By John Angell James, 1822
THE PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERSHIP
"The privileges of membership are, in a general sense, to bring Christians,
as such, more closely together, to make them known to each other in that
character, and to bind them by positive engagements to neighborly offices,
godly communion, and brotherly kindness." But to descend to particulars,
these privileges consist in,
I. The participation of the Lord's supper.
That a reception of the appointed memorials of the
Savior's dying love, is indeed a privilege, requires no proof. As creatures,
whose minds are instructed, and whose hearts are impressed through the
medium of our senses, how affecting are the emblems of the body and
blood of Christ! Enough of resemblance may be observed by the imagination,
between the sign and the thing signified, to aid the exercise of the
affections, while enough of simplicity remains to prevent the excursions of
the imagination from interfering with the more sublime and scriptural
operations of our faith.
That sacramental seasons are commonly the most happy and
most profitable which a believer ever spends among the means of grace, is a
fact not to be denied. It is no wonder that it should be so. It is at the
sacred supper that the attention is more powerfully arrested and fixed, and
the heart impressed and affected. It is there, that the scheme of redeeming
mercy seems peculiarly to expand upon the understanding, and to excite the
emotions of the bosom in a degree almost unknown elsewhere. It is there that
the glory of the divine character has been most clearly discovered by our
mind; there, that Jesus has unfolded to us the wonders of his mediation and
there, that the eternal Spirit has descended into our souls, in the most
munificent communications of his sanctifying and consoling influence. How
have our icy hearts there melted beneath the ardor of celestial love, and
flowed down in streams of godly sorrow! How have our groveling, earthly
minds soared, on the wings of faith and hope, until we have lost sight of
earthly scenes and sounds, amid the glory of such as are divine. It is
there, that we have felt ourselves crucified with Christ, and have risen
with him into newness of life. It is there, that brotherly love has glowed
with its most perfect fervor, and the communion of saints has yielded its
most precious delights. Happier hours than those which have been there
spent, we never expect to know in this world. They have left a relish and a
fragrance upon the mind; the remembrance of them is sweet, and the
anticipation of their return is among the brightest hopes we have this side
the veil.
II.
Another privilege
connected with membership is,
the right of assisting in the choice of a pastor, in the election of
deacons, and in the admission and exclusion of members.
It might indeed be said, that in many cases this right is
enjoyed by those who are not church members—be it so—but as it is in
every case enjoyed by those who are members, it may be very
fairly placed in the number of their privileges. That it is also in a
measure enjoyed by all people who, in a town where there are more places of
worship than one, choose the minister whose preaching they will attend, is
also granted—but still there is a great difference between choosing a
minister to occupy a particular station, and merely going to hear him when
chosen by others.
It must surely be accounted no inconsiderable privilege
to have a voice in the election of an individual, on whose ministrations so
much of our own spiritual welfare, and that of our families, depends; nor is
it a light thing to be admitted to a participation of the other business
connected with, and arising from, the history of a church.
III. A church member has the advantage of pastoral
oversight and supplication.
"They watch for your souls," said the apostle to the
ancient Christians, when speaking of their pastors; evidently implying that
it was a great privilege to be the subjects of such inspection. A faithful
friend, that will instruct, warn, comfort, or reprove, as circumstances may
require, is a great treasure; and such a one a Christian will find—or ought
to find—in his minister. In him he has a right to expect a steady, active,
and vigilant guardian of his eternal interests; one who will follow the
individuals of his charge, as far as can be, through all their spiritual
career comforting them when in distress, rousing them when lukewarm,
reproving them when their conduct needs rebuke, lending his ear to their
every distress, and opening his heart to receive their every grief. A
faithful pastor will consider himself as the guide and the shield of the
souls committed to his care; a shepherd to provide for their wants, a
watchman to observe the approach of their dangers. He will visit them in the
afflictions which attend their pilgrimage; will hasten to their bedside when
the sorrows of death encompass them; will disclose to the eye of faith the
visions of immortality, which irradiate the dark valley itself; and will
never cease his solicitude until the portals of heaven have closed upon
their disembodied spirits.
In addition to this, the pastor bears the church in the
arms of his affection, and presents them in his prayers before the throne of
grace. Like the high priest of the Jews, he approaches the mercy seat, not
with the names of the people merely engraved upon his breastplate—but
written upon his heart. Nor does he confine himself to general supplications
for the society in the aggregate; its individual members, in their separate
capacity and peculiar circumstances, are often the subjects of his
intercession before the fountain of life. As he takes a deep interest in
their personal, no less than in their collective capacity, he expresses his
concern by definite and special supplication. Not only are sermons
composed—but prayers presented, which are adapted to the various cases of
his flock. The afflicted, the backsliding, the tempted, the novice, are all
in turn remembered in his holiest moments before God. Nor can any of these
individuals say to which they are most indebted, to his labors in the
pulpit, or to his supplications in the closet; for if "the effectual fervent
prayer of the righteous man avails much," we certainly may believe that the
entreaty of the righteous minister is not less availing.
IV. The watchfulness, sympathy and prayers of the
church, are no inconsiderable privilege of membership.
In what way these duties should be performed, will be
matter of consideration hereafter; and therefore we shall not enter minutely
into the subject now, any farther than to show how great a mercy it is to
enjoy an interest in the affection and the intercession of a Christian
society. We are commanded to exhort one another daily; and amid such
temptations, such weakness, such corruptions as ours—is it not an
unspeakable mercy to be surrounded by those who will watch over and assist
us? With every help, how hard a thing is it to be a consistent Christian!
How difficult to maintain the purity and vigor of true godliness! How often
do our steps slip, and our exertions relax! And sometimes, through the
deceitfulness of the human heart, others may perceive our danger before we
ourselves are aware of its existence. It may often be said of us, as it was
of Israel of old, "Strangers have devoured his strength, yet he knows it
not; grey hairs are here and there upon him, yet he knows it not."
In such cases, none can estimate the value of those
Christian friends, who with faithful love will remind us of our danger, and
affectionately admonish us. How inestimable the privilege of having those
who will tenderly reprove us, and draw us back with the cords of a man and
the bands of love. In the case of our soul's salvation, more than worlds are
at stake; and he who will give himself the trouble to admonish us and exhort
us to diligence, performs a service of infinite value, for which, if we
improve by it, we shall offer him our gratitude in eternity.
And then think of the value of Christian sympathy.
How consolatory it is in our troubles to recollect, that there are those who
are thinking of our situation and pitying our distress! Even when they visit
us not, they are probably talking to each other about us. We have their
affectionate remembrance, their tenderest interest.
Nor are their prayers withheld when they meet in
the temple, or when they retire to the closet. When they join with one
accord in supplication, and when they pray to their Father in secret, they
mention their suffering brother or sister, to Him who loves the church. Ah!
how often has the troubled believer felt it lighten his load, and irradiate
his gloom, as he groaned away the hour when the church was assembled, to
believe that they were thinking of him, and blessing him with their prayers!
It has been as if an angel were dispatched to inform him that supplication
was being made for him, and that therefore he ought to dry up his tears.
Yes, and the sweet remembrance has in some cases made the tears forget to
fall, and the half uttered groan to die away with silent submission. He has
laid down upon his restless couch again, and it seemed as if it had been
smoothed afresh for him by some viewless agent; and so it has, for God has
heard the prayers of the church on his behalf, and has made "all his bed in
his sickness."
* It has been said that the last two particulars are not
the privileges of members exclusively, nor of them as members of a
particular church—but as Christians in general. It is unquestionable,
however, that church members have a prior and a stronger claim upon their
pastors and each other, for these expressions of sympathy, than any others
have; and it has been admitted, even by those who object to the author's
statement, "that churches were originally formed only to secure and promote
the social objects of their union—that is, to bring Christians, as
Christians, more closely together, to make them known to each other in that
character, and to bind them by positive engagements to neighborly offices
and brotherly kindness;" if this be correct, as it unquestionably is, then
certainly church members, as such, have peculiar claims upon their pastors
and each other for neighborly offices and brotherly kindness—and who will
doubt if this be a privilege? One great end of membership, is to found a
peculiar claim for these manifestations not merely of Christian—but of
brotherly love. If there be no peculiarity of claim above what we have upon
each other as Christians, why are we formed into separate churches? It
appears to me, then, that in addition to the obligation which rests upon me
to pray for and watch over my members as Christians, I am bound to take a
special interest in their spiritual affairs as members of the church under
my care. They stand in a relation totally different from that of people not
in communion—and are entitled far beyond the latter to my sympathy, prayer,
and vigilance.