"For this caufe," fays ST. BARNABAS, in his Catholic epiftle, c. 5, "did CHRIST choose men who were exceeding finners, to be his apostles; to fhew the greatness of his power and grace; and put the ineftimable treasure of his Gospel into earthen veffels, that the praise might be to GoD, and not to men."t

The idea of the personal fanctity of the minister being neceffary to the effectual administration of his office, conftituted one of the earliest errors in the Christian church; and has accompanied it through every stage of its progrefs. The effect of it, whereever it has prevailed, has been uniformly deftructive of peace and unity; by fixing the eye of the Chriftian worshipper upon the man, rather than upon the office; by which means the persons of ministers being held in admiration, the commiffion by which they have been authorised to act in the miniftry has become an object of inferior confideration.

But it fhould be remembered, that there is an holinefs of office, independent of the holiness of the

eft: inde colligere licet nihil illi afferri vel auferri ejus dignitate per cujus manum traditur."-CALV. Inftit. lib. iv. c. 15.

† Such, we should remind the reader, is the principle laid down by our Church in her 26th Article.

minister; the former, being effential to the validity of the ministerial act, is on that account not to be dispensed with, whilft the latter only recommends and adorns it.

That these two qualifications fhould always meet together, is doubtlefs a circumftance moft devoutly to be wished; but as, through the infirmity of human nature, this will not always be the cafe, it ought to become an object of primary concern with us in our judgment upon this point, that the greater confideration be at no time facrificed to the leffer one.

Where the inward call of the Spirit is therefore pleaded as a warrant for undertaking the facred office, we have a right to expect that it fhould be accompanied with the outward call, or a regular ap pointment to that office; because reason tells us, that the end for which the church, as a fociety, was in ftituted, requires that thus it fhould be; because, moreover, where there could be no poffibility of deception in the party, as in the cafe of our bleffed SAVIOUR, (a circumftance which challenges par. ticular confideration) this conformity to order was judged neceffary to be obferved. And if our bleffed SAVIOUR Condefcended to regulate his public exercife of a facred office by this rule of order, with the

view, doubtless, that it fhould become obligatory upon every fucceeding minifter in his church; we need not hesitate to call it fomething worse than prefumption in man, upon the ground of any quali fication whatever, to plead an exemption from it. "What zeal foever, therefore, a man may feel, and what qualification foever he may poffefs for the fervice of GOD; ftill GoD, to be ferved acceptably, Well-meaning

must be served in his own way.

people (and I wish to speak of them with refpect, for we may honour their principle at the fame time that we condemn their practice) fhould confider, that good intention and regular practice are two very different things; and that the former can never make amends for the diforder occafioned by the defect of the latter. On this account it is, that the intention of the agent is never admitted as a fanction for the irregularity of his act. UZZAH, it is probable, meant well, when " he put forth his hand to hold the ark." But UZZAH was ftruck dead on the fpot, for invading the office of the priesthood. I Chron. xiii. 9. SAUL, it is prefumed, meant well, when, in the abfence of SAMUEL, he offered the burnt-offering. But the fentence pronounced against him was, that in fo doing "he "had done foolishly; that he had not kept the com

K

mandments of the LORD his GOD, and that therefore his kingdom fhould not continue." I Sam. xiii. 8. There is not a more common deception than that which arifes from the perfuafion that the act is justified by the sincerity of the agent. Sincerity, it is to be observed, generally speaking, fignifies nothing more than that a perfon is earnest in the pursuit of his object; that he really believes as he profeffes, and acts as his best judgment directs. But this fincerity may confift with the most irregular practice, and the most unchriftian difpofition. A man, for instance, may believe his own lie; and act upon it with the fame confidence that another acts upon the truth: he may have a zeal for God's fervice, but not according to knowledge; he may earnestly purfue a wrong object, or a right one, by irregular means. In all fuch cases the fcripture has furnished us with a general rule of judgment, where it tells us, that " a man is not crowned, except he ftrive lawfully." And,

that there is a way which feemeth right unto a man, but the end thereof are the ways of death." "There are excellent works," fays Bishop REYNOLDS, "which being done without the call of GOD, do not edify but disturb the body. The way for the church to profper and flourish is, for

1

every member to keep in his own rank and order; to remember his own meafure; to act in his own fphere, to manage his particular condition and relations with fpiritual wifdom and humility; the eye to do the work of an eye, the hand of an hand."

In fhort, whatever ideas of ferving GOD we may form to ourselves, GoD is not to be served by a breach of his commands. And this we may depend upon, that God will be best served, when the attention of every perfon in his own order, shall be confined to the discharge of the duties appropriate to his particular ftation.