YALE UNIVERSITY
LIBRARY

THE LIBRARY OF THE
DIVINITY SCHOOL

THE
CHRISTIAN MINISTRY:
ITS CHARACTER, DUTIES, AND CLAIMS.
A DISCOURSE, (TWO IN ONE),
PREACHED IN THE CONGREGATIONAL AND
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES,
IN
DURBAN AND PIETERMARITZBURG,
BY THE REV. LEWIS GROUT,
AMERICAN MISSIONARY.
PIETERMARITZBURG :
MAY AND DAVIS.
1858.

THE
CHRISTIAN MINISTRY:
ITS CHARACTER, DUTIES, AND CLAIMS.
A DISCOURSE, (TWO IN ONE),
PREACHED IN THE CONGREGATIONAL AND
PRESBYTERIAN CHURCHES

DURBAN AND PIETERMARITZBURG,
BY THE REV. LEWIS GROUT,
AMERICAN MISSIONARY.

PIETERMARITZBURG :
MAY AND DAVIS.
1.858.

TO THE

REVEREND HENRY &ARTYN GROUT,
Just entering upon the Labors of the Christian Ministry,

THE PRESENT DISCOURSE,

As a token of the warmest fraternal remembrance;
a sign of interest in his studies and labors, and in
the people of his charge ; a pledge of sympathy in
trials ; an incentive to diligence, devotion, and
fidelity ; and an assurance of a prayerful regard for
his welfare and usefulness,

Is most affectionately inscribed,
By his Brother,
The Author.

PREFACE.

The accompanying Discourse was written with a view to its
being preached at the Public Recognition of
The Reverend George Y. Jeffreys,
as Pastor of the Congregational Church of Durban. But
another subject being eventually taken for that occasion, this
was deferred till the Sabbath following, divided, and preached,
part in the morning and part in the evening; and subsequently
repeated in. the Presbyterian Church at Pietermaritzburg.
While taking liberty, as on a former page, to inscribe the
present Discourse to a distant individual, a beloVed younger
brother, just entering the Ministry, and called, in the Provi
dence of God, to labor as a Pastor in the Church and Society,
where, " in the dew of our youth," our dear parents gave us
in baptism to be the Lord's ; I ougtit, perhaps, to remark also,
that it is now published in accordance with the wish of several
Christian friends, of the Congregational and Presbyterian
churches in Natal, and especially through the munificence of
David Dale Buchanan, Esq.,
whose name is here given without his previous knowledge, and
yet the more freely given, since this is not the first instance of
his liberality in services of a similar kind.
In making another remark, I will borrow the language of

VI.
the Rev. Robert Hall, in his Preface to a Discourse on a si
milar subject, and say : " With respect to the Sermon itself,
the author begs leave to bespeak the indulgence of his readers
for introducing sentiments with which they must be perfectly
familiar, requesting them to recollect that, on practical sub
jects, the most common thoughts are usually the most important,
and that originality is the last quality we seek for in advice.
If it have any tendency to do good beyond the occasion of its
delivery, by reminding my highly-esteemed brethren in the
ministry of the duties and obligations attached to their sacred
functions, the end proposed will be answered."
And as the writer lays no claim to originality of thought or
sentiment in the following Discourse, so he must admit, also,
that the subject itself is by no means rare. Neither is it more
common than important. When I chose it, however, and
began to write, I was but partially aware of the deep, increasing
interest with which it is viewed and discussed, at the present
time, by multitudes in various places. But, not to remark
upon the frequency and force with which the weekly newspaper
urges the duties and claims of the Christian Ministry upon the
attention of all classes, when I remember how many volumes
have been written of late, upon the sunny, the shady, and the
parish side of this subject; how many Missionaries, and Mis
sionary Boards, in every part of the world, are discussing the
relative importance of Schools, the Press, and Preaching, as a
means of blessing the heathen ; how much is now said in
England, and in other places, about the kind of qualification
and authority, which a man must have, and the kind of place
which is proper, for giving the Gospel orally to the masses ;
when I (urn to America, and, while writing ray Discourse, re
ceive from thence the " Masterpieces of Pulpit Eloquence " as
compiled by Mr. Fish ; receive a Review of Sprague's "An
nals of the American Pulpit," by Dr. Goodrich ; find " The
Sphere of the Pulpit," just now discussed in the New
Englander ; the " Character of the Preacher," by Dr. Storrs

Vll.

and "The Theory of Preaching," by Prof. Phelps, just now
given in the Bibliotheca Sacra : and when, now, since begin
ning to pen this Preface, I receive Dr. Palmer's " Address on
the Congregational Ministry of the Future ;" and learn that
several of the orators for the day, at some of the late College
and Theological Anniversaries, made this, in one form or
another, the topic of their Discourses, as Mr. Levings, at Bur
lington, who spoke upon " The Character of Paul as a
Preacher, a model for the Christian Preacher at all times ;"
also Henry Ward Beecher, and Dr. Cheever, at Andover, who
spoke, one upon " The Power of the Pulpit," and the other
upon "The causes of Weakness in the Pulpit," — I am ready to
believe that no subject has taken so general, and deep a hold,
as this, upon the minds of both minister and people in all
Christian lands. And if this be true, the fact affords one of
the best of grounds to hope for an increase of zeal and efficiency
in every benevolent enterprise.
Lewis Gkout.
Umsunduzi, Natal, December 30th, 1857.

THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY,
&c, &c.

.1 Cor. 4 : 1, 2. — Let a man so account of us, as of the
MINISTERS OF CHRIST, AND STEWARDS OF THE MYSTERIES OF
GoD.
Moreover, it is reauired in stewards, that a man be found
faithful.
A proper estimate of any office is essential to its due sup
port, and to a right discharge of its duties. So teach expe
rience and observation in every department of life. So the
great Apostle thought in respect to the office of those who
are called to render spiritual service to Christ and his church.
Right views of the Christian Ministry are essential to both
minister and people. The relations and duties which it in
volves, have respect to both God and men ; and any mistake
in regard to the true nature of these relations and duties,
may bring reproach upon the cause of God, and ruin upon
the souls of men. Hence the care which Christ and the
Apostles have taken to set before us the true end of this in
stitution. The text describes the incumbents of this office as " the
ministers of Christ" — literally, his under-rowers to the
church. They are his agents, or assistants. The word
primarily signified a class of hands who used the longest
oars, and performed the severest duty, on board a galley ; —
hence a minister, or one who does service under the direction
of another. The text further describes them as "stewards
of the mysteries of God." Their office resembles that of a
man whom the master of the house has set in authority to
A

10
superintend the affairs of the family, and dispense provision
for its wants. As stewards of tbe mysteries of God — stew
ards of those sublime truths, which, before the revelation of
Jesus Christ, were comparatively unknown, they must dis
pense the provisions of the Gospel — preach its doctrines, and
administer its ordinances. And they must discharge these
duties with diligence, care, and the strictest integrity. The
great thing required of a steward is, that he " be found
faithful." The words of Christ and the writings of the Apostles
abound in remarks upon the nature and need of the Chris
tian Ministry. They knew its importance, and saw the
dangers to which it was exposed. It was a new institution ;
and not only new, but peculiar to the Christian system.
Nothing sufficiently analogous, to afford a comparison, has
ever been known among classic or heathen nations. Nor
was the office less essential, than new and peculiar. It
forms, at once, one of the most striking features of Chris
tianity, and one of the most important agencies by which she
is to be propagated and established throughout the world.
It is demanded by both the nature of our religion and the
wants of mankind. Without it, the Gospel is a treasure hid
in the field ; the church a flock without a shepherd ; the
world a city without a watch.
Wherefore the importance of the subject, both intrinsic
and relative; the peculiarity of the office; the injunction and
spirit of the text before us ; and the interest of the occasion
on which we are met, all conspire and press us to consider
THE CHARACTER, DUTIES, AND CLAIMS OF THE CHRISTIAN
MINISTRY.
I. In treating of its character, we propose to refer to
three things : to the appointment of the institution ; to the
subjects, or incumbents, of the office ; and to the source of
their commission.
1. We remark, 'then, first, that the Christian Ministry is
an Institution of Divine appointment. The office is not one
which uninspired man would have devised for the end sought.
To subdue a rebellious world and establish a new kingdom
by moral influences, is a plan of no earthly origin. The
Jews required a sign ;' and the Greeks sought after wisdom.
To preach Christ crucified as a means of saving men was a
stumbling block to the one,, and foolishness to the' other.
But it pleased God, after that the world by wisdom knew

11
him not, as the Apostle saith, — " It pleased God by the
foolishness of preaching to save them that believe." And
again : " When he ascended up on high, he led captivity cap
tive, and gave gifts unto men. And he gave some, Apostles;
and some, prophets ; and some, evangelists ; and some, pas
tors and teachers : For the perfecting of the saints, for the
work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ."
The Divine origin of this institution is further seen in the
assurance which Christ gave, that he would "be with" those
who should serve him in the ministry, " even unto the end
of the world." The same is seen also in the names which
the Scriptures give to some members of the church, and not
to others ; and again, in al! those instructions which God has
given us in respect to the reciprocal duties of minister and
people. 2. We remark, again-, that the proper subjects of the
¦ Christian Ministry, or the persons who compose it, are a
class of men of equal rank. They must be men, and not
children ; must have all the vigilance, sobriety, and good
behaviour, the patience and gravity of the man ; and know
how to rule their own houses well ; else how shall they take
care of the church of God ?
They must be men, and not women. As the Apostle
says : " Let your women keep silence in your churches, for
it is not permitted unto them to speak." To hold office in
the church, to preach, to address promiscuous assemblies,
and conduct the devotions of public worship, form no part
of the duties which the Scriptures impose upon women.
Neither are the angels proper subjects of this office.
They look upon it with delight ; the repentance of a single
sinner gives them joy. Yet the work of preaching repent
ance, much as angels may wish it were theirs, belongs not
to them, but to us — to frail) imperfect men — to men of
passions like to their fellows', that all the glory may be to
God. As the Apostle , says : " We have this treasure in
earthen vessels, that the excellency of the power may be of
God, and not of us."
Neither is there any difference of rank among these men.
According to the Scriptures, they are all of one order, and of
equal power. We have the mind of Christ clearly expressed
on this point. Two of the twelve, James and John, once
went to hint, and asked to be promoted to special honor
above the rest. " Grant," say they, " grant unto us that
we may sit one on thy right hand, and the other on thy left

12
hand, in thy glory." " And when the ten heard it, they
began to be much displeased with James and John. But
Jesus called them to him, and saith unto them, ye know
that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles, ex
ercise lordship over them ; and their great men exercise
authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you ;
but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minis
ter. And whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be
servant of all." As to the mind of Christ, then, on the point
before us, these instructions are plain and decisive.
Some have tried to draw an argument from the constitu
tion of the Jewish church, in favor of different grades among
the ministers of Christ. But the attempt is vain. There is
no ground for a comparison. The office of priest, high
priest, and Levite, had respect to expiatory sacrifices, of
which Christ was the end. Since the Son of God has mani
fested himself in the flesh, become our great High Priest, ¦
and offered himself a perfect, all-sufficient sacrifice for us,
once for all ; the world, now, has need of human priests
with all their different grades no more than it has need of
the blood and sacrifice of bulls and goats.
The attempt to make out a ministry, or hierarchy, of three
orders, by counting the Apostles and deacons with presby
ters or elders, is wholly inapposite. It is clear, from the
Scriptures, that the appointment of deacons had respect
simply to the charities and secular affairs of the church.
And in respect to the Apostles, it should be remembered that
their office had two forms. They were both inspired
prophets and Christian teachers. As inspired prophets they
had no successors. That form of their office was required
only for a limited period, and was not continued beyond
their own age. The second fprm, or that of teacher, was
identical with the office of the Christian Ministry as con
tinued to the present day. Since, therefore, the Apostles, in
the higher and peculiar form of their office, did not belong
to the permanent class of ministers, and left no successors,
and since the office of deacon did not contemplate the duty
of looking, primarily, after the spiritual interests of the
church, no argument can be drawn from either of these
classes for a ministry of different grades since the days of
the Apostles.
Neither do the simple services of the Christian system
require a ministry of different grades. Such things had their
place only in the diversified and multifarious temple-service

13
of the Mosaic eeonomy. But men have no more expiatory
sacrifices to make for sin. All that Christianity and the
world now require, is a ministry of the word — a class of
men of equal rank, to honor our Saviour's last commission,
and preach the Gospel to every creature.
And as a ministry of different ranks does not become the
simplicity of the Christian system, so neither does it accord
with the lowly spirit^ nor allow the peace, which the Christian
religion, and all the interests of the church require. We
have seen the indignation which the ten of Christ's chosen
followers felt, when two of their number sought to be ele
vated above them. And the whole history of the hierarchy,
with her numerous orders, ever since they were introduced
into the Christian church, is replete with the records of am
bition, pomp and strife, corruption and persecution.* If,
* The history of the hierarchy is a history of lordly bishops, arch
bishops, primates, cardinals, and popes, maintaining courts in princely
magnificence ; exercising earthly power often with absolute despo
tism ; holding soldiers in pay, and sending them forth to war; com
missioning or receiving embassies, or being employed in these and
other civil offices, so that professed ministers of Christ have appeared
but as emperors, princes, statesmen, senators and soldiers : a history
of synods and councils, determining doctrines and rules by arbitrary
and absolute legislation ; of fierce and bloody 'persecutions; of the
shutting up of the blessed light of God's word, and the pouring forth
of a mirky light, or rather a darkness visible, of legends and tradi
tions and impracticable dogmas ; of enormous rituals, mysterious
ceremonies, unintelligible intercessions, multifarious penances, image,
and relic, and saint, and angel worship, indulgences and purgatories:
a history of splendid cathedrals and palaces, of enthroning and de
throning kings ; of all the rampant passions of the human heart,
ambition, pride, malevolence, lust, violence and deceit ; of the glory,
the wickedness and the vanity of the world : a history of manifold re
ligious orders, Franciscans, Carmelites, Dominicans, Jesuits; Knights
Templar, and Knights of St. John, and others that we cannot stop
to mention; a history of inquisitions and crusades; of celibacy and as
ceticism ; of saints and heroes ; of splendid and famous wars, and proud
conquests. History, and poetry, and art, and fiction, are filled with
the hierarchy. It is a glorious golden image, written all over with
attractive sentences and famous names and titles; but human hearts
by myriads lie crushed beneath its feet.
If any one doubts that all this had its origin in the destruction of
the. parity of Christ's ministers, let him reflect for a moment, how
different the history of the Christian era would have been, had .they
all remained of equal rank, the faithful preachers of the gospel ! Then
there would have been no popes, cardinals, archbishops, religious
orders, inquisitions, crusades, and mingling of the church with the
state ; and hence all the other abuses would have had no existence.
Difference of clerical rank has been the very element and principle

14
then, we would be governed by the instructions of Christ
and the Apostles, and wisely consult the piety and peace of
the church, we must hold that the ministers, of Christ are a
class of men of equal rank. The office and grade, authority.
and dignity of one are the office and grade, authority and
dignity, of each and all.
3. The character of the Christian Ministry may be further
described by remarking that the men who enter upon it must
be divinely qualified and commissioned. The work of the
ministry is one of no ordinary magnitude and difficulty, and

of all the pomp, pride, contention, and corruption of the nominal
church. What a contrast between Jesus of Nazareth, the man of
sorrows, the Lamb of God, with his twelve humble followers, and the
haughty prelates in gorgeous array, who claimed, in after ages, to
represent them ! What a contrast between the little flock, whom he
blessed under its simple primative organization, and that complicated
mass of orders and ceremonies which claimed to be the Holy Catholic
Church I We cannot believe the first to be the germ of ' the last.
From such a meek, lowly, pure, and divine beginning, we cannot
perceive how these vain dignities, this insatiate pride, these glories
of the world could be evolved.
We admit that there are exceptions to the picture we have given.
Particularly in the Church of England do we find glorious exceptions.,
No one can venerate more deeply than we do the great and good men
who, whether as humble curates, or as Archbishops of Canterbury or
Yprk, adorn her ecclesiastical annals. But we distinguish between
the excellence of the men and fhe ecclesiastical organization under
which they flourished. They were so elevated in their wisdom and
piety above all the ambition and vain-glory of the world, that they
could meet unharmed even that which they found consecrated in the
church. But here, as well as in the Romish church, the distinction
of church orders, of clerical rank and ecclesiastical jurisdiction, have
worked their devastations. The monarch placed at the head of the
church, the bishops holding their seats in the House of Lords, the
right of bestowing benefices lodged in noble and influential families,
the pluralities and sinecures, the careless admission of the incompetent
to sacred orders, the tithe system, with starved curates and pampered
prelates, are all opposed to the severe purity, the divine majesty, the
separation from worldliness, the meekness and self-denial of the re
ligion taught by Christ and his Apostles, and exemplified in their
lives. Here the same element of evil is apparent. The minister of
Christ feels the presence of an ecclesiastical rank and power higher
than that which pertains to him as a simple .preacher of the gospel.
Onthe one hand, he is awed and controlled by a visible authority'
and his attention is diverted from the high commission which he has
received under. the seal of the Son of God. On the other hand there
is a higher dignity tempting him to> indulge the restlessness of am
bition, and presenting him something else to glory in, besides the
cross of Christ.— Biblical Repository, Series II., Vol. V., pp 323 324

15
without those special qualifications — that inward moral
change, that union to Christ, that trust in the word and
character of God, that love to souls and regard to the divine
honor, which nothing but the grace of God can impart to
the soul, what can a man do towards guiding others in the
way of life ? If the blind lead the blind, both shall fall into
the ditch. Indeed, without a new heart, and some measure
of faith and love, a man lacks not only the first element of a
Christian minister, but the first element of a Christian of any
kind. But there are diversities and degrees of gifts ; and
those who enter upon the Christian ministry, should be'not
only men of good natural talents and mental attainments, but
specially and eminently endowed also with those higher spi
ritual gifts which come from above. A man may have every
other grace, but without a " supply of the spirit of Jesus
Christ," he lacks all the distinctive qualifications for the
ministerial office. Like Paul, he must be able to say : " I
was made a minister according to the gift of the grace of
God given unto me by the effectual working of his power."
The Christian minister must also have a commission, as
well as a preparation from God. Indeed, the one so involves
the other, that we may always expect, to find them in con
junction. Whom the Lord prepares, he will commission ;
whom "he hath enabled," he will " count faithful, putting
him into the ministry," as was the case with Paul.
Rut, to enter the Christian ministry, it is necessary for
a man to look as well to the providence of God for an
opening to the pulpit and to the charge of a church,, as to
the Spirit of God for qualification and authority. A man
may believe that he has all the requisite qualifications, and
a divine call, to be a minister. But he may be mistaken.
Hence it becomes the part of wisdom and prudence for him,
and a duty which he owes to order and regularity, to submit
his call and qualifications to the judgment of those who are
already in the work ; who have the confidence of the
churches ; and who know his character. If their opinion
coincides with his own, it will help to strengthen his con
viction that his call is from God. But if they differ from
him, and fail to find the proof of his divine qualification and
call, he has reason to distrust his own judgment in respect
to himself.
To be useful in the ministry, a man must have the confir
dence of the church and community in which . he would
labor. If he would preach he must have hearers ; and if he

16
would be the pastor of a church— at least of a church which
claims its right to think and act for itself— he must' have a
call from that, church to become such. And every church
which has a due regard for order and purity in polity and
doctrine, would naturally hesitate to accept the services ot a
man who should be unwilling to submit himself to exami
nation by a board of candid, competent judges ; or be un
able to obtain from them an expression of their confidence
in his disposition and ability to be useful as a pastor and
preacher. Hence the object of granting a man a license, as it is
called, to preach, and the custom of ordaining a man to the
ministry, is, not to endow him with any substantial autho
rity* or fitness for his work ; these must come from God.
But he also needs the countenance and sympathy of his
fellow-laborers ; he needs the recognition and support of
fellow Christians ; he needs the good-will and confidence of
the Christian community. The purity and order, the peace
and strength of the church, and the salvation of souls, all
demand the utmost care that those who are admitted to the
pulpit and pastoral office, be men of acknowledged worth
and fidelity. And so far as the practice of licensing men to
preach, or the formality of publicly setting them apart to the
ministry ; and the custom of installing a man, or recognizing
him as a minister of a particular church, tend to promote
these high ends, they ought to be preserved, and honored

* Where, it may be asked, resides the right, or power, and in what
consists the importance of ordination ? It is not the source of minis
terial authority ; for that, as it has been endeavored to show, does
not, and cannot, rest on human foundation. It does not admit to the
pastoral office ; for even in the Episcopal church, the title to office,
which is an indispensable pre-requisite, is derived from the nomi
nation of the person who has the disposal of the case. It is not office,
but official character, which Episcopal ordination is supposed to con
vey, together with whatsoever the advocates of Episcopacy may
choose to understand by those solemn words, used by the ordaining
Bishop (an application of them which Nonconformists deem awfully
inappropriate), ." Receive the Holy Ghost." The Jewish ordination,
on the contrary, although sometimes accompanied, when adminis
tered by the Apostles, by the communication of miraculous gifts, was
in itself no more than a significant form of benediction on admission
to a specific appointment. Of this nature were the offices connected
with the Synagogue, in contradistinction from those of the priest
hood. When Paul and Barnabas were sent out from the church at
Antioch, they submitted to the same impressive ceremony ¦ not
surely, that either authority or power of any kind, or miraculous

17
by both minister and people. They are practices which' the
scriptures authorize; which the purity of the church and
power of the pulpit require ; and which the true candidate
for the Christian Ministry may look upon as the external
form of his divine commission to enter upon the labors of
that office.
II. In coming to the second part of our subject, we pro
ceed to speak of the duties of the Christian- Ministry.
These have respect to the end, the means, and the manner
of its labors.
1. The great end of the Christian Ministry is to guide and
quicken men in the way of life. The whole human race has
departed from God, and forgotten him. The Scriptures de
clare that, by nature, since the fall, the children of men are
all the children of wrath,Jradically corrupt, utterly rebellious,
and exposed to endless destruction. And the grand design
of the Christian ministry is, to persuade them to cease their
rebellion, forsake their sins, and be reconciled to God.
Through the sufferings and death of Christ, a way of recon
ciliation has been provided, free, and sufficient for all. The
minister must proclaim this great truth, and persuade men
to receive it. To convert men from the error of their ways,
bring them back from their revolt, and ally them to God in
love, to strengthen and stimulate them in every private and
social virtue, to seek the glory of God in promoting the holi
ness and happiness, the highest present and eternal welfare

qualifications, devolved upon the Apostle and his illustrious compa
nion, by virtue of the imposition of Presbyterian hands ! What,
then, is ordination 1 The answer is, a decent and becoming solemnity,
adopted from the Jewish customs by the primitive church, significant
of the separation of an individual to some specific appointmentin the
Christian Ministry, and constituting both a recognition on the part of
the officiating presbyters, of the ministerial character of the person ap
pointed, and a desirable sanction of the proceedings of the church. It
is, however, something more than a mere circumstance,] the impo
sition of hands being designed to express that fervent benediction
which accompanied the ceremony, and which constitutes the true
spirit of the rite. To an occasion which, when the awful responsi
bility of the pastoral charge is adequately felt, imparts to the prayers
and the affectionate aid of those who are fathers and brethren in the
ministry, a more especial value, the sign and solemn act of benedic
tion must appear peculiarly appropriate. This venerable ceremony
may also be regarded as a sort of bond of fellowship among the
churches of Christ, a sign of unity, and an act of brotherhood. —
Conder's Protestant Nonconformity. B

18
of the human race — this is the proper work and grand ob
ject of the ministerial office, as instituted by Christ, and de
fined by his inspired followers.
Some mistake the proper end of this office by looking upon
it in the light of a priesthood. But the assumption that any
mediator, since Christ, is now necessary for men, to give
them access to God, strikes a blow at the whole foundation
of the Christian faith and hope. All our need of a sacrifice
and priest was merged. and satisfied in the death of Christ;
and since " now once in the end of the world he hath ap
peared to put away sin by the sacrifice of himself," what
further place for a human priest can now be found, without
making the sacrifice of Christ " of none effect?" To regard
the Christian minister as a mediator between God and man,
or as in any way necessary to a complete atonement, and
perfect access for men to God, is one of the most delusive
errors into which a church and people can fall. It throws
a burden upon the minister which he can never bear ; and
throws dishonor upon the Savior. It strips the minister of
his " proper office as " a steward of the mysteries of God, a
herald of the cross ; invests him with another office ; and
assigns him a task which the agonies and dying accents of
Calvary declare "finished." It deranges, in fact, the whole
Christian economy, cripples the power of the pulpit, thwarts
the design of public worship, degrades the church, and de
ceives the people.
To answer the true end of the Christian! Ministry-^-to
to guide and stimulate men in the way of life — makes the
minister, not a priest, but a pastor and preacher. As a
pastor of the church, he must conduct the services of public
worship ; superintend the discipline of the church; examine
candidates for admission ; administer the sacraments to pro
per persons ; preside in the meetings of the church ; and have
a. general supervision of *the business entrusted to deacons.
These executive duties are imposed upoii him not only by
the common usage of the church, and by virtue of the call
which he has accepted to become a pastor, but enjoined also
in various ways by the Scriptures. They are implied in
many of the names by which the Scriptures designate the
ministers of Christ; they are implied in those instructions
to the people which enjoin it upon them to " remember them
which have the rule over them', who have spoken unto them
the word of God." And again, " Obey them that have the
rule over you, and submit yourselves ; for they watch for

19
your souls, as they that must give account." Upon the
minister, these duties are made imperative, by all those in
structions which require him to " take the oversight " of the
church. And again, " take heed to all the flock, over the
which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the
church of God, which he hath purchased with his own
blood." The pastor's duty to " take heed to all the flock," will give
a private personal cast to some of his ministrations. Perhaps
his gifts and graces may be such as to make him eminently
useful in visiting his people, and " teaching from house to
house." Some of his flock may need special, peculiar care.
The house of mourning and bed of sickness will invite his
labors. Always and everywhere he must be an ensample to
the flock in faith, in purity, in conversation, in doctrine, in
charity. But of all the labors of the Christian minister, to guide
and quicken men in the way of life, that of preaching is the
most important. To this he must give the best of his time
and strength. The pulpit is emphatically "his throne,1' and
should never be neglected, nor stripped of the prerogatives
to which it is entitled. Nothing else should be allowed to
take its place ; nothing be suffered to come into competition
with it; as nothing else within the sphere of man's divinely
appointed instrumentality has equal power to move the
souls of men and mould their character.
,The functions of this office were employed at the very
opening of the new dispensation, when John the Baptist
came preaching in the wilderness of Judea, and calling on
men to repent, and prepare the way of the Lord, Christ
himself was a preacher. And his final charge to his dis
ciples was, " go ye and preach the gospel." To this com
mandment they jjaye heed, went forth, and preached every
where, the Lord working with .them. Paul felt the import
ance of this work, when he said, "woe is me if 1 preach not
the gospel." He remembered his divine commission, and
recognized. the high claims of this department of labor, when
he said, Christ sent him not to baptize, but to preach the
jgospel. And to Timothy .he says, " I charge thee before
iGod, and the Lord Jesus Christ, preach the word; be in
stant in season, out of season; reprove, rebuke, exhort, with
,all long suffering and doctrine."
And yet preachjpg has ,npt always had that prominence
given to it, which both the example and instructions of Christ

20
and the Apostles demand. From the days of Augustine to
the time of Wickliffe, or from the fifth to the fourteenth cen
tury, not a single sermon has been handed down, which is
thought worthy of a place among the "Master-pieces ot Ful-
pit Eloquence." It was in that degenerate age, or about the
fifth century,* when the ministry had become so notoriously
ignorant and corrupt, as to be no longer able to conduct the
devotions of public worship in a proper manner, that the four
original liturgies, the source of all the others, were devised.
"The clergy, not being competent themselves to conduct the
exercises of religious worship to the edification of the people,
saw the necessity of providing themselves with written for
mulas for their assistance. For this purpose, men were
readily found to indite and transcribe them. In this manner
arose its formularies, which are known under the name of
liturgies and missals, and which afterwards, in order to give
greater authority to them, were ascribed to distinguished
men, and even to the Apostles themselves, as their
authors. "f
The Reformation did much to correct the evils which
crept in during the darkness of that long night; but in some
portions even of the evangelical church, the pulpit is still
crowded out of its proper place. Its natural inherent power
is crippled by the continued use of those cumbersome and
inappropriate^ forms, which had their origin in ignorance
* Palmer ascribes the four original liturgies, in which all others
have originated, to thefifth century. He thinks, however, that some
expressions in one, may perhaps be traced to the fourth. The ut
most that even the credulity of the Oxford Tractarians pretends to
claim in favor of their antiquity, is, that " one, that of Basil, may be
traced, with tolerable certainty, to the fourth century, and three
others to the middle of the fifth."* Ambrose, Augustine, Gregory,
Basil, and Chrysostom, those great luminaries of the church, had
passed away, and tan age of ignorance and superstition had suc
ceeded.— Coleman's Apost. and Prim. Church, pp. 349, 350.
* Tract No.;63, vol. 1, p. 439.
t Geschichtsforschungen, der Kirch. Gebrauche, ii. s. 120, 121.
Cited by Coleman.
J It is an impressive and illustrative anecdote which is related of
Archbishop Seeker on his sick bed, when visited by Mr. Talbot, vicar
of St. Giles's, Reading, who had lived in great intimacy with him,
and received his preferment from him. " You will pray with me,
Talbot," said the Archbishop, during the interview. Mr. Talbot rose
up, and went to look for a prayer-book. " That is not what I want
now," said the dying prelate ; " kneel down by me, and pray for me

21
and incompetence.* The evils of such liturgical forms are
neither few nor small. Instead of uniformly preparing the
minds of the audience for the discourse which is to follow,
and conspiring with it to one impression, they often serve
to mar the harmony which should pervade the entire ser
vice; and render the mind, in a measure, unfit for the im
pression which the sermon was designed to make. By con
stant repetition, they naturally become dull and monotonous,
lose their significancy, and thus tend to weary and stupefy
the mind. ' By interposing their unyielding exercises, they
often throw obstacles in the preacher's way. Their pro
tracted recital leaves him but little time, and obliges him to
hurry through his subject without any proper exposition and
application. We have already referred to another of the ways in which
the power of the pulpit is impaired, when we remarked that
the minister is looked upon, by some, as more of a priest
than preacher. Where this is the case, his duties are held
to be more vicarious and mediatory than didactic, exposa-
tory, and hortative; the pulpit is eclipsed by the altar;
and the people themselves, who attend on a ministry of this
kind, soon come to value an array of forms and imposing
rites more than the eloquence of truth, and rely upon merit
more than grace for salvation.
The office of the preacher is no factitious, arbitrary insti
tution ; it has a foundation in the nature of man, as well as
a positive commission from God. The minister's voice, the
hand, the eye, all the muscles of the face, are made to speak;
and not the hearer's ear only, but his eye also is made to
receive what is communicated. Under the influence of what
is spoken, one member of the audience is made to sympa
thize with another, each with all, and all with the speaker,
and he again, in turn, with his audience ; mind acts on mind
in the way I know you are used to do." The man of God readily
complied with this command, and" kneeling downj prayed earnestly
from his heart for his dying friend the Archbishop, whom he saw no
niore.r-rCheever's Cowper.
* The reader will find abundant evidence of this ignorance in the
councils of this age, and in Blondell, Apologia Hieron., pp. 500, 501 ;
Clarkson, Discourse on Liturgies, pp. 191 — 197; and Witsius, Exer-
citat. De Oratione. sees. 30, 31, p. 85. In the Council of Ephesus,
in the fifth century, Elias signs his name by the hand of another,
because he could not write his name : eo quod nesciam literas. So,
also, Cajumas : propterea quod literas ignorem. Cited by Coleman.

22
and heart on heart; so that where the Spirit's aid is vouch
safed, those who have a preacher will hear, those who hear
will believe, those who believe will call on him in whom they
believe, and those who call shall be heard and saved, i here
is philosophical truth as well as inspiration in the Apostles
remark, that" faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the
word of God."
The influence of preaching, to mould the character and
determine the lot of man, has led some to call it " the cen
tral instrumentality in human history." God has not only
commissioned the ministers of the gospel to preach, but put
upon this class of their labors the clearest mark of his ap
proval. A single discourse may be used by the Spirit as the
direct, immediate means of changing many hearts; or as the
source and centre of a mighty moral influence which shall
be felt throughout a city, an island, a continent, the world;
and be sent on to the end of time. So it was with the
preaching of Jonah in tne city of Nineveh. All the people
of that great city, from the king . on his throne to ithe slave
at his footstool, more than half a million of souls, humbled
themselves in the dust, and sued for mercy, when the
prophet preached to them the preaching which God bid
him. So it was with the discourse by Peter on the day of
pentecost, when about three thousand souls were added to
the number of Christ's followers in one day; and not long
after, the number of men wno believed amounted to about
five thousand.
Nor have such effects of preaching been confined to the
days of prophets and apostles. In 1630 the chaplain of the
Countess of Wigtoun preached a sermon at the Kirk of
Shotts, of which the Hev. Mr. Fleming afterwards said : "I
can speak on sure groundjthat near five hundred had at that
time a'discernible change wrought in them, of whom most
proved to be lively members afterwards. It was -the sow-ing
of a seed through Clydesdale, so that some of the most emi-
.nent .Christians in. that country , could date either; tneir conr
version, or some remai-kahle confirmation of their case, from
that day." The work went on to spread* until it ^'extended
throughout the west of Scotland, and amongst the inhabi
tants of the north of Ireland, and terminated in the moral
improvement of thousands who, but for the sympathy ex
cited by this discourse, might have remained indifferent to
the claims of virtue."
Similar were the effects of a sermon preached by Pres..

23
Edwards,, at Enfield, Connecticut, in 1741, on the subject—
"Sinners in the hands of an angry God," and from the texty
" Their foot shall slide in due time." This sermon gave a
p'p,werful impulse to a great religious movement which com
menced about that time, and which is supposed to have re
sulted in the spiritual reformation of nearly thirty thousand
souls. During the delivery of the discourse, the auditors
are Said to have groaned and :shrieked convulsively; and
when the words of the text were repeated, in one instance,
some of the audience actually seized fast hold of the pillars
and braces of the meeting-house, as if that very moment
their sliding feet were precipitating them into the gulf of
ruin. •
Nor is it the unlettered and weak-minded man, nor the
women and children, that often feel most deeply the power
of truth proclaimed from the pulpit. In 1803, the Rev. Dr.
Mason preached in the city of New Haven, from the words
of Christ— -" To the poor the gospel is preached." " The
sun had just risen," says Dr. Spring, in describing the scene
of the delivery of this serinon— " the sun had just risen,
when torrents of men were , seen pouring to the house of
God. There were ministers of the gospel, both the aged
an(| the young. Learned professors, reflecting judges of the
law, and lawyers in their pride, were there. There were
senators and men of learning from every part of the land.
There sat the venerable Dwight, and the not less venerable
Backus, melted into a flood of tears. That vast auditory,
which seemed at first only to listen with interest, and then
gaze with admiration, with few exceptions, covered their faces
and wept."
Sometimes the Spirit sends a single sentence from the lips
of the preacher to the hearts of his hearers, makes it an
arrow, of^conviction.and the means of salvation. Nor is it
always the Gase that' the good effects of a discourse, or
even of a single sentence, begin to be seen at once. At
the age of fifteen years, a native of Dartmouth, England,
beard the pious Flavel preach from the text, " If any man
love not the Lord Jesus Christ, let him be anathema mara-
natha." That man afterwards found his way across the At
lantic, to a farm in Middleboro, Massachusetts. " And at
the age of a hundred years, while sitting in his field at Mid
dleboro, he recalled the sermon that he had heard eighty-
five years before, and the scenes that ensued when Flavel
dismissed- the auditory. He vividly, remembered the solemn

24
appearance of the preacher rising to pronounce the benedic
tion, then pausing, and at length exclaiming, with a piteous
tone, ' How shall I bless this whole assembly, when every
person in it, who loveth not the Lord Jesus Christ, is ana-
thama maranatha ?' This sinner of a hundred years became
at length alarmed by his reminiscence, and particularly, by
the fact that no minister had ever blessed him. He pon
dered on that closing remark of Flavel; and at the begin
ning of the second century of his life, gave evidence to the
church that he was worthy to be enrolled among her mem
bers. He began to address pious counsel to his children,
and adorned his profession for fifteen years, when he went
to receive the benediction of God. His sepulchre," saith
Dr. Park, from whose writings we take these facts — " His
sepulchre remaineth with us, and his dwelling-spot is re
membered to this day. The moral of his epitaph is, that a
phrase dropped into the mind on one continent, and in one
century, may lie buried long in dust, and then spring up and
bear fruit on another continent and in another century, and
be destined to perpetual remembrance. Such instances re
mind us that a thousand hallowed associations cluster around
the preacher; that his words come with power, not as his
words but those of God ; that they borrow efficacy from the
house, the time, the whole scene of their utterance, and are
retained in the memory long after they seem to be lost."
2. In speaking of the duties of the Christian ministry,
we have said that the great end for which it was ordained,
is to guide and strengthen men in the way of life; and in
remarking that the minister must give the- best of his time
and strength to preaching, we have anticipated, in part, the
means which must be employed to accomplish the end. But
it is time to remark further, and more definitely, that the
minister of Christ must preach the truth. This, the truth,
the truth as it is in Jesus, and revealed in the Scriptures, is
the grand means which the minister must employ to convert
men to God, and build up his church. " Preach the gos
pel," was the last command of Christ. " Preach the Word,"
was Paul's charge to Timothy. " Stewards of the mysteries
of God," is the language of the text in attempting to describe
the minister's duty. There is a fitness and power in the
truths of the gospel to emancipate the soul from the bondage
and corruption of sin. So the Savior taught when he said
" the truth shall make you free ;" and whenlie prayed to the
Father, and said, " Sanctify them through thy truth ; thy

25
word is truth." And so the Apostle taught, when he said,
" I have begotten you through the gospel." And such was
Paul's confidence in the preaching of the great doctrines of
the cross, as a power to convert men to God, establish them
in the faith, and fit them for heaven, that we find him ever
referring to this as the business of his life, the object of his
knowledge, and the height of his glory.
It requires but little acquaintance with church history to
see that the might of the Christian ministry for good, has
ever been in proportion to its love and exhibition of the
doctrines of the cross. These were the doctrines which ani
mated the Reformers, and gave them success. These are
the doctrines which gave name and power to the preaching
of Edwards and Dwight, Wesley and Whitfield, Hall, Owen,
and Baxter. And every minister who would be the means
of guiding men in the way of life, must make these the bur
den of his message to his people.
Various are the schemes which men have devised for the
improvement of the race. Some rely upon philosophy,
some upon science, some upon civilization. But all philo
sophy, science, or civilization, which neglects divine truth, as
the chief instrument for reforming and elevating mankind, is
weak, erring, and inadequate. Some are disposed to set up
the authority of the fathers, councils, and the church ; and
some would call in the civil power to enforce their instruc
tions ; or make use of fleet and army, sword and bayonet, as
a means of converting men, and controlling their conduct.
But such are not the means to be employed by the ministers
of Christ. His kingdom is not of this world; and the
weapons of that warfare in which his ministers are engaged,
are not carnal. In making their attack upon the strong
holds of sin, in their attempts to subdue the rebellion which
Satan has instigated in the hearts of men, the most effectual,
the only weapons, with which the Captain of their salvation
has furnished them, is the simple, truth of his word. Neither
do they need any other : " For the word of the Lord is quick
and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, pier
cing even to the dividing asunder of soul and spirit, and of
the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and
intents of the heart."
Men may think the various schemes of their own devising
are marked with wisdom, and designate the. plan of which
we speak as " the foolishness of preaching." But, after the
wisdom of the world had been iuljy tried, and found want-
c

26
ing in both fitness and efficiency, it pleased God to institute
what men called the foolishness of preaching ; and every
minister of Christ, who will give himself to this, will find it
" the power of God, and the wisdom of God ;" and will say
with Paul, " the foolishness of God is wiser than men ; and
the weakness of God is stronger than men." For the Chris
tian minister to resort to anything save the preaching of the
grand truths of the gospel, as a means of bringing sinners to
repentance, and raising them up to the dignity and purity of
the sons of God, is only building with wood, hay, and stubble,
and daubing with untempered mortar. His work will suffer
loss. Rejecting the sword of the Spirit, which is the word
of God, he fails to honor the conditions on which divine aid
is offered, and without which all his labors are vain. It is
the truth which God has promised to bless ; it is the truth
which the Spirit employs in all its renovating and saving
operations upon the hearts of men. As the Apostle says,
" Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth." We
are " born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible,
by the word of God which liveth and abideth forever." We
" purify our souls in obeying the truth through the Spirit.''
But the truth must be taught in a proper manner, else it
may fail to be truth to those who hear. We have read of a
father who attempted to teach his children a system of as
tronomy, "and although he uttered nothing but the truth,
yet they learned from him nothing but falsehood." A skil
ful workman will not only use the right instrument, but use
that instrument in the right way. Nor is it enough for the
Christian minister to be sure that he employs the right
means ; if he fail to employ them in the proper mariner, he
must fail of the end which he seeks. He must " study to
show himself approved unto God, a workman that needeth
not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth."
3. Let us refer, then, to the manner in which the Christian
minister should seek to discharge the duties of his office.
This is taught, comprehensively, in the text, which declares
that a steward of the mysteries of God must be found "faith
ful." It is also summarily contained in Paul's charge to
Timothy, " to divide the word of truth aright." But to be
more specific, we remark that in order to dispense the word
of truth faithfully and aright —
a. The minister of the gospel must preach with discrimi
nation. Without this, he will run with uncertainty, and
labor as one that beateth the air. H e must study and regard

27
the nature af man as a moral being — study and regard his
modes of thought and feeling, that he may address the truth
to the mind, the heart, the conscience of his hearers, and
command a response from the deepest recesses of their souls.
He must not only regard man as a moral being, but study
the points of difference which mark the individuals and divide
men into classes, that he may address the truth to the old
and the young, the husband and wife, parent and child,
master and servant, ruler and subject ; and prove liimself
" that faithful and wise steward, whom the Lord sets over
his household, to give them, each, their, portion of meat in
due season." He must seek to know especially the charac
ter and habits, the passions and prejudices, the pursuits and
interests, of his own people ; and show himself a scribe well
instructed into the kingdom of heaven — a householder, which
bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old, ae^
cording to the particular necessities of his charge. In the
wonderful treasury of divine truth — the mysteries of God, of
which he is steward — he will find a portion for the sinner,
slumbering on the brink of hell; a portion for the conscience,
aroused to a sense of its guilt; a portion for the faithful, de
voted Christian; for the Christian in every state of his mind,
and in every stage of his progress ; and for the hypocrite and
the moralist, the obdurate and the infidel, he will find a por
tion. To dispense these portions aright;, according tp the
character, condition, and the several wants of his numerous
charge, will require no small amount of the most thoughtful
discrimination. Some must be fed with milk ; others with
strong meat. Of some he must have compassion, making a
difference ; others, save with fear, pulling them out of the
fire. Now he must warn and rebuke ; and now invite, ex
hort, entreat. At one time, dangers from within or around
the church, will call for the loudest notes of alarm ; at
another, trials and afflictions may call for words of encou
ragement and consolation.
The minister must preach with discrimination in respect to
the nature and relations of truth, as well as in respect to the
nature of man, and the wants of his people. He must not
only preach the whole truth, but preach it in all due order
and just proportion. Let him never separate one truth, and
push it so far, out of all connection with the rest, that it shall
distort the whole system, and itself become virtual error. If
he must sometimes press this point, and sometimes that, till
men shall feel and comprehend each by itself; yet, on another

28
occasion, he must present them both together, and show the
harmony of their relations to each other, and the symmetry
' of the system to which they belong. " God hath made
every thing beautiful in its time," saith the preacher, the
son of David ; nor is it less true that he hath made every
thing beautiful in its place. All the beauty and force of a
painting can never be seen except in the right light. And
the preacher who fails to present each truth at the right
time, in the right place, in the right light, must fail to make
the right impression. As the physician must discriminate
in prescribing for the body, so must the preacher for the
soul. Ever waiting on his ministry with all due discrimi
nation, his instructions are appropriate, definite, and judi
cious ; and all his labors free from some of the most serious
defects which can impair the usefulness of a Christian minis
ter and prevent success.
But his great study to discriminate, and divide the word of
truth aright, should never beget within him any morbid deli
cacy of feeling, nor lead to the appearance of cowardice or
servility. Hence we remark again :
&.. The minister of Christ should preach with boldness.
This was the way Paul preached. No trait of his labors is
mentioned with more frequency and approval than his bold
ness.. Immediately upon his conversion, he "preached
boldly at Damascus in the name of Jesus." He returned to
Jerusalem, and there " spake boldly in the name of the Lord
Jesus." At Ephesus he " spake boldly for three months,
disputing and persuading the things concerning the kingdom
of God." And when he asked the Ephesians to pray for
him, it was, " that utterance might be given to him, that he
might open his mouth boldly, to make known the mystery
of the gospel." We have an example of his boldness,
when, on the summit of Mars Hill, at Athens, amid her
temples, altars, and images, surrounded by a throng of her
citizens, a proud excited assembly of mechanics, merchants,
lawyers, legislators, poets, and philosophers, learned and
venerable, yet bigoted men, whose laws made it a capital
crime to introduce a foreign deity, and whose jealousy had
just condemned one of the noblest of their own nation for
alleged hostility to their religion— in the presence of this
august audience, and suspected alieady as "a setter forth of
strange gods, because he had preached unto them Jesus and
the resurrection," he is called upon to explain himself, and
give them some data for a definite opinion concerning his

29
character and doctrines. He responds to their call, and
rises; but not to defend himself from their suspicions; he
makes no apology for offending their philosophers ; begs no
pardon for preaching a truth which stands opposed to their
cherished superstitions, the policy of their state, and the
pride of their city. He found them wholly given to idolatry,
and his spirit was stirred within him. He had received a
commission to preach Jesus and the resurrection ; and now
he rejoices in a second opportunity to press the truth to the
consciences of the vast multitude. He told them of the true
God, of Jesus and the judgment to come, and left the result
in the hands of his Master.
Nor was boldness in preaching confined to Paul; we find
the same in Peter and John, and the other Apostles, and in
all the best preachers of other ages. Luther and Knox,
Baxter and Edwards, Whitfield and Wesley, were men of
this character, ever aiming to be in full possession and exer
cise of this important quality, in all their public ministra
tions. And how can any minister dispense with it, and dis
charge his duty faithfully ? To many, the message with
which he co*mes is unwelcome ; he must correct their errors,
expose their sins, point out their guilt. Sometimes be must
be specific and personal, and say to this or that offender,
" thou art the man.'' Sometimes he must address himself
to those in authority, as John to Herod, and say, " it is not
lawful." Sometimes he must speak out in respect to some
social evil, or some sinful practice, in support of which
fashion, pleasure, and worldly gain may all be interested.
To expose and rebuke these and other evils, and faithfully
declare all the counsel of God, whether men will hear or
forbear, requires boldness, decision, courage. He may be
naturally timid, retiring, diffident; but timidity and diffidence
must not prevail in the pulpit. Here he must be firm, in
trepid, free-spoken ; neither proud and arrogant, nor crin
ging and servile ; neither reckless and obstinate, nor craven-
hearted and crest-fallen. In political science, medicine, law,
agriculture, he may be distrustful of his own opinions ; but
when he comes to the doctrines and precepts of the gospel,
he must be able to speak " as one having authority," and
command a dignified obeisance from merchants and mecha
nics, farmers and physicians, statesmen and jurists.
And why should the Christian minister ever fail "to speak
boldly as he ought to speak?" He is an ambassador for
Christ; his message and credentials are divine; and why

30
should he fear what man can do ? He was sent to tell men
of their danger, and maintain the authority of God ; and to
do this, he must use all plainness and freedom of speech.
Timidity will never win ; cowardice never conquer; ambi
guity never convince.
Boldness befits the preacher and gives him power. With
out it he can never " magnify his office," never command
the respect and confidence of those to whom he ministers.
Candid, sensible men, will honor the minister who honors
his calling, has a proper confidence in himself, the highest
reverence for the truth which he declares, and remembers
that " to his own Master he standeth or falleth." They
love to hang on the lips of one who shows himself a man —
one vvhose heart is fixed, whose words are frank, and full of
truth, and whose integrity of purpose to preach the preach
ing which God bids, is proof against every assault and above
all suspicion.
But boldness is not all that is required; neither will bold
ness and discrimination together make the most perfect,
persuasive character, such as should mark the minister of
Christ. To give symmetry to his character, attraction to
his style, and the greatest effect to his labors, his discrimi
nation and boldness must be sustained and tempered by more
winning qualities. Jonah certainly showed no want of bold
ness, in going, a stranger and alone, to a great and wicked
city, and openly announcing its speedy and utter destruc
tion; but his petulance and fickleness, and his want of a
generous, benevolent, compassionate feeling towards the
people to whom he preached, would have been a bar to his
usefulness and permanence as a settled pastor. Hence it is
important to remark again :
c. The Christian minister must preach and labor with
affectionate earnestness. A parrot-like proclamation of the
truth, however bold and discriminating, will never move the
hearts of men, nor meet the minister's divine commission.
He must throw his entire soul into his work ; he must feel
for his fellow-men ; look at their perilous condition, at -the
worth of their souls; look at the bliss of which they are
capable, which they want, which he is sent to offer them ;
let the sight of the eye affect the heart, let the heart throb
itself into utterance, and announce to his people the evil of
sin and the offer of life.
Such a preacher was the great Reformer, John Knox,
whose longing for the salvation of his country led him to

31
exclaim, "O God, give me Scotland, or I die!'' Such
was John Welch, whose wife would sometimes find him on
the ground at night, weeping and praying for his people ;
and when she complained, he would say, " O woman, I
have the souls of three thousand to answer for, and I know
not how it is with many of them." Such must have been
Dr. Livingston, whose sermon, to which we have referred,
as resulting in the hopeful conversion of five hundred souls,
was preached after a whole night spent in prayer. Look,
too, at the affectionate earnestness of Paul. Laboring at
Ephesus for the space of three years, he " ceased not to
warn every one, night and day, with tears." At Corinth,
he " was pressed in the Spirit, and testified that Jesus was
the Christ." Waiting at Athens for the coming of Silas and
Timotheus, " his spirit was stirred in him, when he saw the
city wholly given to idolatry. Therefore disputed he in the
synagogue with the Jews, and with devout persons, and in
the market daily with them that met with him." And so
great was his heaviness and continual sorrow in heart for his
kinsmen according to the flesh, that he could wish himself
accursed from Christ for their recovery and salvation. When
he spoke to the Philippians of the enemies of the cross of
Christ, it was "even with weeping.'' From the day of his
conversion and appointment to the work of the ministry, his
soul seemed to be ever on fire with love to Christ, and with
zeal to save a dying world.
And what an example of affectionate earnestness in labor
ing for man's salvation, does the life of Christ present ; and
not his life only, but most of all his sufferings and death.
"His zeal for his Father's house devoured him." It was he
who made the soul ; and he knew its worth, its capacity for
bliss, and what anguish it could feel. He knew, too, what
love and earnestness were necessary to win it back to God.
Hence, wherever we find him, be it in the publican's booth,
or the fisherman's boat, in the temple, the synagogue, or the
sisters' cottage, weary by the well-side, or aione in the
mountain, we find him working and weeping, praying and
preaching, to save that which is lost. He made it his meat
and his drink to do his Father's will. And such should be
the love and zeal of every one who ministers in the name of
Christ to the souls of men.
This affectionate earnestness is the great secret of per
suasion — the golden key with which to opeh the hearts of
men, and prepare the way for the entrance of truthi Even

32
the actor, who deals in fiction, so that he be in earnest, will
move, and melt, and sway an assembly ; while the sacred
orator, wanting in life and energy, will be heard with com
parative indifference, though he utters the most momentous
truth. So said Betterton to the Bishop of London; so other
actors have said to other stiff, impassionate divines. But
earnestness in the pulpit is not a thing to be feigned, or put
on for the occasion. It must be the earnestness of affection,
the offspring of sympathy with the truth, and of a living,
yearning desire for the honor of God in the salvation of
souls. The principle, of which we speak, the need of affectionate
earnestness'in him who would persuade his fellow-men, is
neither new nor provincial ; its importance is neither tempo
rary nor conventional. It has its foundation in the nature
of man; it was recognized and urged ages ago. Even the
heathen rhetoricians, Aristotle and Cicero, taught the need
of kindly feelings in the orator towards his audience. Every
body has heard the oft-quoted ancient maxim, "If. you
wish me to weep, you must first manifest emotion yourself."
Few will deny that Goethe knew the nature of man, and
gave us the due to persuasion, when he said :
'Tis the live fountain in the speaker's heart,
Sends forth the streams that melt the ravished hearer.
The veteran military officer testified to the same truth when
he said, " I have not wept but once these forty years, and
that was when I heard Jesse Busheyhead, the Cherokee
preacher, address his countrymen from the parable of the
prodigal son, the tears flowing faster than he could wipe
them away." "Pardon a stranger," said an unopened letter
found on the table of Mr. M'Cheyne, after his death, —
" Pardon a stranger for addressing to you a few lines. I
heard you preach last Sabbath evening, and it pleased God
to bless that sermon to my soul. It was not so much what
you said, as the manner of speaking it that struck me. I saw
in you a beauty of holiness I never saw before." And the
remark of another is worth repeating, that " He who has
read the life and writings of this young servant of Christ,
and marked his earnest, loving, melting appeals, can readily
account for this effect upon the stranger's mind."
And why should any true minister of Christ ever fail to
cherish and manifest that earnest love for men which helps
to grapple and subdue their hearts ? Let him remember

his commission. Let him weigh the worth of a single soul
committed to his charge ; consider what treasure heaven has
poured out for its purchase, what blood has been shed to
cleanse it from sin ; what powers of darkness are combined
for its destruction, what dangers beset it from within and
without, the world, the flesh, and the devil, all arrayed
against it, and leading it on to ruin ; what offers of pardon,
what help divine, what hopes and joys immortal, are set
before it ; and let him remember that what is true of this
one soul, is virtually true of the many, all, to whom God has
sent him to minister ; and how can he fail to be in earnest,
and manifest a deep, unfeigned interest in the welfare of his
hearers ? What if the' false canons of frigid men have
thrown unnatural, unjust restraints upon the pulpit ; let the
true minister of Christ be true to nature, be faithful, and
speak as the Spirit gives him utterance. What though he
must encounter the chilling gaze of some who will call his
fervid emotion affectation or weakness ; let him be natural,
" be not afraid of their faces," rise above the cramping influ
ence, and speak as a dying man, a minister, ought, to dying
men, the sands of whose 'probation are fast running out, and
the condition of whose souls will soon be fixed, past all re
verse. The staid, the cold, the careless, may call him an
enthusiast, a fanatic ; so they spake of Christ and Paul ; and
so they will ever speak of those who follow in their steps,
and show a like zeal in God's cause, a like love for dying
men. Then let the minister of Christ preach; preach the gospel;
declare all the counsel of God ; preach with discrimination ^
with boldness ; with an affectionate earnestness ; and he
shall honor his office, honor the name of Christ, edify the
church, be an instrument in saving those who hear and
believe, and be free from the blood of those who persist in
impenitence, and finally perish.
We have spoken of the character and the duties of the
Christian ministry ; and, from what has been said, it can
hardly fail to be seen that*the office of which we speak is
one of the highest dignity and importance to which man can
be called. The institution owes its origin to God ; every
man who enters it must have a divine commission ; and the
great end of all his labor must be to guide souls by means
of the truth in the way of life. The Christian minister must
have the oversight of the church ; conduct worship in the
religious assembly ; administer the sacraments to those who*
D

34
are worthy to receive them; and, to all who will hear, he
must preach the gospel ; preach it with all discrimination
and boldness, faithfulness and affection.
Nor can it fail to be further evident, also, that a proper
performance of labors so onerous and difficult, must require
the most thorough preparation on the part of the minister,
and the most efficient support and co-operation of the
people. And hence,
III. In the third and last place, let us notice the claims
of the Christian Ministry. These are of two kinds — sub
jective, or those which have respect to the minister ; and ob
jective, or those which have respect to the people.
1. By the subjective claims of the Christian Ministry, we
mean those which the office imposes upon the minister him
self. ¦ Without certain moral qualities, without a true and
living faith, an ardent longing to promote the glory, of God
by laboring for the salvation of souls, and without a certain
amount of mental culture and Biblical knowledge, no man is
prepared to enter the ministry at all. But to speak of those
mental and moral qualities which are indispensable to a fit
introduction to the ministry, is not our present purpose. It
accordeth better with the occasion, that we notice some of
those demands which the office makes upon the man who
has already assumed its responsibilities; and mention some
of those studies which he must ever continue, that he may
be able to quit himself most manfully, and prove a workman
that needeth not to be ashamed.
And here we may remark, that there is no branch of sci
ence, nor kind of knowledge, within the sphere of man's
capacity, of which the minister, who would be eminently
useful, can well afford to be wholly ignorant. Various and
extensive knowledge will serve to enlarge his mind, and
afford protection against some. of the most hurtful prejudices
to which men of narrow views are so often subject. The
themes of which the minister must treat, are of the highest
order; and there is no science, nor philosophy, nor sound
literature, an acquaintance with* which could fail to be of
service to him, so that he make a wise use of his know
ledge. The saying is as true as it is trite, that knowledge
is power ; and the preacher's power to read the characters
of men, discern the signs of the times ; to bring out of his
treasury things new and old, and make a wise ready
arrangement and distribution of them, according ' to the
wants of his people— his power to reason, describe^ narrate

35
to infuse life and energy into thought, to refute error and
teach truth, to move and control the passions and purposes
of men, and instruct them in righteousness, will generally
be very much in proportion to the amount of knowledge
which he has at command.
A knowledge of history affords the happiest illustrations
of divine truth, helps to show us the heart of man, and to
give just notions of the dispensations of divine providence.
A knowledge of the earth on which we live* whether that
knowledge have respect to its surface, or its substance,
helps to unfold the wisdom and goodness of Godj and
answer some of the objections which infidelity urges against
Revelation. Astronomy expands and ennobles the soul, and
helps us in our conceptions of divine immensity. All the
natural and physical sciences are but so many parts of natu
ral theology. And the man whose mind is but moderately
versed in these sciences, will
Find tongues in trees, books in running brooks,
Sermons in stones, arid good in every thing,
provided he has an eye arid an ear evel* open to all the
beauties of nature, and to all her varied teachings of the
divine perfections. Let the Christian minister take the ex
ample of his Master as a model, aud his sermons shall abound
in illustrations drawn from all the kingdoms of the natural
World, animal, vegetable, and mineral — from the lily of the
valley, the fowls of the air, the wind and water, the rain and
rock, from the fruits of the earth, the' scenery around, and
the heavens above.
But important as it may be for the Christian minister to
keep up an acquaintance with the physical sciences, and
train the senses to gather instruction from every part of the
visible world, yet familiarity with the science of mind is still
more necessary. The value of mental science is manifold,
direct, and positive. The very study of mind is the best of
mental discipline. It serves to stimulate and strengthen the
intellectual faculties; to give quickness of apprehension, and
clearness of discrimination ; to improve the memory and
logical powers; and prepare the minister for the investi
gation Of truth in other branches of study. Nor is there
any other way of coming to a thorough knowledge of men,
but by a study of mind, as it is the mind which makes the
man. Indeed, cur knowledge of God himself depends upon
our knowledge of mind ; for " God is a Spirit," and to know
his nature we must know the nature of spirit, Which is only

36
another name for mind. The laws of language are but the
laws of thought; and thought, nothing but the working and
product of the mind ; and if we know not the latter, how
can we understand the former?
An acquaintance with the nature and laws of mind, helps
the minister to communicate, as well as acquire truth. It
gives him, at once, the rules of logic and rhetoric, and all
the reasons for them ; and enables him so to present the truth
to the minds of others, that they shall be able to see and feel
it. For the science of mind includes the heart as well as
the intellect ; and hence, again, the study of it is indispen
sable to a knowledge of man's moral constitution. And when
we have access to this, we are prepared to touch the secret
springs of action, and address those motives which move the
will and determine the character. How, then, shall the
Christian minister properly discharge the duties of that office,
which is sometimes called " the care of souls" without a
diligent study of man's spiritual nature — without a thorough
knowledge of all those mental facts, and states, and laws,
which distinguish men from other animals, constitute their
freedom and dignity, and make them subjects of endless,
immeasurable joy or sorrow ?
The minister's study of mind must not stop with man, but
extend to all those spiritual beings, by whose visits, whether
from above or below, and by whose labors, whether of love
or hate, the welfare of man is always more or less affected.
Nor must he dwell too long upon the character and minis
trations of good and evil angels ; but pass, to higher and still
more important themes. The Christian minister's great
study must be the all-glorious character of God, and the
truth which God has revealed to men. He must inquire
into the natural attributes of Deity. The Divine Sove
reignty, immutability, omniscience, fore-knowledge and de
crees, must be studied much by him who hopes to show how
Just are the ways of God,
And justifiable to men.
Above all, must the minister of Christ give himself to the
study of the moral perfections of God. The benevolence
and compassion, truthfulness and justice, and the atoning
mercy of the Most High, all the great eternal principles
which are involved in the cross of Christ, are topics of infi
nite import to every man, but most of all to him
That negotiates between God and man,
As God's ambassador, the grand concerns
Of judgment and of mercy.

37
Faithfully to serve " the ministry of reconciliation" which
" God has given" him, " to wit, that God was in Christ re
conciling the world unto himself "—this is the object of
every true Christian minister's life, and the end of all that
obligation, which his office imposes upon him, to subject his
mind to the best of discipline, and store it with every variety
of useful knowledge, which can be drawn from science, lite
rature, and art, and especially from those higher branches of
science, which are comprised in mental and moral philoso
phy, natural and revealed theology.
But the Christian ministry lays yet other demands upon
its incumbent. A man may make the most eminent attain
ments in mental culture and scientific knowledge — may be
able to " speak with the tongues of men and of angels," may
" have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries
and all knowledge," and yet without charity he is nothing.
Without this, he is not even a true member of the Christian
church ; much less, fit to discharge the duties of the Christian
ministry. Hence we remark again, that the office to which the
minister of Christ is called, demands of him diligence in the
cultivation of his own heart. We have spoken of his need
to study the word of God intellectually ; but he must also
give that word a devotional perusal. His own soul must be
fashioned by it, and filled with its heavenly influence. The
word of Christ must dwell in him richly in all wisdom.
Nothing but this spiritual, experimental knowledge of divine
truth, can give him unction and pathos. When the sacred
historian told us that Apollos was " an eloquent man," he
added, at once, that he was " mighty in the Scriptures ;"
and presently again, that he was " fervent in the Spirit."
Who will deny that true eloquence consists in the power of
imparting to others the deep emotions with which our own
souls are affected ? And how, then, can a Christian minis
ter discourse, as he ought, upon the great doctrines of the
cross, urge repentance, faith, love, a genuine, lively piety,
upon his hearers, if he have no deep, practicaf knowledge
of these gracious doctrines and affections in his own soul ?
If he would speak to any good purpose, he must be able to
speak that which he knows, and testify that which he has
seen and felt. Even the ancients, without the gospel, had a
maxim that none but a good man could be eloquent. In
none but such could the hearers put confidence. But if
goodness is essential to give weight to the character, and

38
force to the words of the secular orator, discoursing upon
the affairs of state, much more to the Christian, discoursing
upon the things of God and eternity. The moral qualities
of the Christian minister must be as much superior to those
required by the ancient rhetoricians, as Christianity is supe
rior to Paganism, the soul to the body, the interests of eter
nity to those of time.
" We believe," says Paul, " therefore we speak." This
was the secret of his power. He had faith in God, for he
was in daily communion with him; he had confidence in the
truth, for he had felt and seen its power ; he knew what sin
is, for he had tasted its wormwood and gaul ; he knew what
it is to repent, for his soul had writhed in agony, and found
pardon and peace. He had been led by the Spirit to the
cross of Christ, and from that as a centre — from Calvary as
the mount of observation, he had looked down into the
caverns of hell, and gazed above at the splendors of the
heavenly world. The sight of his eyes affected his heart.
He believed, therefore he spake ; and as he believed, so he
spake. And the great reason why Christ spake as Others
never spake, was, doubtless, because he felt as others never
felt: The more his ministers resemble him in moral cha
racter, cultivating the -humility and devotion, the benevo
lence and compassion, which he possessed, the better able
will they be to speak as he spake.
Without this moral cultivation, disciplining the heart, and
relying on divine aid, the Christian minister can never gain
that quick moral perception and spiritual knowledge of the
truth, which his office demands. The things of God must
be spiritually discerned, or they will never be discerned
aright. The genius and erudition of the natural man are
not sufficient. It is the lowly in heart, the meek, whom the
Lord will guide in judgment, and teach his way. The min
ister of Christ must be a man of much prayer^often, yea,
always, in communion with God. He must walk and con
verse with God, if he will know the divine mind. Earnest,
believing prayer, brings him direct to the hidden, never-
failing source of all truth and grace ; gains the victory over
evil; strengthens what is good; and gives elevation and
energy to all the faculties of the soul. Living in communion
with God serves to give the Christian minister right views
of life and duty, some just sense of the soul's value, some
distinct conception of the divine glory ; and " out of the
abundance of the heart the mouth speaketh." Such a man

39
preaches, not because preaching is his profession, but be
cause his heart is. full, heaving and glowing with love to his
Master and his fellow-men; and he cannot keep silence.
There is a heavenly fire within, and he must give it vent.
His communion with God gives strength to his faith ; and
the strength of his faith gives point and force to his words.
" Woe is me," saith the Apostle, " if I preach not the gos
pel; and so ought every minister of Christ to feel. His
office is no sinecure ; and no man ought to hold it, who
does not stand in awe of its fearful responsibilities, and seek.
the- Spirit's constant aid to direct and sustain him in his
work. Nothing but that divine light and influence which
come only from communion with, God, will enable him to
see and feel, as he ought, the magnitude of the duties de
volving upon him ; and nothing else givehim that complete
ness of preparation, which he needs, to discharge these duties
with wisdom, courage, affectionate earnestness — with all that
" fidelity " which his sacred, office demands of him.
2. But we must turn to another class of claims— the ob
jective— or those which the Christian ministry imposes upon
the people. Of these there are several varieties. Some have
respect to the public generally," and some to the minister's
own congregation and particular church. In all our remarks
upon the ministry, we would keep in mind that it is depen
dent upon the Divine Spirit for its ultimate efficiency and
success. As an instrumentality which God has chosen— a
divine institution and an agency which God is pleased to
employ, and bless, for the present and future, good of man-
it is entitled to the attention, gratitude, and honor .of all ;
and especially to the support and. co-operation of those who
are most directly favored with its various and valuable
labors. a. As a divine institution the ministry requires the public
generally to attend on its services and instructions. The
simple fact that God has appointed such an ordinance, im
poses an obligation on the pubjic to honor it, by availing
themselves of the means of grace, which it affords. The
ministry was ordained for the. public good ; most of its ser
vices are of r a public character, and look directly to the
gathering of the public to participate in them, and profit by
them. If the minister must preach, he must have hearers ;
and He who calls and qualifies a man to preach the, gospel',
calls and commands the public to hear that gospel when it
is preached.

40
b. The true Christian Ministry has a claim upon the res
pect and gratitude of the public. Not only in a spiritual,
but even in a temporal point of view, the services of a true
and faithful ministry are one of the greatest blessings which
any community can enjoy. The suggestion of Dr. Chalmers
is full of truth and pertinence, " that many of the results of
Preaching which the world affects to despise, would be re
ceived with universal admiration, and would render immortal
the name of the man who should be instrumental in achieving
them, if they were only the fruit of a discovery in science,
or an experiment in philosophy." And the remark of
another divine is equally true, " that science and philosophy
have never aimed at such results, nor at any thing that
could be compared with such results, as the preaching of
the gospel aims at." To convert men to God, one by one
as individuals, by a grand system of moral influences, make
them holy, and fit for heaven ; and to prosecute this work,
till the whole race shall be renewed and allied to the Savior
in love, was never undertaken by any scheme of philanthropy
and reform, nor even dreamt of by any system of science
or philosophy, that had not first drunk deep at the
fountain of Siloa's brook, that flowed
Fast by the oracle of God.
We would not underrate other benevolent agencies and
operations. The Sabbath school, the Bible and Tract So
cieties, with all their agents, teachers, and colporters ; the
efforts made to promote the cause of temperance, education,
peace and good order, are all highly important and useful.
Yet these, and all other like agencies, are second to the
ministry ; and more or less dependent upon the influence
and support of the ministry, for their origin, efficiency, and
permanence. We may go the world over, and we shall find
but little of the religion of faith, except in connection with
the labors of an evangelical, earnest ministry. Were there
naught else to testify to its presence and power, still such a
ministry might be traced by the moral and religious tone
which it gives to society, just as we often trace the hidden
brook by the " livelier green " which marks its course. As
the great Christian poet has said :
The pulpit in the sober use
Of its legitimate, peculiar pow'rs,
Must stand ackuowledg'd, while the world shall stand,
The most important, and effectual guard,
Support, and ornament, of virtue's cause.

41
Even the conservative, restraining influence, which the
true Christian ministry exerts upon the public, is a blessing
of no ordinary value. If all good men may be counted as
the salt of the earth, none can be more deserving of that
name, than those who devote themselves wholly to the work
of reclaiming and saving it. Ten righteous souls would
have delivered the cities of the plain from destruction ; and
had Lot gone there as a preacher of righteousness, instead
of going as a grower of cattle, perhaps he might have done
for Sodom and Gomorrah what Jonah did for Nineveh.
That mighty evils are held in abeyance ; that the masses are
kept back from the extremes of guilt ; " that bad men are
not worse than they are, that good men are preserved from
apostacy," are blessings for which many communities are
indebted to the grace of God, as manifested in the faithful
ministrations of the gospel.
But aside from what the Christian Ministry effects, with
the blessing of God upon its labors, in promoting the cause
of benevolence and piety, in fitting some for heaven, and in
restraining others from the extremes of wickedness, its salu
tary influence even upon the secular interests of men, entitles
it to the respect and gratitude of every community in which
it is sustained. Being a man of education and study, the
minister knows the value of these things ; and takes the
deepest interest in the common school, the academy and
college. Addressing sound and elevating truth to the minds
of men, he gives an impulse and a broader sweep to the in
tellect of the people around him. Addressing refined and vir
tuous sentiments to the hearts of men, his labors improve their
taste, and foster a love for all that is beautiful and comely in
nature and art. Conversant with men and books, accus
tomed to writing and speaking, he has an elevating influence
upon the public press, upon the language, style, and general
literary character of the people. " He touches the main
spring of the political machine," says Dr. Park, " and its
extremities are quickened. Waking up the intellect, he
stimulates to enterprise. Refining the taste, he throws an
air of neatness over the parish. He pleads for industry and
method, for honest dealing and temperate habits, for good
order in the family, and school, and state. He preaches
from that text which is the mother of friendship and thrift,
"study to be quiet and to do your own business." He
infuses new vigor into the counting-room, and new faithful
ness over the farm. Where the true preacher is at work,
E

42
you will see fruits of his labor in even road's, and strong
walls, and thriving arts, and a wholesome police. *
What one preacher does for a parish, thousands do for a
nation. To the complaint that the ministry is expensive,
we may reply in words like those of Dr. South, 'The money
given for preaching must be given away, if not for churches,
then for more gaols ; if not for houses ef prevention, then
for new houses of correction ; and it is as good economy to
support religious teachers, as to support more watchmen
and busier hangmen, to raise new whipping posts and pil
lories.' "
We have alluded to the Christian Ministry as, under God,
the central, sustaining energy of all other benevolent insti
tutions and agencies. In these days of multiplying forms
for affecting the hearts of men, and of various schemes for
making them better, this thought is well deserving of further
development. c. I remark, therefore, again, that the Christian Ministry,
and especially the pulpit which the ministry must fill, claims
to be honored as paramount to all other instrumentalities
for reforming, elevating, and blessing men. In the language
of Prof. Phelps, himself a master in one of the first of our
American schools of Theology : " The Christian Pulpit
stands alone, in its intrinsic magnitude, and in the results
which it is destined to accomplish. The press and the
school — the other two great instruments of moral power
over mankind — find their true position, so far as the destiny
of religion is concerned, only when they fall into the rank
of allies to the pulpit, and yet its inferiors." " The point
which deserves to be specially noticed in this connection,"
continues the same able writer, " is, that the only theory
which in practice can secure to the Christian pulpit an
honorable existence, is that which assigns to it the supre
macy among all conceivable instrumentalities which might
be employed to support the institutions of Christianity. In
the nature of the case, and by the ordinance of God, the
demands of the pulpit here are imperative. It must hold
the place of chief honor in the policy of Christian effort,
or it can hold no place in which it shall either command or
deserve a pittance of respect. To depress it, is to destroy
it. Make it subordinate, and you make it effeminate. Sub
ject it, in the estimation of the clergy, to the press, or to
schools of learning, considered as instruments of moral
power, and you inevitably extinguish its vitality. Degrade

43
it by submission to a petty rivalry with forms of worship,
with liturgies, with the fascinations of music, with archi
tecture, with posture and costume, and intonation, in the
administration of the sanctuary, and the living spirit goes
out of it. It ceases to command respect, because it ceases
to be respectable. * * It becomes an appendage and
an incumbrance. The natural working of the system of
policy which has killed it, is to throw it, sooner or later,
from Christian usage, as was victually^one by the Romish
church, for five hundred years before the Reformation. It
is specially necessary to the dignity of the pulpit, that we
reject, without reserve, the doctrine of the priestly character
of the clergy. * * A Christian pulpit is shorn of its
power when it gives place to an altar. A Christian minister
sinks beneath all legitimate and honorable influence over
earnest minds, when he becomes a priest. Temples, altars,
and priesthoods belong to a buried past. So far as they
ever had a place in the history of true religion, they were
the symbols of a system which the world has outgrown, and
which, long since, fell out from the plans of God for the
world's redemption. When we look for the symbol of dig
nity which distinguishes the Christian Ministry, we must
find it in the pulpit."
d. We have spoken of the claims which the true Chris
tian Ministry has upon all men, both the church and the
public generally. But, there are certain claims of a more
specific character — claims which each minister has upon his
own particular church and society.
The faithful minister of Christ has a claim upon his
people for a competent pecuniary support. If his own
people cannot furnish such support, alone, let them seek the
assistance, which they need, from those who are able and
willing to help them, rather than allow their minister to be
harassed with care and anxiety about the necessary things
of this life. " Provide neither gold, nor silver, nor brass,
in your purses," saith our Savior to his servants, when lie
sends them forth to preach, " neither two coats, neither
shoes, nor yet a staff; for the workman is worthy of his
meat." A competent support is the minister's due. He
asks it not as a favor, a gift, a charity. He is entitled to it,
"worthy of" it; it is a thing for which he renders the
richest equivalent. As the Apostle says, " If we have sown
unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing if we shall reap
your carnal things ?" And again he says : " Let him who is

44
taught in the word, communicate unto him that teacheth in
all good things."
The minister's support should be adequate to his neces
sities. His health, his peace of mind, his usefulness, require
it. No man can properly discharge the duties which the
Christian Ministry imposes upon him, while his mind is dis
tracted with pecuniary responsibilities which he knows not
how to meet. Nor is it enough that his bodily wants are all
supplied ; he must have the means of procuring mental
food. He must have a good library, and be able to feplenish
it from time to time; else pine for that which his mind
requires not less than the body requires food and raiment.
As well might the farmer or mechanic hope to prosecute his
labors without tools, as the minister his studies without
books. He must keep much in advance of his people in
general knowledge, and in both mental and moral discipline;
else his labors will soon be found inappropriate, inefficient,
and insipid. But in this age of books, libraries, and lec
tures, and in the midst of an educated, reading, thinking
public, how shall he do this with a salary barely sufficient
for the daily wants of the body ? Set the minister and his
family above the fear of want, free his mind from worldly
care, and furnish him with all the means of preparing for
the pulpit, which money can procure, and if he is the faith-
¦ ful, devoted minister which the gospel requires, he still feels
a weight of care, of labor and responsibilty, such as never
presses upon many men in other professions. Let him be
free from pecuniary embarrassment, and have all the assist
ance which his people can afford, and yet the burden which
he bears will often force him to exclaim, " Who is sufficient
for these things ?"
What the minister requires of his people, is, not wealth,
nor the means of display, but such a fixed stipend as shall
enable him, with prudence and economy, to secure a com
fortable livelihood, and devote his undivided energies, in the
best manner, to the arduous duties of his calling. If he
must divide his time and strength with other pursuits, to
obtain a living, it must be done at the sacrifice of the best
spiritual interests of his people. While he is away from his
post, the enemy is busy sowing the seeds of error ; his time
to prepare for the pulpit, and attend to the other duties of
his calling, is abridged ; the ardor and unction of his soul
are abated; weakness and worldliness, if not alienation,
creep into the hearts of both minister and people ; and

45
prove, perhaps too late, that the rule which the Scriptures
enjoin for the minister's maintenance, cannot be safely neg
lected. " Even so hath the Lord ordained, that they which
preach the gospel should live of the gospel."
But it is not enough for the minister that his people pro
vide him an adequate pecuniary support ; he is also entitled
to support of a moral nature. He claims the confidence and
co-operation, the sympathy and the prayers, of the church.
Without the confidence of his people, his instructions will
never reach their hearts, nor affect their lives. To their
confidence he is entitled. God has called him to the minis
try ; and they have called him to be their pastor. He de
votes himself to their good, and knows no interest of his
own, separate from the general, the highest welfare of those
to whom he ministers. He is entitled to their co-operation.
His work is theirs ; they all serve one Master; have all been
redeemed by the same blood ; and should all strive together,
according to their several abilities and opportunities, each in
his own sphere, for the same end. Being all members of
the same body, nothing but the united effectual working of
every part, in its measure, can make increase of the body
unto the edifying of it in love.
And what can the minister do without the sympathy, for
bearance, and prayers of his church ? He lays no claim to
infallibility : and no one knows his weakness and defects
better than himself. As a man, he is subject to like
passions, the same infirmities and failings, as other good
men ; while, as a minister, he is exposed to some peculiar
trials, of which others have little or no knowledge. As
Baxter says, " The tempter bears those^the greatest malice,
who are engaged to do him the greatest mischief! He has
found, by experience, that to smite the shepherd, is the
most effectual means to scatter the flock." The minister
secludes himself to prepare for the Sabbath ; and the tempter
tells the people, he takes no interest in the welfare of society,
else he would give more time to pastoral visits. He en
deavors to treat the rich with common courtesy ; and the
poor complain of neglect, and think their pastor proud and
aristocratic. He guards against the temptation to be partial
and complaisant to the rich ; and his moderation is mistaken
for coldness and incivility. He preaches the doctrines of
the gospel ; and here and there a bint that he might lay
aside those lofty, abstruse themes, and confine himself more
to the simple precepts of the gospel ; and make reform, mo-

46
rality, and the leading topics of the day, more prominent in
his discourses, convinces him that the offence of the cross is
not ceased. He dwells on the precepts of the gospel ; ap
plies them to the hearts and lives of men ; lifts up his voice
against intemperance, vice, and immorality; and rebukes
iniquity, crime, and corruption, in all places and all men, be
they high or low ; when behold he is admonished that he
should be wise as a serpent and harmless as a dove, and
know nothing but Christ and him crucified. But. the faith
ful minister stops not to inquire whether men will hear, or
whether they will forbear; but takes counsel of God, and
preaches both doctrine and precept with all possible discri
mination, boldness, vigor,, and love, as he ought to preach.
He feels that the trump of God has been put to his lips, and
woe be to him if he " flinch from giving it breath " and a
certain sound. Satan may rage ; bad men may labor to
blacken his character, and destroy his usefulness. All this
he expects, all this he can endure, so that a Christian brother
be not wanting in charity — so that the church withhold not
their sympathy and prayers.
Says the able Dr. Reed, in his lecture on the Advance
ment of Religion in the Church, "We should be one with
the ministry in prayer. Prayer makes one. It should be
the great bond of attachment and union between the minister
and the people. A rightly disposed ministry would be not
merely sustained — it would be inspired by it. Nothing can
exceed the solitude of the man who stands before an in
different or curious assembly ; nor can anything exceed the
bliss of him who is conscious that every sentence he utters
is. borne to the conscience and the heart, by the concurrent
prayers of a whole people.
"Yet do not misapprehend the subject. It is not for his
personal happiness and private welfare that the prayers of
the church are sought. It is for him as the servant of
God, and holding a ministry, which is charged with life or
death to all whom it addresses, that he seeks and that he
needs your prayers. And judge not of 'his need of your
sympathy and prayer by what you know of his studies, and
of his labors for your good, however arduous, and continuous
these may be. It is not these chiefly that break his rest
exhaust his spirits, and not unfrequently bring him down in
early life with grey hairs to the grave. No ; it is his intense
anxiety for your welfare ; it is his trembling fear lest he
should say anything amiss, or not say enough in uttering

47
the great message ; it is that sense of responsibility to God
which often chokes his utterance in prayer, and quivers
through his flesh in ministration ; it is that inexpressible
auguish when the fear comes upon him that after all he can
do or say, some of you will be cast out, and cast down to
darkness, death, and eternal despair !"
But perhaps you say the minister of Christ ought to be
generous, devoted, earnest, and faithful, though his people
may fail to come up to his help as duty requires. And so,
indeed* he ought ; perhaps he will be so, difficult as he may
find the task. The minister of Christ is not the man to
throw up his commission, and desert the ministry, because
his people are not always considerate, and prompt to give
him either that pecuniary or moral support to which he is
entitled, and without which his comfort and usefulness are
abridged. Neither is he the man to labor for a reward, rely
on others, or walk by sight. And yet he loves to get some
encourjgement from sense ; it so comforts his heart, renews
his strength, and cheers his faith. But sooner than come
out and assert all his rights, or hasten to complain of want
of any kind, many a minister has suffered ana1 struggled
on in silence, bearing, perhaps, to the grave a burden,
which his people ought to have shared with him; and the
sharing of which would have added grace and numbers to
them, and length of days to him. Not all the martyrs., it is
said, have faced the wild beast in Roman amphitheatres; not
all have pined to death in the dungeon ; nor yet have all
died amid the embraces of faggots and flames, and had their
names written with wonder and admiration on the memory
of ages. Slower, and more secret, but not less sure and
genuine is the martyrdom to which some in the ministry are
now subject, in other forms. In America, in Europe, in
every part of Christendom, many a devoted servant of Christ
may be found, at the present day, clinging to the ministry
from the love he bears his Master and the souls of men ;
while the equally devoted companion of his life is perplexed
beyond measure to meet the demands of the family ward
robe, and ashamed to let the passing stranger see the scan
tiness of their table. Possibly it is sometimes beyond the
power of his people to give him a better pecuniary support ;
nor is that, perhaps, the kind of assistance of which he is
most in need. But unwilling to complain, and endeavoring
to be cheerful and diligent, he " toils on and suffers on, and
at last steals to an unnoticed grave, and sleeps until the re-

48
surrection. Church history does not emblazon his name,
but the Recording Angel writes it down with a softened
heart." " But, beloved, we are persuaded better things of you,
and things that accompany salvation, though we thus speak.
For God is not unrighteous to forget your work and labor
of love, which ye have showed toward his name, in that ye
have ministered to the saints and do minister. And we de
sire that every one of you do show the same diligence to the
full assurance of hope unto the end : That ye be not sloth
ful, but followers of them who, through faith and patience,
inherit the promises."
Let this church and society be united, liberal, and earnest
in sustaining the Christian Ministry, and they shall not fail
to be blessed with the labors of an earnest, devoted, loving
pastor, a steward who shall rightly divide to them the word of
truth — one of the best gifts, after the word, Spirit, and Son
of God, which heaven can bestow upon men. Joyfully shall
he labor to build up the church in the faith and order of the
gospel. With a yearning heart shall he entreat the sinner
to shun the way of death ; with wisdom and care shall he
guide the inquiring mind to the Lamb of God. He shall
" place the baptismal water amongst the clustering curls of
their children with deep feeling, and dispense the emblems
of the body and blood of Christ with affectionate solem
nity." Of the young and old, shall he be guide and com
panion, with his presence chastening the mirth of some, with
cheerful words dispelling the gloom of others. He shall
visit their sick with sympathy, bury their dead with grief,
and finally go with all who shall profit by his labors, to re
ceive the crown of life.
" Now the God of peace, that brought again from the
dead our Lord Jesus, that great Shepherd of the sheep,
through the blood of the everlasting covenant, make you
perfect in every good work to do his will, working in you
that which is well pleasing in his sight, through Jesus
Christ ; to whom be glory for ever and ever." Amen.