Imágenes de páginas
PDF
EPUB

some from an untractableness of natural temper: some from worldly interest: some from an unhappy turn in their education, or from a total neglect of it, under careless and ungodly parents; more from bad customs, and long established habits of vice or self-indulgence. Hence it will always happen, that if a minister in his preaching bears hard upon any particular sin, as the course of his duty may require, and describes the folly, misery and shame of it; every sin will find a friend in some corner of the church who will take its part, and be offended with the preacher. If he speaks against drunkenness, "there," says the drinker," he meant to reflect upon me :" that stroke upon covetousness, was intended for me, says another in that remark upon the pernicious consequences of fornication, he meant to expose me, says another. Thus they bring themselves to a persuasion, that their minister is their enemy, and means to be severe upon them: for no other reason, but because they cannot help being severe upon themselves. Hear how the Apostle states this difficulty in a few words: am I therefore, says he, become your enemy, because I tell you the truth? Suppose we see a man straying out of the road, while he is going on business of the last importance, and has no time to lose; and we call out to him to tell him he is wrong, and use all our endeavours to put him in the right way; ought that man to take us for his enemies? We should think him a strange man if he did. Is the shepherd an enemy to the straying sheep, when he would bring it back from the error of its ways in safety to the fold? But suppose that which should be a sheep, is a wolf, or a swine: such, indeed, have an interest against being brought back; and, instead of respecting their guide as a friend, will turn again and rent him. Some such there will be found in

all places. Every minister m ust expect to have som amongst his flock, who are more nearly allied to the forest than the fold; who never intend to reform themselves, and do not even wish to be better than they are; even as the swine gives itself no trouble to acquire the character of the sheep. What will such do? What can they do, but endeavour, out of favour to themselves, to lessen the influence of their minister? There are several ways of doing this: of which the most common and obvious is to impute all his zeal to an evil motive; to pride, hypocrisy, or ill nature: to any thing rather than to sincerity and charity. Another way is to take advantage of some accident or appearance, and raise reports to his disadvantage. There never did, nor ever will live that man upon the earth, whose life could be secure from misreprentation: and truth misrepresented answers all the purposes of defamation better than a lie, because there is some apparent foundation of reason and fact to build upon. Another artifice is that of ridicule. There is in most men, through the depravity of their nature, almost as great a propensity to laugh, as there is in monkies to chatter; and therefore they are very easily provoked to it. Children laugh at that which is nothing; and many with older heads upon their shoulders laugh at that which is next to nothing some laugh when they ought to pray: and others when they ought to cry. I could tell you of a Wit, (now gone to answer for his folly) who even ridiculed the providence of God *, and the doctrine of future rewards and punishments in another life: Yet this is the engine which many people employ, to lessen the efficacy of the Gospel, and the influence of those

VOLTAIRE, in his Candide, which is a satire upon the belief both of a particular and general Providence.

that preach it. Not only the ministers of God, but even God himself is made an object of ridicule !

Thus you see how every preacher is liable, from the nature of his office, to suffer from the tongue of slander. They who hate the truth, must never be expect ed to love those that publish it: and of those whom they do not love, they will be tempted to speak evil. Hence you will understand the propriety of that declaration of our blessed Lord "woe be unto you when all men speak well of you" for the world at large never will speak well, but of those who make all things easy, and give them no disturbance; false prophets who speak smooth things, and care for nothing but themselves, will be well spoken of.

It is another misfortune upon the minister of a parish, that with frequent use his voice and manner be come familiar, and consequently lose something of their force and influence upon the audience. When he comes first to a place, he is gladly received and eagerly attended to just as any other thing would be that is new. But when curiosity abates, as it always must do with familiarity and repetition, such as have no deeper root than this to their attachment, must grow indifferent, and will fall away, perhaps into total inattention. The public is so fond of novelty, and more in this than any nation of Europe, that they are apt to over-rate what is new, and having begun with inexpeJience and indiscretion, they end with disappointment. Imagination, that deceitful faculty, is always at work to cheat men with vain expectations: they look for more than they can find, and thence suspect, at last, that they have found nothing. They expect a preacher to be all perfection, and exempt from the errors of mortality; but preachers are exposed to the same cross accidents with other men, from the vicissitudes and

trials of human life, and the humours of other people, over which they have no power. They have their infirmities and their mistakes; they are exposed from without to the contempt of real enemies, and from within to the neglect and treachery of pretended friends; the world, from abroad, may frown upon the sincerity of their labours: and at home, their foes may be those of their own houshold. In all things of this kind, they are not only on a level with other men, but are in farther danger of being reduced below it from envy to their office, and jealousy against their authority These things, saith St. Paul, I have in a figure transferred to myself and Apollos for your sakes, that ye might learn in us, not to think of men above that which is written—for I think that God hath set forth us the Apostles last, as it were appointed unto death: for we are made a spectacle unto the world, and to angels, and to men*. Even Christ himself, whose time was all spent in doing good, and shewing forth many mighty works, all of a saving and merciful turn, was railed at and despised, as one that had a devil and was mad. But who were they that spoke evil of him? conceited, blind guides, who had made God's word of no effect; covetous and adulterous Pharisees; worldly minded priests: unbelieving Sadducees; hypocrites, politicians and profligates. In like manner, if there are any in a place who shew less regard than the rest to their clergyman; look at such persons, and examine their lives and manners: see whether they are kind and merciful to their poor neighbours? whether they make a conscience of frequenting the worship of God in the church? whether they are sober and temperate, abstaining from all indecency and excess? It is a common observation, that some tongues can be guilty * 1 Cor. iv. 9.

of little slander; because the reports of men and their reflections will have weight according to the value of their private characters. What does it signify how many ill words a man vomits out against his minister, who, perhaps, is seen in the street soon after, vomiting up his drink? What does it signify whether he honours a priest or not, who blasphemes the holy name of God in his common discourse, and is a disgrace to his profession, and a nuisance to the public? However, as there is no man who means to court another's ill-will, and who would not rather be glad to have his esteem; the disesteem which falls upon clergymen from their office, though it be only from the worst, and is totally owing to the parties themselves, is yet a loss and a trial: for the worst man has a soul, which might be saved; and a minister is bound to promote the salvation of it by forbearance, and tenderness, and kind advice, so long as there is any hope remaining.

Now I have represented to you some of the general difficulties and discouragements which must, in all places, attend a sincere clergyman; I shall venture to go a step farther, and set before you some of the disadvantages peculiar to myself in his place: and I trust you will hear me patiently, and without offence.

My brethren, I am thankful that I came amongst you, and hope I shall never have any reason to repent of my choice; for hither did I come by choice, and not by necessity. The world was before me, and any other place might have suited with a busy life, such as mine has always been. But when I settled here, the parish had been long without a resident minister, and at times had been served very irregularly, and was consequently out of order: yet I think, upon the whole, not so much as would have happened in some

[graphic]
« AnteriorContinuar »