strong, symmetrical; progressively augmented, not by accretions from without, though such are presumed to be going on, but by development within itself-the growth contributed in due proportion by the natural, healthy development of each member; with Christ for the head; and love, Christ's spirit, gushing from the heart, and conveying nourishment and vitality to the remotest filament. This is the body to do Christ's work. No matter if that church registers few names; no matter if "not many wise men after the flesh, not many mighty, not many noble, are called" into her membership; her influence will be felt; she will do the work set her by the Master. She will make an impression on the empire of Satan; and the Great Day will show that she bore an honorable part in subjecting the world to Immanuel.

Need it be said, that to be such a body, a church must be so taught that her members shall not be children, tossed to and fro, and carried about with every wind of doctrine :-taught no yea and nay Gospel, but a positive, discriminating, Bible theology, the theology from which all the strength and glory our denomination ever had has sprung; taught gladly to walk by the same rule, and mind the same thing with others, whereto we have already attained with them, but never an inch beyond, -however "bigot" and "exclusive" be cried after us, however we be accused of sacrificing "christian brotherhood" for dogma and non-essentials, however rich the bribe offered for the surrender of our consistency and fidelity to truth? And that the inspired ideal be realized, must she not be so taught, that her discipline will be such as shall insure an unmistakable distinction between her and the world; and that such methods of christian beneficence shall be maintained, as will insure a thorough, steady, universal development of her resources in doing good, looking not only to the needs of home, but as far as Christ's Commission extends-"Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature?"

Here, emphatically, is the appropriate function of the Christian pastor: to give oneness, consolidation, direction, and impulse to the church. His influence, diffused through the body, should be a force of cohesion, holding every particle

in its place-nor yet such a cohesive force, that no sooner is he gone than disintegration follows; and a force of gravitation too, keeping the mass directed steadily towards Christ, and constantly approaching nearer and nearer to Him. Who can estimate the measure of that minister's prosperity, who has attained to such a potency among the flock over which the Holy Ghost has made him overseer?

Such are the specifications pertaining to the nature of ministerial success. He who should combine in large measure usefulness in every department of the minister's work, would surely be an extraordinary man of God. A good minister is he who furnishes this combination in moderate measure. God is pleased to bestow his gifts on his servants in diverse kinds. and diverse measures, and generally it will be found that no one man is eminent for efficiency in more than one department.

It is for each one to ask-how can I do the most for Christ? and toil on, mindful that to his own Master each one standeth or falleth. Let us beware how we measure ourselves among ourselves. Too much of this deadly bane is there at work in the churches; and, to no small extent, brethren, we may thank ourselves for it. And are not these invidious comparisons commonly as untrue as they are useless and harmful? For where is the standard? Every one has his own, and, ten to one, it is a standard of the fancy merely, having no kind of reference to substantial usefulness. The mightiest and the most benignant agencies in nature are those which are least obvious to ordinary observers, and by no means the most speedy in their operation. So it is with the influences that transform and bless society. God alone can give the increase, and He alone can trace through all their branchings the results of the efforts put forth in his service.

II. But here a question is suggested, to which, even at some expense of your patience, I feel bound to attempt an answer : to what extent is the Christian minister authorized to look for success in his work?

The difficulty of tracing the extent of any minister's success was just now intimated. Not till the great Day of Account

will that be revealed, when the fire-test will show what was gold, silver, precious stones, and what wood, hay, stubble. Nevertheless, we are taught that there are conditions of success, and that our usefulness will be commensurate with our conformity to those conditions. Signally as the sovereignty of God is illustrated in the dispensation of his grace, that alone can make our ministrations effectual, this is the fact, and we cannot be too mindful of it. Indulge me in a number of specifications.

1. The extent of a minister's usefulness will be determined, first, by his adaptedness to the field he occupies.

There is a difference in fields, and a corresponding difference is demanded in the men who are to till them. God has varied his gifts to his servants accordingly. One he has fitted to be a home laborer, another a missionary; one for the city, another for the country; one to address the masses, another the select auditory. A wise and blessed thing it is, surely, that the Lord has not given to his Church many men who are competent to the care of six thousand souls, with time and strength to spare out of their best working months for traversing to and fro half the land, to teach the people politics and philanthropy-to say nothing of a treat now and then to whipped syllabub. Assuredly, Zion's King has too much regard for the laws of proportion to provide such gifts only, when the flock in most of his pastures is but a "little" one. He who said "Gather up the fragments that remain, that nothing be lost," could never sanction-much less institute-such a waste of talent as this. But seriously, how clearly does experience teach that a man may be eminently successful in one field and fail in another. The minister, accordingly, in seeking a location, or when a location is seeking him, should beware how he ask-" Is it a desirable position?" instead of asking, "Am I suited to it?” for, if he is not suited to it, however desirable it may be for "the right man"-you perceive I recognize the existence of this somewhat tangible personage-it cannot long be desirable for him.

ny a man has been taught the folly of ambition in this particular. "He gave them their request, but sent leanness into Pardon the suggestion, brethren, that when one

their soul."

finds he has made a mistake, the best thing he can do, and the first thing he ought to do, is to correct it. The permanency of the pastoral relation is assuredly a thing of not much less consequence than it is so abundantly set forth to be. A good pastor, settled where God would have him, ought to be growingly good-the quenching of youthful brilliancy by no means constituting superannuation, and being amply compensated by that wisdom which is the product alone of a ripe experience. Far be it from me to say one word to strengthen the hands of those conceited or factious individuals, unfortunately found in too many of our churches, whose chief sagacity seems to consist in their facility to detect the fact that their pastor is the wrong man, or has somehow exhausted his capacity for usefulness here. Permission to retire might be granted to such with eminent advantage to the church. But there is one thing worse than the unsettling of a pastor; and that is for him to hold on to his place after it has been demonstrated that he can no longer no matter from what cause-occupy it usefully. And change does not always imply descent. There may be changes up as well as down. Allowing the minister has really been ill-treated, his removal may be the step that shall lead the way, under Providence, to a better destiny. Many a minister has crippled his very availability, not to say usefulness, for the rest of life, and done sore detriment to the cause of Christ, by staying too long; when, by a graceful, and by no means necessarily cowardly, withdrawal, he might have found a more congenial sphere, in which to pass the rest of his days in peaceful, prosperous, appreciated service. Quite possibly, it is wrong for the people not to like us, and to profit by our efforts for their good; but little advantage is likely to come, either to them, or to ourselves, from our contesting the matter very sharply with them. And it may be they are right, after all; for, though we may be admirably suited to some other sphere, we may have no proper adaptation to this.

2. Again. The degree of our success will be commensurate with our qualifications for our work. These qualifications are native and acquired-physical, mental and moral.

God never intended the generality of men to be ministers,

though it is expected of every Christian that he "hold forth the word of life;" and many a layman, no doubt, has done it more effectually than many a preacher. It is no man's duty to be a minister who is naturally fitted to do more good in some other vocation. The Lord has need of good tradesmen, and good lawyers and doctors, and good educators, and good farmers and sailors, as well as of good ministers. But after the question of natural adaptation to the work has been affirmed, it does not follow that the person concerned has present competency for it. Prospective culture may enter as an important element in determining whether one is called to preach.

But, whatever may be the native qualifications of a man, he cannot be true to the Master, nor to himself either, without superadding every acquisition within his reach, of discipline and of furniture, that can enhance his power.

There is a physical training, having to do with voice and gesture and aspect, and energy and endurance in work, that cannot be neglected without laying the lame and the sick on God's altar.

And then the priest's lips must keep knowledge. How can he expect that God will honor him in failing to furnish himself, so far as practicable, with the stores he is appointed to dispense? And what knowledge is there that the preacher may not make available? Language, history, all science and philosophy, truly so called, especially the science of Man, how essential for effective illustration and appeal. Is not all truth God's? and where, if not on God's altar, should it be laid?

But, apart from what is taken up by the mind, how important the discipline of its various faculties themselves, so that they shall be developed respectively in due proportion, harmoniously combined, and act in ready obedience to the will.

In preaching, the minister must reason. In what mind is there not room for the culture of the reasoning faculty? Not that that is to furnish him with his message, but by that must he determine what his message is, and convince his hearers that he declares truly the mind of God. After the truth has been logically deduced from the Bible, how much argumentation often must there be about it, in explaining its connections,