In the operations of Moody and Sankey, as also others that have
conceived virtually the same idea, and their surroundings, we have some
lessons of much importance. To some of these we now invite attention:
In all the principal parties there are some clerical pretensions.
They nearly all have some kind of clerical standard, that a man must
pass, to enter into holy orders at all. They have some kind of regular
process through which a man must pass, to be an authorized minister,
or to be permitted to minister in holy things at all, or to make
ordinances valid administered by his hands, or to give him official
grace and functions. But here come Moody and Sankey, Whittle and Bliss,
or Hammond, without ever having been tried by the _clerical standard_,
or ever having passed through the regular process to holy orders, and
never made clergymen at all, preaching and exercising ministerial
functions. All sorts of clergymen are rallying to them, recognizing and
indorsing their work! What becomes of clerical pretensions in all this?
Clergymen of all sorts recognizing and indorsing _laymen preaching_,
and laymen exercising all the functions of the ministry, who have never
been measured by the ministerial standard, and never have been made
clergymen. In this they are conceding that their clerical pretensions
and claims are empty—that there is nothing in them, that men that
have never been measured by the standard, nor made clergymen at all,
have as good a right to preach and minister in holy things as they.
In this they concede that the clerical cloak is nothing, and that men
can and may rightfully preach the word of God, without having it on.
The people ought to lay hold of this concession, read the Scriptures,
learn them and teach others, and thus go on till they fill the earth
with the knowledge of God. No man need wait to have clerical hands laid
on him to authorize to preach Jesus, or teach the saints in the way of
righteousness. To know the gospel and the teaching of Christ, and be
able to preach Christ and teach saints the way to heaven, prepares any
man to preach and teach. To appear in a proper manner and exercise a
good influence in preaching and teaching, a man must be a christian,
and have a good life as such, a life of piety and devotion,
corresponding to the preaching and teaching. But a man is in no shape
to appear before the world as a preacher of Christ, and a teacher in
the kingdom of God, who has no standing in the church of God, where his
home is, and a good recommendation to satisfy those abroad that his
standing is good at home.