334 LECTURES AND ESSAYS [1874- 



expressing the mind of Christ Himself, and so appealing 

 directly even to uneducated faith, does carry with it the 

 hearty sympathy of the faith of the whole Church. 



Thus our principle assumes the practical shape that no 

 Church act, whether of policy, discipline, or worship, can 

 be rightly conducted except on the basis of a sound 

 theology, and with such an application of theological 

 principles as shall appeal to personal faith. The applica 

 tion of this rule demands a combination in the govern 

 ment of the Church of theological attainments with 

 practical tact and sympathy with the untheological 

 Christian, which is very fitly acknowledged in our 

 Presbyterian system of Church Courts. But it is to be 

 observed that Presbyterianism distinctly provides what 

 there is now some inclination to forget, that no exercise 

 of Church power shall take place, and no ordinance be 

 administered, except under the presidency or with the 

 active participation of men theologically trained. That 

 is, the Presbyterian theory is strictly in accordance with 

 the result of our argument, and is violated when a man 

 who has not been duly recognised as adequately instructed 

 in the theology of the Church takes upon him any such 

 independent and individual piece of administration as 

 the conducting of an ordinary diet of worship. The 

 equality of the elder with the minister in acts of rule does 

 not, in the sense of Presbyterianism, imply indifference to 

 the position that every Church act must be theologically 

 directed, but is the practical expression of the principle 

 that theological knowledge is not rightly applied to 

 practical questions, when it is not so applied as to carry 

 the conviction of God-fearing and right-minded men who 

 are not theologians. 



Thus every candidate for the ministry who contem 

 plates a sphere of life in which he shall be called to 

 administer Church ordinances, to supply general principles 

 of Christian knowledge for the whole internal administra 

 tion of a congregation, and at the same time to take an 



