"mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit " of heaviness; that they might be called trees of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, that "he might be glorified*." Is our work great, our strength small, are our difficulties many? and can we not trust in the gracious word of the great captain of salvation?" Fear not, for I am "with thee; be not dismayed, for I am thy God: "I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee;

yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of

my righteousness. Behold, all they that were "incensed against thee shall be ashamed and "confounded; they shall be as nothing; and they "that strive with thee shall perisht," Our best intended and most painful services may be misunderstood, misrepresented, neglected by men, perhaps be requited with hatred and reproach; "ne“vertheless, let us, my beloved brethren, be "stedfast, immoveable, always abounding in the "work of the Lord; for so much as we know that "our labour shall not be in vain in the Lord."

In the second place, our station in the church of Christ, is described as being over our people in the Lord. A pre-eminence both dangerous and painful: a pre-eminence little calculated to inflame our pride, but very much so to alarm our fears, and

* Isa. lxi. 1, 2, 3.. † Ibid. xli. 10, 11.

to engage our deepest attention, and to put in motion all our active powers. To be over the people, is to lead the way in every duty, to stand in the front rank in every danger, to watch over them when they go to rest, to warn them of every approach of the foe, every visit of the chief captain-to check the forward, to incite the lingerers, to recal the devious, to encourage the fearful, to help the weak, to tend the sick, to. sooth the dying. But this is not all-we are over them in all these difficult and dangerous respects, not only in things of a spiritual nature, but in the Lord-responsible not to them only, but to the great Judge of all-we" watch for their souls, as they that must give account." What an awful and affecting situation this! my friends!

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arduous station indeed! to stand betwixt two parties, whose wills are often so contradictory, whose views are so different, whose expectations from us are so opposite, that to obey the one is to offend the other, that to be approved of the one is to be condemned of the other-to arm the whole enmity of the human heart against ourselves on the one hand, or have the blood of souls required at our hands on the other-to be hated of men, or rejected of God. When we think of this, must we not sensibly feel, what need of wisdom we have, yea what zeal, yea

what boldness, yea what meekness and patience, yea what undaunted resolution, yea what elevation above the world, yea what converse with heaven? Who that considers the worth of a soul, the vast import of heaven and hell—the majesty of a holy and righteous God, would venture to be a minister? Who that loves mankind, is ambitious of shining among the sons of light, wishes the prosperity of the Redeemer's kingdom, believes and trusts in the grace of the God of Mercy, would not aspire after a station, whose difficulty is more than compensated by the aid that is promised, whose danger is lost in the glory which is to follow ?-In the

Third and last place, A minister's duty is de, scribed, as consisting in admonishing the people -"we beseech you to know them which admo"nish you."-This is a word of gentle import, and seems designed to regulate both the matter and manner of our addresses to the people.They are to be reminded from time to time of the great truths of the gospel, whose intrinsic importance and intimate relation to us are such, that the gentlest hint is sufficient to engage a thinking mind in the serious consideration of them the servant of the Lord must not strive, must not assume airs of authority, must not mag

nify himself. The art of persuasion is his safest, surest weapon. The advice which is obtruded upon us in a magisterial tone, we find ourselves generally disposed to repel, which administered with mildness and condescension, we would have listened to and followed. It is often necessary to reprove—and of all the parts of a friend's and of a minister's duty this is surely the most deli cate, and the most difficult. There is a sort of men who value themselves on their bluntness in reproving-they are some of them very honest, but they generally discover too much of an inclination to gratify their own humour, to obtain the goodwill, or the amendment, of the party reproved. A reproof which is concluded with such words as these; "You may do as you will, I "have done my duty, I have delivered my own "soul," seldom does any good; the matter is wholly marred by the manner, The person I would wish to reform must not be galled, must not be exposed, must not be allowed to suspect that I have any other object in view but his good-by observing an opposite conduct, the reprover, without gaining any thing, will probably lose not only his friend, but what is infinitely worse, his friend's return to virtue. Admonitions from the pulpit should never be so particular as to point out an individual-private admonitions

should be so private, that as in giving alms, our left hand should not know what our right hand doth.

May all of us-pastors and people, be❝ taught "of God, from the least to the greatest, made

wise to salvation," and, "when the chief Shep

"herd shall appear, may we receive together a crown of glory that fadeth not away." Amen and Amen.