worldly ambition, they are utterly careless of their souls; or, at best, they content themselves with a formal and educational respect to Christian ordinances and institutions. It is not in the power of language to describe the folly and the danger of yielding to the temptations by which this heedless throng are hurried, as by a mighty stream, toward the abyss of final ruin. Many of them will listen to no serious admonition--Those who do, generally soothe their consciences by persuading themselves that they are only deferring a serious attention to eternal concerns to a more convenient season. Dear deluded youth, that season will, in all probability, never come. All experience is hostile to your calculations. Those who have made the most accurate observations on this subject have said, that a majorityprobably a large majority-of all that are ever pious, have become so between the ages of fifteen and thirty. While, therefore, the offers and the hopes of mercy are not withheld from those of any age, you perceive that, in fact, they are by far the most frequently embraced and realized by the young. To youth a special and encouraging promise is made-"They that seek me early shall find me." Will you not avail yourselves of this promise? Will you put yourselves beyond the possibility of pleading it? You will do so, whether you live or die, if the delay for which you plead be continued a little longer. But why would you wish for any delay in this great concern? You utterly misconceive of religion, if you suppose that it will diminish your happiness. True religion will, indeed, change your pleasures, but it will also increase and exalt them. Risk not, then--as by delay you will most fearfully risk--the danger of dying in your sins-of grieving the Spirit of grace, of becoming hardened in impiety, of being even abandoned to vice, and of thus fill ing up the measure of your iniquity till wrath come upon you to the uttermost. Rather make this a happy new year--happy beyond what language can express--by commencing it with the consecration of all your youthful powers to the God who gave them, and to whom it is equally your duty, your honour, and your happiness, to devote them without reserve. MONITOR. FOR THE CHRISTIAN ADVOCATE. THOUGHTS ON LAY-PREACHING. The season in which frequent and extensive revivals of religion occur, is always, to the friend of the Redeemer's kingdom, on many accounts, a peculiarly interesting season. His own soul is commonly refreshed as with marrow and fatness. He rejoices to see his fellow believers equally favoured. He is glad to hail the conquest of new subjects brought under his Master's reign; and he is filled with delight to see new additions made to his Master's glory. Such a season is, to a church, or to a number of churches, analogous to that in which a gracious God lifts up the light of his countenance on an individual believer. It is a period of joy, of sanguine expectation, and sometimes of transport, so great, that, often, the unhallowed mixtures which attend it, are, for the time, in a great measure unobserved; and the unhappy consequences which follow its circumstances and appendages, are little anticipated, and therefore seldom wholly avoided. Yet it is a fact, that while Christians are bound to rejoice in revivals, to bless God for them, and to use all proper means for promoting them, there are dangers to which the church is, at such a time, peculiarly exposed, and against which her members ought to be most vigilantly on their guard. Among these, there are few either more obvious or more serious, than the tendency of the state of things at such sea sons, to beget a disposition to undervalue the stated and ordinary ministrations of the gospel. The minds of Christians are warmed and elated. Young converts are in all the ardour of their first love; and the awakened and convinced are anxious to employ all the means which may promise to be connected with a blessing. Hence there is a tendency, in many cases, to multiply to an unusual, and sometimes to an excessive degree, public meetings; to have some public exercise every evening in the week, besides three or four times on the Sabbath; and to resort to various extraordinary methods of rendering these meetings and exercises externally impressive. There is also a fondness, very natural, and, in itself, not improper, for having instruction and exhortation, as well as prayer and praise, at all these meetings. And as no one pastor has time or strength enough to preach as often as the feelings of many around him will be ready to demand, the transition will be easy and direct to a desire that some of his parishioners should appear from time to time as his substitutes, and take his place in public speaking as well as in prayer. All this is very natural; and what is more, within certain limits, very proper. That is to say, when persons of known piety, prudence, good sense, and zeal, in the absence of the pastor, step forward, and conduct the prayers and praises of the assembly; especially when the elders and deacons take the lead in these laudable services; every friend of piety will give such conduct his cordial approbation. Nay, I consider it as one of the most decisive evidences of a flourishing state of vital godliness in a church, when a considerable number of its members are ready, when called upon, to take the lead in the devotional exercises of a social meeting. Most heartily do I rejoice, that such services to the church, by its lay-mem bers, are rendered far more frequently and freely than when I entered the ministry thirty years ago; and the beneficial effects of this improvement are, I think, by no means either few or dubious. But it is human to err, and to pervert, or carry to extremes, some of the best things. And when the minds of any considerable number of pious people are excited and warmed, as in a season of revival, I suppose it often happens that there is a tendency to permit and encourage some who are not qualified for promoting the edification of their fellow professors, not only to take the lead in prayer, but also to undertake the office of instruction and exhortation. All experience proves, that the public speaking of unauthorized men is liable to become excessive and irregular, and that it is hard to control. When once the door is opened, who will shut it, or at what point will it be shut? More especially when, as is well known, the most vain, arrogant, enthusiastic, and superficial, are of all men most apt to imagine that they are qualified to be public instructers, and most ready to obtrude themselves into the office. In most of the great revivals of religion that I have ever read or heard of, more or less of this irregularity appeared. In the celebrated and truly glorious revivals which occurred, and which prevailed very extensively in this country, under the ministry of Whitefield, Edwards, the Tennents, and other distinguished ministers of Christ, from fifty to seventy years ago, irregularities as to this point were frequently complained of, and evidently, in some cases, injured the cause of religion. They are mentioned with pointed disapprobation and regret by the venerable president Edwards, in his "Thoughts" on the Revival of Religion which existed in his day in New England; and I suppose they seldom fail in some degree to arise, whenever a large number of persons in the same neighbourhood are awakened and brought to the knowledge of the truth. I suppose, too, that the season of their exhibition seldom closes without leaving all judicious and prudent people perfectly convinced that they are mischievous, and to be deplored. But in this, as well as in other important cases, those lessons which are learued by one generation, are generally forgotten before another arises. It seems to be necessary, then, for the churches, every few years, to learn by woful experience, the mischiefs of lay-preaching, and lay-exhorting, and to be delivered from them only after witnessing for themselves their unhappy effects. In the moral and religious, as well as in the physical world, there are diseases which cannot be arrested by any human remedies, but which must run a certain course, and then gradually disappear. I propose in this paper, very briefly, to inquire what that LAY-PREACHING IS, which ought to be discountenanced and prohibited by all regular churches; and then point out some of the MISCHIEFS of this irregularity. I. What is Lay-preaching? What is that instruction and exhortation on the part of laymen which is inconsistent with gospel order, and which every church which respects the will and ordinances of her Divine Head, and wishes to maintain a respectable character, ought to forbid ? It is evident from scripture, that private Christians are bound to exhort one another daily, lest they be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. In whomsoever they observe any thing contrary to sound doctrine or practice, they are bound, if they have a suitable opportunity, to bear testimony against it. And whenever they find those who need instruction and exhortation, they undoubtedly ought to take occasion, if Providence open a door for the purpose, to address them in a rea sonable manner. This, however, it is apprehended, ought to be confined to the private circle, and by no means to encroach on that public, authoritative instruction, which ministers of the gospel are commanded to communicate, in the name of their Master. Again: Parents and heads of families are certainly bound frequently to address their children and servants, and all who belong to their households, on the great interests of their souls and eternity. Every family, properly constituted and regulated, is a little church, and the heads of it, are its divinely authorized teachers and governors. Of course, it is incumbent upon them daily to discharge the duties pertaining to these relations. In this respect, as well as in relation to temporal comfort, he that provideth not for his own, especially for those of his own household, hath denied the faith, and is worse than an infidel. The head of a family who neglects to instruct and exhort all committed to his care, more particularly on the most important of all subjects, is certainly guilty of criminal negligence. And even if some of his neighbours occasionally drop in, and unite with him and his family, in their daily worship, he ought not to prevent, but rather to encourage it. Whether three or thirty people attend on the proper exercises of domestic worship, their nature, and the duty of engaging in them, remain the same. Further: Schoolmasters, and other teachers of youth, are under the most solemn obligations, frequently to address those committed to their care, on the great concerns of eternity, and to endeavour at once to inform their understandings and to impress their hearts on those momentous concerns. A diligent, enlightened, affectionate, parental discharge of this duty, can certainly never implicate its author either in the sin or censure of lay-preaching. In short, laymen may, with pro priety, engage in all those acts of in training for that purpose; and, instruction and exhortation which of course, those exercises which are, properly speaking, private in have a tendency to cultivate and their nature. They may teach, en- strengthen their faculties, and to treat, or exhort any individual, or prepare them to address their fellow company of individuals, into whose men with ease, force and imprespresence they may happen to come, siveness, form a very important part provided they do it as private per- of their training; and therefore sons; without any thing authorita- ought not to be wholly prohibited. It tive either in their language or man- is true, even theological students, ner. But when those who have re- previously to their licensure, ought ceived no ordination or license, to exercise their gifts only in the prefrom any proper ecclesiastical au- sence of small assemblies of people, thority, undertake publicly to ad- and, for the most part, in retired sidress their fellow men, as those who tuations, and even then with marked are authorized to do so; expecting humility and modesty, and never and claiming to be heard, as public to take on themselves, either in lanteachers; and requesting an assem- guage or manner, that authority bly to listen to them as speaking which belongs only to those whom in the name of Christ;--whether the constituted governors of the they go into a pulpit, or not;--whe- church have regularly clothed with ther they wear a particular dress, or power. But still, I have always not;--whether they speak from a considered them as standing in a formal text or not--they certainly peculiar situation, and as entitled invade the province of ministers, to take somewhat more liberty in and are chargeable with the disor- addressing congregated bodies of der and sin of lay-preaching. people, than is proper for those who have not the ministry in view. It will readily be perceived, from the foregoing remarks, that it is not an easy thing to draw the line between public and private teaching. The essential difference between them does not consist in any particular posture or external form of address; but in a variety of particulars, which are more readily perceived and estimated by a judicious observer, than described in words. But whenever we have ascertained and laid down the difference between these two modes of teaching, we are prepared to say what is ir regular lay-preaching, and what is not. Before I take leave of this branch of the subject, I think proper to observe, that candidates for the holy ministry, and by these I mean, such young men as have completed their academical course, and are actually engaged in the study of theology, are certainly to be considered as standing in a very different light from other laymen. For, although not yet licensed to preach, they are One grand reason, in addition to that which has been already suggested, why students of theology ought to be considered as enjoying greater privileges than other laymen, in addressing a number of persons convened for social worship, is that they are supposed to be always under the immediate inspection of the church. Every one of them is either under the care of some Presbytery, and, of course, constantly amenable to that body; or else studying at some Theological Seminary, or under the direction of some judicious, respectable clergyman, who may be considered as competent to advise and control him throughout his whole course of professional training. If, therefore, at any time, he be found uttering himself in a rash, unguarded or erroneous manner, the remedy is obvious and easy. Not so with many other lay-members of the church. Besides, theological students, who aspire to the office of teachers and guides to others, are supposed, in general, to have better talents, to be better educated, and to possess more fervent enlightened piety, than the common mass of lay-members of the church; and, therefore, may be more safely trusted to participate in those public exercises, which demand a large share of wisdom, prudence, and spirituality. Perhaps, also, in defining the limits of duty on this subject, it may not be improper further to state, that, under the old synagogue system, it was considered as orderly for the ruler of the synagogue to call out whomsoever he thought proper, to instruct and exhort the people; and that it was by no means uncommon for that officer when he saw any person in the assembly, whether minister or layman, whom he considered as capable of addressing the congregation to advantage, to request him to do so; he himself, however, sitting by all the time, ready to correct any thing that might be said or done amiss. Facts which wear this aspect may be found in Luke iv. 16, and Acts xiii. 15. I am also inclined to think that this practice was sometimes adopted in the Christian church, in the first two or three centuries: that is, that when the bishop or pastor of a church was either fatigued, or indisposed, or had any valid reason for keeping silence himself, he felt at perfect liberty to call upon a ruling elder or deacon to address the people in his stead, and in his presence: and if any thing were uttered which he did not approve, he had an opportunity of stopping or correcting the speaker, and of forbidding him again to officiate in the same manner.--And if, at the present day, a pastor were sick; or if, in a season of revival, the meetings for social worship within the bounds of his congregation were so numerous that he could not possibly attend them all, he should request an elder or a deacon, of known piety and prudence, to go and speak to the little assemblies convened in his neighbourhood; the pastor being careful to keep every thing of this kind under his own inspection and management; I know not that he would be to blame for so doing. But, in such case, the individual so employed, ought to go forth from time to time, as one under the direction of a superior, and not take a single step without the direction, or contrary to the wishes of his pastor. But when, disregarding all these limits, persons who have no claim whatever to the character of authorized teachers, either in possession or expectancy, undertake to usurp the office of those who are thus authorized, and to go forth, in effect preaching the gospel, without li cense;--when they appoint meetings, and collect the people together for the purpose of hearing them ;-and when they rise and speak to them in the way of instruction and exhortation;--whether they speak from particular texts or not; whether they express themselves in the usual ministerial style or not; they are chargeable with the sin, and expose themselves to the censure of lay-preaching.-Let us now II. Attend to the evil of this irregularity. It is probable that many serious persons, who have not attended to the subject imagine there can be very little evil in the irregularity in question. When their hearts are warmed, and their affections excited;-when they see people willing to convene for social worship, and at a loss for some one to address them ;-it is probable, I say, that many serious persons, placed in these circumstances, hastily conclude, in the ardour of their feelings, that it is clearly their duty to step forward, and become public speakers. Nay, I have known some pronounce, in such cases, that to hesitate, is to sacrifice the spiritual interests of men to the dictates of carnal prudence; to prefer the trammels of cold, official formality to the salvation of immortal souls.- |