XXXVII. Pump-Logs.

They are used for conveying water from the fountain to the inhabitants in the valleys below. Should they become decayed—rotten, the water must of necessity be greatly injured, if not entirely spoiled. Frequently whole communities have been made sick, and in some cases many have died in consequence of using poisoned water. Every minister of the gospel is a drawer of water to his congregation. But if ministers become rotten by coming in contact with foreign substances—such as jesting, filthy conversation, mingling in the society of the worldly minded, in parties of pleasure, joining hand in hand with secret oath-bound societies, doing all for policy’s sake, preaching a gospel to please ungodly professors of the religion of Jesus Christ, or catering to the lusts and passions of the professedly unregenerate, wearing gold, sneering at those who profess to live without sin, treating lightly, or wholly ignoring the doctrine of being made holy in this life—they must be indeed rotten pump-logs. God expects that every minister, in his ministrations to the people, will convey the water of life pure. “Be ye holy,” is the great command; and through the foolishness of preaching God intends to save them that believe. “Be ye clean that bear the vessels of the Lord.”