heaven seemed to you of such transcendent weight as this now in discussion. You left the house desiring never to sink again to the things of this world, and, as you mused by the way, giving thanks to Him that putteth such treasure into earthen vessels, and assured that the excellency of this power must be of God.

THE CHRISTIAN MINISTRY.

BY REV. THOMAS TIMMINS.

THE chief glory of the Christian ministry is this, that it is the grand and effective means in God's hands for the calling forth and formation of character, the spread of truth, and the gradual reign of righteousness and peace. This has been the high and ennobling mission in which it has been actively and successfully engaged, even at times in spite of great and seeming overwhelming odds, from the day of Christ until to-day. But especially has this been the case when zealously entered into and professed with a pure, hallowed, and qualified spirit. And that spirit has ever been graciously given by heaven in answer to humble and earnest prayer. Consequently the world has reaped the best and most enduring results from the inspiring effects and rich fruits of the Christian ministry. In no place, or land, has it been properly exerted without bringing in its train truth and civilization, education and freedom. Every country has more or less received its benefits, but Christian lands particularly, grace for grace. The leading, freest, and noblest nations at the present hour are indebted to it for a great, if not the greatest, share of all the solid, permanent good they possess. And not only has the Christian ministry had much weight in the past, but we believe, that in time to come, it will have an influence on the world, second to none other, in leading it towards new sacrifices for what is sterling and true, and to make fresh and vigorous triumphs in the cultivation of the virtues and graces of life, which more than all things else tend to the gradual

perfection of humanity. We, therefore, bid it God-speed in its onward and upward career, and it is our ardent wish that it may receive the hearty support and co-operation of all men.

The most distinguishing point of the Christian ministry, and no less its richest enjoyment and crowning glory, is the faithful preaching of Christ. But what is meant and in what consists the preaching of Christ? In what sense did the Apostles understand this? and in what manner did they go about it? We learn that they were sent to every city, and were commanded to preach Christ; "that they ceased not to preach him;" "that they gloried in preaching him;" "that they preached not themselves, but Christ crucified, and Christ the Lord of glory." For a correct answer we must go to Christ. Regarding him in the highest light, he not only taught principles by word, but showed their power and beauty by his sublime life. What he steadfastly proclaimed in precept he bore faithful testimony to in daily practice. Thus, his teachings are no less seen in his acts than in his exhortations to his disciples, and the people that flocked to him. One lends a light to and enhances the efficacy of the other. In both he was equally at home and essentially the same. You cannot take away the one without seriously detracting from the other. Both make up the sum total of the grand life of Christ, and Christ, taken as a whole, is the embodiment of duty, truth, and holiness; and the most disinterested, self-sacrificing, and winning love. He is, as the perpetual emblem, so the everlasting representative of the love of God. Then, to preach Christ, is to proclaim those eternal principles to which and for which his life was given, and of which his name is the synonym, and daily remembrancer, to the children of men. To preach Christ thus, is to preach him as the Apostles preached him, and as God graciously gave him to be preached.

But, it is manifest, that, in applying Christ to the hearts and consciences of men, both the rich acts of his life, and the sweet lessons of his lips, should be held in constant remembrance. Indeed, it is most desirable that the name of Christ should be often heard from the mouth of the preacher, and

547 that his deeds, from life's beginning to life's ending, be described in glowing terms of powerful eloquence. Abstruse religion does suit some natures, and religion, cold and beautiful as marble, and just as lifeless, others; but the great human family craves, as well as needs, a warm, personal religion, and the example of a thoroughly earnest, elevated, and convincing life. How oftentimes, in the hurry of existence do we observe, that, while a precept falls coldly on the ear, example appeals to and moves the heart, and shapes the life for good? Mere abstract reason, though good in its place, is not and never can be made, the effective lever in the hands of the Christian ministry, to achieve its sublime work. women are largely governed, made strong and whole, by perMen and sonal influences, and Christ in the Christian world is the great perpetual influence, which God has mercifully given as his own earthly representative, to win his children from error and vice, strengthen them against the sins which do so easily beset them, and lift them up to true manhood and womanhood, and to the rich enjoyment and pure happiness of communion and union with his Spirit.

Moreover, we want something sufficiently definite to describe that holy religion on which we build our faith, rest our hope, and from which we draw our inspiration for the establishing and consolidating of our diviner life. We want the name to be as clear, expressive, and real as our faith. And that we have in the Christian name. In the name, the teacher, and the religion there are unity and truth, and, as in each, so in all combined. Each has in it the blessing of heaven, and we rejoice in all, having both a name, an example, and a religion filled to our nature, and highly calculated to meet all its reasonable wants, and to satisfy its most ardent aspirations. Mere outside and shallow philosophies, and piled up systems of theology, will come and go, but the religion of Christ will remain, because bound up in his own matchless life, so sweet and rich and life-giving to the world, and will move on with ever-widening and ennobling sway. And how winning is that religion in that life, and that life in that religion! Each has a greater attraction and power to draw men

heavenward than mere instruction apart from such. But, whether the life, or the teachings of Christ, be held up before the minds of men, the same object is in view, and the same good work sought to be accomplished, namely, the growth of men into the spirit of Christ, which is love and obedience to God the Father, and straightforward, honest dealing with men. In a few words, Christ went about preaching the Gospel of the Kingdom of Heaven, of which he was both the type and embodiment; and, to-day, Christ is preached faithfully by the Christian ministry, when it earnestly and perseveringly inspires men by every legitimate means, but especially by the words and deeds of Christ, to cherish and cultivate the spirit that dwelt so fully in him: indeed, to become pure in its purity, free in its freedom, truthful in its truth, beautiful in its marvelous beauty, and strong in its sovereign power in all goodness of life, simplicity of heart, and heavenly-mindedness of conduct, both as regards the things of this life, and the enjoyment of those earnest and sweet opening realities of the more unclouded and better life to come.

Every one having had wide and large experience among men, and having keenly observed human nature in its various and ever-varying moods and phases of being, must have been painfully impressed with the wide prevalence of evil, and its terrible effects. Iniquity, crime, wrong-doing abound not only in low but in high places. Human nature can and does not only rise to astonishing heights of holiness and joy, but also falls to equally astounding depths of vice and woe. Evil principles, no less than good, are busily at work in the heart of society. And the passions, inflamed with the sight of so much sin, and oftentimes triumphant sin and successful sinning, rage with deadly power. Is it, then, any wonder that numbers on every hand, both old and young, have been corrupted, their natures hardened, and their consciences seared as with a hot iron? These, again, are emboldened and made worse by the bad example of others, and thus it is that the Christian ministry has no small task before it to reclaim the bad, in warning those who are giving way to sin and struggling in its thralldom, and in preparing others to

resist its first advances, and making them proof against its wiles and delusions. This is no easy labor, and requires no light amount of care and tact. The leading force to be selected by the ministry in effecting its great object is that of love. But who can lay down a rule as to how it should be used to meet all cases, when every case calls for peculiar treatment to itself? To some natures gentleness and kindness will be efficacious, but to others love must be manifested in the first instance by stern words and the voice of thunder. To others it is necessary to use even stronger measures, while intense suffering must be inflicted on some cases ere reformation is possible. Hence the ministry must not only speak words of comfort, but words of reproof; must not only be kind, but firm. There are times when it must snatch souls from ruin by force, no less than by the gentlest means save others by the cords of love. And here to be faithful, it will need the loftiest moral courage, and must bring to bear on its work the great heart, that fears not the frowns of men any more than it will be drawn aside from duty by their smiles, that is fixed solely on God, and acknowledging no power, save his, over all.

But the preaching, to have its proper scope and effect, must be administered, not only by one apt to teach, gentle, and patient, but also full of knowledge, wisdom, and strength. And it is a matter of the greatest possible importance that the teacher should not only rightly understand his sacred office, but be specially fitted for it by the most careful, thoughtful, and conscientious training. Apart from mental ability and talent, which we do not underrate, above all things he should be a man of spiritual endowment and power; for his chosen work lies in arousing, cherishing, and acting upon the spirits of others, and in supplying with treasures, new and old, their souls' wants. Mere intellect, however brilliant, is not sufficient, though highly necessary, nor a cold, critical mind, the one thing needed. The greater depth of thought, the more serviceable; and the more sympathetic power he possesses the better. And it is well, and more than well, if, in addition to these qualifications, he finds in the