LIBRARY OF CONGRESS. 
 
 PRESENTED BY 
 
 UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. 
 
IBisIjop ]BM\'% #FPmon. 
 
 JS^E 
 
 nulns|ip of Wjr 
 
 ($ospfI. 
 
 
THE 
 
 Trusteeship of the Gospel. 
 
 AN 
 
 ORDINATION SERMON 
 
 BY THE 
 
 Rt. Rev. Gregory Thurston Bedell, D. D. 
 
 Assistant Bishop of the Protestant Episcopal Church 
 in the Diocese of Ohio, 
 
 PREACHED 
 
 In All Saints' Church, Portsmouth, Ohio, at an Ordi- 
 nation of four Presbyters and three Deacons, 
 held by the Bishop of the Diocese, 
 Sunday, June 6th, 1869. 
 
 PUBLISHED BY REQUEST. 
 CINCINNATI: 
 
 ROBERT CLARKE & CO. 
 1869. 
 
v \^ 
 
To the 
 
 Rt. Rev. G. T. Bedell, D. D. 
 
 Assistant Bishop of the Diocese of Ohio, 
 
 Rt. Rev. and Dear Sir: 
 
 Having listened with great interest 
 and profit to your sermon on the Christian Ministry, 
 and believing its publication would be timely and use- 
 ful, we unite in requesting a copy for publication. 
 
 Portsmouth^ O., June 6, 1869. 
 (Signed by) 
 
 lev. S. A. Bronson, 
 
 D. D. 
 
 Rev 
 
 . Eras t us Burr, D. D 
 
 c< Lewis Burton, 
 
 D. D. 
 
 (C 
 
 John Swan, 
 
 <c J. B. Brit ton, 
 
 
 cc 
 
 T. B. Fairchild, 
 
 " J.F. Ohl, 
 
 
 cc 
 
 "Thos. S. Bacon, 
 
 iC E. Hubbell, 
 
 
 cc 
 
 D. L. Howard, 
 
 " John Scott, 
 
 
 cc 
 
 W. C. French, 
 
 cc C.H. Toung, 
 
 
 cc 
 
 W. Henry Watts, 
 
 <c C. P. Maples, 
 
 
 cc 
 
 J. W. C. Duerr, 
 
 cc Wyllys Hall, . 
 
 
 cc 
 
 R. K. Nash, 
 
 <c A. F. Blake, 
 
 
 cc 
 
 Henry L. Badger, 
 
 cc George Bos ley, 
 
 
 cc 
 
 R. B. Balcom, 
 
 " J. G. Jones, 
 
 
 cc 
 
 J. C T. Franklin, 
 
 cc Wilfrid H. Dean, 
 
 cc 
 
 W. J. Petrie. 
 
D. Higgins, Esq. 
 
 NORWALK. 
 
 Wm. W. Boiler, 
 
 PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 L. C. Demarin, 
 
 PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 J. F. Towell, 
 
 PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 Wm. V. Peck, 
 
 PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 S. N. Sanford, 
 
 CLEVELAND. 
 
 John Kiloh, 
 
 WAKEMAN. 
 
 P. Barron, 
 
 RAVENNA. 
 
 E. E. Fillmore, 
 
 ZANESVILLE. 
 
 Jas. W. Wilson, 
 
 FREMONT. 
 
 J. N. Whiting, 
 
 COLUMBUS. 
 
 Wm. Procter, 
 
 CINCINNATI. 
 
 S. R. Ross, 
 
 PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 Sam 1 1 Reed, 
 
 PORTSMOUTH. 
 
 J. N. Burr, M. D. 
 
 MT. VERNON. 
 
 Geo. C. T'ownsend, 
 Wm. Lucas, 
 
 GAMBIER. 
 
 A. H. Moss, 
 
 SANDUSKY. 
 
 W. G. Mitchell, 
 
 COLUMBUS. 
 
 H. R. Tracy, 
 
 PORTSMOUTH, 
 
 My Dear Bishop : 
 
 I earnestly hope you will accede to the request made 
 to you by the clergy who heard your most appropriate 
 sermon, at Portsmouth, on the Sunday after the Con- 
 vention, that you will furnish it for publication. They 
 do not estimate it too highly. 
 
 Yours, affectionately, 
 
 CHAS. P. McILVAINE. 
 Right Rev. G. T. Bedell, D. D. 
 
ORDINATION SERMON 
 
 The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 
 
 "As we were allowed of God to be put in trust with the 
 gospel, even so we speak; not as pleasing men, but God, 
 which trieth our hearts" — I Thess. ii: 4. 
 
 THE apostle has seized upon a significant repre- 
 sentation of ministerial functions. He speaks 
 of himself as trustee. He is a trustee for God to men; 
 acting in God's behalf for the benefit of His redeemed 
 children. 
 
 The apostle stands before us, conscious of the sol- 
 emnity of his trust ; conscious, also, of the integrity 
 of his purpose. He realizes the privilege of minister- 
 ing the gospel. He recognizes his responsibility on 
 either side; to God the giver, and to man the recipient. 
 He sees clearly the relations of this trust. With 
 refreshing directness, he states the principles on which 
 it is to be administered. And so there lie, enfolded in 
 this scripture, the first elements of the ministerial func- 
 tion. Let us unwrap the text, and, by Divine blessing, 
 discover the aptness of its teaching. We have : 
 
The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 
 
 I. The nature of the trust. 
 II. The appointment and relations of the trustee. 
 
 III. The principles which guide a faithful discharge 
 of the trusteeship. 
 
 i. The nature of the trust. cc As we were allowed 
 of God to be put in trust of the gospel, so we speak." 
 There is no mistaking the simplicity with which the 
 apostle presents this point. The matter in trust is the 
 gospel — the glorious gospel of the blessed God ! That 
 which makes a burdened sinner leap for joy; that which 
 tunes again a broken heart; that which satisfies a peni- 
 tent believer's soul, giving songs for sighing, hope for 
 fear, and changes the restlessness of unforgiven sin into 
 the perpetual peace of reconciliation with God, and of 
 sense of adoption into heavenly sonship. There is 
 only one saying, "That faithful saying and worthy of 
 all acceptation;" there is only one truth, in the universe 
 of all true things, which can thus bear "glad tidings" to 
 a soul at every stage of spiritual experience; one truth 
 which is life-giving at all times and to all who embrace 
 it. That truth is, "Christ Jesus came into the world 
 to save sinners." That this is the gospel, witness, that 
 John, the forerunner, announced it in the terms, 
 "Behold the Lamb of God which taketh away the sins 
 of the world." The Saviour himself gave the key note 
 of it in those memorable words, "God so loved the 
 world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that who- 
 soever believeth in him should not perish, but have 
 
The Trusteeship of the Gospel. y 
 
 eternal life." When apostles became capable of read- 
 ing this truth clearly, by the light which streamed on 
 it from the cross, they put it in the form, £C He hath 
 made him to be sin for us who knew no sin, that we 
 might be made the righteousness of God in him." 
 
 All of these are harmonies upon that one tone, 
 "Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners;" 
 that one old tone, which sounds out of the depths of 
 eternity past, when we hear of " the Lamb slain from 
 the foundation of the world;" which angels strung their 
 melody upon, when sweeter strains, than ever again 
 ravished human ear, broke in on the simple piping of 
 the shepherd's reeds, with, " I bring you glad tidings 
 of great joy, for unto you is born a Saviour;" that one 
 old tone, which, in an eternity to come, shall waken the 
 echoes of the heavenly temple, when angels shall listen 
 in silent ravishment whilst saints are singing, "Unto 
 Him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in His 
 own blood;" "Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to 
 receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, 
 and honor, and glory, and blessing." That theme of 
 earth and heaven, of sinner repenting and saint rejoicing, 
 of eternity past and eternity to come, the tenor, sub- 
 stance, sum of revelation ; that theme, "Christ Jesus 
 came into the world to save sinners" — is the gospel. 
 And the gospel forms this Trust. 
 
 But you will notice, the gospel is not salvation. It 
 is merely the announcement of it. The gospel is not 
 
8 The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 
 
 that which saves, but simply a message concerning that 
 which saves. It is a saying, a declaration. And there- 
 fore, as ministers of the gospel, we are put in trust with 
 nothing but news: good news, "glad tidings;" but only 
 a message of news concerning that which God has done 
 for our salvation. 
 
 Consequently, some questions much vexed in the 
 church are hereby put at rest. For example: It is a 
 grievous error to say, as some have done, that part of 
 the function of a minister of Christ — chief part- — is to 
 offer a sacrifice for the sins of the people, either in the 
 mass, or in the eucharist. A sacrifice forms no part of 
 the matter of our trust. The gospel is not a sacrifice, 
 is not an atonement, is not Christ crucified; but is sim- 
 ply tidings of a sacrifice — a sacrifice that has been offered 
 — of an atonement finished — of a Christ who has been 
 crucified. Let the point be very distinctly before your 
 minds. It may solve more than one future doubt. 
 The ministry is not entrusted, in any respect, with that 
 which saves ; but only with a message concerning it. 
 We are not trustees of salvation, but trustees of the 
 gospel. 
 
 In like manner, they err, who affirm that the grace of 
 God has been committed to the ministry, to be dis- 
 pensed by them, either with or without conditions, by 
 sacraments, ordinances, absolutions, or in any other 
 way. The gospel is a message concerning the grace of 
 God, but it is not the grace. And consequently, as 
 
The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 
 
 our trust covers only the gospel, it extends simply to 
 the declaration of God's grace in Christ Jesus. We 
 can not touch the grace itself, either to give or with- 
 hold. God, the Holy Spirit, mercifully holds the 
 bestowal of grace within his own power. Keep this 
 truth in mind. It will help you to understand the 
 meaning and value of sacraments and absolutions. 
 Sacraments are methods of delivering our message. 
 They address the mind and heart through the eye, 
 whilst our words reach the ear. They confirm the 
 message. But we have no control over the grace which 
 they represent. We announce God's merciful purpose. 
 If grace reaches the heart through our message, God be 
 praised ! But we have no power to stamp grace upon 
 an infant's heart by signing its forehead with the cross, 
 nor to place grace in the soul of an adult by laying 
 consecrated bread upon his tongue, nor to force grace 
 upon his acceptance through the power of w T ords, how- 
 ever skillfully arranged. We are not trustees of grace, 
 but only of the gospel of grace. 
 
 And so they err, who suppose that it is a minister's 
 duty to reconcile all apparent difficulties in scripture, 
 or to harmonize all apparently discordant doctrines. 
 Those ministers greatly err who attempt to make their 
 preaching more definite than God's word, who attempt 
 to explain what God has purposely left unexplained, or 
 who attempt to cover the mysteries of scripture, by 
 doctrines of philosophical speculation and necessities of 
 
 2 
 
io The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 
 
 human systems. The matter of our trust is the mes- 
 sage as revealed and stated in the Bible. The Bible is 
 our text-book. Whatever we find there, it is our duty 
 to preach; for the limits of the message are only, "Thus 
 saith the Lord." We are not to select between truths, 
 except as to the time of presenting them. We are to 
 proclaim the message just as we find it — thus, "Be- 
 lieve in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be 
 saved." "Being justified by faith, we have peace with 
 God through our Lord Jesus Christ." " Faith with- 
 out works is dead, being alone." "Work out your 
 own salvation with fear and trembling; for it is God 
 which worketh in you, both to will and to do of his 
 good pleasure." "He that believeth and is baptized, 
 shall be saved: he that believeth not shall be damned." 
 We are to hide nothing which belongs to the gospel, 
 God's grace, man's inability. God's sovereignty, man's 
 freewill. God's infinite mercy, man's exposure to the 
 endless misery of everlasting banishment from God's 
 presence. We may show, as we can, that these truths 
 are all reconcilable in the gospel. But we are not to 
 hide any, because we fear that men will pervert or mis- 
 interpret. 
 
 The trust, then, is simply a message from God to 
 men; a message concerning a salvation which has been 
 completed by Christ Jesus. But that message embraces 
 every thing necessary for a sinner to know in order to 
 salvation. It is not one truth ; but a central truth, around 
 
The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 1 1 
 
 which all truths revolve. The message concerns man's 
 fallen condition, his absolute ruin of nature by sin, his 
 actual transgression and exposure to eternal condemna- 
 tion. It is full of the love of God; the eternal purpose 
 of the triune Jehovah to make this earth the theatre of 
 the wonders of redemption; the everlasting love, which 
 gave His only begotten Son; the responsive love, which, 
 in the Person of that Son, took this poor human nature 
 into union with His own Divinity, and so suffered, and 
 died, and rose, and ascended, and reigns, and inter- 
 cedes, and saves ; the completing love, which, in the 
 Person of the Holy Ghost, dwells here on earth, repre- 
 senting Christ, administering salvation, pleading with 
 the impenitent, giving more grace to the humble, im- 
 parting faith, strengthening the believer, enabling every 
 follower of Jesus to grow into His likeness, using ser- 
 mons, sacraments, ordinances, providences, every means, 
 to purify and sanctify Christ's people, and create a 
 people for Christ, who shall be presented at last as one 
 church, without spot, or wrinkle, or any such thing. 
 This message covers the law of God, with its sanctions. 
 It covers the rules of personal obedience, as well as the 
 tidings of Christ's justifying obedience. It covers the 
 announcement of a terrible retribution to those who 
 choose to neglect the great salvation. It opens the 
 gates of Paradise to all who love the Lord, and abide 
 in him by living faith. 
 
 The trust is large enough to call forth every power 
 
12 The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 
 
 of the human minister — although, negatively, it is not 
 salvation ; and, positively, it is only news and a message. 
 
 2d. The appointment and relations of the trustee. 
 "Allowed of God to be put in trust with the gospel," 
 said the '['apostle. It is evident that so divine a trust, 
 can be ministered only on divine appointment. God 
 commits his message of reconciliation, not to men who 
 send themselves to preach it, but to men whom He calls. 
 The apostle has employed a remarkably strong expres- 
 sion in the text. The word translated "allowed," means, 
 allowed after thorough examination, and sifting b^th of 
 character and credentials. It is the term used by the 
 Greeks to signify an examination for a magistracy, and 
 its successful termination in the acceptance of the can- 
 didate. 
 
 In this case, the examination is made by the Almighty, 
 heart-searching God! In presence of that scrutiny, 
 our human tests of fitness become very insignificant: 
 important to us, inasmuch as they guard the church ; 
 important to the church, inasmuch as they certify the 
 qualities of those who minister. But the effectual scru- 
 tiny is made by the Lord himself. It is carried on 
 silently, in the secret chambers of the heart of one of 
 whom the Lord is fitting for his ministry. Long years 
 go by ; each crowded with temptation and trial, with 
 tests of character and searchings of principle. There 
 are struggles with sin, struggles with the fascinations of 
 the world, struggles with indisposition toward sacrifices 
 
The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 13 
 
 and self-denials. There are graces to be cultivated. 
 There are providences to be endured. There is the 
 science of heavenly things to be mastered. But, all the 
 while, there is a growing conviction in this soul that 
 God is calling it to the ministry. There is a deepen- 
 ing satisfaction in contemplating the approaching mis- 
 sion. There is a strengthening purpose to give life, 
 and talents, and energy, to this work for God. It in- 
 creases in attractiveness, as we draw nearer to it. At 
 last, with all humility, with consciousness of insuffi- 
 ciency in one's self, yet with irrepressible certainty that 
 we are doing God's will, it shapes itself into the "Woe 
 is me if I. preach not the gospel." And so the divine 
 examination has its result. God has called that one. 
 He has been judged worthy of God, to be cc put in 
 trust with the gospel." 
 
 But how shall this judgment of God, thus impressed 
 upon individual consciousness, become certified to the 
 world to which he is to minister ? His own impression 
 can be evidence only to himself. He must also have 
 some visible commission. The power of bestowing 
 such commission must be committed to the church 
 itself, unless, indeed, we were to expect that God would 
 work a miracle in each particular case of sending out a 
 minister, certifying thereby his ministerial authority. 
 The Bishops, by the help of the Presbytery, therefore, 
 bestow an official certificate of a divine trusteeship. 
 They may err, for no human judgment is infallible; but 
 
14 The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 
 
 they are not likely to err, if, in the first place, they 
 look for evidences of the divine call, and send forth, 
 with official sanction, only those men, in whose hearts 
 the divine mission is working imperatively to compel 
 them to preach the gospel. 
 
 The moment such a man receives the commission 
 from those whom God has appointed in His church to 
 bestow it, he becomes, in all respects, a trustee for 
 God. He has the inward call. He has the outward 
 testimony to intellectual fitness and religious character. 
 He has official authority. In all respects, thenceforth, 
 he is to be regarded by the people as a trustee of the 
 gospel. And into his own soul should sink an impres- 
 sion of the holiness, the nobleness, the dignity, the 
 preciousness, the responsibility, and the glorious privi- 
 leges of this office. 
 
 The duties of this trusteeship vary with degrees of 
 ministry; but the nature of the trust is the same within 
 all degrees. It is to declare 'God's message of salva- 
 tion. Responsibility is higher in the higher office of 
 the presbyter, because, then, being permitted to enter 
 upon pastoral care, he comes into immediate contact 
 with individual souls of his flock. But a deacon's 
 responsibility lies in the same line. A deacon's duty 
 is to deliver the message of salvation by prayers, by 
 baptisms, by aiding a pastor's labors, and especially by 
 that primitive, and precious ministry to the poor and 
 suffering, which is peculiarly his own. They thus 
 
The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 1 5 
 
 represent Christ's gospel to the eye, by symbols, or by 
 deeds of loving charity; and as they administer the 
 charity of Christ's people, they press home upon the 
 heart the loving grace of Christ himself, in hours when 
 the heart is most tender through suffering ; pressing 
 Christ's love then by private counsels and prayers of 
 brotherly sympathy. 
 
 The relations of this trusteeship of the gospel are, 
 directly, on one side, to God who appoints the trustee, 
 and on the other to the souls to whom God sends him. 
 Cc Allowed of God to be put in trust." He is a trustee, 
 acting in behalf of the Author of salvation. What 
 humility should he feel ! What lowliness of mind, 
 what self-distrust, what reliance upon the promises, 
 what leaning upon God ! Surely there can be no place 
 for pride, vain-glory, assumption of dignity and author- 
 ity, arrogance, self-sufficiency, within the bounds of this 
 idea — that a sinner, saved by grace, is made trustee of 
 the gospel, for saving other sinners. On the other 
 hand, he is entrusted with messages of God's mercy for 
 God's children. He is to "provide for, feed," clothe, 
 educate the Saviour's household. He is to see that 
 none be led astray of the devil or the world. He is to 
 recover those who have been taken captive of sin. He 
 is to comfort the afflicted, to bring back the wanderer, 
 to lead penitent souls to the cross, to warn, and rebuke, 
 and chasten those who are obstinate in sin. What ten- 
 derness of spirit is demanded, what discretion in deal- 
 
1 6 The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 
 
 ing, what discrimination in judgment, what fidelity to 
 God, and truth, and the souls of his people ! All the 
 susceptibilities of the human heart are called into action, 
 whilst the divinely-appointed ambassador for Christ, 
 remembering first his responsibility to God, adminis- 
 ters the message so as not to break the bruised reed, and 
 yet not to deceive with hopes of peace when an unhum- 
 bled sinner has no right to peace ; to persuade men, 
 whilst not hiding the terrors of the law ; to mingle his 
 sense of common infirmities with a sense of official 
 responsibility; to be the man and the brother, whilst 
 administering the trust for God. This relation toward 
 the flock of Christ is intensely human. It is difficult 
 and delicate; but charged with the choicest human sat- 
 isfactions, whenever fidelity on one side is met with 
 confidence on the other, and mutual love consecrates 
 the bond between the trustee of God, and the souls for 
 whom he ministers. 
 
 3. We could not reach our third point, in this de- 
 velopment of the text, without exhibiting, in some 
 degree, the method and principles which are to guide 
 the execution of this trust. But, not to resume points 
 over which we have passed, I direct your attention to a 
 peculiarity in the mode of discharging this trusteeship, 
 which necessarily follows from the nature of the trust. 
 
 Since the trust is a saying, we can discharge it only 
 by preaching. For this saying of God is to be pro- 
 posed for human belief. In no way can the heart lay 
 
The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 17 
 
 hold of a promise, except by faith. We can not see, or 
 touch, a promise. You can not reach it by signs or 
 symbols. We must deal with it only by believing or by 
 disbelieving. There is no mystery in the declaration, 
 that "we are justified by faith only." It is a necessity 
 of the case. Pardon of sin, reconciliation with God, 
 eternal life, are the substance of a promise. All that we 
 can enjoy of them, for the present, is the promise. 
 Consequently, the only possible mode of enjoying the 
 blessing of Christ's religion, is by believing his word of 
 mercy ; believing his promise. 
 
 A minister of Christ stands, then, in a position of 
 tremendous responsibility, for he holds the avenue by 
 which the gospel approaches a soul. Faith cometh by 
 hearing, and hearing by the proclamation of the word. 
 How weighty, then, how earnest, how urgent, will his 
 words be! He ought to ply every art to frame lan- 
 guage which will most surely win access to the soul. 
 Sympathy will open the widest door. Appeals sink 
 deepest when they flow out from the heart of a min- 
 ister, who has himself evidently experienced what he 
 teaches, and whose emotions are kindled with the hope 
 of drawing others to a Saviour, whose love he has found 
 most precious. Faith responds to faith. A burdened 
 sinner is drawn to a loving Saviour, by the certainty 
 that he who is speaking for Christ, has become familiar 
 with the path that leads to the cross. And a child of 
 God puts his hand, most confidingly, within the hand 
 3 
 
1 8 The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 
 
 of that teacher whose own experience of religion has 
 evidently been both true and satisfying. 
 
 We have thus reached the principles upon which 
 this trust — this preaching of the gospel — is to be 
 discharged. The minister must have perfect hon- 
 esty, absolute integrity, entire security, fearlessness 
 in respect to men, conscientiousness before God. 
 "So we speak/' said the apostle, cc not as fearing 
 men, but God, which trieth our hearts." A constant 
 recollection of our two-fold relation, will enable us to 
 measure the proportions of this truth. We speak in 
 behalf of God, in discharging a trust which he has given 
 us for our fellow-men. Our sole responsibility is to 
 Him, and to Him in all particulars, for the truth of 
 our message, the earnestness with which we press it, 
 the motives which underlie our ministration, and the 
 manner in which we discharge it. To Him we shall 
 answer. Before Him we must account for every soul 
 within the bounds of our pastoral care. Well may we 
 tremble, if the blood of any soul shall rest upon our 
 skirts* Glorious will be the crown, which his own 
 hand shall bestow, if, in that day we can present to God 
 any souls saved through our trusteeship. But fear of 
 men, we should have none. Their frown, or their 
 smiles, should not vary our message a semi-tone, from 
 its simplicity and truth. We are trustees of the gospel 
 for their benefit. Called of God, taught of God, com- 
 missioned of God, judged worthy by Him to be put in 
 
The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 
 
 this trust, our fidelity to him, to it, and to them, are 
 supposed to be beyond the reach of mere worldly mo- 
 tives, can not be touched by ambition, can not be 
 silenced by the displeasure of men who dislike God's 
 truths. There is a wholesome regard for rightly formed 
 human opinion, which a minister should cherish. His 
 conscientious fearlessness should not be suffered to 
 become independence of men's opinions. A man of 
 God may wander entirely out of the sphere of his 
 influence, by separating himself from the sympathies 
 of the social circle in which he moves. And the 
 opinions of wise and good men around him may often 
 keep him from straying, as they will always strengthen 
 and uphold his necessary denunciations of sin, and his 
 fearless proclamations of truth. But when public opin- 
 ion and God's truth stand opposite, the minister of 
 Christ knows only one obligation. He is put in trust 
 of the gospel, and that gospel he must speak fully and 
 fearlessly, though ignorant men sneer, and wicked men 
 deride, and although chains and prison or the stake 
 await his utterance. 
 
 There is another view of it. We are exercising this 
 trust for the kindest, and gentlest, and most gracious 
 of masters. Our considerate Savior, who has called us 
 to the work, understands whereof we are made. He 
 expects of us no more than we can do. He asks of us 
 no more than he will give strength to execute. He 
 knows that the vessel is earthen ; that it can not bear 
 
20 The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 
 
 all trials, nor endure all shocks. He is watching. He 
 is with us. With a simple, trusting patience we labor 
 on, committing humbly and confidently to Him to fix 
 the place of our ministry, to surround it with such cir- 
 cumstances as will best forward its purpose, to sustain 
 us in its faithful discharge, and to secure its success. 
 
 There is one other thought. We need not be solic- 
 itous about results. We labor for Christ. We preach 
 for his glory. Our desire is to be the means of saving 
 souls. But beyond that, our first, highest, most press- 
 ing object is to glorify Christ. We gain our point by 
 being faithful to him. Ours is labor; results are His. 
 But precious labor it is ; labor that ever brings its own 
 reward, whilst we are feeling the benediction of that 
 loving Christ, and whilst every work of our hands tes- 
 tifies, cc Lord, thou knowest all things ; thou knowest 
 that I love Thee." 
 
The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 21 
 
 ADDRESS TO THE CANDIDATES. 
 
 My Brethren — who are now to be ordained ; 
 
 Approaching this trust, I would have you feel not 
 only its solemnity and responsibilities, but its privi- 
 leges, its preciousness, the inward satisfactions and 
 delights, which more than compensate for all its bur- 
 dens. 
 
 I speak to you all : for the exigencies of the work 
 will call at once upon the deacons to enter on that labor 
 which belongs appropriately to the higher office ; and 
 you, dear brethren, who have already been pastors of 
 the flock, have experienced that blessedness of the pas- 
 toral office to which I now refer. 
 
 You are to be put in trust with the gospel. In the 
 most intimate of all relations, in the intercommunion 
 of sympathizing souls, you are to take of the things of 
 Christ, and show them unto those who shall be waiting 
 to receive from your lips the consolations which cluster 
 round the cross. O ! the joy when you see the first 
 beaming of the sun of righteousness upon the darkness 
 of a soul which has been as if in midnight. When into 
 the chaos of a deep sense of sin and ruin, and of fear 
 
22 The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 
 
 and anticipated wrath, there leaps, by the- word of your 
 message, a first thought that there is mercy in God, 
 through the blood-shedding of his dear Son ! When 
 around that central truth of infinite love, the elements 
 begin to shape themselves into an orderly and beautiful 
 new creation, and all that is glad and excellent in godly 
 living begins to spring into vigorous being to adorn that 
 new-born soul ! What joy it is to point to stable hopes, 
 when worldly disasters and earth-born troubles are shak- 
 ing a soul ! When the devil brings his enginery of temp- 
 tation to bear upon a soul, and swarms of doubts rise, 
 and spiritual fears disturb, O then ! to show the rock, 
 and to help that poor distressed spirit to find there a 
 foundation that stands sure ! When affliction draws a 
 cloud over the heart, and faith, sorely tried by sorrows, 
 can not easily trace the loving countenance, because of 
 the deep shadow of the hand that holds the rod, what joy 
 it is to get that soul away to Calvary, and by the light 
 that is always flashing from the cross, to show that a 
 reconciled Father never is far off from a soul whom he 
 chastens in love. And when the clouds deepen, at sun- 
 set, over the river that must be passed, O ! what joy it 
 is to speak of the Lamb that sitteth on the throne — 
 "The Lamb of God that taketh away the sins of the 
 world" — "whose presence sheds eternal day on those 
 prepared to meet him ;" and, as you speak, to see the 
 eye of faith kindle even in death, the clouds become all 
 radiant, the mists steal away from the river, and a 
 
The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 23 
 
 loving Lord, all glorious in His redeeming might, 
 stands waiting on the further bank ! The soul sees 
 Him, and hastens to be gone. You almost seem to see 
 Him yourself. And in the moment of farewell, there 
 come across, the words of the gracious welcome: "Well 
 done, good and faithful servant !" and you know that 
 the Lord means it for yourself, as well as for the 
 redeemed one, whom you guided surely past the cross, 
 and safely into heaven. 
 
 There is no joy on earth to be compared to that of 
 a faithful pastor, who knows cc Christ crucified," and 
 how to use that truth for the comfort and support of 
 His people. 
 
 And then ; this trusteeship brings yourself so near to 
 Christ and to the Holy Spirit ! A trustee is always 
 in most intimate communion with those for whom he 
 exercises his trust. As for all believers, so for you 
 especially, there is access to the Lord whose message 
 you minister; and to that Holy Ghost who permits, 
 authorizes, and strengthens you to imitate his office, 
 and work with Him, whilst you take of the things of 
 Christ and show them unto men. Of all our privileges 
 this is chief: nearness of access, intimacy of fellowship. 
 Use it, dear brethren ! Use it freely. Live within the 
 precious influences of Jesus' presence. Drink deeply 
 into the spirit of His love. Realize the grace and 
 power of the Holy Ghost. Place all your dependence 
 there. That is the unction you need. A heart full of 
 
24 The Trusteeship of the Gospel. 
 
 devotion to Christ, whom you feel has bought you with 
 His blood, and words taught by the spirit and followed 
 by His power. These will render the exercise of your 
 trusteeship an ever present joy. 
 
 May the God of all grace fill you with that joy, 
 through Jesus Christ our Lord !