seed is sown. He that says "Truth is of God," though never so gently, says also, at least by implication, "a Lie is not of God, but of the Devil." If he goes seriously to work, while he says every day, "Blessed are the pure in heart for they shall see God," he must, now and then, say likewise, "Woe unto Scribes, and Pharisees, Hypocrites," or, "Except your righteousness exceed the righteousness of the Scribes and Pharisees, you shall not enter into the Kingdom of God." Now this negative work is very ungrateful to the best of men, but it must be done. Who does not sympathize with that man who said, "Would I were as good as Jesus! Then I could call men by their right names and commit no sin?" No doubt, men no better than their brothers are always ready with their "Woe unto you." Still we repeat it, falsehood must be called Falsehood, and sin, Sin; wicked men be made to know they are wicked. This is a thankless task. We are sorry to say it, but the tellers of Truth and promoters of Goodness have rarely been popular till after death. "Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?" may be asked in all ages. The Prophets, that are honored in our day, were murdered in their own, because they told the truth and exposed lies. Diogenes the cynic, if we remember rightly, says his father was banished because he marked bad money; always an invidious office which is certain to diminish the revenue.

Now a Christian minister, if he enters seriously into his calling, the greatest of all human vocations, - must turn to one or to both of the divisions; to the abstract course of teaching truth, and combatting falsehood, or to the concrete course of promoting goodness and exposing crime, in what is called a direct and practical way. The speculative man inclines one way, the practical man the other. The true "Scribe, well instructed unto the kingdom of heaven," of course does both.

We know there is a tertium quid sometimes heard of. A Christian minister who is not serious in his calling; one of those who "climb, and intrude, and steal into the fold," takes the general average of theological opinion in his district as the standard of truth, and the general average of popular virtue as the standard of goodness, and never goes beyond either; preaches profound, speculative sermons,

(sound in more than one sense,) on the antiquities of the Jewish Church; the color of the red heifer, it may be, or the size of the Ark, the manner in which Noah collected and disposed the animals he preserved; the times when the High Priest went into the Holy of Holies, and the typical signification of all these mysteries to the present age; he preaches also smart practical sermons against obsolete vices, the worship of ancient idols; the sins of the Jewish Sadducees and Pharisees; against doubts that nobody shares, and extinct or unpopular classes of unbelievers. If he have still hours not occupied, and a mind that loves work better than the "rack of a too easy chair," and sleep after dinner, he busies himself with the trifles of literature; makes "collections" of " puffs, powders, patches, Bibles, billet-doux ; " dabbles in the history of everything but Morals and Religion; plays on the surface of some easy science; catches butterflies; collects epitaphs and conundrums; gathers antiques;

"He has a fourth o' auld knick-knackets;

Rusty airn caps and jinglin jackets,

Wad haud the Lothians twain in plackets,

A two-mont' gude."

Such a man never gets into trouble." His pulpit is neutral ground, "like some free-port of trade." Truth and falsehood shake hands; crime and goodness kiss each other. He is born for his tucker and his bib, and never sells his birth-right. Good dinners are got ready for him, and "wine of a noble mark.” "He is always on the right side;" while he lives, has the reputation of a "mild, inoffensive man, who hurts nobody," and has not an enemy in the village; a man who never meddles with exciting topics and matters too high for him. When he dies, it will be recorded of him as of patriarchs before the flood, that "he lived and begat sons and daughters." The great representative of this class was the famous Vicar of Bray.

Now if a minister pursue either of the two courses first mentioned, he may "get into trouble." Yes, though he is "wise as serpents and harmless as doves." If he turn his attention to the speculative side, and ask, "what is truth?" then he must differ in some respects from the theological opinions of the public. He will differ just in proportion to his ability, activity, and honesty. He must

then abandon his early prejudices as mistakes; expose theological errors; set forth truths not commonly accepted, and depart widely from the doctrines that public opinion declares sound. Then comes the question, Shall he disclose his convictions, or keep them to himself? If he is a serious man, he will do as Luther and Paul, and not "shun to declare the whole counsel of God," asking no question, whether public opinion will tolerate or condemn him. If the minister does this, he "gets into trouble." The Church, and by this we mean in this place the great guardian of established opinions, comes up to him, lays its hand on its ample conscience, and says, "Sir, you hurt our feelings. You don't believe as we do; not even as your father did before you. We shall not be responsible for your opinions, for we doubt your faculty for thinking. You are a dreamy, foolish person at best. Do turn your hand to some practical work, and leave speculation to us, whose business it is. It is better for you to give up thinking altogether, till you can think and feel as we do. We are good Christians, and would not disturb freedom of thought and speech for the world! Nay, we prize that above all things. But if you preach such opinions as we dislike, we will burn you alive, if we can, and at all events will give you a bad name in this life, and the expectancy of damnation in the next."

If, on the other hand, the minister takes the practical division of his work, turns his attention more to the doings than the doctrines of the public, he "gets into trouble" none the less. He comes to conclusions respecting the public virtue, which differ from the opinions commonly entertained, just in proportion to his ability, activity, and honesty. He sees the sin of society. Then the question comes, Shall he be silent; or when the watchman sees the evil coming, shall he cry aloud and spare not? He has great examples in favor of either course; but that of Paul and Luther in favor of speaking. If he publish his opinion, he comes in contact with the Selfishness, the Sensuality, and the Sin of society. Then the World, and by this is meant the great guardian of established usages, comes up to him, lays its hand on its conscience, broad and conspicuous organ, and says, "Sir, you hurt our feelings. You have spilled our rum, and put out the fires

of our distilleries. You say that we shall not murder the Indians, nor enslave the Negroes, though we are Christians, and they but Pagan dogs; that we shall not tyrannize over our brother men, nor make them bear our burthens and earn our bread, though we are richer, stronger, and more cunning than they. We are good Christians, but we get our living by what you call sin; we must get our living, and our way must be right, for it has always been followed 'from the beginning.' We love God, that is our religion; but you ask us to love men, which we can't do. We have faith, enough of that, but you ask works beside, and grace into the bargain. You hurt our feelings very much, and we can't be responsible for you any longer. We respect you for your learning and piety, but you are a dreamy, imaginative person, who know little about human nature. We think you had better turn your hand to doctrines and give up practical affairs, leaving them to us, who understand them perfectly. If you will preach Christianity, and we pay you for that, -pray confine yourself to its doctrines, and preach them with what freedom you will. We respect your holy calling, and have no doubt of your 'apostolical succession,' and right to bind, and to loose, and make men believe what you will, but let us do as we please. We are patient men; but when you talk about our wrong doings, and sins that we commit, we can't bear you, and we won't. Are we the only sinners in the world? If will continue to tell us our faults and rebuke our sins, we will give you a bad name, and starve your wife and babies."

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Now if the minister takes both horns of the dilemma, exposes the falsehood of the popular doctrines, and the sin of the popular doings, his case is very hard. "Hungry ruin has him in the wind." The "Church" and the "World" are out upon him in full pursuit. The "hue and cry" is raised. "Infidel," "Atheist," screams the Church. "Madman," "Reformer," roars the World. "Away with such a fellow from the earth, crucify him, crucify him," exclaim both. "He hath blasphemed against Moses," says the one, "and against Cæsar," says the other. "We have a law, and by our law he ought to die."

The speculative or practical reformer has a sad time of it. Public Opinion sets a bounty on compliance with the

prejudices and sins of the time; invites men to say "Peace, peace," when there is No peace. She looks among the simple ones, and discerns some young man devoid of understanding, passing near her corner, in the twilight, or the evening, or the black and dark night. She catches him, kisses him, and with impudent face says, "I have peaceofferings with me; this day have I paid my vows; therefore came I forth to meet thee, diligently to seek thy face, and I have found thee. I have decked my bed with coverings of tapestry, with fine linen of Egypt. I have perfumed my bed with myrrh, aloes, and cinnamon; come in, let us solace ourselves with lies." With her much fair speech she causes him to yield; with the flattery of her lips she forces him. He goes after her as an ox to the slaughter; a fool to the stocks; a bird to the snare, not knowing it is for his life! She has cast down many wounded; strong men have been slain by her. Her house is the way to hell, the descent to the chambers of death.

If a man resists the allurement, "he loses his usefulness," and then comes the doctrinal issue of Truth versus the Church, or the practical issue of Righteousness versus the World, or it may be the minister litigates in both suits. The manner in which such cases are tried by men is very plain; the sentence passed under the law of the Almighty he may read that runs, in the three most notorious instances of the Mosaic, the Christian, and the Protestant Reformation.

Now the "average" ministers take the average of opinions, and the average of morality for their standard of truth and duty. Their Ideal is the Ideal of the mass of men, and of course is but little above the Actual of the mass of men; at any rate is only a little higher degree of the same thing; the Christianity of the majority of pulpits is only the Christianity of society slightly idealized and elevated. Since then there is so little speculative or practical difference between the pulpit and the pews, quarrels between a minister and his people in general come from a want of prudence, rather than from a superabundance of wisdom or zeal on his part; and in such quarrels we think the minister is almost always the party to be blamed.