Pastorate

Foe several years before Mr James’s cleatli the Carr’s Lane Church had numbered hard upon a thousand members, and it was, of course, impossible that he should maintain a close personal acquaintance with them all. How it was that he knew so much of the circumstances and history of the people was always a puzzle to me. He was constantly bewailing his inability to sustain a regular and satisfactory system of pastoral visitation, and yet there were very few persons in the church of whom he could not give a clear account.

At one time it was his custom to sit in the vestry on Tuesday morning to converse with any of the congregation that to see him; but this plan did not last long. He contrived to see a considerable number of persons without losing much time by often arranging to take tea at the houses of the church members on Wednesday afternoon before the service, and occasionally requested the family he visited to invite some of their friends and neighbours. Death, sickness, or great trouble of any kind, always awakened his sympathy, and the tenderness of his heart made his visits to families in sorrow a great consolation.

Por the regular oversight of the church he made a double provision. The town was divided into six districts, and two deacons had the care of each. It was their duty to ascertain the reason of the absence of anj’ member in their district from the monthly communion, to administer relief to the poor, to visit the sick, to report to the pastor any cases of severe illness requiring his personal attention, and to maintain a knowledge of the general character of all the members assigned to their care. Another set of districts was placed imder the charge of “superintendents,” private members of the church, selected for this post by the pastors and deacons. It was their duty to provide for the holding of monthly meetings for prayer, reading the Scriptures, and religious conversation in their “parishes,” to exercise a kindly watchfulness over the members, to visit them all as frequently as possible, and to secure contributions for the Carr’s Lane Town Mission.

Of course, the success of this machinery depended altogether upon the vigour with which it was worked; and Mr James saw the difficulty of finding men with leisure enough and power enough to enable them to discharge the duties of these offices efficiently. But while very many of the members of the chm-ch have, I fear, been overlooked, there can be no doubt that the organisation I have described has secured admirable results.

Although not maintained very regularly, it was ]Ir James’s custom to invite the members to take tea with him about once a month in the vestry, those belonging to the same superintendent’s district coming together. At these meetings, after an hour’s friendly conversation, he usually delivered a familiar exhortation, which was followed by prayer. Occasionally, too, he was present at the ordinary monthly district meetings.

His arrangements for the instruction of “inquirers,” and for the introduction of new members into fellowship, were such as are made by most Independent ministers. He announced on the Sunday, that on a particular evening he would be in the vestry for four or five hours, to converse with any persons under religious conviction; these he saw alone. If there were very many came, he would arrange for a series of “inquirers’ meetings,” at which he gave simple and impressive addresses adapted to their spiritual condition, and offered earnest prayer. After holding five or six meetings of this kind, he would ask them to come and see him

LIFE OF JOHN ANGELL JAMES.

again at the vestry privately; and as one and another found rest in Christ, and gave proof of a change of heart and life, he proposed them for membership.

Some pei’sons may read this volume who are unacquainted with the usual mode of admission into Independent churches; for their information, I will describe Mr James’s practice, merely observing that every Independent church claims and exercises the right of determining the details of church order, according to its own judgment of the best mode of carrying out the laws and precepts of the New Testament; and that, therefore, this description, though probably representing in its principal outlines the method of procedure in many churches of our order, is not true of many others.

Having satisfied himself that a number of persons were really living a Christian life, he proposed them for membership at one of the ordinary monthly church-meetings; the whole list was put to the church at once, and if adopted, the persons included in it were declared to be accepted as “candidates;” he then appointed two members to visit each of them, selecting the visitors according to his own judgment of their fitness to be entrusted with each particular case. The visitors were expected, not only to converse with the candidate on his religious knowledge and history, but to inform themselves of his moral character. If the result of their inquiries was satisfactory, they reported at the next church-meeting; after their report letters addressed to the church by the candidates themselves were frequently read, and the pastor having given his testimony, the church was called upon to vote on the question, whether the candidate should be received or not. When all had been “received,” they were brought into the meeting, and having been arranged before the pastor’s desk, stood while he addressed them on their new responsibilities, on the joys and perils of the religious life, on the glorious inheritance of the saints in heaven, and other topics of a kindred nature; and then, having left the desk, it was his custom to give the right hand of fellowship, addressing to each a few words suggested by their age, history, or present circumstances.

At one of the earliest church-meetings at which I was present —

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it was not long after I went to college — there was a singularly affecting scene. The lecture-room, in which the meeting is generally held, was very crowded, and a long line of new members stood before the desk. One of them was an old man, who had lived for seventy years without repentmg of sin. Next to him stood a little girl, apparently not more than twelve or thirteen years of age, who bad been taught by her mother to love Christ, and who, in answer to her mother’s prayers, had been early renewed by the power of the Holy Ghost. Then came a poor man, who had been guilty of gross and reckless sins; a few months before, he had fallen into a ditch in a state of intoxication, and, while lying there, thought he heard a voice saying to him, “If you go on in this way, you will be sent to hell;” he remembered the words when he got sober, began immediately to attend public worship, and had been living a new life ever since. The emotion with which Mr James grasped the hand of the old man, and the trembling tones with which he welcomed him into the church, the tenderness with which he spoke to the child on the blessedness of coming to Christ so early, and his joy over the drunkard who had been so strangely reclaimed, I shall never forget. Mr James then retm’ned to the desk and implored for them all the Divine benediction, beseeching God to keep them from falling, and to present them faultless before the presence of His glory with exceeding joy. Scenes of this kind were constantly recurring; the church-meetings were among the most important and powerful aids to the religious life of the people. Some of ilr James’s addresses to the new members far surpassed, in all the highest qualities of eloquence, any of the sermons or public speeches that I ever heard him deliver.

It was always his anxiety to make these meetmgs strictly religious services, and to present the business in such a form as should render discussion unnecessary. When any of the members had fallen into sin requiring the exercise of discipline, the church uniformly acted on the report of a discipline committee, appomted by the church itself from year to year. Tive of the members of this committee, including the pastor, wei-e church officers; the other five were private members of the church. The sins most

LIFE OF JOHN ANGELL JAMES.

frequently requiring exercise of discipline were drunkenness, and dishonest practices in business. By the custom of the church, insolvency was followed by immediate suspension from communion till the circumstances had been investigated.

It has been supposed by persons at a distance, that Mr James ruled the church with a very strong hand, and tolerated no antagonism, or even difference of opinion. This is a very natural mistake, but it is a mistake, nevertheless. It is true, that during the thirteen years that I attended the Oarr’s Lane Church meetings, no proposition coming from him was ever opposed, and it would have required some courage for a member to rise and interfere with the habitual assent of the church to the proposals of the pastor. But this power had been gradually gained by an unwearying solicitude on his part to propose nothing that would be out of harmony with the general feeling of the people.

Often when seeming to guide, he was but expressing the judgment of the church. It should not be forgotten that the church knew that it was his habit to have a free and thorough investigation of every proposal in the deacons’ vestry before he submitted it to the church-meeting. Moreover, it would have been strange if in a fifty years’ pastorate he had not acquired the hearty confidence of the church in his wisdom and justice. He maintained his influence by not abusing it.

This chapter would be incomplete if no reference were made to the extraordinary solemnity and pathos of his manner in conducting the Lord’s Supper. Had we any record of the addresses delivered by St John to the church at Ephesus, at its meetings to break bread in remembrance of the Lord Jesus, I can imagine that in their form and spirit they would be found greatly to resemble the addresses which Mr James delivered at the monthly communion. He passed from grave and penetrating exhortation to practical godliness, to such glorious visions of the throne of Christ, such affecting expressions of love and thankfulness to Christ for His sufferings and death, that his face often became radiant with an unutterable joy. There are, probably, many who never expect to experience a blessedness like that which they have sometimes known

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while listening to these meditations, until with him and a multitude that no man can number, redeemed from every kindred, and people, and tongue, and nation, they join in ascribing blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, unto Him that sitteth on the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

T have reserved for this place two letters, written by ‘Mr James in 18-iO, when under the impression that he had not long to Uve, to the deacons and to the members of the Carr’s Lane Church. They were found with his will after his death: —

“TO THE CHUECH A>-D CONGREGATION ASSEMBLING IN CARR’s LANE, BIRMINGHAM:.

“My BELOVED Flock, — Having a strong persuasion from certain symptoms in my constitution, which it might not be possible nor important to describe, that I am approaching the conclusion, not only of my labours but also of my life, and deeming it probable that my last illness may be of such a nature as to give me Uttle opportunity to express my views and hopes and counsels in prospect of dissolution, I have determined thus to commit them to paper, in order that they might be read to you after my decease, when the circumstance of my removal to the eternal world, united to the calmness with which I now give utterance to my dying testimony will tend, by the blessing of God, deeply to impress your minds.

“In looking back upon the five-and-thii-ty years, or nearly that term, which I have spent among you and your fathers before you, I see abundant cause of gratitude and adoring love to the Divine Head of the Church for directing my youthful feet to this town. My ministerial course among you has been one of such prosperity and comfort as rarely falls to the lot of a minister of Jesus Christ, and never, no, never, has fallen to any one who less deserved it, or had less reason to expect it. I am filled with dehghted surprise, not at what I have done, but at what God has done by me. I cannot, of course, be ignorant, and I have not the hypocrisy to aflect ignorance, of what has been done; but now, as in the sight of God, and perhaps shortly about to appear in His presence, I can truly adopt the language, and with it I believe the huniihty of the apostle, where he says, ‘Not I, but the grace of God in me,’ for I am nothing. It is impossible for me by any terms I could now select to convey to you any adequate idea of the sense I now cherish of the defects, the imworthiness, and even the sinfulness of my 2r

LIFE OF JOHN AJ^GELL JAMES,

labours among you, so that the success of them appears the more astonishing, and is thus more clearly proved to be all of God. It is impossible for me to doubt that many of you -will be my crown of rejoicing in the day of Christ Jesus, even as you have been my joy upon earth: but even this crown I shall. take from my head as soon as it is placed there, and cast down at the feet of Jesus, my adorable Lord, to whom alone the glory is all due.

“I know it will be a satisfaction to you to be assured how much you have contributed to my happiness upon eartL For all your kindnesses I thank you: injuries I have received none. AU that I have had to object to or to complain of, in regard to most of you, is an over-estimate of my poor services: and yet I dare affirm, I have loved you and sought your welfare. It is pleasant to me to think of laying down the pastoral office among the people for whom I took it up; that I have never known any other flock but you; and that my bones will rest till the resurrection beneath the only pulpit that ever received me as its own occupant.

“It will be interesting and perhaps important for you to be informed how the doctrines I have preached to you appear to my mind, and affect my heart in the view of eternity; just as they ever did, only with a deeper and more solemn sense of their truth, their importance, and their aU-sanctifying and all-sustaining nature. It is my comfort to know that with the reading and thinking of five-and-thirty years, I have seen no reason to expunge or change a single article of the confession of faith which I publicly uttered on the day of my ordination. I cannot now tell you how glorious the true and proper divinity of our Lord Jesus Christ, His atoning sacrifice, His justifying righteousness and regenerating and sanctifydng grace, appear now to me. Yes, my dear friends, they are more than articles of faith, they are the foundation, the only foundation that I see, or feel, of hope for lost, guilty, and depraved man. I see the niysteriousness of some of these truths, but at the same time I feel their ineflable preciousness. How, with the knowledge I now have of the sins of a whole life, seen the more clearly as I draw nearer the great white throne, could I, or dare I, approach that awful seat of immaculate purity, without the shelter of the blood of sprinkling, and the covering of a better righteousness than my own? The atonement appears to me at this moment unutterably momentous, tranquiUising, and dehghtful. Relying upon this, and this is all I do rely upon, I dare plunge into Jordan’s stream, believing that, guilty though I be, — and most guilty that is, — the hand of mercy will receive my spirit on that bank of the dark waters which is on the side of eternity. Cling to this glorious and fundamental truth: it supports me, and it will support you. It is a doctrine to die by, and yields in death its strongest consolation. I die, then, as a sinner at the foot of the cross, looking for life eternal through the merits of Him who expired upon it,

“You may infer from what I have said, that I have a good and a firm hope of immortahty. I bless God I have. I feel no rapture, but I have hope and peace. ‘I know whom I have beUeved, and am persuaded that He is able to keep that which I have committed to Him until that day.’ I have been sometimes too much troubled with the love of hie, and fear of death: but I am thankfid to say that at the time I write this, both are much diminished, and if I do not desire to depart and be with Christ, I am quite willing to go when my Lord caUs for me: and I encourage all the Lords people to trust Him for a dying hour.

“In the prospect of meeting my Lord and Master, the Supreme Judge, it must appear of small consequence to me, with what censure or applause my name may be mentioned, or my conduct marked by my fellow-creatures, whose opinions cannot follow me into eternity; but it is a cause of some thankfulness that my memory will, I beUeve, be respected by you. I have endeavoured in simplicity and godly sincerity, not with fleshly wisdom, but by the grace of Gcod, to have my conversation among you. “Would God that my example had been a more perfect copy of Christ’s, and one that was more worthy of your imitation. Oh, that I had been more holy, more spiritual, more heavenly, for your sake as well as my own! I now see many things which I coidd wish had been other^lse. Still I thank God for that grace which has kept me from falhug. What the tongue of slander may invent, for even the grave is not always a defence from its -wickedness, I cannot predict; but while it is matter of deep humiliation and contrition that I have not lived more up to the lofty standard of our profession and our principles, it is at the same time matter of thankfulaess that I know of nothing which need make you blush at the mention of your pastor’s name, or turn away with disgust from his monument.

“On account of the hirgencss to which the church has attained, it has been impossible for me to pay that attention to the members indi-TiduaUy, which I could have wished, and I am now afifected with a sorrowfid sense of my great defects as a pastor. Forgive me, ye neglected sick and poor; load not my name -with reproaches for having in any instance grieved you, if such has been the case, with the idea that your minister had neither time nor heart for you. The latter, he can truly say, he had, though far less of the former than was necessary for the comfoit of so large a number as looked to him for the visits of mercy and peace.

“Had it been the will of God, I could have contentedly and joyfully

LIFE OF JOHN ANGELL JAMES.

continued yet longer to live and labour among you. I am not weary of your society; you have done nothing to make me wish to leave you: but if the Lord has no more work for me to do, I am willing to go to my eternal rest. And may the Head of the Church send you, and send him soon, a successor, far more worthy of your confidence, your affection, and esteem, than I have been, because more devoted to your interests, and more able to promote them than I! Most truly can I aver that I am not jealous of my successor. Such is the love I bear you, that I could be comforted with the assurance that you would be settled with a pastor a month after my decease; nor would it disturb the serenity of my deathbed to anticipate the disadvantage to which, in every respect, I must ever stand in comparison with him who is to follow me. My earnest prayer to God for you is, that He would send you a man both of competent talents and eminent piety. Attach more importance to the latter than to the former. It has been long my opinion that it is one of the faults of the churches of the present time to attach more importance than belongs to it, to a certain kind of showy and jjopular preaching. Seek for a man — may God send you such a one! — who is mighty in the Scriptures and prayer.

“Be of one mind in the choice of such a man. This cometh from the Lord. Oh, how anxiously and earnestly have I wrestled with the Author of peace and the Giver of concord, that He would unite your hearts in the selection of a future pastor! ISIay He in His great mercy prevent all divisions and strifes! Do not, oh, do not, allow any altercation to arise about a teacher of truth, righteousness, and peace. Exercise a just confidence in your deacons. But especially let your supreme confidence be in Christ, the Divine Head of the Church. He vdll not forsake you, if you do not forsake Him. He loves His body the Church, and you are a part of it. You cannot be so concerned for your welfare as He is. Cultivate the spirit of prayer. A good and faithful pastor will be obtained by prayer. I particularly recommend that the chapter in my book entitled ‘The Church Member’s Guide,’ on the subject of choosing a pastor, be read at an early meeting of the church after my decease; and that it be read more than once, if need be. I bequeath that chapter as a legacy to the church for its direction in this important afi”air. As you respect and love my memory, do not destroy my work by dividing the church. Be of one mind and one heart. ‘If there be any consolation in Christ, if any comfort of love, if any fellowship of the Spirit, if any bowels and mercies, fulfil ye my joy, that ye be like-minded, having the same love, being of one accord, of one mind. Let nothing be done through strife or vain-glory; but in lowliness of mind let each esteem other better than themselves. Look not every man on his own things, but every man also on the things of

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others. Let this mind bo in you, -n-bich was also in Cbrist Jesus,’ (Phil. ii. 1-5.)

“Dear brethren, we must meet at the bar of Christ. I think that in prospect of that awful interview, I can in some humble measure adopt the language of the apostle Paul, and say, ‘I take you to record, that I am pure from the blood of all men. For T have not shunned to declare unto you the whole counsel of God.’ You are my witnesses that I have not been afraid or backward to bring forward any truth, however unpalatable it might be supposed to be to any that heard me. As far as I have known the truth I have declared it; not fearing the frown of man by fidelity, or courting his smile by the suppression of what I deemed it to be my commission to make known. Some of you have been the witnesses also of my fidelity in private, though here, perhaps, I have been more deficient, as we all are, than in public. And now, dear brethren, if you perish, your blood will not be upon me. Your rum will lie at your own door. You know how constantly and how anxiously I have reminded you that to be a church member is not all the same as being a real Christian: how often and how emphatically I have told you that many will spend their eternity in the bottomless pit with Satan and his angels, who have spent their time on earth in the nominal fellowship of the Church of Christ. Once more, I tell you this awful trath. I remind you of it now, not as before from the pnlpit or the sacramental table, but from my grave, and from my seat in glory. Once more, let me solemnly entreat you to examine your hearts whether ye are in the faith and Christ be in you. The mere name of a Christian will serve you in no stead in a dying hour and in the day of Christ. Nothing but the reality will stand His scrutinising search. O brethren, do not deceive yourselves: it is no easy thing to be a Christian, however easy it is to be called one.

“Many, very many of you have nothing to fear from examining into your state. Every examination will only tend to strengthen the assurance of hope in your souls. To you I say, ‘We shall meet again! Yes, there is a gathering together of the saints unto Christ approaching, even as now there is a scattering. Blessed and glorious prospect! Often contemplate it. We shall meet in His presence, where there is fulness of joy, and at His right hand, where there are pleasures for evermore.’ What a mercy! no more separation — no more going out — but we are to be together through all eternity. What communion will there be there, with God and each other! How we shall be astonished at our own and each other’s felicity and honour! With these hopes, resist the temptations and bear the trials of life. Time is short! ’ “Wherefore let those that have wives be as though they had none; and they that weep, as though they wept not; and they that rejoice, as

LIFE OF JOHN ANGELL JAMES.

though they rejoiced not; and they that buy, as though they possessed not; and they that use this world, as not abusing it: for the fashion of this world passeth away.” Seeing all these things shall be dissolved, what manner of persons ought ye to be in all holy conversation and godliness; looking for and hasting unto the coming of the day of GodV” Farewell, my dear flock; a long — a long — but not a last farewell, from your late faithful, affectionate, devoted pastor,

“J. A. James.

“Begun in March and finished
“December 7, 1 840.”

“TO THE DEACONS OP CAER S LANE CHUECH.

“December 7, 1840.

“My dear Friends, — As life is uncertain, and may terminate soon with me, and in such a manner as to deprive me of all opportunity of dehvering to you any parting salutation or advice, I deem it proper to leave in writing what, in taking my last leave of you, I should wish to say to you.

“In what manner I have served the church, you know, and will, I hope and believe, testify that I have not been wholly an indolent, selfish, or unfaithful shepherd of the flock which the Holy Ghost committed to my care; but even you who have met me so often in our private conferences on the interests of our body, can form but an inadequate idea of the intense affection and solicitude with which my ministry among you has been maintained. Dehghtful as my work has been, it has been work indeed, oftentimes amounting to the burden of the Lord. I have loved the church, and I believe there has not been a day for many years in which it has not been the subject of my prayers, both morning and evening; and this anxiety for its weKare follows me to the present moment, and in the prospect of leaving it, dictates this posthumous effort for its welfare. I am perhaps soon to meet my Divine Lord and Master, and am intensely desirous of hearing Him say, * Well done, good and faithful servant.’

“It is a source of considerable satisfaction and gratitude to the God of peace and wisdom, that my intercourse with you has been so pleasant, and that our co-operation has been so cordial and harmonious. I leave you with sincere affection and much respect, and in a most solemn and. tender manner commend the church, first of all, to the unerring guidance J and omnipotent love of its Divine Head, who cares for it far more than j even you or I do, and, next to Him, I commend it to your superintendence and jealous watchfulness. On you it will devolve at my decease to look after the shepherdless flock, and to look out for a successor. You will need much wisdom, grace, and a mixture of firmness and kindnesa May you have a spirit of prayer and dependence upon Christ, accompanied by an impressive sense of your responsibility! Perhaps it hardly concerns me to suggest any ideas for your direction; and yet my wishes to aid you, and help the church, go beyond my life.

“I advise you, then, to meet immediately after my removal, to agree upon a plan for procuring supplies, and appoint a secretary for managing the correspondence. My dear friend ]Ir BeUby is suitable for this office, as having more leisure than any other. Of course, j’ou will devote among yourselves time for special prayer for your own guidance and that of the church, and will also appoint a special season of prayer, once a-week or fortnight, in addition to the customary prayer-meeting. I attach great importance to this. I have always been anxious for a praying church while I lived, and I am, if possible, more anxious for the spirit of prayer to remain and increase when I am gone. Prayer, if it be fervent, persevering, and believing, will obtain for you a. suitable and devoted pastor.

“It would not be well for you to depend too much for assistance upon the neighbouring ministers, and thus to fill the pulpit by shifts and expedients, but to have a long list of good and acceptable ministers engaged for several weeks beforehand. Mr Barker, of the college, will be always willing to help you, and always acceptable. Kespect for my memory will, I think, induce many of our most able ministers to give you a Sabbath or two from time to time, and these must be written to soon, such, for instance, as Drs Raffles, Halley, Bennett, Wardlaw, Ur-nick, Leifchild, &c.; Messrs Kelly, Burnet, James HUl, Sherman, Binney, Luke of Chester, Martin of Cheltenham, Ely, Hamilton, Scales of Leeds, &c. It would be well to fill up the interstices of more popular men from a distance with one from the neighbourhood. I am, of course, supposing that it may be long before you are again settled. And here I would entreat you, and also the church, to be patient. Do not expect the pulpit to be re-occupied in a few weeks or a few months. God may see fit to try your faith and confidence for a considerable time. Do not allow yourselves to be hurried into an injudicious choice.

“As to a successor, I must leave that to the Divine Head of the Church and the wisdom and piety of His people. And yet I feel disposed to say a few things upon the subject. Do not look merely for a man of pulpit talent. I am aware that you must have an individual of sufficient intellectual and physical powers to instruct the flock and command public attention; but do not make talents everyi:hing, nor be led away by what is showy rather than what is substautial. Indeed, your own good sense may be trusted for this, and for seeking after a devoted man, — one that will watch for souls, a labourer for Christ and

LIFE OF JOHN ANGELL JAMES.

His cause. Never introduce to the pulpit, even for a single Sabbath, any one, with the idea of his being a candidate, about whom you have not obtained much previous satisfactory information, and whom you would deem unsuitable for the situation. Endeavour to come to as much agreement of opinion among yourselves as possible. It woidd be a sad thing if the deacons should be divided in opinion. Confer together in the spirit of confidence, love, and prayer. Avoid all dogmatism and an overbearing manner of expressing your views to one another. Should you unhappuy not agree in opinion, do not, I beseech you, endeavour to form two parties. Forbear with one another in love. Out of regard to my memory, if you have any veneration, gratitude, and love for it, endeavour to keep among yourselves the unity of the Spirit in the bond of peace. A conflict among the officers would be a fearful thing for the troops. Let there be no self-will and nothing done in your own spirit, but all in the Spirit of Christ.

“Although I know the Christian Church very extensively so far as our denomination is concerned, I scarcely know to what quarter to direct your attention. Amongst all the ministers whom I know, I am not acquainted with any one who, if he could be obtained, is more likely to suit you than Mr Kelly of Liverpool. I hear also most favourable reports of Mr Alexander of Edinburgh; he is a man of great ability and devotedness; whether partaking enough of popular address, I cannot say, as I have never heard him preach. Among younger men, I might mention Mr G. Smith of Plymouth, who is rising in our denomination, and is a man of energy and abUity, and Mr RLartin of Cheltenham. I should advise you to consult with the following ministers on the subject, — Drs Eedford, Bennett, Fletcher, Wardlaw, and Raffles, with my brother Thomas, and Mr Joshua Wilson.

“But He that waUceth in the midst of the seven golden candlesticks must be chiefly consulted, and have your confidence.

“As there are not many persons in the congregation who have been in the habit of accommodating ministers at their house, all who can do so should be applied to in this emergency; but perhaps if you are not soon settled, it will be desirable to look out for some place where the supplies may be lodged — but then it must be a place of great comfort and respectability. “When ministers come who are regarded as candidates for the vacant office, every attention must be paid to their comfort to give them a favourable impression of the people as a kind and affectionate community. As your finances, if the congregation keep up, are in a good state, you should pay your supplies handsomely, especially those who come from a distance, and do not scruple to ask our most able ministers from all parts of the kingdom.

“It is very evident that all this will impose some labour upon you, and call for much time; but then it belongs to your office to do it, and you have not been called to much of this kind of work before. Remember Christ expects it of you, and again I ask it out of regard to my memory. You know how I have loved the church, and laboured and prayed for it; and oh, do take care of it now I am gone, and not suffer it to be injured by your neglect.

“Dear brethren, devote yourselves to the spiritual welfare of the flock. Be full of faith and of the Holy Ghost. Be not only moral men, but eminently holy, spiritual, and heavenly. Be examples in all these things to the whole body of the members. Give yourselves much to the spiritual welfare of the body. Bear with my affectionate fidelity in saying that soma of you have been a little wanting in this, perhaps not a little. Aid your future pastor in instructing the ignorant, supporting the weak, and comforting the distressed.

“]Iay you all be able to fulfil the ofiice of a deacon well; and procure to yourselves a good degree and great boldness in the faith! May you continue in all holiness, diligence, prudence, affection, and devotedness to fulfil the duties of j-our ofiice till God shall call you to your account, and then may it be your felicity, and mine with you, to hear Him say, ‘Well done, good and faithful servant, enter thou into the joy of thy Lord!’ With such prayers and prospects, and with genuine affection, does he take his leave of you for this world who was your affectionate and faithful pastor,

“J. A- James.”