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Note: This text has been automatically extracted via Optical Character Recognition (OCR) software. The text has not been manually corrected and should not be relied on to be an accurate representation of the item.
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cfency of all his performances , he is licensed to preach as a probationer ; if not , they delay his admission . When he is called by a congregation to a siated charge , the pastors must be
satisfied that the call is regular , and that the candidate has behaved soberly and prudently since he had been licensed , before they will consent to his being ; ordained .
" The day of ordination is observed as a fast . The ordainers are senior pastors , who were ordained Presbyters . " When some have prayed , " one of them preacheth a sermon relating to the ministerial office "—then " one
of the most aged appoints the candidate to make a public confession of faith , composed by himself . " Then other questions are asked , and he engages solemnly to perform the duties of a gospel minister , * ' under special relation to that particular church from which he has had a call , although he is ordained a minister in the Catholic
visible Church" Afterwards , " the candidate kneeling in the midst of the Presbyters , the aged pastor prayeth over him , imploring the Divine presence , praising God for instituting
this office , qualifying men for it from age to age , and rendering it successful to the salvation of' many ; then also prays for the pardon of their own offences and ' sinful defects , and of the
past sins of the person to be ordained ; and , joining- their thanksgivings to the God of all grace , for the gifts and graces of his Spirit conferred on this lais servant , ¦—they all lay their hands
upon his head , and set him apart , iu the name of the Lord Jesus , to the office and work of the gospel ministry , with authority to preach the gospel , administer the sacraments and
discipline of Christ , and to perform all other things , which by Divine institution belong to the order of a Presbyter . " After follow in order—prayers , giving the right hand of fellowship , the charge , singing , the blessing .
rrom a Sermon preached at the Ordination of Mr . Thomas Fisher , at Castle Hedingham , in Essex , June 23 , 1713 , by Samuel Bury , V . D . M ., I make the following extracts : " An external call into the work
and office of the ministry , is by such persons , whom God has deputed it unto in the gospel , and are capable
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judges of Nthe qualifications of the can * dictates .. The suffrage of the people , or a call only from the people , cannot make a minister . They are not only examined as to their fitness for it ; not only approved for their willingness , aptness , ability and faithfulness in it ; but also solemnly inaugurated , installed and invested in the work and
office . " Ordination is the determination of a person duly qualified for the office , whereupon he is invested in the ministry by the authority of Christ . This investiture is appointed by God to be by fasting and prayer and imposition of hands . Acts xiii . init "
Till about the date of the sermon last quoted , ( 1713 , ) Presbyterianism did not yield to prelacy in regard to the extent and validity of its authority and claims . But the circumstances
which have conferred permanence on prelacy , were in this country hostile to Presbyterianism ; power cemented not its authority ; interest riveted not the affections of its adherents to the idol
which the powers that be had set up . Presbyterians did not enjoy the advantages of such elements of permanency ; and , moreover , as by degrees they came to understand and value the principles of Christian liberty , and disentangled themselves from those
voluntary chains , by which ignorance and prejudice had enslaved the world , they disclaimed the spiritual authority which they had previously asserted , and , every individual claiming for himself the privilege of free inquiry , they maintained and " stood fast in the
liberty with which Christ had made them free . " By this process the hay and stubble were burned and consumed , the silver and gold were purified and burnished , opinions and practices not surely and solidly grounded on scriptural truth , by degrees lost their
hold on men ' s minds ; they were partially changed and discontinued , or they were so modified or qualified as to mean little or nothing $ and whereever a tone of independence was assumed , they were undisguisedly disclaimed and opposed .
Ordination , with other parts of the Presbyterian discipline , underwent the process we have been just now describing . With the progress of free inquiry , its claims continually sunk iu
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On Ordination Services . 215
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Citation
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Monthly Repository (1806-1838) and Unitarian Chronicle (1832-1833), April 2, 1825, page 215, in the Nineteenth-Century Serials Edition (2008; 2018) ncse.ac.uk/periodicals/mruc/issues/vm2-ncseproduct2535/page/23/
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