Thomas Murphy

There are certain things which are in danger of impeding the progress of the clergyman in holiness. There are temptations which are peculiar to him and which arise from the nature of his office. His very advantages and means of usefulness sometimes become a snare when they are not properly guarded. Sometimes when he appears to be the strongest he needs to be especially watchful. These dangers should be carefully studied, for they are insidious, and it is only when they are clearly seen that they lose their power. It is well that a few of them, should be here exposed.

1. The minister is in danger of imperceptibly falling into the habit of looking upon spiritual things simply as a profession. It is his business to work for the salvation of souls; he is called to interpret the Bible as a profession; he goes to visit the sick officially; he calls upon men to glorify God because it is his duty to do so; and he gradually falls into all these duties as a mere habit. He is in danger of coming to look upon them simply as a profession, and not as matters involving everlasting interests. If he is not careful he will soon find himself performing them in a merely perfunctory manner. The great interests which he handles become so familiar that they may excite within him scarcely any feeling. This tendency is seen in all the professions. And there is great cause for the minister to be alarmed lest it comes to be with him that he has no heart in a work which is most solemn in its issues. How careful should he be lest in dealing so constantly with other souls he should come to neglect his own!

2. The pastor must be watchful, or soon he will find that all his studying of the Bible is intended for others. The word of God is the great instrument with which he is to work, and in that light simply he will soon find himself regarding it and making it familiar. How to make it plain to others and how to interest them in it may soon become the ever-present question with him. And so much absorbed does he become with this that he does not search it for the blessings with which it might enrich his own soul. Bishop Simpson has well portrayed this danger: “The very word of God that the minister studies may do him less good than it does the non-professional reader. Why is this? I take my Bible; my heart is sad and I seek some precious promise. I bend over the page; my heart leans for a moment on that precious passage: Let not your heart be troubled; ye believe in God; believe also in me. In my Father’s house are many mansions; if it were not so I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you, and if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you unto myself, and just as the heart is beginning to grasp the sweetness and the fitness of the passage there springs up the thought, That will be a fine passage to unfold to my congregation, and ere I am aware I am preparing a sermon for my people, instead of resting my soul upon the riches of the promise.” Many a minister while feeding others has thus starved himself.

3. Because he holds the ministerial office and has devoted his life to divine things, the pastor is liable to take it for granted that all is well with his own soul, without giving that question the constant attention which its awful importance demands. He has a sort of habitual impression that that question is of course settled, and so he may hardly ever think of his own spiritual state. It is not a matter of pressing daily duty with him to make his calling and election sure. His incessant ministering to other makes the impression of his personal safety the more settled, and thus he comes to neglect his own salvation; at least there is very great danger that he will so neglect it. This was not the way with the great apostle, though he had so many evidences of his acceptance. His anxious course he thus describes: “But I keep under my body, and bring it into subjection, lest that by any means, when I have preached to others, I myself should be a castaway.” The great danger here is that if the minister should be self-deceived he might go on and on and never awake to the realization of his deplorable condition.

4. There are special temptations to which, from its peculiar nature, the ministerial office is exposed. It is a sacred office, and that very thing draws after it certain dangers that should be candidly admitted. Very often the peril of the pastor is to be unfaithful in delivering the whole counsel of God for fear of awakening the enmity of his hearers. Envy of others who are supposed to have a superior place or success is a strong temptation in the way of many. Some are liable to be led away by spiritual pride, and then to become impatient of opposition, and even to show a domineering spirit that is most offensive. Even the great confidence reposed in the minister, and the love with which he is cherished, give promise of an impunity in yielding that makes certain temptations far more formidable.

Slothfulness is one of the besetting sins of this office, and that because of the habits of seclusion and the possibility of postponing duties, and because there is very often no other pressing impulse than the voice of conscience. These are some of the peculiar dangers to which the minister is exposed, and they should be very carefully studied, especially in the light of their enormity when yielded to by him who is an ambassador of Jesus Christ.

5. The pastor has no counselor whom he ordinarily likes to consult about his own soul. Other persons have their spiritual guide, and they may be greatly benefited by unburdening their hearts to him and seeking his advice in their inward struggles. But he has no one, in fact, who stands related to him as a friend and adviser in sacred things. It is not supposed that he needs such assistance. There is a sort of impression that his attainments in divine things are, or ought to be, so high that it would be an unworthy exposure for him to condescend to seek the aid of others. And so, neither asking nor being offered the assistance of any earthly minister, his sins may remain covered, his spiritual sores fester, and if great grace is not granted him he may become hard and insensible and slide very far from the spirit he should possess and manifest.