And when at Ordination the white-robed priests and deacons of our Church pass up to kneel before the Bishop, the Holy Ghost is there. And, lastly, at the bedside of the dying Christian, while weeping friends stand round, the Holy Ghost is there. He is above all things _the Comforter_, and He loves to comfort those that mourn. With His gracious influence He cheers the dying spirit, pointing away from earthly things and earthly dwellings to a "Paradise of God," where "there is no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying," and where "the former things," that is the things of earth, "are passed away, and all things have become new." *GOD’S MINISTERS.* "Lord, pour Thy Spirit from on high, And Thine ordained servants bless; Graces and gifts to each supply, And clothe Thy Priests with righteousness. So, when their work is finished here They may in hope their charge resign, So, when their Master shall appear They may with crowns of glory shine." _James Montgomery._ What is a Minister? The word "_Minister_" means "_a Servant_"--and the ministers of God are God’s servants. Now, of course every Christian man and woman is a servant of God. But ministers are men who are specially set apart, by His Holy Spirit, for their high and holy work. Just as in the days of the Apostles, the Holy Spirit told the Church to separate Barnabas and Saul for the work of the ministry, so now the principal question in the Ordination Service is that of the Bishop, who asks the candidate--"Do you trust that you are _inwardly moved by the Holy Ghost_, to take upon you this office?" And that is only another way of asking--"Do you think you have really received a call from the Holy Spirit?" There is no work on earth so noble as the minister’s work--the work of taking care of souls. Just as a doctor cures the body, by giving proper medicine to the patient at the right moment, so it is the duty and privilege of the Christian minister to give the right medicine to the soul. Now if you will take your Prayer Book, and turn to the Service for the Ordering of Priests, you will find that the first words spoken by the Bishop to the Archdeacon, who presents the candidates, are these, "Take heed that the persons, whom ye present unto us, be apt and meet" (that is to say, well fitted) "for their learning and godly conversation to exercise their ministry." So you see that two things are required of those who come up for ordination,--1. that they should be well-instructed; 2. that they should be godly men.