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THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 IN 
 
 A SERIES OF LETTERS 
 
 FROM A FATHER TO HIS SONS. 
 
 BY T^HE 
 
 Key. WM. S. WHITE, D. D. 
 
 
 LEXINGTON, YA. 
 
 it 
 
 PHILADELPHIA : 
 
 PRESBYTERIAN BOARD OF PUBLICATION. 
 
 NO. 821 CHESTNUT STREET. 
 
 
 ^ 
 

 Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1860, by 
 
 JAMES DUNLAP, Treas., 
 
 in the Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District 
 of Pennsylvania. 
 
 STEREOTYPED BY WILLIAM W. HARDING, PHILADELPHIA. 
 
 The Library 
 of Congress 
 
 WASHINGTON 
 
t: 
 
 TO THE 
 
 STUDENTS 
 
 OP 
 
 UNION THEOLOGICAL SEMINAKY, YA. 
 
 THIS LITTLE BOOK IS DEDICATED 
 
 BY THE AUTHOR, 
 
 WITH AFFECTIONATE AND PRAYERFUL SOLICITUDE, 
 
 THAT THEY MAY BLEND THOROUGH SCHOLARSHIP WITH 
 
 GROWING PIETY, AND CONSUMMATE PRUDENCE WITH 
 
 BURNING ZEAL J SO AS TO SCATTER THE LIGHT 
 
 OF LIFE, BREAK THE POWER OF SIN, GIVING 
 
 PEACE TO MEN, AND GLORY TO GOD. 
 
 (3) 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 The following letters were actually written 
 to one son preparing for the work of the ministry, 
 and to another just entering upon that work. 
 For reasons that need not now be stated, they 
 were first published in the Central Presbyterian 
 of Richmond, Va. They were prompted by the 
 consideration, that parental responsibility does 
 not cease until life ends. At every stage of our 
 being, there are lessons to be learned which 
 none but a father can teach, and influences to 
 be felt which none but a father can exert ; and 
 the son wisely instructed, and governed in child- 
 hood and youth, will accept with thankfulness 
 these lessons, and yield with cheerfulness 
 to these influences, even when his own head 
 1* (5) 
 
6 INTKODUCTIOIS'. 
 
 has grown gray with years. Children really 
 brought up "in the nurture and admonition of 
 the Lord," never think with pleasure, but with 
 pain, of the time when the law of the land 
 discharges them from parental authority. The 
 language of such is, " It is my father's preroga- 
 tive to command, and both my duty and my 
 privilege to obey, so long as I need his authority, 
 or he needs my help." 
 
 A father, once writing to an absent son, on 
 his twenty -first birth day, said with pleasantry, 
 that the chief design of writing on that day, was 
 to absolve him from further allegiance and 
 declare him free. The son had already reached 
 a position in life both honourable and lucrative. 
 To the surprise of the father, he replied in a 
 very serious strain, declaring that the day had 
 been one of much sadness to him, because in the 
 eye of the law, it terminated the period of his 
 minority, and added, " My dear father, I 
 neither expect nor desire to be freed from your 
 authority, until you are translated to a better 
 world." 
 
 The first of these letters sets forth with suffi- 
 cient distinctness, the design with which they 
 were written. Both of these sons received their 
 
INTKODUCTION. 7 
 
 theological training at Union Seminary, Prince 
 Edward, Va. So high an estimate does the 
 writer place on the extent and thoroughness of 
 the instructions there given, that the thought 
 never for a moment entered his mind of at- 
 tempting to supplement those instructions. But 
 his sole purpose was to insure the warmth of 
 parental affection into the lessons already 
 learned from the able and accomplished pro- 
 fessor. 
 
 Taken all together, they contain nothing but 
 familiar hints on the most common place topics 
 connected with the practical working of the 
 christian ministry — hints drawn almost exclu- 
 sively from an experience of thirty-three years 
 spent in this great and blessed work. They 
 are now transferred from the periodical to the 
 bound volume at the earnest solicitation of many 
 friends both in and out of the ministry, to 
 whose judgment the writer trusts rather than 
 to his own. 
 
 Should they contribute in any degree to 
 render those to whom they were written or 
 those who may read them, wiser, happier, or 
 more useful men : should they serve to give 
 distinctness to the conceptions of the young 
 
8 INTRODUCTION. 
 
 man preparing to preach, or to lighten the 
 
 burden which presses upon the young man 
 
 beginning to preach, the highest expectations 
 of the author will be realized. 
 
 w. s. w. 
 
 Lexington, Va. 
 September 18, 1860. 
 
LETTERS TO 
 
 E M. W., 
 
 STUDENT IN THE SEMINARY. 
 
 (9) 
 
LETTERS 
 TO A THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 My deak Soisr : — Your professors 
 are worthy of your highest confi- 
 dence, and warmest love. Their 
 instructions are full and ample ; and 
 instead of seeking to supplement 
 those instructions, I only propose 
 to address to you a few plain hints 
 which may possibly serve to im- 
 press what they teach, by adding to 
 it the force of parental affection. 
 
 The student in the Seminary 
 
 differs from the pastor, as the cadet 
 
 11 
 
12 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 in the military academy differs 
 from the soldier in camp, or on the 
 field of battle. And as the study 
 of fortification and gunnery differs 
 from the application of what is thus 
 learned to the privations of the 
 camp, and the dangers of the field, 
 so, in great measure, your present 
 pursuits differ from those which 
 await you in future life. But, do 
 not push this thought too far. All 
 your professors have been able and 
 successful pastors, and are hence 
 prepared so to illustrate theory by 
 the results of a large experience, as 
 to render your success in the work 
 of the ministry, greatly dependent 
 on the thoroughness of your studies 
 in the Seminary. Whether in the 
 Seminary or out of it — whether a 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 13 
 
 student of theology, or a pastor, 
 your avowed object is one. To this 
 all your studies now, and all your 
 labours hereafter must be directed. 
 The grandeur and glory of this 
 object transcends the highest con- 
 ceptions of the mightiest mind. It 
 occupied a prominent place in the 
 counsels of Grod before the founda- 
 tion of the world, and it holds an 
 equally prominent place now in all 
 the dispensations of providence 
 and grace. For the attainment of 
 this end, holy men of old both 
 spake and wrote as they were 
 moved by the Holy Ghost. For 
 this, Christ as man, lived, laboured, 
 died ; and as Grod, arose from the 
 dead and ascended into heaven. 
 For this, Prophets and Apostles 
 
14 LETTERS TO A 
 
 taught and suffered unto death, 
 and the long line of martyrs soaked 
 the earth with their blood. This 
 object is nothing less than the 
 restoration to man of the lost image 
 and favour of Grod, the subversion 
 of the empire of sin, and the 
 universal establishment of the king- 
 dom of the Prince of peace. 
 
 This great work for which you 
 are now preparing, may be divided 
 into two general departments. To 
 this division the Apostle refers 
 when he says to the elders of Ephe- 
 sus, u I kept back nothing that was 
 profitable unto you, but have shewed 
 you, and have taught you publicly 
 and from house to house." Here, 
 as in every thing, we are prone to 
 extremes. Some rely almost ex- 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 15 
 
 clusively on the pulpit, others on 
 pastoral visitation. 
 
 Public preaching is the chief 
 work of the ministry. It is this 
 which Grod chiefly blesses, and to 
 which we must mainly look. But 
 both are necessary ; for both are 
 ordained and sanctioned of heaven, 
 and woe to him who neglects either. 
 And woe to him who, while in the 
 Seminary, fails to prepare fully for 
 both. How can one hope to preach 
 appropriately and usefully, unless 
 he know the character and condition 
 of the people ? How can he know 
 how to adapt the remedy to the 
 disease, unless he know the character 
 and the extent of that disease ? 
 And how can he know this without 
 close and personal inquiry? His 
 
16 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 inquiries must respect the peculiar 
 type of the disease — the constitution 
 of the patient, and as his practice 
 proceeds he must inquire diligently 
 into the effects produced by the 
 remedies thus far prescribed. No 
 doctor in the land can prosecute 
 his calling successfully, by the 
 delivery of lectures or the pre- 
 scriptions of empiricism. He cannot 
 hope to restore the inmates of an 
 hospital by standing at the door 
 and prescribing for those inmates 
 in a body. He must go from couch 
 to couch ; he must feel the pulse, 
 and look into the eye, and into the 
 mouth of every patient. 
 
 So, he who would heal the " sin- 
 sick soul" of man must do, or the 
 patient must die. And unless you 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 17 
 
 can acquire some skill in this 
 department of our great calling, I 
 shall almost fear to see you licensed. 
 I have often listened to profound 
 and eloquent sermons with unut- 
 terable pain, because, notwithstan- 
 ding their logic and their learning, 
 they lacked appropriateness. The 
 garment was of good materials, 
 and well made, but it did not fit. 
 
 Whether your spiritual charge is 
 to be large or small, in the country, 
 the village, or the city, an extensive 
 and complicated system of moral 
 machinery will be necessary. Peo- 
 ple of all ranks, ages, and conditions 
 must be reached and influenced. 
 
 What reaches one will not touch 
 another. Medicine which will cure 
 one patient, will kill another. In- 
 2 * 
 
18 LETTEES TO A 
 
 deed that which will heal a given 
 individual at one stage of his sick- 
 ness will kill him in another. 
 Some such view of the case Paul 
 must have taken when he spoke of 
 " rightly dividing the word of truth, 
 and giving to each his portion in 
 due season," and when he says, "if 
 by any means I might save some." 
 Go where you may, you will find 
 some who are sceptical. This often 
 results from wilful ignorance of 
 God's truth ; is always accompa- 
 nied by prejudice, and sometimes by 
 inveterate and unconcealed hatred 
 of all that is good. These men will 
 not attend church, and are almost 
 inaccessible in private. On other 
 subjects they know much and reason 
 acutely. They possess immense 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 19 
 
 influence, and stand like impassable 
 mountains in the preacher's way. 
 
 Others go not so far. They simply 
 care for none of these things. They 
 are either inordinately anxious to 
 make money if they are poor, or as 
 anxious to keep and increase it if 
 they are rich. They attend church, 
 if they like the preacher. But 
 " having ears, they hear not." 
 
 Then there are those who profess 
 respect for the gospel, and som§ 
 willingness to sustain its institu- 
 tions. They show the preacher 
 kindness. If he is of a social turn, 
 of good conversational powers, says 
 little about religion and much about 
 other things, their kindness will 
 become very great. But they have 
 doubts and difficulties far harder to 
 
20 LETTERS TO A 
 
 meet and remove, than those of the 
 first class, because they have really 
 read and heard and thought far 
 more on such subjects than they. 
 
 jSText he finds the really awakened 
 sinners, such as honestly and earnest- 
 ly ask, What must we do to be saved ? 
 Among such he finds persons of 
 every grade in society, of every 
 order of intellect, every measure of 
 intelligence, brought up under 
 widely different systems of educa- 
 tion, and forms of family govern- 
 ment ; with every conceivable shade 
 of preconceived sentiment on reli- 
 gious subj ects, and obstructed in their 
 progress by obstacles as various as 
 their characters. 
 
 Kext appear the backsliders — 
 those who had hastily made, and as 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 21 
 
 hastily renounced a Christian pro- 
 fession, whose last state is far worse 
 than their first. The prospects of 
 none are so dark, the case of none 
 so hopeless, as of these. And they 
 too are of all ages, ranks, and con- 
 ditions. With minds dark as night, 
 and hearts hard as stone, they re- 
 ject the gospel offer. They tell of 
 impositions formerly practised upon 
 them, of their folly in yielding 
 to priestcraft and many other such 
 things — and then they trample on 
 the blood of the covenant, and 
 frown on those who point them to 
 that blood. 
 
 The church itself presents to the 
 eye of the young preacher a scene 
 often very discouraging. Here 
 many denominations are seen, agree- 
 
22 LETTERS TO A 
 
 ing in many things, but differing in 
 others. They often depreciate or 
 neglect the great truths in which 
 they agree, and so magnify the 
 smaller ones in which they differ, 
 that they often do far more to hin- 
 der than help each other. Their 
 want of mutual confidence is often 
 such, as to place them at the mercy 
 of their common enemy, and exj3ose 
 them all to a terrible defeat. 
 In the same denomination, the 
 grades of intelligence, and the de- 
 grees of piety are almost infinite, 
 so as often to obstruct the pastor's 
 path, and almost crush his spirit. 
 
 Then there are countless little 
 factions of deluded errorists, who 
 fall upon his field and deafen his 
 ears with their buzzing and croak- 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 23 
 
 ing, as did the locusts and the frogs 
 the Egyptians. 
 
 Such is a hasty and very imper- 
 fect glance at the field to be occu- 
 pied, and of the materials out of 
 which are to be gathered and fash- 
 ioned the lively stones composing the 
 spiritual temple of Zion's King. To 
 cultivate such a field, to give the 
 requisite form and beauty to those 
 materials, calls for eminent learn- 
 ing, consummate skill, untiring in- 
 dustry, and ever brightening piety. 
 Here is a great moral malady — 
 various in its symptoms and its 
 stages, for the healing of which you 
 are now preparing. 
 
 YOUK FOND FATHEK. 
 
24 LETTEES TO A 
 
 LETTER II. 
 
 My deae Son : — In occupying 
 the field sketched in my last letter, 
 and for which you are now prepar- 
 ing, you will find ignorance to be 
 instructed, prejudice to be removed, 
 error to be corrected, enmity to be 
 changed into love, guilt to be for- 
 given, and impurity to be cleansed. 
 A justly offended God must be pro- 
 pitiated, the " sacramental host of 
 God's elect" must be gathered and 
 disciplined, and the undying souls 
 of sinners must be saved. What 
 then must the pastor be, and what 
 must he do ? The whole field indi- 
 cated by the above statement and 
 questions would require volumes. 
 I have undertaken merely to sug- 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 25 
 
 gest a few hints in a few familiar 
 letters. 
 
 As to the scholarship and the 
 learning needful, I can only say, 
 when you have thoroughly mas- 
 tered all that is embraced in the 
 admirable course pursued in your 
 Seminary, you will only have made 
 a good beginning. I therefore urge 
 you not to neglect nor disparage 
 any branch of knowledge embraced 
 in that course, and not to harbour 
 for a moment the thought of licen- 
 sure, until that entire course is tho- 
 roughly mastered. When know- 
 ledge is increasing, the standard of 
 scholarship in all our schools and 
 colleges rising, when schools of 
 medicine and law are multiplying 
 and raising their professions far 
 3 
 
26 LETTERS TO A 
 
 above the rank they once held, shall 
 we fall behind? I rejoice to know- 
 that the professors who now fill the 
 chairs in our Seminary, are wholly 
 opposed to any retrograde move- 
 ment on this subject. But this is a 
 point I did not mean to touch, sim- 
 ply because I was convinced you 
 would not need even a word of cau- 
 tion in regard to it from me. 
 
 You are most in danger from 
 a failure to cultivate a devotional 
 spirit. A Theological Seminary, in 
 its external arrangements — its build- 
 ings — its lecture rooms, and its 
 recitations; the intercourse of its 
 students in the dining hall and 
 upon the campus, is so much like a 
 college, that the spirit of the college 
 is very likely to prevail. The 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 27 
 
 critical study of the Bible is likely 
 to supplant the devotional. That 
 all the young man says and does, 
 even his sermons and his prayers, 
 should be subject to the criticism 
 of his fellow students and professors, 
 although useful and necessary, may 
 yet become hurtful to his spiritual- 
 ity. JSTow, whatever else he neglects, 
 he must not neglect the throne of 
 grace. Fail in all else sooner, than 
 in the cultivation of deep spiritual 
 piety. Fail in this, and whatever 
 your attainments in other respects 
 may be, should you live to enter 
 the ministry, comfortless and useless 
 you will live, labour, and die. Mere 
 intellectual endowments, leading to 
 popular applause, more frequently 
 entangle, bewilder, and ruin the 
 
28 LETTERS TO A 
 
 young preacher than all other baits 
 of the devil combined. As to such 
 endowments, Balaam possessed them 
 in a very high degree, and Satan, 
 the master of Balaam, possesses 
 them in a higher degree than 
 he. If he thus gain popular ap- 
 plause, he should not forget that it 
 was to Simon Magus, " that all 
 gave heed from the least to the 
 greatest," and that it was of him 
 the populace said, " This man is the 
 great power of Grod." 
 
 One has truthfully and beautifully 
 said, that " prayer is the breathing 
 forth of that grace which is first 
 breathed into the soul by the Holy 
 Ghost." Every offering then, not 
 made in the spirit of such prayer, 
 is destitute of the purity and fra- 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 29 
 
 grance of heaven ; and is not only- 
 unacceptable but hateful to God ; 
 so that prayerless study, prayerless 
 preaching and visiting are worse 
 than useless. What does not come 
 from Grod never returns to him. 
 All our services not baptized by 
 the Spirit, freely given in answer to 
 prayer, will be less acceptable to 
 Grod than the offerings of paganism. 
 Many even labour for years — labour 
 industriously and skilfully, yet lit- 
 tle or no fruit appears. Saints are 
 not edified nor sinners saved. The 
 garden of the Lord is rendered 
 neither fragrant nor fruitful under 
 his culture. And yet, he is admired 
 for his good manners and good sense. 
 Crowds attend upon his ministra- 
 tions and admire his eloquence. 
 3* 
 
30 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 Many such cases exist. How shall 
 they be explain ed ? What is lacking ? 
 He does not pray. Secretly it may 
 be, yet really, there lurks in his 
 heart a feeling of dependence on the 
 orthodoxy, or the logic, or the 
 eloquence of his sermons ; on the 
 multiplicity of his labours, or on 
 the hold he has on the confidence 
 and love of his people. He knows 
 better. He knows, theoretically 
 at least, that the excellency of the 
 power is of God. And yet such 
 thoughts obtrude, bewilder, and 
 weaken, because he does not really 
 watch unto prayer. 
 
 Suffer me then to enlarge on a 
 thought already suggested. When 
 we come really near to God, he 
 freely grants us the sweet influences 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 31 
 
 of his grace — " all grace comes from 
 the God of grace" — all that begins 
 and completes the life of God in the 
 soul of man. The soul enlightened 
 and warmed by a near approach to 
 the true altar, radiates both light 
 and heat, and thus creates an atmos- 
 phere which refreshes, beautifies, 
 and strengthens all who breathe it. 
 11 The river comes originally from 
 the ocean, and not even the range 
 of rocky mountains can prevent its 
 return to the ocean. So, that alone 
 which comes from God can return 
 to God." Hence we feel and exhibit 
 just so much of heaven, as we feel 
 and manifest of the spirit of prayer. 
 From this source alone can come 
 our usefulness. 
 
 Whatever else a man may have 
 
32 LETTERS TO A 
 
 or do, he never does, he never can 
 become the channel through which 
 Grod pours his grace upon the hill 
 of Zion, unless he lives in constant, 
 spiritual contact with heaven. He 
 must bring Grod to his people be- 
 fore he can lift them to heaven. 
 
 Then whatever else you neglect, 
 fail not to study upon your knees, 
 such expressions of the word of Grod 
 as these, " And this is the confidence 
 Ave have in him, that if we ask any 
 thing according to his will, he 
 heareth us." u Whatsoever things 
 ye desire when ye pray, believe 
 that ye receive them and ye shall 
 have them." " Ask in faith." 
 
 One has said, " If the thing desired 
 be not in the promise, it is a sin to 
 pray for it. If it be, it is a sin not 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 33 
 
 to believe that we shall have it." 
 We pray in faith, when our expecta- 
 tions spring not from our sensible 
 enjoyments, our freedom of utter- 
 ance, from the numbers who join 
 with us, or from their or our 
 apparent fervour, but simply and 
 solely from the testimony of God — 
 from the ability, worth, and willing- 
 ness of Christ to fulfil the terms of 
 the covenant. Such a spirit of 
 prayer is the first, the highest 
 endowment of the ministry to which 
 you now look forward. It is equally 
 essential to your present condition 
 and pursuits. Think not that this 
 may be acquired hereafter. Just as 
 well defer the study of Hebrew, 
 church history, or theology. Nay, 
 just as well, and even better. 
 
34 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 leave the Seminary at once. As is 
 the student, so will be the preacher. 
 An exception to this remark occa- 
 sionally occurs, but there are just 
 exceptions enough to establish the 
 rule. Let all you now learn be 
 baptized in a heart burning with 
 love to Christ, and breaking with 
 compassion for deathless souls 
 perishing in sin. Let every day 
 begin and end with the thought, 
 44 I am here, not to acquire learning 
 with a view to win popular applause, 
 but through Grod to acquire skill 
 in winning souls to Christ." 
 
 YOUB FOjN t D FATHEK. 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 35 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 My deak Sox : — What was said 
 in my last letter of the importance 
 of the cultivation of a devotional 
 spirit, by no means precludes the 
 necessity of skilful and vigorous 
 effort. It cannot be too often re- 
 peated, that " prayer without effort 
 is presumption, and effort without 
 prayer is atheism." 
 
 The young man who goes reput- 
 ably through the Seminary, who 
 studies and prays as he ought to do, 
 will secure the approbation of his 
 professors, and the admiration of 
 his fellow-students. The hopes of 
 his Presbytery and his friends may 
 be excited in a high degree. And 
 yet in the work of the ministry he 
 
36 LETTERS TO A 
 
 may fail. The hopes excited may 
 soon be withered. A vacant church 
 once applied to a minister of much 
 experience to know, whether a young 
 man recently from the Seminary, 
 would suit as their pastor. The re- 
 ply was substantially as follows : 
 " I regard the young man of whom 
 you inquire, as pious, intelligent, 
 and industrious. Indeed his schol- 
 arship is of a very high grade ; his 
 sermons, both in matter and style, 
 are far above mediocrity ; and his 
 anxiety to be useful very great. 
 But still I am afraid he will not 
 succeed ; and I cannot commend 
 him as likely to suit your people." 
 Now one is curious to know what 
 could be lacking in the qualifica- 
 tions of that young man. It is 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 37 
 
 verv evident that with such high 
 qualities as he confessedly possessed, 
 there could be no serious defect. 
 Now, trivial as it may have seemed 
 at the time, it was still sufficient to 
 drive him about from church to 
 church, making some friends and 
 some enemies, yet doing no percep- 
 tible good for many years. All he 
 seemed to lack was that rare but 
 invaluable quality, common sense. 
 
 If you have access to Kennedy's 
 life of William Wirt, you will find 
 in volume 2nd and page 209, a let- 
 ter to one of his daughters, in which 
 he speaks of common sense and 
 . genius in contrast. He says, " Com- 
 mon sense is a much rarer quality 
 than genius. It is not, as superficial 
 thinkers are apt to suppose, a mere 
 
 4 
 
38 LETTERS TO A 
 
 negative faculty — it is a positive fac- 
 ulty, and one of the highest power. 
 It is this faculty that instructs when 
 to speak, when to be silent, when to 
 act, and when to be still ; and more- 
 over it teaches us what to speak and 
 what to suppress, what to do and 
 w r hat to forbear. Wow, pause a 
 moment, and reflect on the number 
 of faculties which must be combined 
 to constitute this common sense ; a 
 rapid and profound foresight to cal- 
 culate the consequences of what is 
 to be said or done, a rapid circum- 
 spection and extensive comprehen- 
 sion so as to be sure of taking in all 
 the circumstances which belong to 
 the case, and missing no figure in 
 this arithmetic of the mind, and an 
 accuracy of decision which must be 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 39 
 
 as quick as lightning, so as not to 
 let the occasion slip. See what a 
 knowledge of life, either by experi- 
 ence or intuition, and what a happy 
 constitutional poise between the 
 passions and the reason, or what a 
 powerful self-command, all enter 
 into the composition of that little, 
 demure, quiet, unadmired, and al- 
 most despised thing, called common 
 sense. It pretends to no brilliancy, 
 for it possesses none ; it has no os- 
 tentation, for it has nothing to show 
 which the world admires. The 
 constant and powerful action of the 
 intellect, which makes its nature, is 
 unobserved even by the proprietor ; 
 for every thing is done with intu- 
 itive ease, with a sort of uncon- 
 scious felicity. See, then, the quick 
 
40 LETTERS TO A 
 
 and piercing sagacity, the prophetic 
 penetration, the wide comprehen- 
 sion, and the prompt and accurate 
 judgment, which combine to con- 
 stitute common sense, which is as 
 inestimably valuable as the solar 
 light and as little thought of," 
 
 Of genius without common sense, 
 he says, u It is a fever of the brain — 
 sparkling with delirious brilliancy, 
 a nocturnal exhibition of fire-works 
 in a state of rapid metamorphosis ; 
 now it is a horizontal hoop turning 
 and whizzin g and cracking and shoot- 
 ing off its lateral spouts of fire — 
 and then it plays at blind man's buff, 
 and moves about as confidently as 
 if it had its eyesight ; then bump 
 goes its nose against the mantle- 
 piece, and then the blood flows ; it 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 41 
 
 turns in a different direction, and 
 smack go its shins against a sofa, 
 and blood flows again — it drops its 
 hands and they are seized by a dog; 
 it picks up what it supposes to be a 
 stick to strike the dog, and it 
 proves to be a rattlesnake, which 
 stings it to death — and such is 
 genius." "Of itself it is a mere bed- 
 lamite : but combine it with common 
 sense, and you make it a radiant 
 seraph. That is the union w r hich 
 my soul delights to honour." 
 
 Now glance again at the work for 
 which you are preparing, and tell 
 me if there is a profession on earth 
 which calls more loudly for the con- 
 stant exercise of common sense. 
 You are to deal with men, " dead 
 
 in trespasses and sins." Your 
 4 * 
 
42 LETTEES TO A 
 
 great object will be to raise them 
 into newness of life. You must 
 therefore be prepared to answer 
 numberless questions relating to 
 the interests of three worlds. You 
 must remove doubt, quiet fear, si- 
 lence prejudice, encourage the timid, 
 alarm the secure, humble the proud, 
 rebuke the impertinent. You must 
 be skilful in guiding the judgments, 
 the emotions, the consciences of men, 
 and all this you must do, so as not 
 " to break the bruised reed, nor 
 quench the smoking flax." Surely 
 this demands " skill and expedient," 
 so as to know what will perplex, as 
 well as what will enlighten and 
 guide. Cecil says, " The minister 
 is a fisherman. If some fish will 
 bite only by day, he must fish by 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 43 
 
 day; if others will bite only by 
 moon-light, he must fish for them 
 by moon-light. He has an engine 
 to work, and it must be his most 
 assiduous endeavour to work his 
 engine to the full extent of its 
 powers, and to ascertain its pow- 
 ers in the first step towards suc- 
 cess." 
 
 For such work the greatest pru- 
 dence and the highest wisdom are 
 requisite. Here the rash, the im- 
 petuous, the timid, the vacillating — 
 however learned, or however pious, 
 invariably fail. You aspire to be 
 the leader of the " sacramental host 
 of Grod's elect," in its never ceasing 
 conflict with the powers of darkness, 
 and to do this successfully, yours 
 must be the skill and courage of the 
 
44 LETTEES TO A 
 
 most accomplished general. You 
 must know how and where to en- 
 trench your forces — when to fight, 
 and when to fly — when to resort to 
 lawful stratagem, and when to in- 
 vite to public combat. In all this 
 common sense must hold the helm. 
 
 Learn before you enter upon this 
 mighty conflict to distinguish wisely 
 between mere rashness and true 
 courage — between genuine humility 
 and arrant cowardice. To drive 
 headlong, utterly regardless of con- 
 sequences — to be indifferent as to 
 whether you are to vanquish your 
 foe, or he vanquish you — to expose 
 your own forces at every point to 
 the hottest fire of the enemy, — this 
 is not courage, but madness. 
 
 He is the fearless minister who 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 45 
 
 neither fears groundless censure, 
 nor covets unhallowed applause ; 
 who feels under no obligation to try 
 to please every body, nor yet seeks 
 to provoke any. "It is a foolish 
 project," says Cecil, " to avoid giv- 
 ing offence ; but it is our duty to 
 avoid giving unnecessary offence. 
 It is necessary offence, if it is given 
 by the truth ; but it is unnecessary, 
 if it be occasioned by our own 
 spirit." 
 
 When a man's good sense, intel- 
 ligence, amiability, and piety, ac- 
 companied by affability and indus- 
 try, are known and read of all men ; 
 then, if he " speak the truth in 
 love," he never can give " unneces- 
 sary offence." 
 
 Such will be the hold he will 
 
46 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 have upon the confidence and the 
 love of his people, that he may re- 
 buke with all plainness and even 
 severity, and no clamour will be 
 raised to disturb his peace or im- 
 pair his usefulness. By a law of 
 our being we can only excite in the 
 breasts of others the emotions which 
 burn in our own. Anger begets 
 anger, and love begets love. 
 
 " I wish I could make that teacher 
 angry," said a bad girl once to her 
 school-mate, " for then I could be 
 angry myself, and not be ashamed 
 to show it." If joy is ever felt in 
 the world of darkness, methinks it 
 is, when students of Theology, and 
 still more, when ministers of the 
 Prince of peace, are found so ignor- 
 ant of the dictates of common sense 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 47 
 
 as to attempt the prosecution of 
 their work rashly and recklessly. 
 
 Your fond father. 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 My dear Sox, — I have thus far 
 spoken of the importance of intelli- 
 gence, piety, and skill in the minister 
 of the gospel. There are matters 
 of far less consequence than these, 
 and because they are less important, 
 they are sadly overlooked. But 
 the want of a quality in itself of 
 small value, may seriously impair 
 the usefulness of a minister, in 
 many respects, richly endowed. 
 That now in my mind was made 
 
48 LETTEES TO A 
 
 the subject of a volume by the late 
 venerable and honoured Dr. Samuel 
 Miller, so long an ornament to 
 Princeton Seminary, and still, 
 through his descendants and his 
 writings, a blessing to the world. 
 This volume bears the unpretending 
 title of " Letters to a Theological 
 Student, on clerical manners and 
 habits." It was first published in 
 1827, and I well remember in what 
 terms of disparagement it was at 
 first spoken of by some, whose 
 position in society and even in the 
 ministry, most unhappily, as I con- 
 ceive, checked its circulation and 
 weakened its influence. Its ful- 
 ness of instruction, and minuteness 
 of detail, may detract from its value 
 to some ; but still it wel] deserves 
 
JTEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 49 
 
 and will richly repay the attention 
 of every student of Theology. I 
 recommend this book to your 
 serious attention. The second and 
 fourth letters should be committed 
 to memory, and the third should 
 be read more than once. 
 
 Manner may be almost said to 
 make the man, and yet some, who 
 have been distinguished for their 
 talents and piety, have spoken of it 
 in terms of disparagement. Of 
 these John Wesley was one. On 
 one occasion while addressing the 
 preachers under his superinten- 
 dence, he said, " You have no more 
 to do with being gentlemen than 
 dancing masters," and even the 
 great and good Richard Cecil has 
 
 endorsed this sentiment, and said 
 5 
 
50 LETTERS TO A 
 
 of himself and his brethren, " We 
 are more concerned to be thought 
 gentlemen than ministers. Now 
 being desirous to be thought a man 
 who has kept good company, strikes 
 at the root of that rough work, the 
 bringing of God into his world. 
 It is hard and rough work to bring 
 Grod into his own world." 
 
 Now, to be ik more concerned to 
 be thought gentlemen than minis- 
 ters" is indeed a sin of no ordinary 
 turpitude. And if the church was 
 cursed with such in Cecil's day, he 
 did well to rebuke them with 
 severity. Nor will I complain of 
 his saving it " is hard work to bring 
 Grod into his own world." But I 
 am far from believing that it is 
 rough work, if by this he means, 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 51 
 
 as the connection in which he uses 
 the term seems to intimate, that it 
 must be clone in any other way 
 than that which comports with all 
 that is deemed becoming among 
 well bred people. Such expressions, . 
 from so high a source, contribute in 
 no small degree to form in ministers, 
 a system of manners so rough and 
 even boorish as to render them the 
 objects of ridicule among the truly 
 polished and refined. I have known 
 the usefulness of some ministers 
 sadly lessened in this way. " The 
 field is the world/' and he who 
 seeks to cultivate that field must be 
 fitted to find access to every part 
 of it. He must be both accessible 
 and acceptable among the educated 
 and uneducated, the polished and 
 
52 LETTERS TO A 
 
 the unpolished. Not that he must 
 seek to please people of all habits 
 and all tastes. Not that he must 
 adopt either the dress or the address, 
 which is popular among the gay, 
 the frivolous, and the sensual. But 
 while he avoids the extreme of 
 dandyism on the one hand, and of 
 clownishness on the other; while he 
 is neither frivolous nor rude, he 
 should ever seek to be the christian 
 gentleman. 
 
 M By good manners," says Dr. 
 Miller, " I beg you will understand 
 me to mean, those manners which 
 christian purity and benevolence 
 recommend, and which, where those 
 graces reign, they will ever be 
 found substantially to produce." 
 
 Dr. Witherspoon, in his Letters 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 53 
 
 on Education, strongly urges the 
 
 utility and importance of polished 
 
 manners, and remarks, " that true 
 
 religion is not only consistent with, 
 
 but necessary to the perfection of 
 
 true politeness," and fortifies this 
 
 opinion by the " noble sentiment 
 
 of the Prince of Conti, viz : ' that 
 
 worldly politeness is no more than 
 
 an imitation or imperfect copy of 
 
 christian charity, being the pretence 
 
 or outward appearance of that 
 
 deference to the judgment, and 
 
 attention to the interests of others, 
 
 which a true christian has as the 
 
 rule of his life and the disposition 
 
 of his heart.' " 
 
 This is a matter of far more 
 
 consequence than many suppose. 
 
 The minister perpetually meets 
 5* 
 
54 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 with people who are far better 
 judges of his manners than of his 
 mind — of his bearing than of his 
 preaching. And they judge of him, 
 as they see and understand him. 
 The result of this is, that the easy, 
 affable, and polite manners of the 
 christian gentleman will often 
 secure a cordial reception to him 
 who cultivates them, and even to 
 the sacred message he bears ; when 
 one superior to him in every thing 
 but in manners is treated with 
 neglect, if not with scorn. 
 
 Even the uneducated and un- 
 polished are pleased with polished 
 manners in their minister, provided 
 he is humble and kind. A congrega- 
 tion of coloured people once com- 
 plained of a minister, because he 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 55 
 
 acted towards them, and preached 
 to them as if he thought " they had 
 no sense and no manners." 
 
 Take the following statement 
 from Dr. Miller : " One of the 
 most excellent ministers I ever 
 knew, a man of refinement and 
 polish, as well as of ardent piety, 
 exceeded most of my clerical ac- 
 quaintances in his incessant atten- 
 tions to the poor. He would go to 
 the houses of the meanest and 
 poorest, with an ease and freedom 
 truly exemplary, would seat him- 
 self on a broken stool or block of 
 wood, and appear to enjoy himself 
 as if he was in the most convenient 
 parlour ; and would, with a singular 
 felicity of manner, place those whom 
 he addressed just as much at ease, 
 
56 LETTERS TO A 
 
 as if they were conversing with an 
 equal. It was in reference to him 
 that a poor, but eminently pious, 
 old woman said, — " sir, you can- 
 not think how kind and good he 
 is. He's not a bit of a gentleman. 
 He comes in and sits down in my 
 poor place here, just as if he had 
 been used to being with the like of 
 me all his days." The Dr. adds, 
 " Though I knew the venerable 
 man to be a real and uncommonly 
 well-bred gentleman, I was par- 
 ticularly struck with the old 
 woman's significant language, and 
 thought it one of the highest compli- 
 ments she could have paid him. 
 She had, no doubt, been accustomed 
 to associate, in her own mind, the 
 title of gentleman with manners of 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 57 
 
 the supercilious and revolting kind. 
 An association to which, I am 
 sorry to say, the manners of many, 
 who would be thought real gentle- 
 men, give too much countenance." 
 Some such association must also 
 have existed in the minds of Weslev 
 
 V 
 
 and Cecil. 
 
 This matter is often better under- 
 stood and practised by physicians 
 than preachers. The members of 
 those two professions resemble each 
 other in this, that they must be quite 
 as familiar in the cottages of the poor 
 as in the palaces of the rich. They 
 necessarily practise a great deal 
 together, and each should learn 
 from the other. I have often felt 
 rebuked by seeing myself so im- 
 measurably surpassed by him who 
 
58 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 ministers to the body, in the ease 
 with which he w^ould seat himself 
 by the sick bed of the humblest and 
 rudest patient, and by brief and 
 simple questions, interspersed with 
 expressions of sympathy and kind- 
 ness, draw from the sufferer all 
 that it was needful for him to 
 know. In such situations all reserve 
 and austerity must be banished. 
 Use the simplest language. If you 
 have occasion to recommend a book 
 for a sick child ; don't say "it is 
 well adapted to the juvenile reader," 
 but say, "it is well suited to the 
 young reader." Instead of " interro- 
 gatory" say u question." Instead of 
 " averse to Grod," say " opposed." 
 When the poor mother wants to 
 know what you think of the condi- 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 59 
 
 tion of herself or sick child, and 
 there is improvement — say " better/' 
 in place of " convalescent.' And so 
 of a thousand other words. I think 
 it was Hobbes who said, " words are 
 the counters of wise men, the 
 money of fools." 
 
 As I have referred to physicians, 
 let me say, that preachers often 
 misunderstand them. In an ex- 
 perience of thirty- one years in the 
 ministry, I have met with but one 
 of this noble profession of whom I 
 have had reason to complain, and 
 he soon confessed and apologized 
 for his folly. But then you must 
 satisfy them that you have common 
 sense ; that you no more believe in 
 nostrums for the mind than for the 
 body ; that as they must have 
 
60 LETTEES TO A 
 
 respect to the mind in their treat- 
 ment of the body, so you must 
 regard the body in your treatment 
 of the mind. 
 
 Your fond father. 
 
 LETTER V, 
 
 My dear Son : — In my last it 
 was intimated, that very much de- 
 pended both upon the dress and the 
 a^-dress of a teacher. Now, to 
 give undue attention to these be- 
 tokens littleness of mind. It is im- 
 possible to make wise people believe, 
 that a head contains much brains, 
 that can be made giddy by a bonnet 
 or a hat. And yet the " outward 
 adorning of putting on of apparel" 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 61 
 
 lias its place and its uses. Un- 
 affected neatness is the true defini- 
 tion of becoming dress in all per- 
 sons, and should be rigidly adopted 
 by the student of theology and the 
 minister of the gospel. 
 
 It was once quite common for 
 each denomination of Christians — 
 and especially for the ministers of 
 each — to be readily distinguished 
 by a peculiarity of manner, dress, 
 and even intonation of voice. This 
 is highly objectionable. No such 
 badge of distinction should exist 
 among the well bred of any profes- 
 sion. The minister with a well 
 trained mind, and cultivated taste, 
 should not differ in these respects 
 from the pious lawyer, doctor, mer- 
 chant, or farmer, of similar culture 
 
62 LETTERS TO A 
 
 — unless indeed, an exception be 
 made in the case of the plain black 
 suit for the minister. 
 
 Some ministers appear to think, 
 that their manners in the parlour 
 must be the same as in the pulpit. 
 They deem it proper and indeed 
 necessary to preach every where, 
 and essentially in the same style. 
 They forget that they meet with 
 their friends in the social circle, as 
 equals, and they must not dictate 
 here, so much as converse. Every 
 thing is beautiful in its season. 
 Some seem not to understand the 
 true import of the plain, old-fash- 
 ioned word, conversation. Web- 
 ster's definition of the word, is this: 
 " Familiar discourse, general inter- 
 course of sentiments ; chat ; unre- 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 63 
 
 strained talk, opposed to a formal 
 conference ;" and I beg leave to add, 
 opposed to formal speechifying. 
 It includes both aptness to talk, and 
 aptness to listen, and also a know- 
 ing when to do the one, and when 
 the other. Plain and pious people 
 show such deference to preachers, 
 are so fond of hearing them talk, 
 that they are often unwittingly led 
 to engross the conversation to a 
 censurable extent. With us old 
 men, this temptation, added to the 
 constitutional garrulity of age, some- 
 times leads us to " talk an infinite 
 deal of nothing." But even this is 
 not so censurable in the old as in 
 the young. 
 
 While some err by seeking to 
 carry the pulpit into the parlour, 
 
64 LETTERS TO A 
 
 others go to a far more common and 
 mischievous extreme. These leave 
 the minister in the pulpit, and take 
 only the gentleman into the par- 
 lour: and having been solemn and 
 weighty in the former, they become 
 so frivolous and frothy in the latter, 
 that it is hard to realize that he 
 who prayed so fervently andpreached 
 so eloquently, can be the same man 
 whose " foolish jesting" now fills 
 the room with boisterous merriment. 
 I once heard a distinguished lay- 
 man say of a somewhat noted 
 preacher, "When he is in the pulpit, 
 I wish he would never leave it, and 
 when out, I wish he would never 
 enter it." The reason he gave for 
 this strange wish, was, u that he 
 was so much of a preacher in the 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 65 
 
 pulpit, and so little of one out of 
 it." 
 
 William Jay, in his life of Cor- 
 nelius Winter, makes the following 
 extract from one of his letters, to a 
 young minister, " May you have 
 wisdom to keep conversation from 
 degenerating in the least degree. 
 Connect piety with cheerfulness ; 
 "but let not the former be driven 
 out by the latter. Keep not all 
 your religion for the pulpit ; have it 
 at heart and at hand ; at dinner and 
 at tea ; and let every occurrence fur- 
 nish you with a subject for spiritual 
 improvement." 
 
 As to Mr. Winter's social habits, 
 
 his biographer further states, that 
 
 it was a fixed rule with him " never 
 
 to write a letter without aliquid 
 6* 
 
66 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 Christi in it," and adds, " neither in 
 his letters nor conversation were 
 such reflections delivered quaintly, 
 nor from a common place vocabu- 
 lary, like those of some formal 
 letters and writers, who have a 
 number of sentences prepared for 
 the occasion, artificially introduced, 
 and used till they are worn out. 
 His remarks grew out of present 
 circumstances, they were the spon- 
 taneous expressions of the moment, 
 the natural effusions of a thoughtful 
 mind, and a feeling heart. He was 
 perpetually lamenting the waste of 
 time by interruptions, and the loss 
 of it by inability to improve it as 
 he would. Referring to an engage- 
 ment with a person of quality, he 
 observes in one of his letters — " It 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 67 
 
 gave me some little specimen of 
 the attendance great people require, 
 when they condescend to be friendly 
 to a poor preacher, and I wish to 
 know little of them, but with a 
 design to do some little good by 
 them. They make one spend more 
 time to eat a dinner than seven of 
 them are worth." 
 
 That the preacher's influence in 
 social intercourse should be felt for 
 good, let him duly consider the 
 following pertinent remarks made 
 by Mr. Jay in the biography 
 already referred to. " There is 
 something defective," he says, 
 " especially in a minister, unless 
 his character produces an atmos- 
 phere around him which is felt as 
 soon as entered. It is not enough 
 
68 LETTEES TO A 
 
 for him to have courage to reprove 
 certain things ; he should have 
 dignity enough to prevent them : 
 and he will, if the Christian be 
 commensurate with the preacher, 
 and if he walk worthy of Grod who 
 hath called us into his kingdom 
 and glory." 
 
 One has quaintly but truthfully 
 said, that " we must not only give 
 an account for idle words, but for 
 idle silence also." Conversational 
 powers are a gift to be " earnestly 
 coveted by the minister of the 
 gospel." Much of his time must be 
 passed in society, and many of his 
 fairest opportunities for usefulness 
 will then occur. Yet theological 
 students rarely seem to think that 
 this is one of the qualifications for 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDEXT. 69 
 
 the ministry to be sought and im- 
 proved in the Seminary. If every 
 man cannot be agreeable and useful 
 in society, he is at least bound not to 
 be offensive in society. Dean Swift 
 has said, " there are hundreds of 
 men who might not only be agreea- 
 ble, but really shine, who, on 
 account of a few gross faults, which 
 they might easily correct in half an 
 hour, are, at present, not even 
 tolerable. They pass through life 
 not without usefulness, but are 
 considered a nuisance wherever 
 they go." Some from constitutional 
 taciturnity — others from absence 
 of mind — and others again from a 
 want both of mind and heart, 
 wrap themselves up, even in com- 
 pany, in a mantle of moody silence, 
 
70 LETTERS TO A 
 
 and seem to presume on being 
 thought wise, only because they 
 have nothing to say. Such ministers 
 soon become a terror, especially to 
 the young of their congregation. 
 Some ministers are fitful — now a fit 
 of moroseness seizes them, then of 
 hilarity — now a fit of loquacity, 
 then of silence. They claim from 
 the people a great deal of indulgence, 
 and yet far more than they deserve. 
 Upon all proper occasions, both 
 in public and in private, the 
 preacher must render it obvious 
 that his range of thought, his 
 knowledge, his piety, his social 
 qualities, all conspire to fit him to 
 be both agreeable and useful in 
 every circle to which his duty may 
 call him. He need not, he should 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 71 
 
 not seek to make a display of any 
 thing lie possesses. This would be 
 odious. But on all proper occasions, 
 and in every proper way, he must 
 show himself able to lead — other- 
 wise, he may rely upon it, the 
 people will not follow. 
 
 I close this letter with a quotation 
 from the Task of Cowper, which to 
 some may seem too long, and to 
 others too trite, but every line of 
 which should not only be read, but 
 studied by every student of theology 
 in the land. 
 
 " Would I describe a preacher such as Paul, 
 Were he on earth, would hear, approve and own ; 
 Paul should himself direct me. I would trace 
 His master strokes, and draw from his design, 
 I would express him simple, grave, sincere ; 
 In doctrine uncorrupt ; in language plain, 
 And plain in manner ; decent, solemn, chaste, 
 And natural in gesture, much impressed 
 
72 LETTEES TO A 
 
 Himself, as conscious of his awful charge, 
 And anxious mainly that the flock he feeds 
 May feel it too ; affectionate in look 
 And tender in address, as well becomes 
 A messenger of grace to guilty men. 
 Behold the picture ! Is it like ? Like whom ? 
 The things that mount the rostrum with a skip, 
 And then skip down again, pronounce a text, 
 Cry — Hem , and reading what they never wrote, 
 Just fifteen minutes, huddle up their work, 
 And with a well bred whisper close the scene. 
 
 In man or woman, but far most in man, 
 And most of all in man that ministers 
 And serves the altar, in my soul I loathe 
 All affectation. 'Tis my perfect scorn ; 
 Object of my implacable disgust. 
 "What, will a man play tricks, will he indulge 
 A silly, fond conceit of his fair form, 
 And just proportion, fashionable mien, 
 And pretty face in presence of his God ? 
 Or will he seek to dazzle me with tropes 
 As with the diamond on his lily hand, 
 And play his brilliant parts before my eyes, 
 When I am hungry for the bread of life? 
 He mocks his Maker, prostitutes and shames 
 His noble office, and, instead of truth, 
 Displaying his own beauty, starves his flock." 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 73 
 
 This is but a part. Read the 
 whole attentively. — Cowper's Task, 
 Book 2. 
 
 Your fond father. 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 My dear Son : — While in the 
 Seminary, it is important for you to 
 form just conceptions of the rela- 
 tions sustained by the different la- 
 bourers, whom God has appointed 
 to take part in enlightening and 
 saving the world. The pastor is 
 not only not required, but he is not 
 permitted to do every thing. It is 
 just as improper for him to encroach 
 upon the province of others, as it 
 is for them to encroach upon 
 
74 LETTERS TO A 
 
 him. The parent, the ruling elder, 
 the deacon, the private member 
 of the church, has his position 
 and his work, as really, as divinely 
 assigned to him, as the minister of 
 the gospel. The orbits of each of 
 these touch at many points, but 
 should never come in conflict. 
 Neither should ever seek to take 
 the place of the other, still less 
 should the work be expected to ad- 
 vance when any one of them is 
 found standing all the day idle. It 
 is impossible to determine with per- 
 fect accuracy where the responsi- 
 bility of the one ceases, and that of 
 the other begins. But this much is 
 certain, that each must do his own 
 work in its appropriate way, time, 
 and place, or the hill of Zion will 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 75 
 
 become a fruitless waste. " But 
 now hath (rod set the members 
 every one of them in the body, as 
 it hath pleased him — and the eye 
 cannot say unto the hand, I have 
 no need of thee, nor again the head 
 to the feet, I have no need of you." 
 This illustration the apostle applies 
 expressly to the different labourers 
 in the vineyard of the Lord. See 
 1st Corinthians, 12th chapter, with 
 the excellent commentary of Dr. 
 Hodge, recently published. 
 
 Should you like to enter the 
 ministry, you will find yourself at 
 once side by side with the ruling 
 elder — an officer who, by divine ap- 
 pointment, stands but little lower 
 than the preaching elder. From 
 him you may expect your most ef- 
 
76 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 ficient earthly hindrance or help. 
 If he has been put into the elder- 
 ship merely because there was no 
 one else to fill this office — if he has 
 never studied with due diligence 
 either our Form of Government, 
 Book of Discipline, or the Bible, 
 with a view to learn his duty, you 
 will find him ignorant, self-willed, 
 and slothful to a degree that will 
 threaten to crush your spirit. I 
 have neither the time nor the heart 
 to speak, as the sad truth would 
 warrant, of the extent to which our 
 young ministers suffer from this 
 source. Inform yourself now fully 
 as to the source, the nature, and the 
 duties of this office, and should you 
 commence your ministry where a 
 church is already organized, let your 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 77 
 
 labours begin with the ruling elders. 
 If they cannot be induced to fit 
 themselves fully for their work, and 
 to enter upon it vigorously, you 
 had better abandon the field. Of 
 what use would it be to spend one's 
 time in training the private soldiers 
 of an army for conflict with the 
 enemy, when the officers who are 
 to lead these soldiers into battle, 
 know little or nothing of their duty, 
 and are unwilling to put in practice 
 the little they know? The poor 
 disheartened young preacher is often 
 reproached for doing so little good, 
 and sometimes for leaving now one, 
 and then another half tilled field ; 
 when, if the truth were known, it 
 would appear that the blame should 
 not rest upon him, but upon the 
 7* 
 
78 LETTERS TO A 
 
 ruling elders who are by far better 
 informed about every thing they 
 undertake, and prosecute with vastly 
 more zeal their secular callings, 
 than they do the work they have, 
 " by covenant and by oath," en- 
 gaged to do for God. I earnestly 
 commend to you the thorough read- 
 ing of Dr. Miller's work, and Rev. 
 Mr. Ramsey's sermon on the elder- 
 ship. Some one has said, " If the 
 doctrine taught in Mr. Ramsey's 
 sermon be sound, then we ought to 
 have schools in which to train men 
 for this office, as we now have The- 
 ological Seminaries for the training 
 of ministers." This w r as the lan- 
 guage of one who found fault with 
 the sermon. Now I accept the 
 consequence as fairly deducible 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 79 
 
 from the sermon, and maintain 
 that if schools are not established 
 for the purpose, there should be in 
 every congregation some specific 
 form of instruction framed and con- 
 ducted, with a view to fit the young 
 men of that congregation to fill va- 
 cancies in the session, or to enlarge 
 it from time to time as necessity 
 may demand. Should you be sent 
 as a missionary, as I hope you may 
 be, to some fresh field where no 
 organized church exists, be not too 
 hasty in seeking an organization. 
 Commonly, ladies join the church 
 more readily than our sex, and 
 they are worth far more when they 
 join. So it seems to have been 
 ever since the conversion of Lydia, 
 which took place at a female prayer 
 
80 LETTERS TO A 
 
 meeting, held on the river's side, 
 through the instrumentality of that 
 great missionary, the apostle Paul. 
 I am far from advocating the ap- 
 pointment of females to office in the 
 church, but as there were, in Paul's 
 day, " women who laboured with 
 him in the gospel," whom he so 
 warmly commends in several of his 
 Epistles, so there are now. And I 
 advise that if your labours begin as 
 I have supposed, rather than en- 
 cumber yourself with unsuitable 
 elders, keep that matter in reserve, 
 availing yourself, mean time, of a 
 committee of ladies. An admirable 
 supply of such may be found almost 
 any where. 
 
 Language cannot be plainer than 
 that which makes it the duty of the 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 81 
 
 ruling elder to help in overseeing 
 the flock — visiting from house to 
 house, conversing and praying with 
 them — warning the unruly, comfort- 
 ing the feeble minded. The pastor 
 dispenses the truth on the Sabbath 
 to the people in a body, then, through 
 the week he, with the elders as his 
 " help," must by personal inter- 
 course help each to understand and 
 apply the lessons publicly taught. 
 The stated congregational prayer 
 meeting should be conducted ordi- 
 narily by the pastor, but as occasion 
 may require by the elders. In ad- 
 dition to this, there should be sev- 
 eral district prayer meetings, held, 
 if you please, on the same day or 
 evening in the respective districts 
 
82 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 of the congregation, and always 
 conducted by the elders. 
 
 The platform, as well as the 
 pulpit, must be employed in the 
 service of Christ ; and this is, and 
 should be, as open to the ruling as 
 preaching elder. For instruction 
 on this point I beg that you will 
 refer to Dr. Hanna's life of Dr. 
 Chalmers ; vol. 2nd, appendix E. 
 and F. In many of our churches 
 ruling elders may be found, well 
 fitted to occupy the platform at 
 monthly concerts, on days of fasting 
 and prayer, at the anniversaries of 
 our various benevolent societies, in 
 opposition to the making for gain, 
 and the using as a luxury of all 
 intoxicating liquors, in the support 
 and defence of the cause of educa- 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 83 
 
 tion, and especially in our ec- 
 clesiastical courts. Here is the wide 
 and inviting field to which the eye 
 of the church should be steadily 
 directed in the election of ruling 
 elders; to which they too should 
 look, and for which, to a greater or 
 less extent, they should prepare. 
 This subject will be resumed here- 
 after. 
 
 Next to the ruling elder, I notice 
 the parent. The domestic constitu- 
 tion is of Divine appointment. 
 Differing from the purely civil and 
 the purely religious, it partakes of 
 the nature of both. Here the church 
 and the world meet, and here only 
 can they rightfully meet. 
 
 I am now concerned with that 
 feature in the family which is 
 
84 LETTEES TO A 
 
 sacred, and would ask, if this 
 wonderful constitution was designed 
 only, or chiefly for this world ? 
 Surely not. This is apparent in its 
 very structure. Groct instituted it 
 for a religious end. On this subject 
 John Howe says, " If the most 
 fundamental relation in a family, 
 the conjugal relation, was appointed 
 by Grod for a religious end, then 
 certainly the family must be, in the 
 design of its constitution, set up for 
 that end. Did he not make one? 
 said the Prophet. Yet had he the 
 residue of the Spirit. And where- 
 fore one ? 4 That he might seek a 
 godly seed.' He did not design the 
 original constitution of that funda- 
 mental relation, only that there 
 might be a continued descent of 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 85 
 
 human nature, but that religion 
 might be transmitted from age to 
 age, and this design he never 
 quits." 
 
 Long before the time of Moses 
 we read of family sacrifices, and the 
 covenant which secures all our 
 hopes embraces the family. So 
 that the family is not only the fount- 
 ain from which society emanates, 
 but also a fountain which Grod 
 created for the enlargement of his 
 church. Here, in the family, mem- 
 bers of the church and of the world 
 must meet by divine appointment. 
 With what sacred ness does this 
 thought invest the position of 
 parents ! Both worlds meeting, 
 both must be kept in view, both by 
 the parent and that parent's pastor. 
 8 
 
86 LETTEES TO A 
 
 The parental and pastoral rela- 
 tions to the young of the household, 
 stand intimately related to each 
 other and to their joint charge. 
 These relations must not conflict. 
 They may be readily made to har- 
 monize, and were designed to do 
 so, or they may so come into 
 collision as to produce the saddest 
 results. This much is certain — no 
 pastor can expect to retain his flock 
 for any length of time, who does not 
 retain his hold on the young. 
 The shepherd looks to his lambs 
 for his future flock, and he who 
 neglects these will soon have no 
 flock to feed. And so it will be 
 with any of Christ's under shep- 
 herds. Such attentions must be 
 shown to the young as will secure 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 87 
 
 their confidence and engage their 
 affections. But I cannot enlarge on 
 this point — all I have time and 
 space to say is, that preachers must 
 know how to call pious parents to 
 their help, and how to help them 
 in making the family one of the 
 divine institutions for the enlarge- 
 ment of Zion ; and to this the eye 
 of the student must be turned, in 
 the Seminary. 
 
 YOTTK FOND FATHER. 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 My dear Son : — I attempted to 
 prove in my last, that the family 
 was divinely instituted for the pro- 
 motion of true religion. If this be 
 so, every pious father and mother 
 
88 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 must be a very important co-worker 
 with the pastor. The church to 
 which he ministers on the Sabbath 
 is composed of all the separate 
 churches belonging to each house, 
 to which these parents minister all 
 the week. What is taught by the 
 one must be illustrated and con- 
 firmed by the other. As the pastor 
 prays on the Sabbath, so must the 
 parents each morning and evening 
 of the entire week. The lessons he 
 teaches in the pulpit must be re- 
 peated at the fire-side, and as they 
 walk or ride by the way. They 
 may greatly strengthen or weaken 
 that pastor's hands, they may facil- 
 itate or retard his efforts for their 
 children's good. u One reason I love 
 Mr. so much," said a very 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 89 
 
 small girl to her play-mate, " is tliat 
 mother and father love him so 
 much, and father prays for him 
 every morning and night." 
 
 On the other hand the pastor 
 may co-operate very efficiently with 
 them. He must not look with in- 
 difference, much less with any mea- 
 sure of contempt, upon the children 
 as beneath his notice. He must 
 not, by stiffness or asperity of man- 
 ner, render himself unattractive or 
 repulsive to this precious portion 
 of his charge. One of the easiest 
 things in the world is, for the pas- 
 tor to secure the confidence and 
 love of the children of parents 
 who act their part well both towards 
 the pastor and the children. 
 
 But he must also learn to listen 
 
90 LETTERS TO A 
 
 with interest to what parents are 
 inclined to say to him respecting 
 their children. In his social inter- 
 course, as well as in his public min- 
 istrations, he must instruct and 
 admonish, he must soothe and en- 
 courage them in regard to their 
 duties and trials. He must take a 
 deep interest in the cause of educa- 
 tion. He must seek by every pru- 
 dent means in his power to awaken 
 just sentiments on this subject on 
 all over whom he has or may ac- 
 quire influence. It has ever been 
 the glory of Presbyterianism to 
 found and to sustain the school, as 
 the handmaid to the church. 
 
 The minister may do much to 
 elevate the profession of the teacher 
 to that degree of respectability and 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 91 
 
 usefulness, which it justly claims. 
 To this end, he should converse 
 freely on the subject with young 
 and old, rich and poor. State facts, 
 search out the young, encourage 
 them to seek this profession, and 
 afford them all possible assistance 
 in preparing for it. Never rest 
 until public sentiment is so en- 
 lightened, so changed on this sub- 
 ject, that it shall rank as one of the 
 learned professions. 
 
 The schools being established, 
 must be visited and addressed by 
 the pastor. To do this successfully, 
 he must acquaint himself with the 
 best school books, the best method 
 of instruction, and the best system 
 of discipline. Thus furnished, he 
 may counsel and greatly assist es- 
 
92 LETTERS TO A 
 
 pecially the young teacher. Thus, 
 too, he may form the acquaintance 
 of the young of his charge, secure 
 their confidence, and win their love. 
 In thus co-operating with parents, 
 he will also find it of the utmost 
 consequence, to give due attention 
 to the Sabbath-school. This school 
 is not a substitute, but a help to 
 parental instruction. The pastor, 
 the ruling elder, the parent, must 
 all co-operate with the superintend- 
 ent and teacher, that this work may 
 be properly performed. And of 
 such consequence is the wise and 
 efficient agency of the pastor in this 
 work, that few men are found fitted 
 for it unless they make it a sub- 
 ject of study, and unless they be- 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 93 
 
 come skilful Sabbath-school teachers, 
 while in the Seminary. 
 
 A chief excellence of this depart- 
 ment of effort is, that it affords 
 scope to every office bearer in the 
 church, and to every private mem- 
 ber, to labour for Christ. Where 
 its claims are duly considered, the 
 whole church must awake. " The 
 greatness of Dr. Chalmers," says 
 his biographer, " consisted quite as 
 much in his skill in leading others 
 to labour, as in labouring himself." 
 As an illustration of this remark, 
 see Life of Chalmers by Dr. Hanna, 
 vol. 2nd, pages 130-137. You will 
 there find the following statements 
 — " Until Dr. Chalmers came to 
 Glasgow, parochial Christian influ- 
 ence was a mere name. It was not 
 
94 LETTERS TO A 
 
 systematic, it was not understood. 
 There was not the machinery for 
 the moral elevation of a town pop- 
 ulation. The people were let alone. 
 Some of the elders of the Tron 
 church were excellent men. But 
 their chief duty was to stand at the 
 plate, receive the free will offerings 
 of the congregation as they entered, 
 and distribute them to the poor by 
 a monthly allowance. Their spirit- 
 ual duties and exertions were but 
 small, and almost exclusively con- 
 fined to a few of the sick. Dr. Chal- 
 mers began by interesting a noble 
 band of co-labourers in the Sabbath- 
 school cause ; and within the space 
 of two years, from only one general 
 school of 100 scholars, he succeeded 
 in increasing the number of district 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 95 
 
 schools to 40, and that of the pu- 
 pils to 1200. On his removal from 
 the Tron church, to St. Johns, he 
 found there one general school of 
 128 children. Here also, adopting 
 the district, in place of the general 
 school, within six months 26 schools 
 were opened, taught by 33 teachers 
 and embracing 732 pupils. These 
 schools continue to the present day, 
 and there have flowned from this 
 small, local Sabbath-school society, 
 eight other societies in different 
 parts of the city and suburbs, all 
 fairly traceable to the impetus given 
 in the Tron church by Dr. Chal- 
 mers in this braiich of parochial 
 economy. Had he done nothing 
 more than promote the principle of 
 
96 LETTERS TO A 
 
 this local system of Sabbath -schools, 
 he would not have lived in vain." 
 
 As an additional illustration of 
 what well directed personal effort 
 may accomplish, I refer you to the 
 same biography, vol. 4, page 385- 
 408. There you will find an account 
 of his celebrated " West Port" 
 enterprise. Do not fail to read it, 
 I cannot forbear sending you the 
 following extract from the conclusion 
 of one of Dr. Chalmers' Sabbath 
 school sermons. He says, " An 
 unction of blessedness may emanate 
 abroad upon every neighbourhood 
 in which these schools are situated 
 — that they occupy a high point of 
 command over the moral destinies 
 of our city, for the susceptibilities 
 of childhood and of youth are what 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 97 
 
 they have to deal with. It is a 
 tender and flexible plant to which 
 they aim at giving a direction. It 
 is a conscience at the most impressi- 
 ble stage of its history which they 
 attempt to touch, and on which 
 they labour to engrave the lessons 
 of conduct and of principle. And 
 I doubt not that, when we are 
 mouldering in our coffins, when the 
 present race of men have disap- 
 peared and made room for another 
 succession of the species, when 
 parents of every cast and of every 
 character have sunk into oblivion 
 and sleep together in quietness, 
 the teachers of these schools will 
 leave behind them a surviving 
 memorial of their labour, in a 
 
 large portion of that worth and 
 9 
 
98 LETTEES TO A 
 
 piety which shall adorn the citizens 
 of a future generation.'' 
 
 The kind of effort indicated above 
 is essential to the well being of the 
 church of Grod on earth. The chris- 
 tian character can only be developed 
 by proper diet and exercise. What 
 food is to the body, that Grod's 
 truth is to the soul. That truth 
 must dwell richly in the heart, but 
 it must also shine brightly in the 
 life. The professions made, and 
 the obligations assumed by all who 
 join the church of Christ, bind 
 them to a life of active effort for 
 the good of others. The children 
 of this world are wiser than the 
 children of light. That servant of 
 Christ, so honoured of men, and so 
 blessed of Grod, Dr. B. H. Rice, 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 99 
 
 said to me, as I left his house to 
 enter upon ray labours as a Domes- 
 tic Missionary, "You must re- 
 member that ministerial influence 
 does not descend but it ascends. 
 By this I mean, you cannot reach 
 the poor through the rich, half so 
 successfully as you can the rich 
 through the jpoor." This wise 
 remark admits of a variety of illus- 
 trations. The builder on Christ's 
 spiritual temple must do as other 
 builders do. He must begin low 
 i — begin by the preparation of 
 materials, piece by piece — small 
 andgreat — rough and smooth. Then, 
 commencing with the foundation, 
 build upward. What the good 
 doctor said of the rich and poor, is 
 equally true of parents and chil- 
 
100 LETTERS TO A 
 
 dren. You can reach the former 
 through the latter far more readily, 
 and influence them far more effect- 
 ually, than you can the latter through 
 the former. 
 
 Seek not to reap where others 
 have sown. The fresher the field 
 the better, the more abundant the 
 materials, the more readily may 
 your footprints be seen. Only love 
 the work for the work's sake. Only 
 seek to be happy by seeking the 
 path of duty; and then the more 
 arduous your labours, the more 
 exquisite your happiness. 
 
 Let the church at large see that 
 you can do something — that you 
 can succeed in one kind of labour 
 if not in another. If you cannot 
 preach great sermons, possibly you 
 
THEOLOGICAL STUDENT. 101 
 
 can circulate great books. If you 
 cannot elicit the admiration of the 
 learned, then through God's Spirit, 
 save the soul of the ignorant. 
 
 Two men I have known of blessed 
 memory — long since taken to hea- 
 ven, pastors of obscure congrega- 
 tions, but greatly useful, who were 
 distinguished chiefly — the one, for 
 his success in distributing good 
 books, and the other for his zeal 
 and success in the cause of Sabbath- 
 schools. 
 
 YOUK FOND FATHEK. 
 9* 
 
LETTERS TO 
 G. W. W., 
 
 PROBATIONER FOR THE MINISTRY. 
 
 103 
 
LETTERS TO A PROBATIONER. 
 
 LETTER I. 
 
 My dear Sox, — You have left 
 
 the Seminary, and by Presbyterial 
 
 authority, are now before the church 
 
 as a probationer for the full work 
 
 of the ministry. The transition 
 
 through which you have passed, 
 
 like every other movement in life, 
 
 is attended with more or less pain, 
 
 and fraught with more or less 
 
 danger. It is indeed painful to 
 
 pass from the intercourse enjoyed 
 
 in the Seminary, to that which is 
 
 105 
 
106 LETTERS TO A 
 
 encountered in the world. The 
 unanimity of sentiment and cordiali- 
 ty of feeling, the sympathy and the 
 assistance enjoyed in the former, 
 are almost wholly unknown in the 
 latter. 
 
 The danger is often greater than 
 the pain. When one passes from 
 the comparative obscurity and re- 
 tirement of Seminary life, to so 
 conspicuous a position as that held 
 by the preacher ; when he first 
 finds himself no longer among his 
 peers, nor under the oversight of 
 his superiors — now looked upon as 
 a guide to others — listened to, 
 consulted, honoured by those who 
 are older, and who, on many 
 subjects, are far wiser than himself, 
 there is extreme danger of the 
 
PKOBATIOKEK. 107 
 
 rising of a proud and vain-glorious 
 spirit. Or, when the feeling of 
 loneliness, incident to the change 
 he has made, is experienced, and. 
 when the indifference of a cold and 
 lifeless church combines, as it often 
 does, with the opposition of an 
 ungodly world to throw obstructions 
 in his way, he is equally exposed to 
 the rising of a timid and despondent 
 spirit. 
 
 With the affection and fidelity 
 of a father, who rejoices before Grod 
 that He has made you a preacher 
 of the precious Grospel, I adopt this 
 method of saying a few things, in 
 a very plain way, to guard you 
 against self-conceit on the one hand, 
 and despondency on the other. 
 
 Then, first of all, let me urge 
 
108 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 you often to " examine yourself 
 whether you be in the faith." 
 Store your memory, more and more, 
 with what the Scriptures teach of 
 man's original and total depravity, 
 and of God's method graciously 
 devised, and mercifully executed, 
 for his redemption. Let not anxious 
 concern for yourself as a sinner 
 saved by grace, be forgotten or 
 neglected in your anxiety for the 
 spiritual good of others. In addi- 
 tion to the word of God, read the 
 best works on practical divinity. 
 Make Baxter, and Bunyan, and 
 Flavel, and Doddridge your constant 
 companions. Dr. John H. Rice 
 once told me that he had read Dod- 
 dridge's Rise and Progress, from 
 beginning to end, more than twenty 
 
PROBATIONER. 109 
 
 times. With such books connect 
 the singing of God's praise as in 
 the well known language of our 
 87th Hymn, 
 
 "Grace first contrived the way 
 To save rebellious man." 
 
 If you are called to preach the 
 gospel, it is not only true, that 
 
 " Grace first inscribed your name 
 In God's eternal book." 
 
 but it is equally of grace that you 
 now preach to others. " By the 
 grace of Grocl, I am what I am." 
 Such a consideration is well fitted 
 to encourage while it humbles us. 
 
 You should often review the 
 grounds on which you resolved to 
 consecrate yourself to the ministry. 
 
 Be not afraid to discover, confess, 
 
 and renounce all impurity of motive 
 10 
 
110 LETTERS TO A 
 
 found mingling in the purpose 
 you have formed. There can neither 
 be success nor comfort without 
 purity of motive, and singleness 
 of aim. The love of Christ must 
 constrain. The desire to glorify 
 Grocl and do good must control 
 in the efforts made, in the field of 
 labour chosen, the sermons preached, 
 and the visits paid. Just so far as 
 self-seeking, the desire for popular 
 applause, or any other earthly 
 consideration, is permitted to deter- 
 mine your movements, just so far 
 may you expect to fail in all the 
 great ends of the ministry. 
 
 Sad mistakes are often committed 
 at the beginning of one's course, in 
 the selection of a field of labour. 
 Young ministers often err in giving 
 
PROBATIONER 111 
 
 the preference to an organized 
 church, however old, crazy, and 
 barren, to a fresh and untilled 
 missionary field. They pay, by far, 
 too little respect to the wishes of 
 their Presbytery, and even to their 
 authority, however justly and ex- 
 plicitly asserted. They hunt for 
 places, instead of assuming that 
 easily attainable position in which 
 places will hunt for them. The 
 word " call" has magic power in 
 their ears — and by this they do not 
 mean a call from God to work 
 where work is most demanded — 
 and where it is most likely that 
 encroachments may be made on the 
 dominions of the prince of darkness, 
 but an invitation to take the pastoral 
 oversight of some church where the 
 
112 LETTEES TO A 
 
 emolument and the honour will be 
 the greatest. They too often forget 
 that the man makes the place, and 
 not the place, the man. 
 
 There is a kind of clerical co- 
 quetry practised chiefly, but not ex- 
 clusively, by young preachers, which 
 every right minded man abhors, 
 and which God, sooner or later, al- 
 ways punishes. Vacant churches 
 are visited, and inducements held 
 out to make the visitor a call, when 
 little or no expectation is enter- 
 tained of accepting it if made. Some- 
 times a ruling elder in some vacant 
 church writes a letter to one who 
 is already a pastor or stated supply, 
 expressing merely his own desire 
 and that of a few others, that the 
 minister would abandon the field he 
 
PROBATIONER. 113 
 
 has in charge, and come to them. 
 This letter is shown, and talked of ; 
 until by insensible degrees it be- 
 comes dignified with the title of a 
 call, and in all probability finds its 
 way into the newspapers. 
 
 Now, look above the churches. 
 Look to Grod ; ask with an humble, 
 honest, earnest heart, " Lord, what 
 wilt thou have me to do?" — and the 
 place will be indicated in a way 
 perhaps you cannot explain ; and 
 when thus indicated, enter into it 
 with a cheerful and resolved spirit, 
 labouring as if you fully expected 
 there to live and there to die. 
 
 The young preacher often takes a 
 
 position from which he expects soon to 
 
 emigrate. This expectation withers 
 
 his hopes, and paralyzes his exer- 
 10* 
 
114 LETTEES TO A 
 
 tions. He accordingly expends more 
 time in lamenting the barrenness of 
 his field, and in devising ways and 
 means to find another, thai! would 
 he needful to render him both use- 
 ful and happy where he now is. I 
 fear it will be found in the last day, 
 that Jonah has had as long a line 
 of successors as Paul. He who, 
 being called to JNmeveh, goes to 
 Tarshish, does it at his peril. He 
 may well expect the Lord to send 
 out a great wind upon the sea, so 
 that there shall be a great tempest, 
 which shall threaten his ship with 
 destruction. 
 
 I am far from thinking that our 
 vacant churches are to be neglected, 
 and that every licentiate must be a 
 missionary. I only indicate my 
 
PKOBATIONER. 115 
 
 view of what should be the general 
 rule, and what, other things being 
 equal, the young man should pre- 
 fer. Let the call of Grod made 
 known by the leadings of Provi- 
 dence, and studied with humble 
 prayer, determine. JSTor do I think 
 that the minister should never 
 move. I believe it often happens 
 that a man remains far too long in 
 the same place. It is just as wrong 
 to remain when Grod calls you away, 
 as it is to go when he bids you re- 
 main. What I insist on, is that he 
 shall not be a man, "given to 
 change" — that he shall not be like 
 one in a fever who seeks relief 
 from pain by a change of position — 
 but that he shall pray and labour 
 wherever he is, as though he neither 
 
116 LETTEES TO A 
 
 sought nor expected any easier or 
 more honourable position. 
 
 YOTJK FOND FATHER. 
 
 LETTER II, 
 
 My dear Son, — My last letter 
 may lead you to ask, what are the 
 considerations which should induce 
 a preacher to abandon one field 
 for another. It is no easy matter 
 to answer this question. If I should 
 say a man should remove whenever 
 his usefulness ceases, I might be 
 told that it is difficult, and some- 
 times impossible to determine with 
 accuracy, when that result has 
 occurred. " The kingdom of God 
 cometh not with observation," and 
 
PROBATIONER. 117 
 
 it often happens that far more is 
 really accomplished than meets the 
 eye. For wise and good reasons 
 God may not permit his servants 
 to see the results of their efforts. 
 It is sometimes the purpose of 
 infinite wisdom that one should 
 sow arid another reap. But still 
 this question may ordinarily be 
 determined with no little accuracy, 
 and the following considerations 
 may help in doing so. 
 
 The church is the body of which 
 Christ is the head. This body has 
 many members. Among all these, 
 from the minister to the humblest 
 members, there exist relations from 
 which obligations arise, both re- 
 lative and mutual. The result 
 aimed at is to be attained by the 
 
118 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 joint efforts of all. Our stations in 
 the church are different, but our 
 work is substantially the same. 
 " JSTow he that planteth and he that 
 watereth are one, and every man 
 shall receive the reward of his own 
 labour. For we are workers to- 
 gether with Grod." And, " neither 
 is he that planteth any thing nor 
 he that watereth, but God that 
 giveth the increase." The Apostle 
 Paul speaks of the private members 
 of the church as his " fellow labour- 
 ers," and even sends greeting to 
 " certain women who laboured with 
 him in the gospel." 
 
 All cannot, nor should they if 
 they could, be preachers. Nor can 
 all hold even a subordinate office 
 in the church. JSTor can all be rich, 
 
PKOBATIONEE. 119 
 
 or learned, or very influential. But 
 all can labour for Christ. All may- 
 be his followers, his servants. All 
 may be like the poor woman who 
 " did what she could" in anointing 
 Christ for his burial. And she did 
 far more than he who censured her 
 as wasteful. The two humble 
 Marys who were " last at the cross, 
 and first at the sepulchre," did 
 more to honour Christ at this 
 particular juncture, than the eleven 
 apostles " who forsook him and 
 fled." It has been pertinently asked, 
 " Who makes the garment? The 
 spinner, the weaver, or the tailor ?" 
 A far more important question than 
 this is, Who, under God. converted 
 Timothy ? Was it his grandmother 
 or his mother, from whom, we are 
 
120 LETTERS TO A 
 
 told, lie learned the Scriptures in 
 his childhood? Or was it the 
 apostle Paul upon whose ministry 
 he attended when he became a 
 man ? 
 
 "With these obvious considerations 
 in view, it is safe to say, than when 
 a minister of the gospel has done 
 what he could to secure that sort 
 and measure of co-operation on the 
 part of ruling elders, deacons, and 
 members, which the Scriptures 
 obviously demand, and fails to do 
 so, he is at liberty to accept a call 
 to some other field, provided that 
 call has not been improperly sought 
 nor given. Time and space utterly 
 forbid any minuteness of specifica- 
 tion here as to the nature and 
 amount of work to be performed 
 
PROBATIONER. 121 
 
 by tlie several detachments in " the 
 sacramental host of Grod's elect." 
 As to this, all needful knowledge 
 may be readily derived from the 
 word of Grod. " Let him that is 
 taught in the word communicate 
 unto him that teach eth in all good 
 things." This evidently means, let 
 each in his place do all that he can 
 to strengthen the hands and to cheer 
 the heart of him who " labours in 
 the word and doctrine." And if 
 this be not done, the work will 
 cease. 
 
 The loss of a finger, and even of 
 a finger nail, may very seriously 
 detract from the strength and 
 efficiency of the human body. So 
 the Church, the body of Christ, 
 may be sadly hindered in its great 
 
122 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 work of converting the world to 
 Christ, by the failure of the 
 humblest and weakest member to 
 keep his place, and to do his or 
 her appropriate part of the work. 
 The man who merely oils the 
 machinery of a locomotive is as 
 needful to the rapid and safe 
 progress of the cars, as is the 
 conductor or the engineer. 
 
 Pastoral duty presupposes pas- 
 toral support. This is a subject 
 very imperfectly understood, mainly 
 because it is not duly considered 
 either by the pastor or the people. 
 It is revealed and enforced in the 
 Scriptures with great distinctness. 
 Here we have line upon line, and 
 precept upon precept. It is very 
 explicitly taught in Gralatians vi. 6, 
 
PKOBATIONER. 123 
 
 and in 1 Cor. ix. 11-13, and Phil, 
 iv. 15. But the people are too 
 avaricious, and the minister too 
 modest or too timid to read or to 
 say much on the subject. It is con- 
 fessed that the minister undertakes 
 the discussion of it under many dis- 
 advantages. He is an interested 
 party. Strong prejudice must be 
 encountered. Much ignorance and 
 many mistakes must be removed 
 and corrected. Many regard the 
 life of a minister as one of idleness. 
 They know of no other labour, but 
 that of the hands or feet. They are 
 not aware that the hardest, the 
 most exhausting toil known to man 
 is that of the mind. The body is 
 ordinarily invigorated by manual, 
 but often enfeebled and destroyed 
 
124 LETTEES TO A 
 
 by mental labour. And then mul- 
 titudes regard the salary paid, not 
 as compensation for an equivalent 
 received, but as mere charity — a 
 crust thrown to the hungry to ward 
 off starvation. Hence, one who is 
 raised above actual want must 
 preach for nothing, and live upon 
 his private resources. One of the 
 strongest and most intelligent con- 
 gregations in the Synod of Virginia 
 lost a pastor who was so poor as to 
 be wholly dependent on his salary 
 for the maintenance of his family, 
 and whom they had supported with 
 ease to themselves and comfort to 
 him. They secured a successor 
 w^hose pecuniary circumstances were 
 comfortable. This people loved 
 their second pastor quite as well as 
 
PROBATIONER. 125 
 
 they did the first. They conceded 
 that in all respects he was his equal, 
 and in some, his superior ; and yet 
 they curtailed the salary greatly, 
 and pleaded as an excuse for doing 
 so, that he was almost as well to do 
 in the world, as some of the richest 
 of them were." On inquiry, I 
 learned, that his people made no 
 such plea, in reference to their 
 physician, or lawyer, or mechanic. 
 No one expected the services of any 
 of these to be rendered free of 
 charge, on the condition that they 
 possessed an ample patrimony. 
 This sort of service they only look 
 for from those who minister, not to 
 the body, but the soul. 
 
 Now the pastor must give the 
 people no occasion to suppose that 
 11 * 
 
126 LETTEES TO A 
 
 he is mean spirited or parsimonious ; 
 that he seeks the fleece and not the 
 flock. He must be known and 
 read of all men as one of liberal 
 views and generous spirit. He 
 must so preach, pray, and visit as to 
 make himself necessary to the peo- 
 ple. He is to be fully and comfort- 
 ably supported or not, just in so far 
 as he gives himself wholly or in 
 part to the work of the ministry. 
 If only one half of his time and at- 
 tention is given to this work, then 
 he can only claim one half of his 
 support. If only a third, then only 
 a third of a support. And if his 
 service consists only of one un- 
 studied sermon a week, then he 
 can justly claim no support. This 
 rule is simple and just. 
 
PROBATIONER 127 
 
 But with this rule in view, let the 
 people be plainly told that Grod has 
 unalterably decreed, that " they who 
 preach the gospel should live of the 
 gospel ;" that the pastor comes to 
 them as Christ's ambassador, and 
 that He in whose name he comes, 
 claims as his right the adequate 
 support of him he sends. This is 
 as really Christ's portion of their 
 money, as the Sabbath is his por- 
 tion of their time ; and he who with- 
 holds the one is no less guilty than 
 he who withholds the other. 
 
 The pastor who fails thus to teach 
 fails to " declare the whole counsel 
 of Grod." He keeps back that 
 " w T hich is profitable unto them." 
 Let such a preacher duly consider 
 that fearful passage in the close of 
 
128 LETTERS TO A 
 
 the Bible : " If any man shall take 
 away from the words of the book 
 of this prophecy, Grod shall take 
 away his part out of the book of 
 life, and out of the holy city, and 
 from the things which are written in 
 this book." 
 
 And let the people who withhold 
 from the faithful pastor what Grod 
 demands for his support — let them 
 know that the Saviour has said, 
 " Inasmuch as ye have done it unto 
 one of the least of these my breth- 
 ren, ye have done it unto me." 
 And if it be a sin to rob man, it is 
 far more sinful to rob Grod. He 
 robs his fellow who wilfully with- 
 holds from him his due; and he 
 robs his Maker who refuses cheer- 
 fully to render what he claims. 
 
PROBATIONER. 129 
 
 This subject will be resumed in 
 my next. 
 
 Your fokd father. 
 
 LETTER III. 
 
 My dear Son, — A minister of the 
 gospel should not abandon a church 
 for the want of an adequate support, 
 until he has faithfully instructed 
 them, as I intimated in my last, as 
 to what Grod plainly requires of 
 them in his word. And then he 
 must tell them plainly that an 
 adequate support is such provision 
 as enables him to labour without the 
 embarrassment occasioned by efforts 
 to support himself ; and such as 
 will raise him above meanness in 
 
130 LETTERS TO A 
 
 his style of living, and sucli as 
 preserves him from becoming an 
 object of pity. The moment a 
 people begin to say of their minister, 
 
 "Poor Mr. what a hard time 
 
 he has ! How sorry it makes me 
 to think of his scanty table, and 
 threadbare clothing !" — that mo- 
 ment his usefulness is diminished 
 or ceases altogether. 
 
 To avoid such a result, the people 
 should be urged to consider the 
 time, the toil, the expense bestowed 
 by the well qualified minister, to fit 
 himself for his work. They right- 
 fully demand the highest quali- 
 fications in him who ministers to 
 them in holy things. ISTo people 
 of ordinary intelligence would be 
 content with a pastor who had not 
 
PKOBATIONEH. 131 
 
 secured the education demanded 
 by the Presbytery. JSTow in order 
 to do this, he must renounce the 
 secular calling in which he is 
 engaged when he determines to 
 prepare for the ministry. He must 
 also resolve to look to no such 
 calling in the future. He must at 
 once enter upon an expenditure of 
 at least $300 per annum, for an 
 average period of seven years. 
 Indeed it is safe to estimate the 
 gross amount expended by every 
 young man in becoming a Presbyte- 
 rian minister at something like 
 $2500. This is his outlay. Hence 
 a very large proportion of our pro- 
 bationers leave the Seminarv not 
 only penniless but in debt. I knew 
 a young man to commence preach- 
 
132 LETTERS TO A 
 
 ing just in this condition, who, had 
 he not consecrated himself to the 
 ministry, but held to the profession 
 from which he went to the Seminary, 
 would almost certainly have been a 
 man of great wealth by the time he 
 was ready to go forth as a penni- 
 less probationer. 
 
 The people should also be faith- 
 fully instructed as to the nature 
 and extent of the service demanded 
 of the preacher. He must preach, 
 prepared or unprepared — whether 
 the season be hot or cold, wet or 
 dry, and often, whether he be sick 
 or well. This he must do, at least 
 200 times in the year, and often 
 more frequently than this. He 
 must visit the whole congregation 
 occasionally, and the sick, the 
 
PROBATIONER. 133 
 
 afflicted, and the anxious frequently. 
 He must know of the sickness or 
 affliction as best he can, although he 
 is under no more obligation to go 
 without being sent for, than is the 
 physician. He must maintain an 
 extensive correspondence ; aid in 
 supplying teachers with schools, 
 and schools with teachers, churches 
 with pastors, and pastors with 
 churches. He must be visited, and 
 it is his joy to be so, by every 
 body, and at all times when occasion 
 calls for it. Suppose the pecuniary 
 value of these services were estima- 
 ted according to the rates charged 
 by doctors, lawyers, and others ; 
 the result would be astonishing. I 
 know a very wealthy man with a 
 
 large family who pays $15 pew rent. 
 12 
 
134 LETTERS TO A 
 
 One year that family had the 
 opportunity of hearing 150 sermons 
 and lectures, and as they were 
 much afflicted with sickness, re- 
 ceived during the year over forty 
 visits. Just think of the large 
 amount of service with the pittance 
 of compensation. Could they have 
 heard as many lectures on any 
 other subject, and received as many 
 visits for medical or legal service 
 for five times the sum ? To pay a 
 servant to prepare their food, or 
 wait at their table, would have cost 
 them a far larger sum. 
 
 People are willing to pay for 
 other things according to their 
 intrinsic value. This is right. But 
 it surely is not right to make the 
 precious gospel an exception to 
 
PROBATIONER. 135 
 
 this just rule. One is sometimes 
 strongly tempted to think, that 
 all other claims are more promptly 
 met than those of the gospel, 
 because others can bring suit and 
 this cannot. " Did your people pay 
 your late excellent pastor all they 
 owed him before his removal?" I 
 once asked of a ruling elder — " Oh 
 no !' was the reply, " we still owe 
 him $500." I said to him, " You 
 intend to pay him that balance 
 before you seek a successor, do you 
 not ?" ' Well,' " replied the rich old 
 elder, " I s'pose we ought. But as 
 times are very hard, and as Mr. 
 
 is a mighty good man, he won't 
 
 press us much for it. I'm sure he 
 will be satisfied if we pay him what 
 we can — and you know we can't do 
 
136 LETTEES TO A 
 
 without preaching. So, I would be 
 mightly obliged to you, if you would 
 try and get us a preacher." " Not 
 I," was my answer, " if I knew of 
 a dozen, I would not recommend 
 one of them to you, until you had 
 paid, to the uttermost farthing, 
 what is now justly clue to your 
 former pastor, who, I know, is at 
 this moment, suffering for what 
 you owe him." 
 
 This is a very literal account of 
 that interview. Oh, there is a hea- 
 ven-provoking meanness on this 
 subject, which must grieve the 
 Holy Spirit, and which must be 
 prominent among the causes of the 
 present low and languishing state 
 of Zion. 
 
 The minister himself is some- 
 
PEOBATIOXER. 137 
 
 times to blame. He is so when he 
 
 fails to declare the whole counsel 
 
 of Grod on this subject ; and when he 
 
 panders to the avarice of the people 
 
 by being afraid to say anything 
 
 about money in the pulpit. Some 
 
 preachers are almost as much afraid 
 
 of being called money-preachers, 
 
 as they would be of being called 
 
 Beelzebub. Say what the Bible 
 
 says about it, and let the people 
 
 call you what they will. Again — 
 
 they are to be blamed for yielding 
 
 the moment the pinch is felt, and 
 
 betaking themselves to some secular 
 
 calling too soon. The moment they 
 
 do this, the avaricious church cries, 
 
 " So would we have it." And the 
 
 more the man does for himself, the 
 
 less he does for them, and the Jess 
 12 * 
 
138 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 they do for him. They rob him of 
 his living, and he robs them of 
 their food ; and they will starve 
 together. They starve his body, and 
 he starves their souls. 
 
 There is a passage in the book 
 of Proverbs not sufficiently consi- 
 dered. It may be found in the 
 22nd chapter and 16th verse, and is 
 as follows : " He that oppresseth the 
 poor to increase his riches, and he 
 that giveth to the rich, shall surely 
 come to want." Ministers often 
 sin against the latter clause of this 
 verse. They " give to the rich," 
 and this is here placed in the same 
 category with " oppressing the poor 
 to increase one's riches." It some- 
 times happens that the pastor of a 
 large and wealthy church, pays 
 
PKOBATIOXER. 139 
 
 treble as much pew rent as the 
 richest member. I have known 
 one whose pew rent cost him at 
 least |200.00 per annum. By this 
 I mean, that although he gave 
 himself wholly and efficiently to the 
 ministry, and although he lived as 
 economically as common decency 
 permitted, yet he was compelled to 
 draw on his private resources to the 
 amount stated, in order to supply 
 the wants of his family. 
 
 A large and rich church once ap- 
 plied to the Presbytery to permit 
 them to reduce the pastor's salary 
 from $700 to 550. The pastor was 
 poor, and had an expensive family. 
 He was a man justly and highly 
 esteemed for his talents, his piety, 
 and fidelity. He was greatly be- 
 
140 LETTEES TO A 
 
 loved by his people, yet they had 
 succeeded in securing his approval 
 of this novel proposition. It was 
 conceded on all hands, that neither 
 sum would be adequate to his sup- 
 port — and that there were 150 
 members able to assist in sustain- 
 ing him — some of whom were very 
 wealthy. Now this memorial may 
 be paraphrased thus — " We respect- 
 fully ask of this reverend body, 
 that they w r ill require of our beloved 
 pastor, to contribute of his own 
 substance $150 per annum, for the 
 support of the gospel in our congre- 
 gation ; for if this is not done, then 
 must one hundred and fifty of our 
 number be compelled to add one 
 dollar each to what is now sub- 
 scribed in order to keep the salary 
 
PKOBATIONEE. 141 
 
 at its present rate." And the most 
 surprising part of the whole busi- 
 ness was, that the petition was 
 granted, and the good pastor taxed, 
 and the good people relieved ac- 
 cordingly. Now, never let a con- 
 gregation treat you thus. It is 
 giving to the rich. It is pandering 
 to avarice. Deny yourself to the 
 very uttermost. Live, as I know 
 many of our dear brethren do, on 
 the plainest food, and in the mean- 
 est houses, for the sake of a poor, a 
 generous, a working, and a praying- 
 people. But never, no never, dis- 
 grace the ministry by permitting 
 the rich and the avaricious to enjoy 
 the blessings of the gospel ministry, 
 w r hen they will not give to that 
 ministry an adequate support. 
 
142 LETTERS TO A 
 
 When the people have obviously 
 given to the extent of their ability, 
 and when they practise as much 
 self-denial as you do — when they 
 pray and labour as diligently in 
 their sphere, as you do in yours, 
 and yet cannot give you an adequate 
 support ; then, rather than leave 
 them, resort to some other — always 
 a kindred calling — to enable you to 
 remain among them. A Christian 
 school, so conducted as to become 
 " an every day congregation," is not 
 only allowable, but may be rendered 
 eminently auxiliary to your great 
 work as pastor. But, never forget, 
 that in every thing, you are to be 
 the pattern and the guide of those 
 to whom you minister. 
 
 Your foxd father. 
 
PKOBATIONEK. 143 
 
 LETTER IV. 
 
 My deak Sox: — The extent to 
 which the pen and the press may be 
 made to combine with the pulpit, in 
 spreading the gospel through the 
 earth, deserves early and earnest 
 consideration. It is not my pur- 
 pose to discuss at any length the 
 propriety of using manuscript in 
 the pulpit. Almost every thing 
 depends upon the manner in which 
 this is done. If the preacher read 
 so closely that his eye cannot pass 
 freely and almost constantly over 
 the audience, and if his manner be 
 that of the reader, and not of the 
 speaker, he is not likely to be suc- 
 cessful in so preaching that many 
 shall believe. He may acquire the 
 
144 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 reputation of a good writer and 
 good reader, but a successful preacher 
 he cannot be. Extremes here, as 
 every where, should be avoided. I 
 think it was Dr. Chalmers who said, 
 u I write that I may learn to extem- 
 porize, and I extemporize, that I 
 may learn to write." The most 
 censurable method of all, is speak- 
 ing memoriter, and ordinarily the 
 best, is writing and taking into the 
 pulpit from one fourth to one third 
 of what one expects to utter, having 
 thoroughly digested the whole sub- 
 ject. This method enables one to 
 be free, and yet guards against in- 
 coherence and rashness. Preaching 
 is making known the truth of God 
 viva voce. The pen and the press 
 are only other means of accomplish- 
 
PROBATIONER. 145 
 
 ing the same end. God acknow- 
 ledges and blesses his own truth, 
 whether preached or printed. The 
 former, it is conceded, is most im- 
 portant, u for after that, in the wis- 
 dom of God, the world by wisdom 
 knew not God, it pleased God by 
 the foolishness of preaching to save 
 them that believe." Both methods, 
 however, have the divine sanction, 
 and neither can be neglected with- 
 out guilt. But they should be 
 kept in their respective positions. 
 Neither should be permitted to en- 
 croach upon or supplant the other. 
 
 A sermon fully written and 
 closely read, can hardly be called 
 preaching. 
 
 This reminds me of what I re- 
 gard as a serious evil. I refer to 
 13 
 
146 LETTERS TO A 
 
 the extent to which sermons are 
 printed, and written to be printed. 
 This practice leads to a false stand- 
 ard as to the method, style, and 
 matter. A sermon fitted to be read 
 differs materially from one fitted to 
 be heard. The circumstances and 
 condition of the hearer are widely 
 different from those of the reader. 
 What helps the one, hinders the 
 other. And hence we may con- 
 clude, that they must be reached 
 and influenced by a different pro- 
 cess. The eye, the voice, the atti- 
 tude, all combine with the truth 
 uttered, and not only add to its 
 clearness but also increase its power. 
 It is silly to say that it matters but 
 little how the truth is communi- 
 cated, provided it be the truth. 
 
PROBATIONER. 147 
 
 You might as well say, it matters 
 but little whether a given piece of 
 music is played upon a jews-harp, 
 or a violin. 
 
 But what I wished to say is, that 
 writing sermons to be printed has 
 tended to weaken the power of the 
 pulpit, on account of the inherent 
 difference between the truth read 
 and the truth heard. Are sermons 
 as effective as they once were? 
 They may be more eloquent, or at 
 least, more rhetorical. They may 
 even be more instructive, but are 
 they not by far less impressive? 
 Do they wake the conscience and 
 stir the emotions as they once did ? 
 I think not, and at least one 
 of the causes of this difference is 
 found in the fact, that sermons now 
 
148 LETTEES TO A 
 
 are prepared with so much regard 
 to the press. Being thus prepared, 
 they are less simple, less colloquial 
 and direct. A sermon intended, 
 either now or hereafter, for the 
 press will be prepared with less 
 reference to the time of its delivery, 
 and the people to whom it is ad- 
 dressed, than to a future time, and 
 a distant people. In this the 
 preacher resembles the Congress- 
 man, who speaks with less refer- 
 ence to the immediate impression to 
 be made, than to the influence he 
 hopes to exert on his distant con- 
 stituents. 
 
 Still, the minister must write, and 
 write for the press. How could the 
 church and the world dispense with 
 the writings of the great and good 
 
PEOBATIONEK. 149 
 
 of bye-gone generations ? What a 
 flood of light still falls upon our 
 earth from those who, through the 
 press, " though dead yet speak !" 
 But let him write and publish let- 
 ters, essays, books, rather than ser- 
 mons. 
 
 I turn for a moment to a different 
 subject, but one which nearly con- 
 cerns your success and comfort. I 
 refer to the spirit cherished, and the 
 conduct pursued towards your breth- 
 ren in the ministry. It is to be 
 feared that the tie which binds the 
 heralds of the cross together is 
 neither so tender nor so bright as it 
 once was. Preachers of the same gos- 
 pel are more than brethren. They are 
 fellow-labourers in the most sacred 
 
 cause. Chords of sympathy pass 
 13* 
 
150 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 from heart to heart, which should 
 not easily be broken. It is said 
 that no friendships among men are 
 purer and stronger, than those 
 which exist among companions in 
 exile. Brethren in the ministry are 
 companions in exile, in the best 
 sense. What are they but fellow- 
 pilgrims toiling together along the 
 same weary way — opposed by the 
 same enemies, seeking the same 
 blessed end, under the guidance of 
 the same great Prince of Peace? 
 One chart guides the footsteps, one 
 kind voice cheers the hearts, and 
 one banner waves perpetually in the 
 view of all. 
 
 Then sympathize they ought, and 
 sympathize they will, if they are an- 
 imated by the spirit of their Master. 
 
PROBATIONER. 151 
 
 If it be obligatory on private Chris- 
 tians to bear each other's burdens, 
 and so fulfil the law of Christ, much 
 more is it obligatory on the heralds 
 of the cross. The strongest, purest 
 motives urge to this. They are 
 identified with the cause of Christ. 
 It is impossible to detract from the 
 character, or in any way, to lessen 
 the influence of the servant, with- 
 out hindering that servant's work. 
 " He that receiveth you, receiveth 
 me." " Inasmuch as ye have done 
 it unto one of the least of these my 
 brethren, ye have done it unto 
 me." 
 
 We sometimes speak complain- 
 ingly of the disesteem in which min- 
 isters are held by the people — of 
 their fastidiousness in censuring, 
 
152 LETTERS TO A 
 
 their avarice in withholding from 
 them an adequate support. In 
 these things the people are often at 
 fault. But may not this result, in 
 part, from the low esteem in which 
 ministers hold each other? Are 
 they not often too ready to speak 
 disparagingly of one another? Little 
 defects of manner and inferiority of 
 talents, are noted and spoken of 
 even in the presence of a carping 
 world. A minister of fair standing 
 with his Presbytery cannot be asked 
 to preach, because some would not 
 like to hear him. The sacredness 
 of the ministerial profession calls 
 for the greatest purity of character, 
 and where this is wanting, no pains 
 should be spared to reform or 
 remove from office the offender. 
 
PROBATIONER. 153 
 
 They should be clean who bear the 
 vessels of the sanctuary ; and 
 sympathy for the man should 
 never be permitted to supplant 
 fidelity to the office. 
 
 Ministerial meetings of contiguous 
 pastors, held for mutual conference 
 and prayer, are productive of great 
 good. They burnish and strengthen 
 the chain of sympathy and affection, 
 as no meetings of Presbytery or 
 Synod can do. Such meetings were 
 more common in days gone-by, 
 than thev now are ; and to their 
 disuse may be ascribed, in part, 
 the present low state of piety in our 
 churches. 
 
 Nearly allied to this, is the impor- 
 tance of adopting wise measures 
 for the promotion of a fraternal 
 
154 LETTERS TO A 
 
 spirit among the people. What 
 gravity is in nature, that love is in 
 the church of Christ. It keeps 
 each individual in his appropriate 
 orbit, and secures regularity and 
 efficiency in the movements of the 
 whole system. But this lovely 
 spirit has been tarnished — weakened 
 by the fall, so that it exists even 
 among good people to a very limited 
 extent. Here, as in the solar 
 system, are two forces operating in 
 opposite directions, one drawing 
 the members of Christ's body to- 
 gether, by drawing them towards 
 the Sun of righteousness, the other 
 driving them apart by driving them 
 from that Sun. 
 
 Here the pastor needs wisdom 
 from above. He must seldom, if 
 
PROBATIONER. 155 
 
 ever, listen to the language of 
 detraction. In no case must he 
 become a partizan in feuds among 
 his people. He may sometimes act 
 as the confidential adviser of both 
 parties with the consent of both. 
 But let him never listen, no, not 
 for one moment, to ill-natured or 
 uncharitable gossip. Let him send 
 the offended to the offending brother, 
 that according to the rule of Christ, 
 he may tell him his fault alone. 
 
 In regard to offences which 
 require the notice of the pastor or 
 session, our form of government 
 warns us against a resort to citation 
 and trial, until all other means of 
 removing the offence have failed. 
 This warning is of immense value. 
 By watchfulness in the pastor, by 
 
156 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 a prompt resort to a private, unoffi- 
 cial, kind interview with the offen- 
 ding party, in nine cases out of ten, 
 any further step may be rendered 
 needless. Thepractice which obtains 
 in many churches, of appointing 
 one or more members of session as 
 a committee to wait upon the erring 
 member and report the result, is 
 often mischievous. Such a step 
 becomes, of course, a matter of 
 sessional record, and this, of itself, 
 is often sufficient to aggravate the 
 disease it was designed to cure. 
 
 Two members of one of our 
 churches, both men of great in- 
 fluence, became personally hostile 
 to each other, and spoke and acted 
 in a very unchristian manner. The 
 offence was serious, and threatened 
 
PROBATIONER. 157 
 
 to create a storm which, might 
 shake the church to its foundations. 
 The pastor thought and prayed, but 
 said nothing to the session — nothing 
 to any one. At length he addressed 
 to each of the individuals a note, 
 of which the following is an exact 
 copy: 
 
 " Dear Sir,— The relations exist- 
 ing between us, impel me to ask, 
 in all kindness, for an interview 
 either in your office or my study, 
 as you may prefer. This communica- 
 tion is not official, but fraternal 
 and confidential. My sole object is 
 to prevent evil and do good. In 
 other words, to see if certain matters 
 affecting your personal character 
 and comfort, and the welfare of the 
 
 church of which you are a member, 
 14 
 
158 LETTEES TO A 
 
 and I, the pastor, may not be 
 adjusted privately, amicably, and 
 usefully to all concerned. Should 
 you prefer to bring a friend with 
 you, do so. Make your own selec- 
 tion." 
 
 The meeting was held in the 
 pastor's study, and the result was 
 most happy. The sound of distant 
 thunder was hushed. The gather- 
 ing cloud was scattered, and an 
 immense amount of evil prevented. 
 " An ounce of prevention is better 
 than a pound of cure." 
 
 Your fond father. 
 
 LETTER V. 
 My dear Sotf : — I had not time 
 
PKOBATIONER. 159 
 
 nor space to finish in my last, all I 
 desired to say on the subject of the 
 proper administration of discipline. 
 This is essential to the purity and 
 growth of the church. But in this, 
 as well as in every thing else, con- 
 nected with the kingdom of Christ 
 on earth, the w r isdom of the serpent 
 must be blended with the harmless- 
 n ess of the dove. Both in the ses- 
 sion and the Presbytery, the effort 
 should be to prevent rather than to 
 remedy the evils which discipline 
 is designed to remove. A low tone 
 of piety, the result of defective 
 preaching on the part of the pastor, 
 and of instability and worldliness 
 on that of the members, will create 
 an atmosphere under the influence 
 of which, cases of disorder calling 
 
160 LETTEES TO A 
 
 loudly for discipline will spring up 
 and grow as noxious weeds in a rich 
 but neglected soil. And under such 
 an atmosphere, the wise and effec- 
 tive administration of discipline 
 becomes almost impracticable. It 
 is from churches of the kind just 
 described, that complaints and ap- 
 peals come to our Presbyteries and 
 Synods. It is from such that calls 
 come to the higher courts for the 
 healing of some old chronic malady, 
 that by proper measures on the part 
 of the pastor or session, might have 
 been nipped in the bud. The knife, 
 coldly applied to a cold church, is 
 not likely to increase, but rather di- 
 minish its spiritual heat. You can- 
 not restore a dead body to life by 
 amputating its limbs. You must 
 
PKOBATIONEK. 161 
 
 reach its heart, the seat of life. If 
 no heat can be created there, the 
 case is hopeless. You had better 
 bury than dissect such a body. 
 
 The session that is duly consider- 
 ate of its diversified and solemn 
 obligations, will find a pressing de- 
 mand for a stated meeting at least 
 once a month, besides other occa- 
 sional meetings. At these stated 
 meetings, full inquiry will, of course, 
 be made by the pastor, of every 
 ruling elder, as to the state of things 
 in the different districts into which 
 every congregation should be di- 
 vided. Cases of sickness, of afflic- 
 tion, of backsliding, of neglected 
 duty, of religious anxiety, will be 
 reported as demanding considera- 
 tion. To give due consideration to 
 14* 
 
162 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 interests so various and important 
 will demand much time, much con- 
 ference, and much prayer. At such 
 times much may be done — more 
 than any one would suppose who 
 has not adopted this plan — to fan 
 the flame of a rising piety and to 
 check in its commencement the 
 springing of disorder. In this way 
 the influence of the session for good 
 is constantly felt. Instead of wait- 
 ing until some irregularity has be- 
 come so public, and so serious, as to 
 call for citation, the tabling of 
 charges, and the summoning of wit- 
 nesses, the erring member is first 
 seen privately — then, if the evil be 
 not remedied, he is requested to 
 meet the session for mutual confer- 
 ence and prayer. When these pre- 
 
PROBATIONER. 163 
 
 liminary steps are taken, it will 
 often be found needless to proceed 
 any further. 
 
 Ruling elders are the pastor's 
 privy counsellors. And when they 
 are well fitted for their sacred and 
 responsible office — when they meet 
 their responsibilities with tolerable 
 fidelity, their worth to the pastor 
 cannot be told. But after all, they 
 are not ministers. The promise, 
 " Lo, I am with you always," was 
 not made to them. It is a precious 
 truth, that " the secret of the Lord 
 is with them that fear him ;" and a 
 truth embodying a promise which 
 all who believe in Christ have an 
 equal right to plead. But it seems 
 obvious that there is a sense in 
 which Grod "guides in judgment," 
 
164 LETTERS TO A 
 
 those whom he calls into the minis- 
 try, as he does not guide others ; so 
 that few things are more important 
 or more difficult than for a minister 
 to determine, when to ask advice of 
 his privy council, and when not. I 
 mean, of course, in reference to mat- 
 ters not distinctly assigned to the 
 session as an ecclesiastical court. 
 In reference to every thing belong- 
 ing to the session as a body, he has 
 not even a vote except in case of a 
 tie. Then, as moderator, he is en- 
 titled to give the casting vote. On 
 this point I merely wish to guard 
 you against too great freedom in 
 looking to others. As to the indis- 
 criminate manner in which some 
 young ministers ask advice of ruling 
 elders, private members — including 
 
PROBATIONER. 165 
 
 the ladies, both young and old, 
 married and single — it is quite suffi- 
 cient to remark, that such men, if 
 they have influence, soon lose it, 
 and if they have not, they never get 
 it. What intelligent people can re- 
 spect a man who has undertaken to 
 lead the flock, and who perpetually 
 waits for the flock to lead him ? He 
 should return to the Seminary. 
 
 But there is an opposite extreme, 
 less amiable than this, and frequent- 
 ly far more mischievous. It is that 
 of him, who, from self-conceit or 
 obstinacy, refuses to ask advice 
 at the right time and in the right 
 way, and who from the same bad 
 spirit refuses to abide by it when 
 respectfully and reasonably given. 
 
166 LETTERS TO A 
 
 The one errs through imbecility, 
 and the other through mulishness. 
 The most sincere and conscien- 
 tious young minister will be anxious 
 to know how his people estimate 
 him. This anxiety may result from 
 a good motive, but it may result 
 from a very bad one. Occasionally 
 it springs from a conviction that 
 " without reputation he can neither 
 get good, nor do good." A few 
 young men need commendation as 
 a safeguard against despondency. 
 An intelligent gentleman, from a 
 neighbouring congregation, called 
 to-day, at my study. Upon my 
 asking him how his young preacher 
 was succeeding, after expressing a 
 very favourable opinion of his worth 
 both as a man and a minister, he 
 
PROBATIONER. 167 
 
 added this very remarkable expres- 
 sion — " My chief objection to him 
 is, that he has too poor an opinion 
 of himself." I do not remember to 
 have heard that said, more than 
 two or three times before, in all my 
 life. 
 
 I greatly fear that the anxiety 
 referred to, often arises from a 
 censurable fondness for mere popu- 
 lar applause. Some betray this 
 worse than childish vanity, by 
 alluding to their own preaching 
 with the evident design to elicit a 
 favourable opinion. This is made 
 evident by the mariner in which it 
 is done, and by the description of 
 persons before whom it is done. 
 I have known a few in my life, 
 whose boldness and vanity were 
 
168 LETTERS TO A 
 
 sufficient to enable them to put the 
 question in all its naked deformity, 
 " How did I preach to-day ?" 
 
 Dr, Conrad Speece once told me, 
 that he was cured of this, very 
 early in his ministry, in this way. 
 As he rode from church in company 
 with a plain but sensible ruling 
 elder, after preaching a sermon 
 which he thought very good for a 
 beginner, he became very anxious 
 to learn how it was regarded by the 
 elder ; and to this end, he made a 
 variety of remarks, well fitted, as 
 he supposed, to draw forth his 
 views. But the old elder continued 
 doggedly silent. At length he put 
 the question directly, " What did 
 you think of my sermon to-day ?" 
 To which he replied, " Well, Mr. 
 
 
PROBATIONER. 169 
 
 Speece, if I must tell you, I think 
 
 that if I could preach as well as 
 
 you did to-day, I could preach a 
 
 great deal better." 
 
 The truth is, there are manv 
 
 ways in which one soon learns 
 
 quite as much as it is safe for 
 
 him to know of the esteem or 
 
 disesteem in which he is held, 
 
 without proclaiming his folly in the 
 
 way now under consideration. One 
 
 who really loves his work for its 
 
 own sake, who preaches the gospel 
 
 to glorify Grod in the salvation of 
 
 sinners, will not, and need not ask, 
 
 How am I esteemed? but the burden 
 
 of his cry will be, Am I really 
 
 preaching the gospel as my Master 
 
 expects me to preach it ? Am I 
 
 doing good ? Is the cause of Christ 
 15 
 
170 LETTERS TO A 
 
 reviving — the church advancing 
 under my poor ministry ? There 
 is no great difficulty in answering 
 these questions. And when they 
 can be answered affirmatively, he 
 is more than contented, he is happy. 
 And what may be thought of his 
 sermons or his manners, becomes 
 a matter of small consequence. 
 
 But all the blame in this matter 
 should not be laid at the door of the 
 young preacher. This weakness is 
 sometimes fostered in him by well 
 disposed but silly people. There 
 is a manner of talking about 
 preachers, a freedom of censuring 
 or applauding, which must, in some 
 way, reach their ears. Even chil- 
 dren are permitted and encouraged 
 to take a part in this sort of con versa- 
 
PKOBATIONER. 171 
 
 tion. All of every age claim to 
 know just when a man preaches, 
 visits, and dresses as he ought ; 
 when, in a word, he succeeds, and 
 when he fails in all the great duties 
 of his sacred calling. And whether 
 all admit the obligation, or not, to 
 aid, to the extent of their ability, in 
 sustaining him, they claim the 
 privilege of applauding or censuring 
 him to their own heart's content. 
 ]N^ow when a young preacher finds 
 himself in the midst of a people 
 who act thus towards his predeces- 
 sors and others, it is not strange if 
 he thinks, that it is of the utmost 
 consequence for him to know in 
 which of the two strains — whether 
 extravagant eulogy or cutting re- 
 buke — they speak of him. The 
 
172 LETTERS TO A 
 
 truth is, all of us deserve blame — . 
 all too often forget the great objects 
 and ends of the Christian ministry. 
 All look too low, and aim too low. 
 We either provoke God by idolizing 
 or despising the instrumentality 
 which he has ordained for the 
 conversion of the world. 
 
 And yet the approbation of the 
 wise and the good, prudently and 
 seasonably given, is the sweetest 
 solace to the preacher's heart, save 
 the favour and the blessing of the 
 God he serves. 
 
 Your fokd father. 
 
PROBATIONER. 173 
 
 LETTER VI. 
 
 My dear Son: — I shall close 
 these letters, by asking your atten- 
 tion to the consideration of revivals 
 of pure religion. To this result all 
 that the minister says and does 
 must tend. For this he must study, 
 visit, preach, and pray : for in the 
 reviving of pure religion, he finds 
 the consummation of the heart's 
 purest desires. Until this is at- 
 tained, he labours in vain and spends 
 his strength for nought, and with- 
 out this, he goes weeping to the 
 grave. 
 
 Revival is a comparative term. 
 It may indicate the present state of 
 religion, compared with its state at 
 some previous time ; or it may de- 
 
 15 « 
 
174 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 note the state of religion in one 
 country, compared with it in some 
 other country. In its literal accep- 
 tation, it implies the existence of 
 spiritual life. He cannot be said to 
 be revived, who never lived. Some- 
 times the state of things indicated 
 by this term is restricted to one con- 
 gregation, one family, or even to a 
 single individual. When asked 
 then what is meant by a revival of 
 religion, it is sufficient to reply, 
 that it is the increased power of re- 
 ligion, more or less extensively dif- 
 fused. It is the obvious growth, 
 the expansion of the life of God in 
 the soul of man. It denotes an un- 
 usual and visible display of the 
 grace of God in increasing the 
 purity and power of true religion 
 
PEOBATIONEE. 175 
 
 in the hearts and lives of believers, 
 attended or followed by the awaken- 
 ing and conversion of sinners. It 
 is an extraordinary work of Grod, 
 seen, " in making the wicked right- 
 eous and the righteous more right- 
 ous." 
 
 Are all or any of the churches 
 in a revived state? This is but 
 another method of asking, Does the 
 work of conversion and sanctifica- 
 tion keep pace with the means em- 
 ployed for this purpose ? Consider 
 the sermons preached, the Sabbath- 
 schools taught, the tracts and books 
 distributed, the number of our So- 
 cieties and Boards, and then say, 
 what ought to be expected, what 
 should be the results ? 
 
 "We may form societies for reli- 
 
176 LETTERS TO A 
 
 gious purposes, we may found in- 
 stitutions for secular and sacred 
 learning, we may erect costly houses 
 of worship ; but to regard these 
 things alone as proof of a revived 
 state of religion, would be most fal- 
 lacious. There is no little fascina- 
 tion in the mere working of this 
 vast machinery. Prompt and gen- 
 erous activity may be displayed in 
 all this, without much true piety ; 
 for activity and bustle, noise and 
 display, are all pleasing to the un- 
 sanctified heart ; and then a public 
 sentiment has been created, and 
 such broad and ample channels 
 have been opened through which 
 expression may be given to that 
 public sentiment, through the ros- 
 trum and the press, that all we say 
 
PROBATIONER. 177 
 
 and do, may be little more than a 
 mere yielding to the current, a seek- 
 ing to advance our own reputation. 
 
 We must then seek for other 
 tests. We must look at the state 
 of piety in its more hidden and less 
 ostentatious forms. We must look 
 to the fountain rather than to 
 the stream. We must seek to 
 ascertain the extent to which 
 divine truth controls the heart, and 
 regulates the life of the peo- 
 ple. We must endeavour to learn 
 the extent to which love for the 
 gospel is evinced by its generous 
 support, and also by the more hid- 
 den forms of pastoral labour. 
 
 Sad mistakes have existed, and 
 to some extent still exist, as to the 
 
178 LETTEES TO A 
 
 nature, and the best means for se- 
 curing true revivals of religion. 
 
 Some twenty-five years ago, the 
 land was w T ell nigh filled with what 
 was then technically called revival 
 preachers, and revival measures. 
 These were the men, and these the 
 measures with w T hich wisdom would 
 die, and upon the success of which 
 the growth, if not the life of the 
 church depended. Rare scenes 
 were enacted, and much mischief 
 done in those days. To some 
 churches hundreds were sometimes 
 added in a week. Many of these 
 had exhibited no religious concern 
 — many indeed were openly profane 
 forty-eight hours before they were 
 received into the church. The strang- 
 est thing of all is, that in no part of 
 
PROBATIONER. 179 
 
 Virginia, were these excesses carried 
 so far, or did so much mischief as 
 in our beautiful Valley. The 
 churches in this region have not 
 yet regained their wonted numbers 
 and strength. 
 
 The great error of the times con- 
 sisted in adopting a style of preach- 
 ing, and a system of unscriptural 
 measures, designed for excitement. 
 The more of this the better. To un- 
 fold the great doctrines of the word 
 of God — to aim at enlightening the 
 understanding — to advise the taking 
 of time to read and reflect, was, in 
 the coarse language of the day, " to 
 snow upon the people." This course 
 was only fitted to " pour water upon 
 the fire." The pastor was contemned 
 and sometimes insulted in view of 
 
180 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 his own people. Of this I witnessed 
 the following illustration. A young 
 licentiate wrote somewhat uncere- 
 moniously to an esteemed pastor, 
 proposing to hold a protracted meet- 
 ing at his church. The request was 
 granted. The first day of the meet- 
 ing came. They met at the church, 
 and the licentiate and the pastor 
 stood together, surrounded by a 
 crowd of gentlemen in the church 
 yard. " Now, brother," said the 
 former to the latter, you have to do 
 one of three things. You must fall 
 in with me, get out of the way, or 
 be run over." 
 
 I would not even refer to these 
 sad scenes, at this late day, if there 
 did not occasionally appear symp- 
 toms in some places of a desire to 
 
PEOBATIONEE. 181 
 
 have them re-enacted. Shun them 
 as you would " the pestilence that 
 walketh in darkness and the des- 
 truction that wasteth at noonday." 
 
 Of genuine revivals of true reli- 
 gion every man must be a warm 
 friend who loves the Saviour, and 
 feels compassion for the souls of 
 men. In the midst of such, was the 
 church of Christ first founded, and 
 by means of such, it has ever been 
 the most prosperous. The Acts of 
 the Apostles contains little else 
 than a series of the most blessed re- 
 vivals. 
 
 I am not the enemy, but the 
 friend, of religious excitement, pro- 
 vided it be produced by a clear per- 
 ception of God's truth. Indeed no 
 other excitement deserves to be 
 16 
 
182 LETTERS TO A 
 
 called religious. The truth under- 
 stood, applied and felt in its true 
 import and just proportions, never 
 yet produced too much excitement. 
 
 If I am asked what are the lead- 
 ing characteristics of a genuine re- 
 vival of true religion, it gives me 
 great pleasure to reply in the words 
 of my venerated preceptor, Dr. John 
 H. Rice. As far back as the year 
 1822, he spoke on this subject as 
 follows : 
 
 " No man ought hastily to con- 
 clude that he is the subject of the 
 reviving influences of the Holy 
 Spirit. When under any excite- 
 ment, we ought, as we love our 
 souls, most carefully to consider its 
 bearings on the various parts of the 
 christian character. If its operation 
 
PROBATIONER. 183 
 
 on all be equable and salutary ; if 
 repentance and humility be deep- 
 ened ; if love to Grod and our neigh- 
 bour be enkindled, faith strength- 
 ened, submission rendered more 
 entire, the work of patience more 
 perfect, obedience more prompt : in 
 a word, if the whole tendency be to 
 humble us, to exalt Christ, and 
 promote holiness, we maybe assured 
 that it is a genuine work, and 
 rejoice in it as a precious favour 
 bestowed by a gracious God." JNow 
 when this mighty, moral improve- 
 ment, this symmetrical increase of 
 all the features of the true child of 
 God, as portrayed by Dr. Rice, is 
 witnessed as general in a given 
 church, then is that church revived. 
 But this is quite a different thing 
 
184 LETTEES TO A 
 
 from that " series of excitements 
 and collapses," which leaves the 
 individual christian, and the church 
 at large, as weak and worldly 
 minded, as far from God, and as 
 unfit for heaven, as it found them. 
 
 Dr. Rice says, " That which gives 
 new life, should not leave us as 
 though we were half dead. That 
 which communicates new strength, 
 ought not to leave us weaker than 
 before." See Literary and Evan- 
 gelical Magazine, vol. 5, page 301. 
 You will there find many profound 
 thoughts on this important subject. 
 
 It is a mistake to suppose that in 
 order to have a revival, some means 
 must be put in operation different 
 from the ordinary means of grace. 
 Even protracted meetings, held 
 
PEOBATIONER. 185 
 
 with a view to bring about a 
 revival, are to be avoided. Such 
 meetings should be regarded as the 
 effect rather than the cause of a 
 revival. When the ordinary meet- 
 ings for prayer are better attended 
 than usual ; when the prayers of 
 those who lead in the devotions are 
 more than ordinarily short, earnest, 
 and spiritual ; when irreligious 
 persons, not accustomed to attend, 
 are seen at these meetings ;• when 
 the congregations on the Sabbath 
 are larger and more solemn than 
 usual ; when the members in their 
 social intercourse are known to 
 speak often one with another on 
 the state of the church, and the 
 desirableness of a revival ; when 
 
 cases of awakening, even few in 
 16* 
 
186 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 number, are discovered to exist, 
 then it is safe to conclude, that the 
 prayer of faith has been offered, 
 that God is near, and then a pro- 
 tracted meeting may be held with 
 safety and profit. 
 
 And when the precious work 
 becomes general, there should be 
 no great multiplication of meetings, 
 nor any suspension of ordinary 
 business. Upon the Charlottesville 
 Female Academy, from 1838 to 
 1848, Grod was pleased to send 
 several seasons of refreshing. And 
 in no case, even when the interest 
 among the young ladies was deep- 
 est, and most general, was a single 
 recitation omitted, or duty ne- 
 glected. Indeed, at such times 
 there was generally the hardest 
 
PROBATIONER 187 
 
 study and the best recitations. The 
 subjects of the work were told, 
 that their regularity and industry 
 in their daily duties, would be 
 regarded as among the best evi- 
 dences that they were truly conver- 
 ted to God. 
 
 The religion of the Bible was 
 not intended for angels but for 
 men ; and for men as social beings, 
 necessarily engaged in the honest 
 and useful callings of the world. 
 The young convert must learn at 
 once that he is to constitute a part 
 of " the light of the world — the 
 salt of the earth ;" and to act this 
 part, he must keep every duty in 
 its appropriate place — always, how- 
 ever, subordinating the temporal 
 and transitory, to the spiritual and 
 
188 LETTERS TO A 
 
 eternal. If this be not done, he 
 will be alternately religious and 
 irreligious. He will burn and 
 freeze by turns. His progress, if 
 he advance at all, will be spasmo- 
 dic. 
 
 This subject will be resumed in 
 my next, which shall be the last 
 with which I propose to trouble 
 the public through you. 
 
 Your fond father. 
 
 LETTER VII. 
 
 My dear Son, — It is a matter of 
 great consequence to determine 
 upon the best means of ascertaining, 
 who are in an awakened state of 
 mind. It was once common, even 
 
PROBATIONER 189 
 
 in portions of our own church, to 
 call the anxious, in the face of the 
 whole congregation, to occupy certain 
 seats that they might be conversed 
 with, and prayed for. The evils of 
 this system are now so well under- 
 stood, and so cordially admitted, 
 that I shall content myself with 
 saying, an experience of thirty 
 years in the ministry, has only 
 heightened my admiration of the 
 men who succeeded in its overthrow. 
 The pastor should occasionally 
 —even in times of great apparent 
 coldness — express from the pulpit 
 the hope, that there may be one or 
 more in the congregation, anxious 
 to know the way of life, and if so 
 he should request them to let him 
 know it, either by calling at his 
 
190 LETTERS TO A 
 
 study or addressing to him a note. 
 The latter is an admirable plan, 
 and has often been adopted with 
 signal success. Where the congrega- 
 tion is divided into districts, with a 
 ruling elder assigned to each, 
 whose business it is to visit, and 
 prudently to seek out such cases 
 and make them known to the 
 pastor, the work is done as it can 
 be done in no other way. Many, 
 very many, have been actually 
 brought to my study in this way, 
 of whose seriousness I should other- 
 wise have known nothing. 
 
 Personal appeals to individuals 
 must be made, but always with the 
 greatest prudence. Rarely, if ever, 
 should this be done in the presence 
 of others, and always done with 
 
PROBATIONER. 191 
 
 great tenderness and brevity. Pro- 
 longed, sermon-like addresses to 
 the unconverted, rarely do good, 
 and often do harm. " A word fitly 
 spoken, how good is it." Let the 
 length of the personal address be 
 determined by the reception it 
 meets with. In seeking to win, we 
 must be careful not to repel ; in 
 seeking to cure, we must not kill. 
 " Give conscience fair play," was 
 all Dr. JNettleton once said to a 
 gray headed sinner — and, u Young 
 friend, you must not forget that 
 you have to die," was all that Rev. 
 J. W. Douglass once said to a gay 
 young lady, and in both cases, the 
 result was the hopeful conversion 
 of the person thus addressed. 
 The inquiry meeting, held in the 
 
192 LETTERS TO A 
 
 pastor's study, or in some other 
 suitable place, has my cordial 
 approbation. But this must be 
 managed with much wisdom. 
 Seldom, if ever, should there be 
 singing at such meetings. In the 
 language of Dr. Nettleton, " Young 
 converts may be sung or may sing 
 themselves into higher attainments 
 in knowledge and piety," but I do 
 not think that the awakened sinner 
 is often converted bv such means. 
 Singing is not well adapted to his 
 state of mind. JS T or should there 
 ordinarily be much conversation 
 with individuals at such meetings. 
 A short and appropriate portion 
 of scripture should be read, and 
 briefly expounded. Two or three 
 prayers may be offered. The 
 
PROBATIONEE. 193 
 
 pastor must be supposed to know the 
 state of mind, in its various stages, 
 of those who attend such meetings. 
 And he must frame his remarks 
 accordingly. When practicable, 
 two ministers, or the pastor with 
 one or two ruling elders, should 
 attend, and they should converse 
 together in the hearing of the inqui- 
 rers, asking and answering such 
 questions of each other, as an 
 intelligent inquirer might be pre- 
 sumed to ask. The truly awakened 
 are never flippant, and always 
 express their feelings with the 
 utmost difficulty. Bunyan tho- 
 roughly understood this when he 
 sketched the character of Mr. 
 Talkative. 
 
 Too much conversation with the 
 17 
 
194 LETTEKS TO A 
 
 anxious sinner, at any time and in 
 any place should be avoided. Such 
 persons cling to the minister — will 
 see and converse with him, if 
 possible, many times in a day. 
 His self-righteous spirit turns in 
 this direction, and, of course, turns 
 away from Christ. On one occasion, 
 among more than forty anxious 
 sinners, there was an intelligent 
 lawyer. He and his wife were 
 awakened about the same time. 
 Their pastor had conversed and 
 prayed with them at least three or 
 four times. At the last of these 
 interviews, held in their own 
 parlour, a full hour was spent in 
 reading and expounding the 51st 
 Psalm and in prayer. The w T ife 
 entertained a feeble and tremulous 
 
PROBATIONER. 195 
 
 hope. The husband was still in 
 total darkness. He was born of 
 l^ious parents, had been baptized in 
 infancy, and was brought up after 
 the good, old Scotch-Irish fashion. 
 He had received a collegiate educa- 
 tion, and notwithstanding all this 
 — within two hours after the long 
 interview just described, he hastened 
 to the parsonage to learn what he 
 must do to be saved. Thus do 
 sinners of all sorts cling to human 
 advisers and helpers, and thus it is 
 that they will not come to Christ 
 until every other refuge fails. 
 Hence it is often mischievous to 
 give them too much mere human 
 help. 
 
 The number of public meetings 
 should not be greatly increased 
 
196 LETTEES TO A 
 
 during a revival. This however 
 should be determined by circum- 
 stances. Both the number and 
 kind of meetings may be varied by 
 the amount of preaching the people 
 ordinarily enjoy, and by the amount 
 of religious instruction they enjoyed 
 in childhood, and subsequently. 
 Where this has been sound and 
 abundant, and where a taste for 
 reading prevails, and where good 
 books abound, there should be no 
 great multiplication of meetings. 
 
 Nor should the subjects discussed, 
 nor their method of treatment differ 
 materially from the ordinary minis- 
 trations of the sanctuary. Grod 
 sometimes owns and blesses one 
 class of subjects, and sometimes an- 
 other. The first case of conversion 
 
PROBATIONER. 197 
 
 which occurred at the commence- 
 ment of a revival in Rockbridge, 
 obviously resulted from God's bless- 
 ing on the reading of " Thoughts on 
 Family Worship," by Dr. James 
 W. Alexander. And another ex- 
 tensive revival is known to have 
 commenced with a sermon preached 
 on the same subject. God's truth 
 baptized by the spirit of supplica- 
 tions, and preached in faith, per- 
 forms the work. 
 
 Still, there must be adaptation. 
 Some subjects are peculiarly fitted 
 to awaken, others to guide, and 
 others to confirm and establish in 
 the faith. The word of God must 
 be rightly divided that each may 
 have his portion in season. The 
 17 * 
 
198 LETTERS TO A 
 
 babe must have its inilk, and the 
 grown man his meat. 
 
 Ordinarily, the frequent conver- 
 sion of the impenitent is preceded 
 by the revival of the church. But 
 this is not always the case. On 
 more than one occasion I have 
 known numerous accessions to be 
 made to the church, when not more 
 than three or four of the members 
 seemed to be in the least revived. 
 I knew an accession of sixty to be 
 made to a large church, when the 
 revival proper did not appear to 
 extend to over one third of the en- 
 tire membership. 
 
 Sometimes Grod carries on a 
 gracious work with very little in- 
 strumentality. One of the most 
 blessed revivals ever enjoyed by the 
 
PROBATIONER. 199 
 
 College church in Prince Edward, 
 occurred about two years after the 
 death of Dr. Moses Hoge, before 
 the church had obtained another 
 pastor, and when they had enjoyed 
 very little preaching. " The great 
 revival" at Briery commenced very 
 soon after the death of Mr. Lyle, 
 and before the people had secured 
 a successor. In another church, 
 which I dare not name, a precious 
 revival commenced, w r hen the pas- 
 tor, from ill health, was unable to 
 preach, or even leave his room. A 
 large majority of the cases of con- 
 version occurred in the space of 
 some three or four weeks, within 
 which time, the church bell was not 
 rung, nor the doors of the sanctuary 
 opened. The only public services 
 
200 LETTEES TO A 
 
 during all this time, were held in 
 the pastor's study or parlour, and con- 
 ducted as he sat in an easy chair or 
 reclined on a sofa. 
 
 Such statements might be greatly 
 extended. But I weary the printer 
 and weary the reader. Rely upon 
 it, Ave dishonour Grod, and grieve 
 his Holy Spirit, by magnifying, as 
 we often do, this or that man, this 
 or that system of measures. On 
 such a subject we must not dogma- 
 tize. Nor must the experience of 
 any one man be made the guide for 
 every other. This much is certain. 
 The system which puts most honour 
 on divine truth, which most effect- 
 tuallv exalts God and debases man, 
 which gives freest scope to the 
 prayer of faith, and the labour of 
 
PKOBATIONEK. 201 
 
 love ; this is the system least liable 
 to perversion, and most likely to be 
 useful. 
 
 A few words in reference to the 
 reception of members into the 
 church will close all I have to say. 
 
 In determining the time of 
 admission, respect must be had to 
 the age, the previous training and 
 the degree of excitement under 
 which a profession of conversion 
 was made. One who has been 
 baptized in infancy, watched over 
 and instructed with due parental 
 fidelity, may safely be admitted to 
 the church at a much earlier age, 
 than those who have not been thus 
 favoured, especially if the attention 
 has been arrested, and the con- 
 science awakened in the ordinary 
 
202 LETTEES TO A 
 
 course of religious services. Such 
 may sometimes be safely admitted 
 at the early age of twelve years ! 
 The danger of mistake is always 
 greatest in a time of revival. Then 
 the mere animal sympathies are 
 most easily aroused, and then one 
 is most likely to feel merely be- 
 cause another does. The too hasty 
 admission of young converts to the 
 church is an evil. Here too, respect 
 must be had to the age, previous 
 training, and habits. As a general 
 rule, observed now in several of 
 our churches, persons should remain 
 under the care of the session several 
 weeks, as candidates for church 
 membership, before they are fully 
 received. It is far safer, and, every 
 way, better to delay too long, than 
 
PROBATIONEK. 203 
 
 to join too soon. The really con- 
 verted will not suffer so much by 
 delay, as the self-deceived or hypo- 
 critical will, by too much haste. 
 It is wrong to say, as some do, that 
 young converts not immediately 
 admitted to the visible church, are 
 as lambs left in the wilderness 
 without a shelter or a shepherd. 
 The moment they are converted, 
 they become members of Christ's 
 mystical body, and enjoy his protec- 
 tion and share in his love. I grant 
 that it is of great consequence to 
 receive these lambs into the visible 
 church as soon as we have very 
 satisfactory evidence that they are 
 lambs. But " one sinner destroyeth 
 much good," and it is far better, 
 both for the individuals themselves, 
 
204 LETTERS TO A PROBATIONER. 
 
 and for the church at large, that 
 half a dozen real lambs should be 
 kept out a little too long, than that 
 one goat should ever find place 
 within the fold. 
 
 But I must close. The work of 
 the ministry is a blessed work, 
 only pursue it under the constrain- 
 ing love of Christ, and though 
 obstacles may sometimes hinder, 
 they cannot defeat it. The world 
 may frown, but conscience wijl 
 approve, God will smile, and you 
 will be able to exclaim with Henry 
 Marty n, as he died upon the 
 burning sands of Persia, " Oh the 
 luxury of doing good !" 
 
 Your fond father.