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1 2 3

32X

A CHARGE

DELITBBBD TO THB

CLER&Y OF THE DIOCESE OF PBEC,

THE VISITATION

HELD IN

BISHOP'S COLLEGE, LENNOXVILLE,

JULY 5th, 1864,

JAMES WILLIAM, LORD BISHOP OF QUEBEC

\^ s

PRINTED BY JOHN LOVELL.
1864.

. L

1864 V J 7

QuEBEO, April 20, 1864.
Reverend and dear Sir,

It having been thought undesirable that the Synod should this
year be called together, I propose instead thereof to hold a visita-
tion at Lennoxville on Tuesday the 5th of July and the following
days., when I have obtained the use of Bishop's College, where I
trust that you will be my guest on the occasion.

[fhat we may not only draw closer together in mutual knowledge
through such personal intercourse, and strengthen ourselves by
communion of Spirit, but may render our meeting directly condu-
^ cive to improved eflSciency in our calling, I have procured such

papers to be written as will, I hope, elicit wholesome discussion,
leaving behind it a fruitful deposit of enlarged experience, matured
thought, and increased zeal.

The order of proceeding will be as follows : —

TUESDAY MORNING SESSION.

1. Paper. "The Diaconate "— The Revd. J. H. Nicolls,
D.D.

2. " Expediency of an Authorized Manual of Family Prayer."
— Revd. G. V. Housman.

AVTBBirOON.

" Pastoral Work "—Revd. J. H. Jenkins.

EvBNiNQ Chapel.
Bishop's Charge.

WEDNESDAY MORNING.

1. " Missionary Meetings " — Prof. Dodwell.

2. " Advantages and means of keeping up habits of reading
among the clergy " — Revd, H. Roe.

Aftebnoom.

" Means of enlisting the sympathies, and employing the services
of the Laity in church work." — Revd G. Magill.

EvBNiNQ Chapel.

"Sermon"— Revd. S. S. Wood.

THURSDAY,

Unfinished matter.

J. W. QUEBEC.

1 19083

A CHARGE, &C.

I did at one time tWnk, my Reverend Brethren, that, in our cir-
cumstances, the customary form of visitation might fitly be dis-
continued. We meet in Synod, and there we organize ; there we
participate mutual counsel and advice. And it is not with us
as in an old country, where, in a compact and populous diocese,
the visitation is the Bishop's convenient opportunity for personal
intercourse with the great body of his clergy. Here, where the
clergy are few, and scattered over a diocese some six hundred
miles long, the too frequent calling of them from their Missions
is burdensome, and it seems but reasonable that the Bishop should
make his visitation from mission to mission.

Still, upon are-consideration, I have judged it better not to pass
by an ancient custom, into which it may be easier, perhaps, to
breathe a new life and significance, than to find for it a subf
tute. The Synod is but a partial substitute. On the secular side
of our affairs — for the transaction of business — it is undoubtedly a
substitute, and something more. On the spiritual side it is con-
siderably less. There may arise many matters within ourselves, of
opinion and of practice, upon which a Bishop could with advantage
speak freely and confidentially to his brethren ; but which, in
such an assembly, he would be unwilling to treat. And again,
such discussions as we have been occupied with to-day are likely
to be more beneficial from the very fact of their being only dis-
cussions : — Our decisions being of no compulsory eflfect, the de-
bates by which we arrive at them cannot engender strife ; — or if

we do provoke one another, it is only unto good works. Another
reason too has had its influence. Personal intercourse between
the Bishop and his clergy might, as I intimated, bo maintained
by the perambulations of the former, but of scarcely less im-
portance is the fellowship of the clergy with each other. If
we are of one body, we should be of one spirit. But how
can there be unity of purpose, or of method, without mutual
esteem and mutual knowledge? How can we be strong, unless we
help one another? How shall wo help one another, unless we love
one another? How shall we love one another, unless we know
one another ?

But I need not urge this. I know that you deplore the isola-
tion in which you find yourselves, and from which you can but
partially escape in our Synodical gatherings, where, when we meet,
we are intent upon business, and when we are at leisure, we are,
from the circumstances of the case, separated socially. For these
reasons, then, and for some others, I have asked you, my Reverend
Brethren, to meet me here, where we may with more convenience
take sweet counsel together, and walk in the house of our God as
friends. My heart's prayer is that our souls may be strengthened
and refreshed — that, by this communion and fellowship, we may
establish one another — that we may all be established by the out-
pouring of the Holy Ghost, and by the felt presence of our Lord
and Master, Jesus Christ, that so we may go forth to our appoint-
ed stations, whether in the populous city, or on the solitary outpost,
braced and toned by a consciousness that we are not alone and
helpless in our struggle, but an ordered host, marshalled and dis-
posed as may suit the large wisdom of the directing mind — even
of the Captain of our salvation, whose soldiers we are : in full trust
upon whom, and in ready support of each other, let us then, my
Brethren, fight with good heart, in the sure confidence that the
victory at all points will at length be won.

But, in ready support of each other, we need to stand shoulder
to shoulder — we need to be alert and alive, for the foe is muster-
ing and the battle is begun. Already along the line rings the
bugle call — and alas, from our own ranks there issues an uncer-
tain sound. I rejoice however to be able to say, that in our part
of the field there is no defection. The faith is attacked : thft

assault is given. And while some there are within the fortress
who favour the enemy, we at least are true to the flag under which
we have ranged ourselves. From one or two of the most remote of
our Brethren no answer has heen received ; but I think I may
say that the pastoral clergy and the clergy connected with our
Church institutions, have unanimously signed what has been called
the Oxford Declaration.

The wording of that document may be open to objection. It
might perhaps have been drawn more happily. But I don't know.
Pledges of united action must very often be wanting in pedan-
tic precision; and for my own part, when I can substantially agree
to a man's meaning, I have long ceased to split his words. I
should not perhaps have written the Declaration myself, but I am
very willing to sign it, indeed I am very glad to sign it, since these
are times when we should wear our colours. Some 11,000 or
12,000 of the clergy at home have, as you are aware, subscribed
this Declaration. And a great deal of ridicule has been ex-
pended upon these 12,000. It has been thought well to rebuke
the presumption of poor curates and recently ordained deacons,
for having an opinion ; and the loftiness of learning looks down
with contempt upon this statement of their belief by illiterate
literates. But surely all this is beside the mark. Surely you
and I, my Brethren, did not fancy that we were coalirming
the faith when we signed the Declaration,— or adding weight
to the authority of the learned names it bears. We simply
stated that we used words in a particular sense, because it
seems that our position in the Church is unfortunately no longer
a warrant that we give them tli . obvious meaning. It is re-
quired of us that we solemnly aver before God, and in the face-
of the congregation, our belief that '* they that have done good
shall go into life everlasting, and they that have done evil into
everlasting fire." And surely a modest man, though of no learn-
ing, may be so bold as to say that, as he is obliged to use these
words, so also this is his belief. And such a declaration from a
clergyman is, I submit, by no means nugatory. Since we are
now told that a clergyman may, and since it seems that some
clergymen do, say these words and believe them not, — in the sense

at least which thoy ordinarily bear, and in which they would be
understood,— since it appears that a clergyman n)ay believe them
in a sense which is a literal denial of the words he utters ; and
that when he says the wicked shall go into a fire which is ever-
lasting, he may mean a tire which possibly, probably, or cer-
tainly—according to the freedom of his handling, and the dclicat<'
adjustment of his verifying faculty,— possibly, probably, or cer-
tainly—will have an end. This being the case, I submit that it
is an indication of honesty, not of arrogance, on our part, to
announce openly what wo mean,— whether wo mean the plain
English of what we say, or whether we sophisticate.

And, in respect to the other point of the Declaration, surely
in these days, when it is the fashion to treat the Bible " like any
other book,"— and a great deal worse for that matter,— surely it
is pardonable in one who is by his office to expound the Bible, if
he adopt a form of words that shall give people to understand that
his plan is to treat the Bible with the reverence it has heretofore
received; and that he has no " free handling " to dazzle them
with ;— that the basis of his exposition will be the old-fashione<l
notion that the Bible is different from any other book,— that it is
inspired in a different sense from that in which the works of Mil-
ton are inspired; and with an inspiration different from that
breathing of the Holy Spirit, silent and unseen, which renews the
hearts and sanctifies the souls of the redeemed. In" these days,
when it is claimed that every man is to be his own inspiration,
one may surely profess that he is no prophet without being scolded
for his presumption. It seems to me a matter of good faith to
our brethren, and to those whom wo undertake to teach, to declare
ourselves upon these points ; and that a great deal of sarcasm
(which has a dangerous tendency to rebound) has been very need-
lessly, not to say recklessly, flung out upon the Declarants.

In regard to the question of Inspiration, there is no doubt
that we have a great deal more to do than merely to declare what
our views are,— that we have, in our own behalf, as well as in
behalf of our flocks, to contend earnestly for the faith once deli-
vered to the saints ; since this paring down of the inspiration of
the Bible is the outcrop of a principle which, though to a great

would b<*
ovo thcni
era; and
1 is over-
, or cer-
3 delicate '
', or cer-
,it that it
part, t(>
the plain

n, surely
' like any
-surely it
Bible, if
tand that
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izle them
fashionwl
-that it is
8 of Mil-
rom that
mews tho
lese days,
spiration,
g scolded
1 faith to
to declare
P sarcasm
ery nesd-
ts.

DO doubt
ilare what
veil as in
once deli-
>iration of
;o a great

extent latent, may bo said to pervade the soil of modern thought
and modern sentiment. The tacit assumption that the super-
natural must be eliminated from the religion of t .o nineteenth
century, rules the method of the new criticism. And though
naturalistic explanations are advanced by those who shrink from
shocking others by expressing, and, it may be, shrink from
shocking themselves by forming, a conviction, that belief ia
the supernatural is fast becoming a superstition of the past,
yet the antagonism between the two ideas in mind^ of the
modern cast, is fundamental. The internecine character of
the conflict is sometimes avowed— more often it is insinuated;
and the faith is undermined by the prevarication of those
who undertake to defend only to betray. Men will explain
away the miracles of Moses, out of their desire to build
Christianity upon a credible foundation! But what will they
do with the superstructure? Is not Jesus a worker of miracles,
or an impostor? My Brethren, artful men and able are en-
gaged in this work; and we owe it to ourselves, as well as to
those over whose souls we are set to watch, to be wary. The
habit of mind which has been induced by nauseating the
miracles of the Old Testament, will cling to us when we come
to consider those of the New,— which we shall reject, because
we shall come to them prepared to reject. Evidence will be of
no force ; for by that time the mind will despis-; evidence, and
dismiss it with a sneer. And indeed, if sneers were proofs, our
most holy faith had been exploded long ago.

But if we are to struggle for. our faith, why should we train
ourselves for the encounter upon this debilitating diet ? Why
should we allow our opponents to impose upon U8 the tactics that
may happen to suit them? Every mind has a right to its own
method. The sceptics have their way of dealing with miracles.
We, if we are wise, shall have another. This question of miracle
or no miracle is without doubt the hinge of our faith. If a
miracle be an impossibility, then is the Gospel a cunningly devised
fable. And our wisest course is to try this issue directly.

The best thing a man can do, when he is invited to discuss
minor difficulties, is to turn, before his reason has been tampered

JP^P

'i ^

with,toBomeone of the leading miracles recorded in the New Testa-
ment -to the miracle for example that is the foundation upon which
the whole fabric of the Gospel stands-the Resurrection of our
Blessed Lord,-and settle that, once for all. It is a fact or it is a
falsehood. Itiscapableofproof,oritisnot. ^^^ « J^l l>« P^/^J
we need not be over anxious about lesser difficulties. If it
cannot be proved, why, we need not be over anxious m that case,
I suppose. They are not worth a thought. This or some simUar
plan that will arm the mind for an encounter with doubt at any
moment is essential ; for we are challenged at every turn ; and we
shall err as widely if we attribute the modern tendency to spurn
at a miracle to a particular book or two, as if we were to attribute
the combustibility of tinder to the spark whioh ignites it. Ihe
cause lies deeper,-in the processes to which material so quick to
burn has been subjected. ^„„t,VT,

I do not purpose to investigate these causes. I only mention
them to guard ourselves against supposing, when a rash writer has
been refuted, or the noise of a startling volume has died away,
that the danger has passed. It is not wise to forget that the
influences by which we are surrounded are such as engender doubt ,
Which may therefore be expected, when exorcised under one form,
to reappear in another. I have indicated what seems to me the
best method of meeting it,-the best ground upon which to give
battle. It may be well, however, in view of the constant skirmishes
with the sceptic to which our faith is exposed almost every time
we open a newspaper or a magazine, to equip ourselves with one
or two principles of defence, upon which arguments may be received
and their temper tried whether they have reason and weight, or
whether they be mere flourish and assertion. And with this view,
when we find, as we shall find, that the opposition between science
and scripture is now and again forced, with no little parade, upon
our notice, we should do well to remember that the facts of science
are one thing and the conjectures of scientific men another. No
little perplexity, no little fallacy, I do not say sophisti^ lor the
mischief Peems to arise from a real confusion of niind, no httle
fallacy is introduced into a man's thoughts by neglecting to distin-
-,.:_i, u.._p„„ f\.^ac. Ti^anvJps jiTP. thrown out bv man oi science

[

jw Testa-
»on which
n of our
, or it is a
le proved,
.. If it
that case,
le similar
bt at any
i; and we
to spurn
attribute
it. The
) quick to

y mention
writer has
iied away,
D that the
ier doubt ;
' one form,
to me the
ich to give
skirmishes
every time
s with one
be received
weight, or
li this view,
reea science
irade, upon
la of science
other. No
try, for the
id, no little
ng to distin-
n of science

continually, with more or less of argument to support them, and
by the unthinking the crude guesses of eminent men are credited
with all the authority attachic3 to their demonstrations; so that
a plain man, who discusses an argument, of the validity of which
he is quite competent to judge, is in danger to be set down as k
sciolist, meddling with matters above his comprehension.^ Now
an educated man is not to be put off or put down in this way.
His knowledge may be limited, but he knows its limits, and
within them he will walk at large. He knows that much that
comes from men who have made science their study is not science;
and, when he bears of the opposition between science and religion,
his first look will be to see whether this opposing element be science
or something else.

I would next observe, that infidel writers are strong only when
they are negative, while they are on at ground we are in-
stinctively with them, for most of us, when we think, put more
questions to ourselves than we are able to answer. But after all,
even the most sceptical of intellects cannot live by negations.
The man who will not, or cannot, believe in the truth of Christ-
ianity , feels bound to account for its existence. This is reasonable.
Christianity comes before us as a fact. It assumes to be true.
It has been, taken to be true; and, until some more credible
account of its origin and existence is furnished, the presumption iB

that it is true.

In dealing therefore then with those who call in question the
truth of the Gospel narrative, our best plan will be to Jook into
their positive teaching— not to occupy ourselves with their ques-
tions, which we can put, and, over and over again, have put, for
ourselves, but to consider their answers, and see if they be more ere-
dible than our old-fashioned beliefs. When a man, for example,
unable to accept a miracle, but unwilling to renounce the Scrip-
tures, would have us believe that the miraculous narratives of the
Goripel are not narratives of fact, but the embodiment of ideas, we can,
without much trouble, apply this theory to some one of the record-
ed miracles. It will break down at the first strain ; and we shafl
see that the writers of the Gospel unquestionably intended to pass
them off for true accounts of real facts, and succeeded in doing

BO. If not histories, the gospels must he most impudent forgeries.
But we must read the Scriptures for ourselves- We must take no
account of what they are, or what they say, at second hand. This
is important. So long as you assume that a writer's representa-
tion of Scripture is exact, the plausibility of his argument keeps
pace with the ingenuity of his theory ; but so soou as you turn to
the book, sift his assertions, open out his implications, and investi-
gate for yourself, the thin cohesion melts beneath your eye : and,
handling his argument as you grasp for substance, your fingers
close upon the impalpable dust of delusion.

One shall, for example, (to consider for a moment one of the
late theological importations) one shall, in following the theorist
as he manipulates his facts, interweaves his ideas, and draws out
the staple of his discourse, one shall, as the dexterous pleader leads
him on, feel stealing through the mind a disposition to acquiesce
in the doctrine that the writings of the New Testament are not
veritable records, but the growth of after-times— not forgeries
indeed, nor even pious frauds, in their first promulgation ; but
the peculiar forms in which the modesty of the times veiled the
teacher's obtrusiveness by inculcating its dogmas through the
personation of St. Paul and St. Peter, St. John and St. Matthew.
So long as you are content to see with the eyes of your guide,
all is plausible and smooth ; but if you open your own eyes and
look for yourself at the writings which have been so plastic in the
theorizer's hands, you are astounded at the audacity of his attempt
upon your understanding. As well might he propose to convince
you that the fossils in your museum, broken, enigmatical, worn by
friction, pressure and time, are the constructions by which some pro-
fessor, bond fide, and with no intention to deceive, would exhibi-
to the best of his understanding the actual living forms of extinct
organisms. The thing is incredible. Their air of genuineness is
either the stamp of truth or the simulation of deceit. They may
be fragments of the past, or they may be spurious imitations.
They must be the one or the other. If not what they purport to
be, they are the fabrications of deceivers.

With these cautions then — (1) to distinguish between the
accepted conclusions and the tentative crotchets of science ; (2)

; forgeries,
ist take no
md. This
•epresenta-
tent keeps
ou turn to
tid investi-
eye : and,
)ur fingers

jne of the
le theorist
draws out
iader leads

acquiesce
it are not
t forgeries
ition ; but
veiled the
rough the

Matthew.
3ur guide,

eyes and
stic in the
lis attempt
convince
1, worn by
L some pro-
Id exhibi-
of extinct
lineness is
They may
imitations,
purport to

tween the
ence; (2)

to accept no statements rtipocting Scripture, till we have verified
them by personal investigation ; (3) to examine calmly whether
the Catholic belief touching the Christian religion,or that which
the sceptic proposes to substitute for it, be the more credible ;
(4) to discuss the question of jairacles not upon minor occasions,
but in relation to some one of the cardinal facts of the Gospel
—with these cautions we may pass through the pelting shower
of modern infidelity, and find much of it innocuous. Their obser-
vance will burnish into brightness that shield of faith wherewith
we shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked.

Thus much I have thought it necessary to say respecting those
matters in relation to which recent action of our own connects
itself with painful proceedings in the church elsewhere, I will now
turn to questions not indeed more immediately concerning, but of
which the interest is more restricted to ourselves. And herein
our thanks are due to Almighty God for that, among us, the

church prospers. . .

Twelve months ago there were four vacant missions and little
prospect of fiUing them. I now see my way to the filling of them
aU andfilling them well; I have admitted three to the order of the
Priesthood and ordained two to be Deacons ; and four Laymen
I have licensed as Readers to assist certain missionaries; I have
consecrated three churches ; I have held confirmations m almost
aU the missions of the Diocese, with the exception of those in the
Gulf The number of those . confirmed amounts to 987. These
figures I am not able to compare with those of previous years,
but I believe that, in most cases, the numbers have increased:
a fact which is matter of thankfulness for two reasons; first,
for the sake of the young themselves, confirmation being found,
I believe in the experience of earnest ministers, to be a seed time
of the Spirit,-and secondly, for the sake of the church-confir-
mations being, emphatically, tokens of the future. We cannot
see into the hearts of our little ones; but at any rate we can see
how many are indisposed to turn their backs upon the covenant
of their baptism. We can see in the number of candidates for
confirmation, whether the church, in each locality, advances, or
retrogrades. And a mag may judge, too, in a measure, of his own

Il-

work. A matter in which it U possihle to be deceived. We
enter upon the fruit of our predecessor's labours. This is a con-
dition of life. The congregation,, to whom we minister, our
elders, or our equals in age, these are not the work of our hands-
We must look on a few years, till these drop off, and the new
generation takes their place; then will be seen the fruit of our
labour, if fruit it have. In the mean time, if we really feel that
we watch for souls as those that must give account, we cannot fail
earnestly to consider this most significant prognostic of our success
or failure. Other things, however, arc significant in our confirma-
tions besides numbers. The manifest seriousness and devout feeling
with which the candidates generally have come to renew their
dedication to God's service, could not fail to strike the observer,
and to fill those concerned in the administration of the rite with
the liveliest hope; which hope has been strengthened by the farther
evidence that many of the candidates have given of their earnest-
ness of purpose by coming to taste the fulness of Christian joy
m Holy Communion.

And now my Reverend Brethren, whilst I am discussing the
evidences of efficiency in our calling, it will be ap well, perhaps, to
enter a little into the causes which contribute to that efficiency.
In so doing I shall mention but a few, and even these we shall only
be able to sketch, without fully depicting. I will confine myself
then to three elements of ministerial efficiency, and consider the
clergyman's :

1. Habit of Study ;

2. His Power op Prbaohing, and

3. The Spirituality op his Character.

These are essential; for the Priest's lips must keep knowledge;
the minister of the gospel must be apt to teach; and if he have
not the Spirit of Christ, he can be none of His.

The clergyman should be a man given to reading. To teach is
his calling ; and when a man ceases to learn, he is no longer fit to
teach. Time was when it was esteemed that the study was the
clergyman's workshop, in which he becomingly spent the greater
part of his working hours. No doubt this was carried a little too

sf?r

d. We

18 a oon-
iter, our
r bandB'
the new
b of our
feel i^at
nnot fail
r suooess
spnfirma-
it feeling
ew their
Dbserver,
rite with
le farther
■ earncst-
istian joy

ssing the
irhaps, to
iffioiency.
shall only
le myself
isider the

Qowledge ;
f he have

?o teach is
nger fit to
ly was tlie
be greater
a little too

^ ?n waotice • and the active duties of a olergy-
for in opinion and m practice , f^^J^ . ^^^ j ^^ ^ery

^anwere in those days too "'^f °^^;^°^^^^^^^^ far in the

^uch mistaken the pendiduin ^^J^^^^^^ l^^^,^,,, ,,ould

opposite ^--^Xlfte Xretll^ in the clerical character,
ohoke the gy-f ?^^^^;;^;^^^^^^^^^ can be neglected without

In truth --" J^J^^,, ao not go to his people, they wiU
loss of power If the ^^^^^ „ot enriched by reading, and

not come to him; and if h s mind ne ^, ^^ ^^le

cultivated by ^^^flf^^^ZZ:^, 71 o^ly accomplish
and wearisome; or, it he aim ai v j,

^ p„^. by — s i^:^:xi^ ^: L tporU

tohor into to »«^^^ 7'Xn the Bubjeot ,U1 be mtroduoed

t„Vakfor . few m.™.e» »F»J^-^;S^'^,^,.„„a^^^^^

J^' *c S t;:rnoTru»erou. ;-b«t I donot «e
be more effective it tney w^^ic exaction of many

a>atwe can n>.ke the» 1----J ^^'S.Zit «rebe J
sermons is too impenonstobemthstooa. "« j.

i, people ;f*37J -';„lt:olf:p:^»^e^ A-

you n.ay readUy suppo^, f^I ^^n^y mi^e t B„t
preaching, that I speak thus, f"' J ""^^^ ^„ amt onr
quality is before quantity. And mtb a ™w to ^
preaching be effeetiye «f^f P»7'\'' ^J^" I po«th

the gospel were not e-et^*™' *;^^ 'iZe W-d. «"Pl-'J

rf::^Lzrct^:^'--roftheK™seu^^

11^

School came not only an accession of fervour, but a keener perception
of the value of doctrine. When earnest men are possessed of a truth
which is not appreciated, they press it home. The greater the
resistance— the more vital the truth, the greater is the danger of
its being exaggerated, the more likely are we to lose of the sym-
metry of truin. And so penetrated were these men with the
momentous importance of the doctrines of the atonement, of grace,
of justification by faith, that all else sank into comparative insig-
nifiance. The extreme results of such preaching are the neglecting
to look for the fruit of belief in the life of the believer, and the
passing by as inconsiderable trifles, the neceasities of order.
In reaction from this state of things, rose what may be called the
ecclesiasticalstyle,t)rotesting against the exaltation of doctrine over
morality, and insisting upon the efficacy of the Sacraments and
the authority of the Church.

My Brethren, we can dispense with none of these, which
have been perhaps each in their day, too exclusively the
topics of preaching. Certainly we can dispense neither with
doctrinal statement, nor with the enforcement of duty. Fur-
ther, we must propound these in their relation to each other, and
always doubt the soundness of our doctrine if it do not produce
holiness of life. And again, he who is ashamed, or afraid, upon
fitting occasions, and in due proportion, to preach the Church, is
her unworthy minister. Our people ought to be at least as well
instructed in our principles as those who dissent from us are in theirs.
Dissenters always know what it is they object to in our system.
They know why they dissent; and we ought to know why we do
not. There seems a strange misapprehension on this point in
many men's minds. What is only fair and legitimate in others
is bigotry in us. We must not fear this. If we are in the right,
let us know it ; if we are in the wrong, let us know that; and let
us put into the mouths of our people an answer to this question,
"Why are you a Churchman ?" One who is not a Churchman
would be very much affronted if you supposed he had no answer
to the question, '* Why are you a Baptist?" " Why are you a
Methodist ?" or " Why are you an Universalist ?" We only claim
for ourselves what all others claim for themselves. Well then we

me.

cannot dispense with any of these elements, of duty, of doctrine, or
of Church principles, from our teaching ; but, my Brethren, we shall
make a fearful mistake if we substitute any, or all of them for
Christ. He must be the Sun of our system. The light
from His Person must irradiate all our teaching. Its warmth
must be felt in all our discourses. Neither sacrament nor dogma
must be suffered to obscure its rays. They are lamps to hold the
light. Woe be to us if we fall down and worship them as though
they were the light. Christ is the Light : Christ is the Life. To
lead the soul to him, is the final cause of Church, and Sacrament,
and Dogma : worthless, worse than worthless, are aU these, if by
stopping short of, they keep the soul from Him; or, rather, worth-
less are we, if we so misuse and pervert them.

Now, the use of sermons being mainly to awaken, or to edify,
they must in the former case address themselves mainly to the
feelings, in the latter case to the understanding; or, by another
treatment of the feelings, win to the practice of, whilst they
point out the way to attain, the Christian graces.

The former kind are undoubtedly the most popular with an
uneducated people; the latter are apt to be dull, at least if the
instruction be sufficiently elementary to be useful to those who
most need it. Not that I admit the justice of the common cry
against the dulness of sermons. The common fallacy on this
point is to compare the ordinary clergyman with the brilliant
barrister, and in this way, of course, a pretty strong contrast can
be attained. But I have not been able to perceive so striking a
difference when the men were fairly matched. Of the few emi-
nently eloquent men of an age, the fair proportion, it seems to
me, are, and have been, ecclesiastics. And I have seen nothing
tending to show that if all the occupants of the ba«k benches of the
court-house were required to produce two original compositions,
upon a limited range of subjects, for the same audience, for the
rest of their natural lives, I have seen nothing tending to show
that these productions, viewed as literary performances, would be
any way superior to the sermons now usually delivered.

But there is a cause of the dulness of sermons which it becomes us
to look fairly in the face. Systematic instruction is always tiresome to

df**^

H-

thoBe who have no eager desire to learn. By Bystematio inBtmc-
tion I do not here mean doctrinal argumeut,— whioh has always
been popular when popularly handled,-nor do I mean exposition,
which is also popular, and might be introduced into our preaching
with advantage,-but that connected statement, and agam and
acrain repeated inculcation of first principles, which we call ground-
bar And yet systematic instruction such as this cannot be
dispensed with. I believe we sufer both from its introduction to
and its omission from our sermons. There are many, it must
be recollected, whose religious knowledge is confined to what
they hear in Church. And though children should certainly
be -rounded in the Mik at home and in school, yet many are
not' and he whose office it is to preach the Gospel to all, must
contrive somehow to suit his public ministrations to the capacities
and attainments of all. ^

The state of he case seems to be, that the confcinuoua formal
address which we call a sermon, is, in these days, though a power-
ful yet but an imperfect preaching of the Gospel. The problem
before us then is to find the proper complement of the sermon.
And he I think, will have made the nearest approach to a solution
of the problem who has made the best use of catechetical instruc-
tion For thoroughness there is no teaching like catechetical
teaching, (save the employment of the pen, which may in some
cases be very well combined with it). As a lever of emoti^ it
is not comparable indeed to a continuous address ; but for windmg
into a subject,-for indoctrinating a man, forgiving him^a fim
grasp of first principles,-for elucidating the intricacies of details,
-for adaptation of doctrine by expansion and contraction to the
variety and peculiarities of mental calibre,-there never yet was a
method so efficacious as the method of instniction by question and
answer It imports into teaching the advantages without the
attendant disadvantages of discussion. Difficulties^ axe ckaxed
objections answered, the whole matter is sifted-looked at .dl
round; and what a man learns in this way he knows well^ and

remembers long. . , . j j xi

With children there is 'of course no difficulty m, and mdeed there
is an universally felt necessity for, using this mode of mstruction.

lii

} iDatruc-
as always
sposiition,
preaohiiig
again and
11 groand-
eannot be
iuction to
r, it muBt
I to what
certainly
many are

> all, must
I copooities

)U9 formal
5I1 a power-
he problem
lie sermon.

> a solution
oal iostruc-
catechetioal
lay in some
' emotion it
for winding

him a firm
!s o£ details,
iction to the
er yet was a
luestioQ and
without the
axe cleaxed,
Doked at all
ws welV and

indeed there
f instruction.

.19

And where children can bo catechized in the presence of their
elders these latter may loam a great deal which it is good for them
to know. Still in a country mission, where there is usually but
one service, this is often impossible, and indeed, where attainable,
it is, so far as adults are concerned, but a make-shift, poorly sup-
plying the lackmg elements in modern preaching. Happily, how-
ever, it is possible to approach the adult understanding, directly,
with systematic teaching. Bible classes are fortunately interesting.
If a clergyman will take a portion of Scripture, and preparing
himself by careful study, go through it verse by verse, avoiding
no difficulty, questioning his class, encouraging them to state their
difficulties, and tender their explanations, he will find them willing
enough to learn. And when he has once inaugurated the practice
he may vary the application of the method, eo as to convey what-
ever instruction he may think needful. Instead of a book, for
instance, he may take a subject; and, by a judicious arrangement
of his questions and references, lead his class through it. He
may exhibit a doctrine, or trace the growth of an institution.
And over and above the greater fulness, clearness, and accuracy of
knowledge which the method will impart, there will be this advan
tage, that his hearers will be in a condition to follow with interest
sermons of a more solid description than he could otherwise ven-
ture to oflfer them. His discourses may become If <J8 hortatory —
more' didactic ; and with manifest Advantage. What is to come of
this continual exhortation ? Is a man to be always beginning his
religion over again : ever learning and never able to come to a
knowledge of the truth. Is it enough to convince? Is there no
such thing as edification? Or must we reverse the Apostle's
direction, and be ever laying again the foundation of repentance,
never going on to perfection ?

But after all the most powerful element of preaching, the most
persuasive, and most instructive, is the spirituality of the preacher's
■ character. . The most eloquent of sermons is a holy life. It is
useless to preach the Gospel unless we live the Gospel. I speak
not simply of the eflFect of example ; what I mean is that if the
utterance of the mouth is to be effectual, it must proceed from the
fulness of the heart.

Now there are dangers incident to our position which we
shall be unwise to ignore. Universally, familiarity deadens the
freshness of feeling. The tendency to subside into routine per-
vades all professions. In some it is tolerable : in ours it is fatal
The adroitness of the adept which accomplishes the complicated
and once toilsome process with unconscious celerity and mechanical
accuracy, is in some professions more than an equivalent for the
waning of that enthusiasm which is the companion of novelty.
Wot so in ours. Our calling is no trade. Our religion must
be vital throughout. Every process must be instinct with life—
freshness of feeling— the felt reality of the truths we utter is of the
essence of our function. And the very magnitude of the interests
with which we deal brings us in danger of insensibility to them.
Day after day we tell of Heaven and of Hell, of souls lost and
saved. We declare the Incarnation of God in the Man Jesus;
we announce the person, describe the influence and operation of
the Holy Ghost ; and the weight of awe attaching to these amazmg
mysteries by frequent repetition stuns the soul. So stupendous
is our regularly recurring theme, that the mind grows passive
under its pressure. Here, my Brethren, is our danger. By
custom of handling holy things we risk the loss of spiritual tone.
We minister the words of consolation to the sick and the dying.
We use language of the deepest feeling-we call upon the Lord
Jesus by his Agony and Bloody sweat, to deliver us. The wail of
our supplication rises and falls, and swells again, and repeats itself,
with all the intensity of a soul pleading in the very presence of God
—pleading for deliverance from the burden of sin, which is intol-
erable—calling upon the Son of God— the Lamb of God— to hear
our prayer— to grant us peace, and iterating in every form, the
piercing cry for mercy —

Lord have mercy upon us,
Christ have mercy upon us.
Lord have mercy upon us.

Now, my Brethren, is it not the case that these words often go
beyond the reaches of our soul ? that we read them without feeling
that compunction— that longing for peace ^nd holiness— which

.h„voxDroB8? And oh I «hat a falling off i« here 1 Iflhoaofbrm,
iKnl entreaty ar. used merely .» the cold expressions of
prop7et7-wh.tfoolLhformstheyareI FooUshl 'W ■;«> «»™

inir our souls seared as with a hot iron.

And yet the inevitable tendenoy of constant repetition is to pro

dut this unconscious and mechanical performance of onr most

llduties. The tendency is ineviUblo. ^^"noi^yj^^^^

result i»-6od forbid. I suppose that your experience wil give

vrVnowlcdgo enough of the tendency of spiritual exere.se, todo-

^ La.« into forms. And I know ^ "-at your experience wd^ WU

bow this deplorable issue may be averted ; *»» J™ ""J^^j^J

secret prayer, and by aU the unuttored thoughts of the life whwh

Z hid with Christ in Gcd, to replenish your lamps wifl. the

"Uf gI^s Holy Spiri^wLioh alone can feed the flame of true

dtolion. That we may assist one -f^-'^rtrautis «
principal cause of our presonoo here. And I do '™ ^^^-'j^
few daysfellowship, maybe lifelong,-ayeeternal-m '*» '^"^
Lt there may be an outpouring of the Spirit upon "' i ^""•y^^
overflow the flame of the divine life may pass with lambent h„M
Zm L* soul, and thatwe may be all one by «— -^ ^
■miritual dft»-knit together in one communion and fellowship m
rryli^rBody of Christ our Lord-that with brot^er^^v
„d quickened spirituality, we may walk worthy »f '^^ ™^'^^^
wherLth we are eallcd-that we as a church may en^r mto he
jo, of the Prophet's benediction : " Arise, shine, for thy i.igM »
come, and the glory of the Lord is risen upon thee.