dually and with caution, lest in his haste he place a stumbling block in the way of those who may not be so far from the kingdom of heaven.

6

At the same time, while we imitate our Lord and Master, Jesus Christ, and the great elders of his church in this respect, we must be on our guard, lest timidity, and not prudence, be the cause of our reserve. The fear of man only bringeth a snare. At certain seasons it is necessary to speak to men, whether they will hear or whether they will forbear,'-' keeping back nothing that is profitable for them,' and declaring to them all the counsel of God.' And since it was not our Lord's purpose to develope completely the Christian dispensation, till the sacrifice which sealed and consummated it had been perfected, the duty of communicating to mankind the glad tidings of salvation, in the fulness of its mysteries, devolved in a great measure on the Apostles. It is to them, therefore, or rather to Christ, who was with them always, and who spake by them, that we

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must look for the authorized mode of delivering those great truths which it was the business of their lives to promulgate. Their practice, so far as the Holy Spirit has revealed it to us in the short history of their labours which the New Testament contains, fully illustrates the duty of labouring to unite the difficult provinces of a faithful ministry on the one hand, and of an acceptable ministry on the other. Their exhortations teach us to commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God'-and their success instructs us that we must 'become all things to all men,' as far as our integrity will permit, that so by any

means we may save some... Conciliation, só long as it does not lead us to compromise our principles, is one of the most productive instruments of ministerial usefulness.

3. Again, if Christ be a progressive teacher of truth, we, who profess to study in his school, must take care that our attainments be in like manner progressive. We must choose the church of Thyatira, rather than that of Ephesus, for

our pattern. than our first, instead of such as will expose us to the charge of having left our first love 3. Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let us go on unto perfection; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith towards God, of the doctrine of baptisms, and of laying on of hands, and of resurrection of the dead, and of eternal judgement. And this will we do, if God permit 4.

Our last works must be more

Such however is the nature of man, that no part of a minister's duty will more require the exercise of a sound discretion than the superintendence of the individual progress of his congregation. In his private întercourse with the several members of his flock he will experience no difficulty in proportioning the subject of his advice to their respective cases; but his judgement will be often subjected to a severe trial in the choice of topics for his public ministration, where hearers of different capacity and growth

3 Rev. ii. 4, 19.

4 Heb. v. 1

in grace are assembled together. Expressions which may be suitable for one state of mind will be often very dangerous for another; in awakening the thoughtless, or rousing the profligate to a sense of their guilt, the bruised reed may be broken, or the smoking flax quenched; the impenitent may take to themselves the promises of mercy intended for repentant sinners, while the poor in spirit, and they that mourn, may be discouraged by unseasonable denunciations of the vengeance of God proclaimed against all unrighteousness.

In this respect, again, God's gradual revelation of himself to his church, will prove the safest example. Care must be taken not to overfill the vessels; but, at the same time, the sloth or inattention of some of the members must not become a hindrance to the progress of the whole body, and none must be left without that portion of meat in due season, which is needful for the support of their spiritual life.

Above all, the dispensers of the Gospel will always remember the duty of prayer for the im

provement of those who are committed to their charge. Christ prayed much for his disciples; and the chief subject of St. Paul's prayers for the churches was the same as that of St. Peter for his brethren, that they should grow in grace and in the knowledge of their Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ.

4. There is, lastly, another point of view in which our Lord's treatment of those whom he was gradually instructing in the mysteries of his dispensation deserves consideration.

Christ never seemed to despise the smallest ray of light which had dawned on the spiritual discernment of his followers. He warmed and enlivened the faint affections by dwelling on the love of the Father, but he never quenched the glimmering spark of feeling which, however weak in its commencement, yet gave promise of becoming finally, under due management, the kindling source of a great fire. No word ever

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5 2 Pet. iii. 18. See also Eph. i. 16-19. iii. 14-19. Col. ii. 1, 2.