LETTER V.

To N. my beloved Son.

Winchefter-Row.

I WISH thou mayest prosper and be in health, even as thy foul profpereth; and that in this, and in every thing, thou mayeft commit thy ways unto the Lord, and he fhall direct thy fteps; leave it with him, and he fhall establish thy thoughts :wait, look, and expect, and he fhall bring it to pafs.

But now to comply with my fon's request, in giving him my thoughts of minifterial qualifications. In doing this, I do not intend to arraign thee at my bar, but fhew thee how I have arraigned myself at God's bar. There are some who run to this work, without being fent of God; and they may seem to outstep him that is, because they, like Ahimaaz, run by the way of the plain; but whether Cushi's road be rough or smooth, he has the tidings in his mouth, 2 Sam. xviii. 23. Thefe forward men are, like Noah's raven, the first that go out, and the last that come back; for they often end with the world:-but we muft imitate the dove; go to the everlasting and ever-green olivetree, and take one of thofe leaves which are for the

got

healing

healing of the nations; and if we carry the medicines, we shall be found out by thofe who have need of healing. But a man who runs unfent of God, cannot expect God to fcreen his head in the day of battle; he is likely to get no better answer from God, in time of trial than the prophet did, when he fled from Jezebel to Horeb-What doft thou bere, Elijah?

A gospel minister has fome of the fame trying work, to make his calling to the miniftry clear, as he had to make his effectual calling and eternal election fure; and when a man has done this, he has full liberty to appeal, both to God and man, as Mofes did, when rebels invaded his office, and rebelled againft his authority, I have not done this of mine own mind, Num. xvi. 28. God fent an awful judgment to convince all Ifrael that Mofes was no impoftor.

A minifter must not be a novice, Tim. iii. 6. It doth not mean an ignorant man in natural things, for God chofé an illiterate Peter to confound a wife Sanhedrim; an ignorant man made wife unto falvation is often God's inftrument to confound the wife in their own conceit; but it means, he must not be a novice in grace, in experience, or in fpiritual things; he must have humbling grace to counterbalance his fpiritual pride, or else he will be lifted up as the devil was, and fall into condemnation for pride as the devil did, 1 Tim. iii. 6. He must be the busband of one wife, no polygamist, I Tim. iii. 2. What shall a foldier of Chrift do with

with a troop of wives? Mofes had but one wife and she was trouble enough; but when the ftood in the way of God's command, he got rid of her; for if fhe would not be an help-mete, fhe ought not to be He an hindrance, Exod. iv. 24-26 and xviii. 2. must be one given to hofpitality; given to it by grace; he must put on, as the beloved of God, bowels of mercy, as the bowels of God have founded toward him; and feed Chrift in his members, if he be hungry; and give him drink, if he be thirfty; and take him in, if he be a ftranger: this hofpitality convinceth the world that we do not make a gain of godliness, nor truft in uncertain riches. Not given to filthy lucre. No; for how can he be a preacher of the true God, who is an idolater himself? Not given to wine. One who is not drunken with wine, or applause; one who thinks foberly and lives foberly.

No chapter in the Bible is fo full to the purpose in hand, as the 8th chapter of Leviticus. The confecration of Aaron has been the bar at which I have often arraigned myfelf. And here obferve what God fays:-And Aaron fhall be thy spokesman unto the people: and he shall be, even he fhall be to thee instead of a mouth, and thou shalt be to him instead of God, Exod. iv. 16; and now I will fhew you how Mofes, in God's stead, confecrated Aaron, who as a minister, was to be a mouth for God. Take aron, Lev. viii. 2; here is his call. No man taketh this office upon himself, but he who is called of God, as was Aaron. Mofes washed him, Lev. viii. 6. If Chrift wash us not, we

have no part with him. But fays Paul, he faved us from our guilt, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing us by the Holy Ghost.

He put on bis coat, Lev. viii. 6. We must be clad with zeal, and with the whole armour of God, before we can be called priests cloathed with falvation, Pfal. cxxxii. 6. Gird him with a girdle, Lev. viii. 7. This girdle was typical of truth, which is to fwaddle our minds, that we give not a loose to vanity; to be carnally minded is to be dead; to be earthly minded, or covetous, is to be brutal and idolatrous. A mind corrupted with error is a mind in conjunction with Satan; fuch carnal minds conceive fin, bring forth iniquity, and increafe tranfgreffors among men. We must ever draw the fword of God at fuch, for we must not fuffer a witch to live, Exod. xxii. 18. The Lord preserve my fon from these things, and from a loofe profeffion! To be spiritually-minded is life and peace; therefore, gird up the loins of your mind, watch, be fober, and hope to the end, 1 Pet. i. 13.

Cloathed him with a robe. We must be cloathed with a robe of imputed righteoufnefs; all our righteoufneffes are as filthy rags, and no ambaffador of the King of kings must appear at court in rags; no, nor yet take the Saviour's new cloth to patch his old fig-leaved garment: this is to make the rent worse than before, and to be guilty of fpiritual theft. God cloaths his minifters as he did Ifaiah, with the robe of his righteousness, and we must bring forth this robe to every returning prodigal. This righteousness fhall justify us, and all them that be6 lieve

lieve in it. God faved Noah the eighth perfon, a preacher of righteoufnefs, 2 Peter ii. 5. The

Spirit of Chrift in Noah preached imputed righte oufness to the anti-deluvians an hundred and twenty years, whofe fouls are now in prifon, and under the fentence of condemnation, 1 Peter iii. 18, 19, 20. A carnal mind is like the fpider, turning every mystery into bane; and has no covering but her own web, Isaiah lix. 5,6; but we know the leprofy is both in the warp and the woof; therefore wear no garments of linen and woollen together, Lev. xix. 19.

Put an Ephod upon him.-The ephod being the outer garment holds forth a holy, innocent life and walk, under the influence of God's Spirit, Woe to them, fays God, who cover with a covering, but not of my fpirit, that they may add fin to fin. In this ephod God was confulted: we must lift up holy hands at the throne of grace. The ephod was bound to him by the girdle. If truth braces our minds, our feet, tongue, and hands will be kept within bounds. All external fhew of fanctity, without the spirit and word of truth, is only the varnish of a painted fepulchre.

Put the breast plate on him, Lev. viii. 8.-The breaft-plate of faith and love, and the breastplate of righteousness, are recommended by Paul. We must in this world be judged by the law, and be justified by the faith of the gospel, before we can be said to pass from death to life, and have a right to the promise of never coming into condemnation; which we have when we are justified by

grace