steps-moving, as far as possible, in the path already trodden by his predecessors, according to the words of Moses, "Ask now of the days that are past, which were before thee," Deut. iv. 32, and those of Jeremiah," Stand ye in the ways, and see, and ask for the old paths," ch. vi. 16. This does not mean, fetter yourselves to the past, do not perfect, do not reform, do not begin anything: it only means, do not lightly repudiate traditions; do not, without good reason, forsake what has been established; let there be an antecedently probable legitimacy for whatever exists; let conservation be the rule, and change the exception.

3. The spirit of war and the spirit of peace.-The martial spirit is essential to the ministry and to the profession of Christianity. We must, as Jesus Christ, kindle a fire, and even feel a holy impatience till it is kindled; we bring not peace, but a sword; we cast into the mass a burning leaven.—The exterior may deceive us, but it must not determine our judgment, or our point of view. Even in the midst of peace, with the guarantees for it incorporated into our civil institutions, and rooted in the very soil, we must still act as if they were not; for all this may not last, may perhaps disappear, at least for us, on the morrow. In spite of all appearances, Christianity, when it is living and assumes its characteristic features, is always a stranger and an alien. We must have our reins girt about, for this peace is only a respite, a truce; we must stretch the bow for a far more distant mark than that which

seems to be presented to us. "He teacheth our hands to war, and our fingers to fight," Ps. cxliv. 1. The spirit of war is, then, necessary, but the spirit of peace is so also. The pastor must not avoid his parishioners as though they were adversaries; he must not treat any as an adversary till he is proved to be such; he should regard his flock as a flock, as a family, and assume their good will towards him in all his dealings with them.] Let the pastor believe from the very first that he is beloved. Nothing is so injurious to his position as a defensive posture. Those who hate him, or who wish to attack him, will perhaps be disarmed by his confidence, kindness, and candour.]

4. A spirit of devotedness to the parish, for which he ought to be ready to give his life, both for the individuals and for the parish as a whole, demics, war, &c.

as in certain difficult circumstances, epi“Ye are in our hearts to die and live with [It is better to give up the ministry than to neglect any of its objects.]

you," 2 Cor. vii. 3.

Let us consider some general duties of the pastor on his entrance upon his duties.

First, as to residence.—[Among us the law has, to a great extent, provided for this, by determining that a pastor shall live in his parish; but this does not prevent frequent and prolonged absence. This should be guarded against; there are pastors who are more ready to be anywhere than at home. He must avoid all occasions for religious distraction.]

Secondly: Regularity and earnestness in the discharge of his duties. We sometimes find ministers who are continually either lamenting or joking over the number and arduous character of their duties, obtruding their remarks on these subjects upon every one. This is in very bad taste, and should be avoided. Delays should also be avoided, for they may, in certain cases, be attended with pernicious consequences. We may apply to success and prosperity in the ministry the words, "Yet a little sleep, a little slumber, a little folding of the hands to sleep: so shall thy poverty come as one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man,” Prov. vi. 10, 11.

The minister, then, ought to be constantly absorbed by the duties of his ministry. "Meditate on these things," -on the duties of the ministry, says Paul to Timothy, "give thyself wholly to them,” 1 Tim. iv. 15.-[It would be deplorable to have a ruling taste outside the ministry, and to place the ministry in the second rank.] The minister's is a sad position when his ministry is not his life.—If a man can only give himself entirely to a ministry which he loves, he can also only love it when he gives himself entirely to it.-[Nothing so much attaches the minister and his flock to one another as the sacrifices which he makes for them.]

In order that he may give himself entirely to his ministry,

he must simplify his life, discard all that alienates him from his duties, all that is not conducive to the success of his work, all worldly cares;1 even those which are compatible with the ministry but are not essential to it, and which the minister may appropriately commit to the care of others. Acts vi. 2

1 "Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat, or what shall we drink," &c., Matt. vi. 31, 32.—“Take heed to yourselves lest at any time your hearts be overcharged . . with the cares of this life," Luke xxi. 34.

SECTION FIRST.

WORSHIP.

IN a practical and local point of view, we have little to say on the subject of worship. But this is not the only point of view in which it ought to be considered; even where the duty, and the form it assumes, are both prescribed, it is useful to ascend to the principle, and in this way to penetrate into the true spirit of the duty, a spirit which can only be found in the principle, and not in any lower point of view.

Worship is the most immediate expression, the purely religious form of religion. It is the interior, or exterior act of adoration—adoration in act; and adoration is nothing less than the direct and solemn recognition of the divine perfections of God, and of our obligations towards him.

Public worship, otherwise called divine service, comprehends, according to the usual mode of regarding it, all that occupies the time during which a congregation is assembled in the name, and by the authority of God.

According to this idea, therefore, worship also includes exhortation, or instruction, or the exposition of God's word; however, this act is rather an appendage to the worship, than a constituent part of it. Only when we generalize the idea of worship, and make it embrace all that has God for its object, all that is by our intention related to God, only then can we call preaching, or the teaching of religious truths, worship, and that not more nor less than every good work. Adoration," according to Klopstock, as quoted by Harms, "is the essential element in public worship; the teaching and exhortation of the minister,

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notwithstanding their great utility, are not elements equally essential."1 Let us here add that, in a religious system in which there is no longer any priest, where one man is not symbolically a mediator between God and man, the minister? is rather the director of worship than its exclusive agent; the people, from our point of view, may, and perhaps, to a certain extent, should be active in worship.3 It is a remarkable thing that passivity should predominate in our worship, and activity in the Catholic worship.

Worship consists in words, or in silent rites, more generally in the combination of both.

We cannot easily represent to ourselves a silent public worship as little can we conceive of a worship consisting entirely of words, without rites or symbols. It is important to give a body to the fundamental sentiments and ideas of religion. Life can no more dispense with symbols, than language with metaphors; a rite is a metaphor in action.-Worship is an action; so indeed it is called in German. Action is nearer to life-has. a closer resemblance to life than words ever have.-" Segnius irritant animos demissa per aurem," what passes through the ear more slowly reaches the heart.4 [Doubtless, worship would be an action even though expressed neither by rites nor by words; but when the object is to move others, and to be moved ourselves, something more than an internal silence is necessary.]

What is the characteristic of speech as compared with ritual observance?

Speech is successive; the act of worship presents simultaneously many ideas or relations. Speech analyses, divides; the silent rite concentrates.-The whole gospel has, as in a focus,

1 Die unterrichtende Ermahnung.

"We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord; and ourselves your servants for Jesus' sake," 2 Cor. iv. 5.

3 Else when thou shalt bless with the spirit, how shall he that occupieth the room of the unlearned say Amen at thy giving of thanks? seeing he understandeth not what thou sayest.

HORACE, Ars Poetica, v. 180.-ED.