Bates, Joshua. A Sermon, preached, Feb. 26, 1817, at the Ordination of the Rev. Rufus Hurlbut, to the Pastoral Office in the Church at Sudbury. Dedham: Abel D. Alleyne, Printer, 1817. First Edition. [11619]
Newly strung with linen thread, no wrapper, 9 x 5 1/2 inches, 46 pages, some edges tattered, stains. Poor. Pamphlet.
The text is Ephesians 4:11-12, "And he gave some apostles, and some prophets, and some evangelists, and some pastors and teachers; for the perfecting of the saints for the work of the ministry - for the edifying of the body of Christ."
The sermon has two basic divisions: I. A description of the offices mentioned in the text, with emphasis on the importance of the Christian ministry; and II. The qualifications for the ministerial office.
Joshua Bates (1776-1854), “an eminent Congregational minister” from Massachusetts. Bates graduated at Harvard College, served as a teacher in the Andover Phillips Academy, afterward ordained the pastor of the Church at Dedham, Massachusetts. In 1818 he became president of Middlebury College, and was chosen chaplain to the U. S. Congress.
