efteemed." I. Sam. ii. 30. We cannot furely honour him more than by aiming habitually to act and live for him; nor can We despise him more, than by folemnly promifing and undertaking to do so, and paying no regard to our engagements. If our hearts are not with God in our work, preferring his fervice, and defiring his glory more than any temporal advantage, it is to be feared that we are false to our engagements, that we ran before we were fent, and are even strangers to the grand ends of a gospel ministry.

If we are perfuaded that we are sent of God, the folemn meffage of the apostle, "fay to Archippus, Take heed to the ministry which thou haft received of the Lord, that thou fulfil it," Col. iv. 17. will have more weight to quicken us to diligence in our work, than the words "be not righteous over much," tortured from their original meaning, and ufed with a contemptuous fneer, will have to make us idle and flothful in business. If we know any thing of the worth of fouls, if we really believe that Christ died for finners, and are able to apply this important truth to ourselves or, if, to use the words of St. Peter, "God... hath begotten us again to a lively hope, by the refurrection of Jefus Chrift from the dead," € 5 I. Pet.

I. Pet. i. 3. the love of Christ will constrain us to aim to fulfil our most folemn engagements; we fhall delight in our privilege to feed his lambs, to feed his fheep; we shall cheerfully devote ourselves to his fervice, perfuaded that all we can do is infinitely short of what we owe to him, who died for us.

I am perfuaded that a glimpse of the value of fouls, and of the mercies of God through a Mediator, has caused many to act as minifters, to fpeak publicly as perfons having authority, though it was never given them. But if a man has fimilar views, and is, moreover, perfuaded that he is regularly called to the work. of the miniftry, furely he will not take for the standard of his duty, the conduct of those who do not understand these things, or per haps treat them with contempt. To the law and to the teftimony; to his folemn engagements and the word of God, he must go to know what is right in this matter. What thefe teach, he is bound to practise, or he cannot have a confcience void of offence. What others do can be no rule to him, any farther than it agrees with the Scriptures. If perfons who have entered the miniftry are ignorant of the importance of the charge they have undertaken, or will not be informed what it is, or are determined not to act according

cording to it, let them not rafhly condemn others, who aim to act confcientiously; but rather let them remember that they have a Lord and Master, to whom they shall certainly give an account of their stewardship. If the private Chriftian is commanded to be "steadfast, unmoveable, always abounding in the work of the Lord," I. Cor. xv. 5, 8. furely, less than this will not be expected from the public minister. "Who then is a faithful and wife fervant, whom his Lord hath made ruler over his household, to give them meat in due feafon? Bleffed is that fervant, whom his Lord, when he cometh, fhall find fo doing. Verily I fay unto you, that he fhall make him ruler over all his goods. But and if that evil fervant shall say in his heart, my Lord delayeth his coming, and fhall begin to fmite his fellow fervants, and to eat and drink with the drunken, the Lord of that fervant fhall come in a day when he looketh not for him, and in an hour that he is not aware of, and fhall cut him afunder, and appoint him his portion with the hypocrites; there fhall be weeping and gnafhing of teeth." Matt. xxiv. 44-51.

I am, &c.

LETTER III.

REV. SIR,

γου

OU have again changed the fubject: inftead of undertaking to prove that the doctrines I ufually preach are false and enthusiastic; instead of advancing any thing in fupport of your other charge, that I am righteous over much; you now talk about income about a clergyman's incomeabout an income which is neceffary to fupport a man's dignity as a clergyman—about an income fufficient to place him between the 'fquire and the farmer: if inferior to that of the 'fquire, at least fuperior to that of the farmer. This you think necessary for every clergyman to have, in order to support his dignity; and therefore, if the care of one church will not supply this, it is justifiable in him to undertake the care of two, three, or even four churches, in order to get it, if he cannot procure it without ferving fo many. All this is quite new to me: I never read nor heard of it before. After this frank acknowledgement I trust you will

indulge

indulge me with your candour, if, by what I write, I should too plainly difcover, that our ideas on this fubject are abfolutely irreconcileable.

I think, that they who are called of God to the work of the ministry, should trust to him for a maintenance; not doubting but that, while they are engaged in his service, he will take care to provide for them;-that in his providence he will lead them to the place or charge where they fhall exercise their miniftry and that, feeing his will in their appointment, they fhould not remove from that charge to which he evidently led them; nor accept of any other, unless they have good reason to believe it is his will that they should accept it. These notions I have entertained for many years; have all along thought them just and indifputable, and accordingly have conftantly made them a rule for my own conduct; but, if what you advance is true, I have hitherto judged very erroneously, and probably to the very great detriment of my worldly interests: for, if I had known it was right and neceffary, in order to get between the 'fquire and farmer, to add church to church, and living to living, and had taken the steps that are ufually taken for fuch purposes, I believe I fhould,