ 
 ments you have already made, but also further to 
 enrich your mind with the spoils of science, and to 
 extend your inquiries into almost every department 
 of literature, sacred and profane. 
 
 Another charge devolving upon you with pecu¬ 
 liar weight, dear Brother, is the faithful maintenance 
 of that system of doctrines handed down to us by 
 our fathers, and for which in numerous instances 
 they have sacrificed “ their fortunes, their liberties. 
 
( 113 ) 
 
 and their lives.’* Strongly attached to the doctrines 
 of the reformation contained in her standards, jea¬ 
 lous of innovation, and anxious to transmit the 
 truth as it is in Jesus inviolate to posterity, the 
 Presbyterian church will expect, and permit me to 
 add, Sir, after the signal mark of her confidence 
 reposed in you, will have a right to expect, that her 
 doctrines, and especially her distinguishing doc¬ 
 trines, will be taught in this school without adding 
 to, or taking aught from them in any wise, or under 
 any pretext whatsoever. It is also expected that 
 these doctrines will be explained in terms used 
 by her best writers from almost time immemo¬ 
 rial, and which from long use have become fa¬ 
 miliar to, and are best understood by, her mem¬ 
 bers. By observing this plan, there will be an agree¬ 
 ment of theological terms used in the instruction 
 of our youth, with those used in our standard books, 
 as well as an agreement of terms used by our fu¬ 
 ture licentiates and ministers, with those to which 
 our congregations are accustomed. An object this, 
 of no small importance to the future harmony of our 
 churches. The Confession of Faith of the Presby¬ 
 terian Church, and form of government connected 
 with it, will be an important book in this seminary. 
 Containing a form of sound words drawn from the 
 lively oracles of God, and tested by experience, 
 it has long served, and will hereafter serve, as a 
 bond of union to the churches. As every minis¬ 
 ter in our connexion is required to subscribe this 
 Confession, they should be well acquainted with its 
 
 15 
 
( 114 ) 
 
 contents. When adopted, it cannot be renounced 
 without renouncing' our communion; nor invaded, 
 without a species of sacrilege. If important doctri¬ 
 nal errors are ever introduced into our churches, 
 they will be introduced by a gradual departure 
 from our standards. These should be guarded, 
 therefore, with inviolable care. Is any man dissa¬ 
 tisfied with them, he is not bound to receive them; 
 and if he does receive them, he is by that very act 
 sacredly bound to cherish and maintain them. To 
 surrender truths deemed of minor importance is on¬ 
 ly to prepare the way for other demands, and great¬ 
 er sacrifices; and if first attempts are not repelled, 
 they will soon be followed by others, till all is gone 
 that is worth contending for. To give our young 
 men an early acquaintance with these standards, 
 is therefore an object of primary importance; 
 and should they be required, during their theo¬ 
 logical course, to commit to memory the great¬ 
 er part, if not the whole, of our confession and book 
 of discipline, it would be attended with incalcula¬ 
 ble advantage. It would not only give them a de¬ 
 cided superiority over others in ecclesiastical coun¬ 
 cils, but would also tend to guard them against er¬ 
 ror, as well as to secure their attachment to the truth. 
 Peculiarly set for the defence of the Gospel, it will 
 be expected of you, dear brother, that you will stand 
 as a bulwark for truth against the encroachments 
 of error. In this respect also, the assembly have 
 deposited in your hands a most sacred trust; and one 
 we are persuaded, that will never be abused. With 
 
( US ) 
 
 pleasure we anticipate the period when the youth 
 of our seminary will not only exhibit sound princi¬ 
 ples themselves, but will also be disposed, and pre¬ 
 pared to hand them down inviolate to others. 
 
 And as it is desirable that we should have a 
 leamed and orthodox, so we also need a pious and 
 evangelical, ministry. Whatever may be the talents 
 of ministers, they are like, without personal piety, 
 to be of no lasting advantage to the church; nay, 
 such characters have often indicted upon it deep, 
 and almost incurable wounds. That they are ut¬ 
 terly unfit for the sacred office, is manifest. How 
 shall they feed the flock of Christ purchased with 
 his blood, who have no interest in that purchase ? 
 How shall they sympathize in the sufferings of 
 God’s people, who have no spiritual feeling? 
 Or how shall they speak a word in season to 
 weary and tempted souls, who themselves never 
 felt, and therefore never mourned, under the 
 awful pressure of their sins ? Their godly hear¬ 
 ers can be satisfied with them no longer than they 
 shall have address enough to conceal their real 
 characters, and they not unfrequently become 
 the scorn even of the careless and impenitent. 
 We hope the time is far distant, when our 
 churches will be satisfied with mere exhibitions 
 of learning, or eloquence, or with the substitution 
 of dry moral lectures for the preaching of the cross. 
 The apostle Paul was determined to know nothing 
 among his hearers but Jesus Christ,and him crucified. 
 
( 116 ) 
 
 —He was convinced that nothing under heaven 
 could exhibit the divine character in a clearer 
 light, and that nothing had equal influence on the 
 human mind, to control, reform, and changed into 
 the image of God. He had fairly made the expe- 
 i iment, and hath taught us, both by precept and ex¬ 
 ample, that the true ministry ot reconciliation must 
 be pious and evangelical. In preparing such a 
 Ministry for the church, it is desirable that such, 
 and such only, should be sent forward to the school 
 as are hopefully pious. What remains to the pro¬ 
 fessors of the institution, is continually to insist upon 
 the necessity of it, to cultivate it where it exists, 
 by precept and example; to honour it with marked 
 respect, and in every instance in which they shall 
 be satisfied ol the want ot it in any pupil, to take 
 effectual steps to prevent his entrance upon an office, 
 loi which in such case he is so evidently disquali¬ 
 fied. 
 
 Thus, reverend and dear brother, I have endea¬ 
 voured to mark out your glorious work, and have 
 ventured a few thoughts on the best means of its 
 accomplishment. We want a learned, orthodox, 
 pious, and evangelical ministry. To such, and 
 such only, can we confidently and comfortably com¬ 
 mit the affairs of the church; and to leave another 
 ministry in it, if we ourselves are faithful, would plant 
 ihorns in our dying pillows. As no greater curse 
 can fall upon a people than to commit its spiritual 
 interests into the hands of weak and unskilful, but 
 
( H7 ) 
 
 especially of unprincipled, men; so, on the other 
 hand, we are persuaded that an able and faithful mi¬ 
 nistry, is one of the most distinguished blessings to 
 the world. Its influence in the church must be ob¬ 
 vious to all; and its benign influence on our schools, 
 as well as on the general good order and happiness 
 of society, will be denied only by the thoughtless, 
 or the profligate. This seminary then, even in its 
 infant state, is an object of public interest; an ob¬ 
 ject not only calculated to call forth the good wish¬ 
 es of our own church, but of the church at large, 
 aup even of the nation. Though its origin be 
 small, the voice of its sons, we trust, will one day 
 be heard to advantage from one extreme of these 
 United States to the other; nay, the time may not 
 be far distant, when they will vie with their trans¬ 
 atlantic brethren, in carrying the lamp of eternal 
 truth, and planting the standard of the cross, on 
 the remotest shores of heathen lands. The bless¬ 
 ings that flow from such a ministry, are not bless¬ 
 ings of a day, of a year, or even of an age.—* 
 These men will in due time transmit their know¬ 
 ledge and authority to others, and these again to 
 their successors, to the final conflagration of the 
 globe. In this view of the subject, Reverend Sir, 
 you will feel a weight of responsibility upon you 
 sufficient to bow the shoulders of an angel. The 
 infant state of the institution will add to that weight. 
 The General Assembly have stamped it with grand 
 and impressive features, but they have only drawn 
 the great outlines of its character. Much yet remains 
 
C 118 ) 
 
 to be done. The perfection of their plan will be the 
 result of time and experience, and will greatly de¬ 
 pend on the wisdom and diligence of their professors. 
 In all this work, dear brother, you will have the eyes 
 of God, of angels, and of men, upon you; but you 
 enter upon it with great encouragement. You 
 may promise yourself the good wishes and pray¬ 
 ers of the whole church of God. You may also 
 promise yourself the cordial co-operation of your 
 brethren in the Gord. Xn their personal friendship, 
 as well as interest in the work, you will find pledg¬ 
 es of future consolation and support. But above 
 all, you may promise yourself, if faithful, the con¬ 
 stant blessing of the great Head of the church: 
 there lies your strength, your wisdom, your every 
 qualification for the work. The promise, « Lo, I 
 am with you always,” has never been forgotten by 
 him, and never will. I have only to add a wish 
 that when the book shall be opened that records 
 the transactions of this day, that you may have 
 cause to rejoice in them for ever. 
 
 Permit jne, also, young gentlemen, on this solemn 
 occasion, to address myself to you. You will 
 have the honour of being the first whose names are 
 enrolled in the register of this Seminary. They 
 will stand, we hope, at the head of a host of worthies, 
 whose future labours shall bless the church of God, 
 and do honour to their country. As you are 
 first in order of time, so we pray, that you may 
 be numbered with the first, in devotion to God, and 
 
( 119 ) 
 
 usefulness to mankind. The studies in which you 
 will be engaged, are not only delightful, to the 
 pious mind, but are also calculated to enlarge 
 your souls; to ennoble and transform them into 
 the very image of God. The privilege you will 
 enjoy, of consecrating your time to the study of the 
 scriptures, and your persons to the service of Christ, 
 is too great for expression. You are now, young 
 gentlemen, to lay the foundation of your future cha¬ 
 racter and usefulness in life; and, in some measure 
 at least, as connected with it, of your future and 
 eternal felicity. Permit me then to urge, with all 
 possible earnestness, a diligent improvement of time 
 and opportunities afforded you in the good provi¬ 
 dence of God. Your stay in this seminary may 
 seem long in prospect, but it is really short; short 
 in itself, and especially so, when compared with 
 the work you have to do. Observe the plan of edu¬ 
 cation marked out by the Assembly, and you will 
 see at once, that the most diligent application will 
 barely suffice, to give you, not to say a perfect, but 
 even a competent knowledge of the subjects it em¬ 
 braces. 
 
 If any suppose that occasional application, or su¬ 
 perficial reading, will constitute an eminent divine, 
 they are exceedingly mistaken. In searching after, 
 illustrating, or defending truth, the whole circle of 
 the sciences may be pressed into the service of 
 Christ. The study of the scriptures, especially in 
 their original languages, is a work of time, as well 
 
( 120 ) 
 
 as of deep research. To obtain an accurate know¬ 
 ledge of scripture types, prophecies, and doctrines; 
 to be acquainted with the sophistry of enemies, and 
 qualified to expose it; to be well informed in church 
 history and government; and to acquire facility in 
 collecting, judgment in arranging, and gracefulness 
 in the delivery of your thoughts, will all require time 
 and labour. 
 
 But whilst I thus urge preparation for the altar 
 in the acquirement of useful knowledge, let me 
 also insist, particularly insist, on the cultivation of 
 personal piety. As you are now to lay the foun¬ 
 dation of solid learning, and literary eminence, so 
 also of good character. Many eyes will be upon 
 you, and more expected than from other young men 
 of the same age, engaged in other pursuits. To the 
 youth of this venerable seat of learning and the arts, 
 you are especially called, to set examples of piety 
 worthy of imitation. Not to speak of actions gross¬ 
 ly derogatory to your Christian character, and the 
 stain of which might follow you to your graves; re¬ 
 member, that you have in great measure passed 
 that period of life, in which folly is extenuated by 
 juvenile indiscretion. A short time will place you, 
 God willing, upon the theatre of the world, under 
 the august character of Ambassadors of Christ. 
 Bear this in constant remembrance; and if you ever 
 hope to fill that station with dignity to yourselves, 
 Usefulness to others, and glory to God, learn now to 
 live by faith in the Son of God; govern your pas- 
 
( 121 ) 
 
 sions, deny yourselves, and consecrate your whole 
 souls to the service of the Redeemer, Whatsoever 
 things are true, just, lovely, and of good report, 
 if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, 
 think on these things. Let the world take know¬ 
 ledge of you, that you have been with Jesus; let 
 it appear evident to all that you have entered 
 upon your work with due reflection, and from 
 proper motives, and you will in no wise lose your 
 reward. 
 
 With piety toward God, my young friends, be 
 careful to cultivate respect for your instructors. 
 It is the sign of an ingenuous mind, and a debt of 
 gratitude you owe them. They will deserve well 
 at your hands. The hero of Macedon revered his 
 father much, but he revered his instructor more. He 
 viewed him as a second father; as one who had 
 formed his mind ; and acknowledged a debt of gra¬ 
 titude he never could repay. Christian youth, in 
 regard to their Christian teachers, must not be out- 
 done by the gratitude of a heathen. 
 
 Beloved pupils, who have commenced with me 
 your theological course—I now resign you with 
 pleasure into other hands. Divided between paro¬ 
 chial duties, and the care I owed you, I have found 
 the task of instruction difficult, and sometimes op¬ 
 pressive; jour future teacher, unincumbered by 
 other cares, can, and will cheerfully, devote his whole 
 
 16 
 
time to your improvement. I am happy to bear 
 this public testimony to your former diligence and 
 good conduct, and trust you will secure, by your 
 future deportment, the approbation of your teachers, 
 of the public, of your conscience, and your God.