"Preach the Word," was St. Paul's advice to Timothy. "Preach the Word"; "be instant" with that word "in season and out of season"; in the pulpit and out of the pulpit; in the schoolroom and on the platform; in the sick chamber and in the abodes of health; in the highways and in the byways. Only one-half of a minister's duty is done when the services of the sanctuary are over, and the marriages, funerals, and baptisms are performed. "The minister," one has remarked, "is a physician. He has a vast field before him. He has to study a variety of constitutions. He has to furnish himself with the knowledge of the whole system of remedies. He is to be a man of skill and expediency. If one thing fails, he must know how to apply another. He must be able to speak a word in season, to deliver the Lord's message to the saint and to the sinner, to the heavy-laden and to the presumptuous, to the contrite and to the inquirer,—to all, in short, that come." "For the priest's lips," says Malachi, "should keep knowledge, and they should seek the Law at his mouth." For this reason, he will unceasingly be on the lookout for tidings. He will not, indeed, originate new things. He will not speak anything which comes into his own head, but he will diligently study what the Word of the Lord says, and that will he, no matter who may be present in the congregation, boldly and unreservedly deliver. He will deliver the whole counsel of God. He will be zealous for the truth, and neither teach nor tolerate any manner or degree of error; but, above all, he will preach, as the most important part of his message, Christ Jesus. Other preaching may inform the head and please the ear, but it is the setting forth of Christ in all His willingness to pardon, Christ in all His mightiness to save, which alone can storm the outworks and force the citadel of the heart. It is not the flowery language and the rounded period, embellished with sparkling figures and brilliant metaphors, that will of itself win souls to the Lord. No, it is the discriminating, earnest, and affectionate preaching of Christ, whether in the polished language of the scholar or in the ruder accents of a less accomplished zeal,—it is this preaching alone which is worthy of the name. The minister of Christ has a much more important matter in hand than some imagine. As a faithful messenger, he is to deliver, not information about political issues, lectures on morals, literature, and topics of the day, but he is to give hearers a full exhibition of Christ as He is revealed in the Bible and ought to be imprinted on every human heart,—the sinner's Hope, the sinner's Refuge, the sinner's Surety and Substitute, the sinner's High Priest and Advocate, the sinner's All and in all.
This, dear members and hearers, is the message. And oh, what a blessing such a message is! How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him that bringeth these good tidings; that publisheth peace; that bringeth these good tidings of good; that publisheth salvation. As refreshing rain upon the dry, parched soil, so is such a faithful message to them that hear him.
And this is the character which he who now addresses you is anxious to sustain, as minister of this congregation. For —— years have I preached this message of redemption among you. Most graciously have you received it at my lips, which leads me to thank God and take courage, asking for the Spirit's influence to make that message effectual. This, then, is the duty of Christ's ministers.
What, to come to the next consideration, is the duty of Christ's people?
If it is the duty of Christ's ministers to declare His message, it is equally the duty of Christ's people to receive that message. Now, it is well to note that, according to God's Word, our message is twofold. It is Law, and it is Gospel. Both we are to proclaim,—the Law, which demands, threatens, and condemns in its sharpness and terror, and shows us our sin and the wrath of God; and the Gospel, which shows us our Savior and the grace of God, and offers forgiveness, life, and salvation in its sweetness and comfort. Can you bear to be thus slain by the Law? Can you bear to speak with the lesson of this Sunday—the ministry of John the Baptist, the man girt about with a leathern girdle, expressing himself in the language of bold reproof, and declaring that "even now the ax is laid unto the root of the trees," and that "every tree which bringeth not forth good fruit is hewn down and cast into the fire"? Can you bear to be told that, virtuous as many of you may be, you must seek salvation as sinners? Can you bear to be told that, if any man will be Christ's disciple, he must deny himself daily, and take up his cross, and follow his Lord wherever He may lead? Can you bear to have it forced upon you: "Be not conformed to this world"?
These things belong to the message, and we would not be ministers of the Gospel of Christ without telling you them. And remember, too, that you must receive them not with your ears only, but with your hearts. Believe me, it is not enough to come hither and to attend these messages, and as you quit the sanctuary to say you are pleased with the sermons you hear. Highly as we, that are ministers, value your kind regard and affectionate esteem, we miss our object if that is all we accomplish. No, beloved, we seek not your praise, but you. We want your eye to pass on from the servant to his Master, from the messenger to Him that sent Him. Like John, we are but His voice, the voice of one that crieth amid this wilderness and waste. He that cometh is Christ. We are but the tube, or trumpet, through which He speaks. Forget thus the messenger, shut your eyes upon the preacher, and think of the Savior. Hear His voice, let that go to your heart.
One more duty,—assist the messenger. Various are the means and channels in which that may be done. We have in our midst a willing band of Sunday-school teachers; what are they doing but helping to bring the message to the hearts of our youth? We have those who are not ashamed or afraid to invite others to come and hear the message spoken in public, those who encourage some to go and hear it in private, in catechetical instruction. Then, too, are our church societies laboring usefully in the Lord. Many are the means and ways in which these messengers may be assisted in the performance of their duty, and to so assist in the duty of all. My dear members, may God continue to bless, as He has visibly and bountifully blessed, these past years, His message and His messengers and those that hear it! The Lord hear and answer this our petition for our Great Redeemer's sake! Amen.