Excerpt from An Address to Candidates for the Ministry, on the Importance of Aiming at Eminent Piety in Making Their Preparation for the Sacred Office Desire any religious conversation - that the most godly Minister be brought them. In our Church, the passes sion of true'religion has been considered a matter of so much importance in the ministry, that she permits mi candidate to be taken on trial by any Presbytery, until, by a free and full conversation on experimental religion, he satisfies them that he has more than the name or form of godliness; and that he has, as far as human judgment can determine, experienced in his own soul, that blessed change, which is called the new birth. And it is a matter of vital interest to the prosperity of the Church, that this salutary provision of our fathers be not suffered to degenerate into a mere formality. If the time should come - which may God avert l - When vital piety shall not be deemed an essential. Pre-requisite to'an entrance on the sacred office, Ichabod may be written on our Church, for the glory will have departed from her. Whether, now, this duty is performed by Presbyteries, With, as much fidelity as its importance demands, I shall not take it upon me to determine; but it cannot be amiss to submit it to their consideration, in the form of an inquiry. In some Presbyteries, the salutary practice of conversing freely and frequently with candidates dur of'fieir continuance on trial, has been in. About the Publisher Forgotten Books publishes hundreds of thousands of rare and classic books. Find more at www.forgottenbooks.com This book is a reproduction of an important historical work. Forgotten Books uses state-of-the-art technology to digitally reconstruct the work, preserving the original format whilst repairing imperfections present in the aged copy. In rare cases, an imperfection in the original, such as a blemish or missing page, may be replicated in our edition. We do, however, repair the vast majority of imperfections successfully; any imperfections that remain are intentionally left to preserve the state of such historical works.