Romans 12:6

As if our apostle had said, "Seeing it has pleased God to appoint distinct officers in his church, and to furnish those officers with various degrees of gifts, and not to make all equal either in gifts or office, let every one in general faithfully execute his office, and keep within the limits of his calling, neither neglecting his own duty, nor invading another's; in particular let him that prophesieth, that is, expoundeth the scriptures in the church, do it according to the proportion of faith, or according to what is taught plainly and uniformly in the whole scriptures of the Old and New Testament, as the rule of our faith."

We must not rack nor wrest the scriptures, to make them speak what we please, but what the prophets and the apostles taught, whom we interpret; otherwise we do not expound according to the analogy and proportion of faith.

"Let him that ministereth, teacheth, or exhorteth, and attend upon that work with all diligence; and he that performs the office of. deacon, (who are called helps, 1 Corinthians 12:28) and is employed to relieve the poor out of the church's stock, and to care of strangers, orphans, aged, sick, and impotent persons; let him so it with simplicity, that is, without partiality and respect of persons; and with cheerfulness, that is, with alacrity of heart, with gentleness in words, with pleasantness of countenance, bearing with the infirmities of the aged, with the loathsomeness of the sick and diseased, and administering with delight to the necessities of all that want."

Now from the whole note, 1. That God of his free bounty has beautified his church with divers officers and gifts.

Note, 2. That those whom God has bestowed ministerial gifts upon, ought humbly and faithfully to improve them to the church's benefit and edification.