CHAPTER III.

WITH all humility and tenderness, I would submit to my dear and honoured brethren in the ministry the question, Whether there must not be something radically wrong in that preaching to which the unconverted can approvingly listen, year after year, and remain in their sins.

It may, perhaps, be replied, that the same event happened to Ezekiel, whose fidelity none will presume to question. "They come unto thee," said the Lord to that prophet, as the people cometh, and they sit before thee as my people, and they hear thy words, but they will not do them. And lo! thou art unto them as a very lovely song of one that hath a pleasant voice and can play well on an instrument; for they hear thy words, but they do them not," Ezek. xxxiii. 31, 32.

The relevancy of this passage to the case under consideration is, however, destroyed by The men who, as a matter of

the context.

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the houses," verse 30.

necessity or courtesy, listened to the message, hated the prophet who brought it: they spoke against him" by the walls and in the doors of The case of Ezekiel, then, after all, was no exception to the general rule. Like Moses, and Jeremiah and Daniel, and a host of holy men, "of whom the world was not worthy," who "wandered in deserts and in mountains, and in dens and caves of the earth," Heb. xi. 38, he found it impossible to serve God faithfully without provoking censure, and was included by Stephen in his sweeping challenge to the rulers of the Jews"Which of the prophets have not your fathers persecuted?" Acts vii. 52.

We may boast of the enlightened age in which we live; but we deceive ourselves if we imagine that the world is yet so changed as to render obsolete the caution of our Lord to his disciples," Woe unto you when all men shall speak well of you, for so did their fathers to the false prophets," Luke vi. 26.

The commendation of an unconverted hearer is very questionable praise. It is possible, indeed, that the man may have information enough to acknowledge as truth the evidence of his condemnation, or honesty enough to give us credit

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for the sincerity of our ministrations; but it is far more likely that he endures our sermons, because they press but lightly on his conscience; because we afford him so many opportunities of evading our appeals; or because we invariably suffer him to hide himself in the crowd, and when we describe the man for whom there is no escape, because he neglects the great salvation, Heb. ii. 3, we carefully guard against every thing like personality, lest he should possibly imagine that we mean him.

But we do mean him, or ought to mean him, and the man will never be saved till he knows it. Should he not find it out from our public discourses, let us see him at home, and tell him So. We have often indirectly described his character, but still he has very little notion that the description applies to himself: we must remove from his mind all misapprehension, and with boldness, yet with affection and tenderness, say, "Thou art the man."

Is it demanded, Who can do this? I reply, That servant of Christ who is found "warning every man, and teaching every man, in all wisdom," that he " may present every man perfect in Christ Jesus," Col. i. 28. The preacher who wishes to save himself and them that hear him,

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1 Tim. iv. 16, must thus be made all things to all men, that he may by all means save some, 1 Cor. ix. 22. If sinners will take warning in the ordinary way, our work will be so much the lighter; but if public exhortations fail to produce the effect desired, we must adopt other methods, lest any one fail of the grace of God, Heb. xii. 15.

And under the influence of those powerful views of eternity which every man of God may be expected to cherish, it will, after all, be no very difficult matter to say to an unconverted hearer, "My friend, I have great heaviness and continual sorrow of heart on your account. You have now been hearing me a whole year, and I see no proof that you have been benefited by my labours. Have I bestowed upon

you labour in vain? lead you to Christ? I must soon give an account to God of my watchfulness for the salvation of your soul: I want to do it with joy, and not with grief; for that would be unprofitable for you, Heb. xiii. 17. Must I tell him, that though I warned you, you would not hearken?-that, though I entreated you, you would not comply?-that, though I besought you by the tender mercies of God to

What more can I do to

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present your body a living sacrifice, holy and acceptable, that reasonable service,' Rom. xii. 1, you refused to render him, and strangely determined to die in your sins, notwithstanding all that infinite mercy had done for your redemption and conversion?”

If we are not prepared thus to fight at close quarters, are we good soldiers of Jesus Christ? 2 Tim. ii. 3. If we cannot thus commend ourselves to every man's conscience in the sight of God, are we fit for our work? are we making full proof of our ministry? It was thus that the apostles laboured; Acts xx. 20; 2 Cor. iv. 2; 1 Thess. ii. 11, 12; 2 Tim. iv. 5 ; and if we aspire to their successes, we must emulate their toils.

But whatever may be the piety and devotedness of the ministers of the Gospel, the world will remain unsaved while the conversion of sinners is left to them. them. The mightiest armies would never have subdued a single province had their officers been the only fighting men: it was theirs to direct the battle, but victory depended on the number, and training, and valour of the main body, rank and file. And never until private Christians become effective men, will the church of the living God look