The ultimate rather than the primary order of pas- toral labor in the Church is indicated by the New-Tes- tament record. The whole period of our Lord's earthly ministrations was that of preparatory and missionary effort, and the pastoral office was not definitely estab- lished till near its close, while that of preaching was appointed at its beginning. It was during the last six months of Christ's public ministrj^ that the Saviour dis- tinctly illustrated to his disciples, then somewhat pre- pared to understand it, his own character as the good Shepherd who was to lay down his life for the sheep. It was not till the night before his betrayal that the Saviour instituted the Holy Eucharist and commanded its perpetuation in the Cliurch, and not till after his resurrection that he gave to his disciples, through Pe- ter, the urgent and comprehensive command, " Feed my lambs," "Feed my sheep" — commands speedily and sig- nificantly followed by the great commission, " Go teach all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Ghost." When our Lord sent forth his disciples on a mission of evangelization, he sent them two by two, thus indicating that in the early stages of evangelical labor a plurality of preachers is needed. In like manner the apostles, in their more important missionary tours, went not singly, but ac- companied by one or more assistants. Modern efforts for the propagation of Christianity, whether in pagan nations or in nations nominally Cliristian, illustrate a similar necessity for a preponderance of evangelical rather than pastoral effort up to the time when church- es become established. After that, a single pastor can VII.— B u B
take the oversight of a flock that has been gathered by multiplied labors, of which preaching is usually the lead- ing and principal agency.
While preaching is not limited to the Sabbath, yet the regular and most impressive occasions for its exer- cise occur on that day; whereas the most laborious duties of the pastoral office, such as pastoral visiting and the visitation of the sick, are necessarily to be per- formed on week-days.
Summarily stated, the chief duties of a pastor are: 1. To feed the flock of God; 2. To guide its members in the pathway of duty and holiness; 3. To guard them so far as may be possible from moral and spiritual evil of every kind. In the discharge of these duties, not only ministerial but personal influence must be employ- ed with the greatest diligence. In this manner only may be illustrated the design of the Saviour's gift of pastors and teachers as supplementary to that of apos- tles and evangelists, viz. "for the perfecting of the saints, for the work of the ministry, for the edifying of the body of Christ" (Eph. iv, 12). The coupling of the terms pastor and teacher together in this con- nection is in itself a comment on the meaning of both. It shows that the pastor is to feed his flock with intel- lectual and spiritual food, while as a religious teacher he is to communicate the saving knowledge of the Son of God as a means of edifying, singly and collectively, the body of Christ. Pastors are also to be watchmen, as indicated in the apostolic injunction, " Obey them that have the rule over you, and submit yourselves : for they watch for your souls as they that must give account"' (Heb. xiii, 17). The idea of watchfulness for souls had been strikingly illustrated in connection with the prophetic office among the Jews. "I set watchmen over you, saying. Hearken to the sound of the trumpet" (Jer. vi, 17). "If the watchman see the sword come, and blow not the trumpet, and the people be not warn- ed ; if the sword come and take any person from among them, he is taken away in his iniquity, but his blood will I require at the watchman's hand" (Ezek. xxxiii, 6). Paul, in the last epistle written by his inspired pen, specially enjoins watchfidness on Timothy as es- sential to the accomplishment of his ministerial work. " Watch thou in all things, endure afflictions, do the work of an evangelist, make full proof of thy ministry" (2 Tim. iv, 5). The human mind cannot grasp a high- er sense of responsibility than that with which the watchman for souls is invested. He should recognise himself and should be recognised by his flock as, in an important sense, his brother's keeper. The care of souls rests upon him as an anxiety for which he can have no relief but in their salvation. Yet how has this sacred idea been trifled with in the perfunctory dis- charge or habitual neglect of pastoral duties! True pastors, according to St. Paul, are made overseers of the flock of God by the Holy Ghost. Peter also en- joins the duty of oversight, not bj^ constraint, but will- ingly, and thus teaches that pastoral oversight is not that of a taskmaster lording it over God's heritage, but rather that of the tenderest and most disinterested solicitude for the welfare of each member of the flock. It is the solicitude of the nurse for her charge. " We were gentle among you, even as a nurse cherisheth her children ; so, being affectionatelj^ desirous of you, we were willing to have imparted unto you not the Gospel of God only, but also our own souls, because ye were dear unto us" (1 Thess. ii, 7, 8). The apostolic tender- ness and solicitude rose higher than even that of the nurse, and became parental. "Ye know how we ex- horted and comforted, and charged ever^' one of you as a father doth his children" (1 Thess. ii, 11). Again the same apostle says to the Corinthians, "Mj' beloved sons, I warn you. For though ye have ten thousand instructors in Christ, yet have ye not many fathers: for in Jesus Christ I have begotten you through the (Jospel'' (1 Cor. iv, 14, 15). Paul also enjoins upon Timothy filial respect towards elders in the Church.