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ADDRESSED TO THE EDITOIl OF " THE BANNER'* NEWSPAPER. 4* k Mr. Editor : — Having j)erusc(l w'ilh much satlafaction the animated Address of the Free Protesting Church of Scothind to the t*re8byterian.s in the British Colonies, I am desirous to offer a few remarks in the way of cariying out the objects of that Address so far as relates to Canada. Several of the following statements have been presented to the public in Mr. Esson's admirable Tracts — in iM Pastoral Address of the Protesting Synod, and in the weekly columns of the Banner. But as the circulation of the former of these, publications have been very limited in the Western parts of the Province, and as a few expla- natory and corroborative remarks may better enabUJ^ose in the interior of the country to arrive at ii}2;ht concnIMbns on the question, I hope ysmr readers will extend their jndulgAce towards me in endeavouring to give a connected view pi' the subject. The Synod of Canada in 1811 and 1842, recorded hev sympathy Res. I, 1841. reforming majority in the General Res, 4,^ 1841. " with the with tlie Assembly of the Church of Scotland, and unani- mously condenrined " the encroachments of the^ivil power on her spiritual independence and jurisdiction," and petitioned the Queen ^ and Parliament " ih supporting all the just rights and claims of the people of Scotland, aiid in particular that the wishes of the people he My regarded in the settlement of their Ministers, and that the secular courts be prevented from all interference spixitual concerns of the Church" And in 1843, after the disruption of the Scottisfi Establishment the Synod sympa- thized with the Free Church ami declared that the maintenance oft the rights and privileges for which 'she contenided,, •• "is essentiaJ to the well-being of the Chtirch.'* These were Jst, <* The supreme Headship of Christ over His Church ;'* 2nd, ** The right which Christ has conferred on his duly constituted ojQIce-.beaarers, to rule f^nd minister ^ndejMendently of sUl e:|teTnaI contro ul," and 3rd, "The privilege Christ ftaa beatowed on llii . a2 people of exercising a fru concurrtnc* in the appointment of these office-bearers." The Synod in 1843 virtually declared that the spiritual inde- pendence of the Church of Scotland v^as taken away by the State, and that thi^t Church had Mubmitted to the Kmntian encroach- Hents on her juriridiction. But the ReHolutionH of 1843, (dravf n up by one of the Pruterttors of 1844) say, that the Synod wuh not called on to take d)iy Htep in relation to her connection with the EHtubliMhed Church of Scotland, bccaiiHe, as was thouj^ht and held, that connection did not imply ** a spiritual' jurisdiction on the part of the former, nor involve the latter in a responsibility tor any actings of the former." Those who brought forward the resolutions of 1843, evidently considered the Synod as inde- pendent of any jurisdiclion or controul of the Scottish Establish- ment, as they and others had constiti^(^ that Synod in 1831, by their own authority^' and discharged ull the functions of an inde- pendent Church ever since without controul ; and as the Parent Church in 1840* declared that the relation of the Synod to her was that of an emancipated son, who was come to the age of majority, was his own master and freed from ail legal obligatiorts or sub- jection to his parents' will, the natural and moral ties alon'ft remaining. They considered that the Parent Church had made over to the Synod of Canada, her claim upon the Clergy Reserves, together with all other civil privileges claimed by her in this Province, and that she had no longer any right to interfere in their management or appropriation by the Canadian Church, This was, and akoidil be the case ; but. subsequent events have proved that the Erastianized Church of Scotland claims the right to interfere with our affairs bot^ civil and ecclesiastical, and to take from us by the high hand of civil poWer that property which she had assisted us to obtain, after expressly and forever resigning^ to the Synod Of Canada, her claims upon it. At the last General Assembly in May 1844, she declared her determination steadily to resist — as a gross invasion of her riehts and that of her adhering children in Canada, — an effort which had been made in this province, to incorporate the Synod into a separate Presbyte- rian Church, adhering simply to the Westminster Standards^ enjoying the benefit of the Clergy Reserve Fund, and that should the Act be passed in Canada, she contemplated using"** every means in her power to have it disallowed by the Government at home." She also complained of having received no official information respecting Queen's College during Uie year, and that ita ** Managers." had taken upon them ta sew an incorporation O ^ ♦ The Evangeltcil party, now the Free Chnieht then bore rale in th e General As se mbly^ ^ — — ;— — — — — — — — «v o/ that Univemity with King*8 College, Toronto, without fithcr obtaining or aiking her mticlum, and the cauM of her dinpleaA- ure irt, thut it " would mjitcpjilly wcukeu if not nltogclhcr destroy, the influence of thin Churek in ih nmnngcment:* Here she claims the riffht to interfere with the diMjioHiil of our tempo, ralities, and decliircs her intention to oxcrciHC that right, to prevent any but her adherents in Caniulu from enjoying the state endowments. Arexie then hound to adhere to her ? If not in not this claiming jurisdiction over um > Did the Synod repudiate this encroachment on her independence ? No she held her peace, and thus admitted the cl:i:m of the He.siduary Church and resigned her independence into her hands. This is placed beyond doubt by her Answ(!r to the Protest of the Minority, p. 12, in which she dfclaios, "but no man of sound principles and uiuicrstandinj;, will say that had the reso- lutions of the ProtcMtcrs been carried, the Synod could either in honour or law have retained its property, that is to say, after altering its «|esii;n;iti()ii and (:fni>i;rii,'niands that if the Church enjoy the endowments of the State, the Church Courts must he sunordinute even in Huiritunl mattcn to the Civil Courts, and the decisions of the former ^v the Kstahlishnu'iit of Scotland, will t/T treat the Synod of Cuna(la, if we have aided her in getting endowments, and in supporting a College, we will expect of her that she be subordinate to us, and that her proceedings be subject to our review ; but at the same .time lest we illarm her unHUspecting, yet guile-hating people by openly t/fi/Vn/n^*- a direct jjiripdiction over her, we will only exercise this right at pri'smit, and will publicly disclaim our intentions on cdndition that the Synod submit to be under our jurisdicticm; if not we will use all nieiins in our power (and we have the govern- ment on our Hid«') to take Iut property from her, and will give it to our a Ihcrcnts i:i Canadn, however few. Have the niana,'ji;eis of (iueen's College deciared thpir inde- pendence of tbn Kstablinhed Church of Scotland .' No ; — her dutiful sons in the iminciliale management of that Institutioiu .iilmit and dofemi her right to assume a direct control. over it. The IVincipal of Queen's Co'llcgc stated, in hisTheologiculxIasp, that the College had no existence, nor that class^ as a part of it, except as being in connexion with the Established Church of Scotfand, — that the charter binds it to the Church of Canada in connexion with tha-t Church, and that if any of the Professors shouhl give up that connexion they would lose their situations in that Institution. Do not these facts prove thsit the Established Church of Scotland claims and exercises jurisdiction over the Church in Canada in connexion with her, and that the Synotore for them. Kut (^ not the F8tublit)hud Church bcMtuw her bounty uuun lUot^e miniM's on the same conditions as those upon which she formerly aided the ministers of weak congregations in tlKi colony i Hear herself: she says, '• thene grants have been conlincd to tho'ne ministers who have uedareil tltcir Jirm purpose tf maintnimnfj; their connexion with the Parent Church, ana harve been thankfully received by them." Was there any money given or promi.scd to any minister, by the Free Church ? Not a larthing. !She did">iot ask us tii connect ourf«, as a Church, w ilh nor, She fstill held, as her Ministers.had held and declared when they had the majdrity in the General Assembly of the hytabii.shment, that we were a freo ml independent Dhurch, ^nd tjhe, advised uh in h dignified and honounible numncr, — not by sendini^ letters to each of the ministers individually, as Preabytaries and the individual ministerB that had oetiayed tlie> independence ot the ohuidi, inA had placed themselTes under th» jurlsdietion of a foreign pbwtlr, though the^liad vowed liubjection to the Synod of CftnsMa,-HBtnd by proteatin^agalnslrthB interfteiw 1 1 % 40 ence of the Edtahl^ehed Church of Scotland with her aftun, especially the infamous efforts of that church to seduce the njembers of Synod from their lawful alledance to it, to ndhere to fier,--the Synod, as we have shewn, not being subject to her, and aeclaring the Synod, with all its in/eriqr church courts, no longer in connection with the Erastian Church of Scotland, and ttys give practical effect to her former testimony ? None of these -tmngs did the Synod do, and what avail her empty declarations of indeDendence with these facts before us ? they but prove the melancholy fact, that even good men may be so far swayed by considerations of expediency, or rcjjard to the temporal interests ol the church, as to give their sanction to proceedings subversive of all order in the church— of all confidence between man and man. By retaining the connection with the Established Church Scotland, under these circumstances, she has placed herself under the iurisdiction of that church— has given her virtual sanction to her sins, and declared that she does not consider that they relate to matters vital and fundamental (contrary to her lonner testimony), and condemns the efforts used by the Free Church to maintam the rights and privileges of the church, though, according to the views of the Synod of 1843, havinir "full warrant in the Word of God." and " essential to the welf he^ng of the church," and she charges that church with the sin of schism, in separating from the Establishment without cause ! Wie calls herself the Church of Scotland in Canada, and thus identihes herself with that church, and makes herself and her people responsible for the sins and guilt of that church, or, at least, they give their countenance and encouragement to her, and their approval of her, while continuing in, and defending her sins. Such is the position of the Synod of Canada, and every one who, knowing these facts, adheres to her, gives his virtual jpproval, not only of the betrayal of the independence of that &ynod, but also gives his approval of the Erastian Church of Scotland, an(Ui,s disapproval of the Free Protesting Church,— the church which has so nobly sacrificed every worldly advantage ; ;incwder to maintain, and transmit to her children, pure and r jeimre, the blood-bought rights conferred upon her by her Divine ...«^,^ whose presence has manifestly been vouchsafed to her . , JK>th betore and since the disruption. Let Presbyterians bevi^are, li^mi^ acting m this way, they be found- even^to fight a«inst ^,$^J to. oppose the execution of his wiU, and thus exposcthem- selves to his displeasure, who has engaged to defend lii8:own ' ^%L?^t »S PK^iv^i*^' d^troy ;tho3e that ^ex J? themselves ..«5^«?tMChim:h'an(a peotJle! ■ ' - l^^i^tChHi^i^flji^c^le: »IWntK oply chpwed, tjiaj ,tW;,&w)i should c^^t 'i.h;^ir/^' w®'^/'- *^"?***?*^ rwttired, Jhose gr^t pnttci^a / wmob ahe.ijwlfQrin^ly decidedly and almost unjoiiiQ^iH^y r» 4' 4 ^ ri 4' 4 fM ■ CMUH!,— that the Church in CiiftadA shduld ^ tteclafed to be ** abaolutdy and' unqualifiedly free and independent, owing no fealty or submiasion to any Church in Christendonl, eubjeet to ' no jurisdiction or control from Without, having no Head but Chnet, and no earthly supremacy, save 4hat of our highest ecclesiastical consistory, the Synod."* About twenty congregations petitioned the Synod to terminate that connexion, and to cnange tne designation of the Synod to that which the Protestors have adopted. Several othw congre* gations and many of the adherents of the Synod throughout the Protrince desired that this change should take place. And though she was toW that unless this peculiarly intimate connexion were done away, these ministers and members could not— . without doing violation to the convictions of their consoienicca — remain ^n her communion. Yet she persisted in her determi- nation to retain that connection, and tnis caused the disruption of the Synod. If the connection implied no jui^isdiction oj the Established Church of Scotland over the Synod, why retain that connection when the peace and unity of the cnurch wer^ endangered thereby ? If the' connection did imply such juris^ie^V tion was she not bound to terminate that connection before ahe r declared her independence ? The Adhesionists, when speaking of the sympathy formerly manifested to the Free Cburi^y. tell us that the iSynod had given f a testimony topnmiplu ml an * adherence to a party, and still less a pledge on its^part to ibpprove of or to fdlow the course which might be adopted by any past}!* holding these principles."t ^ :__. .;;'. ', .j^h^- We ask then whether did the Establishment or the FrW • Church adhere to and maintain those principles, to which the i^ytiodpkve her testimony? What distinguishes one chut^irpfi^ another but the principles wjhich. she holds and* caniei inlQ practice r '. .^■. •:■■■■, :'■/ ,','. /:/'V,.VVyV'"\'-.!^!^'; U the Puseyite portion of the English Establishoealv/thkh Refoipied Church of England,— the! chuiwh of Ctaama^ JUtiiMr« r or Stillingfleet? Would sb» be so if the Evaa^Sl p^ftic^ , o( that cEurch s^oi^ld separate fiiom her» and Mkve the; E^ir ,; bUsfament, even thpugh .she^ peraiUted the standi^. 4ifi Ike .' church to remain as they-; aia» to 4wve the jBi^jpletVit.^ u^^^^ PI- *^^Stick )»ilke |)M^4itiM8kkMi ef tlie PkAsMilif PM^eliyt^riiftiiyiM of^nida»edhenn0 id>the«Mdatdiib.j»^iihi|VMd^i^ 4t^ Church of Scotland. m obedienee to the otomand oTthat party, sm l^^yiv « forbidden it, thereby cncroecbing on the hbertict efwe i^ :i nti-l 1 12 fJte*i*«"r™*/""*''PK***« ^^"""^ Kwiduary Church of Jutland 18 not. and cannot be the Church of our /athert.--the Church of Knox, and Melville, and Hendenwn.-thTpkiwit Church of the Synod of Canada. She h«rrej^d";ted tfie brin- ^f!t Tn "*? *" ^*' standard*.. thou|rh profeiing to thS world that he holds thee .tandarda etill. Sie^nly hl^ZZT- ifei ^^ « cleoarted. The Church of ScoUand'ii Rtfarme!!^a^ Jtfiirfyr, ,8 to l,e found in the Free Church. The fflShmem to W ""il^n'l" ^:f^' '^. r ^ u*"«'"«»* whoever my Se i° i^! ^*"y ?l* deceived by the name, without con8iderini chf rSTwfcT''^^'^ knowing, that she is 'not the muc^ KonouJS church which formerly bore that name-that built and endowed SSentlj'nr'* "'''T*' throughout her own land-?hat i25?W ^mi1;JT; ^""^ e'««nentT; successful missionaries to evSy of w 5ni '^^^ T ^«".o^nef among the churches for the puri^ m««f «nT "*' i- * """Pf"?^ simplicity of her form of govern- ment and worship, and for the fervent piety and n^acti^l members. She is not the church that was establish^ in the •SS^2J?ro%r?P'r'.^^''"^' ^^ should tsct ^ffl^JlT^^^*^'*"^' '^* ^*^"^^ "«' be recognised aa the Kstahhshment during one year. She may well be enUU^ « "Se Presbytenan Church established by the tlnglish Legislature.- rh^*K^r*^ **i^*"A ^\V^^ of that Churth. or as that ?h^rt^iF^^i' ''^;** ^^* ,^r^ ^«^^»^» »»"•«»' to be. is not £^?ATi.l\'^*'Or^i/°""*'y^"*»^" »!r*»»at name in GanadJ &iS ??? Jf^/irtualy repuiiated her firmer principles^ J?SSi&. "^ "^^ ^^"*^ ^'^ ^^^ Preshyterikn Chu^ ^^ "^ gravely told, by high authority, that there are S?lw ?k *T"^ V ^^ ?"»»"**«" ^'^^^ Scottish EstabliAment! and^Aat therefore she is a Chureh of Christ, and thTwe by Mfanttmg from her, pronounce her to be no Church of Christ— 2l:tX;S:"'""J^^^^^^^ WegmntthatthereaiSgoJrSen nlSLl tk^ Church of Rome, and that there were £3^ mS QMcr James Vl., and the sub|wquenl encroachments uDon the SSS^ junjdiction of the dSch of Scothind. Tn deCe o f i«lly V«aing, lew wieigy, piactieal «allu^ ;s, : .J '►i '^ 4 i \ m:^^ \ -'^^A'Ui^.^l^i''. ''^' 1^^ '■"x-^^R^' iuJi*:fr^««^,.^^ilSii^ ..'S, '^ ^ JWse of Christ, fcnd are rnore f^iven to seek eaiie and qutetnels I6r themselves than their brethren of the Free Church; and in some infitaii^es, from their easy temper, they may not have given the subject that careful consideration which its importance demanded. As to excommunicating the Residuary Church, by separating from her, we ask did the 2000 Nonconformistministers excommunicate the English Kstabiishment when they separated from her communion ? Did the Erskincs do so when they seceded from the Scottish Establishment? Did the Free Church do so last year ? TM charge is so absurd that we wonder that grave men should bring it forward. A prophet asks—" Can two walk together except tliey be agreed" {Amos iii. 3); and an AposUe commands, "If any man obey not, &c. have no company with him, &c. (2 Ihess. lii. 14, 15.^ ♦♦ Neither be partakers of other men s sins." Apply this scriptural principle to churches in their association with other churches, and the true nature of that separation, sought and effected by the minority, will at once be perceived. *^ What theii, some may ask, could be the reason why the majority ^f the Synod determined to adhere to a Church whom they had' . before acknowledged to be guilty of sinful submission to civil encroachments? ^I have before mentioned the « various sums* sent out to Canada by ^the Residuary Church', to such as had given in their adherfence, or would engage to adhere to her ; but a yet stronger reason and one which we conceive to have been the pnncjpal cause of this most inconsistent conduct on the part of the majority 18 assigned by them in the following quotation from their answer to the Protest. "It is the opinion of many persons, and some of them men to whose opinion on a matter of this sort. It IS hardly possiliJe to pay too much deference, that for tne feynod by its own meie motion, to alter its style and designa- tion in law, would be at once to alienate a vast amduntof the ^2T^.u[ *?^^u"'*2?" ^* ^^« ^^ t^9 opinion 'of many oiners, that had the Synod unanimously decfated in act. its independence, by separating from the Established ' Chur(;h of bcotland, and by altering its designation, as it h^d bright to do since It adopted it, by its own mere motion, and vm independent- it would have jost none of its property. The Government would * not have interfered with thematter, unless urged' to do so by the ' Residuary Church ; and her intiention to interfere, only ptoveS the charge which we have ali^dy 'preferred against her. And, moreoYer, the mmonty were prepared to yield cv6iy thing bitt principle and consistencj^, to peace and unity. They even expressed in committee their rt^iness to await the issue of any procjasthat miffhtbe deemed best for changing the designatiorictf th^byaipd, bo that ttte civil intesest: involved in it teiWtt ndf bb , endangered, were only a sinrle movement madis for that purpoBei and tJi| real iiidepeaideiuse of the Synod iecuted^to-^tWifJlie^ ■■■■■■■■■ B' ■ ' ■ ' iS-.-BSV^E -S: ^ ''I.. «1ittrch and Um glorf in the midiit of men, and aaid that it it not br might nor by oower but by hi« Spirit that He will aecompUih all thin^a in and for hia church I And doea He not asaigft tha reaMn of his not adopting the method augvested by the wiadom of this world,— that nis kingdom is not of tnis world ? And waa there not the very. same principle at stake here as in Scotland? The Synod is a part of the Residuary Church by her own declaration, and to he members of the former is to be members of the latter, and such are justly held as approving of her conduct. Some of the ministers have declared that they could not take a parish in Scotland in the Establii^hinent and yet take her money in Canada, and her endowments — as they say — without scruple ! We ask then is this consistent^is it agreeable to the principles of the word of God ? Do they not thus declare to their peome and to the worid that the principles for which the Free Church suffered were not worth contending for— that 4he Established Church has yielded nothing, but still holds the truth pure and entire ? If they lead their people astray, the gnilt of this will be on their heads for God hath declared it. Has not the Free Chureh been supported and sustained, and if similar means had been adopted in Canada, to inform the people and to enlist tb^ir sympathies, might we not have expected similar results ? Yes : Ixwk to Cobourg, Toronto, Hamilton, &c. The Synod has virtually disconnected herself from all Evangelical Presbyterian Churches. Their ministers will not join her ranks. Will Free Churchmen do so? Will any ingenuous son of the Irish Assembly do sof Will the General Assembly of the United States send them help ? Their Parent Church has none to send them. She had to send to England and the Colonies to get men to take her deserted manses and to preach to bare walls and empty pews. Her ministers when she does have any to send them, must be received by the Canadian Branch in the sameVay that a minister bearing credentials and passing from one Free- bytisry to another must be received. Yea, Y^ere the General Assembly to send out to them the seven deposed ministers of "Strathbogie, they could not refuse to receive them upon the simple ground that they are accredited ministers of the Established Church of Scotland. The church knows well that it would not be politic to send such to Canada just now. But the Synod wUl test all that apply to her for admission to the ministiy in her communion. What avails her test in these days when Jesuitism is so rife. The Moderates profess to hold the principles contained in our Standards; and will readily engage to maintain the Spiritual Independence of the Synod of ^nada ** against all deadly,'* aa the great Moderate, King James VI., was wont to say. But what does a Moderate mean by the principles of our Standards and Spiritual Indenendence ? > As interpreted by the Com oi jSeasion and acta of Fftrliament ; much in the mate way 2» i *«■ M « eonsijiteftt Papist holdii the Scripturas u int^reted by iht **. Unanimous consent of the Fathers", or by the Council of Trent. The members of her communion will be exposed to the blighting tendency of Moderati8m,--a Hystem most insidious and dangerous to the spiritual and eternal interests of mankind ;-^a style of prenchmg characterised by one well acquainted with it, and of high authority among ihoHC who adhered to the connection, as containing little that can be called unsound, but wanting that which should hold th6 chief place in sermons— the peculiar doc- trines of Christianity. The people's eajs may U charmed with a beautiful essay such as Socrates or Plato might have read them, but as for food for the soul they will find little of that. Do any think there is no danger of such preachini; beina; introduced into Canada ? Such persons are not aware of the almost transform- ing power of a system, of principles adopted, of connections formed and maintained. ^ The effects of this power were observable to a certain extent msome congregations even before the disruption. Missionary Prayer Meetings were given up, collections for the Mission no longer taken : because, as seems probable, these new-born sons of Moderatism, would not permit their people to pray for Missions and Missionaries not connected with the Church oif Moderatism, which as a system, was always averse from travelling abroad to hwithen lands to disturb the quiet natives by intruding the christian religion upon them while they had so many neglected at home (and they took care to keep many so still,) What debased the Church of .Scotland dunn^ last century .> Moderatism. What restored it almost to it9 pristine dignity and glory ? Evangelical Religion or Free Church principles. Let the people of Canada then beware of exposing themselves and their children to this deter- mined foe of pure Christianity. Let them look beyond tho present generation of Ministers in that Synod and beware lest it be with their successors as it was with the Israelites after the death of Joshua. The Free Church College had more Divinity Students than the four Universities of the Establishment, and they have a larger number of Probationers and Licentiates. And although their own need is great for preachers yet they will be able to send us a pretty good supply yeariy. They have made a good beginning by aDpointing several ministers for Cfanada and Nova Scotia this year The Irish Assembly and U. S. General Assembly will also send us Ministers. Where are the men sent to the Synod of Canada ? pey will not long have the majority even in Ministers though they will have more in number in proportion to the people. _^ And then there is a great difference between the two classes of Mitowters m general. Several of their Ministers are wwldly wireless men, who neglect the people and lose their affections.- Bwtchmcn, is not^he Free Church the Church of your Fathers, 17 ■r'-^'W"-^-- ' to which they would pft thdr approlNitiofi aimI nppoH } Tht Church of which Knox. Melville and Henderson would h« mrnn. ben were they now living in ScoUand i Do they not cidl upon you to aMocwte with her in preference to the eeif-diehonoured •tate enshived Kemduary Church ? In she not the Church which exalted Scotlartd amonar the nations and difluBed learninr and religion among the people f Has she not followed the example of the early Reformed Church in thus promoting the interests of the nation > .She haw raised above XSO.OOO for erecting and endow- ing aoo Schools for the ueoi^e on the plan of the Parish Schools. Do not weaken her hands in hdr day of trial, for the God of her Keformers and Martyrs is in the midst of her and will plead her cause. Show yourselves worthy of your Country and the Church 01 your fathers in the land of your adoption. Presbyterians of Ireland you will not dishonour your country vour character and the now United Church whence you came forth to Canada, by disconnecting yourselves from her— for she IS asHociatcil with the Free Church, which you will condemn if you adhere to the Residuary Church of Scotland. Your Parent Church, with the 500 Ministers all on the side of the Free Church because she is on the Lord's side, has strengthened, encouraged and aided her in her hour of trial. Will you join those that discourage and oppose her ? No you cannot. Be not led away by the few private adventurers of your countrymen among the Ministers who have adhered to the Synod of Canada. 1 hey are not and never were a good sample of your country's pastors— the most tff these men excel neither in talent nor pllty but they will do very well to fill up vacancies for Clergy ReWve jalanes— to W0k9 up the number. Adhere to the Presbyterian Church of Canada and then you may expect to hear some of the right kind of the Ministers of youj; father land. Presbyterians from all countries of Europe, Presbyterians of Canada, we call on you to declare whether you will receive your future pastors from the Evaneelical Churches of Europe and America, or from a debased National Establishment. Do not permit personal eon- siderations to prevent you from providing for yourselves and your children the unfettered declaration of the whole counsel of Gfod. Some of your present Pastors are good men and preach to you the self. humbling doctrines of the Cross. But who are likely to be their successors ? The Moderates from the Residuary Church, if you adhere to that body. Are you unwilling to leave these men lest they should sufler iij||heir means of temporal support, ^ You need not fear— they atufliir Parent ChWOv have secured that for a time at least. The whole share oC the Synod of Canada of the Clergy Reserve Fund will he theiw, and the various 0ujn» from Scotland, while the money of the Free Church collectiopj^ for 1843, and the aid of the " Lay Apwciation " hold out . •■". b3 ,■,.;■:.. " ■; w m \ Are yott a/raid that yott will not be «bl« to tapport the Ooiiptl among Voii ? Feal' nol — the God of ProTideiiM who called yoq to theiiuty: will give you the mmnn to dincharga it. The wealthier eong^egationfi will aid the weaker an in Scotland — thott there will be more common interest felt in each other, anil a more immedi- ate dependence on the Head of the Church, the Clod of Abraham, Mosee and Klijuh, the (j(n1 of your fathern, will be in the* midst o( you to bloM you and to do you good. But He calleth on you by hi« word and Providence, to come forward and honour liim with your nubMtuncc and with the tirat fruits of all your increase; and He has promised that your barns shall be filled with plenty and your presses burst forth with new wine. — //«ff. ii. Everything in your poHHCHsion belongs to God and He can at any time take from you his property if you refuse to give it to the support of his cause. He is now calling on his people to come to his help, when I'useyism, Erastianism, and Popery are exalting them.selve.s. The Free Church is in a much better position for oppoHing thoHc errors than a fettered and bound Stnte Church such as the Kstablished Churches of Biitain are now required to be. She has aided the Protestant Chur^ of France in her recent sufTcringH ; she has resolved to assist all Evangelical Protestant Churches on the Continent to oppose Popery. And she has Ifer eye on Canada and the United States in these respects also. There is a revolution going forward and none can be neutral. A conflict is approaching, the clouds are j^thering for a storm. Let us see to it that we be on the Lord's side — that we be asso- ciated With those who are witnessing for his trvth in the-world lest we bring upon ourselves the wrath of our ^fended Fathjpr, the rebuke of the Church's Head. If you Vill not do your duty help ^jyill com6 from some other quarter, but you will lose the plea.sure, the honour, the privilege and the blessing of being co-workei9 with God, of thus confess- ing Christ before men, aud optnaintaining his truth in the world. Enable your Ministers to-do their duty without \distraction of mind about the wor|d, pray for them, strengthen their hands, assist them in their work by living peaceable lives ; by living to God and his glory, and by preparing for the rest that remains for his people. In the meantime try the spirits whether they be of God. Prove all things, hold fast that whicji^is good ; examine for yourselves. Take no man for your ^gmde— Take the Word, Prayer and sound Reason aided by a thorough know- ledge^of facts. You are accountable to God only. Finally brethren farewdU and may the Spirit of God direct you in yoijir chpice in this mattet and at all times. ., < I »' i \ t J - ) 40 -vm. I i •' ^ V A FEW OBJECTIONS CONSIDERED. «« It is safer and better to be connected with an f^tablished Church, because of her Ptrmamnt Standardi—A Church not entablTnhfid by the 8tate is more likely to alter her Standards, and adopt Arian or Socininn errors, as did the Presbyterian Churches of England and Ireland." This objection may appear to be somewhat pluuHJblf , at first •iffht, to the friends of EKtnblishmcntN ; but as the Scottiiih Esta- "^bfrshment is not novir U]ion a ecriutural basis, being subordinate to the 8tate, it can have no force wliatever. We all lament the soul-ruining spiritual thraldom in which th« Permanent Standards of the Church of Home have bound her millions of degraded votaries. We know that the Permahent Standards of the English EMtablishment did not preserve her clergy and |)eople from error. Did they generally hold the doctrines of the Thirty-nine Articles during the lut*t century ? No. Most of her clergy wi-ie Arniinians, while her Article^i are Culvinistic. Her Liturgy indeed is Pouish, and we are now reaping the bitter fruits of the |)ermunency of^that part of her Standard!*, in the rise and rapid propagation of Puseyi^m. Did the Ertlabiit^hed Churches of llie Continent of Europe adhere to the jprinciples contained in their Standards ? No. They adopted the Inndel doctrines propagated by the French philosophers, idolized the human intellect, ceased to proclaim the humbling doctrines of the ciosrt, the alienation of the heart from God, and ju^ttiticatiun by faith in Christ, and placed religion in knowledge, and what the world calls virtue. Vea, the Church of Geneva— the Church of Calvin— deserted her Standards delivered to her by that great divine, until such men as Mal&n and D'Aubigne arose, t^nd again ref>tored her Standards to their original purity, and proclaimed salvation through a crucified Jesus, for which thev were driven out of the Establishment. Did the ministers of the Established Church of Scotland adhere to the doctrines and discipline of their Permanent Standards? Many of them held Arminian and semi-Pelagian errors, and the majority in ^the General Assembly defended those who taught them, and discountenanced the orthodox divines who taught the doctrines of the Confession of Faith.* * These. errors came alonff with prelacy from Englsnd, when it was forced into Scotland by the treachery of James I., and the violence of hill sons, and the curates, who were forced npoa the pariidktf^ whence the faithful niinisters had been driven into exilei and also ttutnf of the indulged ministers iq^bibed these tenets,, end raosi of the young J. ,«(iMy^^., f- i Wm noi >liit Oiureh ikgtrtgd th« fundamental principica of W^* WH i tdt fdg. b«r(«rcd h«r ■pint^ial indrvrntl«nc« for h»r emiowmenla. * piliuUid^^!^ Sta|« aulhufiUitiyely tu J^ara whcj arc aitd who art not iMr Matciilad niltra in Iha Church, and racaived an Act from tarthly leginlalorR. which drprivra hirr Moplt of prit ileKW bfitowtd upon them by th« U^mi of the Church, and claimed by her JJiandardi, and of which no power on. earth had any right to dtpriva them. Hava the aona of (he Covenant chunired their Sfandardi*? No. They have adhered to their piincipiea with much Kieater tidelify than the f':«tal)li»hm<'nt. Thfy did not |»ermil * the iSjiblmih to he desecraled by |iublic nolicc ut the church doore . of an auction to take place during the week— by raeml)er« of tht* church going, from nermon to Innp, to return home drunk, e^n Ujion Hacramentiil occa«ioii»~ which iihuwH were Ci)mni(m during the peacclul iiinl happy reign of M(Hk'mtii«m. 'Iheim Secedera hart continued pure in their jirinciplen and utrict in their dimiipline. The Presbyterian Churches of England and Ireland udopled the very lame erroiB that many in. the KMlaWifhed ChuichcH held, but thm only places them on a |»ur with iIm'mc churcht-M, und the worldly apirit infuMed into the nations by tlieJB|Mablihhment«, waa the chief cause of the rise and jn-ogress of iJiile errors. Had Ihe^r not the power inherent in l^resbyterianism—the power of self-puriHcalion— of bringing back their ministers and people to the uure Fountain of Truth, the Word of (3(hI, of convincing ihem of their errors by it,— or, if they would |K'r»i«it, to hold and T>ropagute them to separate from them f They enjoyed a much larger;,share of this power than any State Church, and they exerci1||f it too. The Syno 1H34. n them. These curates being admitted into n Cl^ffrth after the Revolution, united with 'and t linger iped a majority in the General Aa- ^ lemBolv^pnfi^eratea, and ruled in the Aasembly ., ,- . . -^ '">« Preabyteriana again obtained the majority.* Many ol them held and taught Socinianiam, and ijl was even proposed to aMish aubacnpiion to the Confeaaion of Faith and Formula about the year 1780, the doctrinea of which they did not believe. This would probably have been done had not the threatened danger of losing their stipends prevented them from carrying out thia conacience-acheme, which to them was of little moment in comparison with the loss of TS^^'^^^i^^^r.?^!^*'*^'' ^*^ ^fft^ Church qfScotUnd^ i689-»l7S3| and 1760. %\ Ifc,. jroelnlmM to hi« cftttntrymfn jimflftfatlfln ^y fiit1» i/» Hirlit' VfUtn VV'liil^rtHt! am! W«ley jHrmrh*^ ihe unrnt Hntt^m? to iht ^ln of Kngltttid f Have not the Churchf* of Christ the mn\f lilt to din*ct them. th« mifiQ miana of knowing the triUkli, ili« nl«re«t« at •talc* m thn«« which drew up Ihtee Hfeandiinli cti^n and apftAHl f Why Ihi'n he in terror, lliat it nt Itavf he lliitiibh«him>nt we munt fonwke tiie truth i The Htandardff themitelvei point ua to the Word of Qol, ivi they ^ have no authority but, in so far m they are in accfMrdaiice with it. .4 ^ Hiia the Free Church forsaken the Standardaof tkoltantriCharch > No. She hna adhered to them, and roMiored thoir apinl, alt«r it wa0 almoet driven out of the li^ttttbiihhment. ^ [t is o))jected that confj;rrptionii, when pantor and (>1der lioth voted in favour of tho connecticm with the Scotlmh l<>liitdi»hme^)t, have no right to meet to cuohider the mutter, but ohould uuicil y aftjuieMe in the pi^rt ti;iken by their representatives in tho t-JS "Wi t5^ *. ' H /.* . 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