THE COMMISSION OF THE MINISTRY. A SERMON, PREACHED AT ALL SAINTS' CHURCH, SOUTHAMPTON, JANUARY 24, 1836, BY THE REV. J. H. BROOKE MOUNTAIN, M.A. PREBENDARY OF LINCOLN; RECTOR OF BLUNHAM, BEDFORDSHIRE; AND DOMESTIC CHAPLAIN ΤΟ THE LORD BISHOP OF GLOUCESTER. PUBLISHED AT THE DESIRE OF A FEW FRIENDS SOUTHAMPTON: PUBLISHED BY THOMAS KING, 22, HIGH STREET; SOLD BY C. J. G. AND F. RIVINGTON, LONDON; AND J. AND J. J. DEIGHTON, CAMBRIDGE. MDCCCXXXVI. 4 ON THE COMMISSION OF THE MINISTRY. John xx. 21, 22, 23. Then said Jesus to them again, Peace be unto you: as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you. And when He had said this, He breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost. Whose soever sins ye remit, they are remitted unto them; and whosesoever sins ye retain, they are retained. ONE of the titles of our Lord is Shiloh-that is, the sent, the Messenger of the Covenant; the Ambassador sent by the Father to proclaim glad tidings of great joy to all people, and to reconcile the world to Himself. Being thus appointed the Chief Minister of the Gospel, he deputes others to the same office under him; "as my Father hath sent me, even so send I you." There seems no other reasonable interpretation of his words than this-that as the Almighty Father had openly commissioned his well-beloved Son, and poured out His spirit upon him "without measure," to qualify him for the work whereunto He had appointed him, "even so," in the same manner, by the ceremony of a formal Ordination, and by the communication of the Spirit of grace and power, that Son commissioned the first human Ministers of His Holy Word,* to preach * I entirely concur in the opinion that our Lord's words in this text were addressed to the APOSTLES only; but the principle applies to all the inferior orders of the Ministry deriving their authority from Him through them. the doctrine of Salvation, through faith in His Name, to all the nations of the world. They were sent in the same manner, furnished with the same means of discharging their duty, and charged with the same errand-"as ye go, preach, "saying the kingdom of Heaven is at hand;-heal "the sick, cleanse the lepers, raise the dead, "cast out devils; freely ye have received, freely "give." Their first business was to preach or proclaim the approach of Christ's Kingdom, and their next to confirm that Word with signs following; the very same signs and miracles to which their Lord had Himself appealed as the evidences of His Mission from GOD. In this manner Jesus Christ authorized and sanctified his Apostles, to the work of the Ministry. He chose them, out of the number who believed in Him, as the fittest for His purpose. They were not elected by the Church, but expressly by the Head of the Church, who reminded them "Ye have not chosen me, but I have "chosen you." There is, in Holy Scripture, no trace of any other mode of appointing Ministers of the Gospel. The Deacons indeed whose office, in the first instance, was that of Overseers of the poor, were nominated by the whole body of believers, with whose alms they were intrusted; but even in this business the appointment rested with the Apostles, whose charge to the people was, "look ye out seven ye out seven men of good report, "whom we may appoint over this business." But the office of the Ministry was unconnected with this duty of charitable distribution; and was even found inconsistent with an attention to its details. The Apostles complained that their time was withdrawn from preaching and prayer to "serve tables ;" and it was on this ground that they recommended the appointment of Deacons, whose very title implies the nature of the duties which they were to perform. They who discharged this office well, St. Paul says, purchased to themselves good "degrees;" attained to a respectable station in the Church; and were frequently promoted to become Preachers of the Gospel. But the Ministers appear to have been always chosen, as well as ordained by Apostles; St. Paul "chose" Silas, when St. Barnabas "determined to take" Markt; and the former Apostle likewise selected Timothy and Titus, whom he not only ordained, and consecrated Apostles or Bishops of his own sole authority; but he commissioned them also to "ordain elders, (presbyters, or priests,) in every "city;" and he furnished them with directions respecting the nature of those qualifications, which should guide them in their choice of the * The well-known fraud of the Puritans, in misprinting this word "ye" for "we," affords a convincing evidence that the original is unanswerably on our side. † Acts xx., 37-40. |