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that sense, his "children." That such a relationship subsists, it were easy to prove at large, if necessary, from holy Scripture. St. Paul addresses the Galatians as his " children, of whom he travailed in birth until Christ was formed in them." (Gal. iv. 19.) To the Corinthians he says, "In Christ Jesus I have begotten you through the Gospel." (I Cor. iv. 15.) To the Thessalonians, "We were gentle among you, as a nurse cherisheth her children."- "Ye know how we exhorted, and comforted, and charged every one of you, as a father doth his children." (1 Thess. ii. 7, 11.) Writing to Timothy, his fellowhelper, whom, like Titus, he calls his own son in the faith,” (1 Tim. i. 2,) he directs him how he ought "to behave" himself" in the house of God, which is the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth." (1 Tim. iii. 15.) St. John uses language in his epistles which conveys the same ideas. St. Peter also addresses believers as "new-born babes," (1 Peter ii. 2,) and "obedient children," (1 Peter i. 14,) who “are built up a spiritual house," or family; (1 Peter ii. 5;) and he directs "the Elders," or Ministers, among them to "feed the flock of God," and "take the oversight," or government, "thereof," that "when the Chief Shepherd shall appear," they may "receive a crown of glory that fadeth not away." (1 Peter v. 1, 2, 4.) These, and many other passages, sufficiently indicate the relationship supposed, and the nature and constitution of a Christian church.

Now, this relationship suggests to us the idea of,

1. Paternal affection. A Minister of the Gospel cannot have the Spirit of his divine Master, nor the spirit of his ministerial work, if he love not his flock. Of Christ it is emphatically said, that he "loved the church, and gave himself for it;" (Eph. v. 25;) and just in proportion as a Christian Minister imbibes the Spirit of Christ, he is morally qualified for his ministerial office. A Minister who loves not his flock is a hireling, and not a true shepherd. He may attend to the external duties of his office; he may possess the qualifications of learning, genius, and eloquence; he may speak with the tongue of angels rather than men, concerning the things of God; but his heart is not with his people; he never yearns over them as his children, and never feels properly solicitous to promote their piety and usefulness.

But a man sent of God, and baptized with His Spirit, feels a strong affection towards his flock. The humblest of its members he regards as having been redeemed with the precious blood of Jesus; as a being of immortal capacities, and immortal hopes, on whom the Saviour has set his love, and whom, therefore, he ought to love also for his Saviour's sake; and this gives him a deep and tender interest in all the feelings, joys, and sorrows of his people, and creates a constant concern for their welfare.

Now, where this love really exists, it will be duly manifested; and accordingly we may observe that the relationship supposed also suggests the idea of,

2. Paternal watchfulness and care. As it is the duty of a father to watch over his family, and of a shepherd to watch over his flock; so is it the duty of a Christian Minister to watch over souls.

In this relationship he is to feed or nourish them. Thus our Lord said to Peter, when he had received from him the protestation of his love, "Feed my lambs;" and then he reiterated the direction, not only for the benefit of the younger and more inexperienced members

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of the flock, but also of those who might be more matured and established in grace, twice saying, "Feed my sheep." (John xxi. 15—17.) To such overseers, St. Paul says, "Take heed unto yourselves, and to all the flock, over the which the Holy Ghost hath made you overseers, to feed the church of God, which He hath purchased with his own blood." (Acts xx. 28.) In this work, he is to "feed" them with 'knowledge;" (Jer. iii. 15 ;) which, in the language of Scripture, is to partake of the character of either "milk" or strong "meat," (1 Cor. iii. 2,) as their circumstances require. In other words, with some he is to begin with the "principles," or elementary parts, of religion, while he leads on others to Christian "perfection." (Heb. vi. 1.) To each member of the flock is thus to be given a "portion" of spiritual "meat in due season," (Luke xii. 42,) that each "may grow up into him in all things, who is the Head, even Christ;" (Eph. iv. 15;) and that all may attain to "the knowledge of the Son of God, unto a perfect man, unto the measure of the stature of the fulness of Christ." (Eph. iv. 13.)

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O, how important it is that we, who are Ministers, should keep these objects steadily in view, and labour to bring out of our treasure things new and old;" (Matt. xiii. 52;) so that all may be refreshed and satisfied in the courts of the Lord's house; may partake, by our instrumentality, of the "feast of fat things," (Isai. xxv. 6,) which He has provided for his people, and may drink of the "river" of life, whose "streams make glad the city of God!" (Psalm xlvi. 4.) And how important it is also that you, who are members of the flock, and hearers of the word, should desire rather to be fed with divine knowledge, and to “ grow in grace," (2 Peter iii. 18,) than to be pleased with the "enticing words of man's wisdom!" (1 Cor. ii. 4.)

The idea of paternal watchfulness and care also suggests that it is the duty of a Minister to guard his flock against the attacks of adversaries. This is an important part of the pastoral office. "Grievous wolves" have frequently "entered in, not sparing the flock." From amongst themselves, also, have men arisen, "speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them;" (Acts xx. 29, 30;) and, besides these, they have to "wrestle against principalities, against powers, against the rulers of the darkness of this world, against spiritual wickedness in high places." (Eph. vi. 12.) Hence it is necessary that a fence of godly discipline and order should be placed around the Christian fold; that it should be well guarded and constantly preserved; and that each member of the flock should be taught how to detect "Satan's devices," and warned against every form of attack and danger. All this a faithful Pastor will strive to attend to, and will thus, in connexion with his other labours, "make full proof" of his "ministry." (2 Tim. iv. 5.) "But he that is a hireling, and not the shepherd, whose own the sheep are not, seeth the wolf coming, and leaveth the sheep and fleeth, and the wolf catcheth them, and scattereth the sheep. The hireling fleeth, because he is a hireling, and careth not for the sheep." (John x. 12, 13.) When most needed, he shrinks from the post of duty and danger, and leaves the flock to be destroyed by "evil workers," (Phil. iii. 2,) and by the "roaring lion." (1 Peter v. 8.) While, however, the shepherds who are duly appointed to the pastoral office, by Him who is "the Chief Shepherd," endeavour to perform their duty, let it be the care of the flock to follow their instructions; to cleave to them, to one another, and to Christ; to love

the fold, and to "continue" therein "to the end," that they may be for ever 66 saved."

Further, the relationship supposed suggests the idea of,

3. Paternal responsibility. As a father is responsible for the training and government of his children, so is a Pastor for the care of his flock. He is expressly appointed to "watch for souls, as one that must give account." (Heb. xiii. 17.) Called to this important office by Him who has purchased the church "with his own blood," and appearing in the solemn character of his ambassador, so that he is represented as, in some respects, standing and speaking "in Christ's stead," (2 Cor. v. 20,) he has a work to perform which involves the glory of his divine Master, the salvation of immortal souls, and the peace, union, purity, and prosperity of the Christian church. To Him who has appointed him this work, he must render his account at last. He must render it in the most public and solemn manner, in the presence of angels and men, in the great day of judgment. Those, especially, to whom it was his duty to minister "the word of life," will then appear as witnesses for or against him; either to increase the lustre of a pure and blameless character, or to aggravate the guilt and consequences of unfaithfulness. Can anything be more deeply solemn than the public examination of his stewardship which must then take place, or than the decision and results which will depend upon it? Blessed," therefore, "is that servant, whom his Lord when He cometh shall find faithful!" (Luke xii. 42, 43.) And blessed, in the mean time, is he who breathes the spirit of his sacred office, and prepares for his great account!

Such being the relationship between a Minister and his flock, it cannot but be highly gratifying and most encouraging to him, to contemplate, as practised and exhibited among Christians generally, and especially among the people of his own charge,

II. The conduct which is here commended.

It is that of "walking in truth."

To distinguish between truth and error, right and wrong, is not always so easy a matter as some might suppose. Perhaps there never was a more important question than that which Pilate addressed to Jesus, “What is truth?" (John xviii. 38.) Multitudes of men in various ages, statesmen, warriors, sages, philosophers, poets, and sometimes even Divines, have proposed and attempted to answer it, but in vain. The search after truth has resembled the search after happiness, and, to a great extent, has been identified with it; and though men have frequently cried, "Lo, here!" and, "Lo, there!" they have generally but pointed out, at best, some small, broken fragments of the great system of truth, injured as they have been broken off, and isolated from the rest; (like some fair gem split into fragments, none of which conveys a correct idea of the beauty and perfection of the whole;) or some little, insignificant rills, far distant from the great fountain of happiness, and too often polluted and poisoned in their passage. O, it is pitiful and painful to mark how busily men are oft employed in contriving and promulging theories of truth and happiness, which, when you come to examine them, turn out to be no better than old systems of error in some new form, like decayed and shrivelled deformity in a gaudy dress; and let men search and contrive as long as they please, the sincere inquirer will find at last, that there is but one genuine

source of truth and happiness, and that that is divine. "God is light;" (1 John i. 5;) and "God is love;" (1 John iv. 8;) and in those two simple passages there is more beauty, more sublimity, and more of power, comfort, and hope for mankind, than in all that the boasted philosophers and sages of the ancient world, and all that the modern Apostles of human reason, ever uttered. Yes, "God is light," and "God is love;" and light and love are what his creatures need. And because men are so blinded and depraved by sin, that they cannot find their way to him, the Fountain of both, without his own teaching, He has given them his word, which, as a pure and bright emanation from himself, directs them to its origin, and thus at once reveals what they had previously sought in vain. And as God is the only Fountain of moral truth, so to us, in our present state of being, his word is the only pure stream of truth. What other streams, in addition to this, we may have in a more exalted state, or by what more direct methods God may then commune with us, we know not. It is a delightful thought, that by such communications we may grow in knowledge, wisdom, and love for ever. But, though we are not, in this world, capable of taking the largest draughts from the great Fountain of knowledge and joy, yet what we have is pure. It brings along with it, to our understanding and our heart, all the evidences of its high origin and unfailing blessedness which we require; and happy, thrice happy, are they who seek and find their chief satisfaction in it. They who do this may be properly said to "walk in the truth." Their creed, their conversation, and their whole deportment, are in all respects suitable to the Gospel.

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1. Now, this implies that they walk in the doctrines of truth. They approve of, admire, receive, and recommend the whole system of revealed truth, which God's word contains. The Bible, taken as a whole, is the history of God, much more than of any tribe or nation of men; and it is especially the history of God's dispensations with reference to the happiness of the human race. It marks and points out to us the progressive steps which his infinite wisdom and love adopted, in the development of a great scheme, for their recovery and salvation. It was with one and the same end in view that "God, at sundry times, and in divers manners, spake unto the fathers by the Prophets, and then, "in these last days, unto us by his Son," (Heb. i. 1,) until this great scheme was fully revealed, and "the mystery of godliness" (1 Tim. iii. 16) was opened to the admiring gaze of angels and of men. And now the result is that we see how God can be "just, and the justifier of him who believeth in Jesus;" (Rom. iii. 26;) we perceive, in glowing characters of light and love, in all the harmony of its parts, and in all its completeness and perfection as a whole, that which was shadowed forth in dim and distant outline to the faith and hope of even Prophets themselves; who, while they "prophesied of the grace that should come unto us," yet scarcely understood the entire plan according to which it should so freely flow; and therefore, as St. Peter tells us," inquired and searched diligently" respecting this great salvation; exercising their rational faculties in the examination of those deep and glorious revelations which the Spirit of God inspired them to utter; searching what, or what manner of time, the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow; unto whom it was

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revealed, that not unto themselves, but unto us, they did minister the things which are now reported unto you by them that have preached the Gospel unto you with the Holy Ghost sent down from heaven; which things the angels desire to look into." (1 Peter i. 10-12.)

To"walk" in the blessed doctrines of truth, which are thus combined and presented to us in the Christian revelation, implies that we acknowledge their origin to be divine, their evidence satisfactory, and their contents of the highest importance to our eternal wellbeing; that we receive them as an illustrious revelation of the wisdom and love of God, and of his justice and mercy to a fallen world; as a suitable provision to meet the spiritual destitution and wants of man; and as a sure source of consolation and hope, amidst the vicissitudes and mortality to which we are subject. It implies, also, that we test whatever men or books may present to us, as religious truth or principle, by the sure standard which these doctrines furnish, and that we receive or reject it, as it may agree with or fall below that standard. Above all, it implies that we seek for ourselves an assured interest in the "great salvation" which this revelation of divine truth proclaims to us; that we renounce the paths of error and sin, repent as in dust and ashes" for our transgressions, "flee for refuge" from guilt and ruin, "to the hope set before us," and accept of, and trust in, the Lord Jesus Christ, as our only and all-sufficient Saviour, according to its teaching; that we yield to him our understanding, our will, and our affections, and seek to be renewed by his Spirit, and transformed into his image; that we daily live by faith in him, as our great High Priest, and that we love him supremely, and glorify him continually. If we do not thus seek to realize the truth for ourselves, and experimentally know it to be truth, we never can be spiritually the children of God, or true members of the church of Jesus Christ.

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2. To "walk in truth" implies also that we walk in the precepts of truth. The Christian Scriptures present to us, not only a scheme of faith, but a system of duties; they connect our abiding enjoyment of salvation with our observance of Christ's law; so that, having embraced the truth, and realized it, as truth, by faith, we can only continue in the enjoyment of Christian life and privileges, by a "faith" always "working by love," and leading us into a course of evangelical obedience to its directions. Numerous are the passages which inculcate holy living upon the members of the Christian church, and, in form or substance, assure us that "faith, if it hath not works, is dead, being alone;" (James ii. 17;) and that as truly "as the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without works is dead also." (James ii. 26.)

In order, then, fully to "walk" in the precepts of truth, it is necessary to obey it cordially and constantly ourselves, and to promote faith in it, and obedience to it, amongst our fellow-men. Both these parts of the great system of Christian duty were evidently included by St. John, in his commendation of Gaius. The latter especially, that is, the support and spread of the truth, is particularly adverted to:Beloved, thou doest faithfully whatsoever thou doest, to the brethren, and to strangers; which have borne witness of thy charity, before the church; whom if thou bring forward on their journey, after a godly sort, thou shalt do well-because that for his name's sake they went forth, taking nothing of the Gentiles. We therefore ought to receive such, that we might be fellow-helpers to the truth." (Verses 5-8.) And

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