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 I MAGNIFY MINE OFFICE 
 
 A SERMON, 
 
 PREACHED IN THE CATHEDRAL CHURCH OF RIPOX, 
 On Sunday, the 19tli day of Sept., 1847, 
 
 AT THE 
 
 GENERAL ORDINATION OF THE LORD BISHuP OK KIPON. 
 
 BV 
 
 WALTER FARQUHAR HOOK, D.D., 
 
 VICAR OF LEEDS. 
 
 Published at the request of his Lordship, and of the Cautliilutes 
 for Holv Orders. 
 
 LONDON : 
 
 F. & J. RIVINGTON; 
 
 PARKER, oxford; I. AND J. J. DEIGHTON, CAMBRIDGE; AND 
 
 T. HARRISON, LEEDS. 
 
 1847.
 
 ♦ 
 
 . UIUC t 
 
 *'*ai(»\
 
 SERMON. 
 
 EOMANS xi. 13. 
 " I magnify mine office." 
 
 If we study the biography of a true poet, and 
 enter into the recesses of his mind, we soon discover 
 that Poetry was, in his estimation, the most sublime 
 of all the pursuits of man, and, marvelling at his own 
 productions, that he regarded them as in some 
 measure the results of inspiration : he magnified his 
 office, and unless he had done so he would have been 
 a mere versifier, an accomplished man of literature 
 but no Poet. 
 
 When we enter the studio of a distinguished 
 artist, we find him surrounded by the portraits of 
 artists eminent in their day, and when he refers to 
 their history and points to the princes and peers, 
 whom by sculpture or painting they have immor- 
 talized, and who, except for the artists whom they 
 once proudly patronized, would have been long since 
 forgotten, we perceive that the artist is conscious of 
 the dignity of his calling, that he regards himself as 
 the superior of those to whom he must now yield 
 precedence, and that he magnifies his office. Unless 
 he does so, and devotes all the energies of his mind 
 to the study of his art, though he may by his talent 
 procure a present livelihood, his will never be an 
 immortality of fame.
 
 6 
 
 When we converse with musicians, they so magnify 
 their office in their own minds, that they confound 
 with intellect itself, a just appreciation of musical 
 sounds, and suppose that to the art of the performer 
 and the science of music, all other arts and sciences 
 must be rendered subsendent. 
 
 It is indeed a part of man's nature to magnify to 
 himself the importance of any pursuit in which he is 
 engaged, and until he does so, he will neither devote 
 to it the energies of his mind, nor labor with success. 
 When we see ecclesiastics, though pledged to lay 
 aside all other studies except those which bear upon 
 the study of Theology, dedicating all their mental 
 powers to the fascinating pursuits of literature or 
 science ; when we see others affecting a secularity of 
 dress and deportment, hurried first into the follies of 
 life, and through them involved in more grave offences 
 of commission as well as omission, we may trace the 
 lamentable fact not only to the existence of an uncon- 
 verted heart, but to that other fact, that they have 
 never viewed in a proper light the a^-ful importance 
 of those duties which, through their ordination, have 
 devolved upon them. And therefore I conceive that, 
 when called upon by our Spiritual Father to address 
 those whom he is about to admit into the Sacred 
 Ministiy, I cannot select a more appropriate text than 
 those few words which I have read to you, or address you 
 with more probability of profit to your souls, than by 
 entreating you now and at all periods of life, to reflect 
 with seriousness, and deliberation, upon the magni- 
 tude, in its functions and in its responsibilities, of that 
 office which is about to be imposed upon you, by the 
 Laying on of Hands. 
 
 To dispense improvement and happiness through 
 the social and domestic circles of a neighbourhood; to 
 administer consolation in thte house of mourning, to
 
 supply spiritual succour and comfort in the chamber 
 of the sick, to enforce the truths of eternity at the 
 bed of the dying; to lead the Divine worship in the 
 Services of God's House ; to preach the truths of the 
 everlasting Gospel from the pulpit; to admit the elect 
 into the Church at Baptism ; to prepare the baptized 
 for the laying on of hands in Confirmation ; to com- 
 memorate at the Lord's Table, the one full, perfect, 
 and sufficient sacrifice, oblation, and satisfaction made 
 upon the cross, by God Incarnate, and to offer up the 
 sacrifice of praise and thanksgiving ; to act as watch- 
 men on the Lord's watch tower, and to watch for 
 immortal souls; as shepherds under the Divine Pastor, 
 to lead his sheep to the green pastures and the living 
 waters, to seek the lost, to guide those that stray, to 
 carry the weary, to cherish the wounded, and to feed 
 the lambs, for whom He shed His own most precious 
 blood ; to act, not as ministers of an earthly Sovereign, 
 an honor to which the ambitious aspire, but even as 
 ambassadors of the King of kings, sent with tidings 
 of mercy to a rebellious world ; as stewards of the 
 mysteries of God, seiTants in the household of the 
 Sovereign Ruler of the universe, commissioned by Him 
 to administer the Grace of His Sacraments to His 
 spiritual children, and to bear the bread and water of 
 life to hungiy and thirsty souls, whom He invites to His 
 Heavenly Banquet: yea, to act as the fellow helpers of 
 Omnipotence in translating men from the bondage of 
 sin and Satan, into the glorious liberty of the chil- 
 dren of God, since under the present dispensation, 
 the Almighty Lord God, sets limits, as it were, to His 
 own omnipotence, and employs the agency of man ; 
 surely, my brethren, these are functions, and this an 
 office, of the magnitude and importance of which it is 
 impossible to speak in terms of exaggeration. In 
 worldly avocations, a man may sometimes expose
 
 8 
 
 himself to the ridicule of his associates, by a dispro- 
 portionate magnification of his own pursuit ; but this 
 cannot be the case with us, for no calling can approach 
 in importance to that which relates to the salvation 
 and edification of immortal souls ; nay, properly and 
 sufficiently to magnify the importance of the minis- 
 terial office, in promoting the Glory of God, the 
 Blessed Trinity w^ould exhaust the eloquence of an 
 Archangel's tongue. 
 
 But observe, my brethren, what is here asserted 
 and maintained is this, that our office is to be mag- 
 nified ; a very different and entirely distinct thing, 
 from the magnifying of self through the office — of 
 conifounding which, two different and distinct things, 
 many a self deceiver is guilty ; and against this we all 
 require to be continually warned. Too many there 
 are, who in the sacred ministry, seem scarcely able to 
 make the distinction between what is an important 
 duty, and what is always a folly and often a sin ; w^ho 
 desire to promote what they should endeavour to 
 avoid, deference to themselves personally, and who 
 seek their own glory, while they speak of the Glory 
 of God. 
 
 Very different was the conduct of St. Paul. " T 
 magnify mine office," said the apostle to the Gentiles, 
 when writing to the Romans, but why ? Not for his 
 own sake, not to conciliate respect or esteem to him- 
 self, not to obtain authority and power for the indul- 
 gence of human pride : "I am the least of the apostles," 
 he was wont to say in speaking of himself, " that am 
 not meet to be called an apostle," " less than the least 
 of all saints :"* but "I magnify mine office," he says, 
 " if by any means I may provoke to emulation them 
 which are my flesh, and might save some of them." 
 
 * 1 Coj. XV. 9. Eph. iiu 8.
 
 The advantage of others was his sole object, and 
 whenever we magnify our office, let us remember that 
 it is not to be for self-exaltation, but in order that we 
 may discharge properly those duties to which we are 
 appointed for the promotion of God s gloi-y, through 
 the salvation and ediii cation of souls. When we 
 really magnify our office, we shall, like St. Paul, 
 humiliate self, and in self-humiliation the real educa- 
 tion of the soul consists. 
 
 The distinction to which I have alluded, though 
 hidden from the self-deceiver, is easily made and 
 applied by the looker on. We may hear the dignified 
 ecclesiastic, advanced in years, with pompous deport- 
 ment, contending for precedence in society, and de- 
 claiming on what he calls the dignity of the cloth ; or 
 we may see the young ecclesiastic, affecting a peculi- 
 arity of dress, demeanour, and phraseology, and by 
 his singularity of appearance attracting attention to 
 himself; and w^e at once perceive that self, not the 
 good of others, is in their thoughts, that though they 
 seem to magnify their office, the real object is, through 
 the office, to magnify self. 
 
 But although this be the case, yet it is only by 
 magnifying their office, that young ecclesiastics will 
 preserve a proper decorum and consistency of con- 
 duct, in their general intercourse with society. We 
 sometimes hear discussions upon minute points 
 of clerical propriety, and enquiry is made, whetlier 
 this or that pursuit or amusement is to be regarded as 
 clerical : but it is not by discussion of these details, 
 it is by taking the general principle, by properly 
 magnifying our office, that we shall be able to regulate 
 our conduct as circumstances from time to time may 
 arise. If we mistake our position in society, we fall 
 into absurdities, whereas, by knowing precisely what 
 it is, we have a rule which can seldom be misapplied. 
 b2
 
 10 
 
 It is sometimes asked why certain occupations and 
 amusements which all admit to be lawful to the laity, 
 are prohibited to the clergy, and it is asserted that 
 what is allowable to one class of Christians, must be 
 allowable to all who name the name of Christ. But 
 there is a fallacy here, for we are never to forget that 
 many things are lawful, which are neveitheless inex- 
 pedient to certain persons under certain circumstances. 
 For example, who would think of blaming our children 
 for being amused with their playthings ? And yet we 
 should be severe in our censures upon that person 
 who, having arrived at man's estate, should refuse to 
 put away childish things. Precisely so, there are 
 modes of conduct and various kinds of recreation, in 
 w'hich there is nothing intrinsically wrong, and which 
 are therefore allowable to those who have advanced 
 from childhood to youth ; but in which older men 
 could not indulge, without dejjriving themselves of the 
 respect which they might otherwise challenge, and 
 of the reverence which is ever due to their grey 
 hairs. But when a young man is ordained to the 
 priesthood, he ceases, in the eye of the Church, to be 
 ranked among the young men, and takes his place 
 among the Elders of Israel ; — he is called a presbyter 
 or an elder on this account. Whatsoever, then, would 
 be unbecoming in a Christian advanced in years, is, 
 on this account, unbecoming in a presbyter or elder of 
 the Church, and the actions, which would deprive grey 
 hairs of their reverence, are to be carefully avoided by 
 those to whom, though young in years, the designation 
 of reverend is accorded. If it were possible, those 
 only w^ould have been admitted into the sacred 
 ministiy, who had grown old in the service of the 
 Lord, and who, by reference to their own spiritual 
 experience, would have been able to form a right 
 judgment in all things, and to bear rule wisely in
 
 I 
 
 11 
 
 the Sanctuary. But since that could not he, and 
 because moreover by study, meditation, and prayer, 
 through the grace of God, younger men may 
 obtain what may correspond to the experience which 
 gives weight and authority to old age ; young men 
 have, from apostolic times, been received into holy 
 orders : let those who are so admitted into the 
 sacred ministry, magnify their office as presbyters, 
 let them take their place among reverend and aged 
 Christians, and never forget that they have been 
 selected from their brethren of the same age as 
 themselves, because they are presented to the Bishop 
 as being " sober, grave, temperate, sound in faith, in 
 charity, in patience." 
 
 When we pass from the consideration of our general 
 conduct in society, to our demeanour in the sanctuary, 
 it becomes still more important that we should mag- 
 nify our office to our ovrn minds. But here again I 
 must allude to the distinction to v/hich I have already 
 called your attention. When a man, in conducting 
 the sei-vices of the sanctuary, and in leading the 
 devotions of the people, is in any way affected ; if he 
 reads in a pompous mouthing manner, or if, which is 
 quite as offensive, he is affectedly simple ; if he 
 assumes a solemnity of tone which does not appear to 
 be the natural expression of real feeling ; if he seems 
 to be thinking of the impression likely to be made on 
 the assembled congregation, by his fine reading, or on 
 the other hand by his hurried enunciation, adopted 
 as an indirect testimony against the opposite extreme — 
 the suspicion in the mind of the looker on is, that 
 this man is magnifying not his office, but himself, 
 that he is seeking not God's glory, but his own. It is 
 by really magnifN-ing our office, that carelessness, 
 irreverence, and affectation are to be avoided. Let us 
 never forget the dignity of the office with which we are
 
 n 
 
 invested, when, acting as the mouthpiece of our people, 
 we lead their devotions, and present their offerings 
 unto the Lord. How overpowering are our feelings, 
 what thrilling emotions stir the heart when we con- 
 template ourselves, in the benedictions and the 
 absolutions, as acting in the character of ambassadors 
 from Jehovah, to speak peace in His name to His 
 penitent people ; or when we contemplate ourselves as 
 stewards of the mysteries of God, dispensing His 
 grace, through His sacraments. It is from a realiza- 
 tion of these details of faith, that solemnity of thought 
 and feeling result, giving a sufficient solemnity of 
 manner, as much as is accordant with our natural 
 temperament, and whatever is contrary to our natural 
 temperament is mere acting. 
 
 When we thus magnify our office, we humiliate self, 
 for when our thoughts advert to self, what are we even 
 in the discharge of these most solemn functions ? All 
 the good is done by the Lord God Himself, we are but 
 as machines through whom the Holy Spirit operates ; 
 of no more value in the work, than the water which is 
 in the font, or the bread and wine upon the holy 
 table, which, though used as the channels through 
 which God conveys certain kinds of grace, to souls in 
 which no impediment to such grace exists, are in 
 themselves nothing ; in our ministrations we are, at 
 best, but as the sunbeams which God employs to bear 
 to earth His heat, or as the rains and dews which 
 carry His fertilizing blessing : it is in weakness and 
 fear and much trembling, that we must be among our 
 people, never forgetting, that he who opens a gate to 
 others may not be permitted to pass through it him- 
 self, yea, that he who has preached to others, may 
 himself be a castaway. 
 
 And this brings me to offer a few remarks on our 
 office as preachers. Here again, when the office of a
 
 13 
 
 preacher is extolled by one who evidently seeks, by 
 the delivery of fine sentiments in fine language, to 
 raise adulation of himself, who, by polished periods 
 and the flourishes of rhetoric, profanes the pulpit, by 
 making it a theatre of display, or the rostrum in which 
 he may obtain for himself the fame of an orator, we 
 feel, that while he magnifies his office, it is only 
 because with that office he is himself connected, and 
 that he is puffed up in his fleshly mind, because by 
 that mind his office is not magnified properly. But 
 still we must be on our guard against falling into the 
 opposite extreme, and of following one truth to the 
 exclusion of another. Wrong it certainly is, so to 
 magnify the ordinance of preaching as to cause it to 
 supersede in the estimation of men, the sacraments of 
 the Gospel ; and yet in maintaining the dignity of 
 the sacraments and other ordinances of the sanctuary, 
 there may be sometimes detected an indirect mode of 
 magnifying self, since a man may depreciate the 
 ordinance of preaching from a consciousness of his 
 own incapacity for the office of a preacher. But he 
 who magnifies his office properly, and looks to God, 
 not himself, believes that there is in preaching a kind 
 of sacramental efficacy, which ought not to be over- 
 looked. Even as God the Holy Ghost, the Heal 
 Minister in the Church of Christ, employs water and 
 the word in the regeneration, and bread and wine in 
 the strengthening and refreshing of souls, so does He 
 employ the voice of man for the conversion of sinners 
 and for the edification of the faithful. The voice of a 
 sinful man is heard, but using the human voice, it is 
 God the Holy Ghost Who speaks to the heart prepared 
 to hear. 
 
 My brethren of the ministry, it is when we thus 
 regard ourselves as outward and visible instruments 
 in the hands of God, through whom the conversion of
 
 u 
 
 sinners is ordinarily effected by God the Holy Ghost, 
 that we become duly impressed with the solemn and 
 sacred character of the preacher's office ; and in this 
 faith, it is not on our talents that we are to rely, for 
 the work of conversion is the work, not of man, but of 
 God, Who sometimes converts the sinner's heart, 
 through the strong appeal of those who are animated 
 in their address and powerful in their language ; and 
 at other times, through the grave remonstrances, or 
 the earnest reasonings of others, who are not quickly 
 moved or easily excited ; * not by might of words, not 
 by power of eloquence, but by My Spirit, saith the 
 Lord.' Only, my brethren, let us constantly have in 
 mind, that this is to be with us an object, and as you 
 advance in the ministry, you will be astonished to 
 find, through conversation with penitents, how words 
 and sayings, so little intended to have any particular 
 effect, as to have been forgotten by yourself, have, 
 through the Spirit, done their work on a sinner's 
 heart : and oh ! may the converting Spirit ever be 
 with us, whispering to our own souls, while we preach 
 to others, — Physician, heal thyself. 
 
 But preachers only magnify their office partially, 
 when they think merely of conversion, and indolently 
 confine their addresses to an appeal to the feelings : 
 the preacher is also appointed to be the instructor of 
 God's people, to edify the faithful, by building them 
 up in sound doctrine. The mind is to be employed 
 as well as the soul sanctified, in the service of God, to 
 Whom the whole man, spirit, soul, and body, is to be 
 devoted. Hence, no doubt, in order that it may give 
 employment to all classes of mind, there are permitted 
 to be difficulties in Scripture, depths for the giant to 
 wade, as well as shallows which an infant may ford ; 
 in the study of Scripture, a Newton as well as a 
 peasant will find enough to call into play all the
 
 15 
 
 powers of his intellect ; for in studying the Word of* 
 God he is conversing with the Infinite. The laity, 
 engaged in their various avocations, are seldom able 
 to make theology their exclusive study, but the clergy 
 are endowed that to this one subject they may address 
 all the energies of the mind, and they are under a vow 
 that, laying aside the study of the world and the flesh, 
 they will be " diligent in prayers, and in reading of the 
 Holy Scriptures, and in such studies as help to the 
 knowledge of the same." It is our business, our duty, 
 our especial calling, to give ourselves constantly to 
 these studies, and to lay the result of them before 
 those who have less time for the investigation ; 
 remembering that, as we profess to be teachers in the 
 Church, we act dishonestly if we place before our 
 hearers our own crude conjectures, on points upon 
 which the Church has decided, or upon doctrines 
 defined by her. The laity of the Church have a 
 right to demand of their preachers, that they should 
 state to them distinctly what the Church asserts, and 
 prove to them from Scripture, that what the Church 
 asserts is scriptural. If we suppose, (but it can only 
 be by the supposition of ignorance,) that the doctrinal 
 positions of the Church of England are unscriptural, 
 it were dishonest in us to teach other doctrine in her 
 pulpits : we ought rather to cease from teaching at 
 all, or to quit her communion. 
 
 In this department of a preacher's office, we are 
 appointed to make plain the truths which we have 
 realized to our own minds, to minds less acquainted 
 with the depths of theology ; to reduce the folios of 
 the learned to the shape which may more easily be 
 grasped by the busy ; to take the precious stones from 
 the quarry, and to polish them, so that their value 
 may be apparent to the passer by ; to act like Joseph, 
 who gathered all the wheat into his storehouse, in order
 
 16 
 
 to deal it out to the people, in retail, as their exigen- 
 cies demanded ; to draw water from the deep wells, 
 and to distribute it cup by cup, to the people thirsting 
 for the waters of life ; to go as the parent bird to the 
 full corn field, and thence to bring grain after grain 
 to the little ones in the nest, in such proportions as 
 can be by them digested. 
 
 Thus, my brethren, are we pledged to be students 
 through life ; to be ever learning, that we may always 
 be more apt to teach ; ever taking in that we may give 
 out : ever keeping our own minds awake, that the minds 
 of our people may not be in a lethargy. It is impos- 
 sible to give to others what we do not possess ourselves, 
 or to instruct others in theology, if we are not our- 
 selves theologians. We cannot give out water from an 
 empty bucket.-!^ It is lamentable, indeed, to find 
 
 * We live at a period when Christianity is, if we may say so, 
 in fashion among the respectable classes of society, when the 
 Gibbons of the age go to church, call themselves Christians, and 
 speak favourably, not only of the morality, but of the sentiments 
 of Christianity. They are only opposed to its doctrines, the dogmas 
 of the Church ; an allusion to some of the doctrines is tolerated, 
 because these doctrines are conventionally explained away, and 
 are the form under which religious sentiment is recommended ; 
 but any thing like an allusion to the mysterious truths of our 
 faith is regarded with suspicion, and an outcry is raised against 
 those who assert them as a reality, instead of using them as a 
 kind of literary ornament. It has on this ground been recom- 
 mended to preachers, to avoid the study of theology, and to con- 
 fine themselves to moral or sentimental preaching, such as even 
 Socinians of liberal mind could tolerate. But the wisdom of 
 such advice savours of mere worldly prudence. Whatever God 
 in His wisdom has revealed, that ought tlie preacher of the word 
 to know and to expound, or he makes man wiser than God. At 
 the present time, the theologian is attacked by those who are 
 ignorant of theology, and denounced for asserting novelties, when 
 he only propounds what all theologians hold. To promote peace 
 without the sacrifice of truth, it is desirable that the study of 
 theology, instead of being restricted, should be enlarged.
 
 17 
 
 some of the clergy remaining, all their lives, contented 
 with the eleraentaiy information which their Bishop 
 requires, as the minimum of theology, before he will 
 admit them into the ministry ; and it is still more 
 lamentable to find them supposing that they know 
 the whole counsel of God, when they have mastered a 
 few of what they think to be the fundamental doctrines 
 of Christianity, forgetting that fundamental doctrines 
 are not correctly stated when placed before us in an 
 isolated form ; they are to be understood in their 
 relation to other revealed tmths, and we are expressly 
 directed to " prophesy according to the proportion of 
 faith." It has been well said that " there are many 
 persons who err so much the more dangerously, be- 
 cause they take a truth as the principle of their error. 
 Their fault is not that they follow a falsehood, but 
 that they follow one tinith to the exclusion of another. 
 There are a number of truths, both doctrinal and 
 moral, which appear repugnant and contrary, but 
 which nevertheless subsist in an admirable order. 
 The source of all heresies is the exclusion of some of 
 these truths. Hence it appears that the shortest way 
 to prevent heresies, is to instinct in all the truths of 
 religion, and the shortest way of refuting heresies, is 
 to declare all these truths."* 
 
 There is one general rule to be laid down with 
 respect to sermons, the obsen^ance of which will save 
 the preacher much unnecessary care and trouble ; 
 namely, to think only of the exigencies of the people 
 whom he addresses, without any regard to his own 
 character, as a man either of literature or of eloquence. 
 The position of our mind in preparing a sermon, 
 ought to be, not that of a literary man making a 
 composition, but rather that of a friend writing to a 
 friend, because he has something to say, and not, as 
 
 * Pascal.
 
 18 
 
 in a formal letter, because he must say something. 
 Our sermon should be regarded as an hebdomadal 
 letter to our flock ; and a good sermon is not that 
 which a critic would pronounce to be such, but that 
 which is best adapted in matter and in style, to the 
 capacities of the congregation we address. The The- 
 ologian full of matter, and acquainted with his 
 congregation, being regardless of his style, and think- 
 inc only of expressing himself plainly, finds no 
 difficulty in this part of his duty, for out of the 
 abundance of tlie heart, the mouth speaketh. Neither 
 vnll he who looks to the good of his flock, refuse, after 
 the lapse of some time, to repeat his sermons ; he will 
 rather feel that by taking an old sermon, and by add- 
 ing to it the illustrations and elucidations with which 
 loncfer study has provided him, he will by his revised 
 sermon, indicate both his own advancement and that 
 of his people, while at the end of his life, in sermons 
 thus frequently revised, he may leave a legacy to the 
 Church at large. 
 
 When we magnify our office as the converters of the 
 sinful, and the edifiers of the faithful, and look with 
 a single eye to their advantage, and not to our own 
 literary character, we may be sure that we shall have 
 in all we do, the assistance of the Holy Ghost, and 
 our labor will be comparatively light. 
 
 And now let us apply this principle, '• I magnify 
 mine office," to our parochial duties. 
 
 It is very true, that when we see the Parish Priest 
 assuming a dictatorial tone, refusing the assistance 
 and advice of the more experienced of his parishioners, 
 and jealously watching all the prerogatives of his 
 office, we are apt to suspect him of the fault to which 
 we have alluded, and to suppose that it is self which 
 he seeks to exalt, while it is his office which in words 
 he magnifies : but at the same time we must perceive
 
 19 
 
 that unless those who are placed in the less important 
 cures, magnify their office very highly, they will either 
 become indolent, or if their minds be energetic, they 
 will be eagerly looking out for some more extensive 
 sphere of operation. He on the contrary who magni- 
 fies his office, feels that wherever he is placed, he 
 has to watch for immortal souls, to win men to Christ, 
 and to carry on a warfare with satan and his angels, with 
 wicked men and wicked spirits ; and he also bears it 
 in mind, that from the day of our ordination, our 
 whole time to the hour of our death, is to be devoted to 
 God's service; relaxation and recreation, being only 
 allowable, in order that we may renew our physical 
 strength, or reinvigorate our minds, so that we may 
 gird ourselves the more vigorously for what we have 
 to do. When the Parish is unusually small, still our 
 time belongs to God, and what is not absolutely 
 required for the visitation of the sick, for admonishing 
 the wayward, for comforting the sorrowful, for super- 
 intending the school, and for study and prayer, should 
 be placed at the disposal of the Bishop, to assist him 
 in the conduct of Diocesan Institutions, established 
 for the promotion of true religion and virtue. The 
 layman gives his wealth, the Ecclesiastic his time, to 
 the promotion of God s Glory, and before we venture 
 to declaim against our brethren of the Laity, for not 
 contributing large sums to Parochial pui'poses, we 
 ought to be sure that to those purposes we devote our 
 time exclusively or sufficiently. 
 
 What is an incentive to action with regard to those 
 who are placed in smaller cures, affords consolation to 
 such as are called to more extensive spheres of action. 
 Not less than all their time is required of the former, 
 not more than all their time can be given by the latter : 
 and when, having given all our time to our work, w^e 
 find, as in large Parishes we must do, that much
 
 20 
 
 is left undone, which ought to have been done, but 
 which it was impossible to do, we may then rest 
 satisfied with the conviction, that our necessary de- 
 ficiencies will have been in some way or other sup- 
 plied by Him, Who though He employs human agency, 
 does not stand in need of mans help to accomplish 
 what He wills to be done. All that in large parishes 
 we can do, is to be always ready for action : to commit 
 our parish, each day as it comes, to the special pro- 
 tection of God, beseeching Him to direct our steps 
 to the persons and places to whom and in which we 
 can minister in any way to the promotion of His 
 glors' ; and then each summons to the bed of sickness, 
 or to the house of mourning, or to spiritual confer- 
 ence with a penitent, must be regarded as a special 
 call, to obey which we must be prepared to forego per- 
 sonal ease, domestic enjoyment, and social intercourse. 
 There is one great error into which persons so sit- 
 uated are apt to fall, and that is, an undue appre- 
 ciation of their own usefiilness, which leads to a for- 
 getfulness of the fact, that all, howsoever employed, 
 are only instiTiments in God's hands, and that it is 
 not always by those who are ostensibly employed that 
 God s work is best done. The question to be asked is, 
 not how can I make myself most useful ? but, what 
 is my duty under given circumstances ? When men look 
 to their usefulness they are inclined to be discontent- 
 ed, and to become anxious, as the phrase is, to extend 
 their sphere of usefulness : they are sometimes afraid 
 to do right lest wrong motives should be imputed to 
 them, and their usefulness be thus destroyed ; and 
 the fear again of having their usefulness interfered 
 with, makes them, when their characters are assailed, 
 too vehement in their self- vindication. And after all, 
 when we come calmly to consider the subject, what is 
 the desire of extending one's sphere of usefulness but
 
 21 
 
 ambition under another name, veiled from the self- 
 deceiver's sight, because ambition is a deadly sin? 
 and when we are deterred from doing what is right 
 for fear of the imputation of a wrong motive, or when 
 we are over vehement in self-vindication, may we not 
 detect an undue regard, not to our office but to self? 
 Does not this whole notion of our usefulness originate 
 in a misconception ? 
 
 God doth not need 
 Man's works or bis own gifts ; who best 
 Bear bis mild yoke, they serve him best : his state 
 Is kingly ; thousands at his bidding speed, 
 And post o'er land and ocean, without rest ; 
 They also serve who only stand and wait. 
 
 Yes, when a king or a general goes forth upon a 
 campaign, the officers and soldiers follov^^ him, desir- 
 ous certainly of being useful, but not intending to 
 decide for themselves how they will be most usefully 
 employed ; they leave that to the wisdom and decision 
 of their commander, who orders them to their respective 
 posts as he thinks fit; which posts of duty they continue 
 to occupy, not because they see the usefulness' of it, 
 but because such has been the order they have received. 
 Some are commanded to engage actively with the en- 
 emy, others form a corps of reserve, to some the cus- 
 tody of the baggage is confided ; others occupy some 
 obscure post in the field merely w^atching the enemy. 
 Now these are not permitted to leave their post because 
 they desire to extend their sphere of usefulness, neither 
 are the others permitted to retire because they are 
 weary : all remain either fighting or watching until 
 the battle is won, and then, but not till then the wis- 
 dom of the victorious general in his arrangements is 
 fully perceived and duly appreciated. 
 
 Now we, my brethren, if we really believe in a par- 
 c vJ
 
 ^2 
 
 ticular Providence ; if we believe that the providence 
 of God extends from the mightiest to the lowliest of 
 things, from wielding the destinies of the universe to 
 the clothing of the lily of the field, and to the protec- 
 tion even of the worm which crawls upon the dust; 
 we must of course believe that it is not by chance, for 
 there is no such thing as chance, but bj divine ap- 
 pointment that to each one of us is assigned that 
 particular post in the armies of the living God, which 
 we find ourselves to be occupying at the present mo- 
 ment. There shall we contentedly abide, doing the 
 work our hand findeth to do, be it much or little, 
 whether it consist in disputing with learned infidels, 
 or in instructing the illiterate and perverse, whether 
 it be in active pursuits, or in diligent study, there we 
 shall abide until by a combination of circumstances 
 concurring with a movement of the Spirit within us, 
 and indicating the divine will, we feel it to be clear 
 that we have a call elsewhere. Instead of complaining 
 of the adverse circumstances by which we are surround- 
 ed we shall patiently adapt ourselves to the circum- 
 stances provided for us by God, or rather we shall 
 lend to circumstances a voice, and hear them say, 
 Thus saith the Lord. It may be that we cannot dis- 
 cover the use of being in any one particular S2~»ot more 
 than another ; it may be that we desire some other 
 kind of employment ; it may be that we see no fiTiit 
 from our labour ; it may be that to all appearance we 
 have preached in vain ; it may be that all our endea- 
 vours to promote the welfare spiritual and temporal of 
 our people may have been fi-ustrated ; yet if, having 
 been always ready to do our Master's work in the sphere 
 of action appointed by Him, we shall after long years 
 of patient watchfulness and care, appear in the next 
 world, with a proud heart humbled, and an insolent 
 temper subdued, and there find that we have been an
 
 as 
 
 instrument in the hands of God for tlie conversion of 
 but one poor sinner's soul, to rescue but one fellow- 
 creature from the grasp of satan, knowing the value 
 of an immortal soul, we shall find ourselves amply 
 repaid for all our long watching, and we shall remem- 
 ber with a holy accession of joy the words of the Holy 
 Ghost, *' He which converteth the sinner from the 
 error of his way shall save a soul from death, and 
 shall hide a multitude of sins."* 
 
 It is one of the advantages of having daily service, 
 when practicable, in our Churches, that it is an in- 
 cessant memento to us of the fact that the good we 
 hope to see effected in our parishes is done by God, 
 and that we are only instruments in His hands : that 
 while we preach or teach in our schools, or visit the 
 sick, or attend to our other duties, He it is Who, through 
 our instrumentality, which He uses but does not need, 
 converts the souls of men. Besides praying as individ- 
 uals, we have family prayers for blessings on the 
 family in its corporate capacity ; for a blessing on the 
 diocese and the labours of the diocesan, the morning 
 and evening sacrifice of prayer and praise is daily 
 offered in our cathedral Churches, and so important 
 is this considered by the Church, that actually certain 
 of our brethren are set apart to give their time and 
 attendance to this very thing; and feeling that with- 
 out the same blessing the watchman waketh but in 
 vain, and that it is but lostlabour that we rise up early 
 and so late take rest, and eat the bread of carefulness, 
 we are directed, when practicable, which very often it is 
 not, to have parochial services day by day ; and though 
 it may be that out of a busy population only two or 
 three, and those aged, infirm, and incapacitated for 
 other duties, can attend, we are to remember, that 
 lo pray earnestly is the same thing as to labour, and 
 
 " J allies V. 'Ml
 
 •24 
 
 that therefore, those few, the maimed, the halt, the 
 bUnd, when praying. Thy kingdom come, are helping 
 the good cause, though less perceptibly, yet as really, 
 as the most busy and the most energetic labourer in 
 the Lord's vineyard. They too are labourers, only in 
 another j)art of the field. They man the walls while 
 others are fighting in the plain. 
 
 And now finally, my brethren, let me observe that 
 we shall never go far wrong, if while we magnify our 
 office we magnify also our responsibilities, and never 
 forget the solemn account we shall one day have to 
 give before the tribunal of Christ our God. 
 
 This question is certainly perplexing when we come 
 to enquire how far the ill conduct of one man can be 
 prejudicial to the eternal welfare of another, and 
 would be even more perplexing if we were not daily 
 conversant with the fact of children involved in miseiy 
 and crime, through parental wickedness or neglect. 
 But perplexing as it is, the difficulty is decreased 
 when we reflect upon the omniscience of God. He 
 knows what means of improvement, or of extricating 
 himself from evil, have been placed in each man's 
 way ; He can therefore make the needful allowances, 
 and will accept of less advancement in one person 
 than in another ; w4ierefore He commands us not to 
 judge or to compare ourselves with others, but He 
 requires us each to do our best, for He also knows 
 when any persons have not made sufficient advance- 
 ment under advantages conferred, and may see fit to 
 remove from such, or to decrease the means and 
 opportunities they once possessed, or which are vouch- 
 safed to others. He may on these grounds see fit to 
 inflict a punishment upon a parish or district by per- 
 mitting the appointment of a wicked or a careless 
 pastor. And well would it be for those of the laity 
 complaining of the vice or the carelessness of him who
 
 •25 
 
 is sent to minister among them, while bearing witness 
 against him to their bishop, and adopting all lawful 
 means for his removal, not to confine their reproaches 
 to him, but to look also to themselves, and to ascertain 
 by self-examination whether they, by not making use 
 of other means of improvement within their reach, 
 have not been cursed by a bad clergy-man as a punish- 
 ment. If they believe that all things are ordered in 
 His church by the providence of God, they will under- 
 stand how He may punish by a bad pastor as well as 
 bless by a good one ; and let the individuals of a 
 parish, by encouraging piety in themselves, and by the 
 eloquence of a good example preaching piety to others, 
 when the watchman is blind or ignorant, or as a dumb 
 dog that cannot bark, sleeping, lying down, lo\dng to 
 slumber, — let them by the rhetoric of a holy life reform 
 their parish, and God in His good time will send them 
 a good pastor as their reward. 
 
 But how awful is the thought that one ordained to 
 be a blessing to God's people, may become only a rod 
 of vengeance in the mighty hand and the outstretched 
 arm of Jehovah ; that wicked ministers in the Church 
 may still be employed by God, but only in the sense 
 in which Sennacherib and Nebuchadnezzar were 
 employed, only as Satan was employed when he was 
 permitted to torment Job, to try the patience of the 
 faithful, or to be a curse to the wicked : " Lord, 
 thou hast ordained them for judgment ; and mighty 
 God, thou hast established them for correction."* 
 
 What agonies will rend, what horrors wdll overwhelm 
 the heart of the blind, the ignorant, the dumb, the 
 sensual, the gluttonous, the slumbering or careless 
 pastor, when on the gi'eat day of account he shall see 
 before the throne of Judgment some miserable sinner, 
 
 ♦ Habakkiik i. 12,
 
 •26 
 
 and liear him say : There stands the watchman who 
 was pledged to watch for my soul, I was wicked but 
 he never warned me, I was a backslider but he never 
 admonished me, I was ignorant but he never instnict- 
 ed me, I was a wanderer but he never tried to reclaim 
 me : nay rather in all my evil ways he by his own 
 evil example confirmed me. 
 
 It will be no consolation to such a one to hear the 
 most just Judge say to his accuser : " Thou wicked 
 servant, it is time that thou hadst not the advantage 
 of a good pastor ; it is true that by the neglect of a 
 wicked pastor many means of conversion and improve- 
 ment were closed to thee, but there were other means 
 by which thou mightest have been converted if thou 
 hadst not hardened thine heart." It vdW be no con- 
 solation to hear this asserted, when the Judge shall 
 turn round to the wicked pastor and say, " Son of 
 man, whom I made a watchman to the house of Israel, 
 although this wicked man shall die in his sins, yet 
 because thou didst not warn him, his blood will I re- 
 quire at thine hand.'' 
 
 Alas ! my brethren, when we magnify or place 
 before ourselves, in their fulness, the responsibilities 
 of those who are appointed watchmen to the spiritual 
 Israel of God, the most faithful minister must feel 
 inclined to despond and say, " Who is sufficient for 
 these things ?" Who, indeed I if we did not hear Jesus, 
 our almighty Saviour sapng unto us, " Lo I am with 
 you even unto the end of the world !" if we did not 
 hear Jesus saying unto us, " My strength is made 
 perfect in weakness ;" " My grace is sufficient for you !" 
 if we did not know and believe that when there is an 
 honest intention, in a heart justified by faith, to do 
 our appointed work, then, " If any man sin we have 
 an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righte- 
 ous, and He is the propitiation for our sins."
 
 To Christ, Christ crucified, Christ glorified, Christ 
 our atonement, Christ our intercessor, Christ sanctify- 
 ing us by His Spirit, to Christ our all in all, we call 
 men by our preaching ; to effect a union with Him, 
 the only Mediator, we administer the Sacraments ; 
 through Him, our only Intercessor, we offer our 
 prayers and praises to the throne of grace ; and on 
 Him, our own, our adorable Jesus, to Whose senice 
 we devote our lives, we, the ministers of His Word 
 and Sacraments, may with grateful confidence rely, 
 in all the doubts and distresses, the dangers and 
 conflicts of our ministerial life. Let us go forth, then, 
 in the strength of the Lord, and making mention of 
 His righteousness only, may we do great things, — and 
 when the great day shall have come, may we each oi 
 us be able to say with cheerful voice, strong in the 
 grace of Christ, Lo, here am I, and the children which 
 Thou hast given me ; and may we hear our own 
 Saviour say unto us, Well done, good and faithful 
 servant, take thy place among those who having turned 
 many to righteousness are shining as the brightness 
 of the firmament, even as the stai's for ever and ever ; 
 — for while we magnify our responsibilities, we may 
 magnify also the glory of our crown. 
 
 T. HABBIdOX, PRINTER, 55, BRIOGATE, LEEDci.
 
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