the prime Guardians of men's immortal souls? Of course, it could not be for them to stand, sluggishly or fearfully, aloof from the line of march on which the great adventurers were going forth. Had they done thus, it might have been surmised that Religion shrinks back from all contact or alliance with the dynasty of Reason. And, in that case, most assuredly, there would not have been wanting those, who would have pointed at the Church; and have taken up their taunting speech against her; and, perchance, have said-with a most scornful perversion of sacred words-Behold, here the light shineth in the darkness, and the darkness comprehendeth it not! It, therefore, signally behoved the chief depositaries of Sacred Truth by no means to linger in the rear of this grand movement but rather, like the Prophet, to gird up their loins, as if the hand of the Lord were upon them1; that so they might run before the chariotwheels of human Knowledge, even to the entrance of her loftiest citadel. And never was this duty more urgently exacted of the Servants of the Lord, than it is exacted at the present hour. The seeking out of inventions is incessant. that are pressing, on all sides, so incessantly upon us, that the glories which were once revealed, through the foolishness of preaching, are in no small danger to be numbered among The things closely and the things that are not. Nay, more,-the entire compass of the physical universe seems likely to become the field on which the cause of Revealed Truth may be brought to its arbitrement. If, therefore, the Servants of the Lord should faint or linger, now that the movement is becoming daily more impetuous, it might perhaps be said unto them, If thou hast run with the footmen, and they have wearied thee, then how canst thou contend with horses? And if, in the land of peace, wherein thou trustedst, they have wearied thee, then how wilt thou do in the swelling of Jordan1. Here, then, again, is one more demand on all the foremost men, among the Ministers of the Church of Christ, to deepen the solemnity of the reflection, Who is sufficient for these things? We know that, in all times and in all countries, the lips of the Priest are presumed to have the custody of knowledge. We know that, next to ungodliness and vice, ignorance has ever been the sorest blemish that can befall a Minister of God. We know that noble and varied mental accomplishment has been ever held a graceful and a crowning ornament to them that serve at the altar. But all this amounts but to a lame and impotent statement of the charge now laid on them who are exalted to pre-eminence among their brethren in the Ministry. Of them it seems now to be expected that they 1 should be, as it were, collectively, the representatives of all that is intellectually, as well as morally and spiritually, grand in Christendom. Of them, too, it is expected, not only to make proof of their own allegiance to the Queen of Sciences, but likewise to watch and labour, that all other Sciences shall be made to know their place; so that they shall be content and proud to range, if I may so speak, among the daughters of kings, the honourable women spoken of by the prophetic Psalmist, whose delight it is to attend on Her, who is all glorious within; and on Him, who, in His majesty, rides forward in the cause of Truth, and of Meekness, and of Righteousness'. And how shall this be done, except by them who have within them an excellent and a commanding spirit of knowledge? And whence is that spirit to come, but from the power of the Sovereign and Life-giving Spirit descending on their labours? And how, then, shall their hearts be strong, if they lay their hand upon their work, in forgetfulness of the source from which alone their sufficiency can be derived? These, then, are a portion of the burdens which, from time to time, have fallen, and must ever fall, upon them whose lot it is to succeed to the place and office of the Apostles. In times of calamity and persecution, they are called upon to stand foremost 1 Ps. xlv. 5. 10. in all the hardness of the Christian warfare. In the days of prosperity and honour, it is theirs to show the world that wealth and power, as well as weakness and tribulation, may be compelled to minister to the glory of God. And, further, it is not, at any time, possible for them to make the Citadel of Sacred Learning merely a retreat of peaceful study and unearthly contemplation. To them, that Citadel must always, more or less, be as a lofty and commanding watch-tower; a station, from which they may look forth upon all the surrounding provinces of knowledge, and keep a stedfast eye on them that are going to and fro therein; lest, peradventure, the powers of mind, unsanctified by communion with holy things, should seek, by craft or force, to violate the battlements of Zion. In adversity and danger, then, they are to be the Leaders of the Church. In security and peace, her bright examples. In periods of advancing science, her burning and her shining lights. And, at all times, it is their special calling to show the uncorruptness, the gravity, the simplicity, the faithfulness, the patience, which appertain to them, the harvest of whose labours is hereafter to be gathered in by the Angels of God: in short, to manifest all those heavenly tempers, and principles, and resolutions, which the services of this day set forth unto us; and whereof it scarcely can become a Presbyter to speak, when standing in the presence of them, who have taken these saintly vows upon them, and who are numbered among the Angels of the Church of Christ. Here, then, let us take our stand, and pause for a while; that we may consider what, on his part, hath been done by the Great Shepherd and Bishop of our Souls, in order that His work might prosper in the hands of them, upon whom a charge so awful and so mighty has been laid. Unless, then, we have strangely mistaken the tenor of the Scriptures, as interpreted by the immemorial practice of the Church, His purpose was, that they who were entrusted with the ministry of reconciliation, should not be set apart by a mere worldly and conventional proceeding; but that, from age to age, from generation to generation, a peculiar order should be solemnly separated, and inwardly endowed, for that most holy work. To the end that men might not be left in doubt respecting the authority of those, who had to declare unto them the whole counsel of God, touching the destiny of their imperishable souls of those, who, instrumentally, were to convey unto the Church the vital current of health, and strength, and immortality,-his purpose was, that the sacred stream should flow in one unbroken channel of spiritual succession. And, not only so, but that they who should receive the office, should be sanctified and anointed unto it by a secret unction |