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Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mAthode. t>y errata led to int ine pelure, apon A Z] 1 2 3 32X 1 2 3 4 5 6 ^.WV:M I II -1 ■- - ■ . - ; - ' '"'■ '-. ' ■; ' ' ^ * 3 *lWi h^^ iv>lr>»Is« yvicfi I }xM oiUnl /r^nrtlo il'»riJlo \nfmoR > ARE WE IN THE OLD PATHS ? 'WJJB fcilK'll« Jl i»io hafi i>Joq t-fiw My Friends, '■ ' •- ' ' • ''" '^"' — ^"'' "*^-^" --f^ -♦«?' The history of the religious world, that is, of those who believe in the one Triune God, has been a continuous exhibition of faithfulness and unfaithfulness ; and this one fact alone ought to convince men of their frailty, insincerity, and disposition to sin. With God there is only one standard of faith. He cares not in what casket that faith is borne, whether it be sunounded by the hallowed grandeur of a time-honored and singularly beautiful liturgy such as the Church of England ehjoys, or the more rugged and simple forms of the sister churches which are thought to admit of a beneficial freedom, or in the Book of Common Prayer in use in the Reformed Church of England which at once gives^ you the beauties of the old with the freedom and elasticity of the new. God cares not what your form may be, if your heart be rigkt,. and your teaching scriptural. As I have said, the tendency of man is to err, to be unfaithful, to put himself into such a position^ as will admit of his gliding into the element he would occtipy a place in. Like a ship waiting to be launched and held upon the ways by blocks, he is always ready of his own wilt to gravitate toward his natural condition of unbelief, if so'.e plausible thought-hammer will only knock away the blocks that hold him. ir we look at the :hurch in the wilderness, we see one day a people bubbling over with religious zeal, singing and praising the God who delivered them from the Egyptians, and a little white after we find them launching off into the idolatry of Egypt and r or- shipping a golden calf. Then we find that God takes^ means to- bring them to their reft^otis senses and idnables thenLto see the 2 .'• enormity of their offence. In the text I have selected, we see one of these periods of backsliding, and out of the midst of the desolation the voice of one of God's servants cries aloud, " Thus saith the Lord." Now when these words were spoken, the ears of the wan- dering in Israel were touched, and, as it should always be, the messenger was lost sight of in the message. Jeremiah was about to speak God's word to the kingdom of Judah, a part of the once united nation, and to-night I speak in God's name to the Church of England, the Judah of the church of God, which of old times was pure and undefiled in its teaching of the faith once delivered unto the saints, and for which I love her, and by virtue of whose teaching in the protestanw days oi my boyhood I am impelled to make my feeble effort to uphold the faith as it u in Jesus, and pre- serve what is fast disappearing, the church service of my fathers ; until that day when the true children of that portion of the Israel of God return to the old path and the proclaiming of simple evan- gelical truth by word and book, thought and deed. .^VThus saith the Lord, stand in the ways and see." It is always a good thing if you are in the forest, or on the prairie, and darkness comes upon you. so that you have lost the trail, to call .a bait, and find out just where you are, rather than continue to /march on, follov.'ing leaders who are either blind or wilfully bent tupo)P leading you into some placd which you would never consent to journey to if you knew where and what it was. It is ab!!»oluteIy necessary for you to know, individually, where you are being led by your blind guides. You stf^jted out in good faith, honestly wishing to go in the old Protestant paths trodden by the feet of itbe^.martyrtpioneers in the Reformation. Call a halt I stand in the way; "see" where you are being led; examine the trail; take note that you are t$o/ in the old beaten path hallowed by nearly luxieteeo centuries of joumeyings. Blandishments, force, torture, d^th, failed to draw <>r drag the children of our Lord , AW9>7 from tihis old goapei path in. the days of the Apostles. The same effojcits failed, in the daya when the Church of England was bo^ (i|a the days />f the JB.efopmation). Now a new course it be- . > ing pursued* .aod enticing jpil^usibiUty is leading old-time I*rotestant J5pttcppaUmAW»y.to.£U>n|e, aw^.to thr acaas of the treacherous i > % .'■ power thait gave th^ martyrs to the rack and flame, stnd would do so againdid it but dare; ''•;•' .:un vk i - w i . .. Let us fbr a moment examine the patlis the Anjg;l?cans iie now treading, ftnd enquire, Whither do they lead ? No longer do we hear the familiar name ** Protestant" boasted in as of old by the so-called priests of the Church of England, but many there are who boldly declare the system a failure, and the Reformation a mistake. The Rev. Mr. Wagner, of Brighton, now, I believe, in the b6som of th6 Church of Rome, led there by the Prayer Book, declared in 1868, when he was a minister of the Church of England, '* Protestantism is on its deathbed, it is fast falling, and, by God's favor, will soon be at an end." TUe Rev. Henry Fry, D.D., boldly declared, " The articles must be got rid of as Protestant and heretical ;" the religion of the Church cf Eng- land is declared to entitle her to be called the Catholic Church of England, and demands are made that it be healed of the " leprosy of Protestantism." In the Anglican Church to-day t ask you where are the old-time Protestant standard bearers? 1 will not cross the Atlantic for my facts, but will point you to Canada. Are you in the right path when you cannot tell the services of an Anglican Church, under a so-called Protestant rector and bishop, from a Church of Rome ?* ' May you not have reason- able doubts whe/i the eye is greeted by an imposing altar ancl super altar, where should be an honest Communion Table? Are crosses, ^rucifixe», confessionals and other chancel furniture of a recognized Rv^mish pattern, what ought tt be in a Church belong- ing td the Prote^titnt Chtirch of England ? I think not I Is it' in keeping with the custom of your fathei^s parish church to have the service intoned, the Scriptures rendered in such a way that they might as well be in a dead language ; and that one who, call- ing himself ft priest, wears such a gkrb, and looks as if he had come directly from the Rohiish ttuiss house to ofiiciate to I^otestahts, and this in the Diocese of Protestant Bishops in no way held by the law of the Established Church ? >! ' The whole thing is Uti organized 'wiirk resting on the, Prayer Book authority. Dr. Pusdy wrote ^ the Chunk Ttmei as follows : " This, then» 'is the thing to do. Lei th6 advanced postsj remvii M they are ; let each of those ^ little. bebiad, and oaly a little* gradually take up the same position, and let tl^e procefs be carried on, only without haste or wavering, down to the last in the chain. Let a gradual change be brought in. A choral service, so far as th^ ^s^lms and Canticles are concerned, op some, week day evening ¥fill train the people to like a more ornate service, s^nd that which began tO; be ai| occasional luxury will soon be a felt want. VVhere there is mofithly^communion, let it be fortnightly ; where it is fort- nightly let it be weekly ; where it is weekly add ^ Thursday office ; wl^ereall this is, already existing, candlesticks with unlighted candles may be introduced ; where these are already found, they may be lighted at evening song ; when so much has beien attained the step pf lighting them for th^ Eucharistic office is not a long one. Wnere the black gown is in use in the pulpit on Sunday let it dis- appear in the week " Has this not been the way according to the experience of some, right in this very city ? Has it not beei> the same in Toronto and pttiiwa, and scores of the smalle|p towns in Canada ? For every pne of these Ron^ish ifinQvations there is a Romish doptrine underlying it. In the Diocese of Toronto the direct challenge was given by th^ Evangelical part^ to the Hig|i Church or Romanizing party, andi with wh^t result ^ Why, in that .Prpt^stant Diocese, where it wa^ '' )K>astec| some timt: ago that a low ch^riph Bishop 1^^| be^n etlected, the High Church part^ carried all before thppi, and now, the chair of 'Theology in Trinity College is fi^ed by a minist|»rial professpr, v#lio boldly, d^lar^d in a sermon that tl^e Biblj9 is nqt to be con- s^pre^ th^ px\^ of faith. Wl^«^n Protestant B^shopf march ip procession >vith a crpss bear^ before them,, in front, pf a Romish ^ta|r,'dnd proceed ^ot^ pulpit att^ndpd hj boyi^ in cas8p Having shown that the, path of the Angi Jhurch is Rome- wards and paved with Romish teaching, I say those who have halted to " judge for themselves what is right,'' that the command of the Lord is, "ask for the old paths where is the good way ana walk therein." I am vteW aware that I shall be told that the Prayer fiook is the same as it was forty years ago, but the Prayer Book of the Church of Etigland is not the same as Edward the VI. left us. Had the revision prepared in the reign of William the third, and only defeated in becoming the service book of the English Church, by the ignorant country clergy out-voting the educated city clergy been adopted, \lished ; the citkdel is theirs, aiid the Rotnr^li power in the Established Churibh of England 6ahnot be overthrown- I believe it wab Cardinal Wisemttfl Who said, " giV6 me th6 cfaildreii of England and in twenty* y^ars,Ettglahd Will be Catholic.'^ Ahd then what ? Why, the dretid past will have to be gone ovdr, for whil^ Roman Catholicism can, and does, accommodate itself to circam-* stances, the ascendency of that church is the Hltimate and never absent purpose^ and where it is in power, liberty, civil and religious, are like the shorn Samson bereft of strength. Invariably that strength returns, it is coming back in Italy, France and Spain, but Eng- land is being fascinated by the Romish Delilah, and will find her- self in the toils at last. All eifforts to secure revision of the Book of Common Prayer have failed, it is said now by easy-going Evan- gelicals, let the tares and the wheat grow together until the harvest ; but in the Church, every Avy is sowing day and reaping day, and the Prayer Book casting its Romish germs fertilised by High Church teaching is gradually choking out the good seed of the word of God« and th« voice of the Church is louder than the voice of God, the "thus saith the Lo^d** is being exchanged for thus saith the Church, priestly power is usurping that which be- longs to the Divine, aqd many people are honestly asking in bewilderment, "where are the old paths ? where is the good way that we may walk therein ?* A few days ago I was in conversation with a member of the Anglic^, Churchman active worker in an ol4-time Evangelical Church ifi a sister cityt which has long since gone far on its way to Rome, and driven from it many of its early workers, supporters and friends. At present, like the dove that went forth from the arl^,, he has found no rest for the sole of his foot. Qn two occas- ions he attended the services of tb|8 church, and asked by me for Ibis opinion, he, sa^d, " I see no difference, it is just the old Church of England service as it used to be in the church I once belonged ^." T^is is only one of numerous instances, but it has great &igni- ^cance^ it proves thai we are, safar asthe eye of the old-fashioned Episcopalian can see, what we have claimed to be, the old Church ojT S^nglaipid as itwaf before a Romish interpretation was put upon the lang^age of the Book x>t Common Prayer. Theire is no need for a reformed l^resbyterian or reformed MJethodist Church,' they, as branches of the Church of Christ, are fulfilling, the mission grandly* bvt.^er^ was ajkl is need of a Refoimed Cbun^h of Eng- land whttce .t^ <4d time Protestant Episcopoliani could' See the £|iipiliarui uofeignedly believe his holy Gospel." We havQ expunged the office of "the visitation of the sick'' < with its direction for spe II // bodies may be made clean by His body. 8cc."— Communion Hi And in the Catechism : — " The body and blood of Christ, which are verily and indeed taken and received by the faithful in the I^ord's Supper/,'— Catechism. ...;.,■., Contrast these words with our revision. In the one there is ground for the doctrine of the real presence, and not in the other : ? : " Grant us therefore, gracious Lord, so to commemorate in this breaking of bread the death of Thy dear Son Jesus Christ,, that we may feed on Him in our hearts by isAih:* —Communion Service. " The body and blood of Christ, which were offered once for all upon the cross." — Catechism. When our ministers baptize a child, they do not have to say what they do not believe at.the font, and correct the assertion of their Church (through her Prayer Book), when they enter the pul- pit. Contrast these words first from the Prayer Book of the Church of England and then from our own : \ . , CHURCH OF ENGLAND. ^ " We yield Thee hearty thanks, most merciful Father, that it hath pleased Thee to regenerate this infant with Thy Holy Spirit." — Baptismal Service. , ; , , i (! j ; u , . • ^ 1 v " In my Baptism ; wherein I was made a member of Christ, the child of God, and an inheritor of the kingdom of heaven." — Catechism. "' '^^ (r. E. C. or) reformed church of ENGLAND. " "We yield Thee humble thanks, O heavenly Father, that Thou hast inclined us to dedicate this child to Thee in Baptism." — Baptismal Service. *♦ At my Baptism, when I became a member of the visible Church of Christ." — Catechism^^, ^t;.. 4. , .Vi ):j ,1 - * Thus have we eliminated the doctrine of baptistn&l regenera- tion. Our prayers are made to God for all ministers of the Gospel, and not specially for Bishops, Priest* and Deacons, as though the ministers of sister churches were not ministers as much as those of the Church of England. Not only do we consider them such, but we throw open our pulpits to them and partake of the Lord's Supper with them, and, as occasion may permit, they assist us in its li administration. By the action of our late Synod the' word deadly, (deadly sin) was stricken from our Litany to prevent the Romish dis- tinction between mortal and venial sin ; the word " seventh " in the 4th comnvandment was made read Sabbaih, as it does in th^ 20th chapter of Ekodtis; the use of one Creed instead of two in the morning service was made admissible ; and in the so-called Athan- asian'tlreed the darbnatory clauses are expunged. By our law the wearing of the black goWn in the pulpit was made obligatory, and, as you win see by the following article, departure' from the old paths was made vei*y difficult, if not impossible, because pur De- claration of Principles is unalterable and is the same as drawn up by the human founder of this Church, che late Right Rev. George David Cummins, formerly assistant Anglican Bishop in the Diocese of Kentucky. ' '^ '*'" '^'" '^ Article X. reads as follows :— •r ■ ' iinii. Ji.ti , " Nothing calculated to teach either directly or symbolically that the Christian ministry possesses a sacerdotal character, or that the Lord's supper is a sacrifice, shall ever be allowed in the worship of this church ; nor shall any altar or communion table constructed in the form of an altar, nor shall any cross, crucifix, candles, molten, pa!inted or graven images be introduced, or in- toning used in any service connected therewith, or by any minister, and the Bishop shall have power to suspend any minister from duty until the next meeting of the Canadian General Synod per- sisting in any violation of the letter or spirit of this Article. Ex- cept when otherwise canonically specified, or when contrary to Evangelical and Protestant principles, this church conforms to the laws and ciistoms of the Church of England, and is thus not a new but an old church (r^-formed)." ,^ I think I have shown you that ^e are in the old paths. And why ? It is true we have left the bricks and mortar that we helped to pay for, and the loaves and fishes behind us ; we are like the conies, feeble folk, but we dwell among the rocks, and we have found what our text promises, and enjoy, because we are in the old paths, what God promises " rest for our souls." Our laymen are* not disturbed by unscriptural Romish teaching or symbotry, and our ministers are released from the intolerable bur- den of explaiaing a wfty the plain language of their Prayer Book, t mL 18 or excusing the inconsistent position they occupy as ministers of God's truth. With us the work of the Lord Jesus Christ is a finished work, we have only to proclaim His message as His ministers. Our Great High Priest abolished the priesthood by His own offering, rent the vail of the temple on earth to show that the work on earth was done, and entered into the Holy of Holies in Heaven. We, who believe, are all now upon equality, " all kings and priests unto God ?" For the sake of decency and order which Paul commended, we have men set apart for the min- istry, but they have only one office and one message, theirs it is to be " your servants for Jesus sake," and give you that message of love, recorded in the 55th chapter of Isaiah and 7th verse, •• Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unrighteous man his thoughts, and let him return unto the Lord, and He will have mercy upon him, and to our God and He will abundantly pardon." Seek then God's pardon, not through human priests, but through Him who alone can give it. His Son Jesus Christ our Lord. 1 t r:l Him J^B •fqll■ri,»p^'|f«ii awJb.ati Jn^i^sfei' I'l .;;:LJti:jq \ .diuii 1. 1< . 'o jhrv- 1 ' C(ii iU'/(i:v/ t. -*i t)J l:^'.4tlHt' wlJ bjiaiaisi i) jn{»'i9«j %«<• lilXl DECLARATION OF PRINCIPLES Cffj ■ tv OP THE ;h;. i-» '^^ Ueforntelr Service. ^"'''"■plions (or .«,, . '■ D..f y E.™";. ,, ,^, • : -^ ""w -fm«^ ^'^ e«ch Service. ^"*»«"-n. 75 wSl *"'*^ "«»•'»'' ; official „_ GOD S/^VP TUB. -. -^e THE QUEEN. ' ' ^ I J ' ! ■-■/ ^'^'"^^^"^•^SS^ «>>Wfl^,M«WT««At. '">tepape« bearing „po„ »). and the Offertory after y«an of this Church, to ;^*^eagoodmaninthe '•^ff^ous. Have warm ^^romaBishopofthi, "Wicatrons, at Messrs. official organ of tfae ^p°«'»unicatio„,'*f; '^•'-'•» Montreal. '< i^«ffc>irV The Prayer Books at present for sale in Canada are those printed in England by Messrs. Shaw and Co., and do not contain the points of revisiv/ii made by the last Canadian Synod held in Montreal on the 15th Septem- ber, 1881, which are as follows : — That the words in the original declaration of principles concerning Episcopacy being a desirable form of church polity, "but not of divine right," be inserted in para- graph No. 2 of Declaration of Principles appearing in the preface of the Prayer Book ; that the title Primate, in keepini; with the action of the English Synod, be stricken out whenever it occurs ; that the wearing of the black gown in the pulpit be made compulsory. Where- ever the word Jesu appears make it read Jesus. The word kneeling was added to the rubric over the "De- claration of God's Mercy," to prevent the use of any gestures that would convey the idea of absolution being S'ven. In the prayer known as the ' ' Declaration of od's Mercy," the words "absolution" and "absolveth" are both stricken out, and in the alternate form the word absolved is changed to forgiven. In the Creed, the words "he descended into hell" are left out, and the word "catholic" changed here and elsewhere to "universal." The prayer for the " Governor-General, used in the Anglican Church, was revised and adopted as follows : — " Lord of all power and mercy, we earnestly beseech Thee to assist, with Thy favor, the Governor- General, appointed by our Sovereign Lady the Queen, over the Dominion of Canada : cause him, we pray Thee, to walk before Thee, and the people committed to his charge, in truth and righteousness ; and enable him to use his delegated power to Thy glory and to the public good, through Jesus Christ our Lord, Amen." By this change the unsound doctrine that His Ex- cellency can use Her Majesty's delegated power to the advancement of his own salvation is omitted. In the prayer for the clei^, and wherever else it oc- curs, the words, " all ministers of the gospel " &re substituted for "bishops and curates." In the Litany the word "deadly," v/hich makes a Romish distinction in sin, was omitted in the sentence, " From fornication and all other deadly sins." In the communion service the word " seventh " in last clause of the fourth commandment was made read •' Sabbath." These comprise the changes, with the exceptirai of making the leaving out of more than one prayer for the Queen, and the use of the second Creed possible by the changing of the word " shall " for may." Make these changes in the Prayer Book you purchase. The final revision of the Prayer Book will be printed for Canada when the translation of the Psalms is given to the public by the Bible Revision Committee.