The Pulpit Commentary — Hosea — Section 121

II. Tm:nE 1~ A LIKr::-:R~~ rRbnt:c1m BY nECil'ROCAr. INll'LUEl'.\'CE, Tho rclal.iouship between pnstor nnd poople is n very sacred one. It is a union -in whic:11 tile one party tioes not nhsorb the dther; ritther, they tend to become filled with tllo same oommon life, and to be mutually aSllimilatcd in views, sentimeuts 1 and spiti~uR.l tone. \Ve need not stay to speak of, the influence which the priest has upon tho people, For the one di1-ect end of the ministry is to move men to live for God and Christ.. Jt is desicr1icd through the power of the Holy Spirit, to influence the hearts and habits of tho pc"ople: not only upon the Lord's day, but during every hour of their lives. In what remains we shall rather consider the influence :which the people exercise upon the priest, to mould his character Ma man, and to affect ·his efficiency as a pN!tor.: -The text docs 1,nt read, "Like priest, like people," although it is frequently misquoted so.. , It rend8, " Like people, like p1iest; " and thus it invites us to view more especially the influence which the pew has upon the pulpit-an influence which is everywhere present, and which is very subtle and powerful. The priest springs from the people. He enters the ministry with his mind already largely moulded by the intellectual and reli:gious influences which obtain amongst them. He may be expected to reflect in his own charact.er the prevalent spirit in relation to Divine things a.midst which be has been brought up. A long barren period of spiritual indifference will inevitably give to the Church a race of sapless anti-evangelical ministers; but when, on the other hand, there is a general revival of religion, many earnest young men from among .the new converts will be found devoting their lives to the work of spreading the knowledge of sa.lvation, Again, this influence is greatly promoted in connection with the more democratio systems of Church government.. The writer of this homily, as a Presbyterian, may .be allowed to point out that in every free Presbyterian communion the sap of the Church's influence rises from the people through sessions and presbyteries ,to the supreme, court; and so, peculiarly under this system, it is," like people, like priest." 1. Sometimes this influence is for evil. 'fake, e.g., the sin of priestcraft itself. It is the corruption of the people, in the first instance, that makes this sin possible. . Look at the case of the golden ox at Horeb (Exod. xx.xii. 1). Or take that of the golclen calves nt Bethel and Dan. Jeroboam was trading with the spiritnal degradation of the ten tribes when.;he institute.d. his false gods and his false priests._ The malign influence continued down to the time of Hosea, and by-and-by involved the -northern kingdom in destruction. Meanwhile, too, the evil leaven was spreading into the yet surviving monarchy of Judah (Jer. v. 31). And thus is it still Whenever the \:Jlood of religion runs c9ld, and opposition to the doctrines of grace prevails, the Church ·,will .seek• ouh. teaohers arter her own degenerate heart (2 Tim. iv. 3). At such times the congregation, desires to have a tacit understanding with the prophet that he is not to "use grent:plainness of speech" (Isa. xxx. 10). Every true minister has sometimes to contend against the temptation to suppress unpalatable truth. It is little more than a generation since thousands of pulpits in the United States submitted to be muzzled_;regarding the wickedness of negro slavery; and since hundreds of ministers in the Southern States were labouring to prove that slavery was the proper cond,ition of the negro. In our own country, on the other hand, the warning voice of the pulpit in relation_ to the evil of the drinking customs is still a somewhat muffled one compared .with what it has long been in New England. Finally, here, the priest's 'personal. relations to his people are so intimate that their attitude towards him goes largely to affect even the moral tone and fibre of his character. If he submit to be continually petted, the danger is that all manliness will gradually ooze out of.him, and that he will come to expect on u.11 occasions different treatment from other men. But surely ·the Christian ministry ought to be the manliest of ca.lling11. The pastouhould be one of the hardiest of the trees of grace, and not a mere greenhouae plant. •He should desire no allowances to be ma.de for him which a.re not ma.de for men of other callings. The whole Church should take care that it is not her fault if he is not every inch a man. 2. But c,Jten the influence of the peop'le upon the prie,t is good and honourable. A congregatiOll whose conception of the ministry is formed ~ the resa:1t of the devout study of ~h~ N~w 'l'estament, will look and pray for men 10 the pulpit who possess the tongue ot tire, i.e. the power of the Holy Ghost; not the power to compose eloquent paragraphs and perorations, but power to arouse, convert, edify-power under which hearts w1l~ melt, 11nd lives will begin anew. When conversions occ11r, the pastor preaches w1tb. 1111 en, tv. 1-19,] llG