appearing and working salvation for us.—Persecuted, but not forsaken by our God—Cast down we sometimes are as an earthen vessel which may be cast out of man’s hand, in order to be dashed to pieces; but not destroyed—we are still safe in the hands of Christ, and kept by the power of God—and, indeed to what else can all this be ascribed? ’Tis surprising that earthen vessels should bear so much, and not fall or be dashed to pieces; for I think that Ministers have greater trials, greater enemies, greater sins, and of course, greater sorrows, than any other believers. The lamp in the pitcher, may be an emblem of that light which is peculiar to God’s Ministers—not only the common operations of the Spirit upon them, to constitute them believers in Jesus, but the light given them for the use of others—a greater degree of internal knowledge. Hence the exhortation, “Let your light so shine before men, that they may see your good works—Ye are the light of the world.” There is a knowledge essential to them as Ministers, and this is not human learning, though that is not to be despised, but it is the influence of the Spirit upon the mind, giving them to see, clearer than others, the plan of salvation, the depravity of human nature, the exceeding sinfulness of sin, the nature of the law, the glories of the Saviour, the danger of a form of godliness, without the power; the temptation, subtilty, and art of the Devil; the vanity of the world; and the dangerous tendency of all errors. These things ought to be well known by us as Ministers, that we may contend earnestly for the faith once delivered to the saints. What the Lord has taught us, experimentally, that we are to declare—as we have heard, so have we seen—of sin, the law, the Saviour, the world, Satan, and error. Hence the Apostle John says, “that which we have heard, which we have seen, and our hands have handled of the word of life; for the life was manifested, and we have seen it, and bear witness, and shew unto you that eternal life which was with the Father, and was manifested unto us.—That which we have heard and seen declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us.”—This lamp, or light, is manifest by an ability to speak forth what they see and have been taught. It is given them for the use of the Church. Hence the Apostle says, “A measure of the Spirit is given to every man to profit withal;” every Minister of the Gospel, for some purpose in the Church; and it is a sad pity for good men to fall out by the way, seeing God has allotted every man his peculiar work; and one Minister never can do the work of another; yet Satan is always setting brother against brother.—Some are calculated to alarm, some to warn, some to comfort, some to open dark mysteries, some to establish.—Paul was raised up to plant churches, where the Gospel had never been before—Apollos to water, comfort, establish, and build up those who had been planted.