The central Presbyterian. [volume] (Richmond, Va.) 1856-1908, 1869-02-10
FoR THE CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN.
REMOVING TO A NEW CHARGE.

| mentioned in my former article, as es-
sential to ministerial success, 1st God s
blessing; End. Duty; 3rd. Devotedness !;
4th. Common Sense Having briefly touched
upon the first two, | will now take up the
last two.
Devotedness. By this l do not mean de
votion as implying fidelity in acts of worship,
nor devoutness as expressive of the feeling be-
longing to devotion. These are also inds-
pensable, but are to be considered as coming
under the first head By devotedness
mean the giving yourself entirely to the
work of the ministry. No man having put
his hand to the plough and looking back is
fit for the kingdom of God, much less for
the ministry, "Give thyself wholly to
them So you understood your calling;
and in this sense you took upon you your
ordination vows. This is the scriptural, and
therefore the highest standpoint. But there
is also the commercial view You are paid
to do this very thing, and in consideration
of the pay you agreed to do it. You may
be of opinion, and so am |, that you are
not paid enough; but a bargain is bargain,
and in merely selfish view the aspect is the
same. If you are to spend your days where
you are, or if you may reasonably look for
ward in future to promotion to more i'm
pOrtant charge, you should aim at the high
est possible professional success. Surely
you have noticed-if you have not take my
word for it-that the professional men who
succeed the best, are those who give them
selves exclusively to their professions. 1t
has been customary in books to make some
sport of the mere lawyer, or the mere doc
tor. 1t is not so in actual life. These are
the men that are trusted and employed. Do
not be afraid of its being said that you are
too much of minister. You will be for
tunate if other people do not find out, what
your own conscience often tells you, that
you are not enough of one. Magnify your
office. Talk without hesitation of your own
church and other churches, the state of re-
ligion in the country, and the world, and
the genius and influence of Christianity.
do not mean that you should be always
preaching about these things, but talk about
them as people talk about other great and
interesting facts. If you can do SO in any
worthy way, you will never be in want of
themes to secure the attention of society.
You are rightfully expected to know more
about such topics than other people know
If you set yourself to work to know all
about them, and what is nearly connected
with them, you will find that life is too
short for the complete accomplishment of
the task you have undertaken.
1 think that one good test for your own
use of the amount of your devotedness, is
the amount of thought you give to your
church. Now if | were called on to say
what is the chief want of every church,
which the pastor is to meet, l would answer,
the want of something to think for it, The
other officers of the church, and all its men,
bers, love the church, and are willing more
or less to work for it, but none of them
think for it. They cannot do it, and they
are not called upon to do it. Each one has
his own business, which necessarily occupies,
and well nigh engrosses his thong hts One
principal thing is as much as man can at
tend to perfectly.
1t will not do for the farmer to lose his
crops, or the merchant to suffer his business
to fall into confusion, or the doctor to neglect
his patients, by thinking of the affairs of the
church. But somebody must think about
them, or they never will be managed. Now
you are the very man on whom this duty is
devolved "Meditate upon these things"
says Paul to Timothy. Think what your
people ought to be, and what they ought to
do, and by what means you can move them
to what is right. Foresight and forecast are
indispensable for success in business. A
manager ought to feel dissatisfied with him
self, if anything comes upon him unexpect-
edly, which by thought he might have anti
cipated. Would you feel satisfied with your
self if you should be informed by the report
of somebody else, that love for improper
amusements was spreading over your con-
gregation in way seriously to threaten the
life of true religion? Ought not you to have
perceived the tendency towards this state of
things earlier than any one else, and have
been summoning every thing to your aid to
resist it? Of course you will be accurately
informed as to the place and time of meet
ing of Presbytery, Synod, and General AS
sembly. l trust you will feel required to
remember also what days may be set apart
by ecclesiastical authority for days of fast
ing, prayer, or other public commemoration.
Can you tell at once what action has been
recommended by the General Assembly as
to benevolent contributions, and what is the
prescribed order for collections? Such mat
ters as these you will be familiar with if you
think about the church as constantly as you
may be reasonably expected to do. 1t is
not more than every man does about the
business he manages. And if when asked
for precise information upon such points,