faces no more; nay, that once mournful parting, and Paul's valedictory sermon, are recognised with emotions of joy, as events necessary to promote the further promulgation of the gospel, and accomplish the decrees of heaven.

Ministers and their people, when they have finished their course, will remember those Bethel visits that they have enjoyed in the sanctuary, and around the table of the Lord, and the sweet counsel they have taken together; they will remember the seasonable reproofs given to each other, and whatever differences have taken place between them will all be forgiven, and for ever exterminated; they will see the wisdom and goodness. of God in all these things. Thus, when the ministers of Christ have finished their course, it will finish and put an end to all their troubles and so their ministry will end, or issue in their unspeakable joy and consolation.

IMPROVEMENT.

1. Since ministers receive their commission from Christ, none have any right to forbid them preaching. All courts of inquisitions, all prohibitory measures adopted by men to prevent their declaring the glad tidings of the gospel, or fulfilling the ministry they have received of the Lord Jesus, are an insult on the majesty of Heaven, and discover a spirit hostile to religion and the rights of men, and ought to be treated with a holy contempt by all the servants of Christ. With what religious indignation were those presumptuous measures treated that were used to stop the mouths of those recorded in Acts iv.: "And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all, nor teach, in the name of Jesus. But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to hearken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." Again, chapter xiii.: "When the Jews opposed Paul and Barnabas, they waxed bold in their work."

2. Since ministers receive their commission from Heaven, we see the obligations that people are under

to regard them, and pay attention to the sacred lessons they are to inculcate. To reject and despise the ambassadors of Christ is very dangerous: 'tis insulting the sacred Trinity, and accounted high treason in the court of Heaven. It indicates the displeasure of the king when ambassadors are abused and recalled; that the treaty or negotiation of peace is closing. 2 Chron, xxxvi., 16: "But they mocked the messengers of God, and despised his words, and misused his prophets, until the wrath of the Lord arose against his people, till there was no remedy." Let the enemies of God fear and tremble when they read the credentials of Christ's ministers, sanctioned with this capital label or inscription, Luke x., 16: "He that heareth you, heareth me; and he that despiseth you, despiseth me; and he that despiseth me, despiseth him that sent me."

3. Since ministers must soon finish their course, the thought should excite them to the utmost faithfulness, constancy, and engagedness in their work, seeing their time is short. We can scarcely believe the senate or legislative department to be the place assigned to gospel ministers, who are to give themselves wholly to the work. Paul could remind his Ephesian brethren, that for the space of three years he ceased not to warn every one, night and day, with tears. The same apostle exhorts Timothy to give attendance to reading, to exhortation, to doctrine. 1 Tim. iv., 13.

How desirable that the servants of Christ receive such a decent support as to be able to devote all their service to the sanctuary and the souls of their hearers. Every sermon should be a kind of farewell discourse. It is said of the pious Mr. Shepherd, that he used to say that he never preached a sermon but what he thought it might be the last. Oh! how does it become us to preach and act like dying men, that we may finish our course with joy!

4. It is no evidence that ministers are not the true servants of Christ because they meet with great opposition from the world, and even from the professors of religion: yea, it was from the high pretenders to sanctity

that the Saviour of men suffered most severely. St. Paul observes concerning bishops, that "they must be of good report of them that are without." Did the apostle mean by this to prove that himself was disqualified for the sacred office, being of bad report among the enemies of God? This, above all others, would disqualify Christ for the ministry. He observes to those whom he sent forth as preachers, Luke vi., 22, "Blessed are ye when men shall hate you, and when they shall séparate you from their company, and shall reproach you, and cast out your name as evil, for the Son of man's sake." "When men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for my sake." Matt. v., 11. That the ambassadors of Christ should so conduct as to give no just occasion to them that are without to reproach the cause of God, is evident. Doctor Macknight has the following paraphrase on 1 Tim. iii., 7: "Moreover, before his conversion, he must have behaved in such a manner as even to have a good testimony from the heathen, that he may not be liable to reproach for the sins he committed before his conversion, and fall into the snare of the devil, who, by these reproaches, may tempt him to renounce the gospel, knowing that he has little reputation to lose." That the heathen may more willingly receive him, he being formerly a man of good reputation. Consult Henry and Scott on the place, whether the learned commentator has given the meaning of the text or not. We are assured that it was never designed to fix a reproach on the characters of the faithful servants of Christ, or sanction those invectives and slanders so often cast on them by the enemies of God.

That the word of God is often wrested and perverted by him who is no stranger to the art, and introduced as an auxiliary to his evil machinations, is evident, even from the farce he attempted with the blessed Saviour of the world. He can say, "It is written," &c. It is far from being a singular case to have people make and spread false and scandalous things concerning the ministers of the gospel, and even to offer rewards to such

as will join in the game; then, to accomplish their designs, have the audacity and duplicity to say, "Oh! the man is of bad report of them that are without." Was not the Saviour of men betrayed in this way?

Let not his faithful servants relinquish their work, or determine against their call to the sacred office, because they have so many trials and persecutions; "for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you," Matt. v., 12.

5. Since ministers receive their commission from the Lord Jesus Christ, 'tis dangerous for them to go before they are sent. 'Tis suitable that they have some exterior evidence of their mission; something more than their pretensions to inward sanctity. Primitive extraordinary ministers could exhibit miraculous testimonials of their being called to the sacred office. It seems equally necessary that in all succeeding ages the ambassadors of Christ have some kind of credentials of their being regularly called to the work. We therefore find that ordinary ministers not only appeared to be inwardly called by the Holy Ghost, or were in the judgment of charity good men, endowed with ministerial gifts and graces, but were recommended and set apart by those in office, and ordained by the laying on of the hands of the presbytery. Those, therefore, that thrust themselves into the work without these prerequisites, do not come in by the door appointed by the great Head of the church, but climb up some other way, and ought not to be treated and encouraged as the true ministers of Christ.

6. Since all true ministers receive their commission from the court of Heaven, there ought to be a cordial union among them; they should treat each other as brethren. Although they may have gifts differing, the strong are not to despise the weak: they derive license from the same authority, bearing the same signet-are called by different names, such as bishops, overseers, ministers, elders, angels, &c. But we do not conceive that they are expressive of superiority or diversity of grades in office, any more than various names among

men imply different species. The soldiers of Jesus, deriving their commission from the same king, and being engaged in the same cause, should, as far as possible, see eye to eye, and strengthen each other's hands. 7. We infer the truth of the Holy Scriptures, that so accurately foretel the trials and sufferings of gospel ministers. The benevolent embassy with which they are intrusted, and the authority with which they are invested, would indicate better treatment, were it not confronted by predictions in the sacred volume, While, therefore, the enemies of God slander and persecute the servants of Christ, they, in a degree, establish the truth of Divine revelation.

8. The subject teaches how to account for that firmness and intrepidity discovered by the people of God, especially the ministers of Christ, in every age. They will not give up the cause-come life, or come death. This rendered Luther, Melanchton, Huss, Jerome, Polycarp, Wicliffe, and a thousand others, invincible to all the flatteries and intrigues of wicked men and devils, and the menaces and terrors of an inquisition: they could say, "None of these things move us," &c.

9. There will be a very solemn meeting of ministers and people at the day of judgment. Joy and terror will attend the transactions of that day. Ministers and people will meet, as having special business with each other; their reciprocal conduct will be publicly investigated. How suitable that these things are now seriously examined, with candour, before the commencement of that day.

As, in the course of Divine providence, a dissolution of the pastoral and ministerial relation between me and this people has lately taken place, according to the declaration of an ecclesiastical council convened for that purpose, I have been requested to deliver a valedictory discourse. As I am still residing among you, the occasion is different from the one that took place between Paul and those he was then taking his leave of; he tells them, that he knew that those among