EDITED BY WILLIAM NEILL, CORRESPONDING SECRETARY, BOARD OF EDUCATION. The REV. JOHN BRECKENRIDGE, of Baltimore, has recently been chosen the Corresponding Secretary and General Agent of the Board of Education, in place of the REV. DR. NEILL, resigned. It is expected that Mr. B. will enter, in a few days, upon the duties of his office. In the absence of the Editor of the Register, we invite the attention of our readers, particularly, of all who have the ministry in view, to the following impressive remarks, extracted from an address of the Rev. Dr. Miller, delivered some time since, to the students of the Theological Seminary in Princeton, N. J. on the Importance of Mature Preparatory serve the Church,-if he have talents, and be popular, and especially if he have ardent piety, and a heart to perform his work with zeal, he will have so much to do; will be so incessantly called upon in every direction; will be constrained to preach so much in season, and out of enough to prepare, even in the most season, that he will hardly find time hasty and superficial manner, for the pulpit; much less to engage in other studies in which he might have found himself deficient when he began to preach. And, what is worthy of particular notice here, the more ardent his piety, and the more animated, interesting, and popular his preaching, the worse, as to the point in question, it will be for him:-that is, the more incessant will be his interruptions, and the more difficult he will find it to redeem any time for real study. I say for real study; for those little snatches of reading and writing, all of which, and more, are indispensably necessary for preparation for the pulpit, and which III. A third consideration which shows are seldom enjoyed with a perfectly the importance of having the preparato-composed mind, are really not worthy of ry studies in theology as thorough and the name of study. The consequence is, complete as possible, is, that he who does that nine out of ten, perhaps nineteen not lay a good foundation in the begin-out of twenty, of those who engage in ning, will never be likely to supply the preaching with very slender furniture, deficiency afterwards. go through the whole of their ministerial life with lean, unfurnished minds. Their "profiting does not appear to all." Not having the habit of close study, it is not easy to begin. They, perhaps, hope for much, and promise much in the way of future improvement, but never find time for it. The result is, they are not instructive or interesting preachers. The small stock with which they begin is soon exhausted. Their popular acceptance soon declines or ceases. They are seldom long settled in one congregation, the people every where discovering, in a short time, that they know but little, and cannot "feed them with knowledge and with understanding." They remove, ignominiously, from place to place. Instead of being attracted and edified, the people to whom they minister are scattered, and perhaps perish under their feeble ministrations. Premature dotage creeps on: and they die, in many cases, rather a burden than a blessing to the Church. It is truly melancholy to think how often this has been the real history of ministers who entered the sacred office without proper furniture, and who, for want of time or inclination afterwards never made up their early defi Many candidates for the ministry, no doubt, content themselves with what they acknowledge to be a short and very superficial course of study at the outset, because they imagine they will have an ample opportunity of supplying all deficiencies after entering on their official work. They flatter themselves that, after they have actually entered the field of public labour, they will have at once, better facilities, and stronger excitements to study, than they now enjoy; and that, then,|| they will make up, and more than make up, whatever may now be wanting. But it is easy to show that this expectation generally proves, in fact, and in most cases must prove, altogether delusive. Rely on it, my young friends, if you leave this Seminary with a mere smattering of theological knowledge; with what you know to be a scanty and inadequate foundation, there is every probability that you will go through life, and to your graves, with very little more. The superstructure concerning which you anticipate so much, will, pretty certainly, be of the same miserable, scanty, and insufficient character. For, in the first place, when a young preacher, at the present day, goes out to Il ciency. 398 We know that if a common mechanic learn his trade well in the beginning, and go forth from his apprenticeship a good workman, he is not only able to do his work better, but also to do more work in a given time, and to do it with far more ease and comfort to himself, than if he had gone out a bungler, and but half taught. The same principle, in all its extent, applies to the intellectual and moral workman. When the candidate for the sacred office allows himself to engage in the duties of that office but half prepared, all his subsequent work will be performed with more difficulty, more tardily, and probably with less usefulness. His preparations for the pulpit will cost him more time and toil, and will be less satisfactory to himself, as well as to others. Whereas, if he delay going forth to his work until he be really ready, his comfort, his reputation, and his benefit to the Church and the world, will be likely to be proportionably increased. But, even supposing that he who enters on the duties of the holy ministry with slender furniture, should afterwards be determined, whatever it may cost him, to make up his deficiency by unwearied and extra efforts. Still his task will be difficult, and his prospect gloomy. He can only take one of two courses, either of which will probably be fatal. He may attempt, amidst all his multiplied active labours, and distracting cares, by night studies, and by urging nature in every way, and beyond her strength, to gain that which he ought to have acquired before he entered the pulpit. In this case he will, pretty certainly, destroy his health, and either sink into a premature grave, or reduce himself, for the remainder of his days, to a state of languor and protracted disease, which will render existence a burden, and all comfortable and efficient discharge of duty impossible. O how many miserable and hopeless invalids for life, might have avoided the calamity of which they are victims, by gaining, in the preliminary part of their course, that which they unwisely left to be accomplished by subsequent efforts! Or, the delinquent in question may choose another alternative. He may, after entering the ministry, confine himself to his study, neglecting family visitation, neglecting family in struction, neglecting the anxious inquirer, neglecting the sick and the dying, in short, neglecting all pastoral duties, excepting those of the pulpit. The consequences of adopting this alternative, may be even still more deplorable than in the former case. While the other course would, probably, be fatal to his health, this would be fatal to his useful- But it will be asked, have not individu- IV. Further: a mature and leisurely training for the Gospel ministry is highly important, not merely for the purpose of storing the mind with knowledge, but also for the purpose of that intellectual and moral discipline, which is of no less value to a minister of Christ than theological learning. Many seem to imagine that the only use of a regular and complete course of preparatory study, is the mere attainment of knowledge. And, therefore, when a candidate for the ministry, after completing his collegiate course, is exhorted to spend at least three years in a Theological Seminary, or in some similar situation, it is thought, by many serious people, to be almost a criminal sacrifice to mere learning. But such persons forget that the discipline of the mind, and especially of the heart, the temper, and the general character, is among the most important parts of professional preparation. They forget that even if the requisite amount of facts and principles could be crowded into the mind of a young man in six months, or even in six weeks, still one essential object of theological education would be unattained; which is casting the whole man, if I may be allowed the expression, into the proper mould for a minister of religion. This includes the correction of bad habits; the formation of new and better ones; the gradual discipline and ripening of the intellectual powers; mellowing, softening, and at the same time invigorating, the graces of the heart; bringing down high thoughts of himself; ascertaining his own defects and foibles; learning the value of gravity, self-command, prudence, and christian dignity; studying human nature and the world; studying CLERICAL CHARACTER as it too commonly has been, and as it ought to be; in | short, unlearning many things which have been learned amiss, and correcting many erroneous views, and juvenile propensities, which nothing but time, and suitable associations, accompanied with much observation, watchfulness, prayer and conflict can possibly, under God, enable him to accomplish. Suppose a young man to enter a Seminary like this, to be trained up for the Gospel ministry. Suppose him to have lively, vigorous talents, and unfeigned piety; but at the same time to be rash, impetuous, indiscreet, ignorant of the world, elated with ideas of his own powers and importance, and ready on all occasions, to dash forward for the attainment of his object.Now, if such a young man had read all the books in the world, and heard and treasured up all the learned lectures that ever were delivered, within these or any other walls, he would still be unfit to go forth as a Minister of the Gospel; to be a teacher, an example, and a guide in the Church of God. Such an one needs the friendly hints, the fraternal counsel, the gentle Christian attention of a band of fellow-students. He needs to be taught by experience, and sometimes by very painful experience; to be admonished, and mortified, and humbled again and again, before he can be brought to "think soberly," to feel what his own defects and foibles are, and to acknowledge that others are greater and better than himself; before he can learn habitually to respect the feelings of others, to treat all around him with delicacy, to be "swift to hear, slow to speak, slow to wrath." And all this is not, ordinarily, to be acquired in a year, or in two years. It is, usually, a slow process; and the longer it can be continued, within reasonable limits, the better. It will indeed be well if the close of the most protracted course in the Seminary, should find those who pass through it in any good measure, mature, or even advanced, in these attainments. For it is certain that all who enjoy the opportunity are by no means so happy. In fact, with many, this intellectual and moral discipline is far more needed, and far more important, than mere knowledge. The want of it is their most prominent and radical defect;|| and will be likely, perhaps, more than any other, (next to a defect in piety,) to interfere with their acceptance, their comfort, and their usefulness to the end of life. The truth is, many of the ministers of our Church, enter on their public work by a good deal too early in life. Not only before they have taken time to become sufficiently furnished with Biblical and Theological knowledge; but before their character is properly formed and matured. Like the unfledged young of the feathered tribes, they have ventured forth, and attempted to fly, before their wings were ready to sustain them. The consequence is, that like them also, many an ignoble fall, and many a sad bruise and wound, are found to be the result. It is really very seldom that any man has such maturity and solidity of judgment, such habitual gravity and prudence, such a knowledge of himself and of the world, and such a store of the various and important information which he needs, as to qualify him for entering the pulpit before twenty-five or twenty-six years of age, and especially for undertaking a pastoral charge before twenty-seven or twenty-eight. Nor even then is he ready for such delicate, difficult and momentous work, unless he have spent years in steadily contemplating its nature, and in preparing and disciplining his whole mind and habits for its performance. V. A further argument in favour of a regular and complete course of theological study, may be drawn from the opinion and practice of our Fathers in all past ages. In the ancient Jewish Church, no priest could enter on the full and active duties of his office, until he was thirty years old; and of the preceding years, the last fifteen, and especially the last ten, were devoted to diligent study and preparation for his official work. Of course, I hardly need add, that the course of study in the Divinity Schools under the Old Testament dispensation, was long, leisurely, and mature. In like manner, after the advent of the Saviour, when the Church became organized and settled, careful study as a preparation for the sacred office was continued, and that by Divine direction.For although the first preachers were illiterate fishermen, yet they were supernaturally instructed by their Master, and endowed with the power of working miracles, and speaking with tongues, in aid of their ministry; and long before this period of miracle and inspiration was ended, we find careful study and mature knowledge enjoined by an Apostle, who knew their value by experience, and inculcated them upon principles which ap ply to all ages. He had himself been "brought up at the feet of Gamaliel;" and seems to have been well skilled in every branch of literature and science then taught. And, what is particularly worthy of our notice, this only man, among all the Apostles, who was favoured with ample and ripe learning, was by far the most eminently useful of the whole number.. Accordingly he gives directions which plainly establish, not only the truth but also the importance of the doctrine for which I am contending. The candidate for the ministry, according to the direction of this Apostle-is not to be "a novice," but to be "apt to teach; and "able to teach;"-he is to "give himself to reading," and "to let his profiting appear to all." In the second, third, and fourth centuries, study for the holy ministry seems to have been considered as a serious thing, by no means to be hurried over, or regarded as a small affair. Several years of laborious study were not thought too much to be submitted to for this important object. By some of the early councils it was solemnly decided, that no man ought to be ordained to the work of the ministry under thirty years of age; because they thought that none could be qualified for the office at an earlier period; because the Lord Jesus Christ himself began his ministry at that age; and because they considered it as the most perfect age of man. When the modern Theological Seminaries, or rather theological courses of instruction, in the Universities of Europe were established, the same general plan was adopted. In none of them, I believe, is a less time than three years considered as sufficient for a regular course--and in some much more is required. And, what is remarkable, even in those Universities in which the Professors in the theological department, complete their whole course of Lectures in a single year, as I believe, is the case in Holland, and some other countries, still at least three years are considered as requisite for a complete professional course. It being supposed of essential importance that every student should travel repeatedly over the same ground, that his knowledge might be more thoroughly digested, and more deeply impressed on his mind. When the Seminary of the Associate Reformed Church in the United States was first established, a period of three years was assigned for the regular course. Yet, in a little time afterwards, the venerable Synod of that Church, extended the course to four years; finding, by experience, that three were altogether inadequate to the purpose intended. Now, the use which I wish to make of these facts, and others of a similar kind, which might be detailed, is the following:-If our Fathers in all ages; if the wisest and best of men, both under the Old and New Testament dispensations, have judged that a number of years of close application to study were necessary to a suitable course of preparation for the ministry, shall we be arrogant enough to suppose that they were all wrong, and that we understand the subject better than they did? Is the field of knowledge now less extended than it was then? Or shall we be vain enough to imagine that we have better talents, and better capacities for acquiring knowledge than they had; and that we can accomplish as much as they did in less time? It is probable that none of us think of adopting either of these suppositions. No; they had as vigorous and active minds as we possess; they were at least as diligent in study as we are; they were quite as much averse to the waste of time; they felt as much as we probably feel, for the salvation of souls perishing around them:-and yet, after such experience, they found the time which has been mentioned necessary to them. Rely on it, my beloved pupils, if you had the same experience, you would be of the same mind with them: and it you have not the same convictions now, you will, I doubt not, adopt them by and by; perhaps some of you when it shall be too late to profit by the conviction. Cash received for Board of Education, Do. $100 00 Miss Olive Sproat, 2d ch. 10 00 Annual subscription of Rev. H.S.Pratt, St Mary's, Ga. per S. Allen, 100 00 Donation from an unknown friend, in N. C. per Rev. A. M'Iver, Collection in the 8th ch. Philad. From sundry persons per Dr. Neill, 2.00 38.00 late General Agent; the particulars have been previously published 199 18 Refunded by Robert Evans, per Dr. Neill, 75 00 Donation from Rees Lloyd, Esq. Tariff, Ohio, Do. Female member of Massy creek cong. Augusta co. Va. per A. Con verse, 2.00 3 00 20 00 do 10 00 Do. Mr. John Moore, 2d church, Philadelphia, THE CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE. AUGUST, 1831. Heligious Communications. LECTURES ON THE SHORTER CATECHISM OF THE WESTMINSTER ASSEMBLY OF DIVINES-ADDRESSED TO YOUTH. LECTURE LIX. The next position of our catechism which we are called to consider is this "Some sins in themselves and by reason of several aggravations, are more heinous in the sight of God than others." This proposition, you perceive, consists of two parts. It affirms I. That some sins in themselves; that is, in their very nature, are more heinous in the sight of God than others. II. That the guilt or malignity of sin, may be increased by reason of several aggravations. I do not think that either of these propositions requires any formal proof. Both of them are sanctioned, not only by very numerous and plain declarations of holy scrip ture, but by the common sense and feeling of mankind. Illustration, then, is all that is necessary in treating on this answer of the catechism-thus I. In regard to the assertion that some sins in themselves, that is, in their very nature, are more heinous in the sight of God than others, we have only to say-that unqualified blasphemy is a more heinous sin than a minced oath; or that deliberate murder is a greater crime than VOL. IX.-Ch. Adv. a momentary feeling of unjustifiable anger; and every human being, who understands our language, and whose conscience is not perfectly stupified, will immediately assent to the truth of what we affirm. All perceive that blasphemy implies a depth of depravity, a force and strength of horrible impiety, in the blasphemer, that is not indicated by a degree of profaneness which the very act demonstrates, that he who is guilty of it is still afraid of the extreme of the sin which he commits. In like manner, we cannot think without shuddering of that destitution of all moral sensibility, and that infernal vindictiveness, which there must be in the soul of the deliberate murderer; while we regard a flash of unseasonable angry feeling, rather as an infirmity than a crime. Transgressions, therefore, both of the first table of the moral law and of the second-sins against God, and sins against man-are, by the feelings of every person who has any moral sensibility, immediately adjudged to be, in their very nature, of exceedingly different degrees of malignity. Accordingly, this truth is recognised throughout the Bible. To give but a single example: our Saviour represents the sin of Capernaum and Bethsaida, as unquestionably greater than that of Tyre and Sidon, Sodom and Gomorrah. 3 E |