ness and be filled; and though there be few that be saved, that joy will sometimes be raised in heaven which thrills the spirits of angels over one sinner that repenteth; some ransomed ones will be sustained and cheered in their pilgrimage along the strait and narrow path; some pious souls helped on to heaven.

V. But the final reward! The last consideration that evinces the importance of preaching the gospel is, its final reward. And next to that which flows directly and perpetually from God, what richer reward can there be of this service than that which results from the ever-growing knowledge of its happy effects! No sublime enterprise was ever fully comprehended in its commencement. The discoverer of our continent, in his most sanguine moments, and when his imagination was boldest, did not truly realize the benefit he was conferring upon mankind. And the Pilgrims who first stepped upon our land, though they indulged their excited fancy to the utmost, and talked of gold, and painted the land a paradise, had plainly no adequate idea of the scenes that are now spread over it. What notion of the effects which have already resulted from the preaching of the gospel could have been formed in the minds of the fishermen of Galilee! Our conceptions of good things that are to come are always inadequate, because, though large and perhaps in many respects unreal, they are necessarily faint and indistinct. They are at most but a dim outline, and must wait for the actual occurrence to fill them up. What adequate idea can we have of the salvation of a soul? What idea of a blessing that is to extend and increase eternally? It is only when we come to stand with the redeemed around the throne, that we shall seem to begin to comprehend it. What

emotions will there swell his bosom who has been permitted here, by the preaching of the gospel, to turn many to righteousness! Nay, we shall not then understand its importance, we shall not then comprehend the blessing. And that new song which they sing there, will be for ever new, for the grace it commemorates will be for ever expanding; and each new discovery will raise the song anew, more sweet, more loud, more joyful, as the blissful throng live on, for ever and for ever on, harping and singing as they go all down the pathway of eternity, Worthy is the Lamb!

But if the preaching of the gospel be important, if it be a privilege to herald forth the good news, the glad tidings of great joy, if it be a privilege to be the messenger, what must it be to receive the message? My hearers, and now, my people, these glad tidings are proclaimed to us. Let us listen with humble admiration. Let us welcome the grace. Let our hearts beat quick and warm in grateful love. Let us rise, the penitent, affectionate, confiding, devoted, heaven-aspiring disciples of Christ. O, if God will here bless his word, by whomsoever proclaimed, if he will bless the ministry that commences in weakness to-day, and gather us when it is closed, as pastor and people, with the redeemed above, we shall know more, and feel more the value of the unsearchable riches. O, if he will but grant us that blessing, with eloquent hearts we will speak his praise, with gushing gratitude we will sing the new song, with humble joy we will together lay our crowns at the feet of the Lamb, and say, "Not unto us, not unto us, but to thy name be all the glory."

SERMON II.

YEA, AND IF I BE OFFERED UPON THE SACRIFICE AND SERVICE OF YOUR FAITH, I JOY AND REJOICE WITH YOU ALL. FOR THE SAME CAUSE ALSO DO YE JOY AND REJOICE WITH ME.-PHILIPPIANS 2: 17, 18.

THE epistle of Paul to the Philippians is a beautiful specimen of the spirit which the gospel inspires. He seems to have felt for them a peculiar attachment, and to have regarded them with more complacency than any of the churches he was permitted to establish. He addresses them in the most affectionate and endearing manner: "My brethren, dearly beloved and longed for, my joy and my crown." They were a striking contrast to the more factious and troublesome church at Corinth. In writing to them, the apostle had no occasion for severity or excessive caution, for complaint or rebuke. His feelings were perfectly undisturbed. His letter throughout breathes the spirit of calm, Christian love. He writes as a friend to friends, devoted and kind himself, and confident of a reciproIcation of the sentiment he utters. "Yea, and if I be offered upon the sacrifice and service of your faith, I joy and rejoice with you all. For the same cause also do ye joy, and rejoice with me."

The whole epistle, and especially the sentences which have been chosen for our text, happily exhibit the relation of pastor and people, and that mutual confidence and sympathy

which ought ever to subsist between them. You will not regard it as unsuitable to the present occasion, and I hope it may be profitable to us, to direct our attention, this afternoon, to some considerations which manifest their importance.

It is not for us to discuss the propriety of the pastoral office. We might, indeed, see some reasons for its expediency, or, perhaps, for its necessity. But it has been established by one who is infinitely wiser and better than we. "When he ascended up on high, he gave gifts unto men,―apostles, prophets, evangelists, pastors and teachers, for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ." The apostle employed one evangelist for this special purpose, that he should travel throughout the extensive island of Crete, and set in order the things that were wanting, and ordain elders in every church. On his return from Macedonia to Jerusalem, as he passed near Ephesus, the same apostle called together the elders of the church there, and exhorted them to take heed to themselves, and to the flock over which the Holy Ghost had made them overseers. Churches were originally organized, and officers appointed in them, by divine authority. Under the name of elder, overseer or bishop, pastor or minister, one was to preside in their assemblies, lead their public devotions, repeat to them the doctrines of revelation, administer the sacraments, and watch over the spiritual interests, and devote himself to promote the spiritual good, of the community. In this sacred station many have labored, and many are laboring to advance the kingdom of Christ. However unworthy one may feel of its honor and authority and responsibility, which, though inseparable, are often equally burdensome, he may not shrink, when called to it by the

providence of God, nor by tameness and distrust and inertness

Nor may the people, clothed him with the him his proper influ

while in it, prostitute his noble office. when they have called him to it, and pastoral vestments, reluctantly yield to ence; lest in degrading him, they degrade themselves, and in desecrating his office, they desecrate their own religion, which has constituted, and which sustains it, or in despising him that is sent, they despise him that sent him.

But the influence that appropriately belongs to him is chiefly a moral influence. There are no specific statutes that prescribe or limit it. It depends on the principles of the gospel; it is sustained and upheld by the authority of Christ, and is best exerted where that mutual confidence and sympathy prevail which the gospel is adapted to inspire.

The duties of a Christian minister are, in many respects, peculiarly delicate. He labors not for the body, but for the soul; not for the understanding, but for the heart. He appears before the people, not to amuse their fancy, or to afford an hour's intellectual entertainment, but to make them better. He is to utter truths which he might not speak on his own authority, and in a manner which he might not assume in any other capacity. He comes to the people, as the messenger of God, to read to them his law, to proclaim his promises, and to repeat his awful denunciations. He may never expect to perform the services of the sanctuary, without disquieting the minds and disturbing the feelings of some who hear him. When he presents the demands of the law, he urges claims, to which few are willing to yield. When he sets before them the beauty of holiness, there are some that will see no beauty there, and some that will be made painfully conscious of their