It is necessary indeed to be scrupulously cautions, lest we abuse the liberty of preaching from meditation, by becoming followers of those, who are more worthy of censure than imitation. There are pastors of this kind, who, having acquired a good degree of spiritual knowlodge, and a wonderful facility of expression, unhappily begin to pique themselves upon appearing before a numerous assembly without any previous study. Conscious of their own ability, these self-sufficient preachers make little or no preparation for one of the most solemn duties, that can possibly be discharged. They hasten to a crowded auditory without any apparent concern; and coming down from the palpit with an air of the same easy confidence, with which they ascended it, contentedly return to that habitual listlessness, which had been interrupted by the external performance of a necessary work. Alas! if these presuming pastors could be prevailed upon to write over their sermons, to how much better purpose might they thus employ their hours, than by heedlessly trifling them away, in frivolous conversation and shameful inactivity!

It is not to imitate examples of this nature, that we solicit the ministers of Christ to recover those hours which are usually employed in composing their weekly discourses. How many are the important occupations, of which the faithful pastor has his daily choice! The wicked are to be reclaimed, and the righteous established. Hope must be administered to the fearful, and courage to the tempted. The weak are to be strengthened, and the strong to be exercised. The sick must be supported, and the dying prepared for dissolution. By frequent pastoral visits to hamlets, schools, and private houses, the indefatigable minister should continually be moving through the several parts of his parish; discovering the condition of those entrusted to his care, and regularly supplying the necessities of his flock; diffusing all around instruction and reproof, exhortation and comfort. To sum up his duties in a single sentence, he should cause the light, that is in him, to shine out in every possible direction, before the ignorant and the learned, the rich and the poor; making the salvation of mankind his principal pursuit, and the glory of God his ultimate aim.

Thus, after having faithfully performed the work of an evangelist, when he is about to be removed from his charge by death, or by any other providential appointment, he may take an affectionate leave of his people, and say; Remember, my children, that, while I have sojourned among you, I have not ceased to warn every one of you night and day; and if my word has not always been accompanied with tears, yet it has constantly flowed from the truest sincerity and affection.

CHAP. XI.

A REPLY TO THE FIFTH AND LAST OBJECTION, WHICH MAY BE URGED AGAINST THE PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL.

of

THOSE persons who have already so earnestly resisted the truths for which we contend, will not fail to exclaim in the last place, by way an unanswerable argument, "What you require of pastors is unrea sonable, in the highest degree. If they are indeed called to labour for

VOL. II.

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the salvation of souls, with the zeal and assiduity of St. Paul, the holy ministry must be regarded as the most painfal of all professions, and, of consequence, our pulpits will be shortly unoccupied."

Mons. Ostervald, who foresaw this objection, has completely answered it in his Third source of the corruption which reigns among christians: “ It will not fail to be objected," says this venerable author, "that if none were to be admitted to holy orders, except those who are possessed of every necessary qualification, there could not possibly be procured a sufficient number of pastors for the supply of our churches. To which I answer; that it would be abundantly better to expose ourselves to this inconvenience, than to violate the express laws of the written word. A small number of chosen pastors is preferable to a multitude of unqualified teachers." [One Elijah was more powerful than all the prophets of Baal.] "At all hazards, we must adhere to the command of God, and leave the event to providence. But in reality, this dearth of pastors is not so generally to be apprehended. To reject those candidates for holy orders, whose labours in the church would be altogether fruitless, is undoubtedly a work of piety; and such alone would be repulsed by the apprehenson of a severe scrutiny and an exact discipline. Others, on the contrary, who are in a condition to fulfil the duties of the sacred office, would take encouragement from this exactness and severity; aud the ministry would every day be rendered more respectable in the world." Behold an answer truly worthy an apostolical man!

If it still be objected, by the generality of pastors, that what we require is as unreasonable, as it is unusual: Permit me to ask you, my lukewarm brethren, whether it be not necessary, that you should use the same diligence in your sacred profession, with which your neighbours are accustomed to labour, in their worldly vocations and pursuits?

The fisherman prepares a variety of lines, hooks, and baits; he knows the places, the seasons, and even the hours, that are most favourable to his employment; nor will he refuse to throw his line several hundred times in a day. If he is disappointed in one place, he cheerfully betakes himself to another; and if his ill success is of any long continuance, he will associate with those who are greater masters of his art. Tell me then, ye pastors, who make the business of a fisherman the amusement of many an idle hour, do you really imagine, that less ardour and perseverance are necessary to prepare souls for Heaven, than to catch trout for your table?

The huntsman rejoices in expectation of the promised chase. He denies himself some hours of usual repose, that he may hasten abroad in pursuit of his game. He seeks it with unwearied attention, and follows it from field to field with increasing ardour. He labours up the mountain: he rushes down the precipice: he penetrates the thickest woods, and overleaps the most threatening obstacles. He practises the wildest gestures, and makes use of the most extravagant Janguage: endeavouring by every possible means, to animate both dogs and men in the furious pursnit. He counts the fatigues of the chase among the number of its pleasures: and through the whole insignificant business of the day, he acts with as much resolution and fervour, as though he had undertaken one of the noblest enterprizes in the world.

The fowler with equal eagerness pursues his different game. From stubble to stubble, and from cover to cover he urges his way. He

pushes through the stubborn brake, and takes his way along the pathless dingle: he traverses the gloomy mountain, or wanders devious o'er the barren heath: and, after carrying arms all day, if a few triAing birds reward his toil, he returns rejoicing home.

Come, ye fishers of men! who, notwithstanding your consecration to God, are frequently seen to partake of these contemptible diversions; come, and answer by your conduct, to the following questions. Is the flock committed to your charge, less estimable than the fowl, which you so laboriously pursue? Or are you less interested in the salvation of your people, than in the destruction of those unhappy quadrupeds, which give you so much silly fatigue, and afford you so much brutal pleasure?

Permit me, still further, to carry on my argument. Was the panting animal, which usually accompanies your steps in the last-mentioned exercise, incautiously to plunge into a dangerous pit; though faint with the labours of the day, and now on your return, would you carelessly leave him to perish? Would you not, rather, use every effort to extricate him from apparent death? Could you even sleep or eat, till you had afforded him every possible assistance? And yet, you eat, you sleep, you visit; nay, it may be, you dance, you hunt, you shoot; and that without the least inquietude, while your flocks are rushing on from sin to sin, and falling from precipice to precipice. Ah! if a thousand souls are but comparable to the vilest animal, and if these are heedlessly straying through the ways of perdition, may we not reasonably exhort you to use every effort in preserving them from the most alarming danger, and in securing them from the horrors of everlasting death?

But, passing by those amusements, which so generally engage your attention, let me reason with you from one of the most laborious occupations of life. You are called to be "good soldiers of Jesus Christ." And can you possibly imagine, that less resolution and patience are required in a spiritual warrior, than in an earthly soldier ? Behold the mercenary, who, for little more than food and clothing, is preparing to go on his twentieth campaign! Whether he is called to freeze beneath the pole, or to melt under the line, he undertakes the appointed expedition with an air of intrepidity and zeal, Loaded with the weapons of his warfare, he is harassed out with painful marches: and after enduring the excessive fatigues of the day, he makes his bed upon the rugged earth, or, perhaps, passes the comfortless night under arms. In the day of battle, he advances against the enemy amid a shower of bullets, and is anxious, in the most tremendous scenes, to give proofs of an unconquerable resolution. If, through the dangers of the day, he escapes unhurt, it is but to run the hazard of another encounter; perhaps, to force an entrenchment, or to press through a breach. Nothing, however, discourages him; but, covered with wounds, he goes on unrepining to meet the mortal blow. All this he suffers, and all this he performs in the service of his superiors, and with little hope of advancement on his own part,

Behold this dying veteran, ye timorous soldiers of an omnipotent prince! and blush at your want of spiritual intrepidity, Are you not engaged in the cause of humanity, and in the service of Gon? Are you not commissioned to rescue captive souls from all the powers of darkness? Do you not fight beneath his scrutinizing eye, who is KING of KINGS, and LORD of LORDS? Are you not contending within sight of eternal rewards, and with the hope of an unfading inheritance?

And will you complain of difficulties, or tremble at danger? Will you not only avoid the heat of the engagement, but even dare to withdraw from the standard of your sovereign Lord? Let me lead you again into the field; let me drag you back to the charge: or, rather, let me shame your cowardice, by pointing you to those resolute commanders, who have formerly signalized themselves under the banners of your Prince. Emulate their example and you shall share their rewards.

But if, hitherto, you have neither contemplated the beauty, nor experienced the energy of those truths, by which St. Paul was animated to such acts of heroism; it is vain, that we exhort you to shine among the foremost ranks of christians, as inextinguishable lights, holding up, against every enemy, as a two-edged sword, the word of everlasting life. Instead of this, it will be necessary to place before you the excellence, and efficacy of this Apostle's doctrines, together with the infinite advantages, which they procure to those who cordially embrace them. And this we shall endeavour to do in the second part of this work. Meanwhile, we will conclude this first part, with a short exhortation from Chrysostom's fifty-ninth sermon upon St. Matthew. "Since the present life is a continual warfare; since we are at all times surrounded by an host of enemies, let us vigorously oppose them, as our royal chieftain is pleased to command. Let us fear neither labour, nor wounds, nor death. Let us all conspire mutually to assist and defend one another. And let our magnanimity be such, as may add firmness to the most resolute, and give courage to the most cowardly."

THE

PORTRAIT OF ST. PAUL, &c.

PART II.

The Doctrines of an evangelical Pastor.

THE minister of the present age, being destitute of christian piety, is neither able to preach, nor clearly to comprehend, the truths of the Gospel. In general, he contents himself with superficially declaring certain attributes of the Supreme Being; while he is fearful of speaking too largely of grace or its operations, lest he should be suspected of enthusiasm. He declaims against some enormous vice, or displays the beauty of some social virtue. He affects to establish the doctrines of heathen philosophers: and it were to be wished, that he always carried his morality to as high a pitch, as some of the most celebrated of those sages. If he ever proclaims the Lord Jesus Christ, it is but in a cursory way, and chiefly when he is obliged to it, by the return of particular days. He himself continues the same through all seasons; and the cross of Christ would be entirely laid aside, unless the temporal prince, more orthodox than the minister, had appointed the passion of our Lord to be the preacher's theme, during certain solemnities of the church.

"Jesus Christ,"

With the evangelical pastor it is wholly otherwise he is able to say with St. Paul," sent me to preach the Gospel, not with wisdom of words, lest the cross of Christ should be made of none effect. For the preaching of the cross is, to them that perish, foolishness; but unto us, which are saved, it is the power of God. For it is written, I will destroy the" vain "wisdom of the wise, and will bring to nothing the" false "understanding of the prudent. Hath not GoD made foolish the wisdom of this world? For after that the world by" this "wisdom," this boasted philosophy," knew not God," but rested in materialism and idolatry," it pleased God by the foolishness of preaching, to save them that believe." The preaching of the true minister, which commonly passes for folly in a degenerate world, is that through which God employs his power, for the conversion of sinners and the edification of believers. It comprehends all that is revealed in the Old and New Testament: but the subjects on which it is chiefly employed, are the precepts of the decalogue, and the truths of the Apostles' creed. They may be reduced to four points: 1. True 2. A lively faith in our Lord Jesus Christ. repentance toward God. 3. The sweet hope, which the Holy Spirit sheds abroad in the hearts