manual to guide young ministers of our own denomination. Many excellent works on the Christian ministry, written by eminent preachers of other communities, have likewise been published, some of which you have probably studied with advantage. It is not requisite, therefore, that I should attempt an exhaustive address on the subject, even if I were capable of the achievement. I am more wishful to remind you of general principles, which should guide you in your work, than to dwell at great length on minute particulars concerning it. No rules respecting the details of ministerial labour are perfectly adapted to the circumstances and capabilities of all ministers. Methods of working well suited to the situation and habits of one, might be found inconvenient, if not impracticable, by others. Repeated trial will be required before you discover the best mode of accomplishing some of the labours you have to perform. We learn certain things not by rule or precept, but by use. During the several years' probation you have already served as preachers, no doubt you have learned important lessons-lessons that can be taught by experience only.

The words of Scripture selected as the basis of my remarks form part of a charge given by the Apostle Paul to his "dearly beloved" Timothy, and they may with propriety be addressed to each of you. Your supreme aim should be to attain the greatest measure of ministerial success of which you are capable.

But what is ministerial success? The term would be variously interpreted by different men. In the opinion of many they are the most successful preachers who attract the largest congregations, and hold the highest place in popular esteem. Others pronounce that minister the most efficient who has the largest store of Biblical learning. Some deem introduction to the pastoral office by prescribed forms and ceremonies essential to a due performance of its duties. But whatever official dedication a preacher may have received, or whatever Biblical scholarship he may possess, or whatever may be his popularity as a public speaker, all these things ought to be regarded by him as means to the great end of conferring spiritual benefit. He is the most successful minister who most ministers to the spiritual good of humanity.

To be successful in promoting the spiritual interests of those who hear you, you must make the fundamental truths of the Gospel the staple of your discourses. "By manifestation of the truth" are you to commend yourselves to the consciences of men. Some, like Pilate, comtemptuously ask, "What is truth ?" as though there could be no difference between truth and error, or as though the difference, if there be any between them, is so slight as to be beyond the discrimination of ordinary people, or

so trifling, when ascertained, as not to deserve notice. Such men have no sympathy with deep religious convictions. They are at a loss to understand tenacious adherence to a particular form of religious belief, for in their estimation it is of little importance what we believe in reference to religion. Christ and His apostles, however, do not speak thus. They teach us that it is by faith we are saved. "He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life; and he that believeth not shall not see life." The connection between belief in Christ and life in Him is not an arbitrary arrangement, but a moral necessity. It is only as we believe the principles of Christianity that they can exert renewing power upon us. We must believe that God is our Father, or we cannot be comforted with thoughts of His Fatherly protection. and care. We must believe in our individual responsibility as free moral agents, or we cannot have an anxious desire to acquit ourselves acceptably before God. We must believe in our immortal destiny, or we shall have no serious concern respecting our eternal interests. We must believe in the universal brotherhood of mankind, or we shall not feel ourselves under obligation to treat our fellow-men as brethren. We must believe the Son of God gave Himself for us, or we shall not adore the wondrous love which led Him to appear in human form, and become obedient unto death, even the death of the cross." We must believe in the promise of pardon given us in the Gospel, or we cannot be comforted by the blessed assurance that God for Christ's sake has forgiven us.

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We cannot define things spiritual with the same exactness as the mathematician describes the dimensions of material objects, nor would a frequent use of metaphysical terms and dry technicalities of theology in the pulpit be generally acceptable; yet before men can be made free by the truth they must know it, and, before they can know it, it must be presented to them in an intelligible shape. The great facts relating to the redemption of man by Christ must be laid hold of by the mind before they can produce their designed effect upon us. All truth necessary to salvation centres in Christ, and the highest function of the Christian ministry is to proclaim Him as the Saviour of mankind.

If the Gospel merely unveiled to us the spotless character of Christ-though that would be an unspeakably glorious revelation, and called upon us to become like Him-it might create feelings of despair, instead of inspiring hope and gladness, for at once the formidable question would arise, How can we become like Him? Instead of being drawn to Him by a view of His purity and perfection, we should be much more inclined to shrink from Him, because of our defilement and guilt. You may direct attention to the immaculate excellence of Christ, you may discourse.

on the matchless worth of the principles He inculcated for the regulation of human conduct, you may furnish indisputable proof that He was the greatest moral teacher the world has ever known, and you may expatiate most eloquently on the miracles wrought by Him; but, unless you likewise proclaim the love which led Him to die that we might live, you will not give peace to souls burdened with sin. To be true preachers of the Gospel you must preach Him as having "once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that He might bring us to God." It was not in the moral precepts of Christ, nor in His blameless life, nor in the supernatural wonders He wrought, the Apostle Paul made his highest boast and exultation, but he gloried in the Cross of Christ, and it is from that Cross the Christian pulpit still derives its highest glory. "We preach Christ crucified, unto the Jews a stumbling-block, and unto the Greeks foolishness; but unto them which are called both Jews and Greeks, Christ the wisdom of God, and the power of God."

"A good minister of Christ" does not rely solely on official position for his influence. The darkest days in the history of the Christian Church were those in which its ministers were most arrogant in their pretensions to ecclesiastical authority. But, notwithstanding the evils caused by priestly supremacy in past times, it has numerous supporters in the present day. They tell us that men ordained to the Christian pastorate by bishops, who are in the direct line of apostolic succession, have the keys of the kingdom of heaven entrusted to them. It is their peculiar privilege to grant absolution to the penitent. They are empowered to declare all regenerate on whom they perform the rite of baptism. Their presidency at the Lord's Supper gives it spiritual efficacy. Under their sacred touch the symbols of our Saviour's death and sacrifice are converted into His corporeal presence. This bold assumption of spiritual prerogative, you are well aware, has no more foundation in the truths of Christianity than has the doctrine of the divine right of kings. Sacerdotalism is also as opposed to reason as it is contrary to the teachings of the New Testament, and we cannot wonder at the fact that it has greatly contributed to the spread of infidelity. When an acceptance of the monstrous dogma of apostolic succession is insisted upon as strenuously as though it were one of the most important and best-attested truths of the Gospel, men may well ask whether in order to be Christians they must receive as true what they know to be false. Though you make no claim to high spiritual prerogative, and count yourselves priests cnly in the sense in which all Christians constitute "a royal priesthood," you may, by a faithful and efficient discharge of the duties of your office, show that you have a divine call to it. If your ministrations fulfil God's

purpose in the promotion of the spiritual interests of mankind, you will need no other attestation of the validity of your orders. The Christian Church is not made for the ministry, but the ministry for the Church, and is divine only as it serves the great objects for which the Church exists in the world. In speaking of his own labours as an apostle, Paul says, "For though I preach the Gospel, I have nothing to glory of; for necessity is laid upon me; yea, woe is unto me, if I preach not the Gospel." The weightiest considerations that can affect human conduct governed him in his apostolic career. His sense of obligation to go forth as a herald of salvation was so deep and strong that he could not resist it, without incurring most fearful condemnation. For this object he was willing to make any sacrifice. And I trust, my brethren, you so far participate in the feelings by which he was actuated as to be ready not only to labour with diligence, but also to endure hardship and suffering, if required, in the fulfilment of duties which devolve upon you.

Ordinarily it is by an oral declaration of the Gospel its effects are produced. During many centuries this was almost the only means by which a knowledge of the Christian religion could be communicated to men, because few persons had any acquaintance with books. Not only were the poor ignorant of letters, but many in high social rank, in some cases even kings and emperors, were not able to read the Scriptures they professed to believe. Among such a population, copies of the New Testament would have been of little use, if there had been no living messenger of the Gospel to instruct men. At the present time we have millions of copies of the Bible in circulation, and the means of elementary education are provided for every child in our land, so that almost all the inhabitants of this country can read the Word of God, if eo disposed. But notwithstanding the spread of education, and the general circulation of copies of the Scriptures, the public preaching of the Gospel is still a necessity, There is truth in the saying of Thomas Carlyle, "Never since Aaron's rod went out of practice, or even before it, was there such a wonderworking tool as the pen;" but it is likewise true that spoken words have a power which merely written or printed words can never have. A letter from a far-distant friend has very great interest to us, and the perusal of it may produce deep emotion; but the receipt of a letter from him has not half the effect upon us a personal interview with him might have. When we grasp his hand, and catch the smile of his countenance, and hear from his own lips the communications he wishes to make to us, there are much deeper and warmer feelings stirred within us than could be realised by written correspondence with him.

In no country in the world is the Press more powerful than in

our own; and to nothing does it devote greater attention than to the discussion of politics. We have myriads of copies of newspapers published daily which advocate the principles of one political party or another, and there are few topics on which public interest is more easily called forth than on those which relate to political affairs. But the leaders of political parties are too shrewd to depend wholly or mainly upon the Press for the success of their effort. When an important political crisis comes great public meetings are held, at which vehement addresses are delivered. Popular enthusiasm is kindled by earnest and eloquent harangues, and the whole nation is moved by the wonderworking power of free speech. The tongue of the orator has often proved mightier than the decrees of kings. And, though human eloquence cannot of itself save a single soul from death, the ministrations of the men

"Who bring salvation in their tongues,
And words of peace reveal,"

are a divinely-ordained agency for the overthrow of the forces of evil. Much as we hear of the priesthood of letters, the ministry of literature, and the decline of the pulpit, unless the Word of Life be sounded from the lips of God's servants, the world will never be evangelised. Preaching is the highest department of ministerial labour, and he who cannot preach, whatever good qualities he may possess, assuredly has no true call to the ministry. Be sedulous, therefore, in your efforts to fit yourselves for the pulpit. Whatever else you do or leave undone, strive with all your might to become effective preachers. It would, however, be a grave mistake if in your anxiety to excel in public discourse, you overlooked other duties. The word · minister has a wider significance than the word preacher. To be Christian ministers, in the broadest sense of the term, you will find it needful to give attention to many other matters than the preparation and delivery of sermons. "I measure ministers,' said the Rev. John Newton, "by square measure. I have no idea of the size of a table if you only tell me how long it is; but if you say how wide, I can tell its dimensions. So when you tell me what a man is in the pulpit, you must also tell me what he is out of it, or I shall not know his size." Though quaintly expressed, this rule of measurement is correct. I cannot deny that, apart from the work of preaching, the demands on the time and energy of a Christian minister are often excessive. Superhuman strength would be required to perform all the work which some people expect from him. But where no unreasonable demand is made upon him, he will have numerous labours to perform in addition to those which devolve upon him as a