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 BX 6346 .H6 1847 
 Howell, Robert Boyte 
 Crawford, 1801-1868. 
 frhe deaconship 
 
THE 
 
 DEACONSHIP 
 
 BY 
 ROBT. BOYTE C. HOWELL, D.D. 
 
 PASTOR OF THE FIRST BAPTIST CHURCH, N.VSHVILLE, TENI 
 
 Author of " Sacramental Communion," &c. 
 
 " They that have used the office of a Deacon well, pur- 
 chase to themselves a good degree, and great boldness in 
 the faith which is in Christ Jesus." — Paul. 
 
 PHILADELPHIA: 
 
 AMERICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY. 
 
 1847. 
 
Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1846, by 
 
 W. W. KEEN, 
 
 Treasurer of the American Baptist Publication Society, in the 
 Clerk's Office of the District Court for the Eastern District of 
 Pennsylvania. 
 
 George Charles, Stereotyper, 1 ^, „ . ™ ., , , , . 
 
 ^ ' J- No. 9 George Street, Philadelphia- 
 
 King & fliird. Printers, j 
 
DEDICATION. 
 
 To the Deacons of all the Baptist churches 
 throughout the United States of America, this little 
 volume is respectfully dedicated, by their obliged 
 brother, 
 
 The Author. 
 

 •THSOLOGIOili^ 
 
 PREFACE, 
 
 A valued friend and brother, lately soli- 
 cited from me, an article on the Deacon- 
 ship, for publication in a Quarterly, which is 
 under his editorial direction. About the 
 same time my own beloved church decided 
 to appoint several additional deacons, and 
 called upon me for such instruction as might 
 be necessary to guide them in their proceed- 
 ings. My attention was thus specially called 
 to the subject, and I determined to give it a 
 thorough re-investigation. To write a book 
 
 formed no part of my design. As, however, 
 1* 5 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 my examinations extended, my convictions 
 of the importance of the office were increas- 
 ed. I turned to my library for aid to direct 
 me, but could find, there or elsewhere, 
 almost none. Bodies of Divinity, Diction- 
 aries of the Bible, and Commentators, fur- 
 nished me a few short articles, but I found 
 them all defective, both in the amount of 
 thought bestowed upon them, and the con- 
 clusions at which they arrived. With the 
 word of God before me, I continued to write 
 until the substance of the following chap- 
 ters was produced. I am surprised to find 
 that no work, indeed, that nothing valuable, 
 so far as I know, has been published on the 
 Deaconship, either in England or America. 
 I have not the vanity to suppose that the 
 following pages will supply the deficiency ; 
 nevertheless, at the suggestion of intelligent 
 and judicious brethren, I have thrown the 
 result of my examinations into the form of 
 
PREFACE. 
 
 a volume, and now submit them to the puh- 
 Hc eye. I have taken this step with great 
 deference, but in the hope, and with the 
 earnest prayer, that it may be accompanied 
 with the blessing of God. 
 
 RoBT. BoYTE C. Howell. 
 Nashville, Tenn. Feb. 21, 1846. 
 
 ..r^^^^^^&^ 
 
 
 
 1.1 Vr;„-.> 
 
SECOND EDITION. 
 
 The first edition, containing a thousand copies, 
 has been sold in six months. The work has 
 received many commendations. At the close 
 of the present edition, will be found editorial 
 notices from the " Christian Review," and " Bap- 
 tist Memorial," and the opinion of the Editor of 
 the widely circulated " Encyclopedia of Religious 
 Knowledge." 
 
 With increased confidence in the adaptation 
 of this volume to the wants of the churches, it is 
 sent forth in reliance upon the blessing of the 
 Head of the Church. 
 
 T. S. Malcom, 
 
 Cor. Secretary, 
 
 Philadelphia, December 15, 1846. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 CHAPTER.!. 
 
 THE NATURE OF THE DEACONSHIP. 
 
 Definition of the term Deacon — Variety of opinions in 
 relation to it — Our own doctrine and practice — History 
 of the origin of the Deaconship — Perpetuation of the office 
 — The injury of diverting it from its original design, 13 
 
 CHAPTER n. 
 
 THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE DEACONSHIP. 
 
 The conjugal relations of the candidate — His general 
 reputation — His religious character — His orthodoxy — His 
 intellectual endowments — His government of his family, 
 and general conduct of his own temporal affairs, . 34 
 
 CHAPTER m. 
 
 THE FORMS OF ELECTION, AND ORDINATION TO THE 
 DEACONSHIP. 
 
 By whom deacons are to be elected — Each separate 
 congregation a true church — Every church independ- 
 
 9 
 
10 CONTENTS. 
 
 ent — Instructions before election— Manner of election- 
 Checks and balances in government — Ordaining form — 
 Instructions after ordination — Duty of adhering to Apos- 
 tolic forms, 57 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE GENERAL DUTIES OF DEACONS. 
 
 Not to preach — Not to administer ordinances — Not to 
 govern, except in their ovi^n department — They are placed 
 over temporal affairs — Their relation to the regular, and 
 incidental expenses of w^orship — To the poor of the 
 church 70 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE DUTIES OF DEACONS WITH REFERENCE TO THEIR 
 PASTORS. 
 
 Necessity of pastoral support — The law which governs it 
 •—The teachings of Christ and his Apostles — Apostolic 
 practice — Reason and justice — Importance of a full un- 
 derstanding betweenPastor and Church, . . 90 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE MEANS OF CREATING AND SUSTAINING THE 
 NECESSARY REVENUES IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 Revenues are indispensable. — The law of God on this 
 subject. — Its excellent characteristics — The superintend- 
 ence necessary in its execution — It is sufficient for all 
 purposes — Recapitulation — Importance of stated and re- 
 gular meetings of the Deacons, . . . .110 
 
CONTENTS. 11 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 DEACONESSES. 
 
 Female assistants to the Deacons existed in the primitive 
 churches — References to them by Ecclesiastical Histo- 
 rians — By early Christian ■s\Titers — By the Scriptures — 
 Are they necessary — Their qualifications — Their duties — 
 They are virtually employed in our own churches — Practi- 
 cal conclusions, 124 
 
 CHAPTER Vni. 
 
 THE DUTY OF THE CHURCHES, AND THE MINISTRY 
 TO CO-OPERATE WITH THE DEACONS. 
 
 Three departments in the Church — Their mutual de- 
 pendence — Co-operation of the Church with the Deacons — 
 Of the ministry with the Deacons — Their responsibilities 
 — The consequences — Motives to co-operation, . 137 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF FAITHFULNESS ON THE PART OF THE 
 DEACONS. 
 
 The remedy for unfaithfulness — The Deacons' vow — 
 Their several relations — Benefits of faithfulness — Reca- 
 pitulation — Conclusion, 147 
 
THE DEACOiNSHIP. 
 
 CHAPTER I. 
 
 THE NATURE OF THE DEACONSHIP. 
 
 Definition. — Variety of opinions. — Our own doctrine and 
 practice. — History of its origin. — Perpetuation of the 
 office. — The injury of diverting it from its original 
 design. 
 
 A Deacon — Ata^fovoj — ^is a Minister, or Ser- 
 vant. The term, in its broadest sense, describes 
 ministers, or servants, of all classes, whether their 
 department be temporal or spiritual. It has in its 
 sense, a similar indefiniteness with the word — ■ 
 sxxT^rjaia — Church. In illusti'ation of the truth of 
 this remark, I will refer to several passages of the 
 word of God. " Wilt thou not," says the author 
 of the epistle to the Romans,* speaking of civil 
 rulers, " be afraid of the power ? Do that which 
 
 * Rom. xiii. 3, 4. 
 2 
 
14 NATURE OF 
 
 is good, and thou shalt have praise of the same ; 
 for he is [5«cv ya^ Scaxov^j], the Deacon of God — 
 [in our version] the minister of God to thee for 
 good." In this, and other texts, the civil magis- 
 trate is announced as ''the Deacon of God.''' 
 The aposdes are frequently called Deacons. In 
 the address of Peter to the assembled disciples, a 
 few days after the ascension of Christ,* he said — 
 " Brethren, this scripture must needs have been 
 fulfilled, which the Holy Ghost, by the mouth of 
 David, spake before concerning Judas, which was 
 guide to them that took Jesus. For he was num- 
 bered with us Qhe apostles], and had obtained 
 part of [rijj Staxoita?, this Deaconship'] this min- 
 istry. '^ And again, in the apostolic prayer at the 
 choosing of Matthias, we have this sentence — 
 " Thou, Lord, which knowest the hearts of all 
 men, show whether of these two thou hast chosen, 
 that he may take part of [y-?,? Siaxopiai, this Dea- 
 conship'] this ministry, and apostleship.^'f 
 Paul, speaking of himself and ApoUos, says, they 
 were Aiaxovoc, Deacons, in our version ministers, 
 by whom the Corinthians believed the gospel.j: 
 Tychicus, an evangelist, is denominated a Deacon. 
 Writing to the church at Ephesus, Paul says : 
 
 * Acts i. 16, 17, t Acts i. 24, 25. t 1 Cor. iii. 5. 
 
THE DEACONSHIP. 15 
 
 " That ye also may know my affairs, and how I 
 do, Tychicus, a beloved brother and [rttaroj 5taxoj/oj, 
 faithful Deacon~] faithful minister in the Lord, 
 shall make known unto you all things ; whom I 
 have sent unto you for the same purpose."* The 
 angels of God are declared to be all Deacons. 
 " Are they not all ministering spirits, sent forth to 
 minister [Staxonaf] for them who shall be heirs 
 of salvation?"! I will only add that our Lord 
 Jesus Christ himself is also a Deacon. " Now I 
 [Paul] say, that Jesus Christ was a [Ataaioj/oj, a 
 Deacon'] minister of the circumcision for the 
 truth of God, to confirm the promises.":}: Thus 
 we see that according to the usus loquendi of the 
 Scriptures, all ministers or servants, ordinary and 
 extraordinary, political, ecclesiastical, angelic, and 
 divine, are familiarly called Deacons. 
 
 There is, however, a strict appUcation of the 
 term to a specified class of officers in the church, 
 who, in distinction from all others, bear this name. 
 They are denominated Deacons, because they are 
 the only class not already known by some other 
 appellation, and not that the sense of their title is 
 less applicable to others than to them. This fact 
 is plainly set forth in the teachings of those por- 
 
 * Eph. vi. 21, 22. t Heb. i. 14. X Rom. xv. 8. 
 
16 NATURE OF 
 
 tions of the word of God in which their station is 
 described, and their duties are enjoined. 
 
 Let us consider this proposition. The inspired 
 writers speak, frequently, of the office of pastors, 
 and the office of Deacons, as two distinct offices. 
 In one of the epistles the qualifications of the 
 former are described ; and after that, and sepa- 
 rately, those of the latter. Sometimes, also, the 
 churches are addressed, with " their bishops, and 
 Deacons." The position of the Deacons, there- 
 fore, is, plainly, in the same church with the pas- 
 tor, or bishop ; and their duties, though in the 
 most perfect harmony with each other, belong to 
 different departments in the kingdom of Christ. 
 They are coadjutors in the great work of salva- 
 tion ; fellow-laborers in the truth. To the Dea- 
 cons, no less than to the pastors, or ministers, 
 most important interests are committed, upon their 
 prompt, enlightened, and faithful attention to which, 
 depends, essentially, the prosperity of religion. 
 
 In the facts and considerations thus far sub- 
 mitted, all Christians, I believe, substantially con- 
 cur. But, unhappily, much confusion and division 
 of sentiment prevail regarding the nature of the 
 office ; the relations which the Deacons sustain to 
 the church and to the ministry ; and the duties 
 
THE DEACONSHIP. 17 
 
 they are properly called upon to perform. Nearly 
 all the churches have made them ministers of the 
 gospel. In the Roman Catholic church he is an 
 inferior ecclesiastic, the second in the sacred order, 
 who, with the permission of the bishop, has au- 
 thority to preach and baptize. In the EngUsh 
 church the Deacons are clergymen, but of the 
 lowest grade ; who can, however, perform all the 
 offices of priests, except the consecration of tha 
 sacred elements and the pronouncing of the abso- 
 lution. In the German Protestant churches, when 
 more ministers than one in the same congregation 
 are necessary, the second, or assistant minister, is 
 called the Deacon ; and if there are two assistants 
 the first is called the Arch-Deacon. In the Pres- 
 byterian church, the office is commonly merged in 
 that of ruling elder, and, therefore, mostly dis- 
 used. Where it is still retained, it embraces, as 
 among Congregationalists and others, merely the 
 disti-ibution of ahns. The Methodist and Epis- 
 copal churches in this country adopt, substantially, 
 on this subject, the practice of the English church, 
 of which they are descendants and modifications. 
 In the Baptist churches, the Deacons are not min- 
 isters who preach, on the one hand, nor mere 
 distributors of alms on the other, but serve in a 
 2* 
 
18 NATURE OF 
 
 different capacity. They are a board of directors, 
 and liave charge of all the secular affairs in the 
 kingdom of Christ. 
 
 This diversity is as painful, as it is extensive 
 and firmly fixed. I entertain no hope that, by 
 any thing that may be here said, I shall be able, 
 in the smallest degree, to bring the advocates of 
 these jarring opinions into harmony with each 
 other. I do not, desirable as it may be, even 
 aspire to such an object. My purpose is simply 
 to ascertain, and embody, the teachings of the 
 word of God on the whole subject, that we may 
 know, and do, the will of the Most High. 
 
 The nature of the Deaconship finds its chief, 
 and most prominent illustration in the history of 
 the origin of the office. By the acts there set 
 forth, as well as by all that appears in every other 
 part of the word of God, it will be fully seen 
 that, as the pastor has supervision of all the spiri- 
 tualities of the church, and is, therefore, overseer, 
 or bishop in that department; so the deacons 
 are overseers of all her temporalities, of which 
 they of right, have the full control. This was, 
 certainly, the form of organization in " the model 
 church at Jerusalem." 
 
 The first professors of the religion of Christ 
 
THE DEACONSHIP. 19 
 
 were well informed of tlie fact, often announced 
 to them by their Master, that their city was soon 
 to be destroyed, then* country overrun, and the 
 nation dispersed, so that their property M^ould be 
 of no further vahie to them. Besides this, they 
 subjected themselves, by uniting with Christ, 
 not only to persecution and excommunication 
 from the congregation of the Jews, but also to the 
 confiscation of all their earthly possessions. As 
 a measure of economy, precaution, and defence, 
 therefore, by which they could secure the means 
 of life for their own support, — " All that believed 
 were together, and had all things common ; and 
 sold their possessions and goods, and parted them 
 to all men as every man had need."* Thus, and 
 for these reasons, a large common fund was cre- 
 ated, the whole of which was placed in the hands 
 of " the twelve^ All the disciples, consequently, 
 of every class, were made dependent on the apos- 
 tles for their necessary sustenance. They were 
 obliged, in addition to all their spiritual duties, to 
 make, daily, an equitable disbursement to each in- 
 dividual — at least to every family — to supply the 
 wants of the whole multitude ! Some of the dis- 
 
 * Acts ii. 44, 45. 
 
20 NATURE OF 
 
 ciples, doubtless, probably many of them, had, 
 originally, no property, and brought nothing with 
 them into the common stock. Yet, such was the 
 pervading feeling of benevolence, that all were 
 made equal partakers in the benefits of the arrange- 
 ment. This guardianship devolved upon the 
 apostles, necessarily, a most laborious task. For 
 a season, however, they persevered in its per- 
 formance. But soon difficulties sprang up. 
 Charges of inattention, and partiality, were pre- 
 ferred against the Hebrews, in Avhich, probably, 
 the apostles felt themselves included. " A mur- 
 muring" arose "of the Grecians [Hellenistic 
 Jews] because their widows were neglected in 
 the daily ministrations."'* Their cares and toils, 
 before sufficiently arduous, now became insup- 
 portable. They instantly saw that they were in 
 danger of sacrificing their influence over the pub- 
 lic mind, by assuming to manage the temporal af- 
 fairs of the Christians. They found also another 
 impediment equally great. A large part of their 
 time, all of which they were sacredly bound to 
 devote to the preaching of the gospel, they were 
 now consuming in mere earthly matters. Thoy 
 
 * Acts vi. 1. 
 
THE DEACONSHIP. 21 
 
 determined, therefore, without delay, to change 
 the existing condition of things, and to provide 
 for these newly developed necessities of the 
 church. The measure devised, resulted, under 
 guidance of the Holy Spirit, in the institution of 
 the Deaconship. 
 
 "Then" — says Luke — "the twelve called the 
 multitude of the disciples unto them, and said : — 
 It is not reason that we should leave the word of 
 God and serve tables [j^taxovhv r^artl^atj — deacon 
 tables']. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out among 
 you, seven men of honest report, full of the Holy 
 Ghost, and wisdom, whom we may appouit over 
 this business. But we will give ourselves, con- 
 tinually, to prayer, and to the ministry of the 
 word. And the saying pleased the whole multi- 
 tude. And they chose Stephen, a man full of 
 faith, and the Holy Ghost, and Philip, and Pro- 
 chorus, and Nicanor, and Timon, and Parmenas, 
 and Nicolas, a proselyte of Antioch, whom they 
 set before the aposdes ; and when they had 
 prayed, they laid their hands on them. And the 
 word of God increased ; and the number of the 
 disciples multiplied in Jerusalem gi'eatly ; and a 
 great company of the priests were obedient to the 
 
 faith."* 
 
 » Acts vi. 2-7. 
 
^ NATURE OF 
 
 Such is, briefly, the inspired history of the 
 origin of the Deaconship. We learn from it the 
 incontestible fact that the first deacons were not 
 appointed as ministers of the gospel, nor with any 
 intention of their ever becoming such. If some 
 of them subsequently preached, they did so, not 
 in their character as deacons, but by virtue of au- 
 thority afterwards conferred upon them as evan- 
 gelists. To this topic we shall have occasion to 
 recur, and will, therefore, not now pursue it. The 
 deacons were, on the other hand, appointed not 
 simply, as many maintain, to distribute the chari- 
 ties of the church ; but expressly and alone, to re- 
 lieve the apostles of temporal cares, by taking 
 charge of this department of the church's affairs. 
 Accordingly we see their duties defined, in the 
 reasons assigned for creating the office, as the op- 
 posite of those which they reserved to themselves. 
 If we^ said they, continue to " serve tables,^'' we 
 must " leave''' preaching " the word of God." 
 We cannot accomplish both. Let the Deacons 
 serve the " tables" of the people. They can do 
 that^ fully as well as we can, probably better. 
 " And we will give ourselves continually to prayer, 
 and to the ministry of the word" — exclusively to 
 the service of preaching the gospel. The deacons, 
 
THE DEACONSHIP. 23 
 
 therefore, were originally not preachers, nor 
 merely conservatxDrs for the poor, but had the ad- 
 ministration of the property of the church, which 
 they conducted, as the divinely authorized agents, 
 for the benefit of the whole community. 
 
 In these conclusions we are sustained, not only 
 by the Avord of God, but, also, by the involuntary 
 assent even of those who adopt a practice the op- 
 posite of that which we advocate. For example, 
 Burkitt, a deservedly popular commentator of the 
 English church, says : — " The deacons were, at 
 first, instituted for the service of the poor ; the 
 alms of the church were brought to the altar, the 
 deacons received them, and distributed them 
 among the aged, and impotent, from house to 
 house."* Here he fully confesses that they were 
 not ministers ; but he falls into the opposite error. 
 Dr. Dick, in his Theology, remarks, on this sub- 
 ject, " It is true, indeed, that, as the design of the 
 institution was not to divert the attention of the 
 apostles from the ministry of the word, the care 
 of all temporal matters m which the church is 
 concerned, may be considered as belonging to 
 deacons."t Why, then, it may be asked, have 
 
 * On 1 Tim. iii. 8. t Vol. ii. p. 498-9. 
 
24 NATURE OF 
 
 the Presbyterians generally, of which community 
 Dr. Dick was a distinguished member, no dea- 
 cons. He himself, under a misconception of the 
 nature of the office, like that of Burkitt, explains* 
 — Deacons " were specially appointed solely for 
 the poor. In some congregations there are no 
 poor ; in others they are very few in number ; 
 and where they most abound, they can be at- 
 tended to by the elders." In the Encyclopedia 
 Americana, a deacon is described thus : — " A 
 person who belongs to the inferior order of minis- 
 ters in the church. Seven were first instituted by 
 the apostles, which number was retained a long 
 time, in several churches. Their duty was to 
 serve in the agapss [love feasts] to distribute the 
 bread and wine to the communicants, and to dis- 
 pense alms. The office of the deacons, at first, 
 merely concerned things temporal!"! 
 
 We might thus pass through the whole circle 
 of the sects, showing that they all, in some way, 
 concede our doctrines to be correct, as to the ori- 
 ginal designs and purposes of the Deaconship, and 
 adducing their confessions that they have either 
 abolished the office, or changed its character and 
 
 * Ut supra. t Sub voce. 
 
THE DEACONSHIP. 25 
 
 duties. But these facts are so well known that 
 I deem it unnecessary further to prosecute this 
 particular topic. 
 
 Doubts, I proceed to remark, have been ex- 
 pressed whether the officers, the history of whose 
 appointment we have briefly recapitulated, were 
 the same with the deacons described in the epis- 
 tles. Dr. Mosheim, and others of his class, main- 
 tain that they were not. He alleges,* that dea- 
 cons existed before this time, and are spoken of 
 by Christt in the following passage : — " But ye 
 shall not be so ; but he that is greatest among you, 
 let him be as the younger ; and he that is chief, as 
 he that doth serve." Here the word younger 
 is »/!tdT£^o;', and for he that doth serve, biaxovmv. 
 The latter word he supposes to be unanswerably 
 explanatory of the former, and to denote here, 
 appropriately, the office of a deacon in the Chris- 
 tian church. Mn^cdj', also, the Greek word for 
 greatest, he considers as denoting a ruler, or 
 presbyter ; because it is explained by yjyovfiivo^, 
 chief, and contrasted to Siaxovuv. In conformity 
 to this interpretation, he supposed that the young 
 men, who carried Ananias and Sapphira to their 
 
 * Dwight's Theology, vol. iv. pp. 286, 287, 288. 
 t Luke xiii. 26. 
 
 3 
 
26 NATURE OF 
 
 burial, were deacons in the proper sense. In sup- 
 port, and, as he thinks, in absolute confirmation 
 of this opinion, he observes, that Peter says :— 
 " And hkewise ye younger submit yourselves to 
 the elder, ^^ Here the words are cswrf^ot, and 
 rt^scj/SDrf^ot, the latter meaning, as he apprehends, 
 the elders of the church, and the former the dea- 
 cons. To all this he adds, that this sense of the 
 word j^fwtf^oi, might be confirmed by numberless 
 citations from Greek and Roman writers, and a 
 variety of authors, sacred and profane. From 
 these considerations. Dr. Mosheim concludes, 
 that there ivere deacons in the church anterior 
 to those whose appointment we have considered, 
 and that the seven were instituted only, or chiefly, 
 to remedy the disorders of the moment. 
 
 There are others who reject the exegeses of 
 Mosheim, but who arrive, by a different route, at 
 similar conclusions. They hold that the oflice 
 first filled by the seven, was originated by tempo- 
 rary disorders, and passed away with the commu- 
 nity of goods among the disciples. Afterwards 
 the appointment of deacons was, they imagine, 
 discretionary, and might be wholly discontinued 
 without injury. Dr. Dick expresses their opinion 
 when he says : — " In some parts of the church the 
 
THE DEACONSHIP. 27 
 
 office of deacon is retained, but in others it is not ; 
 and the want of it has been represented as a crun- 
 inal omission. But the institution arose out of 
 particular circumstances, and may, therefore, be 
 dispensed with where these do not exist." *' The 
 poor," he adds, " where they are found, can be 
 attended to by the elders, who, on the principle 
 that an inferior office is comprehended in a supe- 
 rior, possess the power of deacons, as ministers 
 possess the power of elders. This" — concludes 
 Dr. Dick — " is our apology for not having deacons 
 in our congregations, and it seems to be satisfac- 
 tory."* 
 
 To this reasoning of the Scotch divine, and 
 those who adhere to him, we reply, summarily, 
 that it is based upon three palpable errors. First, 
 that the deacon's office originated in peculiar and 
 temporary circumstances ; secondly, that, where 
 these circumstances are supposed not to exist, the 
 church may abolish it ; and thirdly, that its duties 
 may be performed by higher officers, whose offices 
 necessarily include the lower ! These errors are 
 too obvious to need refutation. 
 
 But the expositions of Dr. Mosheim, by which 
 he proposes to estabUsh the existence of deacons 
 * Theology, vol. ii. p. 499. 
 
28 NATURE OF 
 
 in the church before the ascension of Christ, de- 
 serve a more particular examination. They are 
 very ingenious, but they labor under one capital 
 defect — they are entirely inapplicable ; his scrip- 
 ture passages have not the remotest reference to 
 the Deaconship. Every one must see, on turning 
 to his texts, that their whole design was, not to 
 teach any thing with regard to the Deaconship, 
 but to inculcate upon the disciples those lessons 
 of humility, so necessary both for them and for 
 us. When Christ, and his apostles, tell us, that 
 in the church of the Redeemer, " the greatest is 
 bound to feel and act as a youth, or child, ought 
 to feel and act ; and that he who is chief ought to 
 behave with the modesty and humility of him 
 whose business it is to serve," we are charmed 
 with the beautiful lesson inculcated ; and cannot 
 but be surprised that any one, by a sublimated 
 process of criticism, should think of turning it 
 aside from its purpose, and especially of finding 
 in it a class of ecclesiastical officers nowhere re- 
 corded, at the time, as having an existence ! Is it 
 not incredible, that Christ should, in the days of 
 his flesh, have formed an order of officers in his 
 church, by his own immediate appointment, and 
 yet that no writer of the New Testament, except 
 
THE DEACONSHIP. 29 
 
 in distant and incomprehensible allusions, should 
 have furnished us any account of a procedure so 
 important ? Besides, in the act of choosing the 
 deacons, the history of which we have considered, 
 there is not the least allusion to any pre-existing 
 officers of that title or character. On the contrary, 
 the idea is forbidden by the spirit of the whole 
 transaction. 
 
 It is perfectly certain, therefore, that up to the 
 time we have indicated, there were no deacons in 
 the church. It is equally clear, that those then 
 appointed were not designed to serve a mere tem- 
 porary purpose, but were to be continued in the 
 church, and are as necessary now as they were 
 when first instituted. 
 
 ' Was the Deaconship originated to remedy the 
 disorders growing out of the community of goods 
 merely, and to pass away with that condition of 
 things ? I cannot see how any one can seriously 
 entertain this opinion, since long after the disci- 
 ples had ceased to have "all things common," 
 and there were no longer any disorders on this 
 account, the office -was still existing in all the 
 churches. In the epistles it is famiUarly spoken 
 of, and especially in the first epistle to Timothy, 
 written at least thirty years after the disciples had 
 3* 
 
30 NATURE OF 
 
 exhausted their common property, and the com- 
 munity of goods was no more. To the close of 
 the apostohc age it was inculcated and required. 
 The qualifications necessary to be possessed by 
 those who are elevated to the office, are minutely 
 described, and the ministry admonished to be ex- 
 tremely cautious as to the character of tlie men 
 upon whom they conferred this dignity. The 
 moral, religious, and intellectual endowments of 
 the officer ; the duties of his station ; his respon- 
 sibihties ; and the importance of his fidelity ; as 
 enumerated and enforced by Paul, are essentially 
 the same with those stated at the origination of 
 the office, and prove, beyond question, that it was 
 the same officer. 
 
 Let us advert to three additional facts, in proof 
 that the perpetuation of the Deaconship in the 
 church is positively indispensable. 
 
 Every church, in the first place, must, in the 
 nature of things, own more or less common pro- 
 perty and funds, for the management of which the 
 services of deacons are essential. She must pos- 
 sess a place of worship ; and she must create and 
 sustain a ti-easury, because it is necessary that she 
 support her pastor, that she succor and relieve her 
 poor, that she meet her incidental expenses, and 
 
THE DEACONSHIP. 31 
 
 tliat she aid iii the general dissemination of the 
 gospel. Who, in all this, is to superintend and 
 direct affairs to the proper issue ? God has ap- 
 pointed for this special purpose the Deacons ; 
 therefore their ofnce must be perpetually continued 
 ill the church. 
 
 The terapoi;al affairs of the church, secondly, 
 camiot, as experience fully teaches, noiu be admin- 
 istered by the pastors, witliout subjcctuig them to 
 tlie same difficulties tliat beset the apostles. Either 
 tliey will be fatally neglected by them, and great 
 injury ensue ; or a very large part of their time 
 will be thereby engrossed, wliich is not admissible, 
 since the whole is appropriated, by the King in 
 zion, to the preaching of the word. The deacons 
 must therefore be retained. 
 
 And, lastly, the law enactmg the Deaconship 
 has never been repealed, changed, or modified in 
 any way. It is still in full force, and if disre- 
 garded by us, we become, on that account, criminal 
 before God. Indeed, no church, without deacons 
 to preside over its temporal affairs, is legally or 
 fully organized, or can properly claim to be in 
 every respect, Christ's church. 
 
 The perpetuation of the Deaconship, therefore, 
 
32 NATURE OF 
 
 in its original forai, and with its primitive duties, 
 is as obligatory as any other portion of the word 
 of God. 
 
 When we look around us we see, almost every 
 where, other and unauthorized officers introduced 
 into the church to do their work ; the deacons, 
 where they exist at all, diverted from it ; and en- 
 gaged in other duties than those they were origi- 
 nally appointed to perform. I cannot but lament 
 this perversion, so generally prevalent, since it 
 must inevitably result in deep and lasting injury to 
 the cause it is designed to subserve. What God 
 appoints is always best for his people. To devise 
 a plan of our own, and to substitute it for his, is 
 to commit the folly of assuming to be more wise, 
 and to understand better the wants of his church 
 than Christ himself! Remove the deacons, either 
 by transferring them to the ministry or in any other 
 way, and the pecuniary interests of religion, al- 
 ways extensive and important, must revert to the 
 clergy, be wholly neglected, or be under the con- 
 trol of men who have no authority in the pre- 
 mises. In either case the word of God is 
 contemned, and the rights of both the church and 
 the ministry are abused and injured. We are dis- 
 
THE DEACONSIIIP. 33 
 
 obedient, presumptuous, and the blessing of God 
 is jusdy forfeited. The evil is inevitable and aggra- 
 vated. 
 
 Thus have we seen the nature of the Deacon- 
 ship illustrated in a definition as to what the office 
 really is ; the variety of opinions entertained in 
 relation to it ; and our own doctrine and practice 
 on the subject ; also in the history of its origin, 
 the necessity of its perpetuation in the church, 
 and the injury wJiich must always result when it 
 is diverted from its original design. Let us, Be- 
 loved brethren, understand ourselves upon this 
 subject ; adhere unwaveringly to the word of God ; 
 maintain the Deaconship in its original fonii and 
 with its primitive purposes ; and we may confi- 
 dently anticipate upon " our works of faith, and 
 labors of love," the rich blesshig of our Heavenly 
 Father. 
 
34 QUALIFICATIONS FOR 
 
 CHAPTER II. 
 
 THE QUALIFICATIONS FOR THE DEACONSHIP. 
 
 The conjugal relations of the candidate. — His general re- 
 putation. — His religious character. — His orthodoxy. — 
 His intellectual endowments. — His government of his 
 family, and general conduct of his own temporal affairs. 
 
 The success of an officer must always depend, 
 mainly, upon his qualifications to perform the 
 duties of his office. Incompetent or unfaithful 
 men, either in the Deaconship or the ministry, 
 invariably prove an incubus upon the cause their 
 appointment was intended to promote. The apos- 
 tles, guided by these considerations, describe with 
 careful particularity the endowments necessary to 
 be possessed to fit a man for this distinguished 
 station. To the church in Jerusalem they said 
 that they must be : — " Men of honest report, full 
 of the Holy Ghost, and wisdom."* And Paul 
 charged Timothy thus : — " The Deacons must be 
 
 * Acts vi. 3. 
 
THE DEACONSHIP. 35 
 
 grave, not double tongued, not given to much 
 wine, not greedy of filthy kicre ; holding the mys- 
 tery of the faith in a pure conscience. And let 
 these also first be proved, then let them use the 
 office of a deacon, being found blameless. Even 
 so must their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, 
 faithful in all things. Let the deacons be the 
 husbands of one wife, ruling their children and 
 their own houses well. For they that have used 
 the office of a deacon well, purchase to themselves 
 a good degree, and great boldness in the faith which 
 is in Christ Jesus. These things write I unto 
 thee, hoping to come unto thee shordy ; but, if I 
 tarry long, that thou mayest know how thou 
 oughtest to behave thyself in the house of God."* 
 
 Thus briefly are set forth in the Scriptures, the 
 qualifications for the Deaconship. The subject 
 presents six distinct points, which we will proceed 
 to consider separately. 
 
 Whether the qualifications of a brother render 
 him eligible to the Deaconship, is, in the first 
 place, determined by the character of his conjugal 
 relations. 
 
 On this part of our subject we are thus admo- 
 
 • 1 Tim. iii. 8-14. 
 
36 QUALIFICATIONS FOR 
 
 nished : — " Even so must their wives be grave, 
 not slanderers, sober, faithful in all things. Let 
 the deacons be the husbands of one wife." Upon 
 the first sentence in this text — " Even so must 
 their wives be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful 
 in all things" — opinions are at variance. But our 
 best and most judicious biblical critics have decided 
 that it does not refer to the deacons' loives, but 
 to another class of women mistaken for them by 
 our translators. It is evident, however, that every 
 man must be, more or less, influenced for good or 
 for evil by his wife. If she does not maintain a 
 reputable character, prudence at least would dic- 
 tate, that the husband should not be placed in a 
 position which will bring her so in contact with 
 the church as to injure the cause of religion. It 
 is exceedingly desirable that the wives of deacons, 
 and the wives of all other christian men, should 
 fully correspond with the apostolic description. 
 This all, for very many reasons, will franldy con- 
 fess. Next to the religion of Christ, a pious, 
 intelligent, exemplary, zealous, devoted, afl^ec- 
 tionate wife, is the most precious gift of God. 
 Happy is that man who is blessed with such a 
 companion through life's weary pilgrimage. But 
 why, if the passage does not describe the wives 
 
THE DEACOXSHIP. 37 
 
 of deacons, should our translators have so repre- 
 sented it ? I know not. The church to which 
 they all belonged, had dispensed with the Deacon- 
 ship m its original form, and had made the officer 
 a clerg}-man. Supposing, as we may conjecture, 
 that a minister's wife ought to be such a woman 
 as Paul describes, and as it is not required of the 
 bishops, and since with them bishops are made 
 of deacons, they determined that it must be re- 
 quired of deacons ! This might probably have 
 been the motive for our present version. 
 
 We have four reasons for believing that the pas- 
 sage does not refer to the ivives of the deacons. 
 With these we will content ourselves at present, 
 and will resume the subject in a subsequent 
 chapter. 
 
 In the first place, the inspired original will not 
 sustain the interpretation. The literal rendering 
 is simply — " Let the women likewise be grave,'* 
 &c. Wh^it women? The conclusion is as na- 
 tural that the apostle meant some other women as 
 the wives of the deacons. 
 
 Secondly, the wives of the deacons are ex- 
 pressly spoken of in the next verse, and therefore, 
 probably not in this. 
 
 4 
 
38 QUALIFICATIONS FOR 
 
 Thirdly, it is not rational to conclude that more, 
 on the score of religion and fidelity, would be 
 demanded as to the wives of deacons than as to 
 those of bishops, and no such requirements are 
 challenged of the wives of bishops. 
 
 Lastly, it is the opinion of expositors generally, 
 in which I feel myself obliged to concur, that the 
 apostle delineates those female assistants to dea- 
 cons, usually called Deaconesses, of whom we 
 read in several other places in the New Testament, 
 whom we know existed in the apostolic churches, 
 and of whom we hear so much in the writings of 
 the early Christian fathers. He was describing 
 the qualifications of deacons, and continues his 
 theme down to this verse ; here he portrays " the 
 WOMEN ;" and in the next place the deacons' 
 wives. By these " ivomen^^ therefore, he must 
 have meant the Deaconesses, who, like the Dea- 
 cons, must be grave, not slanderers, sober, faithful 
 in all things. But more of this hereafter. We 
 dismiss the passage as having no direct reference 
 to the wives of deacons. 
 
 If we do not materially err in these expositions, 
 the only text which speaks of the conjugal rela- 
 tions of the deacons simply restricts them to one 
 wife, without any especial direction as to what 
 
THE DEACONSHIP. 39 
 
 shall be hex character, — " Let the deacons be the 
 husbands of one icife.''^ 
 
 Does this apostolic injunction make it neces- 
 sar}', to qualify a brother for the Deaconship, that 
 he shall actually have a wife ? A misapprehen- 
 sion of the nature of the instructions here given, 
 has led, in various quarters, to some singular 
 errors. Supposing that a wife is necessary to a 
 deacon, the JMoravian church, the Reformed Dutch 
 church, and some of our own churches, always 
 require it. They indeed frequently go so far as 
 to conclude, that it disqualifies him if he has lost 
 his wife, or if he has been married a second time ! 
 AU tliis, however, is inconsistent both with reason 
 and the true meaning of Scripture. If the deacon 
 must be a married man, so also must the bishop. 
 The same authority that enjoins it in the one case, 
 enjoins it, and in the same words also, in the other. 
 " A bishop [a pastor] then, must be blameless, 
 the husband of one wife^'^ Yet who among us 
 supposes that a minister is, for want of a wife, dis- 
 qualified to assume the pastorship ? It not unfire- 
 quently happens that the same churches that refuse 
 to admit a single man to the Deaconship, receive 
 without scruple an unmarried pastor ! Such in- 
 * 1 Tim. iii. 1. 
 
40 QUALIFICATIONS FOR 
 
 consistencies prove a very great want of reflection, 
 as well as inadequate conceptions of the word of 
 God. The meaning of the passage is plain. It 
 commands, not that the deacon shall have a wife, 
 but that, if he be married, he shall not, at the 
 same time, have tAvo or more wives, but that he 
 shall have but " one wife.'" 
 
 But why this special admonition on such a 
 subject, since no deacon in our age or country 
 can possibly, according to law, have more than one 
 wife at a time ? No one would think of making 
 a man a deacon who has two ivives! This 
 restriction, however, let it be remembered, did not 
 always exist, and does not even now in oriental 
 countries, where polygamy is still permitted by 
 their governments and practised by the people. 
 Our Creator, in the beginning, purposed that every 
 man should have his own wife, and every woman 
 her own husband. Unhappily, not many centu- 
 ries were counted in the world's history, before 
 this wise and salutary provision began to be pain- 
 fully perverted. Men married as many wives as 
 they felt inclined, and the practice prevailed in all 
 nations. Israel offered no exception to this gene- 
 ral deparhire. Ultimately polygamy found its 
 way every where, even among the most pious of 
 
THE DEACONSHIP. 41 
 
 the servants of God. David, for example, had 
 many wives ; Solomon had several hundred ; and 
 up to the days of the apostles, every man had as 
 many as he was disposed to take. Among those 
 who professed religion and joined the primitive 
 churches, there were doubtless not a few wlio had 
 more wives than one. It would have been strange 
 if they had not had. I submit, with deference, 
 whether it is likely, for many reasons which may 
 readily be imagined, that every one who joined 
 the Christians was required to separate from all 
 but one of his wives. No such law was enacted 
 at the time, and had it been, its enforcement in the 
 then condition of things would, in many cases, 
 have- been attended with incalculable suffering. 
 
 However tliis may have been, it was the pur- 
 pose of Christ to abolish polygamy, and to restore 
 marriage to its original state. In accordance with 
 this intention, the Scriptures peremptorily prohibit 
 every unmarried person from taking hut one wife, 
 and if a man had more than one, although he 
 might have retained his position as a private mem- 
 ber, it was a perpetual disqualification for both the 
 ministry and the Deaconship — and, indeed, for 
 any other sacred office. This is the meaning of 
 the apostle when he says — "Let the deacons be 
 4* 
 
42 QUALIFICATIONS FOR 
 
 the husbands of one wife." If any man could 
 deliberately disregard the authority of Jesus Christ 
 in the matter of marriage, this was testimony suf- 
 ficient of his unfitness for the Dcaconship. The 
 spirit of the injunction, as it apphes to us, is, that 
 lie who is not pure in his conjugal relations, is 
 not to be placed in authority in the church. He 
 must partake, more or less, of the temper and 
 moral feelings of his family. The possibihty of 
 his being " spiritually minded" is precluded. 
 How can he cultivate such a knowledge of the 
 word of God as is essential to " soundness in the 
 faith ?" He cannot be a deacon. 
 
 The qualifications of a brother for the Deacon- 
 sliip are, in the second place, to be determined by 
 his general reputation. 
 
 The deacons, said " the twelve''^ to the church 
 in Jerasalem, at the institution of the office, must 
 be " rnen of honest report. ^^ This, however, is 
 a somewhat vague definition. More definiteness 
 is necessary. To what particular points does it 
 refer ? la another place we have the requisite 
 information. Paul charges Timothy thus : — 
 "The deacons must be grave, [of sedate and 
 dignified carriage and deportment,] not double 
 tongued, [speaking one thing to one person and 
 
THE DEACONSIIIP. 43 
 
 another to another, on the same subject — one 
 thmg in your presence and another in your ab- 
 sence,] not given to much wine, [so using intoxi- 
 cating drinks as in any way to endanger their 
 habits of the most perfect temperance,] not greedy 
 of fikhy lucre, [_'' m awx^oxe^Ssis, — not desirous 
 of base gain,''^ — not employing base and unjus- 
 tifiable means to enlarge their revenues,] holding 
 the mystery of the faith in a pure conscience, [so 
 acting and believing, as to have habitually a con- 
 science void of offence towards God and towards 
 men]. Let these also first be proved; [have 
 given, as private members of the church, suffi- 
 cient evidence of character, capacity, and readi- 
 ness to act ;] then let them use the office of a 
 deacon, being found blameless." They must be 
 endowed with all the moral qualities here enu- 
 merated as entering into the character of a man 
 " of honest report," and they must, in addition, 
 have the reputation of possessing them — not with 
 the church only, but also with the world — " Hav- 
 ing a good report of them that are Avithout." This, 
 at the first glance, will probably appear to be a 
 hard condition. But it will not be so considered 
 when we come to remember that every man really 
 is, as a general rule, what he has the reputation 
 
44 QUALIFICATIONS FOR 
 
 of being, especially among those who are most 
 famihar with him in the details of life. 
 . To the success of a minister, an irreproachable 
 moral character every where is aljsolutely essen- 
 tial. Without it, there must necessarily be such a 
 general wa-nt of confidence in his integrity and 
 sincerity as wiU close the hearts of all who hear 
 him. He has not " a good report of those who are 
 without." Therefore, by his preaching, he rather 
 dishonors Christ than advances the cause of reli- 
 gion. The multitudes will think him a hypocrite, 
 and to all his instructions and "exhortations they 
 will reply with the old proverb — " Physician heal 
 thyself." He must be known as a man of ex- 
 emplary piety. " A statue upon the house top 
 must be larger than life, or it will appear to be 
 much smaller." So those who are ever sub- 
 jected to the public gaze, elevated in conspicuous 
 stations in the church, must be more religious than 
 other men, or they will appear much less so. 
 These considerations apply with equal force to 
 the deacons. They too must be " men of honest 
 report.-" If he is light, vain, and frivolous in his 
 intercourse — not grave ; if, on the same subject, 
 he give different representations, not confinmg 
 himself to strict truth — is double tongued ; if he 
 
THE DEACONSHIP. 45 
 
 drink intoxicating spirits, so as, even remotely, to 
 bring his tentiperance into question — is given to 
 much ivine ; if he avail himself of any low or 
 undue means to increase his wealth — is greedy 
 of Jilthy lucre ; he is effectually disqualified for 
 the Deaconship. Such a man can never acquire 
 or maintain that influence over the public mind 
 which the oflice demands ; he cannot inculcate, 
 successfully, a pure morality ; nor can he offer, in 
 his life, such an example as will do honor to the 
 cause of Christ. All these considerations require 
 that the deacons should be, and should have the 
 reputation of being, men of unsullied honor. 
 
 Other and paramount reasons exist why the 
 deacons should support an unimpeached, and un- 
 impeachable, moral character — should be, indeed, 
 "above suspicion." 
 
 They are the depositaries of all the common 
 property and funds of the church; to supply the 
 necessities of the destitute and suffering, they fre- 
 quently receive contributions, disburse them at 
 discretion, and no account is given, or expected to 
 be rendered by them ; and no remedy exists at 
 law by which they can, in these, or, indeed, in 
 any case, be compelled to fidelity. The whole 
 church and congregation must, therefore, have in 
 
46 QUALIFICATIONS FOR 
 
 their incorruptible integrity the most undoubting 
 confidence. If their characters, in any moral re- 
 spects, are equivocal, this defect amounts to a 
 disquahfication. They must be " men of honest 
 report.^^ 
 
 The third qualification respects the religious 
 character of the candidate for the Deaconsliip. 
 
 Men of distinguished piety are demanded. 
 Than this, nothing less can surely be meant by 
 the phrase, — " Full of the Holy Ghost"' — in other 
 words, full of the gifts and "graces of the Spirit of 
 God. Those who are thus eminently endowed 
 possess sincere and unfailing religion, enjoy the 
 love of Christ dwelling richly in their hearts. Of 
 these acquirements the deacons, if they do their 
 duty, will have pressing necessity. What else 
 but the influence of the holiest affections can so at- 
 tach them to the cause as to induce them prompdy, 
 patiently, and from year to year, to prosecute 
 unwaveringly the many, and often extremely dis- 
 agreeable duties, which they are constantly called 
 upon to discharge ? . What else is there that is 
 likely to prevent them from indulging in those 
 neglects, to which unwilling nature so strongly 
 prompts, and which, when permitted, are always 
 so fatal to aU the interests of the religion of Christ ? 
 
THE DEACONSIIIP. 47 
 
 They can never be borne onward by motives of 
 worldly honor, because no temporal distinctions 
 await them. Neither can they be prompted to 
 duty by the influence of pecuniary reward. They 
 receive none. Their work is a gratuity. Yet they 
 must devote much of their time, make many per- 
 sonal sacrifices, bear a thousand perplexities, and 
 toil on, under every discouragement that may 
 beset them, unshrinking, and to the end ! Can 
 so much be expected from any but men of the 
 most exemplary piety? For these, and other 
 reasons, those who are appointed to the Deacon- 
 ship should, if possible, be like Stephen, — " Full 
 of faith, and of the Holy Ghost." 
 
 They must, in the fourth place, be men of 
 sound scriptural principles. 
 
 This characteristic in the qualifications requi- 
 site to the Deaconship, is enjoined with great 
 emphasis — " Holding the mystery of the faith." 
 They may be strict in their morals ; spiritual in 
 their feelings ; kind, courteous, and sincere in 
 their Christian intercourse ; regular and punctual in 
 the performance of all their duties ; and their hearts 
 deeply imbued with the love of Christ. But even 
 all this is not enough, if it is not accompanied by 
 
48 QUALIFICATIONS FOR 
 
 orthodoxy in their Christian doctrine — they must 
 " hold the mystery of the faith." 
 
 This requisition necessarily involves more than 
 a very limited knoAvledge of the word of God. 
 How salutary, how indispensable to us all, is the 
 prayerful and careful study of divine revelation ? 
 " Search the Scriptures," said the Redeemer, " for 
 in them ye think ye have eternal life, and they 
 are they which testify of me." Without this we 
 can form no stable system of theology, and our 
 conduct, which is always based upon our princi- 
 ples, must be vacillating and unsteady. In our 
 day, indeed, many professors of religion appear, 
 doubtless in consequence of a want of competent 
 information, to have hardly any definite doctrinal 
 principles. Periodical excitements are looked to 
 for almost every purpose. They carry us for- 
 ward upon their resistless tide. As a natural 
 result, our religion has assumed a spasmodic cha- 
 racter, and seems to consist mostly, if not alto- 
 gether, in feeling. With that denomination which 
 happens to be convenient, therefore, the great mass, 
 when they profess religion, unite themselves. 
 They make, generally, almost no inquiry, are 
 rarely informed what that church believe, they 
 
THE DEACONSHIP. 49 
 
 nevertheless profess to receive and to cherish their 
 doctrines ! Church membership has, in conse- 
 quence, assumed a painful instability ; and the 
 tendencies to all descriptions of fanaticism are 
 every where apparent. Who but the leading mem- 
 bers of our churches — the deacons especially — » 
 are to stay this overwhelming tide of evil ? And 
 can they do it unless they are thoroughly fixed in 
 the truth as it is in Jesus ? 
 
 What the doctrines are that constitute the sum 
 of " the mystery of the faith," it is, of course, not 
 proper for me here to describe. The attempt 
 would, necessarily, occupy by far too much space. 
 I may barely remark, that they are such as the 
 distinction of persons in the Godhead, the divine 
 Sonship, the proper Divinity, and the distinct per- 
 sonality of Christ; the Deity, personality, and 
 work of the Holy Spirit ; the unity of God ; the 
 incarnation of Christ, and the union of the two 
 natures in him ; the vicariousness of his sacrifice ; 
 justification by faith alone, through the merits of 
 Christ ; the duty of obedience to all the ordinances 
 and commandments ; the resurrection of the body, 
 and everlasting life. In these, and such like doc- 
 trines of the gospel, it is necessary, to quahfy a 
 5 
 
50 QUALIFICATIONS FOR 
 
 man for the Deaconship, tliat he be thoroughly 
 orthodox. 
 
 Yet other reasons also require it. The influ- 
 ence which the deacons exert in the churches is 
 to be considered. Should they be unsound in the 
 faith it will not be difficult for them to find adhe- 
 rents, and thus bring additional evils into the 
 body. They may, therefore, if defective "in 
 the faith," instead of becoming a blessing, prove 
 a source of the greatest injuries — perhaps over- 
 whelm and destroy the church itself. 
 
 The deacons will also be called frequently, espe- 
 cially in private— even more frequently it may be 
 than the pastor — to defend the peculiar doctrines 
 of the gospel. This they can never do if they 
 are wanting in orthodoxy. On the contrary, every 
 attempt of the kind would necessarily inflict a new 
 and dangerous wound, because it would be a new 
 advocacy of error, and an increased dissemination 
 of false principles. 
 
 They will be called upon to instruct the erring 
 and the weak, to confirm the strong, and to estab- 
 lish the wavering. They must, therefore, not be 
 unsteady or eccentric in their tenets ; disposed, 
 for any reason, to compromise truth ; nor, on the 
 
THE DEACONSHIP. 51 
 
 Other hand, dogmatical and overbearing in its de- 
 fence, but gentle, firm, and decided. 
 
 On these and many other accounts, it will be 
 seen that the deacons must be men who hold 
 unwaveringly " the mystery of the faith." 
 
 The qualifications for the Deaconship consist, 
 in the fifth place, in intellectual capacity. * 
 
 He who is chosen to that ofiice must be, — 
 " Full of wisdom." Such is the apostohc admo- 
 nition to the church in Jerusalem, and " it was 
 written for our learning." 
 
 The term wisdom, as it occurs in this passage, 
 does not, I presume, refer exclusively, or even pri- 
 marily, to what is popularly known as human 
 leamuig, or cultivation in the arts, sciences, and 
 literature. Learning, I will confess, is very desir- 
 able ; and yet instances often occur in which it is 
 possessed profoundly, but blended with very litde 
 practical good sense ! That kind of wisdom is 
 doubtless meant, Avhich will give them ability to 
 manage the interests involved in their office, so 
 as, on the one hand, to avoid all unnecessary diffi- 
 culties, and on the other, by selecting the most 
 appropriate measures, to gain, in the surest possi- 
 ble manner, the ends proposed. Literary acquire- 
 
52 QUALIFICATIONS FOR 
 
 ments, to any considerable extent, are not essential 
 to the Deaconship, consequently, because they do 
 not impart the peculiar powers required. And 
 besides this, deacons are not, as ministers are, 
 professionally teachers of the people. Frequently 
 too, persons are found whose scientific advantages 
 liave been very limited, but who, nevertheless, 
 have acquired much wisdom — much of that dis- 
 criminating perception of the character of men 
 and things, which prepares them to act well the 
 part assigned them in ecclesiastical as well as tem- 
 poral affairs. Such is the wisdom demanded for 
 the Deaconship. 
 
 The necessity for careful attention in this re- 
 spect will be the more apparent to all, if we con- 
 sider that without the capacity here required the 
 deacons will never comprehend the nature, obliga- 
 tions, and extent of their duties. Enlarged views, 
 a just appreciation of the objects proposed, and 
 clear perceptions of the measures to be adopted 
 to secure them, are indispensable. Otherwise 
 they will be, as but too many already are, of little 
 or no value. The time for action ; the manner 
 of proceeding ; and how far any particular enter- 
 prise should be prosecuted ; demand wise counsels. 
 
THE DEACONSHIP, 53 
 
 These are some of the considerations that make 
 it necessary tliat the deacons be men " Full of 
 wisdom." 
 
 No one, in the sixth and last place, should be 
 selected as a deacon, who does not, in the manage- 
 ment of his own personal affairs, give promise of 
 efficiency and fidelity in his sacred office. 
 
 Look around you. Examine into the private 
 affairs of those you would place in authority. 
 Mark the apostolic porti-ait. — " Ruling their chil- 
 dren and their own houses well." " Let them 
 first be proved ; then let them use the office of a 
 deacon." As of a minister, so of a deacon : — 
 " Not a novice, lest being lifted up with pride, he 
 fall into the condemnation of the devil." When 
 the apostle instructs us that they must " first be 
 proved," he does not intunate that they must, pre- 
 viously to their ordination, have exercised the 
 office, and thus have evinced their qualifications ; 
 but simply, that none be elected until, as private 
 members of the church and otherwise, they have 
 given full proof of their character, religion, ortho- 
 doxy, wisdom, and ability, as well as their readi- 
 ness to do the work of the Deaconship. 
 
 The admonition now under consideration is by 
 no means singular. Others, besides the church, 
 5* 
 
54 QUALIFICATIONS FOR 
 
 are accustomed to look to a man's family govern- 
 ment, and to his general management of his own 
 concerns, as criteria by which to determine his 
 fitness for particular pursuits, his energy and the 
 probability of his success. If we desire a partner 
 in business ; or if we find it necessary to intinist 
 our affairs to the guidance of another person ; our 
 thouglits involuntarily turn to such considerations. 
 If he is defective here, we hesitate to proceed. 
 The same principles hold good in religion. If a 
 man comes short in his own matters, " how shall 
 he take care of the church of Christ?" Has 
 he not promptness, energy, firmness, discretion 1 
 Has he not influence enough with his children to 
 govern them ? Has he not the requisite command 
 over his servants ? Is his business left at loose 
 ends to drag itself along ? Is he seldom ready to 
 meet his engagements at the proper time ? Then, 
 in these respects, his character is the reverse of 
 that which the word of God requires for a deacon. 
 Whatever of influence he would exert with his 
 brethren would tend to diffuse in the church his 
 own defects, and thus deprive her of more than 
 half of her strength. 
 
 Would you secure the services of an efficient 
 deacon, M*ho will conduct the church's affairs sue- 
 
THE DEACONSHIP. 55 
 
 cessfuUy ? Select that brother who, if in other 
 respects he is of the proper character, has his 
 family, — his children and servants — under a regu- 
 lar, mild, and firm government ; in whose house- 
 hold economy, benevolence, and regularity, bear 
 rule ; who conducts his own business with skill 
 and success ; and who attends promptly, honor- 
 ably, and energetically, to all his duties as a man. 
 He is " proved, and found blameless — ruling his 
 children and his own house well. — Let him use 
 the ofBce of a deacon." 
 
 Such are the scriptural quaUfications for the 
 Deaconship. Let us recapitulate. — Those who 
 are appointed to this office must be pure in their 
 conjugal relations ; they must be men of unble- 
 mished general reputation ; men of devout piety ; 
 men of sound ortliodoxy in prmciple ; men who 
 are wise as to the character of men and things ; 
 and who conduct well their own household and 
 business affairs. Will it be objected to me that 
 brethren who fully answer to this description can 
 be very seldom found, and that if all these qualifi- 
 cations are insisted upon, many churches can have 
 no deacons at all ? This supposition is, I think, 
 mistaken ; but even were it not, it would in no 
 way change the case, as it is presented before us 
 
56 QUALIFICATIONS, ETC. 
 
 in the divine record. I have held up before you 
 the inspired standard, by which your judgment 
 is to be formed. Shall the law be lowered in its 
 obligations, because we may imagine that few 
 men, if measured by it, would not be found want- 
 ing ? As well might we bring down the divine 
 standard of Christian excellence, and think to 
 adjust it to the prevailing character of Christian 
 morals ? Such a course is not admissible. Let 
 the churches select as their deacons those brethren 
 who, in their judgment, approach nearest the in- 
 spired rule ; and let all — Deacons and people — 
 seek earnestly to reach it — press ever " towards 
 the mark for the prize of their high calling of 
 God in Christ Jesus." 
 
FORMS OF ELECTION. 57 
 
 CHAPTER III. 
 
 THE FORMS OF ELECTION AND ORDINATION TO 
 THE DEACONSHIP. 
 
 By whom Deacons are to be elected. — Each separate con- 
 gregation a true church. — Every church independent. — 
 Instructions before election. — Manner of election. — 
 Checks and balances in government. — Ordaining form. 
 — Instructions after ordination. — Duty of adhering to 
 Apostolic form. 
 
 By whom are the deacons to be elected and ap- 
 pointed ? This is our next inquiry. I answer, 
 they are to be elected by that particular church in 
 which they are to serve, and they are to be ap- 
 pointed, or ordained, by the pastor, aided by such 
 other ministers as the church may invite for that 
 purpose. 
 
 Every separate congregation of believers, or- 
 ganized, with its appropriate officers, united toge- 
 ther for the worship of God, embracing the doc- 
 trines and keeping the ordinances of Christ, as 
 
58 FORMS OF ELECTION 
 
 they were originally delivered to the saints, is a 
 true church of the Redeemer. As such, it pos- 
 sesses full and exclusive powers of ecclesiastical 
 jurisdiction over its members ; is independent of 
 any external authority, and for all its acts is re- 
 sponsible alone to its great Head in heaven. Than 
 this no truth in the word of God appears to me to 
 be more firmly established. Every such congre- 
 gation is a constituent part of the universal Church, 
 of which Jesus Christ is the sole lawgiver, ruler, 
 and judge. Where, in the divine record, is the 
 example found of one church claiming a right 
 of jurisdiction over another ? Nor is it any 
 where intimated that any such jurisdiction was 
 claimed, or exercised, by any body of ministers, 
 churches, or by the representatives of either, or of 
 both. Sessions, presbyteries, synods, conferences, 
 consistories, assemblies, and all similar bodies, 
 legislative and judicial, were wholly unknown in 
 the days of the apostles. Associations, conven- 
 tions, and even councils, have no power to go 
 further than to offer their advice. When convened 
 for any other purpose than to promote Christian 
 fellowship, and the prosecution, by uniting their 
 energies, of plans for the further and more effectual 
 preaching of the gospel, they are illegitimate, and 
 
AND ORDINATION. 59 
 
 should not receive our countenance. Let us, for 
 proof of tills postulate, refer briefly to the word 
 of God. The inspired record plainly shows, that 
 each church, guided by the divine law, conducted, 
 in apostolic times, its own discipline, elected its 
 own officers, and took all other necessary mea- 
 sures for its own prosperity and usefulness, and 
 for the dissemination abroad of the gospel of 
 Christ. But we descend to more particulaiity. 
 Referring to an instance of excommunication, Paul 
 says to the Corinthian church : — " In the name 
 of our Lord Jesus Christ, when ye are gathered 
 together, and my spirit, with the power of our 
 Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver such a one [a man 
 who had committed incest] unto Satan, for the 
 destruction of the flesh, that the spirit may be 
 saved in the day of the Lord Jesus."* By whom 
 was this excision to be made ? By the whole 
 church "gathered together," for which act they 
 had, with pastoral advice, " the power of our Lord 
 Jesus Christ." Similar discipline is involved in 
 the allusions of several other passages. " I 
 would," says an apostie to the Galatians, "that 
 they were even cut off" which trouble you ;"t 
 and he appeals to the church to carry liis advice 
 * 1 Cor. V. 4, 5. t Gal. v. 12. 
 
60 FORMS OF ELECTION 
 
 into effect. Expulsions from fellowship were, 
 therefore, made by the ivhole church. So, also, 
 were restorations. Speaking, in a second letter to 
 the Corinthians, of the same person, Paul thus 
 advises his readmission by them to fellowship : 
 — r-" Sufficient unto such a man is this punishment, 
 which was inflicted of many. Ye ought to for- 
 give him, and comfort him, lest, perhaps, such a 
 one should be swallowed up of overmuch sorrow. 
 Wherefore I beseech you that ye would confirm 
 your love towards him."* Was he not restored 
 by the church, as a church ? I may remark, that 
 in this act is implied the power of original admis- 
 sion, which seems to be also recognized in the 
 admonition to the Roman church: — "Him that is 
 weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful 
 disputations. "t I further observe, that the church, 
 as a body, transacted its own ordinary business. 
 Take two instances in proof. " When I come," 
 said Paul to one of them, " whomsoever ye shall 
 approve by your letters, them will I send to bring 
 your liberality." J And again, he says : — " We 
 have sent with him [Titus] the brother whose 
 praise is in the gospel, throughout all the churches ; 
 and not that only, but who was chosen of the 
 * 2 Cor. ii. 6, 7, 8. t Rom. xv. 1. $ 1 Cor. xvi. 3. 
 
AND ORDINATIOX. 61 
 
 churches to travel with us."* We go further 
 still. It is plain that the churches elected their 
 own pastors by a full suffrage, expressed by 
 \jisie^otovraMtif\\ Stretching forth the hand. This 
 is particularly mentioned of the churches in Derbe, 
 Lystra, Iconium, and others, planted by Paul and 
 Barnabas. What was true of their polity, was 
 certainly true of the polity of all. But the princi- 
 ples we have now set forth are confirmed, illus- 
 trated, and estabUshed, by the manner of electing 
 the deacons pursued by the church in Jerusalem.:}: 
 The act was performed, not by the ministry, or 
 by a conference, or a session, but by " the midti- 
 tilde of the disciples''' — all the members — com- 
 posing that church. It is not competent, then, to 
 be done — nor is it competent that appointments to 
 any other offices, nor the exercise of any acts ol 
 general discipline, be done — by the pastorship, by 
 any ninnber of the ministry, or any other body of 
 men ; but by the church only, and by that particu- 
 lar church, exclusively, in which the deacons are 
 to exercise their office. 
 
 I cannot but rejoice that our churches, every 
 where, on this subject, and all others of a kindred 
 character, are so universally jealous of their rights. 
 
 * 2 Cor. viii. 18, 19. t Acts xiv. 23. X Acts vi. 1. 
 6 
 
62 FORMS OF ELECTION 
 
 They are determined — ^may that determination re- 
 main firm for ever — that they shall not be usurped, 
 as they have been in so many of the sects aromid 
 us, and appropriated to themselves by an ambi- 
 tious and aspiring clergy. Let them carefully 
 maintain the principles of the word of God ; let 
 them be guided by its instructions ; and, with the 
 truth, the favor of Jehovah, and consequent pros- 
 perity, they will, with their own independence, 
 preserve also their usefulness, and continued peace 
 and happiness. 
 
 When deacons are to be elected in a new 
 church, or when, in consultation, in one already 
 established, between the pastor and the members, 
 it has been determined that the appointment of 
 additional deacons is necessary, their first duty is 
 to receive, from their accredited teacher, full in- 
 stinictions on the whole subject. This course is 
 important, not only because it is that adopted and 
 practised by the aposfles, but also because it is 
 necessary that, in all such cases, the members 
 should deliberate maturely, with a full knowledge 
 of the matter upon which they are about to act. A 
 false step in the selection of the permanent officers 
 of a church can seldom be retrieved, and must 
 always be productive of the most melancholy 
 
AND ORDINATION. 63 
 
 consequences. Many a church* has been tlius 
 overthrown, and the cause crushed, witliin the 
 cu-cle of its influence, for an age. In the proceed- 
 ings at Jerusalem — " The twelve called the multi- 
 tude of the disciples unto them, and said, It is not 
 reason that we should leave the word of God, and 
 serve tables. Wherefore, brethren, look ye out 
 among you seven men, of honest report, full of the 
 Holy Ghost, and wisdom, whom we may appoint 
 over this business, [the temporaUties of the 
 church,] but we will give ourselves continually to 
 prayer, and to the ministry of the word." These 
 are the topics, and their consideration should be 
 repeated whenever a similar duty is to be per- 
 formed. After ample time and means have been 
 afforded for reflection and decision, the church, as 
 a body, proceeds to the election. Whether the 
 choice at Jerusalem, which is our perpetual pre- 
 cedent, was made by direct vote, or by conversa- 
 tion and mutual agreement among themselves, is 
 matter of little consequence. We know, and that 
 is sufficient, that it was by the suffrage of the 
 whole body, and that all elections should still be 
 conducted in the same manner. 
 
 The persons designated by any particular 
 church to the Deaconship, must, to render them 
 
64 FORMS OF ELECTION 
 
 eligible, be members of its own body. " Look ye 
 out mnong you seven men." This admonition 
 should be invariably regarded, because otherwise 
 they may not be sufficiently known to the mem- 
 bers for them to be able to judge as to their quali- 
 fications ; and because their duties are to be con- 
 fined to that one church. They cannot, without 
 a new appointment, exercise their office in any 
 other. There is their work, and there they are to 
 conduct themselves " as good stewards of the 
 manifold grace of God." The property and funds 
 of other churches do not come into their hands, 
 nor, indeed, thoee designed for other than church 
 purposes. Extraordinary collections for distant 
 brethren and objects were, as we learn from the 
 apostolic history,* sent, not to the deacons, but to 
 the elders — the pastors — through whom they 
 reached their appropriate destination. During 
 the famine, which occurred in the reign of Clau- 
 dius Caesar, " the disciples, every man according 
 to his ability, determined to send relief unto the 
 brethren which dwelt in Judea : which they did, 
 and sent it to the elders, by the hands of Barnabas 
 and Saul." 
 
 At a proper time after their election, the persons 
 * Acts xi. 29, 30. 
 
AND ORDINATION. 65 
 
 designed for deacons are placed, hy the churchy 
 before the ministers, whose duty it is to appoint 
 them. It will doubtless be remembered, that ap- 
 pointment, and ordination, are two words ex- 
 pressive of the same action. The people elected 
 the deacons, and the ministers ordained tliem. 
 
 This fact leads me to venture a remark, in 
 passing, in regard to the true principles of ecclesi- 
 astical polity. In the government of states, what- 
 ever its form, checks and balances between the 
 several departments, are, by experience, found 
 to be necessary to secure the interests of the 
 parties concerned. They have, accordingly, been 
 adopted by all civihzed nations. In the church 
 of Christ the}^ are instituted by divine autho- 
 rity. We have now before us a striking ex- 
 ample. The ministry have no right to ordain any 
 man to the Deaconship, not previously elected by 
 the church to that office. The consent of the 
 church is positively necessary, otherwise he 
 would be a deacon " at large" — ^having no place 
 in which to exercise his functions. On the other 
 hand, though brethren may be elected by the 
 church, they are still, unless ordained by the min- 
 istry, not deacons. There must be a concurrence 
 between the church and the ministry to create the 
 6* 
 
66 FORMS OF ELECTION 
 
 officer. True, they do, commonly, concur, but 
 not always, nor is it by any means a matter of 
 course. Similar checks and balances exist with 
 regard to the ordination of pastors and evangelists, 
 and the baptism of candidates for membership in 
 the church. Thus a double guard is thrown around 
 all the most important interests of the kingdom of 
 Messiah. 
 
 So much in regard to elections. The forms 
 of ordination of the first deacons — and these we 
 are sacredly bound always to observe — were 
 simple. They were set before the apostles by 
 the church, expressive of their own action, and the 
 consent and promise of the candidates to fulfil the 
 duties assigned them, " to the best of their know- 
 ledge and ability." The twelve, having approved 
 the choice, prayed. This was the next step. 
 Whether one or more led in the service, is unim- 
 portant. Lastly, after they had prayed, they laid 
 their hands on them. Thus their appointment 
 was finished, and they were inducted into the 
 Deaconship. 
 
 Whether they now received, as with ns, more 
 special and particular instructions, in the form of 
 a "charge," as to their duties, and the importance 
 of their fidelity, we are left without particular in- 
 
AND ORDINATION. 67 
 
 formation. TFe all, however, need "line upon 
 line," and " precept upon precept," and it cannot 
 be improper thus to address tliose who are placed 
 in conspicuous and responsible positions in the 
 house of God. 
 
 In this manner the election and ordination of 
 the deacons were conducted and completed, and 
 "Me seven'' entered upon their work. The most 
 happy results followed, and will always follow, a 
 similar course. " The word of God increased ; 
 and the number of the disciples multiplied in Jeru- 
 salem greatly ; and a great company of the priests 
 were obedient to the faith." 
 
 With some of these forms, and especially the 
 laying on of hands, there are brethren, in diflerent 
 parts of our country, who propose now to dis- 
 pense. They offer, as a principal reason, our 
 inability, by that act, to impart any virtue. The 
 aposdes, say they, laid their hands on the deacons 
 to communicate, with other endowments, " the 
 gift of the Holy Ghost." This we cannot do. 
 It is, therefore, useless, if not presumptuous, for 
 us to employ the forms. At first view this argu- 
 ment seems reasonable. It at least carries with it 
 the appearance of humility. When tested, how- 
 
68 FORMS OF ELECTION 
 
 ever, it will not, I apprehend, be found unexcep- 
 tionable. 
 
 It is conceded that the apostles did, sometimes, 
 but not always, pray, and lay their hands on per- 
 sons for the purposes alleged. But this will be 
 found not to have been their design in the ordina- 
 tion of the deacons. In proof of this fact we 
 have only to recur again to the qualifications they 
 were required to possess to justify their election. 
 Among these, it will be remembered, is the follow- 
 ing:—" Men full of the Holy Ghosts They 
 had already, therefore, receit;ec? those extraordinary 
 endowments, to impart which, our brethren pre- 
 sume, was the object of the forms in question. 
 Since these, then, were necessary to render them 
 eligible, this could not have been the object of the 
 apostle. 
 
 Scripture forais are never enjoined, either by 
 precedent or command, without some good and 
 benevolent reason. It is, consequently, always 
 important that they should be strictly observed. 
 If I did not know the design, I would insist, in all 
 cases, upon the form. But is this difficult to 
 ascertain ? I presume not. It appears to me to 
 have been nothing more than the solemn benedic- 
 
AND ORDINATION. G9 
 
 tion, and official recognition of the officers tlius 
 formally appointed. Of all this, it cannot be irreve- 
 rent for us to say, modern ministers are fully as 
 capable as were the apostles themselves. Let us, 
 therefore, brethren, sedulously adhere to those 
 forms, whatever they may be, that we find pre- 
 scribed in the word, of God. 
 
 Thus have we considered and determmed by 
 whom the deacons are to be elected ; the instruc- 
 tions to be given to the church before the election ; 
 tlie manner in which the election is to be con- 
 ducted ; the checks and balances instituted m the 
 government of the church ; the ordaming form ; 
 the charge to be given after ordination ; and the' 
 duty of adhering, in this and all other cases, strictly 
 to apostolic usage. 
 
70 THE DUTIES 
 
 CHAPTER IV. 
 
 THE GENERAL DUTIES OF DEACONS. 
 
 Not to preach. — Not to administer ordinances. — Not to 
 govern, except in their own department. — They are 
 placed over temporal affairs. — Their relation to the 
 regular and incidental expenses of worship. — To the 
 poor of the church. 
 
 If the prosperity of the church is, in any de- 
 gree, dependent on the prompt and effectual per- 
 formance of the duties belonging to the Deaconship, 
 those who are appointed to that office must know 
 what those duties are, their nature, extent, and 
 obligation. Without this they can never be dis- 
 charged. How can men do things of which they 
 know nothing ? For all practical ends, we had 
 as well be without deacons as to have those who 
 are ignorant, incompetent, or unfaithful. They 
 are not only useless, but positively hurtful to the 
 churches. They cannot but inflict the most 
 serious injuries. 
 
OF DEACONS. 71 
 
 What are the duties of Deacons ? Let us ap- 
 ply ourselves diligently, in the light of the word 
 of God, to an examination of this question. And 
 as it has two sides, a negative and a positive one, 
 we will first consider the former. 
 
 It is not the duty of the Deacons to preach. 
 We assumed this proposition in our first chapter, 
 and made then but a passing remark, promising 
 to recur to it again. We now proceed to discuss 
 it more fully. In half the denominations around 
 us, as \\«e have before seen, the deacons are 
 preachers. We are therefore admonished, main- 
 taining as we do the directly opposite doctrines, 
 to be cautious m our words, and conclusive in our 
 arguments. 
 
 The reasons alleged for the appointment of 
 deacons are sufficient proof that they are not, and 
 never were, designed to preach. 
 
 1 . Every church has, necessarily, a temporal 
 as well as a spiritual department. It must, as 
 we have before said, have its place of worship, its 
 pastor, its poor, and expenses of various kinds, 
 requirmg money and property. These constitute 
 the former. The latter embraces worship and in- 
 struction — " prayer, and the ministry of the 
 word." This \vas true of the church in Jeru- 
 
72 THE DUTIES 
 
 salem. Originally both these departments were 
 in the hands of the apostles. Turn again to 
 the history of the origin of the Deaconship, and 
 recollect that the reasons for the appointment 
 of these officers were, that the preachers might 
 be relieved from the management of secular inter- 
 ests, by placing them under the direction of others. 
 This point has already been sufficiently con- 
 sidered. 
 
 2. The duties of the deacons are presented to 
 us by the aposdes themselves, as the opposite of 
 the duties of the ministry. Let them, said they, 
 in their instructions to the church at the time of 
 their election, attend to your temporal affairs, and 
 " we will give ourselves continually to prayer and 
 the ministry of the word." It was never designed 
 then, by either the aposdes or the church, that the 
 deacons should preach. On the contrary, they 
 elected to the office those who did not preach, and 
 because they did not preach. This argument has 
 also before been discussed. 
 
 3. Consider the two facts now before you, and 
 it appears to me to be impossible to suppose that 
 the deacons were or ought to be preachers, with- 
 out censuring the intelligence both of the aposdes 
 and the primitive church. It was their professed 
 
OF DEACONS. 73 
 
 design in creating the office to relieve tlie ministry 
 from the aJministrafion of the cliurch's temporali- 
 ties, and tliey appointed to discharge this duty 
 those who did not preach, and because they did 
 not preach. These facts cannot be disputed. 
 Were the deacons, after all, ministers of tlie word? 
 Then the aposdes and the clrar;:]i did not do what 
 they intended ! The matter rested precisely where 
 it was before. The ministry still had the charge 
 of every tiling, in both tlie temporal and spiritual 
 departments ! Such a conclusion is immeasurably 
 preposterous; 
 
 4. Is it objected to me that Philip, " one of the 
 seven," did preach and baptize ? '^ I admit the 
 statement to be true y but at the same time must 
 confess that I cannot see how this weakens my 
 argument at all, since it occurred many years after- 
 wards ; and these actions were especially per- 
 fomied, not in his character as a deacon, but in his 
 office as an evangelist. The inspired writer is at 
 the pains lest, as it would seem; we might not 
 understand the matter fully, to inforai us of this 
 change in the official relations of Philip. He was 
 now a minister of the gospel. Deacons, as well 
 as other men, may be called of God to the min- 
 
 * Acts viii. 5, 38. 
 
 7 
 
74 THE DUTIES 
 
 istry. If called, it is their duly to obey. They 
 then, however, as Philip did, drop the office of a 
 deacon and assume that of a minister. No other 
 of the seven, so far as we know, ever preached. 
 Why did they not ? If deacons are ministers, it 
 was their duty. They all did their duty, but they 
 did not preach. Therefore it was not their duty 
 to preach. 
 
 We now see that deacons are not preachers, 
 because preaching was not the desigri had in view 
 in the creation of the office ; because their duties, 
 as defined by the apostles, are the- opposite of 
 those of preachers ; because they were especially 
 appointed to superintend the church's temporal 
 department ; and because no deacons as such, in 
 primitive times, did preach, although they fully 
 performed their duty. And if the design and pur- 
 poses of God have not changed since the begin- 
 ning, and no one will maintain this, it is still the 
 duty of deacons not to preach, but to superintend 
 the same important interests originally committed 
 to their charge. 
 
 It is not, I next observe, the duty of deacons 
 to administer the ordinances of religion. 
 
 The administration of the ordinances is admit- 
 ted, on all sides, to be the prerogative of the min- 
 
OF DEACONS. 75 
 
 istry. If this be a correct conclusion, and if we 
 have proved that deacons are not mmisters, the 
 argument demonstrates beyond doubt that they 
 are not competent to the work. Their office con- 
 fers upon them no authority to administer ordi- 
 nances. They generally receive, at the Lord's 
 supper, the bread and the wine from the hands of 
 the pastor, and disti'ibute them to the communi- 
 cants. This, however, is not by authority, but 
 only as a matter of convenience. Any other per- 
 sons might do the same thing. Nor is this, in any 
 sense, the administration by them of the eucharist, 
 more than habiting and attending a candidate at 
 baptism is the administration of baptism. Dea- 
 cons were employed thus at a very early period. 
 It is becoming and suitable, and therefore not im- 
 proper. 
 
 It is not, lastly, the duty of the deacons to 
 rule in the church. 
 
 They administer of course their own depart- 
 ment, and rule there and to that extent. The 
 pastors, in their department, are said to "have 
 the rule." As officers of the church, they each, 
 in their own sphere, are rulers, in the same sense 
 that officers of the civil government are rulers. 
 They are not legislators nor judges, but simply 
 
76 THE DUTIES 
 
 executors of the law of Christ. Like them they 
 are, both pastors and deacons, the servants of the 
 people, are to be guided by God's word, and have 
 not a particle of peculiar authority beyond the 
 precincts of iheir respective offices. Their rule 
 cannot therefore encroach upon the rights of any 
 member. In the whole of the government and 
 discipline of the church, the most inconsiderable 
 communicant has all the immunities and privileges 
 that belong to either deacons or pastors. Why 
 should it not be so ? Every member is alike 
 interested, and has the same at stake. Each has 
 an equal right, and in proportion to his religious 
 standing and intelligence, may make himself felt. 
 These facts stimulate him to more vigorous and 
 constant exertion. All are called upon to assume 
 responsibilities, and to bear their parts, and act 
 under a consciousness that they fill some space in 
 the great work of salvation. As a necessary con- 
 sequence they are compelled to think, study the 
 word of God, and be impressed with a sense of 
 the magnitude of that account they must one day- 
 give at the judgment bar. Thus the mass are 
 elevated in the scale of intellectuality, piety, and 
 usefulness. If talents exist among them they are 
 called forth in the cause of Christ ; and real worth 
 
OF DEACONS. 77 
 
 soon finds its appropriate position. How wise 
 and salutary, therefore, is the inspired pohty of 
 the kingdom of the Redeemer ! In these, as 
 much as in any other considerations, is evinced 
 the superiority of that form of ecclesiastical gov- 
 ernment which Jehovah has estabUshed in his 
 word, above all the numerous systems devised and 
 substituted for it by the wisdom of men. Dea- 
 cons, except in tlieir own peculiar department, 
 have no rule in the church, in any sense, not com- 
 mon to all the members of "the household of 
 faith." 
 
 Referring to this topic. Dr. Gill remarks :— 
 " Deacons may, and should be, assisting to pas- 
 tors and elders in the care of the church — as to 
 watch over the walk and conversation of the mem- 
 bers of the church, and to observe that they keep 
 their places in it ; and to exhort, admonish, and 
 reprove, as they may find it necessary ; * * * 
 to report the state of the church to the elder or 
 pastor, and to reconcile differences between one 
 member and another, and to prepare matters to be 
 laid before the church at church meetings, when 
 needful."* The services here enumerated are 
 certainly very important. They should be care- 
 
 * Body of Divinity, vol. iii. p. 269. 
 
 7* 
 
78 THE DUTIES 
 
 fully and diligently employed. I am surprised, 
 however, to find Dr. Gill classing them among 
 the peculiar duties of the Deaconship. If he 
 means to say that they of right belong to that 
 office, I question much whether in this case he 
 has not been led aside from his usual accuracy of 
 judgment. The Deaconship does not appear to 
 me to embrace tliem as a matter of course. They 
 belong alike to all the members of the church, and 
 'I seriously doubt M'hether they can be appropriated 
 to any specified individuals or officers, without so 
 taking away the sense of responsibility and duty 
 of the whole as materially to injure the efficiency 
 of the body. If it be found, by fair experiment, 
 that the members will not discharge these obliga- 
 tions, they may, by a special act of the church, 
 be submitted temporarily to the deacons ; or the 
 church may appoint a standing committee on dis- 
 cipline, charged with their performance. Either 
 of these methods may not be without advantage, 
 provided they are not pursued as a permanent 
 pohcy ; and by adopting it too much indiiference 
 among the members generally, in regard to the 
 conduct of each other and the discipline of the 
 church, is not thereby encouraged. This depart- 
 ment, substantially, has, in some denominations, 
 
OF DEACONS. 79 
 
 been put in charge of " Elders who rule, but do 
 not preachy Their office, however, is a human 
 device, has no authority in the word of God, in- 
 frijigcs the rights of others, and cannot, conse- 
 qucndy, be exercised without detriment to all 
 concerned. Deacons are not ruling elders. The 
 church is free, made so by Christ, and is com- 
 manded to " stand fast m that liberty." Guided 
 by divine revelation, she is fully competent to 
 govern herself. 
 
 Thus we ha^'e considered the negative side of 
 the subject — what are not the duties of deacons. 
 Let us now proceed to address ourselves to the 
 opposite branch, and determine what obligations 
 really devolve upon them. 
 
 By the divine law, we repeat it, they are placed 
 over all the temporalities of the church. 
 
 For this specific and defmite pui'pose, and for 
 no other, they were appointed. All the property 
 and funds which belong to the church, as a church, 
 is placed under their direction. Their command 
 over them, however, is not absolute, but limited 
 to such uses as the church may order. The 
 benefit of the vvdiole body is the object, and she 
 of necessity retains the right of appropriation. 
 The gospel has created certain standing regula- 
 
80 THE DUTIES 
 
 tions, which the church makes definite, as those 
 lo the pastor and others. These must be met 
 regularly and promptly at the time appointed. 
 Neglects sometimes are indulged in by the dea- 
 cons, in this respect, which are often attended 
 with the most melancholy results. Decisive 
 promptness is always of the utmost consequence. 
 Men of business require it, and so should the 
 church of Christ. 
 
 The fact that the deacons are officially the de- 
 positories, not of all that the members possess, but 
 of all the common property and funds of the 
 church, created and held by her for the purposes 
 of religion, gives them the peculiar relation which 
 they sustain to her ordinary and incidental ex- 
 penses, to the wants of the poor, and to the sus- 
 tenance of her pastor. All their pecuhar duties 
 grov/ out of this single fact. They therefore de- 
 fray, I remark, in the first place, the expenses 
 arising from the convenient disposition of the 
 house of God, and the regular and proper admin- 
 istration of the ordinances of the gospel. These, 
 in many instances, are very inconsiderable ; in 
 others they are by no means small ; yet they are 
 all necessary, and, small or large, must be in- 
 curred. 
 
OF DEACONS. 81 
 
 Let us indulge in a little particularity. The 
 house of worship must be comfortable in itself. 
 At night it must be lighted ; in summer it must 
 be ventilated; and in the winter it must be 
 warmed. The services, consequently, of a sex- 
 ton, or some one to take cliarge of it, must be 
 procured, who will perform, these necessary du- 
 ties. Janitors, too, in many churches, are indis- 
 pensable. 
 
 Baptism must be administered,. God's word 
 commands : — " Let all things be done decently 
 and in orc7er." Baptism is surely among these 
 " all things^ But it cannot be filly dispensed, 
 unless we have a suitable place prepared, and the 
 candidates, in receiving the ordinance, be properly 
 habited and attended. When appropriately or- 
 dered, how striking, how beautiful, how impres- 
 sive, how solemn, is baptism. Thousands have 
 been convinced of sin, and guided to the service 
 of God by the simple witnessing of this lioly rite. 
 But how often is all its touching influence lost, 
 and does even the ordinance itself become, to 
 many, repulsive, for want of the scriptural atten- 
 tion to its circumstances, — decency and order 1 
 From our censurable neglect in conducting these 
 
82 THE DUTIES 
 
 very particulars, most serious evil has resulted. 
 Thence the op posers of apostolic baptism have 
 drawn their most effective arguments against it. 
 They point to our slovenly acts reproachfully, 
 and multitudes who witness tliem shrink from the 
 idea of a similar personal exposure. Shall we, 
 while substantially obedient to the rite as a whole, 
 make ourselves transgressors, by violating the law 
 of God in relation to its circumstances ? Shall we 
 permit our strength thus to become weakness, and 
 our good evil ? Few of our churches, I fear, and 
 especially in country places, are without sin in 
 this particular. 
 
 The table of the Lord must frequently be 
 spread. The necessary furniture for the purpose, 
 as well as the elements, must be provided and su- 
 perintended. 
 
 Not unfrequently the church invites evangelists, 
 or neighboring ministers, to aid their pastor on 
 special occasions. Their expenses are to be paid, 
 and their toils compensated. David would not 
 offer to God a sacrifice which cost him nothing. 
 Shall the church of Christ offer to God sacrifices 
 that not only cost her nothing, but are unjustly 
 wrung from the labors of her impoverished pas- 
 
OF DEACONS. 83 
 
 torship ? This act is beneath lier, and should 
 never be permitted to sully the escutcheon of her 
 honor. 
 
 Cut who are to superintend, regulate, and carry- 
 all these important arrangements into effect ? Too 
 often, as we have melancholy evidence, they are 
 most painfully overlooked, and, in many respects, 
 totally disregarded. They constitute one great 
 branch of the duties of the Deaconship. They 
 are responsible for whatever, in these and similar 
 things, the reputation and interest of our holy re- 
 hgion may require. The means have been, or 
 should be, placed in their hands for the purposes 
 enumerated, and they must not only disburse 
 them, but give, at the same time, so much of their 
 personal attention and service as may be neces- 
 sary. 
 
 I next observe, that the duties of the deacons 
 require ihem to administer to the wants of the 
 poor, the distressed, the afflicted, the fatherless, 
 and the widows of the household of faith, and 
 especially of their own particular church. 
 
 One of the great excellencies of religion is its 
 affectionate care, extended to all these classes of 
 our fellow beings. Those who enter fully into 
 its benevolent feelings have the peculiar benedic- 
 
84 THE DUTIKS 
 
 lions of Heaven. It is God who iias said: — 
 *' Blessed is he who considereth the poor." What 
 we do for the rehef of the necessitous of all 
 grades, our Redeemer chooses to consider as done 
 to himself. "I was an hnngered," said he, " and 
 ye gave me meat ; I was thirsty and ye gave me 
 drink ; I was a stranger, and ye took me in ; 
 naked, and ye clothed me ; I was sick, and ye 
 visited me ; I v/as in prison and ye came unto 
 me." But when and how did we all this ? He 
 himself answers : — " Inasmuch as ye have done 
 it unto the least of these, my brethren, ye have 
 done it unto me."* Atid yet more — we are as- 
 sured, by divine authority, if there are any who 
 have no sympathy with the suffering and de- 
 pendent, that they prove thereby that they have 
 no religion. " Whoso hath this world's good, 
 and seeth his brother have need, and shutteth up 
 his bowels of compassion from him, how dwT^leth 
 the love of God in him."t And again — " Pure re- 
 ligion, and undefiled, before God and the Father, is 
 this — To visit the fatherless and widows in their 
 affliction, and to keep himself unspotted from the 
 world. "."j: I shall only add, in the words of our 
 Saviour, — " Ye have the poor with you always, 
 * Matt. xxvi. 35-41. t 1 John iii. 17. t James i. 27. 
 
OF DEACOXS. 85 
 
 and whensoever ye will, ye may do them 
 good."*- 
 
 Such are the teachings of the word of God. 
 With tliem every tme christian is most anxious 
 to comply. The obhgation rests upon all to 
 feed the hungry, to extend hospitality to the 
 stranger, to clothe the naked, to visit the sick, to 
 relieve the distressed, and to provide for the 
 orphan and the widow in their affliction. In their 
 individual capacities, they should do, in this be- 
 half, whatever they may find practicable. But a 
 few persons cannot accomplish, alone and unaided 
 by others, all that may be necessary or desired. 
 Each one, except in rare instances, can only do a 
 small part. The church, therefore, unites all her 
 members for its successful prosecution. Every 
 one contributes what he is able, and the privilege 
 is allowed to all. The sums thus procured are 
 placed in the hands of the deacons, who are tfie 
 divinely appointed almoners of their bounty. So 
 zealous and constant were primitive Christians in 
 these acts of gospel benevolence, that they thereby 
 attracted the admiration of the whole world. Julian 
 the apostate, Emperor of Rome, one of their bit- 
 terest enemies, insists in his writings,! that they 
 
 * Mark xiv. 7. t Dwight's Theol. vol. iv. p. 295, 
 
 8 
 
86 THE DUTIES 
 
 did as much, in tliis way, for the spread of their 
 principles, as they did even by the preaching of 
 the gospel, censuring, at the same time, the pagans 
 for their careless neglect. All were compelled to 
 exclaim : — " See how these Christians love one 
 another." 
 
 How beautifully benign are the purposes of the 
 gospel ! They are indeed worthy of a religion 
 which proposes to humanize and bless the world, 
 as well as to prepare the soul for heaven ! How 
 effective, when scripturally administered, is the 
 church — the divine organization — for their prose- 
 cution ! It is from God, and therefore suitable. 
 But have tve not 7ioic painfully declined from the 
 spirit and zeal of early times ? Where, in this 
 behalf, are our " works of faith, and labors of 
 love ?" Is it not true that some societies around 
 us are much more attentive and faithful than is 
 even the church of Christ? When 1 see these 
 merely human associations relieving their poor, 
 supporting their dependent widows, and rearing 
 and carefully educating the orphans of dieir de- 
 ceased members, and by the bed-side of their sick 
 day and night while they live, and kindly render- 
 ing the last offices of aflection when dead, I can 
 but blush for the criminal negligence of the people 
 
OF DEACONS. 87 
 
 of God. Can it be, that those who do not pro- 
 fess to be influenced by the same exahed motives 
 that guide us, who look no higher than to friend- 
 ship and humanity, shall so far outstrip us in the 
 race of love and benevolence ? Brethren, dea- 
 cons, ministers, shall this reproach continue ? 
 When will the church arise to a proper sense of 
 her own dignity and duty in this department of 
 her labors ? 
 
 These duties, in their performance, necessarily 
 involve another. Much visiting by the deacons 
 will, I apprehend, be found positively indispensa- 
 ble. 
 
 Without this, especially among the classes to 
 be benefited, how can they know ^vho they are, 
 and become sufficiently familiar with all their cir- 
 cumstances and wants to guide them in the mea- 
 sures most proper to be adopted ? And to keep 
 up the required knowledge the process must be 
 perpetuated. There are those who do not need 
 pecuniary aid, but only advice, and perhaps assist- 
 ance in procuring employment. In other cases 
 the gratuity bestowed will be of little service un- 
 less personal attentions are added. This is true 
 in numerous examples, but especially in the in- 
 stances of the orphan children of our brethren and 
 
88 THE DUTIES 
 
 sisters who die in poverty. Duty requires that 
 the church should rear all such, educate them, and 
 prepare them for usefuhiess in life. Yet other 
 examples are constantly occurring, of persons who 
 are not by any means poor or dependent, but to 
 whom we must look with as much care as to 
 those who are. The heart that is in affliction is 
 soothed and comforted by our fraternal sympathy. 
 Our presence in the sick chamber of a brother or 
 a sister is often of great consequence. Such 
 attentions are infinitely more valuable than gold. 
 When the deacons cannot give them, individually, 
 they should call upon others, and no benevolent 
 heart, if possible to do otherwise, would decline a 
 service so sacred. Brethren — " To do good and 
 to communicate, forget not ; for with such sacri- 
 fices God is well pleased." 
 
 Some of the duties of the Deaconship now 
 enumerated, will always be agreeable, often de- 
 lightful. They will occasionally find, among 
 those to whom they minister, elegant simplicity, 
 mingled with intelligence and fervent piety. 
 Again, their work will be not a litde repulsive. 
 It is no grateful task to. scour the numerous lanes 
 and by-ways of our cities and country ; and thrust 
 ourselves into the hovels of ignorance, wretched- 
 
OF DEACONS. 89 
 
 ness and disease. But the labor is not more ardu- 
 ous than it is holy and god-hke, and those who 
 perform it shall not, even in this world, lose their 
 reward. " For they that have used the office of 
 a deacon well, purchase to themselves a good de- 
 gree, and great boldness in the faith which is in 
 Christ Jesus." 
 
 These comprehend most of the general duties 
 of the deacons — not to preach, not to administer 
 ordinances, not to rule, except in their own depart- 
 ment ; but, as they are placed over all the tem- 
 poral affairs of the church, they defray, not from 
 their own means but from the treasury, the ordi- 
 nary and incidental expenses of divine worship, 
 and have charge of the poor, the dependent, the 
 afflicted, the widow, and the fatherless. 
 
 It is proper for us now to consider the duties 
 of deacons with reference to the pastorship. This, 
 however, must occupy the next chapter. 
 
 8* 
 
90 THE DUTIES 
 
 CHAPTER V. 
 
 THE DUTIES OF DEACONS WITH REFERENCE TO 
 THEIR PASTORS. 
 
 Necessity of pastoral support. — The law which governs it. 
 —The teachings of Christ and his Apostles. — Apostolic 
 practice. — Reason and justice. — Importance of a full 
 understanding between Pastor and Church. 
 
 As the superintendents of all the temporalities 
 of the church, the duties of the deacons require 
 them to see tliat their pastor receive a competent 
 temporal support. 
 
 Here I apprehend they will meet, unless they 
 have a wisely constructed scheme of finance in 
 successful operation, the greater part of their labor 
 and difficulty. A much larger amount is necessary 
 for pastoral sustenance than is needful for general 
 purposes ; and a regular and uninterrupted supply 
 is absolutely indispensable. If it should fail even 
 for a few months, the whole machinery must 
 cease ; because pastors, without food and raiment 
 and a place of shelter, if dependent, as they 
 
OF DEACONS. 91 
 
 usually are, wholly upon the church, can neither 
 preach nor adequately discharge any other of the 
 claims of their office. 
 
 Let us exapme briefly, since it is immediately 
 connected with the Deaconship, the general sub- 
 ject of pastoral support. 
 
 The law of the kingdom of Christ guarantees 
 thus much to the preacher, as a proper return 
 from those whom he serves. The pro\ision is, 
 indeed, not peculiar to the gospel, it is founded in 
 reason and justice, and has fully obtained m all 
 nations and ages. Even among idolators and pa- 
 gans the ministers of religion are sustained by 
 tlieir religion. This principle is taught in the 
 law of Moses. 
 
 The priests were made dependent for the means 
 of life upon their spiritual avocation. Beyond the 
 house in which they resided they were not allowed 
 any possession in the land of Canaan. The Lord 
 said unto Aaron : — " Thou shalt have no inherit- 
 ance in the land, neither shalt thou have any part 
 among them. I am thy part, and thine inlieritance, 
 among the cliildren of Israel."* Again — " The 
 Lord separated the tribe of Levi to bear the ark of 
 the covenant of the Lord, to stand before the Lord 
 * Numb, xviii. 20. 
 
92 THE DUTIES 
 
 to minister unto liim, and to bless his name, unto 
 this day. Wherefore Levi hath no part nor in- 
 heritance with his brethren. The Lord is his 
 inheritance, according as the Lord thy God pro- 
 mised him."* And again' — " The Levite that is 
 within thy gates, thou shalt not forsake him, for 
 he hath no part nor inheritance with thee."t Yet 
 again — " The priests, the Levites, and all the tribe 
 of Levi, shall have no inheritance with Israel. 
 They shall eat the offerings of the Lord made by 
 fire, and his inheritance. Therefore, they shall have 
 no inheritance among their brethren. The Lord 
 is their inheritance, as he hath said unto them.":}: 
 Once more — " The Levites have no part am"Ong 
 you; for the priesthood of the Lord is their 
 inheritance." 
 
 The manner in which the priests under the 
 law received their compensations, was so mingled 
 with the performance of the duties of their office, 
 that the neglect of one was the loss of the other. 
 But to the faithful there was no want. Thus it 
 is seen that under the former economy ample pro- 
 visions Avere made for the comfortable sustenance 
 of the ministers of religion. 
 
 Substantially, the same provisions are continued 
 * Deut. X. 8, 9. t Deut. xiv. 27. t Deut. xviii. 1, 2. 
 
OF DEACONS. 93 
 
 under the gospel. The forms are abrogated, but 
 the principle is retauied. An apostle was certainly 
 of this opinion when he said to the Corinthians — 
 " Do ye not know tliat they wliich minister about 
 holy things [under tlie law,] live of the things of 
 the temple ? And they which wait at the altar 
 are partakers with the altar ? Even so [under the 
 gospel,] hath the Lord ordained, that they w^hich 
 preach the gospel should live of the gospel."* 
 Justice and right are immutable. And while the 
 word of God requires a ministry for its propa- 
 gation and defence, so long will those Mho are 
 devoted to this work be authorized to claim such 
 temporal support as their circumstances may re- 
 quire, and as may be rendered practicable or pro- 
 per by tlie condition of tlie people under their 
 charge. 
 
 This, Paul says, is not only the law of the 
 Mosaic economy, but the Lord has ordained it 
 under the gospel. Christ has ordained — enacted 
 a statute — established a law — that " those who 
 preach the gospel shall live of the gospel." In a 
 synopsis, it may be stated thus — " These twelve 
 Jesus sent forth, and commanded them, saying — • 
 Go — and as ye go, preach. Provide neither gold, 
 
 * 1 Cor. is. 13, 14. 
 
94 THE DUTIES 
 
 nor silver, nor brass in your purses, nor scrip 
 [provisions] for your journey, neither two coats, 
 neither shoes, nor yet staves, [weapons of de- 
 fence,] yi*/* the workman is worthy of his meat,''''* 
 This lias regard to the apostles. But it w^as re- 
 peated for the government of the seventy disci- 
 ples, and almost in the same words. It may be 
 thus abridged — " The Lord appointed other seventy 
 also, and sent them two and two, before his face, 
 into every city whither he himself would come. 
 Therefore said he unto them — go your ways — 
 carry neither purse nor scrip, nor shoes — -for the 
 laborer is worthy of his hire.^^'\ The same law, 
 Paul tell us, in the passage recited, is applicable 
 and perpetually binding, as to all those, in every 
 age, who, with the proper sanctions, preach the 
 gospel. Its provisions relate exclusively to min- 
 isters, and regard solely their temporal support 
 and comfort. Such is the law, or ordinance of 
 our liord, brought forward as authority by the 
 apostle, and which secures to the minister, whether 
 he be pastor, evangelist, or missionary, food, and 
 clothing, and shelter, and whatever else his wants 
 may render necessary, so long as he may be faith- 
 fully employed in his sacred calling. 
 
 * Matt. X. 5-16. t Luke x. 12. 
 
OF DEACONS. 95 
 
 As might naturally be supposed, both the teach- 
 ing and the practice of the apostles, are in accord- 
 ance with this principle. We v/ill examine them 
 separately. 
 
 The apostolic teaching, in regard to ministerial 
 support, is very plain and decided. 
 
 Referrmg to this subject, Paul thus addresses 
 himself to the Corinthians — " Who goeth a war- 
 fare, any time, at his ov/n charges ? W^ho plant- 
 eth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? 
 Or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk 
 of the flock ? Say I these things as a man ? Or 
 saith not the law the same also ? For it is writ- 
 ten in the law of Moses — Thou shalt not muzzle 
 the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the com. 
 Doth God take care for oxen ? Or saith he it 
 altogether for our sakes ? For our sakes, no 
 doubt, this is written; that he that plougheth 
 should plough in hope, and that he that thresheth 
 in hope should be partaker of his hope. If we 
 have sown unto you spiritual thuigs, is it a great 
 thing if we should reap your carnal things ?"* 
 To present, in other words, the sum of the apos- 
 tle's argument — God is careful even for oxen, and 
 has stipulated by law, that those for whom they 
 * 1 Cor. ix. 7-11. 
 
96 THE DUTIES 
 
 toil should suitably provide for their wants. They 
 shall not be muzzled. Can he be less careful for 
 his ministers ? He also requires their support. 
 If they plough, and sow, and reap, and thresh in 
 your fields, you cannot do less for them than you 
 do for your oxen. If they labor for your instruc- 
 tion and salvation, and thus " sow unto you spi- 
 ritual things," their support from your "carnal 
 things" is a small matter. You have done no 
 "great things" when it is freely and promptly 
 given. 
 
 The Galatians were impressed with the same 
 lesson. " Let him that is taught in the word 
 communicate to him that teacheth in all good 
 things."* He who receives instruction in Chris- 
 tianity, by the public preaching of the word — 
 having become a party to the pastoral compact, 
 for this passage refers directly to the pastorship — 
 is, by the gospel, required to aid in supporting the 
 teacher. Some of the Galatian believers, it 
 would seem, were willing, and such probably may 
 be found among us, to receive the benefits of the 
 Christian ministry without contributing to sustain 
 it ! Such a spirit and conduct are here, by the 
 
 * Gal. vi. 6. 
 
OF DEACONS. 97 
 
 Holy Ghost, condemned as ungrateful, unjust, and 
 unworthy a disciple of the Redeemer. 
 
 Numerous other passages might be adduced, 
 almost any of which is decisive as to the teach- 
 ings of the apostles. The whole, taken together, 
 camiot be resisted. 
 
 But what was their practice ? Did they and 
 the evangelists actually, as a general rule, while 
 they preached to the people, receive support from 
 them ? This has been doubted by candid men, 
 both ministers and others, on account, it would 
 appear, of the statements of Paul to some of the 
 churches, that he had not received aid from them, 
 but while he labored in their service had supported 
 himself. 
 
 The ministers of the gospel, certainly received 
 before the crucifixion, according to the ordinance 
 — the law — of Christ, all needful support from 
 the people. When -the twelve, and the seventy, 
 sent out in the manner already described, had 
 finished their mission and returned to their master, 
 Christ said to them — " When I sent you without 
 purse, and scrip, and shoes, lacked ye any thing ? 
 And tliey said [we lacked] nothing."* They, 
 therefore, were comfortably fed, clothed, and 
 
 * Luke xxii. 35. 
 
 9 
 
98 THE DUTIES 
 
 lodged, and as some had families, even more than 
 this must have been given by the people to whom 
 they preached, and actually received by them. 
 
 The proof is not less conclusive, that during 
 the apostolic age the same condition of things was 
 continued. Paul, when preaching at Philippi, 
 thus wrote to the Corinthians — " I am glad of the 
 coming of Stcphanus, and Fortunatus, and Achai- 
 cus ; for that which was lacking on your part they 
 have supplied."* To the Philippians, while at 
 Rome, the same apostle thus addresses himself: 
 — " Now ye Phihppians, know also, that in the 
 beginning of the gospel, when I departed from 
 Macedonia, no church communicated with me as 
 concerning giving and receiving, but ye only. 
 For even in Thessalonica, ye sent once and again 
 unto my necessities. [Now] I have all things 
 and abound. I am full ; having received of Epa- 
 phroditus the things which were sent from you, 
 an odour of a sweet smell, a sacrifice acceptable, 
 well pleasing to God. [And] My God shall sup- 
 ply all your needs, according to his riches in glory 
 by Christ Jesus."t To the Corinthians he says : 
 — " I robbed other churches, taking wages of 
 them, to do you service. And when I was with 
 * 1 Cor. xvi. 17. t Phil. iv. 15-20. 
 
OF DEACONS. 99 
 
 you and wanted, I was chargeable to no man [of 
 you], for tliat which was lackhig to me the breth- 
 ren which came from Macedonia supphed."* 
 
 "Who that reads these, and similar passages, 
 can longer seriously question whether the apostles 
 and evangelists accepted, and received the support, 
 as pastors and other ministers must now do, which 
 they needed; w^hich the people, as a religious 
 duty, offered ; and which it was their right to 
 claim, by the law of the King in Zion ? 
 
 I do not, however, maintain that all professed 
 ministers should be provided with a temporal sup- 
 port by the church. And for the instruction of 
 deacons in this particular, as to their duty, it is 
 necessary that we shall suggest the discriminations 
 which are to be made. 
 
 Those who are entitled to support mi<'5^ be true 
 ministers of Jesus Christ ) and they must fully 
 do the ivork of the ministry. 
 
 The first and most important qualification of a 
 true minister is, that he who claims diis character 
 shall be a true christian — -born of the Spirit of 
 God, and possess high and spiritual endowments. 
 As a second qualification he must have united 
 himself .with the true church, and he must have 
 * 2 Cor. xi. S, 9. 
 
100 THE DUTIES 
 
 received her approval of his devoting himself to 
 the work of the ministry. This sanction consists 
 in her own official act, expressing her opinion 
 that he is called of God, and qualified for the 
 work ; and his regular ordination by a lawfully 
 constituted presbytery. His third qualification 
 embraces his ability to teach, which involves the 
 power of perception, facility of utterance, and a 
 competent knowledge of the word of God. Lastly, 
 his life and doctrine must accord with the teach- 
 ings of divine revelation. He cannot be a legiti- 
 mate minister of Christ who does not preach and 
 practise, and live, according to the gospel. These 
 four quaUfications must combine to make a man a 
 true minister of Christ. 
 
 But a man may be such minister and yet de- 
 vote himself but very partially to the work of 
 preaching. If, in other respects, he is unexcep- 
 tionable, but is a farmer, a merchant, a school 
 teacher, or something else, and preaches only 
 when he can do so without material injury to his 
 main pursuits, I do not think him entitled to any 
 support. If he give only part of his time and 
 thoughts, a small compensation, if any thing, only 
 is due. To such, I cannot doubt, the apostle al- 
 ludes when he says — " Let the elders [bishops 
 
OF DEACONS. 101 
 
 — pastors] Avho rule well, be counted worthy of 
 double honor [AtrtX?7jTLUj;j, double reward, stipend, 
 wages,] especially they who labor in word and 
 doctrine. For the scripture saith — Thou shalt 
 not muzzle the ox that ti'eadeth out the corn."* 
 That this text has reference to pastoral support, is 
 certainly true for three reasons. The first is the 
 title of the person named. He is a presbyter — 
 elder — bishop. Not a man who rules, but does 
 not preach, because such an officer is unknown to 
 the word of God ; but a minister who preaches 
 and rules Avitli diligence and fidelity. The second 
 is, the sense of the word tt^?;?, rendered in our 
 common version honor. That it means that kind 
 of honor which embraces wages, or reward, is 
 admitted by all critics of any pretensions. The 
 last reason, is the cause assigned for double wages 
 to the faithful bishop — "Thou shalt not muzzle 
 the ox that treadeth out the corn ; and the laborer 
 is worthy of his reward." Such an elder — 
 bishop, or pastor — ^who is faithful and devoted, is 
 entitled to a full support, because he must devote 
 all his time, talents, and energy, to the work. But, 
 on the other hand, he who sacrifices and labors 
 less, is entitled to very little reward. 
 
 * 1 Tim. V. 17, IS. 
 9» 
 
102 THE DUTIES 
 
 But are we authorized to fix previously a defi- 
 nite amount to be paid to those who preach the 
 gospel — to offer him a stipulated salary ? 
 
 Why, I ask, are we not ! It appears to me to 
 be necessary and proper for three reasons. Under 
 the law, the precedent from which Paul constantly 
 reasons on this subject, the amount, all must con- 
 fess, which was awarded to the ministers of reli- 
 gion, was fixed, definite, and previously appointed, 
 the tithe of all their increase. The terms em- 
 ployed by the New Testament, teach the same 
 doctrine. Ministerial support is called their 
 " t^w^es," their "/u're," and their ^^ reward^ 
 These words certainly describe a specific sum. 
 Reason also requires that it should be so. Every 
 minister, if he is dependent, and intends to main- 
 tain his character as an honorable man, ought, 
 beforehand, to know what amount he may rely 
 upon, otherwise, as he must incur debts for the 
 means of life, and may, confidently, expect from 
 the church more than he will receive, he is liable 
 to be overwhelmed at any time. Indeed he can 
 hardly hope to escape inextricable injury. The 
 amount, therefore, whatever it may be, that amin- " 
 ister— pastor, or evangelist— receives, is required 
 
OF DEACONS. 103 
 
 to be previously fixed and agreed upon by the 
 parties interested. 
 
 Having now seen the law of ministerial sup- 
 port, and the teacliing and practice of the apostles, 
 let us consider for a moment the abstract reason 
 and justice of the case. 
 
 If a man discharge the duties of any office to 
 which he is legitimately called, it is reasonable 
 and just that, from the community he serves, he 
 should receive for his time, labor, and expense, a 
 suitable compensation. But is not the principle 
 as applicable to the ministry as to any other 
 office ? Is it not as unjust to M'ithhold the rights 
 of ministers as of any other class of men ? 
 
 Besides this, when the pastoral or ministerial 
 relation is formed, the church, by the stipulations 
 of the parties, engages to pay to him certain 
 sums, at specified times, for official services. If 
 the ser\ices are rendered, the amount promised is, 
 in the fullest sense, a debt, which the church is 
 as much under obligation to pay as any other debt 
 whatever. If, without necessity, it is withheld, 
 or all suitable effiDrts are not made by herself, and 
 by her officers appointed to conduct her pecuniary 
 affairs, she brings upon herself dishonor, and the 
 sin of fraudulently refusing to comply with an 
 
104 THE DUTIES 
 
 honest contract, after the considerations have been 
 rendered. This act appears the more crimmal, 
 because these are sacred debts, contracted to faciU- 
 tate the progress of the gospel, whose teachings 
 the church violates by the non-payment ; and be- 
 cause they are debts of honor, there being no 
 means by which the defrauded minister can en- 
 force the collection. 
 
 But why should the minister place himself in 
 such a condition as to become thus dependent 
 upon the church ? The necessit}^ I answer, 
 arises from two causes — the constitution of the 
 human mind, and the commands of God. 
 
 The preaching of the gospel requires the undi- 
 vided energies of the strongest and most cultivated 
 powers. Can its purposes be gained, therefore, 
 by a shght and casual attention ? Such is the cha- 
 racter of the mind that all its strength must be 
 directed to one object, or it can never be prose- 
 cuted with full success. The lawyer, the physi- 
 cian, the mechanic, the politician, know this, and 
 direct their course accordingly. Shall not the min- 
 ister be equally wise ? Does his sacred calling 
 deserve less attention than mere worldly pursuits ? 
 But the commandment of God requires his ex- 
 clusive devotion to the ministry. " Give thyself 
 
OF DEACONS. 105 
 
 wholly to these things, that thy profiting may ap- 
 pear to all." This demand, although paramount, 
 is not without its reasons. So numerous are the 
 duties of the mmistry, especially of the pastorship, 
 out of the pulpit as well as in it, tliat if they dis- 
 charge them all, with but tolerable attention, they 
 will leave no time to devote to any otlicr pursuits. 
 But — some one inquires — could not our minis- 
 ter do something else, besides preachmg ? If he 
 would, he might materially aid in sustaining him- 
 self, and lighten essentially our burdens in provid- 
 ing for his support ! Thus, but too frequently, 
 talk the members of our churches. I answer, 
 yes, — the minister certainly could embark in tem- 
 poral business, and, probably, prosecute it suc- 
 cessfully. The loss, except of conscience, and 
 ministerial prosperity, would not be his. In every 
 worldly sense he would reap immense advantage. 
 The churches, and the cause, would be the suf- 
 ferers. But let us make a similar and equally 
 rational inquiry. Could not our schoolmasters 
 do something else besides teaching, to aid in sup- 
 porting themselves ? They could then teach pur 
 children for a much less sum, and thus gready 
 diminish our burdens m educatmg them. Could 
 not our lawyers and physicians do something else 
 
106 THE DUTIES 
 
 to support themselves ? Then they could attend 
 to our business and our health for almost nothing ! 
 This would be extremely convenient, especially to 
 those of us who love our money more than we de 
 honor, religion, or justice. But with regard to 
 other men, we never think of such questions. Why 
 then do we, with regard to ministers ? 
 
 Reason and justice, therefore, concur with the 
 word of God, and teach us that the minister is to 
 be competently supported. But this is, almost 
 always, a most difficult work. How can it be 
 accomplished ? It never can, with regularity and 
 success, unless the plans adopted be wisely formed 
 and vigorously prosecuted. The obligation rests 
 upon the whole church. But that which is left 
 to a whole community, and not intrusted to any 
 special or official superintendence, will certainly 
 never be done. " What is every body's busmess 
 is nobody's business." This is as true of the 
 church as it is of the world. Jehovah has made 
 adequate provision. The deacons are appointed 
 over all the temporal affiiirs of the church, and, 
 of course, this also must be under their special 
 charge. 
 
 The pastor, when he enters upon his trust, 
 looks to the church to say what support she will 
 
 I 
 
OF DEACONS. 107 
 
 offer. When she has spoken, and he has accepted 
 her proposition, he has, while he performs the 
 duties of his station, no more to say to the mem- 
 bers generally on that subject except to teach them 
 their duty. To him the deacons, and they only, 
 are responsible. They are the permanent finan- 
 cial officers. They stand between the church and 
 the ministry, are fully informed as to their relative 
 condition, and should be ever ready to do their 
 duty to both. 
 
 I am here reminded, perhaps, that the churches 
 sometimes enter upon their records promises to 
 pay to their pastors certain amounts, at certain 
 limes, but do not place the stipulated sums in the 
 hands of the deacons, and, therefore, compliance 
 is impossible. But is not this exceedingly wrong 
 —highly crimmal? Should grave, thoughtful, 
 christian men so act? Should they sufTer them- 
 selves in a moment of excitement, when highly 
 pleased with the efforts of ministers, to induce 
 them to accept pastorships and undergo labors, by 
 promises which they afterwards fail to fulfil? 
 Hasty and inconsiderate pastorships, formed under 
 the influence of mutual excitement, and accom- 
 panied by large promises and high expectations, 
 
108 THE DUTIES 
 
 like inarriages contracted in similar circumstances, 
 are seldom productive of lasting happiness. 
 
 When Congress, or a state legislature, propose 
 to make an appropriation, specific or annual, for 
 any purpose, however desirable, they always in- 
 quire into the condition of the treasury, or the 
 sources of revenue, generally both, and are sedu- 
 lous not to conti'act obligations which they either 
 cannot, or will not, promptly discharge. Their 
 financial officers are called upon to apprise them 
 how far they may venture, and are ready to utter 
 their warning if they find them going beyond their 
 abilities. Shall the church be less careful ? Is 
 not her honor as dear, are not her debts as sacred, 
 as those of the state ? The deacons should never 
 permit the church to promise her pastor a larger 
 sum than they are confident she will be able and 
 willing to pay ; nor that payments will be made 
 at certain times, unless there exists a fair prospect 
 of compliance. If they find that the church has 
 already acted thus imprudently, they should in- 
 stantly apprise him of the fact. And further — 
 If, at any time, they perceive that the abilities of 
 the church are unequal to the continuance of what 
 she has formerly done, they should not leave the 
 
OF DEACONS. 109 
 
 pastor to make the discovery, for the first time, 
 by their nearly total failure to meet their obliga- 
 tions ; and that too, perhaps, after, upon the faith 
 of their pledges, he' has involved himself in lia- 
 bilities from which he finds it now impossible to 
 be delivered. 
 
 To guard all these points efliectually, it will 
 readily be seen, that every engagement, involving 
 temporal considerations, between the churches and 
 their pastors, should be made, invariably, through 
 the agency of the deacons. And in all our trans- 
 actions, in relation to this \vhole department, our 
 intercourse should be always governed by the 
 utmost sincerity and frankness. 
 
 10 
 
110 THE REVENUES OF 
 
 CHAPTER VI. 
 
 THE MEANS OF CREATING AND SUSTAINING THE 
 NECESSARY REVENUES IN THE CHURCH. 
 
 Revenues are indispensable. — The law of God on this sub- 
 ject. — Its excellent characteristics. — The superintend- 
 ence necessary in its execution. — It is sufficient for all 
 purposes. — Recapitulation. — Importance of stated and 
 regular meetings of the Deacons. 
 
 No organized community, political or religious, 
 can long exist without a regular revenue to sup- 
 port its necessary expenses. This is a self-evi- 
 dent proposition ; and if it were not, we have but 
 too many melancholy proofs of its truth. Not a 
 few churches in different parts of our country, 
 have attempted to conduct their affairs without 
 cost. The result has invariably been, where the 
 experiment has been continued through many 
 years, that they have gone down, and many of 
 them become for ever extinct. It is folly to sup- 
 pose that it can ever be otherwise. God, in his 
 
THE CHURCH. Ill 
 
 providence, has ordered that without appropriate 
 exertions nothing valuable shall be produced. Can 
 a city or a state keep up its organization without 
 revenues, and these too regularly accruing ? No 
 more can a church of Christ. But more than 
 this — Jehovah has ordered the appointment, in 
 his kingdom, of financial officers. This would 
 be a strange procedure if he intended that the 
 church should have no treasury. He has also 
 given us laws by which to create the necessary 
 income, and to bring it into their hands. These 
 facts suggest and involve all that is necessary for 
 us to do in the premises. 
 
 When the first deacons were appointed, " the 
 disciples," as we have seen, "had all things com- 
 mon." " The seven^^ were, therefore, actually 
 in possession of all that belonged to the whole 
 community. No man had any property or funds 
 of his own. All had been voluntarily relinquished. 
 But then their duties were so much the more nu- 
 merous, and their labors exceedingly great. This 
 condition of things soon passed away. The gos- 
 pel now requires us to retain our possessions, and 
 authorizes its institutions to be sustained only by 
 such offerings as may be freely given. The ques- 
 tion presents itself to us, as to the measures by 
 
112 REVENUES OF 
 
 which this matter can be so regulated, as that 
 what is given may assume, in amount, that defi- 
 niteness and certainty which the object demands. 
 
 In order to this, the deacons, in the beginning 
 of each year, should prepare and place before the 
 church an estimate of her expenses for that period. 
 They can always do so in a manner sufficiently 
 correct for all practical purposes. Such is the 
 initiatory measure, and two principal reasons 
 render it imperative. In the first place, it is ne- 
 cessary for us to know to what extent w^ must 
 exert ourselves, or we have not the means of de- 
 ciding how we shall act. Let us be informed as 
 to what is to be done, and Ave are then prepared 
 to do it. Secondly ; when the whole matter is 
 explained, fully understood, and has received, the 
 assent of all, we shall proceed with cheerfulness 
 and alacrity. Otherwise more or less darkness 
 and embarrassment must always rest upon the 
 church in her efforts to secure the required funds. 
 Let the annual estimate by the deacons, therefore, 
 never be neglected. 
 
 As we have seen, in tliis, and the two preceding 
 chapters, that God designs that the necessary 
 revenues sliall be created, the church is, of course, 
 obliged to go forward in the performance of this 
 
THE CHURCH. 113 
 
 duty. The obligation rests alike upon all, and 
 each is expected to make a free-will offering ac- 
 cording to his or her ability, for the maintenance 
 of tlie cause. Some churches have investments 
 of various kinds, the profits of which are so ap- 
 plied. Others make their seats sources of reve- 
 nue. Others, still, have a preference to subscrip- 
 tions and donations. And yet others choose to 
 mingle these plans. " Let every man be fully 
 persuaded in his own mind." I can perceive 
 nothing improper in them, provided they are so 
 conducted as to harmonize with the di\ine law, 
 are approved by the particular church concerned, 
 and are adequate to the purposes in view. In this 
 whole matter the utmost openness and candor 
 should always be maintained. No bickerino-s, if 
 they can possibly be prevented, should ever arise, 
 on any subject, especially relating to mere pecu- 
 niary afTairs. 
 
 I wish, however, to call attention to a special 
 Divine statute, enacted for general purposes, and 
 which may apply, therefore, to the support of a 
 particular church, as well as to distant objects of 
 benevolence, about which, in various quarters, 
 much has of late been said, particularly in con- 
 10* 
 
114 REVENUES OF 
 
 nection with the work of missions. It is in these 
 words : — 
 
 " Upon the first day of the week [the Lord's 
 day] let every one of you lay by him in store 
 as God hath prospered him,"* for the purposes 
 of religion. This is the lav/ of the Divine Ruler, 
 delivered by an apostle, and it is obligatory upon 
 us all. Does any one exclaim, — What, money 
 on the Lord's day I Must we, on that day, be 
 counting our treasures, and determining our pro- 
 Jits ! Why, money and religion must not be 
 thought of together ! It is possible^ and the fact 
 should be remembered that this feeling, supposed 
 to be so holy, may be far otherwise. Indeed, it 
 may be, and often is, prompted by a worldly and 
 avaricious disposition. It is no evidence of our 
 humility and piety, that we become wiser than 
 Christ, and refuse to obey him, lest we should 
 thereby contract sin. We are commanded to serve 
 God with our substance, and the first fruits of 
 all our increase. AVe should also remember that 
 — " It is lawful for us to do good on the Sabbath 
 day." Besides, obedience to tliis injunction so 
 comiects our business pursuits and profits with 
 * 1 Cor. vi. 2. 
 
THE CHURCH. 115 
 
 the service of God, as essentially to crush the 
 inherent worldliness of nature, and lead us to that 
 habitual spirituality of mind so necessary, in busi- 
 ness and in pleasure, to be constantly cultivated. 
 " Whatsoever ye do — do all to the glory of God." 
 
 The excellency of the laws that govern this de- 
 partment is manifest, in the first place, in the fact 
 tliat they compel a weeldy settlement wil]i God. 
 HoAv easy is this, if done in time ! But it is not 
 so afterwards. If our accounts with him are per- 
 mitted to run through any very long period, they 
 either pass from our mmds, and are never adjust- 
 ed ; or they mount up to so large a sum, that we 
 think ourselves unprepared to meet it, and are 
 tempted to withhold it, and to refuse his rights. 
 We are never safe in disobedience to the obligation 
 which requires the duty prescribed to be per- 
 formed on the first day of every week. 
 
 In the second place, it will be seen that the con- 
 tribution here demanded is to be universal. This 
 is another excellency of the divme plan. " Let 
 every one of you lay by him in store." No man 
 is so poor that the obligation does not reach him. 
 None are excused this year because they liberally 
 contributed the last. Debts, cares, resposibilities, 
 contributions for other objects, are not sufficisnt 
 
116 REVENUES OF 
 
 apologies for not sustaining our own church. All 
 are equally interested, and " every one'''' must take 
 part in the work. In the act of joining the church 
 we pledge ourselves to obey Christ in this as well 
 as in every other respect. The solemn obligation 
 can never be cancelled, until death shall close our 
 earthly labors. 
 
 These contributions, I observe, in the third 
 place, can always be readily afforded, because they 
 are never disproportioned to our circumstances — 
 they are to be rendered each week " as God hath 
 prospered iis.^^ " It is required of a man accord- 
 ing to what he hath, and not according to what he 
 hath not." What we do is to be graduated by 
 the measure of our prosperity. He, it would 
 seem, thus calls upon us to look to him in our 
 temporal, as well as our spiritual interests, with 
 the intimation that, by giving us prosperity, or 
 sending upon us adversity, he will regulate his 
 own treasury. If he wants much he will indicate 
 it by his greater temporal blessings. If we refuse 
 his service, he sends upon us a chastisement for 
 our unfaithfulness, calamity and distress, either in 
 our property, or in ourselves, or in both. 
 
 In the last place, since the wants of Christ's 
 kingdom must regularly continue, and thus impose 
 
THE CHURCH. 117 
 
 upon his people perpetually recurring obligations, 
 he demands our contributions regularly, each 
 week. On the morning of every Lord's day, we 
 must review our temporal affairs for the week ; 
 ascertain the extent of the divine favor which we 
 have enjoyed ; and malvc such a pecuniary expres- 
 sion of our sense of gratitude as an enlightened 
 conscience may dictate; laying by us in store 
 for the kingdom of Christ ; that our own and the 
 contributions of others, may make up a sufficient 
 revenue. 
 
 In many places, and especially with reference 
 to her own necessary individual expenditures, the 
 church returns to her contributors a consideration, 
 in seats and other immunities in the house of 
 worship, as the avails of investments of various 
 kinds for sacred purposes. This, however, is a 
 matter of mere personal and individual arrange- 
 ment, vv^hich she may comply with, or disregard, 
 at her discretion. 
 
 These are some of the excellencies of the di\Tne 
 method. In its execution, regard is had to all, of 
 every character, M'ho compose the great mass of 
 believers. Too frequently churches are supported 
 wholly by a few persons, and tlie multitude do 
 almost nothing. Such a condition of tilings, as it 
 
118 REVENUES OF 
 
 is always exceedingly pernicious, should be most 
 sedulously avoided. . Either the few contribute 
 more than they ought, or the amount raised is in- 
 sufficient; and, in both cases, all are sufferers. 
 Those who fail, or refuse to act, are injured, the 
 church deliberately permits them to sin ; they ne- 
 cessarily feel little interest in a cause, for the ad- 
 vancement of which they make no exertions; 
 their consciousness becomes blunted; and they 
 soon are found to occupy a very low position in 
 the scale of religion. This, doubtless, is one rea- 
 son why there are, in our country, so many 
 churches, and Christians, who " have a name that 
 they live, and are dead." 
 
 The execution of the law of Christ, it will be 
 seen, on consideration, is entirely practicable. 
 There is but one person upon whom it depends, 
 and that is the man himself who is the contributor. 
 He acts under the all-seeing eye, and graduates 
 his proceedings by his own sense of obligation to 
 the author of all his blessings. Inability never 
 can be pleaded, because it is impossible that it 
 should exist, since we contribute only " as God 
 has prospered us,^^ and at a time when the avails 
 are yet in our own hands. Who cannot do thus 
 much ? The whole plan proceeds upon a sort of 
 
I 
 
 THE CHURCH. 119 
 
 ad valorem principle, the stock of which is the 
 blessing of our heavenly Father. The arrange- 
 ment is fully practicable. 
 
 As I have already observed, in tlie practice of 
 this principle, every man consults his own tem- 
 poral as well as spiritual advancement. It gives 
 regularity and promptness to his habits of action. 
 If he possess these in spiritual things, they will 
 inevitably communicate themselves to his tempo- 
 ral engagements, and always greatly to their ad- 
 vantage. It will compel him weekly to calculate 
 his profits and losses in business. Otherwise he 
 cannot determine what duty requires him to con- 
 secrate as an offering to God. Thus he will, ne- 
 cessarily, be kept fully informed, and may avoid 
 falling into numerous snares and dangers, by which 
 we are perpetually surrounded. Above all, it will 
 accustom him to conduct his affairs with constant 
 reference to his duty to God, and thus defend him 
 against an inordinate attachment to the things of 
 this life. 
 
 Such is the law of God, its excellencies and 
 its characteristics, for creating and sustaining the 
 requisite revenues in his church. As to the 
 amount and all other circumstances, except that it 
 is to be larger or smaller, as God's blessing shall 
 
120 REVENUES OF 
 
 indicate, it is left to the voluntary decision of the 
 individual concerned. But he who is able and 
 will do nothing, manifests an indifference, and a 
 spirit of disobedience to Christ, inconsistent w^ith 
 religion. What a man contributes for the cause 
 of Christ, is proof of what he feels. He feels no 
 more than he does ; and he that does nothing feels 
 nothing, and should be permitted to profess no- 
 thing. Thus in the support of the gospel, our 
 love to God is thoroughly tested on the principle 
 that a " tree is known by its fruit." 
 
 As, however, the best system for revenue, or 
 for any other purpose, in civil government, must, 
 without the superintendence of appropriate offi- 
 cers, entirely fail of its end, so it is in the church 
 of Christ. No plan will execute itself. Chris- 
 tians should be taught the laws of Christ on this 
 subject ; for I must believe they are willing to 
 comply with them when understood. Why, then, 
 are these laws so seldom obeyed ? I answer, the 
 ministry have not given the people the insti'uction, 
 definitely and fully, they needed on this subject ; 
 and the evil has been aggravated by the fact, that 
 no one has superintended their execution. Com- 
 pliance, therefore, has been, in effect, not advocated 
 and enforced, but entirely discouraged. If the 
 
THE CHURCH. 
 
 121 
 
 deacons are the financial officers of the church, 
 and supermtcnd the whole department committed 
 to them ; and if the laws will not execute them- 
 selves ; they, of course, are their executors, 
 divinely appointed for this purpose. They are 
 as much obliged to see the laws carried into effect 
 in their department, as the pastor is in his, or as 
 the church is in hers. When a member habit- 
 ually violates gospel morals, it is the duty of every 
 one associated with him as Christians, to bring him 
 to the proper discipline ; it is the duty of the pas- 
 tor to provide that the gospel be fully preached, 
 and all the ordinances of religion duly adminis- 
 tered ; if so, it is no less the duty of the deacons 
 to see that every member contributes to the sacred 
 revenue, according to his ability, and to bring the 
 amount into the treasury. It may not, always, be 
 necessary or even desirable, for all to bestow mo- 
 ney. Some may have other things fully as pro- 
 fitable — food and raiment, or any other required 
 articles. Let these be contributed. To many of 
 our country brethren, such an aiTangement may 
 be exceedingly convenient. But an entire and 
 persevering refusal to comply with the divine in- 
 junction on this subject, should never be permitted 
 to pass without the proper action of the church. 
 11 
 
122 REVENUES OF 
 
 Who, that considers the whole subject now 
 before you maturely, can doubt, that carried fully 
 into effect the arrangement would prove entirely 
 sufficient for all the purposes designed. God in- 
 tended it to be sufficient, and if it fails it is not his 
 fault, but because we are unfaithful to our trust. 
 
 Let us here recapitulate, as to the duties of dea- 
 cons. We have, in this and the two preceding 
 chapters, seen that these all arise from their office 
 as depositaries of the common property and funds 
 of the church, of which they have, ex officio, the 
 possession and superintendence, and consist in 
 these FOUR particulars — that they pay the ordi- 
 nary and incidental expenses of divine worship ; 
 that they take care of the poor and distressed; 
 that they see that the pastor is comfortably sup- 
 ported ; and that they superintend the prosecution 
 of the scriptural plans for the raising of such reve- 
 nues as may be necessary for the regular and per- 
 manent service of our holy religion. Such is the 
 sum of all the divinely enjoined duties of the 
 Deacons. 
 
 I close the discussion of this part of our sub- 
 ject by suggesting that, as the deacons, in their 
 own peculiar department are, as we have said, a 
 BOARD OF OFFICERS, or the exccutive hoard of 
 
THE CHURCH. 123 
 
 tlie church, for her temporal department, it is ne- 
 cessary that they hold stated and frequent meetings 
 of their own body in that capacity, prepare to pro- 
 secute their duties in concert, and with the best 
 advice. Who can doubt that the first deacons 
 held daily meetings ? The peculiar nature of their 
 relations to the disciples required it. In our cir- 
 cumstances their sessions should not be less fre- 
 quent, especially in the towns, than once in a 
 month. They appear to me to be imperative, on 
 many accounts. Unity, and co-operation in action, 
 are of the utmost importance. But without stated 
 and frequent meetings they can never be gained or 
 preserved. They will compel thought ; lead to 
 a better knowledge of their duties ; to a higher 
 appreciation of their importance ; and to more 
 promptness and fidelity in their execution. 
 
124 DEACONESSES. 
 
 CHAPTER VII. 
 
 DEACONESSES. 
 
 Female assistants to the Deacons existed in the primitive 
 churches. — References to them by Ecclesiastical Histo- 
 rians. — By early Christian writers. — By the Scriptures. — 
 Are they necessary. — Their qualifications. — Their du- 
 ties. — They are virtually employed in our own churches. 
 —Practical conclusions. 
 
 Female assistants to the deacons, usually called 
 Deaconesses, existed in the primitive churches. 
 They were ladies of approved character and piety ; 
 and their duty required them to minister to females, 
 under circumstances in which it would have been 
 manifestly improper that the other sex should have 
 been employed. Their services were regarded as 
 of very great importance, if not entirely indis- 
 pensable. Ecclesiastical historians, the early 
 fathers, and other writers, refer to them frequently 
 and familiarly. 
 
 Mosheim, for example, in his History of the 
 First Century, introduces them thus : — " The 
 
DEACONESSES. 125 
 
 eastern churches elected deaconesses, and chose 
 for that purpose, matrons, or widows, of eminent 
 sanctity, who also ministered to the necessities of 
 tlie poor, and performed several other offices, that 
 tended to order and decency in the church."* All 
 the other writers of his class, of distinction, have 
 stated the same tiling in similar terms. 
 
 Clemens of Alexandria,t who wrote in the 
 second century, treats extensively of deaconesses,* 
 advocates their legitimacy, and appeals as autho- 
 rity, to Paul's first epistle to Timothy. Jerome, 
 who flourished in the fourth century, speaks of 
 them,+ as generally found in the churches. The 
 book of "Apostolic Constitutions," prescribes 
 their election, and publishes forms for their ordi- 
 nation.§ We may indeed appeal, on this topic, 
 even to the enemies of the Christians. Phny, 
 the distinguished Roman Governor of Bythinia, 
 in his well-known letter to the Emperor Trajan,|l 
 regarding their affairs, describes two females whom 
 he ordered to be put to the torture, and says of 
 them : — " quae mmistrse dicebantur," who were 
 called ministresses, or female deacons. 
 
 * Vol. i. pp. 90, 91. t Stromab. Lib. 3, p. 448. 
 
 % Comm. in 1 Tim. iii. 11. § Lib. viii. ch. 19, 20. 
 II Anno Domini 106. 
 
 11* 
 
12G DEACONESSES. 
 
 There can be, therefore, no doubt as to the mat- 
 ter of fact. It is conceded, on all hands, that dea- 
 conesses were employed, and that constant resort 
 was had to their ministry in the first churches of 
 Christ. The only question to be decided is, 
 whether the word of God authorizes, or in any 
 manner enjoins their appointment. This infallible 
 authority is our unerring guide. When we have 
 ascertained its teachings, we comply without fur- 
 ther inquiry. Let us, then, " to the law and to the 
 testimony." " What saith the Scriptures ?" 
 
 In his address to the church in Rome, Paul thus 
 appeals to his brethren of that city : — " I com- 
 mend unto you Phoebe, our sister, which is a 
 [Ataxoi'Oj/, a Deaconess, in our version a] servant 
 of the church in Cenchrea ; that ye receive her in 
 the Lord, as becometh saints ; and that ye assist 
 her in whatsoever business she hath need of you ; 
 for she hath been a succorer of many, and of me 
 also."* Phoebe is, therefore, by an apostle, called 
 expressly a Deaconess of the church ; and we are 
 assured that she had honorably and effectually ex- 
 ercised that office, in the succors she had extended 
 to many, and, either directly or indirectly, to the 
 apostle himself among the number. Two facts are 
 * Rom. xvi. 1. 
 
DEACONESSES. 127 
 
 implied in this passage, both of which are worthy 
 of our attention. The first is, tliat the apostle 
 speaks of this excellent lady m her official cha- 
 racter, in terms of high approbation, and com- 
 mends her, not only as a sister, but as a Deacon- 
 ess, to his brethren in Rome. This he never 
 could have done, if he had not regarded the office 
 as legitimate. And the second is, the strong pro- 
 babiUty, that, as the church at Cenchrea had dea- 
 conesses, they were also found in all the other 
 churches. Uniformity, no doubt, prevailed in 
 their organization. This passage, therefore, must 
 be regarded as conclusive of the Scripture warrant 
 for deaconesses. 
 
 But this is not all. Three other passages are 
 supposed to allude to the deaconesses. To these 
 I will refer, however, only as collateral testimony 
 in the premises. 
 
 Speaking of a class of persons called "X>;^aj," 
 (Cheras,) the apostle says : — " Let not a ividow 
 be taken into the nwmfeer under three score years 
 old ; having been the wife of one man ; well re- 
 ported of for good works ; if she have brought up 
 children ; if she have lodged strangers ; if she have 
 washed the saints' feet ; [mmistered the usual rites 
 of hospitality ;] if she have relieved the afflicted ; 
 
128 DEACONESSES. 
 
 if she have dihgently followed every good work."* 
 The nature, or the privileges of this class, into 
 which only widows, of the character described, 
 were to *'be taken," I shall not now attempt to 
 determine. It is very certain, however, that they 
 were not, as has been so generally supposed, to be 
 " taken into the number" of those who were sup- 
 ported by the church. " It can hardly be ima- 
 gined that a widow, unless she had considerable 
 property, could have done the things enumerated, 
 some of vv^hich would occasion no small expense. "t 
 She could not, therefore, have been very poor. 
 Would it not, also, have been a strange prohibi- 
 tion, if the benevolence of the church had been de- 
 nied to a woman, however helpless and afflicted, 
 unless she was sixty years old? How singular, 
 too, the condition that she must have had children, 
 to entitle her to this bounty ! If a woman have 
 children, she is thought on that account to be left 
 dependent. Indeed, in a previous injunction, in 
 immediate connection with this passage, the apos- 
 tle says : — " If any widow have children, or 
 nephews, let them learn first to show piety at 
 home, and to requite their parents, for that is good 
 and acceptable before God. "J In other words, 
 ♦ 1 Tim. V. 9, 10. t Clark's Com. in loc. X 1 Tim. v. 4, 
 
DEACONESSES. 129 
 
 such widows are to be supported by their chil- 
 dren, or nephews, and not by the church. Who, 
 then, were these "Xj;^aj?" [Cheras.) The quali- 
 fications required of them singularly resemble 
 tliose of a deacon. Their age, however, was too 
 great to suppose that they were capable of much 
 active service. Many of our best biblical exposi- 
 tors presume that they were those who had been 
 deaconesses, and now, in the evening of theh days, 
 enjoyed some kind of pecuUar immunities. 
 
 A second passage speaks of them, as is believed, 
 under the general name of " Women." Address- 
 ing some unnamed brother and friend at Philippi, 
 Paul says : — " I entreat thee also, true yoke fellow, 
 [colleague] help those ivomen who labored with 
 me in the gospel."-^ How did they labor with 
 hun iji the gospel ? It cannot be tliat they preached, 
 since the same aposde says, in another place — " I 
 suffer not a woman to teach nor to usurp autho- 
 rity" in the church. Yet they labored with Paul, 
 and were so distinct from all others, that they were 
 known by the simple description — '''those wo- 
 men." Why should we withhold our assent from 
 the almost unanimous opinion of commentators, 
 that they were the deaconesses of the church ? 
 * Phil. iv. 3. 
 
130 DEACONESSES. 
 
 To the last- passage I had occasion before to 
 refer, when treating of the quahfications of dea- 
 cons, and then promised that I would, in a future 
 chapter, consider it more at large. In our com- 
 mon version it has the following reading : — " Even 
 so must their [the deacons'] wives be grave, not 
 slanderous, sober, faithful in all things."* We 
 have already seen, I trust, satisfactorily, that no 
 reference is here had to the wives of deacons. 
 But does not the apostle say — " Even so must 
 their wives be grave ?" In our translation he 
 does ; but when you turn to the original, you find 
 no such thing ! The reading is : — Tv^aixaj wtyavrcoj 
 afftmj — hterally — "Let the women also be grave." 
 This strikingly resembles the last passage noticed 
 — " Help those wojnen.^^ The wives of the 
 deacons, as we have before seen, are spoken of in 
 the next verse, and not in this. These " ivomen,''^ 
 then, were some other ^^ tvomeny and not the 
 deacons' wives. What women were they ? Cle- 
 mens, Jerome, and other ancient writers, say they 
 were the Deaconesses, and so say our best writers 
 of modern times. The conclusion is most natural. 
 No one supposes they were the deacons' wives. 
 Paul, in other places, speaks of them. He was 
 * 1 Tim. iii. 11. 
 
DEACONESSES. 131 
 
 here describing the quaUfications of deacons, and 
 what is more consonant than to suppose, that, in 
 passing-, he adds a few words regarding tlie quali- 
 fications of deaconesses. As the Deacons, so the 
 Deaconesses must be grave, not slanderers, sober, 
 faithful in all things. Such, I confess, appears to 
 me to be the true sense of the apostle. 
 
 Take all these passages together, and I think it 
 will be difficult for us to resist the conclusion that 
 tlie word of God authorizes, and in some sense, 
 certauily by implication, enjoins the appointment 
 of deaconesses in the churches of tUhrist. 
 
 Were they, in ancient times, and are they now, 
 " requisite and necessary ?" This is our next in- 
 quiry, and we address ourselves, without formality, 
 to its consideration. 
 
 We cannot but reply in the affirmative, if we 
 consider what has been, in all ages, and what is 
 now, tlie condition of females in the east. They 
 are generally, as is well known, much more se- 
 cluded than they are with us. Access can pro- 
 perly be had to them, and they can, therefore, in 
 many respects be benefited only by persons of 
 their own sex. These should, without doubt, be 
 women of approved character and ability, and 
 ought to go forth to their work with tlie sanction 
 
132 DEACONESSES. 
 
 of the church. In oriental countries, therefore, 
 deaconesses were, and are, beyond question, in- 
 dispensable. 
 
 And are they altogether useless among us ? Do 
 we not know that they might have admission to 
 multitudes of their own sex with very great ad- 
 vantage to the interests of religion, under circum^- 
 stances in which, otherwise, they must remain 
 unvisited ? Gentlemen cannot administer to their 
 wants. And further, when ladies are to be bap- 
 tized, tliey may be left, and frequently are, in the 
 most painful manner, unattended, unless there are 
 some persons specially designated for that duty ; 
 or they may be accompanied by those of very 
 unsuitable character. Deaconesses, therefore, are, 
 every where, as necessary as they were in the 
 days of the apostles. 
 
 Let us next consider their qualifications, as we 
 find them set forth in the word of God. 
 
 If deaconesses are to be employed, it is very 
 evident that they should be women whose reputa- 
 tion for piety, and whose kind, intelligent, and 
 courteous deportment, will give force to their min- 
 istrations, and all whose conversation and inter- 
 course will beneficially impress those for whom 
 they labor. We are accordingly admonished that 
 
DEACONESSES. 133 
 
 they must " be grave, not slanderers, [(Wj^ 5ca,3o?.ovf, 
 literally, not devils,] sober, faithful in all things" — 
 women who " have followed every good work." 
 Those of this character, and not the vain, the 
 giddy, and the thoughdess, should do the office of 
 deaconesses. The reasons are plain. They are 
 to visit the sick, the miserable, and the helpless, 
 and ought to feel for them an abiding sympathy, 
 and be ready and able, at all times, to hold forth 
 to them the consolations of the gospel of Christ. 
 They are, as we have said, to attend their neo- 
 phyte sister at baptism, and to be the companions 
 of her toilet, before and after the sacrament. This 
 solemn and striking act of Christian devotion is 
 to be perfonned but once in our life ! How im- 
 portant, then, that, during its administration, we 
 should feel the full spirit of the gospel ! But how 
 easily, on such occasions, by the frivolous conver- 
 sation of thoughtless girls, to whom this duty may 
 be left, are the minds of the recipients diverted 
 from the proper thoughts, and is all the holy 
 sweetness of that hour destroyed ! These, and 
 the numerous other interesting and important du- 
 ties they are called upon to fulfil, make it neces- 
 sary that they maintain the prescribed character. 
 12 
 
134 DEACONESSES. 
 
 " Let the women also be grave, sober, faithful in 
 all things." 
 
 When we look around us we see, indeed, in 
 effect, deaconesses in nearly all our well regulated 
 churches. In most of the other denominations, 
 the office is rendered unnecessary, partly by their 
 having abolished baptism, partly by their aristo- 
 cratic propensities, on account of which, as we 
 have seen in another place, they themselves con- 
 fess that they have almost " no poor among them ;" 
 and partly by their having instituted, in opposition 
 to the gospel, female orders, as with the Roman 
 Catholics, who have their troops of " Sisters of 
 Charily,^'' and other sisters rather too charitable; 
 but in the true church, in which are maintained 
 primitive principles, all the original institutions of 
 religion are indispensable. There are ladies, self- 
 appointed, I admit, but whose intelligence and 
 piety have led them to see that such offices ought 
 to be performed, and, governed by a just sense of 
 propriety, who voluntarily undertake to discharge 
 them. Thus they become substantially deacon- 
 esses, and in some degree make amends for the 
 want of proper ecclesiastical action. Our churches 
 thus far, consequently, have the benefit of dea- 
 conesses. 
 
DEACONESSES. 135 
 
 We have now seen, with as much brevity as 
 the nature of the case would admit, that female 
 assistants to deacons, or deaconesses, existed in 
 the primitive churches ; we have considered the 
 passages in the word of God, in which they are 
 named and described ; we have proved tlieir ne- 
 cessity at the present day, as well as in former 
 times, where the duties and ordinances of religion 
 are administered in their original and lawful forms ; 
 we have examined their qualifications, and shown 
 that they are still found, substantially, in all our 
 best regulated churches. We close this topic by 
 remarking, that from all that appears in the Scrip- 
 tures, we are justified in the conclusion that dea- 
 conesses were not, as deacons are, formally 
 ordained, " the book of Apostolic Constitutions," 
 as it is improperly called, to the contrary notwith- 
 standing. Apostolic example authorizes and en- 
 joins their appointment. But in their selection, 
 (I judge from the silence of inspiration) no further 
 proceedings were had than the action of the church 
 by which they were designated, and their own 
 promise to perform, " to the best of their know- 
 ledge and ability," the duties enjoined. All that 
 seems yet to be wanting among us, is the selection 
 and approval by the churches, of the persons to 
 
136 DEACONESSES. 
 
 be employed ; and, generally, more regular and 
 systematic attention to this department, so as to 
 secure the performance of its duties well, promptly, 
 and faithfully. 
 
CO-OPERATION, ETC. 137 
 
 CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 THE DUTY OF THE CHURCH AND THE MINISTRY TO 
 CO-OPERATE WITH THE DEACONS. 
 
 Three departments in the Church. — Their mutual depend- 
 ence. — Co-operation of the Church with the Deacons. — 
 Of the ministry with the Deacons. — Their responsibili- 
 ties. — The consequences. — Motives to co-operation. 
 
 Every church of Christ, regularly organized 
 according to the Scriptures, is made up of three 
 departments. The first is constituted of the body 
 of the people, who compose the communicants ; 
 the second of the deacons ; and the third is filled 
 by the pastor. These all form one church, whose 
 unity is essential to its strength and success. 
 Each department niusi have the concurrence and 
 co-operation of the others, in both spiritual and 
 temporal things. The church is the depository 
 of the Divine word and ordinances ; and has in 
 charge the purity of truth, and the conversion of 
 the world. But without a pastorship and other 
 ministry, she could achieve nothing. The whole 
 12* 
 
138 CO-OPERATION WITH 
 
 body would present the aspect of an unwieldy 
 mass, without a voice to speak, or hands to exe- 
 cute her purposes. Therefore, — " God hath set 
 some in the church, first apostles, secondarily 
 prophets, [and] thirdly teachers."* These are 
 her agents for the diffusion of light — the universal 
 propagation of the gospel. They must, therefore, 
 co-operate with her faithfully and zealously in the 
 great work. 
 
 The ministry, on the other hand, can do little 
 without the church to sustain them and to second 
 their efforts. The co-operation of the church 
 removed, and they would have no human arm on 
 which to lean ; no warm hearts to sympathize in 
 their toils, perplexities, and objects ; no compa- 
 nions in prayer, to mvigorate their faith and to 
 cheer them on to duty. Under God they must 
 look to the church, and there they find " a muni- 
 tion of rock" — a source of resistless energy. 
 While the ministers are thus upheld, temporally 
 and spiritually, and are able to point the world to 
 her light, as concurrent evidence of the power of 
 the ffospel, " no weapon that is formed against her 
 shall prosper," — victory shall crown them in every 
 field of their conflicts. 
 
 * iSph. iv. 11. 
 
THE DEACONS. 139 
 
 All this, however, is dependent, in no small 
 degree, upon the powerful auxiliary aid of the 
 Deaconship. The church would be fully as effi- 
 cient with a good Deaconship, and without a min- 
 istry, as she would be with a good ministry and 
 without a Deaconship. The result, in either case, 
 would be feebleness and disaster. Remove the 
 deacons, or, what amounts to the same thing, let 
 them be incompetent or inefficient, and the church 
 is lilie an army without officers, unprovisioned and 
 undisciplined, in the country of its enemy. No 
 channel, regularly arranged, for supplies or direc- 
 tion exists, and all their efforts are paralyzed. 
 Every divinely appointed department is necessary 
 to every other. A competent and faithful Dea- 
 conship must have the co-operation of the church 
 and of the ministry, in order to the advancement 
 of the cause of Christ. 
 
 If, in their ordination, the deacons enter into 
 vows before God, to do by his help the work 
 assigned them., the churches, in their election and 
 presentation, and the ministry, in their ordination, 
 solemnly pledge themselves to stand by them in 
 their office. 
 
 The church then, in the first place, who elects 
 the deacons, and presents them for appointment, 
 
140 CO-OPERATION WITH 
 
 in that act solemnly pledges to them her co-ope- 
 ration in the great work to which they are called. 
 What this is I have already shown, in what has 
 been said on the duties of the deacons. Is it pos- 
 sible that she can ever, voluntarily, fail to redeem 
 that obligation ? Can we forget or violate responsi- 
 bilities so sacred, into which we have entered with 
 all the sanctions of religion ? Alas ! I fear that it 
 is but too common. How criminal in the sight 
 of God is such an abandonment ! How unjust ! 
 How destructive to the church ! If every bro- 
 ther shall be ready when called upon, or even 
 without being called upon, to do whatever his 
 abihty or the cause of Christ may demand, the 
 labors of the deacons will be sufficiently ardu- 
 ous, and no christian will have gone beyond his 
 own voluntary promise. But if any considerable 
 number neglect or refuse, what can they do ? They 
 may toil on for a season, but sooner or later they 
 must sink ! The cause cannot be maintained 
 unless every one will do his duty. When it is 
 decided that the co-operation of the church cannot 
 be obtained, what is the remedy ? I can think of 
 none but to abandon her, as we would an unma- 
 nageable ship at sea. Her members habitually 
 disregard the authority of Christ, and violate theii 
 
THE DEACONS. 141 
 
 own solemn vows. They have no right to be 
 respected as a church of the Redeemer. To per- 
 petuate such a body, under Uiat sacred title, is to 
 preserve and cherish a reproach — a leprosy upon 
 the name and honor of religion. It does not fre- 
 quently happen, however, that all the church neg- 
 lect, or refuse, to co-operate with the deacons, but 
 that individual members do so, and sometimes in 
 numbers so large as almost to overwhelm all her 
 energies. In such cases j what is the remedy ? I 
 answer that the delinquents, if they camiot be re- 
 clauned, should be required to answer at her bar. 
 Members of the body politic, who constandy vio- 
 late, or perseveringly neglect to observe, the laws 
 of their countrv, are sure to be called to account. 
 If diey are not, the government is pronounced 
 utterly depraved and worthless. Shall the church 
 be less just than civil government ? No society 
 can safely tolerate m its bosom those who will not 
 conform to its laws. How much less should a 
 church continue in its fellowship persons who 
 habitually, openly, and perseveringly disregard the 
 laws of the Redeemer ? Can she do it and pre- 
 serve her purity, or gain the end for which she 
 was organized ? 
 
 But more commonly, no refusal to co-operate 
 
142 CO-OPERATION WITH 
 
 with the deacons takes place. Indeed, all pro- 
 fessedly desire to see the work done, and the 
 cause prosper. No one, however, is ready, or 
 prepared to do any thing himself. Slothfulness 
 rests upon them with the crushing weight of a 
 mountain. They will act, as soon as they can ; 
 but they never can ; they never do ! Through 
 this process the same result is reached. They do 
 nothing, not for want of ability, but, really, be- 
 cause they will do nothmg ! Their reluctance to 
 duty, like that of a sinner to religion, can never be 
 overcome. Thus they sin against God, and de- 
 stroy themselves. 
 
 How long will the church submit to such degra- 
 dation, and soil her beautiful garments in the 
 dust ! Let her arise to a sense of her own dignity 
 and glory. Let every one of her members be 
 well and thoroughly instructed as to what is re- 
 quired at his hands, and what the deacons have a 
 right to expect and demand. Then, if the love of 
 God dwell richly in their hearts, their co-operation 
 with them will not be difficult. They will re- 
 joice that they are permitted to be associated, ac- 
 tively, with those who " are workers together 
 with Christ," in the salvation of men. 
 
 But the ministry, also, in the second place, in 
 
THE DEACONS. 143 
 
 the ordination of the deacons, are solemnly pledged 
 to co-operate with them, in all the legitimate ser- 
 vices of their sacred calling. 
 
 This promise is, mainly, redeemed by teaching 
 those who are under their charge then- whole 
 duty, upon every part of the subject in hand. 
 They are the divinely appointed instructors, both 
 of deacons and people. All must have light; and 
 if the pastors, and other ministers, do not give it, 
 faitlifully and fully, they stand condemned, before 
 both God and his church. If ignorance of duty 
 on the part of the church, however well inchned 
 she may be, necessarily produces a failure to co- 
 operate with the deacons, because she knows not 
 how to act, how much more injurious must be 
 the absence of adequate knowledge on the part of 
 the deacons themselves ! If they know not their 
 duty, how can they be expected to perform it ? 
 Are we not obliged to confess that great want of 
 information has prevailed, and, in many places, 
 yet prevails, among them ? How often are those 
 found who imagine, when they have prepared the 
 sacred emblems, and waited upon the communi- 
 cants, at the Lord's supper, that most of their 
 work is done ! Besides this, they presume, if any 
 thing happens to be in their hands for that purpose, 
 
144 CO-OPERATION WITH 
 
 that they ought to reheve the necessities of the suf- 
 fering, and to have, too, some care for their pastor. 
 But their ideas on the whole subject are, more or 
 less, confused ; and how, and to what extent, they 
 are to act, they have very Httle conception. Who, I 
 now ask, is principally responsible for this igno- 
 rance, and consequent inefficiency ? The minis- 
 try, undoubtedly ! It is their duty to teach the 
 whole body. They have not done so, and there- 
 fore have failed to co-operate, as they are pledged 
 to do, in this great work. 
 
 Ministers generally, it must be conceded, mani- 
 fest great disinclination to give to their people 
 much instruction in that peculiar department which 
 belongs to the deacons. 
 
 They are entitled, I suppose, to some apology, 
 because the subject seems to involve their own 
 personal interest, and, since they are liable to be 
 charged with selfishness as their motive, and the 
 world, and covetous professors of religion, have so 
 readily the stereotyped imputation — " money hunt- 
 ers," they are afraid. But the result is, that 
 they are driven, by the fear of their enemies, into 
 unfaithfulness to God, to their brethren, and to the 
 cause of Christ ! It is, I confess it, possible that, 
 if they preach the whole truth on this, as well as 
 
THE DEACONS. 145 
 
 every other subject, the reputation and influence 
 of some of them, in various quarters, may, for a 
 season, be injured. But, brethren, the work must 
 be done, come what v.iih Let us, then, approach 
 it in the spirit of Paul, and "count not even our 
 Hves dear unto ourselves, so that we might fmish 
 our course with joy, and the ministry wliich we 
 have received of the I^ord Jesus, to testify the 
 gospel of the grace of God." 
 
 Fidelity, on the part both of the church and of 
 the ministry, is of the utmost importance. With- 
 out it, all must, by this time, confess that the 
 church cannot be sustained, and the truth propa- 
 gated, with vigor and effect. With it, we have 
 the blessing of God, a good conscience, and the 
 fulfilment of our highest desires. 
 
 And the motives to co-operation with the dea- 
 cons — how infinitely strong are they ! 
 
 We all profess to regard the souls of men as 
 of countless value. Can they be saved without 
 the gospel ? Can that be extended — can it even 
 continue to be preached where it now is — unless 
 we have the mutual and warm concurrence of all 
 the departments in the church ? Truth is more 
 precious than gold; but it cannot otherwise be 
 propagated and defended. How are the claims 
 13 
 
146 CO-OPERATION, ETC. 
 
 upon us of the poor, the distressed, and the 
 wretched, to be met? How are the ordmances 
 of the house of God to be admuiistered ? The 
 church, and the ministry, therefore, are obhged to 
 co-operate with the deacons, by their duty of obe- 
 dience to Christ; by their own solemn pledge, 
 given at their election and ordination ; by their 
 love to the souls of men ; by their reverence for 
 the truth of God ; by their obligations to the poor, 
 the suffering and distressed ; and by their estimate 
 of the ordinances and privileges of the gospel of 
 Christ. 
 
IMPORTANCE OF FAITHFULNESS. 147 
 
 CHAPTER IX. 
 
 IMPORTANCE OF FAITHFULNESS ON THE PART OF 
 THE DEACONS. 
 
 The remedy for unfaithfulness. — The Deacons' vow. — 
 Their several relations. — Benefits of faithfulness. — Re- 
 capitulation. — Conclusion. 
 
 Faithfulness is a duty enjoined on all Chris- 
 tians. It is made the condition— while its oppo- 
 site is denounced as most repugnant to God — of 
 the highest rewards. " Be thou faitliful unto 
 death," said the adorable Redeemer to his labor- 
 ing and persecuted disciples, " and I will give you 
 a crown of life." The importance of possessing 
 this quality is necessarily increased in any par- 
 ticular case, in proportion as persons are elevated 
 in office and influence in the church. The fidelity 
 of the deacons, therefore, is next in consequence 
 to that of the pastor himself, since such is their 
 relative position in the kingdom of Messiali. 
 
148 IMPORTANCE OF 
 
 Unhappily, cases of unfaithfulness on the part 
 of deacons are but too frequent, and too little re- 
 garded. This dereliction must arise either from 
 incompetence, neglect, or design. To be faithful, 
 deacons must know their duty, they must cheer- 
 fully and willingly do their duty, and they must 
 do it at the proper time, and in the proper spirit, 
 and manner. Look into the condition of the 
 church whose deacons are not faithful to their 
 trust, and what do you see ? Every interest is 
 languishing. Her financial affairs become de- 
 ranged and ruined ; the poor and miserable weep 
 unpitied and unrelieved ; the sick are unvisited ; 
 the pastor, discouraged and overwhelmed, is either 
 broken down in spirit, and inefficient, or leaves for 
 a more promising field in which to bestow his 
 toils ; the congregations fall off, and cease to feel 
 further interest; the genius of desolation broods, 
 in darkness and silence, over the whole scene ! Is 
 this picture overdrawn ? Would to God it were. 
 On the contrary, its reality may, at this moment, 
 be found in a thousand places all over our broad 
 land. It reveals one of the most prolific causes 
 why so many of our churches have ceased to 
 exist ; and why so many others have been divided, 
 scattered, and led into destructive errors, of every 
 
FAITHFULNESS. 149 
 
 grade and complexion. These arc the natural re- 
 sults. The church so officered, cannot retain a 
 competent ministry. She, therefore, satisfies her- 
 self, either with none at all, or with the services 
 of those who do more harm than good. Un- 
 qualified pastors often complete the ruin which 
 such deacons, by making way for them, had only 
 begun. They are, whatever their age may be, 
 "not'fces," who cannot teach, who will not learn, 
 who are liable to be corrupted by the first errorist 
 who will flatter and persuade them, and too often, 
 after having perverted the church, they consign it 
 over, as a trophy, into the possession of the 
 enemy. Some such disaster, unless the peculiar 
 favor of God interpose, always occurs. Never 
 did a church, whose deacons were unfaithful to 
 their trust, permanently flourish. 
 
 But is there, perhaps we shall now be asked, 
 no remedy ? Can such officers never, by any 
 scriptural process, be displaced and succeeded by 
 others ? 
 
 If a lay member is dehnquent he is subjected 
 
 to discipline, and either reformed or excluded. A 
 
 pastor who is unfaithful is readily removed, and 
 
 if he is heterodox or disorderly, he is deposed, 
 
 13* 
 
150 IMPORTANCE OF 
 
 probably excommunicated. But if a man is a 
 deacon, no matter whether he is faithful or un- 
 faithful, he remains in office during life, unless he 
 please to change his residence, or is expelled from 
 fellowship for immorality ! Who ever heard of a 
 deacon's being deposed, or even impeached, for 
 want of fidelity in his office ? I never did ! Why 
 is this ? Has none of them ever materiaUy erred ? 
 This cannot be supposed. Does it not go fer to 
 prove that there is something on this point exceed- 
 ingly wrong, and singularly unguarded? The 
 church, I answer, has the same remedy here that 
 she has in all other cases. God has said to her, 
 and she cannot misunderstand the admonition : — 
 " Thy brother — thou shalt, in any wise, not suffer 
 sin upon him."* If the failure arise from the 
 want of knowledge, the deacons must be instructed. 
 Does the minister neglect or decline to do this ? 
 Then the sin becomes his. Does the unfaithful- 
 ness of these officers result from slothful indiffer- 
 ence ? Then they must be admonished. If it is 
 voluntary and continued, and neither instruction 
 from the pastor nor admonition from the church 
 can procure reformation, they must be impeached, 
 
 * Levit. xix. 17. 
 
FAITHFULNESS. 151 
 
 and, by a re^lar vote, removed. The same power 
 that makes an officer, is always competent, when 
 he proves himself unworthy or unfaithful, to dis- 
 place him. Nor is it a matter of indifference 
 whetlier this is done. She dare not decide to 
 take no notice of it, and let it pass. No church 
 can, injustice to herself, to the interests of reli- 
 gion, or to her duty to the King in Zion, suffer 
 such an incubus. She is obliged to remove them. 
 If she does not, she becomes a partaker in their 
 sins, and must expect from the hand of God sum- 
 mary chastisement. But we turn to more pleasant 
 considerations. 
 
 The importance of fidelity on the part of the 
 deacons, if they are in the proper exercise of reU- 
 gion, will be deeply impressed upon their minds 
 by the fact that the vows of God are upon them. 
 When they accepted the office, and when the 
 hands of ordination were imposed, they bound 
 themselves in the most solemn and fearful manner, 
 to Christ and to his people, that they would, Jeho- 
 vah aiding them, fulfil its duties. A noble and 
 generous heart will stand by that pledge, even for 
 its own sake, to the last hour. 
 
 But, irrespective of all this, they cannot but 
 
152 IMPORTANCE OF 
 
 remember that the great day is near when they 
 must answer, before the judgment seat of Christ, 
 for their stewardship. If they fear God, they 
 must seek earnestly to be faithful in all things. 
 
 Another consideration, not less affecting, is the 
 consequences which are to be produced upon all 
 the interests of religion. What these are, at least 
 negatively, we have already seen. On the other 
 hand, adversity and languishing will not long cha- 
 racterize a church whose deacons are faithful to 
 the interests committed to their charge. 
 
 But, chiefly, they, as all others, must and will 
 be impelled to duty by the love of Christ, This 
 is the glorious impulse, always dwelling in every 
 christian heart, and always effectual. 
 
 When every man — ministers, deacons, and peo- 
 ple, — is in his place, and fully animated with the 
 spirit of his calling, what power can successfully 
 resist them ? " The voice of a king is heard in 
 the camp," and the nations will bow to his su- 
 premacy. Then, and not till then, will the church 
 be, — " Clear as the sun, fair as the moon, and ter- 
 rible as an array with banners." 
 
 Let us now, briefly, recapitulate the topics 
 which have passed in review. 
 
FAITHFULNESS. 153 
 
 111 our first chapter we considered the nature 
 of the Dcaconship ; in the second, the quahiica- 
 tions requisite ; and in the tliird, the forms of 
 election and ordination to the office ; in the fourth, 
 fifth, and sixth, we examuied the duties of dea- 
 cons, and satisfactorily settled their number and 
 character; in the seventh, we investigated the 
 subject of female assistants to deacons, or deacon- 
 esses ; in the eighth chapter, we have seen the 
 obligations of the church and the ministry, to co- 
 operate with the 'deacons ; and in the ninth, the 
 importance of their fidelity to all die interests of 
 religion. 
 
 I have only to add, in conclusion, that the day, 
 as I trust, is not distant, when all deacons will 
 fully understand and faithfully discharge their high 
 vocation. Well does it befit a lofty spirit, filled 
 with the love of God, and burning with quench- 
 less zeal for the salvation of men. Nor this only, 
 but when every christian, whatever his position 
 or calliiig, shall awake and shake hunself from the 
 dust, and "the feeblest among them become as 
 David before tlie Lord." Then, indeed, will the 
 blessings of God descend upon his churches, as 
 the refresliing showers of spring. Songs of re- 
 
154 IMPORTANCE OF FAITHFULNESS. 
 
 joicing will cheer the vales, and hosannahs of tri- 
 umph echo from every hill and mountain. " The 
 wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for 
 them, and the desert shall rejoice and blossom as 
 the rose." 
 
AKEBICAN BAPTIST PUBLICATION SOCIETY. 
 THE 
 
 DEACONSHIP: 
 
 BY 
 
 R. B. C. HOWELL, D.D. 
 
 From the " Christian Review,'^ Rev. S. F. Smith, Editor. 
 '< This is the only treatise or extended discussion on the 
 office of Deacons, which we have ever seen. The subject 
 has occasionally called forth an essay at a minister's 
 meeting, which has been read, approved, and laid aside ; 
 but nothing of any importance has before found its way 
 to the press. The treatise of Dr. Howell is calm, clear, 
 full, and Scriptural. In nine brief chapters, it exhibits the 
 origin and nature of the Deacon's office, the qualifications 
 for the office, the election and ordination of deacons, their 
 general and specific duties ; the means of creating and sus- 
 taining the necessary revenues in the church, deaconesses, 
 the duty of the churches and the ministry to co-operate 
 with the deacons, and the importance of faithfulness on 
 the part of the latter. The chapter on the revenues of 
 churches seems to us to have but a loose connection with 
 the subject under discussion ; and although its principles 
 may be sound, we doubt if it had not better been reserved 
 for another occasion. Dr. H. takes the ground that the 
 office of deacons is perpetual, and that their calling is to 
 take care of all the temporalities of the church. Hence 
 he assigns to them not only the customary duties of dea- 
 cons, but also, ex-officiis, the duties which in New England 
 are commonly devolved on a Society's Committee and 
 Treasurer. He recommends that a person elected by the 
 church to the office of deacon should be presented by the 
 church to the pastor, who is to pray for and afterwards 
 to lay his hands upon him. He suggests that in all well 
 regulated Baptist churches, there are female members who 
 
AMERICAir BAPTIST PT7B1ICATIOK SOCIETY. 
 
 are, though not by express designation, deaconesses; that 
 they are needed and useful in all countries, and in oriental 
 ones, indispensable. Our modern churches have retained 
 the office without the name. The volume is a sound and 
 sober exhibition of opinions which we believe are, on the 
 whole, capable of being sustained by Scripture, — well 
 arranged and well expressed. We hope the little book 
 will find a wide circulation, and do good in promoting 
 among the churches uniformity, order and piety." 
 
 From the " Baptist Memorial,^' Rev. Dr. Babcock, Editor. 
 " Pastors and Deacons should both study this treatise." 
 
 From the Rev. J. Newton Brown, Editor of the " Encyclo- 
 pedia of Religious Knowledge.'' 
 " Several years ago, I was led to examine the subject 
 of the Deaconship with special care, and regretted that 
 there was nothing in the shape' of a treatise upon it at all 
 satisfactory. I then embodied my inquiries in the form 
 of a sermon, and delivered it on two occasions, by request, 
 at the ordination of Deacons. The sermon was so much 
 approved as to be solicited for the press ; but I never pub- 
 lished it. I mention the fact to show you the preparation 
 of my mind for examining with care the work of Dr. 
 Howell ; and I rejoice to say that I found the subject 
 treated by him so perfectly to my satisfaction, that I shall 
 never be tempted again to give my discourse to the press. 
 I fervently bless the Head of the Church for directing Dr. 
 Howell's attention to the subject. I thank him, and I thank 
 the American Baptist Publication Society, for a work on 
 the office of Deacons, which I trust is destined to form an 
 era in our churches, of clear, definite, settled, scriptural 
 views and practice. How really astonishing it is to a re- 
 flecting mind, that while so many hundreds of volumes 
 have been written on the Pastoral office, and with such excel- 
 lent effect, we have had absolutely nothing before, worthy 
 to be called a treatise on the office of Deacon — though 
 the latter is of equally Divine Institution and Authority — 
 and scarcely inferior in importance, all things considered, 
 to the well-being and efficiency of a church of Christ. 
 Such a work is truly an augury of better times." 
 
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 Princeton Theological Seminary-Speer Library 
 
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