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L(?s diagrammes suivants illustrent la mdthode. 32 X 1 2 3 4 5 6 ■^--=-^^ A P P K ]\ I) I X TO 'frijjturc an^ Crabition. A REVLY TO MK. MATUEIN'S LETTER ON " Hie eiiiih]^ of ii)e eiuiioiic eimiYij;' By J M. CRAMP, D.D. P///Cfe' .S7A' P/?.YC/;. a ■■/•:■ APPENDIX TO v''V. ♦ ^culture m)i €xnMa\i A REPLY TO MR. MATURIN'S LETTER on " Itjc e\^^^ of ii|e e^iijollc 61]i|i^cl|." By J. M. CEAMP, D.D. HALIFAX. N. S. I»RINTED AT THE "CHRISTIAN xMESSENGER" OFFICE. 1859. '91 SI tl it ki t^ in hi ill 111 a1 h tl fl( w it fii 1 m APPENDIX. (No. 1.) WAS PETER BISHOP OF ROME? The first thought that strikes an inquirer is tlic absolute silence of Scripture. If it were true, as Romanists affirm, that Peter was constituted head of the whole Church on earth, it was of the utmost importance that all the Churches should know it, and should know it from the very first. Rut here ie the startling fact, that though all the books of the New Testa- ment were written after the Apostle's supposed entrance on his office, and even after his becoming bishop of Rome (accord- ing to the theory), there is not the slightest reference to the matter iu the inspired volume. This is altogether unaccount- able. The early fathers, as has been already observed, were entire- ly ignorant ^ Peter's presidency over the Roman Church. No mention is made of it in any authentic writing previous to the time of Justin Martyr. Papias, bishop of Hierapolis, who flourished in the early part of the scv^ond century, is cited as a witness ; but the sum of his testimony is merely this, (if indeed it be his at all, which is (juite doubtful), that Peter wrote his first epistle from " Babylon," which, he says, figuratively means "Rome." No reliance can be placed on that fancy.* Then we come to Dionysius of Corinth (died about A. D. 178), who, in a letter addressed to the Church of Rome, frag- ments of which have been preserved by Eusebius, says of i * Euseb. Hist, ii 15. 41 4 SCRIPTURE AND TRADinoW. f .^ ai.o t etxr^ r^^';'rr '"' ^^'^^-'^ ^ maimer i,Kstruc.tedvor«uff^^ / ' "''^' '^"^ '" ^''^o Thi. V''' ''""' '"^* "^ Corinth to Italv \Vi . , ""' """''''' ^^""t <'om ierod hi ' iuj ': ;V'"'^r '"'' ^^"^ 1^— '"'l -f. t=ikcn thee a 1' '"T"'^' ^''^^ ^^^'^ place when he wa« mtie as a prisoner in the veur fil u: , . the., though h./;rt„;tr, ■'°' i"*" *'"'""""'"= found.,. „nhe Chu r M.t """Ti'^) '« <"■» "f the was the first bilr a„i^^' """°™'^ ''«"'"•» *•■" £»" "' "' ""S™ **»"«■ towards the end of his life, or u •Eusob Hi.,, il. 25. tO« BaplisBo, . 4 . D, §Eugeb. ut. sup, iii. 'I Prcesc ript, e 36. |Euseb, Joctriiic ; WAS PKTKll ltI.-»ItOP OK ItOMK ? 6 just, l)i.f..ro his martyrdom * the story of his hishopiic Is nl- to;,'.'th«r ticlitious. \int\r hiMvas not hishop of 15(ini(<, the ecclosiastlciil fabric falls to j.iecos, for the papal suprcmucy rests on the assumption that the occupants of the Jlonian see are Peter's Huccessors. A few words on that subject may be added. That the supremacy was unknown in the early ages may be easily proved. The bishop of Home was treated as bishop of the Church in the city of Ron.e. Nothing was known for a long time of any more extensive jurisdiction. Ignatiu.*, bishop of Antioch was put to death at Eomc in the roign of Trajan. On his journey from Antioch he wrote a letter to the Roman Church. It is not a little singular that neither in that letter nor in the narrative of his martyrdom is tliore any reference to the bishop of Homo. What would be thought in these times of a letter written to the Church of Home without any mention of the Pope? Polycarp suffered martyrdom at Smyrna in the year 1G7. Tlic Church at Smyrna published a narrative of his niartynlom, in a circular letter addressed to the Church at Philomelium, and "to all the Churches of the holy and catholic faith ;" but there is no reference to the church of Ptome or to its bishop. When, towards the close of the second century, the practice of appealing to churches founded by .jostles sja-ung up, the bishops of Rome eagerly availed themselves of the circum- stance, and put forth pretensions of an extraordinary character. As the Apostle Paul had been thrice resident in their city— the first time when he •' dwelt two whole years in his own hired house,"— the second, for some months before his martyr- dom ; and as the Apostle Peter also was believed to have suffered there, his death being preceded by a short period of christian labour— these apostles came to be regsirded as in : *Eu8eb. Hiat. Hi. 1. " SCKU-TUUK AND TRADITION. a vvvUun sense tho " fomi.K.r.s " of the church. It h,.I oxi^^ted on- bHbiv, hut thcMi- i.mH.hi.,;r a.ul „thof ettorts ha.l huoi. so hlc^siMl that it soeme.1 ,.h if the church rccoivcl nou- life C.rutitu.Io, ,„in;rleil with an almost pardonable >anitv, p.r.ua. del t!u.,„ to date their history accord i„^^.|y, and thus Iton.e «e.|uirc.I tho title of an "Apostolic Church." Ih,- honour was .irn-afer than that of any other Church, in that she could boast of /,rn Aposth-s as her supposed founders : she had besides the advantage of being established in the n.etr.i,,olis of the empire. 3]en had been accu^tonled from their earliest years to conten.plate the imperial city as the centre of communication, ihe place of final appeal. It was not difficult to transfer those views and feelings to ecclesiastical matters. What the Kmi.eror was in things temporal, that tho bishop of the metro- polls would aspire to be, in things spiritual. Victor I. (A. D. 192-202) n.ade the trial. There was a difference of opinion respecting the proper time for observing taster. Fourteen bishops assembled at Kome, at Victor s re- (|uo.>t, and agreed that Easter should be kept on the Sunday after tho full moon succeeding the vernal erpiinox. The Asiatics met at Ephesus, un.ler the presidency of J'olycrntes bishop of that city, and resolved that Easter should be kept on' the 14th day of the moon, on whatever day of tho week it might fall. Polycratcs informed Victor of this decision. The Konian bishop was highly enraged. He resolved to hold no fellowship with the Quarto-decimans (as those on the oj)i.osite side wore designated), and he wrote to that effect, exdudin-^ them from Communion with his church. This arrogant and uncnnslian proceeding drew upon him the displeasure of his brethren. The letter sent by Irencous on that occasion has boon preserved. He held the same sentiments as the Koman bishop, but he held them in charity. It appeared to him a monstrous thing to excommunicate a brother on such slight grounds. Diversity of celebration, he observed, had existed from the very first. Some tasted one day before Easter ; some WAS PETEA DISnOP OP ROME? 7 two ; sonic, for a longer period ; but no one had yet ventured to maintain that diversity vas inconsistent with fellowship. The Qui-rto-dcciuians retained their peculiarities, in spite of Victor's harmless thunder.* This was the first attempt of the bishop of Korao to impose his sentiments on other chur'hes, and it signally failed. The history of the dispute between Stephen I. of Home and other bishops is very instructive. Many of the Churches held that baptism administered by heretics was null and void ; but such baptism was regarded as valid at Rome, if the requisite form and manner were observed. At a Council held at Iconium, A. D. 250, it was resolved that all ecclesiastical acts performed by heretics were invalid. When Stephen heard of it he was very angry, and excommunicated the Council, that is, refused them fellowship in his church. A deputation was sent to remonstrate with him, but he refused to hear or see them. Firmilian, bishop of Coeserea, wrote a narrative of the affair, in a letter to Cyprian, bishop of Carthage. Stephen was roughly handled on the occasion. His " audacity" and ''insolence" were boldy reproved. Absolute uniformity, it was observed, did not exist among the churches ; different places had different customs, but they did not destroy or lessen the love of the brethren ; at Rome itself many things were done for which no apostolic authority could be pleaded, and which differed from the practice of the mother church at Jesusaleni. The " open and manifest folly" of Stephen was exposed, in boasting of being Peter's successor, while he sanctioned that which Peter would have condemned. " To the custom of Rome," said Firmilian, " we oppose the custom of •truth, holding from the beginning that which has been delivered to us by Christ and his apostles." Cyprian was equally firm. In an opening speech delivered by him at a Council held at «£usebius Hist. r. 24. 8 SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. Carthage respecting the baptism of heretics, A. D. 256 he said, « no one of us pretends to be a bishop of bishops' or tyrannically compels his colleagues to obey him, since eierv bishop has full liberty and power to act for himself ; and as h^ i" rr. TV" !"" '"'^^ ^ J'^^^g^ ^y ^i« brethren. But we looked for the judgment of Jesus Christ, the universal Lord churches, andtojudgeour acts." These are the words of a man who acknowledged no superior in religious matters, and who w^prepared to withstand every attempt at usurpation.* This brings us to the middle of the third century. It is un- necessary to pursue the inquiry any further. The testimony of history IS clearly adverse to the claims of the bishop of Rome. Note— Irenoeus and Cyprian as well as Victor and «?f»«j,n„ •Labb. et Cossart. fen. I. pp. 751-760, 78«. (No. 2.) THE EARLY HISTORY OF CHRISTIANITY Ix\ BRITAIN. Since the publication of the first edition, I have received from Mr. Maturm a copy of his Lecture on » the origin of Chnst,anity ,n England," deliver^ ' before the "Halifax Catholic Institute." I have read the Lecture with attention and interest, but my opinion on the subject is unchanged. I cannot agree with Mr. Maturin with regard to " the origin of Christianity in England." Mr. Maturin states the evidence very fairly. He shews that Clemens Romanus speaks of the Apostle Paul as "having come to the boundary of the West " ;_that Jerome says of the same Apostle that «^ he directed his journey towards Spain, running m imitation of his Lord, the Sun of Righteousness his course from the Red Sea, or rather from the Eastern tJ he Western Ocean ";-that Origen refers to the manifesta- tionof '|the power of our Lord and Saviour" in "the land of Britain ";_that Eusebius, treating of the labours of the twelve Apostles and the seventy disciples, expresses his as- tonishment "that some individuals should have gone even to the very extremities of the earth, and have penetrated into the country of the Indians, and others have passed over the ocean to those called the British Islands " ;-that Chrysostom rejoices in the thought that "even the British Islands have felt the power of the word, for even there also chur'ches and altars have been erected " ;_and that the same fact is referred to by Theodoret, Arnobius the younger, and Venan- ^us Portunatus. "The sum of their testimony is this, that Christianity was introduced into England before the close of the second century; but they are entirely silent as to the exact time at which, or the individual missionaries by whom 10 SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. in Ini he incstnuable blessing of divine truth was first conveyed to the ].nt,.sh shores. There is not one of tiiem who refers the ongm ot the liritish Church to St. l>aul, or to any otlier of the Apostles." (p. 21), All this may be admitted. Wo do not know exactly when or by whom the Gospel was first preached in Britain. Uut the uniform testimony of these writers is that it ^^a^ there at an early period. By what means, then, was the blessing conveyed ? Vene- rable liede gives this accou.it :-" In the year of our Lord's Incarnation 15G [it should be iGlj, Marcus Antoninus Verus the lourt<,enth from Augustus, was made Emperor, together with h,s brother, Aurelius Commodus. In their time, whilst i-leutherus, a holy man, presided over the Iloman church, Lucius, king of the Britons, sent a letter to him, entreating, that by his command he might be made a Christian. He soon obtained the object of his pious request, and the Britons pre- served the faith, which they had received, uncorfupted and eiitire, in peace and tranquility until the time of the Emperor Diocletian."* * Here is all the appearance of a legend, like those which unhappily, disfigure many of the pages of ecclesiastical history and otten prevent us from arriving at certainty. There wa^ at that time no " king of Britain," in the proper sense of that expression, the llomans being in possession of the country Ca phurnius Agricola was then governor. The language at- tributed to the supposed king is also singularly inappropriate, lie is represented as entreating the bishop of Kcme that "5« his co?nmand he might be made a Christian." That is not the language of a king, even a barbarian one. It smells rather of the monastery, and was probably the forgery of some ignorant monk, as was the letter said to have been sent bv Lucius to is givetl "'''■ ''''' '* "''■ '' '■ "' ^'" '"'''• ^'''- ''''*"""'^ *""«'^«°° Tin: KAKI.Y IIISTOUY OF CimiSTIAMTY IN nuiTAIN. 11 Eloiithorius, which was manufactured at a later period. A translation ot it may be i ' ■■ —.1.1,.,.. appeal .0 B„„e, .he bi^ p of't j hT^'/^t '; "" '"'T direct a rehearing of the case aid !? f' ' "" "'■ 14 SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. m the bishop of a supposed apostolic Church, that Chureh situated in the metropolis of the empire, they were equally conservative of their own authority. They did seek confirmation of their proceedings from Julius, at that time bishop of Home, but in- formed iiiin of what they had done, and requested him to notify the same to the Churches of Italy, Sicily, and Sardinia. They addressed a Circular to other Churches, giving similar informa- tion.* All this shews that the papal supremacy had not yet come into being. Consequently, the British bishops were innocent of subjection to Rome. After the visit of Germanus and Lupus, in the year 447, we hear nothing of Christianity in Britain for more than a hundred years. The devastations of the Anglo-Saxon invaders had filled the land with wretchedness, and torn up the very foundation of society. Religion, if we may believe Gildas, sufi'ercd extremely. The clergy were slothful and vicious; the people were universally wicked ; all was wreck and ruin. At length, the idolaters prevailed, and the Christian teachers withdrew to Wales and Cornwall, with the remnants of their flocks. In 5G7, when Augustine was engaged in his missionary labours among the Anglo-Saxons, he encountered the British bishops. But he found that they had no knowledge of Rome, or of spiritual allegiance due to Peter's successor. On the other hand, insulated as they were from the rest of Christendom, and unae((uainted with the changes that were continually taking place, they were worshipping and serving God as they had been taught by their forefathers, and in very many things {''plurima") diiFered from the practices then prevalent at Rome. Augustine was bent on procuring uniformity and submission. His suc- cessors, after a long struggle, accomplished the design. But originally, Britain was independent, in things ecclesiastical, and owned no subjection to the Italian prelate. m^ * Labb. et Cossart. Tom. II. pp. 6G0-679. g (No. 3.) THE INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. In offering a few remarks on this subject, I wish it to be understood that the reader is supposed to be a believer in the divine origin of Christianity. It is no part of my present design to discuss the question of Christian evidences. I shall take It for granted that the credibility of the New Testament history IS acknowledged ; that the historians are admitted to be honest, correct, and faithful; in a word, that the truth- tuness of their record cannot be impeached, and that if we refuse to believe them we must renounce all confidence in human testimony. These points being conceded, it will neces- sarily follow that Chilstianity is of God. The truth of the testimony involves the divine character of the system ; for if the miracles recorded by the historians actually took place, the revelation in support of which they were wrought is the gift of heaven. ° ^ We find, on examining these bouL^, that our Lord and his apostles uniformly refer to the sacred scriptures, and quote them as the word of God. These references are to the Old Testament. On the Saviour's authority, therefore, we are bound to receive that part of the volume, and reverently to consult It on all the subjects of which it treats. Are we equally bound to receive the writings now called the New lestament, andto regard them with the same reverence'? This IS a question of the deepest interest. The Saviour, we are informed, promised his disciples, before his death that they should receive the Holy Spirit ; that he would - bring all things to their remembrance, whatsoever he had said unto them ;» that he would explain to them the whole system of truth relating to himself ( "he shall recieve of mine, and shall show it unto you ;») and that he would " show them 16 SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION* III 1 1: : I f u things to come" : John xiv. 2G : xvi. 13, 14. We should espcct> in the fulfilment of these promises, that christians would be furnished with an accurate account of the Redeemer's personal instructions, and a statement of truths and principles necessary to bo held, and of services to be performed, under the new dis- pensation. We should further expect that the writings in which these would be comprised would contain predictions of future events, accrediting the authors as prophets of God. Now, in the books composing the New Testament we have the accomplishment of these expectations. The life and tcach« ings of the Saviour are compendiously set before us by four writers. The system of Christian truth is clearly stated. Moral duties and positive institutions are explained and powerfully enforced. The approaching corruptions of Christianity, to issue in a lamentable " departure from the faith"— and its ultimate triumph, involving the downfall of all opposers, are foretold—and the partial fulfilment of the predictions has confirmed faith and encouraged hope. Is not this God's book ? Do not its contents testify to its origin ? Is it not precisely the book that was wanted, in order that, as the first witnesses were removed by death, the loss of their oral testimony might be supplied by the written page, and it might be said of each, '« he being dead yet speaketh ?" Many books were written, purporting to be productions of apostles or apostolic men. They were all subjected to rigid examination. The genuine were received and the spurious were rejected. Thus the collection gradually grew up into the New Testament. When the volume was completed it was found to comprise the history, the truths, and the prophecies, which the Saviour had promised. But the promises were given to those who were actually dis- ciples at the tin:e. A large portion of the volume was written by a man who did not become a Christian till some years after the Lord's ascension. This was a special case, and provision was made for it. We have the narrative of his conversion and THE INSPIRATION OF THE SCMPTURES, 17 of his subsequent life, affording striking attestation to thctrutk and divine origin of Christianity. Here is a new and inde- pendent witness. That man must be believed. Ilis services and sufferings entitle him to unlimited credence. Whoever may impose on his fellow-creatures, Paul the apostle will not be the man. And what does ho say ? lie expressly states that he received his theology from Jesus Christ himself. " The Gospel which was preached of me is not after man : for I neither received it of man, neither was I taught it, but by the revelation of Jesus Christ," Gal. i. 11, 12. Throughout hi« writings he appeals to this fact, and claims for himself, as well as for the other apostles, that submission which inspired men and they uuly have a right to require. He confirms the claim by the miracles which God wrought by him. "Truly the signs of an apostle were wrought among you in all patience, in signs, and wonders, and mighty deeds." — 2 Cor. xii. 12. Thus stands the argument. The New Testament historians were worthy of belief. They testified of what they had seen, and known, and heard, or had gathered from those who '« from the beginning were eye-witnesses and ministers of the word." Among other things they inform us that the Lord Jesus made certain promises to his disciples, which were to be fulfilled after his death. We have the fulfilment in the books of the New Testament, they contain the history, the truths, and the prophecies which Jesus had promised. Those books, therefore, were written under the direction of the Holy Spirit, or, in other words, their authors were inspired. As to the nature, degree, and method of inspiration, we need not curiously inquire. It might, for aught we know, be different at different times, and in relation to different subjects. But it is dangerous to dog- matise. It is enough to have the assurance that the authore of the New Testament, as well as those of the Old, wrote " as they were moved by the Holy Ghost." Man is exceedingly fond of framing plans for God, and prescrib- ing to him modes of action. He even '^ects to wonder that hi* 18 BCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. methods ofprocedure have not been adopted. The construe ^on of tho divine law-book of Christianity doe« not please him. He would have shaped it differently. It would have come forth Hi all the regular, formal proportions of a system, where- in each topic might be found in its own place, and nowhere else ; history, doctrine, discipline, morals, prophecy, each oc spying ,t8 several niche. It is very strange to him that we should have four separate narratives of the Saviour's life— a fragmentary account of the first planting of Chriftianity— twenty-one epistles, some to churches, some to individuals— and one book of obscure visions and prophecies. He is con- founded at tho apparent want of order, and deems it very cx- iraordinary that it should bo necessary to go through such a procew of comparison and disentanglement of passages in order to exhibit separately and distinctly the various parts of the divme system. Oh how often has it proved that " the wisdom of this world is foolishness with God !" It has pleaded Illm that the truths ofChristianity should be interwoven with ex- Wtations and precepts rather than systematically discussed, and that they should sometimes seem to be but incidentally in- troduced ; but we ought not to doubt that this is the most use- ful manner in which they could be presented, and that there is great advantage in seeing how they are applied to practical purposes. God's way of working out the great problem of in- spiration must unquestionably be the best The bnvity of the sacred historian is very remarkable. How much of our Lord's history, for instance, has been sup. preased ! Have we not of^en longed for more of his discourses, tnd for a fuller narrative of his life? -Many other signs truly," says the Apostle John, "did Jesus in the presence of his disciples, which are not written in this book" (John xx. 30) Why were they not written? The historians mu.t have known * great deal more than they have told ; and besides, it wa* promised that the Holy Spirit would " bring all ihm^ to their remembrance." Why, then, have they not been recorded ? TUB INSPIRATION OV TUE SCRIITCIIES. 19 I Did not the writers desire to record them ? Wcro they not ftnxious thut all the " gracious words" and benevolent, hdly deeds of the Lord Jesus should bo amply detailed and set forth ? How was it that they used such compression, and omitted HO much ? There is only one way, it seen.s to me, of accounting for this strange phenomenon. Tkeij urote under restraint. As on one occasion Paul and his companions ••assayed to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit suffered them not" (Aats xvi. 7), so, when the authors of the New Testament sat down to commit to writing the wonderful story of the redemp- tiori, they were 8u.)ernaturally prevented from giving the copious details which they possessed. The book would have been much larger if man had had his will in compiling it. But it is of God's making. Wo have the amount of infurma- tion which it has pleased Ilim to communicate^ And thus the very tact that so much has been lea out servos to show that the writers were " moved by the Holy Ghost." Another extraordinary circumstance may bo mentioned. Peter was chosen to introduce the gospel both to the Jews and tj tlio Gentiles. He stood high among his biethren, as he had been the first of the '♦ first three" in the days of the Saviour. But after the meeting at Jerusalem (Acts xv.), improperly called a "Council," we hear no more of him, save that he Wi-ote one of his letters from •• Babylon." And when the divine book was to be prepared, his share in it did not amount to one-twelfth part of the Apostle Paul's. What shall we say ♦o this ? There may be various methods of explaining it; but for my part I cannot help supposing that it is to be Traced to the divine foreknowledge of the power and authority which could be in later ages aacribed to Peter. It was determined beforehand that the sacred book should contain nothing whi«h coulJ warrant such assumptions. Those who plead for^Peter's flu.jremacy cannot find* it in the New Te-tament. If any A.)ostle appears to be the head of Christianity it is not Peter, but Paul. No one but Paul ventured to ftiy, •• So ordain I in all Churches :» see 1 Cor. iv. 17 : vii. 17 : 2 Cor. xi. 28. ■• BCRn'Tt'RK A\D TRADITIOST. Till! J/: '"eding observations relate "Hiofly to the e.v/crmt proofs of til. inspinition of tI»o Si-ripturca. The hitcrnal proofs arc no loss strikingly convincing. Tfjero is a peculiarity in the stylo of the sacred writer.- which it is difficult to characterise. Pc-rhaps we oainiot do better than say that they wrote as men who were " moved hy tho Holy Ghost." Under that influence even their historical raoinorials assumed a more than human form. No others would have written of miracles as they did. No wonder is ex- pressed. There is no effort to direct the attention of the reader. A miraculous cure is narrated with the same calm- ness and precision as a journey from one place to another. And if from the historical we proceotj to the epistolary, we meet with still more marked manifestations of what may be called tho heavenly style of writing. Those letters were written by men who were conscious uf power. There is a majesty, a condensed richness of thought, a fulness of meaning, indicating an acquaintedness with tho » secret things" of the Most High, and a commanding tone and manner which no good man would assume, unless he felt that he could employ the phraseology of inspiration—" Thus saith the Lord." The contrast between the writers of the New Testament and the CIristian authors of the first two centuries, their inmiediate Buccessors, is particularly worthy of observation. The descmt from Paul, Peter, and John, to Clemens Komauus, Ignatimv Ac., is most reimirkable. It is just the difference between mature thought and childish triviality— between a golden and a leaden age— between heaven and earth. Look also at the antecedents of these writers. They were all Jews, ngiually narrowminded, bigoted, proud of their ex- clusive pr./'.o.r, holding the Gentiles in contempt. In all these respcr.ns . 'j A-<.stlc Paul stood pre-eminent. Judaism was intenr'fi. i ! h^m.— Exam .e now the system of Christian truth as set forth m the apostolic epistles. What spirit-stir- ring, benign revelations are before us ! Earthly distinction* THE IXSl'IKATION OF THE SCnil'TURES. 21 arc lost .si^lit of. TIu) wiitor.s think no more of Jows ami (ioiitilcs, (jrouks and J{iir!.;irians. It i.s wa/i— siHiple man— ruint'd luan— and all alike ruined. And the Church, uh they view and describe it, is one hody, eo^ii>osed of'believerM of ull nation:, utnl c-la.s;a[)tizt!d into the same Spiritjall possessing c^uul ri^rhts, and "members one of another." Is there not l>ere an utter abnegation of Jewish exelusiveness ? Whence, too, did these men derive those wonderful truths, which they discuss witii so mueh ease and familiarity ? Who unveiled to them (iod's predestination— the justifying righteousness of the Lord Jesus— the glorious privileges ot the adoption— the opo- ration of tlie Holy Spirit in the hearts of believers— the media- torial kingdom of the Redeemer, extending to all worlds, all beings, and all time— and the sublime, dread realities of the future tate ? Verily, these are " the things of the spirit," wliieh " eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have they entered into the heart of man ;" but God revealed them unto those his servants, and they are now inscribed on the immortal page. There is another consideration of no small moment The Hysteni of truth contained in the apostolic writings is insuscep- tible of improvement or addition. There have been no dis- coveries in religion since that time. All philosophy has ^ufFered chan-'e. Science alters every year ; the theories of one ago are exploded in the next ; the text-books of fifty years ago are useless now. But Christianity is the same as when it came forth from its Founder. It was complete at the very first. 8ubscijuent writers have expounded the works of the apostles, but they have added nothing to them.— So also of worship, government, and discipline. The examples of the apostolic Churches and the directions given in the apostolic letters are all-sufficient. Churches constituted and governed according to thoso exampl countries, and flourish under -every state of Society. And es and directions can exist in all ry form of civil polity, and in I usefulness attending christian 22 8CRIPTURB AND TRADITION. vX 9*' m ' ^ enterprises is always found to be proportioned to their confor- mity with New Testament patterns. Meddlesome men have interfered in this matter. The simplicity of apostolic ar;-ange- ments displeased them. They nrnst have more ceremony, more pomp, more power. Complicated liturgies were prepared- gaudy processions passed along the streets— new offices were created, new orders instituted— and fasts and feasts appointed in abundance. What followed ? Withering— decay—cor- raption — death. Something has been done in the way of re- form during the last three hundred years, but the majority of professing christians still adhere to unscriptural polities. Where is Christianity now seen in its most vigorous develop- ment. Is it not in those communities which approach most nearly to the apostolic pattern? And must it not be regarded as a most marvellous thing that those Christian Jews should be able to devise a scheme which, though at variance with all the forms of religion then in vogue, and possessed of no outward attractions, should supplant them all, and should be found, at the lapse of eighteen hundred years, to require no change, but to be still the best adapted means of securing the great spiritual purposes of Christianity ? Can any thing short of inspiration account for it ? Once more. Predictmis have been referred to. Let the reader turn to 2 Thess. ii. 1-12, 1 Tim. iv. 1-3, 2 Tim. iii. 1-5. In those passages the apostle Paul foretelsthe rise of a system, pretending to be religious, which would arrogate divine power and authority ; would seek to enforce its claims by false miracles ; would be characterized by apostacy from the christian faith, and by demoralising tendencies ; would estab- lish creature-worship and would enjoin observances at variance with the laws and arrangements of God. At the time of his writing the letters no one could have anticipated such a la- mentable result. All probability was against it. ]}ut history has interpreted the prophecy, and Paul tases his place among the prophets. Peter stands by his side (See 2 Peter iii. ) And there, too, enshrouded in mysterious glory, is the beloved disciple. THE INSPIRATION OF THE SCRIPTURES. 28 Although many facts and arguments remain unnoticed, the space already occupied warns me to bring these remarks to a close. I trust that those who peruse them will be convinced that we are not only justified but imperatively required to re- gard the Bible as the production of inspired men, and therefore claiming our submission and obedience. Besides this— every Christian " hath the witness in himself." The word of God «peaks to his heart. Its soothing, consoling, sanctifying power proclaims the heavenly source from which it flows. It'is hia light in darkness, his guide in perplexity, his preservative in peril, his solace in tribulation. What could he do without hx Bible? " What is the world ?— A wildering maze, Where sin hath tracli'd ten thousand ways, Her victims to ensnare ; All broad, and winding and aslope, All tempting with perfidious hope, All ending in despair. " Millions of pilgrims throng those roads, Bearing their baubles, or their loads, Down to eternal night ; — One humble path, that never bends, Narrow, and rough, and steep, ascends From darkness) into light. " Is there a Guide to show that path ? The Bible ;— he alone, who hath The Bible, need not stray : Yet he who hath, and will not give That heavenly Gui e to all that live, Himself nhall lose the way." James Montgomery. (No. 4.) THE APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION. This is the theory :— Bishops succeeded tlie Apostles in the government of the Church ; the Apostles thenisclvos appointed the first bishops— they ordained others— and so the succession has been preserved till the present day. No person is author- ieed to preach the gospel who has not been ordained by a bishop, who can himself prove that he is in the succession. Our episcopal friends on all sides— Protestant, Roman Catholic, Greek and Oriental, take common ground here. They all profess to be able to trace up their orders to the Apostles. They all denounce the non-episcopally ordained as intruders. And they denounce one another. There are more difficulties in their way than some of them imagine. In the first place, they must prove that diocesan episcopacy ia'the mode of Church government established by the Apostles. They cannot do it. It was not thought of till some time after the Apostles were dead. The bishtps spoken of in the New Testament were pastors of churches, and there were eonnnonly several in each Church. The words '• bishop" and " elder" are synonymous. There were several " ciders" or " overseers," that is, " bishops," at Ephesus, and at Philippi Hee Acts XX. 17, 28. Phil. i. 1. Secondly, they must prove that every bishop in the first Ohurches was appointed by an Apostle. The^j cannot do it. Thirdly, they must prove (hat the chain of the succession has never been broken. They cannot do it. The succession may be interrupted and broken oft* in various ways ;— by un- aanonical appointments— by simoniacal contracts— by forcible intrusions— by official acts without ordination— by the recep- tion of orders from persons whose own claim to episcopal dignity ■ THE APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION. 2.3 was invalid, &c. One such case proved will nullify all the official acts of the individual concerned, and of those to whom he may have communicated official power. Pope Benedict IX., for instance, was placed in the papal chair when he was only eighteen years old : some say he ^Yas considerably younger. That was (ileurly contrary to the canons, which declare that a bishop must be thirty years of age, exceptions to which have only occurred when the superior moral (jualifications of the candidate induced the ordaining bishops to dispense with the usual re(|uiremcnt ; but that was not the pretext in Benedict'^ case ; he was thrust into the office by the Counts of Tuscoli, his father's gold purchasing the ac(iuiesccnce of the people. Aa Desiderius says, he " followed the fbotsteps of Simon Magus rather than of Simon Peter."* Benedict was no priest —no bishop. To say nothing of his manifold villanies (every intelligent lloinan Catholic knows that he was a monster of iniquity), a young man of eighteen could not, according to the laws of the Church, be a priest— much less a bishop— much less a Pope. Yet he held the Pope's office, and performed its dutic:s. What was the worth of the ordinations and appoint- ments of such a man ! And this is only one fact out of many, equally bad, that might be adduced. The chain of the suc- cession is irretrievably broken. I heartily subscribe to the opinion expressed by Archbishop AYhately, already quoted— that " there is ?iot a minister in all Christendom who is able to trace up icith any approach to certainity his own spiritual pediyrce" The Protestant Bishop of Nova Scotia has published his views on the subject, in a charge to his clergy, delivered last October. lie says :— « The notion appears to be generally entertained that, because we are not established here, we have no claim to higher authority than any of the sects founded in these latter days by man, it being commonly supposed that the *Quoted by Neander in his History, iii. 375. 26 SCBIPTCRB AND TRADITION. elaims of the Church are based upon parliaracntarj enact- nients. This error is held even by some of our own people, und it is your duty to beware of countenancing it in any way] and always make it clearly understood that our position is en- tirely independent of anyhuman authority or recognition ; that whether we be prescribed and persecuted, or kings be our nur- sing fathers and queens our nursing mothers, we equally claim to be the true representatives of the Church constituted by the Apostles,— under commission from her head— from whom we trace our descent in unbroken succession." I know not by what arguments his Lordship sustains and defends his opinion. Perhaps he takes the position which has been assumed by some members of his Church— that the Apostle Paul first preached the gospel in Britain, and ordained ministers there, from whom the succession has proceeded in the regular order ; that in the middle ages, it is true, the Church came under the power of Eomc, and was so far contaminated ; but that at the Keformation its freedom was regained, and the true succession restored. It sounds well. One thing only is lacking— truth. ' No man can prove that the Apostle Paul ever saw Britain. A great deal of ink and paper has been wasted in the attempt. The early Christian writers make no mention of it. Nothing more than a weak probability can be arrived at, and that will not serve the purpose. The fact must be proved, which cannot be done. _ But even it it loere proved, the claim would not be estab- lished. For though Archbishop Sumner can show that he has been regularly ordained, and that the bishops by whom he was ordained were admitted to the holy office with equal regularity ; ia he able to prove that all preceding bishops, up to the Apostle Paul— all through the disturbed middle ages, were free from taint of irregularity in ordination ? Is he able to prove that all the bishops by whom they were ordained priests were also free from taint ? Is he able to prove that every bishop THE APOSTOLIC SUCCESSION. 27 and every priest, directly or indirectly concerned in tho,so ordi- nations, received bapti..ni from a regular administrator, and with all prescribed forms ? A single flaw-a solitary instance of deviation from the law of the Church, vitiates and annuls the proceeding, and leaves the individual unbaptized, or unor- dained, as the case may be. Bishops do not think alike on all points. Let us hear Bishop Hoadly on the succession :— " I am fully satisfied that till a consummate stupidity can be happily established, and universally spread over the land, there is nothing that tends so much to destroy all due respect to the clergy, as the demand of more than can be due to them ; and nothing has so effectually thrown contempt upon a regular succession of the ministry, as the calling no succession regular but what was uninterrupted, and the making the eternal salvation of Christians to depend upon that uninteriupted succession, of which the most learned must have the least assurance, and the unlearned can have no notion, but through ignorance and credulity."* The nature and design of Christianity have been greatly dis- regarded by the litigants in this strife. It seems to have been forgotten that religious character is essential to the Christian ministry, and that if that be wanting no human appointment can make a man Christ's minister. The gospel dispensation is spiritual, and all the arrangements made under its authority must be in harmony with that view. The blessings of the dis- pensation cannot be enjoyed nor even apprehended by unre- uewed men. Such men, therefore, are totally unfit for the work of the Lord. They may be highly gifted and profoundly learned, but - if they have not the Spirit of Christ they are none of his." How, then, can they carry on his work ? The author's sentiments on this subject were thus expressed in a sermon preached at an ordination in Montreal, in the year 1851 : — •Quoted in Buck's Theological Dictionary, article " Gucoesaiou." 28 k; SCRIPTURK AND IKADITION. _ " When it is affirmed tluit He [Christ] maintains the succe.'^. sion, the moaning is, that ministers are made l)y Christ, not by man, and tliat the succession is entirely spiritual— not depend- cnt on any supposed transmission of virtue, power, or authority from one human being to another, but on the possession of thoeo graces and gifts which it is the Saviour's exclusive prerogative to bestow. By apostolic sKccession we imderstand a succession of apostolic men, holdimj and prcachiny apostolic truth, and leadbuj apostolic lives. No others are in the succession, how- over regularly, as human laws and customs declare, they may have l)een ordained and appointed. We may suppose a case, not at all unlikely to occur' in these days. During the same service the bishop lays his consecrating hands on two candidates for the ministry :— one of them goes forth, preaching full salva- tion by the death of Christ, and seeking to promote evangelical holiness; the other connects the safety of the soul with baptism and the Church, substitutes the world's morality for the life of faith, and derides as fanatics those who plead for the new birth and for spiritual-niindedness. There is no difficulty in deciding that while the former is evidently in the succession, the latter is not— though both received the same appointment, from the same person, and at the same time. A man may be a minister of a church— of any church— who is not a minister of Christ, and will not be owned by him at the last day. " That the succession has been maintained is proved by the exit *ence of the Church. It could only have been perpetuated by the means and instruments which the Saviour at first ap- pointed— by the ministry and manifestation of the* truth. Th»- fact, that there are at the present day servants of the Lord united together for Christian fellowship, holding the great truths of the gospel, and exemplifying its effects in holy lives and devoted zeal, will surely warrant the inference that in every age tliere have been such unions, on a greater or smaller scale, maintained by similar instrumentality. The chain of the spiritual succession has not been broken, though we may uofe THE APOSTOLIC SDCCESSIOS. 2d be able to put our hands on every lii)k. It ought not to be considered surprising that we cannot always discover the spiritualfiiniily. The Church was at one time in the wilder- ness ; who can wonder that she was not then visible ? " In tracing the true succession we cainiot adopt the ordinary course. ^Ve have nc reverence for episcopal genealogies. The grace of Christ is not limited by ecclesiastical consecrations, with which, in thousands of instances, it has nothing to do. He ' divideth to every man severally as He will.' We trace the succession, therefore, in the spiritual line. We see it in Novatian the dissenter, as well as in Cyprian the bishop ;— in Vigilantius the reformer, as well as in Jerome who slandered hira, and in Augustine, who, though he was a great and good man, would have committed alleged heretics to the civil power, to be punished ;— in the Waldcnsian pedlar who carried his wares to the lordly castle and the, peasant's hut, and exhorted all to buy the 'pearl of great price ;'— in John de Wycliffe, the canonically ordained Rector of Lutterworth, and in the Lollards who succeeded him, and who, though not canonically ordained, could tell of Christ, and grace, and heaven, and guide men to glory ;— in John Huss and Jerome of Prague, both of them burned as heretics ;— in Latimer and Ridley, consecrated bishops, and in Calvin and Knox, unconsecra^ed presbyters; in Archbishop Leighton, the spiritually minded prelate, and in John Runyan, the tinker of ELstow, the spiritually minded Raptist ;— in Henry Martyn, that 'holy man of God,' the Episcopalian, and in John Williams, the martyr of the nine- teenth century, the Congregationalist ;— and finally, to speak of living men, we trace the succession in Daniel Wilson, the bishop, who preaches at Calcutta, plainly and faithfully, the same gospel which he once proclaimed in England's metropolis* — and in every native preacher and teacher, encouraged by • Since dead. He departed this lifo on the third of January, 1838, in the 80th year of his ago. 30 SCRIPTURE AND TRADITION. Chr„t,a„ a,,«„o„ar,es of variou, do„„mmat!«„s to make kno™ Ao groat «aIval,o„ to their follow-.ou„.rj„,e„_of ever^elimo, of every ,„„„„», and of all eoi„ur,-„l.ito, yellow, copp" ZL"' ."^""rf"""-- I""-". Chinese. Hotte^totro the U^ Jes„,. ana by the Spirit of our God/ and lound to be fa,.hful men. able to teach other» also '-they are all in the Buccession. "^ ''The faithful Lord will carry on his own work. He will Zlr / T"""" '"' ^'" ^"' °^ *'■'-• That predous world, (Mat «vm. 20,) secures all. The flhurch is built on an immovable rock, and the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.»— (Mat. xvi. 18.) ^ THB £.VD> IS?: I ERRATA. Page 5.~Line 6 from bottom, for thrice read tmcti. 8 — " 8 " " for looked rcivd Inok. ll.~ " 3 " top, for Lecture read Cftiti U,— " 3 " " insert not after did. Pi 4 m BY THE SAME AUTHOR. .^^! ■•'il t' k W' m 1. A Text Book of Popery, Comprising a History of the Council of Trent, and a com- plete view of the Theological System of the Roman Catholic v-iaurcn. o vo. a. The Reformation in £urope. 18 mo. Published by the Religious Tract Society. Preparing/ for publication, in one volume, 12 mo., Baptist History. From the Commencement to the Present Time. In a Skriks OF Letters. Id M