'^. IMAGE EVALUATION TEST TARGET (MT-3) A / ^ J%. K<^ 1.0 I.I £ lit £ us 1^ 1^ 1^ 1 2.2 2.0 L25 i 1.4 1.6 ^ ^. W 7 'V> ^ C^'V-'y 7 Hiotographic Sciences Corporation V ^ ^ •i>^ ^\ \ ^.• signifie "A SUIVRE", ie symbols V signifie "FIN". Les cartes, planches, tableaux, etc., peuvent dtre filmte it des taux de reduction dlffirents. Lorsque le document est trop grend pour Atre reproduit en un seui cliche, il est fllm6 d partir de Tangle supArieur geuche, de gauche d droite, et de haut en bas, en prenant le nombre d'images nAcessaire. Les diagrammes suivants illustrent la mithode. 1 2 3 1 2 3 : , #. 5 ■ t ' 6 f T ';:w> ' ''■', ;ffftw'.-^: ^^•^^ a! WE SI. RYAN mETHODISH] •^ IN UPPER CANADA i A SERMON, PliEA^CHED BEFORE THE CONFERENCE or MINISTERS OF THE WESLEYAN-METHODIST CHURCH IN CANADA, City of Toronto, June 18tli, 1837: BY EGERTOJV RYERSON. PUBLISHED BY REQUEST or THE CONFERENCE. " To teitit'y the Gospel ol' ilie grace of UoJ."— sr. Paul. " Tlie friends of all, Uie enemlej of none "— ./u/m Wesley. TORONTO: PRINTED AT TIU: CONFERENCE OFFICE. 1637. i 1 s • t i \ ■ i, ■( ■Ji *:1 J« H. Lawrence, Printer. ADVERTISEMENT. The following Discourse would not have been de- livered or published but for the following circum- stances: — At an early period of the Session of the Wesley an Conference, lately held in the City of To- ronto, a Resolution was adopted — " That Brother EgerCon Ryerson be requested to deliver a Discourse, on Sunday Evening next, on the Rise, Progress, Present Stale, and Futuro Prospects of Methodism in Upper Canada." This Resolution was introduced by a friend of the Author who had heard him preach on the object and character of Wesleyan Methodism in Upper Can- ada about two years since, and who thought that a discourse on that subject, during the sittings of the Conference, under the present circumstances of the Connexion, was highly desirable. Tlie (bllowing Dis- course is the result of the Author^s compliance with the request of his ministerial brethren. Two or three days after its delivery, a communication was presented to the Author, signed by the hecids and a number of the members of the Wesleyan Congregation of To- ronto, congratulating him on his safe return to his native land, and requesting the publication of his " Portraiture of Methodism," " in such numbers that it might find its way into every house in Upper Can- ada," — assigning, as the reason, their conviction that '' its perusal would exercise a powerful influence in dispelling (he mists of error and prejudice, and proving ■ :? IV incontrovertibly the commanding and important posi- tion which Methodism at the present day occupies in the Church of Christ." During the same week the Conference made a similar request. The Author's refusal, under such circumstances, to publish the sub- stance of what he had delivered, would have argued a supercilious obstinacy, as his appearance before the public under other circumstances would have indi- cated temerity and presumption. The Discourse itself contains sufficient evidence of the author's predilection for that form of Christianity which he has undertaken to delineate ; but the frequent references he has made to distinguished Lights of other branches of the Universal Church of Christ — as authorities for the sentiments he has advanced — will show that Methodism is not viewed as an exclusive system, but as an important instrument, in the great apparatus of Divine agency, to promulgate those truths and promote those objcjts which embrace the faith and hopes of all " who love our Lord Jesus Christ in sincerity," of every section of Protestant Chris- tendom. Jay has truly and beautifully observed — " We may in a degree value ourselves as being mem- bers of a particular church, but we shall be saved only as members of the Church Universal ; and, if we are in a right spirit, we shall prize the name of Christian a thousand times more than any other name, however extensive or esteemed the religious body from which it is derived." " A cordial agreement in the essentials of the Gos- pel should induce us to put up with minor differences ; and a superior and constant engagement of the soul to the most important objects of rehgion will draw off, cantparaticely, the atteiition from interior ones, leaving us neitller leisure nor relish for them. " When, therefore, in reference to the Latter-day Glory, it is said, ' They shall see eye to eye,' we are persuaded, with Baxter, that there may not be a much more complete uniformity of opinion in many things than there now is. Hut there will be a more perfect accordance in great things, and a more perfect agree- ment concerning lesser ones. They will see eye to eye as to the propriety of one measure ; — that, if we cannot be of one mind^ we should, like the first con- verts at Jerusalem, be ' of one heart and one soul,' — * a oneness unaffected by minuter distinctions ; a one- ness which included, as servants of the same Lord and as guests at the same table, a Hopkins and a Bates, a Watts and a Newton, a Porteous and a Hall, [a Wesley and an Edwards ;] a oneness that resem- bles the identity of human nature, notwithstanding all the varieties of man. " When will some persons believe or remember. That, where there are no parts, there can be no union ? — That, where there is no variety, there can be no harmony ? — That it does not follow, because one thing is right, another thing is absolutely wrong ? —That others differ no further from us than we differ from others } — That it is meanness and injustice to assume a freedom we refuse to yield ? — That children, diffeiing in age, and size, and dress, and schooling, and designation, belong to the same family } — And that the grain, growing in various fields and distances, is wheat still sown by the same hand, and to be gathered into the same garner ?"* * Jay'B Dedication of his " Evenin;r Plxcrcisos for Jlie Cloei't," ad- VI li ii n H,:, #? •' Perlmps," says Kobert Hall, " there never was so much unanimity witnessed among the professors of serious piety as at the present. Systems of religion fundamentally erroneous are falling into decay, while the subordinate points of difference, which do not af- fect the principal verities of Christianity, nor the ground of hope, are either consigned to oblivion, or are the subjects of temperate and amicable controversy ; and, in consequence of their subsiding to their just level, the former appear in their great and natural magnitude."* Such are the sentiments and feelings which the author of the following Discourse desires to see gen- eral in this Province. How delightful to see a nar- row-hearted bigotry for external forms, and an eager grasp for civil preferences, absorbed by the genial in- fluence of Christian charity, and disappear before the grandeur of •' the common salvation" and the grace of " one God and Father of all, who is above alK and through all, and in us all!" Bunyan, in his Holy War, says, that Mr. Prejudice fell down and broke his leg. " I wish," adds the matchless Allegorist, '^ he had broken his neck." Believing that the Reader will cordially join the Author in the foregoing senti- ments, and in the devout wish of the immortal Bunyan, he solicits for the following pages an indulgent perusal, and the requisite allowances for a perpetual effort at condensation, and the restraints of great and pre- scribed brevity. dressed to William Wilberforce, Esquire. Mr. Jay is a distinguished Minister of an Independent Congregation in Bath, England : Wilberforce, the Friend of the Slave, and the Benefactor of Mankind, was a member of the Church of England. * Works. VII N. B. — Besides the Writers quoted, the Author im indebted for several thoughts and iUustrations in the following Discourse to two very valuable works — " A View of the Christian Ministry,^" by the Rev. C. Bridges, a Clergyman of the Church of England, and au- thor of an excellent Commentary on the 119th Psalm, as illustrating Christian Experience ;— and *' The Great Teacher ; or Character, istics of our hordes Ministry,^^ by the Rev. John Harris, an Inde- pendent Minislsr, and author of " Mammon ; or Covetousncss the Sin of the Christian Church,'' — a prize essay, twenty thousand co- pies of which have been acid in England during the last few months, at six shillings sterling per copy. Kingston, U. C, Jw/y 21st, 1837. i'! ■ I" My in) mj wc pn Fr int mc wc in ea IDi bo re re pr sti fa vc in th m ai d< m S I) It n O IM. "Go VK INTO ALL TIlR WORLU, ANI» PIIKACII TlIK ihibVll. K) EVERY CRk^ATURE." Murk xvi. 15. .Vy honoured Fathers and Urethren in the Ministry, and Christian Friendu ; During a protracted ;il)seiicc of tiiorc than eighteen months, my thoughts and aflections havu spontaneously flowed back to this my native land, and to my beloved friends and companions in the work and tribulation of our Lord Jesus Christ. In imagination, in prayer, and sympathy, I have been present with you in your counselor, — have shared largely in your trials, and rejoiced in your success. From time to time the question has been, with ever accumulating interest and force, pressed home to my heart, — " What can be done most effectually to advance the religious and social happiness and welfare of the i ihabitants of Upper Canada ?" 1 have often revolved m my mind, (as I have heard them confidently and with apparent earnestness avowed,) the theories of those political economists, who maintain that the essential well-being of man consists in health of body, sufficiency of food, and personal liberty, — and who propose to remedy the existing ills of society, and bring about the universal reign of millennial happiness, by altered forms of government, im- proved balances of power, other distributions of property, new con- stitutions and laws of the latest invention, from the exhaustless manu- factory of human ingenuity and speculation. I have also endea- voured to examine the dogmas of those professed philosophers, who, independent of any Divine agency, and leaving Christianity altoge- ther out of the question, are about to create all things new by the magic power of science and education. In both of these plausible, and too widely-spread theories, there appears to me to be this radical defect, and irrational as well as anti-scriptural omission : Man, as a moral being, is entirely overlooked. If he were a mere animal, then R ■ f there might be some show of reason for saying, th;U health of body, a full slumach, and unrestric'.cd liberty, are the essentials of human happiness. If man he cousiJorod merely as an inleUcclual, as well as a physical being, tiie educ, Lionul culdire of the mind might be deemed sufficient to raise iiini to tiie highest point of his destined elevation. I»ut when it is remembered, tliat He who gave to man his animal fiinclions and endowed him with intellectual faculties, has also implanted within him moral feelings, — has placed in his bosom the supreme faculty of conscience, — lias stamped upon him a moral character, and invested him with a mf^ral agency and responsibility; and that it is man's moral feelings which are depraved, and his moral condition and character which are debased, and his moral guilt and alienation, which fills the world he inhabits with lamentation and woe, — then, what otiier than a moral remedy is adapted to his case? and where is that moral remedy to he found hut in the Gospel of Jesus Christ? "Thisistlie record, that 6'ori hath given unto us, eternal life ; and this life is in his Son. He that hath the Son hath life."* How essential the difference between the remedy appointed by God, and that devised by man, for the removal of human misery and the promotion of human happiness! It is the difference of wisdom and folly, of power and weakness, of heaven and earth, of life and death ! We are therefore brought back to the " ("Jospe! of the grace of God," as the only means of regeneration and happiness to the world of mankind. If, then, wo would convert every moral waste in Upper Canada into a fruitful field, and make the inhabitaits a people whose God is the Lord ; if we would replace every tomahawk and scalping- knife with the word of Life, and stamp the imnge of Divine love and purity upon every idolatrous and savage heart, we must consecrate our lives and our all, to the service and work of Ilim, who, when on the verge of glory, at the commencing moment of liis ascension to the Throne of Majesty on high, turned to his disciples with features and emotions of ineffable tenderness, and delivered this memorable com- mand,— "Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature." And do we not hear the same voice issuiiig forth from the Throne of his heavenly grace, addressing, in loftiest accents of authoiity, and in sweetest tones of love, his servants present, "Go * I John V. 11, 12, :\ ye into every town-sliip, uiid iieighhoutliood, and cottage, in lUis Pror- ince, and preach the Gospel to every inhabitant ; nay, go to the very shores of the Pacific and Arctic Oceans, and tell every red man of the forest, tnat 1 have died for liiin." i» I propose to consider the adaptation of Wcslai/nn Methodism in Upper Canada to accomplish, as far ;!s in ns lies, this valedictory com- mand of our Divine Redeenier. I'or tiiis purpose let us take a sum- mary view of the End which IMei'viuisrn pio[)o3es — the Discipline it enjoins — the Minislnj it employs — tlic Doctrines it inculcates — and the Success it enjoys. I. The End which Methodism proposes. — This is as simple as it is sublime and glorious. It is to save sinners, to make men Christians, — Christians in heart and life, in temper, word and work, — Chris- tians, such as the Bible describe", such as love God with all their hearts, and their fellovv-creatnrfs of tnankind as themselves. We can aim at no higher, and wc acknowledge no meaner end than this. We exist not for the sake of a form of church government, or for the interests of a mere sect or [)arty : nay, party spirit melts away in that atmosphere of love which we wish to see encompassing the globe. Let others, if they ciioose, contend about the pins and cur- tains of the tabernacle ; be it our business to press our way into the holiest, by the blood of Jesus, to tlie mercy seat of God, and carry as many with ns as we can. Be it our business, as builders in the Church of God, to erect a spiritual and heavenly temple — an habi- tation of God through tlic Spirit — upon the foundation of the Apes- ties and Prophets, Jesus Christ himself being the Chief corner-stone ; a temple with nillars to embrace the world, with walls as invincible as omnipotence ; a temple visible to the eye of faith, and real to the heart of love, in which the kindled incense of prayer, and intercession, and praise, shall ceaselessly ascend as a sweet savoui to the King eternal, immortal and invisible ; a temple illumined by the glory of the Lamb in the midst of the Throne of God, and in which is breathed the air of Paradise itself. Could we accomplish the object wc have in view, to the utmost of our wishes, every human heart would become the residence of the Holy Spirit, and the name of Jesus would be written upon every forehead ; our halls of legislation would become places of sweet counsel ; our halls of learning, and schools of edu> cation, would be blest and beautified with the wisdom that is from above ; the ^orms and creations of art would be dedicated to the ; \ t\ hi If i. I m \l\ praise of God, and He ulone would become (lie centre and locus of all the sciences and every branch of knowledge ; love would form the sacred and inviolable bond of nations ; and in all the earth, which would then be God's holy mountain, there would be nothing to hurt or to destroy. That the proposal and pursuit of an end so benevolent and god- like is greatly needful, — nay, is absolutely necessary, — the divinely declared character of man's degenerate nature, and the moral state of society in this Province, furnish ample and melancholy proof. We, like the generations of the ancients, ' have been conceived in cin and brought forth in iniquity ;' • the hearts of the sons of men,' in our age and Province, as well as in the days and country of the Prophets and Apostles, ' are fully set in them to do evil.' And though this Province has been raised to a degree of religious and moral elevation, unequalled, I believe, in any other Colony of the British Empire, yet, what are its prominent moral features ? Look through society in Toronto, in Kingston, in Niagara, in Hamilton, in any village or township in the Province, and how many comparatively will you find whose spirit and lives resemble the portrait of the Christian charac ter as drawn by the pencil of Inspiration ? Here and there will you meet with a witness for Christ, — here and there a torch has been lighted from the altar of God which gleams through the surrounding darkness ; but throughout the length and breadth of the land, does not the heart-rending truth resound over every plain, and reverberate through every valley, and echo from every hill, and peal through every street, that not only the majority, but the multitude of our fellow-inhabitants and townsmen are dead while they live, — are indeed redeemed by the blood of .lesus to life eternal, and yet dead in trespasses and sins, — are ransomed from their captivity, and yet led captive by the devil at his will, — are reconciled to God through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus, and yet alienated from the life of God by wicked works? To raise these dead — to rescue these captives — to announce the ministry of reconciliation to these aliens and rebels — to impart to every inhabitant of this rapidly populating Province, that knowledge of the only true God, and Jesus Christ whom he has sent, which is life eternal, is the great work on which Methodism is intent ; a work, in which the loftiest seraphs b jfore the Throne of God would rejoice : j be employed ; a work, for which the everlasting Father gave his only begotten Son ; a work, for which the eternal Son became incarnate, suffered, died, and ascended into heaven, ns a perpetual Priest amJ Advocate ; a work, lor '.vhich the lioly Ghost, proceeding fnim the Father and the Son, moves upon the moral chaos of society, to reduce confusion to order, to animate the dead with life, and to adorn the face of the land with the verdure of truth, and peace, and joy. Such is the simplicity, the comprehensiveness, the magnitude, and the sublimity of the end which Methodism proposes ; and upon this it founds its first claim to our respect, our love, our support, and our labours. II. The second feature of Methodism to which we invite atten- tion in this hasty review, is the Discipline which it enjoins. In order to appreciate the character and importance of this part of our sys- tern, it is necessary to take into account the three grand Scripture principles on which it is founded. 1. That the great design of the Son of God in establishing his Church or kingdom on earth was, to stamp upon the world a new moral character — to renovate and restore its moral health — to extir- pate its vices, and to convert it into one great spiritual community, of which He himself is the exemplar, tlie life, the centre, and the glory. 2. That, in order to attain this end, the members of his Church must possess a character essentially diflerent from the rest of the world. •' Every branch," said Christ, — and he spoke prospectively as well as in reference to existing evils, — " Every branch which my Father hath not planted shall bo rooted up." It has been well ob- served, that the Church is a sacied enclosure, brought into cultivation by the Divine Husbandman, and intended to be filled exclusively with the plants of righteousness. On the outside of this enclosure is to be found the spontaneous produce of evil, bringing forth fruit unto death ; but all within are meant to be the " plants of the Lord's right hand planting," exhibiting in the fruits they bear the essential difference between sin and holiness, and the infinite superiority of his transforming grace over the deadly produce of depraved nature. 3. That, to prevent the world from getting itito the Church, cor- rupting, absorbing, and destroying it, — to maint-^in its spiritual cha- racter, and healthful energy, and diftusive efhciency, its Divine Founder prescribed a change of character as the indispensable con- dition of membership, and invested the Church with power to expel X)ffendcrs. He inscribed over its " entrance gate" the memorable i I ; i: I I words, " Except a mm) be bora ugaiii, be cuunot enter into th« kingdom of God ;" and commanded his Apostles to admit by the door of visible baptism, those who furnished the evidence of " repent- ance towards God, and faith iti our Lord Jesus Christ." In refer- ence to the excision of diseased members, our Lord has furnished the following simple but comj)letc code of ecclesiastical discipline : "Moreover if thy brother shall trespass against thee, go tell him his fault between him and thee alone ; if he shall hear thee, thou hast gained thy brother. But if he will not hear thee, then take with thee one or two more, that ia the mouth of two or three witnesses every word may be established. And if he shall neglect to hear them, tell it unto the Church ; but if he neglect to hear the Church, let him be unto thee as an heathen man and a publican."* St. Paul's first Epistle to the Corinthians contains sundry admonitions on this subject. Now, it is upon these great principles of the Christian dispensa- lion that the disciplinary rules of Methodism are founded. The Methodist Church is not a worldly society, but (to use the words of our Rules) it " is no other than a company of men having the form and seeking the power of godliness ; united in order to pray together, to receive the word of exhortation, and to watch over one another in love, that they may help each other to work out their salvation. "f The condition of membership is, ' a desire to flee from the wrath to come, and to be saved from sin," — manifested, first, "by doing no harm, by avoiding evil of every kind ;" secondly, '* by doing good, by being in every kind merciful after their power, and, as far as possible, to all men;" thirdly, "by attending all the ordinances of God.":]: Our Rules enter into scriptural details on each of these points. To maintain the distinctive religious and spiritual character of our community, ample provision is made in our Discipline, accord, ing to the principles of the New Testament, for the expulsion of disorderly members and ministers. To promote the great end for which we exist as a body, — the salvation of men, through the belief of the truth and sanctification of the Spirit, — we have the ministry .of the Word — the Sacraments — Love-Feasts, or Feasts of Charity|| — » Mrllhow xviii, 15-18. t "The visible Church of Christ is a congregation of faithful men, in which th« pure Word of God is preached, and the Sacraments are duly administered according to Christ's ordinance in all those things that of necessity are roquisits tr the Bime."-~Nineteen(h Article of the Church of England. t Methodist Doctrines and Rules, pp. 71-74. II Jude 13. JjiM^g meetings for prayer, religious intercourfc and fellowship, together with various subordinate agencies, in connexion with the regular roiiiistrations of the sanctuary ; the whole forming a community, in the judgment of thut great Divine and Philosopher, Archdeacon Puley, very analogous to that, of the primitive Cl)ristians. In per. haps the best work on the Evidences of Christianily, which any ago has produced, Dr. Paley ob.serves, that " alter men became Chris, tians, much of their time was spent in prayer, devotion, in religious meetings, in celebrating the Eucharist, in conferences, in exhorta- tions, in preaching, in affectionate intercourse with one another, and in corresponding with other Societies. Perhaps their mode of life, in its form and habit, was not very unlike the Unilas Fratrum^ or Modern Methodists.'''' The ecclesiastical discipline of Methodism, is characterized by three things,— simplicity, tmity, efficiency : Simplicity, in the natural order of all its arrangements; vnity, in the harmonious application and movement of nil its parts; efficiency, in the active and advanta- geous employment of all its gifts, talents and resources, in the sub- lime work of the world's rejieneration. III. Our third view of Wesleyan Methodism, in connexion with the religious imprcvement of this Province, relates to the Ministry which it employs. 1. A standing Ministry, separated from worldly avocations and pursuits, for the edification of the Church and ilie conversion of the world, is held by Methodism to be of Divine appointment. It has been justly remarked, that "the Great Head of the Church has ordained three grand repositories of his truth : In the Scriptures he has preserved it by his Providence against hostile attacks. In the hearts of Christians he has maintained it by the almighty agency of his Spirit, even under every outward token of general apostacy. In the Christian Ministry he has deposited 'this treasure in earthen vessels' for the edification and enriching of the Church in successive ages." By incidental notices of Enoch and Noah, the instltuUoa of public teaching is connected with the antediluvian era of the world ; in the Patriarchal ages it was probably vested in the heads of families, as we gather from certain passages in the 14th nnd 19th chapters of i >. i *' r ■ r I I I I: iff w Ihe Book of Genesis ; in the Jewish economy Moses received his commission immediately from God, and was subsequently assisted by seventy Elders associated with him.* Joshun, like his predecessor Moses, frequently assenibled the people of Israel and delivered to ihem the messages of God. At subsequent periods of the Jewish history, we read of the schools of the prophets as the repository of the public teaching of the land.f After the captivity, the ordinance seems to have been restored nearly in its present usual form, with an established course of scriptural exposition and interpretation. Our Lord, the Great Teacher of righteousness, was anointed to this holy work ; constantly employed himself in it ; ordained others to it ; sealed their commission with the gift of his own Spirit, enjoining upon them as he entered the ascending cloud of angelic glory, " Go ye into all the world, and preach the Gospel to every creature.' The Divine institution, as well as the necessity, the relation, and end of the Christian Ministry, may be collected from various scrip, tural allusions to the Church of God in both the Old and New Tes. taments. If the Church be called a flock, the Minister is the pastor, to seek that which is lost, to strengthen the weak, to heal the sick, to bring back again that which was driven away ; in a word, to shepherd the flock in all the exercises of tenderness, consideration and care, which belong to that endearing character. If the family of Christ be an household, the Minister, is the * faithful and wise steward,' who dispenses the provisions of the house according to the necessities of its several members. If the Church of God be a city, he is the watchman to awaken and warn slumbercrs of their peril. If it be an husbandry, he is the ' labourer^ to plant and water the soil, to cleanse the earth, to watch the growth of the plant, and instrumentally to bring forward the harvest. If it be a hiilding, he is the * master builder,' to build upon the sure foundation lively stones, a spiritual house ' growing into an holy temple of the Lord, builded together for an habitation of God through the Spirit.' If a treaty of peace IS to be negotiated between the Majesty of Heaven and a world of rebels, he is the ambassador, entrusted with the 'ministry of rjcon- ciliation,' and praying them in Christ's stead, ' Be ye reconciled to God.' Whether Jehovah might not have accomplished the great work of laying the foundation and rearing the superstructure of the Chris- * Exodufi xxiv. ; Nuinbeis xi. 1 Sttinuel X. r>, 6. D lian Church by any otiier ihati the human agency which he has seen fit to employ, is at best a superfluous inquiry. With God all things are possible. He might have instructed as well as awakened St. Paul by a miracle, but he chose to employ Ananias for that purpose. The angel might have instructed Cornelius and his household, as well as directed him to send to ^oppa for the Apostle Peter; but the latter was the divinely.appointed medium of communicating evange- lical light to the minds of these first fruits of the Gentiles. In sacred history the ordinance of the holy Ministry is connected with the national welfare, as well as the extension of scriptural religion. The destitution of a " teaching priest" in Asa's reign was marked by a time of public distress and " vexation." In the subsequent reign of Jehoshaphat, the mission of faithful Levites and Priests throughout all the cities was followed by great national prosperity. The com. parative disuse of preaching as a means of public Scriptural instruction was a concomitant of the dark ages, whilst its revival was coeval with the era of the Reformation. Mosheim, in his Ecclesiastical History, remarks, that " the best system of religion must necessarily either dwindle to nothing, or be egregiously corrupted, if it is not perpetually inculcated and explained bv a regular and standing Ministry."* "Not even," (says the great Reformer Calvin, with an energy peculiar to himself,) " Not even is the light and heat of the sun, — not even is meat and drink so needful for the support and cherishing of our present life, as the Pastoral office tor the preser- vation of the Church on earth."! The Ministry of the word is, therefore, the divinely-ordained means of edifying the Church and converting the world ; and that ordinance must remain, according to the established economy of human redemption, as long as there is a single sinner to be brought into the family of God, or a single grace in the heart of the believer to advance to perfection. 2. The call to the Ministry is held by Methodism to be of Divine influence and inspiration, as well as its institution of Divine appoint- ment. The scriptural call to the Ministry, as viewed by Methodism, is internal and external. The internal call is the voice and power of the Holy Ghost directing the will and the judgment to the great work of saving souls ; it is a constraining desire, far above the general desire, which is given to every true Christian, to promote the glory of God ;| it is not a transient, but a perpetual and special kindling ) \ t . * Cent. I. pail 2, cliap. ii, r Iiietitutefe, lib. IV., c. iii. 3. Vet every Christian is not orddinnd to bt a Mmisler. The example* ef C I 10 W' t»i, i ^1 a. I I within which overcomes nil difficulties, and quickens to a readiness of mind in the ministrations of the word, that would savour of pre- sumption, were it not restrained by the attendant sense of unfitness and unworthiness. The sense of weakness and defilement humbles the spirit, and almost shuts the mouth ; but the sense of mercy con. strains the heart and unseals the lips. Neither disgrace, nor pov- erty, nor persecution, will prevent him who is called by the Spirit, and to whom is committed the word of reconciliation, from preaching the unsearchable riches of Christ ; nor will he count his life dear unto him that he may proclaim a living Redeemer to a dying world. It is the purpose of his heart, (as Quesnel expresses it,) ' sidered as essential to the sacred office, it is not my purpose to enter. 1 only slate what Methodism assumes to be an incontrovertible Biblical axiom, — and I state it in the strong language of that pious and eminent Divine of the Church of England, John Newton, that " None but He who made the world, can make a Minister of the Gospel." That distinguished Minister proceeds to illustrate this position as follows ; for proof it needs none : — " If a young man has capacity, culture and application may make him a scholar, a philosopher, or an orator; but a true Minister must have certain principles, motives, feelings and aims, which no industry or endea- vours of men can either acquire or communicate. They must be given from above, or they cannot bo received."* But let it not be inferred from this statement, as has often been erroneously repr«- sented, that we under-rate or neglect human aids and acquirements in the work of the Ministry. The very examinations through which young men are required to pass before they are admitted into the Methodist Ministry, prove the reverse. Our Rules prescribe not merely the regular, daily, and prayerful study of the Holy Scriptures, with the requisite aids, but the employment of five hours out of twenty.four in the careful reading and study of the best author^* The 12th, 14th, and 16th sections of our Doctrines and Rules furnish i j h • Woiki, Vol. v., p. 63. ;'!tl' 12 ii 11 I ample evidence of our deep conviction, how much the establishment and edification of the Church may be materially hindered by the Minister's contracted statement, crude interpretation, or misdirected Scripture application ; that the furniture of his mind should possess a store of knowledge far beyond a bare sufficiency for his own personal salvation ; that '* the priest's lips should keep knowledge ;" that he should be the *' householder, instructed into the kingdom of heaven, wlio bringeth forth out of his treasure things new and old ;" that he should have an enlarged acquaintance with his own princi* plep and doctrines, in order to exhibit them in their true light and apply them to daily occurring emergencies ; that the responsibility of each Minister to store his mind with subjects of general interest, proportionably increases with the wide diffusion of knowledge. But after all, and independent of all that human talents and industry can accomplish, and allowing their full weight in the scale of advantage, we insist (in the authoritative language of Bishop Sanderson), that '' you may rise up early and go to bed late, and study hard, and read much, and devour the marrow of the best authors ; and when you have done all, unless God give a blessing to your endeavours, be as lean and meagre in regard to true and useful learning, as Pharoah's lean kine were, after they had devoured the fat ones. It is God that both ministereth the seed to the sower, and multiplieth the seed sown : the principal and the increase arc both his."* Afler the most prof'>und researches into the history of the Christian Church, Milner observes, that a " Minister should be a man of prayer ; he needs the internal instruction of the primary Teacher. "f 4. The success of the Christian Ministry is viewed by Methodism as entirely the eflfect of the influence, and power, and blessing of the Holy Ghost. The objects and end of our Ministry sufficiently evince the reality and practical importance of this view. The objects of our Ministry are human beings and moral agents whose " understandings are darkened," whose hearts are " enmity against God," whose souls are " dead in trespasses and sins," who are " lying in the wicked one." The ^ni of our Ministry is, to dispel that darkness, to slay that enmity, to give life to that deadness, to translate from the kingdom of Satan into the kingdom of God's dear Son. What can the mere agency of man or the powers of an arch-angel do towards accomplishing such a work ? " We may as well attempt (says an dd Puritan Divine) to batter down strong walls with the breath of * Sermons. t Church History, Vol. IV., p. 134. our mouths, na to do good u\inn men'H souls without the Spirit of God." Until iho Spirit be poured out upon us from on high, the wilderness, notwithstanding ihu most diligent cultivntion, muHt remain a wilderness still. For want of the influence of the Holy Spirit, how comparatively successless was the public ministry ol the Son of God himself. Notwithstanding the perfection of his character, the divinity of his doctrine, the godlike manner of his teaching, and the miraculous testimonials to his mission, ho did not succeed in making as many converts during the whole three years of his min^ istry, as did his poor fisherman disciplo Peter in a single sermon, afler the effusion of the Holy Spirit. *'I once thought in the tooK ishness of my heart, (says the late pious Cecil,) < What sort of a sermon must that have been, which was preached by St. Peter, when three thousand souls were converted at once V What sort of a sermon ! Such as other sermons. There is nothing to be found in it extraordinary. The effect was not produced by his eloquence, but by the mighty power of God present with his word. It is in vain to attend one minister after another, and to have sermon afler sermon, unless we pray that the Holy Spirit may accompany his word.'"" When the Son of God ascended up on high, leading cap« tivity captive, giving gifls to men, he gave all gifls in one — the Holy Spirit, — the enlightening, converting, sanctifying, saving Spirit. When the Holy Spirit broods over the darkness of the human mind, it flames with light ; when He levies human hearts in the name of Christ, the bitterest persecutors of the Church become her champions and her martyrs ; when He breathes upon the slain in the valley of dry bones, the very dead start into life ; when He descends like a vital flood upon the barren earth, the desert blooms with the fertility and beauty of paradise ; when He comes forth to plead the cause of God and of truth against idolatry and error and vice, multitudes receive the truth in the love of it, — vast territories are added to the domains of the Church. " Not by might, nor by poioer, but by my Spirit, saith the Lord," 5. Our last remark on this part of the subject is, that the Ministry «mp1oyed by Methodism is itinerant in its labours. By this regula- tion, the strongest possible check is given to the growth of worldly affections and local partialities in tht; Ministry ; its operations are expanded like the light of heaven ; variety of talent is brought to bear upon each congregation ; the most useful gifts are diflused over i I. * Cecil*! Remains. u ;«& III. ill. the Church utid die woilJ to the widest pussiblc uxteiit ; und, last but not least, the (jospel is hentby preached tu tens of thuusandsj of the poor. Douglas, in his udmirablo book on the '* Advancement of Society in Knowledge and Religion" forcibly illustrates the power of the grand institution of an Itinerant Ministry. '* Of all the methods (he observes) for diffusing religion, preaching is the most efficient. It is to preaching tiiat Christianity owes its origin, its continuance, and its progress; and it is to ilinerant preaching (however the igno- rant may undervalue it) that wo owe the conversion of the Roman world from Paganism to primitive Christianity, — our own freedom from the thraldom of Popery, in the success of the Reformation* — and the revival of Christianity at the present day from the depression which it had undergone, owing to the prevalency of infidelity and indifference." Such, my friends, is the Methodist Ministry, — thus very briefly and superficially reviewed, — which is the third ground on which Methodism rests its claim to the character of a scriptural and well, adapted agency, under the Divine blessing, for the religious and social improvement of this country. IV. Our fourth, and still more important view of Methodism, regards the Doctrines which it inculcates. There is a plausible, but false and dangerous, religious liberalism abroad, which professes indifference in respect to doctrines, — which teaches that all creeds are equally good, that doctrines are nothing, but practice is every thing. Lot us for one moment test the truth and reasonableness of this quintessence of scepticism and infidelity by the touch-stone of science and the affairs of every-day life. By doctrines I understand matters of ieiilh— first principles — or theory, if you please. Now suppose I were to assert that doctrines in respect to civil government are nothing ; that whether the power of the monarch is absolute or limited — whether the authority of the executive is responsible or irresponsible — whether the subject has guaranteed rights and privi. leges or not, are mere doctrines or first principles of government, and therefore of no importance : or in reading a lecture of caution to the mathematician against exclusiveness, or pertinacious attach, ment to theory, suppose I were gravely to assure him that the axioms on which he rests every step of his demonstrations, are only first principles, and therefore a matter of indifference ; or the profe.^sor of physical science, that theory or first principles in the various branches of natural philosophy are nothing, that practice is every 15 thing— who would subscribe lo my liberalism in j^orcrnmcnt, in mathematics, in physical science? In each case would not the statesman, the mathemnticinn, or the philosopher, rationally and indignantly ask in reply, whether a sound constitution is of no impor- tance to a healthful body, a firm foundation to a safe edifice, or upright principles to a virtuous man? VVIiat is practice without principle, but a stream without a spring, a tree without a root? On what is Paganism itself founded, but error in doctrines or first prin- ciples? How can we ofTer rational and acceptable worship to Jehovah, without a belief in the docirinrs which relate tc his Divine perfections, his eternity, his power, his wisdom, his knowledge, his holiness, his truth, his goodness? How is it possible to approach the Divine Being through a Mediator, (the only revealed way of man's approach to his Maker,) without a belief in the doctrine of the Trinity, of the fall and depravity of man, of the atonement made by Christ, of justification by faith, of the work of the Holy Spirit? Doctrines are therefore the very foundation and frame-work of Christianity. "All Scripture (says St. Peter) is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable (first of all) for doctrine, (and then) for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness." The doctrines just enumerated arc the leading doctrines of Me- thodism ; but that which holds the pre-eminence, — which, like the sun, diflfuses light and vitality through all the ministrations of Metho- dism, is the doctrine of salvation through a crucified Redeemer,— " Christ crucified" — as God's grand ordinance in saving sinners, as the centre of the widely-extended circle of scriptural truth, — embracing all that is honourable to God and profitable to man, — all the delightful ways of the Divine faithfulness and love, — and all thai concerns our character, our professions, our privileges, our obligations, and our hopes and prospects for eternity. ** We have been, (says a late pious Prelate of the Church of England,) wo have been long endea< vouring to reform the nation by moral preaching : with what effect ? None. We must change our voice; we must prear'^ 'Christ and him crucified.' Nothing but the Gospel is the power of God unto salvation."* One short sentence describes the whole doctrinal, practical, and experimental system of Methodism — "Christ is all and in all.'' To be a little more particular, both as to the Mcthodistic view * Bishop Lavington'8 Charges. I ' I i mi n i Si t 1;'.; I- 16 of Iho Gospel scheme, and tiic order in which its blessings ar* promised and bestowed ui'on man. 1. Man is viewed as " very far gone Irom original righteousness, and of his own nature inclined to evil, and that continually, — as blind, ignorant, wandering out of u , way with his mind wholly estranged from God — unable to "turn and prepare liimself, by his own natural strength and works, to faith and calling upon God" — having "no power to do good works, pleasant and acceptable to God, without the grace of God preventing him that he may have a good will, and working with him when he has that good will."* 2. The Gospel is viewed as a dispensation of unmerited favour, — of boundless mercy, — of infinite love to every human being, — holding forth a free pardon and full salvation to all who repent and believe in Jesus Christ; not for any works or deserving on the part of man, but "only for the merit of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ."f 3. The Gospel, viewed as a means to attain an end, is considered as exhibiting as complete fitness as can possibly be discovered in the structure and laws of the natural world ; from a view of which we derive our arguments in proof of the existence of the Divine Being. Its offered and promised blessings are in every respect suited to the state and necessities of man ; wisdom to instruct him, mercy to pardon, grace to sanctify, power to strengthen him, — enlightening his understand! 'ig, awakening his conscience, subduing his will, renewing his heart, regulating his passions, expanding his prospects and hopes to a " far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." 4. The Gospel, considered as a general plan of salvation, is viewed as a glorious display of the Divine perfections, in which all the attributes of God shine forth vith cloudless splendour : Divine wisdom conspicuous in the wonderful plan of redemption ; Divine hte in the gift of the Redeemer ; Divine justice, tempered with mercy to man, in the death of the Saviour; Divine potrer in making the whole effectual to raise a fallen creature from a state of sin and misery to a state of purity and happiness, and from a state of death to immortal life and glory. As to the order in which the bles&ings of the Gospel are promised", * Methodibt Doctrincb and Kules. T Ibid. 17 and in which we are taught to pray tor and expect them, this is a point of great importance, and respecting which there is much confusion in different systems of religion. In the study .^f any art or science, a man must begin with the fundamental principles, before he cau proceed to the higher branches of it. In the science of man's salvation, Methodism begins with — 1. Repentance; from a belief that a man must be convinced of his faults, before he can be reclaimed from them, — that he must be Gonscioujs of his condemnation, before he will seek for pardon, — that he must feel his need of a Saviour, in order to be prepared to appreciate and rely upon Jesus as his Saviour. In this order, wo think we are following the example of our Lord a..J his Apostles ; the former of whom commenced Ws public ministry with saying, " Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand ;" and the latter " testified both to Jews and Greeks [first] repentance toward God» ai i [secondly] faith toward our Lord Jesus Christ." 2. The second important step in the order of Gospel blessings is, Faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, — arising chiefly from a scriptural view of his priestly oflice, as the complete atonement and accepted sacrifice for our sins. In this believing trust in Christ as his Saviour, the repentant sinner obtains "redemption in his blood, even the forgiveness of sins," and is made a partaker of the Divine nature : which leads me to remark that, 3. Justification, or pardon, adoption and regeneration, are the third in the order of blessings which we receive through the atone* ment of the Redeemer. These blessings are difierent in their nature, but are the same in the order of time, and are therefore classed together. By justification, or pardon, or forgiveness, (which terms iQ the New Testament usually signify the same thing,) a sinner is exonerated from punishment ami received into the Divine favour; by adoption and regeneration, he is taken into the family of God, and made a partaker o^ a filial and renewed Spirit : these blessings being usually, if not invariably, accompanied with an inward testi- mony or assurance of the Holy Spirit, — the '* Spirit of God bearing testimony wUa his spirit that ho is a child of God ;" and " because he is a child, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son ii.to his heart, crying, Abba, Father."' * Rom vui, 16. Gal. iv. 6. 18 ! k f". .: i ,8%' ??!; r 4. In this state ofpuiJon and adoption, /ai