JAwv 25

"THE ELDERS THAT RUIE ^Wfl:'

A SERMON

.*s.>

CLASSIS OF RARITAN

AT NORTH BRANCH, N. J.,

BY
Rev. CORNELIUS H. EDGAR, D.D.

9m futfe:
BAKER & GODWIIT, PRINTERS,
PKINTING-HOUSE SQUARE.
1868.

The following sermon was preached at the stated Spring Session of
Olassis, and is published at their request and expense. It was " Resolved
to put a copy in every family within the bounds of Classis."

"The Elders that rule well." — I. Tim. v. 17.
These words do not state a proposition, but they
contain and clearly suggest three distinct and great
ideas. It is for the purpose of presenting these truths
in my sermon before Classis, as its retiring President,
that the words announced have been chosen. You
anticipate me in supposing that the topic for this occa
sion is the OFFICE AND DUTIES OE THE RULING ELDER.
I do not recollect, in the fourteen years of my connec
tion with the mother Classis of New Brunswick, and
with this its daughter, that any preacher has discoursed
on this subject. I would prefer to leave this important
matter to other and abler minds, but as no one has
spoken specially upon it, and as it has long lain as a
burden upon my own mind, I feel it to be my duty to
call attention to it. I ask a patient and candid hearing
of all present, particularly of the Pastors and Ruling
Elders. I do not propose an exhaustive treatment,
aiming rather to stir up the minds of the Elders of our
Classis than to instruct or to discuss.

There are three lines of thought in our text :
First. There is a divinely constituted government
in the Christian Church,—" The Elders that rule?
Second. The government of the Church is com
mitted to Elders, — " The Elders that rule."
Third. It is incumbent on the Elders to administer
discipline and to magnify their office, — "The Elders
that rule well?
I. There is Government in the Church — the Elders
that rule. In all organizations, officers, rules and pen
alties are necessary. The Church is no exception.
Although it was divinely instituted, and although its
constitution was given by inspiration, its members are
human — its instrumentalities are operated by imperfect
beings. We have no reason to fear as to the perpetuity
and ultimate purity and triumph of the Church, for
her founder and defender is divine, and has declared
that the gates of hell shall not prevail against her.
The Prophets do not live forever. The Apostles have
left no successors. Members added from time to time
pass away. But the Church still lives, — lives because
her Head is the eternal Son of God. The materials,
however, are imperfect. Imperfect, then, not as to in
stitution nor constitution, but as to the materials of
which it is composed, it is necessary that the organiza
tion of the Church be protected by a government with
in itself. This necessity lies in the fact that its mem
bers are sinful and mortal. Besides, the Church has

active duties to perform. Every member has a mission
besides securing his own salvation. The Kingdom of
Heaven must be extended. The gospel must be
preached everywhere. The truth must be printed and
distributed. The Church must carry the light to the
dark places of the earth. There must of course be
concerted and organic action as well as individual and
independent action in order to secure efficiency. Organ
ization of human and therefore erring elements necessi
tates rules ; rules imply authority ; authority implies
discipline. Moreover, the Christian Church holds to
definiteness of doctrinal statements and agreement in
views and purposes. The Church, either in the catholic
or in a local sense, is not a mere association holding no
clearly defined convictions, (a loose, broad Church,) but
is a body of Christians agreeing in their beliefs as to
things essential. It is a close corporation electing its
own members and successors. Now, bearing in mind,
notwithstanding its divine origin, and the promise and
guidance and presence of its divine Head, and its con
tinuance in spite of the opposition it is ever encounter
ing, that its members are imperfect human beings, you
see it is essential that it have kets to open its doors to
proper applicants, and to keep out the unconverted,
and to "put away" from its communion those whose
beliefs are heretical and whose walk is disorderly.
Reaching this conclusion upon general principles,
we are confirmed in the same by the teachings of the
Master. Jesus Christ is represented as bearing the
kevSj_as opening and shutting. A key is a symbol

signifying authority, separation, opening, barring out,
value, and safe-keeping, &c, all which is the prerogative
of Christ. He who holds by right, whether original or
derived, the key of a house, is to all just intents and
proper purposes, the defender of the house. Jesus, the
proprietor, commits the use of the keys of his house
on earth to the authorities which he has ordained in his
house, for the protection, edification, and comfort of his
family. " The keys are the preaching of the holy gospel
and Christian discipline." We know that it is the will
of the founder of the Church tbat there should be dis
cipline in the Church, and that it should not only have
the right but feel the obligation of exercising its author
ity as derived from him. He says to Peter (the first-
called, the oldest, the most demonstrative and out
spoken, the accepted and probably the elected chief of
the Apostles), "I will give unto thee the keys of the
Kingdom of Heaven." Which words, by the way,
are clearly prophetic, and were probably only so designed,
and had their actual fulfilment in the fact that Peter did
open the Kingdom of Heaven on the day of Pentecost
to thousands of Jews, and opened it, first of all the Apos
tles, to the Gentiles in the case of Cornelius. Christ
says the same thing to all the Apostles that he had
said to Peter, « Whosesoever sins ye remit they are re
mitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain they
are retained,"— meaning of course not that any man can
forgive sins (for that is God's sole prerogative), but the
Apostles would be inspired and were authorized to
state the terms on which sin can be forgiven. This is

the key of preaching. We learn from this and from many
other pertinent texts, that He who bears the keys com
mits the use of it to authorized men. The other key is
Discipline. The use of this is also given to the Church.
Thus, Christ directs that offences be told to the Church,
and if the offender neglect to hear the Church, he is to
be treated as though he were no longer a member of
the Church — " a heathen man and a publican." Disci
pline was enjoined upon the Church by the Apostles
acting under divine commission. Paul urges it upon
the Church of Corinth, — " Now I have written unto
you not to keep company if any man that is called a
brother, — be he a fornicator, or covetous, or an idolator,
or a railer, or a drunkard, or an extortioner, — with such
an one, no not to eat ; therefore put away from you
that wicked person." He says, " a man that is an
heretic, after the first and second admonition, reject. If
any man obey not our word by this epistle, .note that
man and have no company with him, that he may be
ashamed." He directs that a certain offender be " deliv
ered unto Satan," *. e. put out of the Church into the
world. He directs that in certain circumstances an ex
cluded member should be again received, — thus, "suf
ficient to such a man is this punishment which was in
flicted of many ; so that contrariwise ye ought rather to
forgive him, lest perhaps such an one should be swallowed
up of overmuch sorrow." The foregoing passages and
others that might be quoted, show that discipline was
instituted by Christ, and was exercised in the Church.
It follows, if discipline was in the divine constitution
2

10
of the Church, — if it was exercised by others than the
Apostles in the times of the Apostles, — if the Church
is an organization composed of human materials far
from perfect, — if the Church, like any other society,
ought to have the right to protect itself against error
and immorality, and to perpetuate itself, that this
power of the key of government still remains in the
Church. Being, therefore, a part of the divine plan, —
being one of the keys, it is as really for edification as
the key of preaching. The authority which ordained
the latter instituted the former. Discipline and preach
ing alike stand on the foundation of the appointment
of the Head of the Church.
II. The Government of the Church is Committed
to Elders—" the Elders that rule." I do not propose
to state in full the' argument for Presbyterianism as the
New Testament form of church government. If the
text were an isolated one bearing on this subject, it
ought to be received as decisive. What can it mean if
not that to Elders is committed, in the constitution
given by Christ, the key of discipline? The model
clearly traceable in the Acts and the Epistles is the
synagogue and not the temple. In the synagogue there
was a plurality of Elders. We find evidence, or an in
timation, in the churches organized in the times of the
Apostles, of a body of Elders, and that the members
are instructed to submit to their authority. The Elders
were enjoined and exhorted to discharge the duties of

11
their office with firmness, tenderness, and with constant
and conscientious regard to the edification of the flocks
over which the Holy Ghost has made them overseers.
A very few texts is all that we have time for, and will
suffice to reassure us that the Presbyterian method is
the method laid down in the New Testament. " When
they had ordained them Elders in every church.
He sent to Ephesus and called the Elders of the church,
and said unto them, Take heed unto all the flock over
which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers.
Call for the Elders of the church. . . Set in order
the things that are wanting and ordain Elders in every
city. . . Obey them that have the rule over you. . .
Let the Elders that rule well be counted worthy of
double honor. . . &c, &c." From these and kindred
passages we cannot fail to see that there was an order
of officers whose duty was to rule.
This is our method, and we like it. We like it be
cause it is best. We also like it, and are obliged to pre
fer and use it, because it is Scriptural. It is a happy
medium between monarchy, absolute or modified, as in
the Papacy or Episcopacy, on the one hand, and the op
posite extreme of democracy, as in Independency or
Congregationalism. Taking things as they average,
Presbytery is best fitted for the church, combining what
is best in the other systems. It is admirably adapted
to the purposes for which it was instituted. It is com
petent, when fully understood and properly operated,
to any of the purposes contemplated in the organization
of Christian people in a Church.

12
What has been said prepares the way for what re
mains to be said, viz. :
III. Elders ought to Magnify their Office —
" the Elders that rule well?
Discipline being divinely instituted, is a means of
edification, and ought to be exercised. Whatever be
longs, either directly or constructively, to the office of
overseeing the flock, ought to be done, or at least at
tempted to be done, by the ruling Elders. They must
aim and labor to keep the church sound in the faith.
pure in morals, fervent in piety, active and painstaking
and patient in well-doing. With all watchfulness, dili
gence, faithfulness and love, they must exhort and warn
and rebuke the souls for which they watch with all
long-suffering and doctrine. But notwithstanding the
use of all gentler means, cases will arise requiring severer
treatment. The deportment of some members may be
such that nothing short of censure or suspension or ex
communication will answer the ends which the church
must ever keep in view, viz. her own purity and honor,
and the edification, comfort, and usefulness of her mem
bers. Discipline, even in its extremest measure, is a
prerogative of the church, as we have seen, both by first
principles in the case of any organized association, and
by the constitution given by the Divine founder of the
church. This is committed to the Elders whose pre
scribed duty it is to rule, and watch, and oversee, and
devise for spiritual good of the members. These duties
are incumbent upon them, and these they must perform

13
— even the severer ones when necessary — and this for
the effect upon the orthodox and orderly to keep them
in the line of truth and duty ; also for the purpose of
restraining and bringing back the wandering ; and also
that the heretical and incorrigibly immoral may be " put
away" from among them. Some of their duties are
judicial, and to be performed in their joint capacity as a
court. But as Elders, each is also in office when not
convened as a court, and should feel and exercise a care
over all the members. Each should magnify his office
not for his own sake, but for the office' sake. Cases of
serious inquiry, of backsliding, of sickness, &c, should
engage their personal prompt attention, and be reported
when necessary to the Pastor. It is especially their
duty to sustain the meetings for prayer and to preside
when the Pastor is absent, or when he deputes to that
service one of his co-partners in the care of the flock.
They should "give their suggestions and advice to the
Minister, and support him with their influence, and de
fend his reputation, and extend the usefulness of his
labors." Comprehensively, it is the province of ruling
Elders to take the oversight of the flock. Personally
they must be an example to all in holy living.
Not in the least in a censorious spirit, but in deep
sorrow that it is so, I am constrained to give it as my
conviction that the office is not magnified by all who
hold it. I wish I could believe that a majority honor it
as it should be honored, and fulfil all its heavy respon
sibilities. Discipline in the sense of purging the church

14
of members who bring it no strength and are the occa
sion of scandal, how much it is neglected ! Supervision,
suggestion, exhortation, conPrwance for the unifying and
edifying of the body of Christ, how superficially and
how perfunctorily performed, or totally ignored ! Of
course I cannot be personal, therefore let me not be
counted any man's enemy if I speak the truth, for I
speak the truth in love and sorrow. I shall not attempt
to give all the specifications of the charge that Elders
do not rule as well as they might. Suffice to call atten
tion to a few particulars, viz. : The irregular attendance
of many members upon stated meetings for worship and
instruction, and this without the notice, exhortation, or
reproof of the overseers, whereas a second absence ought
to be noticed and inquired into; the loose morality
and even scandalous lives of members technically in
"good standing;" the worldliness of some who show
by their conduct that they prefer vain amusements and
recreations of doubtful propriety to places and services
of devotion; the niggardliness and no-conscience of
some members who are known to have ample means, as
to the Christian obligation of an adequate support of
the church at their own doors and of our educational
and missionary operations ( — who knows of a case of dis
cipline for this species of idolatry V) ; the absence of the
domestic altar from households where the head of the
family is a communicant; the evident indifference of
some whether the impenitent are saved or lost ; the lack
of loyalty to their own church on the part of those who
drift hither and thither, or idle or drowse away holy

15
time when their own place of worship is open, feeling
no conscientious concern to hold up the hands of their
Pastor and to strengthen their own tribe in Israel; the
difficulty or even impossibility of putting out of some
churches a drunkard, or one who is known to be tricky
in business. At least one or more of such things exist
in some churches. These and the like are matters which
come within the office whose duties we are considering.
Pastors, Elders, and members, know whether one or
more of these specifications is true in their respective
localities. These things call for some measure of disci
pline, and wherever it is not enforced, there this key is
lost or rusted in the lock. Where such is the case,
there the Elders do not rule well.
If discipline is neglected, it is well, seeing that it is
divinely instituted and a means of grace, to inquire into
the reasons why the office of the Elder is not more mag
nified. I propose a few items in the solution of this
problem. 1. Ignorance, or want of thorough conviction as to
the origin and duties of the office. How else, supposing
the incumbent to be a good man, can you account for
the low estimate some seem to have of an office as divine
in its institution as the office of Pastor? How many
Elders in a hundred is it safe to suppose can give the
argument for Presbyterianism against Episcopacy or
Independency ? What percentage of the officers of our
churches have read a treatise on their office ? What
proportion of our Elders in any church or classis are in

16
the habit of testing the sermons they hear by our stand
ards in order to judge whether the preacher is orthodox ?
I would like to have my impression proven erroneous,
that if all the Elders of all our classes in and out of
office were questioned, not every one could answer yes
to these three questions, viz. : Do you own a copy of
the constitution of our church? Have you read it
through ? Are you daily studying the Scriptures and
our standards with prayer and purpose better to know
and better to do the work which your fellow-members
imposed upon you and which you accepted and prom
ised to perform ? If any man cannot say yes to these
questions, he is not duly qualified for his place, and
ought immediately to begin to prepare himself for
ruling well.
Where ignorance stands in the way of efficiency, it
is the duty of the Pastor to instruct the people, and of
the incumbents in office to inform themselves. It is the
duty of the members to receive instruction in these
matters meekly, and to uphold those upon whom, by
Christ's appointment and their own choice, so great a
burden rests.
2. Another element in the solution of the problem
of the low condition of discipline, is the fear of man.
It is not a pleasant thing to bring charges against a
neighbor and fellow-member. It is sometimes unprofit
able in business interests. The offender may stir up
bitter feeling against the officer. He may thwart in
business the Elder who takes the initiative in discipline.

17
I wish the fear of man did not stand in the way of the
discharge of duty in this respect in any instance. The
way to overcome this fear of man is a full commitment
to duty on the part of rulers in the house of God. A
good man ought not to be afraid of anything but God
and of not doing his whole duty.
8. Another reason for the large non-use of this
means of edification is the low standard of spirituality.
The health of that church is feeble where members con
tinue " in good and regular standing" whose conversa
tion is not such as becometh the Gospel of Christ. As
in the average vigorous condition of the body a slight
sickness or eruption is soon overcome, so when the spir
itual health of a church is good, marked irregularities
will be speedily and effectively handled. The offending
member will be at once exhorted, or censured, or sus
pended, or excommunicated, as the case may require.
4. With deference I add, with a settled conviction
of the strength of my position, that our excellent system
of rotation in office is abused to the detriment of the
efficiency of the Eldership. Tn some localities it has
come to be a matter of expectation with the male mem
bers, that, as a matter of course, they have a right to
have their turn of being rotated into the Deaconship,
and, in due time, into the Eldership. This requires fre
quent changes in order to give each his turn and to
serve all alike. Consequently, the incumbent remains
so short a time in office, that he hardly gets familiar

18
with its duties when his term expires and another new
man is called to his place. Practice makes perfect,
according to the proverbial saying. Our system is the
best ever devised. A limited term of service— laying
aside the functions though still holding the office, is an
improvement upon the plan of service for life. It ena
bles us to get rid of an inefficient officer without the
trouble and commotion of turning him out. Enduring
the affliction quietly and with patience, time soon re
lieves us. And the best thing that can be said for our
system is, that it enables us to utilize the ripest piety
and the soundest judgment in the church for the service
of the church. It by no means follows, however, that
because we can let an Elder pass out of office in two
years, that therefore we must do so, parting with a
known good one in order to put another, even though
he be unqualified, in his place, just because one has held
the office and the other has not. In electing members
of Consistory, the question has been asked, not as it
ought to be, who is the best qualified? but as the ques
tion ought not to be, who has not yet been in Consis
tory? Is not this an abuse of our excellent system ?
There is nothing in our system which requires us not
to keep an Elder who rules well in office, and nothing
that requires us to give every member a turn in office.
Let us look about always for our best men ; and let us
be training all for the office, that when called to it they
will rule well and not prove novices or cyphers.
Thus an attempt has been made to solve the less
than normal development and application of the power

19
for good inherent in the office of Elder. The efficiency
of the preaching Elder will be much enhanced by the
full discharge of all the duties of his co-partners in over
seeing the flock. This matter of discipline, in the usual
sense of punishment, is a mighty power for good.
Elimination is sometimes the best process for develop
ment of strength. If numbers are diminished by " put
ting away" those whose lives show that they are not of
the church, though in it, the power of those who remain
will be increased. Gideon's three hundred men were
more to him than the coward and laggard crowd which
he sent to their homes. The three hundred who stood
with Leonidas at Thermopylae were a wall against Per
sia's hosts. Ten converted, praying, earnest members
of a church, are stronger, alone and separated, than
counted in with ten times that number in full commu
nion and regular standing, ninety of whom know
nothing of the power of religion in the soul. The best
treatment of some diseases is the knife, the skillful and
timely use of which sometimes promotes the health of
the patient.
The various literary, benevolent, political, and con
vivial clubs put the Church to shame. If their disci
pline were as lax as that of some Churches, these asso
ciations would not hold together as tenaciously as they
do. And if the Church were as willing to be drilled, and
were as well drilled, and as unified, and as zealous,
and as vigilant, and as fully informed as to its constitu
tion, as fully set upon its mission, and as consistent in
magnifying the offices which her divine Head has

20
given her, fewer of her members would be found in
societies which attract much attention, take much time,
absorb much money, use much energy, engage much
thought and affection. Is not all that attention and time
and money and energy and thought and affection the
property of the Church ? Has not " Holiness to the
Lord" been written — or if not, ought it not to be
inscribed upon all that a Christian is and has ? I can
not understand how a Christian has the time or money
or thought or energy to spare to be invested in these
outside societies, especially as the Church having the
Son of the Most High for its founder and President,
was established (besides the chief purpose of saving
the soul) for purposes proposed by most of the best of
these associations. I knew a young man who was
spending much time in organizing and operating a
Young Men's Christian Association, who was seldom at
the Lecture or Prayer Meeting. I say not a word
against such societies, nor would I intimate aught to the
disparagement of this young man's zeal or piety. But
his case shows how some assume burdens which exhaust
the strength and time that ought to be invested in dis
charging the duties incumbent on them in their position
as members of the Church. It is no excuse for neglect
ing our duties in the house of God to say we were
attending meetings of some " society." I knew an
Elder — an excellent man — who, while sitting as a mem
ber of Presbytery, asked to leave before the close of
the session in order to attend a Temperance convention.
We would not say a word against such societies, but

21
cannot agree with that good and mistaken man that
their claims are superior to those of the Church, or that
their machinery is any better for making and keeping
men moral, benevolent or temperate. I thought, as the
Elder urged to be allowed to leave, of the proposition
of Sanballat to Nehemiah to meet him in the plain of
Ono ; and I said, " O no ! You are doing a great work,
and you ought not to go down." A Pastor told me
that one of his Elders was parading the streets with
sash and banner on the Lord's day, while the services
of the Sanctuary were going on. A clergyman berobed
in the dress of a Free-Mason said to me, You ought to
belong to the order. My reply was, God has ordained
three institutions, and I infer that Infinite Wisdom
thinks these sufficient ; these are the Family, the Church,
and the State ; I belong to these, and if I do my duty in
each, there is no necessity, nor have I time, nor money,
nor thought, nor energy, nor influence to spare to invest
in any other. And I say here that these God-given
societies are sufficient. If these are fully and properly
operated, the moral and social and literary and religious
interests of the people of God, and of their children,
will be more rapidly and more permanently advanced,
than by scattering the energies of Christians. If the
regenerated professors of religion fully understood the
Heaven-given constitution of the Church, clearly per
ceived her high mission, thoroughly developed her ex
pansive capabilities, skillfully utilized her adaptedness
to all the social and religious necessities of man, un
reservedly invested all the talents, time, and resources

22;
of her members, speedily would her star ascend to the
zenith, the acknowledged queen of all the stars which
affect to illumine and beautify the night of our sojourn
here ; while, as a consequence, the societies, associations,
and clubs for benevolent, religious, educational, and
social objects would pass to far inferior positions, or
pass away out of sight below the horizon. Christ's
society has for its object the renewing, elevating, feed
ing, training, and symmetrical development of the
human soul. What hinders it, either in its comprehen
sive design or in its powerful and yet simple machinery,
from being a literary, a benevolent, a social association,
as well as one for religious instruction and worship ?
Why cannot and why should not social reunions of the
congregation be held under the auspices of the Consis
tory ? The society of Christ must make itself attrac
tive. This it can do, not by lowering the standard of
truth and duty, but by enlarging the present circum
scribed views of its mission. If social gatherings and
festive recreations are necessary (and they are as need
ful in their place and proportion as air and bread and
devotion and divine truth), why should not such meet
ings occur under the auspices of those who are chosen
and set apart to watch over souls ? It is worth while
for those who would magnify, their office by ruling well
to consider whether it is not within their province to
see that suitable amusements and recreations for the
congregation, old and young, are provided, so as to fore
stall the attractions and avoid the. fearful risks of the
theatre, the ball-room, card-playing, horse-racing, drink-

23
ing saloons, and gambling hells. Our young people
need to be and will be amused. For lack of safe recre
ation they will betake themselves to places and pas
times of doubtful and even of ruinous kinds. Christian
homes must be genial and attractive. There should be
gatherings for recreation of those who are accustomed to
meet for worship. Places and pastimes and festivities of
doubtful character are a rebuke to those families and
those congregations which do not furnish the proper
pabulum for this instinctive hunger of the young for
amusement and social intercourse. On the portals of
theatres and ball-rooms and drinking saloons, I seem to
read in large and gilded letters, " The children of this
world are in their generation wiser than the children of
light." " It is lawful to learn from an enemy."
It is a sign of better times and of increasing wis
dom, and of expanding views as to the comprehensive
objects to be contemplated in the banding together of
Christians (" Jerusalem is a city that is compact to
gether "), that Church parlors and Church " sociables "
and tea-parties and sewing circles and reading-rooms
are coming into use. These will in time be considered,
I have no doubt, as much a part of the machinery as
the Lecture-room and Prayer-meeting. These will pre
vent much evil and prove a bond of strength. These
will be safe to the young, pleasant to all, and, construc
tively, will prove a means of grace to the congregation.
There is a feature somewhat characteristic of the
Christian activities of our day, which should be consid-

24
ered in its relation to the office of the ruling Elder. It
is lauded and stimulated as one of the best signs of the
times, and as an excellent and indispensable instru
mentality for the rapid extension of the kingdom of
heaven. It is questionable whether it is as sound in
theory, and as reliable in working, and as productive
of permanent good as some claim for it. I allude to
what is called lay effort in the form of exhortation or
preaching. This kind of instrumentality is admissible
in certain circumstances, and cannot be wholly pro
scribed. But this as an organized method, — this as
a permanent piece of church machinery, — this as equiva
lent to or in comparison with the keys which the Head
of the house has put into the hands of the Elders, both
those who rule and those who labor in word and doc
trine, is not to be regarded as indispensable, nor to be
unconditionally approved. This increased activity in
the laity is noticeable since the revival of 1857, and is
an omen of good. But is it not trenching upon the ap
pointed spheres of the ordained overseers (Elders and
Preachers) for private members to conduct public ser
vices ? Do they who most insist that strictly private
members shall speak in the way of exhortation, con
sider that this implies that the Elders are either not
awake to their duties, or are not qualified by office, or
are not sufficient in numbers to do the work which
Christ has devolved upon them ? To urge and insist
upon the laity ( — i. e. those not in office,) to " preach," is
either a reflection upon the incompetency of those in
office, or upon the office itself as not adapted to all the

25
ends designed. We take the ground, not that a lay
man shall not speak or pray in public, but that ruling
Elders are competent by the office they hold, and by
their call to it by their brethren, and sufficient in num
bers to do, ordinarily, all the work needful, in co-opera
tion with the Pastor, in conducting meetings for prayer
and exhortation. It is worth considering whether by a
practical ignoring of distinctions between an Elder and
a layman, and by a popular endorsement of what is
styled lay preaching, the effect will not be to set aside
the office of Elder and to bring the ministry of the
Word into comparative contempt. Let preachers preach,
and there will be less danger of diluting the cream of the
gospel with the water of pointless " talk." Let Elders
magnify their office, and there will be less danger of
disorder and error in the " house of God — the Church
of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth."
May all our officers be " good men and full of the
Holy Ghost," and they will be "doers of wonders
among the people." Let them honor and magnify their
office as ordained by Christ for the edifying of his body,
and let them respect themselves as dignified by it. Let
them rule well, and let the Church honor them with
confidence and affection, and sustain them with their
sympathy and their co-operation, their endorsement and
their prayers. We cannot expect the Church to put
forth all her strength except as she works through the
constitution which the Lord Jesus Christ has given her,
and until she develops all her capabilities, and utilizes

26
all her powers, and invests for the moral elevation of
the world all her resources. Nor can we doubt that
when she, through her Pastors and Elders and Deacons
and members, does all her duty, she will " look forth as
the morning, fair as the moon, clear as the sun, and ter
rible as an army with banners."

Note.— The Olassis requested me to introduce a paragraph
or to add a note, to show that Elders and Deacons may greatly
promote the efficiency of Pastors by endeavoring to secure such
an increase of their salaries as to make them " free from worldly
cares and avocations." — |§|r'See the words of the " Call."
I must decline the discussion of this topic, and only report
some of the remarks made on the subject in Classis.
The inadequate support of the ministry is deterring young men
from entering it, and thus ere long the cause of Christ will suffer un
less there is reform in this matter. Though a delicate subject, it is
time for Pastors to speak out, not only for their own sake but much
more for Christ's sake.
The laborer is worthy of his hire, and as God has ordained that
they who serve the altar should live of it, ministers foregoing all
other means of support have a right to a comfortable maintenance.
While the hearers receive twice or thrice as much as they for
merly did for their produce and pay in proportion for the necessaries
of life, Preachers pay the increased price for what they consume, and

27
do not receive proportioned increase of compensation for their serv
ices. Is this justice?
Some Pastors are weighed down with pressing pecuniary embar
rassments, while probably very few of the officers or members ever
ask them if they are able to "make ends meet."
The average meagre support of ministers does not allow any mar
gin to be laid aside for old age or for widows and orphans.
Considering the expense of their education, their average talents
and learning, and that their whole time is given to this service, there
is no class of workers so poorly paid.
A congregation is as much bound to give an adequate salary to one
who has funds of his own as to one who has not, because a thing is
worth what it is worth whether a rich man or a poor man has it to
•dispose of.

With these scraps of what was said, I excuse myself from a
further compliance with the request of my brethren, praying
and expecting that the discourse and these postscript hints will
not be wholly ineffectual in accomplishing some good.
May the Head of the church put it into the minds of all
who heard and of all who shall read the foregoing, to hold up
the hands and to cheer the hearts of their Pastors by doing
what they can to aid them in their peculiar work of preparing
souls for heaven, and to keep them " free from worldly cares
and avocations."
C. H. E.

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