66

when "nation shall no more rise up against nation," and the eyes of men be no more pained with the sight of garments rolled in blood"—when the golden chain of the Gospel of peace shall encompass the vast globe on which we live when the undiminished light of Christianity shall rise in full-orbed splendor to the meridian of both hemispheres, and stand as a beacon light to all the surrounding nations of our world. Having thus briefly considered the design of the Gospel ministry, we proceed to notice,

IV. The manner in which the duties of the Gospel ministry are to be performed.

1. It is the business of the faithful minister to preach Christ, in all his offices, as the only Mediator and Savior of sinners: "Christ the power of God, and the wisdom of God," "whom we preach, warning every man, and teaching every man in all wisdom, that we may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus." He must not shun to declare the whole counsel of God, though the world may frown upon him, warning sinners of their danger, and teaching them the way of salvation, as the Spirit of God may give him utterance. He must not be awed by mortal frowns to conceal the word of God, "nor lured by the smiles of men to soften the truth, or smooth his tongue;" but, in the spirit of meekness and humble boldness, urge the whole claims of the Gospel, lift the standard of the cross, invite the penitent sinner to Christ, and, at the same time, press home upon the conscience of the impenitent the claims of Divine justice: "Knowing the terrors of the Lord, we persuade men." He must set life and death before the sinner. To him the word of Lord is as to Isaiah, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgressions, and the house of Jacob their sins." It is his duty uncompromisingly to enter his solemn protest against the sins of the people, both within and without the pale of the Church.

2. The minister of Christ should be strictly correct in all his deportment; and his manner of preaching such as becometh the Gospel of Christ, lest he bring a reproach upon the cause of his divine Master. What is more disgusting than to see a minister of the Gospel of Christ acting in the pulpit as if on a theatrical stage, indulging in low witticisms, in order to court a smile, when he should win a soul, by enforcing, in a grave and dignified manner, the sacred and awful truths of the Gospel? What is more painful to the judicious, sober-minded Christian, than to see a man who professes to be called of God to minister in holy things, resorting to groveling wit, which has a direct tendency to create levity? and how do such ministerial performances appear to the unregenerate? Will they not have but too much ground to assume, that our most holy religion is a mere farce, and the Bible a fabled legend, if such be the true characteristics of the Gospel ministry? But, as the Bible is the word of God, and the religion of Christ eternal truth, will not all the intelligent and the judicious at once unite in the decision, that such things are a mere burlesque upon Christianity, rather than an honest exhibition of it? And it must be admitted by all, that the practice alluded to has a strong tendency to vitiate the taste, and disqualify many, if not all, to receive the preaching of the Gospel in its native simplicity.

How careful, then, should the minister be to avoid every species of groveling, undignified sayings, in the pulpit, that he may be an example worthy of imitation by all who attend upon his ministry! We are aware, however, that some may plead a constitutional peculiarity, in extenuation of the fault we have condemned; but this is, unquestionably, at best, but a lame apology; for, upon such a principle, almost every vice common to fallen human nature might be allowed. It is no difficult matter to detect the futility of all such apologies, as the principle itself carries

with it its own refutation, by calling in question the efficacy of the blood of Christ, which cleanseth from all sin, and by rejecting that faith which purifies the heart and overcomes the world. And how unjustifiable do all such light exhibitions of the Gospel appear, in view of the declarations of the apostle: "Wherefore, seeing we have this ministry, we faint not, but have renounced the hidden things of dishonesty, not walking in craftiness, nor handling the word of God deceitfully, but by manifestation of the truth, commending ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God;" "Therefore, if any man be in Christ he is a new creature; old things are passed away; behold, all things are become new; and all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself, by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation." Now, from the data laid down by the apostle in the above, and many other passages, in reference to the ministerial character, it is no difficult matter to decide the point, that whatever a man inherits by nature which is incompatible with the spirit and genius of the Gospel, ought to, and must be subdued by the grace of God, before he is properly qual ified to minister in holy things.

In conclusion, we need only say, that, of all the subjects which come within the range of human investigation, the Gospel stands pre-eminent, in point of dignity; and, in real worth, it far transcends all others. It has for its immediate author the great Sovereign of the universe, the source of all good; it portrays to man, as in a mirror, his fallen and degraded condition by nature; it points him to the great atonement of Christ as the only remedy, and invites him to look and live; it shows the destructive consequences of sin in the present and future states, and proposes to reward the righteous with life eternal. In a word, it treats of time and eternity, and holds out a lamp to direct man from earth to immortality and eternal blessedness, and claims only to be

treated in a style comporting with its own dignity and excellence of character, in order to the accomplishment of its great designs.

SERMON XXIII.

BY REV. DAVID WHITCOMB.

THE VIRTUOUS WOMAN.

"She openeth her mouth with wisdom; and in her tongue is the law of kindness. She looketh well to the ways of her household, and eateth not the bread of idleness. Her children arise up, and call her blessed; her husband, also, and he praiseth her. Many daughters have done virtuously, but thou excellest them all. Favor is deceitful, and beauty is vain: but a woman that feareth the Lord, she shall be praised. Give her of the fruit of her hands; and let her own works praise her in the gates," Proverbs xxxi, 26-31.

It has ever been a distinguishing feature of revealed religion, in all its dispensations, that it exalts woman, and appreciates her influence in society. Paganism, Mohammedanism, and, we might add, all religions other than revealed, have always degraded her, reducing her to a mere beast of burden, born to be the slave of man's whims and passions, often denying her a spiritual nature, and an immortality. The Bible presents her to us as taken out of man, and, therefore, "bone of his bone, and flesh of his flesh;" designed as a " help meet for him," and to have such a hold upon his affections, that a man should leave father and mother, and cleave unto his wife.

Her influence on society has ever been such, that its character, to a very great degree, has depended upon her. The first impressions, which are always the most abiding, and which usually give character to the whole life, are received from the mother, in the nursery. We speak with enthusiasm of the mother of Moses, Samuel, John the

Baptist, the Wesleys, Edwards, and Washington; and, indeed, a correspondence, in many respects, is found to exist between almost all men who have ever been distinguished for greatness and goodness, and their mothers. The incomparable valor of the Spartans was, to a great degree, derived from their mothers, who, from their infancy, taught them to despise danger; and, when of an age which enabled them to go forth to war, gave them a shield, with the admonition to bring it home to them, or to be brought home on it. As the child is the father of the man," the training up of a child in the way he should go, assures us, that when he is old he will not depart from it. The position and natural relation of the mother to her offspring, must give her a vastly controlling influence in the formation of their character and future destiny.

Revealed religion (and especially Christianity, which is its perfection) has done much for the human race in general; but it has been especially a benefit to woman; and she, in general, has acknowledged the benefit. She ministered of her substance to Christ and his disciples, while engaged in their ministry" she was last at the cross, and first at the sepulchre ;" and the greater number of those who constitute the visible Church being females, is proof of her attachment to revealed religion. To maternal piety the Church is indebted for her most gifted and pious sons.

In the second, fifth, and sixth chapters of this book, the writer has given us a painful description of the baneful effects of impure and vicious women on individuals and society, and, as if to indemnify us, in some sort, for the disagreeable contemplation, has presented us with a fulllength portrait, in this, of a truly virtuous one. The term virtue, in the connection of our text, is not employed in a special, but in a general sense, and is the same as true piety, or religion. Our text is the latter part of this