with patience, and be ready to do useless books, studying useless good to every one; be courteous subjects. Every day should have to all, without cringing to any; be its work, and every subject its affable without levity, and humble due attention. Some advise a without pusillanimity; conciliating chapter in the Hebrew Bible, and the affections without violating another in the Greek Testament the truth; connecting a suavity of to be read every day. A wellmanners with a dignity of cha-chosen system of divinity should racter; obliging without flatter be accurately studied. The best ing; and throwing off all reserve definitions should be obtained, without running into the opposite and a constant regard paid to all extreme of volubility and trifling. those studies which savour of re3. They should be superior as ligion, and have some tendency to to their knowledge and talents. public work.-5. Ministers should Though many have been useful be extensive as to their benevowithout what is called learning, lence and candour. A contracted yet none have been so without bigoted spirit ill becomes them some portion of knowledge and who preach a Gospel which wisdom. Nor has God Almighty breathes the purest benevolence ever sanctified ignorance, or con- to mankind. This spirit has done secrated it to his service; since it more harm among all parties than is the effect of the fall, and the many imagine; and is, in my consequence of our departure from opinion, one of the most powerful the Fountain of intelligence. Mi- engines the devil makes use of to nisters, therefore,especially,should oppose the best interests of manendeavour to break these shackles, kind; and it is really shocking to get observe how sects and parties have all, in their turns, anathematized each other. Now, while minis

their minds enlarged, and stored with all useful knowledge. The Bible should be well studied, and that, if possible, in the original lan-ters ought to contend earnestly for guage. The scheme of salvation by Jesus Christ should be well understood, with all the various topics connected with it. Nor will some knowledge of history, natural philosophy as well as moral, logic, mathematics, and rhetoric, be useless. A clear judgment, also, with a retentive memory, inventive faculty, and a facility of communication, should be obtained.-4. They should be diligent as to their studies. Their time especially should be improved, and not lost by too much sleep, formal visits, indolence, reading

the faith once delivered to the saints, they must remember that men always will think different from each other; that prejudice of education has great influence; that difference of opinion as to non-essential things is not of such importance as to be a ground of dislike. Let the ministers of Christ, then, pity the weak, forgive the ignorant, bear with the sincere though mistaken zealot, and love all who love the Lord Jesus Christ. -6. Ministers should be zealous and faithful in their public work. The sick must be visited; children

must be catechised; the ordi-dinance appointed for the purpose nances administered; and the word of instructing men in the principles preached. These things must be and knowledge of the Gospel, taken up not as a matter of duty Eph. iv, 8, 11. Rom. x, 15. Heb. only, but of pleasure, and exe-v, 4. That the Gospel ministry cuted with faithfulness; and, as is of Divine origin, and intendthey are of the utmost import-ed to be kept up in the church, ance, ministers should attend to will evidently appear, if we conthem with all that sincerity, ear-sider the promises that in the last nestness, and zeal, which that im- and best times of the New Testaportance demands. An idle, fri- ment dispensation there would be gid, indifferent minister, is a pest an instituted and regular ministry to society, a disgrace to his pro- in her, Eph. iv, 8, 11. Tit. i, fession, an injury to the church, 5. Pet. i, 3. Tim. i; also from and offensive to God himself.-7. the names of office peculiar to Lastly, ministers should be uniform some members in the church, as to their conduct. No bright and not common to all, Eph. ness of talent, no superiority of iv, 8, 11; from the duties which intellect, no extent of knowledge, are represented as reciprocally will ever be a substitute for this. binding on ministers and people, They should not only possess a Hebrews xiii, 7, 17. 1st Peter wise mind, but a luminous con- v, 2, 3, 4; from the promises duct. This will procure dignity to of assistance which were given themselves, give energy to what to the first ministers of the new they say, and prove a blessing to dispensation, Matt. xxviii, 20; the circle of connexions in which and from the importance of a they move. In fine, they should Gospel ministry, which is reprebe men of prudence and prayer, sented in the scripture as a very light and love, zeal and know- great blessing to them who enjoy ledge, courage and humility, hu- it, and the removal of it as one of manity and religion. See DECLA- the greatest calamities which can MATION, ELOQUENCE, PREACH- befall any people, Rev. ii and iii. ING, and SERMONS, in this work; See books under last article. Dr. Smith's Lect. on the Sacred MINISTERIAL CALL, a Office; Gerard's Pastoral Care; term used to denote that right or Chrysostom on Priesthood; Bax- authority which a person receives. ter's Reformed Pastor; Burnet's to preach the Gospel. This call Pastoral Care; Watts's Humble is considered as twofold, divine Attempt; Dr. Edwards's Preach- and ecclesiastical. The following er; Mason's Student and Pastor; things seem essential to a divine Gibbon's Christian Minister; Md-call: 1. A holy, blameless life.ther's Student and Preacher; Os- 2. An ardent and constant inclitervald's Lectures on the Sacred Ministry; Robinson's Claude; Doddridge's Lectures on Preaching and the Ministerial Office.

MINISTRY GOSPEL, an or

nation and zeal to do good.-3. Abilities suited to the work; such as knowledge, aptness to teach, courage, &c.-4. An opportunity afforded in Providence to be use

into their office by patronage of whatever form hath its origin from popery, tends to establish a tyranny over men's conscience, which and whom Christ hath made free, and to fill pulpits with wicked and indolent clergymen. Whoever will attentively examine the history of the primitive times, will find that all ecclesiastical officers for the first three hundred years were elected by the people." We must refer the reader for more on this subject to the articles CHURCH, EPISCOPACY, and INDEPENDENTS.

ful. An ecclesiastical call consists tors in ordinary cases to adult in the election which is made of Christians, and to none else, Acts any person to be a pastor. But i, 15, 26. Acts vi, 1, 6. Acts xiv, here the Episcopalian and the Dis- 23. Christ requires his people to senter differ; the former believing try the spirits, which supposeth that the choice and call of a mi- their ability to do so, and their pownister rest with the superior cler-er to choose such only as they find gy, or those who have the gift of most proper to edify their souls, an ecclesiastical benefice; the lat-and to refuse others, 1st John iv, ter supposes that it should rest on 1. The introduction of ministers the suffrage of the people to whom he is to minister. The Churchman reasons thus: " Though the people may be competent judges of the abilities of their tradesmen, they cannot be allowed to have an equal discernment in matters of science and erudition. Daily experience may convince us how injudiciously preferment would be distributed by popular elections. The modesty of genius would stand little chance of being distinguished by an ignorant multitude. The most illiterate, the most impudent, those who could most dexterously play the hypocrite, who could MIRACLE, in its original best adapt their preaching to the sense, is a word of the same import fanaticism of the vulgar, would with wonder; but, in its usual and be the only successful candidates more appropriate signification, it for public favour. Thus modera- denotes "an effect contrary to the tion and literature would soon be established constitution and course banished, and a scene of cor- of things, or a sensible deviation ruption, confusion, and madness, from the known laws of nature." would prevail." But specious as these arguments seem, they have but little force on the mind of the Congregationalist, who thus reasons: "The church being a.voluntary society, none imposed upon her members by men can be related to them as their pastor without their own consent. None can so well judge what gifts are best suited to their spiritual edification as Christians themselves. The scripture allows the election of pas-cular system to which we belong,

"That the visible world," says Dr. Gleig, "is governed by stated general rules, or that there is an order of causes and effects established in every part of the system of nature which falls under our observation, is a fact which cannot be controverted. If the Supreme being, as some have supposed, be the only real agent in the universe, we have the evidence of experience, that, in the parti

not, a deviation from its course. Miracles, therefore, are not, as some have represented them, ap peals to our ignorance. They

he acts by stated rules. If he employs inferior agents to conduct the various motions from which the phenomena result, we have the same evidence that he has sub-suppose some antecedent knowjected those agents to certain fixed ledge of the course of nature; laws, commonly called the laws of without which no proper judgment nature. On either hypothesis, ef- can be formed concerning them; fects which are produced by the though with it their reality may regular operation of these laws, be so apparent as to prevent all or which are conformable to the possibility of a dispute. established course of events, are properly called natural; and every contradiction to this constitution of the natural system, and the correspondent course of events in it, is called a miracle.

"Thus, were a physician to cure a blind man of a cataract, by anointing his eyes with a chemical preparation which we had never before seen, and to the nature and effects of which we are absolute strangers, the cure would undoubtedly be wonderful; but we could not pronounce it miracu

to us, it might be the natural effect of the operation of the unguent on the eye. But were he to recover his patient merely by commanding him to see, or by anoint

"If this definition of a miracle be just, no event can be deemed miraculous merely because it is strange, or even to us unaccount-lous, because, for any thing known able; since it may be nothing more than a regular effect of some unknown law of nature. In this country earthquakes are rare; and for monstrous births, perhaps, no particular and satisfactory ac-ing his eyes with spittle, we should count can be given; yet an earthquake is as regular an effect of the established laws of nature as any of those with which we are most intimately acquainted: and, under circumstances in which there would always be the same kind of production, the monster is nature's genuine issue. It is therefore necessary, before we can pronounce any effect to be a true miracle, that the circumstances under which it is produced be known, and that the common

with the utmost confidence pros nounce the cure to be a miracle; because we know perfectly that neither the human voice nor hu man spittle have, by the establish ed constitution of things, any such power over the diseases of the eye.

"If miracles be effects contrary to the established constitution of things, we are certain that they will never be performed on trivial occasions. The constitution of things was established by the Cre

course of nature be in some de-ator and Governor of the unigree understood; for in all those cases in which we are totally ignorant of nature, it is impossible to determine what is, or what is

verse, and is undoubtedly the offspring of infinite wisdom, pursu ing a plan for the best of purposes. From this plan no devia

tion can be made but by God || derstandings that they might perhimself, or by some powerful be-ceive what is right, and to present ing acting with his permission. to them motives of sufficient force The plans devised by wisdom are to engage them in the practice of steady in proportion to their per- it. But the understandings of igfection, and the plans of infinite norant barbarians cannot be enwisdom must be absolutely per-lightened by arguments; because fect. From this consideration, of the force of such arguments as some men have ventured to con- regard moral science they are not clude that no miracle was ever qualified to judge. The philosowrought, or can rationally be ex-phers of Athens and Rome inculpected; but maturer reflection must soon satisfy us that all such conclusions are hasty.

cated, indeed, many excellent moral precepts, and they sometimes ventured to expose the ab"Man is unquestionably the surdities of the reigning superstiprincipal creature in this world, tion: but their lectures had no inand apparently the only one in it fluence upon the multitude; and who is capable of being made ac- they had themselves imbibed such quainted with the relation in which erroneous notions respecting the he stands to his Creator. We can-attributes of the Supreme Being, not, therefore, doubt, but that and the nature of the human such of the laws of nature as ex-soul, and converted those notions tend not their operation beyond the limits of this earth were established chiefly, if not solely, for the good of mankind; and if, in any particular circumstances, that good can be more effectually promoted by an occasional deviation from those laws, such a deviation may be reasonably expected.

into first principles, of which they would not permit an examination, that even among them a thorough reformation was not to be expected from the powers of reasoning. It is likewise to be observed, that there are many truths of the utmost importance to mankind which unassisted reason could ne"We know from history, that ver have discovered. Amongst almost all mankind were once these, we may confidently reckon ~sunk into the grossest ignorance of the immortality of the soul, the the most important truths; that terms upon which God will save they knew not the Being by whom sinners, and the manner in which they were created and supported; that all-perfect Being may be acthat they paid divine adoration to ceptably worshipped; about all of stocks, stones, and the vilest rep-which philosophers were in such tiles; and that they were slaves to uncertainty, that, according to the most impious, cruel, and de- Plato, Whatever is set right, grading superstitions. and as it should be, in the present evil state of the world, can be so only by the particular interposition of God.'

"From this depraved state it was surely not unworthy of the Divine Being to rescue his helpless creatures, to enlighten their un

"An immediate revelation from