..^ IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A. 1.0 Sfi^ ta I 1.1 S i;& 12.0 LillU 116 6" ^j>' jbClBOOES W m i 1 ,M.Y. 14SM (7U)in<41M fz^ .^ CIHM/ICMH Microfiche Series. CIHIVI/ICIVIH Collection de microfiches. C*Mdl*n ImtltiiM for Historical Mleroraproductlom / Imtltiit nnadlMi do microroprodiwtlom hImorlquM I'i^ i Tachnical and Bibliographic Notaa/Notat tachniquaa at biMiographiquaa Tha Inftuta liaa attamptad to obtain tha baat original copy avallabia for filming. Faaturaa of thia copy which may ba bibllographicaliy uniqua, which may altar any of tha Imagaa In tha raproduction, or which may significantly changa tha uaual mathod of filming, ara chaclcad balow. D D D D D Colourad covara/ Couvartura da coulaur r~n Covara damagad/ Couvartura andommagagaa blanchita ajoutAaa iora d'una raatauratlon apparaiaaant dana la taxta, mala, loraqua cala Atait poaaibia. caa pagaa n'ont paa MA fiimAaa. 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' -T"-. / ( /W -/^ ^/ ' .4/ ./ ■I, •• fs / CHARGK ( DULIVCKUD \\ THE CATHEDRAL OF CHRIST-CHURCH, FREDERICTON, TO THE CLERGY OF THE DIOCESE, ASSEMBLED AT THE SECOWI) TRIENWIAL VISITATION dr JOHN, filSHOr OF FRKJ)£R1(;T0N. -V .* .w « ' SAINT JOHN, N. B. PRINTED BV VV. L. AVERV, PRINCE WILLIAM fiXIlEKT. 1850. -s ifffl>gmmtraiftmr%mmmpfllfmimi\ iijum.iiiiiiiiii >iii«in"f^H>Wi>>»r»'»'"W— «f^^W '^^'n* *" i linppM^*«Pfimp|P*«n!im>"> IP . WJ, i.iinp, ■"JPWF" T O T Hi: L i: It G Y Of IHL I DIOCESE or FREDERICTOK, rnoM niEiR ArfEciioKArt brotheb, THE AUTHOR. ! r i a Si ■(fi Uevebend and Dear Drethren- / The three years which hove nearly elapsed since we last met together, form a considerable part of our fleeting lives; a still larger portion of our ministry in the Church of God ; and, as may fairly be presumed, deduct a greater sum from my brief sojourning among you as your Bishop. These reflections^ which add something of sadness to all human fellowship, will, I trust, banish from our view all feelings of diflerence and distrust, and will place before us more dis« dnctly the time, when we must bid farewell to the dreams and tho contests of Time, and when the measure of our hopes and fears will be the great future of the Eternal world. For myselfi I hail this periodical meeting as a season of Christian communion, and mutual counsel with my fellow*labourers; and I desire that the advice which I now tender may be considered as coming from one, who throws himself on your kindness and indulgence, and who, in the imperfect discharge of a very difiicult and perilous oflice, will, under God, be best sustained by your united co-operation. The elder Clergy, especially, will regret the absence of two of our number ; both somewhat unexpectedly taken from us : both honest and zealous labourers : who have gone to their rest not unknown nor unlamented ; and their work is with their God. Since I wrote these words, another of our little band has fallen : a brother truly beloved by his Parisliioners, and by us. Surety this sad stroke, coming on us so unexpectedly, and at this particular time, should deepen all our better feelings, should draw us nearer to God and to each other, for wc " know not when the Master of the House cometh, at midnight, or in the cock-crowing, or in the morning." Our journey is short, our time of probation is brief, our reckoning is heavy, our Master is near. Many of you have also heard with sincere grief of the continued illness of the father of the three Dioceses of Nova Scotia, Newfound- land, and Fredericton. And I am sure it will be a gratification to his kind heart to know, that among those whom he has ordained, there is not one who does not sympathize with him in his affliction, not one, I trust, who does not send up to tlie Throne of the Heavenly Grace petitions in his behalf. Amidst these reasons for seriousness and sadness, we have surely abundant cause for thankfulness. VVe meet not as the confessors and 6' clergy of rnilier tiinrs, omoiging fVoin ilie gloomy (•atocomb, willi otu numbers thinned by persecutions, oncli one expecting bis own turn of anguish to come next : we meet not even as our brethren in Canada, to mourn over the victims of the pestilence : our jicrsons have been free, our hearths tho destroyer has passed, we at least are spared to assemble here in health and peoce, to accept the renewed hospitality of our lay-brethren, and to rejoice that our numbers are augmented. As a motive for thankfulness, therefore, and not as a reason for boasting, I mention to you what has been done by our joint co-opera- tion since I became your Bishop. \ The young persons who have renewed their communion with the Church during that period are *2214: the Deacons ordained, 20 : the Priests, 19. New Churches consecrated, 19 ; of which the seats in fourteen are entirely free, and many free in the other Churches: BurinI Grounds consecrated, 9 ; and our Cathedral Church, towards which many of you have kindly contributed, is, us you see, going on to completion, the work standing firmly and well. The total number of new Clergy admitted into the Diocese is 23 ; of new Missions, 13 ; in founding which I have been most materially aided by the Church Society, whose income has, during that period, been more than doubled. Ttie total number of consecrated Churches is 79 ; of licensed Clergy 49, besides two retired Missionari. J ; and of tho Stations which they regularly or occasionally serve exceeding 120. The number of Communicants furnished me by the return of the Deans Rural is 2966 ; Baptisms for one year, of 1310 ; Marriages, 316 ; Burials, 452: and on looking over the Map of the Province, I think it will be found, that the Church of England has either a consecrated building or a station at almost every place of importance in the Province, where there are any members of our Communion to be found. I have also to present to the Clergy, for the use of the Diocese, a Cathedral Library of about 700 volumes, the liberal benefaction, in part of the University of Oxford ; in part, of Mrs. Huysne, of Exeter, of J. D. Coleridge, Esqr., Rev. J. Light, and others. I have reason to believe that other presents will be made, and we ourselves, by a very small subscription, which will not inconvenience the poorest, may add to the stock. his also a gratifying fact that, in a time of acknowledged pressure, our Church Society has had above ;f 1,000 placed at its disposal this year, which exceeds the income of any former year, and is a proof that, on the whole, confidence is felt in the disposal of the funds, and in the general mnnagement of the Society. But, liberally as you mm of (la, lo ily M ; I contribute to its supparl out of your icaiity moans, impossiible an il would bo, without yoir ready zcul, to collect such funds at all, 1 am confident thnt thore is not oiio present who docs not see the wisdom and fool the advantage of that Rule of its original Constitution, which provides, in the annual distribution of its funds, that two thirds of the distributors shall be lay-members, or who would wish that the Kulo should be altered.* But if the year has come with blessings on its wings, thore are also some causes for anxiety and fear. If we are exempted from many privations and dangers to which our predecessors were exposed, if we have full liberty to preach and expound the Scriptures, and sol forth the doctrines of our Church, if the laity cheerfully co*operate with us in works of love : we must also observe, that the liberty granted to all has degenerated into a kind of general license, that there is in tho minds of a considerable number, and of that number some nut unintelligent, nor uneducated, a fixed aversion to definite standards of faith and practice, the efTects of which are felt in the loosening of the bonds of society, in the diminution of respect and attachment to parents, in the ease with which men slide from one communion to another, in the determined opposition to discipline and correction (though repeatedly enjoined by Scripture), in places of public edu- cation, in a morbid sympathy with criminals, if not with crime, in a fatal habit of measuring weighty and solemn duties by pecuniary interest, in a remarkable want of honesty in bargains, and in the fulfilment of promises, and in a heady opposition to every thing which does not bear the stamp of present expediency. These evils are not peculiar to our own times : but that they are now peculiarly rife, no thoughtful christian will deny. Our business, as good soldiers of the Cross, is to withstand them, successfully or not, for duty, not success, is our part ; not to aim to raise ourselves on the shoulders of license to places of profit or authority. But I shall not dwell longer upon these general topics, but proceed to otFer such advice as I hope may prove not unserviceable to you, especially lo my younger brethren. The work which Churchmen, whether they be clerks or lay-brethren, have before them, is cither * There was granted this year — For Mksionary purposes, For Now Churches, For Widows and Orphans Fund. For Books, For Parsonago llousr, Total. Ji;il05 ij (j JC710 i7ri 100 100 20 2 ti I r 8 the promotion of llio spiritual growth of tho living mombors of the Church, which is iis Infernal Work : or the building up of its fabric, tliat is, tlio fabric of its material walls, or the fabric of its economy, by a provision for its Ministers, and by tho mninlcnunco of its srr- vicos. This is its External Work. I say, this is tho work which all Churchmen havo to do ; though alt are not appointed to do it in tho same way. Wo havo received a peculiar call and commission to execute some parts of this work in a way that belongs not to lay- people, yet this hinders not their being called to cxocuto other oHice^, which they may perform more cfl'uctually than ourselves. And in most of tho Duties that I nm now about to notice, unless they work with us, tho work will never be well done. Wo aro not tho Church : we cannot stand, nor work alone. Our first duty then appears to mo to bo Unity ; our second, Sanctity' : our third. Progress. By Unity, I do not mean uniformity only, though without some uniformity, Unity cannot exist; neither do I intend a skeleton outline of Apostolic succession, unaccompanied by tho proportions of Apos- tolic doctrine and practice ; nor am I thinking of distinctive dresses, open seats, painted windows, or Gregorian chants. If the world sup- pose that this is what we mean by Unity, they utterly mistake, or artfully pervert our meaning. Nevertheless, in their place, these things do not deserve a sneer. A distinctive dress is n decent respect which we all pay to each other, and may most properly pay to the House of God : open seats gather together more of Christ's Jiving members, without distinctions which belong to iho world : painted Avindows invito sucred historical recollections, or become memorials of departed worth : and simple chants enable the greatest number of the faithful to sing together the praises of their Lord. Still theso things are not Unity, singly, nor all together ; for Unity existed without them ; and it will exist where they have no place. Our Unity consists in tho oneness of our FJead : in the oneness of our faith: in the oneness of our Scriptures : in the fellowship of the Sacraments, in one Church, and in a general agreement of heart and judgment on the doctrines and duties of the Christian Religion. Infinite diversities of mind and action there must be : even schools of Theology are admissible, if we understand them to mean not opposing systems, but habits of contemplating the same truth from opposite points jf view : but where perfect Unity exists, they will bo blended and softened as the colours form one ray of light, as ipnu Ijjerable rayi are blended in one landscape. % 4 i i ■i Yet «uro1y it is Importnnt to romombor, that we Imvo not Unity U* seek^ but Unity to preserve. Whatever (litForcnces exist, let thcni> not obscure the brood fact, that we aro united in one Church, built pro- fessedly on ono confession of faith, and that confession Scriptural, Apostolic, nnd Primitive : that we have been made Ministers by one ordination, nnd thnt by our own Voluntary Subscription we are bound, as far as oj\y subscription con bind us, to ono general Interpretation of Scripture, in respect to certain great propositions. We have then tbe Materials, if wo could only acquire the Spirit of Unity. Viewing Unity then from this single point, it will obviously occur to you that it will be promoted by our abstaining from b'vor language and contentious provocations of each other, from all that needlessly wounds a brother*s feelings, or character, ** provoking one another** rather to a peaceful rivalry " in good works," endeavouring to dis- cover the points of agreement, and to piActiso tbc ^, and if others (lifTer, labouring to bring them over, not so much to our own mind, as to the mind of the Church, and above all, where the Church hns given her judgment, following with a glad mind and will her godly admo- nitions, " and submitting ourselves to her godly judgment." For he who is not ready to submit himself to the Church of which he is a member, must be in danger of grieving that Holy Spirit who dwells in the whole body. His cuse is nut that of the *' hand saying to the feet, I have no need of you ;" but of the hand saying to the tchoJe body, " I have no need of you." If indeed wo read and reflect upon the solemn words of our Ordi- nation Service, (and the least that we can do is to read that service, with self-examination, once a year), we must see the necessity of such a course of conduct as I have prescribed. The distinct promise made before God and the congregation, to give our *' faithful diligence always so to Minister the Doctrine and Sacram^cnts, and the Discipline of Christ, as this Church and realm hath received the came," cannot be fulfilled by those, who set up their own way of action against the way prescribed for them. Such a procedure is as contrary to Scripture as to the Church, for, says the Apostle, " let us walk by the same rule," or canon, " let us niind the same thing." I would beg therefore earnestly to caution you against that most needless violation of Unity, the mutilation of some of the Services. If we are at liberty to alter and omit, where shall we stop ? There arc a few parts in our Liturgy which might possibly admit of abbreviation, but when a service like the Marriage Service, is heard so seldom, and by the same individuals sometimes only once in their f 4immm 10 t ■l! i> V lives, it appears to me that the mutilation of it is tantamount to a positive declaration that v/e are wiser than the Church of God. The concluding address every one ought to be the better for hearing : the commencement contains truths which the Church deems it right tc utter, because tl>ey are built on ilie declarations of Scripture. It is not the purnr class of minds who are offended by plainness. And if we begin the work of omission in deference to the scruples of others, we may in the end omit half the doctrinal parts of our Service, or large portions of the licssons appointed to be read. I must therefore enjoin you, as a matter of canonical Duty, to read this Service and the other Services entire. I also trus'i that you will urge on your Parishioners when they come to be married, to ask God^s blessing on " the holy estate of Matrimony" in God's House, and that you will, in the Towns especially, endeavour to uphold the rule. I deem it my duty to give a precise and positive injunction on another point. There is, I understand, a custom in some Parishes, of which I was not, until lately, aware, of offering up extemporaneous prayers over the dead, in private houses, instead of bringing the corpse to Church, so that, in fact, the Clergyman substitutes his own prayers for the prayers of the Church. I am not desirous to speak too strongly of any custom which has existed for some time : but I must, in duty to the Church and to the laity forbid this custom, as not only incon- sistent with the use of our formularies, but contrary to them. Of what benefit is a prescribed and common form, if our own prayers, however well prepared, are to take their place ? We might as well offer up an extempore prayer at our Sunday School, in place of the ordinary service for the day, and of all parts of our Prayer Book, the Burial Service is the last which can with propriety or advantage to the survivors be omitted. Many persons attend funerals who do not belong to our Communion, and it is not improbable that some benefit might be produced in their minds by our affecting and instructive prayers. I must also express my disapprobation of the practice of reading the funerti". service at the grave in a gown. Even when the grave-yard is at a distance from the Church, there is no great difHcuIty in the Sexton or attendant carrying the surplice. It is the appointed vestment for offering up our public prayers, and I consider it both disrespectful to the memory of the dead, and to the plain injunctions of the Liturgy to do otherwise. We might with as '.^uch propriety read the Sunday prayers and lessons in the preaching g'»wn. I hope your good sense and good feeling will resort to wh^xl is the universal practice of our Church at home, and could not in reason offend any one, whose scruples deserve consideration. f'( c a r I] c ^^pp mmm 11 iv: I f ifS I have not deemed it necessary to make any general order in re* ferenco to the weekly OfTertory, which in some Churches ha^ been customarily collected. But I think it will be admitted, that we should all make our public and extraordinary collections, whenever they are made, in the same manner. It is a source of needless confusion, and needless remark on the part of the laity, when they find the custom of collecting different in divers Churches.* And as no believer in the truth of Scripture ought to be offended by hearing the words of Divine truth read in his ears, there can be no reasonable objection to our reading the " Sentences," whilst the Churchwardens, or other fit per- sons, collect the Alms of the people. The custom is seemly, rational. Scriptural, and surely more edifying, than listening to some secular melody played by an Organist. I trust that the meetings of the several Deaneries have been (for the most part) pleasant and profitable. Whatever brings the Clergy together, enables them to know each other, to communicate their thoughts, wishes, and plans freely, and to interchange kindly offices, must do good : and it must be their own fault if such meetings are not found useful, and I earnestly request you not to absent yourselvea from them. There are no moments of my life to which I look back with more unfeigned pleasure, than those which I was thus permitted to spend in the society of some of my much-loved brethren, many of them, alas! " early called to Rest," in my Native land. But I oiiould strongly advise you not often to introduce controverted subjects l ^ doctrine into these little resting-places of friendship. Surely Life it» short enough, and sad enough, without being embittered by never- ending strife. Spiritual improvement, not party contests, should be the object of all our assemblies. It will afford you pleasure to hear, that the Bishop of Toronto and the Bishop of Newfoundland have divided their Dioceses into Deane- ries, so that we do not stand alone. Lf-t me return my sincere thanks for the zeal with which the Deani; Ram! h;ive discharged their gra- tuitous offices, and tender these words of Scriptural advice in reference to the future. " Be not liigh-minded, but fetir ;" " Forsake not the assembling of yovirscivcs lo?;c'iher ;"' and, "■ See that ye fall not out by the way.'' To return to tho great subject of Unity. I know not how it i» possible to look uack to the fovmdiition of the Church, or lo that awful hour (recorded in the i7ih chapter of St. John) when our Divine • The same observation applioa to *.hz manner of admiiiistenng the Hely Communion. I ■I f : 1 i' 12 Master looked upon it us so fodnded, formed, collectud, and purt'ccted, gathering to itself all that is fitted by his grace on Earth for God's Eternal Praise, without looking beyond oui'selves : without remeni' hering that no distinctions of climate, caste, or race, formed pan of His heavenly contemplation : that He gathers in the wide embrace of His Love all people and all tongues, sinners and saints, the penitent and the fallen, the loving John, the erring Peter, the weeping Mag- dalene, the doubtful Thomas, the forgetful Philip: that even the crucifiers of their King, even the fallen Ephesus, the defiled Sardis, the cold Laodicea, were cared for, and beloved by Him : and that He, whose "gifts and calling are without repentance," can never coldly forget nor cruelly pass by the places where His love was first published by Angels to mankind, the cave of His nativity, the valley of His agony, the " liule hill" which He ascended to die for us men and for our salvation, the spots to which His angel led St. Paul, or where St. Peter blotted out the memory of his former grief by another cruci- fixion. And if we see our brother *' fallen among thieves, stripped" of his " glorious raiment, wounded, and half dead," we should not, with cold averted eye, pass him by without sympathy, or heap curses upon his head, but should extend to him at least a brother's heart, a brother's prayers. If a much deeper and holier spirit than any which exists at large in our own Church be wanted to heal our own wounds, and bring back Unity, how certain must it be, that the unity of the parts of Chris- tendom can never be effected without the unity of the whole : and that though, unhappily this union seems as fur ofl' as ever, Union is the thing we want, the want of which we lament with all our hearts, and whilst " we dare not sacrifice truth to peace, nor separate our- selves from the Gospel in order to be conformed to the Church," Roman, or Oriental, we endeavour to " conform ourselves in all things both in credendis et agendis, to whatsoever is uniform in the belief or practice of the Universal Church : and hold an actual communion with all the divided parts of the Christian world," in all things lawful, ^* and in votis, according to our desires, in all things."* With such sentiments, I hold it impossible to attempt to overlook the existence, or to be content with ceaseless vituperation of the Koman and Oriental Churches. Both originally descended from the ^' root of Jesse ;" both have their witness in the Scriptures : both have made us their debtors by " imparling spiritual gifts :" both profess to -=^ " Bramkftll. Auswer to MHitiere. '; ^t^^^: ttid, od'a lem- rt of e of itent M ii H worship ono God in Trinity, and Trinity in Unity : both acknowledge one Redeemer, one Spirit, and ono Baptism : both unite in the three Ancient Creeds, except in one Article, and that capable of a milder interpretation : both own the weight of the moral duties of the Gospel, and look forward to the coming of the Lord to judge the quick and dead : both have the witness of the Spirit " working wit». them," by the possession of great Saints, and illustrious Luminaries. We know indeed full well the injustice, and the narrowness of the Tridentine decrees: we know how that famous synod (for council ii can hardly be called) was gathered together, awed, and silenced: ne- vertheless I maintain, that not to extend to the great body of the Chris- tian world our sympathy, our wishes, and our prayers, to repeat for everlasting ages the same hard and bitter words, to mistake the thunder DO ' of the English guns for the rights of Bishops, and to trample on the rights of Ancient and Apostolic Churches, by reason of our might, and our knowledge, and our wealth, is as unwarrantable as were the canons of the Council of Trent. But that we, even the purest of us, should set ourselves up as patfern-Chrisilans to the whole world, and deny the graces which oihcrs really possess, is such an instance of unholy pride, as I pray God, may not be visited upon us in judgment. What are we, as an English Church and Nation, that we should " boast ourselves against all other branches ?" We who founded an Empire in India, and whilst we heaped up treasure for ourselves, forgot for a long time, that there was such a thing as Christianity ! We, who resisted to the uttermost the afTecling supplications of the Americans for Spiritual help, and then, by the righteous judgment of God, lost that mighty Empire by our obstinacy and folly! We, who (to be consistent in our inconsistency) weaken, continually weaken, as much as in us lies, in all our Colonies, the hands of Proiestant Pre- lates, while we loudly exult in the superior lustre of the Protestant Religion! Our duly is humility, not boasting: to read the awful sentences in the Book of Revelation, and to tremble : to read the gracious assurances of Christ's love, and not to despair. Let us then, my brethren, be intercessors for Christ's Church in all her branches throughout ihe world : even for those who deny our Priesthood, reject our Sacraments, and excommunicate us for adhering to such terms of Communion as Ig >atitis, IrenjEUS, a id Cyprian would have embraced. And, blessed be God, this is not the case wiih the Oriental Church. The prejudices which exist against us in that quarter, arise chiefly from not knowing what we are. Our iranslations of ihc Scriptures, and of 'he Prayer-book, will tend to c 14 ■^a [.I il il 1 m m i H '( Si remove this veil, and wilt bring us into friendly communion with each other. Nor ought we to forget that pure and venerable branch of the Episcopal Church in Scotland, to whose reverence for primitivo Antiquity, the Sister Church in America owes an important part of her Communion Office, and one link of her Apostolic descent. And with what unfeigned joy, my Brethren, may we hail the rapid pro- gress, the undoubted orthodoxy, the learning, and the zeal of the Protestant Episcopal Church in the United States. Here, no narrow questions of State policy, or State government divide us. We on this side the border, and our friends and brethren on that side, are one " in the Eternal Kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ ;" and they esteem us one with themselves. Dear as England is or ought to be to us all, it is not dearer to our hearts than to the hearts of American Churchmen. They burn when they behold its ancient Institutions, they enter with a filial joy its noblo Cathedrals, they prize and imitate its goodly Churches, they reprint and eagerly read its standard literature, and the names which have descended with high renown as the doctors and confessors of our Church, are no where more duly appreciated, no where more " familiar as house- hold words'* than in the mouths of American Churchmen.* They have themselves enriched our language with works which do equal honour lO their learning and their piety, some of which are reprinting, or will be reprinted in England. All glory be to Him, who brings good out of evil : who causes the wrath of Nations to praise Him : v/ho binds us together by bonds of love which rival interests cannot sever, which Time, we trust, will only more closely unite. Here, then, is * Thus, Albion, have I lived with thee, Though born bo far away ; With thee I spend each holy eve, And every fbStal day. My Sunday morn is mnsical. With England's Bteeple-tone ; Aud when thy Christmaa hearths are bright, A blaze 13 on my own. Now pray we for our Mother That England long may be, The holy and the happy, And the gloriously free ! Who blesseth her is blessed ! So peace be in her walls; And joy in all her palaooa, Her cottages and lialls. Coxb'b CkriaUan Ballads. ** BleiMd be tboa of the Lord," my brothsr. comfortablQ wordi. These ara jjood word*, and I 15 another topic of continual Intercessory Prayer. " For my brethren and companions* sakes, I will wish thee Prosperity.** Nor ought we, I think, to forget the existence, or refuse to acknow- ledge the claims upon our charity of those large bodies of Christians, who have peopled this great Continent, without Episcopal Govern- ment. Much as we deplore not only the absence of this element of truth, but what is perhaps of more importance, the absence of any fixed, definite standard of Interpretation : much as we deplore the tendency in all these bodies to fall into grave doctrinal error, and the unquestionable fact, that thousands who once clung to their Divine Bedeemer*s Name as a " strong Tower,** now lean upon the puny arm of their own unaided Reason, we ought never to forget that they are Christians. We ought to bear in mind that thousands and tens of thousands were born what they are, and continue to be what their early education made them : and that however men may be mistaken in their Nonconformity, they cannot be mistaken in their Piety. We must sorrowfully admit, that the lukewarmness, nay, the open irreligion of some of our own members, contribute to their alienation from our Communion : and what is a very practical matter, that in these vast wildernesses, where it is not easy, nor even possible, always to seek men out, and supply their spiritual wants as fast as they immigrate, a loose, unfixed, fluctuating faith, an unsettled, unestablished teacher, is more agreeable to the peculiar habits of the rough and ready popula- tion. But whatever they are, they constitute the vast majority of these Northern Climes ; and if any of them should be found, fired by intemperate zeal, idly to spend their time in denouncing and calum- niating us, let not the ** sea of such men's gall and bitterness** drown our love ; let us extort their respect by our silence, if we cannot command their attention by our arguments. To associate with them in works which involve a course of religious action is I think very seldom possible : because it is invariably found, that those who have no defini' standard of faith, insist, as the foundation of religious communion, upon a renunciation, or what implies a renunciation, of fixed and distinctive principles. The. connexion therefore issues in unsettling the minds of waverers on our side, with a positive advantage to our opponents. Indeed, where sacred truth, and not mere human opinion is concerned, it is never found, I firmly believe, that Charity is promoted by compromise or concession. Compromise either leaves both parties where it found them, or worse than it found them, or leaves it doubtful where Truth lies i and one concession of Truth only makes way for another, as long as there be any thing to be concodcd. 10 I \l • ' > ■ f ■ It is easy to sec why Statesmen adopt the principio of concession, because they are generally swayed by the will of the majority : but no man who fears God, and believes that His revealed will is to bo obeyed, can allow himself to be governed by such considerations in questions relating to Religion. Dul if concession bo sinful, secession is worse. It implies an abandonment of our trust, for which, I feel assured you will agree with mo, that no valid reason can be given. Neither Borne, nor Geneva, nor 3ur own Church, have abandoned aught of their tenets, nor substantially changed since the days of Ridley, of Hooker, nnd of Taylor. And I do fully believe, that there is not one of you now present, who does not earnestly desire to be pre- served from so heinous a sin as apostacy on one side or on the other.* I have said thus much on the all-important subject of Unity* Yet lest any should suppose, as we are slanderously reported and as some adirm that we say, that I inculcate dry and barren speculations, jejune and empty forms, which have no reference to the heart, 1 proceed to offer a few remarks on Sanctity, as another indispensable element in building up the Church, and in promoting the growth of its Living Members. The differentia, if I may so speak of Sancfi'v is Separation. All baptized Christians are called to be separate : separate from the world in its Heathenism, and in its wickedness, placed in a new rela- tion to God, to Eternity, and to each other, and invested, by their Heavenly membership, with the attributes of Kings and l^riests unto God. But as the separation of the whole body of Israel admitted of an inner line of separation in the tribe of Levi, and that again of an interior line of Priesthood, so out of the Lord's heritage, the Apostles chose some to be Clerks, and separated them to special offices, over and above those of ordinary Christians. And our vocation is this : to publish with Authority and defend Christ's Gospel amongst Mankind ; to recommend it by our lives ; to * I use this word advisedly, for unless our formularies are altered by ihc forcible oppression of the State, it seems to me that our duty to God and man requires us to remain at our post. No word of our Prayer-book is as yet altered : no Cler- gyman is denied liberty of teaching truth in all its fulness. Why then good and earnest men should abandon onr Church for one in which, manifestly, many truths are obscured, and some practically denied, and which requires of us, as the first act of communion, the denial of onr own Baptism and Ordination, I cannot couceiv If it be sinful to remain in a Church, in which, by the denial of the reality of Cod d gifts on the part of others, we are supposed to be implicated in that denial, our own freedomremainingunaUered,how much more sinful mi^st it be, to leave our Church for another, which requires us to deny the reality of that very grace, which, by our own hypothesis, wo believe ourselves to possess. Such principles, consistently fol- lowed to their consoriuonccs, must lead to the destruction of every bvanch of thi; Church on earth. We could not have worshipped with Samuel and the Prophet:^, nor with our Saviour in the Jewish Temple. i 17 cssion, ly: but is to bo tions in cession !i, I feel given, ndoncd ays of at there be p re- other.* y. Yet [IS some , jejune )ceod to »menlin Living l^iiilirr iu to Ilis fold all that are to be won ; and to prepare His moinbcrs by leaching them their duties, by tho right exercise of dis- cipline, by imparting; to them the Sacramental gifts Vrhi^h Christ has imparted to us, am! by presenting their Prayers and Praises with our own at the footslo'l of his Mercy -seat on Earth, for the possession of that glorious Kingdom, - hich, of His Infinite Mercy, He has " prepared for thctn, befoie the foundation of the World." Will you indulge mo so far ns to give me your attention, whilst I dwell on some of iheso weighty matters, with especial reference to tno peculiarities of our own Times. I will not insult your understandings or your hearts, my Brethren, by a lecture on morality. From the gross and grovelling vices which deform our nature, you, who listen to me, are I trust, set free. But there lies between open immorality, am! holiness, a largo debateable land of self-indulgonco and sloth, in which thousands dream away their lives, and which is fatal to the Sanctity of the clerical character. Let mo not be thought to dwell on things too small. Nothing is little, when measured by Heaven and Hell: no duty is mean, when it is paid to the Most High. 1. A Clergyman should be a man of known moderation in his ap- petites. If Timothy was not on y permitted, but exhorted not wholly to abstain from wine, it was only " a little wine," and that little re- quired by Nature, and used to remedy, or to prevent disease. But of tho hilarious banquet, and tho repealed glass, tho Apostle is silent. But excess of eating, or delicate eating, is a part of the same evil with " excess of wine." A Clergyman cannot be too careful to avoid even the imputation of greediness. He who is seen eagerly to partake of dainty food, may talk of Heaven as he pleases, but people will not forget that his desires, on one point at least, have a lower aim. Here, possibly, I may be expected to utter my sentiments on the propriety of wholly abstaining from the use of stimulating liquors. That it is lajvful and right so to abstain, from a sense of religious duty, or with a view to avoid temptation, I shall not discuss, because it cannot, I think, be reasonably doubted. Whether it be d«sirable to form societies for this purpose, or to join those which are already formed, admits, in my judgment, of very grave question. The supposition, that it is only a fear of self-denial which prevents the Clergy in a body from joining these societies, may be met by silencs. Those who impute motives are not always the purest of mankind. But the doubt, in my mind, lies here. Are those societies the legitimate nnodes by which we. as Cler-zv of the Church, can arrest the evil of drunkenness ? 18 li 1', Aro thoy the most tafe and effectual modes f And are they free from the Introduction of false principlen, which aro as pernicious as drunk* onness itself ? I have never been able to return an affirmative answer to these questions. To the first, I must reply, that the Church is to me the Divinely-constituted Temperance Society ; her baptismal vow is the sacred, binding pledge : her ordinances, blessed by the Spirit of God, are the appointed means of preserving Temperance, or where Abstinence is necessary. Abstinence. If this pledge will not hold, I shall only weaken it by substituting another. To the second, I reply, that the mode recommended does not appear to me always safe, or on the widest range, effectual. Either it is universally binding, or it is not : if not, each man is left to do what he likes ; if it be bindmg, I am persuaded that few weak constitutions, in severe or damp climates, would survive the trial. And in the neighbouring States, where the pledge is sometimes made almost compulsory, it is notorious, that drinking secretly goes on, which adds hypocrisy to the old iniquity. I rejoice over every soul rescued from sin, by any means, regular, or irregular: but this is a question of union for a religious purpose in a corporation, and before I join it, I must be satisfied not only that single souls are benefited, which I believe, and at which 1 heartily rejoice, but that it will work well on a consideration of the general infirmities ond necessities of mankind ; and on the survey of the religious influ- ences likely to be brought to bear upon the whole matter. To the third question, therefore, I reply, that the working of such societies does not seem to be free from false principles whicb 1 eschew. It may be said, that the processions of men, somewhat boastfully proclaiming their li- beration from one kind of sin, are accidents, not essential parts of the system. It may be so. But there has always been a tendency in these practices, to rest the duty of abstinence from certain things on the ground that they are not 6od*s creatures, which seems to me to be Manichseism revived : and to lay so much stress on abstaining from much drinking, is to forget that there is sin in over-eating, and other seesual practices. I doubt the emancipation of men of this character from the lusts of the flesh : or whether they have not bartered one sin for another, or are bettered by the exchange. These aro my reasons *, sufficient to my own mind, possibly insufficient to some who hear me. Let each of us act according to our sense of duty.* My * To guard myself against misapprehension, I observe, that these remarks are not meant aa au attack upon any man, or liody of men, here, or elsewhere. They are made strictly in self-dot'enco, against imputations which are very com- moniv thrbwn out. If any man Jiirer frotn nic, let him ditler in the same spirit in whicn I desire to fpzak- and there will be no l.rcach of charity by either of us. \ 19 own conviction is, that if the Clergy, and tlio Laity of our Chixrch, would obsorvo tho fasts of the Church, which aro noi nuny, and which at regular periods, call for some kind of abstlneDce, led to each man*s conscience as to the amount, and if they would practise and inculcate strict temperance and moderation in their ordinary meals and feasts, it would be better than all the Abstinence Societies in the world. Better, because fasting is enjoined, proposed, and even sup- posed in the Bible : is recommended to us by the Highest example, is distinctly mentioned in the Prayer*book, and has been practised by all men who have ever been eminent for Holiness, in the Old Testament or in the New, among Churchmen, and even among dissenters. I exhort the Clergy therefore, in reason ond moderation, to fast : and to teach others to do so likewise ; and above all, to put a bridle on the appetites of their children, and not to accept invitations to public feasts, on days set apart for fasting, and for prayer, by wiser men and of higher authority than themselves. 2. A Clergyman should be a man of moderation in his personal expenses. This caution you may perhaps suppose, from the scanty means placed at your disposal, to be needless. It is, however, given from the knowledge, that those who have the smallest means are not always the most prudent. And as you aro surrounded by persons who are obliged to make the most of every thing, prudence and economy will do much to make small means go a great way. There are those among the laity, though I fear they are few, who with very limited incomes, enjoy food, raiment, and comfort, and yet ** give liberally of their little," and keep out of debt. No Clergyman with a large family can live on the income ordinarily allowed, without feeling himself pinched and straitened ; but it is remarkable that the only unhappy example of a Clergyman arrested for debt, has occurred in the case of a young unmarried man, with a sufficient professional income, and with some private resources ; a case happily no longer existing among us. 3. A Clergyman should be a man of diligence and punctuality in his appointments. The only way to make the people punctual, is to be punctual ourselves : and though in country places many things combine to prevent it, as want of a standard of time, snow storms and bad roads, yet on ordinary occasions, punctuality is a part of the decent and reverent performance of Divine Worship. A Minister who is always late, is like a Church clock which always strikes the wrong hour. 4. A Clergyman should abstain from secular employment, except I I'l il 20 in matters of charily or necessity. In lliu iiiuiiagciULMit ui' a g]cbo, it may be called a matter of iiuucssity: but it is dangerous to sink the Clergyman in the farmer : still muro dangerous to fall into habits of barter and sale. Of course the produce of our glebes must either be used, exchanged, or sold. But us nothing sooner steals upon us than a habit of trafficking and money changing, it is prudent, where wo can, to avoid it. Nothing is more injurious to the character or repu- tation of a Clergyman than worldliness: nothing more likely to promote it than constant buying., selling, ond bartering. Wo see what cautions our Lord gave even to His Apostles, about being " over- charged with the cares of this life,'* and how Saint Paul dwells on the like in his first Epistle to Timothy. 5. A Clergyman should be a Peace-Maker. Ho who publishes Peace must not be fond of litigation, nor mix himself up with the feuds of families, but keep aloof, if he cannot compose them. Wo are to " speak truth," and to " make Peace ;" a very hard and perilous task, when we are surrounded by those who will havo no Peace but at the sacrifice of Truth. Let us at all events *' havo salt in ourselves, and have Peace one with another." G. A Clergyman must be a constant and persevering Visitor of his flock. His duty is not only to " teach them publicly, but from iiouse to house :" and no Clergyman who neglects to visit his people, can expect to bo beloved, or indeed respected by them. In very large towns the duly is indeed more difRcult to bo discharged: but the dif* ficulty of performing the task aright, will not remove the responsibility from those who undertake it. Parishes containing more souls than the Clergyman can visit, should either have more labourers, or be divided, for if the people be not visited, many of them will, it is to be feared, leave us for those who will visit them. I strongly disapprove of the practice of not going to see sick persons until we are sent for, although it is clearly the duty of the relatives of the sick person to inform us, and in many cases, we may not otherwise know that they are ill. To heai sickness was the daily work of our blessed Master, and should be our delight. Let us consider then how little benefit the best and most stirring Sermons carry to the hearts of the multitude, how drowsy men are, immersed in business, swallowed up with cares and troubles of this life, surfeited with politics and love of mammon. Consider too how much must be loft unsaid in Sermons : how ignorant we must be of many peculiar diflTiculties that belong to each separate soul, how im- possible it is to I'cmove them without constant visiting, how kindly a % "If 21 glcbo, it sink the mbits of ithcr bo us than hero wo or repu- ikcly to Wo SCO " over- s on the publishes with tho m. Wo lard and havo no have salt :or of his 3m iiouse Dple, can sry large It the dif- lonsibiiity ouls than rs, or be it is to be isapprove sent for, 3erson to that they d Master, It stirring men are, cs of this ■ too how lust be of how im- kindiy a visit is always takon. Each Clergyman should keep a register of liis Parish, in which tho name of every family, and especially of the communicants, is oniered, their ages, and their needs. Happy aro those who have a flock so small, that they can comfortably and thoroughly discharge this great, this necessary duly. I confess, that, when 1 look back on years past, there is no part of my life U> which I recur with so much joy, as the record which I still possess, of the names of my earliest pastoral care, and no subject which weighs moro heavily on my mind, than tho omissions of which I fear I must havo been guiliy, in not having with sufTicient system, exactness, and self denial, discharged the same duty, in more diiBcult and extended spheres of action. Providence relieves and blesses us by compensation. The country Clergy have long and fatiguing distances to travel in search of their Parishioners, but they have air and exercise, which are much moro conducive to health (even with great fatigue) than the continual con* Hnement in close and unwholesome rooms. Without constant visiting, the young can never be properly prepared for Confirmation, and I impute to some little deficiency in this respect, the scanty numbers who presented themselves to me in some places in tho Province, as compared with less populous districts. In one or two Missions, the number was painfully small. The complaints which have been occa* sionally made to me on this subject bv respectable Communicants of our Church deserve just consideration, for, after oil, they amount to no more than a wish for spiritual benciit from the person appointed to bestow it. I will enlarge no longer on this point, only entreating you to bear in mind, that if Visiting be neglected, the most important part of your parochial work is left undone. 7. But above all, the Clergyman must be a Man of Prayer. Not only prayerful in his own closet, and in his family, praying for all the graces which he needs, and against all the sins which ^' easily beset him," never reading the Scriptures, never composing his Sermons, never visiting the sick, without humble earnest prayer, us the best pre- paration for his duty : interceding for his family, and his brethren, and the Church of God : but frequent in offices of prayer in the House of ijod. Church-prayers should bo his heart's delight. Church-praises his most cheering songs ; he should meet his flock in the Sanctuary, not only when a great multitude assemble to hear his discourses, but when a few, " who fear the Lord," come " to seek the face of God :" twenty, or ten, or five, or even two or three, for the promise is made to the smallest number, not to the greatest. D > I si 22 Tt in a great defect aiunng us, wliicli 1 hupc to sec remedied, (hut »o few Chitrchcs ore ever open fur I'rayors on any duy but Sunday. I know at prosont of only nix or seven out of 78. Now where a (3lorgymnn serven Severn I Churches, as most of you do, ihrrc is an evident reason for his not hoUling such services in moro than one Church ; but very little roason for o total absonco of prayer, especially in Towns. Suppose only the Clergyman's family, and four or fivo ngod or infirm persons meet together, shall wo drspiso this small company, when the Great '* Master of Assemblies," prayed with twelve, and even with three? If people only once feel that wo are in earnest, they will think it worth while to attend : but if they see un seldom attend ourselves, or pass the House of God while prayer is being mode, wo cannot wonder that they fail. Let us not bo dis- couraged by ill names from being Men of Prayer. Mo who deserts the Throne of (irace for fear ho should bo censured by man, had better nsk himself why he ever prays at all, or why ho promised to be "diligent in Prayers, laying aside the study of the world and the flesh." Rnmember, Brethren, this is no Party Question. It concerns our account to God, our life of faith, our Preparation for Eternity. I have now given you a few, not, I trust, useless hints on the life of the Clergy. May the Author una Finisher of our faith enable me to live as I have now taught you. But 1 must not omit to say somewhat oi'. Doctrine. Our duty on this head in general terms, is to Preach !he Gospel, an expres- sion limited by some to the declaration of certain doctrines taken out of the Gospel, by a few, to preaching the Gospel of Calvin, but never so limited in the Bible itself. The word is used in the New Testament nearly one hundred times; and, "n almost every in- stance, is applied to the whole Revelation of God : whether it be doctrine, or duly. " Go ye into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature ;" of which Gospel the necessity of Faith, and of Baptism, form (as we are told in the next clause) essential parts ; nor are works omitted in the definition, for our Lord adds, " Teaching them to observe all things whatsoever I have commanded you :" and the presence of Christ, and the succession of His Minis- ters, is another part of the same Gospel, for he says again, " Lo I am with you always, even to ihe end of the world." And St. Paul says expressly, that the doctrines of the general retribution at the day of judgment, of obeying rulers and magistrates, of a provision for the Clergy, of a right use of the moral law, of " speaking evil of no man," and among other duties, were all part and parcel of " his Gospe of 23 eJ, that Sunday, ivliere a re is an lian one pccially r or fivo is small cd with t wc are !y see un >rnyor is t bo dis- deserts an, had mised to and tlio concerns jrnily. le life of lie me to )ur duty 1 expres- es taken ilvin, but Ihe New very in- ler it be e Gospel lith, and essential >rd adds, nmanded [is Minis- I, " Lo I St. Paul i the day n for the 10 man/* >spel," of '• the glorious dospei of the blessed OoJ, commiltud lo hiit trust." If these •hiugs bo so, there scorns no Scriptural reason why wo our« solves should limit, or encourage others to linoii the phrase within narrower bounds than those which Divine wisdo n has marked out : or why wo should encourage those who " hold men's persons in admiration" to talk of the " pure Gospel," and the '* full G -spel," and thus set up one Clergyman against another. This echoing of phrases, " like children in ilie market place," is unworthy a manly and thoughtful mind, and should be shunned by those who wish to adhere to the practice of our Lord und His Apostles. What wo have to teach concerns the Author of Salvation, tho Way of Salvation, the Means of Salvation, and the Nature of Salvation. In other words, we have to declare what God has rovealcd concerning His own great and Adorable Nature, as our Creator, Redeemer, and Sanctifior ; con- corning our Redemption, Justification, und Regeneration in Christ, iho one Mediator, God and Man, by the power of one Spirit ; concerning all the duties which we owe to God and to each other as redeemed, justified, and regenerated ; concerning the Church, the Scriptures, the Sacraments, and Prayer ; concerning the general judgment, and the life of the world to come. All this is to be taught : not in one Sermon, nor in a series of discourses, but " in proportion," and as opportunity offers. But our teaching should embrace it all, so that in no one point any attentive liearer need be ignorant. And an explanation of the claims and worship of our own branch of the Church is certainly as much a part of the Gospel as any other. They seem (o me to have read very little of the Scripture, or to very littlo purpose, who imagine that what they call the *^ simple preaching of Christ Crucified" (in their ^enac, I moan, which ex- cludes all but one or two doctrines from the class of legitimate subjects of address) is suHicient to turn '' the disobedient to the wisdom of the just, to make ready a people prepared of the Lord." We desire no other appeal in this matter thar ilio Bible itself. Did John the Baptist preach Chritii "Crucified," even Ixjforc his crucifixion? Undoubtedly he did ; for he said, *' Behold the Lamb of God, who taketh away the sin of the world." Yet who that has ever read of John's preaching before the Pharisees, before Herod, the publicans, the soldiers, the people generally, can believe that this was the only topic of his Preaching ? Did St. James preach Christ crucified after his cruci- fixion ^ Beyond all question. Yet in his £pistlc the atonement is never montioned. Did St Judc and St. Peter preach Christ crucified ? Surely. Yet a large portion of the second Kpistle of the 24 one, and of tho Epistle of the other, is occupied with the Rubjrct of false teachers who denied the divine or human nnturc of ^ iirist, and were imn>oral in their conduct. Did St. Paul preach Christ cruci- fied ? Who can doubt it? Yet in St. Paul's oddrcsses and Epistles large portions are devoted exclusively to other subjects. That the atonement made by a crucified Lord should form a prominent and essential part of our preaching, that it should be the ground work of faith, repentance and obedience, wo all contend : we all, I hope, put it in practice ; butw' ot is objected to, and justly, is the narrowing of the phrase " Gosp«.I 'ruth," to one set of doctrines narrowly in- terpreted : the spiritual pride which invariably attends such narrow- ness: the boasting of the "simplicity" of the Gospel, and of tho *' foolishness of preaching," when that simpleness and fully is our own. On the other hand, exclusive preaching of the Church and the Sacrai- ments only, without reference to their connexion with other revealed doctrines and duties, is as hurtful, as the preaching, which excludes the Church and the Sacraments. Unhappily a considerable part of the '* preaching of the Gospel," from St. Paul's days to our own, has consisted in defending it against the attacks, which, on every side, have been made against it. So that the three Ancient Creeds, and the prayers and offices of our Church, and ou? Protests against heresy or error, are in fact part of our " Gospel :" being propositions, fairly as we conceive deduced from the Bible itself, on which they are grounded, and so " concluded and proved" by the word of God, and as regards some of them, co» eval with primitive Christianity. But I shall not enlarge on the nature of this defence further than to point out to yuu what part of this Gospel is now specially assailed, and how it .nay be defended. 1. We have our ancient enemy. Infidelity, rearing its dishonoured head amongst us, and reappearing (it is said) among the young men in the Province. With a view of meeting this evil, some of the Clergy have thought it desirable to preach Lectures on this subject. Let me not be thought disposed to discourage this pious work, if I remark, ihat the persons most likely to be beneP'^d by such leclures are the believers, not the infidels. Unbelievers are commonly very irregular and inattentive hearers, and *' I doubt 'he core lies deeper" than sermons alone arc likely to reach. Young men generally lapse into infidelity either from want of parental training, or from some vicious- ness of life ; and these errors will best be grappled with in private. J^et these young men be sought out, and kindly reasoned with. Let the ).noral cause of their oblirinity bo detcclL'J, an^l if possible, the 4 4m S5 fiubjrct of lirist, and rist cruci- Epistlcs That ihe nent and und work I, I hope, arrowing rowly in- 1 narrow- id of the our own. he Sacrao * revealed excludes Gospel," ending it against it. ces of our act part of ! deduced concluded thrm, CO" the nature art of this sd. shonoured 'oung men ;he Clergy . Let mc I remark, es uro the f irregular per" than lapse into le vicious- in private. M^ith. Let )S9iblc, the ruiscrnblo ron«c.nin«ices of it made known to them. An ' obove all, lot the Cbnrrh shew herself an active energising body, united and powerful for pood, convinced of the reality of her Divine system and of her Divinr commission : throwing open wide her gates day by day, to " the poor and the needy, the halt and the blind," " len;»thening her cords," oxtonding her privileges, increasing her opportunities of comnfunion, building new edifices, and improving the old ; and this, in my judgment, will do more to keep down Infidelity than all the sermons that ever have been, or that ever will be preached against it. There can be no doubt that the absence of "?.fental discipline, and the refusal, or neglect of parents to teach their children the Church Catechism, is fast bringing many young persons to the con- clusion, that religion in general is a matter of small importance. ' /hat their parents have not thought it worth while to teach, the young cannot bo expected to believe. 2. But there is another more attractive form of Infidelity, and on that account more T think to be dreaded. I mean tho denial of special doc- trines of the faith, under the mask of their being obsolete, or bigoted, or intolerant, or inconsistent with the mercy and goodness of God. Ancient Infidelity came out to meet its adversary in the open field, fought, and was vanquished. Modern unbelief hides itself within our own camp. It professes a general regard for Christianity, rears aloft the broad and spacious banner of Protestantism, but vehemently op- poses every doctrine which is distinctly and clearly brought out, and presented for its acceptance. More especially are those doctrines the objects of its abliorrence, which rest wholly on what is unseen, which involve sclf-denud in him who receives them, or which imply the " severity" as well as the " good'^.oss of God." These the semi-sceptic perpetually denounces: declares them to be Popish or exclusive : inconsistent with the renunciation of merit, or with spi- ritual religion; and above all, impossible to be apprehended by reason, and subversive of that infinite mercy, which will eventually save all mankind. To trace out this error in all its branches, would demand a longer time than I f r:ii now bestow upon it. It may suffice to point out two forms of it which are prevalent in tiiese parts, tho denial of the Eternity of future rewards and punishments, and the denial of Sacramental Grace. The former I imagine to be very common, if not to be gaining ground, and some of tlic treatises which promote it, are specious, and written with apparent candour. Long lists of Scriptures are produced, and examined in turn : opposing statements heard, and confuted, and the rcBult of the whole triumphantly proclaimed to be the overthrow of *^ man>made creeds/* the ascendancy of reason, and the vindication of God*s ways to mankind. I strongly recommend your careful study of this awful subject : study, not mere citation of a few well known texts: the Scripture must be solidly vindicated from the glosses put upon it, and the ancient faith maintained. But the whole pysttm is ill-disguised Infidelity. If (as is pretended) the Scripture teaches ihat wicl"*') men suffer all their punishment here, such teaching is as contrary to fact, as the doctrine we hold is affirmed to be contrary to reason. If all that our Lord has so plainly said of everlasting punish- ment be applied to temporal or Jewish destruction, then the promises of everlasting life rest on a very slender foundation, or rather, on no foundation whatever. And if a judgment to come, accompanied by a judicial sentence, and solemn vindication of the apparent inequalii as of Divine Providence, with a distinction (which all justice requires) bet'veen good and evil, mean no more than publishing a universal salvation ; then a judgment to come isan unreal thing, and the Judge is one who regards with equal favour, the just, and the unj'jst, the righteous, and the wicked. Paganism in its worst form seldom avowed this absolutely atheistical infidelity. If this doctrine be true, it matters not, as regards the next world, how we live or how we die, for we are sure to be saved ; and the heavy afflictions which befall the best men in the present life, reduce divi.ie retribution, and the de- sirableness of a virtuous course to a perfect uncertainty. And, which is still more monstrous, the man who blasphemes God every uay of his life, breaks all his commandments, and dies in his hardened impiety, may, at the same moment, mockingly thank him for the certainty of his own final salvation. If this were true, what harm could there be in calling evil good, and good evil ? The denial of Sacramental grace is still more common, and in its ultimate consequences (though those consequences are not seen by many worthy persons who fall into the snare) scarcely less pernicious. On thit momentous subject, while it becomes us to speak with temper and moderation, it is no less important that we should know clearly whore the bounds of truth and error lie, and that we should not be misled by fear of others from stating distinctly Catholic Truth. By Sacramental Grace I understand that portion of God*s spiritual gifts which He has limited to two particular channels, Baptism, and iiie Suppei of the Lord. I say, that portion of His gifts ; because I am far from afiirmiiig, that grace is not bestowed in answer to Prayer, pp ortiirow of indication eful study eJI known [losses put pystem is Q teaches hing is as ontrary to ig punish- ) promises ler, on no anied by a lequalii ds requires) universal the Judge inj'jst, the seldom e be true, m we die, lich befall [)d the de< nd, which iry day of hardened n for the 'hat harm non, and I are not rcely less •eak with uld know ive should lie Truth. s spiritual tism, and because I to Prayer, m m ■ '.I V ;£ and in hearing the word. Nor does it necessarily follow from the premises, that grace is never vouchsafed to persons who have never been Baptised, or who have not received ihe Lord's Supper. It is evident that both Cornelius and the Eunuch had grace before Bap- tism, though, as shewn by Bishop Tavlob, the case of Cornelius is the exception, not the rule : and the repentance and faith which our Church requires of all adults as qualifications for receiving the grace of Baptism, are also grace, for they are the gift of God. This, there- fore, removes the objection that we limit Grace to the Sacraments. Our Church, in her Catechism, Baptismal and Communion offices, and in the 27th and 28th Articles, defines the nature of Sacramental grace, informing uy that the grace of Baptism is Kegeneration, and that the grace of the Lord's Supper is the spiritual communication of the Body and Blood of Christ. It is the great misfortune of the Romanist Church, and of the Lutherans (if indeed, as a body, they have any definite standard remaining), that they have, in respect to one Sacra- ment, attempted to define the manner of this communication. The Church of England advises us to lay all such curious questions aside, to receive the mystery (a word applied to both Sacraments in our offices) faithfully, to teach it plainly, but to leave the manner unex- plained. As however the doctrine of our Church, which is founded on the Nicene Creed, and that on Scripture, is denied by many of her professed members, I should consider myself as an unfaithful witness to the truth of the Gospel, and as culpably indifferent to a trust com- mitted to me, if I did not bear my testimony against this denial of the faith of Christ, which the Holy Gijost has recorded in th*» ntten word of God. In what I have to deliver to you, I shall endeavour to abstain from the bitterness of a controversial spirit, to impute no motives to others, which I am unwilling to have imputed to myself, and I shall consider the question on the footing of Scripture. 1. The first question to be asked, is, what is the doctrine which our Church propounds in her Baptismal Service. In the offices of Infant and Adult Baptism, six passages of Scripture are quoted in proof of the necessity, and of the benefits of Baptism. 1. The command of our Lord that children should be brought unto Him to be blessed, and that of such children the Kingdom of God is composed, as our war- rant, for considering infants capable of spiritual blessings in Baptism. 2. The conversation of our Lord with Nicodemus, in regard to the new birth by water and the Spirit, as shewing " the great necessity of this Sacrament, where it may be had." 3. The command of our t'l I 28 1 ; Ml Lord, on the eve of His Ascension, connecting Fuitli and Uupu»ni with Salvation. 4. St. Peter's address to the Jews, exhorting them to repent and be Baptised, promising them Remission of sins, and (he gift of the Holy Ghost, and extending the promise to *' their children," and to the whole Gentile world. 5. The testimony of St. Peter in 1 Epis. cap. iii. that Noah's Ark was a type of Baptism, and that " Bap' tism saves us." 6. The expression of St. Paul, ** the washing or laver of Regeneration," and our Church adds, ** in Baptism." There are also allusions to four other passages, viz. to 1 Cor. x., on the typical nature of the passage through the Red Sea : to Eph. v., '* that he might sanctify and cleanse it by the washing of water :" to Rom. vi., ** we are buried with Him by Baptism unto death," and to Gal. iii. " as many of you as have been baptized into Christ have put on Christ." I shall not comment on all these passages, as I consider one of them amply sufficient for the resolution of my question. When St. Peter, under the inspiration of the Holy Ghost, was laying the foundation (as far as his ministerial acts could lay it) of the Chris* tian Church, he used these words to the penitent Jews, who inquired the way of salvation, *' Repent, and be baptized every one of you for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost."* What our Church in imitation of St. Paul calls Regeneration, is here called ** remission of sins, and the gift of the Holy Ghost :" a gift offered to these adult persons on condition of their penitence. No* thing is said of faith, because their repentance for having crucified Christ, implied their belief in him as the Messiah, as where our Lord says, " He that believeth and is baptized, shall be saved;" repentance is not mentioned, because no man can repent of his sins, with a view to Christian Baptism, without a readiness to accept as his Saviour Him who died to save us from sin. TliC nature of Regeneration having been shewn, the Apostle next points out its extent. " The promise is to you," the crucifiers of the Lord, " and to your chil- dren ;" for it must be recollected that the children of all these penitents had been circumcised, and therefore they would naturally be anxious to know whether children were included in the Christian coveriant, or no. Nothing is here said of limiting the word " children" to the posterity of these persons, though I do not deny that the word may include this sense also. *' And to all that are afar off," the whole Gentile world, *' even as many as the Lord our God shall call ;" for the promise must be supposed to be co-extensive with the means of grace which are provided. . - . " Act3ii 38. 29 ). nd Uupibm ing them to IS, and the children," Peter in 1 hat " Bap- ivashing or There the typical , " that he o Rom. vi., to Gal. iii. tve put on )nsider one was laying f the Chris- 10 inquired of you for ly Ghost."* ion, is here •St :" a gift jnce. No* i crucified ■ e our Lord repentance vilh a view is Saviour generation nt. " The your chil- c penitents be anxious tvenunt, or 3n" to the word may the whole call ;" for means of From this passage 1 draw the following conclusions: 1. That Regeneration is not a work in Mrhich man can be said to be a worker at all, except in respect of the penitence and faith which qualifies the adult to receive it. Consequently Regeneration is not conversion. Still less is it Salvation, unless we suppose every baptized person in the days of the Apostles to have been saved, a supposition which is not warranted by Scripture. 2. Regeneration is a blessing promised to all penitent and believing Jews and their children, and by parity of reason, to all penitent p i believing Gentiles and their children. For unless some limit ..ad been placed by St. Peter in the way of the Regeneration of Infants, some hint thrown out that the gift would bo vouchsafed to some, and denied to others, I see no way of escape from the conclusion, that the grace of Regeneration was bestowed on all the children of those peni- ftent Jews who presented them for Baptism, and if on them, then on all ^others similarly presented. The only forcible objection to this view strikes at the root of all Baptism of Infants. It is s»id (though without I think fairly weighing the force of the passage just quoted), thai Repentance and Faith are, in all cases, indispensable requisites to Baptism, and that, as Infants cannot perform these duties, they cannot be, by Baptism, Regenerated. Our Lord's words in St. Mark, xvi. 16, requiring faith us an accompaniment of Baptism, are usually quoted in support of the objection. To this objection I answer thus. If (as St. Paul has shewn) it be the gracious design of God to make the atonement of Christ more than an equivalent for the original sin: if consequently, we may hope that many are saved by Christ who have never heard of His name, and who cannot have repented or believed in Him : then we may rea- sonably hope that Infants are saved by the merits of Christ, without faith or repentance. If then we hold that Infants rnay be saved without these qualifications, which arc ordinarily necessary to salva- tion, a fortiori, they may be baptized without them. For if we suppose God to admit them to His presence in Heaven, we can never be so presumptuous as to deny them admission to His ordinances on earth. If Christ welcomed them to His arms, when Himself present in the body, we must not deny them a welcome to the Church, to wF.lch His presence is promised, as " His Body." But if Infants, without faith and repentance, be capable of admission into Heaven, if being capable of admission into Heaven they must be capable of Baptism, then they must also be capable of Regeneration in Baptism. For if they be in- capable of such Regeneration, then they are incapable of admission into 'i' \ W ■ 1 ? • t _ 80 Ilraven, because no uian without Regeneration can see the Kingdom of God ; and to that new birth faith and repentance are indispensably required, nor is there any exception positively stated in Scripture. But if the exclusion of Infants from that salvation, of which Regene- ration is the beginning, and Baptism a moon, be a detestable doctrine, condemned by the general tenor of Scripture, and the voice of almost all mankind ; if the want of repentance and faith shut them not out of Paradise, because those blessed gates are barred against none but the impenitent, then we mayjustly conclude that the inability jf Infants to repent and believe does not exclude them from the benefit of Regc« ncration in Baptism ; and if we exclude any Infants from the blessing, we must, by parity of reason, exclude r.ll. When our Church then quotes this passage of St. Peter as her warrant for the office of Baptism, it seems to me that it cannot be doubtful what she means by Regeneration in Baptism ; and that where she directs every Minister to say of every child brought to be baptized, that it is after baptism, and " by baptism Regenerate," that she intends the words bona fide to apply to every child, and not bona fide to some, and not to others. The limitation of the blessing has been called the "judgment of charity:" surely a most infelicitous expression. ** Charity hopeth all things, and believeth ail things." Charity hopes the best of a deceased adult, because in no case can we absolutely anticipate the final judgment of God. Charity believes the best of a baptized adult, because the evidence of his sincerity is more open to our view : but we qualify our belief of his Regeneration with the condition, " truly repenting, and coming unto Him by faith." But Charity may more firmly believe of the unconscious Infant what it cannot know to be otherwise, that God has " prevented him with the blessings of his goodness," which is rendered the more probable, by an extensive promise of spiritual blessing to children, never yet re- pealed. To limit this blessing to certain elect infants, the subjects of a prevenient grace, of which there is no special promise in the Word of God, and deny it to other Infants, against whom no ground of se- parate exclusion can belong, and to call this unscriptural limitation the "judgment of charity," is, to say the least of it, a sad misnomer* To me it appears the judgn^ent of unbelief. The absolute and positive declaration of the Regeneration of every Infant in Baptism, by our formularies is, I think, a strong reason against a hypothetical Regeneration. Suppose the obvious meaning to be the true meaning. Could any other or stronger words be used ? Is it not most delusive, most dangerous, most fatal to our simplicity of P' a |. !; SI I ilie Kingdom indispensably in Scripture, hich Regene* table doctrine, oice of almost t them not out ainst none but ilityjf Infants nefit of Rege- 1 the blessing, Peter as her t it cannot be id that where be baptized, at she intends 1 fide to some, been called s expression. Ilharity hope» kve absolutely the best of a rjore open to ion with the faith." But fant what it him with the probable, by ever yet re- e subjects of in the Word ;round of se- al limitation i misnomer* ion of every •ong reason us meaning ds be used > implicity of purpose, tliut the Church should put words into our mouths, to be used apparently in onu sense, whilst she intends them to be used in another ? That she should do this in all cases without caution or explanation of any kind, before persons unversed in theological disputes, nad likely to mistake the literal sense for the true sense ? Must not this incau- tious plainness lead us to be mistrustful of the Regeneration of all ipnfanls, seeing we cannot tell to >«hom the words apply, or whether "'^ to any ? But is this like our Reformers ? Were they men of subtiliy and refinement in theological questions ? Were they not men of singular honesty, and even roughness of character and speech, inca* pable of devising a clever ingenious hypothesis, and of making " an ecclesiastical fiction''' a ground uf solemn adoration and thanksgiving to the Most High God ? To me it appears absolutely incredible (apart from their private declarations), that two such men as Ridley and Latimer, should have so tampered with vital doctrine, as to compile a service, agreeing in this particular with the Baptismal Service of the Church of Rome, and asserting the Regeneration of all Infants in Baptism, if they did not intend the words to be used in the literal sense. Nor is it credible that their successors, who lis- tened to the objections of the Puritans at the Savoy conference, asserting, ^' We cannot in faith say, that every child that is baptized is regenerated by God's Holy Spirit, at least it is a* disputable point, and we desire it may be otherwise expressed ;" and who then an- swered '•'■ Seeing that God's Sacraments have their effects, where the receiver doth not *■ ponere obicem,' which children cannot do, we may say in faith of every child that is baptized, that it is regenerated by God*s Holy opirit : and the denial of it lends to Anabaptism, and the contempt of this Holy Sacrament" — I say, it is incredible, that such men, who heard that objection and returned this answer, could have admitted the hypothetical view — and among these men were Pearson, Sanderson, Sheldon, Cosin, Heylin, Sparrow, Thoendike, whose ^ opinions cannot reasonably be doubted. Yet when they gave this I answer, to a view propounded by Baxter, and now adopted by others, the Prayer-book uuderwent its laMi review, and as far as the animus imponentis is concerned, we derive it from those Reviewers. But it is said, that the Baptismal Service must be explained by the Burial Service ; and that if the one is apparently absolute, but really conditional, so must be the other. There are however several reasons for not admitting this parallel. First, the cases are not parallel. VVe may ventuic to speak with much more confidence of the effect of God's grace, where wc have a promise, and where the recipient puts mmmm m fi i, I . I i.l ' ;■■■«' I 32 no bar by actual transgression, than of tlie final cstato of a person to whom there is not (except on the general terms of tho Gospel) any promise of individual salvation. Of the final salvation of baptized infants our Church speaks undoubtingly, but only with hope of the salvation of baptized adults. Further, the doctrines are nnt wholly parallel. The burial service is conditional and not absolute, as is os- aerted. To me it is very surprising that grave and learned persons should reiterate the old Puritan objection made at the Savoy conference, when it is notorious that the words of the Burial Service were then altered to meet that objection, and expressed somewhat more gene* rally, to shew that the Church did not intend by " the resurrection to eternal life," his resurrection to eternal salvation, any more than tho words " life everlasting" in the Apostles' creed imply eternal salva- tion only.* So our Church thanks God for his mercy in taking to himself another soul " out of the miseries of this sinful world," with- out pronouncing on the final estate of that soul. The act of dismission from the miseries of life and of sickness, is in itself an act of mercy, and there is mercy mixed with God's severest acts of justice. But when the question of our brother's final estate is considered, ihe Church only expresses a charitable hope. And where is the parallel to this in the baptismal service for Infants ? So that a service which is used indiscriminately for deceased adults and infants, is not the true measure of that which is used for infants only : the parallel lies between the absolute and undoubting expressions of our Church concerning the SaJvafion of baptized infants, and the absolute and undoubting ex- pressions concerning the Regeneration of baptized infants. Here the parallel holds. There is also a parallel, though less strict, between the charitable hope of the salvation of deceased adults, and the qua* lified assertbn of Regeneration in the case of baptized adults, qualified, I mean, by the condition of " truly repenting, and coming to God by faith." But between the charitable hope of the salvation of deceased adults, and the absolute assertion of the regeneration of baptized infants, no parallel can be fairly drawn. But even if the burial service did not seem to tally with the literal sense of the baptismal oflicc, whu; shall we say to the office for Confirmation ? If all that is intended in the Baptism of Infants be a charitable hope, is it meet and right to lead all adults, about to be confirmed, to cherish the delusion of past Regeneration ? Can it be safe, when we only hope, to teach all tho young persons to believe that " God has regenerated them by water • See Bishop riARSoN on this clause of the Creed- 33 of a person to 10 Gospol) any on of baptized li hope of tho ire not wholly iolute, as is as- earned persons roy conference, vice were then at more gene* resurrection to more than tho eternal salva- ;y in taking to world," with- ct of dismission act of mercy, f justice. But onsidercd, the is the parallel I service which , is not the true lei lies between concerning the undoubting ex- nts. Here tho strict, between !, and the qua- Jults, qualified, ling to God by on of deceased iptized infants, rial service did al office, whui is intended in 3t and right to lusion of past teach all tho hem by water and the Holy Ghost, and has granted to thcni forgiveness of ail their nins," and to refer to this not in the language of hope, but aa afaet^ relating to all, if we are not authorized positively to believe it of any ? Yet if Rogenerntion has not been granted, when arc we to expect it ? For tho Church does not teach the young persons present to pray for it. Yet surely, if it had not been vouchsafed, then would be the time to ask it. For if we neither believe that it was once granted in Baptism, nor pray that it may be vouchsafed in answer tc ir petitions, why do wo refer to it at all ? It is further stated (though I feel a considerable difficulty in seeing the force of tho argument) that, " as the answer to the question, * Why then are infants baptized, when by reason of their tender age they cannot perform them,* is not, that infants present no obex or hindrance to Regeneration, that therefore we must take the assertion of their membership in the Catechism, and of their Regeneration in the Bap- tismal Service, in a qualified sense ;" which appears to me to be a very fallacious inference. The question in the Catechism is not concerning the certainty or uncertainty of Infant Regeneration, but concerning our right to Baptize Infants without the ordinary qualifications for Baptism. And the answer is, that though they cannot repent and believe, from mental inability to do so, they, by the instrumentality of others, promise to repent and believe, ** which promise they are bound" hereafter " to perform." But there is no proof that the Church intended to intimate that, by reason of not repenting and believing (which are unavoidable), they are excluded from the remission of original sin, and from the gift of the Spirit, which are the present benefits of Baptism. On the contrary, all are taught to say, not that they may receive, but that they have received those benefits. But the future benefits of Baptism, the continuance of this state of Remission, and the presence and indwelling of the Holy Ghost, must, " when they come of age," depend on their fulfilment of the promise made for them by their sureties. It is also objected, that, if the assertions in the Baptismal Service concerning the Regeneration of Infants be taken absolutely, they prove too much. " For," it is said, " the Church assumes not only the Re- generation, but the salvation of all baptized Infants. * Doubt ye not, but earnestly believe that he will make them partakers of his ever- lasting kingdom.* But if all who are baptized are not saved, then all who are baptized are not Regenerated." This argument is more plausible than sound. The point assumed by the Church is not the (Certainty of the salvation of the infant, but the willingness of God on MT^ V 1 31 his pari, ami on hit pari onlyy to save it. The Church eontemplatoi a covenant, which supposes two parties, God and man. On the part of God, she declares that nothing is wanting, neither the will, nor tho promise to save. But she immediately explains her meaning, by adding,^* We being thus persuaded of the good-wiltof our Heavenly Fa* iher towards this Infant ;^' His " good-will,*' and, '^ nothing doubting," not the certainty of his salvation, but God^s " favourable allowance of this charitable work of our*s in bringing this Infant to His holy Baptism." Nothing more is intended than that we should be satisfied we have a right to baptize, and may expect God^s blessing on our work, of which, but for God's *' good will" and design to save, we could not be as< sured. But the gracious designs of God towards mankind do not always finally take effect, because men '' reject the counsel of God against themselves." So that to urgue that, because the Church con« siders the gracious design of God towards the final salvation of tho infant, a strong reason for its baptism, that therefore she cannot mean that God bestows absolutely a present blessing, which all infants need, but which, it is admitted on all hands, is only a means to the future salvation of the adult, and does not in any way insure it, is to con> found the general ** will" of our Heavenly Father, that " all men shall be saved," with the particular will or law, that there are certain terms of salvation with which, in order to salvation, we must comply. And it is especially to be observed, that, after Baptism, the Church speaks unhesitatingly of the Infant's Regeneration, but at the same time, teaches us to pray that the regenerate child may "crucify tho old man, and utterly abolish the whole I »dy of sin, and that as hats made partaker of the death of thy Son" (which St. Paul, in Rom. vi., tells us is by Baptism), so he " may also be partaker of His Resur* rection," so that, ^'finally, he nmuy bean inheritor of thine everlasting Kingdom ;" expressions which fully prove, that the Church does not put present Regeneration and final Salvation on the same footing, leading us to consider both as absolute, or both conditional ; but that she speaks of the one as a benefit absolutely bestowed, and of the other as a blessing expected, and prayed for, but indeterminate and uncertain, and only (as the Burial-service expresses it) the subject of " hope.'* It is again objected, that taking the words of the Prayer-book in n literal sense, is a lowering of the blessing of Regeneration, and of the words in the Cateohism, " a death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness,** which expressions, it is contended, can only apply to pieus adults. 1 readily admit, that where Regeneration is explained IL-^,^ contemplatoi On the pari 9 will, nor tho meaning, by Heavenly Fa- ng doubting," ! allowance of oly Baptism." ed we have a jrk, of which, jld not be as- ikind do not unsel of God Church con- vation of tho cannot mean infants need, to the future it, is to con- lat "all men 'e are certain nust comply. , the Church at the same "crucify tho that as he is in Rom. vi., ' His Resur- e everlasting rch does not ime footing, lal ; but that , and of the rminate and I the subject er-book in h I, and of the V birth unto nly apply to is explained 35 .to mean no more than u ceremony, ur a change of outward relation, the term is lowered, and violence done to the high tone of our service. But this is not the language of the office itself. But I by no means admit, as the objection implins, that Spiritual blessings, such as the remission of originul sin, and the assistance of the Holy Spirit, are never vouchsafed to any who do not fuil to make full improvement of them. If this principle be admitted, " a death unto sin, and a new birth unto righteousness" cannot, in stricmoss, be applied to any but glorified Spirits in Heaven, in whom alone the new birth is fully perfected. But if we may lawfully upply the term " dead unto sin, ond new born unto righteousness," in an imperfect sense, to those, in whom, amidst muny errors and grievous inconsistencies, the work of Regeneration is confessedly imperfect ; what hinders us from applying the term to the beginning of the work, when we do not hesitate to «pply it to different stages of its progress towards the end ? By the admission of all, Regeneration is a graduol work, or it would not ad- mit of " going on unto perfection." And if it admit of degrees, why not of the seed as well as of the plant, of the dawn as welt of the " perfect day," of " babes as well as young men and fathers ?" Why should the infant, who is without actual sin, be denied participa- tion in that grace, possession of which is not withheld from those, who, after " committing many actual transgressions," penitently confess, that it is of God's mere mercy that any grace is left ? Regeneration, in the highest sense of the word, belongs to the sinless estate of spirits perfected in glory.* Regeneration in its progress, is applied to those who, amidst victories and falls, maintain the contest of " Christ's Church militant here on earth."t Regeneration in its com- mencement, may not be denied to those, to whom God has vouchsafed this singular gift of His mercy, that the guilt of original sin shall not be imputed unto them, and that the Holy Ghost shoU be given to aid the first teaching of their parents, to strive with the first workings of in-bred sin, and lo answer the first breathings of their souls towards Him who called them into being, and who is, by a more graciotw ap- pellation, a second time, their Father.^; I know of only one more objection, which, I believe, lies at the root of most others. It is said, if infants were Regenerated in Baptism, the fruits of the Spirit would appear in a holy life. The wickedness of * " In the Regeneration, when the Son of Man eball come io His Glory." t " He that is born of God overcometh the world." t *' As many ofyou as have been baptized into Christ, have put on Christ." If baptized inrants do not put on Christ, tnen none of the children of the Galatlans had been baptized ; in other words, we give up Infiint Baptism. m baptized persons proves that they were never Bogenerated. Tliis objection rests on the doctrine of absolute Predestination ond final Perweveranco. Its force lies wholly in the si.pnosition, that grace is never ineflfeetual, that it is never given and withdrown. I regart' tlie objection as worthless, alike unscripturnl and unphilosophical, becouse I regard the ossumption on which it is built ns inconsistent with the general tenor of the promises of Scripture. If the Scripture load us to conclude, thot grace may be given, and being unimproved, may be suspended, or taken away : if the promises of God are to be received as they are set forth : if those promises oiler remission of sins and the gift of the Holy Ghost to ourselves, if wo repent and are baptized, nnd to our children, who are incapable of repentance, ii baptized (for if the promise be withheld, the Baptism must be withheld), then, it seems to me, that we cannot come in with this after-thought to deny the reality of grace given, because we do not see the fruits which we expect, or because we do not comprehend the manner in which Grace acts upon the soul. To this objection Nature, Providence, and Grace supply an antidote. Nature, which sows a thousand seeds which are trodden down, or wither away, or bring no fruit to perfection : Provi- dence, which bestows the highest talents on some of the most worthless recipients : and Grace, which declares, that '^ from him that hath not, shall be taken away even that he hath.^' Vou see, my Brethren, that in my argument for the literal, and, as 1 believe, true sense of the Baptismal Service, I have omitted, de- signedly omitted, any reference to the testimony of our Divines in general, of the Reformers, and of the Primitive Church. I have in- deed long since been convinced, that the testimony of the Church Catholic from the Apostles' days to oar own, of all the Ancient Liturgies, of the leading Reformers (cspocially Cranmer, Ridley, and Jewel), and of our greatest Divlnos, is in favour of the literal sense. But I omit any extended rcftrence to it, not only because that reference is easily obtained, but because I feel the force of a remark made to me by a Venerable Colonial Bishop, that, " amidst all this array of learning, we must not lose sight of the meaning of plain words.'* Plain honest men in our congregations have no means of judging of the meaning of doctrines but by the Saxon tongue. Latin and Greek they do not understand. Of the writings of the Fathers they must have a very imperfect apprehension. Even of the works of the Reformers they probably only read a quotation in a pamphlet. And the majority of the works of English Divines are as mucli Latin and Greek to them, as if they were locked up in a dead ti 1 37 erated. Tlii» ion and finul that grace \» I regan' tlitt iiical, becauso tont with tho pture lead ua oved, may be bo received f sins and tho are baptized, baptized (for eld), then, it ught to deny its which we which Grace 3, and Grace is which are tion : Provi- 3f the most " from him era], and, as >mittcd, dc> Divines in I have in* the Church he Ancient SR, Ridley, the literal nly because force of a tt, ** amidst meaning of e no means on tongue, ngs of the Cven of the atinn in a ines are as ) in a dead f.languago. Human life Is not sufliciont for all studies. There may 1)0 some raro instances of genius, who see into those deep questions by a mrirvcllous and Md^chin^ intuition, without the aid of human loafn>ig, but of tho great avorngo, it will, I fuar, be said to tho end of (imo, at ull events to the end of our time, that '* Hunt, non noscuntur^' Vhoologi. Now this largu class of men will take plain words as they Und thom ; and when they are taught to believe that they do not moan, what, on the face of them, they express ; if they believe tho teacher, they will disbelieve the document. Let it bo observed that I throw no imputation whatever on the honesty of those who take What they call a charitable view of the service, but if they intend to oonvinco the mass of uninstructud men of the truth of the Prayer-book by these moans, I think thoy will find themselves mistaken. The laity will boliovc, that the literal sense is tho true sense, but the book itself needs to be amended. And I am strengthened in this supposition by observing, that tho wish of most men who deny the doctrine of the literal sense, is to see tho I'ruycr-book altored ; and that such was the wish of Baxtkr and his colleagues, who all took what is called the jtliaritahle construction^ and thot dissenters are unanimous in their ielief, that the Church of England teaches the Baptismal Regenera- ||on of all Infants. But to guard myself against all misapprehension, I will state plainly what wo do not hold, os well as what we do. I ^ay we, because I feally hope that the moderate statement which 1 am about to makct tWill scarcely be denied by any of you. 1. We do not hold, that thero is any inherent ciTicacy in the ele- nucnt of water, or that we owo our salvation to any thing but the merits of Christ from first to last. , 2. We do >.ot hold, that Regeneration ensures the salvation of jBdults, or supersedes the necessity of repentance, faith, and a re* generate life. 3. We do not hold, that the Regeneration of Infants effects an instan- ineous and saving change in the understanding, will, and affections. 4. We do not presume to define the exact amount of spiritual power given by God to Infants, nor the operation of tho Spirit on the soul, nor the time when Grace becomes efficacious in the life, nor the reasons for which God may withdraw it, nor the causes which may operate to its suspension or extinction. We desire neither to en- tangle ourselves or others with such definitions of mysterious truths. 5. But we do hold, as the Scripture plainly teaches, that in an im- portant sense, *^ Baptism stives us,^* and that there is " one Baptism F i ■ mmmrz^^^fifi^ !i i Mi .: i •iil i '; ¥ M li : '! 38 for the remission of sins," and that the bcnofils of Baptism described by St. Peter, " remission of sins and the gii^of the Holy Ghost,*' are granted to oil penitei:tand beiievi/'g Jews and Gentiles, being baptized, and to all Gentile Infants, *' as many as are afar off," rightly baptized. I conclude, there^ore, with the Homily of Salvation, specially re- ferred to in our 11th Article, as containing tho true doctrine of Justification, " that %v*? trust in God's mercy, and the sacrifice which Christ offered for ua upon the Cross, to obtain God's grace and re' mission as well of our original sin in Baptism^ as of all actual sin committee' by us aAer Bcptism, if we truly repent, &c., and that we ought not to live unfruitfully at'ier tnat we are baptized or justiJiedJ*^ With the 30ih Canon of 1603, " that the Infant baptized is, by virtue of Baptism, received into the congregatioh of Christ's flock, as a perfect member thereof." With Archbishc p Czianmer, Catechism, 1548, that " the treasures and benefits whereof God maketh us partakers, when we are baptized, ntfi these. The firi.t is, that in Baptism our sins be forgiven us, as St. Peter wiinesseth. The second is, that the Holy Ghcst is given us." ** Again, without the word of God, water is water, and not Baptism. But when the word of the living God is joined unto the water, then it is the bath of Hegeaeration end Baptism-water, and the living Spring of Eternal Salvation, and a water that washeth our souls by the Holy Ghost, as St. Paul calleth it." p. 296. 300 {RichmoKd''s edition). With Bishop N. Ridley, that " the water of Baptism is changed unto the fountain of Regeneration (yet) the substance remaineth all one as before." {Ed. Parker Soe. p. 12.) With Dr. I.. Ridley, tVsat " God useth a means by which he cleanseth men from sin, which is by Baptism in water by the word of God, and so in Baptism our sins are taken away, and we from sins purged, cleansed, arelcct Infant > have no benefit at all : so to both these they are made nuda et prorsus inefRcacia signa ; and 3. W^hat necessity can there be of baptizing In- fants, if it produce no effect, until they come to years of discretion ?" Lastly, with his Grace, the present Archbishop of Canterbury, in the ninth and last edition of his work on Apostolical Preaching, that, *' on the authority of this example (that of St. Paul) and of the unde* niable practice of the first ages of Christianity, our Church considers Baptism as conveying Regeneration, instructing us to pray, before Baptism, that the Infant may be born again, and made an heir of everlasting salvation, and to return thanks, aAer Baptism, that it hath pleased God to regenerate this Infant with His Holy Spirit." And (p. 183), •' that it is of the positive doctrine of our Church, that such renewal and such extent of power belongs to all who are baptized in the name of Christ." With such written and pregnant testimonies before me, and with my own thanksgivings to God for the Regeneration of my own bap- tized children, and the children of all my former Parishioners still sounding in my ears, as a warning against tampering with our pro> fcssions of faith before God, I earnestly protest against the doctrine avowed in a late decision, that our Church speaks with ** the stam* mering lips" of ambiguous and uncertain formularies. I desire, as I shall give account hereafter, to receive the words of our Liturgy throughout, in their plain, literal, natural sense ; and to believe^ in its fulness, the grcot Gospel-truth, that there is " one Baptism for the re- mission of sins:" and I pray, thai in this matter may Cl in the same mind and in the same judgment." — Amen. 1, " Saints, llmt aptism cleansed Ihis purification the infusion of to renounce our ler, we are then crute ot the first osition of hands. s on the water : lOut hands what n at Baptisni." "If all ablution ive; 1. Infants, fon-elect Infani ; nuda et prorsus of baptizing In> of discretion?" Canterbury, in Preaching, that, nd of the unde- hurch considers to pray, before ade an heir of sm, thai it hath Spirit." And urch, that such are baptized in me, and with ' my own bap* rishioners still ; with our pro- ist the doctrine th " the stam» I desire, as I )f our Liturgy > believe, in its tism for the ro- y all stand fust ;#«||>pwp,n i!iii'« I i.*Nimi> 41 I must now return to the remaining part of this branch of my subject. You will remember thot I hove considered "Sanctitt" in its relation to the life which we shou'd lead, and to the doctrine which we should deliver. I will now call your attention to the manner in which wo should deliver ihe words of God, the words of our Church, and our own words to our flocks. Preaching is usually limited to :hc latter of the three. I «ipply the term to reading the Lessons, to the exhorta. tions of the Prayer-book, and to reading or otherwise uttering our own compositions. 1. It or ght to be much thought of, tbit when we read iiie Scriptures, we utter the mind of God. We do not speak what requires proof, but what is itself the proof of all that we utter. It is God speaking by us in the Church. I need hardly say, that reverence and humility are the best requisites for delivering such words aright. A very re* verent and devout reader can hardly be a very bad reader. Bad reading consists chiefly in hurried utterance, a wrong pronunciation, or punctuation, or in undue emphacis, all of which are kinds of indc- votion and carelessness, or of aflectation, which is worse. We may give to our own thoughts the kind of utterance which best suits them. Real earnestness is generally eloquent, an'i clothes itself with appropriate voice and gesture. But God^s words are too high for human oratory. We connot adorn the knowledge of the Most High by declamation, though we may impress it upon others by gravity and reverence. If we, or the people, do not understand God's words, or do not feel the force of them, it is because we are not good nor wise enough to know and feel them. To my younger Brethren I may say, in r'^uGingthe Scriptures, always read them as if God had placed the h'-.'.K nVvO your hands to read. Read them slowly, and very distinctly, t*iii \:Tf pekson may hear every word you utter, and that it may enter / ) into his ears only, but into his very soul. And remember, that, as the :n is not between lis Gospel. It is n our floors ? no lets ? Has even how such posses- Irchitecture, p. 14. r aid to the mate- In followini; out this principle, wo must take care that the form of building is neither mean, secular, nor domestic, that it is, if possible, such as to impress the beholder with the conviction, that is a Church, and nothing else ; that its matorials aro solid, and of the best kind : that no deception exists in it, that it is what it seems to be, a work of Inbour and sacrifice : that it correctly represents the faith and the love p{ a christian. To this ond, our pious forefathers built either in the form of a Cross, or, more commonly, in a form which denotes tri> f licity : which is both expressive in reverent feeling and faith, and •onvenient for the use of man. They made their buildings solid and durable : they used good materials, and worked them up to the best advantage. Their Churches were not square rooms, menn barns, 9pectatoria, and Auditoria, but Houses of Prayer ; long, rather than iquare, loAy, rather than low, with means of kneeling all together in Jinmble adoration. They took their proportions chiefly from the pne Divine pattern ; in which the length was as 90, the width 30, and llie heigiit 45. And this will be found to be the general measure of almost all ancient Parish Churches P P!d t.h?y not succeed ? Who u who help to build the fabric, and to spread the Guspul also. * When I arrived in thi» Provijjcc liicrc were only three or four fonta. Thcro areniiv/ eighteen; and 1 iru^l ihe Clerkly will aut'ii add l-j Ujcu mimbcf the Lord's Table, indicating tho way to Confirmation, nnd aftur Confirmation to tiio reception of the Eucharist, which was to be '* open to all believers.*' They divided the Church into two purls, the Nave for ordinary worshippers, and for Baptism ; tho Chancel for the Clergy, the Choir, and the Communicants, nnd for the celc' bration of the Lord's Supper. They were careful to provide fit vessels uf silver for so great a feast ;* and they gave directions that it should be performed with order, gravity, and solemn, chastened joy. They used bells, to summon the dock together, to welcome them in joy, to soothe their sorrows, and to remind them that a soul was passing into Eternity. Who has not felt their music, who has not known their strange and secret power over the soul ? They so built the House, that it should speak of things above. Its long vista reminded them of Infinity. Its loAy roof, of the canopy of Heaven. The histories of Christ and his Saints were inscribed on its windows, the texts of His word written on the walls. The spirit of adoration hovered over the building. Even a Pagan must have felt, this is not a house, nor u museum, nor a theatre, nor a workshop, nor any common lodging : it is " Domus mansionalis omnipotentis Dei." Now how is this injurious to a spiritual mind ? We know indeed that some of our forefathers erred. They by degrees allowed a faith and a worship corrupted from that " once delivered to the Saints," to intrude, and other Mediators to usurp the prerogatives of Christ. What then ? Are all creeds evil, because in some particulars their creed was corrupted ? Is all worship unscriptural, because, in some points, their worship was erroneous f Are all forms sinful, because, in some matters, their forms may have been superstitious ? I open my Bible, and find that precedence is to be given to matters of faith over matters of form. "Judgment, justice, and the love of God" — " these ye ought to have done ;" but before I close it, I read " and not to leave the other undone." Why should we be wiser than Christ, who commands both spirit and form > But there wore corruptions. And was there not a Reformation i And is not a Reformer one who labours to restore, rather than to destroy, to " refuse the evil, and to choose the good," not to destroy good and evil together? "Tho " heady setting forth of extremities," according to Bishop Ridley, is no genuine fruit of the Reformation. The collects and prayers found in the Roman Breviary our Reformers retained ; ihey were old, " By the kindnons of R. Hichkns, Esq., of London, scverHl pieces of silver Comiiuinion Plate have been ^ivon to the poorer parishes; and aevcral acts or poriiuna oi' plate hnvc been otherwiiie obtained. No eApenne in tiuved iu the end b^ the i;sp of ioferiMr materials. 40 tion, niid after hich was to bu into two purls, > ; tho Chancel )cl for the ceic' ovide fit vessels IS that it should led joy. They them in joy, to as passing into >t itnown their lilt the House, linded them of 'he histories of le texts of His I'ered over the I house, nor u mon lodging : know indeed tllowed a faith he Saints," to '63 of Christ, rticulars their Eiuse, in some iful, because, 9US ? I open itters of faith e of God"— !ad "and not r than Christ, corruptions, ner one who i evil, and to ler? "The hop Ridley, and prayers ey were old, iccea of silver several huIs or 'ed iu the end and they wore good : tho prayers to the Virgin Mary they rejected ; they were now, and they were evil. Tho ancient parish Church they adopted as their model of piety and tasto. Once more, are they who talk loudly of vpirituality, all spiritual men ? I And that many are not Communicants ; some have always led careless and disorderly lives; many more arc regardless of the rules and discipline of their own Church. Are they the judges of what is spiritual, who do not live by their own rules, and act up to their own standards ? Surely not. Let them reform theirown lives, and then we shall be willing to listen to them, and shall learn to respect their piety, even when we are unconvinced by their arguments. 1 exhort you, therefore, my Brethren, not to be influenced by such reasonings, and still less by railing in the place of reasoning. When you set about building a Church, endeavour to get a correct and suitable form, from some ancient and good type ; let a wooden model be always mode ; provide a font of stone, and vessels of silver for the communion, if possible before its consecration, and on no account let the approach to the Lord*s Table be obstructed. " Do oil things de- cently and ill order :" and let that order be the Churches order, not your own order. It has been always a maxim in the Church of God that His high praises should be sung, not with the melody of the heart only, but with melodious voices and tuneful instruments. And it is surely re- markable that when so little is said in Scripture of the joys of the Paradisiacal stale, one of the few exceptions is the use of music. '■'■ I heard the sound of many voices, and of harpers harping with their harps." It seems that, if law and order be the harmony of the moral world, harmony itself is as natural and eternal as number and form. The state of Church-music is therefore a question which concerns spiritual, holy, reverent, and acceptable worship. I regret to be obliged to say that in many places our state is deplorably low. Music was never a favourite study with the earliest colonists of North Ame- rica, and least of all Church-music. Now though it would be unfair to blame persons severely for not knowing what they have never been taught, there is in many quarters, especially among those who know a little of music, an antipathy to grave and sober Church-music. The solemn, chastened strains of religious juy, are not light enou^'^h for many minds. They prefer the giddy dance, the last new opera, the sentimental love-song, and more flwid music. The house of God resounds with chants, in which it is impossible for the congregation to join ; with psalra^tuncs, svbich resemble a minuet or wullz ; and with iiiicrluiles, iii which ovory nolo of iho organ is Buccossivoly brought into requisition. Wo uro onioxod at tho execution of tho performer, but our spirit is no moro edifleil than if wo listened lo tho sounds of an unknown tongue. On the other hand, in somo country parishes, a nasal druwl of melancholy grouns, represents, by contrary motions, the joyful hallclujuhs of the psalmn. To begin then with principles. There are throe, which, I think, no man in reason can gainsay. First, that Church*music is a thing by itself, having a stylo of it» own, which should bo known and cultivated. Secondly, that what all worshippers are enjoined in Scripture and in the Prayer-book to sing, should be sot to simple, natural tunes, easily caught, easily remembered, and in pitch, accessible to tho greatest number of voices. Thirdly, thnt tho tunes should be proportioned to the knowledge of the choir, and tho capacities of the congregation. I will add, not so much us a principle, as un undoubted fact, that it has pleased God to permit the English Church at ond after the Reforma* tion, for nearly two centuries, to produce somo of the greatest masters of Churcb'music whom the world has ever seen, men of genius, trained successively in a good and learned school. It seems to fol- low, that we should naturally resort to those whom Providenco has thus gifted for the benefit of mankind. And they have this advantage over most Foreign composers, thnt their music was set by them to English words, and therefore is in natural harmony with our mode of pronunciation.* There are then three kinds of Church-music : the chant, or melo- dious reading of Psalms, and other parts of Divine worship, a custom possibly coeval with the Exodus, certainly adopted by tho Jews, probably used by our Lord and His Apostles when they sung an Hymn, or (in fact) sung the great Hallol, as it was called, being Psalms 113 to 118, a custom universal in the Christian Church in the time of St. Ambrose, adopted and improved by Gregory, Bishop of Rome, introduced no doubt into England, by St. Augustine, who converted our Saxon ancestors, and in use in the British Church ever since. The Gregorian chants (as they are called) are not tho * Yet with a Bimplicity whieh would be more charming, if it did not savour of opposition to what is recommended, because it is recommended, it is still asked, Why do we speak of the music ofPuRCELL, Croft, or GiBBONst The answer ia neither Far-fetched nor recondite. Why do weary school-boya continue to trans- late old IIoBfBR and obsolete Viroil? It may be that our own Music is as 8upo< rior to the music of Pukcell and Gibbons, as our versos aro to tho versus of Homer and yiRciL. But tho world is, as yet, unconvinced of this fact. And till we can convince them, we must be allowed to plod un In uur dull way, iearain^ and priiciifijig what wo rannttt liopp in rtjual. 51 sivoly brought ho pcrformor, osuundsufan ry parishes, a trary motions, :h, I think, no is a thing by nd cultivated, ipturo and in tunes, easily the greatest oportioned to grogaiion. I St, that it has the Reforma* atest masters n of genius, seems to foU evidence has lis advantage t by them to our mode of nt, or mclo- lip, a custom y the Jews, ley sung an ailed, being lian Church r Gregory, . Augustine, itish Church are not the not savour or is still asked, Pile answer in inue to trans- lie is as siipe. tlio veraus of int. And till vay, Icaruiny invention of Hishop Gregory, but they existed in a ruder form ages before his time. So thnt Itio supposition of their being Popish, is simply ridiculous. They possess the grcot advantage of lioing more easily sung by male voices and by pcsons unskilled in music, than most others. It must bo admitted that their extreme simplicity re- quires many voices, " us the sound of many waters" meeting. But liu who should ever be so happy as to hear one hundred Clergy chanting together, and answoted by a thousand people with one accord, would acknowledge that no music on eorth is ho majestic and so heavenly. Rut thnro exists no valid orgument against tho use of other simple and congregational melodies. Double chants have this signal disadvantage, that they never cnn be used to the Psalms, unless the choir sing all tho verses. Consequently, tho Clergy cnn never sing one verse ond the congregation another, which is the mode sanctioned by our Liturgy, and evidently implied in the construction of the language of tho Fsnlms. I have therefore aban- doned tho use of such chants, ns well for this reason, as that three fourths of them are composed in a light and vicious style. There is, secondly, the metrical Psalm-tune. There xists at pre- sent no entirely satisfactory metrical version of the Psalms. /Vnd one ' of the highest poetical authorities in our day, having attempted it himself, seems to consider that tho sententious brevity and parallelism of the ancient Hebrew, render their reduction into metre almost im- 'practicable. What I should wish to see, would bo the abandonment by the Church (for of course I do not speak of individual and un- authorized attempts) of u metrical version, and the adoption in its f stead of hymns, framed on the primitive models and translations of ancient hymnology, and sung to what we now call Psalm-tunes, many of which are so excellent, thnt it would be shameful to discard them. The Psalms would then be chanted^ in the ordinary version, as is intended : and the hymns, as is natural, sung. Each mode of music would then be in its proper place, and the hymns, if properly selected, would reflect the christian imagn of tho Psalms for the day. If this be too much to expect, the next best thing would be, a selection of ancient and primitive hymns, harmonizing in feeling and tone with good Bishop Ken's, which are in universal use, and this ly unanimous consent of the authorities of the Church. VViihout promising more than I can perform, I hope to remedy one defect now pointed out, by publishing for the use of the Clergy and congregations, in this Diocese, ' in a cheap form, some simple chants and Psalm-tunes from our best composers. h! i! There is, thirdly, a more ornate kind o( composition called the Anthem, which can only be perfornRirfd by the skill of a few, but which udds greatly to the dignity, cheerfulness and religious joy of our Liturgical v/orrihip. For this, no man who possesses a particle of real taste will resort to any other than the great Church-composers, masteu of their art. For valuable hints on all these subjects, every one in the Colonies m'jst be much indebted to a small English publi- cation called the Parish Choir, which contains in the cheapest possible form, Chants, Anthems, and remarks, which will give greater insight into the matter than I can profess to furnish.* Without pledging my- self to every sentiment broached in ii (an assent which I am not disposed to give to any book save the Bible and the Prayer-book), I do not hesitate to recommend it to you, as a most valuable musical publication. And 1 trust that my remarks may stir you up to consider the cultivation of sacred music, as a branch of duty, which no Priest who possesses any musical ear can rightly neglect. Surely every Clergyman, whether possessing musical knowledge or not, might endeavour to infuse into his choir reverence and a love for holy thiiigs, and might direct their attention to useful works on the subject of Church-music. There remains only one point affecting the External well-beirg of the Church to touch upon : the provision made, or to be made, foi her Ministers. On this subject, I have come to the following conclusions, after careful observation of all tliat is going on around me. I entertain no doubt, that the Church in all these Colonies, was first planted in an unprimitive manner. The primitive wuy was to send a Missionary Bishop, with one or more Priests and Deacons into a new country, to convert the heathen, or to retain those dready converted, and to maV:e ihem dependent from the first, chiefly on the alms of the faith- ful, or on the labours of their hands. As persons of rank and wealth were converted, they were exhorted and expected to endow the Church with money or land, anf^ provide for its permanent maintenance. The English Church grew to its present height by means of this system. Tithes were originally voluntary donations, or rent-charges on the land, given by Kings and Nobles to ensure the continuance of the ofEces of religion. This is "altogether independent of the peculiar connexion between Church and State, which subsists in England, and might be adopted in any country. But here, for a century, the P.tate cLstinuioly refused to « * Published by OlUvier, 59 Pall Mall, Londttn. H K - Ll. l.y V JJA",-- 3;"" tion called jI,o of a few, but eligious joy of sses a particle ch.composers, objects, every English publi- apest possible jreater insight pledging my- rj not disposed lo not hesitate cation. And cultivation of •ossesses any 'an, wliether o infuse into t direct their i^ell-beirg of ! made, foi isions, after entertain no anted in an Missionary country, lo 'ed, and to i" 'he faith- e exhorted H'^ provide rew to its originally Kings and This is lurch and d in any ■efused to allow a Bishop to be sent at nil, even when Aihds were provided for his support. Then a few Clergy were sent out without any Bishop, and were at first endowed with sufficient incomes by the Society for Propagating the Gospel. The people of these countries, in conse- quence of this original endowment, and from a mifitaken notion, never %i this hour eradicated^ thai the Clergy are all paid by Government, |ind are highly paid, which is perfectly untrue, have generally \»eglccted to perform the duty of supporting their own Pastors. The duty has been repeatedly urged upon them, and they have been told that unless the contribution of £50 a year were paid, ihey would bo deprived of the services of a Clergyman j but the deprivation has hardly ever taken plr.ce. For it is not always easy to carry it into effect, without injuring the Missionary himself. To such an extent ^oes this habit nrtvail^ that I cannot find more than five or six Missions in which the sum promised is wholly paid : few indeed, in %hich it is paid punctually. This is a great evil, which it is more leasy to lament than to cure.* The Bishnp has no legal power to enforce payment ; but if he had, of what service would it be to Cin* force the law against " voluntary," but reluctant subscribers? Once proceeded against, they would never subscribe again. Wo find our- selves then in this most unfortunate situation. The Society at home) and the English public, expect us to act on a system which ought to have been begun at first, but in enforcing which, one has to contend with the prejudices of mankind arrayed against it< The people have long been accustomed to see their Pastors paid for them : and the 5, means of the country are less, at the very time when England ex* 4pect8 us to do more. How /e are to get out of the difficulty, or what Will be the end of Imperial Legislation, no one can foresee ; but it is clear that our English brethren must be patient with us. If the So* ciety were at once to abandon its aid, i do not believe there are 12 Missions out of 40 which would support a Clergyman in common decency. It is a great mistake to suppose that only inactive; immoral, or personally unpopular Clergymen are not duly paid. Some of the most zealous Clergy in my Diocese have not been paid at all by the people whom they serve. And the non-payment seems to proceed on no fixed principle. In many cases, there is no layman who will take the trouble to collect the money. In other cases, there is no money to be collected. The parties live separated by long distances from • The testimony of Bishop Henbhaw (of Rhode Island) shews that these evils are nut confined to the members of a Church, which is partially endowed. His words are painfnlly true, and will be found in the Appendix, II ^w 54 1 1 ;. m, each other, and are often " not at home^' on such occasions. In some instances, tho fault may lie with the Clergyman : but it certainly is not so in all. I am obliged reluctantly to confess, that if British con- nexion should fail us, I know not where to look but to God for help : for as to princes or people, " there is no help in them." How wo should maintain even half the number of our Clergy, or Missions, I am sure I do not know. But tho manner in which the services of zealous and faithful labourers are requited, is most disheartening. I coi'.ld mention instances, recent instances ; but I forbear. That how* ever the people may see that the Society la in earnest in expecting them to do their duty, 1 have to announce to tl:3 Clergy, and through thei.n to the laity, the following Resolutions adopted at a meeting of the Society, Novembe)- 16, 1849 : 1. That the salaries and allowances to be paid from the general funds of the society by virtue of any agreement made subsequently to the present' date, be subjoct to revision every five years, and that tlie Society's engn[;emGnt9 with any Missionary be terminated by the Society, at any period for reasons to be approved by the Bishop. 2. That the Missions be uarefuliy classified according to the means which they possess of maintaining or contributing towards the main- tenance of their own Clergymen, such classification to be reviewed from time to time, and that after the death or removal of any incum- bent the Mission shall be either withdrawn from the Society's list, or be allowed nn annual grant in proportion to the necessities of the Colony, on condition of the Congregation providing a Parsonage-house, and •;uarantecing to the Missionary such a stipend as may fairly be required of them. The Society have also drawn up a form of gua- rantee to be signed by the Churchwardens and other inhabitants of the Mission. Our Diocesan Church Society is clearly the only stay to which wo jpn look at present. Propositions have boon made in Canada, which are well worth considpring, to pay tho Clergy through a general fund placed in the hands of the Diocesan Society. This scheme would require, it seems to me, the parochial payments to be made in advance, to ensure its working well — otherwise the Society might bo made bankrupt. Xhere are however other means which might be adopted. 1st. The richer towns or neighbourhoods might undertake to provide for the spiritual wants of certain parishes, sending out Missionaries, licensed by the Bishop, a', first to perform occasional services, and then pro- viding permanent funds for resident Clergy. 2dly, The richer neigh- bourhood'? might form, through the Church Society, an endowment iiiiil Qsions. In gome ut it certainly is at if British con God for help : cm." How wo h or Missions, I the services of isheurlening. I ar. That how- St in expecting ;y, and through at a meeting of >m the general e subsequently l^ears, and that Tiinated by the he Bishop. g to the means flrds the main- be reviewed of any incum- ciely's list, or ssities of the Hjnage-house, may fairly be form of gua- inhabiiants of to which wo la, which are 1 fund placed lid require, it cc, to ensure le bankrupt. '. 1st. The ivide for the ics, licensed id then pro- icher neigh- emlowraenl 55 fund for the poorer Parishes. 3diy. The Clergy and {.zoret laity ought to call on the wealthy ship-cwners, and proprietors of land and houses, to bequeath or give investments of land, or houses, or rent- charges, to the Church, in the town or parish with which they arc connected, or to others. No member of our Church has a right to Merive properly from landy or houses^ or commerce^ especially if he §elong to a Mission which is now, or has been for a long time fissisted by the Society^ without taxing his property to support the Church. For what are the glebes generally worth } In most cases, next to nothing. In a few cases i^20 or ^30 a year may be derived ^m them. In three or four cases, something nnore. I am aware ^jiat those who can be called wealthy are few, but whether they be tw or many, they should set the example, and others would doubtless How it according to their means. This would prevent the tempo- ||ry ruin of the Church which would follow the abandonment of lllritish connexion, or the withdrawal of the Society^s grant : and it |Bight without any difficulty be done. \, There is another hindrance which it is right that those who live in pngland should understand, lest they should accuse us of doing next to nothing. So wretched has been the system of credit, that almost ^e-half of the country is in debt to the other half. And those whose g^perty is not mortgaged, are so commonly in the habit of living to H^ utmost extent of their income, that a call to support the Church is almost as odious to them as the Stamp Act. I may mention another difficulty. The emigrants fui the last ten ^ars have consisted far more of Roman Catholics, Presbyterians, and Members of other religious persuasions, than of members of uie 0iurch of England. And if our numbers have been recruited, it has liecu ihiefly from the poorer classes of Society, who have nothing to give. It should in justice be mentioned also, that within the last twelve years about 30 new Churches have been built, at an average expense of not less than ^300, and 12 new parsonages erected, chiefly by the exertions of the people of this Province, for the grants made by the Diocesan Church Society are of course the fruit of their own exertions. While however I do justice to their liberality, wherever it displays itself, I am bound to admit, that a great deal has yet to be done, before the organization of our Missions can be said to be, in any sound sense, completed. Having now then touched upon all the topics I proposed to your consideration at the outset, though I have by no means exhausted the subject, I vvill bring to a close this I fear too long address, which I 56 would have shortened, had any one of the subjects now brought be- fore you seemed to me unnecessary. But I conclude with the higher duties with which I began. i! My Brethren op the Laity, Though this address has been directed, as is usual, chiefly to the Clergy, yet it by no means indirectly bears upon your own interests. Far be it from us to advocate, or seek to establish any claims whicli the word of God does not warrant, and which the formularies of our Church do not convey to the Ministers of His word. We not only admit, but we rejoice to know, that you are, with ourselves, the Church. But as its members, the doctrines intrusted to our care are intrusted also to yours ; the duties which we are called on to fulfil, are in many respects your duties also. If it be our part to defend the doctrines of the Christian Religion as embodied in our formularies, you also are bound to take care, that your own spiritual heritage should be transmitted to your children's children, undiminished and uncorrupted. If you require, and justly require, that your Pastors should be men of knowledge, piety, suffi- cient learning, and godly zeal, it is your duty to strengthen them by your love, by the holiness of your lives, by communicating with them in holy of&ces, and by your temporal contributions. More especially you are bound never to profess support which you are not prepared '!o yield, never to weaken our binds by chilling lukewarmness, or factious opposition. We thank Grod for the assistance we receive from you : we bless God that there are those among you whuse " love groweth exceed- ingly," and whose charity towards us and each other aboundeth. We beseech you, pray for us ; daily, constantly, unceasingly. If you believe us right, pray for us : if you think us wrong, pray for us. Nay, if you 'differ with any of us wholly, we say to you, as the warrior of old. Strike us, but hear us. And we say, what he could not) In Christ's name, Pray for us. My Bbbthben of the Clebgy, 1. Since we last met, three of our small number have been sum* moned to the tribunal of God. Before we meet at the n xt Visitation, may not the word " Return'* again go forth ? Surely each one should ask himself with trembling, " Lord, is it I .^" Let us live, tny Brethren, AS those who tread the threshold of the eternal world, who already hear 37 low brought be- with the higher I. chiefly to the r own interests. f claims which lularies of our We not only es, the Church, e are intrusted 'i ore in many an Religion as ake care, that our children's re, and justly B, piety, sufli. [then them by ng with them )re especially not prepared warmness, or >ii •' we bless A^eth exceed- r aboundeth. g'y. If you pray for us. you, as the At he could *■ been sum. t Visitation, one should y Brethren, Iready hear :l the voice, and almost beiiold the fearful countenance of the Son of Man. Let all 'levity, indolence, secularity, animosity, be put jaway from us. We have each uf us aa awful account to give. ** We must die atonu." 2. Lot us beware of " the sia that so easily besetteth us" in this timo *, a vain desire uf popularity at the expense of truth. Worldly politicians, and time-serving lovers of expediency, ore calling on all men every where to give up the distinct principles of the Bible, of the Primitive Church, and of the Prayer-bouk, and Vi take refuge in a hollow un- real peace, the peace not of Christ, but of the world. With such men we cannot be popular, if we be true. We can no more serve truth and error, than we can serve God and Mammon. Let us be true : true to God, true to conscience, true to the Bible, true to the Prayer- book, true to our flocks. Against whom will the future witness of the flock be more terrible, than against the Pastor, who, to please them, has betrayed them ? 3. Yet let us contend for the truth as if we spoke in the immediate presence of our Lord ; I should rather say, as knowing that we speak in His presence. Let our words be earnes., reverent, guarded, and chariiable. If human infirmity betray us into passion, let us repent, and " acknowledge our faults one to another, and pray one for another :*' let us not quarrel about trifles, and these trifles the base things of the world. 4. Let us be more diligent in praying, visiting, reading, preaching, catechising, in reforming our lives, and amending our tempers. If i am spared to meet you here again, if you are spared to meet with me, may we all bo found better prepared to meet our Judge than we are now. Finally, I desire forgiveness at your hands for all the faults I may have committed towards you. Amidst the diversities of feeling and trying tempers of ditferent persons, it is impossible not to commit some faults, but I hope they are not unpardonable. My desire is to see you holy, united, and faithful : my aim has been, God and your- selves being witnesses, to raise the standard, not to lower it, to make you, with myself, such as will stand the touchstone of truth, the verdict of posterity, and the judgment of God. But, I entreat you, work with me. You will all do more good with the Bishop, than you can do without him. And may the God of grace and peace " grant unto you all strength and power to perform these things, that He may accomplish His work which He :>ath begun in you, that, at the day of judgment,- yoilr soiils, I i^t H -:' 58 and all the souls of His elect, departed out of this life, we with them, aud they with us^ may fully receive His Promises, and be made per> feet altogether," through the glorious resurrection of Jesus Christ our Lord.— Amen. lii'l ; -■ • ! 1' I'll B wiih them, e made per- w Christ our APPENDIX i No.1. FROM BISHOP I1£N8HAW'S OlSCOURSfi Before th» Society for the relitf of the JVidovig and Orphans of deceased Ckrgfpiuti, Boston. How is it in this fair, favoured, pjroBperous land of our habitation? With the exception of a few parishes in our large cities and towns which enable a clergy man to live respectably, the salaries are so small as scarcely to supply the com- forts of life, with the practice of rigi(l economy. Five hundred dollars per annum would be a very large average of the salaries received by the Ministers of Christi In curtain parishes, and they not among the least prosperous or wealthy, un- married ministers and cheap ones are inquired for and sought after as especial favourites. They seem to act upon the principle that the maximum of benefit to be 'arived from gospel ministrations will be obtained most surely by securing the minimum of cost. I could point you to many a mnn of learning and talent, devoting his life to zealous labours for the benefit of a parish, which compels him to live on a sum scarcely equal to the interest of the money expended on his education. People expect their clergymen and families to dress in costly fabrics, upon means which will only procure the cheapest ; to appear like gentlemen, with the income of the lowest commoners ; to live genteelly and exercise free charity and hospitality, while furnished with ability to procure no more than the common necessarins of life. They need no earnest exhortations to absti- nence and self-denial, for necessity is laid upon them to practise those virtues. Special care is taken to prevent their luxuriating in the pleasures or indulsing in the vanities of the world. We stop not to inquire whetner the benefit of their example in this respect would not be more salutary if it were less compulsory. Compare the condition of those ^n the sacred office with that of others engoged in secular professions and pursuits The faithful .Minister of Christ, in the ele- vated unearthly character of his calling, in witnessins the conversion of sinners and the edification of the Church through his humble instrumentality, in the thanks of the sick and afilicted comforted by his connsels, in the blessings of the poor relieved by his bounty, in the love of children and youth, whom he has trained in the knowledge oi Christ, in the rich experience of the Redeemer's grace strengthening him in his duties and consoling him in his trials, and in the bright hope of that crown of righteousness promised to the fuitbful steward — has treasures which all the wealth of earth could never purchase, and joys in comparison with which all the pleasures of time and sense are insipid and worthless. His duties are with the spiritual world, and thence he derives hi.M jo^. He labours for eternal results, and looks to Eternity for his reward. But if in this life only he had hope, he would be of all men most misRrable. The Merchant, b^ his enterprise in traffic and commerce — the Manufacturer, by his industrial efllorts, may amass thousands, and sometimes hundreds of thousaods, as an inheritance for those who come after hibi ; the Advocate at the bar, the Practitioner of the healing art, the Mechanic and the Farmer, not content with providing for his household while living, aims to leave them some patrimony at death, but from all ordinary sources of accumulation the Clergvman is cutoff. They are to him prohibited bv the vows which bind him to the Altar. If he cm- barks in speculation, or, without necessity, resorts to any secular pursuit for gain, he stains the robe of his profession, and is properly assigned to a rank in the band of Iscariot. Without claiming for the members of the sacred profes- sion any extraordinary amount of intellectual power and cultivation, we may ai \A ]§ ]; CO leiut UMnrt their oqutility in ttiii roiipont witli mrn or othnr prnreflnintifl ; ntxt thcrerur« if thoy hud clioiinn to ongaxo in secular piirHiiilH, thoy ini^lit Iirvh arhiovad an squni nmouiit ortonipurnl iiicrcRii. Hut, voluntarily rrliiifiuishini; all the attractions of wealth, thny have dfivoled thetiisnIvcH to a collinit whifli promiips nothing more than a baro competency for tliomftelvoa, accompanied with the alrttost certain proRpect ofdeHtitiition for thedopciidcntN who may sui- viv« them. Ilenco results tlio necessity of such ARsociutions as the present. No. 2. MlAVfcttS FUR A ClIUItClI-CIlOIR. O '* Tliot; that inhobitest the prnises of Israel,'* who, by thy nervant David, Untti taught us " to sing and give praise with tho bent member that wh havo," yea to *| praise Thee and Thy iaithfulncRs, playing upon an in.«trumcnt of music ;'' accept, wn beseech '1 hee, our tinwofthy services, through Jesus Christ our Saviour. Amca. MJ^'tl GiTK tis grace, O Lord, to behave ourselves in Thy Courts with great rever- ence and humility, both of body and mind; that coming to Thy Sanctuary with clean liands and pure hearts, we may offer unto Then ** the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to Thy Name," through Christ our Lord. Asirn. Kkip far from us, O searcher of all hearts, vain and wandering thoughts ; enable us to avoid all cnnoeit of our own skill, jealousy of others, and slothful' nesa in our duty, and may wn rest content with the good and pleasant work of evermore praising Thee. AmCn. O Makkr of all things, whose voice is the harmony of the world, unto whom the Heavenly Choir, ''as the sound of many waters," continuaMy do cry ; vouchsafe to unite us to that holy company; teach us to follow their obedience and order, to praise Thee " with the spirit and with the understanding," and to glorify thee by our lives; and do Thou, O Lord, bring Thy baniRlied ones home to Thy Eternal Temple, to sing glad hallelujahs world without end. Amen and Amkn. PRKSENTEn TO THE ClERGT OK St. DarNABAS DaV. — 1850. If No. 3. A SBftVlCF. FOR Tlifi iXnirCTION OP MINISTER.«l TO TIIF.IR CURFS, tN TUB niOCF.SB OF PKKOBRIC'l'ON. I Pmoper Psalms ->123, 13?, 133. 1st Lesson. — E/ekiel 33, to end of verse 9. 2n Lesson. — 8t. Luke 10, to end of verse 16. <.'jo8Pei. for the Day. — John 10, to verse 19. Epistle. — IsT Thessalonians, 2d chapter, to end of verse 13. Collect for the Day.— O Eternal God, the giver of all good gifts, who of Thy Divine Providence bast ordained divers orders in Thy Church, give Thy grace, we beseech Thee, to this Thy servant, to whom the charge of this Parish is committed, and so rejphiiiish him with the truth of Thy doctrine, and endue him with innocency or life, that he may faithfully serve before Thee to the glory of Thy great name, and the benefit of Thy Holy Church, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Collect in the Communion Service before the Gospel, is to be the Collect for St. Simon and St. Jude's Day, and also that for All Saints' Day. A Sermon may be preached by the Minister now instituted, or by some other Clergyman. 01 treMintiA; nnd y inij-lit linvH rnliiKjuiKliiiiir collinu whith I acrompnnied wlio may nur- iiie present. It Davltl, liarit •lavn/'yea to t of miisin ;'' lA ChriKt our 1 great rever- nctliary with t of our lipt| \g thoughts 5 ind slothful' lant work of unto whom Hy do cry ; r obediciirn •ding," and iiHlied ones ithout end. 'Ay.— 1850. URFP, is, who of give Thy >is PariHh nd endue lee to the igl) Jeaus i\f\or the fiOrd'ii Supper ia celebrated, immediately before the Benedictiorf; the instituted Minister shall, kneeling at the Altnr, say ns follows: — O most glorious Lord God, I acknowledge that 1 am unworthy that I should Hcrvo under Thy roof : yet bo graciously pleased to accept the dedicotion of myself to Thy service in this Parish, and to prosper all my undertakings. Fill me with an awful dread of Thy Divine Majesty, and with a deep sense of my unworthiness : that approarhing Thy Sanctuary with lowliness ond devotion, with clean thoughts nnd a puro heart, I may always perform a service accept- able to Thee, through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amkn. Enable me, O Lord, both by my life and doctrine, to set forth Thy holy word, and rightly and duly to administer Thy Holy Sacraments. And to all Thy people give Thy Heavenly grace: and especially to those who are here f>laced under my Ministry, that, with meek heart, and due reverence, they mny loar and receive Thy holy word, and that they, and nil who profess and call tiiemselvea Christians, may hold tho faith in unity of spirit, in the bond of peace, and in righteousness of life, and may be numbered with Thy Saints in Glory Everlasting. Amen. The Minister instituted shall, if the Bishop bo not prcsetit, pronounce the Benediction. After induction, the Minister instituted is, on some following Sunday, at soon as may be, to read the Thirty-Nine Articles publicly in tho Church, and declare his unfeign'^d assent and consent to all that ia contained in them, and in the Book of Common Prayer. A certificate of this having been done, is to be sent to tho Bishop. PREPARATIONS FOR tllE CONSSraATfON OP A CHURCH, CHAPEL, OR 0URIAL OROIJNO. The ground should be conveyed in fee to the Church Corpoiation, if there be a Corporation, or to the Lord Bishop of Fredericton and his successors, or to the Lord Bishop aforesaid and his successors^ in trust to convey to the Church Corporation, when a Corporation shall have been establisihed. The Deed of Conveyance, duly signed, sealed, and attested, (having been also re- corded) should be ready for the Bishop on the day of Consecration. The Church should be finished, and the Church-yard should be securely fenced. A Surplice should be provided for the Clergyman. ^ A decent Font (of stone, if possible), and a Chalice and Paten for tho Holy Communion (of silver, if possible), should also bo provided. The scat:) should not be sold. There should be no debt on the Church ; at least, none which may not bo discharged by a collection on the day of Consecration. June J 1850. No. 4. Since tlie Uhargo was written, I have lighted on a Report of the S. P. O. for 1741, which contains Rules so excellent ih themselves, and bearing so strongly on several matters to which I have called the attention of the Clergy, that I make no apology for re-printing them. The year 1741, it may be recol- lected, belongs to that period, when, if we are to believe the Cry of th^ nineteenth century, every body was fast asleep ; and no care was taken fo promote vital and spiritual religion Yet the rules of devotion and holy living, nt this dismal period, are stricter than those by which tee usually live. Md there is no work of piety which we perform, which is omitted in these directions. To show how minute and psrticular the Governors of the Society were At I 62 that timt, I add, that tha aama Report contains Tormi of prayer for all Charity School!, for th« matter and tchotar, for every child at home, morning and evening, for every child, when they fimt come into their aeata at Church, and before they leave their seata, and before meat. The anmo Report alto con* tains the Missionaries' Library of near 200 volumes, which is, I perceive, more lull and more learned than any ordinary Missionary would think of possessing Ht the present day. In it are contained the works of Beveridgo, Bull, Dennett, Barrow, Bingham, Gave, Grnbn, Hammond, part of Bishop Hall, Nichol, Pa- trick, Pearson, Stillingfleet, Taylor, Wheotley, Wall, Waterland. In the books allowed fur Churches, besides the Bible, Chronology and Com- mon Prayer, and Homilies, is Sparrow's collection of Canons. We need not bti ashamed of our fore-fathers' Rules, our only fear ahould be, lest wa ahould not live up to them. First, with respect to themselves. I. That they always keep in their view the great design of their under- taking, viz: to piomote the glory of Almighty tiod, and the salvation of men, by propagating the Gospel of nur Lord nnd Saviour. ' II. That they often ronsiJnr the qualifications requisite for those, who would effectually promote this design, viz. a sound knowledge and hearty belief of the christian religion; an Apostolical zeal, tempered with prudence, humility, meekness and patience; a fervent charity towards the souls of men; and finitlly, that temperance, fortitude, and constancy, which become good soldiers of Jesus (ylirist. III. That in order to the obtaining and preserving the said qualiircations tbey do very frequently in their retirements offer tip fervf nt prayers to Al- mighty God for his direction and assistance; converse much with the Holy Scriptures; sorioasly reflpct upon their Ordination Vows ; and consider the account w!:ich they are to render to the great Shepherd and Bishop ofonr souls at the last day. IV. That they acquaint themselves thoroughly with the doctrine of the Church of England, as contained in the Articles and Homilies; its worshipand discipline, and rules for behaviour of the Clergy, as contained in the Liturgy and Canons; and that they approve themselves accordingly, as genuine Mis- sionaries from this Church. V. That they endeavour to make themselves masters in those controversies, which ore necessary to be understood, in order to the preserving their flock from the attempts of such gainsayers as are mixt among them. VI. That in their outward behaviour they be circumspect and unblameable, giving no offence either in word or deed ; that their ordinary discourse be grave and edifying; their apparel decent and proper for Clergymen; and that in their whole conversation they be instances and patterns oi tlie christian life. VII. That they do not board in, or frequent public-houses, or lodge in families !■' -tvil fame ; that they wholly abstain from gaming and a!) vain pastimes ; and converse not familiarly with lewd or profane persons, otherwise than in order to reprove, admonish, and reclaim them. VIII. That in whatsoever family they shall lodge, they persoade them to join with them in daily prayer morning and evening. IX. Tliat they be not nice about meats or drinks, nor immoderately careful about their entertainment in the places wliere they shall sojourn; but contented with what health requireti, and tne place easily aHbrds. X. That as they be frugal, in opposition tu luxury; so they avoid all op- pearance of covetousness, and recommend themselves according to their abili« ties, by the prudent exercise of liberality and charity. XI. That they take special care to give no offence to the Civil Government, by intermeddling in affairs not relating to their own calling and function. XII That avoiding all names of distinction, they endeavour to preserve a 03 for all Chnity t morning and t Church, and port alio con- »erceive, more orponesaing Bull, Bennett, I, Nichol, Pa- d. ogy and Com- We need not ••I we ahould their under- ation of men, », who would nrty belief of ce, humility, f men; and good soidiera ualificntionji Bjertt to Al- th the Holy consider the ) ofonr aouia trine of the worship and the Liturgy [enuine Alig- mtroversies, g their flock nbiameable, iiscourse be n ; and that liriatian life. i in families itimes ; and an in order ie them to ely careful t contented •id all ap- their abili- vernment, 'tion. ireserve a I Chriatian agreement and union one with another, ai nbody of Brethren of one and the same Church, united under the Hnperior F.piNCopal Order, and all en- gagttd in tho sumo great design of propagating the (iospel; and to this end, kpoping up a brotherly correspondence, by mofting together at ci-rtain times, as siialTbe most convenient, for mutual advice and nssiMtance. Heeondly, Kith resptct to their Paroehiul Cure. I. That they conscientiously observe the rules of our Liturgy, in the per- furmance of all the offices of thoir Ministry. II. That besidea the stated eervico appointed for Hunduys and l>.)!y-days, they do, as for as they shall find it practicable, publicly road tho dniiy morning and evening Service, and take a special care to lay a good foundation for nil their other ministrations, by catechising those under their cure, whether children, or other ignorant persons, oxplaining the Catechism to them in the most easy and familiar manner. IX. That in their instructing Heathens and Infidels, they begin with the principles of natural religion, appealing to their reiiKoii and conscience ; und thonce proceed to shew them the necessity of R(*votation, and tlin certainty of that contained in the Holy Scriptures, by (he plain and most obvious arguments. X. That they frequonly visit their respective Pariuhioiiers ; ihoKe of^onrown Coniinuiiion, to keep tht^m steady in the profession nnd practice of religion, as taught in the Church of England ; those that oppose us, or dissent from us, tu convince and reclaim them with a spirit of meekness and gentleness XI. That those, whoso Parishes shall be of large extent, HJiall, as they have opportunity and convenience, officiate in the several parts thereof, so that all the inhabitants may by turns partake of their ministrations ; and that such as shall be appointed tootficiate in several places, shall reside sometimes at one, tfometimes at another, of those places, us the necessities of the people shall require. XII. That they shall, to the best of their judgments, distribute those smtll Tracts given by the Society for that purpose, amongst such of their i'arishioners as shall want them most, and appear likely to make the best use of them ; and that such useful books, of which they have not a sufficient number to give, they bo ready to lend to those who will be most careful in rending and re- storing them. XIII. That they encourage the setting up of Schools for the teaching of children; and particularly by the widows of^ such Clergymen as shall die in those Countries, if they bo found capable of that employment. XIV. That each of ihem keep a register of his Parishioners names, pro- fession of Religion, Baptism, &c., according to the Scheme annexed, No. I, for his own satisfaction, and the benefit of the people