ftand in need of nothing for the fimple convenience or at least neceffities of this tranfitory life. They want but little, and that lit tle they ought to have.. This alfo implies, that if his colleague be married, he fhould take care that neither he nor his family ftand in need of any of the neceffaries of life. For his performance of this duty, as well as all the reft, he is bounden to God, as well as to the church of which he is a member. "Jefus called them [the twelve] unto him, and faid, ye know that the princes of the Gentiles exercise dominion over them, and they that are great, exercise authority upon them. But it shall not be fo among you : but whofoever will be great among you, let him be your minifter; and whofoever will be chief among you, let him be your fervant: Even as the Son of Man came not be be miniftered unto, but to minifter," Matt. xx. 25-28.

2. He is to deliver tickets quarterly to each member of the fociety, with a portion of the word of God printed on them. This is of no fmall moment for the prefervation of our difcipline and the purity of our church. To admit frequently unawakened perfons to our fociety-meetings and love-feafts, would be to throw a damp on thofe profitable affemblies, and cramp, if not entirely deftroy that liberty of Speech, which is always made a peculiar bleffing to carneft believers and fincere feekers of falvation. Besides, this regulation affords the preacher who holds the office now under confideration, an opportunity of fpeaking closely to every perfon under his care on the ftate of their fouls. "I know thy

works," fays our Lord," and thy labour, and thy patience, and bow thou canst not bear them which are evil:-and hast borne, and haft patience, and for my name's fake haft laboured, and haft not fainted," Rev. ii. 2, 3. The other duty of regulating the bands is alfo of great confequence, as will appear when we come to enlarge on the 3d fection of the 2d chapter.

3. He is to watch over the ftewards and leaders of his circuit. He should meet them weekly, when in the towns, and as often as may be in the country. He is to recommend to the ftewards the poor of their focieties, to lay before them, if necessary, the wants of his colleagues, and to ftir them up to fidelity and activity, in their office: but above all, he is to exhort the leaders, to inftruct them in the best mode of addreffing their claffes, and to fet before them the ineftimable value of the precious fouls refpectively intrusted to their care. His whole foul fhould fay, "Would God that all the Lord's people were prophets, and that the Lord would put his Spirit upon them!" Numb. xi. 29.

4. As he is the least likely to be influenced by the various circumftances arifing from neighbourhood, long acquaintance, affection, confanguinity, or any other motives diftinct from off

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cial talents, he is to appoint the stewards. And as he is, or should be, the best judge of the gifts and experience of the members of fociety, he alfo is to felect the men, from time to time, who are to fill up the weighty office of leader. And again, as he is the only perfon in the circuit, who is responsible to the yearly conference for the decline of the work of God in his circuit, and the only one the conference can make refponfible, he has the authority invested in him of changing leaders, when they have lost the life of God, or are incapacitated for or negligent of their duty. But if he ever use this power in a capricious or tyranical manner, the people may lay their grievances before the bishops or presiding elders, who have authority to fufpend him for ill conduct; or, before the yearly conference, which may proceed even to his expulfion, if he grossly offend against that wisdom which is from above, "and which is first pure, then peaceable, gentle, and easy to be entreated, full of mercy and good fruits, without partiality, and without hypocrify," Jam. iii. 17.

5. He is allo to receive members upon trial, and into society, according to the form of difcipline. If this authority were invested in the fociety, or any part of it, the great work of revival would foon be at an end. A very remarkable proof of this was given feveral years ago, by a fociety in Europe. Many of the leading members of that fociety, were exceedingly importunate to have the whole government of their fociety invested in a meeting compofed of the principal preacher, and a number of lay elders and lay deacons, as they termed them. At last, the preacher who had the overfight of the circuit, was prevailed upon, through their inceffant importunity, to comply with their request. He accordingly nominated all the leaders and flewards, as lay elders and lay deacons with the defired powers. But alas! What was the confequence? The great revival which was then in that society and congregation, was foon extinguifhed. Poor finners, newly awakened, were flocking into the church of God as doves to their windows. But now, the wisdom and prudence of the new court kept them at a distance, till they had given full proof of their repentance: "if their convictions be fincere," faid they, "they will not withdraw themselves from the preaching of the word on account of our caution; they themselves will fee the propriety of our conduct." Thus, whilft the fervent preacher was one hour declaring the willingness of Chrift immediately to receive the returning finners, the wifdom of the lay ciders and lay deacons would the next hour reject them even from being received upon trial, unless they had been before painted fepulchres, inwardly fill of dead men's bones and rottennefs. The preacher who had the charge of the circuit nearly broke his heart, to fee the precious fouls which God had given him, kept at a distance from him, and thrown back again upon the wide world by the prudent lay

elders and deacons. moved into another

However, at his earnest entreaty, he was recircuit by the conference, under whofe controul he acted, to enjoy the bleffings of the Methodist economy. The revival of the work of God was foon extinguilhed; and the fociety, from being one of the most lively, became one of the moft languid in Europe.

Glory be to God, all our focieties throughout the world, now amounting to upwards of 160,000 have been raised, under grace, by our minifters and preachers. They, and they only, are their fpiritual fathers under God; and none others can feel for them as they do. It is true, that on great revivals, the fpiritually halt, and blind; and lame, will prefs in crowds into the church of God; and they are welcome to all that we can do for their invaluable fouls, till they prove unfaithful to convincing or converting grace. And we will not throw back their fouls on the wicked world, whilft groaning under the burden of fin, because many on the trial quench their convictions, or perhaps were hypocritical from. the beginning. We would fooner go again into the highways and hedges, and form new focieties as at firft, than we would give up a privilege fo effential to the ministerial office and to the revival of the work of God.

-faid to his fervant, Go out

"The master of the houfe [God]quickly into the ftreets and lanes of the city, and bring in hither the poor, and the maimed, and the halt, and the blind. And the fervant faid, Lord, it is done as thou hast commanded, and yet there is room." He obeys his God, without asking permiffion of any fociety, whether he should obey him or not. "And the Lord faid unto the fervant, Go out into the highways and hedges, and compel them to come in, that my house may be filled," Luke xiv. 21-23. The fervant answers not to his God, I will comply with thy command as far as my fociety, or my leaders and stewards will permit me. Again, the Lord fays to Ezekiel, ch. xxxiv. I-10, " Son of man, prophefy against the shepherds of Ifrael, prophefy, and fay unto them, Thus faith the Lord God unto the fhepherds, Wo be to the fhepherds of Ifrael- -the difeafed have ye not strengthened, neither have ye healed that which was fick, neither have ye bound up that which was broken, neither have ye brought again, that which was driven away, neither have ye fought that which was loft. And they were scattered, becaufe there is no fhepherd: and they became meat to all the beafts of the field, when they were fcattered.- -Therefore, ye shepherds, hear the word of the Lord; As I live, faith the Lord God, furely because my flock became a prey, and my flock became meat to every beast of the field, because there was no fhepherd, neither did my fhepherds fearch for my flock-Therefore, O ye fhepherds, hear the word of the Lord, Thus faith the Lord Gon, Behold, I am against the fhepherds, and I WILL REQUIRE MY

FLOCK AT THEIR HAND, and cause them to ccafe from feeding the flock," &c. Now, what paftors, called and owned of God, would take upon themfelves this awful refponfibility, if others could refufe to their fpiritual children the grand external privilege of the gofpel, or admit among them the most improper perfons to mix with and corrupt them. Truly, whatever the pastors of other churches may do, we trust that ours will never put themfelves under fo dreadful a bondage. It is in vain to fay, that others may be as tender and cautious as the paftors: for the paftors are the perfons refponfible to God, and, therefore, fhould by no means be thus fettered in their pastoral care. And those who are defirous to wreft out of the hands of minifters this important part of their duty, fhould rather go out themselves to the highways and hedges, and preach the everlasting gofpel, or be contented with their prefent providential fituation.

Goye,

Befides, the command of our Lord, Matt. xxviii. 19. -and teach all nations, baptizing them," &c. is addreffed to pafors only,to his difciples, and through them to all his miniftring fervants to the end of the world. But if minifters are to be the judges of the proper fubjects of baptifm, which is the grand initiatory ordinance into the visible church, how much more fhould they have a right to determine, whom they will take under their own care, or whom God has given them out of the world by the preaching of his word. For minifters to spend their ftrength, their tears, their prayers, their lives for the falvation of fouls, and to have both themfelves and THEIRS under the controul of thofe who never travailed in birth for them, and, therefore, can never feel for them as their fpiritual parents do, is a burden we cannot bear. Thus it is evident, that both reason and fcripture do, in the clearest manner, make the privilege or power now under confideration effential to the gospel-miniftry.

The other duty, mentioned under this article, of regulating the band-fociety, is of great confequence, as will appear when we come to enlarge upon the 3d fection of the 2d chapter.

6. As the Lord is a God of order, and not of confufion, it is highly neceffary that one) perfon fhould be invefted with the regulation of the watch-nights and love-feafts: and who would be fo proper, in the abfence of the prefiding elder, as the preacher who has the overfight of the circuit? As to watch-nights, we may obferve, Did our Lord fpend whole nights in prayer? Matt. xiv. 23-25. Mark vi. 46-48. Luke vi. 12. "And it came to país in thofe days, that he went out into a mountain to pray, and continued all night in prayer to God." Did St. Paul alfo employ whole nights in inftructing and praying with the church of God? Acts xx. 7—11. “When he [Paul] had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, fo he departed." And fhall not the minifters and people of God in thefe

days imitate fuch great examples? Shall the diffipated and profane revel and watch, night after night, in the fervice of Satan, and fhall we think it too much to watch and pray fometimes for a few hours together?

Our venerable leader, Mr. Wefley, was in this, as in most of his rules, lead on by divine Providence. When informed, about the year 1740, that the congregation at Kingswood, near Bristol, frequently continued in exhortation and prayer till midnight, he had thoughts of fuppreffing fuch meetings: but when, after fufficient inquiry, he found that the power of God was remarkably prefent on thofe occafions, and that many were awakened, juftified, or fanctified, he bowed under the hand of God, and not only permitted the continuance of them in Kingfwood, but introduced them through the connection, and was, to his dying hour, fully convinced of their bleffed effects.

In refpect to our love-feafts, we shall speak of them in our notes on the 4th section of the 2d chapter.

7. Though the presiding elder is far more proper to prefide at the quarterly meetings than any other who regularly attends, yet the preacher, who has the overfight of the circuit is, next to him, the most likely to be impartial.* It is on this principle, that the twelve judges of England make it a rule, that no one of them fhall take that circuit which includes the place where he was born. Befides, every thing is finally determined by a majority of votes. On thofe extraordinary occafions, therefore, when through fickness, or any other unavoidable hindrance, the prefiding elder is abfent, the next to him in office must be the moderator of the meeting. See the notes on the 5th fection of this chapter. Let us all be willing to fubmit to that due fubjection, which is neceffary to the good order of the whole, "yea, all of you be fubject one to another," I Pet. v. 5.

8. Next to the preaching of the gofpel, the spreading of religious knowledge by the prefs, is of the greatest moment to the people. The foul, whilst united to the body, must be daily fed with pious ideas, otherwise it will lofe ground in the divine life. Though the Lord is wonderfully kind to those of his children who are fo unfortunate as not to be able to read, yet we are to

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* We do not mean that he is likely to have more grace or more inte grity than the other members of the quarterly meeting, but only that he is not fo much expofed to the temptations of prejudging a caufe through confanguinity, affection, or a variety of other interefls, as the other meniWe have a high eftcem for all our official members, and would not intentionally offend them on any account.

ters are.