ON THE BASIS OF SCRIPTURE.

C. VAN RENSSELAER, D. D.

PHILADELPHIA:

BOARD OF EDUCATION,

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Reprint and digital file September 9, 2001.

Cortlandt Van Rensselaer was the son of Stephen Van Rensselaer, who was an important political, military and  educational figure in New York state, as his founding of Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute attests. Cortlandt, ( 1808-1860 ) graduated Yale, 1827, and mirrored his father's interest in the development of formal education, serving as corresponding secretary and chief executive officer of the Presbyterian Board of Education .---Concise Dictionary of American Biography, Charles Scribner's Sons, 1977

Items of interest:

Reformers call of men to ministry, pg. 5

John Knox's call to the ministry, pp. 5/6

Phillip Dodderidge's education, pg. 16

Dr. Archibald Alexander's ( Princeton) opinions, pg. 17

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A PLEA FOR OUR EDUCATIONAL OPERATIONS,

ON THE BASIS OF SCRIPTURE.

THE principles of the Presbyterian Church, in her plans of education for the ministry, are believed to be sanctioned by the word of God; and if so, the cause is entitled to general confidence and cooperation. An examination of some of these principles is invited.

I. In the first place, the Church is justified, and required, by the word of God, to make THE PERPETUATION OF THE MINISTRY AN OBJECT OF SPECIAL CONCERN.

Under the Old Testament economy, the most exact provisions regulated the priesthood in its succession and its functions. A whole tribe was set apart for the special service of God in holy things. The higher offices of religion were assigned to a particular family of this tribe, and the succession was carefully and precisely handed down from generation to generation. The duties of the priests and Levites were prescribed with equal care. The time, place, mode, and circumstances for the discharge of official duties, even to the colour of the dress and the tying of the girdle, were authoritatively specified. These Mosaic prescriptions shone, as it were, with "the starlight of Christ," and set forth from distant ages the sacred provisions for the ministry under the New Testament dispensation—provisions which were to have their life, not in the oldness of letter but in the newness of spirit.

Accordingly, under the New Testament economy, the great fact, testifying, at the very beginning, to the spiritual character of its ministry, is the assumption of the office by our blessed Lord himself. As his divinity flashed out before the Magi in the manger, so his prophetic authority was manifested in his youth before wondering men and doctors in the temple. At his baptism, when his public ministry was about to commence, the voice from heaven, "hear ye him," announced the greatness of his prophetic teachings. The synagogue at Nazareth witnessed a memorable scene of grace and majesty, when he declared, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the Gospel to the poor." Our blessed Lord was indeed himself a minister, a preacher of the word. "For this end," said he, "was I born, and for this purpose came I into the world, that I might bear witness to the truth." Although he came also to offer himself a sacrifice upon the altar of divine justice, to make atonement for the sins of his people, and to set up and establish his kingdom, yet was the office

of a prophet, or teacher of men, intimately and specially connected with the whole purpose of his life. As the missionary of God, he went from village to village in Judea, teaching in the synagogues and preaching the Gospel of the kingdom. The example of the Lord Jesus Christ, therefore, is an exhortation to the Church to honour the Christian Ministry, to respect the office and its work, to make prominent the provisions for its perpetuation, and to give earnest attention to whatever pertains to its character, its enlargement, its usefulness, and its success.

To our Lord’s personal example is added the testimony of his plan to establish this office as a permanent one in the Church. Not only was he himself devoted to the preaching of the word, but he called others to engage in this vocation, and devoted a large portion of his time in the execution of this purpose. The establishment of a holy ministry was one of the chief anxieties of his life. The first care of the Redeemer after his temptation, was to call Peter and Andrew, James and John; and soon after he called others also. After preparing the Apostles for their work, he sent them forth. "As ye go, preach, saying, The kingdom of heaven is at hand." He gave them no sacerdotal vestments, or breast-plate, or mitre, or oil of consecration; but, commissioning them with the voice of his personal authority, he put them in charge of the proclamation of truth. Shortly after, our Lord sent out the seventy evangelists on a similar mission. The number of labourers was thus increased; the ordinary office of the ministry received a Divine warrant; and eighty-two men were engaged in the great work of teaching and preaching throughout Judea, Samaria, and Galilee. But the ministry was not to be a temporary expedient, to continue only during the life of Christ, and to be confined to the Jews; it was to be a permanent office, and an office for the whole world. After his resurrection, our Lord, with thoughts of wisdom and purposes of love, enlarged the scope of the ministerial commission, saying, "All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth. Go ye, therefore, and teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Ghost; teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you; and lo, I am with you alway, even unto the end of the world." Thus the Saviour consecrated the office again, at his ascension; and the promise of his presence for all time accompanied the enlargement of the commission to all mankind.

Another fact, that discloses the intense interest of the Saviour in perpetuating an able ministry on the earth, is the conversion of Paul. The Pharisee, on his way to Damascus, is met by the Lord of Glory. The relentless persecutor, struck to the earth in wonder, hears a voice out of the cloud, summoning him by name; and to the question, "Who art thou, Lord ?" the answer is given, "I am JESUS, whom thou persecutest." Thus our Lord descended, as it were, from heaven, to call another Apostle into the ministry. This

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was no vision, but a sight. It was the personal reappearance of the Saviour once more among men ; for Paul appeals, in proof of his apostleship, to this very scene: "Have I not seen Jesus Christ, our Lord ?" (1 Cor. 9: 1.) And again, "And last of all, he was seen of me also, as of one born out of due time." (1 Cor. 15: 8.) The Redeemer had great purposes to accomplish through the man "breathing threatenings and slaughter." Far higher purposes than his personal salvation; for then Paul, the persecutor, might have been simply taken to paradise, a fit companion of the thief, to praise grace in glory. But the design was to employ him as a minister, in preaching far and wide the cross of Christ. "The Lord said to Ananias, Go thy way: for he is a chosen vessel unto me, to bear my name before the Gentiles, and kings, and the children of Israel; for I will show him how great things he must suffer for my name's sake." (Acts 9: 15, 16.) Does the Church need a more persuasive argument to remind her of the wisdom of attending to the succession of her ministers? Was there ever a more impressive scene than the sight of the blessed Saviour, reappearing in the cloud which wrapped him from his disciples’ sight, and coming down once more to earth to give a personal commission to Paul?

Nor did our Lord limit his condescension to the single case of calling the Apostle of the Gentiles. Every true minister of the Gospel, has, in his call to the sacred office, the testimony of his Master’s interest in perpetuating it. Throughout all time, the Redeemer administers the kingdom of grace, and by his Holy Spirit designates his servants to their sacred work. " When he ascended up on high, and led captivity captive, he gave gifts to men." Not the gifts of honours, or riches, or kingdoms of this world; Christ’s gifts to men were MEN, living teachers and preachers, apostles and prophets, evangelists and pastors, for the perfecting of the saints and for the edification of his body.

The Scriptures everywhere declare, that divine wisdom has connected the salvation of the world with the preaching of the cross. "Faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of God; but how shall they hear without a preacher ?" This question should arouse the Church from her lukewarmness, and rally her strength in the cause of ministerial education. How shall the dying millions hear, if men are not sent forth to preach Jesus Christ and him crucified? The foolishness of preaching is Heaven’s wisdom. The Father, Son, and Holy Ghost, the Trinity in Unity, GOD, is pleading with a lost world for reconciliation, through a living ministry. The angels, ministering spirits, who co-operate with pastors in bringing heirs of salvation to glory, feel intensest interest in an office among men, that has advantages of communication, of social bonds, of natural sympathy, of sight, and presence, and tongue, and influence. The arrangements of the kingdom of grace depend upon preaching the Gospel. Christ on earth, Christ in heaven,

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Christ in his word, Christ through his Spirit, Christ in his providence, Christ in his Church, expresses the Divine interest in the office and work of the Christian ministry. The Church, therefore, is not merely justified in giving some prominence, in her operations, to the raising up and sending forth of ministers, but she is under the most sacred obligations to exercise her assiduous care in carrying forward a plan, divine in its origin, and the hope of the Church throughout all ages of time.

II. Another principle, which lies at the basis of the educational operations in the Presbyterian Church is, that the Church is required to USE MEANS for the attainment of the great end in view.

The appeal is again made "to the law and to the testimony." In seeking light from the example of Christ, on the use of means in increasing the ministry, it is perfectly clear that the very subordinate authority of the Church, in comparison with that of her Lord, prohibits the possibility of the imitation of his example in all particulars, on a subject so directly involving the exercise of divine prerogatives. Nevertheless, suggestions of importance arise in contemplating the course pursued by our Saviour.

Our Lord used outward means in calling the apostles and evangelists to the work of the ministry. The minds of his followers were not left to the inward workings of the Spirit, and to their own private convictions of duty. He went forth and sought out those who were to be the future preachers of he Gospel. The object of his visit to the Sea of Galilee was to call Peter and Andrew; and desiring to increase the number of his disciples, and to receive more under his tuition and training for the ministry, he went to James and John, and he called them also, and they followed him. Other instances of the use of outward means are furnished in the case of other apostles. The great truth, elicited by these examples, is that some external agency was employed by our Lord in perfecting the call of his apostles to the ministry. The call of the twelve and of the seventy was not simply by the unseen and secret workings of the Holy Spirit, nor was it by a miracle, as in the case of Paul, but it was in connection with his own personal appeal, and with the employment of the means adapted to secure the end. It is not maintained that the Church may proceed in a similar manner to call her ministers at the present day. All that can be lawfully inferred from these illustrious instances of our Saviour’s works and ways is, that so far as the Church can discover the will of God in his providence, she may lawfully use the means of his appointment. The Spirit alone brings the sons of God into the Church, and into the ministry. But in both cases, the Church is warranted in using means to accomplish the result, which he has been pleased to connect with the use of those means.

The apostles, so far as the circumstances allowed, followed the

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example of their Master. They did not, for they could not, designate in their own name those who were to prepare for the office of the ministry; but they kept the subject constantly in view. They laid down rules to judge of the qualifications of ministers they appealed to religious motives in awakening a desire for the work; they sought out suitable persons for presbyters in every city; they did according to their opportunities whatever properly pertained to the exercise of human agency. The careful reader of scripture will find that the office of the ministry, whilst it is always placed among the secret things of the sovereignty and wisdom and grace of God, is not withdrawn from the action of human instrumentalities. Like the conversion and the sanctification of God’s elect, it has its evangelical position among the means that draw forth the prayers and the efforts of the Church.

The Reformers followed the apostles, as the apostles followed the Lord, so far as the varying circumstances, in either case, gave liberty of imitation and of action. At the period of the Reformation, when there existed a great dearth of evangelical teachers, it was an object of much solicitude with Luther, and Calvin, and Knox, to provide for the emergency. Accordingly, the wants of the Church were held up with unwonted importunity to the attention of the young; and an appeal was made to the prayers and piety of the Church to supply the abounding destitutions. In Scotland, John Knox pressed into the teacher’s office persons, whose qualifications could scarcely have stood the test of the Book of Discipline, but who were yet able to serve the Master as inferior workmen at a time of need. The Church has, undoubtedly, the right of stirring up the consciences of her people; of enlightening their minds in regard to their duty; and of using such authority over them in their designation to the ministry as Providence may seem to justify and demand. Indeed, John Knox himself was urged into the ministry by an ecclesiastical authority, bordering on the peremptory call given to Peter and Andrew at the Sea of Galilee. Calderwood’s record is as follows:

"Mr. Benrie Balnaves, Johne Rough, preacher, and others within the castell, approving the manner of John Knox’s doctrine, travalled earnestlie with him, to tak upon him the preaching-place. He utterlie refused, alledging he would not runne where God had not called him. Whereupon, advising among themselves, and, with Sir David Lindsay of the Month, they concluded to give a charge to the said Johne, and that publiclye, by the mouth of the preacher. So, upon a certane day, a sermon being had of calling of ministers, what power the congregation, how small soever, had over anie man in whom they espied the gifts of God, how dangerous it was to refuse, and not to hearken to the voice of those that desired to be instructed, Johne Rough directed his speeche to Johne Knox, saying, ‘Brother, yee shall not be offended, albeit I speake to you that which I have in charge givin frome all these that are heere

present, which is this: In the name of God, and of his Sonne, Christ Jesus, and in the name of those that doe presentlie call you by my mouth, I charge you that yee refuse not this holie vocatioun; but as yee tender the glorie of God, the increase of Christ’s kingdome, the edification of your brethren, and the comfort of me, whome yee understand weill eneugh to be overburthenned, that yee tak upon you the publick office and charge of preaching, even as yee looke to avoide God’s heavie displeasure, and desire him to multiphie his graces upon you.’ In end he saide to those that were present, ‘Was not this your charge given to me, and doe yee not approve this vocatioun?’ They answer, ‘It was, and we approve it.’ Johne Knox, abashed, burst forth in teares abundantlie, and withdrew himself to his chamber. His countenance and behaviour from that day, till the day he was compelled to present himself to the publick place of preaching, did sufllcientlie declare what was the greefe and trouble of his heart ; for no man saw anie signe of mirthe in him, neither yett had he pleasure to beare companie with anie man for many dayes together." *

This example of Church authority is, indeed, an extreme one; but the importunity of the ministers and people arose, not from any claim of prerogative on their part, but, on the contrary, because the impression was so strong that God himself had designated John Knox for this great work. In like manner, every minister and presbytery may attempt to follow the leadings of Providence, in endeavours to bring suitable persons into the ministry of reconciliation, taking due care to avoid encroaching on forbidden ground. The outward means to be safely employed are chiefly those of public teaching, private exhortation, diligent and careful watchfulness of the young, and the presentation to them of opportunities to nurture the gifts requisite to the sacred calling. A large field of usefulness is undoubtedly presented here, wherein good seed may be sown in the hope of rich and abundant returns.

A powerful agency remains to be stated in reference to the increase of the ministry, and one which has a special warrant from the Lord in his teaching and in his example. The injunction of the Redeemer to his disciples is, "Pray ye to the Lord of the harvest that he would send forth labourers into his harvest." The circumstances under which this injunction was uttered are precisely those that are met by the revelation of the plan of relief. 1. In the first place, there were destitute multitudes; the people were, like a flock, fatigued with wandering, and exposed to danger; they were faint, and without shepherds. This condition of want corresponds with that of the present day; the unevangelized nations are in a state of exposure and of misery. 2. In the second place, the labourers were few. Those, whose duty it was to help the spiritually needy and suffering, were unequal to the task. Their number was small.

*Calderwood’s History, i, 227.

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Here, again, was a condition of things, that has hitherto had a sad parallel in all ages of the world. Our Saviour was "moved with compassion," as he beheld the multitudes without labourers. A divine yearning over the lost, such as brought tears at the sight of Jerusalem, moved his soul on the occasion. This is the true spirit that should animate the Church in her plans for increasing the ministry. No worldly motives, no sectarian zeal, no calculation of mere numbers, no policy of ambition, has any right to Christ’s remedy. A compassionate regard for perishing souls is the true condition of hopeful success. Under these conditions of outward circumstance and inward emotion, our blessed Lord uttered the injunction to "pray."

His example accorded with the precept. On that night he retired for prayer. The harvest-field of living souls rose up to his view in the lights and shadows of its eternal destiny; and his heart of compassion poured out its warm love in prayer. Luke records the event in these words: "And it came to pass in those days that he went up into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." (Luke 6 : 12.) That night of weeping and praying over the woes of a perishing world was all-prevalent with God. As if to show the duty of prayer to "the Lord of the harvest" by his example, and the power of prayer by its reward in the answer of its petitions, on the next day he gave to his Apostles their first commission, "Go, preach." Luke presents the record in the next verse to the one already quoted, "And when it was day, he called unto him his disciples: and of them he chose twelve, whom also he named Apostles." (Luke 6 : 13.) This commissioning of his Apostles, in juxtaposition with that night of prayer upon the mountain, and with that injunction to pray to "the Lord of the harvest," is one of the most gracious and instructive coincidences that adorn the life of the Saviour.

The Church learns from this scene: 1st. The duty of prayer to the Lord of the harvest. 2d. The kind of prayer recommended,— importunate, persevering prayer. And 3d. The certainty of the answer in the goodness of Providence.

Prayer to God in reference to the increase of the ministry is prominent among all other kinds of means and instrumentalities. It has the clearest warrant of all; it is in its nature of the highest kind; it gives energy in the use of all other means; and it has received the richest blessings from heaven.

The Church, therefore, in the arrangement of her educational policy, has the right to use the means adapted to increase the number of her ministry—the means of instruction, counsel, admonition, exhortation, and, above all, and beyond all, and chief among all, the means of prayer.

III. A third scriptural principle, which our educational operations rightly keep in view is, that, in the providence of God,

MANY OF THE CHURCH’S MINISTERS ARE LIKELY TO BE AMONG THE POOR.

"God’s ways are not as our .ways, nor his thoughts as our thoughts." The ancient covenant people had arranged for the Messiah a splendid temporal kingdom. In their carnal imaginations a state of outward magnificence was the only one becoming to royalty. Robes, crowns, chariots, processions, pomp of power, were among the certainties, in their estimation, of the Messiah’s advent. A stable his birth-place, and a manger his cradle, Jesus came "to confound the wisdom of the wise and to set at nought the understanding of the prudent." He was content with poverty, and he chose it above every other condition of life. The Messiah was reputed to be a carpenter’s son. His mother was an humble maiden of the house of Judah. The most unequivocal testimonials of a low earthly estate accompanied him through life. He did not consider a high social position necessary for the object of his mission. Among all the outer conditions of life, which were open to his choice, our Lord chose poverty. Was there no meaning in this Divine arrangement? Are not the decrees of God "his eternal purpose, whereby, for his own glory, he hath foreordained whatsoever comes to pass ?" If the Lord of the New Testament dispensation chose to be lowly by birth—to be among the poorest of the poor,—is it not at least an indication that the sympathies of his life, and the power of his truth, and the glories of his kingdom, were to be independent of the honours and the wealth of this world?

Again. It is a significant fact, that our Lord selected his first apostles from among the poor, and it is not known that any of them had more than a moderate competence. Behold Jesus of Nazareth by the Sea of Galilee, meditating upon the great work of preparing and sending forth ministers of salvation, who should succeed him on his departure. He comes to fishermen’s quarters to make his choice. He finds Simon and Andrew in the act of casting their nets into the sea; and James and John in the act of mending their nets; and here are the first four Apostles of the Church. And of these four, one is the apostle of the circumcision, and another the beloved disciple, who, at Patmos, had revelations of glory. Was it by chance that the Lord passed by the Scribes and Pharisees, and the houses of the rich, like Joseph of Arimathea, and condescended to men of low estate? The fact must ever stand out in the history of the Church, that our blessed Lord, in the exercise of his infinite wisdom, chose his apostles from among the poor. Is there no significance in this choice,—no indication of a plan,—no intimation of what may be likely to occur in the future, and, to a considerable extent, in all ages of the Church?

There may be reasons for the expectation of always having large accessions to the ministry from among the humble classes of society. Society is composed, in a great measure, of the poor, the humble,

under ordinary circumstances to secure their freedom from worldly care.

2d. The fact that many ministers, the largest proportion, will perhaps always come from the middle and lower classes, does not release the higher classes from the obligation of engaging personally in this service. Far from it. The best state of the ministerial profession is not when it is in the exclusive possession of any one class, but when all classes contribute in their just proportion to the preaching of the word of life. It is greatly to be feared that many of our youth, whose position enables them to support themselves, do not examine their duty on this subject with the candour and prayerfulness, favourable to a right decision. God does not exempt the rich from any duties which he enjoins upon the poor.

3d. A third objection has arisen from the apprehension of lowering the influence of the ministry by relying too much upon the children of the poor to perpetuate it. It is quite possible to commit errors in this direction. But the danger is not so much in assisting the poor, as in making too indiscriminate selections from their number. It is the education of the incompetent poor that will impair confidence in the operations of the Church. On this point, the Board has not ceased to be faithful in efforts to form a public sentiment hostile to the reception of dull and unpromising candidates. It would be well, undoubtedly, if the presbyteries raised the standard of mental and moral qualification. Deficiency here is the obstacle which our plans have always found it the most difficult to overcome. The evil in the case is not poverty, but incompetency.

Further, it is a great mistake to confound a lowly condition with a degraded one. The nobility of gifts does not follow distinction of birth, nor is succession of grace coincident with lofty genealogy. There is no process so transforming as Christian education; and where there is real merit in character, poverty can never prevent elevation of social position. All the learned professions welcome the meritorious poor to a participation in their labours and honours. Whilst a watchful guard should be ever kept against the introduction into the ministry of incompetent persons of any grade, the sons, whether of ministers, or of poor elders, or widows, or of the indigent generally, should be encouraged according to their merits and qualifications. If the Church does her duty, God will take care of social position, and preserve ministerial character above degradation.

Reference is sometimes made to the passages in Scripture, which speak in disparagement of the priests who were made "of the lowest of the people." But these passages, where blame is thrown upon Jeroboam for making "priests of the lowest of the people," evidently include in that expression their wicked moral character. The priests were chosen without reference to qualifications; "whosoever would," became one of them. (1 Kings 13: 33.) They worshipped

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idols in the high places, and, furthermore, were not of the sons of Levi. (1 Kings 12: 31) Such an unlawful, idolatrous, and wicked priesthood, no doubt, came from the lowest pollution of society. There is not the slightest analogy between such priests and the Apostolic fishermen, or the lowly ministers in the Presbyterian Church.

The great truth will ever hold good, that a majority of the ministers of the Church will probably come from the class to which belonged our blessed Master and his Apostles. This principle is assumed by the General Assembly in establishing her system of operations to assist her youth in preparing for the ministry. It is a principle that has been verified in all ages of the Church.

IV. A fourth principle, which has a scriptural basis, and which our Church incorporates into her plans, is, that the ministry should be an EDUCATED as well as a pious ministry, called of God to their work.

High qualifications enter into all just views of so sacred an office. It is generally conceded that the ministerial character requires piety, and that entrance upon the ministerial office demands the Sanction of a divine call. These views fail to be acted upon in the Christian Church only under particular circumstances, as a low state of religion, which is always a temptation to the intrusion of unworthy persons into the sacred office; or a Church and State connection, where the civil power commonly overbears the religious, and thrusts forward the worldly into ecclesiastical stations; or a hierarchal system of rites and ceremonies, where moral worth and excellence have too often been depreciated by lofty views of Church absolution and authority. All evangelical denominations, especially in this country, acquiesce in the necessity of piety and of a call from God, as requisites for the ministerial office. The Presbyterian Church in the United States has never wavered in her testimony on these two points.

In regard to the importance of EDUCATION to the work of the ministry, there is more difference of opinion; but in our own Church there has always been a uniformity of sentiment on the subject. The principle has the full sanction of the word of God.

Under the Jewish dispensation, the priests and Levites were not ignorant and illiterate men. The Levitical cities were places of learning. The officers of the sanctuary were secluded from the rest of the tribes, and appointed to dwell in towns where they had opportunities of education, adapted to promote intellectual fitness in the discharge of their sacred functions. In later times, there were "schools of the prophets," as at Naioth, Jericho, Ramah, and Gilgal, for the instruction of prophets and sons of the prophets. And in the synagogues, which are commonly supposed to have been established later still, there were scribes and doctors of the law,

who possessed the gifts of teaching in connection with qualifications of learning.*

Under the New Testament dispensation, its Head, the first-born among the prophets, was pre-eminent in all knowledge and learning. Born among the lowly, he was not content to keep down to the natural level of their ignorance. He increased in stature and in wisdom. At the age of twelve, he already astonished the doctors in the Temple; and when he commenced his public work, all the treasures of knowledge abounded in the perfection of his intellectual nature. Does not the wisdom and learning of the Saviour intimate that those who seek, in his stead, to plead with men to be reconciled to God, should strive to possess the highest intellectual attainments within the reach of human effort?

The Apostles, originally illiterate and comparatively unlearned, were three years under the personal training and instruction of our Lord Jesus Christ. They enjoyed his intimate communion; they heard his public discourses; they lived under the light of his example; they witnessed the manifestations of his intellect and heart; and they had the unparalleled advantages of his free and persevering teachings. If never man spake as he spake, so never man taught as he taught. Not only is apostolic instruction a plea for learning in the Christian ministry, but it justifies the course pursued by our Church in requiring that the interval between the call to the office and entrance on its duties should be, in general, a period of preparatory study.

But the fact that immeasurably exalts the position of the Apostles above that of all other ministers, was their miraculous gifts of inspiration and of tongues. The Holy Spirit enlightened their minds, so as to keep their authoritative teachings free from all admixture of error, and gave them the gift of tongues, to communicate freely to others their revelations. Thus gifted with thoughts and with tongues from God, they became the pattern of an enlightened and powerful ministry. Peter, who was called while throwing his net into the sea, was enlightened to become a ready penman of the Lord, and to give to the Church the two epistles that bear his Name; whilst the hand of John, which was mending a net at the Saviour’s call, wrote a Gospel, Epistle, and a great book of Revelation. Apostolic example is the most powerful plea God ever made to the Church in favour of a learned ministry; especially if we include the case of Paul, learned in all Jewish and Pagan knowledge, who was called to be the Apostle to the Gentiles. Let an ignorant ministry stand confounded in the presence of the first teachers in the Church!

The sacred writings aim at keeping up a succession of well-instructed, able ministers of the New Testament. The public

* No illiterate person, or mechanic, was allowed to speak in the synagogue under any circumstances, but only the learned.—See Jennings’ Jewish Antiquities, book II, Chap. 2.

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teachers of the Church are required to be learned in the Scriptures; apt to teach; not novices; able, by sound doctrine, both to exhort and to convince; nourished up in the words of faith and of sound doctrine; giving attendance to reading; having sound speech, that cannot be condemned; feeding the sheep and the lambs; qualified to take the oversight of the flock; speaking as the oracles of God; making progress, so that their profiting may appear unto all; showing themselves approved unto God, workmen that need not be ashamed, rightly dividing the Word of Truth.

The spirit and precepts of the Bible are so clearly on the side of extensive theological attainments in the ministry, that institutions of theological instruction were early established in the primitive Church, as at Alexandria. Learning, in subsequent ages, was very much in the hands of the clergy. At the Reformation universities were used in all countries for the training of an able ministry.

The plainest dictates of reason declare that a profession of such responsibility should not be under the control of ignorance, however pious. The destiny of the world is dependent upon the preached Gospel. All the faculties of the human mind have scope for their intensest activity in advancing the Kingdom of God. Shall Law and Medicine be numbered among the learned professions, and Divinity be excluded ? Shall the protection of our rights and the care of our bodies command the attainments of educated men, and the great concerns of life and immortality be committed to the ignorant and untrained?

The plea that piety is the most important qualification, is admitted; but the plea is not to the point. Piety and learning are different things; one cannot supply the place of the other. The heart cannot perform the office of the head. Piety is the most important qualification; but learning, though second to it, comes next, and must be kept next. The two go together; and their separation is calculated to degrade the ministry and to impair its usefulness.

The plea that the direct impulses of the Holy Spirit on the mind of ministers supersedes the necessity of learning, is one of the wildest conceptions of fanaticism. Our Saviour, who was anointed with all spiritual gifts, chose to be learned. The Apostles, although inspired, were trained for their work, and were endued with the gift of tongues. Moreover, inspiration of the kind referred to is believed to have ceased in the Church; and a reliance on the Spirit, except through faith and prayer and the use of means, is unscriptural.

Our own Church has always adopted the plan of thoroughly instructing her youth in theology and its cognate branches of learning, before sending them out to preach the Gospel. Our six Theological Seminaries give testimony to our views of the importance of a learned and pious ministry; and the Board of Education is organized to co-operate in this great work, under the sanction of Scripture.

V. A fifth scriptural principle, which underlies our education

measures, is that PECUNIARY AID should be granted to those candidates whose condition demands it.

Our Lord himself condescended to receive aid from those around him, although the kingdom of nature was at his command. He also accepted aid in behalf of his Apostles, whilst they were in the course of their preparatory training and occupied the position of our theological students. Luke records the case, in the beginning of the 8th chapter of his Gospel. As he went through every city and village, preaching and showing the glad tidings of the kingdom of God, "the twelve were with him, and certain women," Mary and Joanna and Susanna, "and many others which ministered unto him of their substance." Here was aid for the temporal sustenance of himself and of the members of his theological school. There is surely sufficient similarity in these circumstances to institute a plea in behalf of candidates for the ministry in all ages. If they are in need of support, the substance of the Lord’s friends should be ministered unto them.

The precept that "the labourer is worthy of his hire," has application to the case of students preparing for the ministry. These youth have already entered upon the service of the Church; not, indeed, in the active performance of ministerial work, but in the active preparation preliminary to its performance. They have as really given up worldly occupations and pursuits, as those who are actually ordained to the ministerial office. In their studies, they are devoting themselves to promote the welfare of the Church. They are engaged in public, and not in private work; and like the students in our Military Academy at West Point, they may justly receive aid from the public funds, on the ground of preparing for the public service.

Another class of texts, enjoining on general principles of benevolence a regard for the poor, apply to the cases in question. Many of the candidates for the sacred office are entirely destitute, and really have nothing on which to rely for support, in pursuing their education. "Blessed is he that considereth the poor." (Ps. 41:1.) "The righteous considereth the cause of the poor." (Prov.

29: 7.) "That we should remember the poor." (Gal. 2: 10.) "He hath dispersed; he hath given to the poor; his righteousness endureth forever." (Ps. 112 : 9.) The duty of a tender regard to the needy, is the subject of the clearest and most positive precepts of the Bible. And why should the candidates of the Church be excluded from the range of such commands and promises?

Still further: those who belong to the household of faith have a special claim for temporal assistance. "As we have, therefore, opportunity, let us do good unto all men, especially unto them who are of the household of faith." (Gal. 6 : 10.) Students for the ministry belong to this blessed household of faith, to which all the saints belong, and wherein dwells their elder brother; and in what manner can the wealthy more truly "do good" to these youth,

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than by helping them in the development of their intellectual and moral character, while preparing for their arduous calling? "It is superfluous," says Paul to the Corinthians, "as touching the ministering to the saints, it is superfluous that I write unto you. (2 Cor. 9: 1.) Why superfluous? Because these Christians were known for their "forwardness of mind," and "brought glory to God for their professed subjection to the Gospel of Christ." (2 Cor. 9: 13.)

Once more: Christ graciously notices and rewards all acts of kindness, however trivial, done to his prophets or disciples. He that receives a righteous man in the name of a righteous man, or a prophet in the name of a prophet, shall in no wise lose his reward. (Matt. 10 : 41.) Yea, saith the Master, "Whosoever shall give you a cup of water in my name, because ye belong to Christ, verily I say unto you, he shall not lose his reward." (Mark 9: 41.) In the eye of faith, Christ is seen in his disciples.

These passages of scripture sufficiently vindicate the support of the indigent by the Church, whilst pursuing a course of preparation for the ministry. The motives involved in these passages are, 1st, The example of Apostolic times, when the women ministered of their substance to the great Teacher and his twelve disciples. 2d, The right of candidates to aid, on the ground of an equivalent in the work of preparation for the Church’s service. 3d, Their actual need of aid, viewed simply as belonging to the miscellaneous class of the meritorious poor. 4th, Their connection with the household of faith; and 5th, The rewards which Christ graciously announces to those who, from love to him, perform the most trivial act of kindness to those for whom he died.

There is no dishonour in receiving aid when it is needed. Our blessed Lord accepted it in his own person, and in behalf of his disciples; and the last act of his life was to commit his own beloved mother to the maintenance and care of John. "Then saith He to the disciple, Behold thy mother And from that hour that disciple took her unto his own home."

It is believed that all the principles enumerated are scriptural principles, and that the educational operations of our Church deserve the confidence, the prayers, the funds, and general cooperation of all who desire to promote the increase and perpetuation of the Christian ministry.

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HOW DODDRIDGE BECAME A MINISTER.

More than a century ago, there lived in England an orphan boy, of no ordinary promise. From his early childhood, "I want to be a minister," was his chief desire; but being deprived not only of the counsel of a father and the affection of a mother, but also of the necessary amount of money to carry out his cherished desire, his youthful spirit was bowed to the earth, and his noble heart throbbed only with feelings of bitter disappointment and despair.

But a brighter day dawns. There is a prospect for his ardent desire to be gratified. A wealthy lady—the Duchess of Bedford—kindly volunteers to pay all his expenses at the University of Oxford, if he will become a minister of the Church of England. His noble spirit is too proud to sell the religion of his father and mother for the perishable riches of this world, and he most respectfully declines the proffered kindness. God bless thee, noble youth! Wait patiently—never give up—" where there’s a will, there’s a way." The path of duty is always the path of right.

Not long after this occurrence, a poor boy, dressed in the garb of poverty, presented himself at the door of a celebrated minister—Dr. Edmund Calamy—and asked to have a private interview with him relative to studying for the ministry. The minister listened patiently to the recital of his many difficulties and numerous trials, but told him that he thought it entirely unheard of; for a youth like himself to think about entering upon so high and responsible a calling. He advised him to think no more of preaching, but to choose some other calling.

Disheartened at himself, discouraged by his friends, poor, penniless, and forsaken, he knew not whither to go. No smile of encouragement met his eye; no voice of approval sanctioned his noble endeavour. There was a heavenly Friend, however, who had never forsaken him; who had never turned a deaf ear even to his smallest desire who had ever loved him with fatherly affection and motherly tenderness. To that friend he then betook himself, and when engaged in fervent prayer, a postman knocked at the door, and handed him a letter from an old friend of his father—Dr. Samuel Clark—informing him of his willingness to take him under his care, and assist him in his studies, if he was still intent upon studying for the ministry. "This," he exclaimed, "I look upon almost as an answer from heaven, and while I live I shall always adore so seasonable an opening of divine Providence.

The wishes of the poor orphan boy were thus gratified; and before many years had passed away, under the guidance and instruction of his friend, he became a bright and shining light on the walls of Zion.

Youthful reader, this orphan boy was PHILIP D0DDRIDGE—the pious and devoted minister of Christ, the beautiful writer, the faithful pastor, the earnest Christian.

If there be any one into whose hands this article may fall, who, like Doddridge, "wants to be a minister," and is prevented from accomplishing his desire on account of want of means, let me say one word,—never despair! If God wants you to be a minister, he will provide the means. Wait patiently, and pray earnestly. The funds will come in due time; and, if you are a Presbyterian, our Church guarantees assistance to enable you to follow the example of Doddridge in preaching salvation to dying men.

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TESTIMONY OF DR. ARCHIBALD ALEXANDER.

"THE true state of the case is this. The Church wants ministers, and must languish and decline, if she does not obtain a sufficient supply. Every pious young man who has talents to be useful in the ministry, has the ability to make for himself a comfortable living, in some secular business; and in a worldly point of view, every young man of vigorous mind and enterprising disposition makes a sacrifice of his temporal interest by becoming, in this country, a candidate for the ministry. If then, a sufficient number of candidates, from the class able to support themselves, do not offer, is it not the duty of the Church to assist in the education of indigent and pious youth, possessed of good natural abilities? The question to be decided is extremely plain and simple,.—Shall the Church do without a sufficient supply of ministers, or endeavour to obtain such a supply by educating pious young men, who are unable to gain an education by their own means? Suppose the Church to proceed on the principle involved in the objection to this mode of procuring a supply of ministers, what will be the consequence? The appeal here must be made to facts. What has been for twenty years past, the proportion of candidates who have had it in their power to support themselves ? Upon looking over the catalogue of our students, from the commencement of this Seminary, [ Princeton Theological Seminary, Willison ed. ] I find that at least one-half the whole number have required to be aided by the funds of the Church, or by benevolent individuals. Some of these, by spending years in teaching, might have found their way into the ministry; but the greater number would have been discouraged, and would have turned their attention to some other pursuits or, they would have sought an entrance into the sacred office, without any suitable and thorough preparation. Certainly, we have not had a superabundance of good ministers; and surely, no one would wish to see our Church filled with men imperfectly prepared. With all our exertions by means of the Board of Education, the number of our ministers falls far short of the demand.

"From the origin of this Seminary, as was before stated, at least one-half the students have been more or less dependent on charitable funds for their support; and yet it has never been observed by the Professors that these were, as a body, inferior to the others in any respect whatever. Certainly their being beneficiaries has not lowered them in the opinion of their fellow-students, as far as the fact was known; but in a majority of cases, the wants of the needy are supplied with out giving such publicity to the transaction that it becomes known even to their fellow-students.

"If we should now take a survey of all the pastors and evangelists in connection with the Presbyterian Church, whether labouring at home or in the foreign field, there would be found no marked inferiority in those educated on the funds of the Church, in manners,, piety, talents, or usefulness. If all who were thus educated should at once be withdrawn from the field of labour, it would leave such a chasm, or rather such a desolation, as would fill every pious mind with grief and discouragement. If then this plan of providing a supply of ministers for the Church has been found necessary in times past, why should it not be equally, yea, more necessary hereafter, as the field is every day widening both at home and abroad, and the demand for labourers more urgent, every succeeding year?

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"Contributing to aid pious students in their preparation for the Gospel Ministry, has ever been considered a laudable species of benevolence; and the establishment of scholarships and bursaries in Colleges and Universities, has been with a direct view to this object. From the biography of the reformers and other eminent men since their time, it appears that they felt a deep interest in the subject, and often used their influence to obtain aid to enable candidates for the ministry to pursue their theological studies to their completion without interruption.

"There is scarcely any plan to which objections may not be made; but if this plan be essential to the prosperity of the Church—I had almost said, to its existence—why make objections? They may injure a good cause, but cannot possibly do any good. In these cases, it has been truly remarked, that those who contributed most largely to educational funds were not the persons who usually find fault, but such as desired an excuse for not giving. Now, as charity ought to be free and unconstrained, let such keep their money, but let them not influence others, by their objections, to hold back their contributions. To hinder or discourage the education of poor and pious youth of good talents, for the holy ministry, is actually to oppose the vital interests of Christ’s Church; and when this is done by Presbyterian ministers, it is a species of ecclesiastical suicide: It is virtually to cut the nerves by which our efforts in advancing the kingdom of the Redeemer must be made.

LEGACIES.

Legacies have been of the most important use in carrying on the educational operations of the Presbyterian Church. The total amount received from this source for the last twenty-seven years has been $49,741 59. Without this aid, there would have been a deficiency in the income of several years.

If any persons wish to leave legacies, either to assist candidates for the ministry or educational institutions, they are requested to insert the right corporate name of the Board.

FORM OF A DEVISE OR BEQUEST.

All that the Board deem it necessary to furnish, is their CORPORATE NAME, viz. "The Trustees of the Board of Education of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America."

The State laws differ so much that no one form will answer in all the States.

The following form may be used in Pennsylvania, and in some of the other States

"I give and devise to the Trustees of the Board of Education of the Presbyterian Church in the United States of America, the sum of— dollars, to and for the uses of the said Board of Education, and under its direction."

(When real estate or other property is given, let it be particularly described.)

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I.MINISTERS may aid the Board of Education,

By their sympathies and co-operation in its plans; by their prayers in public and private ; and by bringing the claims of the ministry before pious and gifted young men, and before the churches.

II. ELDERS may aid the Board of Education,

By appointing a day for a regular annual collection in their congregations, whether supplied with pastors, or vacant and by the use of all public and private means within their sphere, as enumerated on this page.

III. PARENTS may aid the Board of Education,

By dedicating their children to God; by giving them a religious education; and by encouraging them, if pious and otherwise qualified, to examine their duty as to entering the ministry.

IV. TEACHERS may aid the Board of Education,

By mingling religious truth with their daily instructions; by affording facilities to indigent youth to obtain an education in their schools; and by setting forth to them the claims of the Christian ministry and the wants of the world.

V. THE RICH may aid the Board of Education,

By supporting one or more indigent students ($100 or $120 to each, a year), and by legacies. "Distributing to the necessities of saints."

VI. FEMALES may aid the Board of Education,

By forming associations to support one or more indigent candidates for the ministry. The most efficient aid has been rendered by these associations, so ornamental to religion and so highly important in their general influences. Could not one be formed in almost every Church by a little effort?

VII. CHURCHES may aid the Board of Education,

By raising up candidates for the ministry; by supporting liberally those already preparing; and by praying to the Lord of the harvest.

VIII. HOUSEHOLDS OR FAMILIES may aid the Board of Education,

By engaging to educate a young man to preach the Gospel. Surely there are many pious households that are able to do this. Some have begun this year.

IX. YOUNG MEN may aid the Board of Education,

By offering themselves to the ministry; or by agreeing together to educate a young man for the ministry. If twenty in a church give $5 each, or ten give $10 each, for seven years, it is done. Young men, "ye are strong." Unite in aid of the young men’s cause.

By sending Samuels and Timothys into the ministry, and by learning early to contribute to this, and to all objects of benevolence.

XI. THE POOR may aid the Board of Education,

By their mites, which are often the chief gifts in the treasury; by their prayers; and by giving their children to the Lord.

XII. ALL may aid the Board of Education,

By prayer, sympathy, efforts, gifts, and every way in which a self sacrificing Christian may do the will of the Lord of the harvest.