The Democratic press. (Eaton, Preble County, Ohio) 1860-1865, 1862-03-06
BIBLICAL SKETCHES.
BY "UNcLE WILLIAM" !"
! SKETCH XIV.

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THE PREACHERS FOR THE PEOPLE.
The preachers for the people,
should be earnest men. The zeal
of thine house hath eaten me up
Psalm Xix. 9; John ii. ny The
zeal of Christ, was not the result
of all occasional ard intense long
ing to restore men to a state of
salvation, prosperity, and happi-
ness; but a well-balancsd and
ldiyinel yfeeQlalel state of mind,
adjusted to the work which he
came to accomplish. His zeal was
always the same, because the ne
cessity for its exercise was always
the same. Sin and sorrow abound
ed then, just as they do now; and
to counteract one, and to remove
the other, Christ went about dem
onstrating the intensity of His
zeal, by lis unceasing activity in
His divine mission. His life was
one continued flame of undimin-
ished zeal. His heart, His thoughts,
and His eye were fixed on the
wreck before Him. He never once
turned aside from his mission to
amuse or please Himself. His an
swer to every temptation was,
MY meat is to do the will of Him
that sent me, and to finish His
work. And are not all the real
ministers Of Christ, sent By Him
to do a certain work, and to finish
it? This is the point at which the
generality of preachers err They
engage in the work of God, but
they appear to forget, that they are
sent to do something more than to
work they are sent to finish the
portion of work allotted to each ont
of them. And if they leave that
unfinished, which God has sent
them to finish, they will assuredly
enter the eternal world, with o
weight of guilt on their souls.
The preachers for the people
ought 70 aim at nothing less than
the perfect salvation of all who
. hear them. Is it. not the privilege
c. of all ministers, who would make
" full proof of their ministry, to pre-
= fer the glory Of God and the saliva
tion of souls, to their own ease?-
How can they, on any other prin
ciple, prove to the world, that they
are sincere; that their motives ar,
H. pure, and their hearts right in tn
sight of God? Paul was impelleC
: by the most extraordinary zeal il
5 the cause of truth and righteous
ness, at all times and in all circum
st stances. His large and cathcli
soul, was one continued fame 0
love and zeal for the salvation o
men. He went about 'warnin.
% every man, and teaching ever,
= !. man in all WISDOM that he nigh
present every man perfect il
Christ Jesus Paul felt for men
= as a kind and tender mother feel
for her dying child. He was nd
is satisfied with preaching, but warn
ed the people Of impending dan
NC NC ger. He instructed believers i
re the truths of Christianity, helpe
them to hold fast by the Deity i
= Christ; and taught them to shAk
off the sins which so easily best
SO many professors of religion. II
led his hearers on and up to tn
heights of perfection in Chris
Jesus. Ministers and people ma
dispute as long as they like abol
Ne perfection, but they may rest a
sured, that without it, neither the,
nor any other creature, shall ri'
to heaven and live with God. tt
:" prevailing practice of the. gre'
majority of professors is, not th'
of notifying the deeds of tt
{. body, and of crucifyihg the fesl
and thus building themselves upc
the foundation which God has la
- in Zion, placing all the person
and relative virtues of Christiani
in the spiritual edifce; mob
0sa 'mn they live and act, so far as the r
re. ligious life is concerned, as if tn,
l~' had nothing to- do, but to rema
passive under the opposing inf