Kerr Bain's pen-and-ink portrait of Sincere in his
_People of the Pilgrimage_ is even better than Bennett's excellent
drawing. 'Sincere is softer in outline and feature than Watchful. His
eye is full-open and lucid, with a face of mingled expressiveness and
strength--a lovable, lowly, pure-spirited man--candid, considerate,
willing, cheerful--not speaking many words, and never any but true
words.' Happy sheep that have such a shepherd! Happy people! if only
any people in the Church of Christ could have such a pastor.
It is surely too late, too late or too early, to begin to put tests to a
minister's sincerity after he has been licensed and called and is now
standing in the presence of his presbytery and surrounded with his
congregation. It is a tremendous enough question to put to any man at
any time: 'Are not zeal for the honour of God, love to Jesus Christ, and
desire of saving souls your great motives and chief inducement to enter
into the function of the holy ministry?' A man who does not understand
what it is you are saying to him will just make the same bow to these
awful words that he makes to all your other conventional questions.
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