The 
 
 LIBRARY 
 
 
 OF THE 
 
 
 ological Seminar 
 
 y- j 
 

PASTORAL THEOLOGY. 
 
PRINTED BV MURRAY AND GIBB, 
 FOR 
 
 T. & T. CLARK, EDINBURGH. 
 
 LONDON, HAMILTON, ADAMS, AND CO. 
 
 DUBLIN, JOHN ROBERTSON AND CO. 
 
 NEW YORK, .... SCRIBNER, WELFORD, AND ARMSTRONG. 
 
PASTORAL THEOLOGY 
 
 A TREA TISE 
 
 ON THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF THE CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 BY THE LATE 
 
 PATRICK^AIRBAIRN, D.D., 
 
 PRINCIPAL OF THE FREE CHURCH COLLEGE, GLASGOW ; AUTHOR OF ' TYPOLOGY OF 
 SCRIPTURE,' 'commentary ON THE PASTORAL EPISTLES,' ETC. ETC. 
 
 amitfj a Biograpfjical ^hctcfj of tfjc ^utfjor fig 
 REV. JAMES DODDS, 
 
 EDINBURGH: 
 T. & T. CLARK, 38 GEORGE STREET. 
 
 1875. 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 THE lamented Author of this treatise lived to prepare 
 it for the press. It seems to have been originally 
 written in its present form, though it was repeatedly delivered 
 to his class as a course of lectures. There can also be little 
 doubt that it was intended to be a sequel or companion 
 volume to his recently published work on the Pastoral 
 Epistles. As such it may safely be accepted by the public ; 
 for the sound judgment, lofty aim, and evangelical spirit 
 that characterize the work on the Epistles will not be found 
 wanting in the present performance. Though probably not 
 free from the defects almost inseparable from posthumous 
 publications, the following pages will, it is hoped, amply 
 sustain the high character of Principal Fairbairn as a 
 theological professor. They relate to a subject which in 
 these days is of growing importance, and which has by no 
 means been exhausted, though several good practical works 
 connected with it have of late made their appearance. 
 
 Principal Fairbairn left instructions that no extended 
 memoir of him should be published by any of his friends. 
 Accordingly, nothing of the kind has been attempted \ but as 
 
VI PREFACE. 
 
 he also indicated that he had no objection to a brief record 
 of the leading events of his life being given to the public, 
 it has been thought advisable by his trustees that such a 
 summary should be prefixed to this work. A succinct Bio- 
 graphical Sketch has therefore been prepared by one who 
 knew him long and well, who was among the first to 
 become acquainted with his high merits as an author, and 
 who always regarded with admiration his noble Christian 
 character. 
 
CONTENTS. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Biographical Sketch, . . . . , ix 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 Introductory. — The Relation of the Pastoral Office 
 TO THE Church, and the Connection between Right 
 Views of the one and a Proper Estimate of the 
 OTHER, . . . . . . .1 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 The Nature of the Pastoral Office, and the Call to 
 
 ENTER on its FUNCTIONS, . . . . -39 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 The Pastoral and Social Life of the Pastor, . . 79 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 The more Special Duties of the Pastoral Office, . 120 
 
viil CONTENTS. 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Different Kinds of Discourses, .... 239 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 Supplementary Methods of Instruction. Personal In- 
 tercourse. Dealings with Special Cases. Pastoral 
 \ Visitations. Catechetical Instruction. Visitation 
 
 OF the Sick, the Afflicted, and Dying, . . 271 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Public Prayer and other Devotional Services, . . 307 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 The Administration of Discipline, . . . 326 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 Subsidiary Means and Agencies, .... 346 
 
ft- ' ' 
 
 .n-':> 
 
 
 f^^. 
 
 '•-j:^.* 
 
 BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 Patrick Fairbairn was born at Hallyburton, in the parish 
 of Greenlaw, Berwickshire, on the 28th January 1805. He 
 was the second son of a family of five children. The eldest 
 of the family, a brother, predeceased him ; the three younger 
 members, two brothers and a sister, still survive. His 
 father, a respectable farmer, was able to give all his children 
 a good education, and to educate two of them for the 
 Christian ministry, namely, the subject of this sketch, and 
 John, the third of the family, now minister of the Free 
 Church at Greenlaw. 
 
 Patrick, considered from his eariiest years a highly pro- 
 mising boy, was sent to various schools in the district with 
 a view to his being prepared for the University. None of 
 these schools were of a superior kind ; yet he profited to such 
 an extent by the tuition they furnished, that he proceeded 
 to the University of Edinburgh in November 18 18, before 
 he had completed his fourteenth year. Like many Scottish 
 youths of that period, he commenced his college studies 
 much too early, and had in subsequent years to work doubly 
 hard in order to make up for the deficiencies of his pre- 
 liminary education. He attended the classes of Professors 
 
X BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 Pillans, Dunbar, Wilson, Wallace, Dr. Ritchie, and Sir John 
 Leslie. He was noted as a diligent and well-conducted 
 student ; but he seems to have made no very brilHant or 
 distinguished figure in any leading branch of academic 
 study. His mind was of that order which comes to maturity 
 rather slowly ; and he aimed at solid progress rather than 
 showy distinction. 
 
 Early in his college career he resolved to study for the 
 Christian ministry. In this matter he was greatly influenced 
 by his mother, who was a woman of fervent piety and great 
 Christian worth. All her children owed much to her pru- 
 dent and prayerful training ; but Patrick seems to have been 
 specially benefited by her influence, and example. On the 
 occasion of her death in 1861, her distinguished son thus 
 wrote of her : ' I doubt if I should ever have thought of 
 giving myself to the ministry, had it not been for the early 
 bent my mind received from her spirit and instructions. 
 While I live I cannot but cherish her memory with afl"ection 
 and regard ; and I shall rest in the hope of meeting her in 
 another and better state of existence.' 
 
 The young student never prized highly the advantages 
 presented by the classes at the University as they were con- 
 ducted in his time. With one or two exceptions, the pro- 
 fessors in the Arts Course were not successful teachers j and 
 few students ever thought of taking a degree. Wilson was 
 a brilliant lecturer, but he never attempted any systematic 
 instruction in Moral Philosophy. Wallace and Leslie were 
 profound mathematicians, but failed in carrying their 
 students along with them in the demonstrations of the 
 class-room. Patrick Fairbairn never ceased to lament the 
 imperfect training he received at college. The great im- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. XI 
 
 provements that have of late been effected in the Edinburgh 
 University system were not even projected in his early 
 academic days. 
 
 When he entered the Divinity Hall, he found matters 
 worse than they were in the Faculty of Arts. Dr. William 
 Ritchie, an old and infirm man, who had never been very 
 efficient, was Professor of Systematic Divinity ; Dr. Brunton 
 was Professor of Hebrew ; and Dr. Meiklejohn of Church 
 History. There was nothing in the Hall to stimulate or 
 reward the exertions of the students. Dulness and routine 
 prevailed in all the classes ; there was in none of them much 
 evangelical life or theological enthusiasm. Several able 
 young men were fellow-students with Patrick Fairbairn, 
 and like him afterwards made a distinguished figure in 
 the Church ; but they owed little of their learning to the 
 instructions of the theological professors. It was not till 
 Dr. Chalmers had been appointed to the Chair of Syste- 
 matic Theology, and Dr. Welsh to the Chair of Church 
 History, that the Edinburgh Divinity Hall acquired a 
 character worthy of the famous University to which it 
 belongs. 
 
 It must here be mentioned that the young Berwickshire 
 student received much assistance in the course of his 
 philosophical studies from a Mr. Hay, a small merchant in 
 the quiet little town of Gordon, near Greenlaw. This Mr. 
 Hay belonged to a class of men who were, perhaps, once 
 more numerous in Scotland than they are now, — men who, 
 though moving in a humble station, and possessed of limited 
 means, yet contrived to cultivate literature and philosophy 
 in a remarkable manner, and to gather all sorts of informa- 
 tion from such miscellaneous collections of books as they 
 
XU BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 were able to purchase or borrow. This Gordon philosopher 
 delighted to impart to superior young men the various 
 knowledge he had accumulated, and to kindle in their 
 minds that genuine love of moral and metaphysical specu- 
 lation with which he was himself inspired. 
 
 During a considerable period of his University career, Mr. 
 Fairbaim attended the ministry of Dr. Robert Gordon, then 
 held in the highest repute as a powerful evangelical preacher. 
 The high intellect of Dr. Gordon, joined to his solemn 
 and impressive pulpit oratory, peculiarly attracted the better 
 class of theological students, and indeed many leading pro- 
 fessional men in Edinburgh. His influence in recommend- 
 ing the gospel to the more cultivated classes of society was 
 very great ; and down to the close of his life he was, as 
 a highly intellectual yet truly spiritual preacher, almost un- 
 rivalled. It is well known that the late Principal Cunning- 
 ham was profoundly influenced in early life by one of Dr. 
 Gordon's printed sermons, and that ever afterwards he re- 
 garded him with special affection. Patrick Fairbairn must 
 also be set down as one of those young men of high pro- 
 mise who received great benefit, at a critical period of life, 
 from Dr. Gordon's powerful ministrations. There was 
 another excellent Edinburgh minister to whom the youthful 
 student was introduced in his college days, and to whom 
 he became united by the ties of the closest friendship. 
 This was the late Dr. James Henderson of Free St. Enoch's 
 Church, Glasgow, who in the early part of his life was 
 minister of Stockbridge Chapel of Ease, Edinburgh. After 
 living on terms of cordial intimacy for half a century, the two 
 friends were but a short while separated by death. Dr. Hender- 
 son surviving Principal Fairbaim little more than a month. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. Xlll 
 
 Always an exemplary and laborious student, Mr. Fairbairn 
 before leaving the Hall attracted the special attention of Dr. 
 Brunton, who procured for him the situation of tutor in the 
 family of his brother-in-law, Captain Balfour, a large Orkney 
 proprietor. He went to Orkney in 1827 ; and by the way 
 in which he performed his duties, he so commended him- 
 self to Captain Balfour, that through the interest of that 
 gentleman he was appointed by the Crown in 1830 to the 
 Parliamentary Parish of North Ronaldshay. He had been 
 licensed to preach the gospel by the Presbytery of Dunse, 
 on the 3d October 1826. 
 
 North Ronaldshay is the most northerly of the Orkney 
 Islands, and is of no great size or importance. The inha- 
 bitants were addicted to some strange and semi-barbarous 
 customs when Mr. Fairbairn entered upon his charge. 
 Many of them had the repute of being ' wreckers ; ' and the 
 morality of the island was by no means high. They had 
 not been accustomed to an evangelical ministry, or any of 
 the best influences of the gospel. Indeed, during the last 
 and the earlier part of the present century, the ministers of 
 the Established Church in Orkney were, as a class, by no 
 means distinguished for sound doctrine or Christian prac- 
 tice. Not a few of them had actually done much to bring 
 the ministry into contempt by unbecoming conduct. But 
 when Mr. Fairbairn commenced his pastoral duties he im- 
 mediately took high ground, and both as a preacher and 
 as a pastor he strenuously endeavoured to instruct and 
 reform his parishioners. The good fruits of his faithful 
 ministry were soon manifested in the improved character 
 and habits of the islanders. The improvement effected 
 by the young minister was so marked, that it attracted the 
 
XIV BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 attention of all who visited, or were specially interested in, 
 North Ronaldshay. 
 
 It may be truly said, that the studies which laid the 
 foundation of Mr. Fairbairn's theological eminence began 
 only after he had left the Divinity Hall. About the time 
 when he was licensed as a preacher, or looked forward to 
 ordination as a minister in Orkney, he formed a regular 
 plan of professional study of no slight or superficial cha- 
 racter, but solid, laborious, and systematic ; and that plan 
 he carried out with unflinching perseverance. He deter- 
 mined to make himself thoroughly master of the Hebrew 
 and German languages, in order more effectually to equip 
 himself as a scientific theologian; and having become in 
 good time an excellent Hebrew and German scholar, he 
 entered on a course of theological reading and inquiry 
 which led to important results. When he was about to be 
 ordained at North Ronaldshay, where some of his friends 
 thought he was in danger of being buried, his brother asked 
 him how long he would like to remain in Orkney. ' Just 
 six years,' he instantly and decidedly replied ; for, on full 
 consideration, he had calculated on such a period for the 
 completion of the studies he had projected for himself in 
 his remote island home. And it so happened that, after he 
 had spent about six years at North Ronaldshay, he was ap- 
 pointed minister of the new 'Extension' Church of Bridgeton, 
 in the city of Glasgow. 
 
 In 1833 he was married to Miss Margaret Pitcairn, sister 
 of the late Rev. Thomas Pitcairn, minister of Cockpen, who 
 became first clerk of the Free Church General Assembly. 
 Another brother of that lady, the Rev. David Pitcairn, at 
 one time a minister in Orkney, went to the south of Eng- 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH, XV 
 
 land and attained some eminence as a Christian author. 
 Of several children, the fruit of this marriage, only one grew 
 up, John Fairbairn, who, after spending some years in the 
 Island of Java, ultimately settled in Australia, where he died 
 only a few days after hearing of the death of his father. 
 Mrs. Fairbairn died in childbirth, at Glasgow, soon after 
 she and her husband had reached their new sphere of use- 
 fulness. Her infant, and another child, a fine boy of about 
 three years of age, only a few weeks after her death followed 
 her to the grave. 
 
 After faithfully performing the laborious duties of his 
 Glasgow charge for about three years, Mr. Fairbairn was 
 translated to the parish of Salton, East Lothian, which had 
 been rendered vacant by the appointment of the Rev. 
 Robert Hamilton to the Presbyterian chaplaincy at Madras. 
 The predecessor of Mr. Hamilton in Salton had been the 
 Rev. Robert Buchanan, now of the College Free Church, 
 Glasgow, a churchman of the highest eminence in Scotland, 
 and a man who for nearly forty years was the trusting 
 and trusted friend of Patrick Fairbairn. Salton is also 
 noted as having been for some years under the pastoral 
 care of Gilbert Burnet, afterwards Bishop of Salisbury. 
 That eminent dignitary left a considerable sum of money 
 to found and support a library for the use of his successors 
 in that Scottish parish, and for the education of a number 
 of children of poor parishioners. Mr. Fairbairn took 
 special delight in putting the Bishop's library into good 
 working order, and probably derived more benefit from it 
 than any of his predecessors. While he carefully prepared 
 his pulpit discourses, and diligently discharged the numerous 
 duties of a country minister, he was always a laborious 
 
XVI BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 Student, avaricious of time, and delighting in intellectual 
 toil. He had already translated some works from the 
 German, for the well-known publishers Messrs. Clark of 
 Edinburgh, and was by this time meditating that original 
 work which was destined to give him a high place in British 
 theological literature. 
 
 Having from the very commencement of his ministry 
 belonged to the ' Evangelical Party' in the Church of Scot- 
 land, Mr. Fairbairn manfully supported his views in the 
 Church courts, though he did not aspire to the position of 
 an ecclesiastical leader. At the Disruption of 1843 ^^ ^^^ 
 no hesitation in joining the Free Church, and indeed was 
 the first of his brethren in the Presbytery to leave his 
 manse and face the hardships of the trying time. He 
 found shelter for himself and his family, first in the neigh- 
 bouring parish of Bolton, and afterwards in the town of 
 Haddington ; but in spite of distance from his people he 
 visited them regularly, and fulfilled every duty of a diligent 
 pastor, while he still carried on his loved theological studies. 
 Of the Presbytery of Haddington, to which he belonged, 
 nine out of sixteen ministers had joined the Free Church; 
 and he took a leading part in helping to form the new Free 
 Church Presbytery, and generally to advance the interests 
 of religion in the district. But at that period of sharp 
 contention between rival Churches he showed no unworthy 
 bitterness of spirit. With the late Dr. Cook of Haddington 
 and some other of his former co-presbyters he continued on 
 terms of friendship, though he differed widely from them 
 on certain points of theory and practice. 
 
 In 1845 he published, in one thick duodecimo volume, 
 his Typology of Scripture^ a work which had occupied a 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. XVU 
 
 great part of his leisure for a number of years. It was 
 subsequently published in two volumes, and reached some 
 time ago a fifth edition. In its enlarged and improved form 
 it is as free from imperfections as any work of the kind can 
 well be, and it is now universally regarded as a standard 
 theological treatise. The subject of the Old Testament 
 types had never before been handled in a philosophical 
 and satisfactory manner by any British or American theo- 
 logian. It was reserved for the Free Church minister of 
 Salton to produce a work upon it which, for critical insight, 
 grasp of principle, and solid though unostentatious learning, 
 was not surpassed, if even equalled, by any similar theo- 
 logical performance of the day. It is unnecessary to dwell 
 upon the merits of a work so well known and so highly 
 prized as the Typology of Scripture. It is one of those 
 fresh and valuable contributions to our modern theological 
 literature which is sure to keep its ground, and to be always 
 in great request among students of theology. The writer 
 of this sketch well remembers visiting, soon after its publica- 
 tion. Trinity College, Dublin, and seeing on the library 
 table a copy of it, well worn, and apparently in high favour 
 with the students. He could not help remarking, that while 
 the richly- endowed Fellows of the College had done nothing 
 of importance on the field of theology, there was at least 
 one sterling theological work produced by a disendowed 
 Presbyterian minister which they had the discernment to 
 value and to introduce into their library. 
 
 In 1846, Messrs. Clark of Edinburgh published the first 
 volume of an English translation of Hengstenberg's Com- 
 mentary on the Psalms. Two other volumes subsequently 
 appeared, completing the work. The translators were Mr. 
 
XVIU BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 Fairbairn and the Rev. John Thomson, an accomplished 
 German scholar, now minister of St. Ninian's Free Church, 
 Leith. Mr. Fairbairn had previously, when in North 
 Ronaldshay, translated for the Biblical Cabi?iei, a foreign 
 theological series published by the same eminent firm, 
 Steiger on ist Peter, and Lisco 07i the Parables. His know- 
 ledge of German, thus early and well exercised, was un- 
 doubtedly of good service to him as an earnest theological 
 student. It introduced him to a vast and varied field of 
 theology which must be traversed by every one in these 
 days who would truly earn the name of theologian. But 
 while he prized the excellences, he was well aware of the 
 defects and dangers, of German theology, even of that large 
 section of it which cannot fairly be called Rationalistic. 
 Few of his countrymen have equalled him in making good 
 use of German learning and its solid results, while rejecting 
 what is inconsistent with sound doctrine or that reverence 
 which is due to the word of God. In his Typology, and in 
 most of his other publications, we find an excellent com- 
 bination of German erudition with Scottish orthodoxy. 
 
 Towards the latter end of 1847, Mr. Fairbairn was in- 
 vited to London to deliver a course of theological lectures 
 in the newly instituted College of the English Presbyterian 
 Church. On that occasion he first displayed his peculiar 
 qualification for a theological chair, and may be said to 
 have commenced his professorial career. His services were 
 highly appreciated by the professors and students of the 
 new College, and he always looked back with pleasure to 
 this episode in his life. Professor Lorimer, and several 
 of the ministers of the English Presbyterian Church who 
 attended his lectures, speak at this day in the warmest 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. XIX 
 
 terms of his learning and ability. They also testify to the 
 great respect which they entertained for him, and the ex- 
 pectations they formed of his future eminence. 
 
 In 185 1 he pubHshed, in one volume, his work entitled 
 Ezekiel^ and the Book of his Prophecy. This performance, 
 in popularity, perhaps also in freshness and originality, 
 ranks next to his Typology. In it the most difficult subjects 
 are discussed with great ability and judgment. The 
 principles of interpretation applied by the author in his 
 exposition of the obscurest of the prophets commend them- 
 selves to the understanding of sober and philosophical 
 critics. We do not know if a sounder and more profitable 
 book on Ezekiel has been published in our times, and it is 
 likely to keep its place in our modern theological literature. 
 
 In the course of 185 1 and 1852, Messrs. Clark published 
 in two successive volumes, Hengstenberg's Commentary on 
 the Revelatmi of St. John, translated by Mr. Fairbairn. The 
 work of translation in this instance was peculiarly delicate, 
 the translator in some important matters not agreeing with 
 his author; but the difficulties of the task were well sur- 
 mounted, and a most important contribution to Apocalyptic 
 literature was made accessible to the English public. It 
 may also here be mentioned, that shortly before this time 
 Mr. Fairbairn had published an interesting little work on 
 the Book of Jonah, in which he took a more favourable 
 than the common view of that prophet's character. Any 
 complete list of his works would likewise include various 
 lectures, pamphlets, and contributions to magazines, which 
 proceeded from his pen chiefly about this period. A 
 pamphlet on the real opinions of the leading Reformers 
 about the obligation of the Sabbath was published by him. 
 
XX BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 SO early as 1842, at the request of some of his brethren who 
 took a special interest in the subject. It was admitted to 
 be a very valuable contribution to the right discussion of 
 the Sabbath question ; but it has long been out of print. 
 
 In the autumn of 1852, Mr. Fairbairn was appointed 
 assistant to Dr. Maclagan, Professor of Divinity in the 
 Free Church College, Aberdeen. In December, only a 
 month after he had commenced his work in the college, he 
 met with the severest possible domestic bereavement. His 
 second wife, Mary Playfair, whom he had married before 
 leaving Glasgow, was seized with fever at Salton a few days 
 after giving birth to a daughter, her fourth child. On 
 hearing of her dangerous illness he hastened home from 
 Aberdeen ; but he had only the sad satisfaction of being with 
 his excellent partner during her last days on earth. Having 
 committed to the grave her mortal remains, he made the 
 requisite arrangements for the proper care of his motherless 
 children, and returned to his post. His duties, notwith- 
 standing this heavy trial, were discharged during the whole 
 session with signal energy and success. His great sorrow, 
 through the grace of God, had only the effect of deepening 
 his sense of responsibility in the performance of the im- 
 portant work committed to his hand. By the General 
 Assembly of the following year he was appointed Professor 
 at Aberdeen in room of Dr. Maclagan, who had died before 
 his assistant entered on his duties. He always spoke in the 
 warmest terms of the happiness he enjoyed at Aberdeen, 
 notwithstanding his great bereavement and severe labours. 
 The remarkable kindness shown him by numerous friends 
 in that city made a pleasing and deep impression on his 
 memory. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. XXI 
 
 In the summer of 1853, Professor Fairbairn visited the 
 Continent in company with his friend John Elliot Wilson, 
 Esq., Cranbrook, Kent. Mr. Wilson and he had become 
 acquainted in 1845, through means of a correspondence in 
 regard to some theological point touched on in the Typology. 
 A correspondence, originating in the desire of the English 
 gentleman to have some difficulties cleared up, led to a warm 
 and lasting friendship between him and the Scottish theo- 
 logian. It was some time before the two correspondents 
 met ; but their meeting only increased the strong affection 
 which they had learned to cherish for each other. Mr. 
 Wilson's admiration of the character and works of his friend 
 was very great; and Professor Fairbairn, in his turn, learned 
 to regard his English admirer with something much deeper 
 than gratitude, even with the warm affection inspired by 
 high accomplishments and singular Christian worth. The 
 annals of friendship may be searched in vain for a more 
 sincere and honourable union of hearts than that which was 
 formed between these two men, who, after long living far 
 apart from each other, were in a somewhat unusual way 
 brought together. 
 
 The two travellers proceeded to Brussels and Cologne, 
 then to Bonn, Coblentz, Mainz, and Frankfort, enjoying 
 as they went along the splendid scenery of the Rhine. From 
 Frankfort they proceeded by one long day's journey to 
 Halle, in order to see its famous university. They were not 
 much impressed either with the physical or moral aspect of 
 the place, and unfortunately missed seeing its most cele- 
 brated professor, Tholuck, who was in the country. From 
 Halle they went to Berlin, where they had an interview with 
 Hengstenberg. This distinguished theologian, whose works 
 
XXll BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 Professor Fairbairn had helped to make known in Great 
 Britain, did not favourably impress his visitors. Indeed, 
 his appearance, manner, and spirit greatly disappointed 
 them both. He looked more like an awkward and rather 
 morose student than an accomplished theological professor, 
 acquainted with the world as well as with his great science. 
 The questions put to him by his English translator he 
 answered curtly and imperfectly, while he had no questions 
 whatever to put in regard to the state of religion and the 
 Churches in Great Britain. But Hengstenberg had by this 
 time surrendered himself to those high Lutheran views 
 which greatly impaired his Christian usefulness, and lost 
 him the confidence of the Evangelical party in Prussia. 
 Having visited Potsdam, the travellers went to Hanover, 
 and thence to Cologne on their return to England. 
 
 In 1857, the same two friends made a tour in Switzer- 
 land, visiting on their way Paris and Strasburg. They went 
 on to Basle, Lucerne, Berne, Thun, Interlaken, Martigny, 
 Chamonix, and Geneva, greatly admiring the scenery, and 
 otherwise enjoying the delights of travel, mingled though 
 these were with the usual fatigues. At Vevay they had a 
 pleasant interview with Mr. Howson, now Dr. Howson, 
 Dean of Chester; and at Geneva they met with Dr. Stevens, 
 Rector of St. Andrew's Church, Philadelphia, who spoke of 
 Dr. Fairbairn's works as being greatly valued in America, 
 and acknowledged the benefit he had derived from their 
 perusal. Interesting notes of both these Continental tours 
 were written by Dr. Fairbairn, and are still preserved ; 
 but no extracts can be given in a brief narrative of this 
 kind. 
 
 The Professor and his friend also made tours together at 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. Xxili 
 
 various times in the Highlands of Scotland, in Wales, in 
 Cumberland, and in Ireland. On one occasion they like- 
 wise visited the two great English universities. At Oxford 
 they met with Dr. Jelf, who seemed greatly struck with Dr. 
 Fairbairn's appearance, and courteously showed them the 
 principal colleges and the library. They also breakfasted 
 with the Rev. Edward A. Litton, who then first made the 
 acquaintance of the Scottish professor, and afterwards con- 
 tributed largely to the Imperial Bible Dictionary, at the 
 request of its Editor. Their visit to Cambridge was also of 
 a pleasant character. A Fellow of Christ's College, who 
 was a friend of Mr. Wilson, conducted them over the prin- 
 cipal buildings. During all these excursions, Mr. Wilson 
 spared no personal effort to promote the enjoyment of one 
 whom he regarded with the highest admiration both as an 
 author and a friend. 
 
 While Professor Fairbairn filled with general acceptance 
 his chair at Aberdeen, the University of Glasgow conferred 
 on him the honorary degree of Doctor in Divinity. The 
 University of Edinburgh, where he had commenced and 
 completed his literary and theological studies, thus missed 
 the opportunity of being the first to recognise in a special 
 way the merits of her distinguished alumnus. 
 
 In 1856, when the Free Church College of Glasgow was 
 instituted, Dr. Fairbairn was appointed by the General 
 Assembly its first professor, and in the following year he 
 was elected to the office of Principal. The Glasgow 
 College, at first equipped with three chairs, and a year after 
 with a fourth, was presided over from the very outset by 
 Dr. Fairbairn with great ability. He brought his valuable 
 experience gained at Aberdeen to bear upon the manage- 
 
XXIV BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 ment of the new Institution, and soon had the satisfaction of 
 seeing it in excellent working order. While he discharged 
 his onerous and often unexpectedly increased professional 
 duties with signal success, he gave much time and thought 
 to the improvement of the buildings of the College, the 
 foundation and enlargement of its library, the better endow- 
 ment of its chairs, and the transaction of its general business. 
 Perhaps no man in the Free Church could have performed 
 so well the numerous duties that devolved upon him as 
 Principal, or which he voluntarily undertook out of zeal for 
 the success of an Institution which he helped so materially 
 to found and form, and which will long be associated with 
 his name. And while as Professor and Principal of the 
 College he commanded the respect of all his colleagues, 
 and endeared himself to his students as their accomplished 
 instructor and zealous friend, he took a high position in 
 Glasgow as a public man, ready to give his countenance 
 and assistance to every religious or benevolent enterprise 
 that engaged the attention of that great commercial city. 
 His majestic presence and dignified bearing, coupled with 
 readiness of speech and unaffected suavity of manner, were 
 sufficient to win favour in any company, to grace any plat- 
 form, and to aid the advocacy of any Christian cause. 
 
 In 1856, Dr. Fairbairn published his work on Prophecy, 
 viewed in its Distinctive Nature, its Special Functions, and 
 Proper Interpretation. This was intended to be a sequel or 
 supplement to the Typology; and certainly it partakes in 
 many respects of such a character. But though an able 
 performance, full of sound and solid views based on philo- 
 sophical principles of interpretation, it has not escaped the 
 common fate of supplementary works of the kind. It has 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. XXV 
 
 not been so popular as the Typology, but it undoubtedly 
 deserves to be studied by all admirers of that excellent 
 work. In 1858, its author also published a Hermenentical 
 Manual, or Introduction to the Exegetical Study of the Scrip- 
 tures of the New Testament. This work contains many able 
 discussions of difficult texts and subjects that meet the 
 student of the New Testament ; but, from its very nature, 
 it is more of a text-book for a theological class than a 
 work likely to attract the attention of the public. Though 
 worthy of his reputation, it has never gained general 
 favour. 
 
 A man of Principal Fairbairn's eminence could not fail 
 to receive the highest honour the Free Church has to 
 bestow. Accordingly, in 1864, he was elected Moderator 
 of the Free Church General Assembly. His dignified con- 
 duct in the chair was universally admitted, while his open- 
 ing and his closing address as Moderator were admirable in 
 tone and sentiment. It may here be remarked, that while 
 his favourite occupations were those of the scholar and the 
 professor, he had an excellent knowledge of Church busi- 
 ness, and took a fair share of the burden of ecclesiastical 
 government. When he spoke in his Presbytery or in the 
 General Assembly, he uniformly commanded the attention 
 of his brethren, and his views were received with more than 
 ordinary respect. The weight of his character gave him 
 peculiar power in debate ; and when he failed to convince, 
 he never offended his opponents. In the great Union 
 controversy, which lasted from 1863 to 1873, ^^ found 
 himself always in the same ranks with his revered friend 
 Dr. Buchanan \ but temperate in the advocacy of his own 
 opinions, he did everything in his power to mitigate and 
 
XXVI BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 allay those unhappy contentions that for a time estranged 
 so many of his brethren from one another. 
 
 During many years of his residence at Glasgow, Dr. Fair- 
 bairn acted as editor of the Lnperial Bible Dictionary, an 
 important work published by Messrs. Blackie and Son. 
 Even before he went to Glasgow as professor, it had been 
 virtually arranged that he should occupy that responsible 
 literary post. But some years elapsed before he had actu- 
 ally to enter on his editorial duties. The labour and 
 anxiety he underwent for many years in connection with 
 this great undertaking severely taxed both his intellectual 
 and physical energies. He was assisted, of course, by a 
 staff of able contributors ; but not a few of these failed at 
 the last moment to send articles they had promised, and he 
 had of necessity to supply by a great effort their lack of 
 service. None but a man of his high attainments in biblical 
 scholarship could have so promptly and adequately met the 
 varied exigencies that arose during the preparation of such 
 a work, and its progress through the press. His arduous 
 labours in this undertaking came to an end in 1866, when 
 at length the Imperial Dictionary was completed. The work 
 combines, in an almost unrivalled degree, sacred learning of 
 a high order with sound doctrine and an evangelical spirit. 
 Its admirable pictorial illustrations add greatly to its interest 
 and value. 
 
 Soon after this great work was off his hands, Dr. Fairbairn 
 was appointed to deliver in Edinburgh the third series of 
 ' Cunningham Lectures.' The first series, on the * Father- 
 hood of God,' had been delivered by Dr. Candlish, and the 
 second series, on the ' Doctrine of Justification,' by Dr. 
 James Buchanan, one of the Professors of Theology in the 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. XXVll 
 
 New College, Edinburgh. Dr. Fairbairn chose for his 
 subject the ' Revelation of Law in Scripture,' and treated it 
 in nine separate lectures, the first of which he delivered on 
 the 3d March 1868. The whole of them, in terms of the 
 trust deed founding the lectureship, were published in a 
 single volume soon after their delivery. This work un- 
 doubtedly possesses high merit as a philosophical treatise 
 on an important theological subject; but in its nature and 
 style it is too abstract to be popular. It is not unworthy, 
 however, of that excellent foundation which the Free Church 
 of Scotland owes to the self-denying liberality of Mr. Binny 
 Webster. 
 
 At the meeting of the Free Church Commission in March 
 1867, Dr. Fairbairn, Dr. Guthrie, and Mr. Wells of the 
 Barony Free Church, Glasgow, were appointed a deputation 
 to visit the Assemblies of certain Presbyterian Churches in 
 America. These ministers, with their wives, sailed from 
 Liverpool for America in the April following; but Dr. 
 Guthrie, owing to serious indisposition, was obliged to disem- 
 bark at Queenstown, and thus was unfortunately prevented 
 from paying a long-expected visit to his numerous friends 
 on the other side of the Atlantic. Dr. Fairbairn and Mr. 
 Wells first visited the Assembly of the Old School and also 
 that of the New School Presbyterians, and found both of 
 these bodies hopefully negotiating that grand Union which 
 has since been so happily consummated. They were received 
 by their American brethren with great cordiality, and loaded 
 with hospitable attentions. The learned Principal, whose 
 name had travelled before him across the sea, and whose 
 ' Jove-like presence ' excited general admiration, was every- 
 where specially welcomed as a scholar of distinction. The 
 
XXVlll BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 two deputies next visited the Synod of the United Presby- 
 terian Church and the Synod of the Reformed (Dutch) 
 Church in the United States, and afterwards the Synod of 
 the Canadian Church not in connection with the EstabHshed 
 Church of Scotland. They also took the opportunity of 
 spending a few days at Princeton, for the sake of seeing its 
 celebrated college, which has since risen into increased 
 prosperity under the vigorous presidency of Dr. M'Cosh. 
 Dr. Hodge, that prince of American theologians, was absent 
 at the time, but Dr. Fairbaim had afterwards the satisfac- 
 tion of spending a day with him in Washington. 
 
 When the Committee was constituted for revising our 
 authorized version of the Old Testament Scriptures, Dr. 
 Fairbairn was naturally selected as one of the representatives 
 of the Biblical scholarship of Scotland. He attended most of 
 the meetings of the Committee from the commencement of 
 its arduous labours to nearly the period of his death, and 
 bestowed upon his work much careful study. It is under- 
 stood that his services were highly valued by his learned col- 
 leagues. On at least one occasion he was voted in a very 
 complimentary fashion into the chair. The meeting-place of 
 the Committee, the celebrated Jerusalem Chamber, interested 
 him greatly, from its Presbyterian associations, though he 
 acknowledged that a room more convenient for the purpose 
 might easily have been selected. Having at one time ex- 
 pressed a wish to resign his seat in consequence of the 
 growing inconvenience of his journeys to London, he was 
 entreated by his colleagues to change his mind ; and he, on 
 pubHc rather than private grounds, agreed to co-operate 
 with them some time longer. He expected that the revision 
 of our English Bible would be successful and ultimately 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. XXIX 
 
 popular, but was not sanguine about its completion at a 
 comparatively early date. 
 
 In 187 1, the Principal received an unexpected expression 
 of the extraordinary affection with which he was regarded 
 by the young men who had studied at the Glasgow Free 
 Church College. A sum of ^200 was subscribed with 
 enthusiastic eagerness by his ' present and former students ' 
 in order to present him with a full-length portrait of himself 
 by an artist of acknowledged eminence. Mr. Norman 
 Macbeth, A.R.S.A., was selected, and succeeded in produc- 
 ing a very fine picture as well as an admirable likeness. 
 After it had graced the walls of the Royal Scottish Academy's 
 Exhibition in Edinburgh, it was presented to Dr. Fairbaim 
 in due form at a meeting of subscribers and friends held at 
 Glasgow in the following November. The Rev. James 
 Nicoll of Free St. Stephen's, Glasgow, acted as the spokes- 
 man of his fellow-students, and on handing over to their 
 revered instructor the portrait in their name, delivered a 
 very eloquent speech. The Principal, in his reply, ad- 
 verted feelingly to the studies of his early life, the methods 
 of study he had followed, and the great objects he had 
 always endeavoured to keep stedfastly in view. He also 
 spoke of the evening of life drawing on, and the necessity 
 of increased earnestness in doing his work while health and 
 strength remained. 
 
 The Rev. Robert Howie of Govan, who, along with Mr. 
 Nicoll and the Rev. Archibald Henderson of Crieff, took an 
 active part in the management of the necessary details, 
 bears the strongest testimony to the feelings of love and 
 veneration for Principal Fairbairn manifested by all his 
 students when subscribing to this testimonial. The portrait. 
 
XXX BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 after being publicly exhibited in Glasgow, was hung up in 
 the hall of the Free Church College, where it still remains, 
 having been bequeathed by the Principal to that Institution. 
 
 At the commencement of the College Session in November 
 1872, Principal Fairbairn discharged the important duty of 
 presiding at the induction of Professor Candlish and the 
 ordination of Professor Lindsay, both of whom had been 
 appointed to chairs in the Glasgow College by the preceding 
 General Assembly. He preached from 2 Tim. ii. 2, and 
 delivered a very appropriate discourse, in which he addressed 
 his new colleagues in an affectionate and faithful manner. 
 Taking the deepest interest in everything bearing on the 
 prosperity of the Theological Institution over which he 
 presided, he specially rejoiced, on this auspicious occasion, 
 in the prospect of its undiminished efficiency. 
 
 Early in 1874, he published an elaborate work, in one 
 volume, on the Pastoral Epistles. In a learned introduc- 
 tion, the authenticity of the epistles, recently assailed by 
 many German critics, is ably and successfully vindicated. 
 Then the Greek text is given with a new translation. But 
 the most valuable part of the work is a commentary, or 
 series of expository notes, displaying fine discernment, 
 sound sense, and the varied results of genuine learning. 
 In an appendix, some important points receive a fuller 
 discussion than could find a place in the body of the work. 
 This is really one of the best of the author's books, and 
 ought to be one of the most popular. It is a very fresh 
 and useful contribution to modern biblical literature ; and 
 the present volume, which is full of the spirit of the Pastoral 
 Epistles, will, it is expected, be ranged by its side in many 
 theological libraries. 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. XXXI 
 
 In a limited sketch like this, no details of Principal 
 Fairbairn's private life or personal religion can find a place. 
 But it must be stated that his house always presented a 
 picture of domestic happiness and intelligent piety. In 
 1 86 1 he was married to Miss Fanny Turnbull, a lady in 
 every way fitted to add to his comfort and usefulness. The 
 pain of former sad bereavements was gradually forgotten 
 during the latter years of his life, than which, in a domestic 
 point of view, none could be more tranquil and happy. 
 While his time was largely spent in severe intellectual toil, 
 and in the diligent discharge of arduous official duties, his 
 inward spiritual life steadily increased, and he appeared to 
 reahze, with growing vividness, the preciousness of those 
 great Christian doctrines he had done so much to elucidate 
 and defend. And thus, when in the course of last year 
 were held in Glasgow the remarkable series of evangelistic 
 meetings which have been associated with the names of 
 Messrs. Moody and Sankey, he took a deep interest in the 
 religious movement that ensued, and publicly gave it his 
 support. He presided over several of the meetings at 
 which Mr. Moody was the chief speaker, and rejoiced in 
 the success of the great evangelist's work. That work was 
 especially commended to the support of not a few through 
 the countenance given to it by such a wise and judicious 
 man as Principal Fairbairn. 
 
 On the 1 6th April 1874, Dr. Fairbairn attended a great 
 evangelistic Convention held in the ' Crystal Palace,^ Glas- 
 gow, and delivered an earnest and valuable address ; but, 
 owing to the heat and excitement, as well as to some 
 previous derangement of his system, he suddenly felt sick 
 and unwell before the business was far advanced, and had 
 
XXxii BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 to leave the meeting. When he reached his house, he 
 went to bed, being prostrated by what may be called the 
 first serious illness of his life. He had always been a 
 remarkably healthy man, methodical and temperate in his 
 habits, an early riser, and accustomed to take long walks 
 before breakfast. Yet, while he had appeared to enjoy 
 perfect health and strength, there can be little doubt that his 
 constant devotion to study during a long course of years had 
 gradually developed an affection of the heart, which seems 
 to have been up to this period totally unsuspected. This 
 sudden and threatening attack, which confined him to his 
 bed for a few days, yielded to medical treatment, and all 
 serious danger was soon considered to be over. But he was 
 advised to spend a month or two of the summer in the 
 country, where he could tranquilly enjoy pure air and 
 necessary relaxation. Accordingly, accompanied by Mrs. 
 Fairbairn, his daughter, and a few other near relatives, he 
 went to Arrochar, Dumbartonshire, in the beginning of 
 June; and, being favoured with fine weather, he greatly 
 enjoyed his sojourn in that romantic locality. All around 
 him remarked that he seemed to be regaining completely 
 his former strength and spirits. The mellowed tone of his 
 conversation, and the finer traits of his character, brought 
 out, as it were, by affliction, also gave a new charm to his 
 society, and endeared him more than ever to his loved 
 domestic circle. 
 
 When at Arrochar, he returned to Glasgow for a single 
 day to preach in the evening, and preside at the ordina- 
 tion of Messrs. Gibson and Barclay as missionaries to 
 China. This service, though it broke in upon his needed 
 leisure, was quite congenial to his feelings; and he had 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. XXXIU 
 
 peculiar satisfaction in ordaining to the ministry two devoted 
 young men, — one of them the son of his former colleague, 
 Professor Gibson, — who had offered themselves as labourers 
 in a difficult part of the Foreign Mission field. He de- 
 livered on this occasion a very beautiful and appropriate 
 discourse from Ps. cxxvi., which has been published since 
 his death in the Christian Treasury. 
 
 On the 30th of June he went up to London to attend 
 a meeting of the Old Testament Revision Committee ; and 
 on the Saturday following he paid a visit to his friend Mr. 
 Wilson, which he greatly enjoyed. Of that visit Mr. Wilson 
 writes : ' It was short, but never can be forgotten by myself 
 or household. He bore evident traces of his recent illness ; 
 but still more evident were the signs of deepening con- 
 formity to his Saviour's likeness, and of fellowship with his 
 God.' Having completed his attendance on the Revision 
 Committee, he returned to Glasgow on the nth July. 
 
 The following week he went to Berwickshire to visit 
 some of his relatives ; preached in the Free Church, Eye- 
 mouth, on the 19th; and went to Greenlaw on the 24th, 
 to assist his brother at his Communion. On the Sabbath 
 he spoke at the Communion Table, and preached in the 
 evening with great unction and power. Many were deeply 
 moved by his words and still more by the spirit that 
 breathed through all his ministrations. Leaving Mrs. 
 Fairbairn and his daughter behind him, he returned to 
 Glasgow on the following Tuesday, in order to be present 
 at a meeting of the Board for the examination of students 
 in Divinity, that was to be held in the course of the week. 
 
 On the Monday following, the 3d of August, he received 
 
 intelligence of the serious illness of his eldest son in Aus- 
 
 c 
 
XXXIV BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. 
 
 tralia. This painfully affected him ; but he endeavoured to 
 bear the afflicting news as calmly as possible. Yet Mrs. 
 Fairbairn, on hearing from him on the subject, immediately 
 left Greenlaw, and joined him at Glasgow. On Thursday 
 evening he conducted family worship as usual, and retired 
 to rest about eleven o'clock. In little more than half an 
 hour, a peculiar breathing gave indication of a sudden 
 and fatal attack, which almost immediately ended in death. 
 Without a note of warning, either to himself or his beloved 
 partner, his spirit, in the solemn silence of midnight, sud- 
 denly passed away. Thus terminated, as by a swift trans- 
 lation, a truly noble life. Like Chalmers, Patrick Fairbairn 
 was spared all abatement of mental strength, the feebleness 
 of old age, the pain and struggle of the last conflict. In 
 the fulness of his power and usefulness, yet not before his 
 work was done, he was summoned to rest from his labours, 
 and to enter into the joy of his Lord. 
 
 On the 13th August he was buried at Edinburgh, in the 
 Grange Cemetery, which contains the precious dust of so 
 many of God's honoured servants. Not far from the 
 graves of Thomas Chalmers, William Cunningham, Thomas 
 Guthrie, and many other eminent Christian worthies, 
 his mortal remains are laid, in the hope of a blessed 
 resurrection. 
 
 The death of this distinguished man was deeply lamented, 
 not only by the members of his own Communion, but by 
 many in all the Churches to whom his name and works 
 were famiHar. The writer of this sketch happened to be out 
 of Scotland when the sad event occurred, and he can testify 
 to the deep sorrow it excited among ministers in other 
 lands, and of various denominations. Presbyterian and 
 
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH. XXXV 
 
 Episcopalian admirers of the Typology vied with one 
 another in expressing their regret for the loss which the 
 Church of Christ had sustained by the death of its author. 
 
 Principal Fairbairn left a widow, three sons, and a 
 daughter. His eldest son, as has been mentioned, died in 
 Australia soon after his father's death. Two sons, Patrick 
 and Thomas, and a daughter, Mary Ann, all by his second 
 wife, still survive. Patrick is settled at Demerara ; Thomas 
 is at present in Shanghai. An interesting daughter, Jane, 
 after growing up to womanhood, died at Glasgow in 1859, 
 and was interred beside her mother in the family burying- 
 ground in the Grange Cemetery, Edinburgh, where her 
 father is now also laid. It may serve various useful pur- 
 poses to inscribe the names of an eminent man's children 
 in any account, however brief, of their father's life. 
 
THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF 
 A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 INTRODUCTORY. — THE RELATION OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE 
 TO THE CHURCH, AND THE CONNECTION BETWEEN 
 RIGHT VIEWS OF THE ONE AND A PROPER ESTIMATE OF 
 THE OTHER. 
 
 THE office of a Christian pastor obviously proceeds on 
 the assumption of a Christian membership or com- 
 munity, as the parties in respect to whom, and among whom, 
 it is to be exercised. It assumes that the flock of Christ are 
 not a mere aggregation of units, but have by divine ordination 
 a corporate existence, with interconnecting relationships, 
 mutual responsibilities, and common interests. It assumes, 
 further, that the Church in this associated or corporate 
 respect has a distinct organization for the management of 
 its own affairs, in which the office of pastor occupies a 
 prominent place, having for its specific object the oversight 
 of particular communities, and the increase or multiplication 
 of these, according to the circumstances of particular times 
 and places. There are other things of a collateral or sub- 
 sidiary kind, not unimportant in themselves, and fitted to 
 exercise a considerable influence on pastoral relations : — 
 such as the internal constitution of the Church, or section 
 of the Church to which the pastorate belongs, its relation to 
 
 A 
 
2 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 a superior governing power (whether of a presbytery or an 
 episcopate), the understanding on which destination is made 
 to a specific field of labour, or the tenure under which the 
 appointment is held. Matters of that description cannot 
 fail to tell with more or less efi"ect on the exercise of the 
 pastoral function, though they cannot be deemed of essential 
 moment. For they may be, and have been, ruled differently 
 in different portions of the Christian Church ; while still a 
 pastorate, with substantially the same duties to discharge, 
 and the same interests to prosecute, remains in each of 
 them. Nothing more for the present needs to be assumed 
 than the existence of the Church in separate outstand- 
 ing communities, constituted with a view to the promotion 
 of the great ends of evangelical truth and duty, pre- 
 sided over by persons destined to spiritual functions, and, 
 in particular, set apart to the ministration of the word and 
 the care of souls. This much, however, must be assumed, 
 and assumed without any detailed proof or lengthened vin- 
 dication. But as much depends upon the idea entertained 
 of the Church for the idea that also comes to be entertained 
 of the nature and ends of the ministerial calling, so that the 
 one cannot fail to act and react on the other, a brief outline 
 of the scriptural view of the Church (as we understand it) 
 in its more essential characteristics, and of the false views 
 which would either altogether supersede or injuriously 
 affect the character of the pastoral office, may form an 
 appropriate introduction to the line of thought and inquiry 
 that lies before us. 
 
 I. Scriptural idea of the Churchy considered with respect to 
 the nature and calling of the Christian pastoi^ate. — (i.) The 
 Church in its primary and fundamental aspect is the king- 
 dom of Christ, the spiritual society within which, as more 
 pecuHarly His own. He is acknowledged as the rightful 
 Head, and served with a loving, loyal obedience. The 
 
INTRODUCTION. 
 
 members of it are the election of grace, the partakers of 
 Christ's life and Spirit ; and as such, His body, in which 
 He more especially resides, and through which He acts for 
 holy ends upon the world. There is therefore a pervading 
 unity, an essential agreement in position, aims, and character 
 among those who really constitute the Church, arising from 
 their common relation to one head, and their mutual rela- 
 tion one to another, precisely as in the members of the 
 human body, or in the subjects of a rightly-constituted and 
 well-ordered kingdom. The Church, in this higher aspect, 
 cannot be thought of but as an organic whole, bound up 
 in Hving fellowship with Christ, He in it as the habitation 
 which He fills with the manifestations of His presence and 
 glory, and it again in Him as the root out of which it grows, 
 and the pattern after which, in character and destiny, its 
 members are to be conformed. 
 
 (2.) But the Church in this higher sense exists only ideally^ 
 so far as human perception or outward organization is con- 
 cerned; visibly and actually it nowhere aj^pears in the world, 
 except as it may be in part, by successive stages, realizing 
 itself among the members of Christian communities. This, 
 however, it is ever doing ; it is the very law of its growth. 
 And so, what is usually termed the invisible Church, invisible 
 as regards its component elements or actual membership 
 to man's view, though perfectly known to God's, demands 
 as its proper counterpart the visible. It demands this not 
 as a circumstantial adjunct merely, a convenient or suitable 
 adaptation, but as a necessary co-relation, the inevitable 
 tendency and result of those spiritual instincts and divine 
 principles which hnk the believing soul to Christ, the Church 
 of the first-born on earth to the Church made perfect in 
 glory. For, as the i?iternal operation and life-giving agency 
 of the Spirit come into effect through the external call and 
 ministration of the word, thus, and no otherwise ) so the 
 one spiritual body of Christ has for its necessary comple- 
 
4 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 ment a formally constituted corporate society. In short, the 
 process of calling out of the world, and preparing for glory 
 the elect of God, realizes itself through the existence and 
 agency of a visible Church ; the visible is the nursery, and, 
 in a measure also, the image of the invisible. Only in so 
 far as it is so can it be said to fulfil its divine calling and 
 appointment. In each Christian community the offices and 
 ministrations, the government and discipline, should be such 
 as may through the Spirit most effectually serve to diffuse 
 the saving knowledge of Christ, awaken and sustain the love 
 of those who receive it, form, nourish, and draw forth the 
 spiritual and holy graces, which are the very life and glory 
 of the elect society that are there in training for the kingdom 
 and presence of God. So that every individual, when as a 
 believer he connects himself with the membership of the 
 Church, should feel as if entering a society that holds of 
 heaven rather than of earth, a society in which all should 
 drop, as they enter, the selfishness and corruption of nature, 
 that they may mingle in the blessed harmony and com- 
 munion of redeemed souls. 
 
 (3.) It follows from this relation of the visible to the in- 
 visible Church, as to character and calling, that everything 
 in the several sections of the Church on earth should be 
 framed and regulated so as in the most faithful and efficient 
 manner to carry out the revealed mind of Christ. It ought 
 to be so, in a very special manner, with respect to the 
 Christian pastorate, to which belongs for all ordinary minis- 
 trations and results the highest place. Christ Himself is the 
 Shepherd of the entire flock; and the pastors whom He pro- 
 mised to provide, for whom He received gifts on finishing 
 the work given Him to do,^ are the under shepherds who 
 have to tend the flock in subordinate divisions, and dis- 
 tribute in due season the materials of life and blessing 
 committed to their hand. It is thcii- part to stand and 
 1 Eph. iv. II, 12. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 5 
 
 minister in His name ; to give themselves to the defence and 
 the propagation of His gospel ; to cause His voice, in a 
 manner, to be perpetually heard and His authority respected ; 
 in a word, to direct the operations and ply the agencies 
 which are fitted to bring those that are far off near to Christ, 
 and to carry forward their advancement in the life of faith 
 and holiness. Whatever private members of the Church 
 may, and also should, do toward the same end, — for where 
 all are taught of God, who should venture to think or to say 
 that he is charged with no responsibility for the good of 
 others? — yet those who are formally set as pastors and 
 teachers in the various Christian communities must, from the 
 very nature of their position and calling, have the chief 
 responsibility resting on them of doing what is needed to 
 enlighten, and edify, and comfort the souls of men. 
 
 (4.) And, finally, while all this has immediate respect to 
 the Church as a select body, and to the spiritual life and 
 wellbeing of those within its pale, it has also a real and im- 
 portant bearing on the world at large. For as the Church 
 is gathered out of the world, so it is called to be ever acting 
 on the world with regenerative and wholesome influence. 
 In this evangelistic and reformatory work the Church as a 
 whole, the Church individually and collectively, has the 
 charge committed to it ; it is the candlestick which the 
 Lord has set up to diffuse abroad the light of heaven, or, to 
 refer to another metaphor of Scripture, the divinely im- 
 pregnated and impregnating leaven, which is to work till 
 the general mass of humanity is leavened. But the pastors 
 and teachers of the Church have here also, by virtue of their 
 special gifts and calling, the foremost place to occupy ; and 
 much must ever depend on their zeal and energy for the 
 progress that is made in the blessed work of reconciling the 
 world to God. 
 
 The views now presented contain nothing more than the 
 briefest possible outline of the nature of the Christian Church, 
 
6 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 of the position assigned to the office of the pastorate in it, 
 and the share which this must necessarily have in all the 
 more vital and important functions which the Church has 
 to discharge. But even such an outline can hardly be pre- 
 sented without conveying to our minds an impression of the 
 lofty character of the pastoral office, and of the momentous 
 interests which are entrusted to its keeping. It stands in 
 close affinity with what lies nearest to the heart, and most 
 joeculiarly concerns the glory of God ; and high, assuredly, 
 must be the honour, and large the blessing, of being counted 
 worthy to take part in its sacred employments, if these 
 employments be but faithfully discharged ; while, on the 
 other hand, a fearful responsibility must be incurred by 
 those who rush unprepared into the holy vocation, or manage 
 in a slovenly and careless manner the concerns with which 
 it charges them. But of this more hereafter : we turn now 
 to other views of the Church, such as are either wholly in- 
 consistent with a Christian pastorate, in the scriptural sense, 
 or injuriously affect it. 
 
 II. Views of the Church which are siihversive of the pas- 
 toral office as exhibited in Scripture. — The views which most 
 palpably tend in this antagonistic direction are those which 
 spring from a disposition to push to an extreme the more 
 spiritual aspect of the Church. The reformers found it 
 necessary to bring out very clearly and forcibly the dis- 
 tinction between the Church in this higher aspect, and 
 the existing visible communities, compounds of light and 
 darkness, purity and corruption, which claimed in the 
 hands of the Papacy to be possessed of everything which 
 entered into the idea of the Church. It was impossible 
 otherwise to raise a testimony, such as the times required, 
 against soul-destroying error. But the Reformation had not 
 proceeded far on its course when a tendency appeared on 
 the part of some to carry to an extreme the spiritualistic 
 
INTRODUCTION. 7 
 
 element, and make comparatively nothing of the outward 
 and visible, consequently disparaging the organizations of 
 scripturally-constituted Churches. And such views have 
 their concrete representation still, in the Society of Friends, 
 for example, the Quakers, who so isolate and exalt the in- 
 ternal agency of the Spirit, as to render it independent of 
 all official appointments or formal distinctions. According 
 to them, it is only when ' God raises up and moves among 
 the assemblies of the faithful by the inward, immediate 
 operation of His own Spirit,' certain persons to instruct, and 
 teach, and watch over them, that any are called to do the 
 work of ministers of the word ; and the proof that they are 
 called, is 'by the feeling of life and power on the part of the 
 brethren which passes through them,' in connection with 
 the ministration.^ Hence, Mohler in his Symbolik^ trying 
 to expose the Lutheran doctrine respecting the visible and 
 invisible Church, represents Quakerism as ' the consumma- 
 tion of Lutheranism,' because it carries fully out the maxim, 
 which he takes to lie at the root of Lutheranism, that ' God 
 teacheth man only inwardly.' In Quakerism, certainly, 
 there is a very earnest endeavour to act in accordance with 
 this maxim, though the endeavour is by no means either 
 consistent in its working, or in its results successful. The 
 Society so far yields to it as to discard all stated forms of 
 worship from having a place in the divine service, to disallow 
 the administration of sacraments, and to suffer the word of 
 exhortation or the presentation of audible prayer only when 
 the motion to do so proceeds from one who is conscious of 
 a special call from above to the exercise. Not merely the 
 actual, but th.t perceptible influence of the Spirit is required 
 to constitute a right to impart spiritual instruction or guide 
 the expression of pious feeling in their assemblies ; so that 
 it is not enough to say with the apostle, ' If any man speak, 
 let him speak as the oracles of God,' but let him speak as a 
 ^ Barclay's A_poL Prop. x. 
 
8 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 conscious instrument of God's Spirit, obeying the impulse 
 of a higher power in his soul. 
 
 But with all this curtailment of the outward means of grace, 
 with the view of enhancing and elevating that which is 
 spiritual, much still remains, even with this peculiar class of 
 spiritualists, to reach the point, that God teaches man only 
 inwardly. For the formal basis, and to a large extent the 
 material, of the instruction which man has to receive in 
 divine things exists outside of him, and in so far as it works 
 by way of enlightenment, must do so from without inwards. 
 The incarnation of the Son of God, His atoning sacrifice, 
 corporeal death, and resurrection, were all external things, 
 connected on every side with the reahties of sense and time ; 
 hence in themselves they belong to another region than that 
 of the individual consciousness, as does also the written word, 
 in which they are presented to our belief and contemplation. 
 There have been some, not so much, I believe, in this 
 country as in America, who in the interest of the distinctive 
 principles of Quakerism, the sufficiency of its inward light 
 and direct action of spirit upon spirit, have quitted their 
 hold of the historical Christ, and treated the evangelical 
 record as an allegory. This was, indeed, a terrible sacrifice 
 to make for the consistent maintenance of their spiritualistic 
 principles ; it was, indeed, abandoning the substance of 
 Christianity itself for the sake of an extravagant assertion of 
 one of its characteristic features ; but, after all, it still fails to 
 secure the desired emancipation of the soul from dependence 
 upon the outward elements of instruction. For, interpret 
 the written word as you may, it is in itself an objective in- 
 strument, and, as such, the ground on which Quakerism, as 
 well as every other Christian denomination, rests for the 
 justification of its tenets and discipline. We know, indeed, 
 — and it is the exaggeration of this truth which gives rise to 
 the extravagance in question, — that the word may be read 
 or proclaimed in the letter without being understood or re- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 9 
 
 celved in the spirit Yet that in no way prevents its being the 
 common, or even the indispensable, handmaid of the Spirit's 
 working, the means by which He may, without which He 
 ordinarily does not, let in the light of salvation on men's 
 souls, and conduct them in the way of peace. And if the 
 word has such an end to serve, why should it not be statedly 
 read in the assemblies of God's people? Why not preached 
 and prayed over at every favourable opportunity? Why not 
 embodied also in outward symbol, and with the solemnity 
 of a covenant transaction impressed upon the heart and 
 conscience ? These are all, no doubt, outward things, and 
 of themselves are incapable of either converting souls to 
 God, or of building them up in righteousness ; but so far 
 they stand on a footing with the Bible itself; and the same 
 principle which would discard the one might equally discard 
 the other. 
 
 So, doubtless, the party in question would have acted if 
 their spiritual instincts had not prevailed in some degree to 
 counteract the tendency of their abstract principles. Yet 
 the system, as a whole, has proved a palpable failure ; it has 
 been without living warmth or impulsive energy, scarcely 
 able to perpetuate its existence, and exercising no assignable 
 influence on the degeneracy and corruption around it. The 
 fundamental mistake of its adherents, and of the few other 
 sects who in principle coincide with them, lies in a miscon- 
 ception of the nature of the Spirit's work upon the soul. 
 And the inconsistence alleged against Protestants generally 
 by such writers as Mohler has this in common with it, that 
 it imputes to them, without any just warrant, substantially 
 the same view of the doctrine of the Spirit, and thence 
 chiefly derives what it possesses of a plausible character. It 
 assumes the action of the Spirit to be, according to Pro- 
 testant ideas, so peculiarly and essentially inward, as to 
 have no proper dependence on what are called the means 
 and ordinances of grace ; in which case it would be in ill 
 
lO THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 accord with the complex constitution of man, and the known 
 laws of human thought and feeling. But, to use the words 
 of Isaac Taylor, who in this speaks the common senti- 
 ments of Protestant divines,^ ' if it be true that the agency 
 of the Holy Spirit in renewing the heart is perfectly con- 
 gruous with the natural movements of the mind, both in its 
 animal and its intellectual constitution, it is implied, that 
 whatever natural means of suasion, or of rational conviction, 
 are proper to rectify the notions of mankind, will be em- 
 ployed as the concomitant, or second causes, of the change. 
 These exterior means of amendment are, in fact, only cer- 
 tain parts of the entire machinery of human nature ; nor 
 can it be believed that its Maker holds in light esteem His 
 own wisdom of contrivance, or is it at any time obliged to 
 break up, or to contemn, the mechanism which He has pro- 
 nounced to be "very good." That there actually exists no 
 such intention or necessity, is declared by the very form and 
 mode of revealed religion ; for this revelation consists of the 
 common materials of moral influence, argument, history, 
 poetry, eloquence. The same authentication of the natural 
 modes of influence is contained in the establishment of the 
 Christian ministry, and in the warrant given to parental in- 
 struction. These institutions concur to proclaim the great 
 law of the spiritual world, that the heavenly grace which 
 reforms the soul operates constantly in conjunction with 
 second causes and natural means. In an accommodated, 
 yet legitimate sense of the words, it may be aftirmed of 
 every such cause, that the powers which be are ordained of 
 God ; there is no power but of His ordaining; and whoso- 
 ever resisteth (or would supersede) the power, resisteth (or 
 supersedeth) the ordinance of God.' 
 
 Such being at once the scriptural and the commonly 
 received view among Protestants on the subject, it is mani- 
 festly erroneous to suppose that the internal action of the 
 ^ Nal. Hist, of Enthusiasm^ p. 69. 
 
INTRODUCTION. II 
 
 Spirit on the souls of men must be of a perceptible kind, 
 consciously distinct from one's own thoughts and volitions ; 
 equally so, that it must make itself known by communica- 
 tions apart from, if not superior to, those contained in the 
 revelation of divine truth in Scripture ; and still again, that 
 it stands in any sort of contrariety to an ordained ministry 
 and stated ordinances of worship. Any view of the Spirit's 
 agency which runs counter to the use of such natural aids 
 and appropriate channels of working betrays its own arbi- 
 trary and enthusiastic character. And it certainly is, as 
 again remarked by Taylor, among the singular incongruities 
 of human nature, that notions of spiritual agency, which, 
 when viewed abstractedly, seem as if they could only belong 
 to minds in the last stage of folly and extravagance, have 
 been for generations maintained by a sect remarkable for 
 the chilhness of its piety, for its contempt of the natural 
 expressions of devotional feeling, and even for a pecuHar 
 shrewdness of good sense in matters of worldly interest. 
 
 Another religious party, however, has arisen much more 
 aggressive than the Society of Friends (as these have been 
 known in later times), and differing from them also to a 
 considerable extent in regard to the work of the Holy Spirit, 
 who yet so far concur with them in their views both as to 
 the Spirit and the Church, that they equally set themselves 
 against the function of an ordained ministry, and, indeed, 
 any fixed Church organization. I refer to the Plymouthists, 
 who perhaps approach more nearly to the parties that in the 
 times of the Commonwealth were known by the names of 
 Seekers and Spirituals^ than to the Quakers of the present 
 day '^ but they may be classed with the latter in this respect, 
 that they disallow the right of any one to teach or rule in 
 the assemblies of the faithful, except such as are directly 
 called and endowed by the Spirit to do so. They there- 
 fore repudiate and denounce all kinds of ecclesiastical ordi- 
 ^ See Gillespie's Miscellany Questions. 
 
12 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 nations, fixed appointments to office, powers and authorities 
 conferred, or attempted to be conferred, through a human 
 instrumentahty ; nay, associate with these, especially with a 
 regularly trained and endowed clergy, most of the corrup- 
 tions in the Christian Church. And along with these nega- 
 tive peculiarities, they hold it to be now, at this particular 
 stage of the gospel dispensation, the special and primary 
 duty of believers to stand forth as expectants of the near 
 advent of Christ ; and, as such, to separate themselves from 
 the mixed communities of Christendom, simply to recognise 
 each other as united in the common bond of Christian faith 
 and hope, and, when meeting together, to promote each 
 other's edification by the exercise of such gifts of teaching 
 or administration as the Spirit may be pleased to confer on 
 any of their number. 
 
 It is of course quite easy, in the existing state of many of 
 the Protestant Churches of Christendom, to take advantage 
 of various corruptions and abuses for the purpose of giving 
 some plausible colour and support to the views now indi- 
 cated ; and there are not wanting currents of religious 
 thought, phases of mind and character, which tend to foster 
 the disintegrating, individualizing spirit, which finds its pe- 
 cuhar power and development in Plymouthism. But with- 
 out entering into the examination of these, looking only for 
 a moment at the views themselves which this party wish to 
 have regarded as emphatically scriptural, there are two 
 fundamental errors which, on the ground of Scripture, may 
 be charged against them, and which are entirely fatal to the 
 pretensions raised upon them. One is an error in respect to 
 prophecy, which they unduly elevate ; and another in respect 
 to history, which they unduly depreciate. As regards the 
 former, we lay down the position, that it is not now, nor 
 ever has been, the insight furnished by prophecy into the 
 Church's future which constitutes the ground of her polity, 
 but present truth and duty. Believers in Old Testament 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1 3 
 
 times, more especially when those times were verging to a 
 close, were assuredly called to look and wait for a coming 
 Messiah. Yet it was not this state of expectancy, or the 
 changes which were to be introduced by it, but the past re- 
 velations of God, and the measure of truth therein unfolded, 
 which gave birth to the ordinances of worship that were 
 binding on the members of the old covenant, and deter- 
 mined the relative functions and modes of administration by 
 which its affairs were to be carried on. The very last 
 charge given by Old Testament prophecy to the people of 
 God, was to observe the statutes and judgments introduced 
 by Moses (Mai. iv. 4). Not, therefore, by separating one- 
 self from these (as the Essenes did), but by the diligent and 
 proper use of them, was the work of preparation for the 
 events in prospect to be secured. And it is the same in New 
 Testament times. There, the Church itself as an organized 
 institution, with its gifts of grace and offices of ministration, 
 took shape in connection with the incarnation and work of 
 Christ in the flesh ; in this, a thing of the past, not in any 
 announcement of His coming again in the future, is placed 
 the ground and reason of all that properly belongs to it. 
 And though intimations were given, both by our Lord and 
 His apostles, of defections that should take place, and cor- 
 ruptions in doctrine and practice that should enter into His 
 Church before He should appear in His glory, yet the call 
 that is addressed to His people in connection with these is 
 merely to resist the evil and witness against the abuse, but 
 not to refuse the order or change the administration which 
 from the first has carried with it the sanction of His approval 
 and the promise of His blessing. For this a specific revela- 
 tion from heaven would be needed, laying anew the founda- 
 tion of a Church polity on earth, or warranting believers to 
 withdraw from the foundation already laid. And believers 
 only invert the established order and revelation of things, 
 when they have recourse for the rule of their procedure in 
 
14 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 such matters not to the historical past, but to the still un- 
 developed future. 
 
 But it is not thus alone that the historical element in the 
 constitution of the Church is made too little account of by 
 the parties in question. For this Church, it must be re- 
 membered, did not come into existence as an entirely new 
 creation. It was grafted, like Christianity itself, on the old 
 stock of Judaism ; and as to external form and ofhcial organi- 
 zation, it had its preparatory type in the arrangements of 
 the Jewish Synagogue. The narrative of apostolic labour 
 in the Acts and other incidental notices of New Testament 
 Scripture plainly implies as much ; and subsequent investi- 
 gation has confirmed the impression beyond any reasonable 
 doubt. The Christian Church, even when under apostolic 
 guidance and direction, did not disdain to borrow, in the 
 regard now under consideration, from existing institutions ; 
 and for any persons now summarily to discard what exists, 
 and attempt to model everything anew, with no object but to 
 afford scope for the exercise of spiritual gifts and operations, 
 is certainly to follow another course than that marked out 
 by apostolic precedent. True, in one point there is, if not 
 a total, yet a comparative want of resemblance, between 
 the Jewish Synagogue and the Christian Church ; no one 
 in the former was ordained to the office of a regular and 
 stated pastorate; and this circumstance has been laid 
 hold of, by the parties now immediately under considera- 
 tion, for the purpose of disproving the necessity of such a 
 pastorate in the Christian Church. But the idea of the office 
 in a geiiei^al form was undoubtedly there, namely, in the 
 joint eldership who were charged with the spiritual over- 
 sight of each synagogal community; only, from the relative 
 defect of the times as to spiritual light and privilege, this 
 idea never developed itself into a proper pastorate, or a 
 regular ministration of word and ordinance in the hands of 
 any single individual. Such a development was necessarily 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1 5 
 
 reserved for the gospel dispensation ; which had scarcely- 
 entered on its course till a palpable advance was made in 
 this particular direction, and a church was constituted in 
 which a prominent place was given to the oflEice of pastors 
 and teachers, not, indeed, as formally distinct from that of 
 the eldership, but with a special rise and enlargement of one 
 of its functions. 
 
 In regard, however, to the right to hold and exercise 
 the functions in question, there is a point that requires to 
 be carefully guarded, which in regularly organized commu- 
 nities is apt to be somewhat lost sight of, sometimes is 
 even entirely misapprehended; and the partial defect, or 
 actual error, is not unfrequently turned to account by the 
 spiritualists in disparagement of the pastoral office. I refer 
 to the relation of the office, as an institution of Christ, to the 
 gift of the Spirit qualifying an individual for its discharge. 
 What is of God in the matter may also be, and ordinarily 
 should be, through man ; and it is in the due co-ordination 
 and harmonious working of the human and the divine that 
 the will of Christ is properly accomplished. The original 
 planters of Christian churches, the apostles of our Lord, 
 held directly of Him ; in their ordination, human instru- 
 mentality had no room to work ; as also in their qualifications 
 for what was given them to do, not only spiritual, but super- 
 natural endowments of a high order came into play. But 
 we are not thence warranted to infer that there should be 
 the same direct intervention from above in subsequent and 
 inferior appointments, any more than that because the word 
 had the outward attestation of miracles in the gospel age, 
 a like attestation might be expected for it after the Church 
 had begun to take root in the world. Even in the apostolic 
 age, from the time that matters had become in some degree 
 consolidated, respect was constantly had to the official 
 position and instrumental agency of men. St. Paul himself, 
 who was not only called, but had occasion strongly to assert 
 
1 6 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 that he had been called, to the work of an apostle, ' not of 
 man, nor by the will of man, but of God,' still submitted to 
 be designated by the Church- of Antioch, through imposition 
 of hands, to a special mission (Acts xiii. 3) ; and both he 
 and the other apostles associated with them the eldership 
 of the church at Jerusalem, when they came together to 
 determine the question about circumcision. The decree 
 issued was sent forth as the joint resolution of the Holy 
 Ghost and the assembled heads of the Church on the sub- 
 ject (Acts XV. 28). In all the churches, too, planted by 
 Paul, we find him ordaining elders or presbyters for the 
 regular administration of word and ordinances ; while the 
 real authority to act in the name of Christ, and the excellence 
 of the power in doing so with effect, he never hesitated to 
 ascribe to God. Why should any contrariety be supposed, 
 in such cases, to exist between the divine agency and the 
 human instrumentality? In ministerial ordinations and 
 appointments, the Church does not pretend, at least she 
 should not, and when rightly constituted she does not pre- 
 tend, to confer the gifts necessary to the rightful and pro- 
 fitable exercise of spiritual functions ; she simply recognises 
 the gifts as already possessed in such measure as to 
 warrant her, by a solemn act, to encourage and authorize 
 the exercise of them in a particular sphere. Wherever the 
 matter is rightly gone about, the process is as follows : — 
 the Church, through her ordinary channels of working, 
 comes to obtain a certain number of persons, who are pos- 
 sessed of higher qualifications and spiritual gifts than belong 
 to the general run of her members ; these, when she finds 
 them willing to separate themselves to the work of the 
 ministry, she puts into a course, or takes cognizance of them 
 while they put themselves into a course, of training for the 
 work ; and this being done to her satisfaction, the endow- 
 ments of nature and of grace possessed by the individuals 
 being in her judgment such as to warrant the hope of future 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1 7 
 
 usefulness, she sets her seal upon them by a formal act of 
 ordination, appointing the individuals to the oversight of 
 some particular portion of the flock of Christ. Viewed 
 thus, which is the only proper light wherein to contemplate 
 it, ordination to the work of the ministry, and other cog- 
 nate offices, is only a becoming exemplification of the 
 apostolic precept, ' Let all things be done decently, and in 
 order.' 
 
 On the other hand, let the principle of the spiritualists be 
 adopted, and perfect freedom allowed every member of the 
 religious community to exercise the gifts he thinks himself 
 possessed of, what effectual check is there against abitrari- 
 ness and presumption ? What confusion and disorder may 
 not, for a time at least, come into operation ? Here one, we 
 can suppose, shall rise up claiming to have received the 
 gift of teaching from the Spirit ; there another, asserting for 
 himself the power of government ; and another claiming to 
 possess the discernment of spirits, so as to be capable of 
 assigning to each his proper place and character in the 
 reckoning of heaven ; and whatever extravagance or delu- 
 sion there might be in such assumptions, still, on the views 
 of an idealistic and individualizing spiritualism, the claim 
 must in the first instance be conceded, and only by and by 
 rejected, if the teaching and procedure founded on it should 
 be found to clash with the general sense of the community. 
 But, meanwhile, what disturbance might be created? what 
 unprofitable jangling, perhaps irreparable mischief, occa- 
 sioned in the process? Such, indeed, that no religious 
 community acting on the principle in question, and fairly 
 carrying it out, has ever been able to perpetuate itself. 
 Either some sort of constitutional government has been 
 practically called into existence to temper and control the 
 spirituaHstic element, or the community has fallen a prey 
 to its internal weakness and indiscriminate self-assertion. 
 
 Doubtless there were things connected with the first great 
 
 B 
 
1 8 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 movements of spiritual life and action in the Christian 
 Church which have a somewhat irregular appearance, not 
 quite reducible to the method and order of constitutional 
 government ; as there have been also in times of convulsive 
 energy and deep spiritual awakening. The parties against 
 whom we now reason are in the habit of making their 
 appeal to such things. That is, they would make what is 
 peculiar and occasional the rule and warrant for ordinary 
 administrations ; and not uncommonly what was peculiar 
 and occasional is exaggerated, made to appear greater than 
 it actually was, by throwing into the background circum- 
 stances of a qualifying or counterbalancing kind. It is in 
 accordance with all that we know of the Spirit's mode of 
 operation in the Church, that when the position of affairs 
 was so singular, and the exigencies of the Church in many 
 respects so great, as they were at the commencement of the 
 gospel. He would adapt His gifts and methods of working, 
 in ways somewhat extraordinary, to the state of the times ; 
 thus giving special encouragements to believers amid their 
 heavy struggles and embarrassments, and compensating, in 
 a measure, for the want of resources which might at other 
 times be within their reach. But things of that description, 
 however expedient or even necessary at the beginning, might 
 have proved disadvantageous afterwards ; because tending 
 to hinder the free and fitting development of the Christian 
 life in its various capacities and powers of action. And it 
 is again in accordance with all that we know of the Spirit's 
 operations, that the natural should, wherever and so far as 
 properly available, be turned to account, and sanctified to 
 spiritual uses. In the case even of the apostles, at least of 
 the more prominent and influential among them, the recog- 
 nition of this principle can be without difficulty traced. 
 For, amid all that surrounded them of the supernatural and 
 miraculous, we still see nothing like a disparagement or sup- 
 pression of their natural powers and susceptibilities; but, 
 
INTRODUCTION. 1 9 
 
 on the contrary, a most real and valid consideration made 
 of them. By these, indeed, their relative places and spheres 
 of operation were to a large extent determined. In St. 
 Paul's case, especially, if we may not say he was called 
 to be the apostle to the Gentiles because he was pos- 
 sessed of singular mental powers, of Grecian culture, and 
 Roman citizenship, it is still clear that these formed no 
 mean part of the qualifications which rendered important 
 service to him in the prosecution of his high calling. Nor 
 was it materially different in regard to the outward support 
 of the ministry. During the earliest stage of ministerial 
 agency our Lord charged Himself, in a manner, with the 
 support of those who were engaged in it. He sent forth 
 His disciples on their first missionary tour without purse, or 
 scrip, or even change of raiment, ^ in order that, while He 
 was still present with them, and personally destitute of 
 material resources, they might have convincing evidence of 
 His willingness and power to bring all necessary provisions 
 to their hand. But at a later period, when on the eve of 
 taking His departure from them,^ and preparing them for 
 what should be the future order of things, He indicated the 
 propriety of their adopting whatever means or precautions 
 lay. within their reach : they were, henceforth, to serve them- 
 selves of the natural and the ordinary materials of suste- 
 nance or safety, so far as these might be at their command, 
 and could be made available. It was but to follow out the 
 spirit of this original revelation of the Lord's mind and will, 
 when the members of the New Testament Church provided, 
 through their free-will offerings, for the maintenance of those 
 who gave themselves to the work of the ministry, as well as 
 for the relief of the poor ; and when the principle was 
 formally announced by the Apostle Paul, that ' they who 
 preach the gospel should live of the gospel.' ^ If the 
 principle has been abused in later times by the institution 
 ^ Matt. X. 9, lo. "^ Luke xxii. 36. 3 i Cqj-. ix. 14. 
 
20 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 of rich benefices, and the employment of simoniacal prac- 
 tices, the legitimate use, with its scriptural warrant and 
 obligation, still remains. 
 
 Other considerations, also, come in aid of those which 
 are furnished by the word of God, pointing in the same 
 direction. How, in a busy, and to a large extent hostile 
 world, can the interests of the gospel be expected to flourish 
 without a special class of officers charged with the responsi- 
 biUty of watching over them, and placed in a position which 
 may enable them to devote their time and energies to the 
 work ? How, even in well-informed and orderly congrega- 
 tions, can the souls of the people be fed with sound know- 
 ledge, and their Christian efforts be rightly stimulated and 
 made to tell with proper effect on the state of things around 
 them, without the wise counsels and earnest application of 
 a faithful ministry? The dictates of common sense, and 
 the lessons also of past experience, concur in showing the 
 necessity of adhering in this respect to the method, which 
 has met the common approval of Christendom. It is well 
 to say that the members of Christian congregations should 
 each apply themselves, as God may enable them, to ex- 
 hortation, and prayer, and active labours for the spiritual 
 instruction and wellbeing of others. No doubt they should^ 
 and also will do this, if religion is in a healthful and 
 thriving state among them ; but never, unless perhaps in a 
 few exceptional cases, can it be reasonably expected to such 
 an extent as to supersede the necessity of a regular pastorate. 
 It certainly has not done so in the past, and it seems less 
 and less likely to do so in the future. The circumstances of 
 the world, and of the Church itself, are manifestly of a kind 
 to call for the undivided efforts of as many qualified pastors 
 as there is the least probability of obtaining, and whatever 
 occasional help besides can be derived from the more zealous 
 and devoted members of particular congregations. It is not, 
 we may be well assured, the cause of righteousness, but the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 21 
 
 interests of worldliness or sin, which would be gained by a 
 general discontinuance of the pastoral office in the Church, 
 or by the withdrawal, from those who fill it, of such tem- 
 poral encouragement and support as may admit of the 
 undivided application of their services to the work of the 
 ministry. 
 
 III. Views of the Church which, though not fatal to the 
 existence, are injurious to the proper character of the pastoral 
 office. — It is quite possible, and has, indeed, been found 
 greatly more common, to err both as to the idea of the 
 Church, and the nature of the pastoral function associated 
 with it, by pushing to an extreme the formal or visible 
 aspects of the subject, than by going too far in the opposite 
 direction. These may be so unduly magnified and dwelt 
 upon as virtually to disparage and cast into the shade such 
 as are of a more vital and spiritual nature ; as is done pre- 
 eminently in the hierarchical system of Rome, and in other 
 communions in proportion as they are leavened with High 
 Church notions of the priesthood and the sacraments. The 
 system (whatever elements of truth may be combined with 
 it) is always fraught with danger to the spiritual interests of 
 the individual believer ; for the tendency here is to repress 
 individualism, hence to weaken the principle of personal 
 responsibility, and dispose men to substitute an easy and 
 formal acquiescence in something done for them, in lieu of 
 a work of grace wrought in them by the Word and Spirit of 
 Christ. It does not, however, carry the same formal opposi- 
 tion to the subject more immediately under consideration, 
 as the erring tendencies in the other direction ; for in the 
 hierarchical Churches referred to there is also a pastorate, 
 or cure of souls, only one of a materially difi"erent character 
 from that recognised in the Reformed Churches, and, as we 
 believe, sanctioned in Scripture ; a pastorate which is at 
 the same time a priesthood, and is mainly distinguished by 
 
2 2 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 the work of mediation which it has to perform in behalf of 
 those who are the objects of its soHcitude. Under such a 
 system, everything necessarily partakes of a false tinge and 
 bias ; pastoral theology has to busy itself chiefly with offices 
 and administrations of a vicarious kind, rituaHstic services 
 and sacerdotal offerings ; with these, at least, much more 
 than with any direct manifestations of the truth to the hearts 
 and consciences of men. But the extent to which this may 
 be done, and the danger which is in consequence brought 
 to the interests of vital godliness, will depend on the degree 
 in which the hierarchical element, with its accompanying 
 ceremonialism, is allowed to prevail. 
 
 It is in the Romish Church, with which indeed may be 
 included the several divisions of the Eastern Church, as 
 in this respect there is no material difference, that the 
 element in question has its most complete and systematic 
 development. And it has obtained such ascendancy there, 
 mainly because of the undue, almost exclusive regard that 
 it had to the external relations and formal services of the 
 Church as a visible Institute. Indeed, so far as any prac- 
 tical purpose is concerned, no other view of the Church is 
 ever brought into notice, or distinctly contemplated as pos- 
 sible ; and every effort is put forth to treat as entirely 
 theoretical and inconsistent the Protestant doctrine of a 
 spiritual or invisible, in connection with a visible Church. 
 * Protestants ' (says Bossuet in his Variations) 'insist that the 
 Church consists exclusively of believers, and is therefore 
 an invisible body. But when asked for the signs of a 
 Church, they say the word and sacraments, a ministry and a 
 public service. If so, how can it consist exclusively of the 
 pious ? And where was there any society answering to the 
 Protestant definition before the Reformation ? ' So, also, 
 more recently Mohler in his Symholik. After quoting 
 Luther's sentiments regarding the individual Christian as one 
 taught of God through the divine word and Spirit, and re- 
 
INTRODUCTION. 23 
 
 presenting the Church as composed of such as have been so 
 taught, he thus proceeds : * It hence cannot be discerned 
 why he should need the supplemental aid of a congrega- 
 tion invested with authority, from whose centre the word of 
 God should be announced to him ; for by the assistance of 
 the outward divine word alone, written in the depths of his 
 heart, he hears His voice, and without an immediate organ. 
 What, after all this, can the Church be other than an invisible 
 community, since no material object in the visibility of the 
 Church can any longer be conceived ? Yet,' he adds, 
 ' Luther all at once admits, without its being possible to dis- 
 cover in his system any rational ground for such an assump- 
 tion, the establishment of human teachers, and even the 
 lawfulness of their caUing. Hereby the Church becomes 
 visible, recognisable, obvious to the eye ; so that the ill- 
 connected notions of God, the sole teacher, and of a human 
 teacher declared competent, and who cannot even be dis- 
 pensed with, meet us again in such a way as to imply that 
 the invisible is still a visible Church also.' 
 
 The whole that there is of plausibility in this line of 
 attack arises from a kind of clever confounding of things 
 that differ, treating the two aspects of the Church as set 
 forth by Protestants with studied perplexity, as if they were 
 to be understood in reference to precisely the same interests 
 and relations. When contemplated with respect to the 
 true scriptural idea, the Church is the living body of the 
 glorified Redeemer ; and, as such, it is necessarily composed 
 of those, and of those alone, who have been justified by 
 His grace, and made partakers of His risen life. The signs 
 of it in that point of view are not, as Bossuet insinuates, 
 the word and sacraments, — no intelligent Protestant writer 
 could so represent it, — but faith, holiness, perpetuity. These, 
 however, from their very nature, are strictly inward and 
 spiritual properties ; they depend simply on the reality of 
 the soul's communion with Christ, and the regenerating 
 
24 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 grace of the Holy Spirit. But when the question comes to 
 be, How usually is this life-giving work of the Spirit, and 
 communion with the Son, begun and carried on in the ex- 
 perience of men ? it is proper to reply, — Through the word 
 and the sacraments, or the ministrations and ordinances 
 of the gospel, which, in so far as they are scripturally main- 
 tained and dispensed, are of God, and if not the only, still 
 are the ordinary channels through which the Spirit imparts 
 the blessings of salvation to the soul. 
 
 In the Bible first, and generally also in the Protestant 
 confessions, the work of our salvation is presented to our 
 view as primarily a personal concern, a transaction which 
 has to take place between the soul and God. And the 
 determination of the question, whether this has really be- 
 come an accomplished thing in our experience, must ever 
 turn on the state of the heart toward God, whether or how 
 far it has come to be alive to the concerns of salvation 
 in Christ, and has surrendered itself to the power of His 
 grace and truth. The great source of salvation, and the 
 vital bond that connects us with it, being alike spiritual, the 
 main stress neither is nor could by possibility be laid upon 
 our relation to some external apparatus, or human instru- 
 mentality. These, at best, can be but the appointed means 
 and channels. The boon itself reaches the soul only when 
 by a spirit of faith there is the appropriation of a living 
 Saviour, and a humble reception of His word of truth. If 
 these really exist, no matter how they may have come into 
 operation, or where ; it is of no moment whether amid 
 the solemnities of worship, or in an hour of silent com- 
 muning with Heaven ; whether through a message spoken 
 in due season by an ordained minister of the gospel, or 
 by a word dropped in the private intercourse of Christian 
 fellowship by a believing brother ; the soul has found the 
 blessing ; it has laid hold of Him who is the fulness of 
 life and blessing j and its portion is, beyond doubt, with 
 
INTRODUCTION. 25 
 
 the. Church of the first-born, whose names are written in 
 heaven. 
 
 But are we on this account independent of the visible 
 Church ? Do we owe nothing to its ministrations, and has 
 it nothing to expect from us in return ? On the contrary, 
 we should never, in all probability, have sought after the 
 requisite state of mind, and the blessings associated with it, 
 or known how to attain them, except from the advantages 
 enjoyed in connection with the visible Church ; and as with 
 the beginning, so with the future progress. The two, in 
 short, stand related as a double and closely interconnected 
 system of means ; the direct and immediate are repentance 
 toward God, and faith toward the Lord Jesus Christ ; but 
 in order to the production and development of these, there 
 is in the hand of the Spirit another class of means, of a 
 remoter and outward kind, — the ministrations, ordinances, 
 watchful superintendence and oversight of the Church. Is 
 not this in correspondence with what takes place in the 
 natural sphere of things ? There also the prime, the essential 
 thing is the secret implantation of a living principle in an 
 organism fitted to receive and manifest its properties \ but 
 this organism itself is Hnked to a system of external adap- 
 tations, through which the vital principle is brought into 
 existence, nourished into strength, and carried forward to 
 the proper maturity and perfection of its nature. 
 
 Thus the sought-for point of union between the visible 
 and the invisible Church,^ to use the words of Litton, ' lies 
 in the administration of those means of grace by which, as 
 instruments, the Holy Spirit works, continually replenishing 
 the true Church with members out of the visible j and those 
 means are the preached word and the sacraments. To the 
 visible Church it belongs to administer these ordinances ; 
 for whatever be the state of heart of those to whom the 
 ministry of the word and the sacraments is committed, these 
 1 The C/mrch, p. 368. 
 
26 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 means of grace are efficacious not on account of, that is, 
 not directly or primarily on account of, the human channel 
 through which they pass, but by virtue of Christ's promise, 
 and the faith of the recipient. To the visible Church, then, 
 belongs the public administration of the means of grace ; 
 and as it is by the instrumentahty of these means that the 
 true Church is gathered in, it is obvious that it is no more 
 possible to sever the one from the other, than it is to sever 
 the inward grace of the sacraments from the outward sign ; 
 and that, in fact, as in the sacraments the outward sign and 
 the inward grace are not two sacraments, but the two aspects, 
 the inward and the outward, of one and the same ordi- 
 nance, so the visible and the true Church are not distinct 
 communities, but one and the same, regarded from different 
 points of view. The true Church depends for the main- 
 tenance of its existence on the visible Church ; and, in turn, 
 the visible Church is supported by the true. Thus a reci- 
 procal action is ever going on : the visible Church, as such, 
 dispensing the means of grace by which Christ works to the 
 gathering in of His elect; and the true Church, as such, 
 upholding and perpetuating the visible use of those means 
 by furnishing faithful recipients of them.' 
 
 I only add to this clear statement regarding the mutual 
 bearings and relations between the true and the visible, or 
 the elect and actual Church, that the distinction, we should 
 ever remember, is of man's, not of God's making. The two 
 should correspond in number and extent, and would do so 
 but for the corruption and hypocrisy of men, which are ever 
 marring the efficiency of God's ordinances, and bringing 
 imperfection and disorder into His kingdom. The visible 
 Church, as formerly stated, ought to be the community of 
 saints, the brotherhood of faith ; so that in it, as in a mirror, 
 men might see what the life of Christ actually is, and be ever 
 deriving from it salutary impressions upon their hearts and 
 consciences. This can be but imperfectly done so long as 
 
INTRODUCTION. 27 
 
 the representation stands in the characters of single indi- 
 viduals or isolated families. There must be social organiza- 
 tion, united action, collective results, otherwise nothing 
 great, or general, or permanent can be reached ; and the 
 Church militant is true to her calling, and fulfils her mis- 
 sion, only in so far as she everywhere presents the aspect 
 of a kingdom of righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy 
 Ghost. 
 
 With such views of the nature and calling of the Christian 
 Church, we have no hesitation in rejecting as unscriptural 
 and misleading any Church system which, on the ground 
 merely of its historical position, its ecclesiastical polity, or 
 hereditary claim to be the dispenser of salvation, would dis- 
 pose men to look more to the external framework and 
 formal administration of the kingdom of Christ than to its 
 spiritual aims and inner life ; to be more concerned about 
 preserving the right relation to a human instrumentality and 
 a generally recognised order of things, than about their 
 relation to the mind and Spirit of Christ ; in a word, to 
 make salvation primarily and chiefly a matter of compliance 
 with a prescribed ritual of service, and of interest in the 
 ministrations of a divinely-constituted priesthood. Such a 
 system, wherever it exists, and however it may be guarded, 
 must always be perilous to the souls of men, since it neces- 
 sarily tends to carnalize their views of divine things, to fix 
 their regard more upon form than substance, and to turn 
 the work of the ministry, in its higher functions, from an 
 earnest treatment of the sublime realities of the gospel for 
 the good of men, into a mechanical routine of observances 
 which the stupidest of men could perform with equal pro- 
 priety as the most intelligent and wise. 
 
 The evil, too, is all the greater, and the more apt to 
 impose on the credulity of men, from its existing in the 
 firmly-compacted system of Rome, where, with a certain 
 measure of plausibility, an appeal can be made to an ap- 
 
28 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 parently unbroken historical connection with the past, and 
 the claim is made, as of right, to the heritage of doctrine 
 and worship which has descended from the first fathers of 
 the Christian Church. Unquestionably a certain weight is 
 due to the historical element in determining the relation we 
 should occupy toward any particular Church, and the title 
 it may rightfully have to our allegiance. It should not be 
 without solid grounds that we set aside a claim which, 
 either in a national respect, or from personal ties, may press 
 itself on our regard. Still this historical element itself is 
 an outward thing ; it does not directly touch the vitals of 
 the faith ; and there are important considerations to show 
 that the outwardness belonging to it, whether as connected 
 with the Church of Rome or with any other visible Church 
 in Christendom, should be allowed nothing more than a 
 secondary place, and should yield, when necessary, to the 
 higher claims of truth and righteousness. 
 
 (i.) In the first place, the history of the past presents a 
 conclusive argument against the absolute force of any simply 
 historical claim, on the part of a Church or religious com- 
 munity, to our acceptance. For the Christian Church itself 
 started on its course with the peremptory denial of such a 
 claim. Christianity sprang out of Judaism, and when taking 
 root in the earth as an organized society or spiritual king- 
 dom, though but a fresh exhibition and proper development 
 of what already existed in the synagogue, it had at the out- 
 set to cast off the authority of the synagogue, and pursue an 
 independent course. This consideration has been put forth 
 by the advocates of Protestant liberty in former times, by 
 Claude, for instance, in his disputation with Bossuet, and 
 has never met with a valid reply. Bossuet urged the inevi- 
 table tendency of the Protestant doctrine toward Indepen- 
 dentism, and asked what remedy it provided against ^ that 
 intolerable presumption which must lead an individual to 
 believe that he can understand Scripture better than the 
 
INTRODUCTION. 29 
 
 best (Ecumenical Councils and the whole Church together/ 
 Claude objected to this alleged unanimity, the contrary 
 decisions of councils, such as that of Rimini ; but passing 
 from that, he said there is ' an incontestable example ; there 
 is the judgment of the synagogue when it condemned Jesus 
 Christ, and by consequence declared that He was not the 
 Messiah promised by the prophets.' This, he affirmed, was 
 an unquestionable fact, and it proved that one m.ight do 
 without presumption that which had been pronounced to be 
 intolerable and presumptuous. Bossuet professes to have 
 seen at once the transparent fallacy of this argument, and 
 prayed for grace that he might show it to be so to those 
 who appeared greatly taken by it. * When an individual 
 now^ he said, ' denies the authority of the Church, there is 
 no other external means by which God can avail Himself to 
 dissolve the doubts of the ignorant, and beget in the faithful 
 the necessary humility. In order to draw such an argument 
 from the conduct of the synagogue, it is necessary to affirm 
 that there was not on earth any external means, any sure 
 authority, to which one ought to submit. But who can say 
 that when Jesus Christ was on the earth ? Truth itself then 
 visibly existed among men, the Messiah, the eternal Son 
 of God, to whom a voice from heaven gave testimony before 
 all the people : " This is my beloved Son, hear Him." 
 True, it was resisted, though infallible. I don't say that the 
 authority of the Church has never been contested, but I say 
 it ought not to have been so by Christians. I say there has 
 never been a time on the earth in which one has not been 
 sure of a visible, speaking authority, to which obedience 
 ought to be yielded. Before Jesus Christ we had the syna- 
 gogue \ when the synagogue was going to fail, Jesus Christ 
 Himself appeared ; and when Jesus Christ withdrew, He left 
 His Church with the Holy Ghost. Bring me back Jesus 
 Christ ; I no longer want the Church ; but you must restore 
 to me Jesus Christ in person, and an infallible authority.' 
 
30 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 Such, from a Papal point of view, will naturally appear a 
 perfectly satisfactory way of viewing the matter, and unan- 
 swerably right ; and yet it is without any solid foundation, 
 and entirely evades the real merits of the question. Fit'st^ 
 it lays stress upon the peculiar circumstances of the time, as 
 if these formed the essential features of the case, and in a 
 manner constituted it a principle of working. This, how- 
 ever, was to misjudge Christ ; for it was precisely through 
 the circumstances in which He was placed, and His bearing 
 under them, that we learn His will ; and whatever He did 
 in the fulfilment of His mission, may in spirit be done over 
 again by His people when placed in positions somewhat 
 analogous. But, secondly, it totally misrepresents the action 
 of Christ at the period referred to, for the purpose of de- 
 stroying the parallel between His case and ours. When 
 Christ personally appeared before the synagogue, truth did 
 then, indeed, visibly exist among men ; but He did not 
 stand upon what, as such, was due to Him \ neither then, 
 nor at any other time during His sojourn on earth, did He 
 press rights and prerogatives that were peculiar to Himself. 
 When tempted by Satan in the wilderness. He took the part 
 of an ordinary believer under trial, simply leaning as a child 
 on the word of His Father in heaven. And when judged 
 and condemned by the synagogue, He waived all His dis- 
 tinctive claims to honour and regard, and quietly carried 
 His appeal heavenwards, committing Himself, as St. Peter 
 expresses it, to Him that judgeth righteously.^ If, however, 
 we look from the Master to the disciples, whose case more 
 nearly resembles ours, the light furnished is still more de- 
 cisive \ for when it became necessary for them to take up a 
 separate position, as the guides and leaders of the Christian 
 Church, Christ was no longer visible on earth ; He had 
 gone to the right hand of the Majesty on high, and to this 
 invisible Head was their appeal formally made : ' We must 
 ^ I Pet. ii. 23. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 3 1 
 
 obey God rather than man ; ' or more exactly, ' Whether it 
 be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than 
 unto God, judge ye.' i Thirdly^ when the advocate of the 
 Romish Church speaks of the Church being left as Christ's 
 substitute, the only remaining visible authority upon earth, 
 he quietly assumes the very point at issue ; for what or 
 where is the precise community so left ? Is it the Papal, 
 or the Greek, or some particular branch of the Reformed 
 Church ? The case now is greatly stronger for a liberty of 
 choice among these, or a freedom to act in certain circum- 
 stances above them all, than at the commencement of the 
 Christian Church. For the?i there was but one authority on 
 earth with which, as a competing jurisdiction, the disciples 
 of Christ had to do. But now there is Church beside 
 Church ; the very face of Christendom wears a divided 
 aspect. It therefore remains for all time a most instructive 
 and monitory fact, that when the Church of the New Testa- 
 ment was entering on its history, those who guided its 
 counsels had, in the face of existing authorities, to prosecute 
 their course under direct appeal to heaven ; and that it was 
 * precisely those who refused to examine, who gave them- 
 selves up with implicit faith to the guidance of their 
 Church, and relied absolutely upon the teaching of their 
 priests and their learned men, who rejected and crucified 
 the Lord of glory' {Cautions for the Times, p. no). 
 
 (2.) There is, however, another, a prophetical ground for 
 the line of procedure now under consideration, which serves 
 greatly to strengthen and confirm that which is derived from 
 the history of the past. For in the prophetic announcements 
 made by Christ and His apostles, the plainest intimations 
 were given of a coming degeneracy in the Christian Church, 
 not only warranting but most urgently demanding a spirit 
 of faithfulness on the part of true believers, and, in particu- 
 lar, of Christian pastors. It was not merely that single 
 ^ Acts iv. 19. 
 
32 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 individuals, or even scattered communities, were to give 
 way to doctrines and practices inconsistent with the tenor 
 of the gospel ; ^ but that there were to be false prophets or 
 teachers arising and gaining ascendancy, a general growth 
 and prevalence of iniquity, what one apostle represents as 
 a gigantic system of harlotry,^ carrying away multitudes in 
 the sweep of its abominations ; what another designates, by 
 way of eminence, the apostasy ^^ a huge and portentous back- 
 sliding from the faith and purity of the gospel in the pro- 
 fessing Church, coupled with a defiant and persecuting spirit 
 toward those who should presume to question its authority. 
 With such pre-intimations respecting the future of the 
 Christian Church, interspersed also with the most solemn 
 charges and admonitions to watch against the evil, to resist 
 it, nay, to come out and be separate from it, though at the 
 hazard of property and life, is it not the height of presump- 
 tion to quash all inquiry and consideration by pointing to 
 some ecclesiastical corporation, and saying : ' There it is, 
 the very Church which was of old planted by evangelists 
 and apostles ; hear it.' It may be so, we reply, as to local 
 possession or hereditary descent ; there may be in one sense 
 an unbroken continuity ; but those same evangelists and 
 apostles forewarned us that corruption was to mar their 
 handiwork, that it was to be infested by the spirit of error 
 and delusion, even as by a spreading plague ; and we are 
 expressly enjoined by them to consider whether the Church 
 which claims our homage be a Sardis or a Philadelphia, 
 the Lamb's bride or the whore, a Church which has kept 
 the faith and testimony of Jesus, or a Church which has 
 allied herself to the pride and carnality of the world. This 
 is necessarily a point for decision between Church and 
 Church ; and as those to whom the revelation of God has 
 come, we cannot escape from the responsibility of searching 
 
 ^ Matt. xxiv. II, 12, 23, 24. 2 Rev. xvii. 4, 5, xviii. 
 
 ^ 2 Thess. ii. 3-10 ; I Tim. iv. 1-3 ; 2 Tim. iii. 1-7. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 33 
 
 for ourselves, and determining where the truth lies, and 
 what part it calls us to take. For this purpose, among 
 others, that revelation has been committed to writing, and 
 handed down to us ; and as by it we shall ultimately be 
 judged, so by it we must now be guided, as well in regard 
 to our ecclesiastical as to our social and domestic relations. 
 Enough, however, for the present. It would be out of 
 place to pursue the subject further here. Our object is not 
 to enter into a full discussion of it, but to lay down a few 
 fundamental principles upon it, with reference more especially 
 to the responsibilities and calling of those who are either 
 preparing for, or are actively engaged in, the pastoral ofhce as 
 the great business of their lives. As matters actually stand, 
 divisions in the Church, even in its sounder portions, may 
 be held to be inevitable. Christian prayerfulness and effort, 
 it is to be hoped, will lessen their number, but still for 
 many a day they may be expected to exist ; and aspirants 
 to the ministry, as well as believers generally, have no alter- 
 native but to select a particular community in preference to 
 others as that with which to associate themselves in the 
 exercise of Christian privilege or the discharge of Christian 
 duty. But certain difficulties of a practical kind necessarily 
 arise out of this state of things touching one's relation to the 
 pastors and members of other evangelical Communions, and 
 the way and manner in which, with due regard to one's own 
 position, Christ's great law of love may still be effectively 
 maintained. A few reflections on this point may not un- 
 suitably close these preliminary discussions. 
 
 IV. The relation of Church to Church and pastorate to pas- 
 torate in connectio7i with the great law of Christian love. — 
 It was, doubtless, clearly foreseen by our Lord that the 
 imperfections in faith and knowledge which should attach 
 to His people, and the entanglements amid which His 
 Church should have to make its way in the world, would 
 
 c 
 
34 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 have the effect of originating formal diversities in outward 
 fellowship and government, even where there might be a 
 substantial agreement on all the great things of salvation. 
 Yet, in imposing His specific law of love, Christ made no 
 account of these prospective differences. Contemplating 
 His beHeving people through all time as standing in essen- 
 tially the same relation to Himself, He prayed that they 
 might be kept one in such a sense that the world might be 
 able to take knowledge of it,i and also charged them to love 
 one another simply as His disciples ; so to do it, that by this 
 very exercise and mutual interchange of love men might with 
 some degree of confidence discern them to be His disciples, 
 (i.) Now, amid the perplexities and embarrassments which 
 the present broken and divided aspect of the Christian 
 Church throws around the subject, especially for those who 
 are called to preside over its several and somewhat anta- 
 gonistic communities, there is a consideration which it is 
 important to bear in mind, and which so far relieves the 
 difficulty. It is this, that the interchange of love from 
 disciple to disciple, and, of course, also from Church to 
 Church, while enjoined quite generally by our Lord, is not 
 necessarily uniform, and could not have been meant to be 
 altogether uniform, either in its strength or in its manner of 
 exercise. It admits of preferences both as regards indi- 
 viduals and as regards Christian communities. Those who 
 are connected with us by closer bonds, who hold more 
 intimate relationships to us than other men, are on that 
 account entitled to a more special place in our regard. The 
 providence of God has made them to us in a sense what 
 other men are not, and this calls for a corresponding degree 
 and exercise of affection. This implies, no doubt, a dis- 
 tinction in the fold of Christ, yet only a relative distinction, 
 and one for which we have the authority and example of 
 our Lord Himself For while He loved all His disciples, 
 1 John xvii. 2i, 23 ; xiii. 34, 35. 
 
INTRODUCTION. 35 
 
 there was one so peculiarly the object of His affectionate 
 regard, that he is called ' the disciple whom Jesus loved.' 
 Hence, as the charge of our Lord to the disciples was to 
 love one another as He had loved them, it is perfectly- 
 allowable and proper for them to make distinctions in their 
 love ; within the circle of one's own Communion there may 
 be a circle narrower still, a select few with whom we find 
 such congeniality of feeling, such harmony of spirit, such 
 mutual conformity of gifts and graces, that we are instinc- 
 tively drawn to them by the warmest affection. And if so 
 in respect to the members of one Communion, much more 
 in respect to that Communion as compared with others, 
 with which we are not visibly, however we may be really and 
 inter?ially united, as partakers of one common salvation. 
 
 It never was the design of that grace which is exhibited 
 in the gospel to interfere with the constitution of the human 
 mind, or impose on it laws of working different from those 
 which it naturally obeys. On the contrary, it adapts itself 
 to these, and seeks to bring them into harmonious and 
 healthful operation. But there is nothing more certain or 
 uniform in regard to the emotional part of our natures than 
 that we are formed for particular attachments, with affec- 
 tions that settle upon one object or class of objects with 
 greater force and intensity than on others. We cannot, 
 even though we might wish to do so, love all persons alike ; 
 and it is no part of Christianity to oblige us to attempt it. 
 To be without hatred or malice toward any, to be ready to 
 repay evil with good, and show kindness even to the unde- 
 serving, this is an essential mark of a Christian spirit. But 
 it were no mark of such a spirit to be without special attach- 
 ments, or to confer no higher tokens of regard on some than 
 we do on others. One not only may but should love one's 
 own family otherwise than persons who live outside of it ; 
 the bonds and obligations of grace concur with the impulses 
 of nature to establish such a difference. And, in like manner, 
 
$6 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 it is at once natural and dutiful to feel more deeply con- 
 cerned in the welfare of the particular communion to which 
 we belong, and to do more to promote its advancement in 
 all that is really good, than for others, though equally sound 
 and living branches of the true Church, only less intimately 
 known and related to us. 
 
 All this arises from the operation of that law of our 
 natures which requires that our feelings and affections, in 
 order to be strong, must be limited in their range of action. 
 If scattered over a multiplicity of objects, they necessarily 
 lose in intensity and force. It is therefore not to be re- 
 garded as any proof of sectarianism, or violation of this law 
 of Christian love, if we should think, pray, and labour more 
 for a particular Church, or for individual members of a 
 Church, than for others. Only care should be taken that 
 the good sought in this more special line may not be such 
 as to involve the manifestation of an unbrotherly spirit in 
 some other direction. The rights of Christian communities, 
 as well as of single believers, must ever be respected. 
 
 (2.) There is still another distinction to be made, and in 
 that another principle of direction to be found, in respect 
 to the exercise of Christian love ; which is, that we are not 
 called by it to countenance or show ourselves indifferent to 
 any error or delinquency into which, whether as individuals 
 or as Churches, they may have fallen. Love rather requires 
 us to give a clear and unequivocal testimony against the evil, 
 and seek its removal. It was, doubtless, through an in- 
 firmity, a defection from the gentle and forbearing spirit of 
 the gospel, that Paul and Barnabas fell out between them- 
 selves, since in the matter of dispute no vital truth was at 
 stake. But it was no infirmity, it was a noble proof and 
 exhibition of love, when Paul withstood Peter to his face at 
 Antioch for acting in a manner which tended to mislead 
 the disciples ; or when he rebuked the Churches of Galatia 
 for their weakness in suffering themselves to be withdra-\vn 
 
INTRODUCTION. 37 
 
 from the simplicity of the faith, and the Corinthians for their 
 party strifes, and abuse of supernatural gifts of the Spirit. 
 
 There may be sections of the Protestant Church so far 
 removed from what we take to be the proper ideal of a 
 Church of Christ in creed or government, that we could hold 
 no direct or ostensible fellowship with them. FideHty to 
 the cause of truth and righteousness seems to require that, 
 in that respect, we should stand aloof; love itself compels 
 us to show, by the position we occupy, or the testimony we 
 at fitting times deliver, wherein we conceive them to be in 
 error ; and openly to fraternize with them might naturally 
 be construed into an indifference toward our points of dis- 
 agreement. But if in such communities we meet with in- 
 dividuals who by their spirit and behaviour give evidence of 
 being true disciples of Christ, holding by the great principles 
 of His gospel, and living to the glory of His name, we 
 should then fail in our duty if we did not eye them with 
 affection, and declined to reciprocate the feelings of kind- 
 ness and goodwill which they may exhibit toward us. The 
 Master, as appears from their spirit and behaviour, has ac- 
 cepted them ; who are we, that we should dispute the pro- 
 priety of His choice, or disown the seal which He has put 
 upon them ? Though they will not follow with us, nor may 
 we follow with them in what is peculiar to us both, yet in 
 what is common, in what concerns the fundamental prin- 
 ciples of the faith in Christ, the repression of iniquity, the 
 advancement of righteousness in the world, it is in ac- 
 cordance with the spirit of the gospel that there should be 
 brotherly recognition, harmony of thought and action. 
 
 How much may not be learned in this respect from the 
 bearing and procedure of Christ Himself? The spirit of 
 love which was exemplified in His course was not more re- 
 markable for its depth and fervency in one direction than 
 for its tenderness and forbearance in another. Himself 
 the light of the world, in whom dwelt all the treasures 
 
38 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 of wisdom and knowledge, there was necessarily an im- 
 measurable gulf between Him and those about Him as to 
 the degrees of knowledge and spiritual discernment respec- 
 tively possessed by them. There would have been so even 
 if the disciples had made the most diligent improvement of 
 their privileges ; but as matters actually stood, the distance 
 was much greater than it might have been. In spite of 
 Christ's endeavours to teach them, their notions of divine 
 things continued to be crude ; their minds remained full of 
 misapprehensions respecting the nature of His kingdom ; 
 and indications were ever and anon appearing of the carnal 
 tempers and sinful misgivings which cleaved to them. Yet 
 how meekly did Christ bear with them under all ! With 
 how gentle a hand did He try to remove from their minds 
 the clouds of darkness and prejudice which rested upon 
 them ! How gladly did He avail Himself of the opportunities 
 which arose to impart to them the truth as they were able 
 to receive it ! And, again, how considerately did He hold 
 His hand when He saw that they were incapable at the time 
 of receiving more ! Altogether, we have here most valuable 
 materials for our guidance, peculiarly valuable for the time 
 and circumstances in which we live. If the spirit of our 
 Lord's behaviour is imbibed, it will dispose us, whenever we 
 perceive the honest and childHke heart of faith, to bear with 
 much that may appear weak and defective ; and to be more 
 ready to convey instruction and dispense blessing, or should 
 that be impracticable, to make due allowance for personal 
 imperfections and failings, than in a feeling of actual or 
 fancied superiority to boast it over others. Were this but 
 more generally done, were the truth, without being less 
 firmly held, more frequently combined with the meekness 
 and gentleness, the patient and considerate spirit of Christ, 
 it might conciliate more hearts ; not the interests of the 
 truth, but rather those which are opposed to it, would suffer 
 by such Hne of behaviour. 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 39 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE, AND THE CALL TO 
 ENTER ON ITS FUNCTIONS. 
 
 IT is only with some of the preliminary points bearing on 
 the office of the Christian pastorate that we have as yet 
 been occupied. We come now to the subject itself, which 
 naturally falls into a few leading divisions. First, there is 
 the nature of the pastoral office, with the consideration of 
 what constitutes a valid call to its functions and employ- 
 ments. Secondly, the personal and social life befitting one 
 who undertakes the responsibilities and duties of such an 
 office. Thirdly, its proper work, comprising : (i) homiletics, 
 or the composition and delivery of discourses ; (2) the 
 employment of subsidiary methods of instruction and coun- 
 sel ; (3) the devotional services of the sanctuary ; (4) the 
 administration of discipline ; (5) supplemental helps and 
 agencies, not strictly connected with the work of the 
 ministry, but having, in certain respects, an incidental bear- 
 ing on its operations or results. Under one or other of 
 these divisions every topic of importance relating to the 
 subject may be brought into consideration. And we take 
 that first which naturally precedes the others in the order of 
 discussion, the pastoral office itself, with the call to enter 
 on its functions. 
 
 I. The office viewed in relation to the persojis in whose 
 behalf it is instituted. — This office has to do with the 
 oversight and care of souls, and by its very name im- 
 
40 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 ports that ministers of the gospel are called to exercise 
 somewhat of the same fideUty and solicitude in behalf 
 of these, that shepherds are expected to do in respect 
 to their flocks. The names usually applied in Scripture 
 to the highest officers in the Christian Church carry much 
 the same import, though each with some specific shade 
 of meaning as to the primary aspect under which their 
 calling is contemplated. Those names are irpea-^vTcpoL and 
 cTTio-KOTTot, prcsbytcrs and bishops, or elders and overseers, 
 both alike involving the charge or duty of superintending 
 and consulting for the good of the religious community. 
 The more distinctive Greek term (cTr/o-KOTroi), even in its 
 primary or civil application, bore just this meaning. It 
 denoted a class of persons appointed to the work of in- 
 spection and responsible government in towns or provinces 
 subject to the parent state. And when transferred to a cor- 
 responding class in the Christian Church, it must have been 
 meant to convey the ideas of watchful vigilance and authori- 
 tative control. If the term elders may be regarded as having 
 originally borne respect to seniority of rank, as marked by 
 advance of years, when it came to be used as an official de- 
 signation, first in the synagogue, then in the Church. It 
 denoted the heads of the religious community, the fathers 
 of the spiritual household. Both terms, therefore, pointed 
 rather to the exercise of authority, or to the ruling and 
 governing power, than to any other ministerial function. 
 They simply designated the men who were set over Christian 
 congregations as the guides and guardians of the flock, 
 who had to watch for its safety and welfare as those that 
 must give an account. And of the same import also is 
 another epithet employed — a description rather than a 
 designation, 6t rjyovfjieuoL, the leading or ruling ones : * Re- 
 member them that have the rule over you.' ^ 
 
 A form of expression, however, is occasionally used, 
 ^ Heb. xiii. 7. 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 4 1 
 
 which seems to point in the opposite direction, representing, 
 as it does, the work and calling of ministers under the notion 
 of a service, or, we may even say, of a servitude. Our Lord 
 had Himself employed this language : ' Whosoever will be 
 great among you, let him be your minister (StaKovo?) ; and 
 whosoever will be chief among you, let him be your servant 
 {SovXo<s, slave) : even as the Son of man came not to be 
 ministered unto {SiaKovrjOrjvaL), but to minister {SiaKovrja-at), 
 and to give His life a ransom for many.' ^ The Apostle Paul 
 was peculiarly fond of this form of expression, and seems to 
 have considered it more distinctly indicative of his apostolic 
 or ministerial agency than any of those commonly apphed 
 to the presidents or overseers of particular Churches : ' Who, 
 then, is Paul,' he asks, ' and who is Apollos, but ministers 
 (Slolkovol) through whom ye believed, as the Lord gave to 
 every man ?' " ' Christ Jesus our Lord hath enabled me, for 
 that He counted me faithful, putting me into the deaconship,'^ 
 the ministerial employ. And speaking yet again of the 
 manner in which he conducted himself toward the Churches, 
 he gave no offence, he says, in anything,"* ' that the haKovCa 
 (the ministerial office) might not be blamed.' 
 
 It is the same thing still, only presented under another 
 aspect, and with more immediate reference to the perform- 
 ance of work not directly connected with the exercise of 
 authority, though necessarily involving its possession, and its 
 exercise also, in so far as circumstances might render it 
 needful. Whatever special exercise Paul had to render in 
 his office as an apostle of the Lord Jesus Christ, it is clear 
 from his epistles, that the light in which he chiefly delighted 
 to contemplate his calling was that of a cure of souls ; it 
 was his destination to minister to the perishing the bread of 
 life, and bring them to the possession of a saving interest in 
 Christ. Therefore, when he seeks to magnify his office, it 
 is more especially with respect to the preaching of the 
 
 1 Matt. XX. 28. 2 I Qq^ iii_ ^^ 3 I xim. i. 12. * 2 Cor. vi. 3. 
 
42 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 gospel that he does so. What he dwells upon is the com- 
 mission he received from the glorified Redeemer to proclaim 
 the unsearchable riches of His grace and goodness, and, in 
 the fulfilment of this commission, the labours he underwent, 
 the sufferings he endured, the efforts he plied, and the 
 measure of success he obtained. We can thus be at no 
 loss to understand what kind of service or ministry it was 
 that the apostle meant when he spake of his ScaKovca in the 
 Lord ; in its more essential features it coincided with that 
 which has to be discharged by every faithful missionary and 
 minister of the word. Having for its object not merely the 
 bringing of sinners within the pale of salvation, but the con- 
 stituting of those so brought into an organized society, it 
 necessarily included the exercise of an administrative as well 
 as of a teachifig function ; yet the teaching more directly and 
 prominently, as everything was to proceed in connection 
 with the knowledge and belief of the truth. This, in its 
 entire compass, belongs to the ministry of the word ; which 
 is, as Bucer notes, a minister ium, not a magistei'ium ; a ser- 
 vice, not a lordship; but a service founded on a divine 
 commission, and holding at command a sacred authority, 
 which it is permitted and even bound to employ whenever the 
 interests of truth and righteousness may seem to require it. 
 
 In apostolic times t\iQ primary object of concern was the 
 diffusion of the gospel, and the planting of churches conse- 
 quent on its propagation ; the oversight and government of 
 particular churches occupied but a secondary place. The 
 apostles gave hours to the one and only minutes to the 
 other. And though the same might be deemed fitting still, 
 if the matter were viewed with reference to the calling of 
 the Church generally toward the world, yet the proportion 
 comes nearly to be reversed when the pastoral office is con- 
 sidered with respect to individual congregations. This, 
 indeed, is what is plainly implied in the instructions given 
 concerning it in the later epistles of the New Testament. 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 43 
 
 The name itself of pastor is but once used there, namely 
 in Eph. iv. ii, where the discourse is of the gifts provided 
 and conferred by Christ for all official service and employ- 
 ment in the Christian Church, and where pastors and 
 teachers are mentioned among the persons who were in- 
 tended to share in the bestowal. If not the precise word, 
 however, the idea involved in it, and the relative obligations 
 and duties to which it calls, have expression given to them 
 elsewhere ; as at Acts xx. 28, when St. Paul charges the 
 elders of the Church of Ephesus to 'take heed to them- 
 selves, and to all the flock over which the Holy Ghost had 
 made them overseers, and to feed (7rot/>tatVeii/) the flock of 
 God, which He hath purchased with His own blood;' 
 also at I Pet. v. 2, where the exhortation to feed the flock 
 of God is addressed by Peter as an eider in the universal 
 Church to all the elders of particular congregations ; and 
 for encouragement in the work points to the expected ap- 
 pearance of Christ as the chief Shepherd, who will give to 
 His faithful servants the unfading crown of glory. It was 
 the more natural for Peter to view the office in this light, as 
 it was the one in which our Lord presented the calling and 
 destination of the apostle, on the touching and memorable 
 occasion when, after drawing forth the confession of his 
 love. He gave to him the charge, ' Feed my lambs,' ' Feed 
 my sheep.' ^ And standing as Peter did on that occasion, 
 the representative, in a sense, not only of the select com- 
 pany of apostles, but of all in every age who should be 
 called to ply the work of an evangelical ministry, it is but 
 to enter into Christ's mind in the matter when they view the 
 work in the light of a pastorate, and regard themselves as 
 charged by Christ to care for and feed the sheep of His 
 pasture. 
 
 It is what may be called the interior side of the office 
 which this view of it most naturally suggests, its relation to 
 ^ John xxi. 15-17. 
 
44 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 those who are already within the fold, nominally, at least, 
 the members of Christ's spiritual household. It was under 
 the sam.e aspect that our Lord presented His own high 
 caUing, in that gospel which is pre-eminently inwards and 
 spiritual in its representations. He there speaks of Him- 
 self as the Shepherd, who knows His sheep, and is known 
 of them;'^ who even came to lay down His life on their 
 behalf, and who ever keeps them in the grasp of His 
 almighty hand. Yet, while in such representations of 
 Christ there was, in one point of view, a certain limitation, 
 in another there was a wide comprehension, far beyond 
 what at first might occur to the mind. If His eye excluded 
 from the range of its vision those who should ultimately 
 perish from the way of life, it at the same time included 
 all who might at any period be brought into that way ; not 
 the existing members merely of the fold, but one and all 
 who in the future ages of the Church's history, and from 
 whatever quarter, should come to have a place in it. Such 
 intimate and comprehensive knowledge, however, is only 
 for the Chief Shepherd Himself, whose eye can discern the 
 things that at^e to be as clearly as if they already were. And 
 interpreting His words by the light reflected on it from His 
 own actual procedure, which is our pattern and rule, they 
 tell us of a love He cherished, a compassion He displayed, 
 a watchful and beneficent care He exercised toward many 
 who for the moment were far off from His pecuhar people, 
 as well as those that were formally numbered in their ranks. 
 All, in some sense, belong to His flock, as forming part of 
 that creation-proprietorship which is His by inherent, in- 
 defeasible right j only, in their natural state they are in the 
 condition of lost sheep, and with multitudes the state of 
 nature becomes the fixed and abiding one ; so that they 
 cease to be reckoned of the flock in the stricter sense. But 
 it is from the same lapsed and perishing mass that those 
 ^ John X. 14. 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 45 
 
 who became the true sheep have to be gathered ; all stand 
 originally on one footing ; and hence the work of Christ is 
 so many-sided, and bears in such diverse ways on the 
 responsibilities and interests of the world at large. Directly 
 and properly, it has a twofold object in view, aiming first 
 at the recovery of those who had gone astray, and then at 
 their establishment and growth in the life of holiness. To 
 turn enemies into subjects, aliens into children, sinners into 
 saints, this is its primary design ; and its further aim is to 
 keep those who have been so reclaimed from falling away, 
 and carrying forward their preparation for glory. As the 
 Shepherd, therefore, by way of eminence, Christ in His 
 pastorate as clearly goes forth to seek the lost, that they 
 may be brought into the fold of safety, as He ministers to 
 those who are already there what is required to sustain and 
 nourish them in the life of holiness. 
 
 The relation in which ministers of the gospel stand to 
 Christ puts it beyond a doubt that the pastoral ofiEice in their 
 hands was meant to be a kind of reflex or copy of His, 
 alike in respect to its general scope and aim, and the rela- 
 tive order of its ministrations. Here, also, the evangelistic 
 was ever to go along with, and in a sense precede, the 
 eva7igelical ; or, as we may otherwise put it, the ministry of 
 reco7iciliatio7i must prepare for and accompany the ministry 
 of edification. And this from the very nature and design of 
 the office, since men are nowhere born members of the 
 spiritual flock of Christ. They have first to be made such, 
 and, when made, nourished with the sincere milk of the 
 word. And amid the manifold variety of fields and circum- 
 stances in which the pastoral office has to be discharged by 
 those who assume its responsibilities, it may sometimes be 
 the one, sometimes the other department of the work which 
 is entitled to the greatest prominence and application. But 
 both must always to some extent be the object of the pastor's 
 solicitude and endeavours. 
 
46 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 Besides, while in any specific field of pastoral labour the 
 direct objects of its assiduities should be ever comifig into 
 being as members of Christ's true flock, as well as growing 
 into maturity, the whole together, pastor and flock, should 
 exercise a diffusive and regenerative influence around. They 
 should operate for good on the ungodly mass amid which 
 they are placed, not by any means exclusively, yet with a 
 more concentrated and sustained energy through the mini- 
 strations of the pastor himself. If the church to which he 
 ministers is set as a light in the world, he should be as the 
 lustre of that light, and should avail himself of every oppor- 
 tunity, and employ every means within his reach, to bring 
 the truth to bear with power upon the hearts and consciences 
 of sinners. In short, if the pastoral office more directly 
 contemplates the good of particular congregations, and in 
 these congregations the spiritual wellbeing and comfort of 
 Christ's true flock, it has respect also to an intermingling 
 or outlying portion, who have to be brought under the hus- 
 bandry of the gospel, with a view to their becoming children 
 of God and partakers of the blessing. Were it not for 
 operations of this sort, constantly proceeding and success- 
 fully plied, there should soon be no flock, in the proper 
 sense, to feed ; as, on the other hand, without due attention 
 to the work of feeding, the flock when found should want 
 its proper nourishment, and fail to grow up to ' the measure 
 of the fulness of the stature of Christ.' 
 
 I shall advert presently to the relative importance and 
 the mutual interconnection of those two departments of 
 ministerial agency, and the methods best adapted for their 
 successful prosecution. But whichever of them may be 
 primarily regarded, whether it be the formation of a Chris- 
 tian flock, or the nourishment and growth of its members in 
 their most holy faith, the work itself which the Christian 
 pastor has to perform is always presented to our view in 
 Scripture as a service of love, not as a vicarious mediation ; 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 47 
 
 it is a ministerial, not a priestly agency he has to ply ; and 
 the results aimed at, of course, must be of a reasonable 
 kind, such as may be expected to flow from an intelligent 
 apprehension of the truth as exhibited in the word and 
 ordinances of God, not what might be effected by any 
 mysterious charm or magical operation. In all that is said 
 concerning the office, in the words either of our Lord or of 
 His apostles, not a hint is dropped which would bespeak for 
 the ministers of the gospel the character of a secret-loving, 
 wonder-working priesthood. And when, a few centuries 
 after the gospel era, we light upon descriptions which 
 present them in such a character, one cannot but be sen- 
 sible of a huge discrepance between them and the represen- 
 tations of Scripture. It seems as if an essentially new office 
 had come into being, rather than the original office per- 
 petuated with certain slight modifications. Listen, for 
 example, to Chrysostom's description of what he calls the 
 glory of the Christian priesthood :^ 'The priesthood, indeed, 
 is discharged upon earth, but it takes rank with heavenly 
 appointments, and deservedly does so. For this office has 
 been ordained not by a man, nor by an angel, nor by an 
 archangel, nor by any created power, but by the Paraclete 
 Himself, who has laid hold on men still abiding in the flesh 
 to personate the ministry of angels. And therefore should 
 the priest, as standing in the heavenly regions amid those 
 higher intelligences, be as pure as they are. Terrible, in- 
 deed, yea, most awful, were even the things which preceded 
 the gospel, such as the bells, the pomegranates, the stones 
 in the breastplate, the mitre, etc., the holy of holies, the 
 profound silence that reigned within. But when the things 
 belonging to the gospel are considered, those others will be 
 found little, and so also what is said concerning the law, 
 however truly it may be spoken : " That which was glorious 
 has no glory, by reason of that which excelleth." For when 
 ' De Sac. iii, op. vol. i. p. 467. 
 
48 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 you see the Lord that has been slain, and now lies before 
 you, and the priest bending over the victim, and interceding, 
 and all dyed with that precious blood, do you still reckon 
 yourself to be with men and still standing on the earth ? Do 
 you not rather feel transplanted into heaven, and, casting 
 aside all fleshly thoughts and feelings, dost thou not with thy 
 naked soul and thy pure mind behold the things of heaven ? 
 O the marvel ! O the philanthropy of God ! He who is 
 seated above with the Father is at that moment held by the 
 hands of all, and to those that are willing gives Himself to be 
 clasped and received; all which they do through the eyes 
 of faith.' He then refers to the action of Elias on Carmel, 
 declaring that of the Christian priest to be much greater ; 
 and he asks : ' Who that is not absolutely mad, or beside 
 himself, could slight so dreadful a mystery ? Are you igno- 
 rant that the soul of man could never have borne the fire 
 of such a sacrifice, and that all should have utterly perished 
 had there not been the mighty help of the grace of God ? ' 
 
 Such was what constituted, in Chrysostom's view, the 
 peculiar glory of the Christian ministry ; and he proceeds in 
 the same magniloquent style to enlarge on the pre-eminent 
 dignity and power connected with it in its prerogative to 
 bind and to loose souls, to forgive or retain sins, to purge 
 men through baptism and other rites from all stains of pol- 
 lution, and send them pure and holy into the heavenly 
 mansions. All that is, of course, priestly work ; work in 
 which the officiating minister has something to offer for the 
 people, and something, by virtue of his office, to procure for 
 them ', benefits, indeed, so great, so wonderful, so incom- 
 parably precious, that the typical ministrations of the old 
 priesthood, and the benefits accruing from them to the 
 people, were completely thrown into the shade. Now, this 
 is a view of pastoral work on which New Testament Scrip- 
 ture is not only silent, but against which it virtually pro- 
 tests. The service which it associates with] the ministry of 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 49 
 
 the gospel is one that employs itself not with presenting a 
 sacrifice for men, but in persuading them to believe in a 
 sacrifice already ofi'ered, and through that promoting iii 
 them a work of personal reconciliation with God, and grow- 
 ing meetness for His presence and glory. Hence the 
 ministry of the gospel as set forth in Scripture has the 
 revealed word of God in Christ for its great instrument of 
 working ; and according as this word is received in faith, 
 and brings forth in the lives of men the fruits of holiness, 
 the end of the ministry is accomplished. 
 
 In such a service there is, no doubt, a priestly element, 
 since it requires those who would perform it aright not only 
 to deal with men on behalf of God, but also to deal with 
 God on behalf of men, to accompany all their ministrations 
 of word and doctrine with intercessions at the throne of 
 grac^. But it is a priestly element of the same kind as 
 belongs to the calling even of private believers, who are 
 bound to bear on their spirits before God the state of the 
 unconverted, and entreat Him for their salvation. And no 
 more in the one case than in the other is there anything of 
 that distinctive characteristic of the priestly function which 
 consists in formally sustaining a vicarious part, and doing 
 for others what they are not warranted or called to do for 
 themselves. The work of the Christian ministry, indeed, is 
 more nearly allied to the prophetical than to the priestly 
 office of the Old Testament ; and like it, too, it stands on 
 a higher elevation ; for it is a nobler thing to deal directly 
 with the spiritual realities of God's salvation, and by the 
 varied exhibition of these to wield an enlightening and 
 renovating influence on the souls of men, than to do the 
 part of performers in a merely outward, however imposing, 
 ceremonial. Peter and his fellow-apostles on the day of 
 Pentecost displaying the banner which their Lord had given 
 them because of the truth, and bringing crowds of penitent 
 and willing captives to His feet, did a far higher service in 
 
50 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 the eye of reason than if they had acted as ministrants at 
 an altar where thousands of bleeding victims were pre- 
 sented, or were even for a whole lifetime sending up clouds 
 of incense from golden censers in a temple. And the same 
 may be said in a measure of every one who, like them, or 
 like the apostle of the Gentiles, is enabled through divine 
 grace to commend himself, by the manifestation of the 
 truth, to every man's conscience in the sight of God. No 
 ministry is comparable to this, because none is fraught like 
 it with the elements of power and blessing.^ 
 
 In regard, now, to the distribution of ministerial agency, 
 as between that which is devoted to the work of reclaiming 
 sinners and the work of edifying behevers, the relations of 
 time and circumstance must determine. Nothing definite 
 respecting it has been indicated in Scripture, nor can it be 
 done here. The actual state of matters differs so widely 
 with one pastor as compared with another, and even with 
 the same pastor in different localities, that the greater pro- 
 minence will naturally be given sometimes to the one 
 department of labour, sometimes to the other. If he has 
 reason to think that many around are dead in sin, and in 
 danger of sinking into perdition, he cannot but regard it as 
 a much more pressing business to have such rescued from 
 their peril, than that the others, who appear to be already 
 safe, should be pHed with encouragements and supports to 
 continue in the path on which they have entered. On the 
 other hand, if spiritual hfe seems to be generally diffused 
 through the flock, to have this life quickened into greater 
 
 1 So even Erasmus well remarks: 'The minister is then in the very 
 height of his dignity, when from the pulpit he feeds the Lord's flock 
 with sacred doctrine' {Ecdes. L. i). And referring to Paul's statement, 
 that Christ sent him not to baptize, but to preach, Stillingfleet justly 
 asks in his Irenicum : ' Shall we think that those who succeed him in 
 his office of preaching are to look upon anything else as more their 
 work than that ? ' 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 5 I 
 
 activity, and drawn forth into more abundant fruitfulness, will 
 naturally become the main object of his ministrations. But, 
 in reality, the two aims of the ministry run very much into 
 each other; and not unfrequently the means which are more 
 immediately directed toward the conversion of sinners will 
 be found of greatest service in strengthening the graces of be- 
 lievers ; as, inversely, what is intended to prompt some to the 
 higher attainments of faith and holiness may react with whole- 
 some influence on such as are still living in vanity and sin. 
 There is no difficulty in understanding how this should be 
 the case. It always is owing to the dominion in some form 
 or another of the flesh and the world, that those who have 
 the root of the matter in them are impeded in their pro- 
 gress heavenwards, and are less active than they might 
 be in the service of their Redeemer. But it is only the 
 same thing in a yet higher degree which operates to the 
 danger of those who are altogether estranged from the way 
 of life ; and the means and appliances which are employed 
 to rouse these out of their perilous security, cannot but have 
 points of contact in the hearts and consciences of such as, 
 though partakers of the divine life, are still but imperfectly 
 subject to its power. It will even sometimes happen, that 
 individuals of this class may feel as if services of the kind 
 referred to had a special application to them, and they, more 
 almost than any others, had need to listen to the warnings 
 and admonitions which are addressed to the supine and 
 godless. On the other side, things said concerning the 
 faithful in Christ Jesus may strike a chord in the bosom of 
 men far off from righteousness : for, when such hear of the 
 privileges of true behevers, of the desires and feelings 
 awakened in their souls by the grace of God, of their blessed 
 nearness to God Himself, their zeal in well-doing, hope in 
 death, and meetness for eternity, how natural the reflection for 
 those who are still living after the course of a present world, 
 that all this belongs to a hne of things to which they are entire 
 
52 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 or comparative strangers, and that if they should continue 
 as they are, the shades of an Irrecoverable death may over- 
 take them ! It is an undoubted fact, that some of those 
 whose ministrations have been most blessed to the conver- 
 sion of sinners, have also been most distinguished for the 
 deep spirituality and richly varied experience that have 
 characterized their services, though it cannot, perhaps, be 
 said to be quite common. 
 
 Indirectly, however, the same result is accomplished by a 
 ministry of this description, since the work of spiritual 
 nourishment and growth in the better portion of the com- 
 munity, in proportion as it is healthful and vigorous, will 
 ever be found conducive to the enlightenment and reforma- 
 tion of the classes which lie beyond. If the members 
 generally of a Christian Church are full of faith and of the 
 Holy Ghost, if their conversation and their conduct are 
 deeply imbued with the earnest, generous, and blessed spirit 
 of the gospel, they will assuredly be to many around them 
 * as a dew from the Lord, as the showers upon the grass.' ^ 
 The careless and ungodly with whom they come in contact 
 will be constrained to feel that there is a reality and a 
 power In the life of faith which bespeaks Its connection 
 with a higher world ; so that, as in the case of the Thessa- 
 lonian converts, the word of the Lord will be ever sounding 
 forth with convincing and refreshing power to others. And 
 every successful effort that is made for the perfecting of 
 the saints Is also a train laid for the breaking asunder of 
 spiritual bonds, and recovering from the snare of the devil 
 those who are led captive by him. 
 
 But, in such matters, much must always depend on Indi- 
 vidual temperament and personal gifts. Some are more 
 peculiarly qualified by nature, as well as by the special work 
 of grace in their own souls, for producing convictions of sin ; 
 others for guiding those who have been convinced to peace 
 1 Mic. V. 7. 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 53 
 
 in believing, and progress in the Christian Hfe. And it is 
 in accordance with the highest wisdom, that each should lay 
 himself out chiefly in the kind of work for which his talent 
 is the greatest, and should even seek for such a field of 
 ministerial labour as may admit of its being employed to 
 most advantage. If one may refer to the Puritan period 
 for examples, it is plain that such men as Owen and Howe 
 would find their most appropriate sphere in ministering to 
 congregations which as a rule were not only settled in the 
 faith, but were capable also of receiving and relishing the 
 strong meat of the gospel ; although it were not easy to find 
 more solemn and stirring appeals to slumbering consciences 
 than appear occasionally in their extant discourses. It is 
 equally plain, that the next two most distinguished Puritans, 
 Richard Baxter and John Bunyan, both from their native 
 cast of mind, and the spiritual training through which they 
 passed, were more especially fitted for the work of rousing 
 dormant consciences, and moving sinners to flee from the 
 wrath to come. The efl"ects in this line actually wrought 
 through their instrumentality were certainly of the most 
 marked description. And the account which Baxter him- 
 self gives in the Reformed Pastor of the reasons which pre- 
 vailed with him to aim mainly at the conversion of sinners, 
 and to prosecute this aim with the most intense eagerness, 
 are well deserving of the serious consideration of all who 
 are either looking forward to pastoral work, or are actually 
 engaged in it : — 
 
 ' Alas,' says he, 'the misery of the unconverted Is so great 
 that it calleth loudest to us for our compassion. He that 
 seeth one man sick of a mortal disease, and another only 
 pained with the toothache, will be moved more to compas- 
 sionate the former than the latter, and will surely make more 
 haste to help him, though he were a stranger, and the other 
 a son. It is so bad a case to see men in a state of damna- 
 tion, wherein, if they should die, they are remedllessly lost, 
 
54 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 that methinks we should not be able to let them alone, 
 either in public or in private, whatever other work we have 
 to do. I confess I am forced frequently to neglect that 
 which should tend to the greater increase of knowledge in 
 the godly, and may be called stronger meat, because of the 
 lamentable necessity of the unconverted. Who is able to 
 talk of controversies or nice unnecessary points ? yea, or 
 tmths of a lower degree of necessity, how excellent soever, 
 while he seeth a company of ignorant, carnal, miserable 
 sinners before his face, that must be changed or damned ? 
 Methinks I see them entering on their final woe. Methinks 
 I even hear them crying out for help, and speediest help. 
 Their misery speaks the louder, because they have not hearts 
 to seek or ask for help themselves. Many a time have I 
 known that I had some hearers of higher fancies, that looked 
 for rarities, and were addicted to despise the minister, if he 
 told them not more than ordinary : and yet I could not find 
 in my heart to turn from the observation of the necessities 
 of the impenitent for the honouring of these, nor to leave 
 speaking to the apparently miserable for their salvation, to 
 speak to such novelists ; no, nor so much as otherwise 
 should be done to the weak for their confirmation and 
 growth in grace. Methinks, as St. Paul's spirit was stirred 
 within him when he saw the Athenians so addicted to 
 idolatry, so it should cast us into one of his paroxysms to 
 see so many men in great probability of being everlastingly 
 undone. And if by faith we did indeed look upon them as 
 within a step of hell, it should more effectually untie our 
 tongues, than, they tell us, that Croesus' danger did his son's. 
 He that will let a sinner go to hell for want of speaking to 
 him, doth set less by souls than the Redeemer of souls did, 
 and less by his neighbour than rational charity will allow 
 him to do by his greatest enemy. Oh therefore, brethren, 
 whomsoever you neglect, neglect not the most miserable ! 
 Whoever you pass over, forget not poor souls that are under 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 55 
 
 the condemnation and curse of the law, and may look every 
 hour for the dreadful execution, if a speedy change do not 
 prevent it ! ' 
 
 Considerations like these will undoubtedly weigh much 
 with all preachers of the gospel, who are animated by the 
 true spirit of their office, and alive to its great responsibilities. 
 Yet there is no need, even when such is the case, that con- 
 version should be always thrust prominently forward, as if it 
 were the one concern the faithful pastor had to mind. It 
 will often be felt in the tone and manner in which the par- 
 ticular subjects are handled, rather than discovered in the 
 choice of the subjects themselves. For there is such a 
 manifold variety in the states of unconverted men, their 
 degrees of guilt, and the kinds of deceitfulness with which 
 it is accompanied ; such endless diversities exist as to the 
 temper and habit of their minds, the avenues by which the 
 springs of thought and feeling may best be reached, and the 
 appeals that may be most likely to carry their decision for a 
 life of piety, that it is proper to bring into play a correspond- 
 ing variety of means of moral suasion ; and nothing, perhaps, 
 in the whole revealed counsel of God, if wisely handled, may 
 be excepted from the things calculated to effect the desired 
 end. At the same time, it is not to be doubted, that persons 
 who have in a strong degree the bent of soul, and the gifts, 
 natural and acquired, which are more peculiarly adapted 
 to the work of spiritual conviction, will generally find the 
 greatest aptitude and success in handling the topics which 
 do most directly bear upon the object in view. The Spirit 
 of God within men, and the teaching of their own experience, 
 must be their principal guide. But as regards the work 
 itself, the work of winning souls from sin to Christ, if any 
 are successful in accomplishing it, whether by the use of 
 a more extensive and varied or of a more limited range 
 of materials, blessed are they, even above other faithful 
 labourers in the Lord's vineyard. For the highest place of 
 
56 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 honour there, and the noblest heritage of blessing connected 
 with its labours, must ever belong to those who have been 
 the instruments under God of saving souls from death, and 
 turning the disobedient to the wisdom of the just. It was a 
 fine saying of Samuel Rutherford's, ' Heaven would be two 
 heavens for me, if souls given me as seals were found there.' 
 
 II. The pastoral office viewed i?t respect to its higher rela- 
 tions. — The preceding observations have had respect to the 
 nature and responsibilities of the pastor's vocation chiefly 
 on one side, in its relation to those in whose behalf it is 
 exercised. But there is another and higher relation which 
 it also holds ; for, considered as the ministry of reconcilia- 
 tion, it is of the nature of an embassy, and implies a com- 
 mission from Heaven ; considered as a cure of souls, it is 
 stewardship, and involves a sacred trust, of which an 
 account must be rendered ; considered, finally, as the 
 instrumental agency for regenerating souls and preparing 
 them for glory, it is a work of God, and requires the pos- 
 session of gifts which He alone can bestow. These are the 
 higher aspects of the pastoral office, its points of contact 
 with the sanctuary above ; and it is of importance, both for 
 obtaining a right view of the office itself, and for the pre- 
 servation of the right spirit in discharging its functions, that 
 it be looked at also in this higher relationship. 
 
 (i.) Considered, first of all, as a ministry of reconciliation, 
 and implying a commission from Heaven, the original charge 
 of our Lord to His apostles, to go and preach the gospel to 
 every creature, lays for it a sure and abiding foundation. 
 It was obviously impossible that those immediately ad- 
 dressed could do more than make a commencement in the 
 execution of such a wide commission. The charge delivered 
 primarily to them must necessarily go down as a descending 
 obligation to future times, and is virtually laid upon all who 
 in a right spirit and a becoming manner undertake the 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 57 
 
 duties of the pastoral office. Hence the Apostle Paul, 
 speaking not in his own name merely, but in that of all who, 
 like himself, were sincerely preaching the gospel, says, 'We 
 are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you 
 by us : we pray you in Christ's stead, be ye reconciled to 
 God.'^ And the ministry generally he calls ' the ministry 
 of reconciliation,' as having for its more immediate and 
 primary object the pressing upon them of God's message of 
 love, the reception of which would close their alienation 
 from God, and secure their entrance on a state of peace and 
 fellowship. Having such an aim, and an aim to be accom- 
 plished through so vast a field, it was indispensable that 
 the message itself, and the right to deliver it, should turn 
 upon no nice technicalities or ecclesiastical punctilios, 
 but should be of a plain, broad, and reasonable character. 
 And so, indeed, they are as presented to us in the word of 
 God. For, while the Church is there most distinctly and 
 solemnly charged with the mighty task of reclaiming the 
 world to the saving knowledge and love of God, she is 
 trammelled with no minute forms and rubrics as to the 
 specific mode of carrying it into effect ; she is left with a few 
 simple directions and ordinances of divine appointment, to 
 proceed as circumstances of time and place might suggest 
 or require. And the terms of the embassy to be put into 
 the mouth of all her official representatives are just the 
 great facts and promises of Christ's salvation. There for all 
 times and all lands is the sum and substance of the pastor's 
 commission. Not in any new or more special communica- 
 tion from heaven, but in that revelation which has been 
 delivered to the Church by apostles and prophets, lies the 
 burden of everlasting weal, with its fearful alternative of 
 woe, which he goes forth to deliver in the hearing of his 
 fellow-men, and press on their regard ; the only thing, indeed, 
 suited to his purpose and to the necessities of those with 
 1 2 Cor. V. 20. 
 
58 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 whom he has to deal. So that the grand rule here is, as the 
 apostle puts it, ' If any man speak, let him speak as the 
 oracles of God ; ' for therein alone is contained the revelation 
 of Heaven's counsel to fallen and sinful men, and the only- 
 sure grounds on which they can hope for acceptance and 
 blessing. 
 
 (2.) Considered more strictly, in the second place, as a 
 cure of souls, the pastoral office involves a stewardship, 
 a stewardship of most grave responsibility, for it has en- 
 trusted to it the oversight of treasures of inestimable value. 
 The flock themselves are such a treasure, seeing that in 
 every one of them there resides a soul capable alike of the 
 highest enjoyment and of the deepest misery. To be set 
 in a position of official superintendence and ministerial 
 agency in respect to these, is plainly to be invested with the 
 highest of all earthly stewardships. But add to this the 
 consideration also of the means furnished for meeting the 
 wants of the flock, the treasures of spiritual knowledge, and 
 life, and blessing which, in their behalf, are placed at the 
 pastor's command, that he may give to all their food in due 
 season. What a thought, to be constituted the dispensers 
 of such imperishable treasures ! No doubt the treasures 
 are in a sense common, open to the members of the flock, 
 apart from any human instrumentality ; open to all who are 
 willing to search the Scriptures, and, in accordance with the 
 tidings they convey, to make personal application for them 
 through the blood of atonement. There, unquestionably, is 
 the ultimate authority for everything that is either ofl'ered 
 or received in the matter of salvation. Still, it is through 
 the ministrations of word and ordinance, as connected with 
 the labours of the pastoral office, that usually the treasures 
 of divine grace and truth are unfolded, and made practically 
 available to the ever-varying conditions of men. Hence 
 the word of our Lord, spoken in answer to a question from 
 Peter, but spoken with reference to all who might be called 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 59 
 
 to pastoral work, 'Who then is that faithful and wise 
 steward, whom his lord shall make ruler over his household, 
 to give them their portion of meat in due season? Blessed 
 is that servant, whom his lord, when he cometh, shall find 
 so doing.' ^ In another passage they are likened by Him to 
 persons who are provided by their Master with spiritual 
 treasures, and should be ever bringing forth from them 
 things new and old ; ^ as also by St. Paul they are designated 
 stewards of the mysteries, or hidden riches of God's wisdom,^ 
 which, as he again expresses it, are put like heavenly treasure 
 into earthen vessels."* What an honourable position ! And, 
 at the same time, what a high calling ! The special keepers 
 and dispensers of Heaven's peculiar treasure ! The living 
 conduits of that divine word which God Himself delights to 
 magnify above all His name ! 
 
 (3.) The office has still again to be considered as a work, 
 a work of God, by means of which those naturally dead in 
 sin are made alive to God, and carried forward on the way 
 to glory ; a work, we may say, impossible, unless divine in- 
 fluences come in aid of its accomplishment. Every work 
 calls for the application of powers suited to its nature ; by 
 such alone can it be successfully managed ; and as this par- 
 ticular work belongs to the new creation, it can only be 
 made good if the earthen vessels engaged in effecting it 
 have * the excellency of power,' which comes from God. 
 Here, especially, the great truth holds, ' Not by might, nor 
 by power (viz. of man) ; but by my Spirit, saith the Lord.' 
 Hence, when unfolding the gospel commission to His 
 disciples, and pointing as well to the duties as the trials 
 connected with the work, Christ gave such express assurance 
 to them, that He would be with them even to the end of the 
 world,^ and would obtain from the Father, in answer to 
 beHeving prayer, whatever might be needed for the service 
 
 ^ Luke xii. 42, 43. 2 Matt. xiii. 52. ^ i Cor. iv. i. 
 
 * 2 Cor. iv. 7. s Matt, xxviii. 18-20. 
 
6o THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 required at their hands."^ St. Paul also refers to this plenitude 
 of spiritual gifts for pastoral duty, and the readiness of Christ 
 to bestow them, presenting it as the immediate result of His 
 personal glorification : ' When He ascended up on high, He 
 led captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.^ And He 
 gave some apostles (that is, the grace needed to fit them for 
 doing the work of apostles), and some prophets, and some 
 evangelists, and some pastors and teachers, for the perfecting 
 of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of 
 the body of Christ' It is not properly of the distinction of 
 offices in the New Testament Church that the apostle is 
 here speaking, but of the distribution of gifts in connection 
 with the discharge of office, and of all kinds of ministerial 
 service. So far as office was concerned, apostles and 
 prophets might be both one ; and, indeed, the highest kind 
 of prophecy proceeded only from Christ and His apostles. 
 Pastors and teachers, in like manner, might be, and doubt- 
 less were for the most part in the apostolic Church, as well 
 as now, officially one. But whether united in the same 
 person, or existing and exercised apart, the work itself 
 proper to the parties so engaged, having to do with divine 
 operations and results, necessarily required divine help for 
 its successful performance ; and it was then, and even is, one 
 of the great ends of Christ's mediation in the heavenly places 
 to bestow the requisite gifts on those whom He calls to the 
 work. So that, as in their spiritual husbandry they are fel- 
 low-workers with God, they have in the promised supply of 
 those gifts of the Spirit the link of connection between the 
 human instrumentality and the efficient power. 
 
 Rightly viewed, therefore, the work of the Christian pas- 
 torate is a kind of continuation of the agency of Christ, 
 carried on through the instrumentality of a divinely aided 
 as well as humanly ordained ministry. It bespeaks, in every 
 faithful discharge of duty, and every saving effect produced, 
 ^ John xvi. 23, xiv. 12, 13. ^ Eph. iv. 8, n, 12. 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 6 1 
 
 Christ's gracious presence, and mediatorial fulness of life 
 and blessing. And at every step in his ministerial course 
 the true servant of Christ will have reason to say, * Not I, 
 but the grace of God that is in me ! Whatever fitness I 
 may have for the work, and whatever good I may be the means 
 of accomplishing in it, is the fruit of what I have received.' 
 The thought on one side is humbling ; for it calls the pastor 
 to regard himself as simply an instrument, and to renounce 
 all claim to the glory. Yet, on the other side, how ele- 
 vating ! since it places him in immediate fellowship with the 
 Lord of glory, and sets the stamp of heaven on what would 
 otherwise have been marked only by human impotence and 
 corruption. 
 
 III. The call to enter on the pastoral office; what p7'operly 
 constitutes it. — The view which has just been given of the 
 higher aspects of the pastoral office, while throwing around 
 it a certain elevation from the connection it thus appears to 
 hold with the spiritual and divine, serves at the same time 
 to aggravate the difficulty of the question, what should be 
 regarded as constituting a proper call to the office ? and how 
 may particular individuals ascertain whether it has actually 
 been received ? Contemplated even on its human side, 
 with respect simply to the oversight, responsibility, and 
 anxious labour connected with it, there is much, un- 
 doubtedly, that is fitted to inspire awe, and awaken earnest 
 inquiry and solicitude, in the mind of any one who desires 
 to have his path cleared regarding it. But how much more 
 when the higher relations of the office are taken into 
 account ; when it is seen to touch at so many points on the 
 special gifts and operations of Godhead ! How may it, in 
 such a case, with certainty, or even with some measure of 
 probability, be concluded that the requisite qualifications 
 and conditions for the office meet in any one ? 
 
 There are cases ever and anon occurring, in which no 
 
62 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 difficulty of this kind exists ; the question, in a manner, 
 solves itself; for the experiences of the individual soul 
 carry along with them a self-convincing and determining 
 power. ' There are decisive hours in which a man feels the 
 germ of a new vocation bursting forth in him ; a world all 
 at once opens to his mind, and, seized with a passion im- 
 perious as the very voice of God, he takes upon his con- 
 science the engagement to pursue the work, which is 
 henceforth to be the end of his life.' So a late editor of 
 PascaTs Thoughts (Faugere) says of him, and men of like 
 religious impulse ; and what was true of Pascal, as the 
 thinker and representative of an earnest religious party, has 
 its exemplification also in persons with reference to the 
 work of the ministry. The operation of divine grace upon 
 their souls, coupled perhaps with something in the native 
 bent of mind, has been such, so marked and peculiar, that 
 they feel moved with decisive energy to give themselves to 
 this sacred calling. Of such, therefore, there is no need to 
 speak here ; the point is virtually settled already. 
 
 With respect, however, to others who have not the ad- 
 vantage of such marked experiences in their mental history, 
 the way to a right determination of the question may be 
 considerably smoothed, by taking properly into account the 
 relation which the special calling of a pastor has to the 
 general calling of a believer. It is a fundamental principle 
 in Christianity, that there is nothing absolutely peculiar to 
 any one who has a place in the true Church. Among its 
 genuine members there is room only for relative distinctions, 
 or for differences in degree, not in kind. It is a consequence 
 of the vital union of true believers to Christ, by virtue of 
 which there belongs to all alike the same spiritual standing, 
 the same privileges and prospects, and, as a matter of 
 course, the same general obligations of duty. If every 
 sincere Christian can say, ' I am one with Christ, and have a 
 personal interest in all that is His,' there can manifestly be 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 6^ 
 
 no essential difference between him and other believers ; 
 and whatever may distinguish any one in particular, either 
 as regards the call to work, or the capacity to work in the 
 Lord's service, it must in ki7id belong to the whole com- 
 munity of the faithful, or else form but a subordinate charac- 
 teristic. The ministry itself, in its distinctive prerogatives 
 and functions, is but the more special embodiment and ex- 
 hibition of those which pertain inherently to the Church as 
 Christ's spiritual body. And the moment any one recog- 
 nises himself to be a living member of this body, it thence- 
 forth becomes, not his right merely, but his bounden duty, 
 to consider what part of its collective responsibilities lie at 
 his door, or what department of its common vocation he 
 should apply himself in some specific manner to fulfil. 
 Bring the principle here laid down into connection with the 
 Christian ministry under any one of the aspects already pre- 
 sented, and you will readily perceive that fundamentally 
 the ministerial vocation links itself to that of the simple 
 believer ; they differ only as a development may differ from 
 the germ, or a higher and more intensive from a simpler and 
 commoner mode of operation. 
 
 Let the ministry, for example, be considered in respect to 
 the testimony it has to bear, or the message it has to deliver, 
 in the name of God before men. This is certainly a very 
 prominent part of the ministerial calling \ and yet it is by 
 no means peculiar to those who have been formally destined 
 to the office. There are, we may say, various gradations 
 belonging to it. In the highest degree it belonged to the 
 Lord Jesus Christ, who came into the world, as He Himself 
 says, to bear testimony to the truth by revealing it, and as 
 so revealed sealing it with His blood. His apostles next, 
 as His immediate representatives and delegates to the world, 
 were sent forth to declare authoritatively, and for all time, 
 the truth which He had partly taught them, and partly 
 revealed to them by His Spirit, that there might be a suffi- 
 
64 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 cient and infallible testimony concerning it with the Church. 
 But has not the Church also, the community of beUevers as 
 such, to take up what has thus been delivered, and bear it 
 forth to the world ? It is of the Church, as composed of 
 those who know and believe the truth, that our Lord has 
 said, 'it is the light of the world;' ^ and the apostle, that 
 ' it is the pillar and ground (or basement) of the truth.' To 
 this Church there has been given a banner, that it might be 
 displayed because of the truth ; ^ and it is the duty of every 
 faithful member, in his own place and sphere, to witness for 
 that truth by word and deed. Here, in fact, lies the very 
 essence of the trial and triumph of their faith, which con- 
 sists in standing practically as well as doctrinally to the 
 testimony for the truth of God ; and for holding not their 
 lives dear to them, that they might faithfully acquit them- 
 selves of this obligation, the martyrs of the Church obtained 
 at once their name and their crown. When, therefore, a 
 ministry is appointed for the special purpose of unfolding 
 the testimony of Christ, and pressing its overtures of grace 
 and love on the acceptance of men, it is not to be regarded 
 as something altogether by itself ; it is only a more full, 
 regular, and systematic exhibition of the testimony which 
 the Church is called, individually and collectively, to main- 
 tain and make known. 
 
 The same remarks may in substance be applied to the 
 StaKovca, or active service, which is required of the pastor 
 for the behoof of others. Christ Himself, as formerly noted, 
 gave the first and highest exemplification of it in New 
 Testament times. From Him it devolved on the apostles, 
 who were severally required to give proof of their apostle- 
 ship, by their readiness to serve after the pattern of their 
 Master, and whose respective places in His kingdom were 
 to be determined by the comparative amount of humble, 
 earnest, and devoted labour undergone by them.* Yet it 
 
 ■■ Matt. V. 14. 2 I Tim. iii. 15. ^ Ps. Ix. 4. * Matt. xx. 25-28. 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 65 
 
 does not rest there, nor with those who, subsequently to the 
 apostles, might be called to bear office in the Church. The 
 members of the Christian Church are also called, according 
 to their opportunities, to serve : — in prayers, in alms-deeds, 
 in works of righteousness, in strivings against sin, in bowels 
 of compassion, in brotherly admonitions, in ministrations of 
 knowledge among the young and ignorant, and visits of 
 kindness, or acts of beneficence among the distressed and 
 destitute. The measure of what people can do in such 
 things is the measure of their obligations (' she did what she 
 coiUcV) ; and in so far as any professing Christian neglects 
 or comes short of them, he does so in violation of the 
 claims and responsibilities under which he is placed by his 
 relation to Christ. All have sojne gifts to be used in His 
 service, and for the good of their fellow-men, only * differing 
 according to the grace that is given to them ; ' and, as a rule, 
 they should be both most fully possessed and most fruit- 
 fully exercised by the Church's pastors, because in them the 
 calling and obHgations of the spiritual community naturally 
 find their highest exemplification. 
 
 Nor is it otherwise in respect to the higher aspects of the 
 ministerial office, its connection with the sanctuary above ; 
 for wherever the Christian really exists, that connection must 
 exist also. The Church collectively is the habitation of the 
 Spirit ; so is the individual believer. The works which, as 
 a believer, he is called to do in order to make his calling 
 and election sure, must be works of God ; and for one and 
 all of them he needs the illuminating and strengthening 
 agency of the Holy Spirit. No Christian parent within the 
 private walks of domestic life can fulfil his obligations in 
 regard to the godly upbringing of his children ; no Christian 
 philanthropist, yearning over the miserable and degraded 
 multitudes around him, can discharge the labours of love, 
 which the mercies of God in Christ impel him to undertake 
 in their behalf; no solitary individual even, warring in his 
 
 £ 
 
66 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 personal experiences with the solicitations of the flesh and 
 the powers of evil in the world, can resist, and stand fast, 
 and do the will of God, — except by receiving gifts of grace 
 to qualify him for the work, and to render the work itself 
 serviceable to the end toward which it is directed. In short, 
 all who would move in the Christian sphere, and in any of 
 its departments would serve their generation according to 
 the will of God, 7/ms^ stand in living connection with the 
 heavenly world. Their calling as the Lord's servants war- 
 rants them to expect, and, if they succeed in that calling, 
 their success proves them to have received, grace for spiritual 
 work ; in which respect, therefore, they are vessels of honour 
 fitted for the Master's use, and partakers of the blessing. 
 
 Such, then, being the case in regard to the Church as a 
 whole, the question as to a man's personal vocation to the 
 Christian ministry is merely an application of the general to 
 the particular. It narrows itself to the point, whether he has 
 reason to consider it to be the will of God, that in addition 
 to the ordinary obligations resting on him as a believer, he 
 should undertake the special obligations, cognate in their 
 nature, yet more arduous and exacting in their discharge, 
 of the Christian pastor. It is not, strictly speaking, whether 
 he is to enter into another sphere, or assume a relation alto- 
 gether different to the Spirit and the cause of Christ ; but 
 whether he would have himself more closely identified with 
 this cause, and for the sake of it cultivate more earnestly the 
 higher gifts and endowments of the Spirit than is done even 
 by the major part of genuine behevers. In a word, the 
 question resolves itself into the consideration, whether he 
 has the capacity and the will, the faculties of nature and the 
 endowments of grace, which, if duly cultivated and em- 
 ployed, might reasonably be expected to render him more 
 serviceable to the interests of righteousness in the peadiar 
 service of the ministry, than in the commoji service of the 
 Christian life. 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 67 
 
 When the matter comes to be examined in this light, 
 there will very rarely be found much practical difficulty 
 among earnest inquirers in arriving at a proper conclusion 
 on the subject. It may very readily be otherwise if the 
 correct relation of the Christian ministry to the Christian 
 community is wrongly apprehended or virtually ignored, as 
 indeed is not unfrequently the case. It is not unnatural 
 for the mind, when first turning its thoughts in this direction, 
 to look at pastoral work in too isolated a light, as havings all 
 in a manner peculiar to itself, little or nothing in common 
 with that which enters into the calling of members of the 
 flock. By striking too low an estimate of this general call- 
 ing, or for the time leaving it out of view, the mind gets 
 perplexed with difficulties regarding its right to intermeddle 
 with the higher vocation. The way cannot but appear to 
 some extent relieved of those difficulties if it is distinctly 
 understood that the primary and fundamental obligations 
 are the same for the true believer as for the Christian pastor. 
 In both cases alike the soul that is properly enlightened 
 about the things of God, and earnestly desirous to fulfil 
 aright its part concerning them, will feel that it has sub- 
 stantially the same gracious privileges to handle, the same 
 principles of life to follow out, the same vital connection 
 with the Spirit to maintain. And with this for a starting- 
 point, it has merely to consider whether it may not be war- 
 ranted, or even bound to go on to what further is involved 
 in the destination and duties of the pastorate. 
 
 It is clear, then, that all just and proper inquiries on this 
 point must proceed on one assumption ; they must take 
 for granted the personal Christianity of the inquirer as the 
 essential basis and prerequisite for all that belongs to a 
 living and divinely-constituted ministry. He who has not 
 yet been called of God to the common work of a believer 
 cannot possibly have a call to the distinctive work of a 
 pastor. One who is himself a stranger to grace can be in 
 
6S THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 no proper condition to act as a chosen vessel and instru- 
 ment of grace ; he cannot even cordially enter into and 
 sympathize with the objects toward which the ministry of 
 grace is directed. The connection between the common 
 and the special in this respect was forcibly put by the well- 
 known Mr. Robert Bruce, in relation to his own case : ' I 
 was first called to my grace before I obeyed my calling to 
 the ministry : He made me first a Christian before He made 
 me a minister.' And then, as to the necessity of the per- 
 sonal work of grace for the proper exercise of the ministerial 
 calling : ' If the Spirit be not in me, the spirit of the hearer 
 will discern me not to be sent ; but only to have the word of 
 the commission, and not the poiverJ It is therefore in- 
 dispensable that those who would have any satisfaction as 
 to their call to the ministry, and any blessing in the work 
 when actually engaged in it, should have some reasonable 
 evidence of their own interest in the salvation of Christ, and 
 personal surrender to the claims of the gospel. ' We be- 
 lieve, and therefore speak ; ' such is the divine order. 
 
 But even when evidence exists of a work of grace in the 
 heart, there may still be defects and hindrances which 
 practically serve to place a barrier in the way, the absence 
 of which must also be presupposed as an indispensable 
 condition to a real call. For, considering the position 
 which a pastor has to occupy, the amount of intellectual 
 and exciting labour he has to undergo, and the share which 
 public discourse must have in his ministrations, there are 
 various things of a natural kind which may act as virtual 
 disqualifications, — obstructions raised by the hand of God in 
 providence against this particular way of serving Him, — 
 such as physical inability, nervous temperament, defect of 
 voice, feebleness of intellect, incapacity for continued study, 
 want of literary acquirements, and other things of a like 
 nature. Disadvantages of this sort may create difficulties 
 which it is impossible to overcome, or which may at least 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 69 
 
 Stand in the way of any reasonable prospect of the indi- 
 vidual to whom they belong serving God more accept- 
 ably, or yielding more benefit to the interests of religion, 
 by devoting himself to the work of the ministry, than by 
 occupying a sphere in private life. Here, therefore, there is 
 room for calm and thoughtful consideration, sometimes for 
 friendly counsel and advice, as well as for earnest prayer ; 
 since, in such cases, neither personal desire nor what are 
 called providential openings can be regarded as sufficient 
 grounds of action. ' What some call,' said John Newton 
 justly, ' providential openings, are often powerful tempta- 
 tions; the heart in wandering cries, '^ Here is a way opened 
 before me;" but perhaps it is not to be trodden, but rejected.' 
 It is impossible, however, to lay down any definite rules 
 which would be generally applicable ; for the disqualifying 
 circumstances themselves exist in such various forms and 
 degrees, and the spheres of ministerial labour also differ 
 so widely in the comparative demands they make alike 
 for bodily and mental qualifications, that gifts quite in- 
 adequate to some, or even to most situations, might yet 
 suffice for a fair amount of acceptable and useful labour in 
 others. There can be no doubt that, however desirable a 
 happy constitution of body and mind may be, however 
 necessary superior powers in both respects for filling the 
 more arduous and prominent positions in the Church, yet 
 comparatively moderate talents, and talents accompanied 
 with marked bodily weaknesses or defects, when thoroughly 
 sanctified and diligently used, have been honoured to do 
 much effective service in the more retired fields of Christian 
 labour. The first-called labourers in the Lord's vineyard 
 were manifestly of very diverse grades in respect to those 
 natural qualifications of mind and body. In variety and 
 fulness of mental powers, as well as general culture, none 
 of them appear to have approached the Apostle to the 
 Gentiles ; while he, again, laboured under certain bodily 
 
yo THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 ailments or defects ; and Peter, James, and John seem to 
 have considerably surpassed the other members of the 
 apostolic band. Yet the Lord had work for them all. He 
 did not reject the weaker on account of the stronger ; they 
 too had their proper place, though a somewhat humbler 
 one, in the field of apostolic agency. On matters of this 
 description, therefore, I go no further than to suggest the 
 wisdom of prayerful consideration and friendly advice, 
 coupled with a readiness to submit to the application of 
 those tests which in well-constituted Churches are employed 
 to ascertain whether candidates for the ministry possess the 
 gifts which, in ordinary circumstances, may warrant them 
 to count upon some measure of success in pastoral work. 
 
 But supposing no hindrance should present itself on the 
 preliminary points now indicated ; supposing one has to all 
 appearance become a partaker of the grace of God, and, 
 along with a fair measure of natural talent, to possess also 
 a competency of other qualifications, there yet usually is 
 room for a certain regard being had to considerations of 
 a circumstantial kind, considerations arising mainly from 
 one's training and position in life, which may of themselves 
 go far to exercise a determining influence. Such, undoubt- 
 edly, and of the most decisive character, were the circum- 
 stances which marked the early career of the apostles and 
 many others of the original heralds of the gospel, who, from 
 their historical position with reference to Christ, or to the 
 movements of His kingdom, were singled out as by the 
 finger of Heaven for the work of the ministry. Those cir- 
 cumstances were, no doubt, in many respects peculiar, and 
 nothing like a formal repetition of them can now be looked 
 for; yet, at the same time, what then took place may in 
 principle, however in point of form diversified, occur at any 
 time, and is in a manner sanctioned for all times. There 
 has often been since, and there may quite readily be ex- 
 pected in the case of particular individuals, such a direction 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 7 I 
 
 or concurrence of things in providence as may be sufficient 
 to constitute a distinct call to the Christian ministry ; nay, 
 even to do it when the individuals themselves might have 
 some cause for hesitation or doubt. In proof of this, and 
 as affording a most striking exemplification of the principle 
 in question, we can point to the case of one of the greatest 
 men who have filled the pastoral office in later times, that, 
 namely, of John Calvin. It was some time after he had 
 embraced the Reformed cause, and had published the first 
 edition of his Institutes^ — a clear and lucid exhibition of 
 Christian faith and practice even in that form, but a brief 
 and imperfect production compared with what it ultimately 
 became. He had not, however, as yet resolved to devote 
 himself to the work of the ministry ; and was on his way 
 from Italy, where he had been on a visit to the Duchess of 
 Ferrara, to some place in Germany suitable for the further 
 prosecution of his studies. He took Geneva on his route, 
 intending only to spend in it a night or two, as he has him- 
 self informed us in the Preface to his Commentary on the 
 Psal77is. But his arrival becoming known to Farel, who 
 was at the time labouring in Geneva, and who burned with 
 an incredible zeal for the propagation of the Protestant 
 faith, that Reformer determined to secure, if possible, the 
 co-operation of Calvin in the great work, and went to him 
 with an earnest entreaty that he would remain where he 
 was. Calvin endeavoured to excuse himself, and said he 
 could not yet think of attaching himself to any particular 
 community; but was desirous of continuing his studies some 
 time longer, yet with the intention of making himself useful 
 to the Reformed cause, wherever he might for the time 
 reside. On this Farel betook, as Calvin expresses it, to 
 execration, and addressed him in the following strain : — 
 * Now I declare to you in the name of Almighty God, since 
 you are taking your studies only for a pretext, that if you do 
 not give us your help in this divine work, God's curse will 
 
72 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 rest upon you, as you are seeking not so much Christ's 
 glory as your own.' This speech, Calvin states, struck such 
 a terror into his soul, that he durst not carry out his original 
 intention; he felt constrained to abide in Geneva, 'as if 
 God had by an immediate hand arrested him in his course.' 
 And I need scarcely add, the result showed how wisely he 
 had interpreted the leadings of Providence, and in the en- 
 treaty and remonstrance of Farel had heard the call of 
 Heaven to undertake the responsibiHties of the public 
 ministry of the gospel. 
 
 The circumstances which determined the wavering mind 
 of John Knox in St. Andrews were not very unlike those now 
 referred to in the case of Calvin. He, too, had at first declined 
 the solicitations made to him in private, ' not considering,' 
 as he said, ' that he had a call to this employment,' till by 
 the unexpected and earnest address of Rough, in the name 
 of the congregation, his reluctance was overcome, and he 
 threw himself heart and soul into his great work. Both of 
 these eminent men, indeed, had been educated with a view 
 to the priesthood in the Romish Church, one of them 
 (Knox) had actually been admitted into priest's orders ; but 
 their reception of the Reformed faith broke up existing re- 
 lations, and virtually cancelled them as to the future vocation 
 of both ; and it was the special direction and ordering of 
 God's providence in respect to them which forced on them 
 the question, whether they should not give themselves to 
 the work of the ministry, and helped them to arrive at an 
 affirmative decision regarding it. In a more quiet and un- 
 obtrusive manner a similar decision may be rightfully come 
 to still, under the guidance of circumstances essentially 
 the same in kind, though less marked in character. The 
 solemnly expressed wish of pious parents, the tuition and 
 training of early years, the bent and habits of mind in ad- 
 vancing youth, the circumstances of the times, the opening 
 prospects of usefulness, though none of them sufficient 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 73 
 
 apart, yet when more or less combined, may exercise a legi- 
 timate influence, and, with minds already alive to the truth of 
 God, and anxious to know how best to promote its interests, 
 may practically be held as providential indications respecting 
 the path of duty. 
 
 It is possible, however, and in the present day, perhaps, 
 only too common, to allow more place than is justly due to 
 such incidental considerations and external influences. Per- 
 sons facilely yielding to them may be led at times to assume 
 the responsibilities of a work for which they are but poorly 
 furnished, and in which they are not likely to accomplish 
 much for the real ends of the ministry. Others also, who 
 may have been chiefly influenced by considerations of a cir- 
 cumstantial kind, though not unduly influenced, nor desti- 
 tute of qualifications for the work, may possibly in the course 
 of time have doubts stirred in their minds as to the reality 
 of their call to the pastoral oflice, dreading lest perhaps 
 things of secondary moment weighed more with them in the 
 matter than they should have done. It is therefore of im- 
 portance that there should be in the minds of those engaged 
 in the oflice, or preparing to engage in it, a clear apprehen- 
 sion of the more inward and spiritual grounds essential to a 
 proper call, such grounds as ought to exist in every case, 
 even where the voice of external providences has seemed to 
 give the most certain sound, and should be known for a 
 light and refuge to the conscience. The subject in this 
 point of view has been very admirably presented in a sermon 
 by Mr. Robert Traill of London, on ' Winning Souls,' which 
 is well entitled throughout to a careful perusal. It formed 
 originally one of the Cripplegate lectures or ' Morning Ex- 
 ercises,' and is to be found both there and in Mr. Traill's 
 collected works. On the special point under consideration, 
 he says : — 
 
 * Take heed to thyself, that thou be a called and sent 
 minister. This is of great importance to success. He that 
 
74 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 can say, " Lord, Thou hast sent me," may boldly add, 
 " Lord, go with me, and bless me." It is good when a man 
 is serious in this inquiry. . . . These things may satisfy a 
 minister's conscience that Jesus Christ hath sent him.' 
 
 ' (i.) If the heart be filled imth a siiigle desire to the great 
 end of the ministry — the glory of God in the salvation of men. 
 Every work that God calls a man to, He makes the end of 
 it amiable to him. This desire sometimes attends men's first 
 conversion. Paul was called to be a saint and an apostle 
 at once. And so many have been called to be saints and 
 ministers together. If it be not so, yet this is found with 
 him whom Christ calls, that when he is most spiritual and 
 serious, when he is most under the impressions of holiness, 
 and he is nearest to God in communion with Him, then are 
 the desires after the serving of Jesus Christ in the ministry 
 most powerful. And the sincerity of his desire is also to be 
 examined ; and when it is found, it greatly adds to a man's 
 peace ; when his heart bears him witness that it is neither 
 riches, nor honour, nor ease, nor the applause of men that 
 he seeks after, but simply Christ's honour in the saving of 
 men.' 
 
 * (2.) It helps to clear a man's call, that there hath been 
 a conscie7itioiis diligence in all the meajis of attaiiiing fitness for 
 this great work. That love to the end, which doth not 
 conduct to the use of the appointed means, may justly be 
 suspected as irregular, and not flowing from the Holy Ghost. 
 Even extraordinary officers seem not to have been above 
 the use of ordinary means. Old dying Paul sends for his 
 books and papers.' 
 
 ' (3.) A competent fitness for the work of the ministry is 
 another proof of a man's call to it. The Lord calls no man 
 to a work for which He doth not qualify. Though a sin- 
 cere, humble man, as every minister should be, may and 
 should think little of any measure that he hath, whether 
 compared with the greater measures of others, or considered 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 75 
 
 with regard to the weight and worth of the work, yet there 
 must be some confidence as to this competency for clearing 
 a man's call. What such competency is, it is not easy at all 
 times to determine ; singular necessities of the Church may 
 extend or intend (contract) this matter of competent fitness. 
 But in general there must be, first, a competent knowledge 
 of gospel mysteries ; secondly, a competent ability of utter- 
 ance to the edifying of others. This is aptness to teach, 
 required by the apostle in i Tim. iii. 2, and that a minister 
 be able by sound doctrine both to exhort and to convince 
 the gainsayers.' 
 
 These considerations, stated with singular brevity and dis- 
 cretion, have respect to the question, What constitutes a 
 proper call to the ministry, even if it should be only a matter 
 in contemplation, not yet finally resolved on ? But for those 
 who have actually entered on the spiritual vocation, other 
 considerations will naturally present themselves along with 
 these, particularly the accompaniment of their ministrations 
 with tokens of the divine blessing, or the apparent absence 
 of these. This cannot but form an element in the judgment 
 of serious and thoughtful minds, although they ought to 
 exercise great caution in their search for signs of blessing, 
 and should be careful to include among these other fruits 
 of spiritual labour than known cases of conversion to the 
 faith. Yet results of some sort, definite, spiritual results, 
 ought certainly to be looked for ; and very much in propor- 
 tion to their number and distinctness will be the measure of 
 satisfaction which one has in reflecting on the course that 
 has been pursued. On the other and more elementary 
 view of the subject, its relation to those who are inquiring 
 beforehand whether they can discern in their state the 
 evidences of a divine call, both the proper points and the 
 proper order and connection between them are indicated in 
 the passage given from Traill. The primary and most 
 essential point of inquiry, beyond doubt, has reference to 
 
76 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 the State of the heart, whether it really beats in unison with 
 the great end of the ministry. Without this there can be no 
 proper adaptation to the work, nor any just expectation of 
 blessing in its discharge ; since always in such a case the 
 needful correspondence is wanting between the aim of the 
 Divine Pastor and that of the under-shepherd. Most fitly, 
 therefore, is the heart's desire toward the work placed first ; 
 and only if the pulse beats truly here can healthful life and 
 energy be looked for in the several functions. 
 
 Still, if of pre-eminent importance, this is not alone to be 
 regarded, especially not in an age like the present, in which 
 society has advanced so far in knowledge and civilisation, 
 and Christianity has become allied to so many fields of 
 literature and general information. At such a time no one 
 can be reckoned ordinarily qualified to hold the place of 
 a Christian pastor, unless he has shared in the general 
 culture, and become possessed of such intelligence and re- 
 sources as may enable him to command the respect of the 
 people to whom he ministers. Where these do not in good 
 measure exist, or where there is any marked natural impedi- 
 ment over which the individual can exercise no control, 
 even his desire to the work must give way, as anciently in 
 the case of David, who did well in desiring to build the 
 temple of the Lord, and was greatly blessed even for having 
 such a desire, while yet, on account of special circumstances 
 in his past history and condition, he was restrained from 
 carrying the purpose into execution. A competent fitness, 
 therefore, is justly named by Mr. Traill as another element 
 in a minister's qualifications which requires to be taken into 
 account, though in itself necessarily a somewhat variable 
 element, and depending not a little on times and circum- 
 stances. 
 
 And, unquestionably, there should also be included, as 
 subsidiary to the fitness, and indispensable both to its 
 acquirement and exercise, the still further element men- 
 
THE NATURE OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 77 
 
 tloned, of a conscientious diligence in the use of means for 
 the improvement of all natural and spiritual qualifications. 
 No one, whatever be his native talents or his religious ex- 
 perience, if he duly considers the greatness of the ministerial 
 work and the incalculable results that depend on it, can 
 have any reasonable doubt that he should avail himself of 
 every advantage within his reach to give his faculties the 
 finest edge, as it were, and best preparation for the work. 
 Any manifest negligence in this respect, or manifest slighting 
 of the means of intellectual and spiritual progress, would 
 bespeak either an indifference to the calling, or a want of 
 wisdom in going about the things that concern it, which 
 must augur ill for future success. And the contrary result 
 may be in like manner anticipated, where, along with the 
 requisite gifts, there is manifested a laudable and steady 
 endeavour in the way of improvement. It is justly said by 
 Bishop Sanderson,^ 'Where the Spirit of God hath mani- 
 fested itself to any man by the distribution of gifts, it is but 
 reason that that man should manifest the Spirit that is in 
 him by exercising those gifts in some lawful calling. Do 
 not say, because you heard no voice, that therefore no man 
 hath called you. Those very gifts you have received are a 
 real call, pursuing you with a restless, weary importunity, till 
 you have disposed yourselves in some honest course of life, 
 wherein you may be profitable to human society, by the 
 exercising of some or other of those gifts.' Though spoken 
 of the Christian calling in general, this is specially applicable 
 to the calling of a minister of the gospel, and indicates well 
 the proper connection between the possession of gifts suit- 
 able to the work, and the obligation to give oneself to its 
 duties. But as the possession of such gifts is a call to par- 
 ticular lines of duty, so is it also to prayer and application 
 for their proper cultivation and improvement. And it is a 
 good advice on this point in the same discourse : ' Remember 
 ^ Sermon 3d, ad clerimi. 
 
78 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 these abilities you pray or study for are the gifts of God, 
 and as not to be had ordinarily without labour, so not to be 
 had merely for the labour ; for then should it not be so 
 much a gift as a purchase. It was the error of Simon Magus 
 to think that the gift of God might be purchased with 
 money ; and it hath a spice of his sin, and so may go for a 
 kind of simony, for a man to think these spiritual gifts of 
 God may be purchased with labour. You may rise up early, 
 and go to bed late, and study hard, and read much, and 
 devour the fat and the marrow of the best authors; and 
 when you have done all, unless God gives a blessing to your 
 endeavours, be as thin and meagre in regard of true and 
 useful learning as Pharaoh's lean kine were after they had 
 eaten the fat ones. It is God that both ministereth seed to 
 the sower, and multiplieth the seed sown : the principal 
 and the increase are both his. If, then, we expect any gift, 
 or the increase of any gift from Him, neither of which we 
 can have without Him, let us not be behind, either with 
 our best endeavours to use the means He hath appointed, or 
 with our faithful prayers to crave His blessing upon those 
 means.' ^ 
 
 So much for the nature of the pastoral office, and the call 
 to enter on its functions. The formal or ecclesiastical 
 authority to enter on its discharge in any particular place, 
 is a matter that scarcely calls for consideration here, as it is 
 a branch of Church polity or government. But as regards 
 the subjects of appointment to particular charges, it will, of 
 course, be understood that if they have the right spirit and 
 qualifications for the office, they will desire that in this respect 
 also everything should be done in a becoming manner, and 
 so as to promote a good understanding between the pastor 
 and the people of his charge. 
 
 ^ See also Vinet's Past. Theology, p. 72 sq. 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. 79 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. 
 
 IT is not unusual to speak of the pi'ofessmi of a minister 
 of the gospel as we do of that of a lawyer or a 
 physician ; and were it simply a profession in the sense that 
 these others are, our next subject of consideration, after 
 having discussed the nature of the office itself, would be 
 the different modes of operation, or lines of duty, through 
 which its important ends are to be reached. But there is 
 an easily recognised distinction between the ministerial call- 
 ing and a profession in civil life. The one cannot, like the 
 other, be contemplated as a thing by itself, apart from the 
 state and character of the individual. From its very nature, 
 it is but the more peculiar embodiment and exhibition of 
 the characteristics of the Christian community, a kind of 
 concentrated manifestation of the views and principles, the 
 feehngs and obligations, which belong in common to the 
 Church of Christ. And as the Christianity which should 
 pervade and distinguish the membership of this Church is 
 emphatically a life, so the Christian ministry, in which it 
 may be said to culminate, must be regarded as in the first 
 instance a life, and secondarily as a woi^k. It has to do 
 primarily with a condition of being and a course of be- 
 haviour, and only afterwards with the ministrations of ser- 
 vice. Not only must the two co-exist together, but they must 
 stand related to each other in the manner now indicated ; 
 the hfe from the first takes precedence of the work, and 
 
8o THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 throughout must hold the place of pre-eminent importance. 
 In the Sacred Scriptures our attention is frequently and very 
 forcibly fixed upon this point. Thus in the Sermon on the 
 Mount, when our Lord was speaking of those in His king- 
 dom who should occupy the position of spiritual guides, He 
 said, ' Whosoever shall do and teach these things, shall be 
 called great in the kingdom of heaven,'^ giving, it will be 
 observed, marked precedence to the doing, even in the case 
 of those whose distinctive place was to be that of teachers 
 in the kingdom. In another passage of the same discourse, 
 the absence of the doing, or rather its converse, the working 
 of iniquity, is represented as the special ground of the con- 
 demnation which shall be pronounced on those who have 
 falsely aspired to the rank of prophets and wonder-workers 
 in Christ's name.^ 
 
 The stress laid upon the pastor's life and behaviour is one 
 of the most striking things found in the instructions given 
 through Timothy and Titus in the pastoral epistles. They are 
 themselves charged to be most careful and exemplary in this 
 respect, while labouring to plant or build up the churches : as 
 in this to Timothy, 'Take heed to thyself, and to the doctrine ; 
 continue in them : for in doing this thou shalt both save thy- 
 self and them that hear thee;'^ and to Titus, 'in all things 
 showing thyself a pattern of good works,'* making this, as it 
 were, the sure ground of all your proceeding, looking to it as 
 an indispensable element of success. Not only so, but in the 
 delineations given of the qualifications that should be sought 
 in those who were appointed to fill the office of presbyter or 
 episcopos in the several churches, nearly the whole have 
 respect to character ; ^ so that out of thirteen or fourteen 
 different qualities mentioned, only one has distinct reference 
 to the gift of teaching f virtually implying that character 
 was the most essential thing, and that if matters were but 
 
 ^ Matt. V. 19. - Matt. vii. 23. * i Tim. iv. 16. 
 * Tit. ii. 7. 5 J jii^^ iii_ 6 Y\i. ii. 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. 8 1 
 
 right there, others would in good measure follow as a matter 
 of course. And how much it was St. Paul's own practice to 
 let example go before, and give weight to all his ministra- 
 tions, appears from the general tenor of his life ; in particular, 
 from his addresses to the elders of Ephesus, and to the 
 church of Thessalonica,i in which he points to the blame- 
 less, self-denying, and godly life he maintained, as the clear 
 evidence of the sincerity of his heart, and the seal of His 
 testimony as an ambassador of God. 
 
 Turning from the light of Scripture on the subject to 
 the subject itself, a variety of considerations readily present 
 themselves, lending confirmation to this view of the funda- 
 mental importance of the pastor's personal state and be- 
 haviour, in relation to the objects of his ministry. First of 
 all, it is itself one of the most effective means of teaching ; 
 it is one side of the gospel in a living and embodied form, 
 a form which, if sound and true, will, in accordance with the 
 proverb which places example above precept, give forth 
 deeper impressions than what is heard from the lips. As 
 the pastor is the official representative of the flock, he ought 
 to be, all men expect him to be, a typal Christian. There 
 are thousands even in Protestant countries who seldom think 
 of looking higher for their ideal of Christian perfection. The 
 saying of Massillon is at least partially true of them, ' The 
 gospel of most people is the life of the priests whom they 
 observe ; ' or, as Philip Henry more happily expressed it, 
 ' Our lives should be the book of the ignorant.' More than 
 other men the pastor is encompassed by influences which 
 tend to encourage and stimulate him to the cultivation of 
 what is pure and good. For religion is more peculiarly the 
 business of the Christian minister than it is of ordinary be- 
 lievers ; his daily occupations, unlike theirs, bring him into 
 immediate contact with divine realities ; his position, with 
 the proprieties naturally belonging to it, forms a kind of 
 
 ^ Acts XX. ; I Thess. ii. 
 F 
 
82 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 safeguard against temptations to which they are frequently 
 exposed ; and as his proper business is to labour that others 
 may be good, consistency alone obliges him to strive to be 
 such himself. It is inevitable, therefore, that men's expec- 
 tations should generally be directed toward the minister as 
 the one in whom there should be seen the brightest ex- 
 emplification of the spirit and character of the gospel ; and 
 if this expectation is in any competent measure realized, 
 the interests of religion and morality will be effectively 
 promoted ; if otherwise, they cannot but sustain material 
 damage. 
 
 Besides, not the nature merely, but the practicability also 
 of the Christian life finds its natural and appropriate illus- 
 tration in the exemplary walk and deportment of the pastor. 
 The excuse is thereby in a measure cut off, which is so apt 
 to present itself to worldly men when they hear the spiritual 
 demands of the gospel, that these are but the devout 
 speculations of the closet, scarcely to be looked for as 
 realities amid the scenes and employments of every-day 
 life. Let the realization of these, then, be actually wit- 
 nessed ; let the man, who is God's more peculiar agent in 
 setting forth the requirements of a gospel obedience, be 
 himself an example of the spirit and behaviour they enjoin ; 
 and though still the thought may too readily be entertained, 
 that what is possible and becoming in the pastor is too high 
 for the observance generally of the flock, yet the visible 
 reality in him, if in a good degree conformed to the proper 
 standard, will go far to work in men's minds an impression 
 of the practicable nature of the Christian life. Indeed, as 
 it will usually be impossible otherwise to convince them of 
 the practicability of such a life, it will be still more impos- 
 sible to convince them of our sincerity in urging them to aim 
 at it, or of being ourselves persuaded that the earnest pur- 
 suit of it is of real moment to their well-being. A minister's 
 testimony in favour of a godly life, if not borne out by his 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. 83 
 
 own example, can only have its fitting counterpart in a people 
 holding the truth in unrighteousness, and for the most part 
 is but too likely to have it. 
 
 Even in those lines of action which are less directly con- 
 nected with spiritual and moral ends, but in which also an 
 appreciation and advocacy of these is to some extent in- 
 volved, a heartfelt regard to the good, and a practical ex- 
 hibition of it, have ever been deemed essential to complete 
 success. Thus Milton, writing in respect to the sphere of 
 things in which he came so near to the realizing of his own 
 high idea, nobly says : ' I was confirmed in this opinion, 
 that he who would not be frustrate of his hope, to write 
 well hereafter in laudable things, ought himself to be a true 
 poem ; that is, a composition and pattern of the best and 
 most honourable things ; not presuming to sing high praises 
 of heroic men or famous cities, unless he have in himself the 
 experience and the practice of all that is praiseworthy.' ^ In 
 a sphere more nearly approaching the one before us, that of 
 the civic orator, if we turn to the thoughtful, judicious pages 
 of Quinctilian, we shall find him very distinctly and repeat- 
 edly insisting on the necessity of personal worth. He even 
 throws it into the definition of an orator, saying, oratorem 
 esse virum bonum dicendi peritum^'^ — first himself good, then 
 skilled in the faculty of speech ; a notable description. 
 And again, ' Not only do I afiirm that he who would be an 
 orator ought to be a good man, but that he shall not become 
 an orator unless he is a good man,' stating his reasons at 
 some length for the assertion, urging, esj^ecially for the 
 higher species of eloquence, the necessity of moral honesty 
 in him who pleads for the right, and vindicating Demosthenes 
 and Cicero from the charges sometimes preferred against 
 them of a defective morale. Of Demosthenes himself we 
 have a testimony to the s^me effect in Plutarch, who tells 
 us, in explanation of the great regard which the orator had 
 ^ Apology for Smect. ^ Inst. L. xii. i . 
 
^4 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 for the public influence of Phocion, that ' he knew a nod or 
 a word from a man of superior character is more regarded 
 than the long discourses of another,' 
 
 An unhappy yet most striking illustration of the sound- 
 ness of this judgment may be found in the case of one of 
 the most highly gifted men of modern times, whose plead- 
 ings in the cause of reform chiefly failed of their end from 
 his own sad need of personal reformation. Fox had every- 
 thing to make him the resistless opponent of public abuses, 
 the most effective and triumphant advocate of what is just 
 and right in the government of the country, except a moral 
 life; and this vitiating element counteracted the force of all 
 his oratory. ' Both principles and practices tending toward 
 arbitrary power and national degradation, were (to use the 
 words of Foster!) progressively gaining ground during the 
 much greater part of the time that he was assailing them 
 with fire and sword ; yet the people could hardly be induced 
 to regard him otherwise than as a capital prizefighter, and 
 scarcely thanked him for the fortitude and energy he devoted 
 to their service. He was allowed to be a most admirable 
 man for a leader of opposition ; but not a mortal could be 
 persuaded to regard that opposition, even in his hands, as 
 bearing any resemblance to that which we have been ac- 
 customed to ascribe to Cato — an opposition of which pure 
 virtue was the motive, and all corruptions whatever the ob- 
 ject. The talents and the long and animated exertions of 
 this most eloquent of all our countrymen failed plainly 
 because the people placed no confidence in his virtue ; or, 
 in other words, because they could never be persuaded to 
 attribute virtue to his character. They did not confide in 
 his integrity. Those who admired everything in his talents 
 regretted that his name never ceased to excite in their minds 
 the idea of gamesters and bacchanals, even after he was 
 acknowledged to have withdrawn himself from such society. 
 ^ Review of Fox's Memohs. 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. 85 
 
 . . . We wish the greatest genius on earth (Foster con- 
 cludes), whoever he may be, might write an inscription for 
 our statesman's monument, to express in the most forcible 
 and strenuous of all possible modes of thought and phrase, 
 the truth and the warning, that no man will ever be ac- 
 cepted to serve mankind in the highest departments 
 of utihty, without an eminence of virtue that can sustain 
 him in the noble defiance, — Which of you convicts me 
 of sin?' 
 
 But if such be the case in respect to those who would 
 head a reform in the merely economical and political sphere, 
 how much more must it hold with the spiritual guides and 
 reformers of the people ! How inevitably must their efforts 
 in the cause of righteousness fail, if their own spirit and be- 
 haviour obviously fall below the mark ! Not only should 
 they have the reality of the goodness they undertake to 
 press upon others, but the appearance of it also should be 
 so vividly impressed on their aspect and demeanour as to 
 raise them above all suspicion of the contrary. In propor- 
 tion as any one recedes from this living exemplification of 
 the spirit of the gospel, he becomes disqualified for the 
 effective proclamation of its truths ; and if instead of a simple 
 deficiency there is a visible contrast, the result must be in 
 the last degree disastrous. ' This,' says Baxter,^ ' is the 
 way to make men think that the word of God is but an idle 
 tale, and to make preaching seem no better than prating. 
 He that means as he speaks, will surely do as he speaks. 
 One proud, surly, lordly word, one needless contention, one 
 covetous action, may cut the throat of many a sermon, and 
 blast the fruit of all you have been doing.' He therefore 
 justly notes it as a palpable inconsistence and grievous mis- 
 take in those ministers who study hard to preach exactly, 
 but study little, or not at all, to live exactly ; who spend 
 most of the week in studying how to speak two hours, and 
 1 Reformed Pastor^ c. i. sec. 8. 
 
"6 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 scarcely spend an hour in studying how to live all the week. 
 Such conduct in the case of a popular preacher once met 
 with a just reproof from a blunt English farmer, in the cut- 
 ting remark, ' Sir, you light a bright candle on Sundays, and 
 put it out all the week.' 
 
 These are all considerations of grave moment, and are 
 more than sufficient to establish the fitness, the necessity 
 even, if any real good is to be accoaiplished, of the mini- 
 sters of the gospel being themselves practical examples of 
 its truths and principles. But there are other, and one 
 might almost say higher, considerations still to enforce the 
 same conclusion ; for, without being themselves under the 
 power of the truth, they cannot adequately manifest the 
 truth to the consciences of others ; they cannot do it as 
 Christ requires it to be done ; and whatever talent or learn- 
 ing they may throw into their ministrations, there must still 
 be wanting elements for which no amount of talent or learn- 
 ing can compensate. The kind of preaching, it must be 
 remembered, which the Spirit is promised to bless for much 
 spiritual good, is not the bare manifestation of the truth, 
 but the truth made instinct with the life of Christian ex- 
 perience, quickened and intensified by feeling. It is the 
 truth reflected from heart to heart from a soul already pene- 
 trated and imbued with its spirit, to other souls either wholly 
 estranged from it, or less sensibly under its power. Let the 
 same work which is done, or the same word which is spoken, 
 by one from whom they pass lightly off", with little seeming 
 apprehension of their importance, be done or spoken by 
 another with the warmth and earnestness which bespeak a 
 heart all on fire with the mighty interests involved, and that 
 which in the one case falls on comparatively listless ears, 
 will in the other awaken a response in every surrounding 
 bosom. It is the action of the sanctified on the unsanctified 
 soul, the expression of the truth from a conscience thoroughly 
 alive to its teaching, which in the hands of the Spirit is the 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. 87 
 
 great means of conveying deep and salutary impressions of 
 it to consciences that are still slumbering in ignorance or 
 sin. And more especially for the purpose of maintaining 
 such a living, spiritual agency has the preaching of the 
 gospel been appointed to form a standing ordinance in the 
 Church. 
 
 And then there is the progressive nourishment of the soul 
 in the life of faith, the conducting of those who have already 
 believed onwards to the higher experiences of grace, and a 
 more enlarged acquaintance with its blessings. 'A minister,' 
 it has been justly said,^ ' may have piety, and yet not the 
 quality of piety for this task. He may preach awakening 
 sermons on such subjects as the value of the soul, the un- 
 certainty of life, the terrors of the coming judgment ; he may 
 enlarge forcibly on the various branches of Christian prac- 
 tice ; he may reiterate in every variety of form the doctrine 
 of justification by faith ; and yet but inadequately fulfil this 
 part of his commission. To exhibit the Saviour Himself to 
 the eye of faith, and not a mere doctrine concerning Him ; 
 to expose the devices of Satan, and unravel the windings of 
 that labyrinth, the human heart ; to enter into the exercises 
 of Christian experience ; to conduct the flock into the interior 
 recesses of the sanctuary, where the hidden manna of the 
 gospel lies concealed, where Jesus manifests Himself to 
 His people as He does not to the world, and the Spirit 
 bears witness with their spirit that they are the children of 
 God, and so to promote growth in grace by unfolding the 
 rich privileges of the Christian calling, — this is to feed the 
 flock, this is to make/z/// proof of one's ministry. And who 
 is sufficient for these things ? Assuredly none but he who 
 through the Spirit's grace has penetrated into the mysteries 
 of the life of faith, and knows the truth in its reality and 
 power.' 
 
 Further, if a personal acquaintance with the things of the 
 •^ Sermon by Mr. Litton. 
 
88 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 Spirit, and a consistent exhibition of them in the walk and 
 conduct, be necessary to secure the proper aptitude to 
 teach, they are equally necessary to secure the requisite 
 conditions for the copious effusion of the Holy Spirit. 
 Whatever importance may justly be attached to the clear 
 and comprehensive exhibition of divine truth, it is not to be 
 forgotten that everything ultimately depends on the pre- 
 sence and power of the Spirit. And though the Spirit in 
 His regenerative and sanctifying agency does not exclusively 
 bind Himself to any specific channel for the presentation of 
 the truth ; though He distributes to every one severally as 
 He wills, and sometimes communicates saving energy through 
 instruments with which the element of personal holiness 
 is little if at all connected, yet such is by no means His 
 wonted method of working, nor is it what in any case we 
 are properly warranted to expect. According to the ordinary 
 law of the Spirit's operations, there is a close correspondence 
 between the personal state of the agent and the measure of 
 blessing that is made to accompany his exertions in the ser- 
 vice of God. No one, as formerly stated, who is himself a 
 stranger to faith, and the godly behaviour of which faith is 
 the living principle, can have any just right to minister in 
 holy things, much less to look for the seal of divine accept- 
 ance and effective co-operation in his work. And it stands 
 to reason, that if the minister's soul is itself somewhat like a 
 dry and parched region, the wilderness around shall not 
 through his instrumentality be refreshed with the streams of 
 grace. On the other hand, both reason and experience 
 justify us in expecting that those whom the Spirit will most 
 distinctly own in the husbandry of the gospel, whose efforts 
 He will crown with the richest harvest of blessing, are such 
 as have become true participants of grace, and know much 
 personally of its saving operations. For the most part, they 
 are made instruments of good to others in proportion as 
 they are conscious to themselves of the love and practice of 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. 89 
 
 the good. Truly spiritual and earnest ministers of the gos- 
 pel will ever be able to distinguish in this respect between 
 one part of their ministrations and another; as Brainerd, 
 for example, when pressing on those actively engaged in the 
 Lord's service the importance of their possessing the more 
 special influences of grace, strikingly said, ' These wonder- 
 fully assist them to get at the consciences of men, and, as 
 it were, to handle them with their hands ; while, without 
 them, whatever reason and oratory we make use of, we do 
 but make use of stumps instead of hands.' 
 
 Yes ; and as an elevated spiritual frame is required to fit 
 us instrumentally for the greater results of the Spirit's work- 
 ing, so this alone can properly dispose us to ask and look 
 for the larger effusions of His grace. There is a close con- 
 nection between the measure in which the Spirit is given, 
 and the degree of desire and faithfulness with which He is 
 sought. And it is the soul which has experienced much 
 personally, that will ever be the best prepared for seeking 
 much believingly for others. He who has himself known 
 only the small drops of divine grace and power, will hardly 
 be in a condition to expect, or even earnestly to pray for, 
 the richer showers of blessing on the field of his labours. 
 And if there are to be Pentecostal times for the Church, 
 we must look for Pentecostal experiences going before in 
 the hearts of the ministry. And these, I may add, mani- 
 festing themselves in an engrossing eagerness of desire and 
 intensity of active effort for the salvation of men. In whom 
 but in such spirit-replenished souls could we expect a picture 
 like the following, the life-picture of the Apostle to the 
 Gentiles, to be in any measure reproduced ? ' Though I 
 be free from all men, yet have I made myself the servant of 
 all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I be- 
 came as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews ; to them that are 
 under the law as under the law, that I might gain them that 
 are under the law ; to them that are without law as without 
 
90 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 law (being not without law to God, but under the law to 
 Christ), that I might gain them that are without law. To 
 the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak : I 
 am made all things to all men, that I might by all means 
 save some. And this I do for the gospel's sake.'^ It is this 
 high-strung concentration of soul, through the larger gifts of 
 God's Spirit, which most of all qualifies a man for doing 
 great things in the more peculiar work of the Spirit. One 
 master-passion animates and controls his movements ; and 
 whatever he has of genius or talent, of time, of sympathy, of 
 love, of skill in adapting himself to circumstances, and turn- 
 ing to account the opportunities which present themselves, 
 all are laid under contribution to the one great end, and 
 with an impressiveness of manner, a fulness of soul, which 
 goes far to secure what it seeks to have realized. This 
 one thing I desire, this one thing I do, seems to breathe in 
 all he says and does. 
 
 On every account, therefore, it is of importance that the 
 personal state and character of the pastor, his possessing 
 and exercising the principles of a divine life in a higher 
 degree than common, should be taken, in a manner, as the 
 postulate of all that should otherwise characterize him, and 
 be anticipated from his labours. And if the following 
 portraiture, drawn by an eminent Dutch divine (Vitringa), 
 of the proper ideal of a Christian minister be too high to 
 warrant the expectation of its being fully realized amid the 
 difficulties and temptations of a present life, it is at least 
 what should be constantly aimed at ; and the more it is 
 realized, the ampler will be the reason for expecting a 
 blessing on the work done in the Lord's vineyard. ' The 
 faithful servant of Christ, says he, the teacher of the gospel, 
 is a man of sound mind, burning with zeal for the glory of 
 God and the salvation of men, one taught by the Holy 
 Spirit, experimentally acquainted with the ways of God ; 
 ^ I Cor. ix. 20-23. 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. 9 1 
 
 one who seeks not the things of men, but men themselves; 
 not his own things, but the things of Christ ; of chaste and 
 unadulterated manners ; by his example teaching the virtues 
 of piety, modesty, gentleness, zeal, prudence, gravity ; one 
 who, like a candle set upon a candlestick, gives light to all 
 who are in the house, to all who are desirous of salvation ; 
 both showing the way of life, and on gospel terms dispens- 
 ing the blessings of grace and peace. Whithersoever he 
 goes, tJiere is light; wherever he turns his steps, there is 
 salvation ; when he opens his lips, there is the salt of 
 grace ; everywhere beloved, respected, and not less the 
 means of imparting consolation to others, than a solace to 
 himself.' 
 
 It is the sacred influence which attends this personal 
 piety, the felt power it breathes, the moral weight it imparts 
 to everything said and done, which renders a pastorate much 
 distinguished by it, more attractive in its ministrations, and 
 in its results more beneficial, than another deficient in this, 
 though bringing to its aid much ampler resources of human 
 talent and learning. ' Read the biographies of those eminent 
 labourers who in modern times have adorned the different 
 communions of the Church of Christ, whose memory is 
 blessed, and whose works to this day do follow them, and 
 you will find that, without exception, they were men whose 
 closets witnessed the close communings, the importunate 
 pleadings, of a life hid with Christ in God ; who, abiding 
 near to the fountain of grace, and drawing from it rich sup- 
 plies according to their need, went forth to their ministerial 
 duties with their hearts enlarged by the love of God, and 
 lips speaking out of the abundance of the heart' (Litton). 
 
 For those who are at all read in such biographies many 
 instances will readily occur in proof of what has now been 
 stated. But a better instance, perhaps, could scarcely be 
 selected than that of Mr. Robinson of Leicester, especially 
 when placed beside the case of one who yielded a noble 
 
92 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 testimony in its behalf, one immensely superior to the 
 other in talent and eloquence, though far from equal in the 
 point now under consideration. I refer to Mr. Robert Hall, 
 who at the time of Mr. Robinson's death was pastor of a 
 Baptist Church in Leicester, and shortly after it, at a meeting 
 of the Bible Society in the place, pronounced a generous 
 and eloquent tribute to the memory of the deceased. As a 
 writer, Mr. Robinson could not be compared with Hall ; he 
 is now chiefly known as the author of a series of Scripture 
 Characters, a work which was once extensively read, and 
 undoubtedly contributed in the earlier part of this century 
 to revive the spirit of genuine piety. In present times one is 
 rather disposed to wonder at its former popularity; for, while 
 it abounds in sensible reflections, and never fails to point to 
 the great principles of the gospel as the living root of all 
 godliness and purity, there is a flatness in the tone, and 
 a commonplace character usually attaching to the style of 
 representation, such as might be thought to argue no great 
 power in the work, or any peculiar fascination about its 
 author. But turn to the delineation of Hall, draAvn when 
 the knowledge of the man's person, and the memory of his 
 life and labours, were still fresh upon the minds of all, and, 
 even making some allowance, as evidently requires to be 
 done for the excitement of the occasion, it cannot be 
 doubted that in the subject of the panegyric there had been 
 witnessed one of the most eminent examples of ministerial 
 attractiveness and power ; that a sway had been wielded by 
 him, and moral effects produced, such as might well have 
 excited the envy of the most gifted intellect. ' His residence 
 in Leicester,' said Hall, 'forms an epoch in the religious 
 history of this country. From that time must be dated, 
 and to his agency under Providence must be ascribed, a 
 decided improvement in the moral and religious state of 
 this town and its vicinity ; an increase of religious light, 
 together with the general diffusion of a taste and relish for 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. 93 
 
 the pure word of God. He came to this place while it was 
 sunk in vice and irreligion ; he left it eminently distinguished 
 by sobriety of manners, and the practice of warm, serious, 
 and enlightened piety. He added not aqueducts and palaces, 
 nor did he increase the splendour of its public edifices ; but 
 he embellished it with undecaying ornaments ; he renovated 
 the minds of the people, and turned a large portion of them 
 from darkness to light, and from the power of Satan to 
 God. . . . The loss which the Church of Christ has sus- 
 tained by the extinction of such a luminary is great ; the 
 loss to this populous town and neighbourhood irreparable.' 
 Certainly he must have been no ordinary man of whom such 
 things could be said, even with the abatements which must 
 be made on account of the impressions of the moment. 
 And if not the only, beyond all doubt the main element of 
 success lay in the deep-toned, consistent, elevated, and, we 
 may say, full-orbed character of Mr. Robinson's life and 
 ministry. Piety the most sincere, charity the most enlight- 
 ened and active, a zeal in doing good that grudged no 
 sacrifice or toil, a steadiness of aim that never deviated 
 from its purpose, the greatest kindliness of manners coupled 
 with the most blameless rectitude and sobriety of life : such 
 were the prominent characteristics of his life and behaviour. 
 ' Religion with him was not an occasional feeling, but an 
 habitual element ; not a sudden or transient impulse, but a 
 permanent principle, a second nature, producing purity of 
 intention, elevation of mind, and an uninterrupted series of 
 useful exertions.' And as a necessary consequence, 'no 
 one could hear him without feeling persuaded that it was 
 the man of God who addressed them ; their feelings toward 
 him were not those of persons gratified, but benefited ; and 
 they listened to his instructions, not as a source of amuse- 
 ment, but as a spring of living water.' The example of such 
 a man, and it is but one of a numerous class, should be 
 viewed at once as an instruction and encouragement for all 
 
94 1HE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 who in pastoral work would be found occupying the higher 
 places of the field. It shows how much depends on the 
 spiritual healthfulness and vigour of the individual engaged 
 in it ; and how much may be accomplished where this exists 
 in any degree of perfection, even though there is nothing 
 like the charm of genius or the force of commanding in- 
 tellect. The greatest care and solicitude, therefore, should 
 be applied by all in this direction, the more so as here a 
 certain completeness is requisite ; and a single palpable 
 blemish, or inconsistence, will go far to undo the effect of 
 many an excellence. Some things will do it more readily 
 than others, because more obviously indicative of a frailty, 
 or weakness, which it is hard to reconcile with a felt appre- 
 hension of the great realities of the gospel, and a hearty 
 surrender to its obligations \ such as an irritability of tem- 
 per, apt to fire at trifling offences, or fret at petty annoy- 
 ances ; an intermeddling disposition that is fond of prying 
 into other people's affairs, or giving heed to the gossiping 
 tales of the neighbourhood ; a proud carriage, that looks 
 with indifference or hauteur on those who should be treated 
 with tenderness and regard; a want of disinterestedness and 
 generosity, seeing that an obvious selfishness in pressing his 
 own material comforts and advantages, to the neglect of 
 those of others, seems like a contrariety to the whole design 
 and spirit of his office. Let every one who would lay a good 
 foundation for honour and usefulness in this office sedulously 
 watch and pray against these and such like imperfections in 
 temper and conduct, avoiding, as he would his deadliest 
 enemy, whatever might serve to prompt the question in those 
 among whom he ministers, ' Thou that teachest another, 
 teachest thou not thyself?' 
 
 I have said that in general the minister's office is itself a 
 monitor, guarding him against moral dangers to which others 
 are exposed, and stimulating him to the personal cultivation 
 of that goodness which it is his business to press on the 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. 95 
 
 regard of others. Perhaps I should add, that there are cer- 
 tain faihngs to which his office does present temptations 
 somewhat pecuhar, and in respect to which he will do well 
 to take heed. In particular, there may be a temptation, if 
 in the discharge of his office he has won the acceptance 
 of his people, to self-elation, impatience of contradiction, 
 jealousy of fame, fondness of applause, and at times, it may 
 be, of offensive dogmatism of manner. So long as men 
 have difficulties to struggle with in their work, opposition to 
 meet, or little apparent success in their labours, the circum- 
 stances of their position at least cannot be said to afford 
 much provocation to the indulgence of such selfish humours ; 
 but it is otherwise when a prosperous current of affairs sets 
 in ; when the pastor finds himself at the head of a thriving 
 and numerous congregation, moving in a circle of admiring 
 friends, often receiving the breath of popular applause, and 
 by many sought unto for advice in perplexing and critical 
 affairs. In such circumstances be assured it requires special 
 grace, grace sustained by constant watchfulness and prayer, 
 to keep the even balance of the mind at once open to the 
 encouragements of the position, and ready to check the 
 risings of every fractious or petulant feeling. The great theme 
 he handles, it may possibly be thought, the gospel of salva- 
 tion through the Lord Jesus Christ, should be of itself suffi- 
 cient to guard against the danger to which he is exposed, 
 since it has so much to do with human weakness and cor- 
 ruption, and presents so many calls to deep abasement of 
 heart in all who cordially receive it. No doubt it should 
 do so ; but another tendency in the preacher's position, the 
 tendency to handle the topics of sin and salvation with 
 reference to others rather than himself, and in handling 
 them, to think more of the mode in which he deals with 
 them than with the subjects themselves, will, unless care- 
 fully watched, serve in a great degree to neutralize their 
 influence on his own temper and disposition. If he sue- 
 
96 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 ceeds in preventing it, it will only be by taking pains to 
 press home upon his own heart what he is often preaching 
 to others, examining himself often in the mirror of the divine 
 word, and charging upon his soul the considerations that 
 should beget the meek and lowly spirit which shone so 
 brightly out in the Master whom he serves, and should never 
 be wanting in those who minister in His name. 
 
 Substantially the same thoughts are suggested, though 
 more immediately with respect to preaching itself, in the 
 following passage from a late German professor, from whom, 
 considering his controversial keenness and severity, one 
 would scarcely have expected it : ' Even the most beautiful 
 and sacred things which flow from human lips may in time 
 become mere phrases. It is a part of human weakness and 
 defectiveness, a curse, as it were, accompanying the divine 
 blessing, that the very richest gifts of speech are the most in 
 danger of being used in the service of vanity, since they 
 lead one to take pleasure in them, to tickle by means of 
 them, and thus to glorify oneself, rather than to serve God 
 and one's fellow-men. Or the words, being through frequent 
 use deprived of their soul, become at last as sounding brass. 
 To this danger the clergyman is more than others exposed. 
 As he is required by his vocation so often to hold up the 
 word of God to others, and to have always at hand and 
 give expression to those truths and ideas which are most of 
 all suited to move, startle, and penetrate men's hearts, it is 
 only too apt to be the case, that these truths lose for him 
 their terribleness, so that their force and effect on his own 
 heart is neutralized or weakened, and the constant direction 
 of his attention to others keeps him from watching himself; 
 so that while he works on the hearts of others he neglects 
 his own, and lets the weeds in it grow up unheeded.' (Hup- 
 feld, quoted in Bib. Sacra for October 1866.) 
 
 Enough, perhaps, has now been said on the subject of the 
 pastor's life generally, considered with respect to the lead- 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. 97 
 
 ing features by which it should be distinguished, and the 
 bearing, as so characterized, it is fitted to have on the suc- 
 cess of his labours. But there are various matters of detail 
 connected with it, which partly also stands to the life itself 
 in the relation of means to end, on which a few practical 
 hints may not be out of place. 
 
 I. First, it is essential both for maintaining such a life as 
 we have been endeavouring to describe, and for the efficient 
 discharge of the duties of his office, that the pastor secure 
 for himself a certain amount of privacy and retirement. He 
 must know to be alone, and, in a measure, love to be so. 
 Vital godHness generally may be said to require this ; as it 
 necessarily involves a habitual recalling of the mind from 
 external things to those which concern its proper well-being, 
 and its relation to a spiritual and eternal world. The life 
 of the soul not only cannot thrive, it cannot for any length 
 of time exist, without the habit of at least occasional abstrac- 
 tion from the busy scenes and avocations of the world, in 
 order to a more distinct recognition of the realities and 
 interests which lie beyond, and from which it mainly draws 
 its inspiration and power. But in a still higher degree must 
 this be predicated of the pastor, whose calling it is, not 
 simply to maintain the divine life for himself, but also to 
 minister to its formation and growth in the souls of others. 
 It will be next to impossible for him to do this unless he 
 be much alone ; not as if he shunned society, or placed any 
 virtue in solitude, but because he needs the opportunities 
 it affords to counteract the distracting tendency of earthly 
 things, to have faith strengthened with its proper nourish- 
 ment, and his ministerial resources supplied with suitable 
 materials of wisdom and knowledge. No doubt he has 
 much also to learn from society, especially from personal 
 intercourse with the members of his flock ; there he will 
 find, if he knows how to get at it, a book which it much 
 concerns him to study, and from which he may derive many 
 
 G 
 
98 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 valuable suggestions, both for himself and his ministry. As 
 regards the poorer members of the flock more particularly 
 must this course be followed, were it only to know how to 
 reach their understandings and hearts ; for, as has been 
 justly said, ' He only can think as they think who often 
 hears them speak their thoughts. It is utterly impossible 
 for a clergyman to preach down to their level who is not in 
 their confidence.' ^ Yet such intercourse can only supple- 
 ment, it can no way supersede, the advantages to be 
 derived from systematic retirement. The pastor's favourite 
 resort must be his study; in it he must find what shall 
 be more peculiarly his home ; for in the employments to 
 which it calls him, he has what tends most directly to pro- 
 mote his self-culture, and feeds the fountain whence is to 
 flow light and refreshment to others. If ever any minister 
 of the truth might have fitly dispensed with such quiet 
 hours for thought and meditation, it assuredly was the 
 Captain of our salvation, who knew what was in man, and 
 possessed, besides, the treasures of all divine wisdom and 
 knowledge ; yet in this respect also He set His people an 
 example. How long a period of preparation, culminating 
 in a season of entire withdrawal from the world, and earnest 
 communings with the things of the Spirit, preceded the 
 commencement of His more public ministry ; and even 
 amid its busiest scenes of energetic action, how eagerly did 
 He seek for the lonely hour to refresh His soul with holy 
 contemplation and sustained fellowship with Heaven ! With 
 ordinary pastors, however, there are reasons for such seasons 
 of retirement which could have no place with Jesus; and with- 
 out them, as part and parcel of his regular course of life, no 
 pastor, whatever may be his gifts and acquirements, can rea- 
 sonably expect either to maintain in healthful vigour his own 
 spiritual being, or throw into his ministrations the variety, the 
 freshness, and the power which ought to characterize them. 
 ^ Alford, Essays and Addresses^ p. 8. 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. 99 
 
 True, perhaps some may be disposed to say, especially 
 such as are actually engaged in pastoral work, and well 
 when it can be carried into effect ; but the question is, how 
 to secure the time requisite for the stated return of retired 
 thought and spiritual occupation at home, so much being 
 taken up with the calls of out-door duty, and interruptions 
 from various kinds of business. Practically, this proves 
 with many ministers of the gospel to be the great difficulty ; 
 but in a very considerable proportion of cases, by far the 
 larger number indeed, I have no doubt it comes very much 
 from a prior defect on their part, from the want of a fixed 
 purpose to obtain the requisite time as necessary to success, 
 or the want of orderly, systematic procedure in arranging 
 with a view to its attainment. Everything, in a manner, 
 depends upon these two points : fixedness of purpose as to 
 the object itself, and methodizing one's own time, or secur- 
 ing the co-operation of others, so as to effect its accomplish- 
 ment. Where these scarcely if at all exist, one comes to 
 be much at the mercy of accidents ; and it may well-nigh 
 be said of the more peculiar vineyard of the pastor, as was 
 said by the Psalmist of another sort of vineyard : ' The boar 
 out of the wood doth waste it, and the wild beast of the 
 field doth devour it.' There is no regulative principle, no 
 girdle, as it were, to bind together the scattered energies of 
 his mind for specific action ; and so time on every hand 
 runs to waste ; intermeddlers of all sorts are allowed to do 
 with it what they will. Not that I would recommend a 
 rigid and unbending adherence to a particular method of 
 working, which, amid the ever-changing circumstances of 
 pastoral life, could not be retained in even one of the quieter 
 spheres of labour without giving frequent occasions of 
 offence, and missing often the fitting time for the discharge 
 of pastoral work if it is to be done with effect. Exceptions, 
 therefore, ought readily to be allowed ; but still they should 
 be known to be exceptions ; the minister should be generally 
 
100 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 understood to have a method and an order, from which he 
 may be expected to depart only for some vaHd reason. 
 And when such an understanding as this prevails, people 
 for the most part will be found to respect it ; they will 
 rarely intrude upon their minister, or expect to see him 
 among them, when his plan of life requires him to be alone. 
 Even if they should at times be disposed to complain that 
 he is not even seen more frequently among them, they will 
 not usually do it so as to disturb his equanimity, if they are 
 well assured that he is really engaged in that kind of em- 
 ployment which is congenial to his office, and tends to fit 
 him for its important duties. 
 
 2. A second subject for consideration, naturally growing 
 out of the one just noticed, is the proper distribution of 
 that portion of his time which the pastor may usually allot 
 to the retirement of the study. A reasonable latitude must 
 here be allowed, and to a large extent each individual must 
 judge for himself Several things of a somewhat specific 
 and formal description used not unfrequently to be recom- 
 mended to persons preparing to enter on a regular pastorate, 
 such as keeping a registry of the acts and experiences of 
 each day, or a summary of such at more distant intervals, 
 of the course of study pursued, the modes of ministerial 
 action adopted, also the feelings, purposes, behaviour of 
 which the pastor has been conscious to himself from time 
 to time, so that he may both preserve a more distinct re- 
 collection of the past, and may have materials beside him 
 for future guidance and caution. Undoubtedly, there are 
 advantages to be derived from such personal records, 
 especially as connected with particular periods of life and 
 experimental efforts ; but there are also doubtful tendencies 
 which it is apt to foster, unless kept within definite limits, 
 and managed with brevity and prudence. Discretion and 
 experience must be the chief guides. Right-minded, humble, 
 and earnest men will by degrees find out what is the wisest 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. lOI 
 
 course for them to pursue, the one best adapted to their 
 own mental idiosyncrasy, and the circumstances in which 
 they are placed. The good and profitable for one may not 
 be so for another. 
 
 Leaving matters of that sort, then, as neither requiring nor 
 admitting of any precise and uniform rule, the chief appro- 
 priation of the hours which the pastor devotes to solitude 
 should unquestionably be given to meditation, prayer, and 
 study. The exact distribution of time to each must be 
 regulated by circumstances. It may, however, be laid down 
 as a general principle, that the whole of a minister's labours 
 should be intermingled with meditation and prayer. He 
 should never "be simply a man of learning or study ; for 
 this itself may become a snare to him ; it may even serve 
 to stand between his soul and God, and nurse a spirit of 
 worldliness in one of its most refined and subtle forms. If 
 he be really a man of God, experience will teach him how 
 much, even for success in study, he needs to be under the 
 habitual recognition of God's presence, and to have the 
 direction of His Spirit. It will also teach him how little he 
 can prevail, with the most careful preparations and active 
 diligence, in regard to the great ends of the ministry, with- 
 out the special aid of the Holy Spirit ; how, when left to 
 themselves, his most zealous efforts and best premeditated 
 discourses fall powerless to the ground ; yea, and how often, 
 amid the comparatively quiet and orderly events of mini- 
 sterial employment, he will himself err in counsel, and do 
 what he shall have occasion to regret, unless he is guided 
 by a higher wisdom and sustained by a stronger arm than 
 his own. Continually, therefore, has the true pastor to give 
 himself to prayer ; his study should also be his proseuche, 
 in w^hich he daily holds communion, not only with the better 
 spirits of the past and present through the written page, but 
 with the Father of spirits, in the secret communications of 
 His grace and love. 
 
102 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 There are also, it should be noted, special subjects and 
 occasions in respect to which the pastor may justly feel that 
 he is called in a more peculiar manner to seek the direction 
 and blessing of Heaven. The purpose, for example, of 
 instituting any new agency for the good of the congregation, 
 or the spread of the gospel in its neighbourhood, everything 
 of such a nature should be projected, planned, inaugurated 
 with earnest prayer, both for guidance as to the instru- 
 mentality to be employed, and for the wished-for results on 
 the measures that may be put in operation. Discourage- 
 ments and perplexities in the work of the ministry form 
 another special call to humble waiting upon God, it being 
 always one great design of troubles of that description to 
 bring the pastor to a deep sense of his own insufficiency, 
 and to a closer dependence on God. The extent to which 
 this effect is produced will usually be the measure of his 
 profiting by the dispensations. But most of all should he 
 exercise himself unto prayer in connection with his work as 
 a preacher of the gospel. In the selection of the topics 
 whereon to address his people, in the specific mode or 
 aspect in which he should present particular truths to their 
 heart and conscience, in the frame of his own spirit while 
 delivering the message of salvation to his fellow-men, in the 
 impression actually made by what is delivered on those who 
 hear : in one and all of these the earnest pastor will find 
 what should draw him as a suppliant to the throne of grace. 
 How much often depends on a particular vein of thought 
 being opened, on a certain illustration being employed, 
 sometimes even on a single word of appeal to the con- 
 science ! How much also upon the general tone and bearing 
 of the speaker, or the unction with which all is done ! And 
 what so likely to help in every respect to what is desired, as 
 the spirit of habitual communion with the sanctuary above ? 
 Let the pastor, therefore, like Milton, accompany all ' with 
 devout prayer to that Eternal Spirit who enriches with all 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. 103 
 
 Utterance and knowledge, and sends out His seraphim with 
 the hallowed fire of His altar to touch and purify the lips of 
 whom He pleases.' What more than this contributed to 
 raise the genius of Milton himself to its singular elevation, 
 and has given to his productions a character of sacredness 
 and majesty that assimilates them to the lofty strains of a 
 Hebrew prophet ? 
 
 But prayer, it must ever be borne in mind, however 
 valuable as an auxiliary, will fail if it is taken as a substi- 
 tute for other resources ; if it is allowed to supersede the 
 proper application to study. The same apostle who, for 
 himself and other evangelical labourers, speaks of the 
 necessity of ' praying always with all prayer and supplica- 
 tion,' has such exhortations as these : ' meditate upon these 
 things;' 'give thyself wholly to them.' So that to make 
 the exercises of devotion an excuse for neglecting con- 
 tinuous and stated application to study is to depart from the 
 course prescribed in Scripture, as well as to set at nought 
 the well-ascertained results of experience. Both extremes 
 are to be avoided as alike unwise and unscriptural. Study 
 should be accompanied and blessed by prayer, otherwise it 
 can never reach its end. On the other hand, prayer should 
 be fed and sustained by study, othenvise the spirit of de- 
 votion itself will languish, and both prayer and preaching 
 will become monotonous and languid. Proofs of this are 
 not far to seek. There are many who, at the outset of their 
 career, gave promise of much acceptance and usefulness 
 in the work of the ministry, but who by relaxing their 
 diligence in study have come ere long to exhibit a wearisome 
 flatness in their services, or in their thoughts and illustra- 
 tions to move in a kind of circle, the same rounds of ideas 
 perpetually returning, clothed not unfrequently in the same 
 words. It is even worse when freshness is attempted. ' I 
 have been cured,' said Richard Cecil, 'of expecting the 
 Holy Spirit's influence without due preparation on our part. 
 
104 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 by observing how men preach who take up that error. I 
 have heard such men talk nonsense by the hour.' ^ 
 
 It is perfectly possible, of course, and perhaps not un- 
 common, to go to the opposite extreme, to study to excess, 
 if not to the neglect of prayer, at least to an undue curtail- 
 ment of more active labours and employments, and even, 
 it may be, an impairing of the healthful tone and vigour of 
 the frame. There is a certain amount of application in this 
 particular line which may be overtaken with profit ; but if 
 more is attempted than the constitution is able rightly to 
 bear, nature will be sure to have its revenge, and a loss, not 
 an additional gain, will be the result. The more immediate 
 consequence will probably be, that the mind being over- 
 tasked will perceptibly lose its freshness and power, will 
 feel unable for the sustained thought and application which 
 it was wont to possess ; it can neither so well remember 
 what it reads, nor so promptly and energetically use the 
 materials of knowledge it has acquired. And what also not 
 uncommonly, though somewhat more remotely happens, 
 the nervous system falls into disorder, imaginary evils brood 
 over the mind, and even the most ordinary duties are felt 
 to be a burden. When such things begin to make their 
 appearance, the studious pastor should hear in them a call 
 to seek a period of rest, or to give a portion of his time to 
 work less directly mental. 
 
 ^ I have referred only in one respect to the disadvantage attending 
 an early settlement in a large city charge ; but other things also should 
 be taken into account. In particular, the country is a far better field 
 for the free and natural development of one's faculties, and getting 
 fairly alongside the common feelings and sympathies of mankind. 
 There is a much easier access there to men's understandings and hearts 
 than when encompassed by the conventionalisms and formalities, not 
 to say corrupt manners, too often found in city life. And in nine cases 
 out of ten, a man's poM^ers of thought and speech will be more likely to 
 take their native' direction, and reach their proper healthfulness and 
 vigour, in the one sphere than in the other. 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. 105 
 
 In regard to the subjects of study, there can be no doubt 
 as to what should occupy at least the primary place. For 
 a Christian pastor there is nothing in that respect to be 
 placed beside the word of God ; that word itself, and the 
 literature bearing on its history and elucidation. Whether 
 his more direct object may be to qualify himself for the 
 effective ministration of the gospel, or to become a well- 
 read and able theologian, the close, exact, and continued 
 study of Scripture is alike necessary. For any department, 
 indeed, of ministerial service, whether as connected with 
 the pulpit or the press, to be mighty in the Scriptures is to 
 have the most fundamental qualification for doing it with 
 success. But on this it is needless to enlarge ; it is rather 
 to be taken for granted, as a point upon which there can 
 be no reasonable dispute with those who understand and 
 appreciate aright the things of God. 
 
 The difficulty rather lies in the practical direction, in 
 getting such command of time, and bringing to the task so 
 much resolution and energy, as will avail to keep up habits 
 of study in any particular line. When a person, still com- 
 paratively young, and after, perhaps, no very long experience 
 in evangelistic work, comes to have devolved on him the 
 responsibilities of a regular pastoral charge, he will usually 
 find his weekly preparations for the pulpit absorb all the 
 time he has to spare for study ; and if he can only manage 
 to investigate and handle Scripture so as to acquit himself 
 with some measure of profit and satisfaction in his official 
 duties, it will be nearly as much as he can seriously aim at. 
 Work of this description undoubtedly has the first claim on 
 his attention ; it will always demand the larger share of his 
 time and application ; but in a great many cases it need 
 not, in the long run at least, engross the whole, if there 
 were only a wise economy and proper distribution of time, 
 and what is perhaps fully as essential, the selection of 
 some definite line of inquiry for more careful and prolonged 
 
Io6 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 examination. I of course except those who from the first 
 commencement of their pastoral labours are set down in a 
 large town, and charged with the oversight of a numerous 
 and intelligent congregation. In such a case there is pro- 
 bably not one in fifty who possesses either the physical energy 
 or the mental resources to do more than meet the immediate 
 requirements of official duty. Scripture and everything else 
 will have to be studied almost exclusively for the purpose of 
 obtaining the requisite materials for public discourse. And 
 along with this necessary contraction of the field of study, 
 and living, as one may say, from hand to mouth, there 
 naturally springs up also the habit of simply working for the 
 occasion; so that when the occasion makes no demand, 
 nothing of any moment is done, and there is no develop- 
 ment of the powers of the mind, or systematic multiplication 
 of its resources, except in connection with the stated labours 
 of the ministry. Independent literary exertion is scarcely 
 possible. 
 
 Take the case, however, of a person who is called to a 
 sphere of labour, which may be described as of manageable 
 extent or moderate compass ; one which may afford scope 
 enough for pastoral activity, and yet not so large but that, 
 after the preliminary difficulties of the work have been 
 mastered, there may be found some time to spare for inde- 
 pendent study. Well, to turn this time to best account, 
 it will usually prove of no small service to have the atten- 
 tion directed into a specific line of meditation or research, 
 for the purpose of being somewhat minutely and fully ac- 
 quainted with the things which belong to it, or of becoming 
 comparatively at home with it. Where no selection of this 
 sort is made, there is the want of a precise object whereon 
 to concentrate the powers of the mind, and awaken its 
 interest. The historian Gibbon, who may here be pointed 
 to as an example, after having completed the first half of his 
 great work, where he at first thought of concluding his 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. 107 
 
 labours, states that he then, as one relieved from toil, began 
 to luxuriate over the wide field of ancient literature, but 
 that he soon found such unrestrained and aimless liberty to 
 grow distasteful to him ; so that ere long he came ' in the 
 luxury of freedom to wish for the daily task, the active pur- 
 suit, which gave a value to every book, and an object to 
 every inquiry ; ' and forthwith resumed the prosecution of 
 his design. Now, whether one may have any approach 
 to the mental calibre of Gibbon or no, whether also there 
 may or may not be the intention of committing the result 
 of one's labours to the press, still the selection of a particular 
 subject or line of inquiry for more special and careful con- 
 sideration will always bring along with it this advantage, 
 that it engages the active interest of the mind, provides it 
 with a theme to prosecute in seasons of comparative leisure, 
 a resource to fall back upon in circumstances of discourage- 
 ment, or, as Gibbon puts it, a pursuit which will impart 
 a value to the books one reads, and furnish an object for 
 specific inquiry. Where such is altogether wanting, the 
 reading is apt to become desultory, and the information 
 obtained, being without any definite aim or connecting bond, 
 is like random seed which yields no adequate harvest. But, 
 indeed, without some special study to nourish his intel- 
 lect and sustain his thoughts above every-day concerns, the 
 pastor, especially the country pastor, is apt to sink into 
 common-place. Besides, both for the improvement of the 
 mind itself, and for one's own position and character, it is 
 always an advantage to be well informed upon some par- 
 ticular branch of sacred learning, more so than to have a 
 wider range of knowledge, though less exact and thorough 
 in its character. In the very process, also, of becoming an 
 adept in some one department of inquiry, the mind neces- 
 sarily gathers a great deal of collateral information, for 
 every subject has its points of contact with many others ; 
 and if there should be acquired real depth of research and 
 
Io8 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 maturity of view within a limited range, this will ensure a 
 considerable degree of enlightenment over a much wider 
 
 field. 
 
 It appears to me, therefore, a wise and beneficial thing for 
 those who have some real taste for study, and the resolution 
 to carry out a plan after they have got a settled position 
 and had time to look about them, to make choice of some 
 particular subject, or class of subjects, for their more pecufiar 
 consideration ; one that they shall be ever returning upon 
 and labouring at till they acquire in regard to it a compara- 
 tive mastery. The Bible itself presents a considerable 
 variety of departments which might severally be chosen for 
 such a purpose, each having associated with it a more or 
 less extensive literature. There is, for example, the text of 
 Scripture, viewed with respect to the authorities on which its 
 correctness is based, or to the languages in which it was 
 originally written, with the various and characteristic shades 
 of diversity which they assumed in different ages, or in the 
 hands of different penmen. Then there are the several 
 classes of writings in the Bible, each indicating, on the part 
 of the human authors, a distinctive cast of mind, and re- 
 quiring a certain affinity with the same in those who would 
 apply successfully to their elucidation : such as the historical 
 books of the Old Testament, which not only relate to what 
 may be called the kernel of all history, the development of 
 God's kingdom in the world, but touch also incidentally on 
 all the more prominent kingdoms of antiquity, and the 
 manners and customs of former times ; the poetical and 
 didactic books, which exhibit the forms of spiritual thought, 
 and the devotional, spiritual, and moral results which sprang 
 from the revelations and institutions successively given to 
 the people of God ; lastly, the prophetical, which connected 
 the past with the future, and laid open the more secret 
 counsels of Heaven for the instruction and warning of men. 
 In the New Testament, again, we have the Gospels, the 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. 109 
 
 Epistles, the Apocalypse, each forming so many great divi- 
 sions, and calling for a characteristic mode of treatment, as 
 well as for prolonged study to become thoroughly acquainted 
 with the materials which past diligence and research have 
 accumulated for their elucidation. In addition to these, and 
 more or less connected with the teaching of Scripture, how 
 many other fields of investigation present themselves ! 
 Archaeology, or Jewish and Christian antiquities, monu- 
 mental theology, chronology, patristic and medieval phases 
 of thought and action, the writings and labours of the Re- 
 formers, the Puritan development of theology, the contro- 
 versies with infidels and heretics, the lives of eminent divines 
 and missionaries, etc.; any one of which, if systematically 
 prosecuted, might afford ample scope for profitable and 
 interesting employment. Take up any one of them to which 
 a sense of its own importance, or the drawing of natural in- 
 clination, might induce you to give the preference, and you 
 will find that the deliberate efi'ort to master its details, and 
 obtain an intimate acquaintance with its different bearings, 
 will serve at once to give an impulse to your studies, and 
 enable you to make a profitable use of many fragments of 
 time which would otherwise slip unimproved through your 
 hands. 
 
 With this recommendation, however, let me couple the 
 earnest advice, that no independent course of study be pur- 
 sued in such a manner, or to such an extent, as to interfere 
 with the regular discharge of pastoral duties, or suitable 
 preparation for them. These should on no account be 
 jostled out of their proper place ; and if things which, how- 
 ever important in themselves, are still in their relation to 
 the pastor's own responsibilities but of secondary rank, 
 come to usurp the time and application which are due 
 primarily to them, dissatisfaction will inevitably arise, and 
 the blessing of God may not improbably be withheld from 
 the employments which are allowed to impoverish the flock. 
 
I lO THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 The spirit of vital godliness in the first instance, and then a 
 proper estimate of the nature and ends of the pastoral office, 
 will alone be adequate to preserve in the mind the proper 
 balance between the respective claims that press on it, and 
 save it from running to extremes. 
 
 3. To refer now to that part of a minister's time which is 
 .not appropriated either to the occupations of the study or 
 to the formal duties of the pastorate, he is undoubtedly- 
 entitled to find in it enough for purposes of daily relaxation, 
 with seasons also of occasional recreation on a larger scale. 
 Interludes of this sort are indispensable to his physical 
 health, and the general freshness and elasticity of his frame. 
 In the kind of occupations or entertainments, however, 
 selected for this end, care should ever be taken to avoid 
 what is unbecoming the gravity which befits the ministerial 
 character, and what may tend to indispose the mind to 
 serious employments. The sports of the field, therefore, 
 hunting, shooting, and such like, are justly proscribed by 
 the spiritual sense of the religious community, as too dis- 
 tinctively worldly in their nature, and in their tendency mini- 
 stering too powerfully to animal excitement, to comport well 
 with what should be the predominant state of feeling in 
 those who are the keepers of souls. Even entering into 
 parties which are formed for the purpose merely of going a 
 pleasuring, if done at all, should be done with prudent 
 foresight and consideration, as such things are exceedingly 
 apt to degenerate into improper levity and frolicsomeness. 
 For the most part, the safer and more becoming method of 
 filling up the time devoted to relaxation will be to spend it 
 in the quiet occupations of the garden, or in walking ex- 
 cursions and friendly visits, which can be managed without 
 the slightest violation of decorum, and can be taken either 
 alone, or in the company of a very few, and these quite 
 congenial spirits. In matters of this description it were 
 absurd to prescribe for others, or even for oneself, stringent 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. Ill 
 
 and imperative rules. One 7nust be guided to a large extent 
 by circumstances. Yet there are always limits which the 
 thoughtful and well-balanced mind, which is duly alive to 
 the interests of salvation and the powers of the world to 
 come, though still without moroseness, will not fail to pre- 
 scribe to itself. 
 
 As for diversions, exhibitions, and scenes which are in 
 their very nature of a questionable kind, the safe path for a 
 minister of the gospel will be to stand altogether aloof from 
 them. It is not for him, who has to deal with his fellow- 
 men on the great themes of mercy and of judgment, to be 
 mingling in parties or frequenting places where he has to 
 debate the matter at the threshold with his own conscience ; 
 and the advantage which he might derive from occasionally 
 seeing what is transacted in them for the amusement of the 
 mere lovers of pleasure, would be greatly more than counter- 
 balanced by the extent to which his character and position 
 should be compromised. In regard to all this class of 
 things it is a good rule of Mr. Cecil's, that if a worldly man 
 should meet a godly minister in them with the salutation, 
 ' I did not expect to see you here,' it is a pretty sure sign 
 that the minister is not in his proper place. For whatever 
 licence the men of this world may often take to themselves, 
 and however disposed to say one to another. What is the 
 harm in such and such things ? they have usually a quick 
 enough discernment of the incongruity between questionable 
 indulgences and a Christian profession, when exemplified in 
 the conduct of those whose calling is more peculiarly asso- 
 ciated with the spirit and obligations of the gospel. ^ 
 
 ^ A former dignitary of the Irish Episcopal Church (the Bishop of 
 Limerick) has the following sensible remarks on the subject under con- 
 sideration, in a charge to the clergy of the diocese : ' I do not see,' he 
 said, ' how a clergyman, consistently with the sacredness and separa- 
 tion of his character and office, consistently with the vows which he has 
 made at his ordination, can pursue the sports of the mountain or the 
 
112 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 What are called mixed companies stand in a somewhat 
 different position, for in the majority of cases it is impossible 
 for the pastor altogether to avoid them. The boundary 
 line here is not an absolute one between the lawful and the 
 forbidden ; it perpetually varies with the circumstances of 
 place and time ; and nothing but the fear of God, an en- 
 lightened conscience, spiritual tact and discretion, can be 
 our guide regarding it. It can never beseem a minister of 
 the gospel [to court worldly society for its own sake ; but 
 neither ought he entirely to shun it. The example of our 
 Lord speaks distinctly upon this point. He entered frankly 
 into the society of those around Him, as conscious of cer- 
 tain relations He had to maintain, certain duties He had to 
 fulfil toward them ; and so, within moderate limits, should 
 the ministers of the gospel. But in so doing, they should 
 endeavour, like their Master, to preserve the attitude of 
 persons rather complying with occasions presented to them, 
 than seeking for themselves a natural gratification, and 
 watching the while for opportunities to do good to those 
 with whom for the time they are brought into contact. It 
 is a happy talent to be able, in the company of men of 
 worldly ambition or loose morals, not only to keep one's 
 own soul from sinking to a level with theirs, but also to 
 exercise a restraint on their dispositions, and raise the tone 
 of thought and conversation to something like a proper 
 
 field ; can be found at the card-table or in the ball-room. In avowing 
 these sentiments, I avow the sentiments which, from the earliest ages 
 of the Church, have been maintained alike by the old Catholic bishops 
 and Fathers, and by the most distinguished and illustrious Churchmen 
 of modern times. In these sentiments I have lived ; in these senti- 
 ments I hope to die ; and at the close of life it will be to me a crown 
 of rejoicing, if, through my humble instrumentality, any of my reverend 
 brethren shall be induced to become like-minded, and to consider, even 
 in their most unguarded hours, what gravity and recollectedness are at 
 all times and in all places demanded of our sacred order.' (Quoted 
 in his Life of Paley, by Rev. E. S. Wayland, p. 38.) 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. II3 
 
 pitch. But it is a talent not easily acquired ; since it re- 
 quires a combination of properties that may always be ex- 
 pected to be somewhat rare ; and for the most part it will 
 be found by experience to be but a limited good which a 
 minister can accomplish through his presence in mixed 
 societies. Let him beware lest the cause of godliness 
 rather lose than gain by it. For there is truth in what is 
 remarked by Vinet : ^ ' A man who is seen everywhere can- 
 not inspire a respectful consideration. The judgment 
 which is formed of a pastor who is seen in all companies 
 is not likely to be very favourable. , He will be accused of 
 not feeling his duties, and not appreciating the necessity of 
 solitude. Society multiplies occasions for doing good, but 
 it yet more multiplies occasions for doing evil. And there 
 are some men whom the pastor ought not to see at his own 
 house or elsewhere. St. Paul counsels Timothy to turn 
 away from all men whose life is evil, and especially from 
 those who have the appearance of that piety of which they 
 have denied the power,' 2 Tim. iii. 5. 
 
 I add only further, that in all situations and in all com- 
 panies, the pastor should never forget his office ; he should 
 bear in mind that he has a high calling to fulfil, and should 
 aim at preserving in his demeanour a dignified simplicity. 
 General gravity of behaviour must ever seem appropriate to 
 one who has such heavy responsibilities resting on him ; 
 but it should be natural, not affected or put on for the occa- 
 sion ; it should be accompanied and relieved by a genuine 
 simplicity. If this is wanting, the other will only be re- 
 garded as an official mannerism, and will not gain the respect 
 of the world, while it will effectually mar the freedom of his 
 access to the confidence and affection of his people. If all 
 expect decorum, they not less desire simplicity in the air 
 and deportment of their minister. Even people of finesse, 
 themselves living in an artificial state of society, will admire 
 
 ^Pastoral Theol p. 118. 
 H 
 
114 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 simplicity in him, if only it is not coupled with rough- 
 ness, or rendered offensive by low manners and a vulgar 
 familiarity.^ 
 
 4. A word may suffice for the pastor's more pubHc rela- 
 tion to the commonwealth ; for the less he meddles with 
 the simply political contests and movements of the day it 
 will usually be the better both for himself and for his work. 
 So many ministers of the gospel, both in Established and 
 Nonconformist Churches, have embroiled themselves in 
 unseemly strife, and become visibly secularized in spirit by 
 labouring too much at this oar, that if not an utter abstinence, 
 at least a cautious reserve in respect to it, is the manifest 
 dictate of wisdom. There are questions and measures so 
 far political that they come to be legislated on in Parlia- 
 ment, but which are intimately connected with the religious 
 and moral well-being of the community. As regards these, 
 ministers of the gospel have an obvious duty to discharge 
 as members of the commonwealth ; they should endeavour 
 to arrive at a sound judgment concerning them, manfully 
 declare their views, and on fitting occasions try to influence 
 aright the views of others. It is another thing, however, to 
 enter actively into the political arena, make speeches in 
 political meetings, and direct the machinery of elections. 
 This they had better leave to others, who find their proper 
 sphere in such troubled waters. It is in a higher sphere 
 that their peculiar strength lies \ and so long as they keep 
 to it, the sentiments they express, and the part they quietly 
 but firmly take in the things which concern the wise ad- 
 ministration and good order of the country will have their 
 weight, without imperilling the interests of their office by 
 making themselves the tools of designing men. 
 
 5. Lastly, in respect to the domestic relations, everything 
 in the pastor's family should be in proper keeping with his 
 
 ^ On the subject of gentlemanly, as opposed to vulgar manners, I 
 may refer to the excellent letters of Dr. Miller of Princeton. 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. II5 
 
 place and calling ; of incalculable importance it is that it 
 should be so. As he should be himself a typal Christian, so 
 his home should be a kind of pattern household. St. Paul in 
 several places lays special stress upon this, and points to 
 the state of the pastor's family as an evidence whether or 
 not he is qualified to preside over the household of God. 
 With the state of his family his personal comfort and use- 
 fulness are inseparably bound up ; and if there is palpable 
 disorder and irregularity at home, it is impossible that in 
 his public capacity he can wield the influence and secure 
 the respect which it is proper for him to possess. How 
 many ministers of promising parts, and as preachers of the 
 gospel apparently destined to excel, have been rendered 
 comparatively ineffective in their pastoral relation by the 
 disorderly condition of their households, or the scandalous 
 misconduct of certain members of their families ! Perhaps 
 a want of firmness at first, on the pastor's part, in checking 
 the evil at its commencement, a connivance at things which 
 ought instantly to have been repressed, a tendency too much 
 indulged to let domestic affairs be overshadowed by the 
 concerns of public duty, perhaps also a w^ant of sympathy 
 in respect to the high ends of the ministry on the female 
 side of the house, opening the door to fooUsh companion- 
 ships and improper worldly compliances, have, one or other 
 of them, contributed to foster a spirit of insubordination and 
 licence in the family, which grows till it becomes altogether 
 unmanageable, and recoils with disastrous effect on the 
 pastor's position and usefulness. Here, therefore, the great- 
 est pains should be taken, the most vigilant oversight main- 
 tained, and, I may add, the most prayerful anxiety exercised 
 from the outset, that the whole of his domestic and family 
 affairs should be managed with discretion, so as to second, 
 not to impede, his labours in the gospel. It becomes him 
 to be the more concerned about this, as here he is to a large 
 extent dependent upon others ; he cannot stand alone ; nor 
 
Il6 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 can matters go well with him, unless along with fidehty and 
 prudence to discharge his own part aright those who stand so 
 near to him have corresponding measures of the same for 
 the discharge of theirs. Most of all is it important, that if 
 he be married, he should not be unequally yoked ; that his 
 partner in life should be a person of genuine faith, Christian 
 discretion, and active zeal ; for, if such, she may not only 
 maintain order and decency in the household, but also by 
 her example and influence render most effective service to 
 the moral and spiritual interests of the flock. In some fields 
 of pastoral labour, of course, the minister's wife may be able 
 to accomplish more than in others ; but in nearly all, she 
 may prove a valuable handmaid ; and, speaking generally, 
 the proper relations here may not inaptly be represented, as 
 they were by a German pastor at the Evangelical Alliance 
 Meeting in BerHn (1857), when he said that the pastor was 
 not to be considered as A, and his wife as B, but rather that 
 he was A^ and she A^, meaning that her place and influence, 
 when of the proper kind, come so near to his, that they are 
 to be contemplated as lying in the same plane, and hers 
 only second in magnitude and value to her husband's. 
 
 I cannot bring my remarks on this subject to a close 
 without expressing again my deep conviction as to the vast 
 importance I attach to the personal and social life of the 
 pastor for the success of his mission as a servant of Christ. 
 Even in a somewhat general respect the influence of a well- 
 educated, exemplary married clergy has been of great benefit 
 to society, and is acknowledged to have been so by per- 
 sons who are not disposed to concede anything to them on 
 the score of mere official position. Thus Mr. Lecky, in 
 his History of European Morals (vol. ii. p. 354), speaks, 
 though with a slight qualification, yet in very strong terms 
 regarding it : ' Nowhere, it may be confidently asserted, 
 does Christianity assume a more beneficial or a more win- 
 ning form, than in those gentle clerical households which 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. 1 1 7 
 
 Stud our land, constituting, as Coleridge said, " the one 
 idyl of modern life," the most perfect type of domestic 
 peace, and the centres of civilisation in the remotest village. 
 Notwithstanding some class narrowness and professional 
 bigotry; notwithstanding some unworthy but half- uncon- 
 scious mannerism, which is often most unjustly stigmatized 
 as hypocrisy, it would be difficult to find in any other quarter 
 so much happiness at once diffiised and enjoyed, or so much 
 virtue attained with so little tension or struggle.' And in 
 regard to the pastor's wife : ' In visiting the sick, relieving 
 the poor, instructing the young, and discharging a thousand 
 delicate offices for which a woman's tact is especially needed, 
 his wife finds a sphere of labour which is at once intensely 
 active and intensely feminine, and her example is not less 
 beneficial than her ministrations.' 
 
 This is true ; but the truth in it rises in importance when 
 it is viewed in the bearing it necessarily has on what should 
 ever be the great scope and aim of the pastoral calling. It 
 is in reality the personelle of the pastor, what he is as to 
 individual qualifications and character, that gives the tone 
 to his work, and determines at once the nature and the 
 effect of his ministrations. As water cannot rise above the 
 spring from which it issues, neither can the acts themselves 
 of a ministerial career, nor the results accompHshed by them, 
 be found to reach higher in spirit and character than his 
 from whom instrumen tally they proceed ; usually they may 
 be expected to fall considerably beneath it. The services 
 he conducts in the sanctuary must to a large extent take 
 their impress from the preacher, and be in thought, in feel- 
 ing, in utterance, the reflection of his style of Christianity. 
 And both in these and in the more private labours of the 
 pastoral life, it ever is the living image of the man which 
 makes all what it properly is : not so much what is said or 
 done on any particular occasion, as what he is in personal 
 attainments and worth whose name it bears. If he demeans 
 
Il8 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 himself as becomes his office; if his feeHngs and habits as a 
 man, his endowments and bearing as a minister, are such 
 as to place him on the proper vantage-ground ; if all that is 
 seen and known of him is of a kind fitted to suggest the man 
 of God, as well as the official representative of a Church of 
 Christ, then an air of sacredness will attach to his ministerial 
 course, and the testimony he delivers for truth, righteous- 
 ness, and mercy will come forth with an authority and an 
 impressiveness which cannot fail to command the respect 
 of all, while it will sink more deeply into the hearts of some. 
 But make the contrary supposition ; conceive a pastor but 
 poorly qualified for his high trust, so that in office alone he 
 seems to rise above many in his flock; or conceive him 
 possessed of a fair measure of qualifications, and on various 
 accounts entitled to the esteem of his people, but these ac- 
 companied by certain marked deficiencies or palpable fail- 
 ings in his character and work, how impossible in such a 
 case must it be for him to get the position he ought to 
 occupy ! And how inevitably will the heterogeneous or 
 disturbing elements about him intrude upon men's minds 
 like a qualifying hut, interfering with the impressions that 
 might otherwise have been produced, or taking back again 
 a portion of the good that may have been received. 
 
 If, turning from the interests of refigion generally, we 
 think of those which concern our own Communion in par- 
 ticular, fresh reasons will discover themselves in support of 
 what has been said. On this more than anything else of 
 an instrumental kind the Free Church depends for her well- 
 being and prosperity ; indeed, the one may be safely tested 
 and gauged by the other. She has received, it is true, a 
 banner to be displayed because of the truth, a testimony 
 which ought to draw toward her the hearts of those who 
 have learned to know and prize the truth. Doubtless this 
 will more or less be the case ; yet not as apart from the 
 personal and official qualifications of her pastors. People 
 
THE PASTORAL AND SOCIAL LIFE OF THE PASTOR. II9 
 
 generally, even good Christian people, will take their im- 
 pressions and form their opinions in a great degree from 
 this ; and if, on the basis of her testimony, this or any other 
 Church should fail to raise up a ministry that is adequate 
 to her own wants and those of our age and country, her 
 testimony will infallibly cease to carry the respect which it 
 ought to command. May all aspirants to the ministry lay 
 this seriously to heart, and strive in earnest to make good 
 what it requires at their hands ! It is pre-eminently a noble 
 work to which they are giving themselves ; a work which 
 cannot fail to yield a rich harvest of blessing in their own 
 experience, as well as to those among whom they minister, 
 if only it is prosecuted in the right spirit, and by men who 
 are themselves the living examples of what they preach. 
 But this is the indispensable condition of success ; and in 
 proportion as it fails, there will also be a failure in the true 
 mission and glory of the Church. 
 
I20 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE MORE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 
 
 Section I. — The Theory and Pt-actice of Preaching. 
 
 IN proceeding now to consider the special duties of the 
 pastoral office, we cannot hesitate to assign the first 
 place to the work of preaching, the preparation and delivery 
 of discourses on the great subjects of God's revelation to 
 men. This forms more peculiarly the vocation of the 
 Christian pastor; other things, though important in their 
 proper place, are still but subsidiary in comparison of it. 
 As the purpose of God is to save men by the knowledge 
 of the truth in Christ, so by what the apostle calls 'the 
 foolishness of preaching,' that is, by the simple, faithful, 
 earnest proclamation of the truth, the great end of the 
 ministry must chiefly be carried out. It is only by their 
 coming to know and believe the truth that men consciously 
 enter into the kingdom of God ; and every step they may 
 afterwards take in the discharge of its obligations, or in the 
 personal experience of its blessings, must be in connection 
 with realizing views of the things which belong to the person 
 and the work of Christ. Whatever, therefore, is fitted to 
 aid in bringing men to the possession of such views, is on 
 that account entitled to a minister's attentive consideration; 
 but he should ever regard the preaching of the gospel as 
 the means more especially appointed by Christ, and in its 
 own nature best adapted for bringing the truth effectually 
 to bear upon the hearts of men, and maintaining its influence 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 121 
 
 in Christian congregations. So that preaching, as justly- 
 stated by Vinet,^ ' is essential to the pastorate, which apart 
 from this cannot reach souls, and cannot present the truth 
 in its most regular and general forms. This,' he adds, ' is 
 the glory of our Reformation, that it has restored public 
 preaching to the Church ; it may even be said to the 
 Catholic Church. Surely that was a noble movement by 
 which the priesthood passed from a simple celebration of 
 rites (which had become a species of magic) to science, to 
 thought, to speech and aggressive action.' 
 
 I. Points of agreement in essential qualities between preach- 
 ing and public speaking ift general. — Preaching, as it is now 
 understood, being only a particular kind of pubHc discourse, 
 necessarily has certain things common to it with oratory in 
 general, but which must rather be presupposed here than 
 formally considered. Not, however, as if they were of little 
 importance; on the contrary, I quite concur in the state- 
 ment of Mr. Rogers,^ that the eloquence of the pulpit ' has 
 never, I should rather say seldom, been assimilated so far as 
 it might have been to that which has produced the greatest 
 effect elsewhere, and which is shown to be of the right kind, 
 both by the success which has attended it, and by the 
 analysis of the qualities by which it has been distinguished.' 
 It will be well, therefore, for those who are bent on attain- 
 ing to such excellence in this respect as they maybe capable 
 of reaching, to make themselves acquainted with the great 
 principles of public speaking as an art, as these have been 
 unfolded by the masters of eloquence themselves, or by 
 those who have made them the subject of special study. 
 Here the ancients still continue among our best guides, not 
 merely from the admirable specimens of oratory they have 
 left behind them, but also on account of the careful study 
 they gave to the subject, and their clear enunciation of all 
 '' Past. Theology, p. 73. 2 Essay on Sacred Eloquence. 
 
122 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 the more important elements of success. There is scarcely, 
 I believe, anything of moment, nothing certainly entitled to 
 much consideration, which will not be found both lucidly 
 stated and largely illustrated in the rhetorical treatises of 
 Aristotle, Cicero, and Quinctilian. Such works, however, 
 of modern date as Campbell's Philosophy of Rheto7'ic, 
 Whately's Rhetoric^ also Blair's Lectures on Rhetoric^ may 
 be consulted with advantage. That I may not altogether 
 omit what relates to this more general, though in itself most 
 fundamental branch of the subject, I shall endeavour as 
 briefly as possible to indicate a few leading points. 
 
 (i.) First of all it is to be borne in mind, that nature 
 here, as in other things, constitutes the foundation. It does 
 so in two respects, both as to the measure in which success 
 in public speaking may be possible, and as to the particular 
 method or style through which it may be attained. What- 
 ever the labour and cultivation of art may do, it must have 
 certain aptitudes or capacities of a natural kind to build 
 upon. That the first parts belong to nature {primas partes 
 esse natiircB) is freely allowed by Quinctilian,^ even when 
 he is urging most strenuously the necessity of laborious 
 application. In personal appearance, in freedom, flexibility 
 and compass of voice, in strength of reason, retentiveness 
 of memory, warmth of feeling, quickness and vivacity of 
 thought, one man naturally excels another ; and the greater 
 or less degree in which any individual may possess these 
 respective qualities, cannot fail to bring along with it a 
 corresponding advantage or defect in respect to the higher 
 measures of success. ' Some,' says Cicero,^ ' possess them 
 in so eminent a degree, they are so adorned with the gifts 
 of nature, that they seem to have been not so properly born, 
 as fashioned by the hand of God for consummate orators ;' 
 while there are others in the precisely opposite condition, 
 so hesitating in their speech, so harsh and grating in their 
 ^ Inst. xi. 3. ^ De Oratore, L. i. c. 25. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. I 23 
 
 voice, SO lumbering in their mental action or uncouth in 
 their bodily movements, that no amount of application 
 could be conceived adequate to make them tolerable public 
 speakers. But even where there is such combination of 
 properties as may be said to constitute a natural aptness 
 for the work sufficient as a foundation for oratorical culture, 
 that nature must still determine the kind; and to set up 
 before one's view a model as to method of discourse, or 
 manner of speech and address, which should oblige one to 
 go against the grain, would only be to lose that which might 
 have been attained, to desert nature where it could achieve 
 something for an ideal excellence which lies hopelessly out 
 of reach. 
 
 (2.) A second point to be borne in mind is the improve- 
 ableness of nature in the powers which actually belong to 
 it, if only there is applied to their cultivation persistent and 
 well-directed effort. None speak more strongly on this 
 point than those who have themselves risen to the highest 
 degrees of excellence in the art of speaking, or have given 
 finer examples of it to others. The traditions respecting 
 Demosthenes,^ his partial failures at first only rousing him to 
 more resolute endeavours, his laborious practice of elocution 
 by the sea-shore, his frequent resort to the depths of a soli- 
 tude where no voice but his own could be heard, and no 
 passing objects could be seen to distract the eye of his 
 mind, or interrupt the intensity of its application, — such 
 things, as well as the character of his surviving speeches, 
 tell of the earnest and long-continued study which bore him 
 to the peerless elevation which he ultimately reached. 
 Cicero, too, after he had gained some distinction as a pleader 
 in the Forum, so far from being satisfied with this early 
 success, or thinking that he had already approached the 
 limits of perfection, put himself under the direction of pro- 
 fessed rhetoricians, both at Rome and afterwards when 
 ^ Quinct. L. X. 3. 
 
124 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 sojourning at Athens and in Asia Minor, giving himself, as 
 Quinctihan expresses it, to be in a manner formed and 
 modelled anew.^ And his own advices to others are in 
 perfect accordance with the course he had himself pursued, 
 as may be seen, for example, in the 2d Book of his Treatise 
 on Oratory, where explicit directions are given upon the 
 subject, and the result of judicious and persevering applica- 
 tion is represented as almost incredible. Preachers must 
 expect no exemption from this law of nature, though few 
 may be able to bestow such pains and application in con- 
 forming to it as the persons just referred to. As public 
 speakers they have powers to cultivate, faculties to improve 
 and exercise, and that both in respect to the proper treat- 
 ment of the subjects they have to handle, and the way and 
 manner of presenting their ideas, so as best to convince the 
 understandings and impress the hearts of their audience. 
 However easy it may be with certain natural advantages on 
 their side to reach a respectable mediocrity in these respects, 
 perfection, or even an approach to perfection, in any one 
 of the properties going to constitute the really effective 
 pubHc speaker, is necessarily reserved for the painstaking 
 and the diligent." 
 
 (3.) The dependence of successful public speaking on an 
 
 1 L. xii. 6. 
 
 2 It should be remembered also, that whatever help one may some- 
 times get from others, self-culture, self-application must chiefly be 
 looked to. So it certainly was with Demosthenes, so with one of the 
 greatest of American orators. ' I owe my success in life, ' said Clay, ' to one 
 single fact, namely, that at the age of twenty-seven I commenced and 
 continued for years the practice of daily reading and speaking upon the 
 contents of some historical or scientific book. These offhand efforts 
 were made sometimes in a corn-field, at others in the forest, and not 
 unfrequently in some distant barn, with the horse and the ox for my 
 auditors. It is to this early practice of the great art of all arts that I 
 am indebted for the primary and leading impulses that stimulated me 
 forward, and have shaped my entire subsequent history,' 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 25 
 
 appropriate style, is a third point requiring careful thought 
 and ai:)plication ; style, I mean, not simply with regard to 
 the choice of words or the structure of sentences (which 
 may admit of many varieties), but as a fitting expression of 
 the speaker's own cast of mind, as exercised on the class of 
 subjects of which he discourses, and with a view to the 
 specific end he aims at in handHng them. Diligence and 
 care in this respect Cicero calls the most efficient and con- 
 trolling factor in speaking aright {optimum effectorum ac 
 magistru7n dicendi),^ though Cicero himself, it must be ad- 
 mitted, carried the matter to excess, and in aspiring after 
 that fine modulation of words and wealth and harmony of 
 diction in which he became so great a master, he often im- 
 paired the naturalness and strength of his language by the 
 too artificial, elaborate, and prolix structure of his sentences. 
 The fine that is really the most fitting and appropriate for a 
 particular speaker will always be found involved in some 
 difficulty, calling for wise discrimination in the individual, 
 with a certain delicacy of feeling and propriety of senti- 
 ment ; nor in anything will a false taste more readily dis- 
 cover its mistake, or prove more certainly fatal to success. 
 It is also beset with this peculiar difficulty, that while one's 
 style must to a large extent be formed on the model of 
 written productions, there are qualities of style which may 
 be perfectly proper, sometimes may add grace or dignity to 
 the printed page, which would inevitably appear stiff" or 
 affected if transferred to the oral discourse. One thing 
 requires especially to be kept in view by the public speaker, 
 whatever may be the particular theme or the kind of audi- 
 ence with which for the time he has to do ; he must culti- 
 vate lucidity and directness of speech ; for it is not with 
 him as with an author, whose readers may hang for a con- 
 siderable time over his pages in order to catch the full 
 drift of his meaning, or obtain an adequate appreciation of 
 ^ De Oratore, i. 33. 
 
126 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 the felicitous manner in which it is unfolded. The public 
 speaker must be understood as he goes along ; every sen- 
 tence, every word he utters should find its way to the under- 
 standings of his hearers as soon as it passes from his lips ; 
 in so far as it does not, it necessarily fails of its aim. But 
 in respect to other qualities, such as regard to emphasis, 
 comparative ease or tension, pathetic tenderness or rugged 
 energy, elegance, terseness, epigrammatic point or careless 
 simplicity, there is room for almost endless diversity ; and 
 which of these to adopt, and whe?t, demands not only a dis- 
 criminating judgment with respect to each particular part 
 and species of discourse, but also a just estimate of one's 
 own powers in relation to the things required. Hence, all 
 sensible critics recommend here much tentative and experi- 
 mental action ; a cautious gauging of one's personal powers 
 and resources ; a study of the most approved exemplars of 
 thought and style, in their different kinds ; and, above all, 
 the habitual practice of composition, whether for pubHc 
 discourse or merely for private exercise and improvement. 
 Scribendiim ergo (says Quinctilian) qtia77t diligeritissime^ et 
 quam pliiriimim ; ^ and this all the more, as he also urges, 
 if we have much to do in extempore speaking, since without 
 regular habits of study and experience in written composi- 
 tion, it is sure to degenerate into what he calls inanem 
 loqiiacitatem et verba i7i labris nascentia^ frothy talk and lip 
 oratory. 
 
 (4.) Then, fourthly, there is the intimate connection be- 
 tween the things spoken and the action or bearing of the 
 speaker, a point which the commonest hearers as well as 
 the greatest rhetorical authorities are competent to judge 
 of, and alike regard as of highest moment ; for the one class 
 instinctively feel what the other intellectually discern. 
 Thousands can judge of the propriety or impropriety, the 
 defects or advantages of a speaker's voice and motions, 
 ' L. X. 3, 7. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. I 27 
 
 which together make up action, for the comparative handful 
 who can intelligently judge of the merits or demerits of the 
 discourse he delivers. People are affected, not simply, often 
 not so much, by the thoughts presented to their minds, as 
 by the manner in which they are presented, the tone, the 
 gesture, the whole aspect and demeanour of him who is 
 seeking to gain a hearing for them. So that, as is perfectly 
 known, a second or even third rate discourse, if set forth by 
 an appropriate and becoming action, will prevail more than 
 the most exquisite composition, which is accompanied in 
 the delivery by an unsuitable or defective manner. The 
 judgment of Demosthenes on this point is well known ; and 
 Cicero speaks with scarcely less decision ; for he represents 
 action as having a sort of dominant power in speaking 
 {unam iji dicendo actionem domifiari).^ And he justly 
 notices that in that respect there is nothing so readily 
 marked, nor so apt to take a firm hold of the memory, as 
 that which occasions offence. It is what every one per- 
 ceives j it seems to thrust itself on the observation of all, 
 and cleaves to their remembrance whether they will or not. 
 There is therefore a double reason for attending to the 
 matter, since an appropriate and well-regulated action adds 
 immensely to the force of what is spoken, while anything 
 unbecoming, awkward, misplaced, or ineffective inevitably 
 palls upon the taste of the hearers, and hangs Hke a clog 
 upon one's efforts to produce effect. 
 
 (5.) Yet, with all the attention that should thus be paid 
 to the cultivation of native talent, of style, of action, and the 
 pains that should be taken on every hand to avoid obvious 
 blemishes and defects, there is still another point that may 
 be said to overtop the whole, and the more difficult to be 
 reached in practice, that to be attained in any competent 
 degree it is necessary that all the rest should be cast into 
 comparative forgetfulness ; it is the surrender of the heart 
 ' De Orat. i. 28. 
 
128 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 to the subject in hand, the power of letting oneself out into 
 it. The soul of eloquence may be said to lie here ; and 
 without some measure of it, though there may be ever so 
 finely constructed sentences, close and correct reasoning, 
 graceful elocution, there cannot be the quickening impulse 
 and persuasive speech which rivet the attention of the 
 audience, and stir their hearts. For this the speaker must, 
 above all, be possessed by the things which he comes to 
 discourse of, impressed with a sense of their reality and im- 
 portance. Pectus est enim ^ (to quote again Quinctilian) 
 quod disertos facit, et vis mentis; and hence, he justly adds, 
 even among unlearned persons, if only they are stirred by 
 some powerful affection, words are not wanting. The mind 
 then, instead of turning its eye inward on itself, or fixing on 
 a single point, pours itself forth on many things in suc- 
 cession, as when one glances along a straight path every- 
 thing is embraced that is in and around it ; not the further 
 end merely, but the things also that lie between us and it. 
 So that whatever any one may possess by nature, or may 
 have acquired by learning and art, to fit him for the work of 
 popular discourse, he must, if he has risen to any degree of 
 perfection in it, have acquired the power of losing sight of 
 these when actually engaged in its discharge ; the energies 
 of his mind must be wholly concentrated upon his theme. 
 Here, as in other accomplishments, ' the skill of the artist 
 and the perfection of his art are never proved till both are 
 forgotten. The artist has done nothing till he has con- 
 cealed himself ; the art is imperfect which is invisible ; the 
 feelings are but feebly touched, if they permit us to reason 
 on the methods of their excitement. In the reading of a 
 great poem, in the hearing of a noble oration, it is the sub- 
 ject of the writer and not his skill, his passion not his 
 power, on which our minds are fixed. We see as he sees, 
 but we see not him. We become part of him, feel with 
 1 L. X. 7. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. I 29 
 
 him, judge, behold with him ; but we think of him as little 
 as of ourselves. The harp of the minstrel is untruly touched 
 if his own glory is all that it records. The power of the 
 masters is shown by their self-annihilation.' i 
 
 Such are some of the more vital and important considera- 
 tions which require to be attended to in connection with 
 the art of public speaking generally ; which, therefore, can 
 no more be neglected with impunity by the preachers of the 
 gospel, than by any others who seek to influence their 
 fellow-men by their capacity of speech in public. No talent 
 or even genius in the speaker, and no peculiarity in the 
 subject he handles, can compensate for such neglect, or 
 render palpable defects in regard to the qualifications men- 
 tioned otherwise than an occasion of comparative failure. 
 It would not be easy, perhaps, to find in a brief compass a 
 description which might seem more thoroughly aimed at 
 exemplifying this than the account transmitted to us, mainly 
 by Isaak Walton and Fuller, of the justly-renowned Richard 
 Hooker. The delineation presents him to our view as a 
 man ' of mean stature, and stooping, of humble or low voice, 
 his face full of heat pimples, gesture none at all, standing 
 stock-still, his eyes always fixed on one place to prevent his 
 imagination from wandering, insomuch that he seemed to 
 study as he spoke.' Add to which, what is said by Fuller : 
 ' his style was long and pithy, driving on a whole flock of 
 several clauses before he came to the close of a sentence ; 
 so, when the copiousness of his style met not with propor- 
 tionable capacity in his auditors, it was unjustly censured 
 for perplexed, tedious, and obscure.' In short, so defective 
 was he in all the more noticeable qualifications of an orator, 
 that one might almost suppose the trial to have been formally 
 made in Hooker, how the most profound intellect, the most 
 varied learning, the most fertile and lofty imagination, con- 
 joined with a winning simpHcity of manners and a spirit of 
 
 ^ Ruskin, Modern Painters, i. p. 22. 
 
 I 
 
130 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 sincere fervent piety might all be possessed, and yet leave 
 the possessor at the remotest distance from the position of 
 an attractive and powerful speaker. It was impossible, 
 indeed, that such a man could fail to produce at times deep 
 impressions in spite of all disadvantages, and be listened to 
 generally by a certain number with respectful and loving 
 affection. Even with the commonest audience, there were 
 passages so finely conceived and expressed, that they could 
 scarcely fail to fall upon the ear like the sound of sacred 
 melody, such as the following : ^ ' The light would never be 
 so acceptable were it not for the usual intercourse of dark- 
 ness. Too much honey doth turn to gall, and too much 
 joy even spiritually would turn us to wantons. Happier a 
 great deal is that man's case, whose soul by inward desola- 
 tion is humbled, than he whose heart is through abundance 
 of spiritual delight lifted up and exalted above measure. 
 Better it is sometimes to go down into the pit with him who, 
 beholding darkness, and bewailing the loss of inward joy 
 and consolation, crieth from the lowest hell, " My God, 
 my God, why hast Thou forsaken me ? " than continually to 
 walk arm in arm with angels, to sit, as it were, in Abraham's 
 bosom, and to have no thought, no cogitation but " I thank 
 my God it is not with me as with other men." ' But what- 
 ever effect occasional passages of this kind might have had, 
 they could not tell enough upon the general aggregate to 
 render Hooker, with all his gifts and excellences, I shall not 
 say a popular, but even what may be called an ordinarily 
 attractive and effective preacher. 
 
 It is time, however, to quit this more general part of the 
 subject, on which it was not my intention to do more than 
 indicate a few leading principles, or points demanding care- 
 ful consideration. We must now turn to those things which 
 have a more direct and special reference to that kind of 
 public speaking with which we are here more immediately 
 ' Sermon on the Certainty and Perpetuity of Faith. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 13T 
 
 concerned : the preparation and delivery of discourses on 
 things pertaining to the kingdom of God and the salvation 
 of men. 
 
 II. The Jitti7ig subjects of discourse for the pulpit, and the 
 solutio7i of appi^opriate texts. — It has been the all but universal 
 practice in the Christian Church, since she possessed in any 
 measure of completeness the canon of Sacred Scripture, to 
 take some portion of its contents as the ground of the dis- 
 courses which are addressed to congregations when they 
 meet for purposes of worship. And the practice is in itself 
 highly commendable, and carries with it obvious advantages. 
 It is, first of all, an important as well as a becoming testi- 
 mony to the supreme authority of Scripture as the revelation 
 of God ; and as such, the Church's sole warrant and guide 
 in regard to all that concerns spiritual and divine things. 
 It virtually proclaims to all whom we address, ' To the law 
 and to the testimony ; ' here is the certain ground and 
 warrant of whatever as Christians we believe, and do, and 
 hope for. Then, this practice of preaching from a text 
 serves in a very natural and fitting manner to bring people 
 acquainted with the matter of Scripture, and to give them 
 both a more intelligent and more comprehensive knowledge 
 of the things which it presents to their faith and obedience. 
 Finally, it tends to impart a distinctive character both of 
 sacredness and unity to what is spoken, whereby the preacher 
 himself is benefited in having a channel, as it were, pro- 
 vided by the hand of God for the orderly presentation of 
 his thoughts on particular themes ; and the hearer also has 
 his recollections aided by a passage in the written word 
 which he can keep before him, or fall back upon as he may 
 need. 
 
 A certain choice, however, is necessary in regard to the 
 subjects of discourse. One is, not to set out with the idea 
 that any passage, or portion of a passage, in Scripture, simply 
 
132 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 because it is an integral part of what is collectively the word 
 of God, may on that account be fixed upon as the proper 
 foundation of a discourse to an assemblage of Christian 
 people. The whole of Scripture, when rightly interpreted 
 and viewed in connection with its leading purport and de- 
 sign, is certainly profitable for religious instruction and pious 
 uses ; but not always profitable to such ends in the way of 
 public discourse. Its aim in some portions may be best 
 accomplished by private meditation, while others require to 
 be looked at complexly as parts of a general whole, and do 
 not so readily admit of being isolated, and made the ground 
 or occasion of a somewhat lengthened discourse. Con- 
 taining, as the Bible does, historical records of the human 
 family during many successive generations, touching inci- 
 dentally on an immense variety of circumstances and objects, 
 current events and settled institutions, in its didactic parts 
 referring to numberless productions of nature and works of 
 art, as well as to the things which most deeply concern the 
 present and eternal interests of mankind, — it were quite 
 easy to find in the Bible texts from which discourses could 
 be delivered perfectly textual in their character, and yet in 
 their tenor entirely alien to the great interests of Christianity. 
 The Rationalists of Germany, and the Unitarians of our own 
 country and America, when turning the pulpit, as they have 
 so often done, into an arena of philosophical, or simply 
 moral and poHtical discussion, never needed to be at any 
 loss for texts to start with, and on which to hang their ideas. 
 Volumes of sermons have issued from the press, each with 
 their appropriate text, which as to subject and matter might 
 have suited the taste of an audience in ancient Rome or 
 Alexandria. And it is probable that there was no want of 
 texts, or occasional Scriptural quotations, in those continental 
 discourses mentioned by Dr. Ammon, one series of which 
 treated of subjects connected with rural economy and fallow- 
 grounds; another, of the cultivation of the silkworm; Avhile 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 133 
 
 a third unfolded the duties of Christians on the approach of 
 a contagious disease among cattle. The pastors of evan- 
 gelical congregations are in little danger of falling into such 
 senseless extravagances ; their very position is a safeguard 
 against it. But they may still be liable to go to some extent 
 astray, unless they are careful to keep steadily in view the 
 great end of preaching, which, like that of the Bible itself, 
 is the glory of God in the salvation of men. Where this is 
 rightly understood and appreciated, the preacher will feel that 
 he has something else to do than to search for texts and sub- 
 jects which are out of accord with the spirit of the gospel. 
 
 At the same time, a certain latitude should undoubtedly 
 be allowed in this respect to the Christian pastor. He may 
 not be always preaching directly on the great theme, and in 
 his range of subjects may imitate in a measure the variety 
 and fulness by which Scripture itself is distinguished. 
 Nothing may be altogether excluded from the pulpit which 
 has an influential bearing on the Christian life, or admits of 
 being handled in a Christian spirit. But much of which 
 this can be said may still be unsuited to form the leading 
 topic of a sermon. The pulpit has not been erected, as 
 justly remarked by Vinet,^ 'in order that everything may 
 be there treated in a Christian manner ; it has a special 
 object, which is to introduce the Christian idea into life. 
 I should say, then,' he adds, 'that everything which does 
 not conduce directly to edification ; everything which an 
 ordinary hearer cannot of himself convert into the bread of 
 life, or at least which the preacher does not acknowledge to 
 be such, should not be made a subject of his preaching.' 
 Or, if a licence may at times be taken to go somewhat 
 beyond this precise line, it should be distinctly announced 
 as a kind of exceptional eftbrt, called forth by the circum- 
 stances of the moment, and of such a nature as to carry, in 
 a manner, its own justification along with it. 
 ^ Homiletks, p. 51. 
 
134 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 It is quite possible for a minister when going to preach 
 on a subject in itself appropriate to connect it with an 
 unsuitable text ; and here, perhaps, it is that preachers in 
 evangelical communities are most in danger of being be- 
 trayed into an impropriety in the choice of their pulpit 
 themes. There are several ways in which this may be done. 
 It sometimes, perhaps, takes the form of choosing a text 
 which, as the ground of a discourse on matters of grave 
 moment, has an indelicate, but more commonly an odd and 
 fantastic appearance, creating a sort of ludicrous bond of 
 association in the minds of the hearers between the preacher's 
 theme and the formal warrant or occasion found for it in 
 Scripture. And anything of such a nature is as much out 
 of place in connection with the text as with the discourse 
 preached from it. ' Of all preaching,' says Baxter in his 
 own emphatic style, — ' of all preaching in the world that 
 speaks not stark lies, I hate that preaching which tendeth 
 to make the hearers laugh, or to move their minds with 
 ticklish levity, and affect them as stage-players used to do, 
 instead of affecting them with a holy reverence of the name 
 of God.' What else could be the effect on a general 
 audience when hearing texts like the following announced 
 as the subject of discourse : ' The old shoes, and clouted upon 
 their feet ; ' ' The nine and twenty knives ;' ' The unturned 
 cake j ' or ' The axe, alas ! Master, it was borrowed' ? Such 
 texts, or fragments of texts, have not unfrequently been 
 preached from ; some of them are associated with the name 
 of the eccentric Rowland Hill ; along with several others of 
 a like kind, they are found in a series of sermons which 
 appeared in this country not many years ago, with the 
 designation, ' Sermons on unusual texts.' It is to be hoped 
 such texts will ever remain unusual^ and that if our ministers 
 are going to address their congregations on the subject of 
 violence and war, they will be able to connect it with a more 
 suitable form of words than Ezra's nine and twenty knives. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 35 
 
 and will light upon something more becoming than the old 
 and clouted shoes of the Gibeonites, from which to expose 
 the various workings of hypocrisy and deceit, and man's 
 vain attempts to mend himself. The object of choosing 
 such texts is too palpable to escape the notice of even the 
 humblest audience. They will readily perceive the tendency 
 it exhibits to attract notoriety, and acquire a name for what 
 is smart and peculiar. But precisely as this object is gained, 
 the grand aim of preaching is lost, and the preacher himself 
 sinks to the level of the man who indulges in a perverted 
 ingenuity and a vicious taste. 
 
 Another and less offensive, though still decidedly objec- 
 tionable form of the same inappropriateness consists in 
 selecting texts, which only in a figurative, obscure, perhaps 
 even fanciful manner, can be made to express the ideas 
 which are to be deduced from them. Supposing the sub- 
 ject of discourse were to be the important theme of Christ's 
 righteousness, as imjDuted or savingly applied to believers, 
 it would scarcely be wise to connect its illustration and 
 enforcement with such a text as Isa. xlv. 8, ' Drop down, ye 
 heavens, from above, and let the skies pour down righteous- 
 ness,' a text, if I mistake not, chosen for that purpose by 
 the excellent Mr. Romaine, yet not fitly chosen, since it 
 is at best too general a declaration for so specific a doctrine ; 
 while a plentiful variety of passages might be found in the 
 later Scriptures which unfold it in a much more distinct and 
 categorical form. In like manner, if the subject were to be 
 the connection between faith and works, it would surely be 
 travelling out of the proper way for a fitting text to repair, 
 as has sometimes been done, to Ex. xxxix. 26, 'A bell and 
 a pomegranate, a bell and a pomegranate;' the bell, as 
 the symbol of an articulate call, being taken to represent 
 the preaching of the gospel which demands faith from those 
 who hear, and the pomegranate following in close connec- 
 tion, pointing, as is conceived, to the fruit of holiness, which 
 
ever springs from the belief of the truth. How many hearers 
 would be disposed to accredit the doctrine, were this a fair 
 sample of the texts that establish it? How many, after 
 every possible explanation has been made of this particular 
 text, would feel quite satisfied that the doctrine is really 
 expressed there ? And if so, how unwise is it to bring into 
 the very foundations of the subject an element of uncer- 
 tainty, and start as it were with a note of interrogation, an 
 involuntary doubt in the minds of our audience ! If a text 
 7i>ere chosen which exhibits the doctrine under a typical 
 or figurative aspect, it should still be one that admits of a 
 clear and easily perceived application to the subject of 
 discourse. For whatever the subject itself may be, and 
 whatever the specific character of the text on which it 
 is grounded, the latter should always possess two properties 
 in relation to the former ; it should be such as to present 
 a solid, in contradistinction from a fanciful or question- 
 able, basis of discourse, and it should be in its own nature 
 ample enough to bear all that in doctrine or duty is raised 
 on it. 
 
 In the Evangelical Church (so called) of Prussia, I may 
 notice there exists a temptation which is almost unknown 
 elsewhere, to hang sermons on texts with which they have 
 a very slender connection. The temptation arises from the 
 practice of having prescribed by public authority for every 
 Sabbath and religious festival of the year a series of Bible 
 lessons, from which the preacher is required to select the 
 subject of discourse. Hence there must either be a con- 
 siderable sameness in the pulpit ministrations, or some 
 ingenuity must be exerted to deduce a variety of themes 
 from a limited number of texts \ preachers must turn over 
 the passages submitted to them in every conceivable way, 
 and extract from them not only what they more directly teach, 
 but also what they incidentally suggest, or by some influential 
 process can be made to imply. The sermons of Rheinhard 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 137 
 
 are striking specimens of this sort of ingenuity. The miracle 
 of Christ, for example, in feeding the four thousand with a 
 few loaves and fishes (Mark viii. 1-9) furnishes a text for 
 discoursing on the duty of relying on oneself more than on 
 others. The narrative of the paralytic borne on a couch, and 
 let down in faith to the chamber where our Lord was teach- 
 ing (Matt. ix. 1-8), is made the occasion for exhibiting the 
 kind of behaviour which ought to be maintained by Chris- 
 tians, on account of the confidence that is ready to be 
 reposed in them by those around them. The word of our 
 Lord to Peter in Luke v. 10, 'From henceforth thou shalt 
 catch men,' gives rise to a lengthened exposition of the 
 principle, that the faithful discharge of the duties connected 
 with each one's particular calling forms a natural and fitting 
 qualification for the exercise of higher functions. 
 
 One cannot but feel that, in connecting such topics with the 
 texts mentioned, there is what carries an artificial and forced 
 appearance, the endeavour by a tortuous line of thought to 
 get at what should have been found accessible by a direct 
 approach. In a course of regular exposition through a book 
 of Scripture, it might be proper to introduce a few brief 
 remarks on the points thus incidentally raised in them ; but 
 it is another thing when the incidental in the text becomes 
 the one and all in the discourse. This cannot but be felt 
 to be unnatural ; it wants simplicity and directness. At the 
 same time, it may be perfectly legitimate and proper to single 
 out from a text some particular idea, which forms a subordi- 
 nate rather than the principal part of its meaning ; and on 
 this, occasionally at least, to raise a discourse which may 
 be designed to serve some special purpose, or to meet some 
 peculiar phase of thought prevalent at the time. Rheinhard 
 also furnishes a very suitable example of this description 
 in a sermon on Matt. ix. 24, where, when Jesus affirmed of 
 the daughter of Jairus that she was not dead but asleep, it 
 is observed of the people present that they laughed Him to 
 
138 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 scorn ; and of Himself that, notwithstanding, He proceeded 
 to raise her up again. On this Rheinhard takes occasion to 
 discourse, not of the miracle, or of the attributes of character 
 it manifested on the part of Christ, but of the truth that 
 Christians will often find themselves called to do what shall 
 appear foolish or ridiculous to the multitude ; that their 
 principles may be, and often cannot but be, regarded as 
 absurd, their faith in God illusory, their zeal for the divine 
 glory extravagant, their magnanimity indiscreet. And so 
 he urges on them the duty of looking above the superficial 
 multitude, of even suspecting their own piety if it does not 
 prove the occasion of a certain measure of opposition or 
 wonder among worldly men, and of being cautious lest they 
 should be led to join in casting ridicule or reproach on 
 those who are only going farther than their neighbours in 
 doing God service. A discourse of Dr. Chalmers on Acts 
 xix. 27 may be pointed to as another and not less happy 
 example of the same description. From the outcry of De- 
 metrius and his workmen, that their craft was in danger by 
 the spread of the gospel in Ephesus, he undertakes to show 
 how perfectly compatible the growth and prevalence of 
 Christianity is with the commercial prosperity of a people ; 
 since, while it may operate to the discouragement or sup- 
 pression of some forms of handicraft and modes of gain, it 
 is sure to open the way to others, and these of a more 
 healthful and satisfactory kind than those it has supplanted. 
 Special applications of passages of Scripture after this fashion, 
 if confined to particular occasions, or employed only at dis- 
 tant intervals, may not only be free from any just exception, 
 but productive of important benefits, serving as they do to 
 exhibit the pregnancy of God's word and the manifold 
 wisdom of the revelation it contains, in its adaptation even 
 to the affairs of this life and the ever-varying evolutions of 
 the world's history. But the practice should not be very 
 often resorted to ; and as a general rule, the principle should 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 39 
 
 be maintained, that the prominent ideas of the text should 
 also form the chief burden of the discourse that is profess- 
 edly based on it. 
 
 A still further form of misapplied taste or judgment in the 
 choice of texts has som.etimes been exhibited, by turning 
 them into a cover for the display of wit, or for conveying 
 sarcastically, perhaps also sincerely, a rebuke to certain 
 persons in the congregation. In the hands of some, this 
 impropriety assumes the form only of an unbecoming levity, 
 or ludicrous employment of Scripture, which has already 
 been adverted to, and which, even when most cleverly done, 
 is still to be condemned, because unsuited to the dignity and 
 sacredness of the pulpit. It is still more objectionable when, 
 under the phraseology or connection of the text, a hit is 
 made at individuals ; for the levity in such a case is aggra- 
 vated by the indulgence of a personal pique, the gratification 
 of a testy humour, in a manner that must always carry an 
 ungenerous aspect, taking advantage of one's position to 
 shoot an arrow at those who have no power to defend them- 
 selves. Such liberties are scarcely known in this northern 
 part of the land ; but the greater tendency to the humorous 
 Avhich is characteristic of England, a tendency which some- 
 times appears even on the tombstones disporting itself with 
 the dead, has also been wont to give rather strange exhibi- 
 tions of itself, after the fashion adverted to, from the pulpit. 
 I remember being told, when residing in an English parish, 
 that the minister had some time before been presented at 
 an episcopal visitation of the district as negligent of some 
 parts of parochial duty by a respectable solicitor, and that 
 on the following Sabbath he had chosen for his text, ' And 
 a certain lawyer stood up, tempting him.' In a story very 
 commonly reported of Dr. Paley (in the little volume, for 
 example, by Mr. Christmas, on Preachers and Preac/iifig), 
 there is certainly what must be regarded as a much better 
 specimen of humour in this line. On the occasion of Pitt, 
 
140 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 when still a comparatively young man, but already in the 
 proud position of Premier, revisiting Cambridge, where he 
 had studied, and receiving marked attention there from 
 many old associates, who were known to be eagerly looking 
 to him for preferments, Paley, it is said, gave forth for his 
 text the passage in St. John's Gospel, ' There is a lad here 
 which hath five barley loaves and two small fishes ; but 
 what are they among so many?'^ But the best in such a 
 case is bad ; the preacher of Christ's salvation necessarily 
 stoops from his proper elevation, when in the very discharge 
 of his office he makes himself known as a humorist. And 
 to display this character in the selection of his text, is 
 virtually to release his audience from concern about higher 
 things, and let the thought of amusement prevail over a 
 regard to edification. 
 
 In the choice of a text, however, something more is needed 
 than to consider how far it may itself be fitted to serve as 
 the foundation of a public discourse ; its suitableness also 
 to the preacher's powers and present or prevailing tone of 
 mind requires to be taken into account. That a striking or 
 impressive sermon has been preached by one person from a 
 particular text, is no reason why another, though perhaps 
 of not inferior abilities as a man or character as a Christian, 
 should expect to do the same. The theme, or the form in 
 which the theme has been presented, while suited to the 
 one, may somehow prove unsuitable to the other ; it may 
 call for the exercise of sensibilities and gifts, a reach of 
 thought or a kind of experience, which are far from being 
 equally shared by both. This is a point which each indi- 
 vidual must ascertain for himself. But let it be kept dis- 
 tinctly in mind, that there is a certain measure of adaptation 
 
 ^ The story is not quite correct. Paley did not actually preach before 
 Pitt. He was not even at Cambridge when Pitt visited it ; but he 
 remarked to some one, that if he had been the preacher on the occasion, 
 such would have been his text. See Life by Wayland, Paley'' s^ Works. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 141 
 
 needed in the text to the preacher, as well as in the text 
 to the theme and the audience. Some can succeed well 
 enough with a general or comprehensive text, having power 
 to give it, by means of suggestive thought and varied illus- 
 tration, the requisite individuality. But more commonly 
 the preacher will require a text which has itself some kind 
 of individuality, presenting specific points in the history of 
 God's manifestations, or in the experience and character of 
 His people, for consideration. Preachers of considerable 
 mark have confessed that they could never find themselves 
 properly at home, excepting with texts of this description. 
 And when respect is had to the very great diversity which 
 exists in men's natural as well as acquired characteristics, 
 the greater preponderance of intellect in one, of feeling in 
 another ; here the logical, there the imaginative, and there 
 again the emotional powers in greatest vigour; in some only 
 the simpler phases known of Christian experience, in others 
 the sounding of all its depths and heights ; — it is manifest 
 that there must be subjects and passages in the word of God 
 which, in order to a properly successful and effective treat- 
 ment, will require minds of a particular kind of calibre and 
 religious susceptibility. A well-educated and experienced 
 teacher of divine truth may have a ge^ieral Jitness for all 
 topics, and yet only for some a special and peculiar adapta- 
 tion. 
 
 Whatever the particular subject may be on which the 
 pastor is going to discourse on the approaching Sabbath, 
 and whatever the text to be chosen for the purpose, there 
 is one rule which he should, as far as possible, regularly 
 observe ; he should have it sought out and fixed on in good 
 time, not left over to the latter part of the week. The 
 advantage of such a method is, that the mind is not only 
 relieved from the flutter of uncertainty and doubt when the 
 moment of actual preparation arrives ; but has already so 
 far become prepared that it has had leisure to examine the 
 
142 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 text itself, so as to get thoroughly conversant with its import 
 and connection, and have the subject embraced in it turned 
 over in various aspects and directions. The truth has thus 
 had time to steep, as it were, in the mind, and enter in siiccii7n 
 et saiiguiiiem; so that when one comes to apply formally to the 
 consideration of the subject, instead of hastily snatching at 
 the first thoughts that present themselves, there is already ob- 
 tained a general acquaintance with the main theme, and more 
 or less of the specific matter suitable for its illustration called 
 up. With the view also of facilitating this preliminary sort 
 of preparation, the practice is not unworthy of notice, which 
 has been followed with advantage by some, of noting in a 
 memorandum-book such texts as have, in the course of one's 
 reading or meditation, suggested themselves for themes of 
 future discourse, indicating at the same time the lines of 
 thought which it seemed advisable to pursue in connection 
 with them. Topics and ideas occurring in this incidental 
 way are often helpful in striking the proper key-note for 
 more careful and prolonged consideration. 
 
 The suggestions now offered concerning the choice of 
 subjects of discourse, it will be understood, have respect 
 merely to the ordinary course of pastoral ministrations. 
 There are peculiar and exceptional cases, sometimes perhaps 
 furnished by the pastor himself, when he feels prompted to 
 deliver his views publicly on subjects important in them- 
 selves, yet somewhat away from the beaten track of pastoral 
 duty, as Dr. Chalmers in respect to his astronomical dis- 
 courses ; sometimes, again, by the state of the congregation, 
 when, to save it from prevailing error, or recover it from 
 deep spiritual lethargy, a mode of preaching to some extent 
 peculiar may be required, as in Mr. Cecil's congregation at 
 St. John's, or Mr. Robert Hall's at Cambridge. Mr. Dale 
 of Birmingham also, in a volume of Week-Day Discourses, 
 has given a very good example of the treatment of a class 
 of subjects far from unimportant, but which call for illustra- 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 143 
 
 tions and details that might seem somewhat out of place in 
 the regular ministrations of the pulpit. But for cases of 
 such a nature no general instructions can be given ; each 
 must be carefully weighed and considered by itself. 
 
 III. The matter in pulpit discourses, with rcferetice especially 
 to fulness and variety. — In discourses intended for stated 
 congregations, it is undoubtedly of importance that there 
 should be not only appropriate matter, but that also in con- 
 siderable fulness and variety. Usually this ought to be the 
 case, though not by any means uniformly ; for there may be 
 occasions and subjects, in respect to which it is the part of 
 wisdom to concentrate one's thoughts on merely one or two 
 ideas, for the purpose of giving them a greater prominence 
 or a deeper impression. This may sometimes be proper in 
 addressing audiences which we have reason to believe are 
 in a very ignorant or lethargic state of mind, when the one 
 object, in a manner, is to rouse to spiritual thought and 
 obtain a lodgment in men's minds for some grand principle 
 of truth or duty. It may also be proper, in dealing with 
 congregations which are partial and one-sided in their views 
 on some point of Christian belief or morals, when again the 
 great object of the preacher naturally is to drive them from 
 their false position, and have the light of conviction let in 
 upon them where precisely it is needed. It cannot be dis- 
 puted that some of Dr. ChalmaCrs' most powerful and effective 
 discourses were of this description. They embody nothing 
 more than one leading idea; but this is usually so diversified 
 in the manner of statement, so varied in the illustration, 
 presented in so many fresh and vivid colours, that the atten- 
 tion of the audience was never allowed to flag, and the 
 impression produced in behalf of the engrossing theme was 
 like that of successive and ever-deepening strokes of some 
 mighty weapon. Such a style of preaching, however, requires 
 intense energy and concentration in the preacher to be prac- 
 
144 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 tised with success. Very rarely, indeed, would it be safe 
 for persons possessed of only average powers to attempt 
 it when preaching to congregations which are composed of 
 different classes and conditions of people. Even when 
 done with success as regards the quality of the discourse, 
 few congregations would feel quite satisfied with it as a rule, 
 because wanting in the variety which is requisite for the 
 health and nourishment of their spiritual life. Preachers 
 should bear in mind that, as congregations generally consist 
 of persons differing not a little in their intellectual and 
 spiritual states, as well as in their external circumstances 
 and relations, there is needed somewhat of a corresponding 
 variety in the thoughts and considerations which are pre- 
 sented to them at their regular meetings for worship. Nor 
 should it be forgotten that, with the larger portion of those 
 addressed, the discourses they hear on the Lord's Day con- 
 stitute by much the greater part of the spiritual instruction 
 they are to receive, in all probability the only instruction 
 they are to get from a living voice during the entire week. 
 So that they will almost certainly feel like persons stinted in 
 their proper nourishment, unless matter for reflection, at 
 once solid in kind and considerably diversified in its manner 
 of administration, be imparted to them on the Sabbath. 
 
 The work of preaching is often considered with reference 
 to a specific standard of eloquence, according to which it is 
 either appreciated or condemned ; and when so considered, 
 the stirring of the emotions and the influencing of the moral 
 judgments and feelings, with the view of raising them to the 
 right spiritual tone, readily come to be contemplated as well- 
 nigh the one object to be aimed at. But this is never more 
 than a part of the proper aim and function of preaching. It 
 has to do as much with instruction as with persuasion ; and 
 the enlightenment of the understanding holds even a more 
 prominent, as it does also a prior, place in its formal design, 
 than the excitation of the feelings or the immediate exercise 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 45 
 
 of the will But, rightly viewed, the one aspect of the 
 matter might as well be included as the other ; for the 
 didactic or instructive element is not less essential than 
 the suasive in the notion of true eloquence. The noblest 
 specimens of eloquence that have come down to us from 
 ancient times, or that have appeared in modern, are equally- 
 remarkable for the measure of light they were fitted to im- 
 part in a brief compass to the audiences addressed, as by 
 their adaptation to rouse and interest their feelings. If you 
 take of the former class the oration of Demosthenes for the 
 crown, or of the latter Hall's sermon on modern infidelity, 
 or his discourse on the death of the Princess Charlotte, you 
 will not readily find productions treating of like subjects 
 which in the same compass contain a larger amount of solid 
 thought, and presented in a form better fitted to give the 
 minds of the hearers a just and intelHgent apprehension of 
 the leading points proper to the occasion. Still, when in 
 ordinary language one speaks of eloquence or oratory, one 
 naturally thinks of what is chiefly addressed to the feelings, 
 what aims at rousing an apathetic indifference or overcom- 
 ing a reluctant will by fervid argumentation or powerful 
 appeals. In the popular understanding it has come to be 
 associated with a certain degree of impassioned pleading, 
 with the view of impressing and moving the heart. This, 
 undoubtedly, has its place in the pulpit. Yet there is much 
 also that belongs to a somewhat different category. For 
 amid the general knowledge which may be said to prevail 
 in connection with divine things, there is still always room 
 for plain instruction, such as is fitted to lay open the 
 meaning of Scripture, to explain and illustrate the all-impor- 
 tant matters contained in it, and to exhibit the nature and 
 extent of men's obligations in regard to them. Hence the 
 reason for a good deal of variety in pulpit ministrations, 
 since they have so much ground to travel over, so many 
 phases both of truth and duty to make familiar to men's 
 
 K 
 
146 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 minds. Especially is it important for preachers in Scotland 
 to aim at such variety ; for they have audiences to address 
 which are constitutionally of a thoughtful and intelligent 
 character, and which never can remain long satisfied with 
 any kind of preaching which does not furnish considerable 
 supplies of food for their intellectual and moral natures. 
 Something of a less solid, though possibly of a more showy 
 and sentimental kind, may be relished for a season ; but, 
 like a surface stream, it is sure to discover its own shallow- 
 ness, and will soon be forsaken for what is really fitted to 
 enlighten and edify. Even in connection with the same 
 ministry there are probably not many congregations in 
 Scotland that will not be able to distinguish between dis- 
 courses which are deficient, as compared with those which 
 are replete, in the respect under consideration, or that will 
 fail to appreciate what has been maturely considered, if only 
 delivered in a manner suited to their capacities and fitted 
 to engage their attention. 
 
 There is here also, however, a certain middle course which 
 is the best ; for it is possible to err by excess as well as by 
 defect. And if, in preparing to address a congregation on 
 any passage of Scripture, one should set out with the inten- 
 tion of saying everything of any moment that could be 
 advanced on the subject, the discourse might no doubt con- 
 tain a rich collection of material, but it would almost cer- 
 tainly fail of its proper effect with a, general audience; they 
 would feel fatigued and oppressed by it. Some of our older 
 sermon writers fell into this mistake ; Barrow may be named 
 as a notable example. On some of the subjects discussed 
 in his sermons it is scarcely possible to suggest any relevant 
 consideration which had not already presented itself to his 
 own fertile mind. But then a sort of repletion is created. 
 The mind feels dissatisfied that nothing is left for itself to 
 supply ; and a sense of weariness is experienced even in 
 reading so much upon the one theme, which would be 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 47 
 
 greatly increased if listening to it as a spoken discourse. 
 Barrow's age, however, was one of patience and leisure, and 
 fondness for detail ; ours, on the contrary, is one of busi- 
 ness and despatch; and people might at least bear with 
 and even admire then what they would not tolerate now. 
 It is indispensable for the great ends in view that there be 
 selection ; and in the discrimination necessary to select 
 what is most fitting and appropriate, lies a main part of the 
 skill of an interestmg and effective preacher. He has to 
 leave as much unsaid as what he actually says ; and by the 
 judicious choice and excellent arrangement of his matter, 
 still more than by its quantity, he has to make his impres- 
 sion. The ancient apothegm ascribed to Hesiod has here 
 a quite legitimate appHcation, 'The half is more than the 
 whole,' more, that is, with reference to the proper aim and 
 purpose of the speaker. By what he chooses out of the 
 whole materials before him he will be able to convey, in 
 the time allotted him, a far clearer idea of the leading 
 features of his subject, and impress it more vividly upon 
 the minds of his audience, than if he attempted to fill up the 
 picture by crowding into it every point of inferior moment 
 that might suggest itself to his mind. 
 
 There is, however, a possibility of another kind, a danger 
 of allowing the variety and fulness of which we have been 
 speaking to overshadow in a measure what should ever be 
 the grand theme of pulpit ministrations, a danger which the 
 very intelligence and generally diffused Christianity of the 
 age tends to increase. The fundamental truths of the gospel 
 are familiar to the bulk of his audience, as well as to the 
 preacher himself; and the cardinal doctrines of the Bible 
 having a recognised place in their creed, it seems no longer 
 needful to enter into any elaborate explanations concerning 
 them, or even to give them, perhaps, a very frequent and 
 prominent place in his subjects of discourse. The conse- 
 quence comes to be, that the greater is to some extent 
 
T40 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 sacrificed to the less ; not formally displaced, indeed, yet 
 practically allowed to lose the position of peerless value and 
 importance to which it is entitled. The preacher endeavours 
 to meet the desire of his hearers for instruction of a diver- 
 sified kind ; he strives to give interest to his pulpit mini- 
 strations by introducing a multiplicity of topics, which by 
 their number, if not by their freshness or importance, may 
 serve to keep alive attention. And thus the pulpit is apt to 
 be turned into an instrument of general religious culture 
 and moral improvement, instead of being employed as the 
 chosen means for awakening souls to a concern for salva- 
 tion, and bringing them under the powers of the world to 
 come. 
 
 Mr. Isaac Taylor, in one of his most thoughtful produc- 
 tions, Saturday Evening, a considerable time ago adverted 
 to the tendency of things in the direction now indicated. 
 He stated that, in the case of many an evangelical minister, 
 ' the prime truth of the Scriptures scarcely occupies more 
 than the proportion of one to ten in the gross amount of 
 his public labours. The glory of Christ as the Saviour of 
 men, which should be always as the sun in the heavens, 
 shines only with an astral lustre ; or as one light among 
 others. It is a natural, though not very obvious conse- 
 quence of the intellectual progress which the religious com- 
 munity has made.' In regard also to what is called 
 ifitelledual preaching, he says that it can hardly be made to 
 consist with a bold, simple, and cordial proclamation of the 
 message of mercy. Its fruit, he thinks, will commonly be 
 an obtuse indifference in regard to the most affecting objects 
 of the Christian faith. And he adds, ' The tendency at the 
 present moment of the better informed portions of the 
 religious body towards intelligent frigidity is a grave matter, 
 and one especially which should lead to a reconsideration 
 of our several systems of clerical initiation. The cause of 
 so fatal a practical error should be made known, if the fact 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 49 
 
 be SO, that numbers of those who come forth upon the 
 Church as candidates of the Christian ministry are fraught 
 with all qualifications and all acquirements, rather than 
 fervour and simplicity of spirit in proclaiming the glad 
 tidings of life.' 
 
 The state of things here described, it will readily be 
 understood, had respect to England rather than to Scotland, 
 and to England mainly as represented by the EstabHshed 
 Church. It has prevailed to a considerable extent there for 
 many generations, and is largely owing to that almost exclu- 
 sive regard which in the more highly educated classes, and 
 especially in those who pass through the universities to the 
 Church, is paid to the cultivation of science and classical 
 learning, or to the general refinement of the taste and 
 manners, while special preparation and fitness for official 
 duty are comparatively neglected. It cannot, however, be 
 doubted that, since the remarks just quoted were penned, 
 the tendencies complained of have undergone abatement. 
 In most things, not an insipid frigidity, but life, warmth, 
 activity, have become the order of the day. Even as regards 
 ministerial agency, it has seldom, perhaps, exhibited more of 
 lively and energetic working in England than at the present 
 time ; however much room there may still be in many 
 quarters for improvement, and particularly in regard to the 
 free and earnest proclamation of the gospel. In our corner 
 of the land the change, so far as change can be marked, 
 has manifestly been in the right direction ; in the revival of 
 a more earnest Christianity, and a demand for that kind of 
 preaching which gives its proper prominence to the person 
 and the work of Christ. Still, there are causes in operation 
 which constitute an element of danger. The desire already 
 noticed, the necessity, in a sense, of diversifying the mini- 
 strations of the pulpit, is perhaps the chief one ; but this 
 again is increased by the growing literary character of the 
 age, and the tendency thence arising to assimilate prepara- 
 
150 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 tions for the pulpit too closely in form and style to those of 
 the press ; so that what they gain in elaboration, in correct- 
 ness, in vigour of thought or variety of illustration, they are 
 apt, in the same proportion, to lose in Scriptural simplicity 
 and spiritual power. The grand safeguard here, as in so 
 many other things connected with the ministry of the gospel, 
 lies in the personal faith and devotedness of the pastor. 
 If matters are but right there, they cannot be far wrong in 
 what may be called the very heart and blood of his mini- 
 sterial life. And as in the gospel itself everything is found 
 linked on one side or another to the mediation of Christ, so 
 in his public ministrations he will never want opportunities, 
 whatever may be the particular theme or passage handled, 
 to point the attention of his audience to the central object, 
 and press on their regard what is uppermost in his own, 
 namely, the surpassing love and beauty and preciousness 
 of the Crucified One, and the alone sufficiency of His great 
 salvation. The occasions, indeed, will be very few, if they 
 occur at all ; they will be exceptions to the general tenor of 
 his ministerial labours, in which the people are allowed to 
 depart from the house of God without having had presented 
 to them the essentials of saving doctrine. The Apostle to 
 the Gentiles, in this respect pre-eminently the model of a 
 Christian teacher, amid manifold diversities of subject and 
 object, things present and things to come, never lost sight 
 of his calling to preach the unsearchable riches of Christ, 
 and made the crucified Redeemer the Alpha and the 
 Omega of his testimony to men. 
 
 IV. The principles to be observed in pulpit discourses as to 
 order and arrangement. — Next to the substance of pulpit 
 discourses, or the matter contained in them, comes the con- 
 sideration of its order and arrangement. No absolute and 
 unvarying rule can, of course, be laid down here j for dif- 
 ferent subjects necessarily call for different modes of treat- 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 15 i 
 
 ment as to form or method ; and sometimes what might be 
 best adapted to the mental capacities or acquired habitudes 
 of one person, would prove quite unsuitable to another. 
 At the same time, as there must be an order, so one may- 
 say in general, it should be natural and, as far as possible, 
 textual, which will be found to contribute very materially to 
 the securing of freshness and variety. For it is one of the 
 characteristics of Scripture, that it exhibits great diversity, 
 not merely in respect to the topics contained in it, but also 
 to the very form and manner in which they are presented. 
 And if the text is made the foundation, as well for the par- 
 ticular aspect and relations of the subjects handled as for 
 the leading ideas involved in them, it will be comparatively 
 easy to avoid falling into the same track ; diversities of 
 many kinds will, as a matter of course, come into play. It 
 will be quite otherwise if texts are taken merely as mottoes 
 to head a discourse on some topic connected with Christian 
 faith or practice ; for as often as the same subject returns 
 for consideration, being dissociated from any individual 
 traits or special circumstances, it will naturally present itself 
 in much the same aspect that it did before, and be dis- 
 coursed of much after the same manner. Nor does the 
 result come to be materially different when texts are split, 
 as it were, into fragments, and each part taken as the ground 
 of a separate discourse. For, though this seems in one 
 sense to be making much of the text, in reality it is making 
 little ; since the text, by such a process, necessarily loses its 
 proper individuality, and the several clauses or words of which 
 it is composed are turned into so many mottoes or hints, 
 whereon to raise a discussion on some point of Christian 
 doctrine, or if of a practical nature, on some particular 
 course of duty. The Puritan divines were fond of this 
 method. A single text very commonly became in their 
 hands the introduction to a whole body of divinity, or gave 
 occasion to an entire series of discourses on some branch 
 
152 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 of Christian life or experience. Baxter's Sainfs Rest is a 
 specimen, certainly one of the best specimens, of this kind 
 of sermon writing ; and so also are the more important of 
 Howe's works, his Blessedness of the Righteous, Delighting in 
 God, Living Temple, etc. They all started from an appro- 
 priate text, and by successive discourses from this they grew 
 into considerable treatises. Howe was possessed of a singu- 
 larly rich and elevated cast of mind ; so that he could infuse 
 a measure of freshness and variety into a system that was 
 essentially monotonous, and throw out new thoughts and 
 illustrations even when travelling anew the same paths 
 which had been trodden before. Yet with such a system 
 even he could not avoid frequently repeating himself, as any 
 one may see who will be at the trouble of comparing some 
 of the treatises with each other. He will find not the same 
 subjects merely recurring, but the same line of thought pur- 
 sued regarding them, sometimes also the same figures and 
 images used in illustration of them. To .a congregation, 
 also, it must have been wearisome to hear always the same 
 text announced for consideration, not on one or two con- 
 secutive Sabbaths merely, but for months. The simplicity 
 and freshness of gospel preaching was to a considerable 
 extent lost by such a method ; there was too much seen in 
 it of the hand of man, systematizing and arranging the 
 materials of Scriptural truth and duty.-^ 
 
 In the present day there is comparatively little danger of 
 a return to the Puritan method. But the same method in 
 a sort of reduced form was much followed in Scotland at a 
 greatly later period, and is not yet, perhaps, altogether dis- 
 used. I have myself known persons, much beloved as men, 
 and highly esteemed as preachers, who followed it, though 
 never without a manifest disadvantage, arising from the 
 
 1 It maybe added that the preachers in question endeavoured to com- 
 pensate for the defect mentioned by often introducing texts incidentally, 
 and dwelling on them. Traill was particularly good at that. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 53 
 
 comparatively little scope it afforded for the introduction of 
 the expository element, and the difficulty it presented of 
 avoiding an ever-recurring sameness. According to this 
 plan of discourse, a text is taken embracing two or three 
 principal words or ideas ; and, instead of these being viewed 
 in their mutual connection, and discussed with reference to 
 the leading object in the eye of the sacred penman at the 
 time, they are taken apart, and made each the subject of a 
 separate discourse. For example, such a text as Eph. ii. 8, 
 * By grace are ye saved through faith,' would not be treated 
 in its obvious unity as a declaration of the fact that the 
 salvation of the gospel has its origin in the free grace of 
 God, and in consequence must be received by men in faith 
 as a gift from above. It would be divided into three dis- 
 tinct parts : the first comprising what is meant by the term 
 salvation, the second what is to be understood by the word 
 grace, and the third the relation between faith and salvation 
 that is by grace. No doubt, by such a piecemeal treatment 
 everything that is in the verse might be fully brought out ; 
 but a great deal also that is not even incidentally found in 
 it would almost certainly be brought into consideration ; 
 and a vein of thought would inevitably be pursued, which 
 as a matter of course would be resumed when other texts 
 were chosen in which the same terms occurred. Thus, if 
 Heb. ii. 3, ' How shall we escape, if we neglect so great sal- 
 vation ?' were selected, and treated after the like fashion, 
 we should necessarily again have the import of salvation 
 discussed ; this would form, as before, the subject of one 
 discourse, and the thoughts presented in connection with 
 it could not deviate much from the previous track. Of this 
 style of preaching Dr. Campbell, with some justice, though 
 not without a measure of exaggeration, said that those who 
 followed it, a good many undoubtedly in his day, had in a 
 manner but one sermon. ' The form, the mould, into which 
 it was cast was different according to the different texts, 
 
154 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 but the matter was altogether the same. You had invari- 
 ably the preacher's whole system — original sin, the incarna- 
 tion, the satisfaction, election, imputed righteousness, justi- 
 fication, and so forth.' He adds, that the preachers after 
 this plan very slightly touched upon the duties which the 
 Christian religion requires ; evidently intending by the re- 
 mark to convey a censure on the evangelical preaching of 
 his day, as improperly negligent of the practical bearing of 
 Christianity ; for there can be no doubt that it was the more 
 evangelical portion of the ministers in Scotland who in 
 Campbell's time preached in the manner indicated by him. 
 But it never was true of that party as a class that they were 
 remiss in enforcing the moral obligations of the gospel, and 
 it was true beyond contradiction that the parishes in which 
 they ministered contained much more both of religion and 
 morality than those where a different sort of preaching 
 prevailed. With so cumbrous and formal a style of dis- 
 course, however, it may readily be supposed that the space 
 for practical instruction would often be unduly limited ; 
 and they would also probably be influenced to a consi- 
 derable extent by the conviction, that the truth itself had 
 only to be received aright to bring forth the fruits of right- 
 eousness. 
 
 But to revert to the subject itself, with the view of ensur- 
 ing a natural and interesting variety in the exhibition of 
 gospel truth, and also of connecting that exhibition in the 
 minds of the people with the very terms of its announce- 
 ment in Scripture, it is of importance that the text be really 
 taken as the guide, in some way, to the order and method 
 of treatment, as well as to the subject itself which it suggests 
 for consideration. In order to this, it will, of course, be 
 necessary to view the matter contained in it, not so much 
 in its general and absolute character, as in its relative bear- 
 ing and connection of parts ; and to regard some as primary, 
 and others as subordinate, not with respect to what they 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 155 
 
 may be in themselves, but in respect to the statement made 
 concerning them in the particular text, and with an eye to 
 its more definite scope. Thus in the text just referred to, 
 * By grace are ye saved through faith,' it is not salvation 
 generally, or in its entire compass, that we are called to 
 consider, nor faith in all its acts and operations. The more 
 special object of the declaration is the gratuitous character 
 of salvation, as being of grace on the part of God, in con- 
 tradistinction to all that can be called works or merit on the 
 part of man ; and as the necessary counterpart of this, its 
 connection with the recipiency of faith in them who actually 
 experience it. A discourse founded on such a text, after 
 some preliminary statements, including perhaps, in order to 
 prevent all ambiguity, a brief explanation of the terms grace 
 and salvation^ should manifestly have for its leading theme 
 the gratuitous nature of salvation ; which might be exhibited, 
 first, in regard to the provision of salvation through the 
 mission and work of Christ, the objective aspect of it ; then, 
 secondly, in regard to its appropriation by the soul through 
 the effectual agency of the Holy Spirit, the subjective aspect; 
 and from this may be shown, thirdly, the correspondence 
 between a salvation so provided and so administered on 
 the part of God, and the exercise of faith on ours, so as to 
 bring out clearly the principle, if by grace, then of necessity 
 by faith. And so in general, respect should commonly be 
 had to the particular aspect in which the facts or ideas are 
 presented in the text, and to the relation of greater or less 
 prominence in which they stand one to another. 
 
 It is to be understood that these are only general direc- 
 tions, not by any means to be converted into rules of 
 stringent uniformity. The Christian minister is under no im- 
 perative obligation to take the precise aspect and order of the 
 subject presented in the text as his own. He may chalk out 
 in this respect a path for himself, if some particular mode 
 of treatment has commended itself to his mind. Especially 
 
156 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 he may do so when he is dealing with matters of a somewhat 
 general nature, and on which the testimony of a specific 
 text is less pecuHarly needed ; in such a case, if a particular 
 line of reflection has suggested itself to him as the best for 
 his purpose, it were undoubtedly wise to follow it. Yet I 
 would rather that this formed the exception than the rule ; 
 that for the most part discourses were thrown into a textual 
 form, the more so, as such a method tends to preserve a 
 habitual and reverent regard to Scripture, as the fountain 
 of all spiritual truth and instruction, while it cherishes the 
 feehng that the preacher is not so properly declaring his 
 own mind, as expounding and setting forth the mind of 
 God. He will thus be able to work into men's thoughts, 
 not the truth of God merely, but the very word in which 
 that truth is embalmed. And it is this word of the living 
 God which in all the more anxious and stirring movements 
 of the soul is the great thing, the true germinating seed ; as 
 was well noticed by the acute and pious Haly burton in one 
 of his later sayings, ' It is remarkable,' said he, 'that though 
 God may make use of the words of man in letting into the 
 meaning of Scripture, yet it is the very word of Scripture 
 whereby He ordinarily conveys the comfort, or advantage 
 of whatever sort ; it is the tool of God's own framing that 
 works the effect' The history of genuine revivals, and in- 
 deed the private records of every ministry which has been 
 much blessed for good, afford constant illustrations of this. 
 And as it is the peculiar advantage of preaching above all 
 other kinds of public speaking, and the main secret of its 
 strength, that as it has the word of God to handle and apply, 
 so it should be the aim of every preacher — the very method 
 he employs should show it to be his aim — to do honour to 
 this word, and secure for its utterances an enduring place in 
 the minds of his auditors. 
 
 The whole, however, is by no means settled as to the 
 order and arrangement of discourses when it is admitted, 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 57 
 
 that as far as possible there should be an adherence to the 
 course of thought indicated in the text itself For, with this 
 general understanding, different persons might still pursue 
 very different paths ; by one the ideas proper to the subject 
 might be exhibited in a clear, exact, and logical method ; 
 while, in the hands of another, the same ideas might be so 
 exhibited as to embarrass rather than assist the memory, and 
 disturb the natural sequence and connection of thought. 
 There are preachers who seem always to be speaking to 
 the text, and yet make no satisfactory progress in its eluci- 
 dation ; often, it may be, uttering suitable or even profound 
 thoughts, but in so loose or discursive a manner, that it is 
 scarcely possible to retain any very distinct recollection of 
 what has been said. And there are others who have a 
 method, and a method, too, based upon the text, who yet 
 fail to present their thoughts in that natural progression, 
 that dependence of part upon part, which is necessary to 
 sustain attention, and leave a definite impression of the 
 course of inquiry or reflection on the memory. It was, no 
 doubt, the differences observable in this respect, and the 
 great importance of having the train of thought rightly ad- 
 justed, that led Herder to say, ' I easily pardon all defects 
 except those of arrangement' He meant, that defects of 
 this kind were more fatal, because they were like an organic 
 disorder in the system ; they struck the whole discourse with 
 feebleness, or involved it in confusion ; while others belong- 
 ing to the execution would affect it only in particular parts, 
 and might admit to some extent of compensation. 
 
 It is very justly said also by Vinet^ upon this point, that a 
 proper arrangement ' not only throws aside that which wan- 
 ders from the unity of the subject, but assists also in finding 
 everything which is included in the subject. Many things 
 which we had not previously seen are then discovered ; 
 many lines of thought are finished, many intervals are filled 
 1 Ho?7iiletics, p. 234. 
 
158 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 up. It is the same with order in the arrangement of a sub- 
 ject as with economy in that of a fortune ; it enriches. 
 Besides, arrangement gives or restores to each of the ele- 
 ments of which the subject is composed its real importance. 
 Sometimes in separating ideas which were at first view con- 
 founded together ; sometimes in grouping what appeared 
 separate, in managing contrasts, relations, subjects, or 
 comparison, and luminous reflections of one idea upon 
 another, we give to each of these ideas a new and unfore- 
 seen value.' 
 
 But when we have said this, we have said nearly all that 
 can be done in a general way. Subjects of discourse differ 
 so much, and so many diversities also exist in men's in- 
 dividual tendencies and habits of thought, that minute and 
 stereotyped prescriptions would be entirely out of place. It 
 is wiser to follow the discretion and judgment of Quinctilian, 
 who, at the commencement of his Book vii., when he 
 comes to speak of the arrangement that ought to be adopted 
 in forensic discourses, abstains from laying down specific 
 directions for every orator and every subject. He merely 
 states that there ought always to be a divisio, a breaking up 
 of the whole matter into distinct portions ; a pariitio, that 
 is, a fitting and orderly collocation of those portions, so as 
 to connect properly together those that precede and those 
 that follow j and a disposition or a right distribution of topics 
 and ideas to their several heads. But he immediately adds, 
 that it may be expedient often to take difi"erent modes in 
 carrying one's plan into execution, and points in proof to 
 the two great speeches of ^schines and Demosthenes, in 
 which, while both treating of one subject, and both admir- 
 able in their respective kinds, a precisely reverse order was 
 followed. The accuser, ^schines, began with the question 
 of right or law, where his strength lay ; the defender, De- 
 mosthenes, on the other hand, skilfully introduced all other 
 things which seemed to favour his position first, and left the 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 59 
 
 question of law to the last, when he had already won the 
 favourable opinion of his judges. In reference to discourses 
 for the pulpit, I would say first, that there should always be 
 some clear and definite arrangement of the subject in the 
 mind of the preacher, such as to admit of its being handled 
 in so many distinct and regularly distributed portions. No 
 matter whether it be an arrangement which has been 
 adopted or might suggest itself to others or not, let it only 
 be one that commends itself to the preacher's own mind as 
 fit and proper. Secondly, it ought to be of such a nature 
 that he can present it to the view of his hearers in a way 
 they can readily apprehend ; therefore an order that does 
 not turn upon minute and shadowy distinctions, and is 
 neither very meagre on the one side nor very prolix and 
 complicated on the other. And, finally, it should be an 
 order which exhibits some principle, not merely of connec- 
 tion, but also of progression ; so that there may be room for 
 the preacher's own mind growing, as it proceeds, in some 
 quaUty of thought or feeling, and room also for the minds 
 of the audience enjoying the interest of a conscious ad- 
 vancement. The interest will inevitably flag on the part 
 both of speaker and of hearer if there is no sensible progress 
 in some definite line ; or if, in a later division of the subject, 
 there is a coming back again upon ground which has been 
 already traversed in an earlier. Whatever the precise line 
 thus marked out may be, whether it proceed from the more 
 general to the more particular, or from the particular to the 
 general; from cause to effect, or from effect to cause ; from 
 doctrine to duty, or from duty to doctrine ; whatever it be, 
 there should, if possible, be some easily recognised pro- 
 gression, such as may enable speaker and hearer alike to 
 feel that they are not standing still or moving in a circle, 
 but proceeding from one stage to another, in a course of 
 spiritual contemplation or rational inquiry. 
 
 These plain directions may suffice for ordinary cases. 
 
l6o THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 But it should be ever borne in mind that nothing here can 
 be done, as it should be done, exactly to order ; that no 
 rules or prescriptions as to method can save the preacher 
 who would succeed in the proper treatment of his subjects 
 from thinking out his own plan, and adjusting the materials 
 of discourse for himself. He may fitly enough take hints ; 
 occasionally, may even adopt an order which he knows to 
 have been struck out by another ; but even then he must by 
 personal effort make it his own. And if to save himself 
 from such labour he should make a practice of resorting to 
 skeletons and outlines, he may rest assured that his dis- 
 courses will also retain not a little of the skeleton character ; 
 they will not have much about them of the warmth of flesh 
 and blood. ^ 
 
 I only add further, that while an order and a division 
 also should commonly be adopted, it does not follow that 
 this should always be formally announced. Usually, I think, 
 it should be so, as people naturally desire to know, when 
 going to be addressed at some length, what is the series of 
 topics likely to be brought under consideration. But a tame, 
 mechanical uniformity is to be avoided. Sometimes the 
 interest may be best sustained, and the sense of novelty 
 
 I I have mentioned only one objection to the general use of such helps ; 
 but undoubtedly it is also objectionable, as Dr. Shedd urges, on the 
 score of morality ; not quite to the same extent that abstracting whole 
 sermons is, yet in a measure. 'A preacher ought to be an honest 
 man throughout. Sincerity, godly sincerity, should characterize him 
 intellectually as well as morally. His plans ought to be the genuine 
 work of his own brain. Not that he may not, at times, present a plan 
 and train of thought similar to those of other minds ; but he ought not 
 to know of it at the time. Such coincidences ought to be undesigned, 
 the result of two minds working upon a similar or the same subject, 
 each in an independent way, and with no intercommunication. Then 
 the product belongs to both alike ; and the coincidence results from the 
 common nature of truth and the common structure of the human mind, 
 and not from a sei-vile copying of one mind by another, ' — Homiletics, 
 p. 105. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. l6l 
 
 gratified, by simply announcing as they arise the successive 
 heads of discourse ; while the memory of the hearers may 
 be assisted by a brief recapitulation of the particulars near 
 the close.^ 
 
 V. The scope that may justly be allowed in pj-eaching to the 
 individual traits and characteristics of the preacher. — It is a 
 question of some moment, especially as regards the structure 
 and composition of discourses, what scope should be allowed 
 to the preacher in the indulgence of any tastes, tendencies, 
 or habitudes of thought that may more peculiarly distinguish 
 him ? Should he, as a preacher of the gospel, endeavour to 
 
 ^ Sensible and good directions, though somewhat brief, and, as far as 
 they go, coinciding with what has been said above on the structure and 
 method of discourses, may be seen in the Directory for Public Worship. 
 For example, ' In analyzing and dividing his text, he is to regard more 
 the order of matter than of words ; and neither to burden the memory 
 of the hearers in the beginning with too many members of division, nor 
 to trouble their minds with obscure terms of art. In raising doctrines 
 from the text, his care ought to be, first, that the matter be the truth of 
 God ; secondly, that it be a truth contained in or grounded on that 
 text, that the hearers may discern how God teacheth it from thence ; 
 thirdly, that he chiefly insist on those doctrines which are principally 
 intended, and make most for the edification of his hearers. The doc- 
 trine is to be expressed in plain terms ; or if anything in it need ex- 
 planation, it is to be opened, and the consequence also from the text 
 cleared. The parallel places of Scripture confirming the doctrine are 
 rather to be plain and pertinent than many, and, if need be, somewhat 
 insisted upon and applied to the purpose in hand. The arguments or 
 reasons are to be solid, and, as much as may be, convincing. The 
 illustrations of what kind soever ought to be full of light, and such as 
 may convey the truth into the hearer's heart with spiritual delight. If 
 any doubt, obvious from Scripture, reason, or prejudice of the hearers 
 seem to arise, it is very requisite to remove it, by reconciling the seem- 
 ing differences, answering the reasons, and discovering and taking away 
 the causes of prejudice and mistake. Otherwise, it is not fit to detain 
 the hearers with propounding or answering vain or wicked cavils, which, 
 as they are endless, so the propounding and answering of them doth 
 more hinder than promote edification.' 
 
 L 
 
1 62 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 suppress these ? Or, should he here also give them free 
 scope, and let them impart their full impress to the form 
 in which he presents the great theme of salvation to his 
 fellow-men ? It is much more easy to put such questions 
 than to answer them. But, in the general, I would say, 
 that within certain limits, in the exercise of what may be 
 called a decent and regulated freedom, it is perfectly allow- 
 able to give play to individual powers and susceptibilities, 
 to the qualities which distinguish one man's mind from 
 another ; and that it may even be for the advantage of the 
 work in hand, may tend to the more effective ministration 
 of the word, if that measure of freedom is exercised by the 
 preacher. 
 
 There is a general principle here which is of wide appli- 
 cation to the relations and interests of the gospel ; and it 
 may not be out of place to make a few remarks on its more 
 extended bearing, before considering how it applies to the 
 specific subject of pulpit ministrations. We may the rather 
 do so, as it is the natural tendency of the prelections and 
 training of an academical course to aim at the production 
 of attainments which lie within the reach of all who are 
 possessed of respectable parts, rather than at the cultivation 
 of peculiar powers, and the exhibition of distinctive excel- 
 lences. A common education in theology, as well as other 
 branches of learning and study, necessarily makes account 
 of powers and attainments which the subjects of it have, or 
 may have, in common with each other, not of those in which 
 they mutually differ ; it aims at establishing, as far as pos- 
 sible^ a sort of community of acquirement and fitness for 
 work. This is manifestly unavoidable ; no theological train- 
 ing could succeed in its objects without looking thus at the 
 general agreements more than at the specific and divergent 
 tendencies of the minds subjected to its influence. And, 
 indeed, it is requisite for the safe and profitable develop- 
 ment, in due time, of what is special and peculiar to each. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 63 
 
 For it is a great principle, pervading all the departments of 
 nature, and needful to be borne in mind by those who would 
 attain to eminence in anything for which they may have 
 even a particular aptitude, that as there is nothing general 
 which does not also possess something individual, so there 
 is nothing individual but what springs from, or has its points 
 of contact with, the general. Whatever may distinguish one 
 mind from another in its powers and tendencies, its veins of 
 thought or emotional actings, — if it be simply an exercise or 
 development of what nature has given, not a diseased and 
 morbid affection, it will always find a measure of corre- 
 spondence in other minds, something, however inferior in 
 strength, to sympathize with it and respond to it. 
 
 It is well that this should be fully known and considered 
 by those who are called by their position and aims in life 
 not only to acquire a certain distinction for literary gifts and 
 attainments, but also to possess the power of influencing the 
 judgments and moving the hearts of others. As such, they 
 must stand above, and yet be on a footing with, those they 
 have to deal with ; they must have certain things peculiarly 
 their own, and yet through these find access to the common 
 understandings and bosoms of their fellow-men; and this they 
 can only do by abstaining from all vicious excess, or by so 
 cultivating the particular and distinctive elements in their 
 mental constitution, as to prevent them from running into dis- 
 cordance with what is general. ' One touch of nature,' one 
 great poet has said, 'makes the whole world kin;' it does so 
 even though the touch be in itself of a peculiar kind, though 
 it carry a very distinctive impress from the hand that gives 
 it ; yet, being a touch of Jiature, conveying a genuine throb 
 of feeling from one human bosom to another, it cannot but 
 awaken a hearty response. On this ground a great German 
 authority, the greatest, indeed, in matters of this description 
 (Goethe), said to a youthful disciple (Eckermann), ' You 
 need not fear lest what is peculiar should want sympathy. 
 
164 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 Each character, however pecuHar it maybe, and each object 
 which you represent, from the stone up to man, has gene- 
 rahty ; for there is repetition everywhere, and there is 
 nothing to be found once in the world.' Nothing, we must 
 understand him to mean, in its fundamental elements ; 
 these are not found once merely anywhere, but are repeated 
 in all objects of the same kind, while still in every particular 
 object they have their specific combination and their cha- 
 racteristic development. So that if there should be in any 
 writer or public speaker some preponderating talent or bias 
 which is allowed to grow into a marked characteristic, it 
 may be done, not only without the risk of his thereby losing 
 hold of the sympathies of his fellow-men, but even with the 
 effect of securing for him a firmer and deeper hold of them 
 than might otherwise have been possible. For such is the 
 constitution of the human mind, that so long as the indi- 
 vidual characteristics of thought and feeling root themselves 
 in the general, their very individuality gives them a freshness 
 and power, it wins for them a sway over our hearts which 
 an undistinguished flatness and generahty never can com 
 mand. We are touched by the greater strength and pro- 
 minence of that of which we are ourselves not altogether 
 unconscious ; touched the more, as we see it working with a 
 buoyant force and energy, far beyond anything of which 
 we know ourselves to be capable. 
 
 The most eminent example of this in the religious sphere 
 is Christ, viewed simply as the great teacher of the world ; 
 since, appearing as He did in an age and generation re- 
 markable for their commonplace, one might almost say 
 their effete character, there yet is in His manner of teaching, 
 alike in respect to meaning and form, the expression of an 
 individuality so marked, that nothing similar to it has ever 
 again appeared among men. Yet nowhere can we find words 
 that are in such general accord with the heart of humanity, 
 words that reach so far and pierce so deep ; the power of 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 165 
 
 which is felt equally among high and low, by the man of 
 profound culture as by the unlettered peasant. What a 
 depth was there in His look into nature ! In His revela- 
 tions, what a disclosure of the mind and purposes of Heaven ! 
 Yet, withal, what a transparent simplicity in the one ! And 
 in the other, what profound agreement with the better 
 cravings and convictions of the enlightened reason ! Among 
 the leading apostles, also, you see a measure of the same 
 striking but genuine idiosyncrasies ; each giving indication, 
 in his own particular way, of characteristic peculiarities of 
 thought and feeling ; but along with these combining so 
 much of simplicity and naturalness, that all who read their 
 productions in a right spirit feel in unison with them, as if 
 there were the answering of heart to heart ; and this even 
 in regard to the more peculiar parts of their writings. I 
 should never, perhaps, myself have thought, if discoursing 
 of the propriety of that retired demeanour which becomes 
 the modesty of women, of connecting it with their length- 
 ened tresses and overshadowing veils ; and these again 
 with their original formation out of man, and the place they 
 were from the first destined to hold in society. I might 
 have wanted the spiritual insight and delicacy of perception 
 to see in such things nature's signs and witnesses to the fit 
 position and proper bearing of woman. But when presented 
 as they are by the Apostle Paul in his First Epistle to the 
 Corinthians, I am quite ready to enter into their spirit, and 
 recognise their suitableness. I am sensible that they have 
 a foundation in nature ; and he who acts for me as nature's 
 interpreter in the matter, applies in doing so a touch that 
 makes me kin to him. 
 
 When speaking thus of nature, I am not to be under- 
 stood as meaning that all here is simply of nature, as in 
 the case of the poet, the artist, or the orator. In the 
 sacred writers primarily, and then also in those who at any 
 period have to discourse of divine things, a higher element 
 
1 66 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 comes into play ; one by which nature is raised above itself, 
 and sanctified to do service to God. Yet nature, let it be 
 remembered, is not dissolved by this higher element; and no 
 more dissolved in its separate individuality than in its general 
 powers and properties. Every distinctive bent or original 
 impulse of nature may still have its free and genial exercise, 
 only elevated in its aim, hallowed in its forms of mani- 
 festation, by the baptism it has received into the spirit of 
 truth and holiness. When so baptized, it is not lost, but 
 renovated, and made capable of loftier aspirations and more 
 energetic movements. 
 
 One has only to reflect how it is with the common run of 
 behevers. Of those who become, through the reception of 
 the truth, sincere and earnest followers of the Lord Jesus 
 Christ, a very large proportion are, no doubt, persons of 
 quite ordinary minds, without any remarkable natural charac- 
 teristic, either as to capacity for thought, sensibility of heart, 
 or strength of will ; bearing, indeed, no very marked individu- 
 ality in any respect. But from the moment they come under 
 the power of divine truth, and are made partakers of the 
 gift of God, this itself stamps them with an individuality ; 
 it quickens into action powers and motions which were 
 latent before ; in one prominent direction their mind acquires 
 a determined bent ; and instead of the original tameness 
 and insipidity which was wont to appear in their general 
 tone of thought and feeling, there is now an intelligence, a 
 discernment, an application of the right and good, some- 
 times even an elevation of spirit and strength of devoted- 
 ness, which throw around their state and character a well- 
 defined and estimable personality. Still more will such an 
 effect of vital Christianity be perceptible in any one if he 
 should be distinguished by any of the larger gifts of nature, 
 whatever may be its precise character; whether it may hold 
 more directly of the reason, the imagination, the emotions, 
 or the will, the more thoroughly it becomes imbued with the 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 67 
 
 spirit of the gospel, and is directed into the channels of 
 Christian worth and usefulness, the more will it acquire, so 
 to speak, its proper set, and work to the production of im- 
 portant results. 
 
 Now it is the same thing, only in a higher degree and 
 more conspicuously displayed, which often discovers itself 
 with the more eminent preachers of the gospel, in their 
 more impressive and memorable utterances. In listening 
 to these, nothing perhaps strikes us more than the seeming 
 naturalness of what is spoken, and its fitness and force for 
 the occasion, although it may be such as would probably 
 never have occurred to ourselves, or if in substance it had 
 occurred, would not have been thrown into the touching or 
 impressive form that it has assumed in the speaker's hands. 
 Take the following, for example, from F. Robertson, as 
 illustrative of the unexpectedness coupled with the cer- 
 tainty of the Second Advent :^ ' Every judgment coming of 
 Christ is as the springing of a mine. There is a moment of 
 deep suspense after the match has been applied to the fuse 
 which is to fire the train. Men stand at a distance and 
 hold their breath. There is nothing seen but a thin, small 
 column of white smoke, rising fainter and fainter, till it 
 seems to die away. Then men breathe again . . . [but 
 presently] the low, deep thunder sends up the column of 
 earth majestically to heaven, and all that was on it comes 
 crashing down again in its far circle, shattered and blackened 
 with the blast. It is so with this world. By God's word 
 the world is doomed. The moment the suspense is past. 
 . . . We have fallen upon days of scepticism. There are 
 no signs of ruin yet. We tread upon it fike a solid thing 
 fortified by its adamantine hills for ever. There is nothing 
 against that but a few words in a printed book. But the 
 world is ruined ; and the spark has fallen ; and just at the 
 moment when serenity is at its height, " the heavens shall 
 ^ First Series of Ser. p. 177. 
 
1 68 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt 
 with fervent heat, and the feet of the Avenger shall stand 
 on the earth." ' 
 
 Or, to take an example which carries with it a still more 
 marked individuality, what a service does imagination render 
 to the moral energy and fervid reasoning of Dr. Chalmers, 
 not only in his astronomical discourses, but also when hand- 
 ling a much commoner theme, the utility of missions ! He 
 is combating the objections raised against them by the 
 worldly-minded and unbelieving, and in doing so appeals 
 to the effects which had been accomplished by means of 
 them on the moral and religious aspect of the Highlands of 
 Scotland. ' What would they have been at this moment,' 
 he asks, ' had schools, and Bibles, and ministers been kept 
 back from them, and had the man of a century ago been 
 deterred by the flippancies of the present age from the work 
 of planting chapels and seminaries in that neglected land ? 
 The ferocity of their ancestors would have come down, un- 
 softened and unsubdued, to the existing generation. The 
 darkening spirit of hostility would still have lowered upon 
 us from the north, and these plains, now so peaceful and so 
 happy, would have lain open to the fury of merciless inva- 
 ders. O ye soft and sentimental travellers, who wander so 
 securely over this romantic land, you are right to choose the 
 season when the angry elements of nature are asleep. But 
 what is it that has charmed to their long repose the more 
 dreadful elements of human passion and of human injustice? 
 What is it that has quelled the boisterous spirit of her 
 natives ? And while her torrents roar as fiercely, and her 
 mountain brows look as grimly as ever, what is it that has 
 thrown so softening an influence over the minds and manners 
 of her living population?' Here a vivid imagination lends a 
 most effectual aid to the reason, and, as by a sudden blaze 
 let in from a higher region, flashes such conviction on the 
 mind as might well shame to silence all further opposition. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 69 
 
 But a Still higher service was exacted of this faculty 
 when Robert Hall, at the close of his wonderful sermon on 
 *The sentiments proper to the present crisis/ the crisis, 
 namely, of 1803, when the country was preparing to plunge 
 into a most formidable war with Bonaparte, after having 
 wound up his hearers to the loftiest pitch of excitement in 
 respect to the necessity and justice of the impending 
 struggle, referred to the virtuous heroes, legislators, and 
 patriots of every age and country, as bending from their 
 elevated seats to witness the contest, as if they were incap- 
 able of enjoying their repose till they saw the matter brought 
 to a favourable issue. And then, apostrophizing those de- 
 parted worthies as actually present, he exclaimed, ' Enjoy 
 that repose, illustrious immortals ! Your mantle fell when 
 you ascended ; and thousands, influenced with your spirit, 
 and impatient to tread in your steps, are ready to swear by 
 Him that sitteth upon the throne, and liveth for ever and 
 ever, they will protect freedom in her last asylum, and never 
 desert that cause which you sustained by your labours, and 
 cemented with your blood.' 
 
 A personification and appeal like this reached the very 
 borders of that licence which must be allowed to imagina- 
 tion in the pulpit, and could only have been conceived and 
 executed with the least prospect of success by one in whom 
 the imagining faculty itself was strong, and by him only if 
 he had wrought up his audience by previous descriptions 
 and appeals to somewhat of the same rapt fervour with him- 
 self He certainly had done so ; they were at the moment 
 like persons carried out of themselves, borne along by an 
 impetuous torrent to think as the preacher thought, and feel 
 as he felt. Such, too, is reported to have been the case 
 in a closely similar example of Whitfield's preaching, one 
 characterized by the boldest flight of imagination he is 
 known to have attempted, when toward the conclusion of a 
 fervid discourse, throughout which his soul had been, as it 
 
lyo THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 were, on fire with zeal and love for the conversion of sinners, 
 he demanded of his audience what account attending 
 angels should carry to heaven of the tidings and invitations 
 he had been addressing to them ; and as if afraid that the 
 account should be prematurely closed, nay, as if actually 
 seeing the heavenly messenger already on the wing, sud- 
 denly broke out with an imploring cry to Gabriel to stop, 
 that a few more sinners might have time to send on high 
 the news of their blessed return to God, and then with 
 increased fervour briefly reiterated his appeals to the hearts 
 and consciences of his auditors. 
 
 By all accounts the effort in this case also was successful ; 
 the impression upon the audience was in the highest degree 
 powerful and solemn ; but it could only have been so by 
 preacher and audience alike having risen, through what 
 went before, to a kind of enchanted ground, so as to have 
 lost sight, in a manner, of the distinction between the visible 
 and the invisible, the angelic and the human. Such things 
 defy all imitation ; and those who would attempt to repro- 
 duce them (as in respect to this flight of Whitfield I have 
 known a very common-place preacher do in a village con- 
 gregation), only succeed in making themselves ridiculous. 
 Peculiarities of any kind, and peculiarities of a far less 
 marked description than those just referred to in connec- 
 tion with the imagination, can only appear natural, and 
 strike a sympathetic chord in the breasts of others when 
 they spring forth as from their native soil, and seem to 
 blossom in the proper time and place. They must proceed 
 from the cultivation of a real talent, not from the artificial 
 search after what is unusual, or the vain attempt to wield on 
 an occasion a giant's weapons. This can produce nothing 
 great or good, and is sure to run out into grotesque forms, 
 or explode in fanciful conceits. Here, above all, simplicity, 
 genuine and unaffected, is requisite, showing itself in a 
 determination to use only what is properly one's own, to 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 171 
 
 appear to have just what is actually possessed, and to feel 
 what is really felt. In so far as this is done, even though 
 the talent exercised may not be of the highest kind, yet 
 being a reality, and not an affectation, having its foundation 
 in nature, not assumed for a purpose, its manifestation will 
 always meet with some response, and will succeed greatly 
 better than any pretension could do in a higher line of 
 things. For not only does nothing grow by mere imitation 
 {iiihil crescit sola imitatione — Qitifict.), but the mind that 
 makes the attempt to grow after that fashion is perpetually 
 in danger of shooting into wrong directions, forcing itself 
 into forbidden paths, and betaking to appliances which only 
 create a recoil. 
 
 It is therefore very justly said by Vinet,i ' that while art 
 in a sense is one, it is not so in all senses ; it multiplies itself 
 with individuals ; it individualizes itself in each. The ques- 
 tion which will one day place itself before you will not be, 
 What ought one to do ? but, What ought / to do ? In this 
 preparatory period oratorical discourse may appear to you 
 as the object ; in the active labours of the ministry, it will 
 only be one means of attaining an actual object on occasions 
 which will actually resemble no other. The professor you 
 hear, the rhetorician you read or listen to, cannot make 
 that rhetoric individual to you. Every one must do so for 
 himself. It is not meant by this that each must have all, as 
 it were, within himself; that he must be indebted for nothing 
 to others, copying after nothing wherein others have ex- 
 celled, lest he should be chargeable with a vicious or feeble 
 imitation. No ; he should indeed beware of imitating in 
 others what could not come naturally to himself, and should 
 not even be partially influenced by the thought or manner 
 of another without being at pains to assimilate it to himself. 
 For if the things which proceed from his lips are to become 
 a power in the hearts of others, they must first have struck 
 1 Homiletics, p. 25. 
 
172 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 their roots into his own spiritual being; they must teem 
 and germinate within him, and mingle with the essence of 
 his spirit ; and must shape themselves into a new original 
 growth.' 
 
 But with this caution, on the one side, against a too close 
 approximation to others, especially in regard to what is 
 somewhat peculiar to themselves, there is undoubtedly a 
 legitimate benefit, on the other, to be derived from the 
 study of the best models in those particular gifts and 
 attainments wherein each most notably excels. Those, for 
 example, who have comparatively little imagination, may 
 have that little stimulated and improved by famiharity with 
 the productions of those who have been distinguished for 
 the large possession and happy use of the faculty. The 
 man of discursive tendencies, apt to ramble in his cogita- 
 tions and string his ideas somewhat loosely together, may 
 have his reasoning powers strengthened, and his capacity 
 for discoursing profitably on divine things increased by 
 making a special study of such works as are remarkable for 
 the lucid order and the argumentative skill they exhibit in 
 the treatment of their respective subjects. And, in like 
 manner, the man of dry intellect, or plain solid sense, may 
 catch some inspiration of a livelier kind by sitting at the 
 feet of those who are masters in the popular modes of 
 address by means of touching allusions to Bible story, 
 appropriate illustrations from the field of nature, or the 
 incidents of every-day life. Though not destined to excel 
 in such arts, yet he may acquire a certain facility in the use 
 of them. 
 
 In regard to the persons themselves who are possessed 
 naturally of some marked mental characteristic, the chief 
 caution to be exercised is to beware of running to excess, 
 indulging the special and peculiar, till, from forming an 
 attractive distinction, and being an element of power, it 
 becomes a sort of excrescence, which by its undue prepon- 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. I 73 
 
 derance hinders the proper action of other faculties of the 
 mind, or by its eccentricities serves rather to tickle people's 
 fancies than promote their edification. A tendency to 
 pathos, for example, may be developed to the hurtful 
 neglect of the manly exercise of reason, and the nursing of 
 a comparatively weak, mawkish, sentimental piety. The 
 simply intellectaal and logical powers, on the other hand, 
 may be allowed to carry it so completely over the sympa- 
 thetic and emotional, that the discourse shall become little 
 more than a fine speculation or a well-reasoned argument, 
 with something, possibly, to instruct or convince, but nothing 
 to quicken or arouse, nothing to satisfy the spiritual appetite 
 with the food it naturally desires and longs for. But more 
 than either of these, or indeed than any other prominent 
 characteristic, is the danger, in the present day, of letting 
 loose the imagination, where this faculty exists in pecuHar 
 strength, by a profusion of images, or multiplying unduly 
 pictorial representations. A power of this kind is undoubtedly 
 a great advantage to a preacher. It enables him to bring to 
 his hand a ready supply of the imagery which charms by its 
 beauty, or interests and instructs by its fresh combinations 
 and striking analogies. But on this very account it is ex- 
 tremely apt to assume an undue prominence in the structure 
 of the discourse, and even to lose, in a measure, its proper 
 character, to pass from a means to an end. Whenever the 
 preacher gUdes into this excess, he may be said to have 
 drifted from his mooring, he is but dallying with his theme. 
 ' For every one must recollect,' as is well said by Mr. H. 
 Rogers,^ ' that if a speaker is in earnest he never employs 
 his imagination, as the poet does, merely to delight us ; nor, 
 indeed, to delight us at all, except as appropriate imagery, 
 though used for another object, necessarily imparts pleasure. 
 For this reason illustrations are selected always with a refer- 
 ence to their force rather than their beauty, and are very 
 ^ Essay on Sacred Eloquence. 
 
174 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 generally marked more by their homely propriety than by 
 their grace and elegance. For the same reason, wherever it 
 is possible, they are thrown into the brief form of metaphor; 
 and here Aristotle, with his usual sagacity, observes, that 
 the metaphor is the only trope in which the orator may 
 freely indulge. Everything marks the man intent on serious 
 business, whose sole anxiety is to convey his meaning with 
 as much precision and energy as possible to the minds of his 
 auditors.' Mr. Rogers therefore wisely cautions preachers, 
 and especially young preachers of imaginative powers, 
 against throwing in epithets and employing images merely 
 because he thinks them beautiful. ^ As regards real impres- 
 sion, there is no style which has so little practical effect, 
 even when there is real genius in it. The admiration which 
 it so commonly awakens, but shows that the minds of the 
 auditors are fixed rather upon the man than upon the subject; 
 less upon the truths inculcated than upon the genius which 
 has embellished them. The speaker has but succeeded in 
 attracting the eye upon himself and his power of discourse, 
 but it is a success won at the expense of what is his avowed, 
 and ever ought to be his real object.' 
 
 Here, again, the only effectual safeguard lies in the per- 
 sonal state of the preacher. If he has the true spirit of his 
 office, the singleness of eye and deep practical aim which 
 are proper to one whose soul is alive to the great realities 
 of salvation, and who feels his very life bound up with the 
 success of his mission as an ambassador of grace, he will 
 subordinate his use of imagery, like everything else, to his 
 one grand aim. He cannot allow himself to play freaks 
 with his imagination, in order to garnish his speech with 
 sweet flowers, or get up a succession of graphic pictures 
 merely for the sake of gratifying the taste or gaining the 
 applause of his hearers. He has higher objects in view, 
 although in aiming at their accomplishment one person 
 may, the bent of nature so inclining him, infuse more of the 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 175 
 
 graphic and pictorial into his representations than can be 
 done by others. He may do so even more freely in the 
 present age than he could well have done in the last ; for 
 there is now, through all departments of literature, a strong 
 current running in this direction ; and the eloquence of the 
 pulpit, like popular speech generally, must to some extent 
 bear ' the form and pressure of the time.' Desiring to speak 
 to men's bosoms, it must adapt itself to existing habits of 
 thought, and take advantage of prevailing tendencies. But 
 still only within definite limits, never so as to do violence to 
 the fundamental laws of human discourse ; therefore, as 
 regards the point now more immediately before us, never 
 forgetting that for purposes of persuasion the imaginative 
 faculty has but a subordinate part to perform, should be used 
 only as an occasional handmaid, not obeyed as an imperious 
 mistress ; and that where the success of the speaker is 
 greatest, the materials it furnishes are never more than 
 sparingly introduced. 
 
 Indeed, one may say, in regard to the highest species of 
 pulpit eloquence, — that in which the theme of discourse is 
 so thoroughly transfused into the minds of the audience that 
 the speaker himself is forgotten, speaker and hearer being 
 alike absorbed in thought concerning the interests of an 
 eternal world, — it never almost is the preponderance of any 
 one faculty that has to do with the effect, but rather the 
 happy combination of various faculties, only these quickened 
 and ennobled, intensified to the highest degree of spiritual 
 action by the powerful working of God's Spirit and the felt 
 apprehension of divine things. The discourses which have 
 produced the most profound impressions at the time, and 
 which have been found afterwards to have yielded the 
 richest harvest of spiritual good, have been of this character. 
 Such, for example, appears to have been the discourse of 
 Livingstone at the Kirk of Shotts, which scattered the seeds 
 of a living faith through hundreds of bosoms in the Vale' 
 
176 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 of Clyde. Such, also, was the extraordinary discourse on 
 missions by Dr. Mason of New York, which made even 
 experienced ministers of the gospel feel as if they scarcely 
 knew till then what preaching should be, and gave a fresh 
 impulse to their minds. Such was the character of one of 
 Mr. Toller's sermons, a sermon every way impressive in 
 itself, but rendered still more so by the pale, emaciated 
 appearance of the preacher, as we learn from the strik- 
 ing account given of it by Mr. Hall. 'AH other emotions,' 
 he says, ' were absorbed in devotional feeling ; it seemed to 
 us as though we were permitted for a short space to look 
 into eternity, and every sublunary object vanished before 
 the powers of the world to come. Yet there was no con- 
 siderable exertion, no vehemence, no splendid imagery, no 
 magnificent description ; it was the simple declaration of 
 truth ; of truth, indeed, of infinite moment, borne in upon 
 the heart by a mind intensely alive to its reality and grandeur. 
 Criticism was disarmed ; the hearer felt himself elevated to 
 a region which it could not penetrate; all was powerless 
 submission to the master-spirit of the scene.' Such, un- 
 doubtedly, when viewed with reference to the great end of 
 the ministry, is the highest style of preaching ; and it is 
 reserved, not for the man distinguished merely for powerful 
 intellect or lofty imagination, but for the man whose con- 
 versation is in heaven, and whose soul lives and breathes 
 amid the realities of salvation.^ 
 
 ^ It is quite possible to find what have the appearance at least, per- 
 haps also the reality, of exceptions to some of the statements made in 
 this section. The maxim of Pope here also has its application — 
 ' Great wits sometimes may gloriously offend, 
 And rise to faults true critics dare not mend.' 
 Men of genius, or of power so varied and attractive as to have nearly 
 all the charm of genius, may in their vocation as preachers attain to 
 great and deserved eminence, even though in some respects violating 
 the mles which have approved themselves to the most matured critical 
 judgment. By means of their peculiar resources they are able to bear, 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. I 77 
 
 This ought to be the more thought of and the more 
 earnestly coveted, that it springs so much from those 
 spiritual qualities which must ever constitute the more 
 essential elements of the Church's power for good in all 
 her departments of action and duty. It is that the Church 
 is a society, holding not of earth, but of heaven ; connected 
 by a living bond with the realities of an eternal world ; con- 
 nected by such a bond with Christ, the glorified Redeemer, 
 so that the higher life that is in Him may be continually 
 manifesting itself in the spirit and behaviour of her mem- 
 bers. It is this which most of all enables the Church to 
 act with reforming and blissful energy upon the world. And 
 the ministers of the Church, those who are her more peculiar 
 agents and representatives, both for keeping the flame alive 
 in her own bosom and bringing it to act with quickening 
 and attractive force upon the masses lying near and around 
 her, while they may justly prize, and should diligently 
 cultivate, such gifts of nature or resources of learning as 
 they may have at command, still should feel that the main 
 secret of their strength Hes in the measure in which they 
 themselves possess that higher endowment, that spirit of 
 life in Christ Jesus, and by word and deed can transfuse it 
 into their ministerial agency. God grant that there may be 
 this feehng in all of us, and a fixed desire, through divine 
 grace, to have it brought forth into practical manifestation ! 
 
 VI. The style proper to the pulpit^ and the degree of attention 
 
 and even to wield with effect, armour which in the hands of other men 
 would only lead to misdirected effort or palpable failure, as in the em- 
 ployment, for example, of extended pictorial representations, which the 
 late Dr. Guthrie certainly used sometimes with wonderful skill and 
 success, but which many others have tried with no result but that of 
 entertaining the fancy of the hearer, or begetting admiration of the 
 artistic power of the preacher. Men should be well assured of their 
 special aptitudes and gifts before they venture upon marked deviations 
 from established principles. 
 
 M 
 
178 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 that should be paid to it. — Some of the remarks made under 
 the last division had nearly as much respect to the style as 
 to the matter of discourses ; for in certain of its aspects the 
 one readily runs into the other. But the subject of style 
 demands a separate consideration, since not a little depends 
 on it for the efficient ministration of the gospel. At the 
 same time negatively, and with respect to its proper place, I 
 would say, that it should not be much taken apart, as a 
 thing to be considered or cultivated by itself. Some men 
 of note, seeing how much practically turns on style, viewed 
 as the right setting of the thought, have expressed them- 
 selves somewhat incautiously on the subject. They have 
 spoken so as to convey the impression that style, in a man- 
 ner, is everything, and that the chief pains must be bestowed 
 upon this by those who would attain to a high place as 
 preachers of the gospel. To speak after such a fashion 
 gives, I believe, an exaggerated idea of the matter for effec- 
 tive oratory of all descriptions, and in particular of that 
 description of it which should be aimed at by preachers of 
 the gospel. Style is but the mirror of the thought, and the 
 one may be said to be perfect if it is in due correspondence 
 with, or gives a just reflection of, the other ; but if the cast 
 of thought be feeble or confused, so naturally will be the 
 style ; and then it is not so much the mirror as the thing 
 mirrored which calls for rectification. It is justly, therefore, 
 remarked by Vinet,i that ' the ambition merely to speak 
 well, in proportion as it obtains an ascendancy over the 
 minister, degrades the ministry. ... A good style is 
 necessary, but a good style does not come by itself. The 
 style is not superadded to all the rest ; it is a labour of the 
 mind and of the soul which has only to be carried out.' 
 Precisely here, indeed, lies the distinction between the true 
 orator and the mere rhetorician, who may charm by his 
 language, and delight the ear as by the music of sweet 
 1 Homiletics, p. 320. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. I 79 
 
 sounds, but leaves no abiding impression, accomplishes no 
 practical result. His mind, in short, is greatly too much 
 occupied with the adjustment of words and sentences, while 
 the real orator has his soul stirred with important ideas, and 
 has no further concern about the form of expression given 
 to them than that it should fitly represent the thoughts and 
 feelings of which he seeks to be delivered. 
 
 Hence the saying of Montaigne, *When I see these 
 excellent ways of speaking, I do not say that they are well 
 written, but that they are well thought.' The meaning is, 
 that in the happier efforts of mind there is such a connection 
 between thoughts rightly conceived in the mind and the 
 proper mode of expressing them, that the one by a kind of 
 moral necessity draws the other along with it ; or, as he 
 again expresses it, ' Whoever has in his mind a vivid and 
 clear idea will express it well enough in one way or other.' 
 Hence, also, the happy distinction drawn by Augustine, in 
 the case of the Apostle Paul, between following the rules 
 of eloquence and eloquence following the excellent thought 
 embodied in the discourse : ' Sicut apostolum praecepta 
 eloquentiae secutum fuisse non dicimus, ita quod ejus 
 sapientiam secuta sit eloquentia, non negamus.'^ 
 
 It were therefore a piece of folly in any public speaker, 
 but pre-eminently in a preacher of the gospel, to address 
 himself to the task of elaborating fine periods, and con- 
 structing sentences according to rule. By such a course he 
 could, at the most, only draw attention upon himself, and 
 win the petty distinction of being a man of superficial polish 
 or rhetorical skill ; a distinction not to be coveted as a prize^ 
 but rather to be shunned as a misfortune, by any one who 
 aspires to the possession of a real power in carrying the 
 convictions and swaying the judgments of his fellow-men. 
 All this, however, is merely negative ; it touches only on 
 what is not to be sought after or done. But what, on the 
 ^ Verbaque prsevisam rem non invita sequentur. — Har. 
 
l8o THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 Other side, are some of the leading qualities which ought to 
 appear in the style of those who can so think and so ex- 
 press themselves, as to exercise a salutary and powerful 
 influence on a popular audience ? 
 
 (i.) Simplicity, perhaps, ought to have the first place ; 
 for this is but another name, in most cases, for clearness and 
 perspicuity ; and without the latter, as formerly noticed, suc- 
 cess is impossible. Whatever else may be requisite in 
 spoken or written productions which are adapted to the 
 popular mind, simplicity must not be wanting. This has 
 been well noted by Hume in his essay on Simplicity and 
 Refi7ie7nent in Writing. He says : ' A greater degree of 
 simplicity is required in all compositions where men and 
 actions and passions are painted, than in such as consist of 
 reflections and observations. And as the former species of 
 writing is the more engaging and beautiful, one may safely, 
 upon this account, give the preference to the extreme of 
 simplicity above that of refinement.' Yet, of this last he 
 justly states, that it is 'the extreme which men are most apt 
 to fall into, after learning has made some progress, and after 
 writers have appeared in every species of composition. The 
 endeavour to please by novelty leads men wide of simplicity 
 and nature, and fills their writings with afl"ectation and con- 
 ceit' I need not say, that everything which savours of 
 this is peculiarly unsuited to a preacher of the gospel. If 
 generally ' the language which is dedicated to truth should 
 be plain and unaffected,' ^ most especially should it be so 
 when applied in connection with that kind of truth which 
 it is the business of the preacher to set forth, — truth which 
 lies so near to the glory of God and the highest interests of 
 mankind. But there are other reasons for it. In the great 
 majority of cases any other kind must be unsuited to the 
 audience addressed, as well as to the nature of the theme. 
 
 ^ Quae veritati operam dat oratio, incomposita sit et simplex. — 
 Seneca, Ep. 40. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. l8l 
 
 Christian congregations, with comparatively few exceptions, 
 are not only mixed assemblages, but assemblages containing 
 a preponderance of but moderately educated or even un- 
 lettered persons, very few of whom, therefore, can be quali- 
 fied intelligently to follow, far less to relish, a discourse 
 which deals in unusual terms and artificial sentences — the 
 ordinary marks of polish and refinement. And if some of 
 the greater masters of English composition have of set 
 purpose endeavoured to avoid such things ; have even, to 
 be sure of their ground in this respect, at times tried the 
 effect of their productions on men of common understand- 
 ing, before committing them to the press, how anxious 
 should the ministers of the gospel be to use great plainness 
 of speech, that the simple in heart may understand, and 
 nothing which it is important for sinners to know may lie 
 hidden from their view under the folds of a learned 
 phraseology. 
 
 Augustine, in the last book of his treatise, De Doctrina 
 Christiana, presses very strongly this view of the matter, 
 and commends this quality of plainness or simplicity of 
 speech to all ministers of the word, as deserving of their 
 greatest attention -} 'He, therefore, who teaches will shun all 
 words that do not teach ; and if in place of them he can 
 employ others which are pure, and which are better under- 
 stood, he will rather choose these ; but if he cannot do so, 
 either because there are none such, or because he cannot 
 for the moment get hold of them, he will then resort to 
 others which are less pure, provided only they serve to make 
 the thing itself distinctly understood.' And returning to the 
 subject again, he asks, 'What signifies a golden key, if we 
 cannot open with it what we wish ? But if a wooden one 
 will serve the purpose, what matters its inferior quality ?' 
 And referring to Cicero's threefold distinction, docere tiecessi- 
 tatis est, delectare suavitatis, fl.ectere victor ice, he urges on 
 ^ L. iv. 26. 
 
1 82 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 preachers of the gospel that, while they should not, indeed, 
 neglect the two latter, while they should endeavour so to 
 speak as to please and to persuade, they should yet regard 
 the teaching element as the prime and essential one, and 
 for that end should make choice of such words as are fitted 
 to convey clear notions of the truth. 
 
 This is, undoubtedly, what should be aimed at ; but even 
 when honestly aimed at, it is not always quite easily accom- 
 plished. A long course of academical training, whatever 
 advantages it brings in other respects, is apt here to throw 
 a certain hindrance in the way. For it familiarizes those 
 who are subjected to it to a style of thought and speech 
 philosophical or literary rather than popular ; and modes of 
 representation, forms of expression even, which have become 
 perfectly natural to them, will be strange to the ears, and 
 but imperfectly grasped by the understandings of a common 
 audience. The progress of education, and the more general 
 diffusion of intelligence through the community, have, no 
 doubt, been tending to lessen the distance in this respect 
 between the more and the less learned classes, but it is very 
 far from having removed it. There may be little danger in 
 the present day of introducing into the pulpit the kind of 
 academical style of discourse which was by no means 
 unusual with a certain class of ministers in the last century, 
 when, as Dr. Campbell tells us, preachers were often found 
 ' haranguing the people on the moral sense and universal 
 benevolence, speaking of the symmetry of the universe, and 
 the moral harmony and dissonance of the affections.' Such 
 a style of pulpit ministrations may now be regarded as gone 
 into deserved oblivion ; but there may still, and, unless 
 special care is taken to prevent it, there will remain a ten- 
 dency with those who have been trained to habits of study, 
 and are more conversant with books than with men, to fall 
 into methods of discussion and modes of speech which are 
 not level to the capacities of the people, at least do not 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 83 
 
 properly reach their bosoms. And if there is any consider- 
 able tincture of fancy in the preacher's constitution, or 
 prompting of literary ambition, there will be the additional 
 danger of his overshooting the mark by using similitudes too 
 remote from common life, and displaying a fondness for what 
 will only be regarded as playful sallies or pretty conceits. 
 
 This false tendency, more especially in the latter form of 
 it, is so admirably exposed by South in his sermon on Luke 
 xxi. 15, and the proper style for an earnest preacher to 
 employ is so strikingly set forth, that I cannot forbear quot- 
 ing the passage, although the tone of sarcasm so natural to 
 the author is not wanting in it, and in the present case is 
 venting itself against no less a victim than his celebrated 
 contemporary Jeremy Taylor : ^ I speak the words of sober- 
 ness^ said St. Paul, and I preach the gospel not with enticifig 
 words of man's wisdom. This was the way,' says South, ' of 
 the apostle's discoursing of things sacred. Nothing here 
 of "the fringes of the northern star ;" nothing of " nature's 
 becoming unnatural;" nothing of the "down of angels' 
 wings," or " the beautiful locks of cherubims ;" no starched 
 similitudes introduced with a " thus have I seen a cloud 
 rolling in its airy mansion," and the like. No, these were 
 sublimities above the rise of the apostolic spirit. For 
 the apostles, poor mortals, were content to take lower 
 steps, and to tell the world in plain terms that he who 
 believed should be saved, and that he who beheved not 
 should be damned. And this was the dialect which pierced 
 the conscience, and made the hearers cry out, " Men and 
 brethren, what shall we do?" It tickled not the ear, but 
 sank into the heart; and when men came from such 
 sermons, they never commended the preacher for his taking 
 voice or gesture, for the fineness of such a simile, or the 
 quaintness of such a sentence ; but they spake like men 
 conquered by the overpowering force and evidence of the 
 most concerning truths ; much in the words of the two 
 
184 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 disciples going to Emmaus : Did not our hearts burn within 
 us while He opened to us the Scriptures ? lii a word, the 
 apostles' preaching was therefore mighty and successful, 
 because plain, natural, and familiar, and by no means above 
 the capacity of their hearers \ nothing being more prepos- 
 terous than for those who were professedly aiming at men's 
 hearts, to miss the mark by shooting over their heads.' 
 
 If somewhat peculiarly, this is not too forcibly put ; and 
 in order to avoid the errors pointed at, there is undoubtedly, 
 first of all, needed on the part of the preacher a sincere 
 spirit of self-denial, a determination to shun whatever might 
 look like a needless display of learning, or a laying of traps 
 for popular applause. Like a humble but earnest workman, 
 he must seek the instruments, the plain and intelligible 
 words, which seem best fitted to forward his Master's busi- 
 ness. In order to this he must, as was said in another con- 
 nection, by famiHar intercourse with the people get well 
 acquainted with the manner of thought and speech which is 
 best adapted to their taste or capacities, especially must 
 accustom himself to the use of the more common, chiefly 
 Saxon, elements in our language, as contradistinguished 
 from those which are of Latin origin. And in so far as 
 recourse may be had to figures or similitudes to aid the im- 
 perfection of direct language, and give a more vivid repre- 
 sentation of the tmth, let them not be of a recondite nature, 
 or far-fetched, but such as will really illustrate the subject, 
 and make it better understood by the common understand- 
 ing. Finer examples could scarcely be anywhere found of 
 what is here indicated than in the sermons of Augustus 
 Hare, the brother of the Archdeacon. They are the pro- 
 ductions of a man of high intellect, fine taste, and varied 
 accomplishments, yet subordinated all to the blessed work 
 of endeavouring to bring down the great truths and obliga- 
 tions of the gospel to the level of a plain, rural congregation ; 
 a work which, when perfectly done, and with respect to 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 85 
 
 things which are not trite, but of grave importance or diffi- 
 culty, is, as Whately has remarked, ' one of the most admir- 
 able feats of genius.' ^ I refer, in illustration, to his sermon 
 on the superiority of principles to rules ; and hence the far 
 greater importance of having the mind indoctrinated with 
 the one, than the conduct drilled into conformity with the 
 other 3^ a subject certainly far from being trite, or even such 
 as can quite easily be made patent to a common audience ; 
 yet see how distinct it becomes through Mr. Hare's lucid 
 exposition and homely speaking ! ' A rule which has been 
 drawn up for any particular purpose, may be likened to a 
 loaf of bread ; a principle, on the other hand, is like a hand- 
 ful of wheat. Every rule that is worth anything must be 
 taken from a principle, just as a loaf of bread is made of 
 wheat. For the wants and uses of the moment a rule is 
 more serviceable than a principle, just as, when a man is 
 hungry, bread is more welcome than wheat. For bread is 
 wheat ready prepared for the sake of satisfying hunger. 
 We have only to take it and eat it. Hence, for a hungry 
 man a crust of bread is better and handier than so much 
 unground wheat. Yet will anybody say on this account 
 that bread is a better thing than wheat ? Suppose a man 
 were going to some far country where no corn grows, which 
 would he take with him, bread or wheat ?' He illustrates 
 this a little, and then proceeds : ' This is the great advantage 
 which wheat has over bread. Bread may feed us for the 
 moment ; but when once eaten it is gone for ever. Wheat, 
 on the contrary, will bear seed ; it will increase and mul- 
 tiply ; after one crop has had its day, and been reaped, and 
 stored in the barn, and consumed, another crop, provided 
 seed be preserved, will spring up ; and so long as the earth 
 itself lasts, so long will corn last also. Thus, too, is it with 
 rules and principles. A rule is like a loaf of bread ; it is a 
 ready handy application of a principle, a principle made 
 1 Rhetoric, p. 256. 2 Qn Col. ii. 28. 
 
1 86 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 up for immediate use. By rules we govern and rule our 
 children. We say to them, *' Do this," or " Don't do that," 
 because it is easy for them to understand a plain order ; but 
 it is not always easy to make them understand the principle 
 or reason of it. When the child, however, comes to be a 
 man, he puts away childish things. He wants a new set of 
 rules adapted to his new state, for the rules of childhood he 
 has outgrown, so that they no longer fit him. The rules 
 which belong to one stage of life are many of them ill-suited 
 to other stages of life.' And so with different classes of 
 men, and different nations of the world. ' Therefore God, 
 when He was graciously pleased to give us a law, which was 
 to serve not for one country and one people, but for the 
 whole world, did not give us an endless string of rules to 
 be followed according to the letter in each particular case ; 
 but gave us the principles which are the ground and sources 
 of all rules, and from which the rules are to be drawn,' etc. 
 He applies it to circumcision and other Jewish ordinances, 
 which in fo7^i?i are dropt, in pri?idple retained. * Christ 
 skimmed off the cream, as it were, of the law of Moses;' 
 * in the room of burdensome rites and formal rules He gave 
 us the law of faith and love, and thereby made His doctrine 
 a doctrine of principles, living, active, pure, universal and 
 eternal.' ^ 
 
 It is quite true that a style like this, so remarkable for its 
 simpHcity both in the choice of words and the structure of 
 sentences, is adapted for instruction rather than impression. 
 True also, that it has been seldom attained in anything like 
 the same perfection by excellent preachers of the gospel ; 
 and some even of those who reached the highest distinction 
 have rather been noted for the elaboration than for the 
 plainness and simplicity of their style. Such, certainly, are 
 the printed sermons of Dr. Chalmers ; they bear throughout 
 
 ^ Compare another fine specimen of Hare's method, in Ser. on John 
 vii. 17 — greatly superior to Archer Butler's on the same text. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 87 
 
 the marks of elaborate preparation, in respect not merely to 
 the thought embodied in them, but also to the structure of 
 the sentences and the mode of expression, which were in a 
 great measure peculiar to the man himself; nor was there 
 ever probably an orator who, with no sinister object in view, 
 with the simple desire of communicating his thoughts dis- 
 tinctly and forcibly to the minds of others, has formed for 
 himself a diction so broadly marked by the impress of his 
 own individuality. Yet, with all that is peculiar in his 
 language and remote from the speech of common life, there 
 is in it also a singular breadth and power, a living freshness 
 and palpability, which, however unintelligible in particular 
 phrases to unlettered hearers, could not fail to arrest their 
 attention and find its way to their understandings and hearts. 
 It was still, however, far from being a model style for the 
 pulpit, especially in its relation to the general mass of con- 
 gregations ; and now that it is unaccompanied by the 
 striking aspect and attractive presence of the man, it rests 
 as a heavy drawback on the remains of his pulpit ministra- 
 tions ; it is the element which more than anything besides 
 has impaired their permanent value, and rendered them 
 comparatively strange in the homes of our Christian people. 
 Indeed, Chalmers may here be appealed to as an autho- 
 rity against himself In a review of the sermons of Dr. 
 Charters of Wilton, he dwells upon the appropriateness 
 of a direct and homely style for the pulpit, in so far as 
 regards the audiences which have most commonly to be 
 addressed from it. ' In the language of Paul,' says he, ' it 
 is right that we should be all things to all men, that we may 
 gain some ; and if a simple proselyte can be gained to the 
 cause of righteousness by the embellishments of elegant 
 literature, let every attraction be given to the subject which 
 taste and elegance can throw round it. But let it be re- 
 membered that these attractions have no influence over the 
 vast majority of the species, and that the only impression 
 
155 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 of which they are susceptible is that wholesome and direct 
 impression which a clear and simple exposition of duty 
 makes upon the audience. Let it further be remembered, 
 that even among the cultivated orders of society, the appetite 
 for mere gracefulness of expression is sure, in time, to give 
 way to the more substantial accomplishment of good sense 
 and judicious observation ; and that in every rightly-con- 
 stituted mind the importance of what is true must carry it 
 over what is pretty, and elegant, and fashionable.' 
 
 The case of Robert Hall admits of a similar explanation. 
 In his grander efforts he was a preacher for a select class 
 rather than for the body of the people. His more famous 
 sermons (at least as printed), though perfectly clear and 
 perspicuous for cultivated readers, could only have been im- 
 perfectly understood and appreciated by common audiences, 
 and are, indeed, in point of composition, among the most 
 classical productions in the English language. They are not, 
 however, exactly specimens of his ordinary and especially of 
 his more effective preaching. Speaking of this in his sketch 
 of Hall's character as a preacher, Foster says, ' His language 
 in preaching, as in conversation, was in one considerable 
 point better than in his well-known and elaborately-com- 
 posed sermons, in being more natural and flexible. When 
 he set in reluctantly upon that operose employment, his 
 style was apt to assume a certain processional stateliness of 
 march, a rhetorical rounding of periods, a too frequent 
 inversion of the natural order of the sentence, with a morbid 
 dread of degrading it to end in a particle, or rather small- 
 looking word ; a structure in which I doubt whether the 
 augmented appearance of strength and dignity be a com- 
 pensation for the sacrifice of a natural, living, and variable 
 freedom of composition.' He adds : ' a remarkable differ- 
 ence will be perceived between the highly-wrought sermons 
 long since published, and the short ones now printed, which 
 were prepared without a thought of the press ; a difference 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 89 
 
 to the advantage of the latter in the grace of simpUcity.' 
 Hall himself was perfectly aware of this difference, and 
 notes it very strikingly in a letter to Mr. Philips (i6th April 
 181 2), as connected with his greater success in the proper 
 end of preaching : ' Blessed be the Lord, my strain of 
 preaching is considerably altered ; much less elegant, but 
 more intended for conviction, for awakening the conscience, 
 and carrying divine truth with power into the heart ! ' It is 
 worthy of notice, too, that even in the earlier joeriod of his 
 ministerial life, his judgment pronounced in favour of a style 
 for the pulpit different from his own at the time in his 
 review, for example, of Foster's Essays, also of Gisborne's 
 Sermons, He admired the simple force and expressiveness 
 of the Saxon element in our language, as far superior to the 
 Latin for emphasis and impression, and sometimes ex- 
 pressed in a very marked manner his dissatisfaction with 
 the employment of the one class of words when the others 
 might, as he thought, have been with advantage preferred. 
 Thus, in a conversation with Dr. O. Gregory, having 
 observed that the latter had more than once spoken of 
 felicity^ Mr. Hall sharply inquired, ' Why do you sd^y felicity, 
 sir ? Happiness is a better word, more musical, and better 
 English, coming from the Saxon.' Hall, therefore, as well 
 as Foster and Chalmers, may be cited as a witness to this 
 style, as what may be termed the normal or usually appro- 
 priate one for the pulpit ; and if the bent of native genius, 
 or a regard to the peculiar circumstances of their own 
 position, rendered their example somewhat at variance with 
 their precept, this should rather tend to enhance the value 
 of their deliberate judgment. 
 
 On the whole, it is of importance to bear in mind that, 
 amid all the diversities in this respect which are inevitable 
 and even proper, the press and the pulpit have their dis- 
 tinctive requirements ; and that what may be comparatively 
 perfect as regards the one, may be obviously defective or 
 
IQO THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 misplaced as regards the other. In particular, the pulpit 
 demands plainness and simplicity beyond the written page, 
 while the latter is greatly less tolerant of careless and 
 slovenly forms of expression. 
 
 ^ There are preachers who, being deficient in the intel- 
 lectual and moral attributes which are essential to those 
 higher forms of popular eloquence which fascinate and 
 impress all classes of the community, are resolved to grasp 
 by illegitimate means at the same visible success. Unen- 
 riched with that bearing and intellectual vigour which 
 enable a man to become the master of difficult and unfa- 
 miliar provinces of truth ; unendowed with the rare genius 
 which can create a heaven and earth of its own, and lift 
 the thoughts of common men into a world whose paths they 
 have never travelled, and whose atmosphere they have never 
 breathed before ; destitute of fancy, destitute of imagination, 
 impatient of the labour and painstaking by which alone the 
 power can be acquired of clothing our conceptions in the 
 nervous and beautiful language which the great writers and 
 orators of our country have been accustomed to employ, 
 they utter paradoxes as though they were wonderful revela- 
 tions of hitherto unknown truth ; they distort and disguise 
 thoughts which have been familiar to all mankind for cen- 
 turies, and try to pass them off as brilliant originalities ; 
 they mistake spasmodic vehemence for strength, gaudy 
 decoration for beauty, words of uncouth shape and sound, 
 sentences of grotesque and unnatural structure, for freshness 
 and force of style. Foolish men wonder, wise men are dis- 
 gusted ; but neither the foolish nor the wise will love God 
 better, resist sin more resolutely, understand the Bible more 
 profoundly, serve Christ more zealously, if they listen to 
 preaching of this kind for half a century' (Dale's Discourses, 
 
 (2.) Another characteristic that should more or less dis- 
 tinguish the style of pulpit discourses is strength or energy. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 191 
 
 It is, indeed, a quality which every preacher may be said 
 almost necessarily to aim at, if he has success in his work 
 really at heart ; for in seeking that he seeks to persuade ; 
 and this again implies the forthputting of such a power in 
 the things spoken as may serve to beget the expectation of 
 prevailing over the indifference or opposition of those who 
 are addressed. The capacity, of course, to effect this will 
 always depend to a large extent on the relative vigour of 
 the preacher's mind, or what it is as to concentration of 
 thought and depth of feeling ; and where these qualities 
 are greatly deficient, it is not possible by mere outward 
 expression to compensate for the want. A striving after 
 what may be called an artificial energy, energy of style or 
 action out of proportion to the elements of strength existing 
 within, is sure to manifest itself in something forced, extra- 
 vagant, or coarse ; and consequently must tend rather to 
 defeat than further the object of the speaker. It is in this 
 respect with mental action as with bodily ; the swoop of the 
 arm must be in proportion to the vital force that moves it ; 
 and, in like manner, the energy that a preacher can throw 
 into his diction will be determined by the fire which glows 
 within. 
 
 This is not, however, to be understood as disparaging the 
 necessity for proper care and apphcation ; for here, as in 
 other things, even where the native talent exists, it may 
 miss its aim by misdirected efforts, while, by being righdy 
 improved and guided, it may gain immensely both in force 
 and precision. No cultivation can enable a feeble or com- 
 monplace mind to clothe its thoughts in a nervous and 
 stirring diction ; but where some degree of mental vigour 
 exists, it may serve to give additional point to its ex- 
 pression, and recall the speaker from trying to reach his 
 aim by a less, to a more effective mode of gaining it. A 
 few leading points is all we can at present indicate on 
 the subject. 
 
192 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 As regards the choice of words, there can be no doubt 
 that much depends on the skill to select the more specific 
 and individualizing, instead of the more general and abstract 
 terms. For it is the invariable tendency of a vivid realiza- 
 tion or powerful emotion, to give a concrete form to its 
 objects ; to clothe them, as it were, with flesh and blood, and 
 consequently to deal in the language of impersonation and 
 metaphor. ' The more general the terms are,^ as Dr. Camp- 
 bell remarks, ' the picture is the fainter ; the more special 
 they are, the brighter. The same sentiment may be ex- 
 pressed with equal justness, and even equal perspicuity, in 
 the former way as in the latter ; but as the colouring will in 
 that case be more languid, it cannot give equal pleasure to 
 the fancy, and by consequence will not contribute so much 
 either to fix the attention or to impress the memory.' A 
 better example could scarcely be given of this than one 
 selected by Dr. Campbell from the Sermon on the Mount, 
 comparing the specific form which it assumed in our Lord's 
 hand, with what it would become if the specific were 
 changed into the general. ' Consider the lilies, how they 
 grow ; they toil not, they spin not ; and yet I say unto you, 
 that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of 
 these. If, then, God so clothe the grass, which to-day is in 
 the field and to-morrow is cast into the oven, how much 
 more will He clothe you ? ' ' Let us here,' says Campbell, 
 ' adopt a little of the tasteless manner of modern paraphrasts, 
 by the substitution of more general terms, one of their many 
 expedients of infrigidating, and let us observe the effect 
 produced by this change. " Consider the flowers, how they 
 gradually increase in their size ; they do no manner of 
 work, and yet I declare to you that no king whatever, in his 
 most splendid habit, is dressed up like them. If, then, God 
 in His providence doth so adorn the vegetable productions, 
 which continue but a little time on the land, and are after- 
 wards put into the fire, how much more will He provide 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 93 
 
 clothing for you?" How spiritless,' Dr. C. justly adds, 
 'is the same sentiment rendered by these small variations ! 
 The very particularizing of to-day and to-7?iorrow is infinitely 
 more expressive of transitoriness than any description wherein 
 the terms are general, that can be substituted in its room.' 
 
 The Scriptures are full of passages to which the same 
 mode of criticism might be applied, passages which derive 
 much of their graphic and touching power from the use 
 made in them of what is specific and individual, and which 
 would in a great measure be lost by a more indefinite form 
 of expression. Thus St. Paul's commission as an apostle to 
 
 * turn men from darkness to light, and from the power of 
 Satan unto God,' is much more vivid and expressive than if 
 we had been told of his being sent to instruct the ignorant, 
 and bring them from the love and practice of sin to the 
 ways of righteousness ! ^ A telling effect is often produced 
 by turning, when it can be done without violence to the 
 idiom of the language, a noun into a verb, expressing an 
 action by what properly indicates a personality ; as when, 
 with reference to the bloody spectacles of the Roman 
 amphitheatres, the poet speaks through one of his cha- 
 racters of the unhappy creatures who were '■butchered to 
 make a Roman holiday;' or when St. Paul speaks of 
 
 * crucifying the flesh with its affections and lusts ; ' or we 
 may say of the world,, when unduly cared for, that it dwarfs 
 the life of religion in the soul. But it is quite possible in 
 such things to go to excess, and in the search for greater 
 strength so to overdo it as to beget a sense of the strained 
 or the ludicrous. The boundary line here between the 
 
 ^ Yet the individualizing may fail, if it goes to things too low or 
 minute for the occasion, as in Parr's Spittal Sermon :: * Within a few 
 days mute was the tongue that uttered these celestial words, and the 
 hand which signed your indenture lay cold and motionless in the 
 dark and dreamy chambers of death.' In such an effort at the solemn 
 and pathetic it looks too small to speak of signing an indenture for 
 boys. 
 
 N 
 
194 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 true and the false, the allowable and the forbidden, is often 
 a delicate one, and writers that may justly be pronounced 
 classical in other respects will sometimes miss it. As for 
 example, Archdeacon Hare, who usually exhibits a fine 
 taste in the use of language, but whose mind was more 
 remarkable for acuteness, sensibility, and polish than for 
 strength, when, in his discourses on the Mission of the Com- 
 forter^ he speaks of the soul which has yielded itself to 
 earthly influences as * having its feelings tarred and feathered 
 with the dust and dirt of the earth,' and of Christ's right- 
 eousness as being perfectly pure, 'not covered with scratches 
 and rents like a sheet of old blotting paper.' The images 
 involved in such expressions are evidently too low for the 
 subjects discoursed of, and the language rather jars on one's 
 sense of propriety than adds to the vividness of one's 
 perceptions. It is therefore to be remembered that all 
 individualizing in descriptions does not confer strength, nor 
 all energizings in the choice of words. The nature of the 
 subject, the idioms of language, the very place and occasion, 
 must each be taken into account. Especially must it be so 
 in pulpit discourses, in which a becoming sense of solemnity 
 should be apparent; and modes of speech, which might 
 without impropriety be employed elsewhere, would then 
 readily be felt to be out of place. Thus there is room for 
 the exercise of taste, discretion, and sanctified feeling. 
 
 The same substantially may be said in regard to the 
 other means requiring to be attended to, in order to the 
 attainment of a nervous diction, such, for example, as the 
 number and arrangement of words in sentences. It is a 
 matter on which preachers should bestow souie pains, yet 
 without being finical or elaborate. Any one at all conver- 
 sant with what constitutes power of expression, knows that 
 a needless multiplication of words always enfeebles the 
 sense, as does also a looseness of structure between one 
 part of a sentence and another ; and that the more tersely 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 95 
 
 and pointedly a sentiment can be expressed, the more 
 forcible will it be. Sometimes the effect will be found to 
 depend as much upon the relative adjustment of the words, 
 so as to give the prominent place to those on which the 
 main stress should be laid, as on the kind and number of 
 the words themselves. I should express quite an appro- 
 priate and wholesome sentiment, if I should say, ' It may 
 now and then be our duty to others to suppress the truth, 
 but duty to ourselves always requires us not to utter a false- 
 hood.' Change the arrangement, however, and see how 
 much more emphatically it becomes as given by Hare :^ 'To 
 suppress the truth may now and then be our duty to others ; 
 not to utter a falsehood must always be our duty to our- 
 selves.' Whately gives the following from Burke as a good 
 example of the same description : ^ ' Kings will be tyrants 
 from policy, when subjects are rebels from principle.' And 
 we may add this from Archer Butler :^ 'There is no bond 
 but his own love (namely, in the promises of God), yet that 
 bond is stronger than iron ; and He, whom the universe 
 cannot compel, commands Himself In such sentences 
 everything appears in the place it should occupy, to bring 
 out distinctly the idea meant to be expressed. 
 
 But here also there is a measure to be observed in any 
 kind of public discourse, but especially in preaching. For 
 if brevity and arrangement were constantly pursued, it would 
 make too great a strain on people's attention ; they would 
 come to feel like persons breathing in too dense an atmo- 
 sphere ; or, as Whately puts it,"^ like animal natures that are 
 confined to food too simply nutritious, requiring more bulk 
 and distension to render it altogether wholesome. Con- 
 structions formed with a view to emphasis, if too frequently 
 indulged in, defeat their own object ; what is always em- 
 phasized becomes monotonous, or loses effect by too palpable 
 
 ^ Guesses at Truth, ii. p. 319. ^ Rhetoric, p. 209. 
 
 ^ i. p. 131. ■* P. 260. 
 
196 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 a Straining after it. In such things, therefore, it is necessary 
 to time oneself ; and, indeed, to be little concerned about 
 either special brevity or emphasis, except when particularly 
 anxious to make impression. 
 
 (3.) Another characteristic, the only other I shall par- 
 ticularly mention, of the style proper to the pulpit, is that 
 of a Scriptural tincture or impress. One can quite easily 
 suppose that a discourse might be nearly all it should be 
 for the pulpit as to simplicity, clearness, pith, and yet 
 sensibly want something which one naturally expects in the 
 discussion of a scriptural theme. There might be, whether 
 from policy or from a regard to the supposed demands of 
 taste, a studied avoidance of the more peculiar phraseology 
 of Scripture, an employment of terms or a structure of 
 sentences that bespoke no sympathy of tone or community 
 of speech with the sacred writers. Mr. Foster, in one of his 
 well-known essays, went so far as to recommend this as a 
 wise accommodation to persons of cultivated taste, that is, 
 to audiences composed chiefly of such, with the view princi- 
 pally of meeting the aversion such persons cherish to the 
 subjects embraced in evangelical Christianity. In his judg- 
 ment, a nearer approach to the simply hterary style would 
 have the advantage of presenting the ideas of the gospel, 
 without in any way offending, but rather gratifying, their 
 literary predilections. But it would be impossible to adopt 
 such a style of discourse without not only refraining from 
 the use of expressions which are the best our language 
 supplies for the ideas they are intended to convey, but also 
 losing that hallowed air which it is important to have thrown 
 around religious topics for refined as well as ordinary hearers 
 of the gospel. Mr. Hall therefore wisely took exception 
 to the view of Foster in his review of the first edition of the 
 Essays. In doing so he stated, that from the very nature of 
 Christianity, which contains an exhibition of doctrine and 
 requires the exercise of graces peculiar to itself, it necessarily 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 97 
 
 originated a phraseology of its own, for the purpose of con- 
 veying correct impressions of its great truths and principles; 
 and that this phraseology having been formed under the 
 immediate impulse and guidance of the Holy Spirit, it could 
 not be safely supplanted by another. While he could not 
 applaud the extent to which the use of Scripture language 
 was carried by some pious writers, he could still less throw 
 it so much into abeyance as it would be on the system 
 advocated by Foster. ' To say nothing,' he remarks, ' of 
 the inimitable beauties of the Bible, considered in a literary 
 point of view, which are universally acknowledged, it is the 
 book which every devout man is accustomed to consult as 
 the oracle of God; it is the companion of his best moments, 
 and the vehicle of his strongest consolations. Intimately 
 associated in his mind with everything dear and valuable, 
 its diction more powerfully excites devotional feelings than 
 any other; and when temperately and soberly used, it 
 imparts an unction to a religious discourse which nothing 
 else can supply.' He properly adds, that the avoidance of 
 Scripture phraseology in religious discourses might not 
 improbably lead to a neglect of the Scriptures themselves, 
 and the substitution of a flashy and superficial declamation 
 in the room of the saving truths of the gospel. Such an 
 apprehension, he also thought, was too much verified ' by 
 the most celebrated sermons of the French, and still more 
 by some modern compositions in our own language, which 
 usurp that title.' And he therefore held that ' for devotional 
 impression a very considerable tincture of the language of 
 Scripture, or at least such a colouring as shall discover an 
 intimate acquaintance with those inimitable models, will 
 generally succeed best.' 
 
 Such, undoubtedly, is the right view of the matter ; and 
 there is the more reason for adhering to it, as in the 
 Authorized Version, whatever partial errors and minor im- 
 perfections belong to it, there is so fine an example of 
 
190 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 general fidelity to the spirit and meaning of the original, 
 embodied in a style which, for its object, may be said to 
 approach very nearly to perfection. It puts a vocabulary 
 and an idiom into our hand every way adapted to the 
 purpose of its great mission as the revelation of God's mind 
 and will to men, embalmed also in the pious recollections, 
 endeared by the earliest and most rooted associations of 
 those to whom we speak. We are not, however, to imagine, 
 that in order to preserve this Scriptural tincture it is enough 
 to crowd our discourses with quotations from the different 
 books of Scripture. This may be done, often actually is 
 done, with no other effect than to beget an Impression of 
 the preacher's want of independent thought, or such a sense 
 of satiety as arises from listening to a continuous stream of 
 commonplaces. Such, to a large extent, must be the effect 
 of a kind of preaching which is sometimes practised, running 
 out into a considerable variety of heads of discourse, and 
 under each Introducing so many passages of Scripture, that 
 little space Is left for more than a few connecting notes or 
 illustrations. Preaching of this description can never tell 
 with much quickening power, or produce lasting impres- 
 sions. It is never to be forgotten, as one of the unalterable 
 laws of mental agency, that if one Is to beget thought and 
 feeling in the bosom of others, there must first be the con- 
 scious possession and exercise thereof in one's own. Here, 
 also, there must be a cause bearing some proportion to the 
 effect; and even passages of Scripture, if they are to be 
 employed as means of moral suasion, must first be identified 
 in the experience of the preacher with his own spiritual life, 
 and used, not to save thought and application, but because 
 they form the most appropriate vehicle of the ideas he has 
 conceived, the convictions, desires, and hopes which he 
 wishes those whom he addresses to share with himself. 
 When so used, it will usually be found that a comparatively 
 small number of direct quotations will be sufficient ; their 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 1 99 
 
 appropriateness rather than their multiplicity will be the more 
 noticeable thing about them; but the Scriptural impress will 
 pervade the discourse and appear in the general tone and cha- 
 racter it presents as well as in specific portions of its contents. 
 Very closely allied to this Scriptural tone of thought and 
 expression, though not absolutely identical with it, is the 
 quality in the higher style of ministrations called tmction, a 
 quality more easily felt than described. It is, undoubtedly, 
 when existing in any proper degree, not as an assumed 
 pietism, but as a real quaHty, a soft penetrating influence 
 mingling with the tone and manner of the preacher, and 
 shedding a kind of sweet and heavenly savour over the 
 sentiments he utters. When existing thus, it must, indeed, 
 root itself deeply in the spiritual characteristics of the man, 
 and be in a peculiar manner the reflection of his own inner 
 life. It implies, prior to any manifestation of it in discourse, 
 a certain sensibility of soul, an emotional nature acting 
 under a sense of divine realities, and elevated by close com- 
 munion with God, and so naturally appearing when coming 
 forth to act upon others with a mingled solemnity and 
 tenderness of spirit, with a freshness of holy life and yearn- 
 ing solicitude of love, which seems allied to heaven rather 
 than to earth, and is felt upon men's hearts as a sanctifying 
 and subduing power. It will belong to any one very much 
 in proportion as he has not simply acquired the language, but 
 drunk into the spirit of the Bible, and has become penetrated 
 with a sense of its all-important revelations. But it is not to 
 be identified with a soft or mawkish sentimentality; for it has 
 not rarely found its strongest development in men in whom 
 the intellectual or imaginative faculties have held as pro- 
 minent a place as the emotional, such as Howe, Edwards, 
 Brainerd, Leighton, Thomas a Kempis, Pascal. But with 
 whatever characteristics of mind more peculiarly combined, 
 never can there be either a proper foundation for the quality 
 or a healthful development of its power, except in connec- 
 
200 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 tion with the intimate knowledge and habitual meditation of 
 the word of God. 
 
 Enough, perhaps, has been said on the subject of style 
 in pulpit discourses, as it is only the more essential points 
 that can be noticed here. Impression, if not always the 
 immediate, is assuredly the ultimate object to be aimed at, 
 and everything should be considered and done with a special 
 regard to this. The preacher should prepare for his work, 
 and go through his work with the feeling, that if the truths 
 he unfolds are not made to sink into the hearts of his 
 auditors, let the effect otherwise be what it may, he has 
 substantially laboured in vain. So that if he only can com- 
 bine with the clear enunciation of gospel truth such nervous 
 strength and spiritual unction as shall tend to win an atten- 
 tive regard to what he says, and make it live in the remem- 
 brance of those who hear, the great object is gained to which 
 his efforts should be directed. Such things, however, can- 
 not be expected to come of themselves. They must be 
 sought and striven for if they are to be found. The men 
 who deem themselves superior to this, or who grudge the 
 labour it exacts of them, must be content to remain deficient 
 in the better and more effective qualities of discourse. But 
 it does not follow that they should always work under 
 the felt trammels of the preceding directions, and carefully 
 elaborate every sentence in their discourses with a specific 
 view to the attainment of the different kinds of excellence 
 which have been mentioned. Composing or speaking well 
 undoubtedly goes before composing or speaking quickly, as 
 was justly said long ago by Quinctilian, ^ Bene scribendo 
 fit, ut cito scribatur, non cito scribendo ut bene;' but when 
 practice has enabled us to get some freedom and skill in the 
 work, the most correct and powerful in form may also be 
 the portions which have actually passed with the greatest 
 promptitude from our hands. But this can only be if the 
 mind has been well seasoned and prepared by previous 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE, 20I 
 
 application for the effort. ' Shakespeare,' says Carlyle,i ' we 
 may fancy wrote with rapidity, but not till he had thought 
 with intensity. It was for him to write rapidly at fit inter- 
 vals, being ready for it. And herein truly lies the secret of 
 the matter ; such swiftness of mere writing after due energy 
 of preparation is doubtless the right method ; the hot 
 furnace having long worked and simmered, let the pure gold 
 flow out at one gush.' Yes, but comparatively few can 
 either write or speak under the glow of such a well-formed 
 and regulating impulse, and for the most part there will need 
 to be a certain degree of conscious effort or toil in the actual 
 bodying forth of one's thoughts, as well as in the earlier 
 attempts made toward a distinct conception and disposition 
 of them. But on this particular point something more will 
 be said in another connection. 
 
 VII. Eloadiofi, or the delivery of discourses. — This is the 
 last point of a general kind, common aUke to all discourses, 
 to which it is necessary to direct attention. And in some 
 respects it is the most difficult of all ; the most difficult to 
 be discussed to any good purpose, and not unfrequently 
 also the most difficult for the preacher to study, so as to 
 reach in it some degree of perfection. The difficulty in 
 both cases chiefly arises from the almost infinite diversity of 
 the qualities to which an effective delivery may be ascribed, 
 or which, at least, are capable of entering into it : the same 
 qualities to which we feel disposed to ascribe it in some 
 being precisely those in which others are markedly deficient, 
 who yet attain to the power of an impressive or pleasing 
 delivery. Fine expressive features, a majestic or heavenly 
 aspect, such as partly from nature partly from grace belongs 
 to some men, whose very appearance is a kind of sermon, 
 an appropriate or graceful action, a voice of much compass 
 and energy, capable of expressing by turns the most tender 
 ^ Review of Sir W. Scott's Works. 
 
202 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 and melting, and the most lively or powerful tones ; these 
 are what may be called the leading elements of a constitu- 
 tional kind in a good delivery ; and when they meet in any 
 individual, they seem quite adequate to account for his 
 success, so far as that can be associated with exterior quali- 
 fications. They do, undoubtedly, constitute great natural 
 advantages, for which those who possess them may well be 
 thankful j for such a natural dowry is to the public speaker 
 like what being born to a considerable fortune is for the 
 man of business. Yet how many of those who have risen 
 as speakers to the highest eminence, whether in the civil or 
 the sacred arena, have been more remarkable for the want 
 than for the possession of some of those qualities ! Demos- 
 thenes, whose name has come down to us as the most con- 
 summate orator of antiquity, with respect to the delivery as 
 well as to the composition of his speeches, of whom, when 
 observing the burst of admiration which came from a com- 
 pany of persons who simply heard his oration for the Crown 
 read, his rival ^Eschines is reported to have said, 'What 
 would you have felt if you had heard hhfi speak it ? ' — this 
 same Demosthenes is known to have had a rather feeble 
 constitution, and was so defective naturally in the organ of 
 speech, that the nickname /5araXos (stammerer) was applied 
 to him in his youth. It is worthy of notice, too, that the 
 modern British orator, who is commonly regarded as ap- 
 proaching nearest to Demosthenes in some of the higher 
 qualities of excellence, had very marked natural deficiencies 
 of a somewhat similar kind. * In most of the external 
 qualities of oratory,' says Lord Brougham of Mr. Fox, ' he 
 was certainly deficient, being of an unwieldy person, without 
 any grace of action, with a voice of little compass, and which, 
 when pressed in the vehemence of his speech, became shrill 
 almost to a cry or a squeak ; yet all this was absolutely for- 
 gotten in the moment when the torrent began to pour.' 
 Pitt, it is well known, had most of the qualities in this 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 203 
 
 respect which Fox wanted ; he had, at least, a dignified 
 bearing and manner, such as commanded the deference 
 and regard of others, though it sometimes wounded their 
 pride ; and his voice is said to have been in a high degree 
 sonorous, and capable of giving full effect to all the varieties 
 of style in which he excelled ; clearness of statement, close 
 argumentation, cutting sarcasm, and vehement invective. 
 And another person, a contemporary of these great rivals, 
 himself also a man of rare excellence in some departments 
 of oratory, stood much superior even to Pitt in the exterior 
 qualities of an orator ; he had them in a sort of ideal per- 
 fection, I refer to Erskine, who was possessed of such a 
 noble figure as struck every one with admiration : an ex- 
 pressive countenance, a brilliant and piercing eye, a most 
 graceful and appropriate manner; altogether such, that 
 juries felt it impossible to withdraw their looks from him 
 when once he had secured their attention ; and the whole 
 coupled with a voice peculiarly sweet, clear, flexible, adapted 
 alike to earnest pleading, playful humour, and strains of 
 melting pathos. What an accumulation of advantages ! 
 Yet great as they were, and great also as was his success 
 in public speaking, neither he nor Pitt come up to that 
 kind of action which was exemplified in Fox, and which, 
 with all his disadvantages of form and gesture and voice, 
 sufficed to render him the most effective speaker of his time 
 in Parliament. 
 
 In turning from the senate to the pulpit we meet with 
 precisely similar anomalies. The qualities which seem to 
 have commanded for some great distinction, scarcely, if 
 at all, appear in others, who yet have been able to throw 
 into their manner the most powerful attraction. By all 
 accounts, Whitfield, who perhaps more nearly reaHzed than 
 any other in this country the true ideal of a preacher of the 
 gospel, had most of the natural elements that contribute 
 to a good delivery : a prepossessing appearance, a quick. 
 
204 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 glancing eye, an elastic and powerful voice, and an action 
 full of grace and propriety. The young Spencer of Liver- 
 pool, who for the short period of his career made a singular 
 impression, and to whose wonderful power as a preacher 
 Hall has given in one of his notes a very emphatic testi- 
 mony, appears to have been equally favoured by nature ; 
 as he is represented to have been of a most engaging 
 countenance and form ; to have had a fine eye and voice, a 
 natural and impressive elocution, which, combined with 
 much devotional fervour and simple earnestness of spirit, 
 threw a quite unusual charm over his preaching ; the more 
 remarkable as his sermons, when published after his decease, 
 proved to be rather tame compositions. But when we turn to 
 others, even to some of the most eminent of recent preachers, 
 we find a very scanty distribution of these exterior qualities. 
 Hall had, no doubt, an expressive countenance and a com- 
 manding appearance, but he had a weak voice, and next 
 to no action in the pulpit. Contrasting himself with Robin- 
 son of Cambridge, whom he succeeded, and at first unfor- 
 tunately fell into imitating, he said, ' Mr. Robinson had a 
 musical voice, and was master of all its intonations ; he had 
 wonderful self-possession, and could say what he pleased, 
 when he pleased, and how he pleased ; while my voice and 
 manner were naturally bad ; and far from having self-com- 
 mand, I never entered the pulpit without omitting to say 
 something that I wished to say, and saying something that 
 I wished unsaid.' Yet, while the natural qualities which 
 tend to secure a pleasing and effective delivery were so 
 imperfectly possessed by Hall, as compared with his pre- 
 decessor, there can be no doubt that the delivery which 
 was actually the most perfect, the one which most com- 
 pletely riveted the attention of the hearers, and served to 
 impress the sentiments of the speaker most deeply upon 
 their minds, belonged to Hall in a far higher degree than it 
 ever did to Robinson. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 205 
 
 In like manner, Chalmers, whose manner for earnestness 
 and force was probably never surpassed in the pulpit, owed 
 wondrously little to the merely external gifts of nature. He 
 had a voice firm indeed, and moderately strong, but utterly 
 devoid of music, flexibility, or softness, singularly hard and 
 uniform in its intonations ; an eye that expressed nothing 
 but the utter absorption of the speaker in his own theme ; 
 and a manner without grace or polish, rarely serving more 
 than to embody the one idea of tremendous energy and 
 vital force. Yet the effect, not merely with the general 
 public, but with the most severe and keen-eyed critics, was 
 of the most impressive kind. One of the latter class, John 
 Lockhart,^ after pointing to what was defective, and men- 
 tioning that 'his voice was neither strong nor melodious, 
 his gestures neither easy nor graceful, his pronunciation not 
 only broadly national, but broadly provincial, distorting 
 almost every word he uttered into some barbarous novelty,' 
 proceeds to say : * But, in truth, these are things which no 
 listener can attend to while this great preacher stands 
 before him armed with all the weapons of the most com- 
 manding eloquence, and swaying all around him with its 
 imperial rule. ... I have heard many men,' he adds, 'deliver 
 sermons far better arranged in regard to argument, and have 
 heard very many deliver sermons far more uniform in 
 elegance both of conception and style ; but most unques- 
 tionably I have never heard, either in England or Scotland, 
 or in any other country, any preacher whose eloquence is 
 capable of producing an effect so strong and irresistible as 
 his.' 
 
 Were we to multiply examples, it would only be to pro- 
 duce fresh diversities in respect to the degrees in which 
 things naturally conducive to a good delivery have been 
 found in preachers of eminence ; and even that which might 
 seem the most indispensable of all qualities for the purpose 
 ^ In Peter's Letters. 
 
206 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 of impression, the power of a sustained pitch of voice, has 
 sometimes failed so much in preachers of great excellence 
 and power, that their most impassioned and solemn passages 
 have had to be delivered in a kind of undertone, little more 
 than an audible breathing. The conclusion, I think, to be 
 drawn from the existence of such diversities is, that an 
 effective delivery depends upon a considerable variety of 
 things ; upon qualities partly corporal, partly mental ; and 
 that though all or nearly all of them 77iay be united in a 
 single individual, yet in reality they very seldom are so ; 
 nor is it at all necessary that they should be so united in 
 order to the attainment of the highest success as to power 
 and impressiveness of action. It would even seem, from 
 the facts connected with the subject, that there is here also 
 a law of compensation which very commonly comes into 
 play ; and that it is rarely indeed those who are most fully 
 endowed with the exterior gifts of nature, but those rather 
 who have some marked defects in this respect to encounter 
 and overcome, for whom the highest place is reserved : the 
 very effort in overcoming the difficulty, or triumphing in the 
 face of an obvious disqualification, being thereby made to 
 turn to the account of the speaker, and imparting to his 
 utterances a charm they could not otherwise have possessed. 
 All this must, of course, be understood with certain limi- 
 tations. A measure even of the more superficial endow- 
 ments of nature must be held indispensable to even a 
 moderate degree of success. There are voices not only 
 naturally defective, but so inherently bad, so grating, so 
 harsh, or so impotent, that it is not conceivable they could 
 by any appHcation of art or labour be rendered subservient 
 to a good delivery. There are also constitutional tempera- 
 ments so nervously shy or timid, and features so uncouth in 
 their appearance or grotesque in their movements, that 
 they present difficulties too great to be surmounted by 'any 
 ordinary amount of industry, although, it may be admitted, 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 207 
 
 such cases are not of very frequent occurrence. They form 
 but a fragmentary portion of the number who pass through 
 the preparatory education and training which in every 
 well-regulated church precede admission into the rank of 
 preachers of the gospel. So that one can hardly say it is 
 from absolute deficiency in the simply natural and physical 
 qualities, if more than a very small proportion of them 
 should fail in the attributes essential to a becoming manner 
 for the pulpit. Yet comparative failures, there can be no 
 doubt, are far from being uncommon. In numberless in- 
 stances the remark is extorted from Christian congregations, 
 that the discourse they had listened to was Scriptural, well- 
 digested, in substance excellent, and only wanted to be 
 otherwise delivered ; but the defect there spoiled all. I 
 have known not a few men of superior talents and learn- 
 ing, apparently of a right spirit, and perfectly capable of 
 thinking out their ideas clearly and giving them adequate 
 expression, lost in a great measure from mere defects of 
 manner. They seemed to have almost everything necessary 
 to make them able ministers of the New Testament, but the 
 somewhat superficial accomplishment of a proper address. 
 This defect will, no doubt, be found in a number of cases 
 to have its root in the mental constitution of the individual — 
 in an imperfect possession of the qualities which form points 
 of sympathy and contact with the popular mind ; so that 
 while there may be a considerable dowry of natural and 
 acquired gifts, these somehow, in their mode of application, 
 acquire a set^ which wants adaptation to the popular mind, 
 and one which it may become extremely difficult, if not im- 
 possible, to rectify. Indeed, the cases generally of a de- 
 fective or vicious delivery are of a kind that, when once 
 acquired, are not likely to be much improved by such 
 directions and precepts as can be delivered in a class-room 
 or set forth on the printed page. They are so various in 
 themselves, and stand connected with such diversified ten- 
 
208 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 dencies or imperfections, that, to be dealt with effectually, 
 they would require to be dealt with individually. Somewhat 
 possibly may be done in the way of prevention, or in guid- 
 ing beforehand into the right track ; and it is mainly with 
 that view that I am going to offer a few suggestions on the 
 subject. 
 
 Before doing so, however, I would have it to be distinctly 
 understood, that the things to be noticed should not be 
 deemed as in themselves of more than secondary rank. 
 The primary and more essential attributes belong to the 
 state and temper of the soul. They consist in its enlight- 
 ened views of divine truth, its firm grasp of the principles 
 of a living piety, and its earnest desire to promote the great 
 ends of the Christian ministry. Nothing can possibly com- 
 pensate for the want of these, as the possession of them is 
 the great spur to excellence. The very spring and heart of 
 all effective preaching may be said to stand in this, feeling 
 with all the soul, and then speaking with all the soul. 
 
 I. With this precaution as to the relative importance of 
 things, and omitting all that is of a subordinate and merely 
 circumstantial kind,^ I notice, in the first place, that great care 
 should be taken to acquire a distinct and proper ejiunciation. 
 If there is any obvious defect here, every effort should be 
 made by a resolute and continued application to get rid of 
 it. For, whatever may be the peculiar style of the preacher, 
 whether it may naturally assume a calm and dignified or 
 a lively and impassioned form, it will always be a great 
 advantage to possess, and a corresponding disadvantage to 
 want, a clear and articulate enunciation. Should the words 
 be uttered in too rapid or mumbling a fashion to be dis- 
 tinctly caught by the audience, should there be any broad or 
 
 ^ There are things of this sort, however, which are well deserving 
 the attention of preachers, such as their mode of entering the pulpit, 
 their bearing in it, their treatment of the congregation : all should be 
 serious, without levity or undue familiarity. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 209 
 
 obvious provincialism in the mode of expression, or should 
 the tone of voice have got anything of a monotonous or 
 sing-song manner, there is necessarily so far a grave impedi- 
 ment in the way of success ; and if not earnestly grappled 
 with and overcome, it will be almost sure to grow into a 
 confirmed habit. 
 
 But one of the main difficulties, when such a defect really 
 exists, lies in the unconsciousness of the individual : it is a 
 chance if he ever becomes duly sensible of it. Every one 
 readily gets accustomed to his own manner of speech and 
 action ; and nothing is more common than for those who 
 have some marked peculiarities of utterance or gesture to 
 fall into a sort of unconsciousness about them. It is here 
 that the lessons of an elocution teacher may lend important 
 service, not so much by imparting any positive element of 
 success, as by awakening a full consciousness of the evil 
 that exists, showing it to its owner as it appears when trans- 
 ferred to the person of another. In this way a too quick 
 utterance, a bad intonation, a misplacing or neglect of 
 emphasis, a tendency to strike upon some disagreeable key, 
 or to use certain kinds of provincial mannerisms, may be 
 detected before they have settled down into permanent 
 habits, and brought under correction. Even with some 
 pains and help of this description before the work of preach- 
 ing has been actually commenced, it will rarely happen that 
 nothing more in the way of correction needs to be effected ; 
 and young preachers, if they are wise, will keep their ears 
 open to any hints or suggestions that may be tendered them 
 on the subject. It is a point of some delicacy how far 
 settled pastors should encourage animadversions upon their 
 manner in the pulpit, any more than upon the substance of 
 their discourses, though even they should beware of drawing 
 too tight a cordon around themselves ; but preachers, who 
 are only, as it were, feeling their way to the right manner of 
 speech and action, should be less scrupulous about being 
 
 o 
 
210 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 spoken to. And, I repeat, if they are wise, they will for a 
 time keep their ears open. It requires a good deal of wis- 
 dom to do so ; wisdom grounded in deep humility of spirit, 
 godly simpHcity of purpose, unfeigned desire to know the 
 real truth of the case in order to turn it to profitable ac- 
 count ; for it is apt to come like a chilling blast upon one's 
 spirits, after having plied every effort to deliver the divine 
 message according to the best of one's ability, to be told of 
 some unhappy blemish or imperfection that considerably 
 interferes with the impression. Yet remember, if there be 
 such a hindrance to your proper success, it exists whether 
 you are told of it or not ; and in such a case ignorance is 
 emphatically 7iot bliss ; nay, ^ open rebuke is better than 
 secret love.' It is much better to be made acquainted with 
 the evil, when it may still be remedied, though the dis- 
 covery may haply come as a stroke on the cheek, than that 
 it should be allowed without a struggle to root itself in your 
 being. Preachers should hold it for certain, that for the first 
 four or five years, at least, they are in the position of learners, 
 with not a few things about them that require to be im- 
 proved and rectified ; and that they can attain to the relative 
 perfection of which they may be capable no otherwise than 
 by becoming alive to the evil as well as the good in their 
 characteristics, and striving with manly resolution to make 
 the best of it. Perfection here, as in other things, comes 
 not so much from being originally destitute of faults, as from 
 knowing well what faults exist, and then aiming at their 
 rectification.^ 
 
 2. A second point to be attended to, is to endeavour to 
 obtain naturalness in voice and manner. Nothing in this 
 respect can be quite good which is not natural, or which 
 attempts to put nature to an undue strain, doing some sort 
 of violence to it. In all departments nature must be the 
 
 ^ See Miller's Clerical Manners, p. 99. There are also some good re- 
 marks on the subject in Beecher's Lectures on Preaching, Lect. vi. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 211 
 
 foundation of art, in a great degree also the measure of art ; 
 and not what, abstractedly considered, may be the best, but 
 what is best relatively to the powers and situation of each 
 individual, that is for him the point especially to be aimed 
 at. Very commonly it is some time before this can be quite 
 surely ascertained. The man must be regarded as unusually 
 skilful and fortunate who gets all at once into the kind of 
 voice and manner which it is most becoming in him to 
 cultivate as a public speaker. In the majority of cases 
 there will probably be found an ideal excellence set up in 
 the mind's eye, derived more or less from the known cha- 
 racteristics of some particular individual. And from that 
 imitative principle in our nature which has so many im- 
 portant functions to fulfil, we are extremely apt to fancy 
 that what seems natural to others must be the same with 
 ourselves. Hence it so often happens that artificial man- 
 nerisms, strained and unnatural modes of speech, which are 
 utterly unknown in youth, spring up in after life, and be- 
 come all the more inveterate that they are acquired. And 
 if in higher things the way to the right has many times to 
 be sought by returning whence one has set out; if, as has 
 been said, ' Childhood often holds a truth with its feeble 
 fingers which the grasp of manhood cannot retain, which it 
 is the pride of utmost age to recover ' (Ruskin) ; so with 
 the earnest student, in regard to what is for him the proper 
 style of manner and speech, his chief endeavour will often 
 need to be directed to the getting rid of the fajse set he 
 has acquired, and resuming the simple tones, the natural 
 cadences, and unforced gesticulations of childhood. Let 
 every one try to bear in mind,, that so far as in these 
 respects he departs from the simplicity of nature, his man- 
 ner inevitably loses in power and attractiveness ; while, by 
 taking nature for his basis, he may make almost incredible 
 advances. 
 
 On this point the question was asked by one who was 
 
212 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 himself a distinguished and most useful preacher, i ' When 
 will preachers learn that preaching is but talking in a louder 
 tone, and with a little more emphasis of manner? Why 
 affect a preaching or a praying tone, a manner of speaking 
 pecuHar to the pulpit ? The conversational manner, occa- 
 sionally elevated, animated, and energetic as impassioned 
 passages and feelings may require, is what we want. There 
 are some men who are good talkers out of the pulpit, yet 
 bad speakers in it. How much more acceptable would 
 they be, if they would carry their easy, natural manner of 
 conversation with them into the sacred desk!' Yet it is 
 possible to go to excess also in this direction ; and there is 
 truth in what Adolph Monod says,^ that ' too great fami- 
 liarity is almost as great a fault as declamation. It is the 
 tone of good conversation, but this tone ennobled and ex- 
 alted, which seems to me to be the ideal of oratorical de- 
 livery.' Very much to the same effect is said by Whately -.^ 
 ' It would not be by any means natural to an educated and 
 sober-minded man to speak like an illiterate enthusiast, or 
 to discourse on the most important matters in the tone of 
 familiar conversation respecting the trifling occurrences of 
 the day. Any one who does but notice the style in which 
 a man of abiHty, and of good choice of words and utterance, 
 delivers his sentiments in private^ when he is, for instance, 
 earnestly and seriously admonishing a friend, defending the 
 truths of religion, or speaking on any other grave subject on 
 which he is intent, may easily observe how different his 
 tone is from that of light and familiar conversation, how far 
 from deficient in the dignified seriousness which befits the 
 case ! Even a stranger to the language might guess that he 
 was not engaged on any frivolous topic. And yet, when an 
 opportunity occurs of observing how he delivers a written 
 discourse of his own composition, or perhaps the very same 
 
 ' James, in Earnest Ministry^ p. Il8. 
 
 2 Discourse on Delivery of Sermons, ^ Rhetoric, p. 364. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 213 
 
 on a similar subject, will it not often be perceived how com- 
 paratively stiff, languid, and unimpressive is the effect?' 
 
 In short, there are two extremes here to be guarded 
 against. On the one side a stiff, formal mouthing, or mono- 
 tonous manner; on the other, the quite free and easy, or 
 simply conversational tone. The latter is so far better than 
 the former, that it is natural, though wanting the proper 
 force and elevation of tone. And he who can hit the happy 
 medium between the two is the person who here lights upon 
 the proper track. 
 
 3. Another thing of great importance, and materially 
 conducive to the end just considered, is getting the mind 
 well prepared on the subject of discourse, at home in it, 
 and alive to it. Every one is sensible of the difference of 
 manner in the person who, whatever be the matter in hand, 
 shows himself to be well acquainted with the topics he dis- 
 cusses, and the same person, perhaps, when conversing 
 about what he neither very well knows nor cares much 
 about. In the former case there is sure to be a precision, a 
 freedom, and a warmth in what is said, of which Httle or no 
 trace is found in the other. There is no conceivable reason 
 why it should be otherwise in the pulpit. The difference in 
 the two cases may rather be expected to be more marked 
 there, as the speaker is less at his ease, and he can less 
 readily conceal any deficiency in knowledge or interest 
 under which he may labour. If a preacher goes to the pulpit 
 with his ideas imperfectly arranged or dimly apprehended ; 
 or if, having all in that respect much as it should be, he 
 has still not got his heart about the subject, so that the 
 matter he has to bring forth may rather be said to lie before 
 him than to be incorporated with his inner man, it is in the 
 nature of things impossible that the mode of delivery can 
 be engaging or impressive. It may well enough be distinct, 
 correct, or possibly animated and vehement, but it can have 
 nothing of true kindling warmth and stimulating power. 
 
2 14 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 Undue familiarity with the subject of a discourse may- 
 produce substantially the same effect as comparative strange- 
 ness to it; everything by frequent repetition has lost its 
 freshness to the preacher's mind, and become in a manner 
 stale. Indeed, whatever has the effect of keeping the 
 speaker himself at some distance from his theme, of render- 
 ing it either faint to his apprehension or dull to the feelings 
 of his heart, cannot but in a like proportion affect the man- 
 ner in which he discourses of it to others. And no one who 
 has any experience in preaching can have failed to perceive 
 how differently in point of naturalness, life, and energy he 
 has spoken what was perhaps to a nearness the same dis- 
 course at one time, compared with the tone and spirit which 
 characterized his delivery of it at another. It is necessary, 
 therefore, to remember that no general propriety of manner, 
 nor even this coupled with a clear and accurate knowledge 
 of the whole matter of discourse, will be sufficient to ensure, 
 regularly and unexceptionably, a mode of delivery that will 
 meet either the expectations of the hearers or the desires of 
 the preacher himself. Much will still depend upon his state 
 of mind at the time ; and only when, by previous meditation 
 and prayer, this has been brought into suitable accordance 
 with the message he has to deliver, will the words he speaks 
 pass from him with due emphasis and power. No art in 
 the mere modulation of speech, no straining or energy of 
 action, can ever make up for the want of a heartfelt appre- 
 ciation of the things discoursed of, or a rightly attempered 
 frame of mind. 
 
 4. A further point which calls for some consideration 
 and adjustment, is the adaptation of the mode of delivery to 
 the precise character of the discourse, or particular portions 
 of the discourse, delivered. Varieties in the one naturally 
 call for corresponding varieties in the other. If the dis- 
 course were altogether of an explanatory or expository 
 nature, it would not do to be spoken with the same tone 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 215 
 
 and tension of manner, which might be quite suitable and 
 appropriate if one were endeavouring to illustrate and en- 
 force a principle, or exhort to the performance of some 
 arduous duty. But a pulpit discourse will, in general, only 
 in part belong to any specific kind ; in some portions it will 
 aim more immediately at the enlightenment of the under- 
 standing ; in others, at the excitation of the feelings, or the 
 guidance and direction of the will. It should therefore 
 differ materially in its structure from an essay, which, calling 
 into play the intellect or taste merely, m.ay preserve through- 
 out an almost unchanging equability of tone. The other 
 requires a certain measure of variety ; variety, first, in the 
 method and style of discourse, and then somewhat of a like 
 variety in the manner, which is associated with the delivery 
 of its several parts. If the whole should be gone through 
 in one strain, the attention of the audience will inevitably 
 flag ; a sense of satiety or weariness will be produced, and 
 the preacher may not improbably come to be viewed much 
 in the light of a performer who has a certain taskwork of 
 duty to overtake, rather than of one who has to play skil- 
 fully on an instrument, so as, if possible, to touch the various 
 sensibilities, and work into proper harmony of thought and 
 feeling with himself the minds of those he addresses. There 
 should therefore be an effort to vary the manner according 
 to the nature of the discourse ; and to time oneself as to 
 strength and energy, by interposing quieter and calmer pas- 
 sages between those requiring somewhat of sustained and 
 vigorous action. Sometimes even brief pauses are advisable, 
 if the discourse is of such a nature as to demand continuous 
 thought and sustained application ; it being no small part of 
 practical wisdom to take one's breath at the right time, and 
 thereby give seasonable relief both to speaker and hearer. 
 
 5. The remarks hitherto made have had reference to 
 delivery in general, whether the discourse may be simply in 
 the pastor's mind or lying in a written page before him. 
 
2l6 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 Nothing further has been impHed than that the matter he is 
 going to address to his congregation has been made the 
 subject of previous thought and consideration, so as to 
 quahfy him for speaking intelligently and feelingly about it ; 
 without which, directions as to manner will be of little mo- 
 ment. But it would be improper to quit this branch of the 
 subject without paying some attention to the question as to 
 the relative merits of preaching from or without manuscript ; 
 or as it is very commonly put, preaching, or simply reading 
 sermons. 
 
 If one were to be guided by authorities on the art of 
 public speaking, the question would be easily decided ; for 
 while I know of many writers on this art who have spoken 
 very decidedly against reading discourses, I know of none 
 worth mentioning who gives the preference to the opposite 
 practice. Campbell says : ^ 'That a discourse well spoken has 
 a stronger effect than one well read, will hardly bear a ques- 
 tion. From this manifest truth I very early concluded, and 
 was long of opinion, that the way of reading sermons should 
 be absolutely banished from, the pulpit. But from further 
 experience I am now disposed to suspect that this conclusion 
 was rather hasty.' He goes on to state that he found so 
 very few attained to excellence in speaking their discourses, 
 while a considerable number read tolerably, that he deemed 
 it, upon the whole, preferable to have the plan, which in 
 itself was inferior, and admitted only of a respectable medio- 
 crity, generally adopted ; not, therefore, because he thought 
 it better, but because a certain degree of success in it was 
 easier. Blair, with all his coldness and moderation, gives 
 his decision in a tone still more decided. He says : ^ * The 
 practice of reading sermons is one of the greatest obstacles 
 to the eloquence of the pulpit in Great Britain, where alone 
 this practice prevails ' (alone in Blair's time, though far from 
 
 ^ Lectures on Pulpit Eloquence^ p. 159. 
 2 Lectures^ ii. p. 297. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 21 7 
 
 being so now). ' No discourse which is designed to be per- 
 suasive can have the same force when read as when spoken. 
 The common people all feel this, and their prejudice against 
 this practice is not without foundation in nature. What is 
 gained hereby in point of correctness is not equal, I appre- 
 hend, to what is lost in point of persuasion and force.' 
 
 In a former generation, Bishop Burnet spoke of the prac- 
 tice as one ' peculiar to the English nation, and endured by- 
 no other.' So distasteful was it on its first general introduc- 
 tion there, that Charles ii. issued a proclamation forbidding 
 it as 'a supine and superficial way of preaching,' as it was 
 characterized, which had lately sprung up, and ought to be 
 laid aside. Whately, in more recent times, refrains from 
 pronouncing a judgment on the comparative advantages of 
 the two methods with reference to the pulpit ; for he will 
 hardly allow himself to regard it as an open question, whether 
 sermons should be read or not. He takes it for granted that 
 they will be read, and contents himself with giving some 
 directions which might help preachers to attain to a style 
 of reading that would approximate preaching as to ap- 
 parent naturalness and real power. But his very speech 
 betrays how he felt as to the relative tendencies of the two 
 modes, and which of them he thought best calculated in 
 itself to produce effect. ' It has been already remarked,' he 
 says, ' how easy it is for the hearers to keep up their attention 
 when they are addressed by one who is really speaking to 
 them in a natural and earnest manner, though the discourse, 
 perhaps, may be encumbered with a good deal of repetition, 
 awkwardness of expression, and other faults incident to ex- 
 temporaneous language ; and though it be prolonged for an* 
 hour or two, and yet contain no more matter than a good 
 writer could have clearly expressed in a discourse of half an 
 hour, which last, if read to them, would not, without some 
 effort on their part, have so fully detained their attention.' 
 Of course, therefore, other things being equal, the speaker 
 
2l8 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 has a great advantage over the reader for sustaining the 
 interest of his auditors, and gaining the practical ends he 
 aims at. Hare, who was more free, and less trammelled in 
 his judgment on such matters by conventional arrangements, 
 leaves no room to doubt how he thought upon the subject :^ 
 * What do our clergy lose,' says he, ' by reading their ser- 
 mons ? They lose preaching ; the preaching of the voice in 
 many cases, the preaching of the eye almost always.' And 
 to name but another, the late excellent Mr. James very 
 earnestly dissuades from the practice of reading i^ ' Nothing,' 
 he says, ' can be conceived of more likely to repress earnest- 
 ness and to hinder our usefulness than this method becoming 
 general. True it is, that some preachers may rise up, who, 
 like a few living examples, may in despite of this practice 
 attain to eminence, to honour, and to usefulness, such as 
 rarely falls to the lot of ministers in any denomination ; but 
 this will not be the case with the greater number, who, 
 having no commanding talent to lift them above the disad- 
 vantage of this habit, will find few churches willing to accept 
 their dulness for the sake of the accuracy with which it is 
 expressed. And who can tell how much greater our greatest 
 men would be if they delivered their sermons without their 
 notes ? ' ^ 
 
 Certainly, as regards the general feeling in congregations, 
 at least in Scotland, there is a strong advantage on the side 
 of the non-reading preacher. He takes the course which 
 appears to them both natural and proper, so that the way is 
 
 ^ Guesses at T^-uth, vol. ii. p. 214. ^ Earnest Ministry, p. 124. 
 
 3 It is worthy of note also that the introduction of the practice among 
 the English Nonconformists was not of very happy omen. ' In the 
 course of the second period (that is, near the close of last century), it 
 became the fashion among the Dissenting ministers to read their ser- 
 mons. Brief outlines of the sermon had been made use of by some of 
 the Nonconformists to assist the memory ; a few had the whole placed 
 before them, which they looked at occasionally ; but the greater part 
 made themselves masters of the subject, and preached without notes. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 219 
 
 in a manner open for him to make such impression on their 
 minds as the matter with which he is charged is calculated 
 to produce. With the person, however, who reads his dis- 
 courses there is, first of all, a repugnance to be overcome ; 
 he has to fight his way, in a manner, to a favourable hearing, 
 to confront and triumph over an acknowledged prejudice. 
 All must admit this to be so far a disadvantage were the 
 feeling in question nothing but a prejudice without any valid 
 grounds to rest on ; for there are prejudices which wise and 
 prudent men will never fail to respect, which apostles even 
 were obliged to humour in order that they might not preach 
 in vain, or labour in vain. But I doubt if, in the present case, 
 the feeling should be treated simply and in all cases as a 
 prejudice. Even Blair says : ' It has its foundation in nature,' 
 as, indeed, the general practice of mankind in regard to 
 public speaking clearly evinces. It springs from a prevail- 
 ing and deep-rooted conviction, that when men thoroughly 
 in earnest undertake to speak to their fellow-men on a sub- 
 ject of importance, they should be able to give expression 
 to their views and feelings without the formal apparatus 
 of a book, and with the freedom and elasticity of a spoken 
 address. It undoubtedly has also, in this country at least, 
 the general testimony of results on its side ; for the preaching 
 which has usually been most appreciated by the better por- 
 tion of the community, and which has yielded by much the 
 largest harvest of spiritual good, is undoubtedly preaching 
 
 By degrees reading slipt into general use with those who wrote their 
 discourses at full length, not only among the Presbyterians, but the In- 
 dependents too ; and there were few of the London ministers in either 
 of these denominations who did not pore very much over their notes. 
 Towards the close of the period the practice was at its height. Not to 
 use notes was at that time accounted methodistical ; and in the metro- 
 polis, reading was the evidence of Dissenting regularity. ' ^ 
 
 ^ Bogue and Bennett's Hist, of Dissenters, vol. ii. p. 263. 
 
2 20 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 in the stricter sense, preaching as contradistinguished from 
 reading ; the latter also, in many parts of the country, being 
 associated with sad memories of cold and lifeless ministra- 
 tions. And there is, I suspect, in the better class of our 
 Scottish population, a deeper and more sacred feeling still 
 at the bottom of their dislike to read sermons. They have 
 elevated views of the ministry of the gospel when it appears 
 to be prosecuted in an earnest and believing spirit. He 
 who comes forth in such a spirit to discharge its duties, 
 especially in the preaching of the gospel, is regarded by 
 them as the bearer of a message from the Lord ; not as if he 
 had any new tidings to divulge, or truths never heard before 
 to communicate, but because he has on his spirit portions of 
 the word of God to unfold in its proper meaning and various 
 application, so that, relatively to their state and sense of 
 obligation, it comes to them as a fresh exhibition of divine 
 truth, a new opening to them of the counsel of Heaven. Im- 
 pressed with such a conviction, and justly impressed with it, 
 they cannot understand how that should possess anything like 
 the character of a message to them from the upper sanctuary 
 which they see the minister reading calmly from a paper 
 before him. This presents to their view the aspect of an 
 essay composed, or a line of argumentation pursued, by the 
 reasoning faculties of the man ; a thing for the family or the 
 closet rather than for the house of God, where the special 
 presence of the Spirit is expected, and where living communi- 
 cations should be ever passing between heaven and earth. 
 They judge, of course, from appearances. You cannot get 
 them to throw themselves back upon the pastor's study, and 
 consider whether there may not, for a well-spoken discourse, 
 have been as much previous preparation going on there as 
 for a read one, and whether the one kind of preparation may 
 not have been as much made under the guidance of the 
 Spirit as the other. They judge, as I have said, in great 
 measure from the appearance ; the one mode of delivering 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 221 
 
 the testimony of God has much more than the other the 
 aspect of a real message, a direct deahng with their souls 
 about divine things ; nor can they easily persuade themselves 
 that the pastor has the interests of salvation properly at 
 heart if he cannot discourse to them with some freeness on 
 the subject. And I fear, if the practice of reading should 
 become altogether or nearly universal, it would go far to 
 undermine the salutary feeling of which I speak. Sermons 
 read from the pulpit will come to be regarded much in the 
 light of a kind of book Hterature, and the idea cease to be 
 entertained of its being one of the appointed channels 
 through which the Spirit maintains living intercourse with 
 the souls of men. 
 
 Taking all these things into account, considering also the 
 difficulty, with all possible care and application, of acquiring 
 a manner in reading which shall approximate speaking in 
 naturalness and life, considering further the almost inevi- 
 table loss it involves of what Hare calls the preaching voice, 
 and especially the preaching eye, I have no hesitation in 
 giving my decided and earnest recommendation in favour 
 of preaching without manuscript, as in itself, and apart from 
 any peculiar circumstances of place or otherwise, the method 
 that ought to be preferred. So clearly does this appear to me 
 to be the right course, that there should always, I think, be 
 strong and somewhat special reasons to warrant a departure 
 from it. I am by no means disposed to say such reasons 
 may not exist, and would deprecate any stringent regula- 
 tion on the subject, absolutely proscribing the use of papers 
 in the pulpit. Sometimes the character of the congregation 
 may furnish an adequate reason, namely, when it is almost 
 wholly composed of persons of much culture and polish, 
 naturally disposing it to prize — to prize, perhaps, unduly — 
 the correct or the beautiful in thought and expression above 
 the emotional and impulsive; in such a case it may be 
 usually the wisest course to adopt the practice of reading. 
 
2 22 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 The great majority of preachers, even of such as are dis- 
 tinguished by their powers of speech, might find this the 
 mode best adapted to render their ministrations most accept- 
 able and useful to the class of minds they have to deal with. 
 Sometimes, again, the occasion may furnish an adequate 
 reason, as when the discourse to be delivered is on some 
 topic on which it is desirable to bring forward a considerable 
 amount of specific information, or to treat it with much pre- 
 cision of thought and language ; in that case few congrega- 
 tions would be so unreasonable as to object to the free use 
 of written preparations, for it is rather the solidity of the 
 matter, and the well-weighed, carefully-balanced expression 
 that is given to one's views respecting it, by which the dis- 
 course is to succeed in its aim, than its power to interest and 
 move the feelings. Still, again, there may be reasons in the 
 mental constitution of the preacher himself rendering it 
 every way probable, if not absolutely certain, that his man- 
 ner of delivery, on the whole, would be rather injured than 
 improved by the disuse of his notes. The case of Dr. 
 Chalmers may be referred to as one of the most noticeable 
 examples in this class. His cast of thought so deeply im- 
 pressed itself on his style, and that style was so much more 
 adapted for written composition than for extemporaneous 
 address, that his discourses, in anything approaching their 
 actual form, could scarcely have been delivered otherwise 
 than by reading from the manuscript. Yet their vehement 
 and persuasive oratory was so intimately connected with the 
 very form in which they were produced, that one could 
 hardly have advised the alteration of the form in order 
 simply to get rid of the manuscript ; the more especially as 
 in his case, more perhaps than that of any other great exem- 
 plar of eloquence, there was such an absorption of the man 
 in the subject, that it seemed much a matter of indifference 
 whether he read or not. The rapt enthusiasm of the speaker 
 made everything external be forgotten ; and as it was clear 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 223 
 
 that the eye moved too much in a region of its own to keep 
 up the play of any direct interchange of feehng with the 
 audience, the effect was not sensibly marred by its resting 
 so much on the written page. His case, however, was alto- 
 gether peculiar; it must be excepted from the common 
 category ; for as few could 7'ead like him in the pulpit as 
 write like him at the desk. 
 
 Most commonly, when reasons are drawn from the per- 
 sonal idiosyncrasy of the preacher, they turn upon the felt 
 difficulty, the practical impossibility, of getting the subject 
 of discourse in the mind without writing the discourse in 
 full, and then committing it to memory, so that it must be 
 much the same thoughts and expressions which in either 
 case are presented to the minds of the congregation ; and 
 as to the preacher's own consciousness, there is little differ- 
 ence between the discourse as spoken or as read. As, more- 
 over, the preparation necessary to speak it costs much time 
 and irksome labour, and the actual speaking is attended 
 with manifold anxieties, not to say risks of failure, which 
 are avoided by the smoother course of reading, he deems 
 himself justified in resorting to this latter method, and 
 thinks it reasonable that the grounds of his decision should 
 prevail also with his audience. I have no doubt that there 
 are persons of good natural abilities, and in many respects 
 so qualified for the work of the ministry, that it were to be 
 regretted if the Church should lose their services, who yet, 
 from defect of memory or from nervous temperament, find 
 the work of preaching without manuscript so beset with 
 difficulties, that the other practice appears to them the only 
 one properly within their reach. It is also possible, by due 
 pains and well-directed effort, to get into a mode of reading 
 so easy and graceful and impressive, that it resembles much 
 a spoken address; for in this respect great diversities 
 undoubtedly exist. It is possible, yet one cannot say 
 frequent; and there are two considerations which should 
 
2 24 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 have much weight in disposing candidates for the ministry 
 to be cautious in giving way to such a style of thinking. 
 One is, that the practice of reading discourses ministers so 
 readily to the love of ease, that it is almost sure to call forth 
 by degrees less application, to grow less like speaking rather 
 than the reverse ; the manuscript, when once fairly trusted 
 to, will be increasingly depended on, and at last, perhaps, 
 slavishly adhered to. The other consideration is, that 
 unless one sits resolutely to the work of studying his subject 
 with the view of being prepared to preach without notes, he 
 scarcely knows what he can do in the matter, or what, in 
 the long run, would be the actual cost to him in time and 
 labour. The greatest difficulties He here at the threshold ; 
 they call for vigorous and persevering application at the 
 outset ; but if this is given they gradually diminish, till an 
 amount of work is done, and done with comparative ease, 
 which at one time would have appeared incredible to the 
 person himself who succeeds in accomplishing it. 
 
 Take as an example the case of Thomas Scott the com- 
 mentator. In a letter to a country clergyman, Mr. Coffin, 
 published along with many others so late as 1845, Mr. 
 Newton sought to stimulate and encourage his correspon- 
 dent by the experience of Scott. ' Mr. Scott,' he says, ' is 
 perhaps the most ready and fluent extempore preacher 
 amongst us ; yet when he agreed with me upon other points, 
 he still insisted that he should never be able to preach 
 without a book. For some time he read his prayer in his 
 chamber with his wife, and had not confidence to let even 
 her hear him without a form. . . . One day he was so taken 
 up that he could not possibly write his homily. He was 
 forced to speak ; and was not a little surprised when some 
 of the people told him they hoped he would read no more, 
 for they had never heard him so well before. From that 
 time he laid his notes aside.' Indeed, he went to the 
 opposite extreme, of not only laying aside notes, but ceasing 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 2 2$ 
 
 to write them ; he simply premeditated his subject, and 
 used what words and illustrations came to his hand at the 
 moment of delivery, an extreme I by no means recommend. 
 But in Mr. Scott's case its injurious tendencies would 
 probably be in good measure counteracted by the vigour 
 of his understanding, his uncommon acquaintance with 
 Scripture, and the constant exercise of his pen in other 
 departments of labour. I point to his example mainly in 
 proof of the success which often attends the resolute endea- 
 vour to overcome the difficulties that seem to render pro- 
 gress in the line I recommend all but impracticable. For 
 those, however, who resolve to make the attempt of preach- 
 ing without manuscript, various methods may be adopted, 
 according to their own peculiar gifts and predilections. In 
 every case, where absolute necessity does not prevent, there 
 should be careful preparation. But this, with some, may 
 take the form of fully thinking out the subject in their mind, 
 with comparatively little in the way of writing, which, by 
 practice, may be carried to the extent of arranging almost 
 every line of thought and illustration, many a paragraph 
 also of the discourse, while still leaving the mind at some 
 liberty to follow the impulse of the moment, and to speak 
 as the Spirit may give them utterance. This is the plan 
 that has been followed by some of the most eminent 
 preachers, as well in former as in present times. Of Mr. 
 Hall, for example, we are told by Ur. Leifchild in his 
 memoirs : ' I learnt from him that most of his great sermons 
 were first worked out in thought, and inwardly elaborated 
 in the very words in which they were delivered. He 
 ridiculed the delusion of those who supposed that the 
 perorations of his sermons were delivered impromptu^ ob- 
 serving that they were the most carefully studied parts of 
 the whole discourse.' Or the method may be adopted of 
 writing the introduction in full, one or more of the heads 
 of discourse, with select portions of other parts ; and, for 
 
 p 
 
2 26 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 the rest, merely placing the thoughts in order, adjusting 
 the materials, but leaving the language to the moment of 
 delivery. This method has the advantage of obliging the 
 mind to have its course of thought and illustration very 
 distinctly marked out beforehand, and also of providing it 
 with a certain amount of suitable matter for the occasion, 
 while at ever-recurring intervals it gives scope to the free 
 expression of thoughts and feelings as they arise. Only, as 
 in the former case, it will certainly require, to be managed 
 with success, a considerable degree of self-possession, with 
 clearness of vision and readiness of utterance ; otherwise 
 there is sure to appear at particular parts a hesitancy, a 
 confusion of thought, or perhaps a tendency to fall into 
 repetitions. With the requisite amount of talent and ade- 
 quate preparation such things may be prevented, but they 
 will need to be well guarded against. Still another method 
 has been adopted by some, that of writing the discourse 
 throughout, then reading it carefully over once and again 
 so as to get the entire train of thought on the memory, and 
 many of the particular expressions also in which it is 
 unfolded ; yet without attempting to have it committed 
 verbatim^ which, from experience, they find to be irksome 
 and embarrassing. When such a plan can be followed 
 without material inconvenience, that is, when it suits the 
 preacher's mental habits, it may be followed with advantage, 
 combining, as it does, careful preparations with a rational 
 freedom in the use of them. But the instances are not, 
 perhaps, very numerous in which it will be found practically 
 available. For, generally speaking, when one has been at 
 the pains of writing all beforehand, the mind will not be 
 satisfied with itself if it does not also present its thoughts in 
 the same form to others ; and a conscious departure from 
 that form in the delivery will usually have the effect of dis- 
 concerting the preacher, and of rendering his manner hesi- 
 tating and embarrassed. It will only succeed where there is 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 227 
 
 such a want of faithfulness and precision in the memory as 
 convinces the individual of his utter inability to adhere 
 closely to what he has written, and at the same time a con- 
 scious need of the support it provides. 
 
 But, undoubtedly, the more common method, and the 
 one that will probably be found in the great majority of 
 cases to be most practicable, is to write, if not absolutely 
 all the discourse, yet all that is of much moment, and so far 
 to commit it to memory as to be able to deliver it with sub- 
 stantial correctness from the pulpit, with nothing more, 
 perhaps, than a brief outline of the train of thought. At 
 first, no doubt, this will usually be accompanied with a 
 sense of irksomeness in the effort to get such a mass of pre- 
 conceived matter upon the mind, and a feeling of restraint 
 in uttering it. But by exercise these gradually give way ; 
 the manner of composition adapts itself more and more 
 closely to the manner of delivery, and the memory both 
 acquires more easily, and with more fidelity retains, what has 
 been written, so that the preacher comes to write much as 
 he would speak, and to speak much as if he was not adher- 
 ing to any pre-arranged form of words. People who have 
 not fairly tried this method can have no adequate idea of 
 the extent to which it can be realized, and of the indefinite 
 nearness to which the utterance of the speaker can be made 
 to approach in style and spirit the habits of the writer. 
 
 The degree of preparation, however, which has now been 
 recommended, is sometimes thought too much, has even 
 been stigmatized by persons of some standing and experi- 
 ence as at variance with the apostolic idea of preaching, and 
 incompatible with the true power of the pulpit. It is done 
 particularly in the spirited treatise of Dr. Arthur, The Tongue 
 of Fire. The treatise contains not a little that is excellent 
 and deserving of serious consideration, but is somewhat 
 one-sided, looking at the subject from what may be called 
 more especially the Methodist point of view, as if the end 
 
2 28 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 of preaching were almost exclusively conversion, and the 
 minister had only to aim at the bringing of souls to 
 Christ. And this, as formerly stated, is so very fundamental 
 and primary an object in the ministerial calling, that I 
 regret having to say anything that may even seem to take 
 off the mind from it, or to lessen its relative importance. It 
 is immensely the greatest, but still it is not the whole ; and 
 to contemplate it as the exclusive object of a minister's 
 anxiety and labour, is not, I am convinced, the best way of 
 securing even that, as it naturally leads to the undue eleva- 
 tion of some elements of power, and the comparative or total 
 neglect of others. Contemplating the matter chiefly from 
 the point of view now mentioned, the writer in question 
 states it to be the right feeling for every one who goes to 
 preach the gospel, after having been at some pains to think 
 over and digest the truth : * I am here to say just what God 
 may enable me to say ; to be enlarged or to be straitened, 
 according as He may be pleased to give utterance or not.'^ 
 And with this feeling, he says, 'all appearances ought to 
 correspond. It ought to be manifest that, while he has done 
 what in him lies to be thoroughly furnished, he is trusting 
 for utterance to help from above, and not ensuring it by 
 natural means, either a manuscript or memory. We put 
 these together, because we do not see that any distinction 
 really exists between them. The plea that the manuscript 
 is more honest than menwriter preaching has some force, 
 but certainly not much, for he that reads from his memory 
 is to the feeling and instinct of his hearers as much reading 
 as he who reads from his manuscript. In neither case are 
 the thoughts and feelings gushing straight from the mind, 
 and clothing themselves as they come. The mind is taking 
 up words from paper or from memory, and doing its best to 
 animate them with feeling. Even intellectually the opera- 
 tion is essentially different from speaking, and the difference 
 1 P. 322. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 229 
 
 is felt by all. For literary purposes, for intellectual gratifi- 
 cation, both have a decided advantage over speaking ; but 
 for the purposes of pleading, entreating, winning, and creat- 
 ing a sense of fellowship, for impelling and arousing, for 
 doing good, speaking is the natural, is the Creator's instru- 
 ment.' He admits that other modes may be, and have 
 been, blessed for good ; but still he says of reading, either 
 from the manuscript or from memory, that it is not Scrip- 
 tural preaching. ' It is not ministering after the mode of 
 Pentecostal Christianity ; it is a departure from Scriptural 
 precedent, an adoption of a lower order of pubHc ministra- 
 tions, and a solemn declaration that security of utterance 
 gained by natural supports is preferred over a liability to be 
 humihated by trusting to the help of the Lord.' 
 
 With much esteem for the author of these sentiments, I 
 yet feel constrained to say, that the passage appears to me 
 to contain quite false assumptions, false alike in the psycho- 
 logy and in the Scriptural idea of the subject, and is much 
 fitted, if reduced to practice, to lead to disappointed hopes 
 and unsatisfying results. First of all, it is ridiculous to say 
 that to speak from memory what has been committed to it 
 beforehand is all one with reading, as in both cases alike 
 the mind can only take up the words which lie before it, 
 and do its best to animate them with feeling. Can a senti- 
 ment not be impregnated with the feelings of the heart 
 which is presented to it even in the most definite form 
 through the memory ? What, in that case, would become 
 of the great Pentecostal address itself, one half of which and 
 more consists of Scripture quotations, and which, doubtless, 
 came into Peter's lips through his memory ? Shall we say 
 of that portion of his address, that he was only reading from 
 memory, and doing what he could to animate it with feeling, 
 while the other portions alone were what he uttered from 
 the Spirit ? But why may not the memory, as well as any 
 other part of the mental constitution, the reason, for ex- 
 
230 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 ample, or the feelings, be used by the Spirit to bring 
 thoughts and words seasonably to the preacher's mind ? If 
 I study and digest my subject carefully beforehand, as Dr. 
 Arthur advises, I necessarily exercise my reasoning powers 
 and my memory too ; and in doing so I necessarily employ 
 natural means to ensure, so far as such means can ensure, a 
 suitable and appropriate command of thought and expres- 
 sion when I actually preach. But, on Dr. Arthur's principle, 
 this is to distrust the Spirit ; it is to resort to natural means 
 for what He alone is competent to give, so that to refrain 
 from all special preparation beforehand would be the 
 legitimate result of such a mode of contemplation ; the 
 whole should be- left to the voluntary impulse of the 
 moment. This, however, is simply fanaticism ; it is to 
 confound the Spirit's ordinary influence with a supernatural 
 afflatus, given independently, and apart from the exercise of 
 the mind's own faculties. Even inspiration, the highest 
 form of spiritual influence, was not so arbitrary and inde- 
 pendent in its action. It, too, gave free scope to the 
 memory and the reason, as well as the emotional faculties 
 of the soul; and on various occasions we find both prophets 
 and apostles, when speaking as they were moved by the 
 Holy Ghost, reiterating, not the thoughts merely, but the 
 precise words of entire sentences and paragraphs of former 
 messengers of God. If ihey could thus serve themselves of 
 other men's words and ideas — serve themselves, of course, 
 through memory — while not the less speaking under the 
 power of the Spirit, surely I, speaking under an inferior 
 action of the same power, may still more make a similar use 
 of my own. 
 
 But again, even if it were the case, which it is not, St. 
 Peter's preaching on the day of Pentecost proceeded, apart 
 from the natural use and exercise of the memory, in recall- 
 ing previous trains of thought and forms of expression, we 
 should not have been warranted to conclude that the em- 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 23 1 
 
 ployment of memory, or of any other natural faculties, was 
 thereby disparaged in the future preaching of the gospel. 
 It is an essential and general characteristic of the Spirit's 
 work, that He adapts Himself to the laws of mental action 
 in those through whom He works, and to the circumstances 
 in which for the time they happen to be placed. Beyond all 
 question, the circumstances of the day of Pentecost were to 
 a large extent peculiar, both as regards speakers and hearers. 
 What mainly was needed on that memorable occasion was 
 conviction, and for this, only the exhibition of a few simple 
 facts respecting the person of Jesus, His death and resur- 
 rection, brought to bear with power on the hearts and con- 
 sciences of men : this was all. And accordingly the speech 
 of Peter on the occasion consisted mainly of a brief rehearsal 
 of the great facts of the case, with the application of a few 
 ancient prophecies referring to them, followed by a personal 
 appeal to the individuals addressed. For a speech of that 
 description, not only no previous writing, but not even any 
 special forethought and meditation of the subject, could be 
 required. But look to other apostolic speeches, to St. Paul's 
 speech, for example, before the Areopagus, where not so 
 much the feelings as the reason of the audience had to be 
 won, do we not feel in reading it as if we had to do with a 
 compactly arranged and most carefully thought out dis- 
 course ? Or look to the two accounts he gives of his own 
 conversion, though traversing substantially the same ground, 
 yet each of them admirably adapted to the different audi- 
 ences he addressed, and the more immediate objects he had 
 in view : all showing what varieties the Spirit can employ in 
 the style and mode of address, and consequently in the 
 faculties called into play for its conception and utterance. 
 Dr. Arthur himself, in another part of his treatise, admits 
 this, and apparently forgets at one place what he has written 
 at another.^ 'This fire,' he says, 'may be combined with 
 ^P. 255. 
 
232 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 any form of talent, and with any style of composition. Who 
 has not seen a tranquil man, whose tones seldom rose to 
 passion, and never went beyond the severest taste ; whose 
 thought, demeanour, phrases, all breathed a gentle and quiet 
 spirit ; and yet, with the placid flow of instruction or ex- 
 position, a heavenly influence stole silently along ; stole into 
 the veins of the heart, diffusing a sacred glow, a desire to be 
 holier, a sense of nearness to God, a refreshing of all the 
 good principles within you, a check and a restraint on all 
 the evil ? Again, you have seen a man, who begins with 
 some calm argument, passes to another point, closely rea- 
 soned, which again leads him to another well-pointed stroke 
 at some error or prejudice ; no by-play of imagination, no 
 home-thrust to your heart, but one steady grapple with your 
 intellect, a discourse which would be pronounced dry were 
 it not for a mysterious power which accompanies it,' and so 
 on with several other varieties of mental action and well- 
 constructed discourse. But I wonder how many such dis- 
 courses one might reasonably expect to hear on the author's 
 view of the Spirit's influence and the preacher's duty. De- 
 pend on it they will seldom be met with, except in connec- 
 tion with the sedulous employment of natural means, as 
 well as humble trust in spiritual agencies ; and memory will 
 have its full share in the matter, calling up the various 
 forms of thought and modes of expression, which had pre- 
 viously been cogitated as best fitted to promote the end in 
 view. 
 
 The more, too, that the world advances in knowledge 
 and refinement, the higher that any particular congregation 
 stands in intellectual culture, the greater always is the variety 
 of talents that must be called into play, and the more may 
 the Spirit be expected to make use of the treasures of 
 memory, as well as other resources, to act upon the soul. ' 
 For the classes that evangelistic agents or itinerant preachers 
 have chiefly to deal with, a comparatively small range of 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 233 
 
 topics may be sufficient ; and the power to be put forth has 
 only to rouse insensibility and impress the heart. Very 
 commonly in such cases, the bluff, off-hand, earnest, but 
 coarse and rambling speaker is the instrument best adapted 
 to the purpose. But the same speaker might produce only 
 disgust elsewhere ; and hence it is that the most eminently 
 useful of that class of preachers, within a limited circle, very 
 rarely succeed as pastors of regular congregations. 
 
 Still further, the view against which we argue is not borne 
 out, but, on the contrary, opposed to established facts. No 
 doubt there are facts in abundance to support the view in 
 question so far. If the case had been put conditionally, if 
 it were said that preaching memoriier may be, and often is, 
 only a sort of reading, the mind being chiefly taken up with 
 its effort to remember what was written, and able to do 
 nothing more than utter with formal correctness its prepared 
 sentences, one could not have questioned the fact, and as 
 little commended the practice in that form of it as a proper 
 specimen of apostolic preaching. But if properly cultivated, 
 it both may and will exist in a very different form, and also 
 be productive of far other results. When the method is 
 followed as it ought to be, that is, when the discourse has 
 been prepared with a suitable adaptation to the preacher's 
 own manner, as well as to the audience he has to address, 
 and has been thoroughly got upon the mind and heart of 
 the preacher, there will usually be a marked difference in 
 his mode of delivering it from what would have been the 
 case if it had been simply read from his notes ; a difference 
 such that the auditors cannot with any certainty infer how 
 much is due to previous preparation, how much to the feel- 
 ing and impulse of the moment. Did not He who spake as 
 never man spake Himself repeat over again on several 
 occasions the very words He had uttered before ? But if 
 so, wherein did this differ from preaching me^noriter ? It is 
 notorious, also, that some of the most gifted preachers, not 
 
234 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 excepting those who were not in the habit of writing out their 
 discourses, Whitfield for example, have been known usually 
 to preach with most effect when for the second or third time 
 they spoke from the same text. The reason is that they had 
 then come to obtain a more thorough command of the sub- 
 ject, so that the thoughts and words came more promptly to 
 the call of memory. Were I to refer to my own observation 
 and experience, I should have no hesitation in saying, that 
 the discourses which I have listened to with most profit, 
 which have raised the deepest spiritual feeling, and which 
 manifestly bore with them the largest unction from the Holy 
 One, were discourses which came from the preacher, indeed, 
 with the greatest apparent freedom, but which I knew to 
 have been carefully prepared beforehand ; yet surely, operat- 
 ing as they did, they were in the strictest sense the Creator's 
 instrument of working. I have seen whole audiences moved 
 by such discourses as I have never seen them moved by 
 any others. And in the course of my own ministry, I have 
 noted that the occasions on which the most distinct benefit 
 was reaped, have with few exceptions been those in which 
 my own preparations had been most careful and complete. 
 
 But in saying this, is anything indicated at variance with 
 the idea, that only when the Spirit accompanies the efforts 
 of the preacher does the word go forth with power ? Would 
 I, or any one who has experience in the work of God, ever 
 dream of making human preparations independent of the 
 Spirit? No, assuredly; it is still that Spirit alone which quick- 
 eneth, quickeneth the soul of the preacher to utter aright 
 the things of God, as well as the souls of the people to hear 
 them aright. Without the Spirit breathing as a divine power 
 through his heart, and giving life to his words, let those 
 words be ever so correct in themselves, and ever so fitly 
 remembered and spoken, they will be found at most as a 
 pleasant sound to the ear, or a gratification to the intellect ; 
 but with no saving or permanent results. Yes, the Spirit is 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 235 
 
 the one effective agent ; and only in so far as we are in 
 communion with His fulness of life and blessing can our 
 pulpit ministrations proceed either with comfort to ourselves 
 or with spiritual profit to those who wait on them. 
 
 My earnest counsel and advice, therefore, to those who 
 are entering on the work of the ministry, is, Let no one 
 dissuade you from the painstaking and careful preparation 
 of your discourses. Your manner of delivery need not suffer 
 by it, will not suffer, if you go rightly about the work ; 
 and your matter will assuredly gain. The cases are few, 
 indeed, of those who can adequately minister to stated con- 
 gregations without such preparatory work, compared with 
 those who indispensably require it. But beware of trusting 
 unduly to it \ as if, when you have written well, and delivered 
 accurately what you have written, nothing more were needed. 
 Believe, rather, that nothing can be done to purpose unless 
 the Spirit of God mingle with yoicr spirit, and give effect to 
 the words you speak. And even as regards the method, do 
 not tie yourselves up to a specific line. In practical ap- 
 peals especially, and the improvement of particular points, 
 give yourself up occasionally to the impulse of the moment. 
 And at what may be called extra services, and in district 
 prayer meetings, cultivate a freer manner of speech, learn 
 to speak from premeditation merely, not from written pre- 
 parations. And thus, in this respect also, becoming all 
 things to all men, disusing at one time what you feel you 
 must use at another, you may the better hope to succeed in 
 the great object of your calling. 
 
 See some good remarks and advices in Bau tain's Ai't of 
 Extempore Speaking, as to the details of manner, the manage- 
 ment of bodily feehngs, voice, etc. And on the matter of care- 
 ful preparation, the following statements of Lord Brougham 
 are deserving of consideration ; the more so, as he was 
 himself regarded as one of the readiest as well as most 
 effective speakers of his time in Parliament. It may be 
 
236 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 added, that Robert Hall, on hearing the sentiments read 
 from the '' Inaugural Address,' said, * Brougham is quite 
 right, sir. Preparation is everything. If I were asked 
 what is the chief requisite for eloquence, I should reply, 
 preparatiofi ; and what the second, preparation ; and what 
 the third, preparation: Then, with a sigh, ' If I had pre- 
 pared more for the pulpit, I should have been a much better 
 preacher.' ^ 
 
 After stating that generally the ancients showed even ' ex- 
 cessive care in the preparation of their speeches ;' that Cicero 
 kept a ' book of passages, to be used on occasions ;' that 
 Demosthenes probably had the same : 'At all events,' he says, 
 ' one thing is certain, that he, Demosthenes, was very averse 
 to extempore speaking, and most reluctantly, as he expressed 
 it, *' trusted to his success in fortune ;" and his orations 
 abound in passages, and even in parts of passages, again 
 and again used by him with such improvements as their 
 reception or delivery, or his own subsequent reflection, sug- 
 gested. I have examined this subject very fully on different 
 occasions, and I find the views taken are approved by Attic 
 scholars both in England and France. But I dwell upon 
 the subject at present in order to illustrate the necessity of 
 full preparation and of written composition to those who 
 would attain real excellence in the rhetorical art.' He ad- 
 mits that * a certain proficiency in public speaking may be 
 acquired by any one who chooses often to try it, and can 
 harden himself against the pain of frequent failures.' But 
 he denies that any one can ever in this way become truly 
 eloquent : ' The loose, slovenly, and poor diction, the want 
 of art in combining and disposing of his ideas, the inability 
 to bring out many of his thoughts, and the incompetency to 
 present any of them in the best and most efficient form, will 
 reduce the speaker to the level of an ordinary talker. His 
 diction is sure to be clumsy, incorrect, unlimited in quantity, 
 ^ Greene's Re7niniscences of Robert Hall, p. 138. 
 
THE SPECIAL DUTIES OF THE PASTORAL OFFICE. 237 
 
 and of no value. It is the greatest of all mistakes/ he adds, 
 ' to fancy that even a carefully prepared passage cannot be 
 delivered before a modern assembly. I once contended on 
 this point with an accomplished classical scholar, and no in- 
 considerable speaker himself, Lord Melbourne, who imme- 
 diately undertook to point out the passages which I had 
 prepared, and those which were given off-hand, and on the 
 inspiration of the moment. He was wrong in almost every 
 guess he made. Lord Denman, on a more remarkable occa- 
 sion, at the bar of the House of Lords, in the Queen's case, 
 made the same mistake upon the passage delivered before 
 the adjournment in the middle of the first day of the defence. 
 The objection made,' he continues, 'that prepared passages 
 are artificial, and disclose the preparation, is groundless. In 
 the first place, nothing can be more artificial than a speech 
 must in almost all cases necessarily be, which is anything 
 beyond mere conversation. Next, it is the diction, not the 
 substance, which is prepared ; and, finally, if the art used is 
 shown, and not concealed, the artist alone is in fault' ^ 
 
 Indeed, the same things substantially were said, though 
 with a little less of personal allusion, in his Inaugural Ad- 
 dress at Glasgow in 1825. ' I should lay it down as a rule,' 
 he then said, 'admitting of no exception, that a man will 
 speak well in proportion as he has written much ; and that 
 with equal talents he will be the finest extempore speaker, 
 when no time for preparing is allowed, who has prepared 
 himself the most sedulously when he had an opportunity 
 of delivering a premeditated speech. All the exceptions 
 which I have ever heard cited to this principle are apparent 
 ones only, proving nothing more than that some few men, 
 of rare genius, have become great speakers without prepara- 
 tion ; in nowise showing, that with much preparation they 
 would not have reached a much higher pitch of excellence.' 
 He then refers to Cicero and Demosthenes as one of the 
 ^ Installation Address at Edinburgh, iSth May i860. 
 
238 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 best proofs of what he has said ; and afterwards remarks, 'We 
 may rest assured, that the highest reaches of the art, and 
 without any necessary sacrifice of natural effect, can only be 
 attained by him who well considers, and maturely prepares, 
 and oftentimes sedulously corrects and refines his oration. 
 Such preparation is quite consistent with the introduction of 
 passages prompted by the occasion ; nor will the transition 
 from the one to the other be perceptible in the execution of 
 a practised master.' 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISCOURSES. 239 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISCOURSES. 
 
 THE observations hitherto made on the composition 
 and deHvery of discourses have had respect to dis- 
 courses generally, with little or no reference to the distinc- 
 tive properties which ought to characterize one species of 
 discourse as compared with another. There are specific 
 differences which it is not unimportant to note, as on the 
 proper observance of them not a little depends for the 
 attainment of success in the several kinds. Not to speak 
 of minor shades of distinction, there are at least four pretty 
 distinctly marked classes, although these may at times ap- 
 proach indefinitely near to each other, and the same dis- 
 course may occasionally admit of being assigned partly to 
 one class and partly to another. 
 
 I. Expository Discourses. — Discourses of an expository 
 character, lectures^ as they are usually designated in Scot- 
 land, can never fail to be at least occasionally delivered, 
 where there is an evangelical ministry, animated by a just 
 desire to have the people brought to an intelligent acquaint- 
 ance with the word of God. But nowhere, perhaps, has the 
 practice been so generally followed as in Scotland, where 
 the custom has long prevailed of having one, and com- 
 monly the first, of two discourses on the Lord's day of this 
 description. As early as the times of the Commonwealth, 
 this practice of expounding in order a few verses out of 
 
240 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 some book of Scripture existed as a recognised and estab- 
 lished part of the ordinary church service ; and some of the 
 best remains of the pulpit literature of the period consist of 
 the expository discourses so delivered. It is enough to 
 name those of Leighton, Binning, Hutcheson, and Durham. 
 These expository preachers, however, were but followers of 
 other and in some respects still greater men, who preceded 
 them in the same line. The more eminent Reformers were 
 masters in this species of discourse, Calvin in particular, a 
 large portion of whose published writings, bearing the name of 
 commentaries, first took shape as expositions delivered from 
 the pulpit ; and not a few also of the freshest and most valu- 
 able of Luther's works had the same origin. Indeed, we may 
 ascend to a much earlier time still, even to the flourishing 
 period of Patristic Hterature, which, if not to the same extent, 
 yet in a very considerable degree, was distinguished for the 
 regard it paid to expository preaching. The expositions of 
 Augustine on the Psalms and on the Gospel of John, as well 
 as the homilies, as they have been called, of Chrysostom on 
 many of the books of New Testament Scripture, all originally 
 addressed to congregations in the sanctuary, are, as a whole, 
 decidedly the best specimens which have come down to 
 us of the pulpit ministrations of those ancient times. In 
 England the prevailing practice now, and for a long period, 
 has been quite different : discourses of this description can 
 scarcely be said to form a recognised and distinct class. 
 For the most part, they are given very occasionally ; so 
 much so that Alford ^ says, ' the general neglect of this kind 
 of preaching among them is lamentable,' worse even than in 
 Popish countries ; for ' any visitor,' he tells us, ' to Roman 
 churches abroad will be deeply sensible of the loss which 
 we thus incur in our influence from the pulpit.' I confess I 
 did not know that the balance in this respect lay so much 
 on that side ; but, certainly, one seldom hears from English 
 ^ Essays and Addresses, p. 12. 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISCOURSES. 241 
 
 pulpits discourses which take the form of an exposition of 
 a particular passage of Scripture, still more seldom of an 
 exposition in regular order of a particular book. And hence 
 the comparatively small proportion which such works form 
 of English theological literature. 
 
 From the greater scope allowed in expository discourses, 
 the broader Scriptural basis assumed for them, and the 
 wider compass of doctrine or duty embraced in them, an 
 impression not unnaturally prevails, that they are more 
 easily constructed than discourses on single texts, that it is 
 a simpler matter to lecture than to preach. It, no doubt, 
 may be so after a fashion. A kind of tolerable exposition 
 of a passage may be given, some useful explanations thrown 
 out upon its meaning, and just observations raised on its 
 contents, with less expenditure of thought than would be 
 required for the production of a connected discourse on a 
 single text. But that very facility which is afforded by the 
 nature of the' discourse for making the necessary prepara- 
 tion too commonly proves a temptation to its being done 
 in a much less effective and satisfactory manner than is both 
 practicable and proper. And hence, probably, it is, that 
 the expository discourse is so often relatively inferior to the 
 sermon : the one presenting a regularly constructed whole, 
 with clear arrangement, judicious selection of matter, an 
 order and progression of thought such as the mind can 
 readily perceive and follow with interest ; while in the 
 other, all is loose, rambling, undigested, no proportioning 
 of part to part, no exercise of skill in bringing out the 
 spirit and connection of the whole, much introduced that 
 had better been omitted, and points of interest and im- 
 portance overlooked which should have received careful 
 consideration. And it is not, perhaps, too much to say, 
 that a considerable number of preachers of average 
 abilities and resources, have never got a sufficiently de- 
 finite conception of what an expository discourse should 
 
 Q 
 
242 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 be, at least have failed in any competent degree to 
 realize it. 
 
 (i.) In throwing out a few suggestions upon the subject, it 
 will not be necessary to dwell on what, in certain discourses, 
 is a matter of some importance, the choice of the passage 
 or subject ; for, usually, the practice is to be preferred of 
 proceeding in regular order through an entire book, or some 
 considerable portion of a book of Scripture. There are 
 obvious advantages connected with this method. In the 
 first instance, it provides the preacher with a subject which 
 he feels himself in a manner called in providence to handle; 
 and so not only saves him from much wasteful expenditure 
 of time in doubt and hesitancy, but also obHges him to give 
 himself to the orderly and systematic study of Scripture. 
 It also accustoms the people of his charge to somewhat of 
 the same careful, continuous search into the meaning of 
 Scripture, as the Book which is throughout given by in- 
 spiration of God for the instruction and guidance of faith ; 
 so that they come to know it, not in a few select and isolated 
 fragments, but, in a measure, according to its variety and 
 completeness. Besides, opportunities thus continually pre- 
 sent themselves of directing attention to many things which 
 call for correction or advice ; but which are either in them- 
 selves of so delicate a nature, or so apt to give occasion in 
 some quarters to offence, that one would rather, if possible, 
 avoid the appearance of expressly choosing a text for the 
 purpose of bringing them into notice. These, taken to- 
 gether, will be found practically no slight advantages con- 
 nected wath the method of a regular course of exposition 
 through some portion of the word of God. And, as a 
 general rule, it will be best to adhere to this method, yet 
 without binding oneself down to a rigid uniformity, and 
 losing the benefit of a little variety by occasionally turning 
 to other pastures. 
 
 Still, with the adoption of such a rule, there is room for 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISCOURSES. 243 
 
 the exercise of prudence and discretion in the matter of 
 selection. For, while all Scripture is profitable for instruc- 
 tion, it cannot be all handled with equal adaptation and 
 advantage by the same individual. There are portions 
 which, partly from their own nature, and partly, perhaps, from 
 the relation in which they stand to his mental endowments 
 and Christian experience, may be said to lie, in a measure, 
 out of his beat for continuous treatment ; and it is well to 
 know that there are books, as well as texts in Scripture, 
 which may suit one, but not another. Even what portions 
 of Scripture the pastor does resolve at one period or another 
 to overtake, it may be of importance to take in one order 
 rather than another. . Of New Testament Scripture, for 
 example, the Gospels will almost uniformly be found better 
 suited for a first course of exposition than any of the 
 Epistles ; and of the Gospels themselves, which ever may 
 be first chosen, it should certainly not be that of John, 
 which, with all its apparent, and also real simplicity, pos- 
 sesses a depth and fulness of meaning, a lofty grandeur and 
 spirituality of thought, which cannot be successfully grappled 
 with in a course of regular exposition without considerable 
 maturity of Christian knowledge and experience, as well as 
 exercised skill in the work of interpretation. The Epistles, 
 also, difter considerably from each other, in respect to the 
 comparative ease or difficulty which attends their successful 
 elucidation ; but no graduated scale can be applied to 
 them ; for a particular cast of mind, or a definite course of 
 preparatory study, may render one or other of them more 
 readily capable of fitting treatment by particular persons, 
 than might be judged likely from the nature alone of the 
 epistle. But in respect to the closing book of Scripture, 
 the Revelation of St, John, I am inclined to say, that except 
 in select portions, such as the three first chapters, and 
 several very precious and pregnant passages which occur at 
 intervals elsewhere, it is not adapted to a course of ordinary. 
 
244 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 exposition ; and if respect be had to the common mode of 
 dealing with its prophetic symbols, I would say, not even 
 for extraordinary. The manner in which some preachers 
 rush into the popular arena with this book, and the readi- 
 ness and confidence with which they apply its mysterious 
 imagery to specific events in past and present times, is to 
 me a source of unfeigned regret. The book undoubtedly 
 has most important uses, important for the Church at large 
 as well as for the retired student of Scripture ; but these are 
 scarcely for exhibition in a series of popular discourses before 
 a general audience ; and when so employed, the strain of 
 exposition is extremely apt to run into what tends rather to 
 gratify a love for the novel or the marvellous than to pro- 
 mote personal edification. 
 
 The Scriptures of the Old Testament are characterized by 
 much the same kind of differences as those which are found 
 in the New, only somewhat more variously and strongly 
 marked. The portions best adapted, upon the whole, for a 
 series of expository discourses are the historical books, the 
 historical at least more than the prophetical ; for, in conse- 
 quence of the imperfect nature of the dispensation under 
 which the prophets lived, and the comparatively obscure 
 medium through which the things of God's kingdom were 
 presented to their view, passages are ever and anon occur- 
 ring which are of difficult interjoretation even to the most 
 skilled interpreters, and which it is not quite easy to make 
 perfectly intelligible to an ordinary congregation. Expe- 
 rience has brought me to the conviction that, in regard to 
 most of the prophetical writings of the Old Testament, a 
 course of exposition on select portions would be more satis- 
 factory to the preacher, and more profitable to his hearers, 
 than one that should aim at embracing every chapter and 
 verse in each. But the book of Psalms, which contains 
 prophetical as well as devotional and didactic elements, 
 might be taken almost entire, and for the most part is well 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISCOURSES. 245 
 
 adapted to this species of discourse ; only, from the poetical 
 colouring that pervades it, and the manifold variety of life 
 and experience it embodies, very few preachers will find 
 themselves equally at home in all the portions of it ; so 
 that it may usually be most expedient to take it at intervals, 
 and as much as possible in connection with the parts of Old 
 Testament history on which it so often leans. It has been 
 the practice also of some of our best expository preachers 
 to alternate between the books of the Old and those of the 
 New Testament, for the purpose of securing a greater variety 
 to their ministrations, and getting an opportunity of explain- 
 ing more fully the things pertaining to both covenants. 
 But in such matters no one need bind himself to the method 
 of another. Respect must be had to the circumstances of 
 one's own position, and to what may seem, upon the whole, 
 best calculated to promote the spiritual good of the people 
 entrusted to his care.^ 
 
 (2.) When the general subject for exposition has been 
 fixed, the next thing demanding consideration is the pro- 
 portion of text to be embraced in each particular discourse. 
 This will very commonly, at least in the historical books, 
 well-nigh determine itself; but it may also, both in these 
 and other portions, call for some care and discrimination. 
 It is easier, however, to say regarding it what should not be 
 done than what should. A very lengthened portion should 
 not usually be taken, as the topics in that case will be too 
 numerous and varied to admit of that precision and indi- 
 viduality which are essential to the interest and usefulness 
 of a discourse. On the other hand, a very limited portion, 
 comprising not more, perhaps, than one or two verses, 
 
 1 It is scarcely necessary to remark, that there are passages, both in 
 the historical and prophetical books of Scripture, which, on the score 
 of delicacy, are not suitable either for being read or expounded in a 
 promiscuous assembly. All Scripture is profitable for instruction, but 
 not necessarily as matter of public discourse. 
 
246 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 would commonly narrow so much the field of discussion, 
 that the discourse would possess the characteristics of a 
 sermon rather than of an expository lecture. Passages will 
 occasionally, however, be met Avith, especially in the doc- 
 trinal parts of Scripture, so pregnant in meaning, or calling 
 for so much in the way of explanation, that a single verse or 
 two may be all that can be adequately handled at a time. 
 But for the most part it is desirable that a passage of some 
 extent should be included, though it should, if possible, be 
 a passage presenting some sort of unity, or having such 
 threads of connection between one part and another as to 
 admit of the discourse based on it being something else 
 than a succession of remarks that bear no perceptible rela- 
 tion to each other, a series of scattered observations rather 
 than parts of a continuous discourse. In expository as well 
 as other discourses, it must always produce a measure of 
 dissatisfaction if two or three subjects altogether distinct 
 are brought together for discussion ; the mind, in such a 
 case, has to pass too rapidly from topic to topic, and with- 
 out being able to retain that continuity or progression of 
 thought and feeling which it instinctively craves. 
 
 So much depends for the sustained interest and impres- 
 sion of a discourse upon a due regard to this internal unity 
 and connection, that the neglect of it may justly be reckoned 
 among the chief causes of failure. Even when the verses 
 taken contain a manifestly related whole, this is often in a 
 great degree lost sight of in the actual treatment given to 
 them ; they are gone over in a kind of loose, desultory 
 manner, without any proper plan formed beforehand, or 
 distinct order followed ; little more attempted than the 
 raising of a few general remarks or observations upon it. 
 The parables of Jesus also, which, from their very structure, 
 seem to invite a different treatment, are sometimes subjected 
 to the same mode of dealing. Plainly, each parable should 
 first be contemplated in its entireness, with the view of 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISCOURSES. 247 
 
 obtaining a clear and distinct apprehension of its general 
 scope, so that afterwards the course of thought and illustra- 
 tion may be arranged in such a manner as may seem best 
 fitted to bring out the main theme, and exhibit the bearing 
 which the several parts have in regard to it. In doing this, 
 however, whether in respect to the parables or to other 
 portions of Scripture, it should not be deemed necessary to 
 adhere to the precise order in which the topics present 
 themselves on the sacred record. Sometimes it may be 
 advisable to depart more or less from this, in order to secure 
 a more natural progression or a better adjustment in the 
 different parts of the discourse. Nor should it be held as 
 at all essential that a formal announcement be made of the 
 plan and order intended to be pursued ; less so here than 
 in the case of sermons founded upon a single text, where 
 the mind is shut up to a narrower field, and requires to have 
 the lines of thought more definitely marked out before it. 
 In expository discourses, though this method may at times 
 be fitly enough adopted, yet it may also, and perhaps more 
 commonly should be dispensed with, as the subject itself 
 will often suggest an order to the preacher, and one that 
 can quite readily be perceived by the mind of the hearer 
 without the formality of a regular division. 
 
 (3.) To come now to the substance of the discourse ; its 
 distinctive aim and character, we should ever remember, is 
 exposition; so that to explain the meaning of the words 
 where any explanation is needed, to render clear and intel- 
 ligible to all the mind of the Spirit conveyed in them, to 
 explicate difliiculties, and bring out with due prominence 
 the principles of truth and duty involved, this must be taken 
 as the more direct and primary object of the discourse. To 
 do it properly will, of course, require some measure of 
 exegetical talent, by which I mean, such a combination of 
 taste and judgment as fits one for discerning the right in 
 cases somewhat critical, weighing probabilities, tracing con- 
 
248 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 nections, distinguishing between what is extraneous or inci- 
 dental and what is essential to the train of thought which 
 forms the leading theme of discourse. Not the process 
 itself, by which all this is to be done, should be laid open 
 in the discourse, but the results of the process ; the talent 
 should appear in the work it accomplishes, not in the 
 methods by which it operates. Anything like an exhibition 
 of skill or a parade of learning must be out of place in a 
 discourse which is professedly directed to the object of 
 expounding the will of God for the spiritual enlightenment 
 and comfort of men's souls. Even in the treatment of 
 passages which have some difficulty in them, on which a 
 certain diversity of opinion has prevailed in the past, and 
 may still perhaps be expected to prevail in the future, it is 
 hardly ever advisable to go much into the contending views 
 of interpreters, which is extremely apt to create bewilder- 
 ment in the minds of a general audience, and possibly also 
 to produce a painful sense of the darkness and uncertainty 
 of Scripture. It is an easy method of consuming time and 
 of giving an air of learning to a discourse, to tell what this 
 commentator has said, and how the conceit of that other 
 may be disposed of. But for the most part it is a far more 
 excellent way, and greatly more serviceable to the flock, 
 when the pastor takes time and pains in his own study to 
 examine and weigh all these competing authorities ; and 
 though, perhaps, not concealing the fact that there are 
 certain difficulties or diversities of opinion hanging around 
 the subject, yet coming forth with a plain and intelligent 
 exhibition of what has commended itself to him as the 
 mind of the Spirit regarding it. If, after all his care and 
 application, he should still find reason for hesitation, let 
 him state candidly whence it arises ; or if there should be 
 more than one view which may justly be considered as 
 somewhat probable, let this also be noticed. But such 
 double interpretations should obviously be presented as 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISCOURSES. 249 
 
 rarely as possible ; and with due pains beforehand, suppos- 
 ing that there is some fitness for the work with a few of 
 the better exegetical helps at hand, and prayer continually 
 made for a blessing on their use, they cannot be of very 
 frequent occurrence. It is a good rule to mention no view 
 from the pulpit which may not reasonably be supposed to 
 have occurred, in their own meditations or reading, to some 
 members of the congregation ; to mention none simply for 
 the sake of propounding and refuting it. Should, however, 
 an incorrect view, however absurd, be understood to have 
 gained currency, or should it be not unlikely to have 
 occurred to some one on a superficial consideration of the 
 passage, then it may most justly be noticed. At the same 
 time, the clear and satisfactory exhibition of the true sense 
 will commonly be found the best safeguard against false and 
 shallow interpretations, and when thoroughly done will save 
 the necessity of spending much time on what is only to be 
 rejected. 
 
 In a number of cases in which some difficulty has to be 
 encountered, the difficulty turns upon the precise meaning 
 of the original words, and raises the question, whether the 
 rendering of the Authorized Version gives a correct view of 
 their import. If the matter is very clear as against this 
 version, and anything of importance depends on the differ- 
 ence; or if by some slight variation a fuller, clearer, or more 
 profound meaning could be elicited, in such cases there can 
 be no impropriety in indicating what is entitled to the pre- 
 ference. Only, a certain prudence should be observed as 
 to the manner of doing it, avoiding the appearance of seem- 
 ing anxious to obtrude a piece of learning somewhat out of 
 the way, but being concerned only about bringing out a just 
 representation of the truth of sacred Scripture. The middle 
 way here also is the best; on the one hand, to guard against 
 the undue disparagement of the version, which to the great 
 body of the people is the only form in which they know the 
 
250 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 word of God ; and, on the other, to keep them in mind that 
 it is still but a version, and must not be allowed to over- 
 shadow the original.^ 
 
 (4.) In regard, finally, to the hortatory, or more peculiarly 
 practical matter of the discourse, this should nearly always 
 form a pretty large portion of the whole, but it may be 
 variously introduced. When the subject happens to be one 
 that calls for a good deal of explanation, or consists of parts 
 very closely related to each other, it may be best to reserve 
 the chief application to be made of it for practical uses to 
 the last. When the whole subject has been placed before 
 the understandings of the people, then press home the 
 lessons of duty it contains on their hearts and consciences. 
 But usually it will be found both more natural and more 
 profitable to interweave the practical throughout with the 
 expository, and make the improvement of the subject keep 
 pace with its elucidation. For in this way the hearers have 
 the subject as it proceeds brought into contact with the 
 moral as well as the intellectual parts of their natures, and 
 are never allowed to forget the aim to which all should be 
 subordinated. Not only so, but the awkwardness is thereby 
 avoided of needing to return back upon topics which have 
 been discussed at an earlier stage, and have not quite 
 recently been engaging attention. When this has to be 
 done, a certain amount of repetition is inevitable, and this 
 is apt to induce satiety or languor in the audience. On 
 every account, therefore, it is advisable to intermingle the 
 word of exhortation with the word of knowledge, while still 
 the most prolonged or urgent of the practical appeals may 
 fitly be reserved to the close. 
 
 ^ There are certain renderings fitted to mislead which should certainly 
 be noted, such as ' straining at a gnat ;' * eating and drinking damnation ; ' 
 ' after Easter,' Acts xii. 4; ' called to glory and virtue,' 2 Pet. i. 6; also 
 the changes undergone in the sense of certain words, such as ' earing,' 
 conversation^ nephews, take no thought. 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISCOURSES. 25 I 
 
 11. Doctrinal Discourses. — By doctrinal discourses I mean 
 sucli as have it for their more prominent and leading object 
 to set forth some important truth or doctrine of the Bible, 
 to commend it to men's intelligent convictions, and work it 
 into their settled and conscientious belief. As Christianity 
 owes its primary distinction to the doctrinal truths which it 
 unfolds, and by the belief of those truths seeks to accom- 
 plish all the present and eternal results it aims at, a very 
 prominent and essential part of the calling of a minister of 
 the gospel necessarily consists in what he has to do for the 
 manifestation and defence of the same. The exposition in 
 one aspect or another of saving truth must form the staple 
 of his ministrations. But the precise form under which this 
 is to be done may be infinitely varied, and must to a certain 
 extent be modified by the circumstances of time and place. 
 Even in the cast and structure of discourses which may, in 
 a somewhat peculiar sense, be designated doctrinal, there 
 may be a considerable variety ; and, in particular, they may 
 be made to assume sometimes more of a controversial and 
 again more of a simply didactic character, according as the 
 special object maybe to vindicate and defend, or to explain 
 and enforce the truth. It will rarely happen but that the 
 faithful pastor will require to avail himself of the one mode 
 as w^ell as the other ; for in present times at least he will 
 scarcely find it possible to obtain a field of labour where the 
 prevalence of doctrinal error, or the danger of some being 
 misled into it, will not occasionally call for a defence as 
 well as exposition of the truth. At the same time, even in 
 those situations where the danger in question exists, dis- 
 courses avowedly and predominantly controversial should 
 not be of frequent occurrence ; indeed, I would say, they 
 should form rather an exceptional part of a pastor's public 
 ministrations. For, as they necessarily present a polemical 
 appearance, their tendency is to beget an intellectual sharp- 
 ness and combative zeal for orthodoxy, much more than to 
 
252 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 awaken earnest convictions and hearty love of the truth. 
 And it should ever be remembered, that it is this latter and 
 not the former, it is the doctrines of salvation, not simply 
 as reasoned out and grasped by the intellect, but as em- 
 braced and loved in the heart, which alone fulfils the design 
 of the gospel, and is also the only sufficient bulwark against 
 the assaults of error. For the things of this description 
 which prove real sources of danger are always such as fall 
 in with some corrupt tendency of human nature, flatter its 
 pride of reason, or allow freer scope to its fleshly inclina- 
 tions and desires. Hence the faithful pastor must aim at 
 something more than a mere speculative knowledge of the 
 truth. He must seek to have the truth itself effectually 
 lodged in the understandings and hearts of his audience ; 
 since, in proportion as this is done, the antagonistic 
 forms of error will of themselves fall away or meet with 
 a stout resistance. Keeping in view what has been said 
 as to the general character and object of this species of 
 discourses, I proceed to offer a few plain hints respecting 
 them. 
 
 (i.) Whatever. the particular doctrine may be which is to 
 form the theme of discourse, care should be taken to have 
 a text that is sufficiently clear and broad to bear the super- 
 structure which is going to be reared on it. There should 
 be no appearance of constraint or violence in the effort to 
 adapt the one to the other, as this would inevitably raise 
 distrust or suspicion at the very outset. The doctrine, it is 
 true, may not be treated as if it rested for proof exclusively 
 or even mainly upon the particular text from which the 
 sermon is preached. There both may and should be a 
 judicious use of other passages bearing on the subject intro- 
 duced in the course of the discussion. But this will not 
 lessen the propriety of having an appropriate text for the 
 groundwork of the whole ; for whatever afterwards may be 
 brought forward by way of supplementing it in the minds of 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISCOURSES. 253 
 
 the audience, it will almost certainly be with the text itself 
 that the doctrine will be chiefly associated. 
 
 (2.) Some discrimination also should be made between 
 doctrines, not for the purpose of exempting any from dis- 
 cussion in the pulpit which have a place in the revelation of 
 God, for it is the part of a minister to declare the whole 
 counsel of God ; but so as to give the chief prominence to 
 those which are most vitally connected with the work of 
 salvation and men's spiritual progress. There are doctrines 
 which may at particular times be brought formally into dis- 
 cussion, but which usually should be taken for granted 
 rather than systematically and at length treated in the 
 pulpit ; such, for example, as the doctrine of the Trinity, 
 the doctrine of angels, or the doctrine of divine predestina- 
 tion. Many Qpportunities will present themselves in the 
 regular course of exposition or preaching for referring to 
 such topics, and bringing forth proofs in illustration of them, 
 in a kind of informal and incidental manner. But it is 
 scarcely possible to take them for the theme of an entire 
 discourse without giving to the discourse somewhat more 
 than is meet of a dry, theological, perhaps speculative turn. 
 When such topics are handled, it should be as much as pos- 
 sible after the pattern of Scripture, that is, not abstractedly 
 or metaphysically, but by means of known analogies, and in 
 their bearing on the scheme of God and the spiritual well- 
 being of men. So contemplated, they will be presented in 
 a sort of concrete form, associated with what has an objec- 
 tive existence in men's experience, and runs more or less 
 into the lines of their present or future destiny. Take, as 
 an example, the doctrine of election as exhibited in Scripture, 
 which is not as a thing swimming in the air, but intimately 
 associated with the safety and blessedness of believers, 
 tending on the one side to humble them, as showing that 
 they are indebted for all they receive to the sovereign good- 
 ness and mercy of God ; and on the other to fill them with 
 
2 54 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 peace and comfort, as presenting whatever belongs to them 
 of good m connection with the everlasting love and unchang- 
 ing faithfulness of God. Thus exhibited, the doctrine will 
 be received by believers with a heavenly sweetness and 
 consolation ; while those who are still strangers to the grace 
 of God may have the salutary feeling awakened in them, 
 that it were a happy thing for them if they could but attain 
 to some comfortable assurance that they had personally to 
 do with the things which pertain to it. Until they get into 
 that better position, however, and with the view of helping 
 them to do so, such persons should be reminded that they 
 have primarily to address themselves to another class of 
 God's revelations, those, namely, which have respect to the 
 guilt of sin, and the necessity of fleeing to Christ in order to 
 escape from its deserved doom. 
 
 Indeed, both for the subjects of grace and for those who 
 are still strangers to its power, the great themes of doctrinal 
 preaching must be, not the darker, but the plainer things in 
 God's revelation, the reality, the deceitfulness, and the evil 
 of sin; the way of salvation by Christ, Christ Himself in His 
 adorable person, and perfect righteousness, and infinite 
 satisfaction ; His amazing condescension, His matchless 
 love, the inexhaustible riches of His grace, the comforts of 
 His Spirit, and the glory of His kingdom. Whatever 
 besides may at times be exhibited of Christian doctrine, 
 such topics ought ever to occupy the foreground ; for they 
 have the more fundamental place in the elements of the 
 Christian economy, and they serve to keep the soul ever 
 conversant with Christ, in connection with whom alone is 
 to be found true peace and blessing. 
 
 (3.) I remark again, that in setting forth such topics as 
 those now referred to, the utmost pains should be taken to 
 have the leading positions laid down regarding them, what 
 will usually be the heads of discourse enunciated in very 
 clear and intelligible statements, such as every person in 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISCOURSES. 255 
 
 the congregation of ordinary intelligence can understand. 
 The main part also of what is said in illustration should, if 
 possible, be done in so lucid and orderly a manner, that 
 only the wilfully ignorant and inattentive can fail to appre- 
 hend it. This, when it is in some good measure done, will 
 save a great deal of needless verbiage and prolonged argu- 
 mentation on points of some difficulty; for, as has been 
 truly said, ' a question well stated is half solved.' But it 
 can be so stated only when one has been at pains to get 
 the particular subject clearly apprehended in the mind, 
 and in the exposition of it to confine oneself to what has 
 thus been properly mastered. Should the preacher attempt 
 more than this, or be imperfectly prepared for what he does 
 attempt, there will be sure to be found an indistinctness, a 
 want of order or coherence, in his statements concerning it; 
 his course will be, as it were, through a hazy atmosphere or 
 with a halting and uncertain tread, in which comparatively 
 few are likely to attempt following him. To know well, 
 and to know also what it is one does know well, is indispens- 
 able to being able to discourse on it to the interest and 
 edification of others. 
 
 (4.) Along with this distinctness and precision of view, 
 there will always be required, as a further element to success 
 in this kind of discourse, a real heartfelt sense of the im- 
 portance of the doctrine handled, and a corresponding 
 desire to have the knowledge and belief of it wrought into 
 the minds of others. To a shortcoming in this respect, 
 perhaps more than to an actual deficiency in the formal 
 apprehension of the truth, is to be ascribed the defective 
 interest that too frequently attaches to such discourses. 
 For the complaint which has been uttered on the subject 
 by an English prelate, has its application to other sections 
 of the Church:^ ' How many sermons,' says he, 'seem to be 
 
 ^ Addresses to Candidates for Ordinatioji, by the Bishop of Oxford, 
 P- 54. 
 
256 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 composed with no better idea than that they must occupy a 
 certain time prescribed by custom, and that they must be 
 filled with the religious phrases current in this or that school 
 of theological opinion ! Hence we find in them prefaces of 
 inordinate length, porches larger than the buildings to which 
 they lead, truisms repeated with a calm perseverance of dull 
 repetition which is almost marvellous, vague generalities 
 about the fall and redemption, as if these awful mysteries 
 were empty words, and not living, burning realities. We 
 hear the sermon, perhaps wandering languidly over the 
 whole scheme of theology ; or we find the faintest and most 
 general description of sinners, such as can reach no one in 
 particular ; mere outlines of men in the abstract, not por- 
 traits of individual men, amongst which each hearer shall 
 find himself; empty general exhortations not to sin, not 
 revelations of sin in itself, or sin in its deceitful working ; 
 cold, heartless, unreal words about Christ the healer, not 
 the earnest, plain-spoken zeal of one to whom, because he 
 believes, Christ is precious.' All this, so far as it exists, 
 comes from the want of a realizing sense in the preacher of 
 the vital importance of the truths about which he discourses. 
 He must go through his task, but there is no living warmth 
 and energy in his mode of executing it ; and the impression 
 produced, faint at the first, soon vanishes away. 
 
 (5.) In regard, finally, to the practical improvement con- 
 nected with the treatment of doctrinal subjects, this may, as 
 in the case of expository discourses, be managed in two 
 different ways. It may either be interspersed through the 
 several parts of the discourse, or reserved mainly to the 
 concluding portion. In Scripture itself we have examples 
 of both these methods. The two largest doctrinal epistles 
 or discourses in the New Testament are those addressed to 
 the Romans and the Hebrews ; and they are constructed 
 respectively upon the two methods just mentioned. In the 
 Epistle to the Romans, the first part, reaching to the close 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISCOURSES. 257 
 
 of chap, xi., is chiefly occupied with the discussion of the 
 great doctrines of sin and redemption ; and then, com- 
 mencing with chap. xii. onwards to the close, there is a 
 rich and varied appHcation of the truth to the personal and 
 social state of believers ; a close and earnest dealing with 
 the conscience in respect to the obligations resting on be- 
 lievers, one toward another, and toward those around them, 
 in the different spheres and relations of life. In the Epistle 
 to the Hebrews, on the other hand, each doctrinal topic, 
 as it comes into consideration, has its practical bearing 
 noticed and pressed home before it is dismissed ; so that, 
 throughout, the argumentative continually runs into the 
 hortatory, and successive phases of doctrine are no sooner 
 commended to the apprehension and faith of the readers, 
 than they are turned into matter of counsel, warning, or 
 encouragement to their hearts. With such examples of 
 these diverse methods from the pen of inspiration itself, we 
 may certainly leave the question undecided, which is the 
 better of the two. Rather, perhaps, we may say that both 
 are in themselves good ; and that it will be the part of 
 wisdom in the preacher to vary his plan, and make his 
 discourse assume now more of the one, and again more of 
 the other method. For the most part, however, it will be 
 the more advisable, for the reasons already stated under 
 the preceding division, to approximate more nearly to the 
 second mode of distribution than to the first. For, if all is 
 doctrinal in the earlier part of a discourse, and all practical 
 in the later, it will probably seem to a certain portion of 
 the audience allowable to relax their attention while the 
 one or the other portion of the discourse is in progress of 
 delivery. But, indeed, the two elements admit of being in 
 a good degree combined together, as they are in the Epistle 
 to the Romans ; for, while the chief burden of the practical 
 matter is reserved to the concluding chapters of the epistle, 
 it is by no means wanting in the earlier portions. Nay, 
 
 R 
 
258 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 some of the most powerful and touching appeals are there ; 
 and the whole of that part which is more especially doc- 
 trinal, so far from possessing the character of a dry discus- 
 sion, is instinct with the living warmth and earnestness of a 
 soul penetrated to its inmost depths with the reality and 
 greatness of the truths unfolded in it. When such is the 
 spirit that characterizes the treatment of any particular 
 subject, it will be comparatively of little moment how 
 the more distinctly practical matter is introduced and 
 distributed. 
 
 III. Experii7ienial Discourses. — Experimental preaching 
 may justly enough be treated as a distinct class, although 
 in the general run of pulpit discourses the experimental 
 element should not be wanting, and should rather appear in 
 the tone and spirit pervading the whole, than as "something 
 existing apart. The revelation of God generally, and that 
 part of it in particular which relates to the life and resurrec- 
 tion of Christ, with the present and eternal issues depending 
 on them, cannot but powerfully affect, when seriously ap- 
 prehended by men, their emotional natures, and deeply 
 impress their feelings. To its wonderful adaptation in this 
 respect the gospel owes much of its quickening and im 
 pulsive power. And the measure of the skill which any 
 preacher possesses to awaken feeling along with believing 
 thought in the minds of his audience, in connection with 
 the great themes he handles, will also be, to a large extent, 
 the measure of his success in getting into their bosoms, and 
 winning them to the love and obedience of the truth. 
 
 There are subjects of discourse, however, which are in 
 their very nature experimental, and which should from 
 time to time be brought out for formal discussion. Such, 
 for example, is the passage in Rom. vii. 9, ' I was alive 
 without the law once ; but when the commandment came, 
 sin revived, and I died,' which, in both its parts, relates to 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISCOURSES. 259 
 
 experience ; in the first, to the soul's consciousness, its con- 
 ceit, we should rather say, or false consciousness of life, 
 while still ignorant of the spirituality and depth of the law's 
 requirements ; in the second, to its consciousness of death, 
 its stricken and prostrate condition, with an overpowering 
 sense of guilt and danger when the law enters in its true 
 meaning and commanding power. Such also, but with 
 special reference to the grace and truth of the gospel, are 
 Rom. viii. 15, 'Ye have not received the spirit of bondage 
 again to fear,' etc.; 2 Tim. i. 12, 'I know whom I have 
 believed, and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I 
 have committed to Him against that day;' 2 Cor. v. 14, 
 ' The love of Christ constraineth me,' etc. Texts like these 
 necessarily carry the thoughts inward to the state of the 
 heart and the working of its affections, as wrought upon by 
 the great truths and realities of the gospel. And if they are 
 handled in a lively and earnest manner, t?he discourse must 
 possess much of an experimental character; it will not 
 simply describe how the things in question should operate 
 on the feelings and affections of the soul, but so do it as to 
 awaken and call forth somewhat of a corresponding frame 
 of mind in the hearers. Can this be done unless the 
 preacher himself has undergone what he describes? Can 
 he preach experimentally without being a man of Christian 
 experience ? Or should his own experience be the measure 
 and limit of what he attempts to work through Scripture into 
 the convictions and feelings of his people ? 
 
 Preachers require here to walk softly, and with a prudent 
 step. It is one thing to set before a Christian audience a 
 sort of picture, an ideal representation of the manner in 
 which they should desire and feel on spiritual things, but 
 another thing to make them properly sensible of the charac- 
 teristics of a gracious work, to give them to know these as 
 things which have been known in their real character, appre- 
 ciated and felt. Yet there is nothing more common than 
 
26o THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 for preachers, young preachers more especially, to mistake 
 the one for the other, or to think that they are accomplish- 
 ing the one when they are only doing the other. It were, 
 perhaps, too much to say that no effect of a salutary and 
 permanent kind is likely to be ever produced by a discourse 
 in which the work of grace upon the soul and the actings of 
 the soul as operated on by grace, have been drawn from the 
 imagination merely of the speaker, or taken at second hand 
 from the testimony of others; but assuredly very little of 
 that description will usually be found to come of it. Grace, 
 like nature, has its own look, its own tones, its own veins 
 of thought and feeling ; and discourses which, without any 
 true or adequate participation of these, profess to lay open 
 the secrets of the divine life in the soul, will be felt to be 
 unsatisfactory by those who know the reality of that life, 
 and will fail even to make much impression upon others. 
 My advice, therefore, in regard to such subjects of discourse 
 is. Let each one first try to ascertain what is his own spiri- 
 tual state and temper in relation to them ; let him, for the 
 most part, be sure that he has at least the elements in him- 
 self of the gracious feelings and dispositions which he means 
 to exhibit for the spiritual instruction and comfort of others ; 
 and if at times he should be led to go somewhat beyond 
 what he has himself experienced, not, perhaps, having been 
 placed in the circumstances which are needed to bring it 
 into full operation, let it be done discreetly, and on the 
 ground of results and testimonies which admit of no reason- 
 able doubt. Where more than this is attempted, where at 
 least the attempt is systematically made to strike a higher 
 key, one of two results is almost sure to become manifest : 
 either the preacher will fall into the style of some particular 
 person or party, adopting a sanctimonious mannerism, 
 which is always a defect and a misfortune ; or his preach- 
 ing will betray a false glow, a kind of pretentious unreaHty, 
 will indeed be a preaching about the things of God rather 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISCOURSES. 261 
 
 than an actual and earnest grappling with the things them- 
 selves. 
 
 One point more may be noticed which has respect to 
 the matter itself of such discourses, the subject, namely, of 
 Christian exj)erience. In so far as this is really the opera- 
 tion of divine grace, it must, as to all essential features, be 
 the same in the true children of God ; for it is the work of 
 one and the same Spirit, and the work of that Spirit in 
 applying the same great truths to the conscience, awakening 
 the same convictions, desires, and hopes in the heart. But 
 along with this general resemblance there may be individual 
 characteristics ; there certainly will be such in proportion as 
 there are what the apostle calls ' diversities of operations ' 
 in the Spirit's work, as well as varieties of gifts. This arises 
 primarily from the natm-al diversity which exists in people's 
 physical and mental temperaments, since here also the 
 supernatural bases itself on the natural ; and the manifold 
 diversities also of place, and circumstance, and position in 
 life, amid which, in different individuals, the work of grace 
 is begun and carried forward, cannot fail to exercise a 
 moulding influence on the particular hue and aspect of the 
 religious character. Thus, while it is true of all who have 
 really been born again of the Spirit, that they have been 
 brought to know for themselves the fearful burden of sin, 
 and have seen somewhat of its exceeding sinfulness, with 
 persons of deep sensibility or sombre feeling there may 
 justly be expected a greater perturbation of spirit than in 
 others during such convictions, and at times even a tendency 
 to sink into the depths of wretchedness and despair. A 
 similar difference in respect to natural temperament or in- 
 tellectual acuteness will also give rise to a corresponding 
 difference in the measure of distinctness with which the 
 successive stages of thought and feeling are marked in the 
 spiritual history of individuals, Avhich in some will be found 
 more vivid and perceptible than in others ; in some, again, 
 
262 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 more rapid and violent, in others more gradual and progres- 
 sive. Preachers should therefore beware of representing 
 the experiences belonging to the Christian life in such a 
 manner as to give rise to the impression that not only every 
 feature, but every line, as it were, of that feature, every shade 
 and aspect of life which has developed itself in one Christian, 
 must have its parallel in another. Besides, it is to be borne 
 in mind that a distinction has often to be drawn between 
 the experience of ChiHstians and C/unstian experience. What- 
 ever may justly be designated Christian experience is of the 
 working of God's word and Spirit upon the heart. But in 
 the actual experience of Christians there is often found inter- 
 mingling with that workings of the flesh, fears and hopes, 
 joys and sorrows, and in these again heights and depths, 
 which are either altogether the offspring of peculiarities in 
 men's natural constitution, or receive their distinctive colour 
 from these, together, it may be, with certain discomposing 
 influences derived from the circumstances of their condition. 
 The holiest men are not free from the action of such merely 
 physical or local influences on the atmosphere of their soul ; 
 as may be seen, for example, in the case of Brain erd, whose 
 memoirs exhibit a great deal of what may justly be called 
 unhealthy experience ; the experience, no doubt, of a pro- 
 foundly earnest, spiritual man, and an experience conversant 
 throughout with the things of the Spirit, but still by no means 
 a uniformly Christian experience, in many respects morbid 
 and introverted, and, as a whole, reflecting too much the 
 shady aspect of the law, too little of the genial warmth and 
 gladsome light of the gospel. It was the natural conse- 
 quence of his consumptive frame and sequestered position, 
 with which he had to maintain a perpetual conflict of feeling, 
 and should therefore be carefully distinguished from that 
 profound lowliness of spirit, that sure and stedfast faith, self- 
 sacrificing zeal, unwearied patience, heavenly elevation of 
 soul, and burning desire for the glory of God, which were 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISCOURSES. 263 
 
 his grand characteristics as a missionary of the cross, and 
 which have been rarely surpassed, seldom even equalled. 
 And so as regards the case of many others. 
 
 I may add, however, that even in those cases which ex- 
 hibit something peculiar, and require to be considered apart 
 from the general run of Christian experiences, there still is a 
 certain affinity with what others are conscious of; and if the 
 descriptions given of such are drawn from real life, they will 
 not be in vain even for those who are very partially cognisant 
 of the things described. Hence the importance in this 
 connection also of a minister's familiar intercourse with his 
 people, so as to become properly acquainted with their 
 actual state and character, their misgivings and fears, their 
 trials and perils and difficulties. He will thus be able to 
 speak more directly to their bosoms ; and even when, per- 
 haps, speaking with a view to what may seem applicable to 
 only one or two individuals, he will touch the hearts of a 
 considerable number. For, as justly remarked by a German 
 pastor,^ and by him gathered as the result of ministerial 
 experience, ' he who hits the case of one hits the case of a 
 class ; and, besides, whatever has the impress of truth and 
 reality will interest even those who are not directly concerned 
 in it.' 
 
 IV. Ethical Discourses. — In mentioning ethical discourses, 
 I am not to be understood as meaning what are simply or 
 absolutely such ; but discourses which have for their chief 
 object the exhibition of some one of the moral obligations 
 binding on Christians, and the duties of e very-day life. 
 Every discourse, as already stated, should have more or less 
 of a bearing in this direction ; it should be pervaded by a 
 perceptible moral element, and at certain points should 
 touch upon the things proper to be done, even though 
 mainly occupied with those which are to be believed. But 
 ^ Buchsel's Ministerial Experiences, p. 37. 
 
264 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 it will also be wise, occasionally at least, to discourse on 
 particular branches of the dutiful behaviour and moral ex- 
 cellence which ought to distinguish the members of a 
 Christian community, and to awaken a sense of shortcoming 
 and guilt, where the good is not sought after or realized. 
 
 I. Now, in regard to such discourses, the first and most 
 important direction which has to be given is, that while the 
 moral or spiritual element must be made to predominate, 
 it should never be allowed to stand alone. Precisely as 
 doctrine should ever be set forth in its relation to practice, 
 so when practice is the more immediate theme, its relation 
 to doctrine should never be lost sight of; and that more 
 especially for two reasons. First, because the moral pre- 
 cepts and obligations which believers are called to dis- 
 charge, have much in their nature, and still more in their 
 spirit, to do with the revelations of the gospel ; and it is 
 impossible to give, in connection with any department of 
 Christian life and behaviour, a full representation of what 
 believers should actually do, without bringing the subject 
 into contact with the realities of the gospel. For, since the 
 revelation of these has greatly elevated the position of those 
 to whom the gospel has come, has placed them amid a 
 clearer light, and invested them with other privileges and 
 prospects than they could have known while living in a 
 state of nature, so it has immensely increased their obliga- 
 tions to follow after righteousness, and provided them with 
 means altogether peculiar for understanding the real nature 
 and claims of righteousness. There is, however, another, 
 and, if possible, a still stronger reason ; for faith in the 
 blessed truths of the gospel is the only vital root of the 
 practical goodness which we would have people to exhibit 
 in their walk and conduct ; and one might as well expect 
 to find fruitful trees growing where there has been planted 
 no living germ, as to see a community adorned with 
 the virtues of a pure, upright, and heavenly behaviour, 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISCOURSES. 265 
 
 apart from the believing reception of the truth as it is in 
 Jesus. 
 
 In the present day it is scarcely necessary to give any 
 special illustrations of this, as with all who are in any 
 measure acquainted with the history of religion in this 
 country it has passed into a generally received maxim. It 
 is well, however, that the pastors, or such as are preparing 
 to become pastors, of Christian congregations should re- 
 member some of the more striking proofs of it, which are 
 known to have taken place in the past, that they may be 
 saved even from the/<7r//(7/ misjudgments and misdirected 
 efforts into which they might otherwise be led. In the par- 
 ticular sphere of a single ministerial life, none perhaps can 
 be found more marked and instructive than that of the case 
 of Dr. Chalmers, especially as he himself has depicted it. 
 Shortly after his removal from Kilmany to Glasgow, he pub- 
 lished an address to his former parishioners ; and in that 
 address he referred to the change which had taken place on 
 the character of his ministrations during the period of his 
 residence in Kilmany, describing also the effect which this 
 personal change produced on the results of his pastorate. 
 * I am not sensible,' he said, ' that all the vehemence with 
 which I urged the proprieties and virtues of social life had 
 the weight of a feather on the moral habits of my parish- 
 ioners. And it was not till I got impressed by the utter 
 alienation of the heart in all its desires and affections from 
 God ; it was not till I got the Scriptural way of laying the 
 method of reconciliation before them ; it was not till the 
 free offer of forgiveness through the blood of Christ was 
 urged upon their acceptance, and the Holy Spirit given 
 through Christ's Mediatorship to all who ask Him, that I 
 ever heard of any of those subordinate reformations, which 
 I aforetime made the earnest and the zealous, but, I am 
 afraid, at the same time the ultimate object of my earlier 
 ministrations.' Then, appealing to those who had latterly 
 
2 66 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 undergone a change corresponding to his own, and in con- 
 sequence of it, he says, ' You have at least taught me, that 
 to preach Christ is the only effective way of preaching 
 morality in all its branches ; and out of your humble cot- 
 tages have I gathered a lesson, which I pray God I may be 
 enabled to carry with all its simplicity into a wider theatre, 
 and to bring to bear with all the power of its subduing 
 efficacy upon the vices of a more crowded population.' 
 
 Substantially the same contrast, but with reference to a 
 much wider sphere, was drawn by Bishop Horsley in one of 
 his charges, in which he gave a severe but faithful delinea- 
 tion of the kind of preaching which was prevalent among 
 the clergy of the Church of England during the latter part 
 of last century, contrasting it with the proper idea of gospel 
 preaching. ' The clergy of those days,' he said, ' had lost 
 sight of their proper office, to publish the word of recon- 
 cihation ; and made no other use of the high commission 
 they bore, than to come abroad on one day in seven 
 dressed in solemn looks, and in the external garb of holi- 
 ness, to be the apes of Epictetus. A general decay, not 
 merely of piety, but of all the fruits and excellences of a 
 Christian life, was the natural consequence ;' and therefore 
 he fitly concludes by indicating the right path : ' Practical 
 holiness is the end, faith is the means. The practice of 
 religion will always thrive in proportion as its doctrines are 
 understood and firmly received ; and the practice will 
 degenerate and decay in proportion as the doctrine is 
 misunderstood and neglected.' ^ 
 
 This, however, may quite readily be admitted by persons 
 in the present day, who yet, perhaps, are in danger of giving 
 
 ^ On the negative side, practical illustrations of this may be found in 
 the fruitlessness of Societies for the Reformation of Manners formed 
 during last century (see Gillies' Historical Collections), as compared 
 with the results of evangelical preaching by Whitfield, Wesley, and 
 others. 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISCOURSES. 267 
 
 way to the same tendency in a somewhat modified and 
 subtler form. There is a kind of refined moraUty and 
 spirituahsm, which partakes to some extent of a Christian 
 character, and is all that certain ministers either know or 
 preach; but which, as a scheme of instruction, wants the Hving 
 warmth and quickening influence of true evangelism. A 
 more favourable and instructive example of it could not well 
 be found, than in the amiable and very estimable Henry 
 Woodward, an Irish clergyman, not long since deceased, 
 who himself relates the phase of things connected with his 
 ministerial position and agency to which I refer. He had 
 gone through a very remarkable, one might almost say, 
 singular experience, several years after he became an 
 ordained minister, the chief characteristic of which was an 
 intense realization of spiritual and eternal things, which 
 changed the whole tone of his mind, and rendered mini- 
 sterial work a very different thing from what it had been 
 before, yet without any special prominence being given to 
 the subjects of sin and salvation. Before long, he removed 
 to a neighbourhood where were some men of distinguished 
 parts and good character in the Church, ' whose agency 
 tended to promote spiritual religion, with disconformity to 
 the world ; but upon the subject of the atonement there 
 was somewhat of reserve. It was not denied, it was held as 
 a part of Catholic truth ; it was occasionally preached, but 
 it was not prominently put forward.' Falling in with this 
 system of thought and teaching, Mr. Woodward says of 
 himself, ' My favourite topics from the pulpit, and from 
 house to house, were such as, from my own experience, I 
 could set my seal to : that sin is misery, and holiness is but 
 another name for happiness ; that the ways of religion are 
 ways of pleasantness, and all her paths are peace ; that God 
 is Himself the shield and the exceeding great reward of 
 them that love Him ; that Christ is the living bread which 
 alone can feed the hungry soul,' and so on. ' He did not 
 
268 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 absolutely omit,' he says, * to preach forgiveness through 
 the blood of Jesus, and justification by faith in His right- 
 eousness ; but this doctrine had not the prominence which 
 is understood to characterize evangelical preaching ; and it 
 was only when he came to perceive the far more marked 
 and blessed effects which flowed from preaching more dis- 
 tinctively evangelical, that he began seriously to consider 
 the defects of his own, and gave that prominence to the 
 doctrines of sin and salvation which they unquestionably 
 have in Scripture. I saw,' he states, 'that God was pleased 
 to bless this mode of preaching;' and He does so, we must 
 remember, just because it thoroughly meets the case of 
 sinners, and, with the knowledge of the good, supplies the 
 only effectual means and motives for their actually at- 
 taining it. 
 
 2. But to proceed to another point : while the moralities 
 of the gospel in discourses of this nature should ever be 
 based upon its beliefs, in the mode of doing it some variety 
 is advisable, so as to avoid a tame and mechanical uni- 
 formity. Suppose, for example, that humility were the subj ect 
 of discourse, and the text i Pet. v. 5, ' Be subject one to 
 another, and be clothed with humility,' it might be equally 
 appropriate to begin with a delineation of the grace of 
 humility, its thoughts and feelings with reference to self, 
 its actings toward God, its outgoings of will and purpose 
 towards others amid the intercourse and relations of life ; 
 and then to point to the spiritual root out of which it springs, 
 and the manifold considerations presented in the gospel 
 which are fitted to nourish and stimulate it. Or, reversing 
 the process, bring forward first what grounds or reasons 
 there are in Scripture, as well as in the nature of things, for 
 the cultivation of a spirit of humility, and then show how, 
 when these are properly apprehended and felt, they will of 
 necessity prompt to the exercise of humility, dispose the 
 believer, as it were, to clothe himself with it, so that it shall 
 
DIFFERENT KINDS OF DISCOURSES. 269 
 
 impart a distinctive tone and impress to whatever he does. 
 In Hke manner, with regard to all the other graces of the 
 Christian life, and the duties of moral obligation, it is imma- 
 terial whether the discussion of the duties or the exhibition 
 of the truths and principles which should find their develop- 
 ment in the duties have the precedence in the discourse ; 
 and not stringent uniformity, but rather variety of order and 
 method is to be cultivated. 
 
 3. A still further direction may be indicated, namely, 
 that care should be taken so to exhibit the moralities, or 
 practical duties of the gospel, that these shall appear really 
 practicable to the body of sound Christians. Representa- 
 tions are sometimes given of these, and of the obligations 
 generally of a Christian life, which look too much like ideal 
 pictures, and which, from want of adaptation to people's 
 circumstances, are fitted rather to discourage than prompt 
 their zeal to the performance of what is required. ' Our 
 system of preaching,' Mr. Cecil justly observes, *must be 
 such as to meet mankind. They must find \\. possible to live 
 in the bustle of the world and yet serve God.' And this 
 should lead, not only, as he suggests, to a prominent exhi- 
 bition of Christian privileges, and the refreshing of men's 
 harassed spirits with the cheering manifestation of Christ's 
 truth and love, but also to such a statement of the way of 
 holiness as shall not appear to overtax the energies of ordi- 
 nary men, a truthful yet homely and reasonable view of the 
 relative obligations and duties of life. This should especially 
 be attended to when pressing duties of which the formal 
 discharge must necessarily vary with the nieans and oppor- 
 tunities possessed, such as liberality to the poor, the expen- 
 diture of time and resources in the cause of Christ, the 
 exercises of meditation and prayer. That the genuine 
 Christian will always be characterized by a certain regard 
 to such things, we must leave no room to doubt, and a 
 regard that will always grow in proportion to the growth of 
 
270 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 Christian principle in the heart. But let hearers at the 
 same time be reminded, that they have to do with a God 
 who knows their frame, and sets the bounds of their 
 habitations ; so that while the spirit which animates all true 
 followers of Christ must be the same, there cannot be for each 
 the same formal rule and measure ; and they may be liberal 
 even in the highest degree, not by giving much, but by 
 giving heartily according to their means, and by doing 
 kindly ; they may be meditative, and yet go through their 
 daily taskwork of bodily labour ; may be prayerful and yet 
 without a closet to retire to, or hours of repose which 
 they can consecrate to devotion. In all such cases let it 
 be clearly understood that the spirit of the work done or 
 the service rendered is the main thing, and that if the spirit 
 but exist in sufficient strength, it will not fail to obtain 
 scope for itself in appropriate forms of manifestation. 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 27 I 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION. PERSONAL IN- 
 TERCOURSE. DEALINGS WITH SPECIAL CASES. PASTORAL 
 VISITATIONS. CATECHETICAL INSTRUCTION. VISITATION 
 OF THE SICK, THE AFFLICTED, AND DYING. 
 
 WE have dwelt at some length upon the homiletical 
 department of pastoral duty, because it is that 
 through which, when properly discharged, the pastor exercises 
 his most extensive influence over the understandings and 
 hearts of his people. Other methods of instruction, how- 
 ever important as accessories, must still be regarded as of 
 secondary rank in relation to it. Should the regular mini- 
 strations of the pulpit be either undervalued, or from any 
 cause feebly performed, it will be impossible to compensate 
 for the defect by other appliances. For, even if we could thus 
 succeed in awakening some degree of spiritual concern, the 
 better tendencies would again be checked, or at least fail to 
 reach their proper consummation, not finding the requisite 
 impulse and supplies of nourishment ministered on the 
 Sabbath. But there is a danger also in the opposite direc- 
 tion, which the faithful and earnest pastor will do well to 
 guard against. Pulpit ministrations may be too exclusively 
 relied on, and may in turn fail to yield the spiritual harvest 
 expected to be reaped from them, being left too much alone. 
 The divine seed, it may be, has been sown on the Lord's 
 day by a wise and discriminating hand ; but being cast into 
 so many different soils, and exposed thereafter to such 
 diverse influences, more fitted in many cases to mar than to 
 
272 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 cherish and foster its future growth, nothing of solid and 
 permanent growth is produced. And the more gifted the 
 preacher is, he may only be the more apt to neglect the 
 minor solicitudes and agencies which are needed to secure 
 a better result, under the impression that when his dis- 
 courses appear to be so much appreciated, and to find such 
 attentive and serious audiences, all is done that can well be 
 expected of him, or is actually required for the success of 
 his ministry. Practically, however, such a mode of reckon- 
 ing will usually be found a great mistake; and whatever may 
 be any one's qualifications for public discourse, there are 
 certain things by which his efforts in that respect should 
 be followed up, otherwise they may prove comparatively 
 unavailing. 
 
 I. Personal Inteixourse. — First of all, it is of importance 
 that, as far as possible, a pastor should cultivate personal 
 intercourse with the people of his charge. By this is not 
 meant such intercourse as arises from the exchange of social 
 visits, or giving and receiving friendly entertainments. Things 
 of that description, within certain limits, are both allowable 
 and proper. They indicate a disposition in the pastor to be 
 on neighbourly terms with his flock, and to partake with 
 them in the common bounties of Providence and the inno- 
 cent refreshments of Hfe. But they need to be very jealously 
 guarded, and restrained within narrow limits, otherwise they 
 are sure to occasion a serious waste of time, and tend also 
 to bring the minister in his feelings and conversation too 
 much down to the level of ordinary society, or to give him 
 too much the air and tone of a man of the world. 
 
 Different from this is the kind of personal intercourse 
 which is now under consideration as a department of pastoral 
 duty. In seeking to cultivate it, the pastor must make him- 
 self accessible to his people, and be ready to avail himself 
 of such opportunities as occur to draw forth their hearts 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 273 
 
 toward him, and induce an interchange of thoughts. These, 
 no doubt, will very materially differ according to the nature 
 of the sphere he occupies, and the worldly circumstances of 
 his people. A good deal may often be done even in his 
 casual meetings with them through the week, especially if 
 he is himself gifted with somewhat of a natural frankness of 
 manner, and, along with this, has his heart so much in the 
 work of his sacred calling that every one knows what are the 
 themes most congenial to his spirit. But he may also, and 
 should, particularly in rural charges, cultivate acquaintance 
 with the members of his flock, by occasionally entering into 
 their dwellings, though it should be only for a few minutes, 
 and while his more immediate object, perhaps, is to obtain 
 the exercise he needs, or to transact some little piece of 
 business. In certain situations, where the field is extensive 
 and the congregation numerous, it maybe a considerable 
 advantage both for himself and his people, on his own part 
 a great saving of time and labour, to appoint occasionally 
 times and places where he will be ready to see them indi- 
 vidually, and to enter into converse with them on any matters 
 on which they might desire to open to him their minds, or 
 to have his advice. 
 
 Now, when the pastor is able in one or other of such ways 
 to maintain personal intercourse with a considerable portion 
 of his people, various benefits will accrue, some of them 
 directly relating to himself, though on these it will be 
 unnecessary to dwell. But he will thereby gain much in 
 respect to intimacy with their state and feelings, and so be- 
 come more skilful in dealing with their spiritual interests. 
 His knowledge of them gets individualized; their distinctive 
 tendencies and characters, their relative degrees of intelli- 
 gence, the greater or less capacity they may have for under- 
 standing the import and profiting by the instruction of the 
 discourses he delivers to them, the special sins and tempta- 
 tions which they need to be warned against, the duties 
 
 s 
 
2 74 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 which require to be most urgently pressed : these things and 
 others of a cognate description will get familiarized to the 
 mind of the pastor who takes the course indicated, with a 
 distinctness and particularity which will otherwise be found 
 unattainable. Acquiring thus a more thorough acquaintance 
 with their natural and spiritual characteristics, he will be able 
 in his various ministrations to adapt himself more exactly 
 and wisely to their particular cases. And while he may 
 certainly lay his account with having things obtruded upon 
 him which cause uneasiness and disappointment, he will 
 also meet with cheering indications, will even occasionally 
 light upon wells of Christian life and activity, which his own 
 exhibitions of the truth may have helped to open, and 
 which will have the effect of sending him on his way 
 rejoicing. 
 
 But while such advantages are not to be overlooked, 
 they are still inferior to those which the pastor, by such a 
 course, may be the means of imparting to others, and the 
 increased moral influence it is fitted to lend to his ministra- 
 tions. As he comes thereby to a more intimate knowledge 
 of the people of his charge, so in turn he becomes better 
 known to them ; and being often touched through the 
 familiarities of personal intercourse with the proofs of his 
 kindliness and fellow-feeling, they will be prepared to 
 mingle with their respect for him as a pastor, affection and 
 confidence toward him as a friend. The distance and 
 reserve which the one relation naturally tends to throw 
 around him, will become lessened and relieved by the free 
 interchange of thought and feeling fostered by the other ; 
 and his addresses from the pulpit will assume more the 
 character of a speaking from heart to heart. They now 
 know that they are listening to one who really sympathizes 
 with them and cares for them ; one who unfeignedly seeks 
 their wellbeing, and delights to go out and in among them. 
 Besides, by such a course he greatly multiplies his oppor- 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 275 
 
 tiinities of promoting their spiritual good. Though he will 
 often, perhaps, find it impossible to get beneath the surface, 
 or to touch on other than ordinary topics, yet he will again 
 be able, if himself thoroughly in earnest, to direct the con- 
 versation into higher channels, and to drop words that shall 
 be like good seed cast into congenial soil. Openings, 
 occasionally at least, will present themselves for suggesting 
 inquiries, tendering cautions, administering reproofs, or 
 giving counsels and encouragements much more special and 
 pointed than could well be addressed from the pulpit. 
 People will get courage to make known their case in times 
 especially of darkness or perplexity, so as to render com- 
 paratively easy a suitable application of the healing medicine 
 of the gospel. This is happily noticed by Bengel : ^ 'Friendly 
 intercourse with our people often effects more than all the 
 reasons, demonstrations, and sermons in the world. The 
 traveller unwraps his mantle, not when the cold wind blows 
 strongly, but when the warming sunshine smiles. It is 
 better here to have a single dove flying towards us of its 
 own accord, than to see ever so many driven into the en- 
 closure. How desirable is it to get our people to feel so 
 easy with us, that they can ask or tell us anything with 
 open-heartedness and simplicity ! ' He adduces, as a more 
 special reason, a consideration which should certainly not 
 be overlooked : ' Many become seriously impressed and 
 *' pricked in their hearts" under sermons, who yet derive no 
 special comfort from the word of grace till it is communi- 
 cated to them in private conversation. Therefore, visiting 
 those committed to his charge should be considered by the 
 Christian minister to be anything but a light matter, for he 
 can often do much more good by his private visits than by 
 his public testimony. He should therefore let his people 
 see that he is always willing and ready to attend privately 
 upon any and every one of them.' 
 
 ' Life, by Burk, p. 127. 
 
276 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 All this, of course, implies a certain unbending on the 
 part of the minister, a frankness and geniality of manner 
 easily distinguished from a poHtic or forced condescension. 
 Like other personal characteristics, it may exist in very 
 different degrees even in godly ministers, but is also suscep- 
 tible of great improvement in those who are anxious to 
 cultivate what they have. It implies, too, that the pastor 
 shall not be content with merely speaking to men in the 
 mass, but shall care for them individually, a matter often 
 too little regarded by men otherwise distinguished for their 
 ministerial gifts. ' As fishers of men, they are too exclu- 
 sively bent,' Mr. James of Birmingham remarks,^ ' on casting 
 their net among a shoal, and drawing many at one throw, 
 and are not given enough to patiently angling for the soli- 
 tary fish. Single souls are thought, if not beneath our 
 notice, yet below our zeal. Have we forgotten our great 
 Pattern, who sat for a whole hour, perhaps, or even more, 
 on the side of a well, and laboured kindly and condescend- 
 ingly for the salvation of one individual, and that a female 
 of indifferent character ? Or may we not receive instruction 
 from the parable of the lost sheep, upon perceiving the 
 solicitude and the toil of the good Shepherd to restore the 
 solitary wanderer to the fold? Or let us learn from the 
 conduct of the blessed angels, who rejoice over one sinner 
 that repenteth. It is this anxiety,' he adds, ' for the conver- 
 sion of single souls by conversation in private more than 
 the ardour of the pulpit that tests the sincerity of our con- 
 cern and the purity of our motives. Many things apart 
 from the higher objects of pulpit ministration concur to 
 excite our zeal in public ; only one, and that of a right kind, 
 can be supposed to operate in private.' There is, undoubt- 
 edly, much truth in this representation ; and very few pastors 
 who have been long in the ministry will be able to reflect 
 on it without painful and humbling recollections. 
 ^ Introduction to Spencer's Sketches^ p. xlv. 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 277 
 
 It is not unimportant to notice, however, that the same 
 esteemed and earnest minister, in his anxiety to get more 
 into this individual mode of deahng with his people, and 
 deepening on particular minds the impressions which may 
 have been made upon them by the services of the sanctuary, 
 fell upon a plan in the latter years of his ministry which was 
 attended with considerable success, and which doubtless, at 
 particular seasons, has often in substance been adopted 
 elsewhere. The plan was this : He made very special pre- 
 paration for his pulpit services on one, or perhaps two 
 Sabbaths, with the view of awakening in the minds of his 
 congregation a deep and solemn concern for salvation, and 
 then gave intimation at the close that, on a particular even- 
 ing shortly after, he would be at the vestry or schoolroom, 
 for the purpose of meeting any one who might have been 
 affected by what they had heard, or who by any means had 
 been brought into concern regarding the things of their 
 peace. He made them very distinctly to understand that 
 his object was not to interrogate or converse with such 
 persons individually, the apprehension of which, he was 
 sure, would have deterred many from coming, but to speak 
 to them and pray with them collectively. The proposal on 
 the first occasion of its announcement was so largely re- 
 sponded to, that Mr. James felt quite overpowered by the 
 greatness and solemnity of the scene ; and from that moment, 
 he says, he felt that a new view of his pastoral office had 
 been opened to him, and a new means of usefulness had 
 been put into his hands. At the evening meeting, in addi- 
 tion to exercises of devotion, he endeavoured to address 
 those present in such a manner as to deepen their feelings of 
 thoughtfulness and spiritual concern, also to impart to them 
 clear views of the way of salvation ; for which purpose he 
 would sometimes distribute an appropriate tract, and request 
 them to peruse it at leisure, while the instructions given by 
 himself were still fresh upon their minds. Meetings of this 
 
278 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 sort were renewed for six or seven times in successive weeks, 
 when it was intimated that for the present they would cease, 
 and that the pastor would be ready to converse with persons 
 individually at certain times and places mentioned. Usually 
 a very considerable number availed themselves of the oppor- 
 tunity, and about a half of the whole were added to the 
 membership of the church. The plan, with little variation, 
 was repeated at inter\5als during the remainder of Mr. 
 James' ministry, and always with considerable success. 
 
 It should, of course, be understood that such a plan is 
 neither adapted to all situations, nor suited to every one's 
 ministerial gifts ; and wherever it is tried, the greatest care 
 should be taken beforehand in feeling one's way as to the 
 probability at least of the effort meeting with an adequate 
 response. It should also be understood that even where 
 things seem, upon the whole, favourable to the attempt 
 being made, the whole issue, humanly speaking, will depend 
 upon the spirit, the earnestness, the tact of the minister ; 
 and while he should never trust to these, or think for a 
 moment that the possession of them in the largest measure 
 would be of itself sufhcient, still it must be through them 
 instrumentally that the impression in ordinary cases is to be 
 produced and lasting results reached. In such a line of 
 operations nothing of any moment can be effected unless 
 the chief agent in them is profoundly conscious of a desire 
 for the salvation of men, unless he is ready also for this end 
 to come into close fellowship with them, and be wiUing to 
 labour both in pains and prayer to have them brought to a 
 state of peace and acceptance in the Saviour. On the other 
 hand, there may be a danger in waiting too long for what 
 are supposed to be the requisite gifts and fitting oppor- 
 tunities j a certain courageous boldness, in the name of the 
 Lord, venturing for His sake on new lines of action, may 
 sometimes be the truest wisdom. If one in such a spirit 
 but conscientiously uses what he has and does what he can, 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 279 
 
 it may not be in vain ; and in this, as in other departments 
 of spiritual labour, experience will of itself bring increased 
 skill and fitness for the work. 
 
 In regard to the bearing generally of what may be called 
 individual cases of spiritual awakening brought under the 
 cognizance of the pastor on his whole work in any particular 
 place, it is necessary to judge cautiously ; for, though im- 
 portant evidences of a spiritual movement, they are not by 
 any means the only, or in themselves infallible, tests of its 
 reality and power. Various circumstances may operate in 
 particular localities to modify the number of such cases, and 
 make them relatively more or fewer than the actual work of 
 grace which is proceeding at the time might of itself seem 
 to warrant. The manners of society must here be taken 
 into account, which have their characteristic differences in 
 persons of higher and lower degree ; in the one more quiet 
 and self-possessed, in the other more free and demonstrative ; 
 whence, in times of excitement, of religious excitement as well 
 as excitement of any other kind, while the feelings of persons 
 in the humbler ranks of life will burst forth like new wine 
 those of a more refined and cultivated class, though perhaps 
 equally strong, and even more deep and lasting, are held 
 under self-control, and flow on like a silent but powerful 
 current in the underground of their souls. In a congrega- 
 tion derived mainly from this higher class there will be 
 nothing like the same exhibition of emotional feeling as in 
 one of a different description, though the regenerating in- 
 fluence experienced may not be less general and pervading 
 m the one case than in the other. The pastor therefore 
 must, to a considerable extent, judge by other and less 
 palpable manifestations. Another element also, the com- 
 parative amount of religious knowledge, the measure that 
 IS possessed of an intelligent acquaintance with the word of 
 God, must not be overlooked ; for this of itself, when pos- 
 sessed in any competent degree, renders the way of peace 
 
28o THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 perfectly plain to such as have become really in earnest to 
 find it. Their understandings are already full of light ; they 
 have but to realize what they know, to practise what they 
 believe, and in many cases may find no occasion or need to 
 go to the pastor for special direction or comfort. It will 
 naturally, however, be otherwise where people have grown 
 up in ignorance and neglect, estranged in great measure 
 from the ordinances of religion, and hence requiring to be 
 taught what are the first principles of the oracles of God. 
 Deep conviction of sin with such persons will need to be 
 followed up with special efforts to impart a sufficient know- 
 ledge of the truth as it is in Christ ; and in their case the 
 expressed desire to obtain what in this respect is needed, 
 and the progress made in acquiring it, may commonly be 
 taken as the evidence and measure of a truly awakened 
 condition. It is still further to be borne in mind, that there 
 are constitutional^ one may even say national, idiosyncrasies, 
 which cannot fail to discover themselves in such matters ; 
 and among these may certainly be reckoned a kind of 
 natural shyness or reserve in the Scottish mind. Taken as 
 a class, devout and serious Christians in Scotland are less 
 communicative in regard to the frames and movements of 
 their inner life than in most other countries. I believe it 
 would often be better both for themselves and others if they 
 revealed more of the currents of thought and feeling, the 
 anxieties, joys, and sorrows of which they are conscious, as 
 they might thus know more of the blessed communion of 
 saints, and in their darker moments might more readily 
 obtain the comfort and consolation of which they stand in 
 need. Yet, if there is to be excess on the one side or the 
 other, that which cleaves to us as a people is at least the 
 safer : rather grave, -quiet, earnest thought about spiritual 
 things struggling with itself in the chambers of imagery, than 
 much communicativeness with a deficiency of depth and 
 solidity of thought. And then, for the most part, hearts 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 28 1 
 
 will one time or another open; circumstances will arise 
 which in a manner compel the reserve to give way, and 
 lead to spiritual communings, especially on the part of 
 genuine believers, with their pastor. And it may, perhaps, 
 help to reconcile him to a little delay in the matter, and 
 dispose him to avoid anything like undue haste or urgency, 
 when it is considered how often it happens that the readiest 
 to disclose their spiritual feelings, the most talkative about 
 their soul-experiences, are the most apt to yield under the 
 pressure of outward difficulties, and commonly the least 
 satisfactory in respect to consistency of character and steadi- 
 ness of growth in the divine life.^ 
 
 II. Dealings with Special Cases. — The preceding remarks 
 will be misunderstood, if they are conceived to indicate a 
 
 ^ The following statement, made several years ago by a minister of the 
 Free Church, formerly of the Scottish Establishment, lends confinna- 
 tion in one or two points to what has just been stated : ' We must not 
 expect from our people that they shall tell us at what time and in what 
 way they were brought to serious thought. There is on the part of 
 many a dread lest their goodness should be as the morning cloud ; and 
 if one is to be happy only when he hears his people telling him that 
 such and such a sermon or address brought them to Christ, he will 
 assuredly be disappointed. Let me tell of the manner in which three 
 cases of, I hope, something better than mere improvement were brought 
 about. The first was a farm-servant, who had been reared in a very 
 careless family, and whose marriage was not carried through so as to 
 approve itself to me. Visiting him one day, I was struck with his re- 
 mark, " You said there was not a more pleasant sight than to see the 
 labouring man sitting down on the Sabbath evening and teaching his 
 children the word of God ; I find it very pleasant." This was the first 
 intimation of a change. From that day the man took a new position 
 in the parish. He had much family affliction, which he bore with a most 
 submissive spirit, and his worldly circumstances have so improved that 
 I found him lately in possession of a small farm, and highly respected. 
 The second case was one of our most "well-to-do" farmers. Often 
 had this man been approached, but he invariably shied all close deal- 
 
282 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 disposition to set little by the occurrence of particular cases, 
 as subjects for more exact inquiry and specific treatment, 
 either to discourage the desire for them, or to account their 
 occasional occurrence of little moment. On the contrary, 
 I am persuaded it would argue ill for the character of any 
 Christian pastorate if such were not both expected and 
 found ; only some discrimination should be exercised in 
 the matter, if men would save themselves from needless dis- 
 appointments ; and a rule of judgment suitable enough for 
 one sphere of action should not be applied without qualifi- 
 cation to another materially dififerent. In almost every field 
 of ministerial labour, though in some greatly more than in 
 others, there will be found exemplifications of the truth so 
 beautifully set forth in the parable : ' So is the kingdom of 
 God, as if a man should cast seed into the ground ; and 
 
 ings ; an " Ay" or a *' No" was the sum of what could be got out of 
 him. At length, one day he asked me if I could lend him, or would 
 buy for him, a book of prayers, as such a thing "was a help to the like 
 of him." From that day he presented a new character to the parish, 
 and spoke and acted as one interested in the truth. In another case, 
 an individual in the upper ranks of life, after having kept a thorough 
 silence as to the means of her change from a system of self-righteousness 
 to one of simple dependence on the grace of God in Christ, when ex- 
 pecting death, felt it would not be right to conceal the instrumentality 
 by which she had been brought to entertain serious views. This often 
 occurs. The Lord graciously keeps from His servant the knowledge of 
 what He i& doing through him ; it may be, lest he should be unduly 
 exalted.' These cases are contrasted by the writer with two others, 
 the subjects of which were persons in the better classes of society ; one 
 that of a lady, who was often seen to be much impressed by public 
 addresses, affected even to tears ; but when laid on a sick-bed was 
 brought to confess that she had till then never prayed. The other was 
 that of a young man, who became apparently a decided convert, and 
 exposed himself to considerable mockery on account of the tiaith from 
 friends and relatives, but began to decline in his fidelity and zeal, and 
 ultimately sunk into the lowest depths of profligacy and shame. — Free 
 Church Magazine^ vol. viii. p. 347. 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 283 
 
 should sleep, and rise niglit and day, and the seed should 
 spring and grow up, he knoweth not how;'^ a silent, gradual, 
 progressive unfolding, rendering itself distinctly manifest 
 only in the result. 
 
 Cases will still arise, however, calling for special treat- 
 ment ; and a good deal of a minister's usefulness and 
 adaptation to his particular sphere may often depend upon 
 his qualifications for making the treatment such as it ought 
 to be. They naturally fall into two classes : first, those 
 which have simply to be met with, the cases of persons 
 roused somehow to spiritual concern, or involved in doubt 
 and perplexity about the interests of their souls, and coming 
 to the pastor for comfort and direction ; and second, those 
 whom the pastor should endeavour to seek out, for the pur- 
 pose of reclaiming them from indifference, or bringing them 
 to a right sense of their state and duty. 
 
 I. In regard to the former class, no great difficulty is 
 likely to be occasioned by them, on the supposition that 
 the pastor is a man of sound Scriptural knowledge, spiritual 
 discernment, and hearty zeal in his work. The vast majority 
 of cases that present themselves will be such as require at 
 his hands the exercise only of a sympathizing spirit, prompt- 
 ing him to listen with attention and interest to the details of 
 each ; skill in the application of the word of truth, according 
 to the varieties of spiritual want and danger that come 
 before him ; and faith, living faith, to lay hold of and press 
 upon the awakened and troubled conscience the promises 
 more especially adapted to conduct it to rest. Prayer, I 
 need scarcely say, should accompany all, prayer for direc- 
 tion how to speak, and for a blessing on what is spoken ; 
 prayer also at times during the conference, as well as before 
 or after it. Usually, the main difficulty experienced is in 
 respect to the persons most deeply pierced with convictions 
 of sin, how to get them brought into such clear views of the 
 ^ Mark iv. 26, 27. 
 
284 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 scheme of grace, and such a realizing sense of the offered 
 forgiveness of the gospel, as will enable them to lay aside 
 their fears, and with a trustful confidence commit themselves 
 to the covenant faithfulness of God. The transition seems 
 so great from the one state to the other, that they are not 
 easy to be convinced of its immediate practicability. And 
 in the case of some, there are constitutional difficulties which 
 serve to aggravate the difficulty, nervous debility, melan- 
 cholic temperaments, dyspeptic or other bodily derange- 
 ments, in which material elements become strangely 
 intermingled with spiritual ; and something like physical 
 hindrances for a time bar the way to a comfortable assur- 
 ance. For such cases it is impossible to lay down definite 
 prescriptions, or give instructions that can be of much prac- 
 tical avail. Experience must be the chief guide ; and they 
 who cannot find their way thus to the proper mode of 
 treatment, will derive little help either from the lecture-room 
 or the written page. 
 
 There are cases, however, occasionally occurring in times 
 of religious awakening, and assuming the aspect of a hopeful 
 concern about salvation, in dealing with which the pastor 
 will have need of other qualities than those which may suffice 
 for guiding ordinary inquirers into the way of peace and 
 safety. It is quite possible that persons may become dis- 
 quieted in conscience, and exhibit considerable marks of a 
 penitent and changed condition, who still have never become 
 properly alive to their condition as sinners, who are not pre- 
 pared either to confess or to forsake all that is evil in their 
 temper and conduct, and who, therefore, if they should be 
 plied merely with the consolations of the gospel, might 
 readily solace themselves with a peace which is not of God. 
 Such persons need to be dealt with first in a spirit of faithful 
 severity; they must be made to know themselves better 
 before they can apprehend Christ aright as their Saviour, 
 and enter into the participation of His risen life. We meet 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 285 
 
 with cases of this description in the New Testament ; for 
 example, in the scribes and Pharisees as a class j in Nico- 
 dem_us most especially ; in the rich young ruler ; and in the 
 method of treatment adopted toward them by John the 
 Baptist and our Lord, searching, wise, faithful, we have the 
 line marked out which, in similar circumstances, we ought 
 to follow. It may not be quite easy to detect the lurking 
 evil, or descry amid the signs of apparent life and hopeful- 
 ness the indications of a want of thorough earnestness and 
 sincerity ; but possibly something in the manner, if carefully 
 watched, may discover it, or it may come out as the result of 
 personal inquiries or incidental means of information. When 
 once ascertained, there should be no dallying with the spiri- 
 tual sore in their condition ; no false delicacy in bringing 
 the truth of God to bear upon it ; faithfulness, applying the 
 axe to the root of the tree, is the real kindness. Take as a 
 good illustrative example the following case which occurred 
 in connection with the ministry of an evangelical minister 
 of the Church of England in last century, Mr. Walker of 
 Truro : — ' One of his visitors for private instruction was a 
 young man, who stated that he called to thank him for the 
 benefit he had received from his ministry, and to beg his 
 advice. Mr. Walker immediately questioned him as to the 
 knowledge he possessed of his own heart, when the youth 
 expressed in general terms a conviction that he was an un- 
 worthy sinner. Perceiving by his manner that he had never 
 duly experienced that conviction, Mr. Walker at once entered 
 into an explanation of the sinner's character, with a personal 
 reference to the individual before him. He dwelt upon 
 his ingratitude to God, the evil nature of the motives which 
 had influenced all his actions, the fruitlessness of his life, 
 the defilement even of his best deeds, and then added, " I 
 fear you are secretly displeased with me, because I have 
 not commended your good intentions and flattered your 
 vanity." " No indeed, sir," said the young man, " I feel 
 
286 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 extremely thankful for this striking proof of your kindness 
 and regard."' Yet even this was feigned; for the young 
 man himself next day confessed that he felt inwardly cha- 
 grined at the small account Mr. Walker seemed to make of 
 his professions, and had even secretly determined to en- 
 counter no more the searching questions which had exposed 
 his shallowness and wounded his pride. But he could not 
 carry out his purpose of forsaking his instructor ; the arrow 
 of divine truth had entered his heart, he submitted himself 
 to the righteousness of God in Christ, and ever afterwards 
 led an exemplary Christian life. But under a less discern- 
 ing and faithful minister, who can tell what might have been 
 the result? Most probably a fresh increase to his self- 
 complacency, followed by future backslidings, ever-recurring 
 inconsistencies, and much that betokened the form rather 
 than the life of godliness.-^ 
 
 Cases of this description render it manifest that all is by 
 no means accomplished when personal concern is awakened, 
 or when the sinner assumes the position of an inquirer, and 
 that a pastor has often much more to do with those who 
 seek advice from him regarding their soul's interests than 
 quote a few passages of Scripture and point their way to 
 the Saviour. Nor does the difficulty always arise from some 
 latent insincerity or deep-rooted contrariety in some respect 
 to the humbling tenets of the gospel. It may come in great 
 part from the relations of social or domestic life, from 
 embarrassments created by the rival claims of affections and 
 interests, which in themselves are good, and in respect to 
 which it is no easy matter to decide when they compete for 
 the precedency. That which, if one of these claims stood 
 alone, might commend itself to approval, may appear, when 
 relatively considered, to be attended with so many risks and 
 
 1 See also some other illustrative cases remarkably well conducted 
 in Spencer's Sketches^ particularly the one entitled * Delay ; or, The 
 Accepted Time.' 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 287 
 
 hazards to interests naturally esteemed precious, that a man 
 may be tempted to pause before making the venture, and to 
 ask whether, meanwhile at least, something less might not 
 be held reasonable and proper. Perplexing cases ""of this 
 sort will sometimes present themselves, for which, either to 
 choose oneself the right path, or to counsel others in regard 
 to It, there is needed a spirit of discretion as well as of godly 
 simphcity, and still more perhaps even than that, a strong 
 reliant faith in God's word, the faith which can remove 
 mountams, and which can fearlessly take the course of 
 lofty principle in the calm assurance that God will stand by 
 the right, and, in spite of all that seems adverse or perilous 
 will cause it to become the best for present peace and 
 blessing as well as for ultimate good. The history of Pro- 
 vidence IS ever furnishing exemplifications of this, and with 
 such the prudent and conscientious pastor will do well to 
 keep himself acquainted, in order that, from the expe- 
 rience of others as well as from his own observation and 
 knowledge of the way of life, he may be able to guide his 
 people through the more trying emergencies of their lot ' 
 
 2. The earnest and devoted pastor, however, must not 
 be satisfied with simply meeting such cases as come of their 
 own accord to him for counsel and direction ; he must 
 himself assume the part of an inquirer in regard to some 
 whether formally connected with his congregation or lying on 
 Its outskirts, endeavouring by one method or another to get 
 mto personal contact with them, and bring them to a sense of 
 what seems unrighteous in their course and perilous in their 
 condition. I have already noticed the temptations there 
 are with many ministers of the gospel for neglecting this 
 part of pastoral duty, and of the difficulties attending its 
 discharge. Indeed, these are altogether so peculiar and 
 
 ' Some excellent specimens of what is referred to may be found in 
 Spencer s S^e^c/^es especially ' The Persecuted Wife;' also one or two 
 m Warton's I?eatMed Scenes and Past Conversations 
 
288 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 SO various, that I should only, I fear, spend time to little 
 purpose by going at any length into the subject. It is 
 not so properly a science to be studied as an art to be 
 learned ; and, like all other arts, to be learned to purpose, it 
 must be pursued amid the objects of real life. The felt 
 responsibihty of being put in charge with immortal souls, 
 among whom there appear to be some perishing for lack 
 of knowledge, and incapable of being effectually reached by 
 public ministrations — this, to awaken the desire for putting 
 forth special efforts in their behalf, and such works as those 
 already referred to suggest practical hints for the most likely 
 methods of accomplishing the end in view, will do more 
 than the most elaborate prelections on the general nature 
 and objects of the duty. I indicate only a few essential 
 points. 
 
 First, all reasonable care should be taken beforehand to 
 know the real state and character of the parties intended to 
 be dealt with. There should always be more to go upon 
 than vague impressions or general rumours. Knowledge 
 here, of a circumstantial and definite nature, may truly be 
 designated a key to at least a certain measure of success ; 
 for it lays open to us the realities of the case we have to 
 deal with, and so both prevents us from stumbling upon 
 imaginary evils, the bare suspicion of which might lead us 
 astray, and brings us acquainted with the precise evils which 
 have, if possible, to be mastered. 
 
 Secondly, we should prepare for the dealing, by consi- 
 dering well the forms of evil or aspects of character to 
 which we mean to address ourselves in the way of reform, 
 the thoughts and considerations which it might be best 
 to urge on the notice of the persons concerned, the very 
 passages of Scripture also we would lodge in their memory ; 
 and prepare, moreover, by invoking the guidance and bless- 
 ing of Him in whose name alone everything should be done 
 that touches the interests of salvation. 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 289 
 
 Thirdly, this which I have just mentioned, salvation, is 
 the end that should be kept steadily in view, in our private 
 dealings with individual souls, as well as in our public 
 ministrations. Nothing less ; for short of this nothing will 
 avail to their real wellbeing, or fulfil the design of a gospel 
 ministry. Slighter reforms, however proper to be mentioned, 
 and made perhaps the starting-point of our remarks, should 
 still only be regarded as the preliminary stages to be gained, 
 the soul's surrender to Christ and appropriation of His pur- 
 chased redemption being ever kept in view as the proper 
 landing-place we desire to reach. It is this high aim, also, 
 which best nerves the mind to such close and often delicate 
 intermeddling with other men's states and modes of life ; 
 for, when such mighty interests are seen to be at stake, 
 what practical difficulties should not the servant of Christ 
 be ready to encounter ! 
 
 Finally, while a spirit of profound earnestness and fidelity 
 td the cause of truth should constitute the ground of the 
 whole proceeding, sincere and fervent love should animate 
 and characterize the mode of conducting it, love that may 
 be felt ; for this will soften every stroke, and lend weight to 
 every argument and appeal we make. ' I cannot think,' 
 said one to a truly evangelical pastor, ' how your people 
 bear such plain speaking;' to which the reply was, 'It is 
 because they know I love them.' And of the love itself, 
 which bears such blessed fruit, it has been justly said, that 
 ' it is not the addressing people with epithets of endearment 
 and words of tenderness which proves its existence and 
 secures its objects ; it must be a deep, inward love of souls, 
 learned beneath the cross of Christ; it should manifest itself 
 rather in the actions of a loving life than in ready and 
 apparent demonstrations ; and when it is real, it will lead 
 to the self-denying abandonment of ease, favourite pursuits, 
 and of pleasant company, that in the morning, and at noon- 
 day, and at evening-tide, whenever we can best reach them, 
 
 T 
 
290 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 we may be with the sick and with the whole, teaching the 
 young, and comforting the mourners, and recaUIng the 
 wanderers, and building up the weak. Such love as this 
 will Impart to the true pastor a character which all can 
 understand, and which, In the long run, few can resist.' ^ 
 
 III. Pastoral Visitatiofis. — A considerable part of the 
 delicacy connected with a portion of the cases which call 
 for special dealing Is In great measure avoided by the 
 practice known among us by the name of pastoral visita- 
 tions ; that Is, stated official visits, once a year In congrega- 
 tions or parishes of moderate size, to the various households 
 more or less connected with the particular pastorate. No 
 one who Is really bent on winning souls will ever think of 
 limiting his intercourse with the families of his flock-to such 
 visitations, unless, Indeed, the magnitude of his charge or 
 infirm health in a manner oblige him to do so. Yet, even 
 if he should be able to do not a little In that casual and 
 incidental way to keep up a certain Intercourse with them, 
 the practice of regular household visitations is in Itself a 
 good one, and for various reasons ought to be maintained. 
 It tends, first of all. In a very natural and appropriate 
 manner to keep alive in the minds of the people the feeling 
 that they are under pastoral oversight. For, by such visita- 
 tions, the fact is ever and anon brought prominently before 
 them, that it is a recognised part of ministerial duty to take 
 cognizance of the families and Individuals belonging to a 
 pastorate, and from house to house as well as In the sanc- 
 tuary speak to them of the things pertaining to the kingdom 
 of God. . The practice, besides, furnishes the pastor with 
 an excellent opportunity, perpetually recurring, of breaking 
 the bread of life to the families of the flock in a more 
 homely manner than can be done from the pulpit, and of 
 engaging in acts of devotion with them as one of themselves. 
 ^ Bishop of Oxford's (Wilberforce) Addresses, p. 93. . 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 29I 
 
 But in addition to all this, it carries with it the great advan- 
 tage of providing him with an occasion for noticing anything 
 that may have appeared to him amiss in particular families 
 or individuals without seeming to go out of his way for the 
 purpose. If he has observed symptoms of ungodliness to 
 be growing upon them, if attendance upon ordinances has 
 begun to be less regular and serious than it formerly was, if 
 questionable courses are known to have been entered on, 
 improper companionships formed, scandalous outbreaks of 
 temper exhibited, whatever it may be that has given occasion 
 for anxiety concerning them, the practice of regular pastoral 
 visitations enables the pastor, in a quiet and unobtrusive 
 manner, to bring his Christian influence and counsel to bear 
 on the incipient evil, and perhaps prevent it from going 
 further. There may possibly be only a few things of the 
 kind referred to calling for notice in each round of pastoral 
 visitation ; but it may, notwithstanding, be found of con- 
 siderable moment, in a practical point of view, to have such 
 a method of dealing with them. 
 
 If it is asked, after what manner should the visitation be 
 conducted ? or, at what times ? nothing very explicit can 
 be indicated in the way of answer, nor should anything like 
 unbending uniformity be attempted ; the diversified circum- 
 stances of congregations and families call for a correspond- 
 ing variety. Indeed, amid the artificial arrangements of 
 modern society, the great difficulty often is to find any time 
 suitable for such visitations, families being so variously 
 occupied with the employments of active life, and so 
 seldom for any length of time gathered together in their 
 respective homes. In such cases almost the only practicable 
 method is for the pastor to make a brief visit to the nearly 
 empty households at some convenient season during the 
 day, and appointing a particular dwelling in which to meet 
 them together in the evening ; a method that may occasion- 
 ally be adopted as a variation, even where not absolutely 
 
292 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 necessary; but which always carries the relative disadvantage 
 of losing, to some extent, the more private and special in 
 the general. Usually, where it can be done, the most 
 effective method is to take each family apart, and either 
 draw them into conversation on spiritual matters, such as 
 we have reason to think likely to prove instructive and 
 edifying to the family ; or give a short exposition of some 
 passage of Scripture, with such directness and point in the 
 appHcation as may be fitted to tell beneficially on the hearts 
 of those we seek to impress ; or, still again, where there are 
 several young persons in the family, put a few questions to 
 them from the Catechism, with subordinate questions and 
 illustrations calculated to bring out the meaning, and then 
 turn the points of doctrine or duty thus elucidated to prac- 
 tical account for the older as well as the younger members 
 of the family. Prayer should always conclude the exercise, 
 and prayer so constructed as to bear specific reference to 
 the several classes composing the membership of the house- 
 hold and the duties respectively devolving on them. Which- 
 ever method be adopted, nothing should be done in a rapid 
 and perfunctory manner, as if the object were merely to 
 perform a certain amount of work in a definite portion of 
 time. Work so done is not likely to yield much return of 
 spiritual good. We must throw our souls into it ; and if we 
 do so, we shall find that a comparatively small number of 
 families is as much as can be satisfactorily overtaken in a 
 day, as it necessarily involves a considerable degree of 
 mental labour and spiritual anxiety. And here, as in other 
 things, he who would win the blessing must not grudge the 
 cost. 
 
 It is impossible, as I have said, to prescribe for work of 
 this description any uniform rule ; nor can the example of 
 any single individual, however eminent in ministerial gifts, 
 or honoured in the work itself, be fitly set up as a kind of 
 universal pattern. Yet it may not be without benefit to set 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 293 
 
 before one's mind occasionally a higher specimen of skill 
 and devotedness in this department of pastoral labour, if 
 not for the purpose of copying it, which may now be im- 
 practicable, yet as an elevated ideal, which may serve to 
 stimulate one's exertions, and lead to greater things being 
 aimed at than might otherwise be thought of Such an 
 ideal we undoubtedly have in the account given by Richard 
 Baxter of the practice of the well-known Joseph Alleine, 
 when assistant parish minister of Taunton. ' He would,' 
 says Baxter, ' give families notice of his coming, the day 
 before, desiring that he might have admittance to their 
 houses, to converse with them about their soul-concerns, 
 and that they would have the whole family together against 
 he came. When he came, and the family were called 
 together, he would be instructing the younger sort in the 
 principles of religion by asking several questions out of the 
 Catechism, the answers to which he would be opening and 
 explaining to them. Also, he would be inquiring of them 
 about their spiritual state and condition, labouring to make 
 them sensible of the evil and danger of sin, the corruption 
 and wickedness of our natures, the misery of an unconverted 
 state; stirring them to look after the true remedy proposed in 
 the gospel, to turn from all their sins unto God, to close with 
 Christ upon His own terms ; to follow after holiness, to watch 
 over their hearts and Uves, to mortify their lusts, to redeem 
 their time, to prepare for eternity. These things, as he 
 would be explaining them to their understandings, so he 
 would be pressing the practice of them on their consciences 
 with the most cogent arguments and considerations. Besides, 
 he would leave with them several counsels and directions 
 to be carefully remembered and practised for the good of 
 their souls. Those that were serious and religious he would 
 labour to help forward in holiness by answering their doubts, 
 resolving their cases, encouraging them under their diffi- 
 culties. And before he did go from any family he would 
 
294 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR- 
 
 deal with the heads of that family, and such others as were 
 grown to the years of discretion, singly and apart ; that so 
 he might, as much as possibly he could, come to know the 
 condition of each particular person in his flock, and address 
 himself in his discourses as might be suitable to every one 
 of them. If he perceived they did live in the neglect of 
 family duties, he would exhort and press them to set up the 
 worship of God in their famihes, and directing them how to 
 set about it, and to take time for secret duties too. Such 
 as were masters of families he would earnestly persuade and 
 desire, as they did tender the honour of Christ and the 
 welfare of their children and servants' souls, to let them 
 have some time every day for such private duties, and to 
 encourage them in the performance of them ; nor would he 
 leave them till he had a promise of them so to do. Some- 
 times, also, he would himself go to prayer before his de- 
 parture. This was his method,' Baxter adds, 'in the general, 
 although with such necessary variation in his particular visits 
 as the various state and condition of the several families did 
 require. If the family where he came were ignorant, he 
 would insist the longer in instructing and catechizing ; if 
 loose, in reproving and convincing ; if godly, in encouraging 
 and directing. He did use to spend five afternoons every 
 week in such exercise, from one or two o'clock till seven in 
 the evening. In which space of time he would visit some- 
 times three or four famihes, and sometimes more, according 
 as they were greater or less. This course he would take 
 throughout the to\^Ti ; and when he had gone through, he 
 would presently begin again, that he might visit every family 
 as often as he could. He often did bless God for the 
 great success he had in these exercises, saying that God 
 had made him as instrumental of good to souls this way as 
 by his public preaching, if not more.' 
 
 Pastoral visitations conducted after this fashion might 
 justly be termed a doing business with people about the 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 295 
 
 salvation of their souls ; it displayed such laborious pains- 
 taking for their spiritual good, such earnest travailing in birth 
 for its accomplishment, as bespoke a man of apostolic zeal 
 to whom ' to live was Christ ;' and it was but a specimen, 
 though doubtless one of the more distinguished specimens 
 of what about the same period was pursued by the Puritan 
 ministers in many an English parish, and very generally in 
 Scotland. In Scotland it was both more generally followed 
 and longer continued ; and it undoubtedly contributed much 
 to that wide diffusion of religious knowledge and observance 
 which, in the better periods of their history, has been the cha- 
 racteristic of the Scottish people. The instructions issued by 
 the General Assembly on ministerial visitations in 1708,^ if 
 
 ^ Act of Assembly 1708 respecting Ministerial Visitations. 
 ■ ' I. After the minister has got an account of the persons dwelling in 
 the family, he may speak to them all in general of the necessity of re- 
 generation, and the advantages of serious religion and godliness, of 
 piety towards God, and justice and charity towards man. 
 
 * 2. And next more particularly to the sotiants ; of their duty to fear 
 and serve God, and to be dutiful, faithful, and obedient servants, and 
 of the promises made to such ; commending to them the reading of the 
 Scriptures as they can, and prayer in secret, and love and concord 
 among themselves, and, in particular, a holy care of sanctifying the 
 Lord's day. 
 
 * 3. The minister may apply his discourse to the children, as they 
 are capable, with affectionate seriousness, showing them the advantage 
 of knowing, loving, seeking, and serving God, and remembering their 
 Creator and Redeemer in the days of their youth, and honouring their 
 parents, and to mind them how they were dedicated to God in bap- 
 tism ; and when of age and fit, and after due instruction of the nature 
 of the covenant of grace and the seals thereof, to excite them to engage 
 themselves personally to the Lord, and to desire, and prepare for, and 
 take the first opportunity they can of partaking of the Lord's Supper; 
 to be especially careful how they communicate at first, much depending 
 thereon (and such of the servants as are young are to be exhorted hereto 
 in like manner); exciting them also to daily reading of the Scriptures, 
 and to secret prayer, and sanctifying the Lord's day. 
 
 * 4. After the minister has spoken to servants and children, he should 
 
296 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 properly carried out, must have required a substantial repe- 
 tition of the method practised by Alleine. As a rule, it can 
 be but occasionally and partially followed now ; there has 
 come, along with other changes in the course of time, such 
 a divided state of things in parishes and famiUes, such an 
 impatience of authority and whatever in matters of religion 
 wears an inquisitorial aspect, such a want of repose also for 
 the quiet and thoughtful handling of spiritual concerns, as 
 
 speak privately to the master and mistress of the family about their per- 
 sonal duty toward God, and the care of their own soul's salvation, and 
 their obligation to promote religion and the worship of God in their 
 family, and to restrain and punish vice and encourage piety, and to be 
 careful that they and their house serve the Lord and sanctify the Lord's 
 day. And after this it may be fit to exhort masters to take care that 
 God be worshipped daily in the family by prayer, and praise, and the 
 reading of the Scriptures. 2d. Concerning the behaviour and conversa- 
 tion of the servants, and their duty towards God and man, and how 
 they attend the worship of God in the family, how they attend the 
 public worship on the Lord's day, and how they behave after sermons ; 
 if any of them be piously inclined ; if they make conscience of secret 
 prayer and reading the Scriptures. 3^. If there be catechizing and 
 instructing the ignorant and weak ; if due care be taken in educating 
 the children ; and particularly, if they be put timeously to school, and 
 how they profit thereat, and how the Lord's day is spent after sermons 
 in the family and in secret : in all which the minister may mix in suit- 
 able directions, encouragements, and admonitions as he shall see cause, 
 and most for edification. 
 
 * 5. (Directs inquiry as to the supply of Bibles.) 
 
 *6. (To exhort communicants to remember and pay their vows.) 
 
 * 7. Seeing there is need for all this of much prudence, zeal for God, 
 and love to souls, and affectionate seriousness, all this should be carried 
 on with dependence on God and fervent prayer to Him, both before a 
 minister sets forth for such work, and with the visited, as there shall be 
 access to and opportunity for it. ' 
 
 [Sensible and good in the main, but somewhat too formal, dwelling 
 proportionally too much on externals, and carrying the appearance of 
 a degree of inquisitoriousness ; the great object better gained by going 
 more into the spirit and life of religion. ] 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 297 
 
 renders the spirit only, not the precise form, of the good old 
 practice for the most part applicable in our generation. 
 Ministers of the gospel, therefore, must here endeavour to 
 adapt themselves to circumstances, and follow the example 
 of her who is commended for having done simply what she 
 could. 
 
 IV. Catechetical Listructioii. — One part of the object 
 intended to be gained by pastoral visitations has been 
 often sought by means of meetings for catechetical in- 
 struction ; diets for catechizing, as they used to be called 
 among us. No method, certainly, is so well calculated 
 as that of communication by means of question and 
 answer, for enabling the pastor to get at the real state of 
 knowledge in those who are committed to him for instruc- 
 tion in divine things ; none also better adapted for bringing 
 such as are imperfectly enlightened in the truth to clear and 
 definite views of it, and exercising their faculties to a proper 
 discrimination between the doctrines of God and the errors 
 and corruptions with which they have been overlaid by men ; 
 and when regularly carried out by special meetings for the 
 purpose, held from year to year and from place to place, as 
 was once the common practice in Scotland, it must have 
 had a considerable effect in sharpening the intellects of the 
 people in connection with religious subjects, and raising 
 them to a relatively high place as to the possession of doc- 
 trinal knowledge. 
 
 That, however, was probably about the whole of the result 
 that came out of the yearly catechizings as they were wont 
 to be conducted, an increase of head knowledge ; so far, 
 indeed, good if kept in its proper place, and used chiefly as 
 the means to a higher end, but a very inferior good if rested 
 in as an end of its own, or held merely as the buttress and 
 ornament of a lifeless orthodoxy. There is some reason to 
 fear that this, latterly at least, was the turn things in great 
 
298 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 measure took, especially when persons in full communion 
 with the Church, as well as those in training for it, were 
 subjected to the process (a thing scarcely capable of justi- 
 fication in an ecclesiastical respect) ; and the growing con- 
 viction of the general inefficiency of the practice with 
 reference to the higher interests of religion, coupled wijth 
 the somewhat awkward exhibitions not unfrequently made 
 at them by the more bashful and retiring portions of the 
 flock, tended to bring on a disrelish for such catechizings, 
 and ultimately, in most parts of the country, led to their 
 discontinuance. 
 
 The tendencies in this direction were considerably strength- 
 ened by the passing away of the old simplicity of manners, 
 the gradual introduction of a more artificial state of society, 
 accompanied by a greater diversity of rank and position 
 among the people. The minister could not well be cate- 
 chizing before others ladies and gentlemen, or persons who 
 would not be quite pleased if they were not reckoned such ; 
 and then, if they were exempted as belonging to a higher 
 grade, others not very far beneath them in circumstances, 
 possibly in religious knowledge and character superior, could 
 scarcely deem themselves treated with due regard if they 
 should seem to be kept in a sort of leading-strings. Were 
 it only, therefore, to avoid the appearance of partiality, it 
 became in a manner necessary to grant to others the exemp- 
 tion which had already been conceded to some. And 
 another thing which might be said to consummate the change, 
 and to do so without any real loss, was the general estab- 
 lishment of Sabbath schools and of Bible classes for the 
 young. These being usually placed under the superintend- 
 ence of the pastor, and bringing him more or less into intel- 
 ligent contact with the minds of the young when ripening to 
 manhood and womanhood, very much superseded the neces- 
 sity of stated examinations for the congregation as such. 
 At the proper period for acquiring the elements of religious 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 299 
 
 knowledge the pastor has taken cognizance of at least the 
 greater number of those who ultimately form the congrega- 
 tion ; so that, in ordinary circumstances, the work of the 
 pastorate in this particular line might be fairly regarded as 
 done. 
 
 It is not, therefore, by any means an absolute loss that 
 has here to be thought of, but rather the dropping of one 
 mode of action for another, which is even in some respects 
 better, because when rightly managed more thorough and 
 complete. Regularly conducted and well-organized Sabbath 
 schools, followed up, wherever practicable, by Bible classes 
 for the more advanced, may be made most effective instru- 
 ments for the godly instruction and upbringing of the young ; 
 and they have this advantage, that while they afford ample 
 opportunities for pastoral inspection and oversight, they also 
 serve to call into play the available Christian agencies be- 
 longing to the congregation ; others, with capacities of ser- 
 vice differing according to the gift of Christ, become fellow- 
 workers with the pastor in sowing the gospel seed. But the 
 pastor must keep his hand at the plough also here ; espe- 
 cially in rural situations, where the supply of teachers is 
 usually most imperfect, and the presence of the pastor is 
 needed to give life and direction to the whole. And he 
 may find it useful — useful to the older as well as to the 
 younger portions of the congregation — to have occasional, 
 quarterly perhaps, or half-yearly, examinations of the Sab- 
 bath school in the church ; taking care, through the ex- 
 aminations, to bring clearly out to all present the great 
 facts and principles of the gospel of Christ, and to enforce 
 the lessons taught by such illustrative examples and appeals 
 as may prove interesting and instructive to all classes. 
 Methods of this nature wisely planned, and diligently carried 
 out, will in most situations be sufficient to compensate for 
 what has been lost.^ 
 
 ^ It is scarcely necessary to add, that the personal catechizings which 
 
300 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 V. Visitation of the Sick and Afflicted. — The only point 
 that remains to be noticed under this general division has 
 respect to the case of those who are in circumstances of 
 distress — the diseased, the dying, or the bereaved. The 
 ministration of counsel and comfort to these is undoubtedly 
 a most important branch of pastoral duty. It is such, in- 
 deed, that the neglect or slovenly discharge of it will go far 
 to neutralize the effect of all other services. For the pastor 
 who makes himself strange in the households of his flock, 
 while they are involved in sorrow or stricken with disease 
 and death, will invariably be regarded as devoid of the 
 tenderness and consideration which are the most appro- 
 priate characteristics of his calling ; also, as letting most 
 precious opportunities slip for prosecuting his high com- 
 mission. He will be regarded as one more intent on his 
 own ease or gratification than on the business of his 
 spiritual vocation, and even as doing what he may other- 
 wise perform in the fulfilment of its duties, rather out of 
 respect to worldly motives and inducements, than from zeal 
 to the glory of God, and love to the souls of men. So 
 strong is the general feeling among Christian people on this 
 point, that they will hardly allow cases of fever, or other 
 diseases supposed to be infectious, to form a just ground of 
 absence at such times. Unless in very extreme cases, the 
 shrinking of the minister from the region of danger is viewed 
 as a dereliction of duty, since there appears in it an unwill- 
 ingness to adventure for the sake of men's souls where 
 others readily go for the sake of their bodies. He should 
 therefore consider well how much the course of procedure 
 he follows here may tell upon his general standing and use- 
 fulness. If he might be disposed, from a nervous dread of 
 
 it was the more immediate object of Baxter in his Reformed Pastor to 
 recommend, are no longer suitable or practicable ; they never were so 
 except in part, or in some particular situations ; but the work itself is 
 in other respects of great practical value, and well deserves perusal. 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 30I 
 
 infection, or from what may seem a becoming regard to the 
 welfare of his family, to stand aloof, he should reflect that 
 disease — possibly the very form of disease he seeks most 
 anxiously to avert — may reach him by ways he cannot 
 anticipate or prevent ; and that it were unspeakably better 
 the visitation should find him while faithfully pursuing the 
 path of duty than when timidly deserting it. It is a happy 
 thing, in such times, when one can attain to the conviction, 
 that in all ordinary cases the path of duty is more than any 
 other the path of safety ; because, when followed with due 
 precautions, and in a spirit of unshrinking fidelity, it is that 
 in which one can most confidently look for the divine pro- 
 tection and blessing. Not that, even when he has attained 
 to the conviction and is prepared to act on it, the pastor 
 should feel himself obliged to visit the infected chamber, 
 when it is clear he can minister no spiritual benefit, or when 
 he is himself in a state of bodily exhaustion ; but merely that 
 inferior considerations should be kept in their proper place, 
 and no one should have just reason to say that for certain 
 by-ends of his own he allowed the solemn calls of duty to 
 fall into abeyance. 
 
 It is possible, however, at such times to show much sym- 
 pathy and attention, and still fail miserably in the discharge 
 of duty ; never, indeed, rise to any due conception of it. 
 There is a natural feeling in the minds even of the careless 
 and ungodly, which prompts them to desire the visit of a 
 minister when trouble and sickness lie heavy upon them ; 
 they are for the time checked in their worldly course ; 
 ordinary comforts and supports fail them ; their minds are 
 involuntarily thrown into a sombre mood ; and they are 
 hence prepared to welcome into their habitation one who 
 comes as the .peculiar representative of religion. His very 
 presence is by some thought to carry a blessing with it ; and 
 to hear from his Hps a few words of consolation, or obtain 
 the benefit of his prayers, is too often deemed sufficient to 
 
302 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 atone for many a past neglect. Now, a minister may fall in 
 with this state of feeling, and by so doing greatly endear 
 himself to his people ; while still nothing after all may be 
 done which the occasion properly demands, and the parties 
 concerned may presently again move on, as before, in their 
 course of worldliness or indifference. Personally, the pastor 
 may have grown in their affection and esteem ; but they are 
 not the less settled on their lees. 
 
 It is in another spirit, and for other ends, that the true 
 servant of Christ will endeavour to discharge the duty de- 
 volving on him in the season of trouble. His behaviour 
 will certainly be marked by such kindness and sympathy 
 as will give him a firmer hold of the affection and confidence 
 of his people; but his great concern will be to deal faithfully 
 with their souls, and turn the time of their special visitation 
 into a season of grace and blessing. Personal illness or 
 family trouble is a favourable opportunity for getting nearer 
 to them in a spiritual respect than can usually be done at 
 other times, and pressing home upon them the words of 
 soberness and truth. It is with such words especially they 
 should then be plied ; and it were better one should abstain 
 from attempting to act the part of a comforter, than leave 
 them mistaken or in doubt as to the way in which it is to be 
 found. Should the general tenor of their life have been 
 manifestly wrong, and one has reason to fear that they are 
 still in alienation from the life of God, it were kindness 
 altogether misplaced, cruelty, indeed, rather than kindness, 
 to refrain from touching the great sore in their condition, 
 and bringing it into contact with the true, healing balsam of 
 the gospel. The task may often be alike delicate and diffi- 
 cult ; it may even exceed all the skill and consideration 
 which we are able to muster for the occasion, or cause us at 
 least to feel in doubt whether we had actually reached the 
 bottom of the matter ; but this, at all events, is the great 
 point to be aimed at ; and above and beyond the common 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 303 
 
 sympathy we may cherish, and the ordinary acts of kind- 
 ness in which we may express it toward them, we should 
 set our hearts on the object of having them brought to 
 know and partake of the good part which cannot be taken 
 from them. 
 
 Such, in particular, should be the spirit and character of 
 our procedure with those who are themselves stricken with 
 disease, and may possibly be trembling on the brink of 
 eternity. It is a solemn thing to have to deal, in God's 
 stead, with persons who are lying under the shadow of 
 death ; in a few brief hours, perhaps, destined to give in their 
 final account. * There are two classes,' Bengel remarked,i 
 ' which a minister of souls should make his especial care : 
 those which may be called the first and the last, the children 
 and the dying. The first, because in them he may look for 
 the largest outpouring of blessing on his labours ; the last, 
 because so little time remains for the fulfilment of his mini- 
 stry to them.^ In their case it is indeed now or never ; and 
 many a time, when the knell of death has finally rung out 
 the season of opportunity, the spiritually-minded pastor will 
 see cause to reproach himself for not being more frequent 
 in his visits, and more earnest in his pleadings with them, 
 while they still were within the ofter of mercy. It is true, 
 probably, that the actual number of conversions on the bed 
 of death is not very great ; few, it may be, compared with 
 the whole of those who have exhibited some evidence of 
 an awakened concern about their souls, and of a hopeful 
 trust in Christ. There must always, when the concern or 
 hope has begun only then, be a want of full satisfaction as 
 to the result; since the grand test necessarily fails of a work 
 of grace, namely, a stedfast adherence to Christ amid the 
 trials and temptations of life. And the sad relapses often 
 made into the ways of vanity and sin by those who have 
 awoke apparently to righteousness under the momentary 
 1 Life, p. 147. 
 
304 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 apprehension of death, when the danger which produced it 
 has passed away, leaves no room to doubt that the same 
 results would have happened in the case of many others 
 who, after undergoing similar experiences, passed into their 
 final home. Still, there are doubtless some whom the grace 
 of God reaches even then for the first time ; and the bare 
 possibility of being the instrument of rescuing so much as 
 one, or a very few, amid the last flickering moments of life, 
 cannot but dispose the faithful pastor to seize with all readi- 
 ness the opportunities presented by such solemn emergencies 
 to do the work of an evangelist. 
 
 It is, however, to be borne in mind, that though there 
 may not be many actual conversions in the time of severe 
 sickness or approaching death, there are many cases in 
 which these prove seasons of peculiar blessing ; cases ever 
 and anon occurring, in which the already existing germ of 
 life, comparatively latent before, becomes quickened by the 
 stirring experiences of the time, and developes into full con- 
 sciousness of vitality and strength ; and cases, again, in 
 which where life has distinctly appeared, though compassed 
 about with obvious failings and infirmities, a fresh start is 
 taken, and presently a more healthful, vigorous, and decided 
 tone discovers itself in all that is thought and done. The 
 valley of Achor is thus found a door of hope — of hope, at 
 least, as a distinctly realized and conscious power, or a 
 sustaining and governing principle of action; and the 
 diligent pastor, like the wise and skilful physician, should 
 endeavour so to tend, and guide, and nourish the reviving 
 energies of life, while still labouring in the valley, as to help 
 forward the desired result. He should not imagine that for 
 this end much speaking on divine things will always be 
 requisite. Not unfrequently the individual is incapable 
 from bodily prostration to follow that sufficiently ; and even 
 when capable, would probably be less benefited by it than 
 by something short, if only earnest, thoughtful, and suited 
 
SUPPLEMENTARY METHODS OF INSTRUCTION, ETC. 305 
 
 to his spiritual condition. A single verse or brief passage 
 of Scripture, uttered in a serious, affectionate, and believing 
 manner; or the same in a few appropriate sentences, ex- 
 plained and applied, will often do more than a multitude of 
 words. For the thing chiefly needed is to get the heart first 
 to know itself, and then to apprehend and grasp by a living 
 faith, as suited to its wants and weaknesses, the word of 
 God's faithfulness and truth ; when this is done, all in a 
 manner is gained. And very commonly, as I have said, it 
 will be most readily gained, not by lengthened addresses, or 
 by long prayers ; but by tenderness of spirit, sympathetic 
 feeling, discriminating fidelity ; faith mingling with all, and 
 giving point and impressiveness to the sayings it brings forth 
 from the oracles of God. 
 
 In regard to experienced believers the method pursued 
 will naturally diifer, according as they are themselves exer- 
 cised under their affliction. If their faith continues living, 
 and death itself is anticipated without alarm, the pastor will 
 often feel that he has httle to do as a guide or instructor, but 
 has himself to learn rather than to teach ; and has only 
 as a sympathizing friend to mingle his expressions of faith 
 and hope, his tears and prayers, with those of the afflicted 
 to whom he ministers. Cases, however, will occur in which 
 he will find other work to do ; to re-assure hearts that in the 
 hour of trial have begun to lose the hold they were wont to 
 have of the Saviour ; to strengthen the fainting spirit, and 
 allay vexing doubts and fears which, perhaps, were little 
 known till the waves of sore trouble began to beat upon 
 them. In dealing with cases of this sort, the pastor will 
 sometimes find his own spirit not a little tried ; he will be 
 made to see how impotent man's word is to calm such per- 
 turbations of soul, and restore it to confidence in God ; how 
 little even God's word may avail, unless it be handled with 
 a realizing sense of its power and sufficiency, as well as 
 skilfully applied to the particular moods and trials of the 
 
306 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 persons concerned. Prayerful consideration, therefore, 
 seriousness of spirit, and special preparation as to the most 
 effective mode of reaching the springs of thought and feeling 
 in the bosom, may be needed for the pastor, if he is to do 
 the part of a true spiritual physician. And for this, what- 
 ever help he may derive from human compositions, he will 
 still repair as his chief armoury to the word of God ; for 
 only on the sure sayings of that word can the troubled soul 
 be really brought to anchor itself in the near prospect of 
 eternity. 
 
 Times of sickness and bereavement, it should further be 
 remembered, are fraught with solemn lessons to the other 
 members of the family beside those more immediately 
 affected. And these the pastor should also keep in his eye, 
 and help as much as possible to a right improvement of the 
 dispensations of God toward them. He should try to 
 impress them with the conviction that seasons of severe 
 affliction are seasons of special dealing on the part of God, 
 who doubtless watches with peculiar interest for the proper 
 result. And it will also be well for him to urge on them 
 the important consideration, that it is not so much by the 
 outward circumstances of one's death, or the precise shade 
 of feeling in which it is met, that the final issue for each 
 shall be determined, as rather by the treatment he has given 
 through life to God's manifestation of Himself in His Son, 
 and the evidence borne by his daily walk and conduct to 
 the reality of his faith and the sincerity of his love. 
 
PUBLIC PRAYER AND OTHER DEVOTIONAL SERVICES. 307 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 PUBLIC PRAYER AND OTHER DEVOTIONAL SERVICES. 
 
 IT is necessary to give so much space to the function of 
 preaching and other collateral duties in treating of a 
 pastor's ministrations, that a comparatively brief discussion 
 must suffice for what concerns the devotional part of the 
 church-service. ■"• It scarcely, indeed, admits of prolonged 
 discussion, unless where the service has been permitted to 
 grow into a mass of liturgical observances. A certain 
 measure of simplicity of worship may still be preserved, 
 though a liturgy is used in the main> parts of the service, as 
 is the case in some of the churches of the Reformation, 
 Presbyterian as well as Episcopal. But in these cases the 
 responsibility and the power of the pastor are of a very 
 limited nature. He has the materiel of the service prepared 
 to his hand ; and to give the proper tone and character to 
 this, is the whole that can justly be expected of him. Even 
 that, however, is not so easy as might at first sight appear; 
 for though it neither demands nor admits of any fresh 
 thoughts or independent manifestations of pious feeling, it 
 necessarily owes much of whatever interest or impressiveness 
 may belong to it to the manner in which it is performed. 
 If the officiating minister should go through this department 
 of his work in a dull and spiritless style, like one treading 
 the routine of a prescribed formalism, the performance is 
 sure to repress and deaden the devotional feelings of the 
 people rather than stir and quicken them into lively exercise. 
 Let the mode of conducting divine worship be what it may, 
 ' Compare Allon's Essay on Worship, in Ecclesia. 
 
308 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 if it is to be for a congregation of believers a worship in 
 spirit and in truth, the person who conducts it must himself 
 enter into the spirit of the service, uttering from his own 
 heart what he would have re-echoed from the hearts of 
 others. And, obviously, the more beaten the track that is 
 to be followed, the more familiar to all the specific forms 
 of devotion, the greater at once must be the need of a 
 lively devotional sentiment to inspirit them with life, and 
 the difficulty also of expressing it through the appointed 
 channels. 
 
 But with liturgical services we have at present nothing to 
 do, as they have been rejected from a place in our pubHc 
 worship. With us the minister who has to address the 
 people on God's behalf has also to address God in behalf, 
 and indeed in the name, of the people. The responsibiUty 
 here, therefore, is considerably greater. The matter of de- 
 votion, as well as its manner and the fitting adaptation of 
 one part of it to another, are left entirely in his hands ; so 
 that, according as he possesses or wants the requisite quali- 
 fications for the work assigned him, must the edification and 
 comfort of the worshippers be promoted or marred in the 
 service, It is chiefly, of course, in connection with the 
 prayers offered in the sanctuary that these qualifications will 
 be brought into play, but other parts of the service will also 
 afford a certain scope for their exercise. The psalmody of 
 the congregation is always so far under the pastor's control, 
 that to him belongs the selection of the pieces to be sung ; 
 consequently it is his part to see that they are appropriate 
 to the lessons of the day, and of a kind fitted to sustain and 
 raise the devotional spirit of the worshippers. In the 
 majority of cases, perhaps, he may not be able to do much 
 more directly in this line, as the musical accompaniment 
 must be managed by others. He should, however, take 
 an interest in this, and endeavour to diffuse a sense of its 
 importance in the congregation, and encourage by every 
 
PUBLIC PRAYER AND OTHER DEVOTIONAL SERVICES. 309 
 
 legitimate means its due cultivation. The remarks of Baxter 
 on the general subject are nearly as applicable now as when 
 they were originally penned : ' A great part,' says he, ' of 
 God's service in the Church assemblies was wont in all ages 
 of the Church till of late to consist in public praises and 
 eucharistical acts, and the Lord's day was still kept as a day 
 of thanksgiving in the hymns and common rejoicings of the 
 faithful, in special commemoration of the work of redemp- 
 tion, and the happy condition of the gospel Church. I am 
 as apprehensive of the necessity of preaching as some 
 others, but yet methinks the solemn praises of God should 
 take up much more of the Lord's day than in most places 
 they do.' 
 
 It is not, however, the comparatively small space given 
 to the celebration of God's praise in public song, so much as 
 the imperfect and unsatisfactory manner in which it is often 
 performed, that is cause of regret. A prolonged singing of 
 praise soon becomes wearisome, unless it is peculiarly varied 
 and finely adjusted as to the mode of execution ; and then 
 comes the danger of allowing it to degenerate into a mere 
 artistic display. The happy medium is to have the singing 
 arranged and modulated, so as at fitting intervals to relieve 
 the service, and by the lyrical fervour of sacred song, chanted 
 to appropriate melodies, to give vent to the devotional feel- 
 ings and aspirations of the worshippers. For this, unques- 
 tionably, a certain attention must be paid to the aesthetical 
 element, to the cultivation of sacred music as an art, without 
 which there never can be anything like a properly varied 
 and effective psalmody; and the pastor should exert his 
 influence, especially on the younger members of his congre- 
 gation, for the purpose of inducing them to lend their 
 efibrts in this direction. Still, of course, the mere mecha- 
 nical part of the work, even though it were performed with 
 the most correct taste and propriety, is but, as it were, the 
 shell of the service of praise j the kernel must be sought in 
 
3IO THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 something higher, in the spirit and life that are infused into 
 it on the part of those who chiefly engage in it. Everything 
 here in a manner depends on the state of devotional feeling 
 in the congregation, which, when lively and strong, never 
 fails to impart a freshness and fervour to the singing which 
 would be sought in vain from simply artistic cultivation. 
 It is therefore the primary duty of the pastor, with respect 
 to this department of public worship, to endeavour to awaken 
 and foster the devotional element among his people ; and 
 this will of itself, if wisely directed, dispose them to give the 
 requisite heed and application to the subsidiary means, 
 which, in their own place, are capable of rendering impor- 
 tant service toward the perfecting of praise. 
 
 It is further to be remembered, that the celebration of 
 divine praise in the sanctuary is only in part to be identified 
 with the congregational psalmody. Formally, the chief 
 part is to be found there ; but the praise of God should 
 also have expression given to it in the portions of Scripture 
 read, which will sometimes, at least, contain what is pre- 
 eminently matter of praise, and still more in the direct 
 addresses made to the throne of grace. In what is called 
 common or public prayer, thanksgivings and adorations 
 should ever form a prominent part. And they will be a fit 
 expression of the general sentiments of devout acknowledg- 
 ment and grateful feeHng, cherished by the better portion of 
 the assembled people, only when the pastor who represents 
 them, and speaks in their stead, is in his own soul properly 
 responsive to the infinite goodness and manifold grace and 
 wisdom of God. In this alone there is matter of serious 
 concern to the pastor ; and the more so when the further 
 consideration is added, that not merely the united weekly 
 ascription of a people's thank-offerings to God, but also their 
 collective experiences and desires, their confessions of sin, 
 their sense of want and danger, their fears, temptations, 
 hopes, deliverances, must all, in like manner, find their 
 
PUBLIC PRAYER AND OTHER DEVOTIONAL SERVICES. 3 1 1 
 
 Utterance through his Hps. To be thus the representative 
 and organ of a reHgious community in their stated meetings 
 for intercourse with Heaven, is to occupy one of the highest 
 positions at once of privilege and responsibility ; and in no 
 part of his vocation more than in this is it desirable that 
 the pastor should be a kind of typal Christian ; one in whose 
 bosom every pious thought and feeling may lodge as in its 
 proper home, and come forth in suitable times and ways for 
 the glory of God and the edification of His Church. It 
 will be a grievous mistake if this should be supposed to be 
 a simple thing ; for there can be no reasonable doubt that 
 the difficulty of doing it aright, and doing it with some 
 degree of regularity, is what originally led to the use of 
 liturgies, and what still leads many persons of unquestion- 
 ably sincere and earnest piety to prefer them to extempore 
 prayer in the sanctuary.^ 
 
 I. The primary requisite, therefore, for pastoral work 
 here, as for the preaching of the gospel, and, if possible, 
 still more here, consists in the pastor's own state, in the 
 qualities which go to constitute a man of God. There must 
 be an enlightened discernment and appreciation of the truth 
 as it is in Jesus ; and along with that, an experimental 
 acquaintance with the heart, so that he may be able to 
 hold communion with God as one who is in a sense 
 familiar with the divine presence, and has known what it is 
 to transact with God for his own salvation. Yet, standing 
 as he does in the room of so many others, and pleading 
 with God for them, he must be able to combine with a 
 regard to self in the matters of religion a regard also to the 
 state of those around him, repressing what is more peculiar 
 to himself where it might fail to meet with sympathy in his 
 fellow-worshippers. A man may not, in public prayer any 
 more than in private, indeed he cannot^ if he throws his 
 
 * See Shield's edition of the Book of Common Prayer^ as to the rela- 
 tive place of prayer and praise. 
 
312 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 soul into the exercise, lose his proper individuality. Both 
 in the things he utters and the manner in which he utters 
 them, there will undoubtedly be the impress of his own cast 
 of thought and feeling, and in that, what will, no doubt, 
 serve to distinguish his prayers from those of other men. 
 Yet in public prayer this individuality should be kept within 
 comparatively narrow bounds ; since it is only what is proper 
 to the individual believer, in so far as it is in a measure 
 shared in, and is capable of being sympathized with, by the 
 company of believers whom the minister for the time 
 represents, that should find articulate expression before the 
 throne of the Majesty on high. It is what is common to 
 the heart of faith and love, rather than what is peculiar to 
 one or a few, which should at such times be brought into 
 notice. The tendency which minds of strong individuality 
 have to run out into veins of thought and forms of expres- 
 sion which carry an air of extravagance to ordinary men, 
 should here especially be kept in check. The thought of 
 the awful presence in which we stand, and of the feelings 
 and necessities of those who are partaking with us in the 
 exercise, should of themselves shame into silence every idea 
 or word which might seem to others forced and unnatural, 
 and aimed, perhaps, at display.^ 
 
 2. If the possession of a Christian state and sympathy 
 with the Christian mind of a congregation be the primary 
 element in a minister's quahfications for conducting aright 
 
 1 There could scarcely, perhaps, be found a better description of 
 what is here meant than is given by Jonathan Edwards in his account 
 of the eminently devout David Brainerd's manner in prayer : ' This,' he 
 says, ' was very agreeable ; most becoming a worm of the dust, and a 
 disciple of Christ addressing an infinitely great and holy God and 
 Father of mercies, not with florid expressions, or a studied eloquence, 
 not with any intemperate vehemence, or indecent boldness. It was 
 at the greatest possible distance from any appearance of ostentation, 
 and from anything that might look as though he meant to recommend 
 himself to those that were about him, or set himself off to their accept- 
 
PUBLIC PRAYER AND OTHER DEVOTIONAL SERVICES. 313 
 
 the united prayers and thanksgivings of those among whom 
 he ministers, the cultivation of an appropriate manner may 
 certainly be placed next. It is of importance that the 
 devotional spirit should give vent to itself in a natural and 
 becoming mode of expression. For devotion, as well as 
 popular speech, has a style of its own, though the one is 
 no more than the other a uniform style. There may be as 
 many shades of difference in the mode of presenting prayer 
 to God, as in the sacred oratory which aims at instructing 
 and convincing a fellow-creature. But never, when sincere 
 and genuine, will the one take precisely the hue and tone 
 of the other ; since no truly humble and enlightened 
 Christian can speak forth his feelings to God after the same 
 manner that he would utter his mind to one of like passions 
 and infirmities with himself. The former kind of address 
 will naturally be pervaded by a subdued, reverential, hallowed 
 air, which, if not wholly wanting in the other, will not at 
 least be found in anything like the same measure ; and the 
 perfection in this respect may be said to be reached when 
 the feeling instinctively arises which has been known to be 
 expressed respecting an exemplary pastor, ' The man prays 
 as if he lived at the throne of grace.' 
 
 Let it not be imagined, however, that there is any need 
 for the manner being artificial or stereotyped, as if some 
 pecuhar pitch of voice, or a kind of tone and cadence 
 essentially different from that of ordinary discourse, were 
 
 ance. It was free also from vain repetitions. He expressed himself 
 with the sti-ictest propriety, with weight and pungency ; and yet what 
 his lips uttered seemed to flow from the fulness of his heart. ' A very 
 different sort of praying, therefore, from that mentioned by an American 
 periodical not long ago of a Mr. Everett, and characterized as * the 
 most eloquent prayer ever addressed to a Boston audience ; ' a rhetorical 
 effusion, formally, no doubt, addressed to God ; but in reality, as the 
 paper stated, to the audience that listened to it with such admiration. 
 Prayers of that description do not reach beyond the place of meeting 
 where they are spoken. 
 
314 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 required to give to prayer its appropriate devotional impress. 
 There are cases, no doubt, in which the devotional spirit 
 does clothe itself with some such peculiarity, and does so, 
 possibly, without the effect being sensibly marred in the 
 experience of those whom use has familiarized to the dis- 
 tinctive habit. It is still, however, a defect, as all mannerism 
 is ; and in the great majority of cases it will be found, if 
 closely investigated, to prove more or less an impediment 
 to the proper efficiency of the service. The artificial form 
 insensibly usurps to a certain extent the genuine spirit of 
 devotion. Some please themselves with the tones of a 
 sanctimonious manner, instead of pressing into the realities 
 of a true spiritual intercourse with Heaven ; while others, 
 perhaps, suffer themselves to be arrested by the peculiarity 
 of the manner, instead of being silently and powerfully borne 
 along with the stream of spiritual thoughts and aspirations 
 expressed. To aid this concurrence of devotional senti- 
 ment, an agreeable simplicity and naturalness of manner in 
 the officiating minister is of great service ; it should be such 
 as befits one with his habits of thought and feeling when 
 assuming the attitude of profound reverence and holy 
 earnestness. Such a manner, however, though in itself 
 only what might be deemed natural, may not be quite 
 easily arrived at ; in certain cases, at least, it may call for a 
 good deal of patient and assiduous effort, but it is what no 
 one should rest satisfied without having in good measure 
 attained. And even when attained, it is of real avail only 
 when it is the vehicle of a quickened spirit' 
 
 Perhaps more pains should be taken in this direction 
 
 ^ Two things may be mentioned in particular as desirable to be 
 avoided in prayer. One is quickness and rapidity of utterance, a fault 
 young preachers are very apt to fall into ; and objectionable, both 
 because it has an irreverent appearance, and also because the people 
 cannot intelligently follow. The other is boisterousness, which Mr. 
 James justly discriminates from earnestness ; the confounding of the two 
 
PUBLIC PRAYER AND OTHER DEVOTIONAL SERVICES. 315 
 
 than is commonly done even by the more pious portion of 
 evangelical ministers. Cecil has noted it as a defect that 
 appeared among them in his time, although his mode of 
 doing so, as it appears in his Remains, is by no means free 
 from exception. He is reported to have said, ' The leadiiig 
 defect in Christian ministers is want of devotional habit. 
 The Church of Rome made much of this habit. The con- 
 tests accompanying and following the Reformation, with 
 something of an indiscriminate enmity against some of the 
 good of that Church as well as the evil, combined to repress 
 this spirit in the Protestant writings ; whereas the mind of 
 Christ seems to be, in fact, the grand end of Christianity in 
 its operation upon man.' There is an element of truth 
 undoubtedly in the remark, both on the Protestant and the 
 Romish side ; but it is too broadly announced, and with 
 less of the clearness and discrimination which usually dis- 
 tinguish Mr. Cecil's remarks. He could scarcely have 
 meant, though the words ascribed to him seem to imply as 
 much, that there is more either of the mind of Christ or of 
 true devotion among Popish priests than with evangelical 
 ministers as a class. The whole that could justly be said, 
 and probably the whole really meant by Mr. Cecil, is that 
 the devotional element has had a more prominent place 
 assigned to it in the system represented by the one class 
 than in that represented by the other, and that in this 
 relative prominence the Romish party have acted more in 
 accordance with the mind of Christ. But in such a matter 
 the appearance must not be taken for the measure of the 
 reality. In the public services of the Church of Rome, the 
 devotional form has become well-nigh the one and all ; and 
 
 he characterizes as ' a mistake too commonly made by many, who work 
 themselves up into vociferation and actual contortion. Such vehemence, ' 
 he properly adds, * like a violent blast of wind, puts out the languid 
 flame of devotion, when a gentle breeze would fan it into greater in- 
 tensity.' — Earnest Ministry^ p. 125 sq. 
 
3l6 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 the officiating priests, who are constantly employed about 
 the services, naturally acquire much of the devotional habit; 
 though, as possessed and exercised by tJmn, one would never 
 think of characterizing it as a nearer approach to the mind 
 of Christ than what is to be met with in Protestant worship. 
 Still something may be learned from them in respect to the 
 point to which they have given their chief attention ; and 
 however little the devotional habit may be worth, when 
 unaccompanied by the devotional spirit, it is not in itself to 
 be undervalued. 
 
 3. Another thing requiring careful attention in respect 
 to public prayer is the selection of appropriate language, 
 the use of a suitable and becoming phraseology. Very 
 commonly this may be assumed as a thing almost certain 
 to follow from the possession, in any adequate measure, of 
 the spirit and manner already adverted to. But such is not 
 uniformly the case ; and by ministers themselves it should 
 never be regarded as a matter of course, coming without 
 pains or consideration on their part; it should engage more 
 or less of their attention. And the fundamental ground on 
 which they should proceed is the representative position 
 they are called to occupy in presenting the adorations and 
 prayers of the congregation. The officiating minister per- 
 sonates a body of worshippers; he must therefore endeavour 
 to give his ideas the form and clothing which they can 
 readily understand and appropriate as their own. If the 
 language is too ornate, if it is such as would appear to them 
 artificial and far-fetched, it will inevitably jar upon their 
 feelings, and disturb the heavenward flow of their thoughts 
 and desires ; to suit its purpose, it must, in general, be 
 embodied in such a mode of expression as they are wont to 
 associate with the exercises of devotion. 
 
 Now, to this nothing is more indispensable than sim- 
 plicity ; it is an unfailing characteristic of all profound and 
 earnest devotional utterances. It is so even when these 
 
PUBLIC PRAYER AND OTHER DEVOTIONAL SERVICES. 3 1 7 
 
 take a poetical form, and appear in psalms and hymns, 
 though from the demands of the verse a certain freedom in 
 respect to language is easily conceded to them. But only 
 within comparatively narrow limits ; for in such composi- 
 tions unusual forms of expression, remote or technical terms, 
 and pompous phraseology are fatal to success. ' Of senti- 
 ments purely religious, it will be found that the simplest 
 expression is the most sublime,' said Samuel Johnson truly, 
 though he made a wrong application of it, when on the 
 ground of this thought he argued against the possibility of a 
 high religious poetry. But the fact is decisive as to the 
 proper style and diction of prayer ; if it wants simplicity, it 
 wants the most essential element of adaptation to the minds 
 of a Christian congregation. And for more effectually 
 securing this element, or securing it in the best possible 
 form, the whole should be cast much in the mould of 
 Scripture, and should be marked by a free use of its 
 language. For, being the storehouse alike of God's more 
 special communications to men, and of the returns made to 
 Him by His more elect worshippers. Scripture provides, 
 not merely in the matter of its contents, but also in the 
 very form into which they are thrown, the best directory 
 and most fitting vehicle of devotion. Its utterances of faith, 
 of desire and hope, were in a peculiar sense prompted by 
 the Spirit of God ; and the more that believers are under 
 the power of His grace, the more will they ever be disposed 
 to pour out their hearts before God in what may justly be 
 termed the Spirit's own style. I am not, however, to be 
 understood as indicating that passages of Scripture alone 
 should be employed in prayer ; this is neither necessary nor 
 is it expedient. A prayer simply and wholly composed of 
 such passages cannot fail to wear a sort of borrowed, mis- 
 cellaneous, and commonplace character. It will seem as if 
 the mind, when speaking only in forms prepared to its hand 
 and culled from all parts of Scripture, were somewhat formal 
 
3l8 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 and apathetic in its own frame. Yet, while Scripture should 
 not constitute all, it should undoubtedly give the tone and 
 character to all. And he who would excel in this spiritual 
 gift must be at pains to have the word of Christ dwelling in 
 him richly.^ 
 
 4. In addition to these general prescriptions, which have 
 respect to the matter as a whole, I would earnestly advise a 
 certain measure of special preparation for the devotional 
 work of the sanctuary. The preparation, indeed, should be 
 twofold, consisting partly in having the heart brought into 
 a suitable frame for the exercise, and partly in having it 
 provided with fitting materials of thought and expression. 
 The former is also, no doubt, somewhat general ; it must be 
 in a great degree habitual to the minister ; and yet, even 
 where it is so, he will rarely find that he can safely dispense 
 with some special pains of a preparatory nature before actu- 
 ally proceeding to the duty. The bustle and anxiety con- 
 nected with the working out of his discourses for the Sabbath, 
 will naturally have the effect of repressing the immediate 
 outgoing of devotional sentiment, will even occasionally 
 
 ^ In addition to the more general directions given above, I would 
 notice a few things which ought to be avoided in prayer, i. Ungram- 
 matical or vulgar expressions, such as 'Grant to impart unto us;' 
 * We commit us unto Thee,' ' We commend us unto Thee, and to the 
 word of Thy grace. ' Now we may commend others to God and His 
 Word, but it is a very inaccurate, and indeed scarcely intelligible mode 
 of speech to say that we commend ourselves to these. And I confess 
 I do not like the expression, 'Come into our midst,' or 'Be in our 
 midst.' 2. The too frequent use of the same forms of expression, such 
 as Heavenly Father, or any particular name of God, when almost solely 
 used, has the appearance of a kind of mannerism ; and Oh ! much 
 repeated, becomes a mere expletive. Scripture is in this a fine example. 
 3. Amatory language, such as 'Lovely Jesus,' 'Dear Lord,' 'Sweet 
 Saviour.' Here, again, Scripture is the best model. 4. Undue famili- 
 arities, which may take different forms, such as 'metrical quotations,' 
 extreme professions of unworthiness, personalities either of a flattering 
 or sarcastic kind ; all such things are in bad taste. 
 
PUBLIC PRAYER AND OTHER DEVOTIONAL SERVICES. 319 
 
 render the mind less apt to cherish it ; and a Httle time will 
 be needed to get the desires of the heart back, and the 
 mind raised to such a spiritual tone, as will render the work 
 of communion with God altogether congenial to its existing 
 state. 
 
 In regard, however, to the other kind of preparation, 
 that which refers to the providing of materials of thought 
 and expression suited for the occasion, something more 
 precise and definite may be said. For, as the pastor, when 
 going to conduct the services of the sanctuary, has to bear 
 on his heart various interests and relations, none of which 
 should be overlooked or passed slightly over, he both may 
 and should have in his eye distinct topics for notice in 
 prayer, and particular trains of thought to be pursued. Not 
 otherwise will he be able to give sufficient freshness and 
 point to his supplications, or present them in a form alto- 
 gether appropriate to the occasion. Entirely unpremeditated 
 prayers will usually partake much of the character of unpre- 
 meditated discourses ; they will consist chiefly of common- 
 places which float upon the memory, rather than of thoughts 
 and feelings that well up from the hidden man of the heart ; 
 and as they have stirred no depths in the bosom of the 
 speaker, so they naturally awaken but a feeble response in 
 the minds of the hearers. Nor can it fail, when this ofl"- 
 hand method is systematically pursued, that sentiments and 
 expressions will occasionally come out which are in bad 
 taste, or palpably wanting in adaptation to the time and 
 circumstances wherein they are employed. Hence, I fear, 
 it is that there is so often a marked difference in the interest 
 felt, even by good people, in the prayers offered at their 
 stated meetings for worship, as compared with that arising 
 from the sermons delivered; the one does not, while the 
 other does, spring from a background of well-arranged 
 thought and spiritual consideration. 
 
 A sensible American writer in the Princeton Review^ some 
 
320 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 time ago gave expression to the same view of the subject, 
 and supported it by some remarks that are well deserving of 
 consideration. ' Ministers,' he says, ' labour hard to pre- 
 pare to address the people, but venture on addressing 
 God without premeditation.'^ Dr. Witherspoon says, 'that 
 the Rev. Dr. Gillies of Glasgow, who in his judgment ex- 
 ceeded any man he had ever heard in the excellency of his 
 prayers, was accustomed to devote unwearied pains to pre- 
 paration for this part of his ministerial work ; and for the 
 first ten years of his ministry never wrote a sermon without 
 writing a prayer appropriate to it. This was also Calvin's 
 habit ; and many of the sermons printed in his works have 
 prayers annexed. An aid which Calvin found needful, no 
 man living need be ashamed of employing.' 
 
 It is true that most of the prayers appended to Calvin's 
 printed sermons are very short, more like brief collects 
 than regularly constructed prayers, expressing in a few 
 pregnant words the thoughts and desires naturally suggested 
 by the subject which had formed the matter of discourse. 
 But the mind which was habituated to such pieces of devo- 
 tional writing could not be negligent of preparation for more 
 lengthened services of the same description, whether they 
 might take the form or not of written compositions. Pro- 
 bably the more advisable course for ministers of settled 
 congregations will be to meditate, rather than formally com- 
 mit to writing, the chief prayers they are going to offer in 
 the pubHc meetings for worship; to think carefully over, 
 occasionally also to note down, the train of thought, or the 
 special topics and petitions they mean to introduce, with 
 such passages of Scripture as are appropriate to the occasion. 
 The mind will thus be kept from wandering at large in the 
 exercise, and yet will move with more freedom than if it 
 were trammelled by the formality of a written form ; will be 
 able more readily to surrender itself to the hallowed influ- 
 ^ Quoted in British and Foreign Evang. Review, p. 14. 
 
PUBLIC PRAYER AND OTHER DEVOTIONAL SERVICES. 32 1 
 
 ences of the moment. At the same time, I cannot but 
 regard it as a good exercise for the pastor, calculated to 
 improve his gifts in this direction, and to render him more 
 apt and felicitous in his method of conducting public prayer, 
 if he should accustom himself, not only to peruse some of 
 the best models of devotional utterance, but also to compose 
 particular forms for his own use. Such a practice, though 
 only pursued at intervals, will bring here also a measure of 
 that advantage which always springs from sustained applica- 
 tion and cultivated skill ; and cannot but help to check the 
 tendency, which is so apt of itself to grow, of doing little 
 beforehand even by way of premeditation, and of perform- 
 ing the service in a kind of slovenly and conventional 
 manner. 
 
 5. Nothing has yet been said as to the length of time 
 proper to be spent in public prayer, or to the greater or less 
 frequency with which it should be introduced into the regular 
 services of the sanctuary. But these are obviously points 
 which call for some consideration. They are also closely 
 connected with each other ; for the less frequent the acts of 
 common prayer are, the more protracted will each particular 
 exercise naturally be. It has been for long a very common 
 practice in Scotland to have only two prayers at each meet- 
 ing for public worship ; and to make the first prayer, the 
 one before sermon, by much the longer of the two, so that 
 it not unusually runs out into a continuous address to God 
 of twenty minutes or upwards. I cannot but think this 
 practice unhappy, since it necessarily tends to fatigue the 
 mind by too long a strain in this one direction, and to leave 
 the service of the sanctuary bereft of that variety of relief 
 which, within certain limits, are not only allowable, but of 
 material use, as helping to sustain the attention and keep 
 alive the devotion of the worshippers. A measure of respect 
 is due to an established practice in worship, even though, 
 abstractedly considered, it may not approve itself as in all 
 
 X 
 
322 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 respects the best ; and it would be unwise rashly to interfere 
 with it, or strike at once into a path altogether new. It is 
 right, however, to bear in mind, that the usage in question 
 rests upon no proper authority ; that it is, indeed, an inno- 
 vation of comparatively late times ; for, according to the 
 authorized Directory for public worship, there should be at 
 the principal meeting of the congregation each Lord's day 
 three several prayers, and, with the Lord's prayer, four ; for 
 the latter, though not authoritatively enjoined, is yet recom- 
 mended as deserving a place in the stated observances of 
 worship. ^ The order there set forth as the most fitting to 
 be observed consists, first, of a brief prayer as soon as the 
 minister enters the pulpit, composed chiefly of adoration 
 and invocation ; then the singing of Psalms and the read- 
 ing of sacred Scripture, of which a portion is to be taken as 
 well from the Old as from the New Testament ; after this 
 comes another prayer of greater length, in which there should 
 be made humble confession of sin, also acknowledgment 
 of the loving-kindness and mercy of God in providing the 
 blessings of salvation, with an earnest and varied supplica- 
 tion of an interest in these for different ranks and conditions 
 of men ; then the discourse, which is again to be followed 
 by prayer, singing of Psalms, and the benediction. No par- 
 ticular place is assigned for the introduction of the Lord's 
 prayer ; this was left to the discretion of the minister, as 
 was the place also for supplicating the divine blessing on 
 magistrates, rulers, and other subjects of public interest; 
 they might be noticed before or after sermon, as appeared 
 most suitable and convenient. As a whole, this order is 
 undoubtedly better than the one previously referred to, 
 though I am not inclined to advocate a uniform and rigid 
 adherence even to it ; and whenever a change is deemed 
 
 1 ' And because the prayer which Christ taught His disciples is not 
 only a pattern of prayer, but itself a most comprehensive prayer, we 
 recommend it also to be used in the prayers of the Church Directory.' 
 
PUBLIC PRAYER AND OTHER DEVOTIONAL SERVICES. 323 
 
 desirable on the mode of service that has been in use in any 
 congregation, care should always be. taken to carry the feel- 
 ings and inclinations of the people along with us. 
 
 Perhaps the chief point in respect to which a nearer ap- 
 proach to the Directory should be generally aimed at, is the 
 introduction of two prayers before sermon in the principal 
 service instead of one. The advantage of this will be, that 
 the devotional element will obtain a more prominent place, 
 and also that, by dividing into two what otherwise would 
 need to be compressed into one, each exercise will be less 
 protracted, and the attention, especially of the young and 
 the less informed, will be more easily sustained. But what- 
 ever may be the precise number of devotional services, 
 public prayer should never be much protracted, should 
 rarely if ever, I would say, exceed at a stretch a quarter of 
 an hour, and, as a general rule, two prayers within that 
 limit would be greatly preferable to one going beyond it. 
 For, if a few individuals in a congregation of strong intel- 
 lects and ardent piety might be found capable of enjoying 
 and profiting by a more prolonged exercise of devotion, with 
 the great majority it will certainly be quite otherwise. And, 
 in nothing does undue protraction more infallibly defeat 
 itself than in prayer ; for if once the minds of the worship- 
 pers relax their attention and get into a wandering mood^ 
 the proper frame is gone, and it will rarely be possible to 
 have it again restored by subsequent effort. 
 
 Further specification or more minute detail on such a 
 subject seems to be unnecessary. A right state of feeling 
 regarding it, with some measure of common sense,, will be of 
 much more avail than a thousand specific rules and direc- 
 tions. Let the pastor, first of all, place this branch of public 
 duty among the things which demand his earnest considera- 
 tion, and which, with regard alike to the substance and 
 manner of the exercise, call for serious forethought and 
 application. Let him also bear in mind that the spirit 
 
324 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 manifested by him, and the power put forth in the devotional 
 parts of the service, will be sure to leave its impression on 
 the minds of his people ; and that, according as he rises 
 toward the proper measure of excellence, so are they likely 
 to become elevated in their tone and practice as worshippers. 
 Let him still further bear in mind that, for the character of 
 other parts of the service, and especially for the effect of the 
 discourses he may deliver, much depends on the interest he 
 throws into the work of prayer, and the spirit of devotion 
 thereby evoked on the part of the people. For when the 
 result in this respect is as it should be, when the hearts of 
 the people have really been borne along with the pastor in 
 his supplications at the throne of grace, and a profound 
 sense of God's presence is in consequence awakened in 
 them, vast preparation is made for the earnest consideration 
 and belief of the truth. They are thus brought to feel that 
 it is with God rather than with man they have to do in the 
 treatment they give to the preached gospel, and that the 
 matter demands their most serious thought. On this ac- 
 count, no doubt, it partly is that the ministrations of deeply 
 pious, though comparatively weak or unlettered men, have 
 often been accompanied with results upon the hearers more 
 lasting and productive of spiritual good than by the exertions 
 of those who have been able to bring the highest powers 
 and attainments to the work. The spirit of prayer resting 
 upon them diffuses itself among the audience, and disposes 
 them to receive the word as it is preached in simplicity and 
 godly sincerity. Hence, seasons that have been remark- 
 able for the spirit of grace and suppHcation have also been 
 the most noted for the successful preaching of the gospel, 
 even sometimes when the style of preaching has been by no 
 means distinguished for the graces of pulpit oratory. Nor 
 is the fact unworthy of notice which is reported by Gillies i 
 to have been observed by a Mr. Hutcheson, minister of 
 ^ Historical Collectiotts, p. 201. 
 
PUBLIC PRAYER AND OTHER DEVOTIONAL SERVICES. 325 
 
 Killellan : ' When I compare/ he said, * the times before 
 the Restoration with the times since the Revolution, I 
 must own that the young ministers preach accurately and 
 methodically ; but far more of the power and efficacy of 
 the Spirit and grace of God went along with sermons 
 in those days than now. And for my own part (all the 
 glory be to God), I seldom set my foot in a pulpit in those 
 times but I had notice of some blessed effects of the 
 word.' It were wrong, perhaps, to ascribe the whole of 
 this difference to the greater prevalence of the spirit of 
 prayer at the one period as compared with the other ; for 
 various things of a pecuHarly grave and stirring kind un- 
 doubtedly contributed to make the period before the 
 Restoration and that also preceding the Revolution times 
 of great moral earnestness and awakened interest about the 
 concerns of salvation in Scodand ; but it assuredly had an 
 important bearing on the matter. The public troubles and 
 convulsions then constantly transpiring drove the hearts 
 alike of pastors and people to close communion with God, 
 and prompted the one to preach and the others to hear in 
 a different manner from what is too often witnessed in more 
 quiet and easy-going times. Such things are lessons in Pro- 
 vidence to us, and it is our duty to profit by them, yet so as 
 to make due allowance for circumstances of place and time, 
 and thinking rather of the general principles of instruction 
 furnished by them than of simply adopting them as patterns 
 for servile imitation. 
 
326 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 CHAPTER VIIL 
 
 THE ADMINISTRATION OF DISCIPLINE. 
 
 IF we take our views of the Christian Church from what 
 is written in Scripture of the nature and ends of the 
 Christian calHng, as well as of the pains taken by the apostles 
 to reprove and cast out whatever was palpably opposed to 
 purity of communion, we shall have no doubt that the ad- 
 ministration of discipline must be one of its necessary 
 functions. And from the position of the pastor, as called in 
 a peculiar manner to preside over its affairs, the exercise of 
 this function must specially devolve upon him, although, in 
 rightly constituted churches, there will be others to share 
 with him the responsibility and the burden. It is a depart- 
 ment of pastoral duty which, from its very nature, must 
 involve a good deal that is delicate and irksome, which will 
 even be found occasionally fraught with trouble and per- 
 plexity. For it brings the sword of the Spirit into sharp 
 conflict with man's pride and corruption, and requires unre- 
 served submission to Him of whom, in some respect, they 
 have been practically saying, We will not have this Lord to 
 rule over us. Here, indeed, there has ever been discovering 
 itself one of the strange inconsistencies that cleave to pro- 
 fessing Christians, strange because it is so flatly opposed to 
 the whole spirit and tendency of the gospel, that while they 
 will not only endure, but even insist upon, sound doctrine 
 in the kind of preaching they listen to, they will often not 
 endure sound discipline. And both from this known reluc- 
 tance on the part of many to submit to the exercise of 
 
THE ADMINISTRATION OF DISCIPLINE. 327 
 
 spiritual authority, and from the habits of intercourse and 
 mutual good-will subsisting between the administrators of 
 the discipline and the subjects of it, a strong temptation 
 naturally arises to be somewhat slack or partial in its appli- 
 cation, to do it in many cases but half, or even to leave it 
 altogether undone. 
 
 Symptoms of defection in this respect began to discover 
 themselves at a comparatively early stage of the Church's 
 history, ominous of what might confidently be looked for in 
 the future. The church at Corinth, which started so well, 
 and with such a plenitude of gifts, ere long drew down upon 
 it the severe rebuke of Paul for its want of faithfulness in 
 checking disorder and licentiousness among its members. 
 And of the seven churches of Asia, to whom the glorified 
 Redeemer, as the chief Shepherd and Bishop of souls, 
 sent specific messages, how few escape censure on a 
 similar account? Even in the most favourable circum- 
 stances, and in the hands of the most faithful rulers, there 
 will doubtless be occasional failures ; backslidings and 
 disorders will not be met with the corrective discipline 
 that should be applied to them ; and at no period has the 
 Church to any considerable extent approached as nearly 
 the condition of being without spot or wrinkle in the state 
 of her membership as a thoroughly faithful and efficient 
 administration might have made it. In early times, how- 
 ever, it can scarcely be questioned, discipline did in general 
 flourish ; and with its vigorous administration the Church felt 
 her existence of prosperity in a manner bound up. The 
 notices which appear in the history of the times, and the 
 well-known exemplariness of the Christians as a body, 
 furnish on this point the most ample proof. So that it was 
 only expressing the general minds of all the better authorities 
 in the early Church, when Cyprian, for example, spoke of 
 discipline as the ' safety of the Church,' ' the stay of faith 
 and hope,' * inculcated in all Scripture as necessary to the 
 
328 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 order and purity of the Church ; ' or when Augustine desig- 
 nates it ' the tutor of rehgion and of true piety.' Indeed, 
 the predominant tendency in those times was rather to lay 
 too much stress on it than too Httle, to expect from it in 
 a measure what could only be accomplished through the 
 direct action of the grace and truth of the gospel. And so, 
 when the ascetic element diffused itself as a subtle poison 
 through the leading minds of the Church, and the higher 
 discipline which it made so much account of came to be 
 identified with the perfection of the Christian life, discipHne 
 in the Scriptural sense fell into abeyance ; things needful to 
 the guardianship and maintenance of the common Church 
 life were neglected, in order that the bodily fastings, the 
 mortifications, the self-imposed labours and penances of 
 monkery, might have their due prominence and laudation. 
 The very name discipline came by degrees to be appropriated 
 to such things ; while, among others who lay beyond its 
 sphere, hypocrisy, corruption, worldliness of every sort, 
 flowed in ; and these common forms of evil were, after the 
 establishment of Christianity, for the most part met with 
 worldly modes of treatment ; civil pains and penalties, fines 
 and corporeal inflictions of some sort, too commonly taking 
 the place of the true, brotherly, spiritual discipline of the 
 gospel of Christ. 
 
 Of this true Christian disciphne, as contradistinguished 
 from all coercive measures of a physical and penal descrip- 
 tion, Milton has justly said in his own peculiar manner : 
 ' It seeks not to bereave or destroy the body ; it seeks to 
 save the soul by humbling the body, not by imprisonment 
 or pecuniary mulct, much less by stripes, or bonds, or disin- 
 heritance ; but by fatherly admonition and Christian rebuke 
 to cast it into godly sorrow, whose end is joy, and ingenu- 
 ous bashfulness to sin. If that cannot be wrought, then as 
 a tender mother takes her child and holds it over the pit 
 with scaring words, that it may learn to fear where danger 
 
THE ADMINISTRATION OF DISCIPLINE. 329 
 
 is ; SO does excommunication [i.e. discipline] as dearly and 
 as freely without money use her wholesome and saving 
 terrors. She is instant, she beseeches ; by all the dear and 
 sweet promises of salvation she entices and woos ; by all 
 the threatenings and thunders of law, and a rejected gospel, 
 she charges and adjures. This is all her armoury, her 
 munition, her artillery. Then she awaits with long suffer- 
 ance, and yet ardent zeal. In brief, there is no act in all the 
 errand of God's ministers to mankind wherein passes more 
 lover-hke contestation between Christ and the soul of a 
 regenerate man lapsing, than before, and in, and after the 
 sentence of excommunication.' ^ 
 
 The object of such dealing in respect to the Church 
 itself, is to have its actual state brought into as near con- 
 formity as possible to its Scriptural idea, by repressing in- 
 cipient evil within its pale, or casting out of it what gives 
 just occasion of offence. And in respect to the parties more 
 immediately concerned, its design is to lead them to a right 
 view of their particular case, and produce in them an 
 honourable shame, by bringing to bear upon them the more 
 earnest, spiritual sense of the pastor and those associated 
 with him in the care and oversight of the flock. And if 
 anything, as again excellently said by Milton in another 
 treatise,^ ' may be done to inbreed in us this generous and 
 Christianly reverence one of another, the very nurse and 
 guardian of piety and virtue, it cannot sooner be than by 
 such a disciphne in the Church as may use us to have in awe 
 the assemblies of the faithful, and to count it a thing most 
 grievous, next to the grieving of God's Spirit, to offend those 
 whom He hath put in authority, as a heaHng superintendence 
 over our lives and behaviours, both to our own happiness 
 and that we may not give offence to good men, who, without 
 amends by us made, dare not against God's command hold 
 
 * Of Reformation in England, 2d Boole. 
 
 2 The Reason of Church Government^ Book ii. sec. 3. 
 
330 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 communion with us in holy things. And this will be 
 accompanied w^ith a religious dread of being outcast from 
 the company of saints, and from the fatherly protection of 
 God in His Church, to consort with the devil and his 
 angels.' 
 
 This, undoubtedly, is the correct view of the matter, and 
 the right mode of aiming at its accomplishment. But the 
 churches of the Reformation did not readily find their way 
 to it ; many of them, indeed, have never yet succeeded in 
 doing so, or even in earnestly setting about it. The mourn- 
 ful confounding of the civil and spiritual jurisdictions which 
 had existed for ages still lingered in most of them, and dis- 
 posed them to trust, in part at least, to legal and compulsory 
 measures for effecting what could only be done to purpose 
 by spiritual means.-^ The same disposition lingers still in 
 not a few Protestant churches, which can scarcely be said to 
 have any discipline, except what is secured by the adminis- 
 
 ^ How much this was the case for a considerable time also in Scot- 
 land, even to a period later than that to which the noble treatises of 
 Milton belong, will be evident from the following historical statement 
 by Dr. Lee respecting post-Reformation times : — 'Every living soul 
 within the realm must either conform to the same profession, and 
 practise the same worship, and submit to the same discipline, or 
 undergo the vengeance of the law. ... A stripling or a girl of the 
 examinable age must either communicate in the parish church or else 
 pay a fine according to the rank of the party. In the year 1600, and 
 again in 1641, the Church prevailed on the State to impose fines on all 
 non-communicants of the age of 15 years complete. The fines on 
 people of condition were very heavy ; and every servant contravening the 
 Act was liable to pay one year's fee toties quoties. These were powers 
 actually granted to pj-esbyteries, who had a right to crave, receive, and 
 pursue for the penalties ' (Lee's Lecture on Christian History, i. p. 
 204). The zeal of Baxter not only led him to approve of the magis- 
 trates obliging people by penalties to attend on ministers for instruction, 
 but also to compel ministers to instruct and subject the people of their 
 charge to discipline. He would not, however, have any forced to the 
 communion. (See his Confirtnation and Restoration.) 
 
THE ADMINISTRATION OF DISCIPLINE. 33 1 
 
 tration of justice through the civil and criminal courts of the 
 lands to which they belong; — a state of things which is 
 deplored by all who know what a Christian Church ought to 
 be, though many, not absolutely ignorant of divine truth, 
 have through the ill effects of custom become habituated to 
 the corruption, and in this particular respect have lost sight 
 of the principles of church order and government. Baxter 
 speaks of some such in his day in England, whom he once 
 took, he says, for godly divines ; but who afterwards re- 
 proached those who endeavoured to maintain discipline, and 
 would not give the sacrament to every one in their parishes, 
 as Sacramentarians or Disciplinarians. He justly expresses 
 his astonishment that such persons could be found in a 
 Christian Church, and says : ' Sure I am, if it were well 
 understood how much of the pastoral authority and work 
 consisteth in church guidance, it would be almost discerned, 
 that to be against discipline is nearly all one with being 
 against the ministry ; and this, again, nearly all one with 
 being against the Church of Christ' For to what end does 
 the Church exist, but to be a witness to the truth, and an 
 organ for diffusing the life of Christ? In proportion, there- 
 fore, as she harbours corruption within her pale, and extends 
 the sacred symbols of the faith to those who practically 
 belie its spirit, she is unfaithful to her trust, and fails in the 
 very object of her mission to the world. 
 
 It must be owned, however, that even where there is a 
 just appreciation of the nature and of the importance of a 
 sound discipline, the relative positions of churches, I mean 
 of such churches as have a constitution which makes pro- 
 vision for the maintenance of discipline, and aims at it with 
 more or less of fidelity, interpose certain difficulties in 
 respect to the efficient discharge of the duty which it is not 
 quite easy for individual pastors or even churches to over- 
 come. These differ in Established Churches and churches 
 independent of the State. In the former, the territorial 
 
332 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 principle, which brings along with it a certain advantage 
 and authority, brings also a relative weakness ; since per- 
 sons, living within the bounds of any particular parish, 
 naturally come to regard their local situation as of itself 
 constituting a right to the ministrations of the parish church, 
 and to the participation of ordinances within its pale. And 
 practically it is very difficult, as those know who have had 
 trial of the system, to restrain this feeling within proper 
 bounds, that is, so to restrain it as to make the membership 
 of a parish church present the appearance of even a 
 tolerably pure communion. The unregenerate, the worldly, 
 the merely nominal professor, who finds the name of Chris- 
 tianity useful to hira, but refuses to give any material sacri- 
 fice or even renounce objectionable courses for its sake, 
 have advantages for obtaining connection with an Estab- 
 lished Church which attach to no other Evangelical Com- 
 munion, and of which they very readily avail themselves. 
 A parochial economy is thus from its very nature better 
 adapted for diffusing a certain amount of religious know- 
 ledge and profession than of exhibiting the pattern of a 
 living, spiritual Christian community. For checking the 
 more flagrant social evils, for removing or preventing the 
 existence of cases of extreme spiritual destitution, for ensur- 
 ing the difiiision of a general decency of behaviour, and 
 bringing within the reach of all the means and opportunities 
 of grace ; — for such ends and purposes the parish church, 
 with its appropriate machinery, if well wrought, is perfectly 
 adapted. But, excepting in very favourable circumstances, 
 and within comparatively short periods and limited districts, 
 its congregations can seldom be made to assume the aspect 
 of a community of saints. 
 
 In non-EstabUshed Churches there is, for the most part, 
 a fairer opportunity for making at least an approach to this, 
 although there are discouraging circumstances of a different 
 kind arising out of the divided state of things implied in 
 
THE ADMINISTRATION OF DISCIPLINE. 333 
 
 their vety existence. For this provides facilities to offend- 
 ing parties for evading the close dealing and defeating the 
 just ends of discipline, by transferring themselves from a 
 more to a less faithful Communion. Still it is of great 
 importance that churches which know and hold the truth, 
 that the Free Church in particular should, in spite of all 
 hindrances and discouragements, apply herself in earnest to 
 the maintenance of an efficient and godly discipline. Her 
 influence in the land for good, and the measure of blessing 
 she is to receive upon her public ministrations, will to a 
 large extent depend upon her faithfulness in the exercise of 
 this function. If the cause of righteousness thrives among 
 her members, if sin when it breaks out is sorrowed over and 
 rebuked, if the procedure altogether is such as to show that 
 the Church cannot bear them that are evil, then she will 
 command the respect of the community. More than that, 
 the favour of the Lord will rest upon her, she will be both 
 blessed and made a blessing. But if, on the other hand, 
 she should show herself more solicitous about the extent of 
 her membership than the purity of her communion, if back- 
 sliders and transgressors are not properly dealt with, and 
 something like a travailing in birth experienced to have them 
 brought to repentance and the knowledge of the truth, we 
 may hold it for certain that her real interest and prosperity 
 as a Church will decline. Not being jealous for the honour 
 of her Lord in respect to the holiness of His house, she will 
 not be honoured of Him. 
 
 Considered merely as a means of spiritual instruction, an 
 ordinance for impressing the minds of a people with right 
 views of things, for leading them to distinguish between 
 what may and what should not be tolerated in Christian 
 communities, — for this end alone a well-regulated discipline 
 is of no small importance. There are many, in all ranks of 
 life, who so readily fall in with the stream of custom, and 
 are so difficult to be convinced of the sinfulness of anything 
 
334 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 however contrary to the spirit of the gospel, if it be but 
 commonly practised in the neighbourhood, that nothing 
 scarcely will rouse them to proper thought and considera- 
 tion about it but the formal act and procedure of the 
 Church, treating it as inconsistent with the Christian life. 
 This, if only done on fitting occasions, and done with pru- 
 dence and discretion, will rarely fail to produce its effect. 
 Individual offenders, it is possible, may not be reclaimed 
 by it, they may even at times kick at the attempt made to 
 interfere with their Hberty, and only with increased deter- 
 mination adhere to their objectionable course ; but the 
 general conscience of the community will be quickened, 
 inquiry will be awakened, and the things adjudicated upon 
 and pronounced contrary to a sound profession of the faith 
 will be more closely examined by the word of God, and a 
 juster estimate formed respecting them by at least the more 
 thoughtful and serious minds. 
 
 It is, however, to be carefully borne in mind, that every- 
 thing, both as regards the practicability and the effect of a 
 righteous discipline, depends upon the Christian sense and 
 feeling which one has to work upon in those among whom 
 it is exercised. While it rests upon the teaching of God's 
 word as to its formal ground and warrant, this can be made 
 valid as a principle of action, in particular congregations, 
 only in so far as it has been wrought into the minds and 
 consciences of a considerable portion of the community, 
 and is responded to by them as right and good. To get 
 this Christian sense and feeling, therefore, widely diffused 
 and firmly maintained, must always be the first care of the 
 pastor. Behind all specific measures of repression or reform, 
 and as the understood basis on which they are to proceed, 
 there must be a solid groundwork of spiritual enlightenment 
 and conviction, otherwise the measures will fail for want 
 of backing, will not carry with them the requisite moral 
 weight. 
 
THE ADMINISTRATION OF DISCIPLINE. 335 
 
 Passing now from these preliminary considerations to the 
 actual administration of discipline, the first thing that 
 naturally comes into notice is the matter about or upon 
 which discipline should be exercised. There are things in 
 respect to which no difference of opinion in this respect can 
 well be entertained among evangelical Christians, they are 
 so palpably at variance not only with the precepts of the 
 gospel, but with the findings of the natural conscience, 
 that all will admit them worthy of correction and rebuke. 
 Adultery, for example, fornication, blasphemy, forgery, 
 deliberate fraud or theft, habitual neglect or avowed con- 
 tempt of divine ordinances, these and such like things leave 
 no room for hesitation or doubt ; they are in open con- 
 trariety to the Christian character, and no one chargeable 
 with them can be recognised as a proper subject of Christian 
 privilege. But things are ever and anon appearing of a 
 somewhat indeterminate nature ; indeterminate, that is, as 
 to the degree of guilt they involve, or the measure of con- 
 trariety which the performance of them betrays to the faith 
 of the gospel. With respect to such things great prudence 
 and caution are necessary in determining whether they should 
 be proceeded against by way of discipline, or when. Even 
 some of those just specified, practices of fraud, for example, 
 or habitual neglect of divine ordinances, while as facts in the 
 behaviour of this or that individual they may admit of no 
 dispute, they may still be found accompanied with so many 
 qualifying circumstances, complicated relationships, and 
 grounds of defence real or imaginary, that it may not be 
 quite easy for the pastor, and those associated with him in 
 the oversight of the church, to come to the conclusion re- 
 specting particular parties, that they should be subjected on 
 account of them to disciplinary treatment. Then there are 
 others ; for example, intemperance, violent, revengeful, or 
 harsh dealing, quarrelsome behaviour, compliance with the 
 follies or questionable customs of the world, which admit of 
 
^^6 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 SO many degrees, that the point at which the excess becomes 
 such as to warrant the interference of church action is a 
 very variable and shifting one. Even the most experienced 
 minister and elders will often find it difficult to arrive at 
 clear convictions as to the path of duty. Generally speaking, 
 where the conduct has been such as to give rise to offence, 
 and begets serious doubt as to the Christian state of the 
 parties concerned, though it may still not be chargeable 
 with deliberate or palpable sin, there should, in the first 
 instance, be private and personal dealings, which, if wisely 
 conducted on the one side and properly met on the other, 
 will very often render any further or more formal proceed- 
 ings unnecessary. For such dealings, as stated in another 
 connection, a calm, earnest, and prayerful spirit is peculiarly 
 required ; since, if a false step is taken at the outset, or an 
 undue regard should appear to have been given to unfounded 
 rumours, all chance of doing good will be lost, and a sense 
 of wrong evoked on account of the treatment experienced, 
 rather than of regret or shame at the behaviour which occa- 
 sioned it. 
 
 The difficulties connected with these private efforts to 
 bring under consideration incipient and less broadly de- 
 veloped forms of evil have led some ministers to avoid 
 interfering with anything for purposes of admonition or 
 censure but what may have become matter of public 
 notoriety, and as such can be taken up in a formal manner 
 by the Session or other constituted authorities. It is a 
 course which will, no doubt, save the pastor a good deal of 
 anxious thought and occasional acts of annoyance ; but this 
 personal advantage will be purchased at the heavy cost of 
 sometimes losing the chance of winning a soul. For, when 
 courses of defection like those referred to are censured at a 
 certain stage, censured when they are still only in the form- 
 ing, and just beginning to awaken solicitude and concern in 
 thoughtful minds, there is room to hope that something may 
 
THE ADMINISTRATION OF DISCIPLINE. 337 
 
 be done to arrest the evil by faithful treatment, the wrong 
 bias may yet be checked before it takes its final set ; while, 
 at a more advanced stage, the transgressor may indeed be 
 officially admonished, suspended from his Church privileges, 
 or altogether cut off from the communion of the Church, but 
 with little prospect of any good being thereby effected on 
 his spiritual state. He has become wedded to his idols, 
 and will not be separated from them. 
 
 In actual processes of discipline there are three stages, 
 which naturally succeed each other, and which call for 
 separate consideration. The first has respect to the ascer- 
 taining of the facts of the case, often a very perplexing part 
 of the process. The party suspected or accused has an 
 obvious interest in disguising them, putting a different face 
 on them from that which they actually wear : other parties, 
 perhaps, have a like interest in overcharging or distorting 
 them; and persons capable of giving important evidence on 
 the matter are either unwilling or afraid to have anything 
 directly to do concerning it. Hence it will sometimes hap- 
 pen that a very general desire may exist among persons of 
 influence in the Church to leave what is likely to prove 
 delicate and irksome in abeyance, or have it summarily 
 huddled up. In such cases it is always of grave moment 
 that the pastor be known to be a perfectly reliable person, 
 one, I mean, who is seen to be actuated by a sincere regard 
 to the spiritual good of the people, and of firmness tempered 
 with discretion in his endeavours to discountenance what is 
 m.anifestly evil. If he is either too sluggish in bestirring 
 himself about things which call for serious inquiry, or, on 
 the other hand, too hasty and forward in pressing them into 
 notice ; above all, if he is of irresolute purpose, moving but 
 with hesitating step, doing somewhat and again undoing it, 
 the result will commonly be, that matters are concealed 
 from him which he ought to be informed of, or evidence 
 that might be forthcoming is withheld from a feeling of 
 
338 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 uncertainty as to the use that might be made of it. But 
 even supposing him to possess the proper requisites for 
 inspiring confidence and satisfactorily conducting the in- 
 quiries necessary to be instituted, he will often find it 
 extremely difficult, especially in cases connected with un- 
 cleanness, to get at the real state of matters ; penetration, 
 caution, judgment, patience also and industry, will be re- 
 quired. Guilty or suspected persons will make the most 
 solemn declarations such as it might seem an act of injus- 
 tice or hardness of heart to discredit, while yet subsequent 
 discoveries may show them to be essentially false ; or gross 
 misconduct will be covered with most plausible excuses 
 and pretexts which have little foundation in reaUty. Mini- 
 sters generally, and especially young ministers, should hear 
 in such cases with a prudent reserve, taking care not to 
 commit themselves to a view or espouse a side till full time 
 has been had for considering the matter, and every acces- 
 sible means of information has been turned to account. This 
 should be done, yet so as to beware of giving encourage- 
 ment to busybodies, or granting a kind of delegated autho- 
 rity to inferior parties, who are likely to become too full of 
 their ofl[ice to manage it discreetly. Occasionally, though 
 not more than occasionally, and only after every attempt 
 has failed to get conclusive evidence, the matter may be 
 put, if not with the form, at least with the solemnity of an 
 oath, to the individual chiefly interested. This is a last 
 alternative, and one that can rarely yield a satisfactory 
 result, because of the strong temptation it affords to lay all 
 to rest by a false asseveration. It should therefore be very 
 rarely resorted to. 
 
 The next step in the process has respect to the proper 
 method of dealing with those whose guilt has been admitted 
 or proved, with the view of bringing them to a right sense of 
 their sin and such a state of mind as would justify the Church 
 in restoring them to its communion. This must always form 
 
THE ADMINISTRATION OF DISCIPLINE. 339 
 
 a most important part of the proceedings, since it has respect 
 to that on which the whole issue for the spiritual good of the 
 offending parties may be said to turn. It will be understood 
 of itself that there should be private personal intercourse 
 held with them. If the whole that is done is limited to the 
 somewhat formal action of an official procedure, it will but 
 rarely happen that any real good is accompHshed. Yet 
 even in this part of the dealing, especially in the manner in 
 which the parties are received and addressed when making 
 appearance to confess the misdeed laid to their charge, not 
 a little may be done to prepare the way for future action ; 
 that is, if by the proper exercise of the spirit of rebuke the 
 pastor is enabled to penetrate, touch, and soften the heart. 
 
 Let it be well considered, however, wherein properly 
 consists the spirit or power of rebuke, and how, in any 
 circumstances, it can be made to tell with due effect upon 
 the minds of such as have gone out of the way. It is very 
 different from a stern and unflinching denunciation of the 
 wrath of God against transgressors, or a fiery ebullition of 
 righteous displeasure at what has appeared of shameful 
 misconduct. A measure of these occasionally may be par- 
 doned, or even in extreme cases justified ; but the spirit of 
 rebuke, as it should commonly be exercised by the Christian 
 pastor, is something deeper, calmer, more measured and 
 restrained, and hence is neither so readily acquired nor so 
 easy to maintain in efficient exercise. Indeed, it is hardly 
 too much to say, with Isaac Taylor,^ that ' every part of the 
 duty of the minister of rehgion is more easy to maintain in 
 vigour than the spirit he needs as the reprover of sin and 
 the guardian of virtue.' He runs over the other leading 
 parts of ministerial duty, somewhat certainly under-estimating 
 the facility with which they may be performed, and then, 
 with reference to the point in hand, specifies various things 
 that may be tried as a substitute for it, argument, erudition, 
 ^ Saturday Nighty chap. xv. 
 
34° THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 eloquence, and adds, ' Ah ! but to speak efficaciously of that 
 holiness and justice of Almighty God, and of its future 
 consequences ; to speak in modesty, tenderness, and power 
 of the approaching doom of the impenitent, is altogether 
 another matter, and one that must be left to those whose 
 spirits have had much communion with the dread Majesty 
 on high. As the punishment of sin springs by an ineffable 
 harmony from the first principles of the divine nature, and 
 infringes not at all upon benevolence, so must he who would 
 rightly speak of that punishment have attained to a more 
 intimate perception of the coincidence of holiness and love 
 than language can convey, or than can be made the subject 
 of communication between man and man. This knowledge 
 belongs to the inner circle of the soul, and is only conveyed 
 to it in any considerable degree when much meditation and 
 prayer and abstraction from earthly passions open the way 
 to its reception and entertainment' 
 
 It is the possession and exercise of such a spirit that is re- 
 quired for the discharge, in its higher style, of the duty under 
 consideration. Of course it will differ, not only in different 
 individuals, but even in the same individual from time to 
 time ; and not unfrequently, those who have it most will feel 
 as if they were singularly deficient in the proper manifesta- 
 tion that should be given to it. I speak only of the quality 
 itself, and of what should be aimed at in regard to it ; what 
 also, in proportion as it is brought to bear upon persons 
 whose conduct has subjected them to the discipline of the 
 Church, is likely to have most effect in bringing them to 
 genuine contrition and godly sorrow for sin. Even this, 
 when possessed and exercised with comparative perfection, 
 will not always secure the desired result. The most faithful 
 and spiritually-minded pastors may lay their account to not 
 a few dealings with offenders who, whatever temporary effect 
 may have been wrought upon them, will give afterwards 
 unmistakeable evidence that they have undergone no real 
 
THE ADMINISTRATION OF DISCIPLINE. 341 
 
 conversion. Here also, and very peculiarly, the maxim 
 of our Lord applies, ' The tree is known by its fruits;' for 
 while there is much in the condition of those whose im- 
 moral conduct has brought them into reproach and laid 
 them open to the censure of the Church, to produce a soft- 
 ened and penitent feeling for the time ; if it is nature only 
 that works, the recoil of feeling may pass away, and leave 
 the individual as far as ever from the kingdom of God. 
 
 The remaining part of the process has reference to what 
 is called the satisfaction of the Church and the formal 
 absolution of the offending parties, or their restoration to 
 Church privileges. This is now usually a very brief and 
 perfunctory thing compared with what it was in the earher 
 periods of the Reformed Church, and still more in the 
 strict disciplinary period of the first centuries. When one 
 reads the accounts given in Cyprian and Tertullian, for 
 example, of the penitential acts and humiliating services 
 through which the subjects of Church discipline had to pass 
 in their day before they could expect to have their names 
 restored to the communion-roll of the Church, one is apt to 
 be struck with the laxity of present times, and to sigh for 
 the return of such moral strength to spiritual authorities as 
 might enable them to exact from the lapsed demonstrations 
 of sorrow and shame so profoundly indicative of their con- 
 scious guilt, and expressions of desire so intense of being 
 re-admitted to a place among the faithful. In describing 
 what was termed the exomologesis of the penitent, Tertullian 
 represents them as appearing clothed in the meanest ap- 
 parel, lying in sackcloth and ashes ;i either fasting entirely 
 or living upon bread and water, passing whole days and 
 nights in tears and lamentations ; embracing the knees of 
 the presbyters as they entered the church, and entreating 
 the more honoured brethren to intercede for them ; all this 
 continuing often for a lengthened period, for years some- 
 1 De Foenit. § 9. 
 
342 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 times, occasionally even to the point of death ; when, the 
 rulers of the Church being satisfied that the repentance was 
 sincere, and that the honour of the Church had been suffi- 
 ciently vindicated in their contrition, absolution was granted 
 to them, and they received again the right hand of fellow- 
 ship. But then, as already noticed, this awful stringency, 
 which at first sight carries such an aspect of holiness, at the 
 same time that it tried by vast applications to heal existing 
 sores, was itself indicative of a deep disease; it at once 
 sprung from and fostered a disposition to look to bodily 
 mortifications and self-inflicted penances for what could 
 only be reached through the mercy of God and Christ's 
 work of reconciliation. Hence we find Tertullian speaking 
 of the penances in question as ' mitigating God,' and ' blot- 
 ting out eternal punishments;' and Cyprian, in like manner, 
 who equally lauds the virtue of such discipHnary treatment, 
 describes the penitent who submits to it as not only satisfy- 
 ing the Church, but appeasing the wrath of God ; by means 
 of his prayers, it is said, his tears, groans and mortifications, 
 ' he makes satisfaction to God,' ^ ' he purchases both God's 
 pardon now, and also a crown of glory.' Thus readily do 
 such external requirements and enforced mortifications rise 
 into a kind of meritorious round of performances, and take 
 to some extent the place of the one glorious object of faith 
 and hope. For the lapsed it came practically to be salva- 
 tion, remotely no doubt through the redeeming grace of God 
 in Christ, but directly through the rigid observances of a 
 prolonged discipline, the intercessions of a mediating priest- 
 hood, and the authoritative absolution of the Church. And 
 we may well be content to want such awful pomp and 
 circumstance in connection with the recovery of fallen 
 members, in order to escape from the deadly errors out of 
 which it in a great degree sprang, and to which it in turn 
 most powerfully ministered. 
 
 ^ De Lapsis, 
 
THE ADMINISTRATION OF DISCIPLINE. 343 
 
 Still it is possible here, as in other things, while shunning 
 excess in one direction, to be guilty of it in another. And 
 one can readily apprehend, when no marked difference of 
 outward treatment appears between those who have fallen 
 into scandalous sin and such as have maintained a con- 
 sistent Christian behaviour, when, even though some pains 
 may be taken privately to bring them to a better mind, the 
 path of admission to the more distinctive privileges of the 
 Church is left equally open to them as to others, the inevi- 
 table result must be a lowering, in the general sense of the 
 community, of the estimate formed of their misdemeanour. 
 So far as overt acts are concerned, no account seems to be 
 made of it by those who have the charge of God's house ; 
 how natural, then, for others to treat similar transgressions 
 lightly, or, if more seriously inclined, to take offence at the 
 seeming indifference of their spiritual guides ! Yet, as 
 matters now stand, it is not quite easy to adopt a procedure 
 that shall present very broad and cognizable distinctions ; 
 it is only within narrow limits that they can be found. In 
 post-Reformation times the practice of public confessions 
 and rebukes, closed with a formal absolution and a charge 
 to go and sin no more, was set up as a regular part of the 
 discipline of the Kirk in this country, and continued to 
 prevail for several generations.^ In most churches there 
 was even what bore the name of the ' repentance-stool,' 
 placed nearly in front of the pulpit, on which the offending 
 person was obliged to sit for two or three successive Sundays, 
 and to rise up a little before the close of the service and 
 receive solemn admonition and rebuke in the presence of 
 
 1 ' The extremitie of sackclothe was also prescrivt be the acts of the 
 generall discipline,' and was not to be dispensed with for any 'pecunial 
 sum' {Book of Universal Kirk). Nor was any exemption allowed to 
 persons in high life. Among those who made public satisfaction we 
 find the Lord Treasurer in 1563 ; the Countess of Argyll in 1567 ; in 
 1568 the Bishop of Orkney (M'Crie's Life of Knox ^ p. 454). 
 
344 I'HE OFP^ICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 the congregation ; on the last, a formal absolution was pro- 
 nounced. But as times changed, the practice first became 
 irregular in its administration, and then fell into desuetude. 
 Fines in many places were taken as a substitute, the money 
 so obtained being forfeited to the poor, which could only 
 be characterized as a species of simony ; and as it would, of 
 course, be chiefly taken advantage of by the richer portion 
 of the congregation, it was attended with the additional evil 
 of forming one kind of discipline for the wealthier and 
 another for the poorer classes of the Church. This was to 
 do the work of God with respect of persons, therefore doing 
 it so as certainly to defeat the ends which it should have 
 been mainly directed to promote. Such a halting procedure 
 could not last ; and as the spirit of the times changed, the 
 repentance-stool for the one class and the money fines for 
 the other were disused; public rebukes, also, in great 
 measure disappeared; while acts of formal excommunication 
 and acts of absolution ceased to be delivered from the pulpit 
 in presence of the assembled congregation. 
 
 Is this change to be regretted ? It is not quite easy to 
 say ; indeed, it turns very much upon the further question, 
 whether the general state and tone of society now be upon 
 the whole more favourable, or the reverse, to vital godliness, 
 than they were in earlier and ruder times ? Without debat- 
 ing the point as to the absolute merits of the two, there can 
 be no doubt that in the conventionalisms and proprieties of 
 life there is a decided change for the better in that part of the 
 population which constitutes the life and stay of Christian 
 society; so that, as in familiar discourse and in current 
 literature, in the formal proceedings also of a Church, things 
 would appear unseemly and indelicate in present times, 
 would grate upon people's feelings, and tend rather to annoy 
 than to edify, which at an earlier period would have been 
 heard or witnessed without emotion. It is impossible to 
 deny, and hopeless to fight with success against, this altered 
 
THE ADMINISTRATION OF DISCIPLINE. 345 
 
 Style of things ; it is an essential part of the civilisation and 
 refinement of modern times ; and it is the policy of the 
 Church to accommodate her procedure to it, retaining as 
 far as possible the substance, while she lets go the form of 
 the older discipline. The form is, for the most part, gone 
 anyhow ; pubHc professions of repentance and rebukes are 
 no longer practicable as in the olden time ; and in the few 
 cases where I have known a return to them attempted, 
 under a zealous pastorate, the attempt has always failed, and 
 it was found necessary, for the interests of righteousness 
 themselves, to have them abandoned. But if matters be 
 otherwise rightly ordered, especially if those who have the 
 spiritual oversight of a particular Church be men of principle, 
 discretion, and probity, and enjoy the respect and confidence 
 of the members, the real objects in view maybe substantially 
 served through their instrumentality. As representing the 
 spiritual community, let them, in their more private inter- 
 course with the parties interested, do what was wont to be 
 done in public, so far as reproof, admonition, confession of 
 sin, promise of amendment, suspension from Church fellow- 
 ship, restoration or final excision are concerned. What is 
 done thus is really done by the Church, and, one may say, 
 in its presence ; just as what is done by the representative 
 body of a commonwealth is done by the commonwealth 
 itself, and is so regarded by its constituent elements. And 
 if it is done conscientiously, prayerfully, judiciously, it will 
 also be done to edification, more so a great deal than by a 
 rigid adherence to the letter and form of proceedings which 
 may be no longer adapted to the state and temper of society, 
 and which, for the sake of an apparent conformity to Scripture 
 precedent, would sacrifice the reality. 
 
346 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 SUBSIDIARY MEANS AND AGENCIES. 
 
 BY subsidiary means and agencies, I mean things not 
 directly and strictly belonging to the pastoral office, 
 but still so closely connected with it, that in most cases it 
 will be both the interest and the duty of the pastor to 
 encourage and promote their employment. For, aiming as 
 they do at the reformation of existing abuses, or the bring- 
 ing about of a more healthful state of society, they so far 
 tend to subserve the objects which a minister of the gospel 
 should have in view, and become handmaids to him in his 
 work. They will, however, necessarily differ to some extent 
 according to the nature of the locality in which his sphere 
 of labour is cast, and the classes of society with which it 
 brings him more especially into contact. Experience here, 
 as in various other things which have come under our con- 
 sideration, must be the great teacher and guide • and nothing 
 more is needed, or would be proper in this outline, than 
 to indicate quite briefly some of the leading points to which 
 attention should be given. They fall into two divisions, 
 those which have an incidental bearing on religion, and those 
 which relate to social economics. 
 
 I. Under the first class may be mentioned efforts to pro- 
 mote a taste for religious and instructive reading. When 
 such a taste is diffused, both itself and the habits associated 
 with it prove among the best auxiliaries of the pulpit. For, 
 if those who frequent the house of God are in any measure 
 
SUBSIDIARY MEANS AND AGENCIES. 347 
 
 accustomed to the quiet and thoughtful occupation of the 
 kind referred to, they will grow in intelligence, in their 
 capacity for appreciating the discourses of the Sabbath, and 
 also in their ability to profit by them. A certain dulness of 
 apprehension, sluggishness of spirit, and consequent indispo- 
 sition or incapacity to follow the train of thought in a well- 
 digested discourse, are the usual characteristics of audiences 
 which are utter or comparative strangers to reading of a 
 cognate description during the week. And with such 
 audiences the danger is, that when serious impressions are 
 made upon them by what is addressed to them on the 
 Lord's day, these are apt to disappear again by the total 
 withdrawal of the mind from similar lines of meditation 
 during the week. 
 
 To some small extent the object in view may be attained 
 by the circulation of tracts, but not very materially. These 
 are more suited, as a whole, for originating right thought, 
 .and leading people's minds into the way of truth, than for 
 imparting much knowledge, or forming habits of thought- 
 fulness and attention. When judiciously selected, however, 
 they have their use, and even in the way of directing and 
 sustaining thought will sometimes profitably fill up a little 
 spare time which would otherwise run to waste. But better 
 adapted for the purpose more immediately contemplated 
 are the monthly or weekly periodicals which are now issued 
 in considerable variety, with special reference to private 
 and family use on the Lord's day. Though not to be indis- 
 criminately recommended, as if all were equally adapted to 
 promote their professed object, some of them are worthy of 
 all praise. The stated circulation of such productions, and 
 missionary records, containing accounts of evangelistic opera- 
 tions at home and abroad, is well deserving of attention. 
 Associations might, at various localities, be with advantage 
 formed for carrying it the more easily into effect ; and for 
 the more remote and isolated rural districts much may be 
 
34S THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 done to promote the end in view by a judicious encourage- 
 ment of the colportage system. 
 
 Sabbath-school, and, where possible, congregational libra- 
 ries, belong also to this line of things, and should receive 
 the considerate attention, and, when formed, the watchful 
 superintendence of the pastor. It is one of the special 
 advantages of present times, that books for the young exist 
 in such numbers and variety. There is now a pretty exten- 
 sive literature conducted expressly for them, and a literature 
 predominantly religious in its tone, as also in the subjects 
 of which it formally treats. Every pastor should use his 
 influence with the young of his flock to induce them to form 
 some acquaintance with this juvenile literature, which will 
 also react on the older members of the family. In rural 
 situations it may sometimes be needful, or at least expedient, 
 for him to take the charge of such libraries, as otherwise 
 there may be a danger of the books being badly kept, and 
 the youthful applicants also may be apt to light upon 
 books of a somewhat unsuitable kind. When the young 
 grow up and join themselves to the communion of the 
 Church, it may be well, if their numbers are not very great, 
 to present each with a good practical treatise suited to their 
 respective capacities, a treatise or manual of the kind of 
 which Doddridge's Rise and Progress may be cited as a favour- 
 able example ; such a gift being fitted at once to form a 
 pleasing memorial of that important period in their religious 
 history, and also to exercise an influence for good on their 
 further advancement. 
 
 I am quite disposed to reckon among the subsidiary 
 means under consideration the practice which has of late 
 become common in towns, and has been extending to 
 villages, of lectures on week-day evenings, lectures perhaps 
 sometimes having a directly religious interest, but more 
 commonly on subjects of a historical, literary, or scientific 
 nature, treated in a manner fitted to improve and elevate 
 
SUBSIDIARY MEANS AND AGENCIES. 349 
 
 the minds of the people, as well as strengthen indirectly 
 their religious convictions. Such lectures must be delivered 
 chiefly by ministers of the gospel, though with occasional 
 help from others ; and the time and study necessary to take 
 their part occasionally in such employment will be far from 
 being misspent. But more directly bearing on their proper 
 function is the promotion of prayer meetings among their 
 people, and some perhaps would add, of fellowship meetings. 
 But in regard to the latter, there is need for much caution 
 on the part of a pastor. Fellowship meetings are formed 
 with a view, not merely to engage in exercises of worship, 
 but also to interchange thoughts among the members on 
 matters pertaining to divine truth or religious experience ; 
 safe enough, probably, and improving if the membership is 
 small, and composed of such as have much confidence and 
 fellow-feeling one with another, so that they can really speak 
 heart to heart ; but when it is otherwise, they are extremely 
 apt to become loquacious, disputative, and even to gender 
 strifes. A prudent pastor will therefore rarely intermeddle 
 with meetings of this description, and neither directly en- 
 courage nor discountenance them. But in respect to the 
 establishment of prayer meetings he need have no scruple, if 
 he can only find persons who have the requisite zeal and gifts 
 for conducting them. Here for the most part lies the main 
 difficulty, and it is of such a kind that no undue pressure 
 should be made upon individuals with the view of over- 
 coming it ; for if there be a defect in the requisite intelli- 
 gence, piety, or power of utterance, the meetings in question 
 cannot be instituted with much prospect of continuance or 
 success. The spirit of prayer, it should ever be remem- 
 bered, is of more importance than any particular mode of 
 exercising it. 
 
 2. Passing now to the other branch of subsidiary means, 
 that relating to social economics, a pretty large field till 
 lately lay open here for parish ministers in connection with 
 
350 THE OFFICE AND DUTIES OF A CHRISTIAN PASTOR. 
 
 the management of the poor, calling for the exercise of 
 discretion, sagacity, and good feehng. It was in this field 
 that Dr. Chalmers won for himself his first claim to distinc- 
 tion as a philanthropist; and to the discussion of topics 
 connected with it one of his most elaborate works is devoted, 
 his Parish Economics. The work may still be read with 
 interest and profit, as it is pregnant with views and prin- 
 ciples which admit of a certain application in every age ; but 
 as a guide-book for pastors in a specific department of 
 official duty it may justly be said to be antiquated. This 
 whole branch of social economics is now directed by an 
 agency of its own, in which ministers of the gospel, whether 
 of the Established Church or not, have but a subordinate 
 part to perform. But, of course, it will never cease to be 
 their duty to interest themselves in the state of the • poor, 
 and to be forward in devising liberal things in those more 
 peculiar cases of want and distress which from time to time 
 occur, and for which a legal machinery affords no adequate 
 source of relief. 
 
 In the present circumstances of our country, it belongs 
 more to the province of a minister of the gospel to concert, 
 or lend his countenance and support to those who may be 
 concerting, measures which have for their object the reduc- 
 tion of pauperism and other social evils ; in particular, the 
 repression of prostitution, and the diminution of that intem- 
 perance which is a fountain of innumerable disorders. For 
 this purpose he will readily co-operate in the eff'orts made 
 to curtail, in particular localities, the number of public- 
 houses, to establish coffee-rooms and places of healthful 
 refreshment and innocent resort, and to form where they 
 are obviously needed temperance societies. For things of 
 this description, lying outside, in a manner, the pastoral 
 sphere, yet pressing closely on its border, no general rule 
 can be prescribed, or any uniform practice recommended. 
 If there be but high Christian principle first, then an enlight- 
 
SUBSIDIARY MEANS AND AGENCIES. 35 I 
 
 ened Christian expediency, wisely considering the circum- 
 stances of the place and time with a view to the rectification 
 of any flagrant social evils existing, there will be no need 
 for special instructions and stereotyped modes of working. 
 Here also the love of benefiting one's generation by the 
 removal of what tends to minister to disease, slovenliness, 
 and vice, will be a law to itself, and not only a law, but a 
 well-spring of beneficent action, fruitful in resources, striv- 
 ing in every way possible to lessen the inducements to evil, 
 and raise up bulwarks for the protection of the weaker 
 elements in human nature against the stronger, the tempted 
 against the tempting, the young and simple against the wiles 
 of the profligate and the wicked. Thus will Christian love 
 earn the blessing promised to those ' who sow beside all 
 waters.' 
 
 THE END. 
 
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