474. HEB 13:17. MINISTERS WATCHMEN
Heb_13:17. Ministers Watchmen
"They watch for your souls"’97Heb_13:17
The apostle is referring to the duties which the churches owe to their pastors or rulers, and inculcates upon them obedience and submission, and this he urges from he responsible station which they officially hold. For he says, "They watch for your souls as they that must give an account." The same view of the sacred office is given in the prophecies of Ezekiel. See ch. Eze_33:1-9. Let us then look at the office of the watchman, and see the appropriateness of the figure when applied to the ministerial office. Observe,
I. The Office of Watchman is one of Appointment.
He is chosen and designated to the work by some superior authority. He is not self-appointed, &c. The Christian minister acts under the firm conviction and persuasion, that he is called to his office by God. That he is moved to it by the Holy Ghost, through the call and voice of the church. Those who invade the office through principles of avarice, or ambition, or love of ease, are not Christ’s watchmen, but deceivers, both of themselves and others.
II. The office of Watchman is an office of Trust.
He is called to watch for the security of property, life, &c. To watch against the secret or open enemies of the city where he exercises his office. The inconceivable weighty trust committed to the Christian minister, is the charge of immortal souls. To watch for their instruction, admonition, warning, &c. To secure their best interests. To prevent their ruin by the great enemy. To rescue them from the path of evil. To restore them to the favor and family of God. To bring them to the enjoyment of present salvation, and finally everlasting life. The Christian watchman has two distinct departments of duty. One relating to unconverted sinners, whose conversion is to be the leading object of his efforts, and the other, the preservation of those who have believed, that they may not apostatize from the truth, make shipwreck, &c. What a trust! How vastly beyond all the treasures of earth. How much greater than the mere security even of the present life. The life of the soul. The interests of eternity. How sublime! How momentous! Who is sufficient for these things?
III. It is an Office of Responsibility
The watchman is responsible for the right and faithful discharge of his duties. He is responsible,
1. For his time.
That he truly occupies the sphere appointed. Not absent from his duty, &c. With what propriety this applies to the Christian minister He is ever to stand on the walls of Zion. To be instant in sea son and out of season.
2. For his diligence.
Not only duly, but diligently discharging it. How dreadful is apathy and indolence in the Christian minister.
3. For his vigilance.
The very term includes this. To watch, not sleep, or even doze. Lethargy totally unfits for being watchmen. Whoever sleeps, the Christian watchman must not. For the enemy sleeps not. Every hour is one of peril to souls. Then with unceasing assiduity, he must ever be on his tower, announcing the state of the city, and ready to warn against any enemy or peril.
4. For his fidelity.
Not to compromise the safety of the city. Not to deceive or neglect to warn. But with the utmost conscientiousness, with the fear of God before his eyes, and the love of souls in his heart, he is to act as with the judgment-seat of Christ immediately before him. "As one that must give account." He must be faithful to God. To sinners,’97to saints,’97to his own soul. And faithful to death.
Application
We learn,
1. The solemn character of the ministerial calling. A calling which demands great personal piety, as well as high spiritual gifts and qualifications.
2. The arduous duties of the ministerial office. So arduous as to claim all the faculties of the mind, and all the energies of the body. A work for which an angel’s resources would not be too great or extensive.
3. The great necessity that they should receive Christian sympathy and comfort. How the Christian watchman should be esteemed, and loved. How his hands should be lifted up and his heart encouraged. How his wants should be cheerfully supplied. How unceasing prayer should be presented to God on their behalf. And in this way they may be efficiently aided Their burdens may be lightened, and their anxieties and toil greatly lessened. Consider, 4 The personal responsibility of those over whom they watch. The minister, if faithful, clears his own soul. On every man rests the responsibility of rightly improving and benefiting by the watchman’s labors. "Whosoever heareth the sound of the trumpet, and taketh not warning, if the sword come and take him away, his blood shall be upon his own head," Eze_33:4.
5. Jesus, the great and blessed keeper of Zion, is the model every Christian minister should study and imitate. His zeal, his constancy, his fidelity, his unwearied perseverance, until he had finished all his work. He hath left Christian ministers an example, &c. &c.
Autor: JABEZ BURNS