"was Aaron." If Christ was sent of his Father, in order to begin his work, we are to be sent by Christ, in order to continue that same work; and as we are called to the same glorious ministry, it is proper that the marks of our vocation be the same. Now, were our Lord to appear this day in the midst of us, as he formerly appeared to his assembled disciples, could he say to each individual among us-" As my Father hath sent me, so have I sent you?"

I shall not attempt to prove that we ought to be called to this holy office of the priesthood, before we take legal possession of it, for in so doing, the legality of the call is implied; I had rather appeal to your conscience, and prevail with you to enquire of yourselves-Am I called? Is it the calling of Christ, or the voice of man, that has placed me in the sanctuary? Is this holy state, which I have chosen, the state to which the Almighty hath appointed me? Am I in my place, or do I occupy the place of another?—and, as Christ was sent by his Father, am I sent by him*?

* I entirely omit the first part of this discourse, since little. advantage could be derived from it by a Protestant Clergyman ; and likewise the second part, which relates to the approbation of the Pastor by the people. The Prelate eloquently asks, “If many parishes would not say of their Pastors, we will not have this man to preside over us? If the people among whom I have lived, had the choice of their minister, could I flatter myself that their choice would fall on me?" I may, I hope, without offence, be permitted to observe, that, in the appointment of ministers, it is greatly to be desired that the people over which

That we may know whether we are called to the sacred ministry, we may judge from the innocence

the pastor is commissioned to preside, should be a person whom they approve. If, knowing his moral character, they justly dislike them; if, when they hear him in the Church, they are unanimous in their opinion, that, from his manner of reading and preaching, their Church and Communion will be deserted; or if, whatever be his qualifications, his voice is so weak that it cannot be heard; ought not every congregation to have the privilege of protesting against such nomination? A congregation cannot be happy in a Clergyman whom they despise; a congregation will never observe, uniformly and seriously, the Ordinances of Religion, under the ministry of a Clergyman, however exemplary his conduct, and excellent his discourses, whose elocution is such as to excite general dissatisfaction; and if the Church be large, and his voice low, it is impossible that those who cannot distinctly hear, should derive any benefit from the discharge of his public duty. It is greatly to be lamented, that there should be in our Church, and in our Church only, such abundant cause of complaint on these topics.

I would not be understood to mean, that every congregation ought to have the choice of its own Minister, God forbid! for a regulation so injudicious would banish from the Church every good, and introduce into it every evil. But it cannot, surely, be thought that the security of the Church, and the interests of the Gospel, are promoted by imposing upon a congregation a clergyman who is not calculated, in almost a single instance, to obtain the approbation, and ensure the affections, of his hearers. An appeal to the Diocesan, not originating in personal pique, in wanton caprice, or in previous attachment to a more popular preacher, but founded on impartial justice, and supported by incontrovertible reasoning, ought to be allowed. And sure I am, the greatest good would result from such a measure to the whole community: the State would receive from it a most powerful support; the Church would acquire such strength as to bid defiance to the insinuations of scepti

of our life, and from our attachment to our profession.

Now our conscience is the best evidence of the innocence of our life. But, as the irreproachable manners of the priesthood have been the subject of a former exhortation, I shall proceed to shew the necessity of an attachment to the holy functions of the sacred profession. Our Lord, at an early period of his life, withdrawing from the eyes of his parents, entered into the Temple, where he was found among the doctors, making already full proof of his ministry. Samuel, when a child, stood daily in the Temple before the Lord; and the Scripture observes, that he awoke from his sleep, when he thought that the commands of Eli, the High Priest, called him to the discharge of any duty which affected the decency and beauty of the Lord's Temple. This anticipated predilection, this previous attachment to the obligations of our vocation, has not, infrequently, appeared in those whom heaven pre-ordained for the service of the altar; and it hath always been considered as a sign of our calling, and a happy presage of our proficiency in it.

cism, and the combinations of schism; and Religion itself, by a more general and devout observance of its ordinances, would be more uniformly practised.

It would be well if the second part of Massillon's Discourse was seriously read by every Patron, before he presents to a living, and by every Incumbent before he nominates to a curacy, whether perpetual or stipendiary.

But if you do not feel in yourselves a desire of being employed as the ambassadors of God; if you do not appear in your right place, when you are fulfilling the duties of your holy profession, judge ye yourselves, whether you are called into the Lord's vineyard? God implants in the heart a love for the service to which he calls; and better would it have been for you to have felt that it was not the ministry for which you were intended, than that you should possess a want of inclination for the performance of its duties. It is not necessary that a voice from heaven should say to you in secret, "the Lord hath not sent you;" your judgment, enforced by the dictates of your conscience, tells you so.

It is, farther, requisite, that, in dedicating yourselves to the ministry, you should possess purity of intention. "Our Lord came not to be "ministered unto," that is, to fill the highest places in the Synagogue," but to minister,-to "become all things to all men;" He came to declare the name of his Father; to save the lost sheep of the House of Israel; zeal, love, holiness, formed the essential and constituent parts of his 'ministry, Are you influenced by the same motives? Have you taken upon you the sacred character, in order to minister, to labour for the salvation of your brethren? Are you satisfied, in your own minds, as to the purity of your intentions? I pretend not to penetrate the inmost recesses of your heart: God knows them; and to him must the

decision, ultimately, be referred; but, surely, every one, before he enters into the sacred minis. try, should, impartially, and severely, enquire of himself, whether his motives are such as will be approved by that God, whose servant he becomes? If, then, we have not made the awful enquiry, let us this day enter into judgment with ourselves. What do I propose to myself, in that holy state into which I have entered? The salvation of souls -the defence of the Gospel-the destruction of the empire of the grand enemy of mankind? Have I chiefly, these laborious and momentous ends in view, by becoming a labourer in the Lord's vineyard? What would I appropriate to myself? What do I expect to meet with in the Church ?its riches, or its duties?—its dignities, or its labours?-the value of the fleece, or the salvation of the flock? What talents do I bring into this holy warfare?-A knowledge of the doctrines of the Gospel-an interest in its success-reasoning, to convince and eloquence, to persuade ?—or, ignorance of the truth-unconcern about its reception-languor in its defence-and unskilfulness in its propagation.

It may be said, perhaps, that if you are promoted to ecclesiastical preferment, which your morals do not disgrace, it may be allowable to conclude, that you are entitled to it. But, to devote ourselves to the ministry of the Word, merely because we have the prospect of succeeding to preferment; because our expectations in the Church are more