DUKE UNIVERSITY LIBRARY w \ ^ N \ N ' \ ^ \ V ^ \ N \ - PASTORAL THEOLOGY: THE THEORY OF A GOSPEL MINISTRY, BY A. VINET, PROFESSOR OF THEOLOGY AT LAUSANNE. Iranslattlr from i\)t JFrnufj. "Let not thine heart be hasty to utter any thing before God; for God is in lioaven, and tliou upon earth." — Ecclesiastes v. 2. "Quand on ne serait pendant sa vie que I'apOtre d'un seni hoinme, ce no serait pas etre en vain sur hi torre, ni lui ctre un fardeau inutile."— La Jqruveke. WITH NOTES, AND AN INTRODUCTORY ESSAY ON THE PASTORAL OFFICE, BY THOS. 0. SUMMERS, D.D. Nnsljbtllr, Crnn. : SOUTHERN METHODIST PUI3LISIIING HOUSE. 18G1. TABLE OF CONTENTS. PAGE Advertisement by the Editors vii Prefatory Norte x Introductory Essay on the Pastoral Office xi INTRODUCTION. 1 I. Subject defined.— What is the jMintstei- of the Gqspel?— The Ideal Minister 41 § II. Necessity of the Evangelical Ministry G2 g HI. Institution of the Evangelical Ministrj' GG ^ IV. Does the Ministry consHtute an Orvler in the Ciiurch?... 71 § V. Excellence of the Ministry 80 \ VI. Difficulties and Advantages of an Evangelical Ministry.. S5 2 VII. Vocation to the Evangelical Ministry lUli FIRST PART. individual and INTF.aiOR LIFE. General Principle.— Renewal of Vocation 146 Particular Rules. — 1. Solitude 149 2. Prayer 153 3. Study in general, and of the Bible in particular ].'}4 4. Economy of Time 163 5. Asceticism 164 SECOND PART. relative or social life. Chapter I. — Social Life in General 1G8 2 I. Gravity 170 1. In manners 172 2. lu discourse. Q..i»-4^ 177 314270 (iii) IV CONTENTS. PAGE § II. Simplicity. — Modesty 178 ^ III. Pacific Temper 179 § IV. Mildness 181 § V. Prudence. — Uprightness. — Candor 182 § VI. Disinterestedness 184 ^ VII. Tlie Minister as related to the general interest of Society.. 193 Chapter II. — Domestic Life of the Minister 198 ^ I. General Reflections. — Mari'iage and Celibacy. — The Pas- tor's Wife 198 §11. Government of the Family 204 § III. House and Household Economy of the Pastor..... 205 THIRD PART. pastoual life. Preliminary Reflections on the Choice of a Parish, and on Changes 211 Section the First. — Worship, AVorship in general 221 Catholic Worship.— Protestant Worship 223 Worsliip of the Primitive Church - 224 Characteristics which should be continued in Public Worship.... 227 Costume...^. 229 Celebration of 'Ritps 230 Pieception of Catechumens 231 The Lord's Supper 231 Baptism 232 Singing 232 Funerals 233 Section the Second. — Teaching. Chapteu I. — Preachinq 234 § I. Importance of Preaching among the Functions of the Ministry 234 § II. Principles or Maxims to be observed with reference to Preaching 238 CONTENTS. V PAGE ^ III. Object of Preaching U4'.> § IV. Unity of Preaching 230 § V. Different Classes united in the same Audience 252 § VI. Popularity'. — Familiarity. — Authority. — Unction 254 § VII. Form of Preaching 264 § VIII. Sermons on Special Occasions and Festivals 268 § IX. Miscellaneous Questions relative to Preaching 269 Chapter II. — Catkchization 280 g I. Its Importance and Aim 280 § ir. General Characteristics of Catcchization. — Source and Method of Religious Instruction 282 § hi. Advice to the Catechist 283 Section the Third. — Care of Souls, or Pastoral Oversiffht. Chapter I. — On the Care of Souls in General 288 5 I. Its Relations to Preaching. — Fundamenlal Principles of this Duty 288 ^ II. Objections to the Exercise of this Duty 202 § III. Conditions, or Qualities, required in the Care of Souls.. 203 ^ IV. Threefold Object of Pastor.al Oversight 296 2 V. The School 200 ^ VI. Relations with Families. — Pastoral Visits 300 Chapter II. — The Care of Souls applied to Individuals 305 § I. Introduction. — Division of the Subject 305 § II. Internal State 307 1. Persons decidedly Pious 308 2. Tlie newly Converted 312 3. The Awakened 313 4. The Troubled 314 5. The Orthodox 316 6. Skeptics 310 7. Th6 Indifferent 320 8. Infidels 321 0. Rationalists 323 10. Stoics 324 n. Reproof and Guidance 325 12. General Counsels 327 314270 VI CONTENTS. PAGE 2 m. External State 330 1. The Sick 331 a. False Security in Sick Men 338 b. Those ■who are Troubled 341 c. Genei'al Directions 346 d. Families who are Mourning 349 2. Mental Maladies 351 3. Dissensions 354 4. The Poor 356 FOURTH PART. • ADMINISTRATIVE OR OFFICIAL LIFE. Chapter I. Discipline 360 Chapter II. Conduct towards different Religious Parties 362 Chapter III. Relations of Ecclesiastics among themselves 366 Chapter IV. The Pastor in his Relations to Authorities 370 APPENDIX. Note I. On the Reality of the Priestly Office 374 Note II. The Mystery of Preaching 375 Note III. On the Early Usurpation of Personal Authority by the Priest 376 Note IV. First Indications of the tendency to form Pastors into a Caste 378 Note V. The Universal Priesthood in the Christian Church 383 Note VI. On the Dignity of the Ministry 385 Note VII. On Prayer 386 Note VIII. On the Use of the Catechism 390 Note IX. Bengel's " Thoughts on the Exercise of the Ministi'y." 392 ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITORS. The volume which wc now present to the public was not prepared for the press by M. Vinet. It consists merely of notes which were used as the basis of a course of lectures prepared for the students of the Academy at Lausanne. These notes, which are for the most part drawn up with the greatest care, yet sometimes appear to be simply an outline, which the professor designed to complete in the delivery. This will account for those imperfections in the form which would certainly have disappeared if the author had himself given a finishing stroke to his work. Wc have, however, thought it best to publish it in the state in which we found it, without allowing ourselves to remodel any part. But as we had, for some parts of the course, more than one original manuscript, the task has often fallen to us of completing one by the aid of another. Further, when something additional seemed indispensable in order to elucidate or complete the idea of the author, we have inserted developments derived from the note-books of M. Vinet's auditors. These might have been multiplied, but we have only employed them where we thought them necessary, and all additions of this kind have been placed in brackets, [], in order that the reader may recognize them. M. Vinct has himself translated several passages taken from ancient or foreign authors, which he introduced in the course of the work. Those which yet remain in the original language, wc have ourselves translated. (Tii) Vlll ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITORS. The appendix at the end of the volume consists princi- pally of passages from authors, to which M. Vinet merely refers, but which appear to have been read by him during his lectures, and which serve to elucidate his thought ; seve- ral have been completely transcribed by him in his note-book. They appeared to us at once too extended to be inserted in the course, and yet so important that we could not content our- selves with simply referring to them. Bengel's " Thoughts," which will be found in the Appendix, have been translated from the German by M. Vinet, and published separately in a small 16mo pamphlet. Allusions will occasionally be found to the institutions of the National Church of the Canton de Vaud. We may re- mind the reader that the greater number of M. Vinet's hear- ers were preparing for the ministry in this Church, with which he did not cease to be connected, so far as worship is concerned, until a Free Church was established in the Canton de Vaud, in consequence of the resignation of a large number of the pastors in the National Church. We hope that this course of Pastoral Theology will be well received, not only by ministers of the gospel, and stu- dents in theology, for whom it is more immediately designed, but also by the religious public generally. M. Vinet's fun- damental idea should recommend his book to the serious attention of all friends of the gospel. The pastor is not, in his view, an isolated being, banished from the general com- munity of Christians into the retirement of a remote and solitary dignity, to which obscui-er believers may not aspire, lie regards him not so much above them, as at their head — their advanced leader in the Avork of love. Accordingly, his functions are not his exclusive prerogative ; on the contrary, all ought to associate actively with him, and will, in foct, so associate with him, according to the measure of their faith- fulness. The pastor is not different from the Christian ; he ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITORS. IX is the ti/pal Christian — the example for his flock. 1 Tim. iv. 12. All Christians, therefore, will find that precious in- struction may be gathered from tliis book. If tliey receive it as we dare hope they will, we shall not delay in publishing also the '' Homilctics, or the Theory of Preaching," the manuscript of which is also in our possession. PREFATORY NOTE. This edition of Vinet's work on Pastoral Theology is a carefully revised reprint of the Edinburgh edition. We have inserted various marginal notes, and prefixed an Intro- ductory Essay on the Pastoral Office, with the hope of making this great work more available to the Church in this country. Thos. 0. Summers. Nashville, Tenn., August 2, 1861. INTRODUCTORY ESSAY PASTORAL OFFICE In ancient times, the character and work of civil and religious functionaries were frequently set forth under the beautiful and expressive imagery of a shepherd feeding and superintending his flock. And whereas the kings, priests, and prophets of Israel, instead of duly tending the sheep of God's pasture, scattered the flock, anjd drove them away, and visited them not, he threatens to remove them from their office, and promises to supply their place with shepherds of a different character. To what extent the promise was ful- filled after the captivity, (which was then imminent,) under the comparatively faithful and successful administration of Ezra, Nehcmiah, and the Maccabees, it is not easy to say; but from various evangelical allusions in the prophecies, it would seem that the grand fulfilment was reserved to the times of the gospel dispensation. It finds its nucleus in the office and work of Him who is styled the good Shepherd, the great Shepherd, the chief Shepherd, the Shepherd and Bishop of your souls. The fulfilment of the promise is developed in that wonder- ed) XU INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. ful and gracious economy in which the ascending Saviour, among the largesses which he bestows on his Church, ap- points over it not only such extraordinary officers as apostles, and prophets, and evangelists, but also, " in lowlier forms," pastors and teachers, who are " set in" the Church and made overseers of the flock of God by the Holy Ghost. In one comprehensive sentence their authority, their cha- racter, and their work, are indicated : " I will give you pas- tors according to mine heart, which shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." Jer. iii. 15. Here is, first, their authority — " I will give you pastors." This is the language of Jehovah, and it intimates a great and necessary truth. In every sense in which the right of propriety can be recognized, the flock belongs to God. " Know ye that the Lord he is God : it is he that hath made us, and not we ourselves : we are his people, and the sheep of his pasture." " I am the good Shepherd : the good Shep- herd giveth his life for the sheep." It is therefore reason- able to conclude that he will have something to do with the appointment of those who are to oversee the flock. In some ■way or other he must appoint the shepherds. He is " the door" for the shepherds as well as for the sheep. And his solemn asseveration intimates that he attaches no small im- portance to this fact: ''Verily, verily, I say unto you. He that entereth not by the door into the sheepfold, but climbeth up some other way, the same is a thief and a robber. But he that entereth in by the door is the shepherd of the sheep." " The tenth of John," says Bishop Burnet, " is the place which both Fathers and more modern writers have chiefly made use of to show the dificrence between good and bad pastors. The good shepherds enter by the door, and Christ is this door by whom they must enter — that is, from whom they must have their vocation and ministry." Hence the Church has ordered this portion of Scripture to be read as INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. Xlll the "gospel," at tlic ordination of elders. There arc two ways in which men arc called to the ministry. The first is by inward prompting. This consists in an in- fluence of the Holy Spirit on the soul. It is what is implied in the question proposed by the Church to the candidates for this office : " Do you trust you are inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon you the office of the ministry in the Church of Christ, to serve God for the promotion of his glory and the edifying of his people ?" In some cases, this influence is felt more particularly in the region of the intel- lect. A man is led to survey the great work which has to be accomplished in the world, and the necessity of the mul- tiplication of laborers in order to its accomplishment, and to inquire if he may not be needed for this service. He is led to push the incjuiry until the subject takes possession of his thoughts, and he is inclined to say, " Here am I : send me." Sometimes this influence is felt more fully in the emotional department of a man's nature. He is led to mourn over the sins and sorrows of the human family, to desire earnestly the salvation of men, and to rejoice in all the successes and triumphs of the Saviour's cause. He is thus drawn into the field of active enterprise, and before he is fully awai'c of it himself, he is going after the wandering sheep and bringing them to the fold. In other cases the influence is realized more powerfully in the conscience. Whether or not a man has any special appetency to the work, it assumes the form of imperative and paramount duty, and he is heard exclaim- ing, "Woe is unto me if I preach not the gospel!" The Divine origin of this influence may not be — in most instances it is not — fully appreciated at first. There is generally a series of mental exercises, not unfrequently of a painful cha- racter, involving self-examination, scrutiny of motives, invo- cation of direction, human and Divine, before a man settles down with a rational, moral conviction that it is his duty to XIV INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. devote himself to the work of the ministry. Alluding to the question in the ordinal, Bishop Burnet says : " Many may be able to answer it truly according to the sense of the Church, who may yet have great doubting in themselves concerning it ; but every man that has it not, must needs know that he has it not. The true meaning of it must be resolved thus : The motives that ought to determine a man to dedicate himself to the ministering in the Church, are a zeal for pro- moting the glory of God, for raising the honor of the Chris- tian religion, for the making it to be the better understood and more submitted to ; and when to this he has added a concern for the souls of men, a tenderness for them, a zeal to rescue them from endless misery, and a desire to put them in the way to everlasting happiness; and from these motives, feels in himself a desire to dedicate his life and labors to those ends; and in order to them, studies to understand the Scriptures, and more particularly the New Testament, that from thence he may form a true notion of this holy religion, and so be an able minister of it : this man, and only this man, so moved and so qualified, can in truth, and with a good conscience, answer, that he trusts he is inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost. And every one that ventures on the saying it without this, is a sacrilegious profaner of the name of God, and of his Holy Spirit : he breaks in upon his Church, not to feed it, but to rob it. And it is certain that he who begins with a lie, may be sent by the Father of lies ; but he cannot be thought to enter in by the door, who prevaricates in the first word that he says in order to his admittance." These are strong words ; but the honest prelate, who wrote his book on the Pastoral Care by order of the Queen and Primate, by whom and by other dignitaries of the Anglican Church it was endorsed, saw no reason to weaken his testimony on this im- portant subject, when in his seventieth year he issued another edition of it, with a new and memorable Preface. INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XV I)Ut this inward influence is connected with a second thing, outward vocation. It is reasonable to suppose that Providence will open the way for the discharge of any duty to which a man may be prompted by the inward motion of the Holy Ghost. The wisdom of God will prompt no man to do what his power and grace will not enable him to per- form. No man is called to the ministry who has not the physical ability to execute its functions. If an}' man, there- fore, think that he is moved by the Holy Ghost to engage in this work, he may be sure that he has mistaken his impres- sions, or that the call has a prospective bearing, if he is so entangled with the affairs of this life that he cannot command the external facilities necessary in the premises. So with regard to intellectual capacity. If a reasonable share of common sense and mental training do not obtain in connec- tion with the supposed call of the Holy Ghost, a man need not apprehend that he will be punished as a delinquent if he does not enter the ministry. The same principle applies with still greater force to moral acquirements. The question whether or not God ever calls any one to the ministry while he is a child, or while he is unregenerate, need not embarrass us. If the Spirit of God moves Samson in the camp of Dan ; or Samuel while a child in the temple; or John the Baptist from his mother's womb, it is not that during their childhood they should deliver Israel, administer justice, or herald the approach of the kingdom of God : it is rather that they should be preparing themselves for these undertakings, when they shall be mature enough to enter upon them. In all cases of this sort, outward circumstances will be providen- tially so arranged as that those who are not disobedient unto the heavenly vision shall be sure to have the path of duty made straight and plain before them. If a man think he is called of God, and that he has the qualifications requisite for the work, he may reasonably expect that the discovery of the 5V1 INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. fact will be made by others — at least, that if he makes known his impressions to the Church, the Church will not fail to endorse them. The Church, indeed, may call those whom God has never called; and it may reject those whom God approves; nevertheless, the voice of the Church is not to be ignored. If the Church repudiate a man's claims, it is 2)rivia facie evidence that he is mistaken. He himself should suspect that this is so. Hence he should more fully investigate the case, using all the means in his power to reach an unbiased conclusion. If after all both parties re- main of the same opinion — the man thinking he is called, and the Church thinking he is not — it would seem to be safe for him to let his zeal for God and the salvation of men body itself forth in some of the thousand forms and methods in which a man may do good without assuming the peculiar re- sponsibilities of the ministry. This may, indeed, be the pur- port of his vocation ; for the Holy Ghost is constantly moving men and women to " occupy" their respective talents in the various departments of usefulness which the Church in- dicates and sanctions. " Having then gifts diifering according to the grace that is given to us, whether prophecy, let us prophesy according to the proportion of faith ; or ministry, let us wait on our ministering ; or he that teacheth, on teach- ing; or he that exhorteth, on exhortation: he that giveth, let him do it with simplicity ; he that ruleth, with diligence ; he that showeth mercy, with cheerfulness." But if a man still feels that it is his duty to expound the Scriptures in a public capacity, to call sinners to repentance, and in order to the due performance of this work to separate himself from all worldly cares, on the correct and scriptural principle that they who preach the gospel should live of the gospel, let him go forth on his own responsibility, preach to as many as will hear him, trusting for his support to the contributions of those who inay be disposed to favor his claims, or, in the INTRODIJOTORY ESSAY. XVU failure of tliis dependence, to a special Providence, or a luiraclc. Let no man hinder him — to his own Master he standeth or fallcth. Mcanwliile, let him not complain that honest, independent men will not swerve from their judg- ment, patiently and prayerfully formed, in a matter so tran- scendcntly important as the recognition of a call by the Head of the Church to preach the gospel. We say recognition ; for, as Bishop Burnet says, " Christ, rather than the Church, confers orders. The forms of ordination in the Greek Church, which we have reason to believe are less changed, and more conform to the primitive patterns than those used by the Latins, do plainly import that the Church only de- clared the Divine vocation. ' The grace of God, that per- fects the feeble and heals the weak, promotes this man to be a deacon, a priest, or a bishop ;' where nothing is expressed as conferred, but only as declared ; so our Church," continues the venerable prelate, " by making our Saviour's words the form of ordination, must be construed to intend by that tliat it is Christ only that sends, and that the bishops are only his ministers to pronounce his mission." '' Pray ye therefore," says our Saviour, " the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest." Let the Church do all that it can to increase the number of its faithful pastors ; but let it not forget that the Holy Ghost makes men overseers of the flock. The second thing to be noticed is the character of those who are thus called to the pastoral work. God says they are "pastors after mine heart." This implies, first, that they are such as will concur with him in his purposes. As he said of David, who was the shepherd-king of Israel under the theocracy, " I have found David, the son of Jesse, a man after mine own heart, which shall fulfil all my will." David entered into the Divine designs in regard to the government of Israel, and showed XVIU INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. himself strong, and brave, and faithful in overseeing and de- fending the great national flock which was committed to his pastoral care. It is just so with every true Christian pastor. The great Shepherd never places a thief or a robber, much less a wolf, in charge of his fold. Every good shepherd feels an interest in the sheep for their sake, and also on ac- count of their great Proprietor. But this point needs no elaboration. It is implied, secondly, that God qualifies pastors for the work to which he calls them. He sees in them those traits which under the influence of his Spirit may be developed into pastoral qualifications before he places the shepherd's crook into their hands. If they respond to that influence, this will show itself in an aptitude for the work to which they are called. They will take a delight in it. They will call off their attention as much as possible from all other cares and pursuits. They will acquire those qualities of mind and heart which will approve them as ministers of Christ, and not unauthorized intruders into the sacred office. In some measure they will be like the great Shepherd him- self — they will not count their lives dear unto themselves, but will be ready to lay them down for the sheep. They will know how to lead them to fold, and pasture, and stream — to defend them from prowling beasts of prey, feel- ing it to be their highest honor and their greatest joy to spend and be spent in promoting the safety, and improve- ment, and increase of the flock.* * Chaucer, in the Prologue to the Canterbury Tales, gives a fine portrait of a good priest : But riche he was of lioly thought and \yerk ; He was also a learned man, a clerk, That Cristes gospel trewely wolde preche; His parishens devoutly wolde he teehe: Wide was his parish, and houses fer asonder, But he ne left nought for no rain ne thonder INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XIX Tlic qualifications of pastors are set forth by Paul in one of his pastoral epistles, 1 Timothy iii. : *'A bishop must be nut Cristes lore, and his apostles twelve lie taught, but first ho folwed it himselve. In moilernizing the style, Dryden has marred the beauties of this charming picture. See also Goldsmith's inimitable description of tlie country parson. The insertion of a few of those exquisite verses will be excused : Thus to relieve the wretched was his pride, And even his failings leaned to virtue's side; But in his duty prompt at every call, He watched and wept, he prayed and felt for all. And as a bird each fond endearment tries, To tempt its new-tlcdged offspring to the skies. He tried each art, reproved each dull delay, Allured to brighter worlds, and led the way. Beside the bed where parting life was laid, And sorrow, guilt, and pain, by turns dismayed, The reverend champion stood. At his control Despair and .anguish tied the struggling soul; Comfort came down the trenibling wretch to raise, And his last faltering .accents whispered praise. At church, with meek and unaflected grace, His looks adorned the venerable place: Truth from his lips prevailed with double sway, , And fools, who came to scoff, remained to pray. The service past, around the pious man, With ready zeal, each honest rustic ran; Even children followed with endearing wile, And plucked his gown, to share the good man's smile: His ready smile a parent's warmth expressed. Their welfare pleased him. and their cares distressed : To them his heart, his love, his griefs were given. But all his serious thoughts had rest in heaven. As some tail clitf th.it lifts its awful form. Swells from the vale, and midw.ay leaves the storm, Though round its breast the rolling clouds arc spread, Kternal sunshine settles on its liead. How different this picture from that drawn by Milton in his Lycidas, where lie speaks of such as for their bellies' sake Creep, and intrude, and climb into the fold. The hllUgry 8he«-|i look no run] are not fed. XX INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. blameless"— free from reproach, giving no just cause for accusation — "the husband of one wife" — one who had not been a successive polygamist, previously divorced wives still living : not an uncommon thing in ancient times, or even now in non-Christian countries* — ''vigilant" — or circumspect in his deportment — "sober" — distinguished for gravity and sobriety — "of good behavior" — orderly and decorous in his demeanor — "given to hospitality" — not merely from a be- nevolent disposition to entertain strangers, but as the Corin- thians said, There was always somebody in the house of Cydon, showing that he was a man of aifairs, so the minis- ter's house should be a place of resort for spiritual counsel and aid. He must be "apt to teach" — possessing the neces- sary knowledge and the capacity to impart it. As his great business is to expound the Scriptures, an acquaintance with exegesis is indispensable. He must know the principles of interpretation, and acquire a facility in their application to every passage of Scripture which it may be his duty to ex- * Conybeare and Howson say: " jNIany different interpretations have been given to this precept. It has been supposed (1) to pre- scribe marriage, (2) to forbid polygamy, (3) to forbid second mar- riages. The true interpretation seems to us to be as follows : In the corrupt facility of divorce allowed both by the Greek and Koman law, it was very common for man and wife to separate, and marry other parties, during the life of one another. Thus a man might have three or four living wives ; or, rather, women who had all suc- cessively been his wives. An example of the operation of a similar code is unhappily to be found in our own colony of Mauritius. There the French Revolutionary law of divorce has been suffered by the English government to remain unrepealed ; and it is not uncommon to meet in society three or four women who have all been the wives of the same man, and three or four men who have all been the hus- bands of the same woman. We believe it is this kind of successive polygamy, rather than simultaneous polygamy, which is here spoken of, as disqualifying for the presbyterate. So Beza." INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XXI plain. In ordci' to this, he will find it expedient to acquire as much knowledge as possible of language, logic, rhetoric, mental and moral philosophy, and physical science — the world within and the world around us — in order to secure an apparatus of illustration by the use of which he may inter- pi'et the great mysteries of our salvation. ** How much learning," says Archbishop Leighton, " does it require to make these things plain !" "We justly reckon," says Bishop Burnet, " that our profession is preferable either to law or medicine. Now, it is not unreasonable that since those who pretend to these must be at so much pains before they enter upon a practice which relates only to men's fortunes or their persons, we, whose labors relate to their souls and their eternal state, should be at least at some considerable pains before we enter upon them. Nay, if every mechanical art, even the meanest, requires a course of many years before one can be master in it, shall the noblest and the most important of all others, that which comes fr6m heaven, and leads thither again, be esteemed so low a thing that a much less degree of time and study is necessary to arrive at it than at the most sordid of all trades ?" Donne gives us the idea in a pastoral image with a terrible sarcasm : "After an ox that oppresseth the grass, after a horse that devours the grass, sheep will feed j but after a goose that stanches the grass, they will not: no more can God's sheep receive nourishment from him that puts a scorn upon his function, by his igno- rance." Another and still greater pulpit satirist says : " If he has nothing to trust to but some groundless, windy, and fantastic notions about the Spirit, he would do well to look back, and taking his hand off from this plough, to put it to another much fitter for him."* A man who is called to the * Dodslcy in his "Art. of Preaching," a parody on Horace's ".Art SXU INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. ministry must not, indeed, wait until lie is an accomplislied divine befoi'c lie essays to preach. " Life is short, and art is long," says Hippocrates — an adage which applies with greater force to the work of the pastor than to that of the physician. As a man must not wait till he is perfectly versed in pathology and materia medica before he practices medicine, so a man must begin to preach before he is a pro- found theologian. "The mind is weak and narrow, and the business diificult and large; and should I say," adds South, "that preaching was the. least part of a divine, it would, I believe, be thought a bold word, and look like a paradox, but perhaps for all that never the further from being a great truth." But a man ought to question his call if he has not " a clear, sound understanding, a right judgment in the things of God, a just conception of salvation by faith," and the ability to ''speak justly, readily, clearly," as Wesley ex- presses it. Then, as Bishop Burnet suggests — and the Methodist Discipline 'concurs in the suggestion — certain studies should be made prerequisite to admission to deacon's orders, and others, in advance of them, prerequisite to ad- mission to elder's orders ; and after that, through the whole course of his life, let the minister give attendance to reading, and study to show himself a workman that needeth not to be of Poetry," has some fine suggestions as well as some biting sar- casms ; e. g. : In every science, they tliat hope to rise Set great examples still before their eyes: Yomig lawyers copy Blurray where they can, Physicians Mead, and surgeons Cheselden; But all will preach, without the least pretence To virtue, learning, art, or eloquence. But some with lazy pride disgrace the gown, And never pi'caeh one sermon of their own: 'Tis easier to transcribe than to compose, So all the week they cat and drink and doze. INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XXIU ashamed, rightly dividing the woi'd of truth. "Not given to wine," says the apostle — as tippling disturbs the normal action of the mind — " no striker" — as Theophylact says, neither smiting with the hands nor unseasonably with bitter and severe words — "not greedy of filthy lucre" — so as to make a gain of godliness, a simoniacal use of his holy office — " but patient" — that is, gentle and mild — " not a brawler" — that is, not contentious or quarrelsome, a peaceable man — " not covetous" — not fond of money, but setting an example of liberality — " one that rulcth well his own house, having his children in subjection with all gravity" — that is, main- taining, like Abraham, the dignity of a patriarch in his own family ; " for if a man know not how to rule his own house, how shall he take care of the Church of God ?" — if he cannot govern his family, he ought not to attempt to govern the Church — "not a novice" — a neophyte, one newly converted and inexperienced in Divine things — " lest being lifted up with pride," or blinded with vanity — a little knowledge frequently generating self-conceit — " he fall into the con- demnation of the devil" — stumbling, by reason of his blind- ness, he falls after the example and realizes the punishment of the devil. — " Moreover, he must have a good report from them that are without" — his character should stand fair even in the estimation of those who do not belong to the Church — "lest he fall into reproach" — that is, deserved censure — " and the snare of the devil" — who is always trying to get ministers to compromit their reputation before the world, in order to destroy their usefulness. If these apostolic canons and constitutions be faithfully observed, ministers will not need the pseudo-Clementines to tell them what manner of persons they ought to be so as to make full proof of their ministry. And this brings us to notice the third and principal point, the work of those who are called to this office. God says XXIV INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. they '' shall feed you with knowledge and understanding." As capable shepherds, men who know how to take care of the flock, they shall give it due oversight. A minister's work embraces enlightened instruction and judicious supervision. The instruction is preaching, both homiletical and cateche- tical. Homiletical instruction should be based upon as thorough a knowledge of the word of God as the minister can attain. He must " preach the word." "All Scripture is given by in- spiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness ; that the man of God may be perfect, throughly furnished unto all good works." Christian ministers should learn a lesson from Mo- hammedan doctors in regard to this matter. They spare no pains to ground the faithful in their knowledge and belief of the Koran. So the Jewish Rabbis. " It is the only visible reason," says Bishop Burnet, "of the Jews adhering so firmly to their religion, that during the ten or twelve years of their education, their youth are so much practiced to the Scriptures, to weigh every word in them, and get them all by heart, that it is an admiration to see how ready both men and women among them are at it. Their Rabbis have it to that perfection that they have the concordance of their whole Bible in their memories, which gives thfem vast advantages when they are to argue with any that are not so ready as they are in the Scriptures. Our task is much shorter and easier, and it is a reproach, especially to us Protestants," adds the venerable prelate, " who found our religion merely in the Scriptures, that we know the New Testament so little, which cannot be excused." An extensive acquaintance with the Holy Scriptures, and a capacity to expound them, would give great interest to our pulpit performances, and, if it did not preclude, would render inexcusable the popular and undis- criminating denunciation of long sermons ; but in the absence INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XSV of this, it is to be feared that what was said by Cicero of the orations of Demosthenes cannot be said of our sermons, the longest of them are the best. Homiletical instruction should also be specific in its char- acter — ^judiciously adapted to all sorts and conditions of men. Only in this way can it be good to the use of edifying. The strong meat which is of use to those who are of full age is unfit for newborn babes, who must have milk — food adapted to their receptive, digestive, and assimilating powers. Those who have hearty appetites will thrive on provisions which would starve those who have them not — delicate valetudina- rians, with whom the Church abounds. The kind of food necessary in special instances, the amount suitable for par- ticular times, the manner of serving it in all cases — these are points of immense importance, and successful attention to them will elicit all the intellectual and moral powers of a minister, occupy his time, exercise his holy ingenuity, tax his patience, demand his prayers, and provoke the almost despair- ing exclamation, " Who is sufficient for these things ?" Catechetical instruction rests on a similar basis, and has also its proper specific application. It belongs inherently to tlic pastoral office — unless any one will suppose that it is the business of a shepherd to take care of the sheep, but that he may leave the lambs to take care of themselves. It is obvious that instruction diflfercnt from that of the pulpit is indispen- sable for children and other novices in religion. The greatest lights of the Church have testified that it requires great wis- dom, and skill, and talent, and tact, and painstaking perse- verance to teach the young. The pastor, therefore, cannot perform this work by proxy. He has not catechized the chil- dren of his charge when he has merely put a catechetical primer into their hands. However serviceable a catechetical manual may be, and really is, the instruction in question is rather oral than otherwise, as indeed is indicated by the term XXvi INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. Karrixf]OL^, from Kara, intensive, and rixo^, (whence ouv word echo,) a sound. The catechumen repeats, or echoes, what the catechist announces; and the repetition must go on until the former shall comprehend the instruction. This does not necessarily require the form of question and answer, but it very naturally runs into it. The pastor has not discharged his duty to the children when he has told their parents to catechize them, or formed them into schools, or classes, to be taught by others an hour on the Sabbath. Assistance of this sort is not to be despised. In the primitive Church the bishop secured the aid of deacons, exorcists, and others, as catechists, to enable him to make full proof of his ministry among the young; but he never dreamed that their services were substitutionary of his own, but only auxiliary to them. He considered it his business to make them apt to teach, that they might assist him in teaching the young. The responsi- bility lay upon him. He had to do as much as he could in his own proper person, and then to do as much more as pos- sible by proxy. The Fathers attached immense importance to this duty. "A good life," says Clement, "is begun in cate- chizing." " Let us persevere in catechizings," says Cyril. Luther laid a greater stress on the catechetical instruction of the young than on the homiletical instruction of adults. He published a catechism, which Vinet greatly eulogizes, and out of which the Moravians diligently instructed their children. The leaders of the Reformed Church on the Continent at- tached great importance to this work, as may be seen in their writings and synodal acts. So also did Cranmer and the other fathers of the Church of England. Archbishop Seeker prepared a model for catechizing, which has been recom- mended by the authorities of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. Bishop Jeremy Taylor wrote largely on the subject, and scrupled not to say, " Catechizings are our best preachings." The Puritans were very assiduous INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XXVll in their discharge of this duty, ami urged it upon pastors as, of paramount importance, as may be seen in the Discourses of Thomas Watson and others, on the Assembly's Catechism. In the counter-lveformation, the Papists laid special stress on catechizing. After noticing the attention paid to this duty by the Jews and Christian fiithers, Dr. Donne says, " Go as low as can be gone, to the Jesuits ; and that great catechizer among them, Canisius, says, We, we Jesuits make catechizing our profession. And in that profession, says he, we have St. Basil, St. Augustin, St. Ambrose, St. Cyril, in our society. And they have him who is more than all; for, as he says rightly, Christ's own preaching was a catechizing. I pray God that Jesuit's conclusion of that epistle of his be true still : If nothing else, yet this alone should provoke us to a greater diligence in catechizing, that our adversaries the Pro- testants do spend so much time, as he says, day and night in catechizing. That man," continues the eloquent old Dean, " may sleep with a good conscience, of having discharged his duty in the ministry, that hath preached in the forenoon, and catechized after. Will any man doubt whether he be painful in his ministry, that catechizes children and servants in the sincere religion of Jesus Christ ? The Roman Church did as they saw us do : they came to that order in the Council of Trent, that upon Sundaj-s and holidays they should preach in the forenoon and catechize in the afternoon." Ranke tells us that Augier, the great orator, whom the Jesuits opposed to the Huguenots, published a catechism which " had prodi- gious success : within the space of eight years 38,000 copies of it were sold in Paris alone." In view of all this, which is but a glance at the subject, it is marvellous how cateche- tical instruction could ever have fallen into such neglect as it has among the pastors of the various Protestant communions. Well might John Wesley exclaim, "What a pity that all our preachers have not the zeal and wisdom to catechize I" XXVlll INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. Catechetical preaching should consist in a regular training of the young, according to their baptismal vows. By their baptism they are bound to renounce the world, the flesh, and the devil; to believe all the articles of the Christian faith; and to keep God's holy will and commandments. But how can they do all these things unless some man guide them ? And who shall lead them, and teach them their duty in all these respects, but the pastors and teachers of the Church ? The whole Christian course is embraced in these requisitions — repentance, faith, and holiness. And are these great inter- ests to be neglected by ministers on the ground that parents and Sunday-school teachers will attend to them ? How many parents are there that are utterly unqualified to teach their children ! And how few Sunday-school teachers know how to do it aright ! It would seem to be less unreasonable for parents and others to baptize their children, and then hand them over to pastors for instruction in the baptismal covenant, than for pastors to baptize them, and then leave them to be instructed by others. Of course it is the duty of parents to bring up their children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord ; but it is the duty of ministers to see that they do it, and to aid them in their efforts. We do not see why minis- ters should watch for the souls of their adult members as those who must give account, and yet neglect the children on whom they have placed the sign and seal of the covenant, unless these " little ones" are not worth accounting for to the great Head of the Church ! What if it should be the case that the good Shepherd knows every lamb, as well as every sheep of his fold, and in intrusting the flock to the superin- tendency of under-shepherds, expects them to feed his lambs as well as his sheep : suppose they despise or neglect these little ones, will they be able to render up their account with joy and not with grief? The neglect of this training of chil- dren, on the basis of the baptismal covenant, gives great ad- INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XXIX vantage, says Bishop Burnet, to those who reject infant bap- tism ; and it may not be out of place to add that due attention to it will do more to support this scriptui'al ordinance than polemical defences, however important they may be in their place. Let us now notice the other branch of the pastoral office — the superintendency of the flock. This superintendency is both general and special. The general superintendency is compassed by the pastor's visiting his people as much as may be on all ordinary occasions. Bishop Burnet remarks, with a slight sarcasm, '■^ He understands little of the nature and the obligations of the priestly office who thinks he has dis- charged it by performing the public appointments. Every man, especially if his lungs are good, can read prayers, even in the largest congregation, and if he has a right taste, and can but choose good sermons out of the many that are in print, he may likewise serve them well that way too !" The pastor must make it a point to visit every family in his charge, and if possible every individual. And he should especially contrive to find access to those who do not profess godliness. Wherever it is practicable, the minister should visit the people at their homes — whether once a month, a quarter, or a year, must be determined by the conditions of time, place, strength, and the like. Let the conversation on such occasions be directly or indirectly of a religious char- acter, according to circumstances ; and let the visit be hal- lowed by devotional exercises when convenient, though this point must not be pressed. Inquiries should be made for the children, kind words said to them, books, papers, tracts, and the like, be put into their hands. These seeds have a gcr- minant power in them, as may be seen after many days. Con- descending and kind inquiries after the domestics, and plea- sant words spoken to them, will not always be lost upon them or upon th(!ir superiors. A friendly call upon men at their XSX INTRODUCTORy ESSAY. houses of business may bo an effectual pastoral visit, though not a word may be said specifically on the subject of religion. Let such visits be mere calls for genial salutation and kindly recognition, but generally nothing more. Let them be brief. A minister loses caste when he sits down by the hour on boxes and benches, talking on miscellaneous topics, laughing and joking, whittling and smoking, making himself, in a sinis- ter sense, the cynosure of every eye. He may be considered " a good fellow," but the sharp edge of his pulpit ministra- tions will be blunted by such a course. But the most vigilant and faithful pastor cannot make full proof of his ministry, in this interest, by domiciliary visitation. The pastor must visit his people at their social assemblies. He must be with them at their meetings for prayer, to see that all things be done decently and in order — to lead and to guide their ex- ercises, interspersing edifying lectures and warm exhortations, thus fanning and keeping alive the spirit of devotion. Ho must especially attend their meetings for Christian fellowship. He may have assistants — he ought to have assistants in at- tending to this great interest ; but he must be the moving- spring of the whole machinery. These meetings will furnish him the means of maintaining Church discipline, as well as Christian communion. He can thus find out how the souls of his people prosper, and can have a word in season for every one, as his particular case may demand. He can call them all by their names, and thus gain such a personal ac- quaintance with them, as we are informed by ecclesiastical history obtained in the primitive age of the Church. A min- ister can do a thousand important things in the class-room which he cannot do in the pulpit. Members of the Church, too, who will not attend meetings of this sort when conducted by other persons, will attend them when conducted by the minister ; and in what other way can ho more profitably oc- cupy a portion of his time ? INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XXXI The special superintendency consists in visits made by the pastor to his people on all extraordinary occasions. He {should be present at every marriage to bless the nuptials. He would do well, moreover, to suggest to every bridal pair the principles on which the family institution may be safely, hap- pily, and permanently based, to assist them in establishing the domestic oratory, to indicate the number and character of books suitable for a domestic library, according to their means and mental development, and in other unmentionable ways to aid them in taking a new start in life. Ho should avail himself of the first suitable opportunity to oifcr his congratulations Avhcu a birth occurs in any family under his charge — to rejoice with them that a child is born into the world — assisting them in devout thanksgiving for the gracious Providential interposition — claiming the little stranger as a member of the family of Christ, and placing upon him the Saviour's mark and badge in hply baptism, as soon as the parents can bring him to the church to dedicate him to God — and duly registering him among the catechu- mens of his charge. He should be present as often as may be at fixmily anni- versaries, reunions, and the like, in order to increase the domestic joy by sharing it, and to sanctify it by gently in- fusing the religious element; thus making those occasions which too frequently develop a worldly spirit in the partici- pants, tend to their improvement in the knowledge and love of God. Job, as the priest of his ftimily, did well in sanc- tifying his children by offering burnt-offerings for them, for fear that they might have sinned in their festivities; but he would probably have done better if he had been also person- ally present on all those occasions. A judicious, faithful pastor can do immense service in a family, when there are disturbances and threatened aliena- tions between man and wife, parents and children, superiors XXXn INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. and menials : differences may be adjusted, passions restrained, misunderstandings rectified, and scandals prevented. A min- ister of the Prince of peace is never more in his proper work than when he is thus making families dwell together peace- ably in a house. This is, however, an undertaking of great difficulty and delicacy : it will require much caution, pru- dence, self-control, patience, and charity ; and there are some ministers who had better not undertake to perform the task in person, but rather by a judicious prosy, or, as Bishop Burnet suggests, in some cases, as '■'• in admonishing men of rank, it may be often the best way to do it by a letter." When a pastor has the confidence of the parties, and knows how to keep within his proper vocation, he can be of immense service in cases of this unpleasant character. A pastor can do much good by visiting his members when they have experienced reverses in business : the harvests have failed, banks have broken, patronage has fallen off — in- competency, perhaps dishonesty, is charged on the unfortu- nate parties — now is the time for the pastor to visit them, to cheer them, to counsel, encourage, and aid them. He may not be able to disentangle their affairs, or to give them much material aid ; to mollify the feelings of creditors, or to sug- gest the proper movements for the future ; but he can show a disinterested regard for their welfare, inspire them with hope, and assist them in securing the sanctification of their temporal adversity to their spiritual prosperity. In times of sickness, as a matter of course, the pastor should be unfailing in his attendance on the members of his charge. '■'■ One of the chief parts of the pastoral care," says Bishop Burnet, " is the visiting the sick ; not to be done barely when one is sent for : he is to go as soon as he hears that any of his flock are ill." Of course, if they are not members of the Church, and he can have access to them, he ought to be still more prompt in visiting them. Let the INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XXXUl pastor be with the sick as much as possible, and as far as may be consistent with the sanatory regulations of medical advisers. If, as is frequently the case when children are sick, he can do nothing else, he can sympathize with the family, and show his concern for them ; and if he is a true man — as every good pastor is — that concern will be real, and not feigned. In some instances he may extend to them phy- sical relief — occasionally, perhaps not often, by watching with theni, procuring medical attention, the aid of nurses, or financial assistance. It were to be wished that every minis- ter had some acquaintance with physiology, pdthology, and materia medica — not that he might invade the province and prerogative of the physician ; rather, indeed, to prevent a pragmatism of this sort — as '' fools rush in where angels fear to tread" — but to suggest such professional assistance as may not have been thought necessary by the friends of the sick, or, in extreme cases, to supply the lack of medical attend- ance. He should be present too on such occasions, as the confidence reposed in him makes him a suitable person to suggest the adjustment of temporal afiairs, writing letters, making wills, and the like. It is scarcely necessary to add, that in this last matter he should be exceedingly careful not to interfere with the free disposal of a dying man's property : if he has not made his will in health, and constituted benev- olent and pious institutions in part the testamentary bene- ficiaries of his estate, it is very questionable if a minister of religion should dictate to him in the premises, when he is fast approaching his end. The honor of religion is worth more than the profit that will accrue to it from any legacies, and it must not be compromised by any movement on the part of its ministers which will bring their motives under sus- picion. The main business of a pastor in the house of afflic- tion is to administer spiritual aid. He ought to make this a special study. To some the duty is more difficult than to XSXIV INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. others ; but if a man cannot qualify himself for its perform- ance, it would be better perhaps for him to seek a release from his ministerial vow : he has mistaken his vocation. The pastor should study the various characters of men ; the effects of different diseases upon both mind and body ; the modes of approaching men under peculiar circumstances ; the proper method of introducing religious conversation ; the suitable topics to be presented. He should have treasured up in his memory the most salient and serviceable passages of. Scrip- ture, hymns, etc., to be recited or sung as occasion may sug- gest. He should know how to probe the conscience without needlessly wounding the feelings, to excite fear without in- ducing despair, to inspire tranquillity without saying " Peace," when there is no peace. He should thus seek the conversion or spiritual improvement and comfort of the sick, with a reference at the same time to the religious welfare of their friends. Indeed, in many instances this should be the matter of primary concern. By the admonitions and devotions of a sick-room, thousands of ungodly persons who never enter a house of public worship may be reached. The sick may not much need, or may not be much benefited by those pas- toral visits, when their relatives and attendants may receive impressions and hear words whereby they may be saved. Even the kindly feeling and sympathy of a good pastor will win upon the ungodly friends of the sick for whom he is thus interested, when all other means shall have failed. But death comes to every family. The pastor may not re- joice when he comes; nevertheless, the unwelcome messen- ger frequently proves his valuable and efficient assistant. Let the minister never fail to go to the house of mourning. Let him be sure to weep with them that weep, even if he should not always rejoice with them that do rejoice. Let him be present to offer Christian condolence to the bereaved : he can imitate his Master, by weeping with the sisters at the INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XXXV tomb of their brother, though he cannot comfort them by saying, '' Lazarus, come forth !" Let him never grudge to preach a funeral sermon for an infant or a servant — let him perform obsequies for saint and sinner. Death is a groat Koheleth — in both senses : a powerful preacher himself, and a wonderful assembler of the people. Men who will never go to church for a Sunday sermon, will listen to one at a funeral. If the preacher is wise, he will choose out accept- able words, hitting words, words profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness, to be used on such occasions. He will have a variety of subjects studied and prepared, so as to be ready for any emergency, having nothing to do when suddenly called on to exercise this function of his office, but to inake a special application to the particular case. It may not be amiss to suggest that, as a general rule, it is best to say but little concerning the de- ceased. In many cases the company in attendance will be better acquainted with the main points in his history than the preacher can be ; and it seems absurd to ask them for biographical items merely to state them publicly to the parties who furnish them. There are, of course, exceptional cases, such as public men, whose lives may have been of general interest, and whose funeral discourses should be prepared with more labor and care than can be given them in the short interval between their death and burial. In some cases too the period of sickness may have been very edifying, and the death may have been very triumphant — a judicious minister may then descend to particulars of personal interest more than on ordinary occasions. In no instance, probably, would the pastor be justified in saying that the man whose body he is burying had died in sin and gone to perdition. It is his business to state clearly the prerequisites of salvation, and leave his auditors to deduce any unfavorable inference which an ungodly life and melancholy death might warrant XXXVl INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. or demand. His great design is practical improvement. Even condolence itself must be secondary to this. Many, indeed, attend funerals, even when they are properly solem- nized, without bearing away any permanent salutary impres- sions. But the same may be said of thousands who constantly attend on sermons in the sanctuary. Yet it pleases God by the foolishness of preaching to save men ; and experience proves that when God makes men's hearts soft by his provi- dence, they are more likely to take the saving impressions of his grace. It may not be amiss to remark that in con- ducting funeral services, the pastor should be specially care- ful that there be nothing awkward in his manner : let there be no balk here. Let the service be read in proper order, according to the ritual, and with due solemnity.* An early visit to the house of mourning, after the interment, will in most instances be gratefully appreciated, and not unfrequently be promotive of beneficial results. The pastor, however, must be careful not to deal too much in the commonplaces of comfort and sympathy ; and especially must he be cautious in administering consolation to those whose friends have died in their sins. Grief, however intense, must not be mollified at the expense of truth. There are seasons when silence is the best sympathy, and the bereaved sufferers must be quietly commended to the mourner's God. But these suggestions must close. What an extensive, multifarious work is that which the pastor is called to perform ! Were he called to preach alone, to do this as it ought to be done, and as often as most pastors * The minister should precede the corpse to the grave, standing at the head of it uncovered when reading the service there — gently interfering to prevent mistakes and unseemly movements in those cases where the attendants may chance to be lacking in any respect, 60 that there may be nothing to jar the feelings of bereaved friends, or others. INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XXXVU have to do it, would seem to be enough to occupy all a min- ister's time and thought. As he is constantly giving out, he must be constantly putting in, unless, as South expresses it, he be content to ''turn broker in divinity," that is, a dealer in old household goods, having nothing new in his treasure ; whereas the good householder brings forth both old and new, by which Christ did not mean, says the wise and witty di- vine, " that he should have a hoard of old sermons (whoso- ever made thom*) with a bundle of new opinions ; for this certainly would have furnished out such entertainment to his spiritual guests as no rightly-disposed palate could ever relish, or stomach bear." " Because the preacher was wise, he still taught the people knowledge, and sought to find out accept- able words, even words of truth." But he must not only do this, both in catechizing and sermonizing, he must also, as far as possible, personally superintend all the members of his flock. He must not only instruct all who come to him, he must go to all within his reach, and use all the means in his power to bring the careless and indocile under instruction. Those who need it most must be the special objects of his solicitude. What an important work is this ! — feeding the flock of God ! The government of states and empires is not so im- portant as the care of the Church — the salvation of souls — souls for whom Christ died — souls that must live for ever in bliss or in woe ! Pastors watch for souls ! How express- ive is that time-honored, much-abused title of a pastor, curate, one who is charged with the nira nnimarum, the cure, or care, of souls ! * Pulpit plagiaries seem to have been as common in former times as now, from the frequency with which they were satirized: Who knows not smooth-lipp'd Plausible ? A preacher deenicii of greatest note For preaching that which others wrote. — Churchill. SXXVin INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. What a responsible work ! Pastors watch for souls as they that must give account. They are in the direct employ of God — they act in the stead of Christ. They are his under- shepherds. How great, then, their responsibility ! " Son of man, I have made thee a watchman unto the house of Israel ; therefore hear the word at my mouth, and give them warning from me." Warn them, and then whether they do good or evil, whether they live or die, thou hast delivered thy soul. Warn them not, and their blood shall be required at thy hand. " For they are the sheep of Christ which he bought with his death, and for whom he shed his blood. And if it shall happen that any of them do take any hurt or hindrance by reason of your negligence, ye know the greatness of the fault, and also the horrible punishment that shall ensue." Pregnant are the words of Jeremy Taylor : '■'■ Be sure there is not a carcass, nor a skin, nor a lock of wool, nor a drop of milk of the whole flock, but God shall for it call the idle shepherd to a severe account. I remember," he adds, *• a severe saying of St. Gregory, One damnation is not enough for an evil shepherd ; but for every soul who dies by his evil example, or pernicious carelessness, he deserves a new death, a new damnation. Jacob kept the sheep of Laban, and we keep the sheep of Christ, and Jacob was to answer for every sheep that was stolen, and every lamb that was torn by the wild beast ; and so shall we too, if by our fault one of Christ's sheep perish." But what an honorable work is this ! It is in substance the work which priests and prophets performed in ancient times. It is the work which Christ himself performed when on earth. It is the work which he commissioned his apos- tles to perform. And every true pastor is a successor of the apostles in the exercise of this their ordinary and transmis- sible function. Pastors supplement and extend the ministry of their great Master. He is now in heaven — they represent INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. XXXIX him on the earth : what an honor is this ! See what Paul thought of this work : " Unto nic, who am less than the least of all saints, is this grace given, that I should preach among the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ." ''And I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who hath enabled nie, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the ministry." So addressing the bishops, or pastors, at Ephesus — '' Take heed, therefore, unto yourselves, and to all the flock over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the Church of God, which he hath purchased with his own blood. There- fore, watch and remember, that by the space of three years I ceased not to warn every one night and day with tears. I kept back nothing that was profitable unto you, but have showed you, and have taught you publicly and from house to house." This pastoral work must be an honorable as well as a responsible one, since it is spoken of in such terms by one who " was not a whit behind the very chiefcst apostles," and second to no mere man that ever lived upon the earth. We may well conceive highly of its vastness, importance, re- sponsibility, and dignity, if he taxed his powers to the utmost to fulfil its duties, and was forced to exclaim, '' Who is sufli- cient for these things ?" He considered it a ministration which exceeds all others in glory. And in the same style it is spoken of by him who was considered the chief of the apostles, being first in the sacred college, to whom the great Shepherd said in impressive terms, " Feed my lambs !" and with the emphasis of repetition, " Feed luy sheep !" That the apostle had a clear, if not a full conception of the mag- nitude and dignity of the work, appears from his own lan- guage, with which we will close these reflections : " The elders which are among you I exhort, who am also an elder, and a witness of the suff'crings of Christ, and also a partaker of the glory that shall be revealed. Feed the flock of God which is among you, taking the oversight thereof, not by con- xl INTRODUCTORY ESSAY. straint, but willingly ; not for filthy lucre, but of a ready mind; neither as being lords over God's heritage, but being en- samples to the flock. And when the chief Shepherd shall appear, ye shall receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." PASTORAL THEOLOGY. INTRODUCTION. § I. — SUBJECT DEFINED. — WHAT IS THE MINISTER OP THE GOSPEL? — THE IDEAL MINISTER. We have already defined practical theology. It is an art resulting from a science, or science resolving itself into art. It is the art of practically applying, in the ministry, the knowledge acquired in the three other purely scientific re- gions of theology. It seems, then, that we might very justly give the name of Pastoral Theology to that collection of rules or directions which we have denominated Practical Theology. But although the idea of a pastor, seelsorgcr,* and of the pastorate, governs and embraces all parts of prac- tical theology, we may also isolate it, and consider it apart as a moral element which is not only found in each separate part of practical theology, but which itself, as distinguished from Catechetics and Homiletics,"]' forms a separate region, a special object of study. * One of the German equivalents for pastor. Literally, ojie who takrs care of the soul. — Ed. ■j- Wc might add Liturgies ; but the small space which we give to this part induces us to include it in our course of theology or pas- tornl prudence. As regards ecclesiastical right, which might have (41) 42 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. [The expressions pastoral duties and pastoral prudence are incomplete. They present the subject too much from the standpoint of art — in a merely practical point of view. This, however, is not the only aspect to be taken ; the specu- lative side must find its place : action is the last result of speculation, but, whatever be the nature of the action, the preparation for it will not be sufficient if it has been con- sidered alone : disinterested study is demanded. We ought not to study the theory of an evangelical ministry merely in order to know what we have to do ; we must also study it as a fact presented to us, and which claims our acquaintance. Disinterested speculation is of the very highest advantage. He who has only regarded the various elements of his pro- fession as they are presented to him in active life, will act neither with liberty, with intelligence, nor with profundity. For these, among other reasons, we call this course a Theory of Evangelical Ministry.] Perhaps, however, the distinction here introduced is not a true one. Perhaps Catechetics, Homiletics, etc., are not, in their substantial nature, different from Pastoral Theology. Yet, because of the extent of these parts, of the details which they demand, and of the disproportioned space which, if treated in the whole extent of their scope, they would necessarily occupy in a course on Pastoral Theology, we de- tach them, in order, by a more deliberate study, to master them more easily. We shall, however, be on our guard against the notion that the foremost of these categories foi- its object the comparative study of different ecclesiastical legisla- tions or constitutions, and which, in this sense, is a science, it be- comes an art, and consequently a part of practical theology, so far as it gives practical guidance to the pastor in the observance and execution of the ecclesiastical laws of the community to -which he belongs. The little which we shall say of it will find its appropriate place in the course. INTRODUCTION. 43 represents a whole, or even a reality : the reality is only found in the collected view of the three functions — worship, preaching, catechetical instruction. The minister fulfils all these at once by the mere circumstance of his being a minis- ter : he would not be a minister did he not unite them all. Not that these spheres may not be distinguished and even separated, but never in an exclusive manner, that is to say, [in such a way] that any one who occupies the one sphere is excluded from the rest ; for they mutually suppose and in- volve each other. Nevertheless, the idea of this unity has its date : it is Christian. No other religion has either conceived of or real- ized it. In the Old Testament the office of priest and that of pro- phet were distinct and separated. The distinction belongs to the Old Testament, the identification belongs to the New. The two systems are characterized by these two facts. A perfect harmony between the form and the idea did not exist, and could not arrive till after the introduction of the spiritual law, the law of liberty. In these two features, in tlicsc two distinct plans, are exemplified the letter which kills, and the spirit which gives life. The economy which was to unite these into one whole was also to unite in one man the charac- ter of priest and that of prophet. On this point the primitive Church presents us a phenome- non which corresponds to the entire spirit of the Christian system, which did not hastily repudiate all the traditions of the theocracy. It divided the ministry into several difi"erent ministries. We do not find that all the ministers did the same thing, nor that all did all things. We might believe, according to Eph. iv. 11, and 1 Cor. xii. 28-30, that this division of labor* had been formally ordained by the great * There is no reason to think that this division of labor was nbso- 44 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. Head of the Church ; but whether this was actually the case, or whether we are only to recognize here a providential dis- pensation, or that the distribution of extraordinary gifts (^aplaiiara) explains this circumstance, still there is no proof that this distinction, of which, moreover, it is very difficult to form a just idea, is to be maintained as a perma- nent institution. In any case, in order to renew it, the cha- rismata would have to be renewed. It is abundantly evident that men were regarded as minis- ters of the Church whose qualifications would not allow them to be ministers in the sense in which we employ the term. There were deacons, appointed to serve tables ; there were presbyters, (whence the word priest, though not the idea, is derived,) who did not teach at all ; but it is clear, from 1 Tim. v. 17,* that those among them who taught were of the higli- lute in its character. We find (Acts vi. 10) that the deacon Stephen (ver. 5) was a preacher, or prophet. Administration of rites and preaching the word were separated in St. Paul. " Christ sent me not to 4)aptize, but to preach the gospel." 1 Cor. i. 17. Besides, this is not a question of rite. Either it is out of the sphere of reli- gion, which cannot be admitted, or it is not assigned specially to one of these classes of functionaries. This is not, however, to assert that all may celebrate it. * " Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially they who labor in the word and doctrine." [Joseph Mead, in a Discourse on this text, (Works, fol., p. 70,) says: "None of the Fathers which have commented upon this place, neither Chrysostom, Jerome, Ambrose, Theodoret, Primasius, (Ecu- menius, or Theophylact, (as they had no such, so) ever thought of any such lay-elders to be here meant, but priests only, which admin- istered the word and sacraments." By priest he means presbyter, (from whicli the word is derived,) and not saccrdos. He says this is the only place on which the Presbyterians build their " new con- sistory." He then proceeds to show "how many ways this place may be expounded, without importing any such new elders. The first is grounded upon the use of the participle in Greek, which is INTRODUCTION. 45 est rank, and had the highest repute, since the word is the grand instrument and the essential characteristic of the gos- pel dispensation j and it was, in fact, to this class of presby- ters that the title of minister or pastor became finally appro- priated as their distinctive appellation, and this class has absorbed in itself the functions of all the other classes, so that it constitutes, in itself alone, the ministry of the Chris- tian Church. often wont to note the reason or condition of a thing, and accord- ingly to be resolved by a causal or conditional conjunction. Elders that rule well, let them be accounted worthy of double honor, and that chiefly in respect or because of their labor in the word and doc- trine. And this way goes Chrysostom, and other Greek writers. A second exposition is taken from the force of KOTriCJvTeg, which sig- nifies not simply to labor, but to labor with much travail and toil. Let elders that govern and instruct their flock well, be counted worthy of double honor, especially such of them as take more tlian ordinary pains in the word and doctrine." The third interpretation makes "the apostle speak here of priests and deacons: Let the elders which rule well, whether priests or deacons, be counted worthy of double honor ; but more especially the priests, who, be- sides their government, labor also in the word and doctrine." The fourth interpretation makes two sorts of elders, both priests: "one of residentiaries, and such aswereafiixed to certain churches, and so did govern and instruct their flock ; another of such as had no fixed station, but travelled up and down to preach the gospel where it was not, or to confirm the Churches where it was already preached — elsewhere known by the names of evangelists and doctors, or pro- phets — both these sorts of presbyters were to be counted worthy of double honor, as well those that ruled well as those that travelled up and down to preach the gospel, but especially these latter, because their pains were more than the others." His fifth exposition gives two sorts of elders, ecclesiastical and civil: q. d., "As all elders, whether of the commonwealth or of the Church, that rule well, axe to be accounted worthy of double honor, so especially the elders of the Church, that labor in the word and doctrine."' Cf. Wesley and A. Clarke, in loc: on the otiicr side, sec Macknight.— T. 0. S.] 46 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. [The evangelical ministry is essentially a ministry of the word ; all other ministrations are subordinated to this ; they are so many modes of speaking, of declaring the word of Grod. Christianity is a word, a thought of God, which is destined to become the thought of man. Now word and thought are inseparable ; a thought is an interior word, and in ancient languages the same term is employed to express both ideas — Xoyog. That grand revolution, which we call the advent of Christ and of the gospel, has not rejected worship and symbolism, but it has spiritualized it, has recon- ciled it to the thought, and therefore to the word. The min- ister is a man who speaks the word of God ; he does not repeat its phrases. The priest was a slave ; but the minister is the free associate of God. And as, through the unfortu- nate and necessary exclusion of the laity, there are no longer ministers of alms, for example, of science, etc., the minister unites in himself all these ofl&ces, because he was already the minister par excellence.^ The minister who thus inherits all the different ministries of the Church, has taken, in the fulness of his qualiBcations and of his activity, the name of jmsfor. It is remarkable that, of all others, this is the name which is most rarely ap- plied to the minister in the New Testament.* What then is the pastor '( The name indicates the character of the oflSicej he feeds; he nourishes souls with a word which is not his own ; (as the shepherd nourishes his sheep with grass which he has not made to grow ;) but he feeds them by means of his own in- dividual word, which reproduces the Divine word, and appro- * In Eph. iv. 11, pastor is used synonymously with teacher, or in- structor. [In some of the Puritan Churches the offices of pastor and of teacher were distinct. The truth seems to be that all pastors are INTRODUCTION. 47 priates it to various needs, becoming in turn a word of in- struction, of direction, of exhortation, of reproof, of cncou- rageuieut, and of consolation. [The word, then, is his instrument ; but this is not all : the pastorate ought to be conceived of as a fraternity, and, after the example of Jesus Christ, the minister ought to sympathize with all the interests and all the sufferings of his flock. He ought to be at once almoner, justice, and school- master.] [Such is, in our Church, the idea of a pastor. The Cath- olic Church has dealt otherwise with the essential conception. It was impossible, considering the sinfulness of man, that the Christian Church should, in the very outset, escape the temptation to take a retrograde course. This is the declivity on which we all slide : nothing is so ineradicable as the ten- dency to return to that which God has abolished.] Chry- sostom already regarded the essential feature of the pastoral office to be the administration of the sacrament.* This was a return towards the ancient legal institute, and it is one of the first traces of that exclusive importance which the Cath- olic Church has in more recent times given to this part of the functions of the ministry.^ Among the number and at the head of those relics of Ju- daism, of which Catholicism is full, we must undoubtedly place the dogma of the real presence. God is really present teachers, but not all teachers are pastors. Some consider pastors the ministers of large urbal churches, and the teachers ministers of smaller country churches — the former being the superintendents of the latter — hence they gradually appropriated the title of Bishops. See Bloomfield on Eph. iv. 11.— T. 0. S.] * See the beautiful passage in the De Sacerdotio, lib. iii., cap. 4. — Appendix, Note I. I " Die Vorstellung einer ubcrmenschlichen Wiirde des geistlichen Standes, schon im dritten Jahrhundert." — Cyprian's Brief e. 48 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. in the Catholic worship as he was in the Levitical worship. I will venture to assert that, from the point of view occupied by the spiritual Christian, this resemblance in itself will suf- fice to condemn Catholicism. '' Though we have known Christ after the flesh, yet now henceforth know we him no more." 2 Cor. v. 16. This accordingly involved the restoration of caste; for ritual forms may be perfectly well observed by any individual whatever, so that the personality is of no importance. In religious communities where the sacerdotal idea is predomi- nant, as individual life is of small account, so corporate dis- tinctions must proportionally prevail.* Among us, the ministry is essentially a ministri/ of the ivord ; with us, so far from the word becoming a ritual form, the ritual form becomes the word ; we take, in its fullest ac- ceptation, the idea of the apostles who traced back the work of the gospel to the incarnation of the Word, and we do not find any thing too strong in the words of Erasmus : "Dia- holus concionator : Satanas, jier serpentein loquens, seduxit humanum genus : Deus, per Filium loquens, reduxit oves erraticas."'\ This ministry is essentially moral, since the word is the cardinal principle in it, and it does not allow the word to be- come materialized and transformed into ritualism. It must be the action of one soul on another soul, of liberty on lib- erty. Before all manifestations of itself it exists as an en- ergy ; after all manifestations it remains such. The Roman Catholic Church, while it appears to confer greater authority and larger scope for action upon the pastor, has in reality limited the pastoral office, by prescribing stereotyped forms * See Lamennais, Affaires de Rome. f "The devil is a preacher: Satan, speaking by the serpent, has seduced the human race. God, speaking by his Son, has brought back the wandering sheep." — Ecclesiastes, lib. i. — Ed. INTRODUCTION. 49 under which it is to manifest itself,* and by prescribing as rites that which ought to be suggested on every separate occasion by charity and wisdom, according to the require- ments of circumstances. [In the one case there is a real library ; in the other case there is only a fiction of a library carved in wood. Both connnunities have confession ; but, in the one, confession is of the heart, in the other confession is commanded, and, moreover, as it ceases to be moral and true, it loses its reality. These are the abuses of Catholicism, but we may not exaggerate them : Catholicism, as it has the cross, is also acquainted with the gospel as a spiritual verity. Further, even among Catholics, vivid protestations have been raised against the exclusive predominance of ritualism — especially on the part of the Jansenists, who attach a very great importance to preaching, regarding it as the greatest and most awful of mysteries. f This is a wide departure from St. Augustin, who regarded the eucharist alone as an awful mystery. We may think that there is nothing myste- rious in this action of soul upon soul by means of the word, because it is an ordinary thing; as if that which is ordinary were not often very mysterious and unfathomable. The same word acts upon different minds in different modes. Doubt- less the character of the individual very much determines the result ; but whence comes it that an animated preacher frequently produces no effect, while a feeble preacher often makes the deepest impression upon men's spirits ? Why has the soul been reached by the latter, and uninfluenced by the former ? How often the conversion of a spirit which is lis- tening to us depends upon the force of a single word ! The providential order by virtue of which one soul, one single * It has given a fixed form (o all Mic different impulses of pastoral love. f See the quotation from St. Cyran. — Appendix, Note 11. 50 P A S T 11 A L T H E O L G Y . soul, is touched among a crowd who remain cold and un- moved — is not this one of the deepest mysteries? Yes, preaching is a mystery, the most profound of all — that which discloses a multitude of other mysteries. In truth, God him- self is the real speaker ; man is only an instrument.] The form of the ministry therefore is the word. The ob- ject of the ministry is to unite in the school of Christ, " to bring captive to the obedience of Christ," the spirits which are his : it is to perpetuate, to extend, to deepen continually the kingdom of God upon the earth. In order to present this idea under manifold aspects, let us, with Burnet,* collect the different names given to the ministers of the gospel in the New Testament. And let us first of all remark that, in the ecclesiastical, as in the politi- cal sphere, all names of functions, dignity, etc., have origin- ally quite another significance and force from that which they possess when they have been adopted by common usage, and thus lost their primal freshness. Like proper names, they are at first expressive of true qualities, but afterwards come to be merely arbitrary signs. In the origin of a truly origi- nal institution, the names of offices express the duties, affec- tions, hopes belonging to them : the soul has interpreted these names ; and the name which it has found does not so much express a power nicely and exactly circumscribed, a legally-defined attribute, as an energy to exercise, an idea to realize. All true names are adjectives, which only become substantives by the lapse of time. 1. Deacon (the word which we translate by minister) sig- nifies servant, while the idea of libertyj" is appended. The term deacon, like all terms which are attached to an institu- * Burnet's Discourse of the Pastoral Care, p. 44. •)■ The idea of Commission — committed to a certain office — Commis- sioner. INTRODUCTION. 51 tion, instead of indicating what the thing itself ought to be, instead of expressing the ideal of the thing, does now indi- cate that which the institution has become, that which it has accidentally been in a certain time and in special circum- stances, a form of the thing rather than the thing itself : the ideal gives way to the historic signification, and history be- comes a law to the idea. The word deacon has taken a spe- cial signification, but it was at first general, and designated, without distinction, every minister or servant of the gospel. '• Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but deacons by whom ye believed, even as the Lord gave to every man." 1 Cor. iii. 5. " Giving no offence, that the deaconship be not blamed." 2 Cor. vi. 3. "Whereof I was made a deacon, according to the gift of the grace of God given unto me by the effectual working of his power." Eph. iii. 7. "Christ Jesus our Lord hath enabled me, for that he counted me faithful, putting me into the deaconship." 1 Tim. i. 12. " The gospel . . . whereof I, Paul, am made a deacon." Col. i. 2.3. For the special and subsequent application of the word, see 1 Tim. iii. 8, " The deacons* must be grave." 1 Tim. iii. 12, "Let the deacons be the husbands of one wife," and Rom. xvi. 1, "I commend unto you Phebe, our sister, which is a deaconess of the church which is at Cenchrea." W^e instinctively regard this title, deacon, as a special title, because a particular institution is appropriated to this name ; but, in the first series of passages which we have quoted, it is no more special than the word dovXo^ (slave, servant) in Phil. i. 1, " Paul and Timotheus, slaves, or servants, of Jesus Christ." And how is it that the members of the clergy do not bear the designation of douls, and the ministry that of * The New Testament of the Vandois ministers (Lausanne, 1839) translates (he servants of the Assembly, Ics servitcurs de I'assembl^e. 52 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. douly, as some members of this same clergy have taken the name of dr.acons, and their function that of diaconate ? 2. Prcshyteros, (ih.e ancient form.) "Let the eWers that rule well be counted worthy of double honor." 1 Tim. v. 17. "They sent it to the elders by the hands of Barnabas and Saul." Acts xi. 30. Acts xv. passim. " From Miletus he sent to Ephesus, and called the elders of the church." Acts XX. 17. " For this cause left I thee in Crete, that thou shouldest . . . ordain elders in every city." Titus i. 5. " Is any sick among you ? let him call for the elders of the church." James v. 14. Our versions commonly render irpea^ivrepog by pastor, a tei-m which is never applied to ministers, except in Eph. iv. 11, " He gave some . . . pastors and teachers." 3. Bishop occurs as synonymous with elder in Titus i. 5-7, " That thou shouldest ordain elders. . . . For a bishop must be blameless;" and, in Acts xx. 17, 28, Paul calls together the elders of the church of Ephesus, and commends to their care the flock over which the Holy Ghost had made them hishops. See moreover Phil. i. 1, " Paul and Timotheus . . . to the bishops and deacons." This does not prove that some bishops might not have been placed as guardians of other bishops — inspectors of in- spectors. "Against an elder receive not an accusation, but before two or three witnesses," 1 Tim. v. 19, and Titus i. 5, quoted above. But this did not arise from any institution : it was a natural gradation. 4. Apostles, or delegates. " Our brethren . . . they are the apostles'*" of the churches, and the glory of Christ." 2 Cor. viii. 23. It is, however, to be observed that this word is applied * Messengers of the assemblies. Envoyes dcs assemhlees. (Trans- lation of the Vaudois ministers.) INTRODUCTION. 53 (Kar^ e^oxTjv) (emphatically, pa7' excellence) to those sent immediately by Jesus Christ — Acts ii. 42, " They continued steadfastly in the ajxtstlcs' doctrine." Our intention is not to determine the particular work and function which is designated by these several names.* We believe that the words elder and bishoj) denote the adminis- trators of the Churches, whether they were or were not charged with the functions of teaching — a function attached to a gift or a grace, which does not appear to have deter- mined the nomination of elders or of bishops, since neither of these terms is to be found in the well-known passages, Eph. iv. 11, and 1 Cor. xii. 28-30; and as to the word droron, it has a sense far more general, and, at the same time, far more special than the other two, designating, as it does, either every kind of labor for the gospel, or a very special office in the Church. Our aim is only, without stopping to distinguish these different applications of the ministry, to exhibit, by means of these terms, the character- istics common to all, the characteristics of the evangelical ministry, whatever may be the department in which it is exercised. What we have found common to these three words, that is to say, what we have found without leaving the terms themselves, and investigating their figurative im- port, are the ideas of voluntary service, of authority, (founded, in one case, on age,) and oi supervision.^ But it is probable that the figurative expressions will teach us more ; for they are designed, in every subject, to reach a profounder depth existing in the idea which is not to be attained to by mere * On this see Neander, Planting, Book i., ch. ii. VuUiemin, Maurs des Chritiens pendant les Trois Premiers Sticks, p. 178, et scq. f To the first series of names M. Vinet did not add the word apontlc till his revision of his lectures ; for this reason doubtless he docs not here lake up the idea of a mUsion which is involved in the fourtli title.— Ei). 54 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. expression. Let us then refer to the figurative expressions which undoubtedly are applicable primarily to ministers of the gospel. 1. Pastor is not, as we might at first be led to believe, synonymous with the word elder, but with the word teacher. See Eph. iv. 11.* We have already mentioned that the duty of an elder or administrator is not included in the formal distribution of powers or of gifts (;!t;apifTjuara) of which we have before spoken. Further, the passage in Eph. iv. 11 is the only one in which the term pastor is directly applied to ministers of the gospel ; but it is unquestionably applied to them indirectly when Jesus Christ is called the Shepherd (Pastor) and Bishop of our souls, and when Jesus Christ said to Peter, " Feed my sheep." John xxi. 16, 17. The word pastor, taken in a figurative sense, is to be found in the Old Testament; but it is there applied loosely to pro- phets and magistrates. f And, moreover, in the theocratic sense, magistrates would be pastors, just as the pastors would be magistrates. They would be two forms of the same office. Nevertheless the 34th chapter of Ezekiel (passim) would apply admirably to a pastor in the ordinary sense of the term. 2. Steward, or dispenser. " Let a man so account of us as . . . stewards of the mysteries of God. Moreover, it is re- quired in stewards, that a man be found faithful." 1 Cor. iv. 1,2. 3. Ambassadors. "We are ambassadors for Christ." 2 Cor. V. 20. * See page 46, note. f JloifiEve^ Muv. — "The state is almost realized in which religion and justice go hand in hand in the republic, and the magistrate as well as the priesthood consecrates men." — La Bruyere. Les Camc- teres ; the chapter entitled De quelques usages. See Burnet's "Dis- course of the Pastoral Care," p. 45. INTRODUCTION. 55 4. Angels, or messenger. " The seven stars are the angels of the seven Churches." Rev. i. 20. 5. Guide, or rnJer. " Obey them that have rule over you." (Ileideode rolg 7)yov[ievoig vjxojv.) Heb. xiii. 17. 6. Architect, or hiiilder. "As a wise master-builder, I have laid the foundation." 1 Cor. iii. 10. 7. Laborer. '* We are laborers together with God : ye are God's husbandry, ye are God's building." 1 Cor. iii. 9. *'A man that is an householder . . . went out ... to hire laborers into his vineyard." Matt. xx. 1. "The harvest truly is plenteous, but the laborers are few ; pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into the harvest." Matt. ix. 37, 38. " I have planted, Apollos watered, but God gave the increase." 1 Cor. iii. 6. 8. Soldier. " Kpaphroditus . . . my fellow-soldier." Phil, ii. 25. " Endure hardness as a good soldier of Jesus Christ." 2 Tim. ii. 3. Let -us remark first, that of all the designations by which we might expect to find the minister of religion named or characterized, there is only one which is wanting in the New Testament, and that is the word priest, although the name has been furnished by the Christian terra presbi/teros. Priests may find a place in the spiritual economy of religions which are without the true and sovereign Priest ; there can be none in the religion which has received or believes in him. There no one person is a priest, because all are priests ; and it is remarkable that this word is only applied to Christians in general under the gospel dispensation. See 1 Peter ii. 9. " Ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood,"* in which we find a fulfilment of Isaiah's prophecy, (chap. Ixi. 6,) "Ye shall be named priests of the Lord : men shall call you the ministers of our God." * Baai?ietov lepurevfia, — See Neander's "Planting," Book iii., ch. i. 56 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. To recover this idea of the ancient sacrifice, which has been abolished in the supreme and eternal sacrifice of Jesus Christ, it has been necessary to create a sacrifice — to perpe- tuate that which is unique and complete. For us, who do not believe in the " real presence," what can remain as belonging to the minister, when, moreover, supernatural gifts have ceased ? We answer, the Christian — but the Christian consecrating his activity in order to bring others into Christianity, or to nourish the Christian life in those who have embraced this religion. He does habitually that which all Christians ought to do when special opportu- nities and methods present themselves. He does it with a degree of authority such as we may suppose to be natural and appropriate for a man who has devoted himself to this work. But he has no peculiar revelation when he declares the wis- dom of God as a mystery, 1 Cor. ii. 7 ; when he presents himself as a steward of the mysteries of God, (1 Cor. iv. 1,) he does not lay claim to more inspiration than that which belongs to the least of the faithful. He is the steward, the dispenser of a common good ; he does not take, as Jesus Christ did, of that which is his own, (John xvi. 15,) but of that which belongs to all. If he finds it true, according to the words of St. Paul, that the faithful obey him as their spiritual guide, (Heb. xiii. 17,) the sense in which he under- stands this leaves the liberty and responsibility of those who obey intact. He protests against the idea of being a " lord over God's heritage." 1 Peter v. 3 ; compare 2 Cor. i. 24. *' Not that we have dominion over your faith." He even contrasts the individuality and independence of the Christian with the servile credulity of the idolater : " Ye know that ye were Gentiles, carried away unto these dumb idols, even as ye were led." 1 Cor. xii. 2. The idea of service* underlies all the titles which they as- * AovAo^ is a name more than once applied to the apostles. See INTRODUCTION. 57 Bumc, and all the authority which they attribute to them- selves; they reject all notions of power as belonging to their own persons. " Who then is Paul, and who is Apollos, but ministers by whom ye believe ?" 1 Cor. iii. 5. And observe that these rulers, these ambassadors, call themselves servants, not only of God, but of the faithful themselves. If they say, " Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ," (1 Cor. iv. 1,) they also say, *'A11 things are yours, whether Paul, or Apollos, or Cephas ; . . . all are yours, and ye are Christ's, and Christ is God's."* 1 Cor. iii. 21-23. Examine all the titles, all the names which are given in Rom. i. 1 ; Gal. i. 10 ; Phil. i. 1 ; 2 Tim. ii. 24 ; Titus i. 1 ; James i. 1 ; 2 Peter i. 1 ; Jude 1. * As to the speedy introduction of the opposite principle, that is to say, the principle of the personal authority of the priest, see Schwarz, Katechetik, pp. 11, 12. Immediately after the apostolic age we find the birth of the clergy and the hierarchy. (See Appendix, Note III.) [See also Mede's Discourse on 1 Cor. iv. 1, in which he contends for "two orders ecclesiastical, presbyters and deacons — the masters, priests; the ministers, deacons." He denies that presbyters are ministers of the people. On 2 Cor. iv. 5, where the word is <5ou^oi'f, Mede observes, "The apostle says not they were the Corinthians' servants, but that he had made himself so in preaching to them ;" cf. 1 Cor. ix. 19. To call presbyters ministers of the Church, he thinks, involves four solecisms : 1. Deacon, or minister =r CoAcm, from which it is derived; thus presbyters receive a levitical title. 2. Ministers r^ deacons ; hence there is a tautology in the language, ministers and deacons. 3. Presbyter is a name of superiority; minister, of inferiority. 4. In IhePresbyterian Churches " there is a worse solecism," the pastor receiving the inferior title, and the "lay-elders, a kind of deacons at the most, and of a new erection too, are dignified by the name of elders and presbyters" — the superior title. He says, not one of the words rendered minister, iiuKovoc, vKjjpeTtjc, (as in 1 Cor. iv. 1,) and ?.eiTovp-y6c, is ever applied to the apostles with relation to the Church, or people.— T. 0. S.] 58 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. the Gospel to ministers, and you will not find any which de- parts from the limitations indicated by this idea of the servant of humanity, in regard to its greatest interests, for the love of Grod, [Every thing in this institution is generous : it knows no other force than that of persuasion, no other aim than the dominion of truth, and its only distinction is in its more absolute devotedness.] Nevertheless, all these names, all these metaphors, all these passages added to illustrate them, do not embrace the com- plete sum of the elements necessary to constitute a minister — they do not give us the ideal of a pastor — we need a type, a model, a personification of each idea. Where shall we seek it ? If any one has proved himself to be the type of a man, he is therefore at the same time the type of a pastor ; for in the ideal man the pastor must appear as one feature of his character : it is impossible that any one who should give a full representation of perfected humanity should fail to be a pastor. This new man, this second Adam, can only have been such by love; the first object of love is that which is immortal in man ; on the soul, therefore, will the love of this ideal man exercise itself; and as the good of the soul can only be se- cured by its regeneration, and it can only be regenerated by means of truth, so the oflice of the perfect, the typal Man must necessarily be to give truth to man, to nourish the soul with truth, to feed it in its green pastures and by the side of its still waters : the perfect man must be a pastor. Accordingly he has said, " I am the good Shepherd." John X. 11. "The Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister."* Matt. xx. 28. * "Suminus ecclesiastes Dei Filius, qui est imago Patris absolutis- sima, qui virtus et sapientia genitoris est seterna, per quem Patri visum est humanas gentis largiri quidquid bonorum mortalium generi INTRODUCTION. 59 Accordingly his immediate disciples have called him " the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls." 1 Pet. ii. 25. And he himself has given the most sublime comment on the term shepherd, by the declaration, " The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep." John x. 11. [Here the me- taphor is insufficient; to give his life for his sheep is not in- cluded in the idea of a shepherd.] And that which he spoke he also performed. He does not ■wait merely for the sheep, he runs after them, he goes from place to place. (John the Baptist remained in the desert.) And lastly, the shepherd making himself a lamb, substitut- ing himself for the lambs, has been offered up. He is ''the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world." Rev. xiii. 8. This Divine Pastor, who must be, according to Saint Ber- nard, the Pastor of the heavenly worlds, and who became the Pastor of humanity, has, in his care for it, embraced all the interests of our race ; for it he has done, during the days of his flesh, the good in which it delights, and that in which it has no delight. Lastly, and we have appropriately left this feature till the last, he has, of deliberate purpose, without external neces- sity, (in every other respect his circumstances corresponded with his will,) symbolized the spirit of a minister by washing the feet of his disciples, and he has not, by his silence, al- lowed the meaning of this symbol to remain doubtful. John xiii. 5-16. If, as he himself declared on that occasion, " the servant is not greater than his lord," we have found the true idea of a pastor. [We ought to be servants ; but] the idea of service, when fully developed, involves that of sacrifice. [The minister is a permanent sacrificial offering; this he should be. We may say that the Christian is from the first dare decrcverat, nullo alio cogiiomine niagnificentiiis significant- iiisve denotatur in Sacris Litoris, quilm quam dicitur verbum, sive, scrmn Dei. — Erasmus, Ecclesiastes, lib. i. 60 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. such an offering ; tliis appellation does not express any thing additional for the pastor. The objection only adds force to our assertion ; for, if the Christian is a sacrificial offering, the pastor, who is a Christian by virtue of his official position, is so much more.] Let us retrace the course we have taken. The pastor is nothing but the recognized dispenser of the word of God. He is a man who devotes himself to the work of applying to and enforcing upon man the redemptive work of our Lord Jesus Christ,* inasmuch as God has determined, by the fool- ishness of preaching, to save men. As Jesus Christ was sent by God, so he is sent by Jesus Christ. He determines, on his part, to do from the principle of gratitude what Jesus Christ has done from a principle of pure love.f He repro- duces all that was in Jesus Christ except his merits. He is not, so far as the obligations which are imposed upon him are concerned, either more or less than his Master. He does, under the auspicious smile of Divine mercy, all that which Jesus Christ has done under the weight of Divine anger. By word, by work, by obedience, he continues the life which Jesuls Chrisov avvOerov koI dvofiniov. We subjoin the passage in which the diifcrent wants, the different de- grees of culture and intelligence are referred to: "Some have need to be nourished with milk, the most simple and elementary lessons; but others require that wisdom which is spoken among them that are perfect, a stronger and more solid nourishment. If we shojild wish to make them drink milk and cat soft herbs, the nourishment of the feeble, they would be dissatisfied, and assuredly with good reason, not being strengthened according to Christ," etc. 92 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. Truths wliich repel some, attract others ; those which destroy some, save others : we must therefore give the same truths under different forms to different individuals. The pastoral government is a government of individuals ; civil law does not trouble itself with differences of character.] Thus the first characteristic excellence of the ministry con- stitutes also its first difficulty. 2. The great labor of a ministerial life. — The poor, the sick, schools, charitable schemes, intervention to promote peace, official correspondence, sermons, catechizing. The multitude and onerous nature of duties do not authorize neglect of the sermon, which is the only mode presented to us of reaching some people ; or the catechism, which, in a sense, puts us in possession of every generation as it makes its appearance in the world. But this enumeration does not include all, because even where all these details are not in- cluded, the ministry must gain in profundity what it loses in extent. The smallest parish ought to become, by the zeal of him who ministers to it, as onerous as the largest; the work has only one limit, and that is lack of materials,* and occa- sions of usefulness must be sought at a distance, when those nearer at hand are wanting. He is not a true imitator of the first of ministers who is not " eaten up" by the zeal of Grod's house. To give an idea of the extent of pastoral labor, we may say that all the extension which, in any other profession, the most exalted enthusiasm or the most unbounded ambition could suggest to the man who exercises it, is only the exact * "One single soul would suffice to occupy a priest, because each soul and each man is as a great world in the ways and works of sal- vation, however little he may be in the structure of his own nature. Thus a priest, in proportion as he has fewer souls to govern, is of greater importance to each several one that is intrusted to him." — St. Cyran's Thoughts on the Priesthood. INTRODUCTION. 93 measure of that which is opened up to the minister by the simple idea of his office. 3. Uniformity of the lahor required. — [There are hibors which are more uniform, but where the kind of labor com- pensates for the uniformity. The ill effects of uniformity are more especially manifest in things that require delicacy and sensibility;* they are far less important in other professions in which there is less to lose, in which the edge that is blunted is less delicate. Duties which are repulsive to the feelings become in time insupportable, unless the Spirit of God revives the soul continuall3^ If anywhere uniformity is to be dreaded, it is in the work of the ministry. How shall we not be terrified, if, when a solemn duty presents itself, the heart feels perfectly chilled ; if, while around all is great, within the soul all is small ? Before a scene of death, for instance, habit may have left the heart cold and unimpressed. Of this there is immense danger, and if there were no remedy, it would be better for us to renounce the ministry at once. But there is one.] This uniform labor is without the prospects and chances of other professions : [there is no prospect of ascending to a higher degree in the social hierarchy. We must say to our- selves, I will do the same thing during the whole of my life, without ever forsaking it, without ever looking for a wider extent on the horizon of my earthly existence.] 4. Labor ill appreciated. — This is an unhappy position for most men, at least for all men in proportion to the inten- sity and importance of their labors. The peasantry, espe- cially, regard him as indolent who does not occupy himself with manual labor; they do not understand how truly the labor of the spirit is labor. And though the labor of the * Corruptio optimi pessima. Specimens of the priest, such as that given by Marmotel, are rare indeed. 94 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. mind may find many to appreciate it, yet the labor of the heart — prayer, spiritual concern for the flock — who will regard this ? The pastor must submit to be little understood. 5. The many painful and cheerless duties. For the prin- cipal occasions when religion and the ministry are required, are in times of sufi'ering. What sad discoveries are made while thus traversing the circle of human misery ! [The gospel is a moral dispensary. There is a gospel, because there are maladies to be healed. The minister especially visits spiritual patients, but he also visits those whose dis- eases are bodily, or who suflFer from any kind of sadness. Often sickness and death are the only doors through which he can enter into a house. What a mournful entrance ! The miseries of the body, the scenes of dissolution which are present every day to the physician, are much sooner lost from view than are the miseries of the soul. The sight of moral evil, and especially the analysis of it, soon stains and pollutes the soul of any one who has received the terrible gift of knowing man without knowing God. The true minister doubtless does know God, but the fiery darts of the wicked one sometimes find a flaw in his breastplate. It is possible, too, for a man to become misanthropic, and to see the fire of charity becoming extinguished within him.] Lastly, there are sufferings of the heart which the min- ister has to alleviate, and which are also little comprehended by most of those who can but feebly appreciate the work of the pastor. [If he has found a heart hard, but hypocritical, which has eluded all the efforts of his benevolent activ- ity — if a soul has not been saved because of circumstances which he ought to have foreseen — no one can understand what he suffers. And yet the greatest alleviation which we can possess in our griefs, is the sympathy of others.] 6. The sacrifice of many, even innocent pleasures. — [It will be necessary to renounce many things which are inno- INTRODUCTION. 95 cent in themselves, but which might offend those who aro weak in foith. The measure of this interdiction varies, but it always exists.] 7. Talent lost and decaying in obscurity. — [It cannot be that every man of talent shall be placed where he will be appreciated. He does not act to gratify self-love, but for the sake of discharging his duty. This is a sacrifice, but it is one that must be made. And after all, there is a vast amount of buried talent in the world. We are not respon- sible for God's arrangements, and we must accept them with- out repining.] 8. Painful isolation for one who has known the charms of social life, and of intercourse between different minds. 9. That sjiccics of fear and distrust which the pastor in- sjyires. — [To many men he is the representative of the gloomy side of human existence.] The minister seems always to remind men of the end of their course. His own life is grave ; and gravity always borders on sadness. [This ban- ishes him to a kind of solitude, which augments that solitude which he must of necessity create for himself, in order to act in a manner becoming his position.] 10. The double danger of pleasing and of displrasing the world. — If the pastor pleases it, he is attracted by this suc- cess, and wishes to assure himself of it for the future ; it is hard for him to find himself deserted after he has been courted ; apart from all self-love, it is painful to renounce the friendly sympathy of our fellows, and to be no longer at peace with all men. If he displeases it, he is imbittered or irritated, and does all he can to displease it still more.* [It is possible to abuse the idea of the offence of the truth — to wish to add a greater unpopularity to the truth before the * Sec Newton's Omicron, Letter xiii., On the dangers to which the minister of the gospel is exposed. 96 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. heart is conquered and won by it. The minister ought to conciliate the affection of the members of his flock ; and if he is unpopular, he ought to examine his conduct, in order to see if this unpopularity does not arise from himself, and not from the truth. However this may be, the danger exists ; our path is along the edge of a double abyss.] 11. Self-love is very active in a profession which exposes men to observation, which is moreover intellectual in its cha- racter, and is closely allied to art and literature. — [The min- ister can assemble his people to speak on any topic which he chooses to select. We shall not, therefore, be surprised to find that many have embraced this profession with this sole end in view. The flock then becomes a kind of public ; his audience is a literary tribunal ; the position of the minister is fal- sified; his generous independence, his authority are compro- mised : a yoke is imposed upon him. He no longer preaches Christ, he preaches himself, and, by a sacrilege the extent of which it is difficult to estimate, the pulpit becomes a theatre — a stage on which his vanity may display itself. These expres- sions may sound harsh ; and yet, if we look into the real state of the case, we shall find them often to be only too just. After each of his triumphant orations, the pastor may receive the applause of his hearers ; but every eulogy will utter a re- proach to his heart. Alas ! how much better were it for him to prefer before all these praises the silent, unobtrusive respect of one faithful spirit which has listened with atten- tion, and whose heart he has touched : a far greater victory than to have excited any amount of sterile admiration. [Self-love is our most terrible enemy, because it is nearest to us. Every one is greedy of praises ; but as there is a self-love which is of a full and unqualified character, and that is vanity, so there is a self-love which is less vigorous, and knows how to moderate its activity. To this last has been given the name of modesty. It is not a virtue, it is a INTRODUCTION. 07 human quality — a simple indication of good sense. There is a wide difference between modesty and humility : true hu- mility is a miracle of excellence which is very rare ; it can only be given to tlie minister by means of a grace that is supernatural. Only love can dethrone self-love from the heart. Love is an ardent, passionate surrender of the spirit, which separates from all that is not akin to itself, whether its offer be one of blame or of eulogy. Only in love are to be found the elements required to effect conversion. A pastor must love his flock before he can preach to it effectively. [There is one form of self-love which manifests itself in the ministry more than in any other profession — the love of command. The pastor is the only one of his order in his parish ; he is called to command. In public, certainly no one can dispute his prerogative ; he has a monopoly of utter- ance. Often he has to do with persons who show him great respect, because they are more or less dependent upon him. This habit of command, which is so easily contracted, nar- rows and warps the view, or alienates the affections of those who cannot sacrifice their tastes to the tastes of their pastor. Chrysostom has, in an admirably forcible way, exhibited the danger of self-love in the ministry.* [The danger of self-love is greater with the Protestant than with the Catholic, who speaks much less. It is very diflBcult for a Protestant minister to avoid sacrificing something in order to gratify his ideas of good rhetoric. At all events, the good preacher is a good orator ; and when perfection is sought for on its own account, it is very difficult to refrain from seeking it in order to please ; were it even only to please * Crysostom, De Saccrdotio, lib. v., 4, 7, 8. Gregory Nazianzen expresses himself thus: "In every spiritual function the rule is, that what is personal should be sacrificed in order to secure the in- terests of others." 4 98 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. the preacher liiniself. This leads men to regard the ideas which are to be presented as only a neutral subsfratum, which have no value apart from the form which is given to them.] 12. Internal conflicts between faith and doubt — (in German Anfectumjen'^) — conflicts perhaps more frequent and more deep in the case of the pastor than in the case of the hum- bler believers, in the midst of whom he pursues his minis- terial avocations. [Doubt, as a psychological fact, has been but little studied ; there is a philosophic doubt, and there is a doubt which results from ignorance ; we do not now attend to these. But is there no other kind of doubting besides ? Is there not a state in which the best proofs cannot dissipate doubt ? The intellectual proofs are there, and yet the soul hesitates. Christian certitude is another thing than the cer- titude of intelligence. Doubt is a void, a kind of temptation, through which every man passes. When the life is en- feebled, faith is weak. Faith creates life, but life must sus- tain faith. Faith is a vision ; when it is not, it descends to the rank of mere belief Faith is one in nature, but it has degrees of intensity. And if, while faith languishes, we could retire, collect our thoughts, interrupt all those works which faith supposes, we should not be so unhappy ; but we cannot — we must always preach. Every one may find himself in the condition into which Richard Baxter fell, and feel him- self all at once plunged into an absolute void, in which all things have escaped, even the most fundamental beliefs. This is a fearful state, and must be banished — the believer so troubled must resolutely strain all the forces of his spirit in order to breathe out a fervent prayer.] 13. Humiliating consciousness of the vast difference hetiveen the man and the preacher* [Where is the man who, how * See Newton's Omicron, Letter xiii., On the dangers to which the minister of the gospel is exposed. INTRODUCTION. 99 faithful soever he may be, has not sometimes flagged ?] We must feel ourselves rebuked by such words as these : " What hast thou to do to declare my statutes, or that thou shouldcst take my covenant in thy mouth ? Seeing thou hatest instruc- tion, and castcst my words behind thee." Ps. 1. IG, 17. 14. The agonizing thought that he carries in his hands the destinies of so many spirits, and that he exercises a ministry which, if it does not quicken, destroys. He destroys those who might, but will not, profit by his ministry — he aggra- vates their condemnation. This is a fact for the most faith- ful ministry. As to that which is exercised unfaithfully, and in which the life docs not answer to the words, the minister destroys in another sense.* Impressed by the thought that the obstacles which we cause are the greatest of all, and that the least of our acts of infidelity involve gravest results, we may well tremble and exclaim, Lord, send some other. Let us listen to the words of Massillon : "The gospel of most people is the life of the priests whom they observe." And this will always be, even in the heart of Protestantism. "They regard the public ministry as a scene destined to display the great maxims which are no longer accessible to feeble hu- manity, but they regard our life as the reality and practical abatement which they are to follow as a model." "We are the pillars of the sanctuary, which, however, if they are dis- persed confessedly in the public places, become stones of stumbling to pan^ers-by."")' 15. The most- deplorable case is when these evils which ought only to be healed by consolations from on high are * " Par fois li comnninal clergi(5 Voi je ni.ilement cngigniij: Icil font le siccle mescroirc." La Bible Guvot, (Tliirtecnth Century.) f Mnssillon's Discourse on the Excellency of the Priesthood ; near the end of the first reflection. 100 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. healed by hahit, and by a fatal resignation to tliem, wliicli is only too often the case. [It has been said that '' Repentance exhausts the soul/'* and puts it, so to speak, in ill humor with itself.] All these evils are formidable to the spirit; but of many of them we must say that it is more fatal to evade than griev- ous to submit to them, and all ought to be anticipated, and, as it were, experienced beforehand. To this, perhaps incomplete, enumeration of disadvantages, in which we do not think one feature has been too strongly colored, we may undoubtedly oppose, by way of compensation, the following advantages : Religion, which is the most excellent and comprehensive thing in man, is, for the minister, the business and duty of every day, and every hour : that which is only one among many elements in the life of other men is the atmosphere in which he breathes. He lives surrounded by the loftiest and grandest ideas, and his employments are of the most absolute and lasting utility. He is not called upon to do any thing but what is really good — he has neither obligation nor inducement to the per- formance of evil. He occupies no rank in the social hierarchy, belongs to no class, but he is a connecting-link between all, and, in his own person, represents better than any one else the ideal unity of society. [The minister, it is true, is not so advantageously situated, in this respect, as the unmarried, priest. But he may, if he will, assert this as his prerogative.] His life, unless under circumstances of striking misfor- tune, is best adapted to exhibit the realized ideal of a happy existence. [There is a stately regularity, a sort of calm uni- formity, which is perhaps the true latitude for terrestrial * Alluding to a passage of the Corinne, Book x., ch. v. — Ed. INTRODUCTION. 101 happiness.] The predilection of poets and romance-writers for the country pastor is not altogether unfounded in fact and reason. All this is true only on the supposition that the pastor is faithful, and filled with the spirit of his position ; and if ho is, all that is evil is counterbalanced, corrected, transformed, and it is sufficient for him, without weighing too minutely the advantages and disadvantages of his state, to make one reflection: "Jesus Christ has appointed for his ministers painful tests, both internal and external, in order that they may be able to sympathize with their flock, and to know, through the experience of their own hearts, the seductions of sin, the infirmities of the flesh, and the manner in which the Lord of all sustains and supports those who put their trust in him."* So that, to a certain degree, those words which are spoken concerning Jesus Christ maybe transferred to him : " "We have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities, but was in all points tempted like as we are." Heb. iv. 15. Lastl}', the word of God, either directly or indirectly, pro- nounces a peculiar blessing on his works and his condition. It declares, (observe the gradation,) that " They that be wise * [M. Vinet gives this as a quotation from Newton's Cardiphonia. I have translated the passage as M. Vinet himself gives it. I pre- sume he adopted it from the following sentiment in Newton's Cardi- phoni.a, which is the only one I have been able to find that at all cor- responds to that expressed bj' M. Vinet: "The people of God are sure to meet with enemies, but especially the ministers. Satan bears them a double grudge: the world watches for their halting, and tlie Lord will suffer them to be afflicted, that they may be kept humble, that they may acquire a sympathy witli the suffering of others, lliat tjiey may be experimentally qualified to advise and help them with the comforts with which they themselves have been cnmfortod of God." — Newton's Cardiphonia. Letter I., to Rev. Mr. B.— Tkans- LATOR.] 102 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. shall shine as tlie brightness of the firmament; and they that turn many to righteousness, as the stars for ever and ever." Dan. xii. 3. And Jesus Christ, when he promises to his immediate disciples that, at the restoration of all things, they " shall sit upon twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel," presents to our view a proportion- ate glory and recompense for their successors. Matt. xix. 28. Such an honor and blessing belong to the ministry, that even those who aid it by their cooperation are the ob- jects of special promises : " He that receiveth a prophet in the name of a prophet shall receive a prophet's reward." Matt. X. 41. § VII. — VOCATION TO THE EVANGELICAL MINISTRY. But the advantages which belong to the present life, which we have indicated, and the promises for the life to come, which we liave called to mind, would be, the first en- tirely illusory, the second without efiect, for the minister who should enter upon his office without any vocation. This it is which we must cast into the balance in order to outweigh and alleviate the griefs and weariness that are in the other scale of the balance, and which the absence of a vocation not only leaves unremedied, but even aggravates most fear- fully. Apart from a vocation, all the advantages vanish — some of the disadvantages also disappear, and a life remains the most false, and consequently the most unhappy, that can be imagined. It is always unhappy to feel unequal to the duty which belongs to us, or to feel a want of sympathy with it. But this unhappiness is inexpressible in the case of a minister, and nothing but hardness of heart or degradation can save him from it ; whilst, on the other hand, let the troubles of ministerial life be aggravated in the highest degree, the fact J INTRODUCTION. 103 of a vocation corrects all, renders him content •with all, yea, makes these very misfortunes an important clement in his happiness. But the idea of a vocation is to be regarded not only as it affects the happiness or the misery of the minister. The minister without a vocation is not only unhappy, he is guilty : he occupies a place, he exercises a right which does not be- long to him. He is, as Jesus Christ said, ''a thief and a robber," who has not entered in through the gate, but climbed up some other way. This word vocation has, in other applications, (that is to say, as applied to professions of a secular order,) only a figu- rative significance — at least, only a figurative significance is attributed to it. It is equivalent to aptitude, talent, taste. It is natural to represent these qualifications as voices, as ap- peals. But when applied to the ministry, the word returns to its proper sense. When conscience authorizes and impels us to the discharge of a certain duty, we have that which, although out of the sphere of miracle, deserves most fully the name of vocation. In order to exercise the ministry legitimately, a man must be called to it. I do not wish, however, to draw too exact a line between the ministry and other professions, so far as the fact of voca- tion is concerned. Wherever there is responsibility, wherever a man may injure himself by undertaking a work for which he is not qualified, there is reason for him to ask of himself whether or not he is called. And even between two courses of conduct, to one of which the individual is more adapted tlian to the other, and in one of which he can be more use- ful than in the other, there is one to which we may say, look- ing at the fact from a Christian point of view, he is called. This idea has been consecrated in the ancient covenant, in which all the parties, if they were spiritual, transferred their alliance to the new covenant. No one was a prophet to his 104 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. chief — not, at least, in the special sense of the vrord propJiei ; for it is in quite another sense that prophecy belongs to all, as is well indicated in the beautiful words of Moses : '' Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets !" Num. si. 29. He referred to an extraordinary vocation because it conferred extraordinary powers. Whatever may be the authority of the pastor, it will, in one sense, always remain inferior to that of the prophet.* Prophets who were invested with such an authority could not be so without an express vocation ; and, thus regarded, we can well understand the denunciations uttered against those who prophesied without a vocation. " The prophet which shall presume to speak a word in my name which I have not commanded him to speak, . . . that prophet shall die." Deut. xviii. 20. " Say thou unto them that prophesy out of their own hearts, Hear ye the word of the Lord ; thus saith the Lord God : Woe unto the foolish prophets that follow their own spirit, and have seen no- thing l"-\ Ezek. xiii. 2, 3.^ " I am against the prophets, saith the Lord, that steal my words." Jer. xxiii. 30. Now that the voice of God is not addressed directly and sensibly to any individual, calling him to be a prophet, we distinguish between two kinds of vocation, one exterior, the other interior ; but it is clear that both these, in order to be true, ought to come from God ; for, in all cases, it must be God who calls men to his own work. Now, an exterior or mediate vocation can only have this characteristic for us so far as the men through whom it comes have, in our eyes, full powers, either conferred in casu, or conferred at first directly on some, by whom they have been * See Isa. xxxix. 3, and the following verses. f This same idea is symbolized in Num. i. 51 : " When the taber- nacle is to be pitched, the Levites shall set it up; and the stranger that Cometh nigh shall be put to death." INTRODUCTION. 105 liandcd down to others, and so on. This is the system or the claim of the Romanist. We will not now discuss it.* In the Protestant system, which denies the Romanist suc- cession, and does not pretend to commence a new one, there is nothing parallel to this transmission of fullest powers, the object of which, moreover, we cannot see, for this legal trans- mission corresponds to no want which cannot be satisfied without it. It would be necessary, in order to cause such a want, to deprive the Church of the influences of the Holy * [In the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, the question of the succession gave rise to many disputes, in which the Catholics, who had a more defined and absolute doctrine, had a great advantage, and a more impregnable position than the Protestants, who, while they wished entirely to abolish the priesthood, yet wished to preserve the succession. Dumoulin took great pains to prove that all Protestant ministers had been consecrated by Catholics. This was false and fruitless. The time has now passed for such notions ; the assump- tion has been allowed to fall to the ground. The Archbishop of Dub- lin, an Anglican, has shown most convincingly that the idea of the succession is an illusion. In his view, indeed, one single instance of irregularity is sufficient to break the chain.* However, this idea is of very little importance to us. Claude has already combated it, but his arguments are not always happy. In his view, an external vocation is conferred by the Church and the pastors united. He does not wish to regard it as conferred by the pastors alone, for they may not be faithful, but in the Church there are always some who are faithful, who may worthily be called saints. There is then an uninterrupted succession in tlie appeals which are continually ad- dressed bj' this universal and eternal Church. However, he admits th.at a single Church may sometimes call a pastor without the con- currence of other pastors.] * Scfi Whatcly's Kingdom of Christ. [Sec .-jIso Powell on Succession; Stillingfleet'.s Irenicum; M»son\« Kssnys on Kpiscopacy: Smyth's Succession, nnri Presbytery not Prelacy; JMncaulny'R Kss!iy <.n Cliurch and State.— T. O. S.] 106 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. Spirit. But as he only acts by a transmission of spirit and life, and not by the communication of oracles, or by the ad- ministration of a miraculous power, the ordinary action of the Holy Spirit suffices. External vocation, if it is to be admitted at all, must occupy a subordinate rank, and remain in a human sphere. Further, as soon as the outward is allowed to remain in conjunction with an internal vocation, as soon as its proper place is conceded to the latter, the external vocation becomes necessarily inferior. Romanists have not been able to deny this ; and in order that the internal calling may not be al- lowed to occupy the whole sphere, and absorb into itself the external, they have assigned for the outward vocation extra- ordinary reasons, which we, for our part, are unable to give it, and without which it cannot be, on the one hand, any thing but a badge or a measure of order, nor, on the other hand, can it be aught than an aid or a supplement to the in- ternal vocation. The external vocation, in our system, can only be recognized so far as it is an indication of an internal vocation ; the judgment that concerns what is outward is conjoined to that which concerns what is inward, but always as occupying a lower place. We may, moreover, abandon the whole question. The necessity of an internal calling, which is recognized by Ca- tholics as well as by Protestants, is that which must occupy us here. What we have now to establish is, that without this vocation — that is to say, unless a man has been inwardly called of God — he cannot, without unhappiness and without sin, put his hand to the work of the ministry, or, to speak more accurately, take a position as minister in the Church. As to the fact or necessity of being called by others, this is a question that I shall not now enter upon, either to affirm or to deny it. I will leave a question on which there may be varying opinions, and which does not even belong to my sub- INTRODUCTION. 107 ject, and I will only treat of that about which all are agreed, and which does belong to my subject. As the minister presents himself in the name of another, that is, in the name of God, it is necessary that he should be sent. The prophet does not say, I choose to go; he says, "Here am I, Lord : send me." Isa. vi. 8. Spontaneity in this matter does not exclude the fact of a mission or a voca- tion. The business of the pastor is an office, a ministry. This implies a commission or vocation. Without a vocation a man cannot be a minister, any more than he can be a ma- gistrate or judge without a royal commission. It follows that the minister cannot rely upon the assistance and favor of G-od unless he has been sent by him. It is true that a minister without a vocation cares little for these graces ; but we must look at other cases than the extreme one of a minister without any appreciation of the object of his mission, and without any desire to correspond to it — an open rohhcr, to use the words of the Gospel. Without any vocation, a man may be willing to act according to the name which he possesses, at least in a negative manner — he may wish to avoid all that may cause offence, he may desire to do honor to his position, and not to profane the ministry; but how shall he dare to expect even this amount of success, how shall he dare to ask for such influence as he ought to possess, when he occupies a position to which he has no just title, and when the first means of seeking the favors of Heaven would be to resign his charge ? A pastor must therefore be called by God ; the vocation to a ministry exercised in his name, and in which he is repre- sented, can only proceed from him.* These duties, indeed, arc not our own ; they belong to another — that is, to God ; * Jer. xxiii. 21 ; Ezek, xiii, 2. 108 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. in a word, they constitute a numstrT/. The vocation, whether external or internal, must be Divine ; and for this reason we prefer the terms mediate and immediate in this connection. In order that the first — the m,ediate vocation — may come from God, it is necessary that those who claim it should have received full power from God, or from other men to whom God has intrusted the same full power. If this full power is denied, the exterior or mediate vocation sinks to the level of an arbitrary arrangement, regulating the interior relations of a religious society, in which the general fitness of the minister is not rigorously proved, but only presumed ; and, so far as the candidate himself is concerned, this convention is only an additional means of proving his vocation. We need not longer regard the subject from this point of view. Besides that the ministry is purely moral, not sacramental, the conditions for it are purely moral, and an immediate vocation ought to suffice.* In one system, therefore, it is enough, and in both systems it is considered necessary. In no ecclesiastical system that is founded on Christianity has it been possible to neglect it, or even to refuse setting a high value upon it; there is only one system under which it could be superfluous — that, namely, of a theocracy sustained by mira- cles. f Missions like that of Jonah are not conceivable under * Immediate vocation is exterior or interior. Exterior, when God himself, in his own person, utters his commands and declares his will ; this is the miraculous call addressed to prophets by a voice in apparition or in vision. f Even then it has not been treated as superfluous. It is not in all cases necessary for the accomplishment of the Divine purposes, but it is in every case necessary for him who accomplishes them. Jonah and Balaam performed the Divine will in spite of their own opposite sympathies, and not because of them. Isaiah said, " Send me;" ch. vi. 8. And the personal character and iitness of the mes- senger has almost always, even under the ancient law, been reckoned I INTRODUCTION. lOO the law of tlic gospel. But -wherever an external vocation in declared indispensahlc, the interior or immediate vocation necessarily suffers. Roman Catholic writers have always found a difficulty in explaining themselves on this point. St. Cyran, for example, with an evident leaning towards the interior vocation, and hardly knowing how most forcibly to advocate the exterior, expresses himself thus : "As he who has not received any external vocation from the Church to be a priest, cannot do any thing useful for it in the judgment of the Church, although he may perform the same outward works, administer the same sacraments, and preach the same gospel as other priests who have been called and ordained by the Church ; so he who has not the intei'nal vocation of God to the eccle- siastical condition, to the priesthood, or to a curacy, cannot do any thing good for himself in the judgment of God, al- though he may perform the same good works and administer the same sacraments as the priests whom God has called.* Those who believe in the sufficiency of an interior voca- tion, may be content with the second clause in this paragraph ; and the first part will not occasion them much anxiety, since they are told that, although not ordained by the Church, they can preach the gospel. We can, therefore, do all ; for all is included in this ; unless the administration of the sa- crament implies a miraculous power, which certainly no one can attribute to it on his own authority, and for which the internal vocation would not suffice, unless it had in itself a iniraculous character. But a question presents itself. As an immediate vocation as something, indeed as much, in the success of the mission. Many things appear to have been left to the free determination of the pro- phets. A considerable range of free action was even reserved for the Levite in the accomplishment of his duties. Sec Deut. xviii. 6. * St. Cyran: Letter to M. Giiillcbert on the Priesthood, chnp. xxv. 110 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. is no longer given directly by God to man by a miraculous voice, must we say that no such thing exists ? We must say so, if, indeed, in the absence of supernatural communication, man has no means of assuring himself of the will of God concerning any particular case, or in regard to any choice that is to be made between several determina- tions, each of which is in harmony with the general princi- ples of moral and spiritual truth. For it is here, and here alone, that the word vocation is applicable. There is no room for any vocation, so far as the practice of the general duties of morality is concerned. A vocation is demanded when a man is required to choose between two courses, two modes of employing his faculties, both sanctioned by morality, and by the general spirit of the gospel. When, therefore, a sensible call, expressly uttered by God, is wanting, how shall its place be supplied ? [In other words, how shall we recognize the fact that we are called ? Cer- tainly this will not be because the exercise of the ministry will procure us a happy and tranquil position. Neither can we regard as a vocation the wishes and prayers of parents, although those pious wishes may be blessed, and have in the case of many pastors been, in a sense, an anticipated voca- tion. The spirit of a child, destined for the ministry by its parents, forms a kind of bent in this direction ; but this is not a vocation. Still less is constraint. It was exercised in the earlier ages of the Church. The idea of the priest and of sacrifice, had, in the time of Chrysostom, made great ad- vances ; and this will explain how it was that such a character could be conferred by constraint. The same must be said of other signs which are sufficient to many persons. The signs are first selected and then interpreted ; that is to say, the in- dividual makes his own choice. This is a species of spiritual indolence among Christians who wish for truth fully com- INTRODUCTION. Ill plcted, without giving themselves the ti'ouble to seek it by prayer, kbor, and application. So long as we have conscience and the word of God, we have enough. Lastly, no one will surely say that interest will supply that direct call from God which we are at present considering. [What then are the trustworthy indications ?] The vocation of the minister is proved, as in every other case, by natural means, under the guidance of the word and Spirit of God. The general principle involved in the idea of vocation is, to decide upon the career for which the indi- vidual feels himself best adapted, and in which he thinks he can be most useful ; and, in such a matter as this, clearness and decision ought to result from a combined view of cir- cumstances, and those principles which are given to us by our common sense, and by God himself.* But when a moral action is conceived, when the soul is the instrument to be employed, then regard must be had to the state of the soul ; and this state is the first clement in the vocation. When any other career is purposed, it is sometimes necessary to consider by themselves the feelings which we may have rela- tive to that career, to refrain from it, even though our tastes may incline towards it ; to follow it, even though our tastes may point in a diflferent direction. f This is not the general rule, but a more or less frequent exception to it. Here, that is to say, so far as regards the ministry, there is no excep- tion whatever; the rule is absolute. There must be conform- ity of the soul to the object of the ministry; and this con- * "I have never represented to mj'self .a Divine calling (Gcittlicher Bcruf) otherwise than as an exterior occasion ■which is furnished me to do aniblo, lias not the same inconveniences as the employment of it before the Bible. [To abolish it altoprcther would be a fatal excess, but much less than that of dispensing with the Bible.] By their interlacing one with another, the ideas of the Bible become as living fibres in a living body. Separation is death. The mind may distinguish between facts; but in life nothing is isolated, and all those individualizations, per- sonifications, entities which figure in the catechism, are fic- tions. All are but diflTerent faces, or applications of one and the same truth. But there arc difficulties attaching to the employment of the Bible : [we must not enter upon this path without reflect- ing;] we must organize a method, [and inquire how the Bible is to be read ; what in it should be road ; where we should he(jl.n ; and, lastly, we must carefully estimate the general l)rocedure which the limitations of time may re({uire.] § III. ADVICE TO THE CATECHIST. I(r would be desirable for the pastor to begin with the youngest children in his parish, and, having them under his guidance for several successive years, to proceed with their instruction at leisure. I can understand how, having them ibr only a short time under his control, he should be obliged to use a catechism. But whether^ he should be obliged by necessity to use it, (and especially under these circumstances,) or whether the catechism is used after the Bible, the use of such a manual requires especial care. It is difficult to make a catechism, and there are few good ones. Other things being equal, T would prefer the most elementary — that which, framed after a Christian model, should present forcibly all its teachings under a small nunil)cr of principles, and should 2S4 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. present, under each subject, only the most fundamental ideas, expressed with vigor and feeling. I have not yet met with any catechism superior to Luther's. 3?y adding to it a selec- tion of passages, every thing necessary for our purposes would he possessed. Whatever be the form of catechization, whether based upon the Bible or some manual, that which takes place in public ought to be calculated to meet the wants of the class of hearers for whom it is specially designed — I mean chil- dren. It is very desirable that adults should attend and feel interest in these meetings, but their presence need not alter the character of our instructions ; this would be to act un- faithfully to the children, and to do injury rather than good to the adults. Religion is never more impressive, instruction is never more truly profound, than when Christianity is re- garded from the point of view of childhood : thus to present it is the best means of attracting adults; the best sermon is less attractive than a skilfully managed catechizing. Whether in public, or with each child apart, the matter ought to be carefully prepared : we must not say, I have only children to deal with ; for in this respect, as in all others, maxima deheter puero revcrentia ;* the greatest reverence is due to youth. It is undoubtedly no easy matter to speak well to children. Some persons have the appropriate talent for this work. [With children we must be clear, striking, impulsive ; but in this case there is a great danger of trans- gressing the limits of decorum.] On this point I would commend to you the following remarkable confession by Ber- nard Overberg : " This morning again," he says in his jour- nal, " I went to the school without sufficient preparation. Lord, assist me to improve in this matter ! It is an illusion for me to say, That is enough ; you know your task j here is * Juvenal, Satire xiv., v. 47. PASTORAL LIFE. 285 somotliing to be done more necessary than such prepnvation ; for every thing which can be adjourned is less important than this duty at this particuhir moment. The want of prepara- tion involves many disadvantatrcs ; teaching is then dry, con- fused, irregular, diffuse ; the children are embarrassed and linable to sustain their attention ; the lesson becomes weari- some both to them and to me."* Preparation for catechizing, even in public, which is called oratory, (in the German Predigtcatcchismus,^ does not sup- pose a discourse to be written and committed to memory ; still less does preparation for the special instruction which is communicated in the pastor's residence. Such occasions ought to wear the aspect of a free and familiar conversation, which can hardly belong to a written discourse. But prepa- ration ought not therefore to be less careful. (We may say, in general, that the two forms of preparation, if they arc not identical, supplement each other.) Gentleness and patience are primary qualifications required in the catechist; satire is inexcusable; hardly less so is it to cause or allow embarrassment in the child before the rest of those present. Gentleness should be paternal but manly : love for children will infallibly secure an amiable manner, and will admirably supersede the necessity for an artificially bland and languid style. Familiarity, [doubtless, ought not to be absent, but it] should be sedate and grave ; in religious instruction there is seldom occasion for a smile, never for a laugh. We must interest, not amuse. [Some teachers are in the habit of in- troducing anecdotes in their instructions ; but they should be })rought forward with moderation, and should be serious and suitable.] ■* Notice of Bernard Overbcrg, Teacher iu the Munstcr Normal School, by J. II. Schubert, Professor at Munich. 286 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. The physical comfort of children during the hours of cate- chizing is a matter to be taken into consideration. The exer- cise ought not to be too prolonged. Especially in exposition, judicious limits should not be transgressed, and the time should be relieved by interrogation, [which is less fatiguing to the child, because it calls forth his own activity. We must not say all in exposition, but leave the general ideas to be illustrated by particulars in questioning. The worst mode of catechizing is when digressions are introduced which cause the principal object to pass out of sight, and from which it is difficult for the children, and even for the teacher himself, to return. This is the danger of the Socratic method, which, in other respects, is excellent, and is too little culti- vated. In an absolutely Socratic method, the child too readily persuades himself that he himself has found all that is elicited from him, which is injurious to the pastor's author- ity, and excites the self-love of the child. Moreover, it is impossible to foresee where such a method will lead to — what may be the issue of some point of detail which must be ex- plained in answer to the questions of a child. Long, circuit- ous routes, are very undesirable.] The particular replies of each child in the course of in- struction will not suffice for a decision concerning him ; each child should, towards the end of the course, be separately seen and examined. [Those who are best instructed may not be the best.] He should also be seen that he may be en- abled to arrive at a true mode of regarding the communion to which he is to be admitted. [The child should be care- fully informed as to the true nature of the Lord's Supper. This subject, in its practical point of view, is one on which many prejudices exist, which is partly to be attributed to the human heart. In general, children are free from these pre- judices, but they are ignorant. The child should be taught what it is that he is really about to do;] tlie confirmation of PASTORAL LIFE. 287 his baptismal vows should be presented in a true light before him. [The formulary used among us is in many respects de- fective; it says nothing of the Lord's Supper, nor of the grace of God which is so necessary to be brought to mind when so terrible a promise is formally solemnized. This pro- mise ought rather to be a declaration. Our formulary, then, requires, at least, supplementary instruction.] The age at which, among us, this confirmation takes place, [sixteen years,] appears convenient, so far as regards the de- sign of making the confirmation of baptismal vows a free and intelligent act. However, so far as the question of admis- sion or non-admission is concerned, the true qualification to be regarded is a knowledge of the mysteries of piety propor- tionate to the capacity of each applicant, and more especially an intelligence of the heart, the religious apprehension of this mystery. [For the tirst we have a measure ; there is no sure method of recognizing the second. Accordingly, as to this latter point, unless we have a decisive proof that the child has dispositions directly contrary to Christianity, he should be admitted.] We have a right to adjourn or refuse confirmation ; but it is unreasonable to assume the right of preventing another pastor from administering it, if he thinks he can do what we have refused to do. It suffices for us to have warned our brother, in order to relieve ourselves from responsibility.* [* lu our churches no particular age is specified at which young iiersons should be admitted to the Lord's Supper. Pastor.s arc re- (juired to catechize the children of their charge, and they are ex- pected to admit them to the Lord's Supper as soon as they develop suitable mental and moral qualitications. The Catechisms of the M. E. Church, South, comprise every thing desiderated by Vinet — they consist of eight manuals, advancing "from the least to the greatest."— T. 0. S.] 288 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. SECTION THE THIRD. CARE OF SOULS; OR, PASTORAL OVERSIGHT. CHAPTER I. ON THE CARE OF SOULS IN GENERAL. § I. — ITS RELATIONS TO PREACHING. — FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OP THIS DUTY. We have considered the office of the preacher and that of the pastor successively; but assuredly we do not there- fore mean to assert that preaching is not a pastoral office, and that it is not itself a form of the care of souls. Nei- ther would we say that the care of souls, properly so called, is distinct from preaching, since the instrument for the care of souls is the word, and, under various forms, preaching re- appears continually.* In one sense, we may say that the preacher is to the pastor what a part is to the whole ; but if we call these two offices two distinct parts which by mutual * See the introduction to the course on Homiletics for general re- marks on the word in Christianity. PASTORAL LIFE. 289 conjunction form a whole, \vc shall find differences as well as relations between them. The preacher teaches, the pastor educates; [in German, crsichcf ;'\ the one acts on the masses, the other on individuals ; the one receives and nourishes those who come, the other seeks also those who do not come; we may add, that the former only occupies himself with spiritual interests. For the pastor, in the whole extent of his duty, is the benefactor of his people, and is intended to be a living representative of Jesus Christ."* If the present state of society leaves him less to do, another state which may arrive may again invest him with his former attributes. But, regarding only the moral interests of the parish, he is not completely a pastor, that is to say, a father, unless he is a preacher. What is the pastoral spirit, but one of pater- nity and solicitude ? for this is the spirit of God himself, as the Bible reveals him to men. "As a beast goeth down into the valley, the Spirit of the Lord caused him to rest," Isa. Ixiii. 14 ; to Israel it is promised that he '' shall be borne upon the sides and dandled upon the knees," (ch. Ixvi. 12 ;) and God himself promises, " I will seek that which was lost, and bring again that which was driven away, and will bind up that which was broken, and will strengthen that which was sick." Kzek. xxxiv. 16. If such a kind of charity is beneath us, might not such condescension appear beneath the lofty exaltation of God ? — if he displays it, shall we shrink from it? And if this is the true pastoral spirit, will it not feel confined within narrow limits if its only function is preaching ? This spirit is expressly consecrated by precepts and special injunctions. Thus God says to his prophet, " I have set thcc for a tower and a fortress among my people, that thou maycst know and try their way," Jer. vi. 27 j and Paul exhorts * "In all their affliction he was afflicted." Isa. Ixiii. 9. 10 290 TASTOEAL THEOLOGY. Timothy to " be instant in season and out of season." 2 Tim. iv. 2. This spirit even belongs to all true believers when they are faithful to their calling. We expect them to be at- tentive to one another — mutually to warn one another; for " the Christian," says Saint Cyran, " is only an incomplete priest, or rather, to speak more accurately, a priest in the commencement of his work ; and the priest is a perfect and accomplished Christian."* Moreover, the minister ought to feel that mere preaching does not accomplish its own aim, in the first place, because he is not alone the pastor of those who attend assiduously on his preaching, and, in the second place, because even these need to be assisted by a more indi- vidual and intimate mode of influence. f The pastor may not content himself with having been to his people " as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice, and can play well on an instrument," Ezek. xxxiii. 32 ; he will always have to reproach himself for having " healed the hurt of the daughter of God's people slightly." Jer. vi. 14. Only the care of souls can truly realize and prove the existence of a flock, as such, and not merely as an audience. "I know my sheep, and am known of mine." John X. 14. Only he is a good shepherd who can speak thus. [This is the ideal, towards which we must tend. There is a constant proportion between the attention given to the care of souls, and the religious life of the parish.] So essential is this in the spirit of Christianity, that wher- ever Christianity is revived, the care of souls also regains its importance. * St. Cyran's Letter to M. Guillebert, chap xvi. f In the view of Harms, public preaching is the least important part of the pastoral office, the part ivhich can be most easily dis- pensed with. Fastoraltheoloffie, vol. iii., p. 2. [See chap, ii., sec. i. of this part of our work.] [So Dr. South : see the Introductory Essay. — T. 0. S.] PASTORAL LIFE. 291 Let US add, tliat the small allurements which these duties offer to self love and imagination, enhance their beauty and enforce their obligation. The serious, severe (jualitics of the ministry arc here seen in all their purity. Public speaking is comparatively easy and agreeable : we can only be sure of our vocation to the ministry when we feel drawn and im- pelled to exercise the duties of the care of souls. In these times the difficulty of this office is especially felt. It is diffi- cult because of the large extent of parishes, and, more espe- cially, because it is not so acceptable as it once was. Our congregations know well enough our duties, but they do not know their own ; nor do they sufficiently recognize the pre- cept, '^ Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves," Heb. xiii. 17 ; such a precept has now hardly any meaning to them ; or rather we may say, that a true flock hardly now exists. This state of things has its inconveniences, which we need not indicate ; but it has also its advantages, which are even involved in these same inconveniences. It does not abolish the duty ; it does, in some sense, perfect it. It renders Cliristian love more than ever indispensable to the pastor — that moral authority in wdiicli love is the principal element, and the indispensable condition — discernment, assiduity. Let authority be exercised and enforced without doing vio- lence to a just spirit of independence ; this is a problem which can only be resolved by the simplicity of charity. Even in the time of the apostles, these servants of Christ were oljliged to protest that they had no wish to be lords over (iod's heritage, and that their only reason for assuming the government of souls was because they would have to give account of them. Heb. xiii. 17. Distrust of pastoral ascend- ency is natural, and, to a certain extent, legitimate. To mo it appears a happy circumstance that the pastor does not now come to his flock heralded, and, as it were, introduced l)y a 292 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. foreign authority, but protected only by his name as a pastor, and by the sanctity of his enterprise. So that the less he is received under one title, the better will he be accepted under the other. § II. — OBJECTIONS TO THE EXERCISE OP THIS DUTY. Certain objections or pretexts against the exercise of the care of souls have been raised, which we must briefly pass in review.* 1. Abse7ice of taste. — This, however, is not a question of taste, but of duty ; it is not a detail that may belong to per- fection, but an essential interest inseparable from a pastoral position. If taste for this part of our ministry is lacking, what kind of taste for other parts have we ? If we have not a vocation to attend to the individual souls of our flock, we have not a vocation to the ministry. This objection is then cither all-powerful or all-feeble ; all-powerful because of its very feebleness. 2. Want of time. — What shall we understand by this ? That we need only attend to this duty when we have nothing else to do ? I confess I would rather hear the duty of the care of souls alleged as a reason for neglecting preaching, than the duty of preaching alleged as a reason for neglecting the care of souls ; I would rather hear the pastor say, The sick and poor, the scattered sheep of my flock, occupy me, and prevent me from giving to preaching all the care that it demands. The objection assumes what is at least question- able — that the care of souls is of secondary importance. But who has said this ? how shall it be proved ? 3. Reception is denied. — Possibly. But be careful not to urge this objection until the attempt has been fairly made. * Harms's Pastoraltheologie, vol. iii., p. 19. I'ASTOllAL LIFE. 293 Do not advance it after a first and feeble effort. Why sliould you expect the doors of your people's houses to open spon- taneously merely upon your approach ? In general, we arc too hasty in aifirming that a reception is denied. There are far more modes of access than we suppose, because there are far more needs, accessible sides, occasions, than we think. Our ministry, when it comes under the guise of Christian affection, is not so sure of being repulsed. Upon the whole, it is natural that a reception should be denied. We all know that truth is not received with eager- ness ; and the chief Shepherd is not certainly better received by us than we are by others ; never will they receive us worse than we have received God. And yet he " came unto his own." John i. 11. The servant is not better than his mas- ter. Is not patience our duty? is not this a trial and exer- cise of our fliith ? § HI. — CONDITIONS, OR QUALITIES, REQUIRED IN THE CARE OP SOULS. The conditions requisite for this work are : 1. Health. — The details of the care of souls arc not neces- sarily nor ordinarily dangerous to health, (unless the parish be too large, ) yet a certain vigor and stability of constitution ai*e needed. In general, he who can sustain the burden of preaching, is physically qualified for the care of souls ; but there may be exceptions, and the minister ought to examine himself well on this point, when considering his vocation to the pastorate ; he must ask whether the one can be given up while the vocation to the other remains. 2. A certain presence of mind, with which ministers may be variously endowed, but which may be more or less ac- quired, and which is very often only a presence of heart, or a quality which this will supply. 294 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. o. PsT/cliological experiences. — Many persons assign to logic the position of psychology, which is a great evil. Logic is rectilinear ; it passes through, it traverses moral facts ; psy- chology is sinuous and flexible. The psychology of books is very useful as a basis for our own researches, but is nothing without experience and study of our own selves. Self-know- ledge is a mode of knowing others accurately, although we must be prepared to meet with moral combinations such as we have never experienced, and which might have appeared impossible ; in this case we must study fiicts as such, with candor and docility. 4. Knoioledge of the parish. — The parish is not an abstrac- tion, but a concrete fact — an individuality which has no exact counterpart elsewhere. It is true that this knowledge im- plies a knowledge of mankind in general, since unless we know men generally, we cannot know them well as existing at a certain time and place ; it is also true that we must seek and bring to light the general features of humanity in the men of a certain time and place ; true also that there are things which are equally interesting and attractive to man in the most different conditions, and that these things are of the first importance. But it is not less true that if we do not take into account that which distinctly characterizes our flock, we are in danger, not only of being less useful, less agreeable, or less welcome, but also of acting in many cases in direct opposition to the aim which we propose to our- selves. All external circumstances which modify the form of the soul's manifestations, do, on this very account, modify the action which we must exercise upon it. We must, so to speak, request from the individual man an introduction to the general man, or, at least, we must so act that our path may not be barricaded by this individual man. St. Paul spoke to all as men ; and yet to the Jew he became a Jew, to the Greek a Greek; he became all things to all men. We TASTOUAI/ LIFE. 205 must not strike keys which correspond to no chord, and leave inactive those which are in communication with tones of the i'ullest and clearest quality. The care of souls will not then he the same in town as in country; in an agricultural country, and manufacturing dis- tricts; in the midst of a people of simple manners, and among a refined and educated people. The pastor must take all these things into consideration, as also all geographic peculiarities — climatic, economic, dietetic, and historic. He should know the habits, interests, wants, prejudices, and wishes of the people among whom he is located. He should not limit himself to some very obvious data, supplied by a i'ew inductions, he should wish to study things as they are in themselves. For while general circumstances may be the same, there are points of distinction to be observed between two parishes, both in a mountainous, or both in an agricultural district, both rich, or both poor. Especially ought the pastor to know the religious condition of the parish as he receives it. Those and all other experiences must be the subject of pro- longed and persevering study, commencing with his entrance upon his office; and, even before coming, he should be in- formed of every thing that it is important for him to know; and some details, apparently trifling, are really important. Un- less these things arc known he will injure and offend, he will act injudiciously, and create prejudices which are easily formed and slowly subdued. He must know the evil and the good, the strong as well as the weak points, [what must be developed, and what needs to be repressed.] From all this we may infer the advantage which the pastor acquires by a long residence in the same place. 5. (^(irc in preserving relations of conjidencc and affcrtion with the jyarish. — These are partly obtained by the care of sduls ; liut, for the sake of the work, they should by all means be created and preserved. There arc positive and neyalive 296 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. means ; here we shall not speak of the first, which will come subsequently under consideration, when we are regarding the duties of the pastor in this point of view ; at present we will only speak of negative means, which are : Avoid all unneces- sary collisions with interest and self-love ; be ready to yield your own rights, according to the apostle's words, "Why do ye not rather take wrong ?" 1 Cor. vi. 7. [Doubtless the pastor should not encourage evil by his own feebleness, but neither should he show himself obstinate and unyielding.] Be careful not to contract obligations too readily ; maintain as independent a position as possible. We may here call to mind the advantages of our institutions, in which the pastor receives nothing from the community as such ; and in which accidental relations of dependence are hardly existent.* § IV. — THREEFOLD OBJECT OF PASTORAL OVERSIGHT. Let us now resolve the pastoral office into its different ele- ments or spheres of action ; that is, let us thus divide not only the religious care of families and individuals, but what- ever is not included in public teaching and the celebration of religious woi'ship. Pastoral oversight has a threefold object, referring respect- ively to the material, moral, and spiritual interests of the parish. 1. Concern for material interests. — If I speak of this first, it is not that I regard it as primary, but rather because I consider it the smallest of the interests which ought to en- gage the attention of a pastor, and because I desire to ascend by natural gradation to the true object of his ministry and the worthiest employment of his activity. There are posi- tions into which he will be seldom called, where his inter- [* But the advocates of the voluntary system believe them to be more than counterbalanced by other considerations. — T. 0. S.] PASTORAL LIFE. 297 forcncc would be improper ; there arc others into which he will almost be compelled to enter. In all cases we would liave him take into consideration the material interests of those with whom he comes in contact, and, according to the demands of his position, attend to them.* We do not now allude to relief aiforded to the poor, which is always expected of the pastor. Let him in all cases avoid the character of au intrusive busybody and innovator — the air of a merely social reformer. 2. Concern for moral mtcre^ta. — These may be considered as distinct from spiritual interests. There are unjust or im- moral prejudices, errors of education, violations of law and morality which are winked at by custom, unbecoming and pernicious practices, etc. All evils of this kind must be dis- persed by Christianity. It will not, however, be sufficient to preach the cross in order to destroy this, although it may be done most unweariedly, and with this very aim, as the highest which the preacher can aspire to. In order to cope with these evils, we must descend to the level of natural morality, common sense, and even interest. Often, and with many ])ersons, this is the only avenue to, the sole condition of success. This need not compromise higher aims; it will bring us into contact with a larger number of individuals, and enable us to influence a larger number of wills. Christianity docs truly extend its application to all things; it so subdivides and distributes itself as to reach all abuses and all errors. Its great principles can be successfully sum- moned to confute the minutest forms of error and of sin ; nor is the objection applicable that this is to use Niagara to turn the wheel of a mill. It is even a matter of regret that Chris- tian preaching does not oftener conduct Christians, as down a * Cases of waste land cuhivated by monks; priests who have in- troduced civilization. 298 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. gentle declivity, from the loftiest principles to their last re- sults. But before individuals can thus apply Christianity to their personal conduct, before they can introduce it into the external and material details of their life, they must have re- ceived it ; and while we are waiting for this consummation, society languishes and decays. The time presses ; let us then assail evil with every weapon that we can grasp ; let us, by Christian love, and in the exercise of a Christian spirit, apply to society the forces which are available for all, the motives by which all are influenced, and which indeed, being legiti- mate and true, are really a part of truth. Let us never forget that the good and right has still its reasons in itself, while evil carries with it its own condemnation ; that Christianity was not sent that it might create morality, but in order to afford to it the most irresistible motives, without casting any discredit on, without charging with any absolute inefficacy, those which arc derived from conscience and the nature of things. It is true that motives of this order cannot work any inner renewal — a moral resurrection for man ; they do less than this, but this less has its value, and is assuredly worth more than that nonentity to which we should reduce our activity, so far as most men are concerned, did we refuse to present before them these motives. It is neither possible nor proper to attack openly every abuse which may come under our notice. Besides that much time would be required in order to learn thoroughly all these forms of evil, such an indiscreet impatience would disgust and repel those whom we should reprove. It will be better to train and tutor some aids and auxiliaries, even in the same parish, who, when their consciousness of evil becomes similar to our own, will, with us, commence an assault upon it, or even take our place.''' There is an excellent and Christian * Hiiffell, Ucber das Wesen und den Beruf des evangelisch-christlichen GeistUchm. Third editibn, Gicssen, 1835, vol. ii., p. 270. PASTORAL LIFE. 299 policy by which the pastor may himself omit many things, which arc doiio by others who have received from him the inspiration and instruction which can fit them for the work. Not only does he require assistance in his parish, but he will do so much the more good, as he does not personally attend to every thing. 3. Concern for spiritual intei'ests. — We speak of this class of interests according to an order which will enable us to embrace the complete circle of interests that claim pastoral solicitude ; for otherwise, this last includes and governs all the rest. It ought to be the soul of our every movement, the principle of our every activity. The spiritual, that is to say, the eternal welfare of the members of our parish, is that which especially demands our consideration ; and if a minister who is profoundly occupied with this order of interests may, to a certain extent, lose sight of other orders, not the less certain is it that a pastor who is not such, in this the most elevated sense of the term, will not ordinarily be a man adapted to promote the purely moral and even the material welfare of the community. § V. THE SCHOOL. As yet wc have only considered the parish as a whole ; we may now advance towards families and individuals. But be- tween the parish as a whole, and families or individuals, there is an intermediate institution of which we must speak — the school. There will be great danger of its being secularized. The school should remain attached to the church or to religion. I am now speaking of the popular school, in which the pupils will learn more or less, but will always, if the school deserves its name, learn that which is required for the man and the Christian. The school needs religion, and religion needs the 300 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. school ; neitlier is there a church without a school, nor a school without a church. For this reason the pastor must interest himself in every thing that enters essentially into popular instruction, but he should always add thereto, or rather interweave therewith, religious thought. Never can he forget that he is a minister of religion, never can he over- look this feature in his position when he is superintending the government of a school. This does not imply any exclu- sive preoccupation for one point of view; nor that the min- ister does not, as well as any other man, concern himself with the complete circle of interests that enter into the great work of popular education. I do not mean that the pastor should supersede the school- master in the work of religious instruction, but should guide him in his instructions, should aid, but not cashier him. As a member or president of the school commissioners, the minister will use whatever influence he may have, but will not seek to domineer, or to act entirely alone ; he will regard it as more appropriate and useful that others also should learn to act well, and, in certain cases, that he himself should learn from them. If circumstances, or his own relative superiority, give him the ascendency, he will be ready to condescend or to defer to others; he will not make his colleagues mere in- struments or agents for the accomplishment of his purposes, but will strive to make them cooperate with him. This advice is equally applicable to all the institutions and labors in which the pastor may be called to take a principal part. We may now advance to the relations which the pastor sus- tains to families and individuals. § VI. — RELATIONS WITH FAMILIES. PASTORAL VISITS. I have spoken of families because the minister generally reaches individuals (qf whom more hereafter) through farai- PASTOllAL LIFE. oOl lies, and because it is important that he should be connected with families as such. The family, which is the only group which remains permanently in society under the national group — the lamily, which is a natural bond, perhaps not pre- served with a sufficiently close tenacity, yet not entirely dis- solved — is for the minister a fact of unspeakable value, since by it a number of individuals can be at once and easily reached, so indirectly that they do not fear lest their liberty should be compromised, so directly that they can be very strongly and closely influenced. I would further observe, that the minister ought to act upon families in order that he may recognize, consecrate, and strengthen whatever is divine in the institution itself. However, our aim must be to reach individuals, since the presence or absence of Christian character is a matter of in- dividual concern, resting with those who have or have not received the truth. We will not then consider relations with families at greater length ; but before we begin to consider individual relations, which will occupy us during the remain- der of this part of our course, we must say something of an important duty which relates both to families and to indivi- duals, and is a powerful means of reaching both — I mean j^astoral visitations. Pastoral visits are neither of a purely social character, such as persons in a respectable position pay to one another, for pleasure or for compliment ; nor are they purely official — so-called domiciliary visits, which have somewhat of an in- quisitorial character. They ought to be pastoral, avowedly so, but familiar and kindly. The pastor, when he is recog- nized as such, should be felt to be a friend and a father. All that is obtrusive should be avoided in these visits; those who receive them should be made to feel perfectly at caiiC ; all ideas of ceremony and mere worldly politeucsfl should be excluded. 302 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. Tissot has very forcibly shown wliat pastoral visits ought to be in the country, and how a true pastor will know how to relieve them of all that is wearisome, and secure their legitimate results : " What a fatal influence will effeminacy exert upon the man who is a Church ruler I I do not hesitate to say that the welfare of the precious deposit that is intrusted to him, does not depend either upon his learning or his eloquence, but upon his vigilance and activity. He does not enlighten the people by his care in beautifying his sermons in the re- tirement of his study ; the discourses which he delivers in the temple are not the most effective sermons which he preaches. When the people only hear sacred truths, only see the man who is charged to announce them in the sanctuary, they do not admit these truths to the home of their spirit— they only pay them a visit of ceremony on the Sabbath. Men who are consecrated to a holy calling ! — if you desire to in- culcate such truths as may serve as a guide to that conduct which will one day rise up in witness either for or against you, the time when you can most advantageously impress them upon your hearer is when he is in the midst of his fields, when he is repairing his broken hedges, when he is resting at the door of his storehouse, when the severity of the weather keeps him at home, or when some event of in- terest and importance takes place in his family. " Would you instruct him ? Connect the truth, the duties which it involves, all your ideas of it, with his daily toils ; let the harvest which he reaps recall to his mind the conver- sation which you had with him while he was sowing the seed; while he is mowing his second crop, let his occupation sug- gest the ideas which you presented before him while he was gathering, in the first : in a word, let him find you everywhere, and let him delight thus to meet with you. But how shall this be if you do not venture to go anywhere ? How shall PASTORAL LIFE. 303 you induce him to be attached to his duties, while you appear so little concerned to make him interested in them '{ Will he not shrink from his yoke — and this shrinking is a pestilential atmosphere for virtue — when he sees that you arc indisposed to touch it? Will he not hate his condition when those whom he regards as happy are careful to stand aloof from it?"* Visits such as these have many advantages. They enable the pastor to gain an accurate knowledge of the moral and material necessities of the families in his parish. They con- firm and establish amicable relations. They present oppor- tunities for influencing individuals. Shall we, before we make such visits, wait for some special occasion ? It is well to make them when no particular oc- casion has suggested them, without any immediately impelling motive, in order that, when a special circumstance renders them peculiarly necessary, they may not have a strange and formidable character. It is well, however, also to take ad- vantage of those events which move the spii'it and dispose the heart to open to the words of truth — the moUisuma tnn- jwra/andi'f — without any unreality in the mode of so doing. ]}e jealously cautious to avoid j>>-fc/'as/i?iaif/'r>?!, or the habit of delaying. How often have pastors, how often have Chris- tians in general, lamented their successive delays, which have allowed destinies which, for a time at least, they would have been able to control and direct, to become irrevocably fixed ! All the parishioners ought, as far as possible, to be visited by the pastor ; all, at least, ought to be accosted with friendly greetings, both the friends of our ministry and its advcr.saries, [whom, however, we ought not to recognize as such till they have given us convincing proofs and manifestations of their * Essay on the Life of Tissot, by Ch. Eynard. Lausanne, 1839, Y>. ion. f Virgil. ^Encid, Lib. iv., v. 293. oOi PASTORAL THEOLOGY. hostility,] rich as well as poor. If tlie pastor sees only the rich, we may fearlessly assert, without looking more closely into facts, that his visits are not pastoral, but social; if he sees only the poor, it would not be right to say, what is so often asserted, that only the poor have a pastoi' ; for is he a true pastor who can only be such to the poor, that is to say, to those whose poverty obliges them to accept pastoral atten- tions whether they desire them or not ? PASTORAL LIFE. 305 C PI AFTER II. THE CARE OF SOULS APPLIED TO INDIVIDUALS. § I. — INTRODUCTION. — DIVISION OP THE SUBJECT. Only absolute impossibility can excuse the pastor from an immcJiate attention to individuals. If he should have the leisure to penetrate thoroughly into all the necessities of each individual, and to be his pastor as diligently as he is the pas- tor of the whole flock, this would be his duty. But even when each individual may be separately addressed, and guided at leisure, yet preaching to the collected flock will be neces- sary. For this we have given reasons in the introduction to the course of ITomilctics. Even in this case, however, public preaching would still be of secondary importance ; the teach- ing of individuals would occupy the first place. The pastor must, therefore, as far as possible, address himself to indi- viduals. This concern for individuals is one of the most prominent characteristics of the New Covenant and the new ministry. And it is very remarkable that the religion which has founded a Church, and has given to this institution a reality that is almost equivalent to personality, is the same which has con- secrated and settled beyond all controversy and attack the individuality of religious life; the same which regards only individual efl'ects, or, at least, makes these the principal aim 306 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. of its endeavors. The gospel is addressed, the preacher is sent, not to peoples and masses, but to all the individuals of vi^hom the peoples and masses are composed. If preachers seek to act upon masses, it is with a view to the individuals belonging to them ; which implies, not that one solitary indi- vidual is worth more than a thousand collected individuals, which is absurd, but is worth more than a people as such, a mass as such. The pastor then looks to individuals ; less directly in preaching, more immediately in the care of souls, which has no longer any object or reason when the indi- vidual loses his reality, or only his importance. The minister only seeks individuals through public worship, because he is not sure of finding them by any other means ; because there are things which can only be said to individuals as they are collected together ; and, lastly, because the public assembly typifies the equality, the community of human spiritual inte- rests — the communion of souls. But, so far as he can hope to find them elsewhere, he must seek th(!m there. This is his first duty, the first form of the pastoral ministry ; of this, public teaching is only the supplement. The friend who, having the opportunity of enjoying a free conversation apart with his friend, should be content with seeing him only in the midst of a large company, and who, having some par- ticular communication to make, which concerns him alone, should fuse down into general discourse that which is spe- cially applicable to him, would be indeed a strange friend. Now, every one needs a kind of instruction which is suited to him alone, or, at least, he needs that that general instruc- tion which may be presented before him among others, but which is often lost to him for want of special application, should be adjusted to his peculiar habits and circumstances. At different times he passes through different states of mind, for which general preaching is not quite suited. The pastor knows this ; and if he can influence this soul separately, how TASTORAL LIFE. 307 shall he forbear to do so ? Will he not recognize the i'act that preaching may prepare the way, may also complete a work which has been commenced in this soul, but that the critical moment, either of life or of each special event, de- mands a more minute and delicate attention 't And lastly, how will the parish regard a pastor who is only such in the pulpit — who, in a sense, never descends from it — and who, having the opportunity of knowing individuals, desires only to know the mass ? As much as pastoral zeal in the care of souls adds force to preaching, so much does the negligence of the pastor enfeeble his pulpit labors. AVe have indicated some natural, and, so to speak, lawful occasions for approaching individuals; there are also other opportunities which will be suggested by charity, and chosen by prudence. They will not be wanting when they are de- sired. We would not counsel any obnoxious importunity ; but it is important that the pastor should assure himself that the solicitude which induces him to seek for opportunities, is seldom regarded with disgust, when it is characterized by frankness and simplicity. Let us now distinguish between individuals. Individuals differ among themselves externally in their circumstances, internally in their state of mind and heart. Let us first attend to circumstances which affect the internal state. § II. — INTERNAL STATE. The same tendencies exist at all periods, and we may say that the smallest congregation presents all the principal shades of (ruth and error. But the proportion varies, and each epoch, each country has its character, which results from the predominance of certain elements. Everywhere else there is cither excess or defect. Mysticism, antinomianism, legalism, 308 TASTORAL THEOLOGY. blind devotion to the letter, (literalism,) reiga in their seve- ral turns. Whatever may be the case in respect to these forms of life or error, there are, in regard to internal state, diiFerent classes ■which exist, more or less numerously, in each flock. 1. The first class is that of pcrso7is decidedly piuus, and more or less advanced in the way of truth. We would not advise that these should be left to themselves, and that coun- sel and direction should be refused to them ; but we will suggest that they should not be withdrawn from that disci- pline which is sent by the Spirit of God. It is important that they should be enabled to feel the reality of their liberty, their responsibilities, and the agencies for good that are spe- cially theirs. The pastor ought to fear lest he should assume the position of a pope, or only of a director of consciences. He ought to be a promoter of liberty, and not a substitute for it. These individuals who form the selected portion of the flock, will naturally feel a want of more intimate relationships with the pastor, and more searching and minute instruction from him. Because they know more, it seems they have more to learn. It would be unjust entirely to overlook these circumstances ; and the pastor who is isolated in his parish has as much need of these individuals as they have of him. But he cannot always, in this respect, completely satisfy either them or himself. On the one hand, the pastor is the pastor of the whole flock, and ought, according to St. Paul's precept, to "take heed to . . . all the flock." Acts xx. 28. On the other hand, he ought — in order to serve the interests of peace and preserve the unity of the flock — to be willing to deprive himself and them of some lawful religious pleasures. Only after much reflection, and with many precautions, may he establish an extra-oflicial worship. In certain parishes the means of communication which are ofi'ered by pastoral visits PASTORAL lilFE. 309 ouii^lit to bo preferred. His arrangements for the nuiltitude must not, liowever, wear the appearance of timidity and undue ret:;ard for liunian opinion ; nor must the pastor dis- guise his sympathy for tliose who servo God with the greatest zeal.* All who arc pious arc not so in the same manner; there is almost always one ruling element, and some other is kept in abeyance. Always there is some feeble side to be fortified, which we should know how to recognize. (1.) To those in whom the principle o^ faith predominates, vorks must be recommended; enforcing the truth, that amidst all the changes of disposition and state towards God, the law remains such, and that we may never renounce by our works (Titus i. 16) the God whom we profess to know, and whom we do in reality know. We must arm them against the snares which the natural man may find in Christian lib- erty : without asking them to renounce it, we must yet coun- sel them to use it with prudence, and especially not to lead astray those Christians who arc less advanced or more feeble in the faith, (Kom. xv. 12,) who dare not take full advan- tage of their liberty, but who must not, on this account, be hastily regarded as strangers to the influence of Divine grace. (2.) Those who, desirous of adding to their faith virtue, arc in danger of forgetting, in this so necessary an application of their graces, that faith is the first act of obedience, and that the work j!>rrr excellence, "the work of God," (John vi. 29,) is to believe on him whom he hath sent — such persons must be reminded of the abyss of self-righteousness which is yawning by their side, in which true righteousitess perishes and disappears. * .See llcrrnhut's Praktischc Bcmcrhungcn, p. 103. Gcmcinschaft der Eru-crklrn. 310 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. (3.) To the scrujndous, tlie timoroics, we must show that " the kingdom of God is not meat and drink, but righteous- ness and peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost," (Rom. xiv. 17,) and that, if it is necessary continually to prove ''what is acceptable to God," (Eph. v. 19;) this useful exercise of reason and conscience need not be connected with anxiety, but ought to be associated with a tranquil confidence in that God who, having given to us the light of truth, will certainly not permit a sincere and upright intention to go very seriously astray. (4.) The superstitious, that is to say, those who, by reason of a feeble imagination, or some sort of spiritual indolence, prefer to consult some exterior indication in order to learn the will of God, rather than listen to conscience, which is the internal guide, must be instructed that the light of faith is not intended to lead to a renunciation of those natural means of learning and of judging which we possess, but to induce us to make a good use of them ; and that to act otherwise is, under an illusory show of piety, to leave to chance, or rather to the passion which defies all chances, the business of deter- mining the course of action to be adopted. In fine, the work of the minister, so far as those pious souls are concerned whose various errors are really the ex- aggeration of some principles of truth, is to restore equili- brium, by inculcating upon them the particular principles which, either in theory or in practice, they have lost sight of. Certain doctrines, certain points of view which, ordi- narily, can find but little place in preaching, resume their just importance in the details of the care of souls; and we may say thaif, in this sphere, no article of a truly Christian theology will be suifered to remain inoperative. It is with every individual form of Christianity as it is with the forms of government among men : each of them corresponds, at first, to the general idea of society — afterwards, they answer PASTORAL LIFE. 811 more specially to some one of the conditions of social life ; in other words, each one has borrowed its form from some one principle, but each also tends to exaggerate the principle on which it is founded, as if that were the social principle itself. Pure Christianity, which has been to some extent ex- hibited, while a pure state of society never has, has a prin- ciple which cannot be exaggerated, seeing that it is the root of all other principles, that is to say, of all the mutually cor- relative aspects of truth. But no individual fully possesses this breadth and harmoniousness of life; every individual form of Christianity adopts a principle and continually tends to exaggerate it, instead of tempering it by the opposite principle. This attempered and complete view is that which wo must seek to present to each soul, either by bringing be- fore it the harmonious and perfected exhibition of Christi- anity, or by admonishing it of that truth which it has forgot- ten, or which it has omitted to apply. In some souls the work of grace has proceeded unknown to all beside, perhaps unknown to the individual himself. These souls, whom God has endowed with a beautiful and )irecious quality of docility, are as easily moulded as water is to the shape of the vessel into which it is put. They are not born Christian, but they become so with such a slight amount of effort, that they seem to owe to the generous duc- tility of their nature that which others obtain only as the result of laborious conflicts or prolonged reflection. So that while some may say, " With a great sum obtained I this free- dom," they can, in a certain sense, reply, "But I was born I'ree." Acts xxii. 28. Sometimes these souls reveal them- selves by striking events at the solemn hour of death, but no one has observed them during their life; and if any one should have questioned them, he would have obtained from tlu 111 a very incoherent account of their faith. Possibly, also, the imperJ'ci'tion of their theory has made itself felt, to a, 312 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. certain degree, in their practice, and they have not cried, " Lord, Lord," either so frequently or so importunately as others. Their faith has remained in a latent condition, unre- flective, unanalyzed ; they have thought little of their religion, because their nature would not allow them to think much of any thing. We may say that they have surrendered their arms of hostility, because, in truth, they have never resisted. But they have, by gradual degrees, assimilated the spirit of Christianity ; it has entered into the habits of their life ; they feel all that others think, and all that others, who are more highly favored, both think and feel ; they inwardly renounce all self-righteousness ; with their whole hearts do they em- brace the mystery of mercy ; their conscience has become delicate ; without any fixed method, they yet exercise on themselves a severe discipline ; they know nothing, and yet they know all things. Learn to detect these souls, which are perhaps more numerous than you think j learn to encourage and develop them ; do not urge them in another direc- tion than that which is naturally prescribed to them ; do not force these instruments to give forth sounds which are inappropriate to them; do not distress them by rigid rules; do not deprive them of their naturalness ; accept of their language, accommodate your own to theirs, and do not attempt to remodel their phraseology, excepting so far as this may be demanded by the interests of their religious life. 2. We pass to the neiolt/ converted. The fervor of their first love is directly useful because of the works which it produces. There are many important forms of action which are peculiar to this period of the spiritual life. Moreover, this fervor is also useful in order to admonish those who have allowed the gift that is in them to be enfeebled; this is a leaven which God is continually introducing into the mass of the Church. But, ordinarily, this period is not one of equi- librium or of moderation, and it was not without reason that PASTORAL LIFE. 313 the primitive Church forbade those recently converted to ex- ercise the ministry. This period is generally one of zealous bitterness, of contentiousness of mind, of harsh judgments; the mind forgets its ancient condition, and that apparently in proportion as it has ascended from a lower depth to its present height. Though the young convert knows himself to have been the object and the monument of marvellous patience, he is himself impatient, and would say of his neighbor, as the man in the parable, " Cut it down : why cumbereth it the ground T' Luke xiii. 6-9. This is also the time when Christian liberty is likely to be abused : the young convert wishes to admonish and reprove all, and perhaps even him from whom he received his first illumination ; whence also danger results for the latter, who will not always be ready to say with Moses, <' Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets !" Num. xi. 29. All this will induec the pastor to treat young converts with indulgence and at the same time with severity. Neither must the spirit which is in them be harshly and bitterly repulsed, nor should a demon be allowed to enter in through the breach which a celestial spirit has made. 3. Another class is that of the awakened; although very often those whom we speak of as awakened are truly con- verted, conversion being simply an awakening. The awaken- ing of the soul is that movement of interest or disquietude towards spiritual things which, after a prolonged indifTercDce, it experiences, and which differs from other experiences of the same kind which it may have had, in that this becomes a ruling and habitual state. The direction of such souls is a delicate matter. We must aid on the work without precipi- tating it; we must help its movement, but not carry it and supersede its own activity ; the individuality must be re- spected ; we niu.st not anticipate nor expect a series of impressions and states conformed to a description which wo 314 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. have previously elaborated. We must not wish to give a name to each separate state ; especially we must not enforce an application before the principle has been received ; we must not forget that if there are habits and actions which at any moment whatever of the spiritual life are to be considered morbid, there are others whose characteristics reveal them- selves only gradually and in proportion as the principles of Christianity are more distinctly and clearly seen; and that, in the guidance of souls, too facile successes may portend ulti- mate failure — that they may be complimentary accommodations to our theories, accomplished without any consciousness of their necessity, and therefore purely arbitrary in their char- acter. 4. There are souls not only awakened but troubled, in whom that disquietude which is at the basis of all awakening, as- sumes the aspect of despair and anguish. We may even say that, in many cases, this trouble precedes the true awakening; and that often such souls in whom an interest in spiritual things does not yet really exist, address themselves to the pastor under the influence of a vague but insupportable anguish, coming to him simply with the thought that there are reme- dies for the soul as there are medicines for the body, and that these remedies can nowhere be better obtained than from him. The pastor may always be assured that this trouble arises from recollections which haunt the conscience, and from a need of expiation rather felt than distinctly per- ceived. In such souls this trouble cannot cease, and the principle of a new life cannot commence, except at the cost of a sincere confession.* We must know how to obtain this : love, however, will obtain all. The greater the cost of this procedure, the more necessity is there for it. Often all * "He that covereth his sins shall not prosper; but whoso con- fesseth and forsaketh them shall have mercy." — Prov. xxviii. 13. PASTORAL LIFE. 315 appears easy after the first effort, and the soul, as if rolicwod of a hurdcu which crushed it, goes on its way with frecduui and joy. We may here speak of a class of persons whose suids are not precisely troubled, but whose minds are more or less vexed with doubts and scruples. In the one case, the anxiety is the result of a natural skepticism ; in the case of the others, it arises from a disposition to be harassed with every thing-, or from an indiscreet curiosity. Religious movement has so disproportionately multiplied the number of those who seek for counsel and for the solution of difficulties, that it has not also augmented in proportion to its own activity the resources of moral and religious instruction which we require, and which the pulpit is intended to impart. The ministry would not be possible were not the secrets of confession inviolable with us as in the llomish Church. Every person who intrusts his secret thus to the pastor ought to be able to rely upon secrecy ; but when the revelation of the secret is the only means of preventing a crime, the reten- tion of it is complicity with the criminal. But in this ease the very appearance of a surprise must be avoided. The formal absolution which follows confession in the (latholic Church rests on an idea which is perfectly Chris- tian. The llomanist is only mistaken when he attaches ab- solution to the external act of confession, and not to the dis- positions and intentions indicated in the passage which wo have quoted.* This it is which the minister should strongly enforce, as also the absence of all merit and of all intrinsic virtue to reconcile in the acts of self-denial or of reparation which may succeed confession, and which in certain cases may be useful and are to be recommended. Among these acts, a confession made to others than the pastor, especially [* See the preceding note.] iJ16 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. to the person offended, if there is one, may be very import- ant, and sometimes absolutely necessary. Sometimes even it may be that only a public confession is a sufficient ac- knowledgment, but I very much doubt whether the pastor can ever suggest this idea; he may even sometimes dissuade the penitent man from such a course; to confirm him in this purpose is to assume a grave responsibility ; nevertheless we may find ourselves called upon to do this. A scandal given by an entire life may demand, at the hour of death, a rejiaration of this kind. 5. We must yet speak of the orthodox who do violence to the faith, not in its object but in its character, by regarding it as a work, thus defeating and denying the work of God, by accepting it with the show of a perfect submission. They verify the remark of the poet, De mal croyant a m^cr^ant L'intervalle n'est pas grand — that between them who believe in a false way and the apos- tate there is no great interval. The cure of this religious malady is one of the most diffi- cult, since the merit of servile exactitude may be attached to the most evangelical belief. Some have the unfortunate art of making Christianity stoop to serve the lower parts of their nature, and to make it the patron of their laxity and their envy. Here what is wanting is properly life, and life must be awakened ; the work which appeared to be accomplished has to be commenced, and there is no point of departure but repentance. The orthodox individual must retrace with his heart and conscience all the road which he has passed through with his intellect and imagination ; he must believe in another mode what in one mode he h«s believed in for a long time. This dead orthodoxy has two shades ; it may assume two characters. There are o^iho^LOx formalists, to whom we PASTORAL LIFE. 317 must exhibit a worship that is in spirit and in truth, John iv. 24 ; and there arc orthodox legalistic, who cleave to the letter of gospel precepts, but allow the spirit to escape them. However, in regard to these last, we must be careful not to pronounce too hastily, since there are slaves to the law who are by no means Pharisees ; that is to say, are by no means filled with ideas of merit and self-righteousness. We must ascertain whether, in the servility and anxiety of their obedience, they do not belong to the number of those whom the Gospel has at once characterized and blessed in the following declarations : " Then Jesus beholding him loved him, and said unto him, One thing thou lackest : go 4hy way, sell whatsoever thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shalt have treasure in leaven ; and come, take up the cross, and follow me." Mark x. 21. "And the scribe said unto him. Well, IMaster, thou hast said the truth : for there is one God ; and there is none other but he ; and to love him with all the heart, and with all the understanding, and with all the soul, and to love his neighbor as himself, is more than all whole burnt-oflPerings and sacrifices. And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him. Thou art not far from the kingdom of God." Mark xii. 32-34. In these there is the germ and basis of true faith. There are some souls in a singular condition, which has been too little observed. They are those who have antici- pated — that is, have taken for granted — the grace of the gospel ; who have appropriated to themselves all the pro- mises before they have felt all the grief, the distaste, the fear, the death, (so to speak,) which are naturally connected with the consciousness of sin. They believe, they bless, they confess, they say with intelligenoe and sincerity all that true Christians say; but they want, I will not say the joy, which is not a habitual disposition with every true Christian, but the peace, the love, and, to say all in one word, the life 318 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. of a Christian. These are not to be confounded with those whom we have called orthodox; they have not all the security of these ; they afe at once in a better and in a worse condition, not having fulfilled all righteousness, but knowing that they have not. This condition, though a remarkable, is yet a common one; and although it is difficult to unravel all its complexities, since that which underlies it can itself hardly recognize its own existence, yet a minister who has become a penetrating observer from having watched the movements of his own heart, will know well how to discern it. To apply the remedy is the greatest difficulty. The steps, the order of time in spiritual life, have been inverted. This Christian is one by anticipation, and, so to speak, by hypothesis. He is habituated to the profession and external enjoyment of a Christianity which only pos- sesses his intellect or his imagination. His mouth has uttered, " Lord, Lord !" before his heart. He is accustomed to the phrases, the forms, the thoughts of Christianity, with- out having admitted them into his soul, and, consequently, 60 that they become rather distasteful than welcome to him. In order that life may be relished, death must be tasted ; but if from death we naturally ascend to life, we cannot similarly descend from life to death, and we cannot command ourselves to pass at once through all the phases of a sorrow- ing novitiate. This is one of the greatest difficulties that we can encounter in our spiritual career, and one which must put all the patience and prudence of a pastor to a severe test. One sign by which we may recognize these persons is the absence of progress and movement in their spiritual life. At first, the pastor may find them well disposed, ready to confess their sins, their insufficiency, their need of redemption and of the assistance of the Holy Spirit; but every time that he returns, he will hear the same language; variety, even more than reality, will be wanting. PASTORAL LIFE. 319 If he is called upon to treat a malady of this kind, he must, on the one hand, see that the soul of whom we are speaking recognizes its own condition, and, on the other hand, he must watch lest it do not lose that which it already has, by reason of the manner in which this has been obtained. lie cannot forbear to speak to it of grace, to remind it of the promises which it has accepted, and which it is always right * in accepting; he may not change any one of the conditions of the covenant of grace, and deny to that soul the privileges which it is well for it to possess; but he must warn it against hypocrisy, against the habit of allowing manifestations which exaggerate both to itself and to others the advantages of its condition ; he must then exhort it to a quiet and interior activity, to the severest study and application of the law, to all that disciplines and mortifies the spirit, as well as to all those works which, while they presuppose charity, develop it without the danger of inflatiug the spirit — in one word, to imitate Jesus Christ in silence and retirement, lint the shades of this condition may vary very greatly ; each parti- cular variety at once demands and suggests special measures. The important point (and it is this that we have especially in view) is to discern each state, and to estimate it accu- rately. G. We may consider sJcpjJtics as forming a class of those who are neither indiflfercnt nor troubled, neither infidel nor believing, but who, through infirmity or an acquired evil habit of mind, cannot gain stability on any question. There are minds which are naturally skeptical, who consider in- cessantly, and never arrive at a conclusion. The pastor will hardly pretend to reform these ; but after having attempted, as far as he is able, to cast arguments into one scale of the balance, or rather hcfovc he makes this attempt, he ought to endeavor to render those men more serious who, without belonging absolutely to the class of indilfcrcnls, arc perhaps 320 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. far from giving to the question of religion all the interests which it demands. [In order to render a man serious and able to decide on such questions, he must be possessed with a sense of the infinite.] The most incredulous skeptic does not doubt the existence of his own soul, and if we can succeed in making him feel the presence and the priceless value of this soul, we have placed him in the right point of view for regarding questions of this kind— we have, in some sort, given a direction to his spirit. There are sincere and unhappy spirits who, influenced by the spirit of truth and touched by the gospel, believe in their state of sin, abjure all self-righteousness, only desire to be clothed in the righteousness of God, would be ready to accept it if they could believe that it is offered to them, and yet -find themselves prevented from entering the gate by a chain which seems to have been forged for them by educa- tion, by their first impressions, by too much or too little knowledge, by their questionings concerning real existences, by a skeptical temperament which manifests itself jn them with regard even to things the most foreign to religion. When we meet with such minds, it is good to remind them, in the words of a luminous writer, " that faith is perfected in the will ; that faith is nothing but the will to accept pardon from God, and to renounce all search for other modes of salvation ; that even the doubts which may remain in our spirits do not afi"ect him ; that God has not made our salvation to depend on the fluctuating changes of our feeble understanding ; that it is not the intellect which consents to receive grace, nor the imagination which is moved by it — that it is the will, the only faculty which is always free, although ever feeble, which accepts pardon, turns to God, and may ever cry, ' Lord, I believe : help thou my unbelief " 7. The indifferent form a numerous class, inferior, not only to the orthodox, but even to the infidel also, since there TASTORAL LIFE. 321 is Romcthino- positive in the infidelity of these. IIoAvcver, their opinions, or rather their want of opinions, phicc them, logically, in an intermediate position.* These are generally worldly men, given to business or to dissipation, who have not leisure to be cither orthodox or infidel. There are, in the actual state of things, oppcir- tunities of reaching this class. They arc not without rela- tions to the Church, into which they are still brought by habit or respectability. They meet the pastor at the houses of other persons, in society, or even immediately in civil aflFairs, or on important occasions. They have domestic aftections, joys, and sorrows; they arc men; and on the side of their humanity we may reach them. All these aflfections have affinity to religion, without which, moreover, none of them have a complete meaning; all these fundamental rela- tions involve and imply a still higher one. When we have obtained their hearing, we must destroy their security, and show them that though their character is indiffrrcnf, their position is not. We must not hesitate to employ the agency of fear; in most cases, it is even im- possible to bring back the idea of God to the soul without introducing the sentiment of fear. But, without altogether abandoning this agency, we must, if we can bring any other chords into vibration, seek to affect them by these gentler chords. 8. There are, perhaps, not many infidels whom we have a full right to address as such. And, doubtless, we can hardly engage them, without some preliminaries, in a conversation, which, under the circumstances, would have necessarily tho form of interrogation. But infidelity has practical maxims as well as dogmatic formulas, and, in default of the second, the first may enable us to enter upon the domain of religious * Soo [M. Viuct's] Discourse on Religious Indiffcvcncc. 11 oS^ PASTORAL THEOLOGY. instruction. And, moreover, infidelity sometimes docs not openly avow itself as such; it is generally satisfied with innuendoes, indirect allusions, or irony. We must not set out with the idea that every attack, direct or indirect, must lead to a discussion. Much rather ought we to avoid a discussion before a third party, unless it is directly provoked. It must be absolutely declined when the attack is only a sarcasm or tin insult. We must, as far as possible, transform the dis- course with an appeal to the conscience and a discourse tending to edification. Wc cannot reasonably expect the pastor to engage in formal conflict, on the ground of science, with learned men who derive the arms with which they attack religion from their own special pursuit. A clergy on this footing, as M. Vincent demands in his " Religious and Theological Miscellanies," is an impossibility. To professional men must be opposed men of the same profession. Religion has more than one class of ministers, and more than one order of proofs. Infidelity prides itself, even in the case of the most ignorant, on its positive character; that is to say, on the fact that something is believed, in opposition to the beliefs which religion proposes. Each has his system, which is often nothing but a mass of gratuitous and incoherent assertions, a collection of sententious phrases extracted without intelli- gence from conversations and from books. There is no doctrine so abstract or so subtile which is not reproduced, under some trivial and puerile form, in the language of these men who arc so mighty in their derived strength. Scorn and contempt are never seasonable, never useful ; but there is no reason why wc should accord to the ambitious plati- tudes of ignorant infidelity an honor which they do not deserve, and engage in discussions which, if they might lead to some results with persons of cultivated minds, have often PA ST oil A li LIFE. o'So neither result nor limit when conducted with narrow and iiiuorant minds. Nevertheless, if it is useful to <^ivc them to understand that they cannot have a system at so cheap a rate as they supposed, it is still more useful, either then, or at the outset, to lead them into another region of thought, that, viz., of conscience and experience — to awaken in them the wants that they have suffered to fall asleep — to present before them, in all its beauty, the work and character of God as they are manifested in the gospel, and the privileges of a Christian as they arc attested by a genuinely Christian life. 9. We have more to do with that rationalism which accepts the sacred writings, than with infidelity which rejects them. We do not speak only of a learned rational- ism, with which the simple pastor cannot always venture a contest on polemical grounds, but a superficial and second- hand rationalism, which seeks to blunt the edge of those go.'jpel truths by which it is wounded. Wc risk little by the a.ssertion that this rationalism has ordinarily for its principle a repugnance of the heart, and that we must seek for the arms with which to do battle with it in the conscience of the rationalist. On this account, without neglecting the arguments of another character which are furnished by science, and without showing a disposition to avoid open conflict, we must chiefly make use of the immense internal evidences which Christianity possesses,* and appeal to the conscience as a witness for it. Let us never forget how strong the Scripture is, and how self-sufficient: the more wc make use of iScripturc in order to explain Scripture, the more shall we be struck with the excellence of this method. * It may he well here to mention .some works, more or less popular, on tlio Evidences of Cliristi.anity. We would refer to tlioso l>y Cellerier, Boguc, Erskinc, Whatcly, Jennings, Palcy, and Chal- mers. 324 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. We cannot too much advise ministers to let the word oi' God dwell and ahoxind in them, so that, having learned it by heart, and received it into the heart, the principal passages of the sacred books may be easily and appropriately suggested to the mind in every case of need. This know- ledge ought to apply, not only to isolated parts, but to passages as combined into a unity, and the sense of each verse ought to present itself as penetrated with the sense and savor of all the principal passages which relate to the same subject. Such a knowledge of the Bible, in such a degree, (talis et tanta,) cannot be too highly recommended to all ministers of the gospel, or dispensers of the word of God. 10. There are, without the pale of Christian beliefs, a class of stoics, whose religion is properly a matter of dut^, even though they may seem and desire to regard God as the object of duty. This class of men deserves the greatest attention, and should be proposed, if not as a model, yet certainly as an instructive example to those who have, perhaps, too easily and too quickly accepted grace before they have sufficiently felt all the weight of the law. These stoics are either in great error, or they pay too much heed to the abuses which Christians make of their liberty. But if the first service to render them is to show, by our example, that Christianity sanctions no lax system of morals, this is not the only service : we must explain to them, whenever we have the opportunity, the infinite character of Christian morality, the terrible disproportion that exists between the law as taken from a Christian point of view, which is that of eternal principle, and the capacity to fulfil it. Lastly, we must help them to experience, in the midst of their severe toils, the consolation that there is in love, which alone can make the fulfilling of the law a work of joy, and which is shed abroad in the heart only by the Spirit of Jesus PASTORAL LIFE. 325 Clirist, and by the assuraucc of having been tlie object of his love. Obviously 1 do not confound these stoics, zealously devoted to duty, with those vulgar moralists who submit themselves, not to the moral law, but to their oton moral law, and who only accept the law when they have levelled it with their carnal sense and their worldly interests. 11. There are two duties which the pastor owes to the members of his flock, regarded as sinners and as subject to the precepts of a moral law — reproof and guidance. Rejiroof. — This is a duty of the pastor. Every sponta- neous application of the duty of the cure of souls involves this. It is, moreover, expressly imposed upon pastors in the Gospel. Reproof is difficult at all times and for all persons; still more difficult in the actual state of the people. We have but to compare this state with that of the primitive Church, or of any other in which its essential characteristics are reproduced. This duty, in a community which should be homogeneous and firmly united, would be almost identical with that of fraternal correction, and might take cognizance chiefly of negative tendencies and facts. At present, in almost all associations for worship, that would be really an inquisition which should go beneath notorious and public facts, and in all cases hcXovf positive facts. The absolute non-froquenting of public worship is a nega- tive fact. May we ask a reason for it from those whom we may have to reproach for it? How and under what pre- tence shall we accost them ? Have we, or have we not, duties towards them? A man who is not of our parish, in the sense that all his acts testify that he is without the pale of the Church, has no right to our rebukes; and the discipline of this soul does not enter, properly speaking, into our pastoral sphere, if we regard our position from an official or conventional point of view only. But if the pastor has still in him something of a 326 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. missionary spirit, or if, besides the pastor, ttiere is no missionary, who then can dispute his right to have com- passion and even to carry that succor which has never been sought for from him ? Sin is a malady ; crime is a disaster : would it be less natural to go to the assistance of a man. thus grievously afflicted, than to aid a man whose house has been destroyed by an incendiary ? Love and humility, those two inseparable virtues, because they are naturally conditions of one another, impart to rebuke appropriateness, moderation, and true force.* St. Paul (1 Tim. v. 1-5) has shown, or at least has indi- cated what reproof ought to be, according to the difference of ages and sexes. By analogy we may find other dis- tinctions. It is well known that inMic rebuke of individuals can never take place in our Churches, as they are at present con- stituted, and it is even doubtful whether it is expedient and proper under any form of ecclesiastical government. f Guidance. — If we are called to give to any soul counsels to guide and direct it, which is neither foreign nor contradic- tory to the principles of Protestant Christianity, we must be careful not to dissect our morality into too many fragments, but we must always deduce particular rules from general principles : we must hold the middle course between that ultra-methodical tendency which would regulate every thing beforehand, and which gradually introduces the slavery of the law and the pride of self-righteousness, and that vague spirituality which feeds on sentiments, and will not hear cither of precautions or of methods. We must not reject the idea of an art or a method of living well, only we must * " II ne faut pas casser les vitres, Mais il faut bien les netfoyer." —See Beiigel's Thoughts, No. 27. ■j- See Part IV., chap, i., on Discipline. PASTORAL LIFE. 327 not make it too minute, nor the same for all. Bossuct has said that "love knows nothing of order, and cannot suhjcct itself to methods ; that its order is confusion ; that distrac- tion cannot come from this region." But I see nothing con- tradictory to love in the care with which a Christian seeks for the best means of showing his love to his Lord, (Eph. v. 10,) and the best means of retaining this love. Our feeble- ness makes order a necessity, and does not allow us abso- lutely to despise method. In our direction we should limit ourselves neither to the internal nor to the external life. We must respect the principles of liberty and responsi- bility, refuse to become in the stead of a conscience for any man ; for those are not wanting who will be desirous of re- signing theirs into our hands. If, to apply a corresponding analogy, men must not be car- ried on the shoulders of their fellows, so as to lose the use of their limbs and the feeling of their own proper capacity for motion, so also we must not expect too much in too short a time. In two words, which express the substance of these two rules, we must not guide too much, nor urge on too much. [We must know how to wait, and yet, at the same time, to act — not impatiently to despair of those who arc committed to our charge, but nevertheless to aid them unre- mittingly.] Be careful not to encourage, but, on the contrary, to re- press the vain words, the religious gossip of those souls which are '' ever learning, and never able to come to the knowledge of the truth." 2 Tim. iii. 7. [Speech then becomes, as it were, a crevice through which the vapor which ought to move the machine is suflfcred to escape.] 12. General conuscls. — We have enumerated the diflfcrcnt positions, as to dogmas and morals, in which the different members of our flock may be placed. Let us now leave this distinction, and, taking all those classes at once, let us give. 328 TASTORAL THEOLOGY. relatively to the guidance of souls in general, some summary directions : Always, and to all men, be open and straightforward. Be willing to believe, as far as possible, in the good inten- tions of all. Regard ideas rather than words, and feelings rather than ideas. Feeling, or afiection, is the true moral reality. How many heresies of thought find an antidote in the feeling of the heart I and, on the other hand, how many who are ortho- dox in belief are heretics at heart ! Men may refuse the word while they grant the thing, or refuse the thing while they patronize the word ! If you have detected in an adversary a spirit of treachery and duplicity, if you find you are dealing with one who raises difiiculties for their own sake, withdraw from a contest in which there is nothing serious, and do not answer the fool according to his folly. Prov. xxvi. 4. Beware lest you regard yourself as personally offended by resistance, and by the unjust things that are said against the truths that you preach. Do not appear as though you considered all rash and in- discreet observations, either in doctrine or morals, as blasphe- mies. Be persevering, but not obtrusive. Do not expect to see your arguments exert an absolute and uniform force upon all minds. We cannot always tell why an argument, which is ineffective when presented to some, is found to be powerful on others, nor why that which at one time makes no impression on an individual, at another time makes a very great impression upon him.* This is a Divine * "It must be confessed," says Leibnitz, in a letter to Madame de Brinon, "that the human heart has many windings and involutions, and that its persuasions are according to its tastes : we ourselves are PASTORAL LIFE. 329 secret, and all our attention, all our contrivances, leave the final result always in the hands of God. Nothing must be expeetcd that does not come from him ; every thing must be attributed to him. Attend rather to the dispositions with whictf y^u discharge your task, than to the facility with which you use your means. The first of all luminaries, forces, preservatives, defences, is charity. The spirit of the government of souls, and of the whole pastoral office, is included in the sentiment so profoundly expressed in our Lord's words : " Ye will not come to me that yc might have life." John v. 40. Add to your instructions the weight of your example, being well .assured that the true method of communicating moral truth is the method of contact ; that only life can pro- ceed from life ; and that, in fact. Christians are decisive argu- ments for or against Christianity. Join and mingle prayer with all your efforts and with all your movements, either to ask counsel of God, or in order to commend to him the souls that are committed to your care, or to keep yourself to the right point of view, and in a true sense of the nature of your work. In fine, what solicitude, what cares, ever renewed, must enter into the work of the ministry, since we must, as the Jews who rebuilt the temple, hold a sword in one hand, and build with the other. " Besides those things that are with- out, I am charged," said St. Paul, " with that which comcth upon me daily, the care of all the Churches : who is weak, not. always in the same temper, and that which strikes us vividly sometimes, at other limes doe.s not impress us at all. These are what I call inexplicable reasons ; there is something in them that passes our comprehension. It often happens that the hest proofs in the AvorM arc incfTcctive, and that what touches us is not, properly ."poakinp, a proof at all." Complete Works of Bossuet. Par^s and r.esanvon, lt<'2H. Vol. xxxv., p. l.'J2. 330 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. and I am not weak ? who is offended, and I burn not ?" 2 Cor. xi. 28, 29. " Wherefore, also, we pray always for you, that our God would count you worthy of this calling, and fulfil all the good pleasure of his goodness, and the work of faith with power." 2 Thess. i. 11. § III. — EXTERNAL STATE. The internal condition is always modified by the external, and the external by the internal ; and as this combination forms the actual and entire state of every individual, it ought to be carefully appreciated. Neither of these elements, sepa- rated from the other, has a complete significance; but these combinations, which vary infinitely, can neither be foreseen nor regulated ; we are necessitated to study external condi- tions independently of internal, and conversely. External conditions are, naturally, of two opposite kinds, liappy or unfortunate ; but it is obvious that pastoral pru- dence will occupy itself almost exclusively with the latter. There are exceptional or sudden times of happiness which are similar to catastrophes, [which, in the dramatical sense of the term, are catastrophes,] and may be regarded as such. Every event which excites a lively sentiment of joy in the heart may give occasion to the pastor to admonish or warn while he congratulates ; and when he does not seek to intro- duce an element of bitterness into a natural joy, but to invite regard to serious thoughts in the midst of joyful ones, there is, in most cases, a probability of his being favorably received ; however, there are positions of an opposite kind which make the most direct appeal to his zeal. A pastor will do well to see, as far as possible, the afflicted of all kinds ; but there are many cases in which he cannot easily gain access to them. In notorious cases of misfortune of whatever kind, he has both a right and an obligation to PASTORAL LIFE. 331 present himself; the fraternal affection displayed in these cases by the pastor is the first part of his ministry, and may, if it is accompanied by all the respect that is due to great misfortunes, gain for him the confidence of families and indi- viduals ; but the most frequent and favorable opportunities are found in cases of severe sickness. 1. Tlic side. — The care of the sick is one of the most sa- cred of the pastor's duties, the touchstone of his vocation, both for himself and for others ; and we may say that the manner in which this duty is understood and fulfilled, will give a measure by which to estimate the amount of Christian life and thought existing in every religious period. The pastor's visits to the sick arc not only useful to the patient himself, but to all who are about him, and who arc rendered, by this circumstance, specially accessible to reli- gious instruction ; they are useful to the pastor himself, who can find no better opportunity of learning human nature, life, and his own ministry. Sickness places a man in a position in which we have an antecedent advantage in influencing him ; the sick man is the man in a position that is most natural and true to him.* The pastor's success, or only his zeal, in this part of his ministry, is one of the things best adapted to render him popular. Every one appreciates the merit of this kind of work, even without suflicicntly loving all its aims and results. Doubtless he must know how to surmount many distasteful experiences and many fears, were it only the repugnance which is excited by the sight of pain and of death. The world does its best to forget that we are exposed to .suffering * Sec Bridges' Christian Ministry, p. 78 ; and Massillon's Ninc- tccnlli Sy nodical Discourse, On the Care which Ministers ought to take for the Sick. ' 332 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. and death : he who seeks to forget it was not intended to be a pastor. As to danger, it is said that " the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep," John x. 11; which teaches us that the ministry is not a profession, but is, in intention and con- ception, a martyrdom, and that the willing soldier who every day stakes his life for glory and advancement on the field of battle, only differs from the minister, the true soldier of the gospel, in that he does not stake his life, but gives it. The apostles did not take a different view on this subject than their Master's, and we cannot take a different view than theirs. We must be able to say with St. Paul, '' I will very gladly spend and be spent for you," 2 Cor. xii. 24; ''None of these things move me, neither count I my life dear unto myself, so that I might finish my course with joy, and the ministry which I have received of the Lord Jesus." Acts XX. 24. He who counts his life precious is hardly a Chris- tion : how shall he be a pastor ? The celibacy of the Romish priesthood, other things being equal, removes some of the bonds which attach men to life. But is it only the unmarried who are called upon to expose and give their life ? can the marriage of the pastor abolish any of the essential conditions of the pastorate ? The danger which may attend frequent visits to sick persons, in cases of epidemic or contagion, is generally in the inverse ratio to the courage and devotedness of the pastor. Do not flee from danger, and then danger will flee from you. Is there any necessity for us to visit sick persons for whose spiritual state we have no apprehension ? These also need, us; probably they desire our presence, and, if they do not need our influence, we need theirs. Be careful not to go too late ; and, in order to this, take means to gain early information of any sickness that may arrive, by help of those confidants which the pastor ought rASTOUAL LIFE. 333 always to have. Visit even those sick persons whose case is not, physically, very serious. It is exceedingly useful to have accustomed the people to receive our visits when they arc ia good health. [Otherwise the pastor's first visit may wear something of a sinister aspect.] Shall the pastor go uninvited ? To this, different replies are given;* wc* might answer, No, if the members of the flock made it a positive and constant duty to obey the pre- cept of St. James, (ch. v. 14.) However, in the present condition of things, the pastor would often, by so acting, run the risk of never visiting a single sick person. lie must desire to be invited ; he must, indeed, exert himself that he may be invited ; but whether invited or not, whether desired or not, he must go. There is a way of presenting himself, and even insisting on a reception, which will not suggest the idea of those funereal chai'acters who pounce upon dying men as upon their prey. And, indeed, w'hatcvcr pre- judices we may encounter, how shall we forbear to insist on an entrance when we know — know indeed inadequately — how important the hours of sickness arc to the soul^ and how ■ the most active resistance and the most hardened indifference often conceal the germs of a new life and health, which arc only to be revealed to the pastor who hopes even against hope. AVe must admit that the first visit is the most and often the only difficult one. We must learn how to combine importunity with gentleness, not enforcing an entrance the first time, but returning and repeating the visit till this affec- tionate patience touches the sensibility of those whom you visit, and induces them to open their doors. I would not desire any one to be sustained and animated by the desire merely of discharging a responsibility ; this is really a contracted and profitless view to take; only love is unlimited and indefatigable. * See HiifFel's Wcsen tind Bcnif dcs cvangelisch-chrisllkhcn Oeist- lichcn, vol. ii., p. 318. Third o'lilion. So4 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. The pastor ought not to omit to learn of tlic physician the state of the patient; from his relations and friends also he should learn his moral and religious condition. Nevertheless, he will do well in regard to this second point not to be guided entirely by any information from others, but rather to trust to such observations as he may have an opportunity of making for himself. Often he may be wrongly informed, and would act more judiciously in trusting to no information at all. According to the idea which we have formed of the case, it is good to consider the point of view in which we ought to place ourselves, and the course which it will be most judicious to take ; but a too minute preparation, as in all cases of a similar kind, will be injurious. Faith and hope are the animating soul of every pastoral work; but these dispositions, which have God for their object, have nothing in common with those illusions which take possession of those who combine feebleness of mind and strength of imagination.* Before we have attempted the actual duties of this so difl&cult and important office, we may perhaps expect to exercise a great influence, and to witness startling results ; especially may we expect a great sincerity on the part of the man who knows himself to be standing on the brink of eternity ; for we may think that the man who lias only a moment to live will have no inducement to dissimulation. This is quite a mistake. We imagine also that the tragic solemnity of these scenes of death will always so affect us as to maintain us at the elevation suited to our office. This is another mistake. This office may soon — sooner than we think — be discharged with an incon- ceivable tranquillity, and even with a wandering and vagrant tone of jthought. Only the truth can last ; let us form a complete conception of these difficulties and dangers, and, as * See Bridges' Christian Ministry, p. 140. PASTORAL LIFE. 335 wc each day put off our armor, so lot us each day equip our- selves afresh. Endeavor to obtain an interview with the sick man alone. It is most difficult to induce a sick man to unburden himself entirely when in the presence of a third person, althout;h that third person may be one with whom he is most inti- mate. Seldom is this accomplished under such circum- stances.* Let us beuin by giving some indications of affection. Be careful to direct attention to the design which God may have in sending the affliction; represent it as a special sahhafh; remind the patient of the kindness of God when, in the midst of sickness, he preserves to us the use of our faculties ; let him see that this is a most precious and important period of his life. Let the pastor place himself and the patient in a right point of view as regards his own mission ; let him discard for himself, and remove from the sick man, every notion of an intrinsic and magical virtue attending the pastor's visit. The soul of every man will be demanded of himself individually; and no one can either pray, or repent, or be converted, or love God in our stead. For whatever disclosures there may be any necessity to make on the part of the sick man, the zealous and skilful pa.stor will know how, without difficulty, to prepare the way. r>ut he must not at first wrge too much; he must first accustom the sick man to his visits and conversation. While he entertains, and is not careful to conceal, a lively solicitude, he must neither be distressed himself nor distressing to his patient. In every sense, our strength is to "hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord." Lam. iii. 2G. If the sick man is too reserved, or, which amounts to the same thing, if we obtain from him only a complimentary mode of assent, we may attempt to open his heart by prayer, * See Iluffel, vol. ii., p. 318. 3oG PASTORAL THEOLOGY. which is the most efficient mode of preaching at the bedside of sick persons, and in which we may say every thing that is necessary. Nothing can give lis a better idea of all that such prayer may be and do, than the admirable prayers of Pascal, in which he asks God for a sanctified use of sick- ness.* We may add to prayer the reading of the incomparably forcible words of Scripture : as the Song of Hezekiah, Isa. xxxviii.; several supplicatory and thanksgiving psalms j the narratives of healing by Jesus Christ ; some verses from the fifth chapter of the second Epistle to the Corinthians ; and, also, we may read on less special topics — as, for instance, those words which bring before the mind's eye the dawn of an endless day, and distinguish eternity as the truest wealth which man can possess, and as the noblest object of his aspiration. "I" The knowledge which we may have obtained, by observa- tion and other means, of the moral and spiritual state of the sick man, will guide us in our prayers and in the choice of passages from the Scripture, and we may continue to act under this direction. Formal interrogation is seldom possi- ble, is generally of little use, and rather closes than opens the heart. Nevertheless, after a certain period of effort and attention, it will be impossible to maintain the same course when we know that we are dealing with an utterly blinded, hardened, and impenitent man ; or only when we have reason to feel greatly pained by the dispositions manifested by the patient. I do not say because of his silence ; for silence, even the most obstinate, proves nothing. [After having employed all * Pascal's Thoughts, Part II., Art. xix. [f Also those -wliich refer to the moral uses of aflfliction; e.g., Heb. xii.— T. 0. S.J PASTORAL LIFE. 337 gentle and insinuatinp; methods, wc must somctinios demand to be heard in :i plain, i'rank expression of our thoughts.] The true Christian disposition is that of calmness wliich is the result of concern. There is no legitimate calmness which has not been preceded by concern. Therefore wc find, generally, not calmness simply, but a more or" less sensible joy; the sweet emerging from the bitter; in all cases, an liumble joy, mingled with a deep feeling of unworthiness. It is a joy mingled with love and trembling. In the case of persons in this state, we have only to regard that which can heighten the compunction in the joy, or the joy in the com- punction — not to diminish either, but to temper each by the other : no general change of state is required. There is a form of Christianity which makes salvation to depend on the assurance of salvation, so that a man is saved purely and simply because he believes himself to be saved. Weigh well these words, as we ourselves have weighed them.. They in no respect imply a condemnation of the assurance of salvation; they do not at all deny its legitimacy; they allow to it all its natural beauty and truth, the propriety of making it an object of our desires and of our prayers; further, they do not forbid our regarding an assurance of salvation as the completion, the consummation, the perfection of faith. But the assurance of salvation, considered in itself, is " the Spirit itself bearing witness with our spirit tlKit wc are the children of Cod." Horn. viii. 16.- No other witness than this is sufficient and valuable; and to substitute for it a simple process of reasoning, a syllogism, is to entrench upon his rights. In other words, this witness is within ; it is as interior and as irresistible as the feeling of life. This perfection of faith is of the same nature as faith, which is the sub.stance or the appropriation of gospel wealth — a grace which is as mysterious in its commencement as in 338 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. its consummation, and of which a purely intellectual faitli — a purely logical assurance of salvation — is only the empty counterfeit. We are not saved because we are certain that we shall be saved. The terms must be reversed ; this is demanded by logic itself, and by all analogy; this is not a sphere into which the reasoning which we oppose can be admitted by any one possessing common sense. Why should this reasoning be valid here and here, only when it is vicious everywhere else ? This doctrine, by which alone it has been thought that all the honor of salvation can be given to God and none to man, has, on the contrary, a tendency to make salvation depend on a work, and I may say on a very servile work, since, in the rigor of the dogma in question, there is not a particle of affection — no truly religious element enters into this work. This doctrine, which is preached for the most part by pious men, finds ready access, not only into humble hearts who confound it with the implicit submission of faith, but also into arid and mercenary souls, whom it does not disturb or interrupt in their interior habits ; and as it forbids man to regard his feelings, still less his work, in order to " know that we are of the truth, and assure our hearts before God," (1 John iii. 19,) it will very soon annul, with- out formal denial, every part of the gospel which tends to the government of the heart and the reform of the life. I am speaking of some souls, not of all ; for a large number of those who believe that they rest their assurance on the simple and naked acceptance of the gospel, do in fact rest it, although they know it not, on the testimony of the Spirit, who, by his presence and action within them, testifies to them with an irresistible force that Christ abides in them, and that they abide in him. It is painful to have to prepare for death the partisans of this false and dangerous assurance of salvation, w^hich is the denial, not precisely of faith, but PASTORAL LIFE. 339 of all that is the true substance and the true object of faith; it is painful to lead tliem down from this mountain of exalta- tion to a valley of humiliation, from peace to trouble, and to begin, in the short and agitated moments of a sick man's life, when he is at the very portals of eternity, the entire education of a soul that is confidently entrenched within its error. This is still more painful, inasmuch as we can little hope to see breaking from the fire of rebuke and terror, one of those conversions of the heart which are ordinarily pro- duced gradually, and in very different circumstances from those of a death-bed. Can we, however, hesitate "/ If there is only one in ten thousand chances of restoring this man to the true conditions of saving faith, shall we allow ourselves to neglect this one chance 5* Must we hesitate to agitate this soul, and even to agitate it deeply, in order to give it a true instead of a false tranquillity ? There is a tranquillity of another kind resulting in the sick man from a persuasion of his own righteousness. And what righteousness! Often it is hardly the most vulgar honesty. Must we expect to find this in those who have been educated in Christianity, and profess it? Nothing is more strange, and yet nothing is more common. Not less strange is it to see persons who call themselves Christians, and who believe that they are what they profess to be, but who, less convinced than the former of their own righteous- ness, take refuge in the vague idea of the mercy of God, who, in their opinion, is too kind to take a very strict notice of their failings, and who has many other and worthier things to attend to. You may meet with philosophers who arc accustomed to the idea of death, and have succeeded in fronting it calmly, and whose minds, fortified by more or less intelligible sophisms, seem impenetrable to tlie most forcible reasonings. With others, again, in whom an exclusively material activity and the habit of entertaining exclusively 340 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. vulgar thoughts has extinguished the moral life, or whom vice has hardened or imbruted, we cannot find any spiritual sensibility whatever. There are a thousand occasions when appearances would seem to discourage every attempt as too evidently useless; but there are also a thousand facts which show that we can- not define the limits beyond which resources are absolutely wanting, and in which every access for the preacher of the gospel is closed. We must then urge and persevere to the end; at the end we very often find a reception has been awaiting us. We know that God can give to one moment the value of a life, as in the case of the penitent thief on the cross.* And although we have every reason to think that the case is a very rare one, and that in general we must not rely very much on conversions which have been effected on a death- bed, yet the sole possibility, joined to the great danger, makes it a sacred duty for us to labor for the conversion of the sick, with all the resources which are at the command of our heart and spirit. Spera, quia unus ; time, quia solus. [Hope, for there is one recorded instance ; fear, for there is only one.] Moreover, this impassibility or security is often only affected ; it is a husk which cannot long remain. We must not then be deceived by it. Neither must we be deceived by the facility which we sometimes find in our efforts. There are persons whom we [* This position is ambiguous and unguarded, and tlic case adduced is not in point. See note on pp. 130-133, and Bishop Sher- lock's sermon on Matt, xxvii. 38. For extreme views on the "invalidity of a dcatli-bcd repentance," see Jeremy Taylor's sermon with this title. Dr. South, in his sermon on E,ev. ii. 10, discusses the validity of a dcath-bcd repentance at considerable length. — T. 0. S.] TASTORAL LIFE. 341 would wish to be less precipitate in yielding to our persua- sions ; if there was greater resistance, wc might believe them to be more serious. The docility which yields in dot'erenco to us, through mere prejudice, is quite different from the re- flective and voluntary docility of a conscience which submits to the truth. We must expect to meet with many troubled souls. There are those (and perhaps this is the most difficult case) who, having hitherto believed with an intellectual faith, imagine that they believe, and suddenly perceive that they do not ; who now see only a great void in the place of those objects of their presumed faith which formerly hovered like phan- toms before them ; who, having given a superficial and pass- ing regard to all truths, and having been accustomed to all the phrases of religion, no longer receive any impression when they need to make the fullest use of them ; who, in a word, find at the last hour, instead of a living faith, only a dead system. They are in a worse condition than if they had never known the truth. There arc others, in whouT re- morse is stronger than the promises of grace. There arc others, who, without being absolutely destitute of faith, and without fearing the judgments of God, yet fear the crisis of death itself; this is in a great measure a physical fear, greater in some men than in others, by which even believers arc sometimes oppressed. In general, we shall find more natural case in dying among persons of small culture who have lived a life of toil, than among learned men, thinkers, and persons of very cultivated mind. [The poor man has passed his life only to die J his feeble imagination sees death in its negative aspect alone.] Lastly, the feeling of some reparation wbich hsis been neglected, and which it is diflBcult, if not imjiossi- blc, to accomplish, may agitate the spirit; or some temporal scheme, some domestic care, may deprive the mind of calm- ucss and liberty. 342 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. Anxiety carried to its iiltimate extreme is despair — a posi' tioa at which two very different classes of persons may arrive : those who have rejected or neglected the means of salvation as long as they were presented; and men who, having acted in exactly the opposite manner, and having per- formed, as it seems to them, every thing necessary to assure their peace, see the whole structure of their faith crumble like a fantastic edifice before their eyes, and are ready to ask whether all this life which appeared so real, so interior, so serious, which they found in religion, is indeed only a dream, and whether Christianity, which has a historical position, has aught else than a historical reality. There are also those who, without at all losing their conviction, find, in a sudden and profound despair, the punishment of that spiritual pride to which they had abandoned themselves. This mysterious trial — despair — has been more than once suffered to invade the most humble and pious believer ; but we do not believe it is ever prolonged in such cases to the last moment : such men die happily, and the light which illumines their last mo- ments removes the scandal which may have been caused to the witnesses of their unexpected gloom. Without pretend- ing to pierce through the mystery of this dispensation, wo will observe that in every man the work of conversion is composed of the same elements, the relative proportion of which is invariable, but the distribution may differ. When we sum up the whole, we must be assured that the reckoning is fairly made, and that every part is included. That which does not appear at first, yet arrives afterwards; in the case of many, joy precedes bitterness; the order is reversed, but they must "fulfil all righteousness;" and he who has too easily accepted the promises must, sooner or later, pay the same price which has been exacted from those who have been unable to appropriate to themselves pardon before they have tasted condemnation ; they must pass three days in the tomb, PASTORAL LIFE. 343 anil descond into hades ; the true resurrection is to be had only at this price — the only variation is in the date of the payment. The duty of dissipating a false peace is not the most diffi- cult, but it is the most formidable duty we can undertake, and, unless a man is armed by a hard fonaticism, he must be strongly protected by the armor of faith and love, he must be continually defended against his own feebleness, in order that he may be able to accomplish so painful a task — painful, indeed, since its very success is terrible, and he is equally fearful, whether he produces anxiety or not. It will be right to refute the errors of the suflcrer as far as possible ; but wo should be especially thankful if God permits us to present the entire gospel before the soul, and to give a combined view of all its elements, so that the aspect of terror may not be seen separated from the aspect of consolation, nor the side which beams forth hope apart from that which utters wrath. The necessity and assurance of pardon ; the neces- sity and blessings of repentance; the entire, free, irrevocable salvation, but the renunciation of all other means of safety; prayer, which opens heaven to the sinner, but to the sinner who prays as a sinner; the certainty of assistance for every one who perseveringly asks for it : such are the ideas which, always combined with one another, are able to impress with- out irritating, and with which, when they are never isolated from the truths which are related to them, we may be frank, inflexible, and yet impressive. Sometimes we must use a holy violence, and snatch, as from the midst of a furnace, a brand which is being consumed before our eyes ; harshness will perhaps then be the only legitimate form of charity; but the true pastor will seldom find himself reduced to this sad necessity, and ho will doubtless prefer to exhaust all means before he has recourse to this. And in all cases the last moment is not a time for imperious exhortations and 344 PASTORAL THEOLOGY. threatenings. A dying man, if he can listen to us, ought to hear only words full of unction : prayei'S to Grod, full of irre- sistible tenderness ; supplications to himself, that he will be re- conciled to God ; supplications to God, that he will condescend to be reconciled to his creature who is just leaving earth; lastly, expressions of fervent desire and charitable hope. If the spirit is softened, if tears and supplications abound, be con- tent ; do not expect a further blessing ; do not either ask for or expect joy; the soul which renounces itself, which aban- dons itself, which cries to God, which addresses itself to him as to an offended father, but yet a father, may not taste the joys of salvation on this side the tomb ; but let the pastor assure himself that the joy will come; let him rejoice for this mourner, for he shall be comforted. Let us pass to the case in which we find the spirit already anxious. It is not to be expected that either the fact or the cause of anxiety will be at once admitted. It will often be the pastor's duty to induce the suiferer to say this, or even to suggest it himself to the sick man, who may possibly expe- rience an effect without being able to discern the cause. And how often, when he can discern it without difficulty, is he unable to resolve upon disclosing it to the patient ! How- ever, this discernment is as important as it is difficult, and efforts which are directed to another part than that which is really affected, may, by missing the true aim, aggravate the evil. Happily, the gospel is sufficient for all, because it cor- responds to all, and because we cannot present it in its entire scope, and in the admirable commingling of diverse elements which distinguishes it, without applying a healing balm to the wound which is unseen. This consolation we may take to ourselves in cases in which anxiety is exhibited while the cause cannot be distinctly seen. But we must earnestly en- deavor to learn that cause, since then, without refusing to rASTORAL LIFE. 345 present truth in its entire scope, we may make a more just, direct, and personal application of it. To describe the man- ner in which we must apply the remedy to each particular anxiety, according to its nature and cause, would be to enter into infinitely varied details : some writers have attempted tills ; but it appears to me that very special directions, which at the outset place a clog on our liberty, and deprive our movements of that character of spontaneity and inspiration which they ought to have, are generally rather hurtful than helpful. The most important, and perhaps the sufficient point, is to take carefully into consideration the actual con- dition of the patient and the essential nature of the feelings which he experiences ; when this point is gained, the rest may be left to our own gospel illumination, our charity, our presence of mind, our tact, and to the Divine Spirit, who is constrained by our prayers, if I may dare to say so, to assist as a third party, and as the interpreter between ourselves and the sufferer. The narrative of experiences which have occurred to ministers in this mournful enterprise, is far more valuable than any set of ^ TAKEN FEOM HIS LIFE BY BUEK. Pamphlet published by M. Vinet in 1842, 1. A pastor ought to be divinely sure of his office, that is, of his vocation to the ministry of reconciliation, as well as of the truths which he preaches ; he must be able to produce his title to a second birth ; he must be firmly resolved to advance the glory of God ; to live for Christ and to serve him, to gain heaven for himself and for many others with him. 2. A pastor should give himself entirely to his work, en- tering resolutely into the midst of his duties, and not allow- A p p i; N D I X . 393 ing himself to bo discouraged by any tiling that may arise. In order to this he must remember : a. That the faithful preaching of the gospel will always result, sooner or later, in the conversion of sinners and the joy of angels ; and that one single grain of wheat, even after it has been long expected, is a great joy to him who has sown. b. That crosses and failures aid us in self-knowledge, make us humble before God, and willing to ask with the greater earnestness for the witness of the Spirit, which can silence and subdue all doubts. c. That God does not show less patience towards those who have received, believed, and who declare the message of grace. How long a time must he wait before he receives from them any thing that is conformed to his purposes ! With what wisdom he guides them, in order that he may draw some good thing out of so much feebleness and impurity ! And shall not they themselves wait patiently ? d. That it is not the pastor's fault if he is born in times of barrenness, when it is difficult to do good : when fierce injustice has trampled the weak under foot, and devoured the substance of the poor, it is no marvel that preaching is inef- fective j when authority even, when it recognizes evil, takes little trouble to remedy it, and sees without any compunction the great absorbing the small. c. That God has placed a mark on all those who sigh over the abundance of public sins, that they may be untouched by the punishment which shall ensue. Ezck. ix. 4. /. That a pastor strengthens himself with that which is effected by others for the kingdom of God, when he rejoices with humility in the good that is effected without him. By this joy he appropriates to himself the labors of others, while, at the same time, he avoids the dangers attending the gratifi- cation of his own wishes. 394 APPENDIX. g. That even where souls are not positively won hy a truly gospel preaching, they are yet somewhat softened and pre- pared by their clear knowledge of spiritual things. H. Franke testifies, after long experience, that the parishioners of a brave and devoted pastor always become ultimately more tractable and gentle. When God grants a richer harvest to a pastor, it does not therefore follow that the pastor himself is more acceptable to him than others are. Surgeons have various instruments; some are in use every day, others only rarely, and for special cases ; they have no preference for one of these instruments above the other. It is only the last blow of the axe that makes the tree fall ; and if one has given fifty strokes, an- other thirty, a third only two, who shall tell which of the workmen has been most useful, and which of the strokes has contributed most to bring down the tree ? So it is with the work which is done for souls. 3. A pastor ought to be like a hen that takes her brood under her wings, and which sometimes allows them to mount on her back. Confidence and familiarity cannot be forced ; only charity can bring them ] amicable intercourse often does more good than many reasonings and sermons. When the sun shines warmly, the traveller looses his garments of his own accord. A single pigeon which comes spontaneously to the tamer is worth more than a large number which are brought to him by force. It will be happy for all if the pas- tor habitually engages in familiar questionings and conversa- tions. I believe that this is possible even in the case of un- converted persons. 4. The pastor ought not entirely to avoid intercourse with men of the world ; but he should be careful not to take part in their sins. To testify in the freedom of conversation to the same truths which are solemnly taught in the pulpit, makes a greater impression on the minds of men than they APPENDIX. 395 will allow us to observe. Much of the seed which wc scatter may be lost, but yet something remains. When it snows, and the earth is moist, the snow as long as it falls seems to be absorbed by the earth, but, by continual falling, it ulti- mately forms a white covering for the earth : Sparge, sparge, ijiiam pofes. 5. The pastor has reason to be anxious for himself when he does not seek to live in communion with true Christians. His works gradually degenerate into a regular trade; and there are many who carry it on as advantageously as any other trade, or who leave it in order to gain worldly wealth, although, in truth, we cannot name many pastors who have become enriched by their calling. Godly souls are the hand of the pastor; he himself is the eye; the hand may carry, push, relieve, and be very useful to the eye. 6. Experience teaches us that many souls can be affected by preaching, in a very salutary manner, but the work of grace is not fully carried on in them unless by means of in- dividual treatment ; accordingly, private labors must be espe- cially regarded. The pastor often gains richer and more plentiful fruit from his visits than from his public preaching. He should always show himself equally disposed to go wher- ever he may be called, and those whose spiritual necessities urge them to come to him, ought to feel themselves encour- aged by his cordial reception to communicate with him with entire freedom ; also, he should show a pleasure when he meets with neighbors in the houses which he visits. 7. The principal rule to be observed by the pastor in the guidance of souls is to do nothing from his own will, and to do every thing that he knows to be the will of God. Those souls from wbom he hopes some good results, should be ap- proacbed at times when (hoy are calm and untroubled. Those who revolt and are obstinate, must always be reminded of the word of God. Ho should seek to present the subject of 396 APPENDIX. ■which he treats in an agreeable manner, beginning with in- different matters, and gradually leading the iuterlocntors to respond without having been formally questioned. When he has an opportunity of seeing persons every day, he should wait for some favorable occasion ; but if opportunities are rare, or if he has only one opportunity, he must be careful not to let that pass without bearing witness to the truth. If such persons should die, this would cause great anxiety to the pastor who should have neglected to testify of the gospel to them; and, on the other hand, how will he rejoice if he has been enabled to be faithful ! However, he must not abandon himself to anxiety, which is a great evil. Let him in all things act with God, and not with himself alone, that he may afterwards be able to say, '' I have done, O God, ac- cording as thou hast appointed." Then, certainly, he will receive a Divine answer at the time of need. One single word, one look, one ray of light, may effect great things in a soul, if we have found the right point and the proper mo- ment. On one occasion it was said to a man whose wife was ill, " You have now a sanctuary in your house." This sen- tence remained with him and did much good. It is a great gift to be able to utter forcible and sententious words which strike forcibly. 8. When our aim is to bring souls to God, nothing ought to be despised; however numerous they are, we must show that we regard it as of the highest importance that they should be brought to the Lord. 9. Do not absolutely despise any one. If any one has u fault, contrive that he shall know it, and endeavor to induce him to correct it; and, whether you succeed or not, strive to discover and develop whatever there is that is good in him. 10. It is, I believe, very important not to accumulate argu- ments and materials, mixing up the feeble with the strong, in APPENDIX. 397 order to multiply the number of them. This is only an injury to both. It is much better to bring forward a decisive argu- ment and abide by it. 11. There are souls which, in proportion as our urgency and our efforts to penetrate them increase, seem to present less hold for us, and to escape our grasp as a subtile vapor. We must wait patiently for them, and be content that some time should pass before the fruits of our ministry are appa- rent. The state of jmsftivit^ spoken of by Tauler and others, is too little known by those who desire to precipitate their own movements and those of others. In such a state it some- times happens that greater things are produced in a soul in a, single moment than are eifected in others by several months, and this is much more sure and lasting than a forced and factitious success. There are souls for which it is good, be- cause of the temptations of the evil world, to remain to tho time of their death in an undeveloped state, as gcrm^, and who are not manifested and do not enter into the kingdom of heaven till the moment of their departure. It is right that those who have the care of souls should be apprised of this, for their consolation. Let us do what wc can siiaviter, and leave the rest to the chief Shepherd, saying, with iMoses, " Have I conceived this people ? Have I begotten them ?" Num. xi. 12. 12. It is very necessary that the pastor shotild have the gift of discernment. Wherever there is a true life, it can sustain itself. But when the pastor is continually desiring to review his people, and lead them to start afresh, they will become indifferent and idle. The venerable Abraham (who lived in the fourth century of the Christian era) was accus- tomed to leave those whom he influenced as soon as he had brought them to say, " I believe in God the Father, and in hi.s Son, Jesus Christ." Christ himself said to his disciples, " It is expedient for you that I go away;" and the eunuch 308 ArrENDix. of Queen Candace was left alone as soon as he had been bap- tized. If I had a tree which I was always cutting, whose roots I was continually exposing, I do not think it would prosper the more for my pains. As a child who is beginning to walk is never so sure of falling as when you call out to it, ''Don't fall," so it is when we would forcibly obtain from souls actus rejiexos — when we incite them to great efforts, in order to obtain a distinct consciousness of their being in a state of grace, and of having made progress in sanctifieation. There are souls whose activity consists solely in actihiis di- rect is — in free action which anticipates faith and love. These are they which advance the most surely, and if wc attempt clumsily to urge them onward, we shall only intimidate and bewilder them. There are others, doubtless, who require to be urged on, and therefore we must ask and seek for a dis- cerning mind. 13. What is the thing that is most essential to the pas- torate ? It is that which is so often spoken of in the Psalms — Josher (^^'') — uprightness. We may compare it to a straight line, in which there is nothing oblique, nothing double; which is free from all variations of ascent and descent, and which advances by the nearest road to the desired end. 14. Brothers and pastors I let our hearts be filled with love to Christ. This love alone can render us serious, cou- rageous, active ; by this alone can we penetrate into the real condition of a soul, and discern the road in which we must guide it. We must form much closer relations between our parishioners and ourselves, ever remembering that we have be- fore us men like ourselves. What shall we do in times of plague, or of other public calamity ? Let us, at such times, associate with our people, and identify ourselves with them for the safety of the whole, without calling to mind the empty distinctions of rank or of talent. If wc thus act with one APPENDIX. 399 man, wc may hope, in a sense, to make him onr prisoner, and to lead him according to our will. 15. I would willingly leave, to each soul the foundations of his own special faith ; though the premises are feeble, yet if the conclusion is just, this will satisfy one. It is with man as with a child who makes his first attempt to walk across the room, and clutches hold of his own clothes : if he advances, wc can leave him to his imaginary assistance. With what delicacy ought man to be treated ! If we stretch the cord too tightly, it will be loosened so much the quicker, and the soul will cast itself in that direction which we wished it to avoid. • ... 17. I do not at all think that assemblies are to be inter- dicted. Must then each man be forced to cultivate a solitary piety ? It is as if, seeing many persons starting on a common course, I should advise them not to continue together, but each to front the coming danger alone. 18. Diseases suppose life. When a spiritual disease ex- ists, there spiritual life must also exist. The wicked are entirely dead. Why should the pastor reject or treat with severity the children of God because he finds in them some- thing to rebuke ? Should he not rather be the more eager to associate with them, and to offer them the remedy that they require ? 19. There are those who place too high an estimate on meetings for worship, and who appear to regard themselves as better because they take part in those exercises. But neither arc they the only pious, nor are those uniformly pious who thus meet. There are excellent souls who never attend these gatherings, and there, as everywhere else, hypocrites arc to be found. The same man does not think in the same way as spectator that he does as judge. Do not frustrate the work of God. Do wc not leave each one to take his own in- dividual course in common life i* We may and we must be 400 APPENDIX. more tolerant of small things, in order that we may liave the right to insist on great things. We must not be too hasty ia consoling those who suffer son\e ill-treatment from the world on account of their presence at our assemblies; this may be good and salutary for them. 20. Coolness is so much the habit of these days, that it is hardly possible to establish between pastor and people that mutual and intimate acquaintance which should exist in a Church, all the members of which are converted. The fa- vorable moment has not come. Many things are necessary to the formation of a true community — much intelligence and experience. A community ought to have the spirit of discernment, and to possess members able to guide others ; without this they would seem only to meet for mutual dis- comfort. We must take care lest fraternal love becomes like a comedy. Alas ! this is very common ; we are hypocrites to one another; we seek to please; we neglect the rebukes, warnings, and encouragements of Christian love. There are those among us who possess neither humility, charity, nor any thing of the spirit of Christ ; and who are only distin- guished by their zeal in forming associations and meetings. Is not this mere*omic acting? In a community of brethren there must be communion in prayer ; laws to which all are subject, without, however, binding the individual down to particular times and forms. For the tighter the cord is drawn, the sooner it is broken. There are those who only continue because they have begun, and in order to avoid the reproach of inconstancy. The more that spiritual exercises and intimacies increase, the more should we guard against the spirit of imitation. What should we think of two tra- vellers, each of whom has his own path, and even is called upon to make a path for himself, and yet one of whom should invariably tread in the footsteps of the other ? Can they not walk near enough to one another, while each keeps to his APPENDIX. 401 owii separate path ? Wc do not want to be urged on by ono another, but that all alike should be urged on by the breath of the Lord. But there are, doubtless, those who tend con- tinually to withdraw farther from the presence of God, and to take courses of their own. Such persons always become ccdder and more indolent in their Christianity ; they require to be constantly looked after, and never left alone. . He who has a truly vicious faith cannot retain it; he must degene- rate. 21. Let him who is unable to check prevailing sins, com- plain much of them to God, and give his calm and serious testimony against them from time to time, not heeding whether he is listened to or not. The pastor ought to learn a lesson from those persons who protest against a violation of their rights, although they know their protest will be una- vailing; he ought to continue his witness for the truth, even when no one seems to regard it; he will certainly reap in due time, and while he waits his conscience will be satisfied. A river continues to flow whether we draw water from it or cast stones into it. 22. As to all that is evidently opposed to the law of God, the preacher ought to show its sin as seriously and clearly as is necessary, in order that each may understand him, and not allow himself to be deterred or intimidated by the fear of men. Moreover, the world will allow bitter truths to be spoken to it. It is true that the grief and humiliation caused by the reproaches of others often issue in anger, but the man is soon ashamed of his anger; he soon recovers himself and recognizes the truth. Doubtless all rebuke ought to be ad- ministered prudently ; and in order to this : a. We must guard against evidently useless conversations ; our credit depends on this ; after the most valiant air-strokes, the most signal triumphs do not at all add to the good opinion of men concerning us. 402 APPENDIX. b. Let us not use the irritation caused by truth as a moans of personal offence ; whatever touches us alone will glance by us, without any permanent result. c. Endeavor to find the right moment; nothing is so irri- tating as an ill-timed blow ; we do not feel the effect, although we recognize the intention, and it gives us the impression of violence. d. When we are acquainted with the past sins of any one, we should not speak of them to him, but wait and see whether he falls into the same errors again ; in which case we must regard it as a flagrant transgression. We must no^^ however, deal with mere isolated facts, but regard the general state of the individual. e. Show impartiality, kindness, and compassion. If we have succeeded in making the sinner feel that we do not re- gard ourselves, as men, above him, we have done much towards gaining his heart. /. Let us be as conciliatory as possible in our exhortations : a gilded and gentle A^o is often better than a blunt and brutal Yes. g. We must not treat all men indiscriminately as flagrant sinners ; this would be the most effective way of promoting a secret pharisaism, since each might say to himself, '' I am not yet so bad as that ; I have certainly better thoughts ; my conduct is not quite so depraved," etc. 23. In things which may be classed among the Adiaphora — things indifl"erent — as games, dancing, etc., it often hap- pens that the pastor is inclined to exaggerate, and to draw the cord too tightly. We must not judge of others by our- selves ; we cannot give them our own eyes and our manner of seeing. Persons are often so educated that their hearts become like leather, nay, even like wood. If I had to choose between natural gayety and the sadness of an unrepentant heart, I would give the preference to the former; for it is an ArrENDix. 403 image — a distorted image, to be sure — of the happiness of God, while the hitter is opposed to it. We sometimes give the name of siu to things which are simply forms of life, and which sometimes have the advantage of preventing the out- break of sin, properly so ealled. Doubtless these things will not be imported into heaven ; but they are not the causes of sorrow when repentance comes. The repentant sinner is ab- sorbed by the general regret that arises on the contemplation of a life given to vanity. Taste for worldly pleasures is a natural accompaniment of his unconverted state, and will vanish with that state. Wc must not, then, expect too much ; we must not condemn the taste for dancing, and such diver- sions, with too much bitterness, and with too legal a spirit ; we must not form absolute rules, but refer men to their own conscience, induce them to listen to its suggestions, and per- suade them to abandon those things which they can only enjoy with an internal compunction. Job had his children under his control ; yet he did not forbid them keeping festival together, but he prayed for them. And this we also should do most assiduously for our parishioners, and especially in times of public festival; this is never fruitless, while law provokes anger. It docs not follow from this that we should not avail our- selves of opportunities to tell our people what we think on these subjects ; we ought to represent to them that by always pushing their liberty to an extreme, although we may admit that they avoid actual sin, yet they are in a position analogous to that of those who walk by the side of a river, and, keep- ing their feet as near the water as possible, yet profess ever to keep on the brink of the water, and never to fall in. They should beware lest those vanities, pleasures, and follies cause them to lose their part in heaven, and in the happiness which oven this life may offer to them ; they should consider that the pleasure which (hey find in these things is the sure 404 APPENDIX. sign of an iinregencrate heart, and that they will see things in quite another manner when God has influenced their soul by his Spirit, etc. The pastor also should be careful not to judge the whole of his parish by the disturbance which may be occasioned by a few unruly members of it. Because at the edge of a pond we only hear the croaking of frogs, we must not therefore . conclude that there are no fish in the pond. 24. Not only in the pulpit, but in special and private con- versations, and whenever a natural opportunity presents itself, should the pastor insist on the duty of renouncing the world ; but he need not feel himself called upon to exhibit all at once all the evil that his eyes may detect. Let him be guided in this point by the inspiration of the Spirit of God. At one time we may keep silence and utter our complaints to God alone ; at another time we may feel an interior impulse which shall give us an energy and liberty, enabling us to im- press those with whom we have to do. Do you feel yourself urged to exhort and reprove ? Then you are wrong if you do not perform this as a direct and immediate duty ; you will be doing wrong to delay its performance to some festival day, to some visit for compliment or condolence ; you will be wrong also if you endeavor to accomplish your aim in an oblique manner. Do you desire to exhort ? Let it be done directly, without artifice, with cordiality and frankness ; be not too clever in contrivance ; experience shows that this method closes the heart instead of opening it. 25. We owe to a parish respect, and should fail in showing due respect if we did not give an example of strict observ- ance of its laws ; besides that this is the most persuasive manner of preaching order and conformity. Things which concern the Church, even of an exterior character, must be arranged with a degree of punctiliousness, regularity, and pre- cision. Our hearers are too ready to infer inexactitude of ArrENDix. 405 doctrine from inexactitude of method. How slmll tliey be- lieve that we have fixed principles in our teaching, wlien wc liavc none in our oificial activity ? This does not imply that respect for forms in preaching should prevent us from utter- ing any useful thoughts that may occur to us after wc have formally closed. We find, in the case of Macarius, that a liomily was often interrupted by some question put by the hearer, and that he answered even when it had little connec- tion with the immediate subject. It would be well if such simplicity existed also in our worship. 2G. The nature of my engagements has not often called me to visit the sick and dying; but, from the little expe- rience I have had of this part of ministerial labor, I am able to aflBrm the following : By prayer the pastor will most surely attain spiritual wis- dom, tender compassion for the patient, and an accurate view of his own duty. Let him take for reading, or as a theme of conversation, that which is best adapted to the invalid, and draw from it an application to his particular circum- stances, without at first asking him whether he rests on these truths ; it is better to bring him by degrees to a free confes- sion of his own state. Wc have gained much when we have induced the sick man to compare his present experience with his past course. When hypocrisy is not apparent, it is not prudent to attempt a thorough internal revolution, and to lead a soul to believe that you pay no regard to any of those move- ments which prcvenient grace has before produced in it, and the remembrance of which it still retains. Wc should rather seize the faintest indication which can give us an opportunity of encouraging it : increasing light ever brings into fuller recognition the gulfs and darknesses that arc pa.st. In this way wc can more easily bring the sick man to those individual applications which arc so important. In the case of those who have been signally sinful, adulterers, or voluptuous, there 406 APPENDIX. is often despair, and we are obliged to begin by showing them that there is yet a remedy, although the case is serious. This despair sometimes leads them to exclaim, " I am lost : I belong to the devil;" which gives us an opportunity of making them consider their state of sin generally and in de- tail, and also of leading them to the free grace of God. Ac- cording as we may judge, we may dwell more emphatically on one point than another — on repentance, or faith, or re- signation to the will of God. We must avoid saying too much. With sick persons we find two opposite results : some feel that the pastor's visit does them good, and is agreeable to them; others are fatigued by it; we must therefore study different cases with care, and conform to the necessities of the invalid, knowing when it is convenient to be silent, and when to speak. If a sick man appears inaccessible when we wish him to confess his state of sin, we must anticipate him by prayer, and put into his mouth what we would wish him to say himself. A man willingly allows himself to be accused when we place him in the presence of God by prayer; it is not easy to persuade him to confess his sins before men, especially when he is heard by a variety of persons. There are sick men, especially old men, who think that suffragans and young pastors are well-meaning young men, doubtless, but that they have too little experience of life to know that the gospel law cannot be taken in all its literal ex- actness. We must endeavor to remove this prejudice by turning their look away from and above the instrument, and leading them to the presence of immutable and eternal truth. It is right to make them understand that we have no other interest in them beyond the salvation of their soul, since we have nothing to gain by preaching to them in one mode rather than in unother. In communion services we have especially favorable oppor- tunities for exhibiting all the treasures of Christ's love. But APPENDIX. 407 WO iiuisfc vehemently oppose llic error ol' supposintj; there is any fy)?/.s operatum, the error of attributing merit to external works, and especially in the outward participation in the Lord's Supper ; we must oppose it in its application to the ])ast, the present, and the future, and impress upon the sick man, both before and after the communion, that peace is only to be found in the grace of God through Jesus Christ. The pastor ought to be attentive that he may let no oppor- tunity for doing good pass. He will therefore address him- self to those who are present, both before and after death, and explain to them that it is not his exhortation, however forcible it may be, which can save the sick man, but the dis- })ositions of his own heart; that it will not suffice for him to give a general assent to the sentiments uttered, unless he responds to them by the inmost feelings and wishes of his heart. Many souls do not feel this spiritual hunger; pro- bably many die impenitent ; which, however, is on no account to be affirmed of those who have prayed and listened to the word of God before us. The baptism for the dead, or over the dead, of which St. Paul speaks, ought to be understood, if I mistake not, of those who accept Christianity a short time before death. To " save so as yd by fire," is to receive a soul which is in the most imminent danger, and with whom we are obliged to use violent means, because we have not time for gentle and quiet measures. The words of Jesus, '' There are few that be saved," instead of discouraging the pastor, ought to make him redouble his zeal and earnestness. 1 believe, however, that dcath-bcd conversions arc rare : cither the sufferer had more virtues in him than he allowed lo be seen, and his last moments brought to light these hidden graces, or, most likely, he leaves the world with the same dispositions that he has ever had. It must, however, be ob- served that there is a cla.ss of persons who, for want of cul- ture, cannot express what is in them. God delights in mani- 408 APPENDIX. festing such souls on tlie bed of death ; he does not allow his children to leave the world entirely incognito. The impenitent who desire to postpone conversion to the last hour, should be admonished that at the hour of death a man cannot be sure of rendering a free and therefore a sin- cere testimony ; for if, at this last moment, he can interrogate his conscience, it will probably tell him, "Thou wouldst not liave done this in good health." We sometimes meet with persons who are always weeping, and yet know not why they weep. We must not be offended because they cannot express the reason of their sorrow, but we must allow them to weep, and exhort them to lay their hearts open before God in Christ; he will hear and under- stand them. We must also recollect, at the bed of death, that some are kept back by the need of pardon from some person whom they have offended ; it is our business to procure for them this word of reconciliation, after which they may die happy. 27. We will add to these rules of Bengel on visiting the sick, some of the words which he actually spoke to sick per- sons. a. He said to a man whose case was hopeless : " Dear friend, look to the love and the light of God, make use of the rights which Jesus Christ, the well-beloved, has pur- chased for the rebellious children of his Father; may the Spirit of grace be powerful in your feebleness, may he pro- duce aspirations in our hearts which may go with us to the eternal world, when we are invited to dwell with the great Precursor who has entered there for us and for all who have passed along this road which we must pass. I commend you to a faithful God : let us pray for one another." h. Mile, de St., who was in a consumption, showed him her emaciated arms, and complained that God had not yet ATPENDIX. 409 taken her away. ]3cngel answered, '• You arc like one of luy pupils who wished to go for his vacation before the proper time ; he was obliged to remain till he had learned his last lesson. You think you liave nothing more to do here below, but you may be sure that it is a good preparation for eternity for a Christian when, being fully equipped and ready to depart, he is obliged to wait yet a little time for the IM aster's word. While you submit patiently, you present to God a worship that is acceptable to him."* f. liengel, with other Christian friends, was by the bed- side of the pastor Grammich, to whom, after prayer, they sang the following hymn : Cendre froidc et niuette, Dans ta sombre relraite Dors en paix, quisqu' au jour Ou le Seigneur qui t'aimc T'cmportera lui-meme, Vivante et rajeunie, au bienheureux s<^jour. Eengel repeated to the sufferer the most touching ex- pressions in this hymn. Then he spoke to him of the glories of the city of God, " which must be beautiful," he said, " because it is written that ' God himself is not ashamed to be called their God, for he hath prepared for them a city.' " Then the sick man, sensible of the majesty of God, felt profoundly humbled by a sense of his own misery. Bengel said to him, '' The scr\'ant of God must ask forgive- ness." This the sick man did, shedding many tears ; then IJengel continued, ''If we confess our faults and our miseries, God will not be hard with us; he acts royally, he gives us ten thousand talents at once." At length the sick man regained his serenity, and preserved it to the last. [* So Milton: "Tiicy also serve avUo only stand and wait." — T. 0. S.] 410 APPENDIX. When they took leave of one another, each placed his hand on the other's head, and they blessed each other abundantly. d. With regard to persons afflicted with a mental disease, he said, "I am pleased to listen to these persons; something is always to be learnt from what they say, and moreover this is a favorable opportunity for studying human nature. But when the depression is so great that the sufferer opens neither his mouth nor his heart, I pray with him, and per- suade him to repeat my words aloud. There is a great power in the voice." 29. When we remind the rich of their duty, in order to excite them to benevolence, it would be desirable to take the opportunity of reminding the poor also of the justice and fidelity required of them ; otherwise the poor and the rich will both complete our words in their own way, to their great injury, and each will reproach the other with the faults they respectively discern. Would it not be better to lead both of them to seek for peace with one another in the Lord, and persuade those who have too much to impart of their superfluity to those who have not enough ? The reason per- haps why the rich seek in the conduct of the poor for excuses for not helping them, is, that we are contented with preaching to the rich only. 30. The pastor ought to give the greatest attention to those who are first in his parish — that is, children ; and to those who are last — that is, the dying : to the former, because from tbem most fruit is to be expected ; to the latter, because little time remains for us to exercise our ministry toward them. 31. The administration of the Lord's Supper to so many variously disposed persons must necessarily cause much anxiety to a conscientious pastor. I have been asked APPENDIX. 411 Tyliotlier it would not be bottei' to be entirely deprived of it, than to give the liord's body to all without distinction : T answer, there is a diirercnce between the theoretical and practical defence of the truth. The first is more or less independent of the variations of earth, and is accomplished more or less fully, notwithstanding all circumstances. The second is more difficult in itself, and has at all times been subject to abuse. When a pastor has serious doubts whether a person who presents himself at the table is worthy to partake of the (Supper, he ought, before the day of communion, to speak privately with that person, explaining to him the solemnity of the act and the magnitude of the responsibility which he assumes, and then leave him to act according to his own will. The enclosure should be outside the temple, not within, around the altar. The pastor should be able to administer the Supper with all fulness of joy, as if he were about to communicate to all his sheep all the fulness of the blood of Christ ; as if, with these sacred pledges of mercy, he felt strong enough to raise all these souls at once to heaven. The Holy Supper is a means of conversion to many; those who officiate ought, therefore, according to their know- ledge of the particular state of the communicant, to address to him the words of the institution with all the gravity and emphasis that are required in order to impress him. 13ut I do not think it right to make use of the communion as a means for conversion, to teach dogmas, properly so called; fur this is not its precise aim. 32. The doctrine of the effects of prayer, and of the un- spoken word, is very important; but without great prudence in teaching and applying it, we are in danger of falling into great errors of heart, and of tempting God. The words of St. John, ''They shall all be taught of God," (John vi. 45, lleb. viii.,) ought not to be interpreted as implying that no 412 • APPENDIX. one will need teaching from his brother. If this were the case, why did the apostles teach ? These words indicate the superiority of the New to the Old Dispensation. In the ancient economy, God was obliged to use compulsion with the Israelites ; the new economy is characterized by a spirit of liberty, which gives free play to intelligence. When a man receives that spirit which is promised in the New Testament, every thing becomes more easily intelligible to him, and he acquires a readiness in sacred studies which others do not possess after long and repeated application. The passage in 1 John ii. 27 applies to false doctrine, in regard to which the Christian docs not need to be instructed. The two questions are very different — whether certain souls can be awakened without the intervention of the gospel ministry, and whether the entire Church can be sustained and perpetuated without it. 38. Mysticism dates from the fourth or fifth century. The Aristotelian philosophy, and afterwards the Scholastic,, which was derived from it, being cultivated with ardor, many sincere persons, to escape from the disputations of the schools, retired within themselves. Each mystic had a certain ray of light, but this was all; he did not understand any thing of the Divine economy, nor of the Divine ways in general. These men retired into solitude, and were hence- forth nothing to society. They lived during times of dark- ness; they were happy themselves, but did not contribute to the welfare of others. While the Scholastics valued nothing but speculation and reasoning, they, with the Plato- nists, valued feeling alone, and the unseen and silent disposi- tions of the heart. The Mystics were wrong in not confessing the good that they had received ; they could not have found it elsewhere than in the territory of the Church. 34. It is well for the country pastor to pursue, along with his pastoral labors, some special studies relating to his con- APPENDIX. 413 dition, in order that he may not always have to Hill back upon his own resources ; he should also know what is passing in otlier parts of the Divine kingdom, in order that he may be, as occasion may require, encouraged, awakened, humbled, and instructed. Date Due "7^^