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 URDINATION CHARGE 
 
 I!V I mi: 
 
 :rea'. avm. cookkk. dm. 
 
 'III IHK 
 
 YOUiNG MlNiSTEKS OKllALNEl) 
 
 AT T'lIK 
 
 MlvniOIItSr NKW CONNEXION, CONFKRKNCE, 
 
 AlF.'Oi; A. CWADA. IRljT. 
 
 ^ 
 
 I' r n 1. 1 .- 11 i: i> i; v i; y. q i • i: s t o k t h :•; ( • <• x v k k f. x < k 
 
 LONDON, CANADA: 
 
 .1. CAMHtO.V. J'HIXTRR, ADVRRTISER OFFfrr; ntVKAS S'lUKJ-.T, Wl>l', 
 
 "^ / 
 
ORDINATION CHARGE 
 
 BY TltE 
 
 .REV. WM. COCKER, D.I)., 
 
 TO TIIK 
 
 YOU^G MINISTERS ORDAINED 
 
 AT Tim 
 
 METHODIST NEW CONNEXION CONFERENCE, 
 
 AURORA, CANADA, ]«(!7. 
 
 -«-♦ — 
 
 PUBLISHED BY R E Q U K S T OF THE C U N F E R E N C E. 
 
 
 LONDON, CANADA: 
 
 J. CAMERON, PRINTER, ADVERTLSKR OFFICE, DUNDAS STRECT, WEST. 
 
 1867. 
 
 ■i 
 
ORDINATION CHARGE 
 
 Bf TUB 
 
 REV. WM. COCKER, D.D., 
 
 TO THR 
 
 YOUNG MINISTERS ORDAINED 
 
 ▲T THR 
 
 METHODIST NEW CONNEXION CONFERENCE, 
 
 AURORA, CANADA, 1867. 
 
 -^♦-*~ 
 
 PUBLISHED BY REQUEST OF THE CONFERENCE. 
 
 «■•■♦ 
 
 LONDON, CANADA: 
 
 J. CAMERON, PRINTER, ADVERTISER OFFICE, DUNt)AS STREET, WEST, 
 
 1867. 
 
Ij 
 
 
 LONDON, CANAllA". 
 JOHN CAMKRON, PRINTKR, AUVERTI9KK OKFICB, DUNDAS RTRKET, WB8T 
 
 APR 30 1956 
 
ORDINATION CHARGE 
 
 AT TUB 
 
 -A-XJUOHA. C03SrFEIlE3Srai3, 
 
 BY THB 
 
 REV. WILLIAM COCKER, D.J). 
 
 "Take heed to the ministry which thou hast roceivec' in the Lord, that 
 
 thou fulfil it."— Col. iv. 17. 
 
 /«^ 
 
 Y DEAR BRETHREN.— Before offering any observa- 
 tions in relation to your future coui-pe, allow me most 
 ^^;2^^^^'^''*'^y ^^ congratulate }ou on the honourable position 
 ^^^ which you now occur j as fully accredited ministers in 
 * that section of the Church of Christ which you have 
 chosen as your spiritual home, and as the sphere of your ministerial 
 labours. Be assured that you can rise to a loftier elevation, and 
 realize a higher honour than you have already gained, only by 
 faithfully discharging the duties of that sacred office to which you 
 have now been formally and solemnly dedicated. Gladly would I 
 address to you, on the present occasion, such words of counsel, of 
 caution, and of encouragement as may tend to guide you amidst 
 the perplexities, to guard you amidst the perils, and to invigorate 
 you amidst the difficulties of your ministerial career. May He 
 who has counted you worthy of this high and holy calling bless 
 this service to your good, and through you make it a blessing to 
 thousands. I would ask your attention to the words of the 
 Apostle Paul to Archippus : — " Take heed to the ministry which 
 thou hast received in the Lord, that thou fulfil it." If I could 
 
 // 
 
4 ORDINATION CIIAROE. 
 
 fiuppofio that jou have not received the ministry in the Lord, but 
 have chosen it merely as a resperitable profession, or as furnishing 
 opportunities for intellectual culture and literary pursuits, I would 
 entreat you, in the interests of the Church and for the sake of your 
 own sou!, to relinquish it without a moment's hesitation, that you 
 may escape the remorse and condemnation of those to whom an 
 insulted and angry God will say, in tones more terrible than the 
 thunders of the last day — *' What hadst thou to do to declare my ^ 
 judgments, and to take my covenant into th ■- mouth ?" But 
 assuming that to which, I trust, your own consciences bear 
 witness in the sight of God, that you have been divinely called to 
 the work of the ministry, I would direct your attention to some 
 of those things which are necessary to the fulfihnent of the 
 momentous charge which has been committed to you. 
 
 The importance of the Christian ministry cannot be over- 
 estimated. In the magnitude of its interests, and the vast range 
 of its operations, it rises immeasurably above every other calling. 
 It has been ordained for the conversion of sinners and the edifica- 
 tion of saints; for bringing men into the Church, and for raising 
 them to the ripest state of knowledge and holiness ; for moulding 
 the precious material of the Church into the purest and noblest 
 forms of spiritual excellence. If the ministry be distinguished by 
 deep and ardent piety, lofty intelligence, and glowing zeal, it will 
 impress these glorious attributes upon the Church; and under its 
 instructions and influences the Church will increase in mental 
 strength and moral glory, and become more and more assimilated 
 to the likeness of Christ, her living head. If you would contribute 
 your due proportion of influence towards the accomplishment of 
 these sublime purposes, you must, by the blessing of God, fulfil 
 the ministry which^ you have received, In order to this, you 
 must— 
 
r 
 1 
 
 ORDINATION CHARGE. 6 
 
 I. Be careful to keep your own hearts in harmony with the 
 truths which you will have to preach, and the duties you will have 
 to inculcate; otherwise, you will be unfit for the proper exposition 
 of those truths, and for the due enforcement of those duties. 
 Every sermon you compose will be a tremendous indictment 
 against yourselves, and will be delivered with feelings of self- 
 reproach and shame. Many questions have been proposed to you 
 respecting your personal piety, and that which our churches have 
 deemed it of paramount importance to ascertain, must continue to 
 be the subject of your solicitude and prayers. Whilst you seek 
 the salvation of others, you must not allow the life of God to 
 languish in your own souls. You must set apart some portion of 
 your time for communing with your own hearts, and with him 
 who is the " Searcher of hearts," as well as for the improvement 
 of your minds and the preparation of your pulpit discourses. 
 Whilst you read and study the Scriptures that you may expound 
 them to others, you must read and reflect upon them with a 
 particular view to your own growth in grace and in the knowledge 
 of the Lord Jesus Christ. You will do well, also, to peruse the 
 practical works and biographies of those devoted men who were as 
 burning and shining lights in their day, that you may catch 
 additional fervour from the hallowed fire of their devotions, and 
 be stimulated by their examples to a diligent and prayerful 
 cultivation of those principles and affections in which personal 
 religion consists. From these sacred exercises of the closest ydu 
 will go forth clothed with strength for the discharge of your pub- 
 lic duties. Having ** tasted, and handled, and felt the word of 
 life," you will speak out of the abundance of a heart enriched 
 with heavenly treasure and glowing with divine love, with unctiouy 
 and genuine pathos and power. You will come down from the 
 mount where you have held communion with the Holy One with 
 
t 
 
 6 CRDINATION CHARGE. 
 
 the light of his glory on the countenance of your spirits, and the 
 fragrant odour of a Divine anointing diflusinji; itself over your 
 garrnenU*, verifying the words of the poet — 
 
 '* Whori ono who IioUIh communion with tlio skios 
 Has (illcd his urn whoro tho pure waters riao, 
 And once raoro mingles with uh riicauor tilings, 
 'Tiso'on as if an angoi shook his wings; 
 Immortal fragrance lills tho circuit wide. 
 And tolls us whoro his treasure is supplied." 
 
 Nor must it bo overlooked that tho cultivation of Rpiritu?>l life in 
 your own hearts is an absolute condition of incre.'iaing in tho true 
 knowledge of God, as he is revealed in his Word. To seek this 
 knowledge merely amongt books and systems, would bo to seek 
 the living among the dead. The purest and loftiest conceptions of 
 God are not those \ ^ich are wrought out by tho labour of the 
 intellect, but those which are lighted up within us by the fire of 
 Divine love. Love brings into tho soul a light that is clearer and 
 more convincing than any demonstration. It is that power of 
 spiritual discernment, without wliich tho things of the Spirit of 
 God cannot be seen. " If any man will do liis will," says the 
 Saviour, " he shall know of the doctrine whether it bo of God ;" 
 thus connecting a clear perception of the truth with a disposition 
 to do the will of God. Ho speaks to the same eflfect in his beati- 
 tudes when he tells us that '* the pure in heart shall sec God." 
 This is true not only of the beatific vision in heaven, but also of 
 the vision of God as revealed in tho Gospel of his Son. Between 
 the knowledge and love of God, there is a reciprocal influence that 
 tends to the increase of both. Glowing with his love, the soul 
 expands itself to receive his truth, and that truth shines upon the 
 loving soul with an ever-increasing efiulgence. If I dwell on this 
 topic, it is that you may have a deep and lasting impression of its 
 vital importance. In the acquisition of some kinds of knowledge, 
 the affections of the heart have no direct influence ; but tho high- 
 
w 
 
 ORDINATION CHARGE. 7 
 
 est kind of all knowledge— the knowledge of Divine truth in ita 
 inward light and loveliness, in its spiritual beauty, and sweetness, 
 and power — can be possessed only by the soul that loves and 
 aspires after God as its portion. The words of Dr. Neander well 
 deserve your attention : " Religious truths do not grow out of 
 logic ; but presupposing certain spiritual tendencies and affections 
 they arise from immediate contact of the soul with God—from a 
 beam of God's light penetrating the mind that is allied to him ." 
 The knowledge that is gained by riere intellectual research, 
 resemWes the cold light of the moon; whilst that which results 
 from holy affections, seeking after God and finding him , is like 
 the light of the sun— full of genial warmth and life-giving 
 influence. Be assured, that a spiritual understanding of the truth 
 will be a bettor qualification for the ministry than all the treasures 
 of literature, whether ancient or modern. 
 
 II. To fulfil your ministry you must be diligent students of the 
 Word of God. 
 
 The Bible is pre-eminently the book of the Christian minister. 
 Other books ho may read once and refer to occasionally, but this 
 is his constant companion : 
 
 " Its story and precept, its promise and song, 
 Ever glow in his heart and burn on his tonguo." 
 
 The whole encyclopedia of knowledge would not be a sufficient 
 substitute for this. To be thoroughly furnished for his work, ihe 
 minister must have an intimate and comprehensive acquaintance 
 with the " lively oracles." 
 
 And let me guard you against the erroneous idea that the Bible 
 is so brief and simple as that it may be soon fully explored. They 
 who think so must have fo -«ed very inadequate and unworthy 
 conceptions of the Book in which God has made the highest 
 manifestation of his glory, and from which he has determined to 
 
•fix 
 
 8 ORDINATION CHARGE. 
 
 derive his loftiest praiae. After the investigations of ages, there 
 are still undiscovered glories and ungathered treasures in that 
 Book of books. In itself the Bible is gloriously complete. It 
 was at first adapted by unerring wisdom to all the principles of 
 man's nature, to all the necessities of his moral condition, and to 
 all the unchanging relationships of his being. It is God's plan of 
 saving sinners, and is absolntoly perfect. But though complete as 
 given by God, when is it complete as received by man ? Its great 
 facts and doctrines have not been so revealed as to sesuro an 
 immediate and perfect comprehension of them in all their varied 
 aspects and bearings, but so as to stimulate our intellectual 
 faculties, to try our characters, and to promote our constant 
 progress in knowledge and true holiness. Nature is complete in 
 all its arrangements and provisions, but men are ever increasing in 
 the knowledge of Its elements, its laws, and its operations. In 
 this, as in many other respects, there is a beautiful analog)' 
 between the works and the Word of God. The univei-se has been 
 so constructed as to furnish an admirable school for the progressive 
 instruction and discipline of our minds. Some things are too 
 prominent to be overlooked and too palp ble to be mistaken; but 
 others lie concealed, and unfold themselves only as the recompense 
 of long and laborious investigations. There is an outward beauty, 
 which addresses itself immediately to the eye, but there is an 
 inward or scientific beauty, which reveals itself to the mental 
 vision only after patient enquiry and profound thought. And so 
 it is with the Bible. Some things stand out on its pages in 
 character so illuminated and legible, that ** he who runs may 
 read ;" whilst others can be discovered only by diligent research. 
 Thev are like diamonds embedded in the mine, and he who would 
 have them must go down and dig; or, to change the figure, they 
 are like stars that lie beyond the visible firmament, and he who 
 
ORDINATION CHARGE. 9 
 
 would Bee them must avnil himself of all necessary appliances 
 And as Nature is ever telMng her secrets to those who cultivate a 
 close acquainUince with her, and ever disclosing fresh wonders and 
 glories to recompense their toils, so you will find that new light 
 will ever be breaking forth from the pages of God's Word upon 
 those who endeavour to pry into its glorious mysteries, and new 
 riches ever be discovering themselves, to reward the research of 
 those who seek to be enriched with its golden treasures. And 
 let me advise you, in your Bible readings and studies, to analyze, 
 compare, and connect its various parts, so that yoUr views of its 
 wondrous revelations may be at once clear, comprehensive, and 
 harmonious. 
 
 III. I would next observe, that if you would fulfil the ministry 
 you must seek to have your minds well disciplined, and richly 
 furnished with the stores of genera] knowledge. You must not 
 cease to be students because you have successfully passed your 
 examinations and finished your probation. You have been 
 received into our ministry, not because your present talents and 
 attainments are deemed sufficient for the work, but because they 
 have been accepted as the promise of future progress. Be resolved 
 to redeem the promise which you have thus given, and to justify 
 the confidence thus accorded to you. Now, you can do this only 
 by persevering study, and a progressive accumulation of mental 
 stores. To be permanently acceptable, you must have the 
 power of presenting the same glorious truths under new aspects, 
 in new forms of speech, and with fresh emotions kindled by new 
 combinations of thought and language. Old and familiar truths 
 must have a new interest given to them by being clothed with new 
 illustrations, and exhibited in new forms and connections. You 
 will have to keep up a supply of sermons adapted to the wants of 
 the Church and the ever-changing aspects of the timet. And 
 
10 ORDINATION CHARGE, 
 
 you might as well attempt to create a world as to meet these 
 conditions of ministerial acceptability without a mind well trained 
 to investigation, amply stored with materials of thought, and kept 
 in perpetual contact with truth by habits of reading, reflection, 
 and study. 
 
 1. Read the best books, and read them with care. 
 
 A few realli/ good works, well read, wili be worth more to you 
 than a great number superficially scanned. Never wastp your 
 time and enfeeble your minds by the perusal of flimsy and 
 frivolous productions. Many books are like the cobweb, which 
 is very ingeniously constructed, hangs very beautifully in the 
 sunlight, and waves very gracefully in the breeze, but is, notwith- 
 standing, u very unsubstantial thing. Now, why seek to clothe 
 your minds with cobwebs, when costly and enduring raiment is 
 within your reach ? Why attempt to feed your souls with chaff, 
 when wholesome and delicious fare is so plentiful ? Why hold 
 companionship with literary dwarfs, decked out with tinsel, when 
 you may commune with the master spirits of our race — the 
 illustrious living and the mighty dead ? Why fritter away your 
 time with drivelling sentimentalities, when your minds may be 
 instructed and invigorated by the profoundest disquisitions on the 
 works and on the Word of God, and when your hearts may be 
 thrilled and your imaginations fired by those lofty conceptions of 
 poetic grandeur and beauty which adorn the pages of our immortal 
 bards? "He who would be a man of real knowledge," says 
 Professor Stewart, •* must be content to be ignorant of many of 
 the ephemeral productions of the day." 
 
 2 . As far as possible, pursue your studies systematically. 
 
 Set before you defnite objects, and continuously seek to realize 
 them. If your daily exercises be uncertain, as any accident may 
 
ORDINATION CHARGE. 11 
 
 dictate or any impulse detoiniine, your knowledge will be super- 
 ficial and fragmentary, and much of your precious time will be 
 wasted. 
 
 3. And whilst with a diligent hand you gather niateriaia of 
 thought, you must be careful to cultivate the power of expresc- 
 ing your thoughts with clearness, precision, and force. Whilst 
 you are industrious in acquiring, you must learn the art of 
 communicating : I refer now i)articularly to the use of language » 
 and the laws of composition. There never was a time when the 
 requirements of congregations, in this respect, were so high as 
 they are now. Make yourselves familiar, then, with the best 
 models, and while you avoid such an imitation of thei as would 
 subject you to the charge of plagiarism, so study their excellencies 
 as to transfuse them into your own productions. Above all, 
 meditate on those varieties, beauties, and sublimities of style which 
 are found in the sacred writings. For transparent simplicity, fine 
 poetic imagery, towering grandeur, melting pathos, and lofty 
 strains of eloquence, the Bible is incomparable. Its sentences are 
 found scattered like glowing gems over the pages of our best 
 writers, both in poetry and prose. Its exquisite beauties have 
 been appropriated by its foes, to enliven and embellish their own 
 productions, just as lovely flowers are sometimes plucked from the 
 genial bosom of nature to decorate the dead. 
 
 4. Remember, too, that the process of acquisition and of mental 
 growth must be unceasing. You must never become stationary, 
 while all around you is on the advance. If you cease to grow, 
 your ministry will lose its vivacity and charm, and you will be 
 pitied, as belonging to a bygone age. Your ministry will become 
 like the vapid, stagnant pool, instead of resembling in its freshness 
 the perennial spring, A moderately gifted mind, that is constantly 
 augmenting its stores, is preferable to one of the most splendid 
 
T 
 
 I' 
 
 
 12 ORDINATION CHARGE. 
 
 endowmenlR and of much larger attainments, that becomefl 
 
 stationary. If your work is to be a pleasure to yourselves and a 
 
 power for good to others, your life must be one of continual 
 
 growth. 
 
 IV. If you would fulfil your ministry, you must be efficient 
 preachers of the Gospel. Preaching, though not your exclusive, 
 will be your principal work ; and if you fail in this department, it 
 had been better both for you and our churches that you had 
 remained at home. Failure in the pulpit cannot possibly be 
 compensated by anything out of it. We readily adopt the words 
 of an aged minister, to one who was just entering upon his 
 ministerial course: "Shine on the platforin, and in the parlour, 
 and on committees, if you can, but shine in the pulpit, or you are 
 lost." To some of the main aracteristics of effective preaching, 
 I would, therefore, ask your special attention. 
 
 1. Need I say that you will preach in vain unless you preach 
 the Gospel ? God's method of restoring a fallen world to himself 
 must be the central theme of your ministry. Apart from the 
 doctrine of justification through faith in the atoning sacrifice of 
 the Saviour, and the doctrine of regeneration by the Holy Spirit, 
 there is no hope of mercy for the guilty, and no means of spiritual 
 renovation for the depraved . 
 
 You might describe in glowing colours those moral excellencies 
 that blended so beautifully and harmoniously in the perfect 
 character of Jesus, but without preaching the atonement made by 
 his death you would only present before the eyes of men a 
 memorial of the height from which they have fallen , and to which 
 they can never rise again, without the healing and restoring 
 influence of the Cross. You are commissioned to preach " Christ 
 crucified"— to proclaim the wondrous fact that he died for our 
 sin&<— to hold forth the great propitiation by which the rightful 
 
ORDINATION CHARGE. 13 
 
 claims and legal honouis of the "King Eternal " are elTectually 
 provided for in the justification of rebels. We know there are 
 modern Jews to whom such preaching will be a sturabling-block, 
 and modern Greeks to whom it will bo foolishness; but their 
 counsels are not to be your guide. In opposition to the pharisaism 
 of the one cl^, and the false philosophy of the other, you must 
 preach the doctrine of a free and full salvation through the 
 sacrificial death of the Son of God. Rather relinquish the work 
 of the ministry, than copy the example of those who are seeking 
 to invest the pulpit with additional attraction and power by 
 substituting other themes for that of the glorious Gospel. Their 
 discourses on history, or poetry, or philosophy, or ethics, or social 
 science, or creation, or providence, though brilliant with the light 
 of genius, and delivered with all the charms of eloquence, must, 
 for all spiritual and saving purposes, be as cold and uninfluential 
 as the wintry moonlight shining on the grotto of icicles. Such 
 preaching to perishing sinners is " a delusion, a mockery, and a 
 snare." It furnishes no reply to the grand enquiry, " What must 
 I do to be saved?" — it directs the feet of men to no sure founda- 
 tion — it leads to no "fountain for sin and uncleanness" — it 
 conducts to no refuge from the storm. And this is equally true of 
 those preachers whose discourses are on purely religious subjects, 
 but who fail to proclaim the saving doctrines of the Cross. They 
 delight to expatiate on the charms of virtue and on the smiles of 
 Divine benignity, and their meagre and sentimental theology may 
 be accepted by those who, like themselves, are entangled in the 
 sophistries of a sinful heart; but it must fail to allay the disquietude 
 and to dispel the fears of the soul that is burdened with conscious 
 guilt. It is in vain for them to proclaim " the Lord merciful and 
 gracious" to the anxions enquirer, while they conceal from him the 
 only way in which mercy can come to his rescue in harmony with 
 
14 ORDINATION CHARGE. 
 
 the cUims of cteinal truth and justice. They might as well 
 Attempt to soothe the mind with sweet music amidst the convul- 
 sions of an eai-lh([uake. Regard it, my dear brethren, as the one 
 great l)usine88 of your ministry to make known the wonderful 
 scheme in which holiness and mercy, rectitude and love unite their 
 beams in the salvation of men. Without tliis the pulpit would 
 have no saving influence. The extraction of oxygen from the 
 atmosphere, and of light from the sun, would noc more effectually 
 deprive them of their life-sustaining properties, than the exclusion 
 of this Gospel scheme from the pulpit would divest it of all its 
 vitality and power. Those miracles of moral transformation that 
 signalized the preaching of the apostles — those marvellous achieve- 
 ments that distinguished the times of the Reformation, when the 
 Church arose, as by a spiritual resurrection, from the grave of 
 Papal superstition — that mighty awakening and glorious revival 
 of religion in which Methodism originated — and those splendid 
 triumphs over heathenism which have crowned the labours of 
 modern missionaries, are all attributable, imder God, to the 
 preaching of the Cross ! And this is the weapon that is to be 
 mighty, through God, in your hands, to the pulling down of 
 strongholds, and every high thing that exalteth itself against the 
 knowledge of God. 
 
 2. If you would be efficient preachers, you must faithfully 
 declare the whole counsel of God. His character must not be 
 mutilated and marred in your representations of it. You must 
 make him known in his inflexible rectitude and unsullied purity, 
 as well as iu the tenderness of his compassion and riches of his 
 grace. Some modern preachers resolve his character into the one 
 attribute of merey, but their God has no archetype either in the 
 Bible or the book of Nature. It is a romantic fiction — an imagin- 
 ary idol, and not that God who is glorious in holiness, loving 
 
ORDINATION CHARGE. 15 
 
 righteousness and hating iniquity. They seek to invest Jehovah 
 with a robe of loveliness, but they insult his majesty by plucking 
 away his sceptre and his crown, and leaving him with the mere 
 semblance of a throne. You must declare his judgments as well 
 as his mercies ; the power of his anger as well as the abundance of 
 his goodness. Whilst to the weary and heavy-laden penitent your 
 ministry must bo as the beautiful bow that bends on the bosom 
 and brightens amidst the tears of the storm, to the impenitent and 
 unbelieving it must be as the lightnings that scathe and as the 
 thunders that appal. Your representations of God's truth must 
 be such as shall bring peace to the troubled conscience, and yet 
 quicken its sensibility; such as shall soothe the mind by the 
 assurances of Divine mercy, and yet solemnize it by the exhibition 
 of Divine majesty; such as shall constrain men to bow with 
 profound reverence before God's awful throne, and yet to show 
 them how they may draw near to that throne on earth, and sit 
 down amidst its splendours in heaven, as a throne of grace Jiccess- 
 ible here, and a throne of glory inheritable for ever. Thus will 
 your ministry harmonize with the redeeming work of Jesus, which 
 brings God near to us in his mercy and grace, and yet enthrones 
 him in honour and majesty as a righteous Ruler. 
 
 Let nothing betray you into unfaithfulness as ministers of God. 
 You hud better be stigmatized falsely as the advocate of a gloomy 
 and repulsive theology — better be loaded with the most oppro- 
 brious epithets that offended sinners can heap upon you — better 
 expose yourself to the bitterest scorn and most burning indignatiun 
 that can result from wounded pride and exasperated enmity against 
 God — better go from the pulpit to the pestilential dungeon, or to 
 the flames of martyrdom, for your fidelity, than prove unfaithful 
 to your solemn trust. 
 
 If you should prophecy amooth things to them that are ready 
 
m 
 
 10 ORDINATION CHARGE. 
 
 to perish, and lead them to make "lies their refuge, aud to hide 
 
 themselves under falsehoods," your own hearts will condemn you, 
 
 souls deluded and destroyed will curse you, and an angry Go<l 
 
 will require their blood at your hands. Whilst, if you are faithful, 
 
 you will have the approving testimony of your own consciences, 
 and the benediction of him whose favour outweighs a world of 
 censure and transcends a universe of praise. At the same time, 
 let me guard you against the mistake of those who seem to suppose 
 that the faithful preaching of the Word retjuires that they should 
 be perpetually using terrific phraseology. When such awful 
 words as •* hell " and ''damnation" are called for, no regard for 
 the delicate sensibilities or fastidious tastes of your hearers must 
 restrain you from employing them. But do not suppose that such 
 language is necessary to give solemnity aud irapressiveness to a 
 discourse, to rouse the slumbering conscience, or to affect the 
 insensible heart. You do not find it in Peter's sermon on the day 
 of Pentecost, and yet what sermon was ever more pungent and 
 powerful? It is said that President Edwards* sermon, entitled 
 •* Sinnei*s in thf Hands of an Angry God," was one of the most 
 awful and aff*ecLing exhibitions of truth ever made from the pulpit 
 and yet it is not remarkable for this kind of language. Aud, on 
 the other hand, a sermon may be freely interspersed with such 
 phraseology, and yet not be faithful to the truth of God. If you 
 would have an example of ministerial integrity, behold the 
 Apostle of the Gentiles. See him standing as a captive before 
 the tyrannical Felix and the profligate Drusilla ; and mark with 
 what fearlessness and faithfulness he reasoned on righteousness, 
 temperance, and judgment to come, selecting such topics of dis- 
 course as were directly op^^osed to the criminal passions and 
 practices of those who had his liberty in their hands! Behold 
 him as a lonely stranger on Mars Hill. He is surrounded with 
 
ORDINATION CHARGE. 17 
 
 monuments of beauty and grandeur, dedicated to the glory of 
 
 Athens and the worship of the gods; ho has before him the most 
 
 learned men. of that renowned city; he stands before the very 
 
 tribunal which condemned to death the purest and most patriotic 
 
 of their own sages for alleged hostility to their religious rites: and 
 how does he conduct himself in a situation so critical and so try* 
 ing? Does he falter in the avowal of his faith? Does ho seek to 
 flatter his illustrious auditors? No; but with the magnanimity 
 and majesty of a divinely authorized ambassador ho denounces 
 theiT' idolatry, and demands their homage for the one true God. 
 
 3. If your preaching is to be successful, it must be suited to 
 the requirements of your hearers. The truths which you have to 
 preach are unchangeable, and are adapted to men of all classes 
 and conditions throughout all time; but they were at first clothed 
 in a costume, and conveyed in a manner, suited to the peculiar 
 views and customs of the people to whom they were addressed. 
 And there can be no doubt that if they had been given to the 
 world in our own day, they would have differed as much in their 
 mode of presentations as Paul's Epistle to the Hebrews diflers 
 from his Epistle to the Romans, and as much as his profound and 
 philosophical discourae on the resurrection differs from both these 
 epistles. Human nature in its radical element changes not, but 
 in its development and. outward aspects it is ever changing, and the 
 mode of exhibiting the truth by which it is to be influenced must 
 be fitted to these changes. In order to this, a minister must not 
 only have a general knowledge of human nature, but a particular 
 acquaintance with it as it appears in his own times. Sin is always 
 the same in its abstract nature, but it assumes endless varieties of 
 form according to the temperament, the education, the tempta- 
 tions, the interests, and the pursuits of men, and he who would 
 
 successfully oppose it must understand its Protean forms. Old 
 
 3 
 
18 ORDINATION CIIAROE. 
 
 errorfi put on new faces, anil require correflponding modea of 
 nHHHult. KnlionaliHm, Romanism, and Infidelity are ever ausuming 
 new aspects, and be who would counteract their pestilent influence 
 
 must be able to trace them through all their *' tortuous sinuosities," 
 to tear ofl* their subtle disguises, and expose them in all their 
 hidcou8.deformitie8. Endeavour, then, to understand the character- 
 istics and tendencies of your own times, the relative positions of 
 truth and error, and tlie various antagonistic forces with which 
 you have to contend. By familiar intercourse with those to wliom 
 you will have to minister the '* Word of Life," get an intimate 
 acquaintance with their temptations and trials, their doubts and 
 difliqylties, their prejudices and passions, their desires and aspir- 
 ations, that you may penetrate into the inmost recesses of their 
 hearts, and be able to administer instruction, reproof and conso- 
 lation, as their different cases may require. Of what avail would 
 it be to prepare sermons distinguished by profound thought, logical 
 power, rhetorical beauty, and all the qualities of elaborated and 
 tinished compositions, if they were not fitted to the capacities .ind 
 conditions of those who hear them. 
 
 4. A good pulpit delivery is essential to effective preaching. 
 The following extract from the biography of Whitfield deserves 
 your attention : — '* Whitfield sought out acceptables tones, and 
 gestures, and looks, as well as acceptable words." Was Whitfield 
 right? Then many are far gone. Let the rising ministry take 
 warning. •*' Awkwardness in the pulpit is a sin ; monotony is a 
 'sin; dulness is a sin and all of them are sins against the welfare 
 of immortal souls. There was a remarkable simplicity of style 
 in Whitfield's sermons; but I believe the extraordinary effects 
 which attended tlieir delivery were owing still more to his capti- 
 vating eloquence. Promiscuous thousands hung upon his lips with 
 almost breathless awe. But if his sermons had been delivered 
 
ORDINATION CHARGE. 10 
 
 with the monotonous cadence and somnolent fones of some 
 preachers, their results would have been very «liflVrent. The 
 human voice is cue of the grandest instruments that the Creator 
 has fashioned, and its cultivation is a duty binding upon all, 
 and especially upon the Christian minister. I speak with defer- 
 ence in the presence of so many ministerial brethren, and not 
 without some feeling of self-accusation, when I say that, in my 
 humble judgment, the importance of this matter has not been 
 sufSciently felt. All are not equally gifted in this respect, but 
 much may be done by those who are the least favoured. It is 
 said of that famous orator whose eloquence '* fulmined over Greece 
 and shook the throne of Macedon," that, in the fiint instance, he 
 w.'is hissed from the rostrum because of his extreme awkwardness. 
 But he went to work with an invincible determination to surmount 
 every obstacle, and at length acquired a power of oratory by which 
 he agitated, swayed, and impelled the nation at his pleasure. 
 Whatever can be done should be done to acquire an agreeable and 
 forcible delivery. It is the wonderful power by which one mind 
 concentrates the light of its intelligence on other minds, and by 
 which one heart sends the electric impulses of its sympathy 
 through other hearts. How many good sermons are spoilt by a 
 bad delivery; how much truth falls from the lips of a poor speaker 
 without reaching the minds of his hearers! He parts with it, but 
 they do not receive it, and so there is no conimunication. After 
 what I have said on ministerial fidelity, you will not suppose that 
 I wish you to become men-pleasers, except in the sense in which 
 you should aim at being this. Far be it from you to be seeking 
 the gratification of men's tastes when you should be probing their 
 hearts, grappling with their consciences, and denouncing the 
 judgments of God against their sins. But there is a sense in 
 which you roust seek to please men ia order that you may pleasi 
 God. 
 
 I 
 
Ilil 
 I'll 
 
 20 ORDINATION CHAHGE. 
 
 5. I would now observe, with all the emphasis of which I am 
 rapjihle, timt a p:ood elocution and a gmcofui n)annor, however 
 important in themselves, are not sufficient without that syinpa- 
 tliotic oarnostnefiH which should breathe in the tones and look forth 
 ifi (he gestures of the man whose work it is to teacli the perishing 
 to ho reconciled to God. Your manner should make it manifest 
 that the truths you utter have passed through your own under- 
 slandings and hearts, kindling in their passage corresponding 
 Kontimonte and sympathies. Heart answers to heart, and f«ieling 
 to feeling. That which comes from the heart is likely to reach the 
 heart, and that which is spoken wilh feeling to produce feeling. 
 How many discourses on th« solemn tragedy of the Cross have 
 failed of their proper effect, because they have been mere intellec- 
 tual displays — mere dramatic exhibitions — decorated, perhaps, 
 with the embellishment of a poetic fancy, and delivered with the 
 pomp of tragical declamation, but bearing no evidence of liaving 
 passed through a heart melted into tenderness and tears by the 
 sacrificial sorrows of the Saviour. How many sermons on the 
 miseries of the lost have failed to produce their proper impression, 
 because delivered without that tender compassion, that yearning 
 pity for the perishing, which should ever be conspicious in such 
 discourses. If a roiaister dwell on the "terrors of the Lord " as 
 if ho delighted to brandish the flaming sword of justice and to 
 hurl the bolts of vengeance, he will fail to convince his heaicrs 
 that he seeks to pluck them "as brands from the burning." 
 He may gesticul.ite and thunder, but there are certain 
 chords of the human heart which are not to be operated 
 on by such means, any more than you could call forth 
 the whispering music of an ^olian harp by striking it with 
 a bar of iron. Even the gracious invitations and precious promises 
 of the Gospel will bo listened to without emotion, if announced in 
 
ORDINATION CHARGE. 21 
 
 a cold and carolefiH manner, (rod hna inRtiliited the ministry that 
 his overtures of mercy to tlio rebellious, that his messages of love 
 to his poor prodigal children, may be conveyed with all the 
 warmth of hun)au aflections, and witli all the pathos and power 
 of Christian sympathy and love. Arid wo can have no hcsit^ition 
 ■ in saying that a sermon imbued with the spirit of an indwelling 
 sympatliy, baptized with the fervour of holy love, will be more 
 ert'eetual than a thousand delivered in a mere mechanical manner. 
 An ardent love for Christ, and for the souls redeemed by his blood, 
 will give a tenderness to your tones, and an intense solicitude to 
 your manner, that will arrest the attention and impress the heart, 
 when the most vociferous declamation has spent itself in vain. 
 
 0. Let mo advise you to form the habit, and to cultivate the 
 power of extemporaneous speaking. You cannot too carefully 
 prepare for your pulpit duties, but you need not inflexibly bind 
 yourselves to what you have prepared. By a thorough apprecia- | 
 
 tion and mastery of your subject, your mind may be loft free to 
 receive any new thoughts, and to appropriate any new illustrations 
 that may present themselves. By deviating from the proscribed 
 line of discourse, vou may occasionally stumble upon a mistake, 
 an ill-chosen expression may escape you, and a figure may now 
 and then be employed v^hich the accomplished rhetorician would 
 not approve; but these blemishes will bo far more than compen- 
 sated by the increased animation of your delivery, and by the new 
 lightthat will flash around you, as you yield yourselves to the 
 kindling emotions of a mind upon which the truth is breaking . 
 with new beauty, and majesty, and power. 
 
 7. Before leaving the subject of preaching, allow me to express 
 my earnest hopo that in all your private studies and pulpit 
 ministrations you will cherish a deep sense of your absolute 
 dependence upon the blessing of God for the sucqcss of your 
 iubours. 
 
 ; I 
 
22 ORDINATION CHAIUJK. 
 
 Listen io tho words in which the Apoatlc J*aul diHolainiH all 
 sdf-sufl&oicncy, and nucribes tho huccoss of the niinintry wholly to 
 (Jod : " Who then is Paul, and wlio is ApolloH, but ministers 
 by whom yc believed, even as the Lord gave to every man ? I 
 have planted, ApoUos watered; but God gave the increase. So 
 then neither is ho that planteth anything, neither is ho that 
 watcreth; but God that giveth the increase." As the husband- 
 man would break up his ground and sow his seed in vain without 
 the fertilizing influences of sun and showers, so they who sow the 
 good seed of the kingdom will do it in vain, unless tho " Lord of 
 tho harvest" vouchsafe his blessing. Tho power that quickens 
 tho precious seed and makes it productive, is not in tlie sower, 
 nor in the seed, !ior in the hearts that receive it, but in the Holy 
 Spirit. Tho most seraphic piety, combined with tlic most 
 splendid talents, would not give you the power of converting a 
 singU soul. Your sermons, however lofty in sentiment and * 
 profound in thought, however logical in argument and beautiful 
 in illustration, however well adapted to the peculiarities of your 
 hearers, and however forcibly delivered, must fall dull and 
 powerless on the ear, unless accompanied by tho life-giving 
 influences of the Divine Spirit. What an instructive and im- 
 pressive testimony the Saviour bears at once to the reality and 
 importance of the Spirit's influence, in the words addressed to his 
 disciples: "It is expedient for you that I go away ; for if I go 
 not away, the Comforter will not come unto you ; but if I depart, 
 I will send him unto you. And when ho is come, he will reprove 
 
 the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment." May 
 this promised Comforter ever be with you, and dwell in you, 
 
 clothing your miuds with strength, and crowning your ministry 
 
 with eucoegs I 
 
OUDINATION CIIAIIOF!. 23 
 
 V. And now, in tlio last place, I would ask your attention to 
 a few remarks on the character and deportment wliich, as minis- i 
 
 tera, you should endeavor to maintain. The requirements ol* i 
 
 some men, as to a minister's conduct, are most unrcaHonable and f 
 
 foolish. They would have him to be sonuithing more than a 
 man,or, itmay bo, something less. He must not betray the 
 common sympathies and sensibilities of human nature, lie 
 must put off the garb of manhood when ho puts on the robe ol' 
 the minister. And it not unfrerjucntly happens that they who 
 are the most irregular and defective in their own conduct, are the 
 most exacting in their demands upon him. Now, whilst these 
 self-constituted guardians of ministerial propriety are entitled to 
 little notice, you must bear in mind that it is a rightful require- 
 ment of society that a minister should bo a man of exemplary 
 conduct; that the graces and virtues of the religion which he 
 preaches to others should bo seen clustering in fair and fit pro- 
 portion around his own character, and shedding their beautiful 
 light upon his own course; that his life should be an exemplifi- 
 cation of all that is pure and lofty in principle, generous and 
 noble in spirit, and upright and Iionorable in action. 
 
 Amidst the many temptations and perils that will beset your 
 path, you must — 
 
 i. ycrupulously and prayerfully guard against the seductive 
 influences of those who would drag you down to their own level 
 of frivolty and foolishness, and then, whilst praiMJng you with their 
 lips as genial, companionable, and the like, despise you in their 
 hearts for having descended from the dignified position wliich an 
 ambassador of the Cross should ever occupv, 
 
 2. Watch and pray against that spirit of vanity and pride 
 which has proved fatal to so many Christian ministers. Vanity 
 disphya itaelf in an eager solicitude to secure the admiration and 
 
24 ORDINATION CHARGE. 
 
 applauRO of men. The love of praise is natural, and, if properly 
 regulated, may contribute to virtue and usefulness. But if it be 
 allowed to pass beyond certain bounds, it becomes vanity, and is as 
 a blighting mildew on the moral affections of the soul, and a 
 barrier in the way of usefulness. If a minister allow himself to 
 indulge it, he may sacrifice all that is noble at its shrine. It may 
 lead him to the pitiable meanness, the detestable dishonesty of 
 lowering another's reputation for the purpose of raising his own. 
 Pi-ide, on the other hand^ may show itself in an indifference to 
 the good opinion of others. It wraps a man up in himself. It 
 renders a man haughty, supercilious, arrogant, and overbearing in 
 his conduct toward others. Both are most unseemly and 
 inconsistent in a minister, whose business it is to hold up the 
 example of Him who was *» meek and lowly in heart," and to 
 warn men against the " pride that goeth before destruction," and 
 against that hauglitiness of spirit which is the sure precursor of a 
 fall. 
 
 3. But whilst a minister should not bo proud and presumptuous, 
 he should respect himself, and allow no man to trifle with his hon- 
 our, much less to trample it in the dust. A cringing spirit of 
 abject servility and voluntary degradation is contemptible in any 
 man, and it is especially so in the Christian minister. Whilst you 
 are not to tyrannize over any man, not e\en the poorest member 
 of tho Church, you must resolve that, God being your helper, no 
 man shall ever bo permitted to tyrannize over you, whatever his 
 position or power. It is pitiable to see a man employing his 
 power to humiliate a minister of God; but it is still more pitiable 
 to see a minister bending his neck beneath the yoke of the tyrant, 
 like a craven, crestfallen coward, when he should stand erect in 
 the spirit of a man and the dignity of a minister. When brazen 
 insolence lifU its head, and sets its mouth against all propriety, you 
 
ORDINATION CHAROE. 25 
 
 njust be prepared to rebuke it, though it may bo clotlied with 
 purple and decked with gold. A minister is bound to respect 
 himself, as well as to respect oihers, and if he fail to do this, he 
 
 will not only dishonour his own name, but degrade his sacred 
 office and damage the Church of God. 
 
 4. Cultivate a spirit of fraternal love and generous sympathy 
 towards those with whom you are associated in the work of 
 the ministry. Keep yourselves at the greatest possible distance 
 fiora those petty jealousies and personal animosities which tend 
 to bring the ministry into contempt. Take care not to depreciate 
 a brother's gifts and labours merely because they differ from your 
 own. 
 
 *' There are diversities of gifts, but it is the same God that 
 
 worketh all and in all." You and your brethren are fellow-labourers 
 
 in the same vineyard ; and it is, perhaps, as impossible to say what 
 
 kind of labour conduces most to the harvest which is to be ulti» 
 
 mately reaped, as to say which day of the season contributes most 
 
 largely to the luxuriance of the summer and the golden 
 
 fruits of autumn. He who plants, and he who waters, should 
 
 feel that they are engaged in one common work; each should 
 
 respect the office and employment of the other, and both should 
 
 labour together in liaimouy, as they expect to rejoice together 
 
 when the final results of their toils shall be gathered and garneretl 
 
 amidst the jubilant songs that shall celebrate the general harvest 
 
 of the world. I cannot prolong this address by particularizino- in 
 
 relation to the conduct that becomes a minister of the Gospel . A 
 
 due appreciation of the importance and grandeur of your work, as 
 
 those who have to *' beseech men in Christ's stead" to be reconciled 
 
 to God, and an intense desire to be successful, will supply the 
 
 place of a thousand rules, and m^\e you most anxious to comply 
 
 with the apostle's injunction : " Giving no offence in anything,that 
 
26 ORDINATION CHARGE, 
 
 the ministry be not blameJ: but in all things approving ourselves 
 as ihe ministers of God; by pureness, by knowledge, by kindness, 
 by the word of truth, by the power of God, by the armour of 
 righleousness on the right hand and the left." 
 
 Let nie, then, in conclusion, once more remind you of the mag- 
 nitude and glory of the work to which, amidst the throbbing 
 sympathies, the good wishes, and the fervent prayers of this con- 
 gregation, you have been solemnly set apart. In its principles, 
 purposes, and practical results this work is identified with the 
 mysterious incarnation, the sacrificial death, and the mediatorial 
 reign of the S'on of God; You have to co-work with Him in 
 bringing about those grand designs for which he became obedient 
 unto death, even the death of the cross, and for which he now 
 sits enthroned in regal majesty at the right hand of God. The 
 ministry holds a distinguished place in that great system of 
 means by which God is restoring a fallen world unto himself. It 
 looks beyond the temporary wants of the body, and the transient 
 interests of time, to the spiritual necessities of man's immortal 
 nature, and the vast concerns of an eternal state. Its results will 
 .remain when the proudest monuments of this world shall have 
 mouldered into dust, and when the world itself shall have passed 
 away. Surely, then, a work so transcendently glorious deserves 
 the noblest powers that can be consecrated to it^ an<l will more 
 than compensate for any possible amount of labour. In such a 
 work nothing should discourage you. You may have to " weep 
 in secret places" because of the hardness of men's hearts, but you 
 must not grow weary in well-doing, assured, as you are that " they 
 who go forth weeping, bearing precious seed, shall doubtless come 
 again rejoicing, bringing their sheaves with them." God only 
 'knows how many benighted souls shall be enlightened, how many 
 wounded hearts shall be healed, how many drooping spirits shall 
 
'*'"---r^*l^ 
 
 Ij^Jl^g^^gJ 
 
 ORDINATION CHAIIOE. 07 
 
 bo Cheered, how ,na„y dea,h-be<U shall be >cHle,eJ ,«aeeful aL 
 tnumphant, and ),ow many departing souls shall be lighted up 
 with v,s,ons of hnperiahable glory through your instrumentality 
 You work tor eternity; and eternity alone, with its ever-brighten- 
 ...g glories and ever-augmenting joys, will be sufficient to reveal 
 all the results of your faithful labours. M^hat an illustrious 
 distinction, and what a solemn responsibility, to !« engaged in a 
 work hke this. Tell me not of those who have emMM their 
 genms and embalmed their memories in the breathing marble or 
 the speaking canvas, in lofty song, or sublime orations, in political 
 enactments or military triumphs, in mechanical inventions or scien- 
 t.fic d.scoveries;butgivemethejoy, the glory, the rapture of those 
 who, having finished their course and fulfilled the ministry of 
 reconciliation committed unto them, shall hear their Master say, 
 "Well done!" •^' 
 
 Our hearts' desire and prayer to God in your behalf are, that 
 you may long be -burning and shining lights" in your appointed 
 spheres, and that when you shall cease to shine on earth, you may 
 nse to occupy a conspicuous place in that resplendent firmament, 
 where those who " turn many to righteousness" shall shine -a, 
 the stars for ever and ever." Amen.