diligence and strictness in the pass with respect to them, for care you take of them, by the which his soul travailed in the value he himself has manifested agonies of death, and in ineffor the souls of men, by what fable conflicts with the dreadful he has done and suffered for wrath of God. You are now them; he has shown how about to receive the precious precious he has judged immor- treasure at his hands, which tal souls to be, in that he, you are to keep for him; you though a person of infinite glory, present yourself here before the did not think his own blood, Lord for this end, that you his life, his soul, too precious may, as it were, reach forth to be offered up as a price for your hand and take this great them, to redeem them, that deposit, with solemn vow, they might obtain that salvation, diligently and faithfully to keep in order to which he now is it, and devote yourself to that about to commit a number of service; so that, if it be possi them to your care, and to en-ble for you to prevent it, no trust you with the means he has one of those infinitely precious provided for that end; com-jewels may be lost; but that mitting to you his holy oracles, you may return them all safe and the food of his house, to him from whose hands you which is his own body and receive them. blood, that therewith you might feed these souls; and, in some sense, committing to you the keys of his stores and treasures, that you might supply and enrich them, and be a means of their eternal wealth and glory. Consider the example of your glorious Lord and Master: There were a number of the souls of men committed by the Father into his hands, that he might take care for their salvation. And after what manner did he execute his office? How did he lay himself out for the salvation of these souls? What great things did he do? And how greatly did he deny himself? How did this great Shepherd of the sheep behave himself, when he saw the wolf coming to destroy the sheep? He did not flee to save his own life, and so leave the sheep to become a prey; but from pity and love to the sheep, interposed himself between them and their enemy, stood between them and harm, and encounter Consider, dear Sir, how great an honour is conferred on you by him, whom God the Father hath made head of the whole universe, and Lord of all things to the church; that after he has provided for the salvation of souls, by his dying pains and precious blood, and the Father has committed to him all power in heaven and earth, that he might actually bestow eternal life on them for whom he died, he should call you to be a coworker with him, and should commit precious, souls to youred the wolf, and, in the conflict, care, that you might be the instrument of bringing them home to him, and bringing that to gave his own life to save theirs. John, x. 11-15. We read of Christ's travailing for souls, Isa. liii. 10, 11. "It pleased the Lord to bruise him, he hath put him to grief; when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed: he shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied." And how did he travail for this seed of his? Look into the garden of Gethsemane, and there behold him lying on the earth with his body covered with clotted blood, with his soul exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death, and offering up strong cryings and tears, together with his blood: and look to the cross, where he endured far more extreme agonies, and drank up the bitter cup of God's wrath, and shed the remainder of his blood. Thus he travailed in birth with his seed; thus he laboured and suffered for the salvation of those souls that the Father had committed to him. This is the example of the great Shepherd. And though it is not required of under-shepherds that they should endure sufferings of such a degree or nature, (for Christ has suffered them for that end, that both ministers and people might escape them,) yet surely he expects that, as they would approve themselves his disciples and followers and coworkers with him, in seeking the salvation of the same souls, they should not be backward to go through any labours or sufferings, which may be requisite in them, in order to their most effectually promoting the great end of his sufferings, with regard to the souls he has committed to them. And as you, dear Sir, are to stand in Christ's stead towards this people, and to act as his ambassador, should you not shew the like spirit, the like love to souls, and imitate him in his readiness to labour, and deny yourself and suffer, yea, be ready to spend and be spent for them, like the blessed apostle? 2 Cor. xii. 15. The case with you, Sir, is as if the head of a family, that was a great prince, with a number of children in a strange land, when going home to receive a kingdom, should leave his children behind him, and commit them to the care of a servant, safely to conduct them through a dangerous wilderness, and bring them home to him; in which case, he has their health and lives committed to his care, as well as their future glory in his kingdom. With what care and watchfulness would it be expected of a servant, that he should execute his office in such a case! And, surely, if he fails of being thoroughly careful and watchful, after he has taken upon him so great a charge, and any disaster should be the consequence of his unfaithfulness, it will be most justly required of him, that he should answer for it, and he will inexcusably fall under his master's heaviest displeasure. And suffer me, Sir, to put you in mind of the account you must give to your master, of the souls he seems this day to be about to commit to you. You are to watch for these souls, as one that must give an account. If any one of these souls should be missing hereafter, it will be demanded of you another day, by your great Lord, "What is become of such a soul? Here are not all the souls I committed to you, to bring home to me; there is such a one missing; what is become of it? Has it perished through your neglect?" If you are able to say at that time, "Lord, it was not done through my neglect; I have done what in me lay for his salvation. I ceased not to warn, and counsel, and reprove him, and faithfully set before him his danger, and have not forborne to declare thy whole counsel to him. I have not neglected this and other souls that thou didst commit to me, to gratify my sloth, or pursue my worldly interest. I have given myself wholly to this work, labouring therein day and night. I have been ready, Lord, as thou knowest, to sacrifice my own ease and profit, and pleasure, and temporal convenience, and the good will of my neighbours, for the sake of the good of the souls of which I had the charge: I have not led this soul into any charge by my ill example. I have neglected no means of thy appointment, either public or private, to turn him from sin to God; I sought out acceptable words, and studied for the most likely means to be used for his saving good; but he would not hearken, but turned a deaf ear, was stupid and obstinate under all, and went on carelessly and frowardly in the imagination of his own heart." If you are able to say, in like manner as Christ did to the Father, with respect to the souls committed to him, "Those that thou gavest me I have kept, and none of them is lost but the son of perdition," you will be able to hold up your head with comfort before your Judge; your account will be accepted, you shall be acquitted, and your unsuccessful faithfulness shall be rewarded. But if, when it shall be demanded of you, What is become of such and such souls? you shall be dumb, having nothing to say, your conscience testifying against you, and it shall appear that it has been much owing to your unfaithfulness, Oh how dreadful will your case be! What confusion and astonishment will fill your soul, before your great Master and Judge! And, remember, that the blood of such souls will be required at your hands. Ezek. xxxiii. 8. And suffer me, dear brother, to tell you, that you must, another day, meet these souls, of which you are now going to take charge, before the judgment seat of Christ; and if, by means of your faithfulness towards them, in your work, you shall meet them at the right hand of Christ in glory, how joyful a meeting will it be to you! They will be indeed your crown of rejoicing in that day. But if you behold them with devils at your left hand, in horror and despair, your conscience accusing you of unfaithfulness towards them, and it appear that they are lost through your neglect, how distressing will the sight of them be to you! Your master and mine is this day calling me to resign the pastoral care of a number of souls into your hand, that have hitherto been committed to my care. It is with cheerfulness that I can now resign them to the care of one concerning whom I have so much hope that he will be faithful in his care of them. May the Lord of the harvest enable you to discharge your duty towards them more faithfully than I have done, and make you a far greater blessing to them, and may you come with them at the day of judgment before Christ, with exceeding great joy, and in robes of glory, and then say, as Christ himself will the early days of Christianity was, perhaps, but too common amongst them, of asking questions in the churches respecting the new doctrine; hence, the apostle took occasion to say, "if they will learn any thing, let them ask their husbands at home, for it is a shame for women to speak in the church." Had the inhibition referred to praying or prophesying, (which latter epithet is synonymous with preaching,) what an inconsistency would this great apostle have been guilty of, who, in the 11th chapter, verse 5th, of the same epistle, absolutely laid down say to the Father, when he shall rules forutely laid down come with all the souls that were given him of the Father, and present them before him in ory Here am I, perfect glory, and the children which thou hast given me." ON WOMEN SPEAKING IN THE CHURCH. the proper deport ment of women in these solemn acts; for after giving his instructions, as in verse 4th, in these words: "Every man praying or prophesying, having his head covered, dishonoreth his head;" he then adds, in verse 5, But every woman that prayeth or prophesieth with her head uncovered, dishonoreth her head, for it is even all one, as if she were To the Editor of the Baptist Magazine. shaven." I AM astonished, beyond expression, at the inference which a correspondent, in your Magazine for April, has at tempted to draw from the 34th and 35th verses of the 14th chapter of St. Paul's first Epistle to to the Corinthians, which, I think, is not warranted from the words themselves; as, the speaking in the churches, which the apostle' prohibited in the Corinthian women, was that kind of loquacity, or female inquisitiveness, which, in 1 Could Paul, therefore, have acted thus, in laying down rules for a practice, which he almost in the same breath forbade, it might with more truth have been said of him on this than was said by "the most noble Festus" on another occasion, that," he was beside himself, and that much learning had made him mad." But, independent of all speculation on this point, this same apostle speaks of a woman who laboured with him in the gospel; and, in the 21st chapter, verse 9th, of Acts, it is mentioned that Philip, the evangelist, had four daughters, "which did prophesy." Your correspondent, I trust, will be satisfied with testimonies from holy writ; or, I would refer him to Martin Luther, who hath affirmed, "that every good Christian, (not only men, but women also) is a preacher." Finally, and what must put beyond all doubt the warrant under the Christian dispensation for women, as well as men preaching, is the declaration in scripture, that "male and female are all one in Christ." where, and when, and in what manner they were excited by the Spirit, and could not be subjected to rules. In this sense, prophesying formed no part of regular public worship, and cannot therefore be supposed as referred to in this direction. To prophesy, denotes, very frequently, "to explain in an infallible and edifying way, the spiritual meaning of the Old Testament prophesies, and their accomplishment in Christ." He who exercised this gift, spoke to edification, and exhortation, and comfort. In the judgment of the apostle, this gift occupied the highest rank, and, conse quently, he who possessed it, occupied an elevated station in the church. To prophesy, in this sense of the term, is forbidden a female, because it would be to teach, and to usurp authority over the man. To understand the meaning of the apostle here, it is neces- To prophesy, denotes, in sary, first, to ascertain " the pro- some places, to sing hymns in phesying" of the woman. Pub- the praise of God. I shall lic, not private worship, is dis- produce some places, where, I cussed; and the rules are ap-judge, it must be so understood,. plicable to the former only. In and then leave it with your private, the female may wor-readers to judge whether such. ship God as she pleases; but, an interpretation is not appliwhen she "prayeth or prophe- cable to the passage under dissieth" in public, she is to do cussion. 1 Chron. xxv. 1-7. so in a way not dishonourable" Moreover, David and the to her head. In a well-known passage she is forbidden to teach or to speak in the church: here she is directed how to pray and to prophesy in the church. To prophesy, commonly signifies to foretell future events: this gift was bestowed on females both under the Old Testament, and at the commencement of the New. Prophets and prophetesses foretold future events, VOL. VII. captains of the host separated to the service of the sons of Asaph and of Heman, and of Jeduthun, who should prophesy with harps, with psalteries, and with cymbals. And the number of the workmen, according to their service was, &c. who prophesied according to the order of the king." Ver. 3. Of the sons of Jeduthun, six, under the hands of their father Jedu 21 |