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SERMON XXV.

The Office and Work of a Christian Bishop.*

BY REV. P. P. SANDFORD,

OF THE NEW-YORK CONFERENCE.

"Remember them which have the rule over you, who have spoken unto you the word of God; whose faith follow, considering the end of their conversation; Jesus Christ, the same yesterday, and to-day, and for ever."-Heb. xiii, 7, 8.

"Who had the rule over you." Wesley and Coke.

"Who have been your spiritual guides." Dr. Heylin. These learned critics, with Theodoret, Dr. M'Knight, and Dr. A. Clarke, all agree in applying the text to deceased Christian ministers.

My beloved friends, we are called together this evening to pay a tribute of respect to one of our distinguished spiritual guides-one of our fathers in Israel, who for several years past has gone in and out before the whole church-the venerated Robert R. Roberts; for some time the senior bishop of the Methodist Episcopal Church. By the request of my brethren in the ministry in this city, it has devolved upon me, on the present occasion, to attempt some improvement of the mournful event which has removed him from our society, and numbered him among the silent dead. Under these circumstances I cannot but deeply regret the want of information concerning the history of the bishop's life, especially of his early life, and the circumstances attendant on his death; as no documents are in my possession relating to him, except the Minutes of Annual Conferences, and a brief notice of his death communicated through the medium of the Western Christian Advocate, published at Cincinnati, Ohio. Were I ever so competent, therefore, to do justice to my subject when in possession of the necessary information, I must necessarily fail to do so under the present circumstances. Still, we may receive instruction from the event itself; as every instance of human mortality is calculated to teach us that

* A funeral discourse delivered on the occasion of the death of Bishop Roberts, in the Bedford-street M. E. church, New-York city, in the month of April, 1843.

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we too are mortal-that life is held by us upon a very precarious tenure; and that, therefore, it is our only true wisdom to prepare for death, and our eternal state. "Our fathers, where are they? And the prophets, do they live for ever?" No, brethren,

"The tall, the wise, the reverend head,

Must lie as low as ours."

This leader in our Israel, this ruler of the church, this guide of our souls, is gone down to the house appointed for all the living. We shall hear his voice of authority and instruction no more. No more will he stand at the head of our spiritual army, or lead the soldiers of the cross of Christ to battle, to war, and to conquest, over our spiritual enemies.

But I must recall your attention to the text. From the remarks already made, it will be seen, that, in the opinion of several of the wisest, most learned, and best of men, the text refers to our deceased spiritual guides or pastors; and, therefore, as our deceased bishop was a general pastor over the whole of our branch of the Christian church, the subject may be legitimately applied to him, and to those who, like him, have sustained this important relation to our spiritual Zion. In this view, therefore, I purpose to consider it in the present discourse.

I. THE OFFICE AND WORK OF A CHRISTIAN BISHOP. 1. The office of a bishop, in its essential character, is that of a Christian minister. A Christian minister should be acquainted with experimental religion; as nothing short of an experience of the grace of God, in Christ Jesus, can qualify a man to instruct and guide his fellow-creatures in the way of eternal life. But this experimental knowledge of God, however important it may be, is not of itself sufficient to authorize any man to assume this office; neither will human learning, however extensive; nor human eloquence, however great; nor any authority derived merely from man, confer the right to exercise the functions of this sacred office. No man can legitimately assume this office unless he be expressly commissioned from on high. It is the exclusive prerogative of the great Head of the church himself to make a Christian minister. This doetrine is recognized by all those churches which have any

legitimate claim to be considered evangelical, or true churches of Christ, as is evident from the fact, that they all require their candidates for the sacred office to profess their firm persuasion that they are "moved by the Holy Ghost to take upon themselves this office and ministry." The church cannot make ministers for itself; neither can the ministers or bishops of the church, of any order, confer the necessary authority. All that the church, its ministers, and bishops, can do in the premises, is, to give their attestation to the fact, that the person professing to be called of God to the office of the Christian ministry is truly called of God to this office. And it is agreeable both to reason and Scripture, that all persons assuming that they are thus called of God, should give such evidence of the validity of their call to the church and its ministry, as to obtain their testimony in their favor; and also that the church and ministers with whom any person wishes to be associated in the discharge of the duties of this sacred office, in presenting their testimony in his favor, should give sufficient public attestation to this conviction, to render him a duly accredited minister of the gospel. Hence, in the apostolic, and every succeeding age of the church, this has been done by the laying on of the hands of persons who were themselves duly accredited ministers of Christ. Strictly speaking, there are but two orders of the Christian ministry; namely, deacons and elders; the latter only being invested with the full powers of the Christian ministry. The pastoral authority, in any branch of the Christian church, exists in the body of presbyters or elders. But, nevertheless, the body of elders may, when they find it expedient so to do, for prudential reasons, elevate one or more of their number to the office of a general pastor, or superintendent, over the whole body, both lay and clerical, and invest such elevated persons with supreme jurisdiction over the individual members and ministers of the church, including the exclusive right of ordination, for the time being, but holding them accountable to the whole body of elders for the due performance of their official duties, and for their ministerial and Christian conduct. The persons thus elevated are emphatically the superintendents or bishops of the whole of that Christian community. Now, as it is the duty of the church to "obey them

that have the spiritual rule over them," that is, their ministers who hold the relation of pastors to them; so it is the duty of the ministers and members of the church to obey, or submit themselves to the legitimate spiritual control of these general pastors or bishops, while they keep within the limits of their delegated authority.

On the principle stated above the Methodist Episcopal Church is founded; and from this source the authority of the bishops of this church is derived. Here, therefore, we may learn the nature of the episcopal office, as it exists among ourselves. Now, however it may be with those churches whose ministers are settled among the people of a single congregation for a course of years, or during life, no church whose ministry is generally itinerant could dispense with such an episcopacy in fact, though they may not have it in form: and, in our estimation, an itinerant ministry, or a ministry which is missionary in its character, is essential to the healthful condition of the Christian church, and the extension of pure Christianity in the world. Our brethren of the Wesleyan Church in Europe, though they have not an episcopacy in form, have one in fact, and ever have had it among them, in as efficient operation as we have in this country. Hence, our venerable brother, Rev. Robert Newton, when in this country, observed in the presence of our General Conference, “Our president never dies.” Their president is elected by the conference annually, and continues in office till another is chosen to succeed him; and during his term of office is, in fact, an efficient bishop of their church, possessing as much, and, in some respects, even more, authority than our bishops

2. Their work.

The office of a bishop in the Methodist Episcopal Church is no sinecure. Our bishops are not lords or masters over the church; they are its servants; they possess no legislative authority; no power to make or veto the rules by which either the church or themselves are governed. All the power they have, in this respect, consists in presiding the General Conference, and recommending to that dr such measures as ther desire them to take into coneration. Their authority, as bishops, is exclusively ecutive and judiciary; in addition to which their powers

as Christian ministers are the same as those of their brethren in the ministry. The faithful discharge of their episcopal and ministerial duties renders it necessary that they be emphatically working men.

Respecting their duties it may be remarked, that they are required to perform all the duties of the Christian life in common with other Christians; all the duties of the Christian ministry in common with other ministers; and, in addition, to perform the peculiar duties of their episcopal office.

The word of God is the paramount rule by which all their principles and conduct, in all these relations, is to be regulated. As Methodists, the rule of Christian faith and duty, drawn from the word of God, and imbodied in the Articles of Religion and in the rules of discipline of the Methodist Episcopal Church, must govern their faith and practice. As Methodist ministers, they must take the word of God as explained in our Articles of Religion and our standard writings, and the various rules of discipline respecting the duties of Christians and Christian ministers, as their rule of faith, of practice, of instruction, and of administration; and then they must discharge the peculiar duties of the episcopal office in the manner prescribed in the Discipline in addition. These rules require them to travel at large through the whole connection-to take the oversight of the entire community-to see that every part of the work, as far as practicable, is duly supplied with suitable, efficient pastors-and that the word, sacraments, and discipline, are duly administered to the people of our charge. It is the duty of these bishops, with the aid of such counsel as they may obtain, and that with the strictest impartiality, to appoint, from year to year, all the itinerant ministers and preachers of the church to their several fields of labor: to see that they are faithful in dispensing the word of God, and the sacraments and discipline of the gospel, in their several charges: to guard against the introduction of erroneous doctrine, indulgence in sinful practices, or neglect of duty in the pastors themselves or their people; and, at the same time, to prevent the tyrannical exercise of the power vested in the pastors as Christian ministers, or in the people, to oppress or injure their pastors.