Lewisburg chronicle. [volume] (Lewisburg, Pa.) 1850-1859, 1856-01-18
The Support Of Ministers.

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The Support Of Ministers.
Extract from speech Of Rev. Mr.
Cnthrin. "f the Free Church of Scotland
before meeting called to consider tht
, subject of the support Of ministers
Look across the Atlantic to America
and you find that there they are complain
ing that all the energy, talent, and power
of the rising youth of that country are
going to other professions and mercantile
business instead of the Church. Look
across the Irish Sea, and you will find the
same thing at Ulster Look to your own
city of Glasgow, iu which, 1 am told,
there is sipgularly small number of STU
dents coming out for the ministry of the
Free Church That is to me a most mel
ancholy fact. But do not wonder at it /;
am at liberty to devote myself to power
ty, if choose; but l don't know that |
am at liberty to devote my family to the
poverty ministers must lay their account
with do not want wealth in the Church !;
| 90 not want the Free Church to be a
rich Church; do not want the attractive
ness of wealth set up; but l want the
responsiveness of poverty removed. People
talk of ministers being spiritual men, but
| wish to know if they think can keep
up a body of six feet two d-a-half inches
GU air. l remember addressing country
congregation, the minister of which is one
Of the heaviest doctors Of divinity in the
Church, and who has among his friends
one of the most ponderous divines, and
asking whether they these friends kept up
their corporations on air.
/ 1t is very easy to talk about ministers
being men of spirituality wish We were
/ more so than We are-but | would pray
such takers to remember that we are men
of like passions with themselves, aud ike
infrmties too My doctrine is,-Lord,
/ lead US not into temptation; and | want
every Christian parent to be delivered
from the temptation to which | know some
have yielded, Of turning away the aspira-
tions of their children from the ministry,
and directing them to more lucrative occu-
patton And l want our Young men Of
talent to be delivered from the TEMPTATION
of sooins their hrnthren made comfortable
in other professions while they are ground
down with difficulties. Aud don't want
our ministers to be doing what l know
some of them are doing, maintaining them
selves on their private means-ou what
does not belong to them but to their chill
in my own ears, in my own house, by two
most respectable ministers Of our Free
Church, that the very last profession on
earth to which they would rear a son was
that of Free Church minister. That is
sad and melancholy state of matters,
which will be most injurious to our Free
Church. And let me tell you that there
are TTee CHuIcu uiilislcfS VINO nave not
that in their power though they had it in
their wish. l once entered lovely Free
Church manse. The minister, a most de-
vout, excellent man, who would be an
honor to any Church, was from home, and
his lady in conversation told me that she
had son who had been attending Edin-
burgh College. l said | would be most
happy to see him, and presumed, on learn
ing he had not been up last session, that
he was in bad health. When l sympa-
thized with her on that understanding, a
most painful expression passed over her
face, and 1, seeing it was a painful sub
ject, dropped it. l thought to myself
now, that son has turned out to be mo-
ther's heart break like other sons, he
has gone away with mothers prayers
and tears on his cheek, and fathers
blessing on his head, and has become the
victim Of some of the vices of our large
towns. But l began to think again-it
is possible that that young man may have
been kept there at home, and lost the best
year of his life because of the difficulty of
sending him to college. So, after conduc-
ting worship in the inn where was living,
l slid the conversation ON to the manse
and the minister, and said, By the bye,
the ministers son was not at the college
last session, do you know the reason why?
Upon which, to the credit of the mans
kindly feeling and delicacy, be drew bis