III. It may appear strange to occupy a sentence in saying that Ministers of Religion should be Christian men; and yet the dark history of the past makes it necessary to say it. Nay, so necessary is it, that Luther made no over-statement, when he averred that religion is never in such danger as among reverend men. Habituated, as they are, to handle divine things, they are scarcely less habitually in danger of doing so deceitfully. To be called upon professionally to engage in sacred duties at all times and in all states of mind--to be constantly contemplating truth in some of its countless forms for professional uses, without applying it to the heart, and life, and practice of the person contemplating it--to expatiate upon the glories of redemption and the Redeemer, topics on which the most phlegmatic heart may glow, without taking any personal interest in them at all;--these, and countless other dangers, beset the ministers of religion; these account for their frequent falls, and the disgrace which is thereby brought upon the holy name they bear. To urge conversion while we are not converted--to commend the love of Christ when we do not feel it--to preach repentance which we do not practise, and faith which we do not hold--to tell of a Saviour whom we know only by rumour--of a Spirit whom we habitually grieve--of a heaven to which we are not going, and an immortality which is to be only one of woe to us;--to what can all that lead but self-deception of the direst kind--to searedness of conscience--to hearts hardened, and salvation rendered hopeless? Of all dangers, those of an irreligious minister must rank among the greatest. We do not limit the grace of God; but he who has learned to preach about a Redeemer whose power /he/ never felt, about a Prophet who does not teach /him/, about a Priest who does not atone for /him/, about a King who does not rule /him/, seems not far from destruction. At the same time, constant exposure to that danger lessens the sense of it; and consciences which were uneasy at first, gradually settle quietly down, like a ship which has foundered at sea--and all is peaceful, because all is death. Moreover, ministers of religion are not usually exhorted, warned, or unmasked, as other men are; and hence their dangers are enhanced. Professional devotion is apt to be all that they have; and they may thus pass through life with a lie in their right hand. They can at last tamper with truth without compunction or alarm; and the most solemn functions have often furnished materials only for mirth. But it is far from our object to do more than refer to this subject. Let us only observe how insufficient mere professional punctilio is to keep the heart of man, how easily all the withes of formality are snapped when temptation assails. Religion has little to fear from the open enemy; it is the pretended friend, the professed defender, but real assailant, who weakens it. TRUTH ENTHRONED.