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THE gospel ministry, when Improved, the 
 
 GREATEST BLESSING; 
 
 when rejified and abufed, the greatest curse. 
 
 SERMON 
 
 PREACHED AT jfttW^ t^W^^ * 
 
 THE ORDINATION . > 
 
 OF THE 
 
 REV. WILLIAM NICOL, 
 
 TO THE CO-PASTORAL CARE OF THE SCOTS CHURCH 
 
 IN SWALLOW- STREET, 
 
 November 23, 1796. 
 
 BY THEy 
 
 REV. JAMES STEVEN, 
 
 MINISTER OF THE SCOTS-CHURCH, CROWN-COURT, 
 CO VENT-GARDEN. 
 
 To which is added 
 
 THE CRARGE 
 
 £Y HENRY HUNTER, D. D. 
 
 OF THE SCOTS-CHURCH; LONDON-WALl. 
 
 PRINTED FOR THE AUTHORS, 
 
 BY T. GILLET, BARTHOLOMEW-CLOSE; 
 
 And fold by Dillv, Poultry; Cadel and Davis, Strand; 
 
 CHAPMAN, Fleet-Street; Kay, oppofite Someriet-Houfe, 
 
 Strand; and Bishof, Newport- Street. 
 
 1796. 
 

TO 
 
 THE REV. DR. TROTTER, 
 
 THE REV. MR. NICOL, 
 
 MINISTERS ; 
 AND 
 
 To the Elders, and other Members of the 
 Church in Swallow-Street. 
 
 ■— -iS»g£< 
 
 MY CHRISTIAN FRIENDS, 
 
 TTAD I confulted merely my own 
 AA fentiments and feelings, the 
 Sermon yeflerday delivered would 
 never have been fubmitted to public 
 infpe&ion. But your urgent, una- 
 nimous requeft, followed up by that 
 of fome refpe&able Clergy of the 
 Church of England, and of many 
 other Minifters and Gentlemen pre- 
 fent on the occafio n ,hath overpow- 
 A 3 ered 
 
L vi ] 
 
 cred my reluctance, and given a pub- 
 licity to the Difcourfe, which I little 
 expected, and which it little merits. 
 
 I prefume not to ftart as a candi- 
 date for theological fame; my am- 
 bition is bounded by the wifh of 
 being ufeful, and refpected, in the 
 circle of my ?nore immediate Con- 
 nections. The Sermon has little elfe 
 to recommend it than the impor- 
 tance of the fubject,. and it's ten- 
 dency to aroufe both the Preachers 
 and Profeffors of Chriftianity, from 
 that lethargic indifference, and dead 
 formality, which fo ftrongly mark 
 the complexion of the Age. Though 
 it may, perhaps, obtain a wider cir- 
 culation, it is now printed, as it was 
 firft preached, with a particular view 
 to the religious interefts of the 
 
 Church 
 
[ vii ] 
 
 Church in Swallow-Street ; which I 
 hope, through the connection yef- 
 terday formed, will be greatly pro- 
 moted, and long perpetuated. The 
 Difcourfe iffues from the Prefs, nearly 
 in the ftate in which it was delivered 
 from the Pulpit. Committing it, 
 fuch as it is, to your ferious regard, 
 to the candour of the Public, to the 
 difpofal and blejfmg of the Great 
 Head of the Church, I am, 
 
 With unfeigned affection, 
 
 Your Servant in the Lord, 
 
 JAMES STEVEN. 
 
 Thornhaugh-Street, Bedford-Square, 
 Nov. 14, 1796. 
 
 A 4 A SERMON 
 
THE SERVICE OF THE DAY 
 
 was conducted in the following Order : 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Smith began with Prayer. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Love read the Scriptures, gave the 
 Narrative, and propofed the Queftions, ufualon fuch 
 occafions. 
 
 The Rev. Mr. Steven preached the Sermon. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Trotter (Paftor of the Church) prayed 
 the Confecration-Prayer, accompanied with the im- 
 pofition of the hands of tht Prefbytery. 
 
 The Rev. Dr. Hunter gave the Charge ; and 
 
 The Rev, Mr. Rutiedge concluded the whole, with 
 Prayer and Thanksgiving. 
 
C 9 ] 
 
 A SERMON 
 
 ON 
 
 2 COR. II. 15, 16. 
 
 " For we are unto God a sweet savour of 
 " Christ, in them that are saved, and 
 " in them that perish : to the one, we 
 " are the savour of death unto death; 
 " and to the other, the savour of life 
 
 te UNTO LIFE." 
 
 VER fince the Church of God was 
 eftablifhed upon earth, a diitinct or- 
 der of men has fubfifredinit, entrufted with 
 the care of fouls, and with the miniftry of 
 the Gofpel, as the means cf fulfilling it. 
 The facred nature of the office itfelf, the 
 awful refponfibility attached unto it, the 
 qualifications requifite to the right difcharge 
 of it, and the vaft momentous confequences 
 which mult for ever reiult from it; — thcfe 
 are confiderations all fuited, on this occa- 
 sion, 
 
10 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 fion, to ftrike our minds with an impreflive 
 energy. Than this, what ftation is more 
 dignified, more arduous, or, on which more 
 awful events intimately depend ? If the 
 dignity of any function is to be eftimated, 
 by the magnitude of the end at which it 
 aims, or of the confequences to which it 
 leads; none is equal to that of the " Am* 
 bafTadors of (Thrift, who are allowed of God 
 to be put in truft with the Gofpel," and 
 fent " in Ch rill's ftead, to befeecfrmen to 
 be reconciled unto God." What is the 
 employment of a Puyfician, of a Lawyer, of 
 any Magiftrate or Minifter of State, frefpec- 
 table as they are) compared to that of a 
 faithful Minifter of " the Prince of Peace, 
 of the Lord of Glory?" Theirs relates only 
 to the bodily health, to the worldly pro- 
 perty, to the civil and political rights of 
 mankind; his embraces the vail: interefts of 
 their immortal fpirits, and its confequences, 
 furviving time, mall extend even to Eter- 
 nity itielf. 
 
 Nothing can equal the dignity, except 
 the comfort ariiing from the fuccefsful dif- 
 
 charge 
 
A BLESSING OR A CURSE. 11 
 
 charo-e of minifterial duty. To this, no 
 true fervant of Chrift can be at all indif- 
 ferent. He who feels no intereft, nor fo- 
 licitude, refpe&ing the fuccefs of his minif- 
 try, has reafon to conclude, that he is nei- 
 ther qualified, nor called to undertake it. 
 Not that I would be underftood, as repre- 
 fenting sreat ufefulnefs, to be the only teft 
 of a valid miniftry ; I mean merely to af- 
 fert, that this is what every true Minifler 
 will eagerly defire and labour to attain, — 
 that when attained he will rejoice, and that 
 when awanting, he will be filled with the 
 bittereft grief. 
 
 The context brings into view an illuf- 
 trious inftance of this kind, in the temper 
 and conduct of the great Apoftle of the 
 Gentiles. Reviewing his toils and travels 
 in fpreading the Gofpel, he particularly re- 
 cords, to the honour of God, the fignal fuc- 
 cefs wherewith he was favoured, at Troas, 
 Macedonia, and other places where " a door 
 was opened unto him, of the Lord." The 
 very retrofpect of fuch a fcene of ufefulnefs, 
 gladdened his heart, and made his joy fweli 
 
 into 
 
12 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 into all the tranfports of exultation and tri- 
 umph. " Now thanks be unto God," fays 
 he, " who always caufeth us to triumph 
 in Chriit, and maketh manifeft the favour 
 of his knowledge, by us, in every place." 
 
 Notwithftanding, however, the miracu- 
 lous powers by which his commiflion was 
 attefted, and notwithftanding: the learning, 
 piety, eloquence, and zeal with which he 
 was fo fignally endowed ; even Paul him- 
 felf could not command univerfal fuccefs. 
 It was in the Apoftolic age, as in our own; 
 — " Some believed the things which were 
 fpoken, and fome believed not."* Though 
 many believed and turned unto the Lord, 
 multitudes refifted the word, and. through 
 unbelief and impenitence, perimed in their 
 fins. A confideration this, which could 
 hardly fail to opprefs the benevolent breaft 
 of our Apoftle, and to damp the ardor of 
 that joy and gratulation, to which he had 
 juft been giving vent. 
 
 * A&s xxviii. 24. 
 
 Yet 
 
A BLESSING OR A CURSE. 13 
 
 Yet afflicted as he was with it, there 
 were two thoughts, which banifhed or re- 
 lieved the anguifh of his mind. The one 
 —that a Minifter's final account will turn, 
 not upon his Juccefs, but upon his fincerity; 
 not upon the good which he hath done, but 
 upon the fidelity and diligence difplayed in 
 the attempt. The other — that he may faith- 
 fully fulfil the end of his Mim«ftry, even 
 when thofe who fat under it, inftead of be- 
 ing fa ved, perljh for ever. What was pri- 
 marily fpoken of the great Head and Pro- 
 phet of the Church, in his official charac- 
 ter, may apply to the abortive labours of 
 every faithful fervant. — " I have laboured 
 in vain, I have fpent my ftrength for 
 nought, and in vain : yet furely my judg- 
 ment is with the Lord, and my work with 
 my God. Though Ifrael be not gathered, 
 yet fhall I be g'erious in the eyes of the 
 Lord, and my God (hall be my ftrength. "* 
 Long ago it was foretold of the foundation- 
 ftone, which God himfelf hath laid in Zion 
 * — u this ftone is fet for thefall, as well as 
 
 * Ifaiah xlix. 5, 6, 
 
 for 
 
14 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 for the rifing again of many in Ifrael." 
 This was the prediction of Him " who 
 knew the end from the beginning ;" and 
 did wot fad exa&ly correfpond to it, Chrif- 
 tianity would be robbed of one of the main 
 ,pillars, by which its truth and credibility are 
 fupported. As the fame fire that foftens 
 wax, hardens clay, as the fame light re- 
 freshes the found, that hurts the weak dif- 
 tempered eye ; fo the preaching of the Gof- 
 pel muit operate differently, on different 
 perfons, according to the reception given 
 unto it : It mult either prove " a favour 
 of death unto death, or a favour of life unto 
 life," unto all who hear it. 
 
 Employed, as we are this day, in the fo- 
 3emn defignation of our young Brother, to 
 the full exercife of his Chnftian Miniftry, 
 no fubjecr occurred to my mind, as more 
 adapted to the occafion, than that contained 
 in the words before us. They fuggeft the 
 two following points of difcufiion, to each 
 of which 1 would humbly claim your can- 
 did attention. 
 
 I. That 
 
A BLESSING Oil A CURSE. 15 
 
 I. That Minifters, who fikhfjllv dif- 
 fufe 4t the fweet favour of the Know- 
 ledge of Chrift," are accepted of 
 God, whatever be the effect pro- 
 duced by th^ir Miniftry. 
 
 II. That fince the preaching of the 
 Gofpel muft produce its effect, of 
 one kind or other, its hearers mall 
 either perijh or profit, by their at- 
 tendance upon it. 
 
 After a brief difcuffion of thefe two im- 
 portant points, I ihall review and apply the 
 whole, in a more direct reference to the bu- 
 finefs of the day. 
 
 The Firfi truth taught us in the text, is 
 — that Minifters who faithfully diffufe the 
 " fweet favour of Chriit," are accepted of 
 God, whatever be the effect produced by 
 their Miniftry. 
 
 By an approved apoftolical pattern, we 
 are here niftructed in the great duty of a 
 Chriftian Minifter, which is — to make the 
 
 doclrine 
 
10 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 doclrine of Chrifi^ the grand pervading 
 theme of all his minifirations, and to repre- 
 fent all the other lines of religious truth, 
 as running and referring to this as the 
 centre. 
 
 Though this fentiment needs not the aid 
 of metaphor to render it intelligible, our 
 Apoftle employs a finking, agreeable, and 
 apt iimilitude, to give it luftre and advan- 
 tage. He compares the preaching of :he 
 Gofpel, to a rich perfume, dirruting its fwett 
 reviving fragrance ail around. 
 
 Without draining, or doing violence to 
 this beautiful image, I {hall ufc it no far- 
 ther, than as it may illuftrate the fentiment, 
 and ferve the purpoie in view. 
 
 Such as are converfant with Scripture 
 phrafeology need not to be told, that, 
 amongft many figurative allufions, that of 
 a precious ', odoriferous ointment is alfo ufed, 
 to denote the Saviour's tranfcendent dignity, 
 and the exquifite delight which his people 
 feel, when hearing of his name. ** Thy 
 
 name," 
 
A BLESSING OR A CURSE. if 
 
 name," (fays the Church, fpeaking of 
 Chrifl in his perfon, character, offices, and 
 grace) M thy name is as ointment pour- 
 ed forth." As though me had faid, " Not 
 more grateful to the external fenfes, not 
 more adapted is the moft delicious perfume 
 to re-animate a perfon fainting in a fwoon, 
 than are thy gracious excellencies to reftore 
 and delight my foul, when pining away un- 
 der a fenfe of guilt, and under the prefTure 
 of it's many fins, forrows, trials, and infir- 
 mities." From thefe, and other caufes, 
 every Chriftian, while he continues in the 
 body, is more or lefs fubject to many fpi- 
 ritual maladies ; to much languor, debility, 
 and depreffion. In fuch circumltances, 
 what is the grand Catholicon^ and where is 
 it to be found ? In vain do we feek for it 
 in the bleak, barren fields of human fcience; 
 in the clafiical lore and cold fpeculations of 
 Orators, Philofophers, Poets, and Politi- 
 cians, either of ancient or modern date. — 
 No, " miferable comforters are they all!" 
 Nothing they can fuggefl can eafe an awak- 
 ened confcience of it's cumbrous load, pa- 
 cify a troubled fpirit, revive and raife the 
 
 B foul 
 
18 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 foul when drooping and difconfolate, or 
 fatisfy it when panting for a happinefs fuit- 
 ed to it's nature. 
 
 The Gofpely and the Gofpel alone , that 
 precious fyflem of grace and confolation, 
 directs us to a fuitable and effectual Rejlo- 
 rative ; one fweeter far than all the odours 
 of Egypt and Arabia. — I need not fay, I 
 mean the doctrine of Chri/l, and of falva- 
 t'wn through his blood. To hearers of a 
 found fpiritual tafle, " who have their fenfes 
 exercifed, that they can difcern between 
 good and evil,'* every other fyflem muft 
 be infipid, unfavoury, and ufelefs ; adapted 
 rather to corrupt than to cure a difordered, 
 imperfect, (infill nature. And yet, flrange 
 to tell ! are there not fome Preachers, if 
 fuch they may be called, whofe difcourfes 
 fmell more of Socrates and Seneca, of Xe- 
 nophon and Plato,, than of that worthy name 
 by which alone finners can be faved. Inftead 
 of being " a fweet favour of Christ," nei- 
 ther thefentiment nor flyle of fuch Preach- 
 ers has any reUJh of falvation in it. By 
 fine-fpun theories and maxims of morality, 
 
 by 
 
A BLESSING OR A CURSE. 19 
 
 by philofbphical difquifitions on the beauty 
 of virtue, and by the arts of fcience, falfely 
 fo called, they think to reafon, or to charm 
 the World into outward reformation. In- 
 cited of pointing, like John, to " the Lamb 
 of God, which taketh away the (in of the 
 world," his name is but feldom and fpar- 
 ingly introduced, or if mentioned at all, it 
 is with obvious reluctance and with cold 
 referve. 
 
 Far otherwife acted Paul, and the other 
 Apoftles, in fulfilling the Miniftry, which 
 they had received of the Lord. They were 
 "not afhamed of the Gofpel of Chrift" 
 even of that part of it, which to others was 
 the moit fhameful and otfenfive. In the 
 divine, though defpifed, doctrine of the 
 Crofs, they were determined for ever to 
 glory, becaufe well they knew, that though 
 it might be fneered at, as foolimnefs, by 
 the felf-righteous of the age, " it was by 
 this fame foolimnefs of preaching that God 
 was to fave them that believe." Wherever 
 they went, this was their darling, delight- 
 ful theme ; and almoft every where it was 
 B 2 crowned 
 
20 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 crowned with remarkable, fuccefs. Tra- 
 verfing the land of Judea and of Paleftine, 
 as well as the more remote, idolatrous na- 
 tions, how freely did they impart to them 
 the Gofpel of God ? preaching to all " who 
 were called, both Jews and Greeks, Chrift 
 the wifdom of God, and the power of God." 
 This they did, " not with the wifdom of 
 words, but with great plainnefs of fpeech, 
 left the Crofs of Chrifl mould become of 
 none effect." Inftead. of profelyting the Na- 
 tions to the belief of the Truth by the glit- 
 ter of language, by the fallies of wit, or by 
 the charms of eloquence, they left it to it's 
 own innate evidence, to it's own in- 
 trinfic energy, that lb " the excellency of 
 the Power might appear to be of God." — 
 Nor did they mutilate and obfcure it, by 
 mingling: fancies of their own, to make it 
 
 CO * 
 
 palatable to their hearers. This they left 
 to the Judaizing zealots, while they, with 
 undeviating integrity, " fhunned not to de- 
 clare all the counfel of God," without dar- 
 ing to conceal or to curtail the moft trivial 
 part of it. ( On this Paul fpeaks, with an 
 air of triumph, in the verfe following the 
 
 text. 
 
A BLESSING OR A CURSE, 21 
 
 text. — " For we are not as many, who 
 corrupt the word of God : but as of fince- 
 rity, but as of God, in the fight of God 
 fpeak we in Chrifr.." 
 
 The fame firmnefs and fidelity are ex- 
 pected, and will be ftudied of all, who 
 would imitate this approved, apoftolical 
 pattern. Would we 9 my reverend Fathers 
 and Brethren, wifh to (hare in the tri- 
 umphs of this Apoftle, we mufl feek it, by 
 eftablifhing the fame principles, by being 
 actuated with the fame motives, by aiming 
 at the fame end. To fhape and accommo- 
 date our Sermons to the humours of our 
 People, betrays a low, temporifing, daf- 
 tardly fpirit, unworthy of the truths we 
 preach, of the character we fuftain, and of 
 the exalted Matter whom we ferve. Were 
 their filly prejudices and prepofTefTions to 
 guide us in the Pulpit, we behoved to walk 
 in a very partial and contracted ran^e : too 
 much ftrefs would be laid upon fome doc- 
 trines and duties of Religion, while others 
 would be but flightly touched, or totally 
 concealed. 
 
 B 3 Inftead 
 
22 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 Inltead of this meagre, defective plan, 
 we are to lead our People through the land 
 of Revelation, " in the length and in the 
 breadth of it," explaining the hiftorical, 
 prophetical, typical, doctrinal, and practical 
 parts of it, in clofe connection with that 
 * e Great Myftery of Godlinefs," which re- 
 flects lultre, meaning, and confidence on 
 the whole. Treat we, for inftance, of the 
 Attributes of God, we mult not fail to 
 (how, that it is in the face of Chrifi that 
 thefe mine with their molt reviving fplen- 
 dor. Treat we of the Promifes, we mult 
 not forget to mention, that thefe are M all 
 yea and amen in Chrift, to the glory of 
 God." Speak we of the Law of God, in 
 its moral obligation, demands, threatnings, 
 and terrors, it would be highly culpable, did 
 we omit to add, " Chrift is the end of the 
 Law, for righteoufnefs, to every one that be- 
 lieveth." Do we infill: on the divine Com- 
 mandments, we mull: inculcate and recom- 
 mend obedience to thefe, only from argu- 
 ments connected with Chrilt, " without 
 whom we can do nothing." — Thus, while 
 we maintain "that faithful faying, and affirm 
 
 conltantly, 
 
A BLESSING OR A CURSE. 23 
 
 constantly, that they who have believed in 
 God fhould be careful to maintain good 
 works" it will be in perfect harmony with 
 another " faithful faying, alfo worthy of 
 all acceptation — that Chrift Jefus came into 
 the world to favejinners, even the chief." 
 
 In this way will all our Miniftrations 
 literally prove " a fweet favour of Chrift ;" 
 — his name will drop from our lips like the 
 fweet fmelllng myrrh, fhedding forth the 
 moft rich, reviying fragrance. When the 
 Gofpel is thus preached, in it's native pu- 
 rity, and when it's great Author is thus 
 faithfully exhibited, in his infinite, unbor- 
 rowed, tranfcendant dignity, it might be 
 expected that men, in general, would be fo 
 convinced by it's evidence, and fo capti- 
 vated by it's charms, that, like Paul, they 
 Would " count all things lofs, for the 
 excellency cf the knowledge of Chrift Je- 
 fus." But fo it is, that from prejudice, 
 from pride of underftanding, from the 
 want of a found fpiritual tafte, to relilh and 
 receive it, the dodrine of Ghrifl is an offence 
 to many, who * c reject the counfel of God 
 B 4 again ft 
 
24 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 againfl themfelves, and make light of the 
 great Salvation !" — Precious as Chriit is 
 "unto them that believe, unto the unbe- 
 lieving and impenitent, he hath always 
 been as " a root out of a dry ground ;" as 
 5* having no form nor comelinefs in him, 
 wherefore he mould be defired." Little do 
 perfons of this defcription reflect on the 
 truth and meaning of that awful doom, 
 which our Lord, originally, denounced 
 againft the Jews ; but which fhall alfo 
 fall in juft feverity upon all who are of the 
 fame infidel-brood. " If ye believe not 
 that I am He, ye (hall die in your fins." 
 What elfe can be the portion of thofe, that 
 will not come unto him, " who alone hath 
 the words of eternal life ? Dreadful doom! 
 who, that has any love to the fouls of men, 
 would not deprecate and deplore it ; and 
 deploring, endeavour, to the utmoft, to 
 prevent it ? Though his grief may be un- 
 availing, and his befl-intended, befr.- direct- 
 ed efforts utterly abortive ; he will be ready 
 to exclaim, in fimilar ftrains, with the 
 plaintive Prophet — " But if ye will not 
 hear, my foul fhall weep in fecret places 
 
 for 
 
A BLESSING OR A CURSE. 2,3 
 
 for your pride ; mine eye fhall weep fore, 
 and run down with tears *." 
 
 Under every difcouragement of this na- 
 ture, the grand relief, to a faithful Minifler, 
 is — that, however offenfive may be his 
 Miniftry unto Men, it is accepted of God, as 
 a fervice well- pie ajing in his fight. " We 
 are unto God (fays the Apoftle) a fweet fa- 
 vour of Chrift, both in them that are fav- 
 ed, and in them that perifh." Defirable 
 in itfelf, as it furely is, fuccefs in his work 
 is what no Minifler can command, or fe- 
 cure to himfelf ; it depends upon cauies, 
 over which he has no controul. Never- 
 theless, if he has endeavoured, by proper 
 means, to do good to the ntmolt of his 
 power ; whether he fails or fucceeds in his 
 defign, " verily, he mail in no wife lofe 
 his reward !" Indeed, in the tranquility 
 and approbation of confcience, and in the 
 refined, exalted pkafures connected with 
 jt, the Redeemer's fervice may be faid to 
 be, its own reward. But, befides this re- 
 compence given in hand, every faithful 
 
 * Jer. xiii. 17. 
 
 Minifler 
 
26 THE G052EL MINISTRY, 
 
 Minifter fhall gracioufly receive an ample 
 retribution, " at the refurre&ion of the 
 Jul!:." With whatever filence and obfcu- 
 rity he may have pafled through life, he 
 fhall then be acknowledged and commend- 
 ed, before an aflembled world ; and, from 
 his Matter's lips, fhall openly receive that 
 grand euhgium, " Well done, good and 
 faithful fervant, enter thou into the joy of 
 thy Lord !" 
 
 It were well if his labours led to the 
 fame glorious ifTue, in the cafe of a/If who 
 attended on his Miniftry. But the iffues 
 and afpe&s of the Judgment-day will vary, 
 according as men have re/efled, or improved 
 the means of falvation. This naturally leads 
 to the next topic of difcourfe. 
 
 II. That fince the preaching of the Gof- 
 pel muft produce it's effect, of one kind or 
 other, it's hearers fhall either perijh or 
 profit by their attendance upon it. 
 
 Fir//, The text declares, that " to them 
 that perifh, it is the favour of death unto 
 
 death" 
 
A BLESSING OR A CURSE. 1' 
 
 death" How awful and alarming the 
 thought ! that any* who have heard the 
 word of life, mould perijh for ever — that, 
 to any who have fat under the preaching 
 of the Gofpel, it mould ferve only as a 
 torch, to light them down to the dreary 
 abodes of darknefs and def pair. Not that 
 this arifes from any fault or deficiency in 
 the Gofpel itfelf, or that this is its direct 
 and proper tendency. Entirely the re- 
 verfe — the efFecT: is to be attributed, not to 
 the Gofpel ; but to the unbelief, infenfibi- 
 lity, and obftinacy of finners themfelves, 
 who " will not come unto Chrift, that they 
 may have life, nor receive, with meeknefs, 
 that ingrafted word, which is able to fave 
 their fouls." In this view, we cannot im- 
 peach the wifdom and equity of the divine 
 character, or fubjecl: it to any imputation of 
 harfhnefs and feverity. It is wholly mat- 
 ter of y^jf-crimination. Defpifers of " the 
 Gofpel of the grace of God," may be faid 
 to perifh by choice ; and, to prefer the mi- 
 feries of fpiritual death to all the bleflednefs 
 of endlefs life ! 
 
 Permit 
 
28 THE GOSTEL MINISTRY, 
 
 Permit me briefly to illu (Irate the truth 
 of this fentiment in two particulars. 
 
 i. When a preached Gofpel is refilled 
 and abufed, it is " the favour of death,'* 
 ,as it contributes to the badnefs of their 
 jlate ; as it feals and aggravates their de- 
 ferved condemnation. Man's fir ft act of dif- 
 obedience brought death into the world, 
 and all our woe ; and on this account, as 
 well as for our actual and acquired depra- 
 vity, a fentence of condemnation hath gone 
 forth againft us all. " Curfed is every one 
 that continueth not in all things, written 
 in the book of the Law to do them." From 
 this ftate of guilt and condemnation, how 
 mail finners obtain deliverance ? or to what 
 mall they look for final releafe ? — Not to 
 virtues of which they may fuppofe them- 
 felves poiTelTed ; even thefe, if they had 
 them, are but requifitions of prefent duty, 
 and cannot make the fmalleft reparation for 
 one pail: tranfgreffion. — Not to vows of fu- 
 ture amendment ; for thefe, at beft, are 
 not only deftitute of every degree of merit, 
 but too often prove precarious, feeble, and 
 
 tranfitory. 
 
A BLESSING OR A CURSE. 2g 
 
 tranfitory. — Not to thejuftice of God; for, 
 inftead of peace, that fpeaks nothing but 
 vengeance to the guilty. — Not even to the 
 general, uncovenanted mercy of God ; for 
 the utmofi: that it can dictate, is, " Who 
 can tell, if the Lord will turn away from 
 his fierce anger, that we perifli not?" No- 
 where can fouls, burdened with guilt, find 
 deliverance and reft, but in the method of 
 falvation revealed in the Gofpel. It is only 
 " the law of the fpirit of life in Chrift Je- 
 fus, that can free them from the law of fin 
 and death." But if, by unbelief and impe- 
 nitence, they reject this great falvation, then 
 " the commandment, which was ordained 
 to life, will be found to be unto death." 
 
 Minifters now, indeed, have no fuch 
 power delegated unto them, as had the 
 priefts under the law, who could declare 
 the incurable leper utterly unclean : nor can 
 they pronounce on any of'their people, as the 
 A pottles did on Simon the forcerer, " thou 
 art in the gall of bitternefo, and in the bond 
 of iniquity." No ; — fuch an extraordinary 
 power hath long fince ceafed, with the 
 
 caufe 
 
30 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 caufe that required it. But it by no means 
 follows, from this conceffion, that the fa- 
 cred office is now altogether ftripped of its 
 authority and efficacy. Often perhaps, 
 though unknown to us, do ourfermons, frill 
 prove " the favour of death," to fome that 
 hear us. What Jefus faid of his doctrine, 
 as dropping fi om the lips of Prophets and 
 Apoftles, will apply, in a certain degree, to 
 that of every faithful Minifter, to the end 
 of time — " He that rejecteth me, and re- 
 ceiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth 
 him: the word that I have fpoken, the 
 fame fhall judge him in the laft day.*" 
 Nay, Scripture teaches us, that the hottefl 
 hell, fhall be the portion of thofe who de- 
 fpife the Gofpel ; or attend upon it, with- 
 out any defign or defire to profit : *' It 
 fhall be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon, 
 at the day of judgment, than for fuch &c."f 
 
 2. The Gofpel, when abufed, proves 
 M the favour of death," inafmuch as tin- 
 ners, by ftifling and counteracting its fa- 
 
 * John xii. 48. t Matth. xi. 22. 
 
 cred 
 
A BLESSING OR A CURSE. 31 
 
 cred influence, only take occafion to corrupt 
 themfelves the more, by the abufe they 
 make of it. This thought admits of illuf- 
 tration, in various views. — Sometimes, it, 
 indirectly, confirms their prejudices. Com- 
 ing to hear, with an unfavourable prepof- 
 feffion of mind againft it, they only attend, 
 that they may meet with fomething, by 
 which their difafFection to the truth may be 
 foflered and confirmed. To fuch men, the 
 doctrine of Chriji crucified, the ftrittnefs and 
 extent of the divine law — -the mortification of 
 the fiejh, with its affeclions and lufis, arc 
 fubjects peculiarly ofFenfive. This our Lord 
 afligns as a reafon, why he fpake fo often 
 in parables ; that perfons who came to ca- 
 vil at his word, might be hardened and con- 
 founded.* — Sometimes, their paffions are ex- 
 cited by it. So ftrange a repugnance is there 
 between the paffions of men and the word 
 of God, that they often quarrel, both with 
 the word itfelf, and with thofe who dif- 
 penfe it. The ftream of depravity being 
 damm'd up, by the holy law of God, takes 
 
 * Matth. xiii. 13. 
 
 occafion 
 
32 THE GOSPEL MlNISTKt, 
 
 occafion, from this circumftance, to fwell 
 and flow, with a more raging fury. In- 
 flances innumerable might be produced of 
 this; but I fatisfy myfeif, with one exam- 
 ple from the Old Teftament, and another 
 from the New. In 2 Chron. xxxvi. 15, 
 we fee how the ancient Prophets, as well 
 as their predictions, were fometimes treated ; 
 and how the fcorning of the wicked proved 
 unto themfelves, an evident token of perdi- 
 tion. — " But they mocked the meffengers 
 of God, and defpifed his words, until the 
 wrath of the Lord arofe againffc his people, 
 till there was no remedy." In Acts vii. 54, 
 we fee too, how the faithful preaching of 
 the Proto- martyr Stephen, while it con- 
 vinced, it fo ex a/per at ed the Jews againft 
 him, that when they heard what he had 
 faid, " they were cut to the heart, and 
 gnafhed on him with their teeth." And 
 though the punifhment which followed 
 their murderous deed, is unnoticed in the 
 narrative, it is probable, that (Paul except- 
 ed) few of them efcaped the juft judgment 
 of God. <: If he that defpifed Mofes' law 
 died without mercy : of how much forer 
 
 punimment 
 
A BLESSING OR A CURSE. 33 
 
 punifhment, fuppofe ye, (hall he be thought 
 worthy, who hath trodden under foot the 
 Son of God, and hath counted the blood of 
 the covenant an unholy thing, and hath 
 done defpite unto the fpirit of grace."* 
 
 Again, fometimcs, by means of the word, 
 finners lull themf elves ajleep in carnal fecu- 
 rity. While Minifters prophecy to them 
 fmooth things, all is well ; but if, by a fe- 
 rious and faithful addrefs to the confcience, 
 they difturb their peace, or detect them in 
 the fecret haunts of iniquity, then they are 
 offended, and, in proud hoftility, rebel 
 asainft the truth. Were Minifters to over- 
 look that part of the word, which is more 
 fearching and fevere, " a difcerner of the 
 thoughts and intents of the heart," their 
 preaching would have the moil pernicious 
 influence; foflering a peace which mould 
 rather be difturbed. 
 
 To addrefs the precious promifes and 
 confolations of the Gofpel, unto perions of 
 
 * Hcb. x. 28, 29. 
 
 C this 
 
34 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 this defcription, is like applying fweetmeats 
 to a difordered ftomach, which tend to feed 
 rather than to cure the difeafe, — to injure, 
 rather than to rciake the appetite found. 
 By fuch a vague indifcriminate application 
 of the word; many, I fear, have been footh- 
 ed in their fins, and lulled aileep in carnal 
 fecurity, from which they have never 
 awaked, until " their feet {tumbled on the 
 dark mountains," and till they were about 
 to plunge into the gulph of remedilefs ruin ! 
 
 But from this dark diftreffing view of 
 things, we turn away — to contemplate a 
 brighter fcene. 
 
 Secondly, The Gofpel Miniftry, unto 
 others, is " the favourof life untolife." Were 
 our preaching, my Fathers and Brethren, 
 unlverfally followed with effecls like thofe, 
 we would droop in difcouragement, and in 
 defpondent grief, be ready to relinquifh the 
 very attempt. But although fome of our 
 hearers prove only a fource of forrow and 
 Jhame to us ; bleiTed be God ! there are 
 others who prove " our glory and joy" 
 
 Although 
 
A BLESSING OR A CURSE. 35 
 
 Although " to them that arc loll our Gof- 
 pel is hid," or has only a deadly deitru&ive 
 favour, — there are others whom we may 
 addrefs, in the language of our Lord, — 
 " The words that we fpeak unto you, they 
 zvtfpirit and they are life"* 
 
 Here, it is natural to enquire, who or 
 what is it that caufeth thefe to differ ? Is 
 the effect to be a fen bed to any iuperior 
 energy in the word — to any greater exer- 
 tion of talents in the preacher — or to any 
 tranfeendent merit in the hearers ? No — ■ 
 they may be children of the fame family, 
 members of the fame church, may fit, per- 
 haps, in the fame pew, and the preacher 
 may addrefs them with the fame ability, 
 earneftnefs and affection : and yet, after all 
 this equality in outward circumftances, the 
 one clafs may remain cold, callous, lifelefs as 
 a ftone, while the other is awakened, melted, 
 moved, and animated with the livelieft len^ 
 fations of faith, love, gratitude and joy ! 
 Upon no other principle, can this happy 
 
 * John vi. 63. 
 
 C 2 difference 
 
3(5 
 
 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 difference be properly accounted for, them* 
 upon that laid down by the Apoftle, when 
 he faid — " By the grace of God, I am what 
 I am."* 
 
 -Permit me to illuftrate the phrafe " the 
 favour of life unto life," in two di£lin£fc 
 ideas, which it feems to include, 
 
 i. That the word of God purely preach- 
 ed, is the grand injiaument by which the 
 divine life is ufually infufed and advanced 
 in the fouls of believers. 
 
 By nature they, like others, are fpiritu- 
 ally dead ; having no vital fenfations, appe- 
 tites, inclinations, or affections towards God 
 or his fervice. Of the reality and mifery 
 of fuch a ftate, the bulk of mankind have 
 no proper perfuafion. They can conceive of 
 death in no other light, than as it is an ex- 
 tinction of the feelings and functions of ani- 
 mal nature : But that men may be " dead 
 even while they live," that even when their 
 
 • i Cor. xv, to. 
 
 animal 
 
A BLESSING OR A CURSE.- 37 
 
 animal and intellectual powers are in full 
 vigour, they may be deiritute of moral and 
 fplritual life ; is a pofition, fanttioned as it 
 is by Scripture and fact, which many de- 
 ride, as the wild reverie of fanaticifm and 
 folly.* To the eye of faith ; however, 
 opened by divine revelation, this feeming 
 paradox appears at once credible and con- 
 iiftent. Full well can real believers recoi- 
 led the time, when the pulfe of facred af- 
 
 * Some unenlightened heathen, and infidel Jews have 
 appeared, who may ferve to affront thofe modern pre. 
 tenders to reafon and refinement \x\ religion. 
 
 It is reported oi Socrates, by his hiflorian, that among 
 the lad difcourfes which he delivered, he fays, when 
 fpeaking of Life, in this moral fenfe. " Do you afk me 
 what it is to live P I tell you that, to live truly, is to en- 
 deavour to excel in goodnefs ; and to live coynfortably, is 
 to feel~one's felf growing better and better." 
 
 It is faid, too, of Philo^Judaus, that, when defcrib-* 
 ing man, fuch as he ought to be, he obferves— " No 
 . one or.ght to be reckoned a partaker of the rational 'na- 
 ture, that has not in him hope towards God." If fuch 
 were the fentiments of men confefTedly Grangers to 
 Christianity ; the reafon of thofe alluded to above muft 
 be fhamefully funk below the Jlandard ; and yet, for- 
 footh, they would afreet exclufively to be thought ra* 
 tional Christians ! ! 
 
 C 3 fe&ions 
 
38 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 fed ions never beat in their, breafts ; when 
 the breath of true prayer never afcended 
 from their lips; when, whatever acutenefs, 
 feniibility, and vigour they difcovered in 
 profecuting their fecular interefts, their 
 fouls were quite carelefs, fenfelefs, and 
 dead, as to matters of fpi 'ritual and eternal 
 concern. In this difmal ftate would they 
 for ever have remained, had not 4< God, 
 who is rich in mercy, with his great love 
 wherewith he loved them, even when they 
 were dead in fins, quickened them together 
 with Chrifr."* Though other means may- 
 be conducive to this end, the pure preach- 
 ing of the word of Chrid: is the grand in- 
 ftrument ufually employed, in the renova- 
 tion of the fouls of men. When reading- 
 or hearing fome particular parts of it, for- 
 merly, perhaps, neglected or defpifed ; the 
 Spirit of Grace, who is the fole efficient caufe 
 of this change, thereby produces fuch deep 
 convictions and impremons on the mind, as 
 mew, that " the Gofpel is the power of 
 God unto faivation, to every one that be- 
 lieveth." 
 
 * Eph. ii. 4> 5' 
 
 But 
 
A BLESSING OR A CURSK. 39 
 
 But not only arc believers, " of God's 
 own will, begotten by the word of truth, 
 that they may be a kind of fir ft fruits of his 
 creatures ;"— they are 2M0 fantiified, quick- 
 ened, comforted, and advanced in holinefs, 
 by the lame inftituted medium. Perhaps, 
 Chrift's healing the difeafes of many by a 
 word, during his refidence on earth, might 
 be defigned to pre-fignify the falutary in- 
 fluence, which hisGofpei mould have upon 
 the fouls of men. Every blinded under- 
 ftandinghe hath thereby illuminated, every 
 ftubborn will thereby fubdued, every carnal 
 heart thereby purified, every boifterous paf- 
 fion regulated and reftrained by it, gives 
 frelh atteftation to this truth— that the 
 preaching of the Gofpel, <^to thofe that 
 are laved, is the favour of life:' 
 
 Not only does it produce fpiritual life, it 
 alfo promotes fpiritual livelinefs. Not more 
 refrelhing to the animal fpirits is fome fweet 
 odour, feafonably applied; than are the pro- 
 miles and confolations of the Gofpel unto a 
 Chriftian, when faint, feeble, and unlit for 
 duty. Under the erodes and calamities of 
 C 4 lifc > 
 
40 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 life, too, he would be often apt to fink, 
 were he not folaced and ftrengcbened by 
 thefe reviving cordials. What David fays 
 of the fweet refreshment he derived from 
 the Scripture, will apply to the language and 
 experience of every other believer. — " Un- 
 lefs thy Law had been my delight, 1 mould 
 have perimed in my affliction. This word 
 of thine is my comfort in affliction, and in 
 all my frraits I am revived by it *." Nay, 
 to mow that this language is not peculiar 
 to one Saint, eminent for holinefs, the 
 
 whole Church is introduced faying ■ 
 
 " Thy words were found of me, and I did 
 eat them ; and they were unto me the joy 
 and rejoicing of my heart f." On thefe 
 accounts, perfons of the'higheit attainments 
 in Religion itill need to attend on preach- 
 ing, and on other ordinances of the Gofpel : 
 nor (hall they be wholly raifed above this 
 neceffity, until they arrive in the heavenly 
 Zion, where " in God's light they mall fee 
 light clearly." 
 
 * Pfalm cxjx. 50. 92. + Jer. xv. 16. 
 
 Which 
 
A BLESSING OR A CURSE. 4i 
 
 Which leads me to obferve, as an addw 
 tional idea included in the text, 
 
 2. That the divine life begun on earth, 
 by means of the Gofpel, mail, by the fame 
 means, be carried forward to it's full matu- 
 rity in Heaven. 
 
 It is not " a favour of life unto death" 
 like the prefect tranfitory exigence of the 
 body, but " a favour of life unto 'life** It 
 feems to be a general law in the divine con- 
 ftitution, that there be a gradation, or pro- 
 gremon,in the works of God. None of them, 
 fo far as we know, are fully compleated, 
 or brought to perfection at once. Every 
 day this may be feen in the various tribes 
 of the vegetable and animal worlds, as well 
 as in the advancement of the human fpe- 
 cies towards perfeclion. Thus the feed 
 fown in the earth, by a tedious proceis, 
 arrives at maturity ; and the untutored 
 helplefs babe, by degrees, attains to the 
 ftrength an • wifdom of manhood. — The 
 fame progreffive plan feerns to be obferved 
 in the fpiritual world. The divine life in 
 
 the 
 
42 THE GOSTEL MINISTRY, 
 
 the foul of man, when firffc infufed, is, like 
 a grain of muftard-feed, fmall and incon- 
 fiderable ; others around can fcarcely per- 
 ceive it, nay it may be fcarcely perceptible 
 to the happy pofTeiTor. But ftrengthened 
 by the word of God, as it's proper aliment, 
 and nourifhed from time to time by fuper- 
 natural influence, that which was once as an 
 acorn in the field, becomes like a tall tree, 
 in which the birds of the air may neftle 
 and dwell. That gracious promife of the 
 Head of the Church afcertains both the 
 means and the end. — " I the Lord do keep 
 it, I will water it every moment ; left any 
 hurt it, I will keep it night and day *." 
 Though the word of God fhall be rendered 
 unneceffary, in the heavenly ftate, it is al- 
 ways ufefui to the Chriftian, during his 
 continuance here. While here, he is but 
 in a ftate of minority ; and therefore upon 
 the ordinances of religion he muft punctu- 
 ally attend, as being the proper means of 
 his education, and preparation for his eter- 
 nal inheritance. 
 
 * Ifaiah xxvii. 3. 
 
 The 
 
A ; B Oft A COT 43 
 
 The prefent aj widely from the 
 
 future condition of the Pc ' ; as 
 
 infancy from manhood. In oui Jftt ftate 
 
 of ignojancc and infirmity, lei itly 
 
 impr i . fine ordinances, I of 
 
 advancing in our fpiritual ftal ire and 
 
 ftrength, M until we all come, t- the 
 tjr of the faith, and thro., 
 
 ; of 
 
 the feature oi >.men,. - " 
 
 The :' 
 
 cufl J / .--.. <?/>- 
 
 />/y it, in 
 
 ' . - 
 
 
 
 offic 
 
 I:' not] ' -^ 
 
 ; ^<z//6 are : 
 no D 
 
 ., a man c: ite pi 
 
 * E; 13. 
 
44 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 of tranfcendant talents, both natural and 
 acquired, fo (truck with the work, as to 
 exclaim, " Who is fufficient for thefe 
 things ?" What ihall we think of their pre- 
 fumptuous confidence, who, in a diforderly 
 manner, and with very (lender furniture, 
 intrude themfelves upon it ! No wonder 
 that fuch raw upftarts, and blind zealots, 
 bring the Miniftry into contempt ; and that 
 the fouls of men run a dreadful hazard, by 
 their petulance and folly. But, when a 
 Minifter duly deliberates on the importance 
 and difficulty of his facred function, and 
 considers it's confequences as reaching for- 
 ward to eternity, this will ftimulate him to 
 diligence in preparation for it, and to fide- 
 lity in the difcharge of it. 
 
 2d. What an air of folemnity, and 
 devout folicitude, mould reft upon this 
 Congregation, on fuch an interefting occa- 
 fion. To you who ftatedly alfemble here, 
 this is an eventful day ; when you are cal- 
 led, as from an eminence, to look backward 
 on the paft, and forward to the future. 
 Providence calls you particularly to refett 
 
 on 
 
A BLESSING OR A CURSfi, 4# 
 
 on the many fweet feafons for fpiritual im- 
 provement, you have enjoyed under the 
 Miniftry of my much-refpe&ed Father* 
 who has for twenty-fix years difpenfed the 
 word and the bread of life among you. You 
 are called to anticipate, alfo, the pleafing 
 profpett which this day opens to you, in 
 which the authority, experience, and foli- 
 dity of age, are to be combined with the 
 ardour and induftry of youth, for your fpi- 
 ritual advantage. Therefore, 
 
 3d. Suffer, my Brethren, the word of 
 Exhortation. 
 
 My counfels mall be few, and chiefly 
 connected with the fubjecl: of difcourfe ; as 
 the reciprocal duties, arifing from your re- 
 ciprocal relations, will be more fully and 
 forcibly inculcated in the Charge, I would 
 only fay, 
 
 M Take heed what you hear." Be not 
 indifferent to the religious fentiments ad- 
 vanced by your Teachers, as if this were a 
 matter of trivial moment. Truth and er- 
 ror 
 
46 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 ror are oppofite in their nature, origin, in- 
 fluence, and effects. Remember the hear- 
 ing of the Gofpel is not that eafy, indiffe- 
 rent, uninterefting thing, which fome feem 
 to imagine : it is not like fome fimple me- 
 dicine, which, if it does no good, will do 
 no harm ; it is rather like fome flrong, fo- 
 vereign remedy, which is only applied 
 when the cafe is defperate, and which, if 
 it does not cure y will infallibly dejiroy, 
 
 V Take heed how you hear." Beware 
 of inattention and drowfinefs — -of infenfibi- 
 lity and prejudice — of an over-critical and 
 cenforious fpirit, in hearing the Gofpel ; 
 thefe will obftruct your fpiritual improve- 
 ment, and, of courfe, greatly endanger 
 your fouls. Guard againft a carnal covet- 
 ous fpirit ; for a heart petrified by the love 
 of this world, is a foil into which the good 
 feed of the word cannot be fown with ad- 
 vantage. Enter the Houfe of God with a 
 mind open to inftruction, and {o the full 
 influence of the truths you hear, cordially 
 difpofed " to obey that form of doctrine 
 ,that is delivered unto you." 
 
 " Endeavour 
 
\ 
 
 A BLESSING OR A CURSE. 47 
 
 " Endeavour to keep the unity of the 
 Spirit, in the bond of peace." Of the ne- 
 cefTity and advantage of this, I truft you 
 are fufficiently convinced ; if you are not, 
 the hundred and thirty- third Pfalm will 
 give you a lively picture. The prejudices 
 of education and habit, the influence of 
 great names, felf-love, and a fondnefs for 
 Angularity, have in many focieties been an 
 endlefs fource of fchifm and ftrife ; but by 
 your proved fidelity ye have mown, that 
 - " ye have not fo learned Chrift," United 
 in fentiment, affection, and practice, I 
 hope, like the primitive Churches, you 
 will continue to walk together in the fear 
 of the Lord, and in the comforts of the 
 Holy Ghoft, and be multiplied. On all 
 who walk according to this rule, " peace 
 be on them, and on the Ifrael of God !" 
 
 Continue to refpect, cherifti, and fupport 
 your venerable and aged Minifter, who has 
 long been the mefTenger of the Lord of 
 Hofts to you. Amidft the infirmities of 
 age, and even amid the pangs of diffolving 
 nature, you owe him every tribute of re- 
 gard ; 
 
48 THE GOSPEL MINISTRY, 
 
 gard ; and by rendering it unto him, you 
 may fmooth the wrinkled brow of affliction, 
 and help to clofe his eyes in peace. — And, 
 I demand in behalf of my young Brother, 
 whom I have been honoured to introduce 
 to you, — the embraces of pure, kind, dur- 
 able affection — the fympathy, attachment, 
 and fupport due to one, " who is fet over 
 you in the Lord," — and the perfevering im- 
 portunity of believing prayer, for a blejjing 
 to accompany all his labours. Yet a little 
 while, and both Minifters and People muir. 
 Si give an account of their ftewardmip, and 
 be no longer ftewards" — the one, how they 
 have fulfilled their Miniffry — the other, 
 what ufe and improvement they have made 
 of all the grace that was offered in it. O 
 that in the joys and triumphs of that day, 
 both your Minifters may have a diltinguim- 
 ed mare ! faying of you, as Paul did of 
 his charge at T^hejfalonica — " For, what is 
 our hope, or joy, or crown of rejoicing ? 
 Are not even ye in the prefence of the 
 Lord Jefus Chriil, at his coming ?" 
 
 I conclude 
 
A BLESSING OR A CURSE. 4Q 
 
 1 conclude by reciting his prayer for 
 them, which (hall be my earned: and con- 
 flant wifh for you : " and the lord 
 " make you to increase and abound 
 " in love one toward another, and 
 " toward all men ; even as we do 
 " toward you : to the end he may 
 ci establish your hearts, unblame- 
 " able in holiness, before god even 
 " the Father, at the coming of our 
 " Lord Jesus Christ with all his 
 " Saints.*"— AMEN! 
 
 * i ThefT. iii. 12, 13. 
 
 D THE 
 
THE CHARGE 
 
 TO 
 
 MR. N1COL. 
 
 AT every period, and in every ftate of 
 things the end of all things, prefents 
 itfeif to view, faying, Lo, I am at hand. A 
 child born is in a progrefs toward death ; a 
 building finifhed has already begun to decay, 
 an union formed looks directly forward to 
 the day of it's diflblution. In conferring and 
 undertaking a paftoral charge, the parties are 
 imprefTed with the thought that it muft 
 fhortly be reiigned, and an account render- 
 ed. The Chriftian Minifter, like Mofcs, 
 beholds his charge melting away day by 
 day, and himfelf, though among the lait, 
 yet mofl certainly, with the reit, appointed 
 unto death. The folemnity of this day ex- 
 hibits the unremitting care of the ever-liv- 
 ing Head and King of the Chriftian World, 
 to preferve an uninterrupted overiight of 
 his body the Church ; it exhibits the dig- 
 nified union of a Mofes and a ]ofhua ; the 
 one, without repining, ready to communi- 
 U 2 cate 
 
52 THE CHARGE TO MR. NICOL. 
 
 cate a mare of his refpe&ability and ufeful- 
 nefs to his younger friend; the other, with- 
 out afpiring, difpofed to divide and thereby 
 to diminifh the labour, to relieve the anxie- 
 ties, to mitigate the troubles, and to pro- 
 mote the views of his aged affbciate, in the 
 moit. honourable of all employments. Pro- 
 pitious be the connection to all concerned ! 
 
 In difcharging my part of the duty im- 
 pofed, by the appointment of the Prefby- 
 tery, on this occaiion, I might have fatis- 
 fied myfelf, Sir, with recommending to 
 your ftudy and imitation the pattern imme- 
 diately before your eyes, that of your re- 
 fpe£ted predeceflbr, and now affectionate 
 colleague. Were he not prefeut, I would 
 have attempted a delineation of that pat- 
 tern ; but I muft not pain his ear with a 
 reprefentation of the manner in which he 
 has deported himfelf through the courfe of 
 a long, acceptable and uieful minifrry, both 
 here and in Scotland, though his heart 
 muir fecretly rejoice in reflecting upon it, 
 neither muft I expofe myfelf to the fufpi- 
 qion of employing adulation, even by fpeak- 
 ing the truth. I refort, therefore, to a {till 
 
 more 
 
THE CHARGE TO MR. NICOL. 53 
 
 more impreffive example, and a ftill higher 
 authority, by referring you and myfelf, and 
 all our brethren in the Miniftry, to that 
 part of the valedictory addrefs of the great 
 Apoftle of the Gentiles to the Elders of the 
 Church of Ephefus, which we have re- 
 corded A els xx. 26 — 28. 
 
 Wherefore I take you to record 
 this day, that i am pure from the 
 blood of all men. for i have not 
 shunned to declare unto you all 
 the counsel of god. take heed 
 therefore unto yourselves, and 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. 
 
 What adminiftered confolation to the 
 Apoftle, in finally faying fare wel to a Church 
 which he dearly loved, which he had plant- 
 ed and watered, furnifhes many a ufeful hint 
 to you, how to conduct yourlelf in a Minif- 
 try on which you are juff. entering. 
 
 Could he confidently appeal, at the clofe, 
 
 to the office-bearers and members them- 
 
 D 3 felves 
 
54 THE CHARGE TO MR. NICOL. 
 
 lelves of the Church of Ephefus, reflect- 
 ing the tenderneis, the diligence, and the 
 fidelity which he had difcovered in dif- 
 char^iiicr the truft committed to him? En- 
 deavour, my dear Sir, at every particular 
 period, and in every particular exercife, of 
 your Miniilry, to ac"l fo as to lay a founda- 
 tion for a fimilar appeal ; that at the lair, 
 when the whole paffes under review, you 
 may be able to commend and approve your- 
 felf to the hearts and confciences of all. It 
 is matter of joy and rejoicing to have the 
 teilimony of your own mind, that you 
 have dealt faithfully with the fouls of men, 
 but it is a very high additional fatisfaction 
 to enjoy the concurring teftimony of thole 
 among whom you have laboured in the 
 word of the Gofpel ; and what is of (till 
 higher importance, " of God alio, how 
 holily, and juftly, and unblameably, you 
 behaved you rf elf among them that believe," 
 and alio anions; them who do not believe. 
 
 But what is the fubjecl of this folemn 
 appeal ? " I am pure from the blood of all 
 men." The preferving of the life of a fel- 
 low-citizen was deemed, in the purer 
 times of the Roman Republic, the highefl 
 
 and 
 
fHE CHARGE TO MR. tflCOL. 55 
 
 and mod: honourable act of patriotifm which 
 a man could perform. It was rewarded by 
 a peculiar crown, which entitled the wearer 
 to a feat among the higheft order in the 
 Commonwealth, in places of public refort. 
 To take away the life of another unjuftly, 
 has, on the other hand, among all civilized, 
 and even among barbarous Nations, been 
 adjudged, and avenged as, the moft atro- 
 cious of crimes. What then is the joy, 
 what the crown of our Apoftle, in con- 
 templating, not perifhable life refcued from 
 the fvvord of the enemy, but immortal fouls 
 plucked as " brands out of the burning;" 
 not a crown compofed of a few fading 
 leaves, but an unfading crown of glory ; 
 not a feat among the Patricians and the 
 Gods of this World, who are vanity and a 
 lie, and whofe honours lie rotting in the 
 duft, but among thofe " that turn many to 
 righteoufnefs, who (hall fhine as the ftars 
 for ever and ever ?" And what then is the 
 atrocity of being accefTory to the murder of 
 a fpiritual being, formed after the image of 
 the bleffed God, and capable of never-end- 
 ing felicity? How humiliating, how alarm - 
 D 4 ing 
 
56 
 
 THE CHARGE TO MR. NlCOL, 
 
 ing to reflect, in how many various ways 
 this worft of crimes may 'be perpetrated ! 
 As the animal life of the man may be de- 
 deitroyed by ftarving, by poifon, by the 
 iword, and by ether means innumerable, fo 
 the celefrial fpark, the fpirit that is in man 
 may be reduced to a flate of fpiritual and 
 everlafting death, by with-holding the pro- 
 per and neceffary aliment, the fincere milk 
 of the word, and the ftrong meat of the 
 mature: by infufing the mortal poifon of 
 falfe doclrine, religious or moral ; by the 
 pernicious influence of ieductive example. 
 Happy the Minifter who can, on a retro- 
 fpecl:, fpeak peace to his foul on this fub- 
 jecl. 
 
 By what means did Paul preferve him- 
 felf " pure from the blood of all men?" 
 He " fhunned not to declare all the coun- 
 fel of God." What a dignified reprefenta- 
 tion have we here of that Gofpel which we 
 are commiffioned and commanded to preach 
 to every creature ! " The. counfel of God." 
 Jt is not a device of the human underfrand- 
 ing ; the matured refuit of human delibe- 
 *■ ration, 
 
THE CHARGE TO MR. NICOL. 57 
 
 ration, with all the imperfection of human 
 ignorance and infufficiency lying heavy 
 upon it : it is not the partial and tempo- 
 rary expedient which a fenfe of wretched- 
 nefs might have fuggefted, but the eternal 
 " purpoie of Him who worketh all things 
 after the counfel of his own will ;" a plan 
 of unerring, efficient wifdom, completely 
 adapted to it's object, and fulfilling it's de- 
 fign. This inftructs us, my beloved bro- 
 ther, from what ftores we are to draw the 
 fupplies which we are, from time to time, 
 to adminifter to them who hear us. — " The 
 lively oracles of God," they declare •' the 
 counfel of God." Avail yourfelf, by all 
 means, of your learning ; avail yourfelf of 
 the wifdom of paft ages ; avail yourfelf of 
 your own knowledge and experience ; avail 
 yourfelf of the counfel of wife men your 
 contemporaries; but God himfelf alone fup- 
 plies the means of melting the ftony heart, 
 of awakening the (lumbering confcience, of 
 making the broken fpirit whole, of " quick- 
 ening the dead in trefpafTes and iins." Let 
 not your fpirit prefume to direct the fpirit 
 of the Lord, to fupply what you may deem 
 
 defective, 
 
58 THE CHARGE TO MR. NICOL. 
 
 defective, to rectify what the pride of the 
 fchools may confider as erroneous, to ex- 
 plain what is defignedly left in cbfcnrity. 
 Subftitute nothing of your own in the room 
 of what God hath written, mingle nothing of 
 your own tomarthe timplicity of the truth as 
 it is in Jefus. Nothing is adapted to the ne- 
 ceffities of the foul of man, but the word of 
 life. That ftarving foul cries aloud for bread: 
 Will you give him a irone? 01 are you weak 
 enough to imagine that the ftones of a phi- 
 lofophy, " faliely fo called," are to be mi- 
 raculoufly transformed into the bread of 
 life? He afks a fim: Will you for a rim give 
 him a ferpeut, to deftroy not to feed ? If 
 God is pleafed to give any teitimony to the 
 labours of his miniltxing fervants, it is juffc 
 in io far as they declare " the word of his 
 grace." " The treafure is," indeed, " in 
 earthen veffels," but is for this very end, 
 that " the excellency of the power may 
 be of God, and not of us." 
 
 But farther, the Apoftle felt himfelf con- 
 tained to declare not only what was the 
 counfel of God, but all the counfel of God. 
 
 He 
 
THE CHARGE TO MR. NICOL. 5Q 
 
 He who is employed as a mefTenger, and 
 who aces under a commifhon, mud not ex- 
 ercife a difcretionary power of adding, fup- 
 preffing, or altering ; if he does fo, he is 
 chargeable with a twofold infidelity. He 
 is unfaithful to his employer, whofe exact 
 meaning he ought to have exactly conveyed 
 in exactly his own words ; and he is un- 
 faithful to him to whom he was fent, who 
 has an undoubted title to know the exact 
 purport of what is addreffed to him. Even 
 Balaam who " loved the wages of un- 
 rio-hteoufnefs," and was under a violent 
 inclination to corrupt his meiTage, unequi- 
 vocally declares his a (Tent to this ; " I can- 
 not go beyond the word of the Lord my 
 God, to dolefs or more :" and again, " I 
 cannot go beyond the commandment of the 
 Lord, to do either good or bad of mine 
 own mind, but what the Lord faith that 
 will I fpeak." And the great Mefienger of 
 Mefiengers exprefsly declares of himfelf: 
 «' I can of mine own felf do nothing: — 
 becaufe I feek not mine own will, but the 
 will of the Father which hath fent me:" 
 and, " the doctrine is not mine, but the 
 
 Father's 
 
6*0 THE CHARGE TO MR. NICOL. 
 
 Father's which fent me." In the fpirit of 
 his divine Mailer, our Apoftle, in like man- 
 ner, confoles himfelf in the reflection of 
 having; found grace to be faithful at once 
 to God and to the fouls of men, by keeping 
 nothing back, nothing that was profitable 
 -to men, difguifing no truth, palliating no 
 truth ; and herein he becomes our enfample 
 to deliver the mind of the Lord, and that 
 only, " whether men will hear, or whe- 
 ther they will forbear ;" under the tremen- 
 dous fan&ion of another apoftolic declara- 
 tion, refpe£ling the completenefs of the 
 word of prophecy. Rev. xxii. 18, 19. 
 
 FOR I TESTIFY UNTO EVERY MAN THAT 
 HEARETH THE WORDS OF THE PROPHECY 
 OF THIS BOOK ; If ANY MAN SHALL ADD 
 UNTO THESE THINGS, GoD SHALL ADD 
 UNTO HIM THE PLAGUES THAT ARE 
 WRITTEN IN THIS BOOK: AND IF ANY 
 MAN SHALL TAKE AWAY FROM THE 
 WORDS OF THE BOOK OF THIS PROPHE- 
 CY, God shall take away his part 
 
 OUT OF THE BOOK OF LIFE, AND OUT OF 
 THE HOLY CITY, AND FROM THE THINGS 
 WHICH ARE WRITTEN IN THIS BOOK. 
 
 The 
 
THE CHARGE TO MR. NICOL. 6 1 
 
 The expreffion which St. Paul ufes in 
 explaining his own conduct, merits your 
 moil ferious confederation. " I have not 
 Jhunnedv fays he, " to declare all the 
 counfel of God." It plainly implies that 
 he had been under ftrong temptation to 
 foften and to fupprefs. His integrity and 
 'jandor had expofed him to much oppoli- 
 tion, obloquy and perfecntion. Had he 
 dared to dilTemble, he might have eicaped 
 a great deal of the enmity which he had to 
 encounter for telling the truth ; but he had 
 counted the coft, and deliberately formed 
 his determination; and at the very moment 
 of his making this addrefs, though uncer- 
 tain as to particulars of fullering, he had 
 the near and certain profpe-fl of enduring 
 whatever the malice of bigotry could de- 
 vife or inflict. And now behold, I go 
 bound in the spirit unto jerusalem, 
 not knowing the things that shall, 
 befal me there \ save that the 
 Holy Ghost witnesseth in every ci- 
 ty, saying, That bonds and afflic- 
 tions abide me. But none of these 
 things move me, neither count I MY 
 
 LIFE 
 
62 THE CHARGE TO MR. NICOL. 
 
 LIFE DEAR UNTO MYSELF, SO THAT I 
 MIGHT FINISH MY COURSE WITH JOY, 
 AND THE MINISTRY WHICH I HAVE RE- 
 CEIVED of the Lord Jesus, to tes- 
 tify the Gospel of the grace of 
 God, Acts xx. 22 — 24. And it was not 
 the infirmity of nature, or the defire of ex- 
 citing companion, but an immediate reve- 
 lation from Heaven of approaching events, 
 which induced him to add, ver. 25. And 
 now behold, i know that ye all, 
 among whom i have gone preaching 
 the kingdom of God, shall see my 
 face no more. 
 
 Through the goodnefs of God, my Bro- 
 ther, you have not to apprehend a ran- 
 corous, perfecuting oppofition, in fulfilling 
 the Minifhy which you have received of 
 the Lord ; on the contrary, you have the 
 almoft certain profpect of recompence, of 
 reputation, of fupport, of encouragement ; 
 you enter on your minifrerial career under 
 every aufpicious afpecl of Providence, with 
 almoft every poifible advantage ; a fair and 
 unblemished character from the fcene of 
 
 your 
 
THE CHARGE TO MR. XICOL. 63 
 
 your pair exertions in the caufe of the gof- 
 pel ; many leais of an acceptable and ufeful 
 rniniftry; the good will of ail your brethren 
 in the fouth and in the north ; the unani- 
 mous call of a harmonious and afFe&ionate 
 people ; " other men have laboured, and 
 you are entering into their labours;" but 
 ah Sir ! with ail thefe in your favour, it is 
 far from being impouVole you fhouid be 
 tempted to Jbun to declare all the counfel 
 of God. There is in gentle natures a re- 
 luctance to give pain: the partiality of 
 friendship may blind the eye of the under- 
 CUnding ; a man who would bid defiance 
 to the fword o{ : the periecutor, may be in- 
 timidated by the fneer of the {corner; a (rate 
 of eafe may fi/perinduce a ftate of fecurity, 
 and a ftate of fecurity is ever a ftate of dan- 
 ger : even a man's -:ood qualities fometimea 
 prove a inare to him ; hence the impor- 
 :e, the neceffity, of blending prayer 
 with vigilance ; of adding to the wiidom 
 of the ferpent and the harmlcfTnefs of the 
 dove, the bokinefs of the lion. 
 
 Further, 
 
64 THE CHARGE TO MR. ttlCOL. 
 
 Further, your paitoral care mufl be ex- 
 tended tO " ALL THE FLOCK OVER THE 
 
 which the Holy Ghost hath made 
 you overseer, to feed the Church 
 of God, which he hath purchased 
 with his own blood." It is not furely 
 without reafon that the Apoftle deals fo 
 much in univerfals on this interesting oc- 
 caiion. " I am pure from the blood of all 
 men :" " I have not fhunned to declare all 
 the counfel of God :" take heed to all the 
 flock." The good, the chief fhepherd 
 makes no diflinclion between fheep and 
 fheep, except fuch as peculiar delicacy of 
 character and condition renders neceflary. 
 " He fhall feed his flock like a mepherd : 
 he mail gather the lambs with his arm, 
 and carry them in his bofom, and mail 
 gently lead thofe that are with young :" 
 and ill does it befit the under fhepherd to 
 fet flore by distinctions which his great 
 principal defpifes. In the houfe of prayer, 
 at the table of the Lord, " the rich and the 
 poor," the noble and the ignoble, the 
 learned and the illiterate, the profperous 
 and the difappointed •• meet together, the 
 
 Lord 
 
THE CHARGE TO MR. NICOL. 65 
 
 Lord is the maker of them all," and they 
 together conftitute " the church of God, 
 which he hath purchafed with his own 
 blood." What, therefore, God hath blend- 
 ed, that let not man dare to difcriminate. 
 Our order is accufed by the world, of fawn- 
 ing upon, and flattering the rich and the 
 great; if this reproach be founded in truth, 
 do what in you lies to wipe it away: if 
 particular refpeft and attention are due to 
 any clafs or defcription above another, the 
 wretched of every denomination have un- 
 doubtedly a fuperior claim upon him who 
 profeffes himfelf the difciple of a matter 
 whofe prophetic and hiftoric character it is 
 " to bind up the broken-hearted, to com- 
 fort thofe who mourn," and who delivered 
 it as the great teft of his divine million, 
 that " to the poor the gofpel was preached." 
 
 The hands of the prefbytery have this 
 day fet you apart to the holy miniftry, and 
 particularly to the fuperintendance of this 
 flock; but unlcfs the Holy Ghoft confirm 
 the designation, what we have done is a 
 poor unmeaning ceremony, ufelefs to you, 
 E and 
 
66 THE CHARGE TO MR. NICOL. 
 
 and unprofitable to the church of Chrift. 
 But if, as we humbly truft, you " have an 
 unction from the holy one," conftituting 
 you an overfeer of the flock, O then " go 
 forth another Gideon in this thy might," 
 and thou (halt fave many of the Ifrael of 
 God out of the hand of the enemy of fouls; 
 hath not " the Lord fent thee ? The Lord 
 is with thee thou mighty man of valour." 
 
 Once more, eftimate the weight and im- 
 portance of the Charge you have under- 
 taken, by the price paid for its purchafe: 
 *' Feed the church of God, which he hath 
 purchafed with his own blood" What pe- 
 culiarity, propriety, and boldnefs of expref- 
 fion! Paul had fuggefted the ftrange idea 
 of the blood of a foul, meaning its vital 
 principle, that to the immortal fpirit, which 
 the crimfon circulating fluid is to the body; 
 ^nd in order to mark its unfpeakable value, 
 and to juftify the deep concern which he 
 took in it, he reprefents the church in ge- 
 neral, and the foul of every individual be- 
 liever, in particular, as redeemed by the blood 
 .c/"Go^, a nd ( capable of being redeemed at no 
 
 lefs 
 
THE CHARGE TO MR. NICOL. 67 
 
 lcfs a price. What could warrant fuch lan- 
 guage, but the truth of the Gofpel hiftory, 
 and the real character of the Saviour of 
 mankind ? A ipirit, the Father of fpirits, 
 hath not flcih and bones and blood as we 
 have, but he who was, and is, God, afTumed 
 fleih and bones, and fhed his blood to re- 
 deem the foul of man from everlaftin°* 
 
 o 
 
 death. O how 4t great is the myftery of 
 godlinefs !" " Thefe things the ansrels de- 
 fire to look into." " Who can find out 
 the Almighty unto perfection !" Surely 
 what God prized lb highly, and purchafed 
 fo dearly, well deferves your deepeft con- 
 cern, your mo ft fervent prayers, your un- 
 remitting labours. Does duty at any time 
 feem painful, and labour ievere r You have 
 but to reflect thus for a moment, the felf 
 fame object coft the bleffed Jefus agoniz- 
 ing pangs, a bloody fvveat, the painful and 
 accurfed death of the crois ; and then every 
 murmur will be iuppreiTed, every bitter 
 thing will become fweet, and every diffi- 
 culty difappear, and you will rejoice in 
 fpending, and in being fpent, in that caufe 
 E % for 
 
68 THE CHARGE TO MR. NICOL. 
 
 for which your great Mafter fuffered, and 
 bled, and died. 
 
 All that I feel now incumbent on me, is 
 to congratulate my ancient Father and 
 friend on the comfortable profpecl: which 
 opens upon his declining years ; on having 
 one like-minded with himfelf in managing 
 the concerns of their common miniftry, on 
 having the felicity of fharing with him, in 
 life, the affectionate attachment of a hap- 
 pily united people, and, mould the courfe 
 of nature prevail, of tranfmitting to him, 
 with a departing benediction, the fole charge, 
 and undivided affections, of an improving, 
 increafing, edifying church of Chrift. And 
 I trufr. his valuable life will be prolonged by 
 means of the tranquillity which the union 
 we have been ratifying will diffufe over his 
 mind, and the dignified eafe and reft which 
 it will procure for his body. The more it 
 fhall pleafe God to extend it, the better 
 I am lure it will be, in all refpects, for his 
 Timothy, and for their common care, and 
 for the world, 
 
 I feel 
 
THE CHARGE TO MR. NICOL. 69 
 
 I feel myfelf called upon likewife to con- 
 gratulate thisChriftian fociety on their pad 
 enjoyments, on their prefent cordiality of 
 affection toward their minifters and among 
 themfelv^s, and on their future profpects. 
 Thefe are to be the more devoutly acknow- 
 ledged, and the more thankfully to be re- 
 joiced in, that a cloud feemed to be ga- 
 thering, which threatened winter before 
 the feafon, pregnant with difperfion, alie- 
 nation and change. But a gracious Provi- 
 dence has difperfed it, and your day mines 
 with a redoubled luftre : inftead of antici- 
 pated winter, you are called to enjoy the 
 bleffings of fpring and autumn combined. 
 You have now indeed a twofold object of 
 regard, but though the peribns are two, 
 the office, the hearts, the interefts, the ex- 
 ertions, the aim and end of both are one 
 and undivided ; and one let them be, one 
 in your refpect, your benevolence, your 
 efteem, your munificence. Neither, I am 
 confident, will feel gratified by any mark of 
 preference conferred upon himfelf at the 
 expenfe, and to the diminution of the other. 
 You are happily delivered, as far as human 
 
 fa ga city 
 
70 THE CHARGE TO MR. NICOL. 
 
 fagacity can give fecurity, from the danger 
 and inconveniency to which the fuppiy of 
 a vacant charge is expofed. For intrigue 
 and cabal, and the various workings of the 
 felfim pamons, no room is left. See that 
 you turn this moft propitious circumflance 
 to good account. You have only to main- 
 tain your exifting harmony, to ftrengthen 
 the hands and encourage the hearts of thefe 
 good men, by your prayers, by your fym- 
 pathy, by your regular attendance upon 
 their miniirry, and by keeping constantly 
 in view the great object and end of the 
 gofpel miniftry, the falvation of your im- 
 mortal fouls. This tribute of my gratitude 
 and affection, will, I hope, be received as 
 it is meant, for this Church has for many 
 years been, and ever will be, dear to me; 
 and I mall always confider myfelf bound to 
 wifh, and to pray for, its temporal and ever- 
 lafting peace and profperity. 
 
 And now, my dear young Brother, it 
 remains that I commenc^you, and your la- 
 bours of love, your body and fpirit, your 
 temporal and immortal concerns to the 
 
 great 
 
THE CHARGE TO MR. NICOL- 71 
 
 great Lord of the vineyard, befeeching him 
 to become to you a fpirit of wifdom to di- 
 rect, of judgment to difcern, of fortitude tc> 
 fuftain, of holinefs to fanctify, and of grace 
 to help you in every time of your need. 
 " Now the God of peace that brought again 
 " from the dead our Lord Jefus, that great 
 " mepherd of the fheep, through the blood 
 " of the everlafting covenant, make you 
 " perfect in every good work to do his will, 
 '* working in you that which is vvell-pleaf- 
 " ing in his fight, through Jefus Chrifr, 
 *•' to whom be glory for ever and ever. 
 «' Amen." 
 
 THE END. 
 

■ 
 
■!»