(Declaration to those who are received ;)

We then receive you to the fellowship of this Church, promising to conduct towards you, and to watch over you, with Christian affection; praying that you and we may at last be presented faultless before our Lord with exceeding joy.

CHAPTER VI.

CHOICE AND CALL OF A PASTOR.

§ 57. Of the internal or personal call of a minister.

No person is at liberty, it is often remarked, to assume the office of a minister, but such as are called of God. The sentiment must be regarded as correct, when it is rightly understood; nor is it to be doubted, that it is one of much practical importance. Certainly an office, involving such immense interests, ought not to be entered on with that lightness of heart and want of consideration, which are sometimes considered excusable in other circumstances. But when it is said, that ministers are called of God, What is truly to be understood by that assertion? Certainly not, that they are immediately or miraculously called, as was the case with the Prophets and Apostles; but rather that there is in all cases a divine call to the ministry, whenever God clearly makes it the duty of a person to enter on that office. And in determining this important point, the individuals, to whose consideration the matter is particularly presented, looking in faith for the assistance of the Holy Spirit to guide them, are required carefully and candidly to examine the subject,

in view of the commands of the Scriptures, the situation of the world, and their own characters and religious experience; and not to wait for any thing of the nature of a specific and miraculous revelation from God.

"How beautiful are the feet of them, that preach the Gospel of peace, that bring glad tidings of good things!" The world is represented by the Savior himself, as a great field, already white for the harvest. What then is requisite in those, who shall be called BEAUTIFUL, the preachers of the Gospel, the dispensers of glad tidings of good things? Without pretending to set up an infallible criterion, it may be safely said, that we may at least expect to find in such persons a holy and blameless conduct, having its origin and support in a humbled, penitent, and believing heart. We may also expect to find in them a strong and permanent inclination and desire to do good; a willingness to labor for the conversion and upbuilding of souls for Christ's sake, and not for their own. And in addition to these obvious requisites, they should possess abilities, suited to the work, such as knowledge, firmness of purpose, aptness to teach, and the like.

And we may well suppose that God now, as in former times, addresses himself to persons, possessing such mental and moral qualifications, saying, "The fields are already white. The laborers are few." We may, with the utmost reason, regard Him as inviting, both by his Providences and the influences of the Holy Spirit, their cooperation; as pointing to the scene of labor, and as promising success.

Such is the call, on which the individual is to act, who looks forward to the great work of the ministry, viz. a natural and divine preparation of spirit, an opening providence, and the command of God uttered in his Holy Word. This is the commission given him; and it is not easy to see, how there can be a higher one.

58. External call, or call from the church.

But such is the constitution of society, that, in a Christian country at least, it becomes necessary for the Christian public to judge, as well as the individual himself, of the particular application of his powers. Hence the necessity of an external call, or a call from some Church and religious Society, if it be his expectation and desire to limit his exertions chiefly to some select part of the great field of labor. Nor is this state of things in general unfavorable to the prompt exercise of his wisdom and talents in this good cause, since no church, that appreciates its obligations to itself and the cause of Christ, is willing to remain long without a minister, if it be able to obtain one; an event, to which its members look forward with solicitude and watchfulness, and particularly with prayer to that ascended Redeemer, who imparts to men such gifts, as are requisite in the pastoral office.

Accordingly the first positive step, taken by the Church and Parish, towards supplying their ministerial wants, is to ascertain and employ some one, possessed of the qualifications, which have been mentioned, and who has been regularly licensed by one of the clerical Associations in -the country; or perhaps has already been settled in some other place, and subsequently removed. This preliminary movement appears, at the present time, to be generally made by the Society or Parish, acting through the medium of a Committee. A method of proceeding, to which there is the less objection, because the members of the Church, notwithstanding the existence of the Church as a distinct corporation, are, nevertheless, members of the Parish, and naturally exercise a considerable degree of influence even in the initiatory movement. After suit able opportunities for forming a judgment of the candidate's character and ministerial qualifications, the next movement appears to devolve upon the meinbers of the

Church. If the Church are satisfied with him, they express their satisfaction by a vote, and their desire to enjoy the services of the individual as their minister. In other words, they give the candidate what is termed a Call; that is, a formal invitation or request to settle. But before making it known to the individual, they proceed also to communicate by vote their feelings and desires to the Society or Parish, and to request, that they would join with the church in the measure they have taken; the Church and Society proceeding in the affair of settling a minister in a manner somewhat similar to that of the two houses of our legislatures in civil affairs. But it will be noticed and kept in mind, that, when the question of the actual settlement of a minister is to be decided, the Church are understood, in accordance with long established congregational principles, to have the right, and are expected, to take the lead of the Society or Parish in this important business.

§ 59. Precedence of the church in the call of a minister, and grounds of it.

Whether right or wrong in the view of others, it is abundantly evident from various sources, not only that this is a principle of Congregationalism, but that it is to be regarded as one of the distinguishing features of their system. Nevertheless the principle seems to have been objected to by certain of the Congregationalists themselves more than an hundred years ago, as we learn from the RATIO FRATRUM NOV-ANGLORUM. The statement

or argument of these dissatisfied persons may be summed up in these two propositions; That the Society or Congregation support the minister equally with the church, sometimes even assuming the greater share of the burden; and that, consequently, it is unjust to allow the church a precedence over the society. Hence it may tend to the satisfaction of some to state some of the

grounas, on which the principle rests.-These grounds are three-fold, viz. Natural right; Scriptural authority and example; and the purity of the Ministry.

60. Church precedence in the call of a minister a Natural Right.

It is hardly necessary to remark here after what has been already said, (§§ 9, 11, 25,) that the Scriptures make a distinction between the church and congregation. We read of a church being selected or gathered out of a great multitude, who were present, Acts viii. 12; of Paul separating his disciples from the multitude, Acts xix. 9; of unbelievers being joined in outward worship with believers, 1st Cor. xiv. 23. Such passages show, that the believers or separates formed one class, and that the multitude or unbelievers formed another.

Admitting, then, that the churches of Christ always have been, and from the nature of the case, ought to be, distinct from the multitude or mass of people, it would seem evidently to follow, that they are entitled, from nature and by the will of God, to those rights, which are incident to, and grow out of this separation. They sepa rate from the rest of the world for the purpose of mutual religious instruction, of doing the will of Christ, and of enjoying his ordinances, such as Baptism and the Lord's Supper. The union, which they form, is voluntary, and does not interfere with the rights or privileges of others. And it cannot be denied by any person, who has correct notions of the foundations of human freedom, that these voluntary associations have the same right, as other similar associations, to choose the officers, which are necessary to secure the objects of their union. It is as much a natural and unalienable right, as any that can be named.—But it will at once be said here, although the Church have a right to choose their own officers, they have no right to impose or force their officers, on the Parish.