Now, if from this multitude of sinners, of whom we complain, we should bring back but one soul to Christ, would not that precious gain be a sufficient reward for the labours and troubles of a whole life? Should we not be sufficiently recompensed, by being enabled to present that happy being to the Redeemer and Judge of the world, and to hear that soul, throughout the duration of ages, acknowledging its obligations to us in the holy Jerusalem, in the presence of all the saints and angels? Why should we doubt the power of grace over the most hardened sinners?" Is God's arm short"ened that it cannot save," and the riches of his mercy withdrawn from them whom he hath redeemed? You might, indeed, be discouraged at the sight of the transgressions of your people, if you had no other reliance than on your own pow ers: but it is not of ourselves; Christ worketh in us, and by us; the weakest instruments are those by whom he is often pleased to perform the mightiest acts: fulfil your ministry; this is all which he requires of you ;-leave we the rest to him. And, indeed, my Reverend Brethren, we talk much of the vices of mankind, as though men were too obstinate to be convinced, too stubborn to be subdued, and too rebellious to be reclaimed; as though the power of Religion itself were weak and ineffectual. To him belongeth judgment, as well as vengeance; and why should we condemn, as irretrievably lost, those whom the Lord may N absolve from all their sins? We hope well of ourselves, that the Almighty will one day change our lukewarmness into zeal; and we despair of salvation, and regard as incapable of happiness, a great part of society, whom ignorance, and the misfortune of a bad education, more than a want of moral principle, and of Religion, plunge into criminal excesses. Do we think, that they who lead a miserable laborious life on earth, are to endure misery, without end, after death? God forbid! It is towards these, principally, that the Almighty will not exercise the severity of his justice: to them his bowels of compassion are always open; "He shall save the poor and needy, and preserve "alive the souls of the poor." But you will say, perhaps, that these are not the motives which have restrained you, and which have hitherto prevented the exercise of your ministry, in order to correct the errors, and reclaim the vices, which are too generally prevalent in every parish: you are afraid, you allege, of not being esteemed; of passing for a violent and imprudent Pastor, and of not producing any other fruit from your zeal, than the hatred of your parishioners. There is, I allow, a zeal, proceeding from temper or constitution, which borders nearly on imprudence. But the zeal which proceeds from love, is mild and patient; it does not provoke, it does not enflame; it hates the sin, but it loves the sin ner; it opposes patience to insensibility; it reckons not its troubles and its solicitude; it feels, indeed, the most pungent grief-not for its useless labour, but for the danger of those, whose untowardness is the sole cause of disappointment and mortification; it returns with greater fervour, and more abundant love, after having been often resisted by perverseness, and withstood by insensibility: it tries every thing, prayers, entreaties, holy indignation, in order to bring back the sheep that have strayed. No! my brethren, let us not substitute humour for zeal : let us display towards those committed to our charge, more of love than of authority; let us endeavour to persuade, rather than to subdue, them: let us not mingle the passions and the severity of the man, with the zeal and forbearance of the Minister: let us not undertake too much at once, lest we fail in every thing: let not self-love induce us to urge too importunately a work, which patience, directed by judgment, may at length, happily, accomplish: let us oppose to the obstacles we may meet with, zeal, suggested by mildness, and tempered by love. Suffer me, in conclusion, to exhort you to cultivate in your breasts, the Christian graces of zeal, love, patience, vigilance, labour. And enforce your labours by your prayers. Speak more frequently to God, of the irregularities of the souls for whom you are to give account, than to themselves: complain more frequently to him, of the obstacles which your lukewarmness throws in the way of their amendment, than of those occasioned by their own obstinacy: attribute to yourselves alone, the little fruit produced by your ministry; as a tender father, excuse, in his presence the faults of your children, and bring your accusations only against yourselves; bear them continually in your heart, when you approach the throne of grace, that your sorrow and lamentations over their trespasses, may warrant the success of your cares, and promote the efficacy of your instructions; and remember that you will always labour in vain, if your prayers do not draw down upon your labours that grace, which can alone render you useful. "Pray "without ceasing. And may the God of peace "sanctify you wholly. Amen, amen!" |