he terrors of the law,
because he was then quailing beneath them himself; how for the next
two years he discoursed chiefly on Christ in his offices, because he
was then enjoying the comfort of these doctrines; and how, for a third
couple of years, the mystery of union to Christ was the centre both of
his preaching and his experience; and so on. That appears to me the
very model of a true ministry--to be always preaching the truth one is
experiencing oneself at the time, and so giving it out fresh, like a
discovery just made; while at the same time the centre of gravity, so
to speak, of one's doctrine is constantly in motion, passing from one
section of the sphere of evangelical truth to another, till it has in
succession passed through them all.

III. _Take heed to them that hear you._--I almost envy you the new joy
that will fill your heart soon, when you fairly get connected with
your congregation. The first love of a minister for his own flock is
as original and peculiar a blossom of the heart as any other that
could be named. And the bond that unites him to those whom he has been
the means of converting or raising to higher levels of life is one of
the tenderest in existence.

You have come to a hearty people, who will be quite disposed to put a
good construction on all you do. This is a busy community, that
appreciates a man who works hard. If you do your work faithfully and
preach with the heart and the head, they will come to hear you. It is
wonderful how lenient those who hear us are. You will wonder, I
daresay, some Sabbaths, that they sit to hear you at all, or that,
having heard you, they ever come back again. But, if a man is really
true, he is not condemned for a single poor sermon. Honesty and
thorough work and good thinking are not so easily found in the world
that a man who generally exhibits them can be neglected. If we fail,
it must surely generally be our own fault.

The more we put ourselves on a level with the people the better. We
stoop to conquer. It is better to feel that we belong to the
congregation than that it belongs to us. I like to think of the
minister as only one of the congregation set apart by the rest for a
particular purpose. A congregation is a number of people associated
for their moral and spiritual improvement. And they say to one of
their number, Look, brother, we are busy with our daily toils and
confused with domestic and worldly cares; we live in confusion and
darkness;