HOMILIES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS. Yers. 1-7.-Ministers as stewards. The idea of the ministry as a Divine institu- tion, set apart as a peculiar calling and charged with an infinite trust, cannot as yet relax its hold on St. Paul's mind. Tenacity of a great truth is not altogether a matter of our ,olition. At first the will has much to do in directing attention to a truth and keeping it fixed; but in no long time, if the man has trained himself to reflect, and, above all, if he is an earnest man, the truth recurs by some process of self-suggestion. After a while, indeed, it happens with many who give themselves to profound investi- gations, that the sub]ect gains a certain mastery over them, so that it costs more effort to dismiss it than was originally needed to concentrate attention. No capacity of the mind is so pliant as the capacity to be absorbed in an object of thought, and it seems independent of idiosyncrasy. Sir Isaac Newton and Sir Walter Scott both refer to the difficulty they had in discharging a topic from their minds if it had enlisted their interest. St. Paul had said much on the office of the ministry, but the theme was by no means exhausted. One aspect, a special one, remained, viz. stewa1'dship. Ministers are "stewards of the mysteries of God;" if so, fidelity is their highest duty, or rather the soul of every duty. If the preacher had to set forth so unpopular a doctrine as Christ crucified, so obnoxious to worldly culture, so alien t.o the civilization of tho age, then this "foolishness of preaching" was a very urgent reason for faithfulness. What need of watchful11ess here! "Who can underntand his errors," and especially these errors? Apostles were "men of like passions" with others; and this very likeness, while fraught with dangers both obvious and occult, made them fit, under God, for their work. The idea of stewardship was familiar to these Corinthians, perhaps keenly so to some of them; for i11 the business of that day much had to be entrusted to agents. Now, the master in such cases cannot give detailed instructions to his stewards, anci hence a good deal must be left to their judgment. 'l'he hazard, let it be observed, is not -011 the side of the understanding; no rare intellectual outfit was requisite in this instance; the one supreme doctrine of Christ crucified had wisdom and power sufficient to impart truth of thou~ht and emotion to all subordinate doctrines. But the danger lay in a want of fidelity. And had not St. Paul evinced this faithfulness while with these Corinthians? Yet, whether they admired or blamed, whether acquitted or condemned, what was that to him? "A very small thing was man's judgment;" nor, forsooth, would he judge himself, but leave all jn<lgment to the Lord Jesus. Spiritual discern- rmmt has its functions; insight is a glorious gift; but the Lord reserves judgment to himself. Tliat jud:~ment awaits its <lay of revelation, when "the hidden things of darkness" all(l the "counsels of the hearts" shall be made manifest. '!'hen, indeed, me11 shall sec themselves as Christ sees them. Here, in this world, even in our most , nlighteued state, consciousness is partial. Much of a man lies far down in unillurninr<l <lc-ptl1,,; foe ~ricrcts cf moti,·es and illlpulses evade his personal cognizance; only in c11. 1v. 1-21.J THE FinST EPISTLE TO THE CORINTHIANS. 14.1
fragments can he. realize himself; how much less can he comprehend others l And, "therefore, ji:dge nolhing before the time." Obviously, then, humility of judgment iH ,wt only an intellectual excellence but a spiritual virtue. It is a Divine discernment of our limitations, a Divine insight into the fact that there is an unconscious man no less than a conscious one in every human being, and that, meantime, fidelity stands free of all restrictions and abatements. Does fidelity look at office'! It docs not sec popularity, honour, preferment, but duty, duty alone, duty ever; and this sense of duty, inspired and directed by the Holy Ghost, educates the man in tact and skill, in ,Ji ligcnce and patience. Does fidelity look at others? It neither exaggerates nor depreciates them, nor can it rc•gard them as rivals, since no man can possibly have a. sense of rivalry who realizes Christ in the most essential fact of work, viz. brotherhood. And consequently, one of the many beautiful provisions of Christianity to secure fidelity is found in the brotherhood of Christians. Does fidelity look into its own heart? Even then infirmity clings to its energetic searching. On its good side it may be too self- exacting, morbid, harshly critical of itself; on its weak side it may be lenient and over-indulgent. And hence St. Pan!, while conscious of knowing nothini: a!?ainst him- self, declares, "Yet am I not hereby justified," and relies solely on the justification of Christ at that great assize, which, among all its wonders, shall surprise men most of all by its divinely revealed estimates of human character. "For your sakes," so he ar!?ues, "I have been thus explicit and emphatic, transferring these things to myself and Apollos," in order that the Corinthians might clearly see his own disinterestedness. This point assured, the way is open for remonstrance. \Vby are ye puffed up? If we are recipients; if Paul and .Aµollos are mere stewards of the Master's riches; if self-judg- ments and judgments of others are impossible to men un<ler the limitations of conscious- ness and observation; if" the counsels of the hearts" keep out of sight and hold their latency intact for the final day; and if, meantime, fidelity to duty is the supreme con- cern and adequate to call out and employ all the spiritual resources of our nature under grace; and, tinally, if you owe :!.ll your means of acting on one another and the world tu the brotherhood of the Church ;-why do ye stand arrayed in sharp hostility agaiust one another and rend asunder the Lord's body ?-L.