rejoice0. They point to such persons as " seals of their ministi-yd," and as attestations from God, that the word deli- vered by them is His word. It is said of women, that, when once they behold the fruit of their travail, they " forget, as it were, all their pangs, for joy that a man-child is born into the world." And thus it certainly is with those who minister in holy things. Much they have to endure in the prosecution of their great object: but when they see sons and daughters born to God, they account their labours richly recompensed ; and, for the attainment of such a blessing " they count not even their lives dear unto them."]
4. As pledges of his own eternal felicity —
[There is, it is true, no merit in converting sinners unto God, seeing that the whole work is God's alone. " Whoever plant or water, it is God alone who gives the increase." But it is nevertheless true, that " they who turn many to right- eousness shall shine as the stars for ever and evere." It is not indeed in proportion to every man's success, that a recom- pence will be bestowed : but according to every man's labour it will f. And O! what a blessed period will that be, when the faithful minister shall present his converts before the throne of God, saying, " Here am I, and the children thou hast given me ! " Not even in the presence of the Lord Jesus Christ himself will he forget those with whom, as St. Paul expresses it, he once travailed in birth : " there will they be his joy and crown of rejoicing:" there will they be, as it were, jewels in his crown. Every fresh accession to the Church thus enhances the minister's joy : and in the prospect of this, " he joys according to the joy in harvest, and as men rejoice when they divide the spoil g."]
But since it is not over all that a minister can re- joice, we proceed to shew,
II. Who they are whom he can truly recognize under this character —
In the first ages, when every one was exposed to so much peril on account of his Christian profession, there was reason to hope that all were sincere : and therefore the Apostle could say to the whole Phi- lippian Church, " It is meet for me to think thus of you all." But Christianity- is professed now under far other circumstances : and the great mass of those
c Ezek. xxxvii. 9, 10. d 1 Cor. ix. 2. c Dan. xii. .'3.
f 1 Cor. iv. 8. s Isai. ix. 3.