Year: 1879

THE OU1LIF1C1 TIONS OF TEACHERS


And the servant of the Lord must not strive;
but be gentle unto all men, apt to teach, pa.


oppose themselves; if God peradventure will
give them repentance to the acknowledging Of
the truth.-lI. T1MoTHY, u:24-25. .,1r<


The apostle Paul was not one of those
duty they owed to the cause they professed.
Recognizing the fact that upon the faithful.
ness of the ministry depended to great ex-
tent the success of the church, he was con-
stant in his admonitions to that class, urging
upon them the necessity of zeal, of prayer
fulness, of contemplation of the attributes of
deity, Of uprightness of life, of watchfulness,
of perseverance in the faith. A large por-
tion of lis epistles are devoted to these ad-
monitions. Sometimes they are of per-
sonal application, but oftener general IN
their character, calculated to apply to preach
ers in all localities and for all time. It is
very evident that he did not consider a
brawler or quarrelsome mana controver-
sialist- qualified to preach the gospel of
Christ. He must not strive, for that is
quality which belongs to the world rather than
the church. He must be content to teach
the beauties of Christian life, and to COM
mend it for what it is in itself. Yet there are
many who pay no heed to this injunction.
They seem to regard the religion of Christ
as too circumscribed to afford sufficient


scope for their intellectual abilities, and
wander off into the domain of politics, and
science, and art, and hitory, succeeding very
often in rendering themselves ridiculous by
their ignorance of topics in which they are
not thoroughly versed. They might with
profit study the epistles of the apostle of
the Gentiles and note with what fidelity he
sticks to his text through all of them. There
is one central thought running through
every sentence, inspiring every line, dictat-
ing every sentiment, and that is the great
plan of redemption springing from the cross
! of Calvary. He had no occasion to ramble
off into metaphysics or other collateral
themes, for he was filled with the doctrine
of the atonenent and earnest in preaching
it in season and out of season. ,l.t =. ..
But, it is argued, the apostle was inspired,
| and we of this day cannot be expected to
possess the zeal that characterized him. The
same inspiration that animated Paul and his
associates is within II, the reach
of every preacher to-day. He had no gift
they cannot enjoy if they would throw their
whole being, mental and moral, into the
work before them. The inspiration of earn
estness is all that is required to make the
preachers of to-day the equals of the apostles
commissioned by Christ, provided they DOS.
sess equal intellectual ability and equal
piety. 'lH @@aiaa 1.a! ".s@ , Il


Patience and meekness are two more of the
virtues enjoined in the teachers of the word


We are aware of the fact that our modern
preachers have much to tax their patience, and
as they are but human it is not to be wondered
at that they sometimes lose their self-control


Indeed, he that was without sin became
angry at the profanation of the temple, and
cast out the money changers and they tha,
sold doves, with words of anger and violent
acts. But there is too little self-control
practiced at the present day, and We fre-
quently learn of clergymen and others who
profess Christianity giving way to their angry
passions on the slightest provocatlon. They
have too little command OF their appetites,
and give way to gluttony and often intem-
perance. This fault, perhaps, is due to the
lack Of physical exercise, for the body must
be kept in perfect health else the appetites OF
passions will become abnormally developed.
Those given to intellectual pursuits and de-
voted to their work are far more apt to fall
into such habits than those who have plenty
of physical exercise, and by that means keep
all the functions of the body in healthful
condition. a tt Q rlt


Meekness, we fear, is quality but little
practiced among the clergy. They are too
apt to magnify their Office to regard them
selves as superior to ordinary mortals, and
therefore to exact greater distinction from
those with whom they come in contact.
! They love praise and social attentions, and