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even as He hath said, through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Now to the Father, to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, three Persons in one God, let us ascribe all honour, glory, might, majesty, and dominion, henceforth and for ever. Amen.

SERMON XIV.

ON EMBER WEEK.

1 CORINTHIANS iv. 1.

"Let a man so account of us as of the ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God.”

THE words of the text require no explanation, except it be necessary to say that by the expression

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mysteries of God," are meant His word and sacraments, the administration of which He has committed to the clergy as His stewards. The subject to which the passage directly leads us, is the attention and obedience to the warnings and advice of the ministers of religion, which is due to them by virtue of their office, "as ministers of Christ, and stewards of the mysteries of God."

In approaching this subject, the first thing connected with it that demands our attention is, the proof which it affords of the lovingkindness of God towards men, and of His anxiety for their salvation.

For, this being His only wish with regard to them, He has not only condescended oftentimes to reveal His will to them, by the prophets, and inspired writers, and by His Son; and caused these His revelations to be preserved, and handed down for the benefit of all men to the end of time; but to guard against all possible cases whereby that measure might be rendered of no avail, He has also set apart, ordained, and sent in all ages, His ministers and messengers to enforce, by word of exhortation, advice, and reproof, the commands and instructions contained in His Holy Word. He seems to have been at especial pains, if I may so speak, to place within the reach of men, every help and assistance which might further their progress to eternal life. For whereas His word, as set forth in Scripture, might be laid aside and forgotten; or men might be unable to read it, or, when read, might be at a loss to understand it, and so it become of none effect; He has appointed a class of His servants to be a kind of living witnesses to His truth, whose office and duty it is to "meditate upon these things," and give themselves wholly to the study of them, that, by the aid and guidance of His Holy Spirit, they may be enabled to offer warning and advice, or comfort and encouragement, to all who stand in need of it. So that, if any man be inclined to plead ignorance as an excuse for his

' 1 Tim. iv. 15.

sinful or careless way of living, let him know that the plea of ignorance will not avail him, because, after all that God has done, his ignorance is not of necessity but of choice. For if men cannot read God's Word, yet they can hear it read, as it is at least every Lord's day, by those who are appointed for that purpose. And if they cannot understand it when it is read, they know that there are those, the clergymen in every parish, whose duty and whose happiness it is, to give them every assistance and every explanation which is in their power. For the goodness of God, the King of that heavenly country to which we are travelling, is shown in this: that He not only has provided all the travellers (if I may use the expression) with a road-book, or book of directions as to the course they are to pursue, but has stationed guides for them, to whose care they are consigned, and who are willing and anxious, if men will but suffer them, to accompany them on their way; and to whose counsel and advice they may have recourse on every occasion of doubt and difficulty.

Admiring, therefore, as we are bound to do, the goodness of God in thus providing for the spiritual wants of His people, and affording us all the necessary means of instruction by sending His messengers, we come in the next place to consider the attention which is due to them. Here, first, it should be observed, that this attention to them, as ministers of religion, is due only in matters of reli

gion. In every thing whereby the interests of the soul are, or may be, affected, it is theirs to offer advice; and it is the duty of those to whom the advice is offered, to receive and "obey' it." Provided, secondly, that it be agreeable to the word of God. For out of this they are to instruct the people, according to what is said in Ezekiel, "Son of man, I have set thee a watchman unto the house of Israel, therefore thou shalt hear the word at my mouth, and warn them from me." And therefore at their ordination they are required to promise, that they "will teach nothing as required of necessity to eternal salvation, but that which they shall be persuaded may be concluded and proved by the Scripture;" and to this purpose St. Paul so earnestly exhorts Timothy, whom he had made minister, to "take heed to the doctrine," and "continue in” it, because that by so doing, he would "both save himself, and them that heard him3;" and in the same manner also he warns Titus, that he should "speak the things which become sound doctrine." Now if it be asked how the people are to know whether the things which their ministers teach are such as "become sound doctrine," such as "may be proved by the Scripture," such as they are bound to obey; to those who can read, the answer is plain, if they are in doubt, let them imitate the conduct of

1 Heb. xiii. 17.

2

Ezek. xxxiii. 7.

1 Tim. iv. 16.

4 Tit. ii. 1.

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