Grateful recollections; An address to the church assembling in Carr's Lane, Birmingham, on completing the fortieth year of his pastorate - Softcover

This historic book may have numerous typos and missing text. Purchasers can download a free scanned copy of the original book (without typos) from the publisher. Not indexed. Not illustrated. 1845 edition. Excerpt: ... 8oft tones, and mild looks of complaint, have made me sigh, and exclaim, " Oh that I could be a better pastor, for I have a flock who deserve it I" One thing, however, I believe, reconciles you, my friends, to this too short measure of pastoral attention; and that is, you know the time taken from you is not given to idleness. Very few of my hours are given to literary gratification, social enjoyment, or fireside pleasures. With respect to the latter, indeed, a wise but mysterious Providence has put out the light of my tabernacle, and left me but little of the spell of home: my sources of enjoyment are almost exclusively confined to my labours as a servant of Christ and his church. How much we owe to God for a continuance of our harmony and peace, we all know, but cannot express. I freely admit that from the very nature of our church polity, which contains so large a share of the popular element, our churches are exposed from time to time to some disturbance of their tranquillity: but then we dare not abandon what we consider to be a scriptural system, on account of any incidental evils arising out of the imperfections of human nature, with which its working may occasionally happen to be associated. It is to me a striking corroboration of the correctness of our ecclesiastical principles, that we find the same evils fermenting in the primitive churches while under apostolic superintendence, as exist among ourselves: a fact notoriously evident in the inspired epistles. When, therefore, we consider the ever recurring circumstances which may become occasions of strife, the imperfect sanctification of every member of the church, and that in each heart enough of human corruption still remains to be a soil for the root of bitterness to grow in, it will...