e so stupendous, that it is not every member of the Church who is
fitted for this responsible work. We ought to study adaptation in the
selection and ordination of ruling them.

Every time I looked in the face of Elder Knowles, I was deeply
impressed with the thought that no blunder had been committed when he
was chosen and set apart in this line of Apostolic toil. For he was a
good soldier of Jesus Christ.

He knew full well how to rule his own spirit, and he that can do that
is more mighty than he who taketh a city. Self must be slain by the
sword of the spirit, if we would lead the army of the Lord on to
victory. Hence the solemn injunction of Paul: "I charge thee before
God, and the elect angels, that thou observe these things without
preferring one before another, doing nothing by partiality.... Lay
hands suddenly on no man" (1 Timothy, v. 21-22).

We commend, for attentive perusal and prayerful reflection, the
qualification of an elder, as laid down by Paul, and elaborated by the
holy McCheyne, strictly germane to the life of Elder James Knowles.

They are fundamental requisites. The good McCheyne, of St. Peter's,
Dundee, says: "I feel, brethren, that a minister alone is incapable of
ruling the House of God well. If a minister is to thrive in his own
soul, _he must be half of his time on his knees_; and therefore, if
Christ's house is to be ruled well, there must not only be pastors, but
there must be ruling elders."

"The first qualification is grace. Grace in the heart. If it be a
qualification in a church member that he should have grace, then much
more ought it to be a qualification in one who rules the Church of God.
How is it possible for him to admit any to the Lord's table, when he is
but a judge himself?" How is it possible to excommunicate, when he
ought to be excommunicated himself? So, brethren, a graceless elder is
a curse instead of a blessing.

We can safely say our dear departed elder had grace. This was
remarkably developed in his Christian character. Patience found a
permanent home in his heart. It occupied a significantly prominent
place there, and was strenuously cultivated. It was copied and
commented upon by all who knew him, and uniformly evoked universal
favor and approval by the various ministers and sessions of the
different Presbyterian churches in this city, in which he was an elder.

He had many trials, and we think he could say with Paul, in his letter
to the Church at Rome: "