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fo ? the yomg minister of Christ those views and feelings with which he first enters on the discharge of his pastoral duty ; views and feelings which it may afterwards prove highly advantageous for him to recall to his mind , and compare with those b y which his subsequent conduct has been guided . Alas ! how often might the sincere and fervent resolutions of the young disciple administer a wholesome rebuke to the faint zeal and meagre performance of his maturer years ) How frequently , were we but careful to record our moral history , might we find eloquent and useful monitors even
in our former selves ! Nor is it the young minister alone who , on these occasions , derives benefit from the counsels that are addressed to him * His elder brethren and fathers in the faith , while reminding him of his duties , are reminded of their own ; and seldom , we may safely affirm , does an occasion of the kind pass away , without awakening regrets and kindling resolutions in their breasts ; the good fruits of which may , and , it is to be hoped , often do ,
appear in their subsequent ministrations . To any minister of the gospel who doubts the utility of such services , we would earnestly recommend the serious perusal of the publication before us , or of any one of those of a similar nature which have lately been given to the public , and we are much mistaken if , at the close , he will not be able to pronounce from his own
experience , that the practical benefit to be derived from them far outweighs any danger that an exaggerated * fear of superstition might have previously led him to apprehend . Amongst the good effects which we anticipate from the frequent publication of such services , is the gradual accumulation of useful materials , from which valuable selections may be made from time to time fpr the permanent ^ edification of ministers and candidates for , the ministry . With respect to those persons wl * o condemn all services of this kind under the name of
willworship , we would onl y ask them , for what portion of tjieir qwn worship , if they have any , they claim a divine appointment . We trust that tnes . e enemies of superstition are not themselves so superstitious as to assert the divine authority of any ritual , however simple . All our worship , as tQ the form and manner of it , mu § t , as far as we can see , be will-worship . We may , indeed , on scriptural grounds contend for some observance of the Lord ' s-day , and for tjie administration , in some form or other , of the rites of
Baptism and the Lord ' s Supper , though even this many good Christians will not grant ; but scrupulous as , we may be in obeying what we deem the general law on these points , we have nothing to guide us but our own reason , or in other words , we must be will-worshipers in our manner of doing so . We h ^ ve , in our judgment at { east , Scripture authority to warrant our assembling ourselves together to pay to God a social service ; but as to the times and seasons and mode , we have little or nothing to determine us
but our own conscientious views of what may be useful and therefore right . After all , it is probably the np , me that is the great objection , and the fear is , lest the performance o . f what is certainly miscalled ah Ordination-service now , should revive that dre ^ ed thing wfrich w ? s once called Ordination amongst us . We fee ) , we confess , no apprehensipn of this kind ; any more than we do , that the nominal Presbyterians of this southern part of our island will , for the sake pf consistency and to deserve their ancient and venerable
* See Mr . Swaijwi ^ 's fiftyrew , p . J 9 . t We cannot hqpe fprmafty pjicft aprjutpQS W P $ tey '» < w * h ? " EflUfW WfyJW to the Clerical Chaf # pter $ " Jntf }\ Qyv ijiv ^ h ^ ble v * f > yw \> $ ' $ vplujp * n th ( B pastoral care , composed of similar materials j
Untitled Article
Review , ^ -Ordination Services . 103
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), Feb. 2, 1827, page 103, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct1793/page/23/
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